What are the best retro games you played in 2023?For "new to me" stuff, the top 5 I'd say (meaning I rated 8/10) or better:Atomic Runner = Excellent Genesis run 'n gun/on-foot-shmup, big thanks to
toei for getting me to play it. Probably never would have it he hadn't brought it to my attention.
Holy Umbrella: Dondera no Mubo = Super charming and fun SFC action-RPG/platformer, made me legit LOL a few times.
Metal Slug 2nd Mission = Great action-platformer for NGPC, with better design than its arcade counterparts. Insofar as longevity and replayability at least.
Risen = Hardcore action-WRPG that I beat the Xbox 360 version of (arguably the worst version). This game is janky as heck but still utterly captivated me nonetheless. It's a complex WRPG, with challenging combat, and a world chock full of mystery that was always rewarding to explore.
Virtual Hydlide = Wonky mess of a brilliant action-RPG/dungeon crawler that, once again, I have to thank
toei for convincing me to play. What a great time it was, despite being an ugly duckling.
Do you have a new MUST PLAY to tell the world?From the stuff I listed above, I'd go with
Atomic Runner. I thought I'd played all the truly great Genesis action games, but I'd missed that one.
What is the longest retro game you played? The shortest?That would be Risen at 45 hours to completion. Keeping in mind I did a LOT of optional stuff.
The shortest was Jungle Hunt for Atari 2600. My beat time was 10 minutes.
Was there a particular system that you had a strong affinity for this year?SEGA Master System was the retro console I beat the most games on in 2023.
Did you have a specific big disappoint or a few?b.l.u.e. Legend of Water for PS1 was a big disappointment for me. I'd wanted to play that one for many years, and finally it was bestowed an English fan translation this year. Unfortunately,
b.l.u.e. is a really bad action-adventure game, and now it's no mystery why it didn't get an official localization. I did beat it though, out of scholarly interest mostly. Gave it a 5/10.
Far Cry 2 was also kind of disappointing. Starts out great, and does have excellent gunplay, but man it went formulaic quickly, and that formula wears thin fast... for 19 hours. Gave it a 7/10 after beating.
How about a nice surprise? Revisit something or played a game you didn't expect to enjoy?Ultimately I'll say
Virtual Hydlide was my biggest surprise. When I first started playing it, I thought
toei was trolling me. But once I got passed the god awful graphics and general jank, a super addictive and innovative game design burst through.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World for SEGA Master System was a fun revisit. I played that game quite often when I was 9 years old, back in 1988. Hadn't put much time into it in decades since, but went back and re-beat it this year. Still holds up!
Favorite graphics/aesthetic?As far as 10+ year old games I beat this year,
Far Cry 2 did impress me graphically/technically for a 2008 release. With its amazing fire physics and beautiful sunsets. The game's aesthetic of being overly brown not so much, but it was definitely impressive pixels for a 2008 console game.
Best controls?Dig Dug on Atari 2600. I mean, you can't mess that up.
Top OST or select tracks?Silent Bomber (PS1) had some nice techno tracks, although the game itself fell apart at the end.
Any plans fall through the cracks on some gaming goals for 2023, that you'll pickup again next year or another time?Plenty I meant to get to this year, but didn't. There are literally hundreds of games I'd like to play in my library. And I get mad at myself for goofing off at night on the internet so much sometimes, to the detriment of actually playing my games. (I feel ya on that
Sarge ). So I too, would like to get better about just going right in my dork cave after my wife goes to bed, and firing up the pixels more consistently. I have made a list of games I'd like to beat in 2024, maybe that'll go better next year. But hey guess what will be HRG compliant in 2024? That's right,
Dark Souls II. It released back in 2014. Very soon DS2 will be a
decade old. And yeah, it's on my list.