The 2022 Backlog Challenge

[Sumez | 2,963]

10 hours ago, PekoponTAS said:

I liked the first Golden Sun, but wasn't too big on the second one. I like the characters and bosses in the first one more, and the dungeons aren't so excessively long compared to the second one. I tend to set the dialogue to fast and skip all the text when I replay it, and I think the first Golden Sun is a much faster paced and fun game compared to the second when played that way.

This is kinda confusing to me. Pretty much everything is vastly better in the second game, so why would you prefer the first?

I guess since I don't think the characters are interesting in either game, that part is a non-issue to me. I can kinda see the dungeons being "too long" in part two, some of them are kinda wild, but they also change things up a lot along the way, and generally they are far more fun and interesting than the first game. The bosses? In the first game they just take a beating and die with no resistance, in the second one I thought they were marginally more interesting, but like I wrote I also don't really consider the combat itself a highlight of either game  

I had dialogue set to the fastest throughout both games as well, but you can't really skip the text anyway due to the way it's delivered with small pointless animations between each dialogue box, so scenes will drag out regardless, and that can be quite annoying if you need to replay some of them. I think the first game was a lot worse with that though, the dialogue feels a tiny bit less needlessly dragged out in the second one.  

[MagusSmurf | 577]

The Golden Sun games probably have the worst overall story in anything I've played because it's just such a nothing plot and characters delivered through particularly dull and unskippable dialogue scenes that drag on forever.

Oh, and guess what? The 3rd game does the cliffhanger ending thing again! Except this time they're never going to get a follow-up game.

[PekoponTAS | 171]

I remember when Dark Dawn was announced, the general vibe from the Golden Sun fanbase was less excitement, and more "man, this is gonna suck". Even fans were very unenthusiastic about it, and we ended up being right on the money. What few Golden Sun communities still exist basically endlessly make fun of Dark Dawn. They waited way too long for anybody to care.

In interviews with the developers, they've mentioned that the decision to shift the focus to a different set of characters for the sequel was made much later, which is pretty obvious when you read through the plot carefully. Piers and Felix's group really had no good reason to go to Lemuria, but Isaac and friends were trying to get there by Babi's request, and already had a boat. The first chunk of Lost Age centers around getting hold of a boat, and in the grand scheme of the story it's mostly filler. There are a few other things that point towards Isaac's group being the original protagonists for the second game, but unfortunately the only way we'd ever know for certain is if the script for the original N64 version ever was leaked, which unfortunately didn't happen during the massive Nintendo leak.

Either way, I'm just happy to see the games mentioned at all, so I'm glad you liked the second one. It's worth pointing out that most people do prefer the second one, but the first one has its fans too. One thing I'll always admit about the original though is that there are pretty much only three locations. Cave, forest, and desert. The second one has a lot more variety in locations, which is undeniably a big improvement.

Edited December 7, 2022 by PekoponTAS

[Sumez | 2,963]

1 hour ago, MagusSmurf said:

The Golden Sun games probably have the worst overall story in anything I've played because it's just such a nothing plot and characters delivered through particularly dull and unskippable dialogue scenes that drag on forever.

As I've pointed out I absolutely agree on the dragged out dialogue. But I don't think the non-plot is really a negative at all. I really enjoy when this type of games just give you a basic goal and don't try to flesh it out, but instead let the game's world speak for itself. The Dragon Quest series is entirely based around that concept.

Of course it sort of feels like it comes short when compared against the rich storylines of the better Final Fantasy games and such, but it's really just a different sort of game. 

[Sumez | 2,963]

Heart of Darkness - beaten 23/10

Man I remember this game being a big deal. TV commercials and everything, it was pretty much the poster child for the amazing cinematic capabilities of the PlayStation. But nowadays it's been somewhat forgotten, delegated probably more to the occasional "hidden gem" namedrop at best.

If you're not aware, the game was primarily designed by Eric Chahi, famous mostly for creating Another World on Amiga, SNES, and a whole bunch of other platforms, and Heart of Darkness is really by all accounts "Another World 2", sharing even the same theme of an inventor using a machine to enter a strange and hostile nightmarish world.
Like Another World, Heart of Darkness relies less on core gameplay mechanics, and more on unique obstacles where the bigger challenge is often figuring out what you need to do to proceed, rather than actually executing it. Once execution does become a factor (basically while fighting enemies), the game feels rather janky due to the complex animations being prioritized over gameplay, a common element in games with a similar cinematic focus. The lack of scrolling also often feels like it gets in the way, when you are battling enemies coming towards you from a screen away, or when trying to time a jump while transitioning between two screens, as the short load period between two screens is typically unpredictable.
Overall though, it's functional and mostly consistent - if you don't go in expecting a fast paced action game, there is no reason to feel disappointed.

