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

[Gavvie]

Just now, Ryannumber1gamer said:

As compilations, each game counts as a individual entry. So AA: PW Trilogy would be Phoenix Wright, Justice for All, and Trials and Tribulations, retrospectively.

Awesome, thanks for the clarification.

I've also just seen @Dreadknux's post about Turnip Boy - the first game WAS on Game Pass when it launched but got taken down about a year ago. It's a fun little game that is worth a look if it ever gets a decent sale. Probably wouldn't pay over a fiver for it myself, though.

 

[Rabid-Coot]

Putting compilations another way it would be unfair to count Sonic 1 the cartridge as one complete then say a Sonic 1 complete on a Mega Drive collection needs 40-50 other games to count.

[Salamander]

Game 5: Fairune 2 (via Fairune Collection) (Switch) - Fairune 2 is basically just Fairune the first, except bigger and better.  It has slightly more polish, slightly more flourish in its overall presentation, and just generally feels more like a real game, where the original Fairune was shorter and more experimental.  Here, the world is bigger - there are way more maps, more enemies, the puzzles and interaction go deeper, and the mystery of the nature of the world feels more grounded within that world.  The screenshot below is taken from the game's credits.

Spoiler

Honourable Mention: Fairune Blast (via Fairune Collection) (Switch) - A short vertical shooter minigame included in Fairune Collection, which requires beating the three other games in that collection to unlock!  You have a choice of three characters (the same from another Skipmore game, Kamiko), and each play lasts a mere two minutes.  Survive - then see how quickly you can beat your way through the bosses and how far you can get!  I actually 100% this, but even going for 100% probably didn't take me longer than about twenty minutes, so I don't claim that to count for anything in this event.  I'm just record-keeping and spreading the word here!

[Dwapook]

This is interesting.. I want to participate, I'm not really into completing games 100% right now, I've beaten 7 games so far this year.. Maybe 2 of those would count as 100% (Quantum Break and Arcade Archives: Dragon Spirit) ..though going by the rules, it might be too late to submit them. Currently I'm playing through Alan Wake 2, Freedom Planet, and Monster Hunter Stories. I might 100% Alan Wake 2, but with the other two I'll be satisfied just beating them.

[Stasis]

Checking in but unfortunately with no progress made since my last post regarding the games I was playing. Last week I had a really bad case of food poisoning which completely knocked me out. I’m well again now so getting back to it!

Been having a good read of this topic though to see everyone’s well detailed updates with the games they’ve completed. 

[castell-neath]

Foe week three my classic revist is Sonic CD. Still one of my all time favourite sonic games...and even all these years later I think its just not right if you dont get all timestones, destroy all machines and all metal sonic projectors in the past! There should have been a super good ending for achieving this! Lol.  

[SuperSonicFan Gui]

I finished sonic the hedgehog 1 with all emeralds

[Winston]

No finished games for this week sadly. I've had a lot going on, and haven't had much time to play anything outside of a couple shorter paced games in small doses. Maybe if I'm able to manage something by Sunday, I'll try to put out another post, but as of now.

Currently Playing

Kuru Kuru Kururin (GBA) - I started this one earlier this week and forgot I did, but it's been a pretty fun time. It's a simple little puzzle game, but it can get hard pretty fast. It's a little weird controlling it with the limited directions a GBA d-pad offers, but nonetheless, it's not too frustrating to where it matters all that much.

Fortnite (PC/Xbox) - I've really been getting into Fortnite this season, despite playing it off and on for the past year. I actually wanted to play with all the collabs recently, notably Family Guy and Metal Gear Solid. It's really cool having Snake, Raiden, Peter and Ernie all together in the game. There's also the Ninja Turtles who are getting Shredder here soon. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to fully complete the Battle Pass in time, but I'm about twenty levels away, so never say never.

It Takes Two (PS5) - I've been playing this one with a certain someone, although time has been limited lately for me. But it's been fun so far, even though we've only really reached the third area. Not sure how long it is, but it's been a fun co-op puzzle platformer, and it's nice that I didn't even have to buy the game to play it with a buddy. I'll see how I feel about it by the end, but it's a good time!

