The 2024 Backlog Challenge

[Foochie776 | 1,066]

Super Mario Bros Advance 4 is completed. 

 

Prior to playing this, I was under the assumption that the game had extra little things to collect and make the game a little more “fulll.” Regardless, I still really enjoyed the game. Super Mario Bros 3 is a top 5 game for me and enjoying it in a (slightly) different light was still super enjoyable. I did find it interesting in a few places how they added extra blocks or something similar to it a little easier. The only thing I didn’t care much for was that the Toad/Peach sprites didn’t look great.

 

One side note, it took me a bit to figure out how to consistently get the stars at the end of the stage which I typically can do but I was able to figure that out eventually. O also finally can consistently bear the air ship level in world 8! 
 

All in all; not what I expected but still a great time. 

[G-type | 2,601]

I've gotten as far as the first staff piece. I haven't had to deal with getting lost yet... its mostly just the challenge of timing the jumps and avoiding hazards with the isometric view that is giving me trouble

[T-Pac | 7,644]

1 hour ago, Foochie776 said:

Super Mario Bros Advance 4 is completed. 

 

Prior to playing this, I was under the assumption that the game had extra little things to collect and make the game a little more “fulll.” Regardless, I still really enjoyed the game. Super Mario Bros 3 is a top 5 game for me and enjoying it in a (slightly) different light was still super enjoyable. I did find it interesting in a few places how they added extra blocks or something similar to it a little easier. The only thing I didn’t care much for was that the Toad/Peach sprites didn’t look great.

 

One side note, it took me a bit to figure out how to consistently get the stars at the end of the stage which I typically can do but I was able to figure that out eventually. O also finally can consistently bear the air ship level in world 8! 
 

All in all; not what I expected but still a great time. 

Heck yeah - the Advance series was my introduction to the Mario franchise as a kid. Great stuff.

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,644]

08/40 -Super Bomberman 1 [Nintendo Super Famicom - 1993]

Finished: 2024/02/11

Caveats: Beat the main game. Won the single-round battle mode for all 12 arenas against 3 "level 1" CPU opponents.

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,644]

And for anyone who has played any Bomberman games - what genre would you consider them?

I called the game an "action puzzler" in my video - and while I feel that gives the right impression, "puzzler" isn't quite accurate...

[T-Pac]

[Reed Rothchild | 9,640]

Multiplayer Battle Royale

[Reed Rothchild | 9,640]

Yakuza 2 - just started, and thank God it recaps the first game.  There's a lot of names and faces to recall.

The Walking Dead - two seasons down, two and a half-ish seasons to go.  I'll probably start the third one after I finish Yakuza.

Bravely Default - this game is loooooong.  I'm on the final boss of chapter 4, which is apparently the bulk of the game, but I mostly play in short bursts here and there, so it may be months yet until I finish this.

Bayonetta 3 - through maybe 9-10 chapters.  It might end up being the weakest of the trilogy, with an endless number of new gimmicks being introduced every 15 minutes, and it takes more than a few steps back from Astral Chain imo, but it's endlessly enjoyable in the typical goofy Bayonetta way.  

[Tantalus | 464]

4 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Super Mario Bros Advance 4 is completed. 

 

Prior to playing this, I was under the assumption that the game had extra little things to collect and make the game a little more “fulll.” Regardless, I still really enjoyed the game. Super Mario Bros 3 is a top 5 game for me and enjoying it in a (slightly) different light was still super enjoyable. I did find it interesting in a few places how they added extra blocks or something similar to it a little easier. The only thing I didn’t care much for was that the Toad/Peach sprites didn’t look great.

 

One side note, it took me a bit to figure out how to consistently get the stars at the end of the stage which I typically can do but I was able to figure that out eventually. O also finally can consistently bear the air ship level in world 8! 
 

All in all; not what I expected but still a great time. 

Just an FYI, the Switch online version of the game includes all of the e-Reader levels. They are worth checking out, if you haven't already. There's some really interesting and creative ideas, and it pulls mechanics from some of the other Mario titles (pulling up vegetables like Mario 2, the cape feather from World, etc.)

[Philosoraptor | 468]

On 2/15/2024 at 2:03 PM, Reed Rothchild said:

Watch out @Philosoraptor @BeaIank, he's coming for your records

I'd be happy if he broke my record! It's something I look back on fondly, and I'm sure the_wizard_666 will feel the same way. 

[PII | 1,916]

5 hours ago, T-Pac said:

And for anyone who has played any Bomberman games - what genre would you consider them?

I called the game an "action puzzler" in my video - and while I feel that gives the right impression, "puzzler" isn't quite accurate...

