The 2022 Backlog Challenge

[Philosoraptor | 468]

I burned out on classic games lost motivation this month. It was inevitable, but the year is young. I beat 21 games in the first half of the month, but only one in the second. Oh well. Highlights include:

• Putt & Putter - One of my all-time favorite Game Gear games, and probably my favorite mini golf game.
• Bubble Bobble (SMS) - This one and the Game Gear version has twice as many levels as the NES one. I like all the additional items and collectibles there are, too.
• Sonic the Hedgehog (GG) - This was the first Sonic game I owned, and now it's the first 2D Sonic game I've beaten. I played it on the Retron 5, and it's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much easier on a TV instead of the blurry Game Gear screen.
• Fatal Fury 1 & 2 - I think I like Fatal Fury more than Street Fighter. Or at least the old Street Fighters. The characters might not be as iconic, but the Fatal Fury games seem to play smoother to me, at least on Genesis.
• Super Street Fighter 2 (Gen) - Another first. I actually beat one of these old Street Fighter games. Ryu is cheap.
• Tengen World Cup Soccer - One of the best handheld soccer games I've played. It's good, old fashioned, arcade-y fun at Sensible Soccer speed.
• Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars - I AM THE MIRACLE BALL!!?!?! But seriously...this game is an acid trip disguised as a platformer. 
• Columns - A surprisingly good and deep puzzle game when you get into it. I always dismissed it as "not Tetris," but it excels on it's own merits.

The sole lowlight was Wimbledon Tennis (GG), which is awful. The developers made every court play faster or slower, which is expected, but I didn't expect that the players would be faster than overhead smashes on clay. Aside from the ball, the whole game plays like it's on fast forward, which makes precise movement and shots near impossible. Not exactly what I want from a tennis game.

To recover from the burnout, I've decided to knock out some longer games on more modern consoles.

The only game I beat in the last half of the month was Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, which was a bit of a disappointment. I'm a huge Disgaea fan, and I've played and beaten every main series entry in the series to date. This one was disappointing in a unique way. Typically, Disgaea disappoints by adding annoying and unlikable characters to the main roster (looking at you Mao). That's not the case here. The worst character is at least average, and the best characters are some of the best in the series. For the first time I can recall, the disappointment comes from the gameplay itself. It's feature light for a Disgaea game, the number of classes has been significantly reduced from other games in the series, and, worst of all, you can't play the game with the best graphics AND with the best performance settings on Switch. So you get treated to upgraded, albeit blurry sprites, or nice sprites and chugging gameplay and framerates. It also mostly takes features from older games, aside from the increased level cap, and has only a few unlockables. I think it could have been one of the best in the series if it had been both robust and optimized for Switch, but maybe the complete version on the PS4 will be better, at least on the performance side of things.

[Estil | 1,265]

Huh?  Columns is nothing like Tetris at all.

[Philosoraptor | 468]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

Huh?  Columns is nothing like Tetris at all.

Yup. It was a stupid misconception I held onto for far too long.

Edit: I dismissed it unfairly because it wasn't Tetris and was, therefore, "crap." I saw it as a poorly thought out clone when it's actually a great game in its own right.

Edited April 2, 2022 by Philosoraptor

[Estil | 1,265]

17 minutes ago, Philosoraptor said:

Yup. It was a stupid misconception I held onto for far too long.

Edit: I dismissed it unfairly because it wasn't Tetris and was, therefore, "crap." I saw it as a poorly thought out clone when it's actually a great game in its own right.

You think that's bad, you'd be surprised how many people online call Family Matters a "black Full House"...the shows are nothing alike and have nothing in common whatsoever.

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

It's finished. One of the best games, Mario, RPGs or otherwise I have ever played. The ending brought my 8 year old daughter to tears it was so beautiful.

[Estil | 1,265]

20 minutes ago, Kguillemette said:

It's finished. One of the best games, Mario, RPGs or otherwise I have ever played. The ending brought my 8 year old daughter to tears it was so beautiful.

She must've been so proud of you!  Hey you forgot to take a picture of both the ending screen with the console to prove you didn't use a cheating device!  Sorry, Charlie, but noooooooo Nintendo Power Stamps for you!  

