The 2023 Backlog Challenge

[T-Pac | 7,562]

On 1/13/2023 at 11:13 AM, BortLicensePlate said:

I always end up way overshooting what I can accomplish for my backlog so I'll be keepin it light this time

This should be plenty to keep me busy:

NES
Tetris - Goal: 750k
Rockin Katz
Ninja Gaiden
Batman

SNES
Chrono Trigger
Sky Blazer
Tetris Attack

SNES (hacks)
Quickie World (Super Mario World Kaizo Hack)
Fly Me to the Stars (Super Mario World Kaizo Hack)
Super Riff World (Super Mario World Kaizo Hack)

TG16
Super Star Soldier
Blazing Lazers

GBC
Legend of the River King
Survival Kids

Oof - I couldn't make it past the final level of Ninja Gaiden [NES] or Blazing Lazers [TG-16], and that lack of closure is still tormenting me to this day...

Good luck, Bort - I believe in you haha.

-CasualCart

[Brickman | 3,995]

Another game beaten, Battle for Naboo on the N64. I really enjoyed this game. The graphics and sound were top notch and I really enjoyed all the missions. I don't really have the time but one day I wouldn't mind trying to go for all golds.

[Sumez | 2,968]

6 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Aliens Infestation?  I haven't actually played it.

Sounds good on paper. Extremely not good in practice. Sad waste of beautiful Henk Nieborg artwork! 

[PekoponTAS | 171]

The Wonderful 101 complete! (Sorry, no picture this time)

I don't want to go on a huge nerd rant about everything I disliked about this game, so I'll just say I really disliked Wonderful 101. There's always a stigma when it comes to Hideki Kamiya since he's so unlikable, but that's a rant for another time. You'll just have to take my word for it that this game rubbed me the wrong way every chance it could.

I also suffer from sensory overload symptoms, and this game genuinely made me dizzy at times.

I've often felt like Platinum Games is the big budget version of Wayforward where everyone seems to love them, but they aren't actually very good. Star Fox Zero is the only Platinum Games title that I've liked, probably because Nintendo was involved and kept the company in check.

While it would be easy to recommend this game to Wii U owners just because it's an original game for the Wii U, it has the same problem as Zombi U where it's just not as fun or interesting as it first seems.

Hopefully whatever I play next is good, as I've overall had a rough time with my Wii U backlog so far. At least Tank! Tank! Tank! was awesome. Maybe I should stick to Namco and play Pac-Man GA2 next.

[Brickman | 3,995]

22 minutes ago, PekoponTAS said:

The Wonderful 101 complete! (Sorry, no picture this time)

I don't want to go on a huge nerd rant about everything I disliked about this game, so I'll just say I really disliked Wonderful 101. There's always a stigma when it comes to Hideki Kamiya since he's so unlikable, but that's a rant for another time. You'll just have to take my word for it that this game rubbed me the wrong way every chance it could.

I also suffer from sensory overload symptoms, and this game genuinely made me dizzy at times.

I've often felt like Platinum Games is the big budget version of Wayforward where everyone seems to love them, but they aren't actually very good. Star Fox Zero is the only Platinum Games title that I've liked, probably because Nintendo was involved and kept the company in check.

While it would be easy to recommend this game to Wii U owners just because it's an original game for the Wii U, it has the same problem as Zombi U where it's just not as fun or interesting as it first seems.

Hopefully whatever I play next is good, as I've overall had a rough time with my Wii U backlog so far. At least Tank! Tank! Tank! was awesome. Maybe I should stick to Namco and play Pac-Man GA2 next.

Platinum have their ups and downs. You never know if you’re going to get their A game or their half effort. Bayonetta, Nier Automata and Metal Gear Rising are all great games but stuff like Transformers and TMNT were just really horrible games.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

Yeah, @PekoponTAS you're gonna have to branch out to the "mature" stuff to get Platinum's best.  The Bayonettas, Astral Chain, and Nier Automata are all killer.

