I also got Bushido Blade I but didn't take a picture, regardless, I've already played it for a bit, and it's really good. In some ways, its better than the sequel, in others... not so much.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Archile's Grab Bag: 2017 Edition
I also got Bushido Blade I but didn't take a picture, regardless, I've already played it for a bit, and it's really good. In some ways, its better than the sequel, in others... not so much.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Review #362: Blazblue - CentralFiction
The end of Blazblue.... as if!
Calamity Trigger, Continuum Shift, Continuum Shift II, Continuum Shift Extend, ChronoPhantasma, ChronoPhantasma Extend and now... CentralFiction. It sure's been a long ride filled with nonsensical titles, but we've finally arrived to the last chapter of Ragna's Story.... yeah, right....
So, the story mode... it's as bad as it's always been. It's long, boring, derivative, filled with anime cliches, moments and characters you've already seen before and seen execute better. There're mandatory boob jokes, because it is an anime game and animu girls are never content with their breasts. The first four chapters are a an unbearable remix of Calamity Trigger, but, for what it's worth, for the very first time in Blazblue's history.... it did have some interesting plot points. Chapter 10 did get sorta interesting, even if Ragna's decision was very animu in nature. Now then, a lot of characters die or... evolve during the course of the story... but this is a Fighting game, we know that they will find a roundabout way to bring everyone back for the next installment, so don't worry too much about the fate of your favorite character. Plus, there's no way that this is the last Blazblue game, taking nto account how many unresolved plot threads were left hanging.
Once you are done wasting your time with the generic, senseless and convoluted Story Mode, you've Arcade Mode waiting for you, and now there're up to three different 'Arcade Routes' per character, although not every character gets three of them. There're both online and offline VS modes, Grim of the Abyss(Think Survival with some customization elements), Score Attack(10-opponent gauntlets where you aim to score high), Speedstar(You don't lose health, you only lose time! It's a rather novel idea!), training, the obligatory combo challenges for every character and a tutorial. The tutorial, as per usual for the Blazblue franchise, is pretty good, and this time it offers pointers on every specific character and how they should be played, which is pretty neat. It's a very meaty offering of modes, more than what you get in your average Fighting game, plus, thirty characters from the get go.... it does feel like you are getting your money's worth out of the game... even if ArcSys scummy DLC practices are present here, because ArcSys is that kind of company. You can either finish the story or pay to unlock Susanoo(If you offer a paid alternative, you are basically admitting that your story mode is a waste of time), and during the story mode you actually get to fight Es a bunch of time, a DLC character, and then there's Mai, the second DLC character. At least these latter two don't make an appearance on the game's cover or the character selection screen, so we're making some progress.
There're 5 new characters, and if you skipped Extend, like me, you are getting Celica and the returning Lambda as well, and since I didn't even buy ChronoPhantasma's DLC, this is also my first time with Terumi and Kokonoe, so, potentially, you are getting a lot of new characters. Hibiki is my favorite of the bunch, being a speedy rushdown character who can create clones with his drive, Nine is another personal favorite, she can pull off magic attacks with her normals, which the stock, and mix, for her Drive. Naoto is based around a chargeable Drive attack, but unlike Makoto there's no timing involved, regardless, he works better without using his drive! Izanami gets some projectiles at the cost of her guard while under her Drive and lastly there's Susanoo, who is built around unlock and powering up his special moves. I liked all the new characters, even if Izanami and Nine couldn't escape the obligatory Japenese panty shots during some of their attacks.
Mechanic-wise the game hasn't seen many changes or additions, which I guess is a good thing, since the entry level barrier, if you want to go competitive, is rather high. Being an animu fighter, the game is already relatively friendly for casual matches, since you can just mash buttons and watch flashy stuff happen, but they've revised Stylish Mode to work more like it does in Guilty Gear Xrd. Mashing buttons will result in different combos(I tried it with only three characters, but it seemed like Naoto only had a single normal combo? But Jin had many more alternative combos) and there's a new fifth button that can be used to pull of special attacks by pressing it alongside a single direction on the digital pad or analog stick. There's also the new Active Flow, by playing aggressively you are rewarded with higher damage and the energy bar will fill faster, and a new Exceed Accel, a unique special move for every character usable only while in Overdrive Mode. Very simple mechanics to use and grasp, but in a game as deep and complex as Blazblue they turn into good additions.
