Games that you recently finished

[Shadow 43]

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic - What a great game. Dark Messiah is a spin-off of the wellknown series Might & Magic, but has very few to do with it overall. Instead of either being a strategy game or a cards game, it's a WRPG. And a great one at that. While being a WRPG, most elements have been discarded, like shops, exploration and levelling up, though the latter has been replaced with a skillbased system. All items you can get are either found or selfmade, and the game goes chapterwise so you can't revisit previous places. That may scare away some people but eh, I'm easily pleased. The main mechanic that makes this game stand out is the combat though. You see an Orc standing in front of you? Well, you have at least 10 ways to kill it and you decide yourself what the most effective is. Kick it off a cliff? Throw a barrel at it and impale it? Kick it into a wall of spikes? Or just sneak around and shoot them with arrows or backstab them? The sky is the limit my friend. And I couldn't be any happier. Most WRPGs just stick me to a select weapon, and I seldom change unless it's not wise to go in a situation with said weapon. The story itself is alright I suppose, but not exactly worth playing a game for. Decisions do have effect on how you later on progress though. There are a total of 4 endings according to the internet, but I'm a fond believer there are actually 6, but I have to confirm that myself. Overall, a game I very well recommend to everyone who likes WRPGs and is looking for a new experience.

[Shadow 43]

Shovel Knight - As expected, it didn't take too long. The only thing that could extend gametime was the difficulty, but despite me dieing at times, I didn't have too much trouble. Still, a great game! Now I too finally understand where the hype comes from. Great gameplay, music, graphics. Well, literally great everything! I could do with less spikes/bottomless pits and more enemies or other damaging objects that do not kill you in one hit though. My completionist side did hold me back for that reason because I didn't want to lose my cash. Even though I already had enough cash to purchase everything halfway through the game. The only thing left for me to do at the moment is some achievements (which I won't get 100% because even with my gaming skills, beating the game without losing a single life will unleash more rage than necessary). Already got around 30 of them but they haven't been updated yet on Steam due to the internet being, yet again, trash. Why does that always happen around summer...

[BrayPlays (Formerly CyDra) 23]

I beat Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith for the PS2.

[Shadow 43]

Wario Ware Inc. - Because I have no internet... again (this literally happens every summer because someone hates me and I don't deserve free time without any worries), I'm 'forced' to play handheld games. Though I don't mind, since I adore the Wario Ware games. This was no exception. Fun minigames, quick reaction, stupid humor that is so stupid it's hilarious. Overall just a great game to spend your free time with!

 

New Super Mario Bros U. - Or you know, I could boot up my Wii U again. Haven't done that in a while. It took me ages to finish New Super Mario Bros U, because it's extremely frustrating with it's constant swifting of difficulties literally everywhere. You could be stuck on one level and breeze through the others. It this wasn't the case, it would've turned out to be a pretty good 2d platformer. Even though it's pretty much a copypaste of the ds version with updated graphics. Might get all the star coins, but that mostly depends about how much this game will continue to frustrate me.

[Lena Stan Account 60]

Devil May Cry 4 : Hmmmm. It was fun. But I only went on it's Human difficulty XD So am gonna go at a harder one. It was my first DMC game that's why I went on easy XD Not a good reason though? XD It was cool Devil Bringing the bosses with Nero. I was somewhat disappointed when I found out Dante didn't have such a thing but his wide selection of weapons was good. Even though Agnus was a jerk I still felt bad about what happened to him. His "performance" with Dante was funny XD 

[ViciousPhantom 6]

I just finished up Batman: Arkham Knight, and it was a blast to play through! Definitely my favorite of the Arkham games.

[Shadow 43]

Blades of Time - Didn't take me too long to finish eh? Wanted to finish the DLC first before I made a post though, and thus I did. A pretty good hack 'n slash actually! Neat combat, nice looking enviroments, good difficulty with not too many spikes and such. I didn't care for the story and characters too much but eh, they're not bad. Wouldn't play it for just the story, but I definitely didn't mind going through it. Could've done with a better upgrade system and the like though. At the end you can have every upgrades anyways and most of them I didn't even use. Ignition with flaming swords was a great combination for me and for most of the game I wasn't in need of anything else than that.