[PekoponTAS | 171]

3 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Yeah, @PekoponTAS you're gonna have to branch out to the "mature" stuff to get Platinum's best.  The Bayonettas, Astral Chain, and Nier Automata are all killer.

There are many M rated series I've watched and enjoyed on Youtube, but would never want to play. I love me some Uncharted, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Devil May Cry and Bayonetta in video form, but I would never want to play those games as they're just genres I don't care about.

I played and loved the first two Parasite Eve games, because the real time RPG combat was just a good idea and it was fun.

[spacepup | 2,405]

After finishing Control, I finally started playing Alan Wake.  It wasn't on my backlog list the last couple years, but it is definitely one I never got around to playing and have wanted to play for a long time!  Reed mentioned it not too long ago as I was playing Control - which has an expansion pack with HEAVY Alan Wake reference/tie-in.

Anyway, I've finished 3 'episodes' and am really enjoying the game so far!  It's definitely unique and the way they tell the story is quite interesting.  I think I'm about half-way through, and definitely will keep playing this one.  

I'm gonna make up for my abysmal progress (on "completions" anyway) last year!!! hahaha

[fox | 1,668]

Mid Jan Update
 

Spoiler

Off to a good start this 2023.  As kind of a holdover from last year I ended up beating River City Girls 2 with my cousin.  It was a blast pulling off code breakers on fools.
 

Spoiler

I also knocked out Infernax.  Kind of a throwback to Castlevania 2/Zelda 2/Faxanadu.  I didn't get the best worst ending because you need to be really specific with how you tackle some of the side quests.  But hey maybe I would replay it with diff choices or try out some of the hidden characters.

I also have my first retire of the year.  Calisto Protocol was a disappointment, consider how much I enjoyed Dead Space back in the day.  There was way too much focus on annoying melee combat which forced you to juke and jive like you were playing punch out or something.  Sneaking past is not really an option most of the time, you end up unloading an entire clip just to put basic enemies down, so you are pretty much forced to go thru a congo line of melee brawls.

Currently working on Jedi Fallen Order (40% thru) which isn't great but is actually good in an inoffensive way.  There is some wonky design decisions but not enough to make me drop it.  Weirdly it is a mix of Uncharted and Souls.  Want to knock this one out before the sequel in a couple months.  I also just started Tactics Ogre and Moonrider but only had a cup of coffee with each.

Edited January 16, 2023 by fox

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

On 1/14/2023 at 2:19 PM, CasualCart said:

Oof - I couldn't make it past the final level of Ninja Gaiden [NES] or Blazing Lazers [TG-16], and that lack of closure is still tormenting me to this day...

Good luck, Bort - I believe in you haha.

-CasualCart

haha thanks Cart, I had Ninja Gaiden on my backlog either last year or the year prior I think. It was the first game I tried to tackle and it broke me. I ended up barely beating any games that year. I need the closure

Blazing Lazers I haven't played a ton of, but I want to get more into shooters this year. Made a bit of progress in Super Star Soldier already, and its really fun!

Edit, Also I added in some easy games to break it up. I like tough games but need a break in between

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

Progress Report:

I find I do best at making progress when I have many games on the go. If I go all in on one game, I find sometimes I get sick of it and abandon it. I do end up favouring one 90% of the time but breaking it up with something else is huge for keeping me invested. I've also learned that though I really like hard games, I also need some easy ones sprinkled in as a breather.

Here's some first impressions for the games I'm currently playing:

Tetris - I used to play NES Tetris very consistently, peaking at about a 500K PB. But I've taken a long break and am now a bit rusty. Was able to crack 250k again, just need to keep workin' my way back up to my PB. Then probably train on level 19 starts before going for the 750k. This goal will probably take the majority of the year, trying here and there to hit, if I even make it, but it's meant to just be a reason to pop this one in occasionally throughout the year. We'll see how close I get.