I haven't been able to enjoy Blazblue as much as a I did with Continuum Shift for a while now. The story is presumptuous drivel, character designs are too much animu, fanservicey and pandering for my tastes and ArcSys scummy DLC practices keep trying to make me feel as if they haven't had enough money. But CentralFiction was different. We've so many different characters already, so many different ways to play the game and some of the newest additions are so much fun to play as well as original. The game has accumulated so many mechanics already that there're dozens of ways to play the game, and doing flashy stuff is so easy even if you don't intent to play competitively or succumb to Stylish Mode. What I mean to say is that I feel like CentralFiction injects new blood into Blazblue, it might simply be 'more of the same', but the quality of the additions is very high.
8.5 out of 10
So, the story mode... it's as bad as it's always been. It's long, boring, derivative, filled with anime cliches, moments and characters you've already seen before and seen execute better. There're mandatory boob jokes, because it is an anime game and animu girls are never content with their breasts. The first four chapters are a an unbearable remix of Calamity Trigger, but, for what it's worth, for the very first time in Blazblue's history.... it did have some interesting plot points. Chapter 10 did get sorta interesting, even if Ragna's decision was very animu in nature. Now then, a lot of characters die or... evolve during the course of the story... but this is a Fighting game, we know that they will find a roundabout way to bring everyone back for the next installment, so don't worry too much about the fate of your favorite character. Plus, there's no way that this is the last Blazblue game, taking nto account how many unresolved plot threads were left hanging.
There're 5 new characters, and if you skipped Extend, like me, you are getting Celica and the returning Lambda as well, and since I didn't even buy ChronoPhantasma's DLC, this is also my first time with Terumi and Kokonoe, so, potentially, you are getting a lot of new characters. Hibiki is my favorite of the bunch, being a speedy rushdown character who can create clones with his drive, Nine is another personal favorite, she can pull off magic attacks with her normals, which the stock, and mix, for her Drive. Naoto is based around a chargeable Drive attack, but unlike Makoto there's no timing involved, regardless, he works better without using his drive! Izanami gets some projectiles at the cost of her guard while under her Drive and lastly there's Susanoo, who is built around unlock and powering up his special moves. I liked all the new characters, even if Izanami and Nine couldn't escape the obligatory Japenese panty shots during some of their attacks.
I haven't been able to enjoy Blazblue as much as a I did with Continuum Shift for a while now. The story is presumptuous drivel, character designs are too much animu, fanservicey and pandering for my tastes and ArcSys scummy DLC practices keep trying to make me feel as if they haven't had enough money. But CentralFiction was different. We've so many different characters already, so many different ways to play the game and some of the newest additions are so much fun to play as well as original. The game has accumulated so many mechanics already that there're dozens of ways to play the game, and doing flashy stuff is so easy even if you don't intent to play competitively or succumb to Stylish Mode. What I mean to say is that I feel like CentralFiction injects new blood into Blazblue, it might simply be 'more of the same', but the quality of the additions is very high.
8.5 out of 10
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Review #361: Disgaea 2 - Cursed Memories
New characters, more mechanics, same old Disgaea, more tedium!
Remember Disgaea? That quirky, crazy convoluted, ridiculous SRPG that made itself a spot in many a gamer's heart? It's back! A lot has remained the same, but a lot has changed as well.
While you might spot Etna in the game's cover, and she does indeed become a playable character in the latter chapters, Disgaea 2's story centers around Adell and Rozalin. Adell wants to defeat overlord Zennon and end his curse on humans, which turned them into demons. A summoning ritual gone wrong later and Rozalin, Zennon's daughter, is summoned in his stead. Now Adell will escort Rozalin back to his father.... and then defeat him! The game is peppered with generic animu feel-good scenes about friendship yadda yadda, but it did manage to get a couple of laughs out of me. There's also a few surprising, smart plot twists. All that said, if you ask me, I preferred Disgaea 1 and 3's story and characters over Disgaea 2's. Adell, Rozalin and co. just aren't as interesting as characters, and I didn't see myself laughing as much as I did with previous iterations.
Explaining how Disgaea works is no small undertaking. It's a turn based strategy RPG. During each battle, both you and the enemies get turns in which to move every unit. You can take up to 10 units out of your base panel(You can even return them back, and swap them for other units! As long as your units don't die, you can keep swapping them), and every turn you get you can move every unit and produce various kinds of strategies. One of the most interesting aspects about Disgaea is how much stuff you can do during your turn, since your turn doesn't end until you end it. You can shuffle the same unit around in order to avoid AoE from friendly allies, or you can move said unit around in order to have it partake in multiple combo attacks! As long as a unit doesn't do anything else besides moving, you can move it as far as its range allows during your turn.