I call it a "Splode!!!-Stumper."  

[G-type | 2,601]

its more of a strategic action game (not to be confused with a "strategy" game). I'd put Mendel Palace in the same category as Bomberman

[Brickman | 4,073]

Starcraft 1 is done. 

Growing up I was mainly an AoE and C&C guy when it came to RTS games, but I would also hear how great Starcraft was. I've watched some matches in the past but never got around to playing it.

It's hard to put into words how amazing this game is. You have three races that all feel and play differently but all have counters and balances against each other. None felt more overly powerful than the other when playing the campaign.

The story is very well written and there were so many twists and turns, I really felt so surprised when certain plot points occurred.

The missions were all well done and the last mission felt absolutely epic. The only mission I really had any trouble with is Protoss Mission 7. I ended up using the speed run technique to complete that mission. No matter what approach I took, I could never build an army to complete it normally.

I can't wait to play Brood War, but I'll have to leave that until next year.

10/10

[Brickman | 4,073]

11 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Super Mario Bros Advance 4 is completed. 

 

Prior to playing this, I was under the assumption that the game had extra little things to collect and make the game a little more “fulll.” Regardless, I still really enjoyed the game. Super Mario Bros 3 is a top 5 game for me and enjoying it in a (slightly) different light was still super enjoyable. I did find it interesting in a few places how they added extra blocks or something similar to it a little easier. The only thing I didn’t care much for was that the Toad/Peach sprites didn’t look great.

 

One side note, it took me a bit to figure out how to consistently get the stars at the end of the stage which I typically can do but I was able to figure that out eventually. O also finally can consistently bear the air ship level in world 8! 
 

All in all; not what I expected but still a great time. 

Get the rom with all the bonus e-reader levels that were released in Japan. I think about 38 or so levels. They're some of the best Mario stages I've ever played and really challenging.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,640]

9 minutes ago, Brickman said:

can't wait to play Brood War, but I'll have to leave that until next year.

You're in for a treat.  Be sure to look into the secret mission too.

[Sumez | 3,012]

17 hours ago, T-Pac said:

And for anyone who has played any Bomberman games - what genre would you consider them?

I called the game an "action puzzler" in my video - and while I feel that gives the right impression, "puzzler" isn't quite accurate...

[T-Pac]

I think action puzzler fits alright. Though it probably fits better for games such as the older ones which are more centered on outwitting enemy AI (bomberman 93 especially) or the two arcade games by Irem where each individual stage feels like a puzzle in the same vein as something like Solomon's Key or Bubble Bobble. 

Otherwise "maze game" covers a lot of ground considering that brand of arcade games super popular in the very early 80s that the game descends from. 

[the_wizard_666 | 1,329]

1 hour ago, Sumez said:

Otherwise "maze game" covers a lot of ground considering that brand of arcade games super popular in the very early 80s that the game descends from. 

My dad referred to RPGs as "maze games" because they felt like wandering through a maze to him.  Pretty much any game involving exploration (including games like TMNT or Simon's Quest) were classed as "maze games" to him.  The point I'm making is that I would hardly call that a genre, it's just something old people would say when they didn't know the actual terminology.

Bomberman would probably fit more as a straight action game.  There's no puzzle element to it really...you kill the enemies and go through the door.  Even more heavily action oriented action-puzzlers like Kickle Cubicle still had a degree of having to solve the puzzles, as the player would have to figure out the right path through the level, and could easily fail if they made a mistake.  Bomberman hurts a player for poor execution, and has a time limit that can cause a player to fail, but the player can't fail because they didn't figure out how to go through the door.

[Sumez | 3,012]

19 hours ago, the_wizard_666 said:

My dad referred to RPGs as "maze games" because they felt like wandering through a maze to him.  Pretty much any game involving exploration (including games like TMNT or Simon's Quest) were classed as "maze games" to him.  The point I'm making is that I would hardly call that a genre, it's just something old people would say when they didn't know the actual terminology.

You could probably say that about a lot of genres. But I'd love to know a better term for classic games in the vein of Pac-Man, Heiyanko Alien, Warp Warp, Ladybug, Nibbler, etc. They aren't about solving a maze, so the term is definitely kinda misleading, that's just what I always heard them called. 

19 hours ago, the_wizard_666 said:

Bomberman would probably fit more as a straight action game.  There's no puzzle element to it really...you kill the enemies and go through the door.  Even more heavily action oriented action-puzzlers like Kickle Cubicle still had a degree of having to solve the puzzles, as the player would have to figure out the right path through the level, and could easily fail if they made a mistake. 