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

22 minutes ago, Estil said:

She must've been so proud of you!  Hey you forgot to take a picture of both the ending screen with the console to prove you didn't use a cheating device!  Sorry, Charlie, but noooooooo Nintendo Power Stamps for you!  

Naw, it's more that the story had her totally hooked. She just thought the ending was so beautiful. 

I know that TTYD is widely considered the best one, but I'm still looking forward to eventually playing some of the others in the series, though I might avoid the DS/3ds ones from what their reputation tells me.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

5 hours ago, Kguillemette said:

Naw, it's more that the story had her totally hooked. She just thought the ending was so beautiful. 

I know that TTYD is widely considered the best one, but I'm still looking forward to eventually playing some of the others in the series, though I might avoid the DS/3ds ones from what their reputation tells me.

I'd recommend skipping Sticker Star (3DS) and Origami King (Switch), although a few here on VGS seemed to like the Switch game. I just found the battle system intolerably boring and occasionally frustrating.

[T-Pac | 7,590]

On 3/21/2022 at 7:29 PM, Webhead123 said:

Just finished Super Mario Bros. 2 all the way through for the first time. Pleasant, little game. Not my favorite in the 2D series as the game play feels a little "loosey-goosey" to me but I appreciate how different it is from the others.

Did you play warpless? 
I finally cleared Super Mario Bros. 2 a couple years ago, too, but I'd like to go back and try to finish a run through every level someday.

-CasualCart

[Webhead123 | 687]

1 hour ago, CasualCart said:

Did you play warpless? 
I finally cleared Super Mario Bros. 2 a couple years ago, too, but I'd like to go back and try to finish a run through every level someday.

-CasualCart

Yes, I intentionally skipped all the warps as I wanted to get a proper appreciation of finishing the game from end to end.

I've always enjoyed the game and found it uniquely charming. Going back to it with a more critical eye, I will say that it is a good game overall but I don't think it controls as well as it could. There's some slipperiness to the platforming and the physics of thrown objects that take getting used to.

Edited April 3, 2022 by Webhead123

[Reed Rothchild | 9,588]

I'm a good way through Okami now.  Bet I beat it this week.

I also paused New Horizons so I could focus on some other SNES replays for my writing.  Hopefully that's cleared up by the end of the month.

[Webhead123 | 687]

Demon's Crest is *technically* beaten, although I only got the "bad" ending. But this game is so interesting that I'm going to make several more passes through it to continue exploring all the branching paths and upgrades.

This was a game that I've heard people speak highly of for years but I never found the time to put it at the front of the line. Now having given it some genuine attention, I can say that it is pretty awesome and I regret that I never played it in the 90's.

[Philosoraptor | 468]

Two pretty big beats for me this month. First up is Jump King on the Switch, which I managed to do in just under seven hours on my first attempt. The WR speedrun is just over four minutes, so it's a plenty difficult game. The DLC is harder and free, too, if the main game isn't hard enough.

To quote thesixaxis.com, "Jump King is an excellent experience in soul-crushing difficulty and nightmarishly precise platforming. It's the type of game that won't be for many people, but for the small percent that craves this kind of experience, they won't be disappointed."

That being said, I'd highly recommend anyone who is a fan of unique platformers to give this a try. It's a vertical jumping game, as you'd expect. However, instead of the standard jumping mechanic in most platformers, you press and hold A to make your character jump higher and farther. After he jumps, you have zero mid-air control over where he goes. The only other thing you control is the direction of the jump, which can be left, right, or straight up. You can also run, of course, but that's only really for setting up for the next jump. You can't die, but your character can fall quite a ways if you miss platforms. I think it's one of the best games I've played this year, tbh.

The second game I've beaten so far this month is New Super Lucky's Tale for PS4.

I also enjoyed this one quite a lot. It's about 10 hours of solid 3D and 2D platforming fun, and it feels like a well-executed nod to games like Spyro the Dragon. It's not terribly hard, either, making it good for nearly all ages.

What makes it worth mentioning is that it's one of only two games I've ever platinum'd. The other being Horizon: Zero Dawn. I'm no completionist, but this one had both reasonable enough trophies and engaging enough gameplay for me to see it through.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Philosoraptor

[peg | 372]

Esp ra.de. done after a few days of trying. Pretty fun game, would like to play the ps4 or switch version at some point since they add a new, much harder final boss.

