I can't be arsed to do it all at once. I'm lazy, lol.
Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
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isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1538
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
I can't be arsed to do it all at once. I'm lazy, lol.
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
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crimson_tide
- Posts: 522
- Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2019 5:07 pm
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
Well, before I go too teacher on you, I will stop myself and say that Stretch Panic was a basically tech demo for a Tiny Toons game that never got released (yes, they were trying to make a PS2 Tiny Toons game. I don't know either...) hence the stretching mechanic. I did not hate Stretch Panic, I just didn't get it. Nor did I get the joke that all women just want the biggest boobsisthatallyougot wrote: ↑Sun Jan 02, 2022 10:20 amThanks for the history lesson teacher.crimson_tide wrote: ↑Sat Jan 01, 2022 8:23 pm SILHOUETTE MIRAGE!?!?
Whoa. Now that is a deep cut! Alright, izzy. Fam. Bruh. Listen to me, What happened to Silhouette Mirage is a travesty...I didn't know anything about the background of SM. I'm glad to know that it's not a representation of their best work - gives me hope to try some more of their stuff. To be fair, it wasn't bad by any stretch, just didn't live up to what I was expecting of the reputation of the "Treasure" name. (Neither did Stretch Panic, but I dropped that one quickly - probably didn't give it a fair shake. But I don't think it's a beloved entry from them either.)
. That was a strange take...but alas, I look forward to you getting to their true classics at your own pace and reading your thoughts when and if you get to them ! Hell, even their Genesis Ronald McDonald game is kinda baller. Somehow...I am surprised you liked Resident Evil Survivor so much. All I ever heard about that game is how it's one of the worst RE games. Akuji The Heartless is another deep cut, you were not playing around with the 'retro gamers unite' subtitle were you
? And thanks goodness you're on this board, listing not one but TWO Zelda games and they didn't top your list? Man, on other boards you would be flayed alive bruh. Nintendo fans don't play .-
isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1538
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
More lessons!crimson_tide wrote: ↑Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:32 am Well, before I go too teacher on you, I will stop myself and say that Stretch Panic was a basically tech demo for a Tiny Toons game that never got released (yes, they were trying to make a PS2 Tiny Toons game. I don't know either...) hence the stretching mechanic. I did not hate Stretch Panic, I just didn't get it. Nor did I get the joke that all women just want the biggest boobs
Yeah, the boobs thing was weird in Stretch Panic, but again, I only played a little of that game. I remember playing a Tiny Toons game on the Genesis, but that was a Konami game.
I wouldn't say I liked Survivor so much, it's just one of the better mediocre games I played this year.crimson_tide wrote: ↑Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:32 am I am surprised you liked Resident Evil Survivor so much. All I ever heard about that game is how it's one of the worst RE games. Akuji The Heartless is another deep cut, you were not playing around with the 'retro gamers unite' subtitle were you
I only gave it a 3/5. And yes, I would be eviscerated in some places online for my not kneeling before the throne of Zelda, lol. I calls it likes I sees it. I don't care if my opinions are embraced or laughed at.Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
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isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1538
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
13) Ms. Pac-Man (SNES)
Sometimes the simplest things have the greatest influence and broadest appeal. That principle applies in gaming as well. Similar to Tetris, Pac-Man has a rule-set and function that is almost immediately apparent to anyone who observes for more than a minute. That simplicity resulted in virtually universal appeal within the gaming community, and it exploded in arcades and across the consciousness of America, and was reflected in the broader culture outside of gaming as well. (Anyone remember the song Pac-Man fever?) And anything that is successful will spawn additional products in an attempt to maximize its window of opportunity. So at one point, a sequel in the form of Ms. Pac-Man arrived on the scene and despite small differences, it was, for all practical purposes, nearly the same game with a new skin. There are surely improvements though. The ghosts are more randomized which makes it more challenging, the maps were more complex and varied (as opposed to the original's single map), as well as some other minor differences. Those differences probably make Ms. Pac-Man the better game, despite the iconic original's impact.