And there's a lot you can do. Besides attacking, using items or defending, units can also use special attacks tied to whichever weapon they are equipped with. Being in adjacent tiles to up to three other friendly units allows you to use hilarious combo attacks. Then there's Disgaea's trademark mechanic: Lifting. You can lift allies or enemies and throw them around, you can even make towers with many units lifting other units! And then attack with said tower! There's a lot to wrap your head around, and I've only covered the surface. There're also Geo Panels, pyramids that can be place on colored panels and thus imbue all the same-colored panels with its attribute, like, maybe 'Heal 20%' every turn, or even 'Enemy Boost x50'!! There truly is a lot to take in with Disgaea, and you will need to learn everything if you aim to reach level 9999 and fight the bonus bosses!
I'll try to go over some of the most important things you can do while outside battle, namely, the Senate and the Item world. While in your hub you can opt to enter the Senate, this is where you can have your character create new units or go into a vote in order to allow for more expensive items in stores, unlock bonus maps or other niceties. The Senate may not always vie your way, in which case you can opt to try to fight them or bribe them. Honestly, it was kinda cute in the first game, but in this one... it felt like a bit of a chore, particularly having to go to the Senate over and over again in order to allow me to buy new weapons at the store, since equipment grow outdated very fast.
.... Or you can try to min-max its stats by going into the Item World. Talking to another NPC will let you enter an Item's item world, a random 100-floor dungeon of increasing difficulty, the deeper you go, the stronger your weapon will get, and defeating certain, special enemies will raise particular stats of the item. In case you haven't noticed already, if you really want to get most of the game... get ready, because it's gonna be a huge time sink. And it can get pretty tedious.
The game's 13 chapters don't escalate very well as far as enemy levels are concerned, so you will probably need to grind for levels on previous maps at least a couple of times. They changed the way unlocking classes work, for the worst, as well. It's no longer enough to just take a Warrior to level 100 in order to unlock the best version of the class, now you must create(Or reincarnate your unit) one unit of every 'rank' and raise him 10 levels over the previous landmark in order to unlock the next rank. Basically, take your Rank 1 Warrior to level 10 to unlock Rank 2, then reincarnate your Rank 1 into a Rank 2 or create a new Rank 2 Warrior and get him to level 20, and so on. Honestly, it's really boring, and it only serves to waste your time, particularly the first time through the game, when you simply want to get to the end and not have to go back to grind for levels.
Disgaea 2 - Cursed Memories is not a bad game by any means, but even simply getting through the story mode required more repetition and time that I wanted to sink in the game. But if you are into convoluted games, with a ton of post game content, Disgaea 2 is right up your alley.
7.5 out of 10
While you might spot Etna in the game's cover, and she does indeed become a playable character in the latter chapters, Disgaea 2's story centers around Adell and Rozalin. Adell wants to defeat overlord Zennon and end his curse on humans, which turned them into demons. A summoning ritual gone wrong later and Rozalin, Zennon's daughter, is summoned in his stead. Now Adell will escort Rozalin back to his father.... and then defeat him! The game is peppered with generic animu feel-good scenes about friendship yadda yadda, but it did manage to get a couple of laughs out of me. There's also a few surprising, smart plot twists. All that said, if you ask me, I preferred Disgaea 1 and 3's story and characters over Disgaea 2's. Adell, Rozalin and co. just aren't as interesting as characters, and I didn't see myself laughing as much as I did with previous iterations.
And there's a lot you can do. Besides attacking, using items or defending, units can also use special attacks tied to whichever weapon they are equipped with. Being in adjacent tiles to up to three other friendly units allows you to use hilarious combo attacks. Then there's Disgaea's trademark mechanic: Lifting. You can lift allies or enemies and throw them around, you can even make towers with many units lifting other units! And then attack with said tower! There's a lot to wrap your head around, and I've only covered the surface. There're also Geo Panels, pyramids that can be place on colored panels and thus imbue all the same-colored panels with its attribute, like, maybe 'Heal 20%' every turn, or even 'Enemy Boost x50'!! There truly is a lot to take in with Disgaea, and you will need to learn everything if you aim to reach level 9999 and fight the bonus bosses!