The in-game graphics look quite great, opting for a sensible mix of prerendered 3D with well crafted and super smoothly animated pixel art that blends together naturally, using the 240p resolution to its advantage.
What really stands out though are the over-the-top dynamic shadows cast to match the curvature of the prerendered backgrounds. This looks amazing when you see the game in motion, and makes up a huge part of the game's unique identity.
Less impressive at the FMV cutscenes, which feel more awkwardly restricted by the time they were made, coming across like your typical crudely animated cartoonish characters, several leagues below what Toy Story was able to showcase in the same era. Many characters look quite different between the in-game graphics and cutscenes, which only adds to the severe tonal whiplash between the two - the video clips are often weirdly comical in nature, and completely betray the much darker mood of the game itself, it gives the impression that maybe the game wasn't really intended to be as dark as it seems, or maybe the animators just had no idea how to bring that through in the FMVs.

In short, Heart of Darkness's visual style "holds up" incredibly well, while the animated cutscenes stand out like a sore thumb. I think it's a game worth playing for the atmospheric experience, but don't expect anything Out of This World.

[TDIRunner | 2,742]

1 hour ago, Sumez said:

Heart of Darkness - beaten 23/10

Man I remember this game being a big deal. TV commercials and everything, it was pretty much the poster child for the amazing cinematic capabilities of the PlayStation. But nowadays it's been somewhat forgotten, delegated probably more to the occasional "hidden gem" namedrop at best.

If you're not aware, the game was primarily designed by Eric Chahi, famous mostly for creating Another World on Amiga, SNES, and a whole bunch of other platforms, and Heart of Darkness is really by all accounts "Another World 2", sharing even the same theme of an inventor using a machine to enter a strange and hostile nightmarish world.
Like Another World, Heart of Darkness relies less on core gameplay mechanics, and more on unique obstacles where the bigger challenge is often figuring out what you need to do to proceed, rather than actually executing it. Once execution does become a factor (basically while fighting enemies), the game feels rather janky due to the complex animations being prioritized over gameplay, a common element in games with a similar cinematic focus. The lack of scrolling also often feels like it gets in the way, when you are battling enemies coming towards you from a screen away, or when trying to time a jump while transitioning between two screens, as the short load period between two screens is typically unpredictable.
Overall though, it's functional and mostly consistent - if you don't go in expecting a fast paced action game, there is no reason to feel disappointed.

The in-game graphics look quite great, opting for a sensible mix of prerendered 3D with well crafted and super smoothly animated pixel art that blends together naturally, using the 240p resolution to its advantage.
What really stands out though are the over-the-top dynamic shadows cast to match the curvature of the prerendered backgrounds. This looks amazing when you see the game in motion, and makes up a huge part of the game's unique identity.
Less impressive at the FMV cutscenes, which feel more awkwardly restricted by the time they were made, coming across like your typical crudely animated cartoonish characters, several leagues below what Toy Story was able to showcase in the same era. Many characters look quite different between the in-game graphics and cutscenes, which only adds to the severe tonal whiplash between the two - the video clips are often weirdly comical in nature, and completely betray the much darker mood of the game itself, it gives the impression that maybe the game wasn't really intended to be as dark as it seems, or maybe the animators just had no idea how to bring that through in the FMVs.

In short, Heart of Darkness's visual style "holds up" incredibly well, while the animated cutscenes stand out like a sore thumb. I think it's a game worth playing for the atmospheric experience, but don't expect anything Out of This World.

You should also add this to the "Beat every PS1 Game" thread.

[twiztor | 851]

bonus game! i put this on my 2023 list but had some free time so i guess it counts for neither.