And anything that was so successful in the arcades back then was a prime target for the home console market sooner or later, and so Ms. Pac-Man arrived on the SNES, and it was quite a good port. While it wasn't arcade perfect, it was very close to the cabinet, and it also included some bonuses, like different maze types (big, strange, mini - in addition to the arcade) as well as various difficulties and a "pac-booster" that would allow you to toggle a speed boost for Ms. Pac-Man with the push of a button. The maps would also scroll vertically to accommodate the different aspect ratios of televisions vs the arcade. So there were a variety of ways to play to increase the longevity. And honestly, it's still as fun as it ever was. Munching dots and running from or chasing ghosts all while chasing high-scores is satisfying and enjoyable still today. And while I never was one to have caught "Pac-Man Fever", I still found it fun back then, and it holds up after all these years. 4/5.
12) Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy (PS2)
The PS2 had such a huge library that it has been impossible for me to explore it to my satisfaction over the years since its release. I still have a large backlog on the console of games that I want to play from my own collection in addition to wanting to emulate many that I don't own. One of the games I never got around to that always intrigued me is Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy. Upon starting the game the first thing that struck me was just how good the game looked - and how satisfying the capabilities of the PS2 was and is all these years later. The environments are large and detailed, full of color and excellent particle work that really makes everything pop off the screen. In addition, the Egyptian setting was appealing in its own right with much of the associated imagery you'd expect from a game in that environment.
You play as two different characters in this adventure. Sphinx, a humanoid creature with a tail, and the Mummy (Prince Tutenkhamen), who is turned into such a creature early on in the game. The game plays out similar to Zelda in many ways, with plenty of puzzles, keys and the like. It's fairly straight-forward and traditional in regards to Sphinx, but as the Mummy, being unencumbered with the burdens of being a "living" being, he is opened up to myriad abuses in his quest to solve his own puzzles. He is lit ablaze, electrocuted, smashed flat and chopped into bits, allowing for multiple incarnations of himself to activate switches and progress. He provides the comic relief through his suffering and his sections had some really clever and engaging puzzles that, while mostly similar in premise, remained fun and interesting.
The whole adventure felt satisfying in scope, with an involved main quest along with some optional side bits. There were some things that I didn't particularly care for. There were a couple of spots where I wasn't sure how to proceed, and I don't think the solution was telegraphed very well - not in a reasonable manner to expect the player to notice "the way". And there is some combat in the game as Sphinx, but it was very rudimentary and lacking any appeal other than mindlessly getting it over with so you could move on. It's also not as tightly designed as Zelda, generally speaking, but I enjoyed it more with controller in hand than I did either The Minish Cap or Link's Awakening, which I played earlier in the year. One other strange bit was the fact that there was no voice acting. It wasn't odd that there was none, but it felt like it was intended and then not implemented or dropped during development. It had a strange, unfinished, sensation in that regard. I'm fine with no voice work, but again, this felt like it was something missing that was supposed to be there. In the end, though, I found everything to be pretty satisfying and fun with some thoughtful puzzles and a very attractive look. It's not an elite PS2 entry for me, but I had fun here. 4/5.
11) Chasm (PC)
I love Metroidvanias and sometimes I'll venture off the beaten path to see if I find something interesting and different in the genre. In that quest, I played a game called Chasm. You begin as a novice knight in a kingdom and are tasked with traveling to a hamlet called Karthas, a village that has been beset with some tragedy. There are a number of locals who have disappeared within the town's mines, and it is your job to recover them, discover the cause and save the day. Without going into the whole story, there is more to the mission than first appears, and in the course of rescuing the denizens of this place, you will uncover a deeper, darker, ancient mystery (of course, lol). The narrative is presented via documents that you find and text-based interactions with the villagers. I found it fairly intriguing, but it certainly wasn't the main reason I remained engaged.
The structure of the game is a procedurally generated series of underground maps. The layout is randomized, albeit with pre-formed rooms. There is still the familiar metroidvania pattern of unlocking new skills and tools to progress to previously unreachable areas, so if you only play it once, you'd never know that there is any element of variability to the appearance of the maps. There was a very nice sense of being rewarded when discovering a new artifact or tool that enabled you to parachute, climb, double-jump or maneuver yourself into previously inaccessible regions. So exploration was consistently engaging with only some typical, but moderate, frustration when you didn't know where to go next. There were some rpg elements in the form of magical weapons, leveling, RNG drops including rare items, crafting, gear, healing and buff items, and so on. There were plenty of options to make your character and his abilities fairly unique. There were also side-quests that the rescued villagers doled out that, if completed, rewarded you with some additional benefits.