But yeah, that's my check-in for the week. I was playing a few other games like a week or two ago, but I haven't made enough progress yet to really warrant any updates on them. Thanks for reading! 

Edited February 1 by Winston

[FReaK]

Time for my weekly update!

I was planning on finishing Mario 64...then Palworld happened.

Palworld
one of the weirdest games I have ever played to be honest. Looks and feels like a mix between Pokemon (for obvious reasons), Fortnite (camera, character handling) and your typical survival game (Ark, Rust, ...)

Overall I'm having much more fun than expected. So much fun, that I managed to rake up 70 hours in just about..5 days?

I'm working on the 100% Steam Achievements, only need to catch a few more pals and finish 3 more Bosses.

[EDIT] scrap that, I just finished the game. :D

Spoiler

 

Edited February 2 by FReaK

[Salamander]

Note: Following discussion with @Ryannumber1gamer, I have revised this submission from Game 6 to Ongoing.

Ongoing: Another Code: Recollection (Switch) - (Two Memories) Bit of a tricky one, this, as whilst it was originally released very much as its own game, the presentation of Another Code: Recollection makes it feel like more of a Part 1... but, it was its own independent game prior to the remake, and it does say "collection" right there in the title, so I'm calling this a complete game.  The mods reserve the right to correct my assessment if they disagree.  (Edit: I have subsequently decided to treat Another Code: Recollection as a single game rather than two games.)

Anyway, the original Another Code: Two Memories was an important game to me back on the Nintendo DS!  A poignant puzzle adventure game about a girl and a ghost on an island, its melancholy themes and its puzzles intimately tied to the features of the DS really captured my imagination.  The remake, by necessity, sacrifices some of that -  it can't possibly emulate many of the DS-specific puzzles, and as a result I can tell that a certain amount of the game has been rebuilt.  Enough so that I may actually go back and replay the original whilst the remake is fresh in my mind, just to see what's changed...  But this is a beautiful new adaptation of the original title, and I'm so glad it got this kind of attention.

100% in the original game was a complicated thing, with multiple endings and multiple sets of collectibles through a New Game+.  But I'm pretty sure the only 100% conditions you can point to in the remake are completing the game, and collecting all the scannable messages from the hidden paper cranes.  In the spoiler tag I've put screenshots showing the final illustration in the game (it seemed more effective than just "The End" on a blank screen) and my complete scan collection.

Spoiler

 

Edited February 7 by Salamander

[CharDragoncaster]

No finished games, or any progress. School's been keeping me busy..

[Lady Marie]

Weekly Check-in:

Still no finished or completed games for me, sadly. Got some life changes going on right now. But, I am still progressing with Baldur's Gate 3, Spider-Man 2, and Midnight Suns. Not much to add about these from last check-in. I'm still enjoying them a lot, and I'm excited to see where they go. 

I do have one new addition that I've circled back to since I want to complete it.

Virtue's Last Reward: This is a game that I finished in 2023, but never got the chance to complete. While the repetitive nature of having to go down the same path several times to get different endings or documents can be boring, I really enjoy the puzzle aspect of this game. I really enjoyed 999 when I played it in 2022, and I think this game is a good follow up so far. I'm hoping to get it 100% completed in the near future, and to unlock the mysteries the game holds.

Overall, I'm still enjoying the challenge. It's still a good reminder that I should take more time for myself and destress from everyday life. And with more games that I'm looking forward to coming out soon, I'm sure this list of ongoing games will only continue to grow!

[Ryannumber1gamer]

14 hours ago, FReaK said:

Time for my weekly update!

I was planning on finishing Mario 64...then Palworld happened.

Palworld
one of the weirdest games I have ever played to be honest. Looks and feels like a mix between Pokemon (for obvious reasons), Fortnite (camera, character handling) and your typical survival game (Ark, Rust, ...)

Overall I'm having much more fun than expected. So much fun, that I managed to rake up 70 hours in just about..5 days?

I'm working on the 100% Steam Achievements, only need to catch a few more pals and finish 3 more Bosses.