I could say the Dismal Swamp DLC is fun to go through, but in reality it's... a bit dissapointing. You play as Michelle, an ally/rival Ayumi meets throughout her journey. She plays the exact same, just worse and has no upgrades. What. I really wanted to have her play either differently or better, not watered down. Granted, it didn't bother me too much since it didn't make the game more difficult than it should've been.

Overall, Blades of Time is a game I very well recommend to anyone looking for a good hack 'n slash. It has good gameplay, but the journey alone is already worth it. Gonna check it's... anime-like counterpart X-blades out soon I suppose. I mean, from what I've gathered it stars the same protagonist and gameplay, just animefied. Have to confirm that later.

[BrayPlays (Formerly CyDra) 23]

I recently finished Castlevania Chronicles for the PS1. Still in my opinion, the best version of the original Castlevania.

[Spark Falls 1]

I just beat Dragon Ball Xenoverse, it's better then all the Budakai games.

[Guest 17]

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Edited 26 May 2016 by Merc

[Shadow 43]

Ys I - I've put this game down a lot of times, but now that I've finally finished it, I can say that I have played a really good game, and am probably introduced to an interesting series too. I quited the game many times before. First because the combat system was lame, second because I got killed very early on and later because I got a game over and lost a lot of progress due to the lack of auto save/save points. Yes, this game has a learning curve and unless you can get past that, it's unlikely the game will appeal to you. I would probably even recommend doing your first playthrough on Easy or Normal. Getting to the max level is very easy, and you won't get any stronger than the equipment you receive throughout the journey. If you pick a lower difficulty, it may look easy at first, but later on it will still prove that you have to use your head instead of randomly bumping into enemies. I still wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of the combat system, but I got used to it. Story and characters are pretty good too, and the final dungeon was a joy to go through, even though it was a pretty long dungeon. I usually avoid completing the bestiary in JRPGs because it takes way too much effort. Granted, there was no completion bonus attached to it apart from achievements (grr...), but it wasn't too hard to do. Overall, a nice game in a series which I'm very willing to explore more in the future.

[Shadow 43]

One Finger Death Punch That was.. suprisingly good! That's not something you would expect out of a game that just uses 2 buttons, being the mouse buttons. To the very end I kept playing, without feeling bored. Well, it did get tiresome and repetitive at the end because the levels just took forever to beat and were all the same. They didn't really get too difficult either, as the only thing that really happened was me losing a few health points or missing at times. But I wasn't aiming to complete this game anyways so it's not that I care. There are more difficult modes but these have to wait for another day. Survival mode is pretty fun too, and I already got 2200 kills on my first try! Still rank 10k but eh, whatever. A game I'll probably revisit later for some extra stuff. A suprising game, but time well spent!

And now for another game...

Witch and Hero - Probably the worst game I have played this entire year. Yeah, I'm not kidding, the game is that bad. Stupid combat, ridiculous final boss that mostly depends on luck, and.. well, just stupid everything. Even though you level up and upgrade your skills, you don't feel like you're actually improving. It's very well possible that your stuck on the same level for a lot of time, just because you have to grind. Believe me, I don't hate grinding, but it was unnecessary in this game. And the combat is still stupid. I was planning to look at more Eshop titles, as it's a reign I haven't explored too much yet, but if this is an example of what I'm going to face, think I'll withdraw pretty early.

Of course, I won't, but this game was really, really bad.

[Guest]

I finally completely Star Fox Command Nintendo DS Virtual Console game on my Wii U.

