DoctorEncore

That seems to be far from the general consensus. However, if that were true, then I wouldn't even bother playing any other games in the series because Origami King was terrible. In fact, I would argue the battle system is even worse than Sticker Star. The rest of the presentation saved it from being a total disaster. Thankfully, it seems like a lot of people consider the original and TTYD to be classics, so I'll probably check those out at some point.

2022 Final Tally 2021 Final Tally No big changes for this year. I'm going to leave my focused list the same with the addition of a couple retro games. I've also added a few 2022 games to the recent games I missed list. I've just started The Witcher 3 and plan to play Starfield this year, so I suspect I won't play nearly as many games this year as last. My goal for the year will be ten games from my lists. Currently Playing: Deathloop (XSX) Focused List: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade (PS5) Final Fantasy X (Any) Final Fantasy X-2 (Any) Final Fantasy XII (Any) Final Fantasy XIII (X360) Final Fantasy XIII-2 (X360) Final Fantasy XIII-3: Lightning Does Strike Twice (X360) Final Fantasy XV (XBONE) Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch) Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Switch) Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii U) Tales of Arise (XSX) Scarlet Nexus (XSX) Dragon Quest 11 (Any) Mario Galaxy (Mario 3D All-Stars - Switch) Outer Wilds - Echoes of the Eye (XSX) Firewatch (XSX) Contra (NES) Ninja Gaiden(NES) Completed Backlog Games: Super Mario 3D World (NSW; co-op with my son) - 1/27 The Witcher 3 (XSX) - 3/28 Baba is You (Switch; 186 levels cleared; First ending) - 5/20 Final Fantasy X HD Remaster (Switch) - 7/2 Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch) - 7/13 A Way Out - (Xbox; online co-op with friend) - 7/25 Completed Off-List Games Return to Monkey Island (PC/XSX) - 4/7 Death Squared (XSX; Co-op with my son) - 5/12 Planet of Lana (XSX) - 6/10 Minecraft Dungeons (XSX; co-op with my son) - 7/18 Halo CE (MCC XSX; Easy; Couch co-op with my son) - 8/30 Hi-Fi Rush (XSX - Hard) - 9/2 Rayman Legends Definiitive Edition (Switch) - 9/3 Newish Stuff I Missed: Retro: Leftovers:

There's something about Genesis games that just feels right. Love the pickups.

This is not surprising and it will continue until we hit peak saturation of digital content. There has been a generational shift in how media is consumed and the gaming industry is not an exception. We've all witnessed the birth of mp3s, efficient video codecs, and the transition to streaming services for music, movies, and television. In the United States, and much of the developing world, the internet is reliable and widely available. Younger people consider digital ownership (or renting) to be acceptable, or even preferable, and owning a physical piece of media has become an abstract concept. As a personal example, my 6 year old son will often choose to play a less desirable digital game that is already downloaded to a console rather than get up and change a disc/cartridge. Call it lazy or call it efficient use of energy, but ease of access is an important concept in marketing and a key tenet of digital media. In an economy plagued by inflation, stagnating wages, and lack of upward mobility, this transition makes perfect sense. You may argue that buying physical is cheaper, and in general you would be right. However, subscription services offer tremendous value and allow people to play more games than ever. They also indoctrinate consumers to a world where we own nothing. Ease of access was already allowing digital media to grow rapidly, but the introduction of instant streaming of a huge variety of content has been the kicker. Lastly, there is a hidden cost of physical media: the actual storage space required to house the items. Real estate has become prohibitively expensive for much of our society. More young adults than ever are living with their parents or sharing tiny apartments with roommates which means they have essentially no personal space to keep these items. In a world where a consumer has one small bedroom to store the entirety of their possessions, the physical cost of ownership may outweigh the actual cost of digital access. You could write a whole thesis on the transition from physical to digital media (and I'm sure many grad students have), but the bottom line is that it will continue until physical media is a niche sideshow for collectors and enthusiasts.

Lots of splitting hairs and semantics bogging down this discussion. Grade a game if: It is a high value item you want to sell and hope to extract maximum value from the market; or, You want to confirm authenticity and condition of contents for your own curiosity; or, You want to enshrine the item to maintain it in the best condition possible (although there is inherent risk of damage in the actual shipping and grading process). I really can't think of any other legitimate reasons to do so.

I've only played the two worst entries in the series (Sticker Star and Origami King) and hated them both. If I ever get an N64 emulator, I'll check it out.

7/10. I saw this one in theaters and thought it was really good on initial viewing. However, after I left the theater and thought more about the plot, I started to realize it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Time travel is always tough, but consistency is key. I do think it's a cool movie that deserves a watch, but I feel like it falls apart on repeat viewings.

Any day now... Right? Right? I remain skeptical.

