Happy new year!!
I hope you all have enjoyed this amazing gaming year
and my ONE actual post…
I’m working on uploading all my Lego builds to the Imgur site
and will replace my lego section on this site, there is just too
many pictures to host here.
Anyway, time for the yearly list, another 76 new games beaten
including those last PS2 games! I managed to get a few
modern games in during the end of the year now that I finally have
a PS5 but there is still a lot of cleanup to do next year before I
continue to the rest of the SNES titles.
Pets at Work
Very simple Co-op fun, with pets!
Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
It feels so long ago now… It’s mostly the same as the first game,
they didn’t learn anything, still the same stupid weapons that breaks
constantly, still the shrines of very mixed quality and still the
stamina bar, menus etc. Even more terrible physics puzzles but a
bit cooler dungeons and story makes it about even.
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World
I took me a while to realize it was a remake I was playing, haha.
Fun game but I prefer the original.
Yakuza 3
I didn’t expect to play any more Yakuza but thanks to a friend
gifting me half the series the journey continued and I am happy
it did! 3 might be the weakest in the end, some improvements to
combat but otherwise weakest villains and story.
Edge of Eternity
A terrible technical mess, when I played it there was no actual way
to beat it on PS4 and I don’t expect any more patches…
Yakuza 4
A big upgrade from 3, having the multiple stories and characters
were a great idea to give the series new life and move forward.
Dragons Dogma
This made me question what every other open world RPG have
been doing!! The irony that Capcom of all developers is behind
one of the best “western RPG”. I really liked the length and scope
that never got out of hand, the “grounded” battles, reasonable
sidequests, AI characters that actually helped and picked up
items etc. Environments all great! Looking forward to play
the second game soon.
Yakuza 5
Mostly an even more expanded and better 4, maybe a bit too
long but otherwise great!
Cyberpunk 2077
I had no expectations on this and didn’t even know it was a
first person game going in, haha. No technical problems worth
mentioning even on base PS4 when I played it and I must say it was
a pretty fun journey, I even did a few sidequests, made some good
relationships and got a pretty nice ending!
Yakuza 6
A great end to the main character’ story six games later and love
the focus on a smaller town this time.
Hammerwatch Anniversary Edition
One of my favorite Co-op games, now in physical version!
Sadly it does not include local co-op anymore so I would still go
with the original despite some nice re-balancing and new content
in this version.
Hammerwatch II
Since I know one of the developers and have been looking forward
to this for a long time I was so sad to see the absolute technical mess
this is on Switch, the physical PS4 version got cancelled so I had to
get this instead. I had about 100 crashes before I beat the game,
the save file got erased when I was more than halfway in,
the frame rate is often below 0 (not and exaggeration, it really is)
a lot of collisions don’t work, music comes and goes etc. A MESS.
So sad because there is a good and beautiful game between all
the problems. Will play a different version in the future.
Yakuza Like a Dragon
This really takes the series to a new level with the much better
turn based combat and fully embracing the RPG parts of the series.
I did all the sidequests and loved it!
Rusty Sword
Short, fun, as indie as it gets.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
Good/decent/fun but not amazing Action RPG
Majin Tensei II Spiral Nemesis
I think I preferred the first one but the SMT and strategy
combo still works.
Digimon World Data Squad
In the end, the most playable of the old Digimom RPGs?
I would still stay away, haha.
Yume Meikyuu
Eh, pretty beginner friendly dungeon crawler I guess.
Gladius
Hm, I think I like this more now that it is beaten, haha. Strategy RPG where
you travel around the world to earn enough reputation to fight in the
big arena, some battles are really fun, some are a real pain.
Wizardry V
Only one more to go until I feel done with this series!
Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifers call
Also known as Nocturne or SMT III. The switch to 3D worked well for the
series since it was already emulating it on the SNES and the dungeons
benefited a lot! Some hard bosses for sure but I was prepared for even
worse seeing how it often tops “hardest RPG” lists.
Super Robot Taisen EX
These will all blend together so much, all the strategic
Gundam games, all decent so far including this one!
Heroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragonbone Staff
I’m not sure what to say about it,
you have a random generated map and want to find the treasure by getting
more and more clues from defeating and recruiting enemies in turn based
battles. It was surprisingly fun and worth taking a look at
for old Heroes fans.
Dokapon Gaiden: Honoo no Audition
Very simple boardgame RPG, more fun in Co-op of course.
Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga
Actual dungeons with level design and Xenosaga voice actors helps a lot,
hehe.
La Pucelle Tactics
More “Disgaea style” strategy, you know what you get, this time with religion
as the story focus.
Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga 2
This might be my favorite SMT game overall, a lot more story focus instead of
pokemon collecting. Continues the story right where 1 left of and improves
some of the mechanics etc.
