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Post by Xeogred on Dec 7, 2019 23:16:00 GMT -5
- I always like doing these.
Do you have a top 5, or even top 10?
Favorite moments and experiences in a game? Most surprising game?
Favorite OST or select tracks?
Honorable mentions?
Biggest disappointment?
-
My top 5 has been locked for awhile. In no special order beyond being in the order I beat them throughout the year:
Front Mission (DS)
Last year Gun Hazard (SNES) was one of my top favorites, which is part of the Front Mission world. I loved that game and have always enjoyed everything about FM's aesthetics, visually, musically, etc, and Gun Hazard definitely played out like a good ol' classic 80's Sunrise mecha anime. FM1 here technically predates that game, so the story was more bare bones, although it got a lot more interesting in the new DS bonus scenario which I think first appeared on the PSX port of FM1. The bonus UCS campaign took me a little over 8 hours, so this is a big package. Overall this was a fantastic game and I really look forward to playing the rest of the series.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant (PS2)
My Koudelka / Shadow Hearts journey has more than likely come to an end, since I don't have a ton of interest in the final game that looks like such a drastic departure from how the series started off. Heck, even Covenant here was a far cry from the gritty gothic vibes that first two games basked in. Getting through this game was a funny adventure too, in that I had to buy a loose disc 2 and hope that worked, thankfully it did. The original I owned kept locking up while loading up the first area on disc 2, despite the disc itself looking practically mint! I'm glad it worked out and I got back to finishing this one off. While the atmosphere was lacking, the English/Russian early WW2/steampunk mix was still there and setup a cool unique world you don't often find in JRPG's, and I found myself really liking a lot of the main new characters and the humor, though that took awhile to warm up to. The gameplay certainly outclasses the first two as well, though it is on the easy side. Amazing music, also a style you don't hear too often. So Covenant is still pretty unique compared to the norm and highly recommended.
Gradius V (PS2)
August was our White Whales month here for the retro club, I had one mission... to finally conquer Gradius V, which has haunted me for years. After 9 hours clocked total of sheer brutality, I had finally beaten both Easy and Normal. Gradius V is now up there with my top favorite shmups of all time, alongside Thunder Force IV and Mushihimesama. I am a huge Gradius fan in general and I love how balls to the wall V is, even if you've played all the others. It's definitely got a slightly differently flavor being a Treasure joint, but it's still classic Gradius to perfection if you ask me. Topped off with an epic score from Hitoshi Sakimoto, hardcore shmups or classic Konami fans definitely need to get this one.
Dragon Quest IV (DS)
Last year, I beat DQ5 (DS) and it was fun, solid 7-8 material or around there. Enough to "hold" my interest on DQ and I wanted to check a few more out. Well, DQ4 just blew the roof off and I absolutely loved everything about this game from top to bottom. While I appreciate the monster recruiting in DQ5, I vastly preferred how DQ4 just gives you a permanent set of a few key characters to utilize and master. DQ4 truly made me a fan now, I knocked out DQ1-2 (SNES) right after, and seriously felt like I could have kept playing more DQ throughout the year, but I've held off for the time being. But now I absolutely can't wait to play the rest of the entire series and that's all thanks to DQ4 being awesome. It sets a tall bar to beat. If anyone is ever curious about this series, this seems like a great entry to recommend.
Blood: Fresh Supply (PC)
I love DN3D and always hit that one up again every few years, or when a new port/collection drops. Both Blood and Shadow Warrior were ones I would dabble into, but they never clicked for some reason. Going through the awesome Build Engine throwback this year, Ion Fury, made me want to finally get back to these and give them another shot, and I'm so glad I did with Blood. After the first two levels, something clicked and I had a blast. Even after all the FPS's and classics I've played, it was a breath of fresh air with its heavy emphasis on dynamite/explosives and had an awesome selection of weapons and enemies. The atmosphere was top notch, even sometimes with levels reminding me of Thief or Quake. I'm probably late to the party on this one like a few of these top favorites but hey, if you're a fan of 90's FPS's and haven't hit this one up yet, definitely give it a shot.