In terms of the mechanics themselves, everything controlled very tightly. Things were smooth, very responsive and fun in a moment-to-moment sense, and it made learning the patterns of the game's many enemies all the more satisfying as I wasn't fighting with poor input. There were a variety of bosses, including a pretty tough final boss, and they were - along with the many normal baddies - designed well and had an interesting appearance for the most part. Speaking of appearances, the overall look of things was quite nice. The different maps were varied, from jungles and caves to lava and otherworldly locales. The map feature was as Castlevania as can be with the square rooms everywhere, and viewing any map could make you think you were playing a Castlevania game. I also really appreciated the ability to mark rooms that may have had something interesting, but inaccessible so that I didn't have to guess where I wanted to return later on.
On the down side, this was obviously made by a smaller developer, and it shows in the sense that it's missing some of that special sauce in terms of presentation you would expect from a game that was developed with more funds and resources. It's got its own personality, but it's just clearly a work of a more modest budget, which is fine, but sometimes you miss the glitz. But in the bigger picture, I have to acknowledge that it was hard to put down once I started. I played close to 20 hours to complete things, including some side-quests/extras, and I did it all in a pretty short span, so there is no doubt that it kept me engaged all the way through. It's not a classic in the genre, but I don't regret playing it at all, and can certainly recommend it to anyone who considers themselves a fan of the genre. 4/5.
Sometimes the simplest things have the greatest influence and broadest appeal. That principle applies in gaming as well. Similar to Tetris, Pac-Man has a rule-set and function that is almost immediately apparent to anyone who observes for more than a minute. That simplicity resulted in virtually universal appeal within the gaming community, and it exploded in arcades and across the consciousness of America, and was reflected in the broader culture outside of gaming as well. (Anyone remember the song Pac-Man fever?) And anything that is successful will spawn additional products in an attempt to maximize its window of opportunity. So at one point, a sequel in the form of Ms. Pac-Man arrived on the scene and despite small differences, it was, for all practical purposes, nearly the same game with a new skin. There are surely improvements though. The ghosts are more randomized which makes it more challenging, the maps were more complex and varied (as opposed to the original's single map), as well as some other minor differences. Those differences probably make Ms. Pac-Man the better game, despite the iconic original's impact.
And anything that was so successful in the arcades back then was a prime target for the home console market sooner or later, and so Ms. Pac-Man arrived on the SNES, and it was quite a good port. While it wasn't arcade perfect, it was very close to the cabinet, and it also included some bonuses, like different maze types (big, strange, mini - in addition to the arcade) as well as various difficulties and a "pac-booster" that would allow you to toggle a speed boost for Ms. Pac-Man with the push of a button. The maps would also scroll vertically to accommodate the different aspect ratios of televisions vs the arcade. So there were a variety of ways to play to increase the longevity. And honestly, it's still as fun as it ever was. Munching dots and running from or chasing ghosts all while chasing high-scores is satisfying and enjoyable still today. And while I never was one to have caught "Pac-Man Fever", I still found it fun back then, and it holds up after all these years. 4/5.
12) Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy (PS2)
The PS2 had such a huge library that it has been impossible for me to explore it to my satisfaction over the years since its release. I still have a large backlog on the console of games that I want to play from my own collection in addition to wanting to emulate many that I don't own. One of the games I never got around to that always intrigued me is Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy. Upon starting the game the first thing that struck me was just how good the game looked - and how satisfying the capabilities of the PS2 was and is all these years later. The environments are large and detailed, full of color and excellent particle work that really makes everything pop off the screen. In addition, the Egyptian setting was appealing in its own right with much of the associated imagery you'd expect from a game in that environment.