Rockin Katz - This game is pretty chill, love the art-style and themes they have going on. The swinging mechanic is fun to mess around with but feels a little clunky at first. I've only played a couple levels of this so I wonder how big of a role the swinging will play in the rest of the game.

Quickie World (Super Mario World Kaizo Hack) - Been interested in Kaizo Mario hacks for a while. This one is often cited as one of the easier ones so it felt like a good starting point into these games. I'm about 5 levels in and so far having a blast with it. Super Mario World is a pretty easy game but the mechanics are very nuanced and deep, so taking them to the extreme in a harder version of the game works really well IMO. This is the game taking up the majority of my time currently.

Super Star Soldier - Been really wanting to get into Shooters more so I'm starting with this one on TG16. Beat the first couple levels, and so far its fun. I dig the powerup system, theres a few different weapons available, you can use one at a time, and by grabbing that colour of powerup it gets stronger, but you can always swap weapons by grabbing a different colour and it keeps the same level of power. Its fun playing with the different weapons and getting hit doesn't mean you're totally screwed like in Gradius for example.

[Sumez | 2,968]

I ran through all three difficulties of Diablo 2 with my new character on Switch, so now I'm finally able to continue my backlog

[Brickman | 3,995]

Mario & Luigi RPG for the GBA is completed.

I really enjoyed this game, it was the last of the handheld Alpha Dream Mario & Luigi games I had to beat and I think it was my favourite. 

Like all of the Mario & Luigi games, I feel it over stayed its welcome towards the end. For some reason Alpha Dream loves to extend these games more than needed with pointless things.

But that aside, the story was fun and the battles were really good. Especially the final boss.

Graphics were top notch and the music was great too.

I recommend fans of this series check it out if they haven’t played it yet.

[greenthunder | 115]

Picked up Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux as my first backlog game of the year and I've been enjoying it a lot. Not really sure why I put it down in the first place. Haven't beat it yet (explanation below) but some thoughts:

- Outside of certain bosses and the occasional bad rng against certain random enemy compositions, the game is a lot easier than I expected it to be (I think I'd rank Etrian Odyssey as more difficult). Not sure if Redux smoothed out the difficulty or just overhyped difficulty.

- I did not like Sector E. Praise be to some of the Redux exclusive subapps for saving my sanity throughout the game.

- Decided to go with the Redux neutral ending. This has resulted in the absolute agony of both Strange Journey's final boss and Redux's final boss, which are both giant difficulty spikes. After a couple of tries on the former, I did some googling and spent a couple hours grinding macca so I could tweak/fuse some more demons. Gonna have to grind even more macca for mitamas / getting demon sources and spend time figuring out what other demons I can fuse, because most of the current ones I want to replace are either dead ends or require me to be level 85+, when I'm at 82 right now. Since I wasn't really having fun with the mega suffering, I decided to play some other games for now until I'm hopefully in the mood to grind again.

- Me: howlongtobeat has main game only at 46 hrs, so I should beat it in ~50 right? Hahaha no, I'm at 70+ hours and counting. Probably should have gone with the main game + extra times instead of just main game considering I usually do a good bit of side stuff in JRPGs.

[Sumez | 2,968]

Live-A-Live - Beaten 9/1

I first played this game back when the first English fantranslation dropped, but I never got through most of the chapters and haven't touched the game since. I was pretty excited to finally see it given an official localization, paired with a complete rehaul treatment featuring brand new beautiful pixel art based on the original graphics - as well as pushing it into 3D territory using a visual style similar to Octopath Traveler.

Live-A-Live is a bit of a unique RPG, being really a collection of seven smaller RPGs (which can be played in any order), following seven completely different main characters, taking place in seven wildly different settings.
It's kind of interesting how, the game doesn't just settle for different eras and locations, but also tries to make each chapter feel unique in how they play, and some chapters have completely specialized mechanics in order to achieve this.
In one chapter you control a Kung Fu master who is already powerful and doesn't gain EXP, but instead you take on three pupils and train those to become strong enough to fight. In another you play as a boy with the ability to read minds, who ends up controlling a massive robot trampling over the town. The present day chapter is just a series of boss fights, set up like a game of Street Fighter II, while the sci-fi chapter plays more like a survival-horror style adventure game, with no actual combat until the eventual end boss.