[Shadow 43]

Far Cry 3 - Played this long ago, and since my backlog is getting bigger with the day, I thought it couldn't hurt to finish this one, since I was close to the end already. I have no reason why I've stopped before, as Far Cry 3 is a really good game. The only negatives I can really think of is the main protagonist and me not being a fan of shooters with a controller. I prefer a mouse and keyboard. But really, the main protagonist, Jason Brody, is really despicable. Hate him. Don't often do that. But aside from that, hunting is fun, upgrading is fun and you feel like actually getting stronger, there are a lot of weapons, the enviroment is nice. Game does a lot right, and it certainly gets me interested in the other games. Particularly 4, since I love snowy areas. And the entire game is covered in snow. Insta-hype.

[Shadow 43]

Tales of the Abyss - Was there any doubt that I wasn't going to like this game? I mean, I love it. The only reason it's probably not at the top is that it was on the 3ds to begin with. I only really play on my 3ds while on the go or when I'm lieing on my bed. And the disadvantage with the latter is the I fall asleep very easily lately. Whenever I play an RPG, most of the time I play it back to back for lots of hours. It could very well be possible that I would like the PS2 version a lot more, but we Europeans didn't get it...

 

Back to the game though. Great combat, story and characters, though the last is debateable with many people. But it is one of those games where I prefer most of the villains over the main protagonists. Doesn't really happen that often. Sync, Arietta and particularly Asch were great characters. There wasn't really a bad main protagonist, but I didn't really like Anise too much. Hated Luke in the beginning, but we all know about his development, which was greatly appreciated. Story was confusing at first but hey, it's one of the few that doesn't have summons involved in the plot (other being Graces F, and probably a few Japanese exclusives). The combat is the easiest to get into when it comes to Tales games, and I didn't really mind. It wasn't too confusing, it was just good. Graces F definitely has the best battle system, but it takes some time to get used to. Doesn't happen with Abyss.

 

Won't be completing the game for now, as it requires a NG+. Probably another day. I'll get the leftover costumes and cameo battle for now. Also, new ranking! Kind of.

 

1. Tales of Graces F

2. Tales of Eternia

3. Tales of the Abyss

4. Tales of Symphonia

5. Tales of Xillia 2

6. Tales of Phantasia

7. Tales of Vesperia

8. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World

9. Tales of Xillia

 

Doesn't include spin-off titles and Innocence. It was really tough choosing between Tales of the Abyss and Symphonia. Practically speaking, they're on the same level. As of now, the only English released Tales games I got left are Destiny, Legendia and Hearts R. Will be a while before I play those, as I don't have the correct console for them (PS3 doesn't play <PS2 games, don't have a Vita).

[Guest 17]

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Edited 16 Sep 2016 by Merc

[Shadow 43]

Blazblue Calamity Trigger - Actually finished this a week ago. Or two. I dunno. It was a good game, that's for sure. I quitted it earlier because the story was rather confusing, and I was constantly struggling with getting stories to 100%. Figured things out, took my time, and fell in love. I will admit that the story mechanic was original, and it was great to see what happened when you lost or made a decision, but it began to drag. I hope the other games in the series don't use this mechanic, otherwise I'm not planning to play them for the time being. And y'know, I'm kind of a completionist so only going for the normal ending is a no-go. Anyways, back to the game. Most of the characters were really fun to play as, and they all felt different from each other. I especially liked Jin. Not just as a character, but also someone to play as. I can literally go through rounds without taking damage, just comboing people to dead. If an enemy leaves an opening, I'll take it. I also like to play as Iron Tager and Hakumen, because they hit like a tank. I'm definitely curious to check out the other games, but I'm not going to do that for now. Calamity Trigger left a good impact on me, and now I want to play even more 2d fighters. I mean, played quite a few of them, but there are always more :P

Enchanted Arms - This one... is kinda tough to explain. It's your regular JRPG mixed with Pokemon elements. The characters were boring, the story wasn't anything outstanding, and everything was just so extremely slow. Yet, I felt really satisfied when I beat the game, as I really had to be strategic at times. The game isn't that difficult, but go in unprepared and you're not going to make it. You often had to change 'Pokemon' (they're called Golems by the way), as all of them have an element attached to them. And if the enemy is in an advantage, they will hit really hard. I would probably dislike this game if it wasn't for the satisfying moments it provided me with. That's also why I'm not sure if I should recommend it or not... that's really something I leave up to you. It wasn't a bad game (and it was one of, if not the first JRPG of the 7th generation, so it has an excuse I suppose), but it also had a lot of thing that just didn't work for me.