You play as two different characters in this adventure. Sphinx, a humanoid creature with a tail, and the Mummy (Prince Tutenkhamen), who is turned into such a creature early on in the game. The game plays out similar to Zelda in many ways, with plenty of puzzles, keys and the like. It's fairly straight-forward and traditional in regards to Sphinx, but as the Mummy, being unencumbered with the burdens of being a "living" being, he is opened up to myriad abuses in his quest to solve his own puzzles. He is lit ablaze, electrocuted, smashed flat and chopped into bits, allowing for multiple incarnations of himself to activate switches and progress. He provides the comic relief through his suffering and his sections had some really clever and engaging puzzles that, while mostly similar in premise, remained fun and interesting.
The whole adventure felt satisfying in scope, with an involved main quest along with some optional side bits. There were some things that I didn't particularly care for. There were a couple of spots where I wasn't sure how to proceed, and I don't think the solution was telegraphed very well - not in a reasonable manner to expect the player to notice "the way". And there is some combat in the game as Sphinx, but it was very rudimentary and lacking any appeal other than mindlessly getting it over with so you could move on. It's also not as tightly designed as Zelda, generally speaking, but I enjoyed it more with controller in hand than I did either The Minish Cap or Link's Awakening, which I played earlier in the year. One other strange bit was the fact that there was no voice acting. It wasn't odd that there was none, but it felt like it was intended and then not implemented or dropped during development. It had a strange, unfinished, sensation in that regard. I'm fine with no voice work, but again, this felt like it was something missing that was supposed to be there. In the end, though, I found everything to be pretty satisfying and fun with some thoughtful puzzles and a very attractive look. It's not an elite PS2 entry for me, but I had fun here. 4/5.
11) Chasm (PC)
I love Metroidvanias and sometimes I'll venture off the beaten path to see if I find something interesting and different in the genre. In that quest, I played a game called Chasm. You begin as a novice knight in a kingdom and are tasked with traveling to a hamlet called Karthas, a village that has been beset with some tragedy. There are a number of locals who have disappeared within the town's mines, and it is your job to recover them, discover the cause and save the day. Without going into the whole story, there is more to the mission than first appears, and in the course of rescuing the denizens of this place, you will uncover a deeper, darker, ancient mystery (of course, lol). The narrative is presented via documents that you find and text-based interactions with the villagers. I found it fairly intriguing, but it certainly wasn't the main reason I remained engaged.
The structure of the game is a procedurally generated series of underground maps. The layout is randomized, albeit with pre-formed rooms. There is still the familiar metroidvania pattern of unlocking new skills and tools to progress to previously unreachable areas, so if you only play it once, you'd never know that there is any element of variability to the appearance of the maps. There was a very nice sense of being rewarded when discovering a new artifact or tool that enabled you to parachute, climb, double-jump or maneuver yourself into previously inaccessible regions. So exploration was consistently engaging with only some typical, but moderate, frustration when you didn't know where to go next. There were some rpg elements in the form of magical weapons, leveling, RNG drops including rare items, crafting, gear, healing and buff items, and so on. There were plenty of options to make your character and his abilities fairly unique. There were also side-quests that the rescued villagers doled out that, if completed, rewarded you with some additional benefits.
In terms of the mechanics themselves, everything controlled very tightly. Things were smooth, very responsive and fun in a moment-to-moment sense, and it made learning the patterns of the game's many enemies all the more satisfying as I wasn't fighting with poor input. There were a variety of bosses, including a pretty tough final boss, and they were - along with the many normal baddies - designed well and had an interesting appearance for the most part. Speaking of appearances, the overall look of things was quite nice. The different maps were varied, from jungles and caves to lava and otherworldly locales. The map feature was as Castlevania as can be with the square rooms everywhere, and viewing any map could make you think you were playing a Castlevania game. I also really appreciated the ability to mark rooms that may have had something interesting, but inaccessible so that I didn't have to guess where I wanted to return later on.
On the down side, this was obviously made by a smaller developer, and it shows in the sense that it's missing some of that special sauce in terms of presentation you would expect from a game that was developed with more funds and resources. It's got its own personality, but it's just clearly a work of a more modest budget, which is fine, but sometimes you miss the glitz. But in the bigger picture, I have to acknowledge that it was hard to put down once I started. I played close to 20 hours to complete things, including some side-quests/extras, and I did it all in a pretty short span, so there is no doubt that it kept me engaged all the way through. It's not a classic in the genre, but I don't regret playing it at all, and can certainly recommend it to anyone who considers themselves a fan of the genre. 4/5.