Tank! Tank! Tank! for the Wii-U.
never heard of it? i'm not surprised. developed by Namco, it was originally an arcade game. and it shows. 
you play as a tank (of your choosing, more on that later) and need to stop an invasion of giant  robotic insects and other beings. it's fun but VERY repetitive. there's two types of stages: horde (where you need to kill a set number of invaders) or boss (where you need to kill the main enemy). but over the course of the game, theres little-to-no variance, so it just feels like replaying the same levels over and over again. 
the more you play, the more tanks you unlock to select from. but it doesn't matter, as there's only a couple of variations, so it feels very pointless. 

this game could be so much better if it lived up to its potential:

1- if there was tank customization. being able to select your power-up weapons. being able to choose which attribute powers up when you gain a level. hell, being able to change the paint job. something, ANYTHING that makes you invested.

2- by NOT requiring you to complete the same levels, ad nauseum, with different tanks to earn new medals to unlock new stages. man, if the levels weren't already variations of the same, this might be OK, but come on!

3- the experience system is trash. if you need 1000 pts to gain the next level but earn 5000, you get the level and start over. if you stop for the day, you lose any unused exp. wtf is that? it is a other way that makes you replay levels.

maybe this game shines in multiplayer? because it certainly doesn't in single player. this sounds like complaining. i did enjoy the game, but i just ended up disappointing because it could've been so much better.

 

a cursory Google search didn't provide this info, so here goes:

# of stages = 36

max level per tank = 16

medals required to access the final stage = 100

[fox | 1,667]

Gotham Knights beaten

I'm about 60 percent thru God of War Ragnarok, but I will likely take on a bunch of the side stuff so that will likely close me out for the year.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,544]

On 8/26/2022 at 11:02 PM, Reed Rothchild said:

2/3 of the way through the year:

@Philosoraptor 146/20
@Sumez 21/47
@MegaMan52 18/64
@ifightdragons 17/35
@Renmauzo 14/18
@DoctorEncore 13/31
@Floating Platforms 12/32
@twiztor 11/13
@fox 11/25
@CasualCart 10/10
@Reed Rothchild 10/15
@Foochie776 5/16
@Jeevan 4/10
@Gloves 4/13
@peg 4/19
@FireHazard51 4/22
@RH 3/7
@Brickman 3/12
@darkchylde28 3/14
@ScaryD 3/16
@Kguillemette 3/17
@MagusSmurf 3/25
@Jicsan 2/12
@monkeybut625 2/12
@killerkobra 2/13
@Webhead123 2/14
@Lynda Monica 2/15 0/5
@Californication 2/22
@Splain 1/6
@Murray 1/10
@cj_robot 1/12
@Matchbook 1/17
@0xDEAFC0DE 1/42
@FenrirZero 0/2
@drxandy 0/2
@G-type 0/3
@SailorScoutMandy 0/6
@spacepup 0/11
@Jaden 0/21
@ThePhleo 0/???
@Mr. CIB DNF

I'll do a final tally closer to the holidays here.

And if you hadn't seen it, the 2023 thread is up.  I hope many of you can join us once again. Even if 2022 didn't go as planned...

[Philosoraptor | 468]

Some of the last games of the year down, thanks to the Samurai Shodown Collection for the PS2; Samurai Shodown 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 are beaten. Based on what little information I could find, the games in the compilation are either arcade perfect or close.

This is up there with Mortal Kombat as the worst long-running fighting game franchise, IMO, at least for 1P modes. It's based around a good idea: instead of all-out attacks, you're supposed to be more tactical about it. It's trying to emulate an actual 1v1 duel. Go for a big attack and get blocked? You're wide open. 

In practice, the AI is either reading your attacks (in the case of SS 1-4) or easily exploitable (SS 5 and 6). Aside from 3, if you make a mistake, prepare for 1/3 your life bar to disappear, even on the easiest difficulties, because hits do so much damage. It's like half of everyone's attacks are Zangief piledrivers. In 3, everyone does too little damage, making the timer suddenly your enemy. 

In traditional arcade style, 1-4 have one or more broken bosses throughout an arcade playthrough. 3 is the most broken. These bosses are where it's most apparent that the AI is straight-up cheating. Speaking of breaking, who the hell thought breakable weapons in a fighting game was a good idea? Let's give cheap bosses the ability to break your weapon in a game about fighting with weapons. Awesome.

5 and 6 are better balanced, but the AI is still lacking. It seems to struggle with certain patterns and jump attacks, making long range characters like Mina easier to use than someone like Hoahmaru.  