.... Or you can try to min-max its stats by going into the Item World. Talking to another NPC will let you enter an Item's item world, a random 100-floor dungeon of increasing difficulty, the deeper you go, the stronger your weapon will get, and defeating certain, special enemies will raise particular stats of the item. In case you haven't noticed already, if you really want to get most of the game... get ready, because it's gonna be a huge time sink. And it can get pretty tedious.
Disgaea 2 - Cursed Memories is not a bad game by any means, but even simply getting through the story mode required more repetition and time that I wanted to sink in the game. But if you are into convoluted games, with a ton of post game content, Disgaea 2 is right up your alley.
7.5 out of 10
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Review #360: Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-
And now we start this year with a bang.
It's yet another ArkSys fighting game update, which translates to 3-5 new characters, a few updated mechanics and stages and the mandatory scummy business practices. Y'know, the usual.
Let's start with what's new: 6-8 new characters, kinda. Elphelt and Leo are new if you didn't purchase them back with Xrd, and I hope to god you didn't, since you shouldn't be supporting ArkSys' nickel and diming. There's also Johnny and Jam Kuradoberi as new characters, making their return from X/XX, although unlike most returning characters they haven't seen many visual changes(Heck, even Zappa and Baiken, unplayable story-only returning characters, look different!) which is kinda disappointing. Jack-O is a brand new character, and she is yet another silly fanservice Blazblue-inspired character that has no place in Guilty Gear, as well as Kum, who is this game's shady on-disc DLC character and, just like Leo before her, does fit the cast, so of course they are gonna charge for her. Raven rounds up the cast as the 'expensive-to-get-with-in-game-money-but-if-you-give-us-real-$$$-you-can-have-him-now bullshit character. Oh! And Dizzy was released, for 8 bucks, alongside a free patch later down the line. And don't worry, you won't forget that you are missing characters if you don't give ArkSys more money, the character select screen will be taunting you with locked slots every time you play! I swear to god, ArkSys is one of the worst videogame companies when it comes to DLC. On the bright side of things, the new characters offer entirely new ways and movesets to play the game with, and now we've over 20 characters to play with!
There's three new main mechanics added to the Xrd engine: Throw Break and Burst super moves, while homing attacks and blitz shields have been tweaked a bit. Each character has a Burst version of only one of their super moves, which consumes the Burst gauge as well as 50% tension, but deals extra damage and sometimes has extra added effects. Throw Break just nulls throws when both players try to throw each other at the same time and Blitz Shield can now be turned into a Blitz attack with special properties. Stylish Mode has been added as well, while playing in this mode, pressing any of the four attack buttons will perform simple buttons, and a new SP button can be used for easy special moves. To be completely honest, the new additions and tweaked mechanics will only be noticed, and used, by expert players, but Stylish Mode is a decent way to get more people playing, as well as to play the game more casually, which is kinda neat.
With that out of the way, let's get into the Modes... after you get through the somewhat confusing menu. They tried to group modes in an effort to make it more tidy, so now, for whatever reason, VS and M.O.M. modes are under... Arcade Mode? I don't even... Regardless, it's easy to get the hang of it, but it could've been a much better, cleaner menu. Anyways, besides the online VS features, you also get offline VS CPU or Player, Episode Mode, which is a fancy way of saying Arcade Mode in which you battle 8 CPU enemies while treated to very tiny snippets of story(Except Jam and Raven, for whatever reason, they don't get anything), M.O.M. which is an ingenious take on Survival, you earn medals from defeated foes and can use them to strengthen your character as you go along.
Story Mode is back, and it works just like it did before... Look, I don't agree with the animu turn the series has taken. Mind you, Guilty Gear has always had some anime influence('That man'), always, but it was never THIS bad. It made sense for I-No to be sexy and fanservicey, since she was Rock'n roll. But now we have three Murakumo uni.... I mean, three Valentine Clones, Elphelt, Ramlethal and Jack-O, all which feature different waifu personalities and disgustingly fanservicey designs, even Jack-O who bears the least skin but crouches in a downward dog positions because Japan. The story is filled to the bream with its own presumptuous terminology like 'Scales of Juno', 'Flame of Corruption', like... Why is this game turning into Blazblue? The entire story mode feels like a bad generic anime filled with cliched scenarios and situations. Like... damn.
