The 2022 Backlog Challenge

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

9 minutes ago, Splain said:

I've been playing Hollow Knight. I know it's lame to put a game on my backlog that's fairly new and loved by millions, but from what I've read about it, I knew I'd want to abandon it after the first hour. So I put it on my list to help me stick with it.

And I DO want to abandon it. I understand it's a "metroidvania," so constantly hitting dead ends and ability gates is part of the experience. But I'm fairly certain I've backtracked everywhere lots of times, and done everything I can, except grind for hours so I can buy out all the stores. Obviously there's SOMETHING I can do, I just keep missing it. I'm probably 30 minutes of brick-wall-hitting away from looking it up on the internet, but I'd really rather not.

Dude, you're not alone. 100% agree with everything you said. I eventually powered through and rated it a 7/10, but I have a lot of criticisms. Check out my posts from last year's backlog thread for more elaboration (linked below).

There are some bad design decisions in that game that artificially increase the length and challenge. People love the game and there are a lot of really neat touches, but it has some definite flaws. To me, this is a game for people who want to get lost in a world and are okay with making zero progress for significant periods of time. With my work and family schedule, I am not one of those people. It has an absolute shit ton of content, though.

https://www.videogamesages.com/forums/topic/6172-the-2021-backlog-challenge/?do=findComment&comment=190351

https://www.videogamesages.com/forums/topic/6172-the-2021-backlog-challenge/?do=findComment&comment=191293

https://www.videogamesages.com/forums/topic/6172-the-2021-backlog-challenge/?do=findComment&comment=193155

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by DoctorEncore

[Reed Rothchild | 9,545]

I'm 50 hours into Xenoblade 2, picking up where I left off a year ago.

It never ceases to amaze me how "big" this game.

Like, I'm walking around the winter area, a mile up in the air.  And you can see the ground splayed out in every direction below you.  Of course it's just a rendered backdrop, right?

Nope.  You make your way down there on foot, in real time.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

19 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'm 50 hours into Xenoblade 2, picking up where I left off a year ago.

It never ceases to amaze me how "big" this game.

Like, I'm walking around the winter area, a mile up in the air.  And you can see the ground splayed out in every direction below you.  Of course it's just a rendered backdrop, right?

Nope.  You make your way down there on foot, in real time.

Oh man. Reading that makes me wish it was BOTW and I can just glide and be there in 15 seconds.

[twiztor | 851]

knocked another game out this morning: Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon

this game takes everything about the first Luigi's Mansion game and improves on it. Better graphics, better controls, better mechanics, better level layout. most of the gameplay is still pretty easy, but some of the puzzles take some trial-and-error to solve. and the last stretch of the game does have some challenge to it. 
i had a good time playing this one and look forward to the third installment.

[T-Pac | 7,560]

Update:  I beat the 40k Activision Patch score for Spider Fighter!

I managed to get 49k and 53k on Spider Fighter's A/A and B/B difficulty settings, respectively. I wasn't sure which settings were required back in the day, so I made sure to play both.

It looks like I set the bar too low (or was just too enthusiastic) for my 2022 backlog goals, because I've officially cleared them all now and it hasn't even been a full month. So I added a "Bonus Clears" section to my original post - that way I can stay motivated to beat more of my backlog throughout the year.

-CasualCart

[Jeevan | 8,912]

4 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

Update:  I beat the 40k Activision Patch score for Spider Fighter!

I managed to get 49k and 53k on Spider Fighter's A/A and B/B difficulty settings, respectively. I wasn't sure which settings were required back in the day, so I made sure to play both.

It looks like I set the bar too low (or was just too enthusiastic) for my 2022 backlog goals, because I've officially cleared them all now and it hasn't even been a full month. So I added a "Bonus Clears" section to my original post - that way I can stay motivated to beat more of my backlog throughout the year.

-CasualCart

I find adding all games beaten is a good way to do it.  Just work on your "real" backlog and keep crankning them out   

[Gloves | 11,790]

1 minute ago, Jeevan said:

I find adding all games beaten is a good way to do it.  Just work on your "real" backlog and keep crankning them out   

When your backlog is hundreds of games long, narrowing it down and making micro-goals is a good strategy for actually making progress.

[Jeevan | 8,912]

21 minutes ago, Gloves said:

When your backlog is hundreds of games long, narrowing it down and making micro-goals is a good strategy for actually making progress.

but he can now play whatever he wants that is on his backlog, maybe do a plus one for everything and that will extend what he wanted to do originally, just keep +1 ing it until he gets bored with it lol.

[T-Pac | 7,560]

Yeah - now I feel free to try more difficult games and be more lenient with my self-requirements (like using turbo controllers and getting "bad endings" and stuff).

Maybe I can get some suggestions from you guys on specific games to tackle - I have a bunch in mind, but I want to gauge what's worth diving into and what's within my skill level. I'll put together a list of candidates soon.

-CasualCart

[peg | 372]

21 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

Yeah - now I feel free to try more difficult games and be more lenient with my self-requirements (like using turbo controllers and getting "bad endings" and stuff).

Maybe I can get some suggestions from you guys on specific games to tackle - I have a bunch in mind, but I want to gauge what's worth diving into and what's within my skill level. I'll put together a list of candidates soon.

-CasualCart

How about trying to clear Arrow Flash on default settings?

Edited January 23, 2022 by peg

[T-Pac | 7,560]

2 hours ago, peg said:

How about trying to clear Arrow Flash on default settings?

Ooh that's a tempting challenge, but in the interest of reducing my backlog I'm gonna aim for quantity of clears over quality of clears haha. I'm working on Image Fight [NES] now, which is raking me over the coals...