In general, all six games lack polish. The earlier ones have subpar hit detection and are sluggish, but that does get better as the series progresses. The later ones could be more innovative and have more moves. 6 came out in 2005, which is way after modern fighters started being developed. However, Samurai Shodown 2019 looks to have taken that to heart.

Other minor gripes:

• If you want a seizure, play the older titles.
• Every game has translation issues, from minor ones in 2 to unbelievably bad ones in 6.
• Each game in the compilation has different button setups, inputs, and mappings on the PS2 controller, even for the same characters.

I liked 6 the most of the newer titles (5 and 6), and 2 the most of the the first four. 3 is the worst of all of them, because it's the cheapest, it has all the issues of the other older games, you don't do enough damage, and it inexplicably removed established characters like Charlotte, who was in every other game. 

Edit: Samurai Shodown 3 is done, as is my final goal for the year. I'm going to build a Gundam, revisit some games, and play some Granblue Fantasy for the rest of the year.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Philosoraptor

[Sumez | 2,963]

Oh yeah man, the final boss of Samurai Shodown 3 is notoriously insane. It's funny how similar 3 and 4 are overall, yet when it comes to the single player arcade mode, the latter game is so much easier  

[Sumez | 2,963]

Hellnight - beaten 8/11

Whenever I've said that I'm playing Hellnight, most people just tell me they have no idea what it is.
A surprisingly overlooked late era PS1 game, Hellnight managed to evoke to me sort of the same mood that many older From Software games from the same time, such as King's Field or Shadow Tower, do. It really knows how to draw on the quirks of early PlayStation 3D graphics to help create a nightmarish feel, with a limited first-person perspective and the draw distance never reaching more than a few paces ahead. Whenever you interact with NPCs they just show up as flat still images, usually in dedicated rooms, or popping up when you step on the square they occupy - but the only other character that's actually visible in the game's 3D environments is a monster that stalks you throughout the entire game, which makes up the bulk of the actual gameplay aspect.

The monster is slow to notice you, but can rush at you fast and will kill you in a single hit, so it's important to rely on corners and not getting trapped in dead ends. This means when you've mapped out an area you usually know how to stay safe, but venturing into uncharted territory constantly comes with a consistent sense of dread, especially if you don't know where the creature is currently located.

The game loses some traction when you get further into it and become more familiar with how it works, and the later level design feels less like a plunge into unknown mazes, and more like systematically mapping out floors. The actual occurrences where you run into the monster chasing you are so few that there is little pressure most of the time.
You quickly learn what triggers it to spawn in specific positions, which means everywhere else is safe. However, while you're still exploring unknown locations, there's enough sense of tension still lingering to keep the game going.

Fortunately, it knows how to go out with a bang, as right when you think you're at the end, it throws a series of increasingly psychedelic locales at you, as the honestly surprising true nature of the monster (and the mysterious cult that worships it) gets revealed. The final stretch of the game is so off-the-wall that it manages to make Hellnight stand out as one of the most unique games in the PlayStation library that you probably haven't played.

If I were to rate Hellnight, it'd probably end up somewhere around 6/10. It's a game that's utterly pointless to recommend to anyone who doesn't actually enjoy all the odd quirks it relies on. But if you do, however, it's one hell of an experience!

[Foochie776 | 1,052]

Kingdom Hearts is my first RPG I have ever played and after being stuck on a mini boss fight for days, I realized that I NEED to have Donald on my team and let’s say.. this game is becoming much easier now that I understand the importance of a healer

[FireHazard51 | 2,044]

3 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Kingdom Hearts is my first RPG I have ever played and after being stuck on a mini boss fight for days, I realized that I NEED to have Donald on my team and let’s say.. this game is becoming much easier now that I understand the importance of a healer

Or.....

What mini boss?  I just get stuck trying to figure out how to trigger the game to move forward in the story.

[Foochie776 | 1,052]

Just now, FireHazard51 said:

Or.....

What mini boss?  I just get stuck trying to figure out how to trigger the game to move forward in the story.

The lock shock and barrel fight in Halloween town. Man that was a struggle

[Reed Rothchild | 9,544]

3 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Kingdom Hearts is my first RPG I have ever played and after being stuck on a mini boss fight for days, I realized that I NEED to have Donald on my team and let’s say.. this game is becoming much easier now that I understand the importance of a healer

This is like when us kids rented Earthbound and got stuck right off the bat because we had no concept of "equipping" things.