Rounding up the modes we get a very good tutorial, a fantastic mission mode that teaches you a lot about how this game works as well as how fighting games in general work, a training mode and a combo challenge mode for each characters. All in all, a very strong assortment of modes. There's also a quirky, but addictive, new minigame: fishing. You can get every in-game unlockable, even Raven, by randomly fishing it out of the fountain instead of paying its full price... if you are lucky. In this minigame you use the customizable, cartoony avatar that you use in the online lobbies, which is really neat. They added a lot of personality to what could've otherwise been a throwaway extra,
Now THIS feels like an actual fully-fledged game. Over 20 characters, a healthy amount of modes, various in-game unlockables(like up to 17 colors per character!) and great tutorial modes for beginners. And I wish I could score it higher, but I can't in good conscience do so while ArkSys continues their disgusting DLC practices. I just can't, because you can't shake the feeling that ArkSys cares more about your money than providing a full product. And what's up with turning this game into Blazblue? Give me more Metal, give me more Rock and stop bringing in more anime tropes.
8.0 out of 10
Let's start with what's new: 6-8 new characters, kinda. Elphelt and Leo are new if you didn't purchase them back with Xrd, and I hope to god you didn't, since you shouldn't be supporting ArkSys' nickel and diming. There's also Johnny and Jam Kuradoberi as new characters, making their return from X/XX, although unlike most returning characters they haven't seen many visual changes(Heck, even Zappa and Baiken, unplayable story-only returning characters, look different!) which is kinda disappointing. Jack-O is a brand new character, and she is yet another silly fanservice Blazblue-inspired character that has no place in Guilty Gear, as well as Kum, who is this game's shady on-disc DLC character and, just like Leo before her, does fit the cast, so of course they are gonna charge for her. Raven rounds up the cast as the 'expensive-to-get-with-in-game-money-but-if-you-give-us-real-$$$-you-can-have-him-now bullshit character. Oh! And Dizzy was released, for 8 bucks, alongside a free patch later down the line. And don't worry, you won't forget that you are missing characters if you don't give ArkSys more money, the character select screen will be taunting you with locked slots every time you play! I swear to god, ArkSys is one of the worst videogame companies when it comes to DLC. On the bright side of things, the new characters offer entirely new ways and movesets to play the game with, and now we've over 20 characters to play with!
With that out of the way, let's get into the Modes... after you get through the somewhat confusing menu. They tried to group modes in an effort to make it more tidy, so now, for whatever reason, VS and M.O.M. modes are under... Arcade Mode? I don't even... Regardless, it's easy to get the hang of it, but it could've been a much better, cleaner menu. Anyways, besides the online VS features, you also get offline VS CPU or Player, Episode Mode, which is a fancy way of saying Arcade Mode in which you battle 8 CPU enemies while treated to very tiny snippets of story(Except Jam and Raven, for whatever reason, they don't get anything), M.O.M. which is an ingenious take on Survival, you earn medals from defeated foes and can use them to strengthen your character as you go along.
Rounding up the modes we get a very good tutorial, a fantastic mission mode that teaches you a lot about how this game works as well as how fighting games in general work, a training mode and a combo challenge mode for each characters. All in all, a very strong assortment of modes. There's also a quirky, but addictive, new minigame: fishing. You can get every in-game unlockable, even Raven, by randomly fishing it out of the fountain instead of paying its full price... if you are lucky. In this minigame you use the customizable, cartoony avatar that you use in the online lobbies, which is really neat. They added a lot of personality to what could've otherwise been a throwaway extra,
8.0 out of 10
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Of Swords and Joysticks End of the Year Awards 2016 Part II
Time to finish the fight... as I've done before.
Cue the trumpets, please...
Worst Game of 2016:
Way, way more clunkers and blunders than I would like to admit went through my hands this year, which made this list not as easy to make as I would've hoped for.
5)
I love horror. I love horror stories, horror books, horror movies and horror games. And I absolutely hated P.T.. It's not a fun 'game', it's not even a fun technical demo. How did so many people found this thing to be so good is completely beyond me. It's not scary. It's repetitive, and the things you've gotta do to progress make no sense at times. Dumb demo from the most overrated game developer in the industry.