 

[Gloves | 11,841]

I'm playing Kuon... Really... Really slowly. 

2spooky4me

[MegaMan52 | 2,461]

Beat the Japanese version of New Super Mario Bros.: 

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

9 hours ago, MegaMan52 said:

Beat the Japanese version of New Super Mario Bros.: 

Cool. Any major difference between the Japanese and North American version? I love NSMB!

[MegaMan52 | 2,461]

13 hours ago, Kguillemette said:

Cool. Any major difference between the Japanese and North American version? I love NSMB!

No major differences. But I like imports and it cost a mere $15 (Canadian) at a local game store (the price tag is still on the case), so I had to buy it. And I agree, it is a great game.

Edited April 14, 2022 by MegaMan52

[Floating Platforms | 741]

Just finished "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"

Definitely didn't get the best ending but that's okay. You could even argue that's the point, right?  Honestly, I just wanted to get through the end section on my own (instead of looking at a guide) and then figured I'll watch the other endings later.

It's a pretty good game, but there are a few small spots where I had a ton of trouble finding the next thing to do. Some of the interactable items in Gorrister's area in particular were not obvious. I loved the uniqueness of the 5 characters' stories and settings and it's cool that Ellison voiced AM. I'm glad I played it, but it's not something that is worth investing the time to try to get the perfect, best ending through blind play. I rarely play stuff on Steam, but have a ton in my library. This does make me want to put more point-and-clicks on the list for next year.

I should have several more games finished pretty soon, too. I'm on the last battle for Horizon Zero Dawn (also need to do the Frozen Wilds DLC), Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon is a few stages away, and Picross S1 only has a couple more puzzles.  Too bad I didn't put Fortune Street on the list. My wife, who rarely plays anything, decided she wanted to play through that out of nowhere, so we just finished beating all the boards in the single player tours last night.

[Webhead123 | 687]

12 hours ago, Floating Platforms said:

Just finished "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"

I love the idea of this game and the fact that they even attempted to translate this short story into a point-and-click (and how well they managed) is admirable. I also find it amusing that Ellison, cantankerous luddite that he was, not only agreed to the project but was diligently involved and gave a pretty respectable performance.

I think the coolest thing about this game is that it actually expands upon parts of the background only hinted at in the story. As such, I think it makes a great companion piece to go hand-in-hand with the original work.

That said, as a point-and-click game, it isn't perfectly executed and there are some places where it is easy to get lost in obtuseness. Even the best point-and-clicks can get bogged down that way at times. The original physical releases were also known for potential bugs, censored content in some regions which made the game difficult to complete and other issues, although I think all of the digital releases of the game have addressed that today.

But you play this game for the fascinating (and horrifically depressing) setting, characters and overall story. I love the original short story and I appreciate this game for expanding on it. Not a game that everyone should play but probably a game that everyone should at least try watching a playthrough of to get a sense of just how freakishly apocalyptic science fiction can get.

And yeah, Ellison himself made a clear statement that this isn't a game you're supposed to "win". As in, there are no "happy Hollywood endings" here. The best you can do is to "play nobly", as Ellison put it, and try to make the most of what meager silver linings you can.

Edited April 14, 2022 by Webhead123

[Floating Platforms | 741]

7 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

And yeah, Ellison himself made a clear statement that this isn't a game you're supposed to "win". As in, there are no "happy Hollywood endings" here. The best you can do is to "play nobly", as Ellison put it, and try to make the most of what meager silver linings you can.

Even as someone who's never read the story this is based on, it's easy to completely agree with what you're saying here. I'll give it credit for not having moon logic. Some of the objectives are a bit confusing and a couple of needed items are tough to locate or not obvious, but that's pretty rare and you can get through each part without a guide.

I think the game was purposefully designed to be played over and over again. Back when games were more of a premium and you could devote extra hours to exploring different options and choices to get that better ending. Thematically, it lends itself to replays as well since the 5 leads are in this perpetual hell and if they mess up, they need to start from scratch (ignoring the generous safe anytime function, that is). Almost like a "get good" point and click if you want to do it blind.  That would have landed with me a lot more if I was younger, but as a guy in his 40s with limited time, I'm content to have seen it through in some form and even this ending I got was satisfying within the context of the story.