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Post by anayo on Dec 8, 2019 10:53:25 GMT -5
Blood: Fresh Supply (PC)
I love DN3D and always hit that one up again every few years, or when a new port/collection drops. Both Blood and Shadow Warrior were ones I would dabble into, but they never clicked for some reason. Going through the awesome Build Engine throwback this year, Ion Fury, made me want to finally get back to these and give them another shot, and I'm so glad I did with Blood. After the first two levels, something clicked and I had a blast. Even after all the FPS's and classics I've played, it was a breath of fresh air with its heavy emphasis on dynamite/explosives and had an awesome selection of weapons and enemies. The atmosphere was top notch, even sometimes with levels reminding me of Thief or Quake. I'm probably late to the party on this one like a few of these top favorites but hey, if you're a fan of 90's FPS's and haven't hit this one up yet, definitely give it a shot.
I'm so glad you liked Blood! I first bought this on GOG in late 2014. It's the perfect mix of action, violence, and macabre atmosphere. I am really fond of Build Engine games and Blood just perfectly embodies everything that era of FPS gaming is about. I have since found an original CD of the game and want to beat it on a period-accurate PC (probably my Pentium I) in 2020. As for me: from 2019 I really liked Super Mario Bros. 2 and Ninja Gaiden. I had played Mario 2 as a kid before, but hadn't constantly gone back to it over the years like I had with Mario 3 or Mario World. So picking it up again felt fresh and new. I think it's the closest I came this year to a perfect NES game. It was fun, colorful, the music is so catchy I'll be humming it till I die, it kept coming up with clever ways to subvert its gameplay formulas, I was never just mindlessly running left to right (some stages were right to left, top to bottom, and all over the place!), and it had just a touch of NES "meanness" but not enough to make it frustrating. As for Ninja Gaiden 1, that game mopped the floor with me, but I persevered and finally beat it, which felt awesome. It's so good that I'm dethroning Contra as one of my top 5 NES games and giving Contra's place to Ninja Gaiden 1. I'm really glad I focused on NES this year and was able to beat it. |
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 8, 2019 11:12:45 GMT -5
Blood: Fresh Supply (PC)
I love DN3D and always hit that one up again every few years, or when a new port/collection drops. Both Blood and Shadow Warrior were ones I would dabble into, but they never clicked for some reason. Going through the awesome Build Engine throwback this year, Ion Fury, made me want to finally get back to these and give them another shot, and I'm so glad I did with Blood. After the first two levels, something clicked and I had a blast. Even after all the FPS's and classics I've played, it was a breath of fresh air with its heavy emphasis on dynamite/explosives and had an awesome selection of weapons and enemies. The atmosphere was top notch, even sometimes with levels reminding me of Thief or Quake. I'm probably late to the party on this one like a few of these top favorites but hey, if you're a fan of 90's FPS's and haven't hit this one up yet, definitely give it a shot.
I'm so glad you liked Blood! I first bought this on GOG in late 2014. It's the perfect mix of action, violence, and macabre atmosphere. I am really fond of Build Engine games and Blood just perfectly embodies everything that era of FPS gaming is about. I have since found an original CD of the game and want to beat it on a period-accurate PC (probably my Pentium I) in 2020. As for me: from 2019 I really liked Super Mario Bros. 2 and Ninja Gaiden. I had played Mario 2 as a kid before, but hadn't constantly gone back to it over the years like I had with Mario 3 or Mario World. So picking it up again felt fresh and new. I think it's the closest I came this year to a perfect NES game. It was fun, colorful, the music is so catchy I'll be humming it till I die, it kept coming up with clever ways to subvert its gameplay formulas, I was never just mindlessly running left to right (some stages were right to left, top to bottom, and all over the place!), and it had just a touch of NES "meanness" but not enough to make it frustrating. As for Ninja Gaiden 1, that game mopped the floor with me, but I persevered and finally beat it, which felt awesome. It's so good that I'm dethroning Contra as one of my top 5 NES games and giving Contra's place to Ninja Gaiden 1. I'm really glad I focused on NES this year and was able to beat it. I'm really excited to hit up " Death Wish" perhaps sometime next year. Over 30 new levels from fans originally released in 2011. Considering how amazing the Doom community has been over the decades with those megawads and new maps, I'm hoping that this is a rich and awesome expansion that feels authentic to the original experience as well. Beyond that, it'll be fun to replay Blood on the higher difficulties someday. Build Engine games are tougher than the norm to me, so I chickened out playing on difficulty level 2 through all these. Ramping that up next time!