4)
I don't get it. Ken's Rage was one of the most fun Warriors games I had played, all they had to do was add more characters and call it a day. Fist of the North Star - Ken's Rage 2 does add more characters... but it did away with most of the previous game's fantastic cutscenes. It did away with what makes Warriors games fun: Beating people up. No longer does it feel like I'm taking part of full-blown battles, but now you go from designated area to designated area beating up enemy quotas. No wonder the Hokuto no Ken Warriors games died off after this one.
3)
I fully understand that Super Mario Land is a very old gameboy game so it's unfair to compare it to modern games. But even when I compare it with other games that graced the same platform it falls short as a game. When I play Super Mario games, no matter the console, I expect tight, precise controls, which this game doesn't deliver. At least the experience is short enough as not to have to endure its shortcomings for long.
Runner-up)
Pathetic. Lord of Arcana is everything that's bad and tedious about Monster Hunter clones without what makes them fun. You are constantly playing against the RNG in hopes of getting what you need. The game is dull and boring to the point that I simply gave up and shelved the game.
Loser)
It's sad when an 8-bit console's version of a game is superior to its 16-bit counterpart, but such is the case with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Tournament Fighters(GEN). Let's assume that we ignore the fact that it's nigh unplayable in Single Player due to how much of a cheating bastard the CPU is... you've got a lame 2D fighting game, with only two buttons(Punch and Kick) all made up of few animation frames, which makes the fighting look clunky and play clunky. It's boring, it's a mess and it was the worst game I played in 2016.
Best Playstation 2 Game of 2016:
One of my favorite consoles of all time, there hasn't been a single year in which the PS2 failed me,a s there're always fantastic new games waiting to be played or discovered.
5)
Containing the first 8 games in the franchise plus the two Arcade fighting games, Mega Man Anniversary Collection is a game that should find a place in every gamer's household. There's a lot of great games to play in this disc.
4)
One of the first games I played this year, Silent Hill 3 was the game that convinced me to give the rest of the Silent Hill franchise a try. Considered by many the best game in the series, everything that makes survival horror games great is in this game: Scares, creepy monsters, creepy environments and limited ammo and health items.
3)
Shinobi games don't tend to get direct sequels, usually being one-off affairs. Nightshade changed this by taking place in the same world as Shinobi(PS2) and retaining everything that made that game so good. It's tough, it's complicated to the point of having the player pull some crazy finger gymnastics if they mean to finish the game, it's got some fantastic, fast-paced combat rewarding speed and it's also got a fantastic amount of extras. Worst case scenario you can consider this game an expansion pack for Shinobi... and that's a fantastic thing to be anyways!
Runner-up)
It's probably a bit too easy to be considered scary, and while Silent Hill 4's premise is still my favorite, Silent Hill 2 is no slouch. What really makes this game stand out is its complex, but well knit narrative that is bound to engage and shock players, with a huge amount of tiny details sprinkled everywhere, both into the game's overall design and in things for the player to discover. One of the most well put together games I've ever played. Ever.
Winner)
But not every games needs a well put together story to be good. Take Megaman X, it has one of the worst stories every put together, filled with ridiculous scenarios and explanations('I hid while I repaired myself') and what not. And you can take part of that stupid story with Megaman X Collection. This disc is host to some of the SNES best classics in the form of Megaman X1, X2 and X3 alongside the phenomenal Megaman X4. There's also X5 if you really need more Megaman X action in your life, as well X6, but we don't speak about that one. But I digress, where the Megaman X franchise really shines is in its gameplay, featuring a faster-paced version of the gun-and-jump gameplay that made Megaman Classic so famous, as well as a rocking soundtrack and great art-direction.
Best Playstation 1 Game of 2016:
I didn't really get to play many Playstation 1 games this year, and among the few I played even fewer stood out, but here are the best of the bunch.
3)
I love both Classicvanias and Metroidvanias alike, and Castlevania Chronicles falls directly into the former. The game features the oft-forgotten Sharp X860000 Castlevania, a tough-as-nails classic 2-D platform game, alongside the PS1 remix, which made the game a bit easier and changed Simon Belomont's sprite into a fabulous red-haired visual key barbarian. And it's glorious. It's not the best Classicvania out there, but it's one of Castlevania's lesser known games, so having a more accessible copy is always welcome.
Runner-up)
I remember back in highschool when I would talk about videogames with my mates. Silent Hill was mentioned to me, and my mate would tell me all about it and its flashlight mechanics and what not, and I couldn't help but think 'I really don't want to play something like that'. Almost ten years later here I am, loving the hell out of the Silent Hill franchise and being able to say that I absolutely loved my time with Silent Hill. While future games in the series would polish and build upon its foundation, the original game still remains a top-notch survival horror game worth coming back to.