[Renmauzo | 1,205]

I decided to tackle Wild Arms 2 pretty well right after beating the first game, and today was finally the day. I got this game new when it released, got near the end and stopped. Oddly, I couldn't remember almost any of the experience as I'd been going back through this time, so it really did end up being a fresh experience.

The 3D environments and sprite graphics are really on point for this game (my wife walked in at one point and remarked, "This looks a lot like Xenogears".), and much of the games systems are either carryovers of the better ideas from the first game or are a natural evolution. Not being able to use magic outside of battle took some getting used to, as did the FP system. I couldn't figure out how to activate Tim's magic (not the summons, there's a magic list greyed out that I could never seem to use) which meant I really only had one healer in my party of 6, but despite that, I made it through just fine.

It seems to be common knowledge that the translation for this game is poor. I think it was too literal, more of a transliteration than a translation that can convey the context and ideas of the game in English. Many of the characters sounded rather curt with each other, and those two lizard foils were absolutely insufferable.

Ultimately, the story was good and I like the theme of "Everyone can be heroes, therefor the world doesn't need 'a hero'", but getting there was messy; I feel that an encroaching, sentient parallel dimension coupled with a Lord of Darkness subplot was a little ridiculous. The Odessa twist was well executed.

In the end, I enjoyed the game. If I was scoring the game on a 10 scale and gave Wild Arms a 6.5, I'd likely give Wild Arms 2 a 7. While I was ready for it to end by the time I got there, I enjoyed the adventure and would say it's worth the time for someone who shows interest in trying the game out.

   

[Gloves | 11,841]

1 minute ago, Renmauzo said:

I decided to tackle Wild Arms 2 pretty well right after beating the first game, and today was finally the day. I got this game new when it released, got near the end and stopped. Oddly, I couldn't remember almost any of the experience as I'd been going back through this time, so it really did end up being a fresh experience.

The 3D environments and sprite graphics are really on point for this game (my wife walked in at one point and remarked, "This looks a lot like Xenogears".), and much of the games systems are either carryovers of the better ideas from the first game or are a natural evolution. Not being able to use magic outside of battle took some getting used to, as did the FP system. I couldn't figure out how to activate Tim's magic (not the summons, there's a magic list greyed out that I could never seem to use) which meant I really only had one healer in my party of 6, but despite that, I made it through just fine.

It seems to be common knowledge that the translation for this game is poor. I think it was too literal, more of a transliteration than a translation that can convey the context and ideas of the game in English. Many of the characters sounded rather curt with each other, and those two lizard foils were absolutely insufferable.

Ultimately, the story was good and I like the theme of "Everyone can be heroes, therefor the world doesn't need 'a hero'", but getting there was messy; I feel that an encroaching, sentient parallel dimension coupled with a Lord of Darkness subplot was a little ridiculous. The Odessa twist was well executed.

In the end, I enjoyed the game. If I was scoring the game on a 10 scale and gave Wild Arms a 6.5, I'd likely give Wild Arms 2 a 7. While I was ready for it to end by the time I got there, I enjoyed the adventure and would say it's worth the time for someone who shows interest in trying the game out.

   

Nice, good job, and thanks for sharing your thoughts on it! I have Wild Arms 1-3 and Alter Code F, and have been meaning to get into them. I've only played 3 before and didn't get very far (a looooong time ago); I remember liking the vibe but I never really had the time for RPGs at the time so I just put it down after a short bit.

[twiztor | 855]

cross Luigi's Mansion 3 off my list. solid game, but i liked #2 a little big more. the introduction of Gooigi was an interesting addition.

[Sumez | 2,995]

I've updated my list to match its state on the 31st of december, which was during the five weeks that we were waiting for VGS's domain to get back up.

I've already beaten a lot of games not on the list, but I wanted to play fair, and listed just the ones I had plans for. A few of the games on the list have already fallen out of favor and will probably not be played, but we'll see how it goes...

I'll post some updates in the thread in the coming days about the games I've already gone through.