[BrayPlays (Formerly CyDra) 23]

I finally beat Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The second one is better in my opinion.

[Shadow 43]

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology - Ooh, I think it's been 2 days since I last talked about Tales. LET'S CHANGE THAT.

 

Aye, finally beat this one after quite a while. Quite underlevelled too I suppose. Everybody on the webz was suggesting that I should get to level 57 or higher, so that I have access to a Mystic Arte. Destroyed final boss at level 46 with 3 companions around the same level, although it took me 4 tries. Yeh, kind of weird difficulty curve towards the end since everything before that didn't really give me a problem. It was funny how a friend of mine said she couldn't beat the final boss after so many times, so I was prepared. But only the first time I was like 'yep, this ain't gonna be easy'. Overall it's a pretty good game for one that's considered a fan-service game. The only thing that really bugged me was the... rather average at best combat system. Even though the 1 vs 2 or 3 battle against Tales characters weren't particularly difficult, they were frustrating as you were constantly interrupted when casting an arte and also lose the TP required. These could easily take up to 15 minutes, to say the least. But hey, I really enjoyed this spin-off title and I'm sure the latter games do a better job. Although we will never get them... *sigh* time to learn Japanese I suppose.

 

Also, when it comes to English only Tales games, I've only got Destiny, Legendia and Hearts R left to finish. Huzzah 

[Skye Prower 386]

Lego City Undercover

 

With Lego Dimensions coming out soon I thought I should do my best to finish all the other Lego game's I have.  Which, admittedly isn't many.  Lego Batman 1 (which I'm playing atm) and 2.  And Lego Hobbit, which I literally JUST bought with it being on sale on Steam.

 

And of course, Lego City Undercover.  Now, I finished the storyline of the game months ago, but still had to do all the secret hunting to reach 100%, which I did last night after around... wow... 59 hours of play.  And I don't regret any of it.

 

If you've played any Lego game before you know the deal.  It's the same basic gameplay, except this one takes place in a Grand Theft Auto style sandbox city filled with secrets and collectibles.  Though you play a cop rather than a criminal, this is a family game after all.  The character switch function has also been simplified.  Rather than a roster of different characters who mix and match different abilities, it's streamlined into 8 different classes, each with fixed abilities, but you can choose a costume for the category once you unlock them, or create your own of course.  Combat has also been tweaked, with the addition of a counter function, and grabbing and throwing enemies more central to fighting.  It's still simplistic, but it's a massive step up from the 'pound the attack button until the enemies are smashed' or other Lego games.  I also found the humour and voice acting really good (for the most part), though the humour does depends a lot on parodies and homages, so if you don;t like that sort of humour, it will likely fall flat for you.

 

The music... well, it's not bad for the most part, but it's mostly just there, not noticeable.  Except for the last level, where they really turn up the epicness

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMb2vFEKu2E&list=PL2XjmdkuVL-0taFM2Pg0sPiOvP2Forl-T&index=11

 

If you're wondering what they're chanting in the song, it's 'Lego City' which just makes it even more awesome!

 

And oddly, there's no car radio or the like.  

 

But for the negative points.  Well, there's only boss fights in the final level, and both are pretty similar in how they play and are rather simplistic.  Also, one specific costume is require to unlock a handful of areas on the map which is only available after the final level.  This is why there is a massive gap between me finishing the story missions and going to hunt for the collectibles.  Knowing I required the last costume, I put off collectible hunting in the city till after I got it.  But, as I'd already finished the missions, hunting around the city for a costume I couldn't really 'show off' lost some of it's appeal.  Also, you HAVE to wear this one specific costume, so if you had another you prefered, tough.  