The bomb mechanic is very puzzle-heavy due to how it involves tactically placing bombs and predicting how chain reactions are gonna come out on the fly.

It's less prominent in the later games because enemies rely more on special abilities and have simpler AI instead, which is honestly a bit disappointing - but some boss fights still keep it up, and it's always prevalent in the vs mode. 

Again, I also highly recommend trying out the two arcade Bomberman games from Irem (or at least the second one which doesn't botch the controls as badly) - I'd lump them in with Kickle Cubicle in a heartbeat, and I wouldn't be surprised if the exact same team was behind them. I really wish we'd gotten more Bomberman games from Hudson in that vein! 

But yeah, not Super Bomberman 1 - that game is about placing a bomb at the start of the stage, and then chain-bombing through the entire place before your starting invincibility runs out 

Edited February 18 by Sumez

[Jeevan | 9,024]

I beat ghost lion just today. +1 of ?

Edited February 18 by Jeevan

[Reed Rothchild | 9,640]

Bayonetta 3

Bayonetta games are fun.  I'd rank this one below Astral Chain and Bayonetta 2 (and possibly Bayonetta 1), as it is constantly throwing new ideas and gimmicks and new stage types at you, and some of those things don't work as great as you'd want, but overall the playthrough is just too damn fun to care about those moments too much.  The introduction of the summons is fine, and at least keep things fresh, even if they do make the already chaotic combat even more chaotic, something I wouldn't have thought possible.

1. Bloodborne (9.5/10)
2. Firewatch (8.5/10)
3. Assassin's Creed: Black Flag (8/10)
4. Bayonetta 3 (8/10)
5. The Stanley Parable (7.5/10)
6. The Talos Principle (7.5/10)
7. The Quarry (7/10)
8. Pikmin 1 (6.5/10)
9. Beyond Oasis (5/10)

[Sumez | 3,012]

Gravity Circuit - Beaten 13/2

Gravity Circuit is quite obviously a Mega Man-like. The most obvious source of inspiration is probably the Mega Man Zero sub-series, but the stages themselves are more basic, often featuring strictly horizontally or vertically scrolling corridors like the NES classics. As per conventions you pick from a selection of eight different robot masters Circuits that can be tackled in whatever order you like, and beating one of them unlock some new attacks you can use. And you better believe you're gonna fight them all again before the final boss.

The core gameplay separates itself from any iteration of Mega Man however, by being quite strictly melee based. It sure feels like being able to shoot would come in handy however, as your main character's short reach and weak hits will often have you stop to wail on each enemy for a while, often putting yourself in harm's way to do so.
I guess this is Gravity Circuit's subtle way of saying that methodically taking out every single enemy isn't the way to play. The other tools you have at your disposal is a run button, and a grapple hook which allows you to leisurely just swing through the stage, but also grab a killed enemy and toss it at another one. I think the ideal way to take out enemies quickly is to use one of your special attack charges to instantly kill an enemy, grab it and toss the next one, grab that one, and so on, keeping a chain of kills going at least until you have another charge ready.

However, aforementioned run button isn't just your standard Super Mario run. The instant speed boost you get is absolutely crazy, and by just holding it down, anyone who's already familiar with the stage can easily zoom through the entire thing, mostly just ignoring the majority of enemies entirely. It's at this point you realise that Gravity Circuit is clearly a game designed with speedrunning in mind. At the end of every stage you're graded based on your speed, but killing enemies and taking detours to rescue hostages is also rewarded.

The game's boss fights play into the incredible speed as well, often requiring you to reach to attacks with blinding speed, and often rush in to take potshots, getting out again immediately due to how erratically the robot masters other Circuits are constantly moving. At first a boss will typically feel completely impossible, but once you finally get it down it's a really rewarding experience. I was playing on Hard Mode from the start, and I actually had to cancel out of the first stage because I couldn't beat the boss at all, even though the game gives you infinite lives to go at them.

To balance this out, you get a whole bunch of upgrades you can buy. I immediately went for the double-jump, increased attack reach, and lower incoming damage, and never changed that loadout.
All stages also have another upgrade which will increase either your HP or special attack ammo. Once fully decked out, the aforementioned challenge mellowed out quite a bit, and I'd be able to beat most bosses in one or two tries, despite not playing very well, simply due to how beefy my character had become. Honestly I think this is a little disappointing - I'd much rather play a game with a specific well balanced challenge and stick with that. I guess the upgrades are sort of like E-tanks in Mega Man, and the game does reward you with achievements for never buying them - but at the same time it just feels much more fun to play with a double jump, so I really wouldn't want to be without.

