I planned to make a post about the holidays but that will have to wait because
it’s finally time to list all the beaten games of the year, woho!
The goal for the year was to reach 700 beaten games in total and that I did,
thanks to Game of Thrones Season 1 I also reached 70 beaten games this year,
this is the list, I will only write short comments for each game but feel
free to ask if you want details about some game.
To be clear, beaten means that I have played them from start to finish and
for the first time this year, It would be a long list if I included games
like Mega Man, Terranigma or Link to the Past, games that I beat a
couple of times every year.
Splatterhouse
-One of the “hidden” NES games, definitely good but I just have a hard
time appreciating games that I didn’t play back then now.
MC Kids
-Um, just a platformer among others.
Toki
-It feels like I play these just to raise the beaten numbers.
Crystalis
-One of very few RPGs I have beaten on the NES, surprisingly playable
and fun, I probably like it more than the Zelda games.
Arkista’s Ring
-I would never have made it through without savestates. Phew!
Dragon Spirit
-Another Shooter but with a dragon instead of spaceship so it must
be a burn’em up!
Gyruss
-This time a shooter where you only can move in circles around the screen
and shoot in towards the middle, at least some variation to the genre.
Ninja Gaiden II
-I got reminded that I had yet to beat this, I always thought these games
would be extremely hard but they are far from the worst I’ve played.
Ninja Gaiden III
-It’s basically the same game as part II but they have somehow balanced
and polished the controls to perfection! Going back one game
would be impossible after this.
Magical Pop’n
-I never knew this title was this good, a lot of fun mechanics and
nice graphic! Look it up.
Area88
-Fun and cool, like shooters should be!
Goof Troop
-Really fun in co-op! There could be some annoying backtracking if
you do things in the wrong order but no big worries.
Espark
-I have NEVER backtracked as much as in this “hidden” RPG, it starts of
cozy and reminds of other nice SNES games but it soon get’s ridiculous.
Oh well, I still liked it and need to find a good copy for the collection.
Dragon Quest 1
-Ah, the origin of the series even if I played the SNES remake, already
wrote about this earlier.
Harvest Moon
-I guess this is the second longest game I have ever played.
I won’t return to the series even if it has it’s charm.
Dark Half
-Another game I wanted to play for long. Enix at its finest and I
already wrote about this in another post.
Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fuurai no Shiren
-Never thought I would see the end of this but thanks to save states
I did and I am glad that I did, really fun game even if I usually don’t
like dungeon crawlers or randomly generated maps.
Bamse
-Always fun when there is an official game in swedish but it is
not much of a game.
Solarstriker
-As good as a shooter gets on the GB I suppose?
Batman: Return of the Joker
-Hm, was this the good one, I always confuse the titles.
For the Frog the Bell Tolls
-Since I found out that it was the same team who made this,
Links Awakening AND Super Metroid I just had to play it.
It really feels like a simplified version of Links Awakening.
Links Awakening is better in every way but it was an interesting journey.
Mega Man 5
-I always assumed this was a port of the NES game but it really
was a unique and good GB game, what a treat.
Kid Dracula
-All platformers like this melt together sadly, they are usually
decent but there is just so many and they are all so short.
Castlevania 2
-Hm, another case where I always believed that it was a bad game
but turned out to be decent at least.
Traxx
-Haha, you play as the cutest battle tank ever! It was fun.
Trip World
-Emulated of course, not much of a game, it ended far too fast.
A bit interesting at least.
Kirby
-Over in an hour, a port from the NES but quite cozy.
Yoshis Story
-This is a true abomination, keep away! the game is 6 stages
long and a mockery to Yoshi’s Island.
Banjo Kazooie
-One of the bigger shames, not to have played Kazooie untill 2015!
It was not enjoyable for me, maybe it would have been all those years ago
but not now. The final parts of the game really tried my patience but in a
game of patience I always win.
Mischief Makers
-I was sad to see the wasted potential, a side view platform game for the N64
sounded like a good idea but it is quite awful, at least the bosses are fun.
Pokemon Snap
-It was actually not that bad!
Baten Kaitos Origins
-Maybe my most postpone game? It has never felt so good to finish a game,
I started this so very long ago.
Much better than I remembered and not at all a pain to play.
MR Driller 2
-Quite hard but fun drilling!
Drill Dozer
-It was interesting and good indeed but a bit to repetitive.
Kuru Kuru Kururin
-Just a “mini game” but ever since I saw the title
I have wanted to play it, hehe.
Starfy 2
-Another cute and simple platformer.
The world Ends With You
-I do not travel much but this will forever be associated with a trip that I
made early 2015. unique? Yes. Good? So-so.
I didn’t know what I was doing half the time.
Mario Kart DS
-Finally played this, it worked surprisingly well on a portable console.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
-Ugh, the worst of them all! At least this was the final Zelda game that I had
yet to play, it feels good to be done with the series
(untill the next is released of course).