 

Though, both of those are fairly minor points.  But a major one I have is the car controls.  They're not bad, but they're certainly not good. And the only time I had difficulty with the game was on some of the driving missions.  Which also segways into the point the game is pretty easy, which may be off putting for some.  But if not, and you have a Wii U, GET THIS GAME!

[Shadow 43]

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - I have played many JRPGs in my life that are considered some of the best. Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, The Tales series as a whole, The mana series, Star Ocean, Lufia... but this one defintely has a spot amongst them. Trails in the Sky is an excellent game that I recommend to literally everybody who is a fan of JRPGs. You'll miss out if you don't play this one, trust me.

The characters are excellent, and in turn also make the story much better. The story is at times predictable, yet has twists I could have seen coming but didn't think about too much, having them come as a shock. Specifically Estelle and Joshua, the main duo. They compliment each other very well in their weak points, and bring the best out of each other. The battle system isn't the best I have ever seen, but it does it's job well. Every character plays differently, and they can be even more distinguished with the Orbal system. The spritework and music are also very lovely, and so are all the locations you'll explore.

The only negative I can think off are specifically directed towards Completionists and Achievements Hunters. It's a hell. But eh, I'm no Achievement Hunter, so I'm fine :3 Guys, it has been ages since I last shred some tears, but this game managed to do so. And yes, I am aware it's a trilogy of games, so I'm far from done with this one, but if this is just a sign of what's to come, count me in. This game definitely belongs in my top 20 games of all time, possibly even top 10. It's that good.

[Seviper the Fang Snake 368]

So I finished Sonic Unleashed a couple days ago.

A few stages were frustrating, specifically the Eggman Land Stage.

I also don't collect collectables until after I beat a game or if I start over. So I had to go back to previous stages.

Overall It's not the worst game. Definitely beats 06!

[Shadow 43]

Uh... beaten quite a lot of games really. Had 3 weeks off work so I had the time to do so :3

BIT.TRIP RUNNER - This game sucks. So badly. Whenever you die, you know what you were supposed to do and felt more like it wasn't your fault, but the horrible game design. I don't understand what people see in this game. It punishes you for the wrong reasons, and you don't improve from it.

Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae - Don't really have a lot to say about it. It's good, but nothing worth playing again, neither a recommendation.

Ys II - I loved Ys I. I loved Ys II too. It did enough to have it a game now straying too far away from the original, yet implement some new mechanics which makes the combat much more fluent. The characters were also more likeable than the original. The only real complaint I really have is that the areas were too connected to each other. There were no alternate exits to other areas, like in the first you could go to the abandoned mine, or another city. But eh, it's not really a major complaint, and you have teleportation so that part is also okay. Areas were better designed, and the writing also improved, as you could talk to EVERY enemy you came across in the game. That's just great.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursors Legacy - Aye, that was a good game. Good platforming, nice and variating gameplay. Just a good first game, that's for sure. Only the completionist bonus was a massive slap in the face. That's the worst I've seen in any game probably. But aside from that, I can't wait to play the other games in the franchise.

Golden Sun - I've been playing this for quite a while. Never really got down to finishing it, but now I did and.. I really liked it, but not as much as others. People say that the Secret of Mana menu is confusing, but I could say the same about Golden Sun. All characters can only hold 15 items with them, and most likely 5 of them are reserved for armour. Lack of transportation (no airship or teleportation) also bothered me a little, as I didn't want to get back to Babi just for Cloak psynergy. But aside from that, I really enjoyed it! Solid characters and story (though I could've done with Isaac having more dialogue than just yes and no), good combat and nice areas to visit.

Secret of Magia - Made an article about it. I really enjoyed the premise, concept and ideas it had, but they were just executed very poorly, making it a total mess. But hey, the developer read my article, thanked me for it and is currently working on an update! So hopefully I'll regret what I said about it till now and see if it's actually worth playing! For now, don't bother, but I'll let you know if it is.

And finally..