The ideas are some times better than the actual execution, and it seems like Live-A-Live might have been a little too ambitious compared to what was actually feasible for Squaresoft at the time. Some chapters are severely underdeveloped, and for example the idea of the wild west cowboy working to set up a bunch of traps for an invading gang of bandits is great on paper - but since the game includes no actual mechanics for doing so, this just plays out like finding the items and then going through dialogues boxes to tell others to set them up, hardly engaging at all.
Meanwhile the (optionally) stealth based ninja chapter really takes the cake, with a ton of obscure secrets to find, alternative paths through the map, and ways to approach each challenge. It has a lot of substance that really puts several of the other chapters to shame - if every part of the game had been like this, the whole game would have been fantastic!
Of course, there is another twist after you have completed all of these chapters, but I'd rather not spoil that for anyone who hasn't played the game

Now, it's a divisive style, but I personally thought Octopath looked pretty cool. It has a suave storybook look to it that it owns through and through. But, while it's not like it is downright ugly, the same style just doesn't work nearly as well with Live-A-Live which was never designed with the intention of buildings looking like papercraft - especially given how distinct each chapter is already meant to appear, with the original SNES game even adjusting the font and cursor to the theme of each setting. Square's new "HD-2D" is a cool style, but it grows old very fast.

What clashes even more though is all the UI stuff, which feels sterile and soulless, like a generic framework that a much more colorful game was crammed down into. And things like the menu for selecting your combat skills which is not only itself way too small to show more than a few options at a time, also relies on scrolling and changing text over time in order to display all the relevant stats of each individual attack as you hover over it. That just feels like a ridiculous oversight that is hard to really defend.
Overall it gives me the same vibe as those cashgrab mobile remakes of SNES classics that don't understand how pixel art graphics work.
It's especially weird given how much great work was put into the actual graphics of the game, which really shine and look great. I would have loved to see it put into use in a genuine 2D game.

The remake is really faithful to the original down to very little details in how the story is told and presented, little visual gags, how combat works, and so on. For as tone deaf as the game's technical framework is, the artistry involved in bringing the old 1994 scenes to life in a new decade just understands exactly the feel it needed to go for, with highlights such as the new fully voiced intro song/cinematic to the giant robot chapter.
At the same time, it's kinda hard not to think about how interesting this could have been with an actual genuine full-on remake, fixing many of the shortcomings of the original. Instead the few additions that are actually in this version don't really feel like improvements to me. The English voice acting is embarassingly bad, and changing language to Japanese helped making the game come across less awkward to me. For all I know, the Japanese voice acting might not be any better, but at least I'm unable to tell.

A new feature in the remake is a clear "glow" marker showing where you can find items to pick up, and a mini radar that constantly shows you where you need to go to progress the game. There are a couple of places in the game where these come quite handy, and where the actual triggers to progress the story might have been a little obscure without this - but overall I think features like that can really suck the potential feeling of adventure out of a game, especially in one of the chapters where all you ever need to do is figuring out where to go.
Fortunately the radar can be turned off, but I wasn't wise enough to do so.

Other additions include slower battles due to every attack being some kind of special animation that needs to play out, and a short loading time between each room as you move around. It's short enough to be inoffensive on its own, but it becomes tedious across a full game, and it doesn't really feel justified given the low-tech look of the game.

Spoiler

All in all, Live-A-Live is an admirable and enjoyable game, but also too small for what it sets out to do, and the state of the remake similarly sit between an equal number of ups and downs.
 