Winner)
Resident Evil 2 wasn't scary and it wasn't very hard, but damn, was it fun! While tank controls are usually frowned upon nowadays, they work really well for Resident Evil 2 and how it's supposed to be played. It had a ridiculous plot, but the gameplay was oh so good, it felt so gratifying to blow up zombies, spiders and what not using your various weapons, and I grew to love how puzzles worked in the game: Having you collecting all these key items and then figuring out how to use them... it simply was a fun game.
Best Playstation 3 Game of 2016:
While the Playstation 3 is part of the reason I somewhat fell out of love with modern gaming, thanks to scummy DLC practices and unfinished games... there's no denying that it's the console I game with the most.
5)
The truth is, Borderlands 2 has already won awards in my blog before, and I technically didn't play it this year, since I only played through the DLCs I was missing. And Borderlands - The Presequel wouldn't be able to get to my nominations by itself, but there's also no way to ignore just what a fantastic overal package Borderlands - Triple Pack is! Which is why, while Borderlands 2 is my favorite game in these awards, I can only give Triple Pack a place in Rank 5 of my nominations.
4)
While not the best Warriors game out there, One Piece - Pirate Warriors 3 is one fantastic addition to the franchise. One Piece's trademark artstyle and zany powers make for some of the most visually attractive movesets in the entire Warriors franchise. The game also gives you waves upon waves upon waves of enemies for you to crush, exactly what I want out of my Warriors games!
3)
Dishonored - Game of the Year Edition is one awe-inspiring game. I don't remember the last time I was give so much freedom with how I could tackle my objective. Multiple routes as well as multiple styles individual to each player makes for a ton of different outcomes. The game also gives you a bunch of brilliant tools, like Blink a very intuitive warp-tool that makes navigating environments so much fun. It's a fantastic game through and through.
Runner-up)
And then returned PS2 games in order to demand more attention. Devil May Cry HD Collection brings together Devil May Cry 1, 2 and 3 in HD and it's glorious. DMC 1 has aged a lot, but it remains a great game. DMC 2 is a bit lackluster when compared to the other two games, but I found it to have some redeeming qualities, and then there's DMC 3, the reason this Collection made it to the number 2 spot. Devil May Cry 3 has one of the best 3D action game mechanics out there, there's a decent amount of different weapons, each with their own moveset, that makes crafting combos a thing of beauty.
Winner)
Resident Evil doesn't have enough horror, and Silent Hill has never had great gameplay, so while Resident Evil games were fun to play, Silent Hill games were fun to play-through. But what would happen if you mixed modern Resident Evil gameplay with Silent Hill's brand of horror? The Evil Within happens. Easily the best Survival Horror game I played this year, and also my personal favorite, trumping over both Silent Hill 4 and Resident Evil 4. Everything about the game is fun and satisfying to play, while being scary all the way through thanks to some fantastic set-pieces and scarce availability of ammo. A brilliant, brilliant game.
Best Nintendo Game of 2016:
I played a few Wii and DS games, but not enough to justify having their own, or a mixed, award list, so I crumpled them together with 3DS games for the Best Nintendo Game I played in 2016.
5)
This game made me want to play Professor Layton. Being a long-time fan of Phoenix Wright, and having known about the Layton franchise, Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney actually made sense as a crossover. I have to admit that both gameplay types mixed together beautifully, and I had a grand time solving puzzles and trials.
4)
While Silent Hill - Shattered Memories failed as a Silent Hill game, it succeeded as a standalone game. I loved the 4-5 hours I spent traversing the main character's psyque, since the story was so well written and told, with so many things making sense after finishing the game, and a few brilliant twists... It's a fantastic game.
3)
The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time 3D is one of the finest games you can find on the 3DS, thanks to its enhanced graphics and additional 'Other Quest' mode, it makes the N64 and Gamecube rerelease obsolete. While a bit aged in some regards, it's still a long, fun adventure filled with puzzles to solve and a huge amount of secrets to find.
Runner-up)
One of the best platform games ever made, Super Mario Bros. 3 is still a classic. Thanks to its perfect mechanics in their simplicity, this is as timeless as videogames get. Huge amount of levels, tons of power ups, like costumes that change how Mario behave and tight platforming and controls that makes Mario feel like he is an extension of your body make for a absolute must-play.
