[EVENT] The Sonic Stadium 52 Game Challenge 2024! - New Prizes every week! Current Prize: Sonic Battle Profile gift!

[Failinhearts]

WEEK 13: FAILIN'S POSTGAME

GAME 59: SONIC & SEGA ALL STARS RACING (PC): 100% COMPLETE

A good first installment that only gets better from here, check out my full thoughts using the blog link below!

GAMES FINISHED: 59

GAMES COMPLETE: 54

[duckyfloof]

greetings

Game 26: Super mario 3D land (Not 100%)

2 Star save file

eh
its just 3d world but worse so i'd like to keep my synopsis for when im done with that
originally intended to 100% it until i realised i have to beat the game a second time with luigi, im NOT doing that

Game 27: Sonic Riders (not 100%)

Both stories completed

holy shit
i did not expect this to be that good, the mechanics are surprisingly in depth and you are told NONE of them. once you get the hang of it its super thrilling and now i really want a sonic riders 3 (no free riders does not count)

I've been pretty slow lately mostly due to the fact ive been playing live service games akin to fortnite and just replaying sonic games ive already documented here, which ties neatly into the big challenge
BIG CAMEO!

I ran through sa1 again recently, which includes bigs story

To make the poor piccolo guy's job easier here's the count:
Games beaten - 27
Games completed - 19

Thanks for reading, i'll be back soon enough
 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Late announcement, but it’s a brand new week and therefore time for a new profile gift! Join or check into the 52 Game Challenge this week and earn a Sonic Shuffle profile gift!

[SadVlad]

It's been a little over a week since I've posted any games that I've beaten. But I have finished a couple, and just wanted to do a weekly check-in. I'm currently working on the .Hack GU series and wanted to post them all at once. I'm working on the third game in the series and I'll probably upload after I complete chapter 4. Masterpiece of a franchise, and probably my favorite RPG series. I played the first series on PS2 but never dived down the rabbit hole which is GU. I definitely recommend it, and the collection was on sale for the Switch for 9.99 

 I don't know if the sale has ended yet but it's worth picking up. There's probably a good 80 hours of content if you just do a typical playthrough of all the games. And there is a slew of bonus content.

[Bortificatin]

Game 2 - Pokemon Violet (NSW)

The actual first game I've beaten this year. I'll admit, I did approach this one with a bit of apprehension, given all the memes and discourse surrounding the game's optimization and the potential of game breaking glitches. But I was gifted the game during Christmas, so I kinda had an obligation to give it a shot, and so I did. In terms of issues I had with the game, the graphics could be better (especially when compared to games like DQ XI S), the framerate could get pretty bad at points (especially in Cascarrafa City), and while the open-ended nature of the game was a novelty, it is a bit annoying that the gyms don't actually scale to your level and you could potentially end up getting into a gym or Titan you're nowhere near prepared for. But at the same time, there was also a lot to like. I like a lot of the new Pokemon designs that were introduced for Gen 9, especially Ceruledge (big Battle Network energy there), the Terrestrialization mechanic has a lot of cool potential with the type combos and whatnot (even if it visually looks kinda goofy with the hats), and I do enjoy how they handled certain aspects of the story and characters, especially the finale at Area Zero. The main cast also ended up being one of my favorites in all of Pokemon, and I love how cohesive the gang felt especially in comparison to your "rivals" in X/Y. Overall I did enjoy it a lot, but I also acknowledge it is also nowhere near perfect. I beat the main story and I did the gym leader post game fights as well as the academy tournament but I didn't complete the Pokedex nor did I do that one sidequest regarding the posts scattered across Paldea, perhaps another time.