Kingdom Hearts ReMix - Mhm... I enjoyed it, but it was extremely mediocre. Combat was good, but the camera and some difficulty spikes had to oppose it. I'm not gonna complain about the story, but it was funny how all the 'sad' moments were ruined by the voices of Goofy, Donald and Mickey. Couldn't take them serious at all. But.. despite all that, I had a good time and am definitely looking forward to KHII.

[Shadow 43]

Haven't posted here in a while... dang. Oh well, have a wall of text:

Sonic Generations - Mainly because I wanted to test out mods on the Steam version, like the Unleashed Project and Shadow. Sonic Generations still holds up pretty well, and I really enjoyed my time. Too bad online mode on Steam is broken though, which means I'm stuck on 48 out of 49 achievements. I don't care for them, but this is complete crap. I also played it for an article... yup...

Shipwreck - Article coming soon. Think of this game as a Link's Awakening clone, but a pretty good one at that. It's extremely short, but dungeons are fun to explore through. Story and characters were pretty lame though, but I'm sure that wasn't the aim of the game. Overall, pretty fun game. Don't really have much more to say, so... wait for the article.

Under Night In-Birth EXE Late - A fighting game on the PS3 I've had my eyes on for quite a while. It's graphically similar to Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax and Blazblue. It also plays similar to Blazblue but hey, it was made by Arc System Works, go figure. Yet, I've had more fun with this one than Calamity Trigger. There is a headscratching story, but this time I didn't have to bother with losing to enemies to progress the story differently. It's unique to Blazblue, but pretty time consuming at the same time. Most, if not all characters were fun to play as. I could've lived with them adding special attacks to the right d-pad though, like Blazblue did. I suck horribly at commands, and fail far more often than succeed. There are also quite a lot of modes and good customization when it comes to costumes, with half of them being unlockables. There were also 2 guest characters who I have never heard of before, but they were tons of fun to play as too. Specifically Eltnum, who loves to break the fourth wall, mentioning how she is a fighting game expert and that everyone else in the game are just a bunch of newbies. Overall, a good game I definitely recommend.

Ys Origin - I like Ys I and II. Then I played Ys Origin... and I still like them, but Ys Origin is better on EVERY level. Great gameplay, finally two relatable main characters who were not silent, and a good story overall. Ys Origin takes place in the final dungeon of the original Ys, the Devil's Tower. Yet, the tower has received a massive overhaul (or, it has just become worse over the 700 years), and never did I feel like the tower was getting boring. The game has a pretty good balance between story and gameplay. Upgrading and finding armour was fun, and unlike the first two games, I didn't feel like I missed any items, or was halted somewhere because I had no idea what to do. The gameplay was much better, with platforming elements and not a bump system, but instead just press a button to swing your weapon. Ys Origin is so far definitely my favourite in the franchise, and also one that I really like to recommend.

Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles - My first ever Castlevania game. It was... fun I suppose. I really liked that you were able to take different paths and end up in a whole new level. Yet, Richter controlled like poop. He could only whip forward, can't double jump but instead do a weird backflip, and doesn't upgrade at all. Some bosses were pretty difficult without the right special weapon, and losing to them had you restarting the entire level. It's annoying, time consuming, and all that. Then there's Maria, who plays a whole lot better. Could even consider her the easy mode of the game. I would lie if I didn't have fun with the game. The secrets were what kept me going for the most part, and thus I've... almost completed it. Beat the superboss, but didn't beat the boss of Stage 5' yet. Oh well, probably one day. Fun game. But then...

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - This game comes along and throws it out of the window. I'm going to mention it right now before continueing: SotN now belongs somewhere in my top 10 games of all time. The Metroidvania style was the perfect way to go. Alucard controlled really well, and the depth and customization in this game were excellent. I will admit that the second castle was... not that great because it felt so empty and was after all just the castle turned around, but it was still fun to go through. No game is perfect, but SotN is still an excellent game. I feel ashamed for missing out on it. This game definitely makes me curious what the rest of the franchise is about.

[Guest 17]

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Edited 16 Sep 2016 by Merc