by niflhe
New year, new decade (kinda), same list of games I played for at least an hour or more.
Showing 1-10 of 61 items
Specifically, the Switch version of Dragon Quest I, which is basically the iOS version. It's largely fine, but the graphics used for battle, sprites, and the overworld do not mess well together and could really use some kind of toggle between "new" and old sprites. Or, at least, the GBC sprites. There's also this slight 'stuttering' when the player character walks on the overworld that I can't tell if it's me or the game. The artwork used for battle is really well done and the backgrounds are beautiful, just wish there was more of it. I think the GBC version is still my preferred method to play, though any copy I would buy now on eBay would probably have a dead battery that would need to be replaced. The Switch version has a couple of oddities that make the game weirder. The Faerie Flute and Erdrick's Armor are easier to locate in this version, being shining items on the ground which means you can try to pick them up immediately. The Faerie Flute doesn't do anything until nearly the end of the game, taking up a pretty valuable inventory slot. Erdrick's Armor leads to a rough boss fight if you're underleveled which just means you'll get destroyed and lose half your money. Hope you weren't saving up for anything special! Anyway, Dragon Quest I is a speedy game that can be beaten in a handful of hours. It's the perfect palate cleanser JRPG and a good way to start off a new year. Beat some monsters, buy better gear, save the princess, save the world. It's simple, but it works. It's not the best game in the series (which changes depending on when you'd ask me), but it's a really tight 10-hour game and sometimes something simple is exactly what you need.
I know Order of Ecclesia is very highly regarded but somehow having two attack buttons that you have to rhythmically cycle between has always and will always break my mind. I found a large portion of the game difficult, mainly because the game never really clues you in to enemy weaknesses or how important matching your weapon type with an enemy is. Still ended up beating it, but it's probably my least favorite of the DS Casltevanias.
Great story, looks fantastic, man is the combat such a bummer after Yakuza 0. Something about it just felt off and made me yearn for the days when I could swap between battle stances. I can't remember how the story ended because I think it ended in the dumbest way possible that I immediately erased it from memory.
I wound up beating Hollow Knight at some point during this nightmare year and the finale cemented the fact that I just didn't enjoy large parts of Hollow Knight as much as many other people.
Not nearly as tightly paced as Dragon Quest I or as free-form as Dragon Quest III, DQII is the awkward middle child that's just doing its best. I enjoy it and it's probably the most important game in the series for all of the new ideas introduced, but many of those ideas are better explored and executed in just about every other JRPG since.
Still lovely, still haven't beaten it yet.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team always seems like the perfect Mario & Luigi game until you start playing it and realize that it just goes on for what feels like forever.
I managed to beat Cuphead with liberal use of the auto-tracking shot and smoke dash. Somehow. Tons of fun, wish it wasn't so dumb about it's "simple" mode.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a very good metroidvania. It's not exactly Symphony of the Night, but it's closer to that than the hundreds of imitators. Figuring out the weapon abilities before the game tells you about them is endlessly fun for me.
Hey did you know Super Mario World still fucking rules?