Winner)
Chrono Trigger is another timeless classic that made its way into my Nintendo awards. Square managed to get together the best of the best in order to develop one of the best JRPGs ever made. An unforgettable soundtrack, a simple but effective premise, endearing characters and a finely tuned combat system that makes the most of what you can get out of turn based battles... it's truly a game that can't age.
Best Playstation Handheld of 2016:
Yeah... I didn't play many PSP games, but a single, special PSP game deserved to get an award, thus, both Vita and PSP get to share nominations!
5)
One of the best RPGs I played in 2016, Digimon Story - Cyber Sleuth is the best Digimon game I've played yet. While it can get a bit grind-heavy, the game is so much fun that it's easy to ignore some of the tedioum when it comes to maxing your Digimon stats. But it's a combination of its simple, but fun battles and the deceptively dark and entertaining Shin Megami Tensei-esque story that makes this one such a home-run.
4)
While it starts off a bit too animu for my tastes, Danganronpa 2 - Goodbye Despair's initial chapters are its only pitfall. Halfway through the game, the story picks up, the characters get interesting and you discover that you simply cannot put the Vita down.. This VITA port also contains a few minigames that were more fun than they deserved to be.
3)
But while Goodbye Despair's story takes a while to get good, Danganronpa - Trigger Happy Havoc is a fantastic story all the way through. It does such a good job of setting up a hopeless environment, having you traverse the boarded up, empty highschool corridors in first person that it manages to immerse the players in way the second game just can't. Beating the game also unlocks a micromanagement minigame that's way more fun than it has any right to be.
Runner-up)
There wasn't a single game I spent more time playing than Toukiden - Kiwami. Among Monster Hunger clones, this one is, probably, the one that tried the least to separate itself from it. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, hunting is fun, CPU allies are actually effective for a change and there's a decent assortment of different weapons that make for different styles. This is probably one of the better ways to get into the Monster Hunting genre.
Winner)
Megaman X was pretty dope. Megaman Maverick Hunter X is pretty dope as well. This game is just as good as the original, and while it's an almost 1:1 exact remake, a few stages were changed, and while I preferred the original renditions... this game makes up for it by adding a 40 minute OVA as well as Vile as a playable character that changes the way you play entirely and makes for a fantastic bonus. Even if you own Megaman X, Maverick Hunter X comes recommended thanks to its extras,
Game of the Year 2016:
The best of the best, these were my favorite five games I played in 2016.
5)
Resident Evil 2 is everything that's good about classic Resident Evil games. It was the first REvil to go into a decidedly action-y focus, which 3 and Code Veronica would follow, but it also kept all the to-and-fro item gathering, managing and the puzzles that made the first one known in the first place. It's a fantastic starting point for people that want to see what classic Resident Evil was all about.
4)
Just as Resident Evil 2 being the best example of classic Resident Evil, Silent Hill 2 is the best example of what's so good about the classic Silent Hill games. Combat is but an afterthought, being simple to a fault and just the means to an end. But its story is the perfect example of Silent Hill's focus on psychological horror, featuring an attention to detail not normally seen in videogames then and now.
3)
Megaman X Collection and Megaman Maverick Hunter X are two fantastic ways to experience Megaman X. While Collection has 6 more games to play(Albeit only X4 and X2 being as good as X1), Maverick Hunter X sweetens the deal with 40 minutes of animation, in the form of the Day of Sigma OVA, as well as the fantastic Vile Mode. While I veer towards the collection, since it has quality and quantity, there's no denying that the PSP remake's extras make it worth purchasing Megaman X again.
Runner-up)
My favorite Survival Horror game out there, The Evil Within is the perfect evolution of Resident Evil 4's mechanics coupled with horror that feels very Silent Hillish in nature. Basically, it's the perfect fusion of the two go-to classic Survival Horror franchises, and it works so well. This game is a thing of beauty, and what Survival Horror should be all about. And it hurts me not being able to give it the number 1 spot in my list.
Winner)
But as much as it hurts, Chrono Trigger is still a masterpiece and the perfect example of why JRPGs became such a beloved genre. We don't get games like this anymore, but at least we'll always have the classics of yesteryear to fall upon to. Games that don't get old, games that are as much fun today as they once were. That is Chrono Trigger, my favorite game I played in 2016.
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