Dragon Quest 6: Realms of Revelation
-All the exploring! I wish I had played the SNES version but oh well.
Layton and the Miracle Mask
-I am seriously scared to play the final game, I do not want to know how it
ends, the ending in this was far too foreboding.
Pokemon Omega Ruby
-My third Pokemon game, it was a nice experience,
the improvements really made themself apparent.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
-The Wii version, I have played it on gamecube before and maybe it
shouldn’t count? Still a good game and not as annoying as I remembered
(the ice temple was a pain 10 years ago).
Scribblenauts
-This is both a very easy and hard type of game to make. The hard part is
balancing it so that you don’t solve the puzzles the same way every time,
I think it balances just on the right side of being a good game and the
amount of fun I had with this is really high! Try it if you get the chance!
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
-Super short, super cute, that is all.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
-This will get a post later of course. But overall, it mostly lives up to my
expectation with a few really annoying mistakes.
Shovel Knight
-I admit that it is good, but not at all the best. The references to other
games are very tastefully implemented, my favorite is the Mario 3 reference
where an enemy or bonus stage appears on the map. That was THE BEST.
Alien Soldier
-Hm, it was over fast but a solid game it is!
Contra Hard Corps
-Just like Alien soldier, Megadrive when it is as best!
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
-This might be the hardest game in the series, I don’t remember why but
that is what I thought when I played it.
Wild Arms 3
-So happy I finally beat it, it has been a cursed game for years. Wild Arms 1
is still best but this will probably remain number two in the series.
Wild Arms 4
-One of the absolutely easiest RPGs I have played, Raquel killed the final
(and all other) bosses within two turns… Oh well, the platform elements
and the ending makes it a good game!
Mega Man X Command Mission
-This was an interesting game, Mega Man + RPG, glad that I beat it
Triggerheart Exelica
-In the end, just another Shooter, I had hoped it would be a bit mor unique.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
– In contrast to liberty city stories, this might have been the easiest game
in the series! I didn’t die once for the first half of the game!
Mimana: Iyar Chronicles
-I knew this would be a “B” RPG but it really is the definition of second-rate
RPGs, there is no reason to ever play this game. I got fooled by the
information that they use the Tales of battles, it is true that they do but
it’s far simpler than even Phantasia…
Half Minute Hero
-Finally I got to play this, One of the few and best PSP games that is
not a remake!
LA Noire
Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow over Mystara
-A fun co-op beat-em-up that I played with a friend.
Beyond: Two Souls
-My expectations where as low as could be, BUT in the end I liked this better
than Heavy Rain and even though it might be a weak game it still beats
any movie.
Tales of Zestiria
-The yearly Tales of, maybe it should get its own post but in short,
great battles that add a whole new dimension with the “character fusing”.
Better environments than Xillia but still, a bit empty and a dull…
One of the most boring Tales of casts as well and quite a weak story but
as usual the final result still makes a solid game and I really hope they
will keep using and improving the battle transition.
The Walking Dead: Season 2
-I liked the first season better but this is more
polished and have less slow parts.
Tomb Raider
-I am always sceptical when games like this gets praised to the heavens
and get 10/10 everywhere but man, this was a quality game!
I hated the first 30 minutes and almost gave up but after that it just got
better and better, the gameplay surpasses Uncharted and the
more open world is just so nice!
Nier
-Well, this might not count since I have played it on PS3 before.
Still, top three of the last generation, can’t wait for Nier 2!
Game of Thrones Season 1
-I played it on 360, it might have been my copy but some parts of the game
was nearly unplayable thanks to bugs and freezing…
Anyway, this game makes the TV show look like a nice show to watch
with your kids, I expected misery and that is what I got!
Momodora 3
-Ah, this is pure fun to play, I prefer part 2 in the series which
is more like a Castlevania game but this is a nice mix of the first
two games, really recommended!
Xeodrifter
-Another Metroidvania, extremely nice mechanics but sadly the game
is too small both in length and the actual size of the environments
to use them properly.
Castle in the Darkness
-It is truly sad that people have missed this, it was released around the same
time as Shovel Knight and I blame the poor timing. This is far superior to
Shovel Knight even if the focus a bit on different types of platforming.
This is more metroidvania style but on an extreme level that reminds of
VVVVVV. I should write a full post about this too.
The soundtrack is the best released this year!
Hotline Miami 2
-Just like the first game, I like them both even if there is much to improve.
Rogue Legacy
-Much more fun than I expected but it felt like it could have
taken twice as long if you are unlucky.
Environmental Station Alpha
-I have no choice but to name this game of the year! It was a totally
unexpected game that I had heard nothing about, it was only by chance I
found it and I thank the stars, the best platform game since Super Metroid,
well maybe since Sotn, but really, it is up there and beating the game is only
20% of the content, the secrets never end!
xenosagacollector.com 