King’s Field: The Ancient City
Best in the series and it has been so fun to finally play everything leading up
to modern “Souls” games.
Cocoon
Very nice puzzle game, short and pretty clever in
abstract environments!
Somerville
You can really feel that this is from some former
Limbo/Inside developers, great game if you like that style!
Another Crab’s Treasure
This was a big surprise! It started pretty slow but in
the end a fantastic mix of 3D platforming and the
“souls” formula sprinkled with some humor too.
Planet of Lana
I would just like the whole game as a picture book,
every environment is so nice to look at! The game is decent too,
cinematic/puzzle platform game.
Persona 3
Tied with Persona 4 the longest game in the PS2 library and the length is what
holds it back the most. It is a great game, about 40 hours, the other 82 is
just boring and slow. Having ONE dungeon in such a long game is just awful
and the combat is quite bad as well. The town etc. looks great and it is fun
getting to know the villagers more but the process is just too slow.
Front Mission 4
Not as strong as 3 but the split scenarios and seeing the same war from
different parties and fighting for the same side (kinda) but never really
interacting much was really interesting.
Prince of Persia Lost Crown
Started slow but soon became a great metroidvania!
Didn’t expect that to happen to the series in 2024.
Persona 4
Tied with Persona 3 the longest game in the PS2 library and the length is what
holds it back the most. It is a great game, about 40 hours, the other 82 is
just boring and slow. Especially dungeons and battles are a big upgrade from 3.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Selling this as DLC and not a separate game was a big mistake
and scared away many players…
A new and even better world to explore, new bosses, enemies,
music, story,”classes”, weapons, leveling system etc.
A new game, starting at level 1 again and filling up some of the
empty areas and this would make for a great Elden Ring 2.
Jubilee
A shorter but still great Celeste!
Legend of Heroes Trails Through Daybreak
Oh boy, the longest game I have ever played, 149 hours before
seeing credits. I do love my NPCs and talking to them all but it is
getting ridiculous and I might, MIGHT not speak to them all in
Daybreak 2… we’ll see. By far the worst combat in the series,
the action part of it is so simple and got boring in the first 5 hours,
I thought it would get more fun and add more mechanics but NO,
the same boring button mashing all 149 hours. And the turn based
part have become harder to read and control for me in their
attempts to make it easier… Storywise more of a classic RPG party,
I like them aside from the constant recurring jokes that gets very
irritating after hearing them 20 times, and exhausting when it
closes in on 100… weak villains and the general direction the
story goes bring it down to second worst in the series for me,
still making it a great game, haha.
Kaze and the Wild Masks
Fun simple platforming that keeps being compared to
Donkey Kong country for good reason.
Franzen
Very indie, a strange and truly unique RPG with the risk of
getting permanently stuck, haha.
Itorah
Great but also forgettable in the sea of metroidvanias.
This Way Madness Lies
A humor filled RPG with a lot of Shakespeare references,
and magical girls… play it now!
Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land
Best in this series for sure, at least from what I have played.
The dungeons have some real design and there are so many NPCs running
around on their own adventures. Their art is also great and the side quests
adds something more to do than just reach the final floor. Less randomness
too even if it is still there in combat.
Dokapon Kingdom
With a friend or two this boardgame RPG could be fun for sure
and I didn’t mind it alone either.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha vs the Soulless Army
The combat is a bit too basic in this but the second improved it a lot.
Visions of Mana
Another technical mess, especially on PS4 with crashes but
on all platforms to some degree. Still, I really liked it and the
Xenoblade feeling environments are all great as well as
the highlight. Decent story, characters music and combat
but the environments are the highlight for sure.
And most of all, a brand new Mana game!
Next of Kin
Short and sweet, mostly visual novel with some minor exploring.
Sakura Wars
A great visual novel with amazing strategy battles.
The people behind 13 Sentinels played this for sure!
Amazing uncompressed anime cut scenes makes it the
biggest PS2 game size wise.
Soul Nomad
This was yet another nice take on the “Disgaea style” of strategy RPGs
Jumping between serious and silly scenes constantly.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
Wow, these two were one of the biggest positive surprises in the whole library,
combining SMT with action worked surprisingly well and most of all it has
good dungeons, amazing prerendered backgrounds and a decent story.
Wild Arms 5
A shame that a series of only good to great games still died…
Unlimited SaGa
The most hated RPG on PS2 and for good reason.
I played this 20 years ago, got to the final boss and gave up saying this would
be the last thing I would want to play, and it was the last thing I played,
on this challenge and list at least. The main problem is the vague systems
upon systems upon systems, even for fans of SaGa this comes off as confusing.
And of course the other big factor “it looks like a board game” you explore on
very simple maps with even simpler graphics. A shame since there is so much
good art for some locations, monsters and characters. I got to the final boss
pretty fast this time but beating it is at least 70% of the game, it is a massive
spike that forces you to at least understand some things about the game.