(Also note that I have none of the DLC and have no clue how any of that would count towards this challenge)

 

Game 3 - Mega Man (NES)

The first game in my favorite gaming franchise of all time (other than Sonic). I actually tend to have a bit of more nostalgia for this game compared to 2. It may have to do with how much I played Mega Man Powered Up as a kid, or the prevalence of the MM1 Robot Masters in the Archie comics. Also I actually think the game isn't actually that hard despite what many say. Yeah the Yellow Devil's annoying as hell, but other than that the game is pretty manageable. On another note, I do find the design that Rock has in his civilian persona at the end of the credits kinda off looking compared to how it looks in later games (especially that haircut). Also Thunder Beam is a GOATED weapon, and man I wish the Magnet Beam appeared more throughout the series.

 

Finished Games : 3

Completed Games : 1

[Bortificatin]

I do have a question regarding how certain games are handled when it comes to the challenge, particularly fighting games and visual novels. If a fighting game doesn't have any collectibles, story mode, or achievements, would simply beating arcade mode with any character be good enough for completion, or would you have to beat arcade mode with every single character? Also, are visual novels eligible for this challenge?

[Ryannumber1gamer]

21 minutes ago, Bortificatin said:

I do have a question regarding how certain games are handled when it comes to the challenge, particularly fighting games and visual novels. If a fighting game doesn't have any collectibles, story mode, or achievements, would simply beating arcade mode with any character be good enough for completion, or would you have to beat arcade mode with every single character? Also, are visual novels eligible for this challenge?

Visual novels are eligible for this challenge, and it depends on the fighting game. If it's something like SF2, then I would say arcade with any character is enough for reasonable completion. Later games with unlockables and all that will need to be done to have it count for completion.

[Agie]

Weekly check in; only one game truly beaten...but I've come to realize this one game has become very special to me, which was completely unexpected.

I should do the "games I've beaten so far" list, though.

On 4/1/2024 at 11:48 PM, Agie said:

1. Super Mario RPG Remake

2. Kaze and the Wild Masks

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (100%)

4. Mega Man 1

5. Mega Man 2

6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game

7. Twinkle Star Sprites

8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (100%)

9. Sunset Riders

10. Mega Man 3

11. Mega Man 4 (sequel wars version)

12. Terminator Salvation (arcade)

13. Roll-Chan 5 (hack of Mega Man 5)

14. Kiki KaiKai

15. Roll-Chan 6 (hack of Mega Man 6)

16. Beeny

17. Roll-Chan World (hack of Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge)

18. Roll-Chan: Mini World (hack of Game Gear Mega Man)

19. Duke Nukem 1

20. Roll-Chan World 2 (hack of Game Boy Mega Man II)

21. Earthworm Jim

22. 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 1

23. Duke Nukem II

24. Roll-Chan World 3 (hack of Game Boy Mega Man III)

25. The New Zealand Story

26. Sonic the Hedgehog CD

27. Roll-Chan World 4 (hack of Game Boy Mega Man IV)

28. Momodora

29. Roll-Chan World 5 (hack of Game Boy Mega Man V)

30. Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Wily Tower)

31. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From the Sewers

32. Mega Man: Powered Up

33. Mega Man 7 Restoration + Refit (100%)

34. Mega Man: The Power Battle

35. Duke Nukem 3D: Total Meltdown

36. The Simpsons Arcade (Konami)

37. Jurassic Park Arcade (Raw Thrills)

38. Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure

39. Mega Man 8

40. Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters

41. Mega Man & Bass

42. Mega Man & Bass: Challenger of the Future (100%)

43. Earthworm Jim 2 (100%)

44. Mega Man: Battle & Chase

45. Liquid Kids (100%)

46. Mega Man 9 (100%)

47. Batman (Raw Thrills) (100%)

48. Halo: Fireteam Raven (100%)

Honorable Mentions:
Ms. Pac-Man (Arcade)

Big Challenge:
Big's Big Fishing Adventure 3

49. Hi-Fi Rush (right now, only finished, not completed)

This is a game I went into having very little idea of what it was all about or what it was beyond that it looked silly, it looked like an action game, and people liked it. I didn't get it on Steam because I don't trust my luck with Denuvo (though I hear the game runs fine even with it), and I chose a PS5 last year rather than the Series X. Last month, the game came out on PS5, so I decided I ran out of excuses to not try it out.