[FireHazard51 | 2,047]

Checking-In

So I've been wanting to play God of War on PS5 but have had some issues.  The TV that it's hooked up to has been occupied with other uses so I've had little time to play it.  When I do play it I've had some enjoyment but the controls are so different than Ghost of Tsushima that I've been struggling.  I've heard that the next games in the series takes right off where this one leaves off.  Given I'm not plan on playing the next game right away I figured I should just shelve this game and prep myself for hitting Horizon Forbidden West with sharpened my skills by replaying (I'm like 70% though the new game+ story) Horizon Zero Dawn and finally play the DLC.  This will allow me to know what the story is and make sure I'm not fumbling with the controls when playing the next game.  

Kinda having similar issues with Cyberpunk in that I forget what the damn controls are so I'm stumbling through the game.  I may have to shelve this game for a later date as the other games PC game I'm playing has multiple follow up games so I'm thinking I train myself to get use to Half Life controls.  I need to not skip games that have sequels or are "pre-requisites" to playing next month's games.

So what am I doing to help fix my hang ups?  Besides better timing when to play games (fixing controller fumbling) I've got a 42" C2 OLED TV as my new PC monitor that I can also play the PS5 on.  So if I'm in the mood for any kind of gaming I can get it done.  Also I got my contacts ordered so VR gaming will have less friction to play too.  In the future I'm thinking of getting a dedicated VR gaming room set up but that will take a few months to get setup.  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

@greenthunder That was the first SMT I played all the way through (on DS), and remember getting stuck hard on a dragon/snake boss halfway through.  Had to completely rebuild my party to get through.  Can't recall the final boss, or if I did the neutral path (I think I did).

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

Nice writeup @Sumez.  I want to get to it but my Square backlog is just gross right now.  I still need to play Bravely Default, and then maybe Octopath or Triangle after that, and Live-a-Live or Bravely Second or Bravely II or Octopath II after that...

[Brickman | 3,995]

7 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Nice writeup @Sumez.  I want to get to it but my Square backlog is just gross right now.  I still need to play Bravely Default, and then maybe Octopath or Triangle after that, and Live-a-Live or Bravely Second or Bravely II or Octopath II after that...

I’d definitely put Octopath at the bottom of your Square list. It was an interesting idea with bad execution. I got so bored I had to drop it. I hope the second fixes the problems of the first. 

[spacepup | 2,405]

Finished up Alan Wake tonight!

I enjoyed the game quite a bit!  It is an interesting story and I like the dark/light themes and gameplay mechanics.  Also when things like schoolbusses and tractors come to life and attack you it’s entertaining and challenging hah!

There are two “extra” episodes that I’ll finish up soon, but I’ve finished the main game which is split into 6 chapters / “episodes.” 
 

All in all, I enjoyed it and am glad I finally got around to this one!

[greenthunder | 115]

8 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

@greenthunder That was the first SMT I played all the way through (on DS), and remember getting stuck hard on a dragon/snake boss halfway through.  Had to completely rebuild my party to get through.  Can't recall the final boss, or if I did the neutral path (I think I did).

Guessing that was Sector E's Ouroboros, which I think I did get stuck on for a bit.

Somewhat related to the Octopath talk, Octopath and Collection of Mana have been in my Switch backlog for a while and I've been debating selling them both because I don't know if I want to play them. But at the same time, I want to at least give them a shot in case I do like them, but I don't have the motivation to start them in the first place. The struggle.

[Sumez | 2,968]

23 hours ago, Brickman said:

I’d definitely put Octopath at the bottom of your Square list. It was an interesting idea with bad execution. I got so bored I had to drop it. I hope the second fixes the problems of the first. 

Kinda agree. I liked parts of Ocopath, but it drags on. And the idea to systematically put each party member's three chapters into separate events activated when you reach specific towns really feels mechanical, and completely destroys the idea of playing an RPG to me. In fact, the entire world map just being basically one big linear circle means exploration isn't very rewarding either.

As for the combat, it grows on you once you... get really really far into the game. The problem with the system is that all the "early" fights in the game are so easy that you don't really need to make use of any of the special mechanics it offers, so it really takes a while for the game to justify even having them.