[EDIT] scrap that, I just finished the game. :D

  Hide contents

 

I just want to say in future - please do these in new posts if you finish a game. I very nearly ended up missing the edit and not giving you credit for having completed it.

[Agie]

I guess I did beat a game this year, even though I started it last year. But I'll post it here.

1. Super Mario RPG remake

The original SNES version introduced me to RPGs as a whole, and this remake? I hesitate to call it better than the original, but it's a worthy remake, and I appreciate that they added the sidequests. Due to my unwillingness to do certain time-consuming things, however, I'm not considering it 100%, but overall? I consider this a good remake. The yellow star there shows I did beat the game.

[Ghelatlishol]

Game #4: Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis), 100% Complete

I don't exactly remember when I first played this game or learned that it was the true second half of Sonic 3, but what an adventure it was! Everything in the first three games seemed to build up to this grand adventure. It was great fun doing it all over again.

 

I love this challenge. Feel like I'm reliving my childhood :)

Edited February 3 by Ghelatlishol
Spelling error.

[KingSonicFan134]

Game Number 2/52: Kirby's Dream Land 2 (Finished)

This game was interesting for me. Bought it on my Nintendo 2DS way back when and had quite a bit of fun with the game overall, except with the King Dedede fight, I remember that being quite a nightmare. Then I booted it up on NSO and had a less fun experience. It had great level design, catchy music, decent graphics, and really solid pacing... but the controls were quite terrible. Granted, it was on the Game Boy, which mean less controls, but it stinks to play a Kirby game without having to press A to jump, and press A again to flout, in this game, you move the joystick up to make Kirby jump, which wasn't dandy when you're going over a slope.

Game Rating: 3 Out Of 5:

Game Number 3/52: Sonic Superstars (100% Completed)

What a game this is. Graphics are pretty solid, music was hit more miss, pacing was quite good actually, and the gameplay bounces from peak 2D Sonic, to provoking me to throw my controller outside me window. Especially Trip's Story. Why did the Dev's think placing spikes wherever possible was good difficulty design, I don't know.

Also you cannot convince me this game was made with multiplayer in mind...but that somehow makes it more fun? It's a strange feeling really.

I'll leave with a hot take: Fang Final Boss >>> Eggman Final Boss.

Game Rating: 4 Out Of 5:

100% Completed: 1

Finished: 2

[Agie]

2. Kaze and the Wild Masks

This game started off fun for me; it plays a lot like the DKC games. But the longer it went on, the less fun I had with it, and when I defeated the final boss, I just felt relieved. I know the best ending requires 100% completion, but considering how I felt like I was going through the motions just on a casual playthrough, I decided to just be grateful I have the game under my belt at all. Still, the devs clearly had a lot of passion when making this game, and I still had fun at points, so I would at least say it's worth a try.

[Spin Attaxx]

Time to get this started proper, I suppose.

GAME #1: MEGA MAN

I've played this game (really, all the NES Mega Man games) what must be hundreds of times over, but these days I'm used to playing the 3DS Virtual Console version. For this, I chose to dust off my PS4 and play the Legacy Collection version, and man it's throwing me for a loop to play a version of the game without slowdown. The final boss's shots were hectic to dodge! That's not supposed to happen! And yet I still managed to no damage the Yellow Devil without rewinds nor the pause glitch... Of course there's an "order" most people do the levels in, but these days I just mash the D-Pad without looking and go where I land. Which in this case led to Ice Man being my first stage, janky platforming and three-hit KO boss attacks and all. Still beat him, though!

Anyway, I won't deny the game's janky and not the best place to start, but I've always found an odd charm to this game, particularly after reading about its (and Mega Man 2's) development from Akira Kitamura. There's so many subtleties to the design that you might not notice until you start thinking about them, and you can tell this was an ambitious game for its time. I don't find it particularly hard, but again, I've played this so often I know it like the back of my hand... even though fighting Elec Man buster only on a turbo CPU isn't fun. Also Hyper Bomb and Super Arm are such cool weapons in concept, why did they have to suck this much :C

Oh well, here's a photo of a rotten bully being mean to a poor old man:

[TitansCreed]

So, on the YouTube side of things, we are playing through a Sonic 2 total conversion hack, called Metal Sonic Rebooted. I've finished it, but the videos roll into next week, so take what you will. It's fun, it's just hard as balls. No way I'll be "completing" this one as the Special Stages for the Chaos Emeralds are a mite tight.