I got it, and gave it a go. I was hoping for a good time. However, what I didn't expect was for this game to weirdly be precisely what I needed in these trying times.

The story is about a guy named Chai who has...something wrong with his arm that's preventing him from being a rockstar, and decides to go to Vandelay to get a robot arm to fix that. However, Kale Vandelay, the CEO, notices his music player, and having no respect for Chai's dream or his property, tosses it to the side, where it just happens to land on Chai's chest during the procedure. The robot arm was only supposed to make him a garbage man, but somehow, the mix of the music player and the arm gives him the power of rock, with everything moving to the beat. Chai meets 808 and Peppermint, who are looking for Vandelay's secrets, and they seek to do so.

This is not the most ridiculous plot I've ever seen. But this game makes it work amazingly well, and I will stop with the synopsis there; if you haven't experienced this by now, you are missing out. This story is great stuff, and it's nice to see how it develops. It just fills me with positive feelings, and it gave me a laugh when I needed it the most.

On the subject of the gameplay, it kinda makes me think of games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, with a graphical style that kinda reminds me of Jet Set Radio, Viewtiful Joe and Transformers: Devastation. But this one adds a twist where your attacks move to the beat, and I like that; I hear it's not the first of its kind to do this, but I still found it a nice take on the genre. Some enemy types do get a bit repetitive, but that's always the struggle I find with a lot of these games, so it's hardly unique to this one.

The music itself is some good stuff if you like rock and roll, and even the exceptions that aren't rock suit the game well. I did play with the copyrighted songs, since I wasn't doing a livestream, but I did listen to the "streamer friendly" versions of the songs, and I must say, even those are worth a listen even if you don't plan to livestream the game.

Also, I learned my oldest nephew got to play this game at a friend's house, and he considers it one of the coolest games he's ever played on any system. When I think about it, I find it hard to disagree.

As a bonus note; the PS5 version does do some nice little things that take advantage of the PS5 controller by having it make little noises that relate to the game and such. It's not much of a difference from the other versions at the end of the day, but it is a nice little touch.

I do have to spoiler the screenshot since it contains a spoiler, but it proves I beat the game. Play this game. Whether you've got a Series S or X, a PS5, or a PC that can run it, I consider this game an absolute must play.

Spoiler

[Rabid-Coot]

Super Mario Wonder 100%

More like Super Mario BLUNDER right fellow Sonic fans?

Yeah its mostly good fun with two frustrating levels in the mix with the special world jump to the beat level and the invisible section in the final badge challenge (Thankfully there's a cheese strat with a second controller to mitigate that.) Bosses I  felt were a let down, I'm not a fan of doing iterations on the same boss formula in a game although the final hands boss was fun.

Finished: 22 Completed: 22

[SadVlad]

Well, I finally did it

Game 26: .Hack GU Rebirth (Not 100%)

Game 27: .Hack GU Reminisce (Not 100%)

Game 28: .Hack GU Redemption (Not 100%)

Game 29: .Hack GU Reconnection (Not 100%)

After seven days and wat too many hours for me to recount, I have beaten the .Hack GU Collection and all for games. 

[Sean]

#11/52 - OpenTTD (PC)

Reaching the year 2051 is the closest thing this game has to a victory quota, since you get scored based on your business' worth by then. There's otherwise no 100% criteria in this game. (Also I sloppily erased my business name since I forgot I was using my real name on this save file)

[castell-neath]

For week 13, its Game number 18 completed and 100%ed - Sonic 3d Blast via an android Mega Drive emulator.

I still enjoy this oddity of a Sonic game, despite it being the poor relation port from the Saturn. Its fun, well presented(mostly), and has a fair difficulty spike. Its not all a bed of roses though - the special stages are poorly set out and rather dull and the controls are a bit slippy and can cause some frustration in some of the more demanding platforming sections. Musically, its very well done indeed - The Eggman and Diamond Dust themes still sound great, and no wonder Green Grove and Puppet Panic were reused in Adventure as they too are awsome. Also, I THINK this is the first sonic game to feature unique cutscenes (with specific character dialouge) in the pre and post game sections.