The deed is done, revenge is mine.
Demons Souls remake
Finally I got to play it!
The remake is almost a straight upgrade in every way,
I prefer the old less detailed prison of hope and some of the old music
but overall a fantastic way to play this great game,
it has risen on my top list for sure.
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Hmm, just like the first game this swings greatly and quickly
between an amazing remake and terrible fan fiction that I need to
mute and a mini game bonanza, haha. Knowing what I went into I
had surprisingly fun with the mini games and the game in general
and one of the story scenes was actually a big upgrade to the original
and single-handedly raises the score one point for me!
Bramble Mountain King
A Swedish horror game based on old folklore, probably more
effective for people growing up with these stories and a few very
Swedish references in there but be sure to give it a try!
Gestalt Steam and Cinder
Another amazing metroidvania to the pile!
Ys X Nordics
This is really starting to blend together with Legend of Heroes
with more story and NPCs than ever! I love it but also feel sad that
the more focused Ys style is dying… at least the party size is smaller
again with only 2 members!
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes
Suikoden remains number one of course but Eiyuden does a good
job of carrying the legacy. Some great dungeons, great battles even
if you might want to play them on hard, the 3D and sprite combo looks
really nice, lots of good songs. Upgrading the castle works just as I always
wanted it to work, recruiting odd characters is just as fun as in Suikoden
and overall I am very happy that we got a game like this so many
years later! The big complaint would be the somewhat boring antagonists.
Super Mario 3D World
Finally played this! It was Mario, it was fun.
I loaned it to my niece who also beat it and it is clearly more fun in co-op!
Oxenfree II
A more direct sequel than I expected, but just like the first game
I enjoyed it and the choices you make along the way.
Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster
I had forgotten a few steps in the progression and three monks
wasn’t a good idea. But otherwise good old FF1!
Final Fantasy 2 Pixel Remaster
I enjoyed this more with random encounters turned of
this time, the blood sword makes up for it anyway, haha.
Final Fantasy 3 Pixel Remaster
I only played the DS version before and this version completely changed
my opinion on it to the better! Such a massive and ambitious NES game!
Final Fantasy 4 Pixel Remaster
Played it for the music, was not disappointed!
Granblue Fantasy Relink
8 years later and finally playing the game is somehow even more
impressive than seeing the trailers back then! They have found such
a great art style for both environments and characters that will still
look good years from now. The game also sounds and play good,
coming from YS X this has a bit slower tempo but not a bad thing.
The bosses deserve a special mention, a lot of really good ones as
long as you turn of the game after the credits…
I have two big complaints, much less exploration than I had hoped
for in this amazing world and the whole post game that mostly
consists of fighting the same bosses over and over with more
and more HP. Seriously, just beat and enjoy the main game.
Final Fantasy 5 Pixel Remaster
This might be just the second time I beat it, really enjoyed it
and was happy to revisit some great locations like the library,
big bridge, final dungeon etc.
Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster
This was also played mostly for the music but always a joy!
ALWAYS!
Fantasian NEO Dimension
It was much longer than expected, I had heard the second half
would ramp up the challenge and I do like it in my turn based
RPGs but this might have gone overboard and especially with the
terrible exp scaling resulting in that even “superbosses” only give
20% of a level. Still, my final verdict is very positive, the music,
the unique and nice looking environments with houses you can
enter etc. towns full of NPCs, everything I want!
This truly is a mix of all Sakaguchis previous works.
Voidwrought
A lot of nice games being made in the country, including
this metroidvania! Inspired by Hollow Knight for sure but
unique enough once you play a while, did almost 100%
which is a good sign.
Tanuki Justice
Very short and straight forward arcade and old style.
Wunderling DX
I meet the developers years ago and played a demo of this,
it feels good to finally beat the whole thing!
A nice puzzle platform game.
Tails Noir
Visual novel with some light exploring/talking to NPCs.
It reminded me of Disco Elysium but in a shorter format.
Great art style!
Jack Move
Splendid indie RPG, it does everything right, pixel art,
great music, decent story, nice turn based combat!
Wallachia Reign of Dracula
Truly old school Castlevania with stages and extra lives etc.
I have said it before but I feel so done with limited lives in
games… Otherwise fun with focus on bow combat.
Minecraft Dungeons
Last beaten of the year! The only Minecraft game I have
actually played, haha. Fun Co-op action RPG!
New Beaten: 76
RPGs: 55
I missed a lot of the cool new releases this year and it is really
even between them but from what I played and feeling today:
1: Legend of Heroes Trails Through Daybreak
2: Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes
3: Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
4: Ys X Nordics
5: Fantasian NEO Dimension
And as always, another year of waiting for more Silksong and
Legend of Heroes, at least one of them keep delivering, haha.
xenosagacollector.com 