With all the Sonic news this week (it's been a good week for Sonic fans, am I right?), decided to go back and "complete" another old Sonic game on Steam, in the form of Sonic Generations. Trying to get the time attack done on a broken online system is frustrating, but we got there after several hours and attempts...
 

In my spare time (I question how I have any at this point), I got back into Final Fantasy XIV a few weeks ago, but finally caught up and competed the main Endwalker MSQ quests and all the new raid content through the patches this week. Wasn't sure if it counted, but thought I'd add it here in case it did.

 

 

[LegoNess]

This seems neat, I'll definitely be participating!

[cosmichaos]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (AA1): After a long time I finally got back into the game and finished it, and let me tell you I do not regret it. This game is such a crazy experience and I can't believe it took me this long to finish it. About an hour into the third trial had me dragged right back into the fandom and reminded me why I liked it. Edgeworth had started out as my least favorite and after the third trial he was my favorite, further cemented by trial four.

10/10, experienced all of the unnecessary feelings

[Covskin]

Finised Metroid Dread on Thursday, I decided I might as well go for the full 100%. Glad I did because I needed all that health. Behold my awful statistics:

Spoiler

I enjoyed the game but found the EMMI sections more annoying than anything. Don't see myself playing the harder difficulties before returning the game to my brother. On to Captain Toad next!

As for Ragnorak, I've done the story section in Vanaheim and headed to the side-mission to retrieve an orb.

Games Finished 2
100% Completed 1

[WorksOfMagic]

Another week another game finished. Sonic 3D Blast (Sega Genesis)! This was a Sonic game alright. Not the best of the classic series by a long shot, but far from the worst that the classic series has to offer.

I'll probably come back to 3D Blast another time through Jon Burton's Director's Cut rom (or the Saturn version if I somehow manage to emulate it properly).

[Danj86]

Alright. I went back to check and indeed, I've only completed one game so far. Maybe it'll be easier if I have the completed list getting updated as my posts go out. So here it is at the moment.

1. Sonic: Triple Trouble 16-Bit

As lists go....this one is rather lacking. But not anymore. I have three new games to add, one of them being a compilation.

2. The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown 100%

I didn't have any expectations when making this purchase. In fact, after a high ranking UbiSoft Executive said "Gamers need to get used to not owning games." My motivation to buy PoP had taken a considerable hit. Still, it had a physical release so I could still buy the game basically telling that exec to f*ck off at the same time.

I used to play a lot of UbiSoft games but ever since they stopped being creative and just releasing the same game with a different skin every year, I just stopped caring. But they do have the Mario + Rabbids crossover which is always fun. It features a singing phantom Rabbid who'll dis platformer mascots through song. But anyway, my point was that PoP was a surprising hit for me. I've only recently been picking up Metroidvania titles, Hollow Knight possibly being the first one I played to completion. So the experience was fun and the writing actually made me care about the characters, although I'm confused about an aspect of the story, since this is a newer game, I'll mention it in a spoiler tag.

I enjoyed playing the game so much that I went and 100% completed it. It certainly wasn't easy. The devs said they were inspired by Anime in terms of the action and visuals and I can see it. You'll even see visual dirt and wounds on your character as you progress. I rarely notice stuff like that, the last time it was very noticeable was in an Arkham Batman title. Heck, let's go into spoilers now.

Spoiler

You play as Sargon, one of a group of legendary warriors given the nickname, "The Immortals." I was convinced something bad was going to happen to the rest of the Immortals but the game surprised me by going in a completely different direction. Interestingly, the powers to rewind that the Prince of Persia protagonists are known for, is actually owned by the leader of the Immortals, Vahram.