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
This list has a lot of those. This man is out here digging miles underground in search of digital thrills.
I'm blown away by how many of these I've never heard of.Sphinx is one I always wanted to play. I think I have it in a box somewhere. Maybe someday (probably not).
I do, however, expect to play Chasm. I bought that on Vita fairly recently. Glad to hear it has the izzy seal of approval.
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
Hellblade is #32 and Ms. Pac-Man is #13
Yeah, I’ve had Chasm for PS4 for a while now and I’m glad to see izzy give it a 4 out of 5 since indie games can be hit or miss a lot of the time.
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isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1538
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
I just emulated Sphinx. Although I still have it sealed (also) in a box, in storage, lol.canedaddy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 05, 2022 3:59 pmThis list has a lot of those. This man is out here digging miles underground in search of digital thrills.
Sphinx is one I always wanted to play. I think I have it in a box somewhere. Maybe someday (probably not).
I do, however, expect to play Chasm. I bought that on Vita fairly recently. Glad to hear it has the izzy seal of approval.
And yeah, Chasm is good fun. It's not peak Metroidvania by any stretch, but it's surely worth a play imho.
Um, Ms. Pac-Man is...fun.
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
It was fun back in 1982 when I was 12, but the 13th best game out of 40 that you played in 2021? You’re cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
Ok enough of this tomfoolery, bring on the top 10.
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
I'm possibly the biggest Zelda fan here, and I'll be the first to tell you that a lot of the entries are just straight-up, not fun. And Ocarina is near the top of my "not fun" list. In a lot of the games, the dungeons are so long & tedious that they feel like work. One of the reasons I loved Breath of the Wild so much, they ditched the super long dungeons for "mini" dungeons that give you a cool fun puzzle and then let you move on. I am a massive fan of the Zelda franchise as a concept I suppose - a nostalgic thing that does have several games that are classics & hold up to this day, yes, but overall has a vibe & aesthetic that I really dig in spite of the series' failings. See also: Metroid. I did not like Dread, contrary to just about every other review I've read/watched on it. It's not BAD, but it feels like a dev made a poor knock-off of the series IMO, and the "get locked in a small space w/ an enemy you can't kill so you have to keep running from it" mechanic is just 1000% not fun. I actually traded it in this week - will probably pick it back up eventually for cheap, but not in a hurry to do so.
Chasm was added to my backlog last year, I need to bump it up towards the top. In my defense, I have quite a few Metroidvanias in my backlog.
Chasm was added to my backlog last year, I need to bump it up towards the top. In my defense, I have quite a few Metroidvanias in my backlog.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis
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isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1538
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: Izzy's 2021 Year in review...retro gamers unite :P
Now phase, we both know that the only criteria you use to measure a game's value is whether or not it has a female lead, and both of those games qualify. I'm honestly a little surprised that you are able to make any distinction at all between the two.
All kidding aside, we all use our own personal measuring stick in evaluating games (or anything else), but I can assure you that, agree or not, my list, reviews and rankings are a well-considered representation of *my own* genuine opinions, be they cuckoo or otherwise.
Yeah, I feel similarly. Zelda often does feel like work, despite its merits. But I still absolutely adore Majora's Mask and Breath of the Wild, as well.argyle wrote: ↑Thu Jan 06, 2022 2:33 am I'm possibly the biggest Zelda fan here, and I'll be the first to tell you that a lot of the entries are just straight-up, not fun. And Ocarina is near the top of my "not fun" list. In a lot of the games, the dungeons are so long & tedious that they feel like work. One of the reasons I loved Breath of the Wild so much, they ditched the super long dungeons for "mini" dungeons that give you a cool fun puzzle and then let you move on. I am a massive fan of the Zelda franchise as a concept I suppose - a nostalgic thing that does have several games that are classics & hold up to this day, yes, but overall has a vibe & aesthetic that I really dig in spite of the series' failings.
Last edited by isthatallyougot on Thu Jan 06, 2022 10:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!