You should hit up the All Stars version of SMB2 someday. Nothing new, but it's a nice little face lift. In SMB1's case, I prefer the All Stars version thesedays. For SMB3, I prefer the NES version. But for SMB2, I love both about equally. Awesome aesthetics in both. I always say it's a shame we never got a direct follow up to SMB2's style, which I guess makes sense with it being a bit of an unofficial Mario game underneath... but it would have been cool to get more of that! I guess it being so weird and different is what makes it super special though. Glad you liked it!
I'm newer to both the Contra's and classic Ninja Gaiden's, great stuff all around. I think I'm a little more partial to running and gunning with, well guns, so I like Contra more and its tunes. But both are stone cold classic NES series' for sure!
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Post by anayo on Dec 8, 2019 12:14:31 GMT -5
Thanks for recommending Mario All Stars. I think that's actually the rendition of Mario 2 I played the most as a kid. I don't actually remember 100% if I ever played the NES version of Mario 2 growing up.
I agree in that I wish we could see another Mario game which feels weird and off the beaten path yet still feels distinctively "Mario". I don't necessarily think I'd like to see a re-tread of Mario 2 though, I'd just like to see a departure from the safe formula of today's 2D Mario games. In that sense something like Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door for the Gamecube is a good example of what this could mean. It's wacky and different.
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Post by Sarge on Dec 8, 2019 14:04:08 GMT -5
Nothing final yet, but I don't have any new-to-me retro games this year that rated a 9/10 or higher. I'll check my list and see what pops up... and the year isn't done yet!
EDIT: I recognize this is a tall order, but does anyone have a rec for a game that would be a 9+ that I haven't played? At least for my tastes? I'd really like to find another amazing game this year!
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 8, 2019 23:33:46 GMT -5
Nothing final yet, but I don't have any new-to-me retro games this year that rated a 9/10 or higher. I'll check my list and see what pops up... and the year isn't done yet! EDIT: I recognize this is a tall order, but does anyone have a rec for a game that would be a 9+ that I haven't played? At least for my tastes? I'd really like to find another amazing game this year! RE2 and a bunch of FPS's you haven't played yet.  
I could probably come up with a good list but yeah, you rank some of the genres I love a bit differently.
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Post by Sarge on Dec 8, 2019 23:56:22 GMT -5
Interestingly, I browsed the top-rated SNES games on GameFAQs, and of the ones I care about, the first one that pops up that isn't an SRPG (no offense to Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre, and Front Mission!) is Wild Guns. I did play through three stages, but I'm thinking I'd have a better time if I played somewhere I could save-state and take a break for later. It's a bit much to try to get through in one sitting, given that I haven't learned the game entirely yet.
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 9, 2019 9:39:44 GMT -5
Now for some stats:
1. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia* (DS)
3. Onimusha: Warlords* (PS4)
4. Resident Evil 2* (PSX)[Leon A]
8. Mass Effect* (PS3)
11. Streets of Rage 2 (SMS)
12. Mortal Kombat (Genesis)
14. Front Mission (DS)
17. R-Type Leo (Arcade)
18. Super R-Type* (SNES)
19. Doom 2: TNT Evilution* (PC)[5h55m56][UV/Complex]
20. R-Type III (SNES)[SaveStates]
21. Life Force (NES)
22. Metal Storm (NES)
25. Adventures of Lolo (NES)
27. Star Wars: Dark Forces* (PC)
28. Shadow Hearts: Covenant (PS2)
30. Contra Rebirth (Wii)
31. Thunder Force IV* (Genesis)
32. Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master* (Genesis)
33. Resident Evil 4* (Wii)
34. Gradius V (PS2)
35. Dragon Quest IV (DS)
36. Dragon Quest I (SNES)
37. Dragon Quest II (SNES)
39. Blood: Fresy Supply (PC)[GDX]
42. Batman Returns* (SNES)
45. Gunlock/RayForce (Arcade)
46. Battle Garegga (Arcade)
47. Armed Police Batrider (Arcade)
48. Batsugun Special Version (Arcade)
49. Battle Bakraid (Arcade)
50. DonPachi (Arcade)
51. DoDonPachi (Arcade)
52. DoDonPachi II: Bee Storm (Arcade)
53. Dodonpachi Daioujou (Arcade)
54. Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi (Arcade)
55. Espgaluda (Arcade)
56. Espgaluda II (Arcade)
57. Mushihimesama* (Arcade)
58. Mushihimesama Futari Black Label* (Arcade)
Retro: 40
Replay: 13
First: 27
Blue = Honorable Mentions.