Away from that, made progress on Horizon. Completed the midsiom "Gemini", saw the interlude and completed "Wings of the Ten" which allows me to overide Skyhawks and fly. Am currently "stuck" trying to defeat Regalla to finish that mission and progress. Its a pretty tricky battle in 3 phases. Urgh.

Have also fired up the 3ds and am revisiting a few classics to post on here in future. Zelda, Kid Icarus and GTA Chinatown wars are in the early stages.

 

 

Edited April 10 by castell-neath

[SadVlad]

Game #30: Comic Zone

I've played this game my entire life but I finally got around to beating it for the first time

[SadVlad]

Game #31: MegaMan 2 The Power Fighters

Never played this before, but I thought it was really cool that this arcade game foreshadowed Zero at the end.

[Failinhearts]

17 hours ago, castell-neath said:

For week 13, its Game number 18 completed and 100%ed - Sonic 3d Blast via an android Mega Drive emulator.

I still enjoy this oddity of a Sonic game, despite it being the poor relation port from the Saturn. Its fun, well presented(mostly), and has a fair difficulty spike. Its not all a bed of roses though - the special stages are poorly set out and rather dull and the controls are a bit slippy and can cause some frustration in some of the more demanding platforming sections. Musically, its very well done indeed - The Eggman and Diamond Dust themes still sound great, and no wonder Green Grove and Puppet Panic were reused in Adventure as they too are awsome. Also, I THINK this is the first sonic game to feature unique cutscenes (with specific character dialouge) in the pre and post game sections.

Away from that, made progress on Horizon. Completed the midsiom "Gemini", saw the interlude and completed "Wings of the Ten" which allows me to overide Skyhawks and fly. Am currently "stuck" trying to defeat Regalla to finish that mission and progress. Its a pretty tricky battle in 3 phases. Urgh.

Have also fired up the 3ds and am revisiting a few classics to post on here in future. Zelda, Kid Icarus and GTA Chinatown wars are in the early stages.

Hey, there! Going through your entries, you only had 17 entries. (We are adding back in your Superstars Mobile entry!)

Make sure to pay extra close attention to your numbering of the game entries as to avoid confusion on our backend. Or if you believe we counted wrong, let us know how and we can look into it. Thanks!

[castell-neath]

2 hours ago, Failinhearts said:

Hey, there! Going through your entries, you only had 17 entries. (We are adding back in your Superstars Mobile entry!)

Make sure to pay extra close attention to your numbering of the game entries as to avoid confusion on our backend. Or if you believe we counted wrong, let us know how and we can look into it. Thanks!

It looks like I have double counted sorry. I have my long list and I think I counted a few games twice by mistake (Triple trouble 8 and 16 bit, rush, rush adventure) . Its should be 17 as you say. Sorry for the mess up!

[SpeedyChilidogs]

Woah This is too cool I'm so in! 

[Gruffin]

Weekly Check-In, Game 1 : Sonic Adventure DX (Steam Release)

Since my last update, I managed to tear myself away from my partner in crime Burger Guy and made some progress.

First up was Casinopolis. I wasn't initially enthused about the bait-and-switch pinball game, but it turned out to be a chill way to pass time and had a hilarious visual gag at the very end that caught me off guard enough to make me laugh. I was also thoroughly baffled by the NiGHTS pinball machine when it flung Sonic through space, a sunny field, and the Doctor Who opening, but I managed to come to my senses just in time to nab this screenshot of that funky jester slam-dunking Sonic like a basketball:

The task of accumulating 400 rings was simple with little interference from enemies, and from that this stage quickly proved itself as a great way to grind for extra lives. I ended up returning for a second run after burning up all of mine failing Emerald Hill's A Rank, and found some normal Sonic gameplay hiding in the sewers in the process. Neat!

I also did a lot of platform-related fooling around in that second run just to see if I could reach certain areas of the map.