I think this awkward balancing is probably the game's biggest weakness, but the level design also really isn't quite as creative and fun as the Mega Man games it takes after, often just repeating the same basic obstacles repeatedly. When the game is good however, it's very good!
Even with all my upgrades, the final boss fight (which is a two-boss gauntlet each with multiple phases) still took me a TON of tries to finally overcome, and when I did it felt great! Probably the most well designed fight in the game, so a really good one to go out on.

[Brickman | 4,073]

I’m calling it on Gloomhaven. This game is unfortunately so plagued with bugs and performance issues that I can’t finish it.

If you haven’t heard of Gloomhaven, it is ranked as the #1 board game. I played a few scenarios of the board game but just don’t have the time to commit to it with friends.

So when I heard they were converting it to a video game I was interested.

The actual rules and strategy of the game is interesting. It is well thought out and an interesting way to do a dungeon crawler. There’s a great and varied character selection and heaps to unlock character and item wise.

The problem is that after a few scenarios I found myself just using the exact same strategy and moves to make my way through the dungeons. 

The scenarios are another point of weakness. They sound interesting but after a few they just all feel like the same objectives but with different flavour text. 

That brings me to the story. I was around 35 hours in and the story just felt bland. It makes out that all choices matter but honestly it didn’t feel that way when actually playing the game. It isn’t the worst story but it is feels like a very typical fantasy story.

Finally, the bugs and performance issues were just too much and I had to call it after I finished a scenario but the level froze and wouldn’t continue. After 35hours I think I’ve seen more than enough of the game.

If there were no bugs in this game it would probably be around a 5/10. With the bugs I really can’t give it more than a 2/10.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,640]

Okay Tunic, not every game can or should be Dark Souls.

[T-Pac | 7,644]

On 2/16/2024 at 7:49 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

Multiplayer Battle Royale

I was referring to the story mode, but you're definitely right otherwise haha.

[T-Pac]

On 2/16/2024 at 1:28 PM, G-type said:

its more of a strategic action game (not to be confused with a "strategy" game). I'd put Mendel Palace in the same category as Bomberman

That makes a lot of sense. I was wavering on whether or not to call it a strategy game since that evokes "Koei / Advance Wars" type stuff, but saying "strategic" instead really helps cut that correlation.

[T-Pac]

On 2/17/2024 at 12:29 AM, Sumez said:

I think action puzzler fits alright. Though it probably fits better for games such as the older ones which are more centered on outwitting enemy AI (bomberman 93 especially) or the two arcade games by Irem where each individual stage feels like a puzzle in the same vein as something like Solomon's Key or Bubble Bobble. 

Otherwise "maze game" covers a lot of ground considering that brand of arcade games super popular in the very early 80s that the game descends from. 

Yeah - giving that "arcade-style" distinction definitely helps frame the "puzzler / maze game" moniker more accurately.

Also - Irem made Bomberman games for the arcade!!? I love Bomberman and I love Irem, so that sounds incredible haha!

[T-Pac]

On 2/17/2024 at 2:15 AM, the_wizard_666 said:

Bomberman would probably fit more as a straight action game.  There's no puzzle element to it really...you kill the enemies and go through the door.  Even more heavily action oriented action-puzzlers like Kickle Cubicle still had a degree of having to solve the puzzles, as the player would have to figure out the right path through the level, and could easily fail if they made a mistake.  Bomberman hurts a player for poor execution, and has a time limit that can cause a player to fail, but the player can't fail because they didn't figure out how to go through the door.

That's definitely why I hesitate to call it a "puzzler", but I feel like "action game" would still need an extra qualifier to set it apart from something like Mega Man. Bomberman is really in a category of its own, I guess.

[T-Pac]

On 2/16/2024 at 12:56 PM, PII said:

I call it a "Splode!!!-Stumper."  

Okay - I take it all back. This is obviously the correct answer!

[T-Pac]

[T-Pac | 7,644]

09/40 - Metroid [Nintendo Entertainment System - 1987]

Finished: 2024/02/18

Caveats: Used save states generously and followed an online strategy guide / walkthrough. Got the "fair" ending.

[T-Pac]

[Brickman | 4,073]

1 hour ago, T-Pac said:

09/40 - Metroid [Nintendo Entertainment System - 1987]

Finished: 2024/02/18

Caveats: Used save states generously and followed an online strategy guide / walkthrough. Got the "fair" ending.

[T-Pac]

I highly recommend playing the GBA remake. They did a fantastic job with it and added some zero suit Samus sections to the end of the main game.