I plan to beat Chrono Trigger (replay) today. Not sure I'll knock much more out for the year though.
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Post by Ex on Dec 9, 2019 12:39:18 GMT -5
Overall this was a fantastic game and I really look forward to playing the rest of the series. It makes me happy that you enjoyed the first Front Mission so much, as it's my personal favorite retro SRPG series ( Valkyria Chronicles is my favorite modern SRPG series). I'm really looking forward to re-experiencing FM4 and FM5 vicariously when you get around to them. DQ4 is a masterpiece, it was the clencher for me as well. However DQ8 is even better. DQ8 truly is classic JRPG done to perfection. (Again, I only endorse the PS2 version of DQ8!) I recognize this is a tall order, but does anyone have a rec for a game that would be a 9+ that I haven't played? At least for my tastes? I'd really like to find another amazing game this year! For your tastes no. To encourage you to step outside your comfort zone, sure. Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War on PS2. It is a 9/10 experience IMO. Fantastic gameplay, great graphics/audio, and a really good story. It's as good as a campaign-driven flight-combat-sim could ever hope to be. Also it is independent plot-wise, meaning you don't need to have played AC1-4 first. Give it a shot! - Well, I'll attempt to do a top 5 2019 retro favorites list. (I'll do a modern one on the other side of the board.) I'll do my overall stats at the end of the year later too. Anyway I'll freely admit I did a pretty terrible job of being a fervent video game player this year. Too many distractions (spent a lot of time analog gaming and binging classic TV shows). Gotta do better next year. But for what I played, here's my top retro picks of 2019:  Nostalgia DS (2009) Ex's rating: 8/10
Highly underappreciated hidden gem JRPG. Solid and fun with fantastic pacing. Refreshing world setting with tons of variety. Realtime polygonal cutscenes are well directed. Outstanding OST. A JRPG with a decent plot is rare indeed! King Colossus Genesis (1992) Ex's rating: 8/10
Solidly paced adventure with all the unnecessary fat cut out. Well constructed dungeon layouts are fun to explore. Great boss battles. Strong moody OST utilizes FM synthesis bravely. Satisfying ending. Dragonstomper Atari 2600 (1982) Ex's rating: 9/10
Incredible complexity and player agency for an Atari 2600 title. Random events make each playthrough unique. Ingenious context sensitive menu system offers impressive interaction. Multiple solutions to many problems. Very impressive graphics and animation for its platform. Sonic Chaos GameGear (1993) Ex's rating: 8/10
Outstanding graphics and audio. You can finally spin dash in a GG Sonic. Fun and fast level designs. You can actually play as Tails too! No more fields of spikes everywhere.
Hitler no Fukkatsu: Top Secret (Hitler's Resurrection: Top Secret) Famicom (1988) Ex's rating: 10/10
It was certainly worth going back and re-beating Bionic Commando in its original form. Twenty nine years since I first played Bionic Commando, it hasn't ceased to be pure gaming bliss. This game is absolutely in Ex's top 10 of all time. Pure brilliant Japanese genius melded into reality via brilliant assembler code and artisan crafted pixels. An absolute masterpiece.
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Post by Sarge on Dec 9, 2019 12:43:17 GMT -5
Well, I could definitely cheat a bit and play through Hitler no Fukkatsu. Absolutely a top-tier game.
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