Time well wasted.

 

Next up was Ice Cap, and ohhh man.

So back when I first played Emerald Hill, I hit that bug that clips you through the ground on one of the turns. I didn't mention it because it was the kind of jank that I expected going in, was easily avoidable, and didn't impact my enjoyment of the stage. It was too minor, hardly worth complaining about on its own.

The same cannot be said for Ice Cap :\ This stage is regrettably chock-full of invisible wormholes into the ether, and they were numerous and frustrating enough to be distracting.

It's a shame, because there were parts of it that I enjoyed. I liked hopping between the icicles and snowboarding down the mountain at the end (City Escape before City Escape, ayy), and I can tell just by looking at it that the platforming sections would be fun if I wasn't busy worrying about being swallowed up by the walls while Tails looks on in horror.

I know this is a problem with the port that I am playing, and it can be fixed with mods. However...for now I'm going to keep playing it vanilla mostly out of morbid curiosity. Surely this was the worst of it, right?

 

After that, it was time for two back-to-back boss battles and a plane minigame. Knuckles was stupidly easy while Chaos 4 and Sky Chase were alright. After that, Twinkle Park. New stage, new toys to play with, and the toys that Twinkle Park bestows upon the player are...Bumper cars and a racetrack!

This one took me a couple tries because of how difficult it was for me to maneuver the car, but it wasn't too bad to get through aside from not knowing when running into an enemy was going to kill them or me. As I was playing, I thought to myself that it felt kinda similar to Adventure 2's kart stages, but I couldn't remember how similar. I thought to myself as I booted up Adventure 2, "I'll just check that real quick--"

 

Uh.

 

Game 2 : Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (Steam Release)

So yeah, I didn't finish Sonic's Adventure in SA1 this week because I got a teensy bit distracted getting those A Ranks. But that's fine! It's not like I'm haunted by the image of Rouge drifting into a wall every time I close my eyes now.

The experience was nothing short of horrific, but with it came a couple realizations:

1) I hated playing the kart stages casually, but once those A ranks forced me to learn and master the controls, they became a thrilling challenge. Could the other stages be this way too?

2) Hey wait a minute...There's 4 times more game that I haven't played yet! I may have finished story mode last year, but each stage has a bunch of new objectives that I haven't tried yet.

I know I want to complete the rest of these missions at the very least. As for A Ranking everything...ehh, we'll see. Regardless of whether I actually end up 100%-ing this, it'll be fun to do this on the side and see how far I get throughout the year.

[WorksOfMagic]

Updated the game completion doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ENT18rQXcoLnvIuqKfLuxfCcvveb5vO1yL5Cbm0oVNY/edit?usp=drivesdk

 

Here's a new game beaten this week. And a rom hack no less. Here's Hellfire Saga.

A surprisingly great rom hack inspired by the likes of Castlevania and Ghost n' Goblins. The aesthetic is top notch, the sprite work, music arrangements etc... are just as good, and the difficulty albeit punishing at times, especially during the final levels gives this game a great learning curve. Totally recommend it.

 

Games completed: 18

[Ryannumber1gamer]

12 hours ago, WorksOfMagic said:

Updated the game completion doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ENT18rQXcoLnvIuqKfLuxfCcvveb5vO1yL5Cbm0oVNY/edit?usp=drivesdk

 

Here's a new game beaten this week. And a rom hack no less. Here's Hellfire Saga.

A surprisingly great rom hack inspired by the likes of Castlevania and Ghost n' Goblins. The aesthetic is top notch, the sprite work, music arrangements etc... are just as good, and the difficulty albeit punishing at times, especially during the final levels gives this game a great learning curve. Totally recommend it.

 

Games completed: 18

Is this 100% completed?

[SadVlad]

Game #32: Mario & Sonic 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

Never thought I'd actually finish this one. But to my surprise I enjoyed it. The story isn't any good, but the 8bit games and the dream games were great. I can see myself playing some of these again from time to time.