-CasualCart

 

[Jeevan | 8,912]

3 hours ago, CasualCart said:

Yeah - now I feel free to try more difficult games and be more lenient with my self-requirements (like using turbo controllers and getting "bad endings" and stuff).

Maybe I can get some suggestions from you guys on specific games to tackle - I have a bunch in mind, but I want to gauge what's worth diving into and what's within my skill level. I'll put together a list of candidates soon.

-CasualCart

maybe pick like 5 and do a poll for casual carts backloggery beating spectacular?  Like, tie it into the thread and say that you need help choosing some challenges or something.

[twiztor | 851]

double game Sunday!
this time it's Donkey Kong Land for the Game Boy. 
a sequel to the Super Nintendo mega hit "Donkey Kong Country", this uses a similar art style and level design but with all new levels. This is inferior in every way to its big brother, but that's pretty much expected for a GB game. i still had fun with it, but some of the levels are really blurry- it's hard to tell what's background vs foreground, and characters can occasionally get lost in the dark colors.
a pretty challenging game, some by design and some due to loose controls. i nearly quit in World 3 due to some small platforms and no maneuverability.  last boss was laughably easy. and an absolutely pathetic end game screen.

[Renmauzo | 1,201]

A few moments ago, I - finally - just beat Contra for the first time. I made the rookie mistake of not having my phone ready to catch the rolling 'Congratulations' message, but I will never forget how playing this through made my hands hurt.

My cousin had Contra when it came out, but by the time I found out he had it, he'd already moved on to playing Genesis and TG-16 and so he wasn't interested in playing together (or the NES anymore for that matter). I wasn't good enough then to make it past level 2 for the small amount I'd played, so it's nice to have finally buckled down and put the time in nearly 33 years later

[peg | 372]

19 hours ago, CasualCart said:

Ooh that's a tempting challenge, but in the interest of reducing my backlog I'm gonna aim for quantity of clears over quality of clears haha. I'm working on Image Fight [NES] now, which is raking me over the coals...

-CasualCart

 

Image Fight NES?  Yuck lol.  Are you going to do both loops?  I did a run for it a while back if you want to check it out:

Probably wouldn't try my stage 1 strategies as I was trying to get the penalty area which I'd probably avoid if I were you.

[T-Pac | 7,560]

Update: I (technically) cleared Image Fight [NES] today!

I cheesed my way through both loops with the turbo-fire and slow-motion functions on my NES Advantage joystick. I've never had a use for the "slow" button before (which essentially just spams "start" to rapidly pause and resume the game), but I couldn't have cleared the turret-corridors in the final level or most of the bosses in the second loop without it.

I don't feel great about spamming the game to get to the end, but I still consider the clear legit because all the cheats I used were provided by Nintendo's own era-appropriate peripheral haha. In any case, this was one of the most difficult games I've tackled, so I'm proud to cross it off my backlog.

-CasualCart

[T-Pac | 7,560]

4 hours ago, peg said:

Image Fight NES?  Yuck lol.  Are you going to do both loops?  I did a run for it a while back if you want to check it out:

Whoa, dude!!! You cleared both loops without dying a single time?? I can't even comprehend that haha - I'll definitely have to watch your Youtube video.

-CasualCart

[Gloves | 11,790]

1 hour ago, CasualCart said:

Whoa, dude!!! You cleared both loops without dying a single time?? I can't even comprehend that haha - I'll definitely have to watch your Youtube video.

-CasualCart

@peg is not bad at shmimps.

[peg | 372]

4 hours ago, CasualCart said:

Update: I (technically) cleared Image Fight [NES] today!

I cheesed my way through both loops with the turbo-fire and slow-motion functions on my NES Advantage joystick. I've never had a use for the "slow" button before (which essentially just spams "start" to rapidly pause and resume the game), but I couldn't have cleared the turret-corridors in the final level or most of the bosses in the second loop without it.

I don't feel great about spamming the game to get to the end, but I still consider the clear legit because all the cheats I used were provided by Nintendo's own era-appropriate peripheral haha. In any case, this was one of the most difficult games I've tackled, so I'm proud to cross it off my backlog.

-CasualCart

Slow mo is a no go for me.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

It so hard to focus on this. I've already played lots of stuff not actually on my backlog! So much games, so little time.

[Jeevan | 8,912]

3 hours ago, Kguillemette said:

It so hard to focus on this. I've already played lots of stuff not actually on my backlog! So much games, so little time.

just wait for @Reed Rothchild to ping shame you lol.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

2 minutes ago, Jeevan said:

just wait for @Reed Rothchild to ping shame you lol.

I know, right? My GameCube beckoned me when you posted the completions thread. Now do I work on my backlog or GC completions?! I had Soul Calibur 5 on my backlog, but I'm working Soul Calibur 2 instead to get that completion, haha. All well, plenty of time left.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,545]

I should be one to talk.  I've paused Xenoblade II yet again so I can replay a SNES game I'm flip flopping on in the rankings.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

5 hours ago, Kguillemette said:

It so hard to focus on this. I've already played lots of stuff not actually on my backlog! So much games, so little time.

I like having the backlog list for something to look at whenever I finish a game. I don't force myself to follow it, but it reminds of games I've been wanting to play for ages and I naturally get through quite a few of them. I'm loving it so far.

As for my actual list, I'm on Metroid Dread right now and it's okay. I'm genuinely surprised it's on so many GOTY lists. It's perfectly adequate, but I wouldn't say it's much more than that. Hopefully the back half picks up.

[T-Pac | 7,560]

17 hours ago, Gloves said:

@peg is not bad at shmimps.

 

15 hours ago, peg said:

Slow mo is a no go for me.

I have failed you, @peg-sensei. As Blazing Star would say, "My Skill is Not Enough!"

-CasualCart