Live-A-Live isn't the best classic Square RPG, but it's both short and interesting enough to easily get out of the way early.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Sumez

[Brickman | 3,995]

47 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Kinda agree. I liked parts of Ocopath, but it drags on. And the idea to systematically put each party member's three chapters into separate events activated when you reach specific towns really feels mechanical, and completely destroys the idea of playing an RPG to me. In fact, the entire world map just being basically one big linear circle means exploration isn't very rewarding either.

As for the combat, it grows on you once you... get really really far into the game. The problem with the system is that all the "early" fights in the game are so easy that you don't really need to make use of any of the special mechanics it offers, so it really takes a while for the game to justify even having them.

Live-A-Live isn't the best classic Square RPG, but it's both short and interesting enough to easily get out of the way early.

Yep exactly my thoughts with the game. I also found it funny that the stories are meant to all intertwine in some way but when party members are with you they’re basically mutes with little emotion. 

[ScaryD | 237]

Beat Ghost Lion

[Sumez | 2,968]

Tanuki Justice - Beaten 17/1 (Hard Mode 1 credit clear)

I hadn't heard of Tanuki Justice before when I had it recommended to me, but seeing it was made by the same guy who made Aggelos I thought it was definitely worth a try. In that game, the designer demonstrates what I think is a really impressive understanding of pure, fun game design. That game was a metroidvania wonderboy tribute, so there's really no guarantee his skills would translate into a much more linear arcade style approach, but as it turns out, Tanuki Justice just continues to showcase his talent. Definitely a developer worth paying attention to!

The game is a really pure and basic run 'n gun style action game. With some practice you can beat it in 20 minutes, but right off the bat it's gonna punch back pretty hard. While most enemies die in a single hit, you do too, though you will always respawn immediately as in Contra. Your basic attack is a fast shuriken with limited range, which can be upgraded once for a more powerful one with slightly longer reach. Hit enough enemies, or pick up enough collectibles and you'll power up a special attack which can take down a huge portion of the screen, including hostile projectiles. This attack recharges quite fast, so you can and should use it liberally. You can use it defensively to get through tight spots, but generally it's just more fun using it to assert your dominance over the enemy assault, as you tear and ninja your way through their forces!

In general you probably have a better chance of making it through enemy lines unscathed by taking it easy, just progressing a few steps at a time. But the design of the stages alone is enough to intice storming ahead, never slowing down because it's simply the most fun way to play. Though the game also does tally your time and rewards a quick clear, as most arcade games do. In fact, the game respects the arcade mentality so much that pausing at any time during a playthrough will forfeit your score from being recorded. You can still beat the game though, of course.

Essentially, Tanuki Justice is a game that 100% understands its own genre, and is fantastic for it. Every single enemy pattern is unique and easily predictable, but will constantly keep you on your toes in constellation with everything else that is going on. Arguably action game design 101, but it's blissful to see it executed this well.
My only slight piece of criticism is that the position lock button, which allows you to stand still as you aim in any direction, is also used to lock forward momentum if you hold it while moving. It's incredibly easy to accidentally do that when you intended the other thing, causing your character to rush directly into its own doom with about 100% consistency. It's a weird oversight, but ultimately the game works perfectly fine just ignoring this button, and the other shoulder button being used to instead lock the aim direction is on the other hand incredibly useful.

The game has three difficulty modes, but I have only tried Hard Mode, and dabbled very briefly in Insane Mode. If you aren't used to these sorts of games, I imagine that Normal Mode is a fine place to start - but if you have more than a couple of classic action platformers under your belt, absolutely dive right into Hard Mode! It can feel fierce at first, but it's satisfying once you start getting each stage down. I got the clear after only a couple of playthroughs.

 

Here's a video of a Hard Mode 1CC that I recorded, with a bunch of commentary in the CC subtitles for anyone interested:

If that doesn't sell you on the game, this genre probably isn't for you anyway

Edited January 20, 2023 by Sumez