[FireHazard51 | 2,044]

3 hours ago, Foochie776 said:

Kingdom Hearts is my first RPG I have ever played and after being stuck on a mini boss fight for days, I realized that I NEED to have Donald on my team and let’s say.. this game is becoming much easier now that I understand the importance of a healer

I had the reverse issue because I'd never equip the world hero and they are 100% need to get the story going forward like in Aladdin.  I must of spent 2 hours before I broke down and busted out the official strategy guide.  So much shit is NOT clearly spelled out and you need to google that shit.  This is what caused me to buy EVERY official strategy guide for all the KH game series.  The HD 1.5 Remix guide was expensive but very nice.

[Foochie776 | 1,052]

45 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said:

I had the reverse issue because I'd never equip the world hero and they are 100% need to get the story going forward like in Aladdin.  I must of spent 2 hours before I broke down and busted out the official strategy guide.  So much shit is NOT clearly spelled out and you need to google that shit.  This is what caused me to buy EVERY official strategy guide for all the KH game series.  The HD 1.5 Remix guide was expensive but very nice.

Yeah I use a walkthrough as needed because it’s my first RPG and there is a lot of mechanics that I have no experience with. The first KH is rather clunky too, is what everyone has told me. I am really enjoying it but I can absolutely see where there can be improvements made. 

[Renmauzo | 1,201]

The State of the Arc Podcast does a 'video game book club' of sorts in which they do a deep dive analysis for a selected game and you play along over the course of however many weeks it takes to complete and analyze the game.

For the last few weeks, it's been Silent Hill 2: the only game I ever returned open because it freaked me out back when it released, and a game that I would later buy again when I got the nerve but on XBOX.

Having beaten the game tonight, hindsight made me realize that the game was never scary in the way that most horror tries to be, but in that unnerving/what's real and what's in my head sort of way. A pervasive sense of doom and damnation stayed with me throughout, and is evident in my ending stats...lots of saves, and mostly physical damages to enemies...I finished the game with over 500 rounds of ammunition and a few dozen healing items because I kept fearing I'd run out if I used them and would be screwed later.

In the end, I see now why this game is considered an all time classic and a masterwork of horror...there is A LOT to unpack philosophically, psychologically, and thematically with this game...everything has meaning and was presented for a reason; it was quite the experience.

I'm glad I finally mustered up the nerve to see this experience through.

[Sumez | 2,963]

Damn, I might have to scratch Dynamite Headdy from my list as well, the only other remaining sub 30hr game.

My box was empty, and I can't find the cartridge anywhere. I probably took it out some time I was meaning to play it, and put it somewhere I thought was a good idea at the time, and now I have no idea where that would be...

Edited December 21, 2022 by Sumez

[Foochie776 | 1,052]

I am Aggressively blasting through Kingdom Hearts so this one may get done yet! 

[ThePhleo | 2,185]

6 minutes ago, Foochie776 said:

I am Aggressively blasting through Kingdom Hearts so this one may get done yet! 

Oh man, what I would give to play Kingdom Hearts for the first time again.

That game left a mark on my personality for a few years.

[FireHazard51 | 2,044]

17 minutes ago, Foochie776 said:

I am Aggressively blasting through Kingdom Hearts so this one may get done yet! 

You got this, just keep on going!

[Foochie776 | 1,052]

1 hour ago, FireHazard51 said:

You got this, just keep on going!

After plowing through Neverland (which was so cool but so easy) I al beyond excited for Harlow Bastion! 

[FireHazard51 | 2,044]

1 hour ago, Foochie776 said:

After plowing through Neverland (which was so cool but so easy) I al beyond excited for Harlow Bastion! 

LOL, you'll finally be in for a challenge.  Hollow Bastion made me bust out the strategy guide to figure out how to beat the boss.  I was on hard mode so that was part of it.  But I got my teeth kick end multiple times before grinding some levels.  Then on going back I STILL got my teeth kicked in and broke down and looked up the recommended strategy for beating the boss.  KH does have some hard bosses.  Most are optional but I'd say Hollow Bastion is the hardest one in the game personally.  Even the regular enemies are a significant step up in difficulty to beat.  The music for the level is great though so I had no issues spending a long time there.