You'll unlock powers that act similar, like being able to spawn a freeze frame that remembers where you were while you'll keep moving normally. Press the button again and you'll warp back to that very same freeze frame. But it's worth noting that you get nothing that could save you from death like in past games. You make a mistake, you pay for it.

So at some point, the plot takes a sudden turn when the person you thought was a traitor...isn't. Vahram just shows up and murders the Prince we were tasked with saving. After getting slapped around like I was nothing, Sargon (You.) gets thrown off a bridge and left for dead. The plot gets weird now. It's still simple enough to follow but when time travel is involved, things can get muddy.

Vahram tells The Immortals that you are now a traitor. A contingency no doubt, since he couldn't know for sure if Sargon had dead from the fall. Meanwhile, you learn that you can get another chance at saving the Prince, the game even implying a multiverse aspect as alternate Sargon's try to kill you in hopes of stealing the powers you are gathering to achieve their own goal.

At some point, you end up having to face two of your Immortal allies in combat. As a result, Menolias and Orod end up dying. I thought that was a shame but since we are going back in time to save the Prince, maybe Menolias and Orod will be fine too.

.....Jump to travelling through time and saving the Prince, I did indeed expect Menolias and Orod to return. But they don't. The game makes it very clear that they are still dead. But why? How? What?

It's also pretty interesting that a side quest seems to suggest that Sargon is also a Prince, but that aspect is never explored.

That aspect for the story is one of the few criticisms I have for the game.

3. Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series - Part 1 - Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

Despite how simple Klonoa games seem, they can be pretty difficult. I try to complete a level without taking damage but it's darn near impossible. But Klonoa 2 would be slightly tougher. One thing Klonoa does that always felt strange to me is only allowing you to double jump when holding an enemy. Klonoa's jump is not ideal and he can even flutter like Yoshi but to perform it is mechanically different. But you only get one chance to flutter. So press and hold the jump button and Klonoa will naturally flutter at the highest point of the jump. You can delay your flutter by pressing the jump button and pressing and holding it to do the flutter. Useful for reaching past larger gaps.

But if you've played Yoshi games, you might struggle with muscle memory. Like trying to flutter a second time while in the air. You can't do that. Also, sometimes I'd press jump too long and Klonoa would start the flutter. But once you start it, you have to commit to it because canceling early still means you can't flutter a second time. This mistake did create several deaths in my run.

4. Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series - Part 2 - Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

For the life of me, I can't see a narrative connection between Klonoa 1 and 2. I suppose maybe after Klonoa got ejected from the world of Phantomile, he would travel from world to world, eventually coming across Lunatea? But the games never openly say that, from what I've seen.

Klonoa 2 introduces a new type of level with an Air Board(?) mechanic which has him surfing through an automated route, only being able to speed up, slow down and dodge/attack enemies. Also, boss fights have their own level. In Phantomile, a boss would usually occur at the end of a [Number] - 2 "Vision," meaning losing all lives gets you the punishment of starting the whole level all over again, this naturally doesn't occur in Klonoa 2.

The bosses also felt slightly more tougher this time around. I only ever really had a hard time in Phantomile with the final boss while in Klonoa 2, I struggled with a couple more, even losing all lives at on point. But for the most part, Klonoa 2 is more of the same but with a smaller and more intimate cast of characters. Even had a twist I wasn't expecting. Apart from that and due to their simple nature, I can't think of much else to say about them. It was certainly pleasant playing through them.

Edited February 4 by Danj86

[Agie]

I told my brother about this challenge, and he reminded me of this game, so...here it is.

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan

I vaguely remember being able to play his Game Boy copy for a bit before the unfortunate day someone in his college stole it; he didn't get to play it again until the Cowabunga Collection. But the game itself? I find it a very simple game, but one I can kill an hour or two with. It's a very short game, with only five stages, and no secrets; I guess this is one that would qualify as 100% just by virtue of beating it at all.

At the time, I could see how the length would be acceptable on a road trip, though these days, it's hard to recommend on its own. But as part of the Cowabunga Collection, I say it's definitely worth it.