Redundancy and curiosity, I suppose. I mostly just want the Polymega for the disc based features, but I figured I might as well get the other modules while I'm at it. That way if I like it, I have more options for emulation.

Haha. Whoops. I ordered the deluxe model which I believe includes all the modules, but it's been so long I barely remember anymore. I also went ahead and ordered the newly announced N64 module since I'm apparently a sucker.

Very cool. I had no idea there were light gun games using external tech like that.

7/10. I enjoy it quite a bit as an off-beat take on A Christmas Carol. Probably a bit too dark for most, but I look forward to bringing it back into the seasonal rotation when my kids get older. Murray plays the Scrooge role perfectly and I love the supporting cast. My other favorite versions of this story are the animated Mickey's Christmas Carol, The Muppets Christmas Carol, and, maybe even Spirited, which I just caught last night and thoroughly enjoyed.

I love these wrap ups. Here are mine across the consoles. I annotated the PlayStation one to show hours for all five of my top games. Top 3 were all awesome experiences I'd recommend to anyone. As for Xbox, I played a ton of Halo in the first six months. Also beat a bunch of other games, but nothing comes close in terms of hours. My Switch definitely gets the least amount of love. I swear I will finish FFX some day. I thought Metroid Dread and Kirby were both a bust.

8/10. Absolutely revolutionary, but hamstrung by unnecessary artificial difficulty. Having to burn every bush and bomb every wall just to advance is lazy game design. It's analogous to the original Metroid in that way. If either game had just added some type of subtle visual clue or lore into the game to give the player a reasonable chance at figuring out where to burn/bomb, they'd both be 10/10 games. As it is, I dock a full two points for how much of the fun is sucked away by these mechanics. Link to the Past though, that's a 10/10 game right there.

I ordered the base unit, dock, case, and Game Gear Adapter. I believe I placed a separate order for the other adapters which aren't shipping yet.

A few that I specifically remember are receiving Mortal Kombat (Genesis) for my birthday in 1993, a used SNES and Chrono Trigger for my birthday in 1995, and Symphony of the Night (PS) for Christmas in 1997. All absolutely amazing games.

Bummer. I also had quite a few accessories. Hopefully they ship it in the next few days. Now if my Polymega would ever actually materialize...

I got mine a couple weeks ago. Did you get tracking info?

I knocked off six more games in the past few months during my absence from the site, but only one of those was on my backlog list. On list: Forgotten City (XSX) Off list: Kirby and the Forgotten Land (NSW, Easy; co-op with my son) Guardians of the Galaxy (XSX) Scorn (XSX) Vampire Survivors (XSX) High On Life (XSX) That puts me at a whopping 27 games for the year which is probably a new record for me. While 15 of them were from the backlog, only 2 were from my focused list. Overall, it was a fantastic and fun year of gaming, but I didn't make any real progress on the JRPGs. FFX is okay, but I find myself always reaching for something else. And now with the Witcher 3 update out, I really have no clue when I'll get through it. I'll copy my list over to 2023 sometime before the year starts.

I believe all the PS3 "light gun" games used the Playstation Move controller and the camera. As you said, anything before that would've likely used the exact same technology as Duck Hunt.

Returnal would be a much worse experience at 30 fps, in my opinion. That type of game really benefits from smoother action and quicker response time.

It depends on the game. For fighting games or first-person shooters, 60 fps is a must for a smooth, responsive experience. I'd also say it's highly preferable for other genres with more intense gameplay (racing, action, etc). That being said, all of these games are perfectly playable at 30 fps; I just think the experience is much more enjoyable at 60 fps. Gotham Knights seems like the type of game that would be fine at 30, but definitely better at 60.

Agreed. Just go in and try to discover things on your own. You'll find some fun surprises as you adventure and should be able to beat it without too much trouble. I just started The Forgotten City. It's another time loop game in which you need to solve a central mystery by learning more each loop about the intertwining individual stories. It's pretty cool so far and seems like it's going to be fun to unravel. I've already seen a few quality of life things that help reduce repetition which is absolutely clutch for this type of game.

This is similar to my strategy. I have a big running list which I use to craft a focused list. I try to put a bit more effort into those games, but I don't feel beholden to them. Whenever I finish a game, I always peruse the big list too just in case I'd rather do something there. That way I feel guided by my lists, rather than limited by them. It's a subtle difference, but it's appreciable.

I don't think the "true ending" should be gated behind difficulty level or repeat playthroughs, but I do think it's a great place to include an Easter Egg or sequel teaser for more hardcore players. Halo CE is a great example of doing this right with the silly SGT Johnson content in the Legendary difficulty endings. Eternal Darkness does it completely wrong by requiring three extraordinarily repetitive playthroughs to see the big reveal which lasts about 10 seconds. Also, it's now a moot point because of YouTube. But still, a good topic to discuss.