[WorksOfMagic]

5 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Is this 100% completed?

Afaik, it is. I haven't seen any info about a secret ending being present if you played on the hardest difficulty (aka Maniac). I played on hard mode. There is an Arcade like mode as well called EX Mode, but it adds nothing to completion.

[WorksOfMagic]

1 hour ago, WorksOfMagic said:

Afaik, it is. I haven't seen any info about a secret ending being present if you played on the hardest difficulty (aka Maniac). I played on hard mode. There is an Arcade like mode as well called EX Mode, but it adds nothing to completion.

Having looked at TAS of the Maniac difficulty, I can confirm that beating it doesn't lead to some secret ending or something.

Maniac is basically a glorified OHKO difficulty.

Therefore, considering EX Mode is just a glorified side-Arcade mode as well, I think we can consider this game 100% complete.

Also, just to let you people know. Whenever I "finish" a game, I'll only write a "finished game" post about it when I 100% complete it. I've done it with previous posts, and I'm not planning to stop.

[Covskin]

Donkey Kong Country 2 - 102% Complete

Spoiler

My first time ever playing this game. I'm not a fan of the original really and this is a clear improvement. That said...far from my favourite platformer. I like that it defies the usual level tropes and David Wise's soundtrack lives up to the hype. I thought the collison detection was a bit off though, and level layouts were frustrating. I wasn't going to go for all the secrets at first, but once I got a certain amount I felt I'd fo it out of obligation.

 

Ninja Gaiden - 100% Completed

Spoiler

Not aware of any special completion requirements. Beat the game, you've done everything.

At first, I thought this game's reputation for difficulty had been overstated. I breezed through Acts 1, 2 and 3. Then the game's penchant for BS showed up. Enemies on the side of the screen can respawn infinitely. If you dare leap before you look, you'll probaly get knocked back down a pit by an enemy spawning in whilst you're mid-air. If you take your time, the clock will run down. Bosses start to wreck you. Don't get me started on Act 6's gauntlet. At least there are infinite continues and nowadays, Save States! The game is super fun when its not being unfair though, and I was impressed by the ambition in storytelling for a NES action game.

 

Metroid - Finished

Spoiler

I'm a relative latecomer to the Metroid series really. Originally played the Prime Trilogy on Wii, then Super on the SNES Mini and Dread earlier this year. Playing the original for the first time, and yup, this sure is an old NES game. I wasn't actually expecting how relentless the difficulty would be here, more fool me. Too often I was lost, looked at an online map and realised the main path forward was hidden underneath lava. And boy, was I glad I found the second Ice Beam, because Wave Beam here is not worth it. I've never played Zero Mission, and maybe I should have gone straight there. Still, I have to appreciate Metroid for what it led to in the future.

 

19 games finished, 14 of which are 100% Complete.

[Salamander]

Ongoing: Persona 5 Tactica (Switch) - This is the third Persona spin-off title I have played now.  I have never played a mainline Persona game and have no interest in doing so.  A paradox?  Perhaps; but this has a lot to do with me preferring the gameplay of the spin-offs... but also just really enjoying the weird self-contained adventures where whichever gang it is this time gets whisked off to some alternative world deep within the Metaverse where the rules don't apply.  I originally came to Persona Q and Q2 because they're also Etrian Odyssey spin-offs; and those led me to Tactica, which has a ton of Q DNA in the aesthetics and plot structure even if the gameplay is completely different.  I'm just closing off the third kingdom now, and, aside from a bunch of pace-breaking mechanics in the most recent set of levels - it's really good!  I'll be diving into this in more detail once I've finished the game.

Spoiler

Ongoing: Picontier (Switch) - Playing at a rate of one real-life day per in-game day, I have now spent over one hundred days playing Picontier.  The end is starting to come into view; I have access to what look like the final areas, have maxed out affection with almost all characters, checked off a ton of side-objectives - but as I've long since decided this would be a 100% run, I suspect that filling out some of the last few objectives will see this one last weeks more yet.

Spoiler