World of Light - 2019 Games Completed Thread

[CitizenOfVerona]

(I pm'd Matt my Switch friend code, with all the bullshit "FP." threads and whatnot, I don't want my FC in the open just to be sure. I didn't sandbag Matt or anything in case anyone was wondering haha)

Cadence of Hyrule (NS)

I already gushed about this game in the CT, but my opinion remains firm: very fun with amazing music.

 

[Karkashan]

Cadence of Hyrule (NS)

I already gushed about this game in the CT, but my opinion remains firm: very fun with amazing music.

I need to go back to that game sometime. I got lost and confused and so I gave up and moved onto something else, even if it was fun to play as Zelda.

 

[Aki]

I love that this thread still lives on from 2013 / 2014(?)

Will post in here once I beat something lol

 

[sjmartin79]

Metroid Fusion (3DS)

This was my first time finishing Metroid Fusion. Other than Federation Force, I have now beaten all Metroid Games. Metroid has solidified as my 2nd favorite game series. (After The Legend of Zelda)

This was a great game. I can see why some people would like the mission structure of it, while others would say that the mission structure took away from the isolation and search/discovery of other Metroid games.
I felt the controls were tight. Had no complaints on that. Some of the boss battles were quite challenging. I died a lot, and I felt very accomplished when I would beat some of the harder bosses. The graphics were good for what they were, and I appreciated the difference in the different areas of the space station. You could look at a background and know which section you were in.

 

[Karkashan]

Ghost Blade HD (NS)

I'm mad still and yet satisfied.

So basically every bullet hell shmup ever.

 

[Karkashan]

The Outer Worlds (PC)

I finished my The Outer Worlds playthrough, which was started because it was on Gamepass so I thought “sure, why not; I ain’t doing shit this weekend anyway”. All in all a very fun game with far more options than I'd ever need, but I appreciated that I had them nonetheless.

Pumping all of my skill points n shit into Persuasion, Science, and Stealth certainly made what combat I couldn’t avoid interesting at points. Still missed the mark on some late game speech checks but they didn’t seem particularly important so I just shrugged and moved on.

Sound Design was very well done, even if there were a couple of glitched sound effects and some weapons never quite sounded right. Music was great, though.

There was one, big, glaring CTD issue in the last 30 minutes of the game that I’m honestly surprised made it passed QA and seems to be making its way through the gaming journo circuit, so hopefull that gets patched fairly soon so most people don’t have to deal with that.

I should mention: This game has a lot of player freedom. A lot. Therefore it’s not going to take you a bajillion hours to get through it, I think it only took me roughly 16. However it is meant to be replayed, so if replaying games like Mass Effect or Dragon Age just to do the alternate choices is your thing, then I can’t recommend this game enough.

 

[sjmartin79]

Untitled Goose Game (NS)

Oh my goodness! I had so much fun with this game! The fact that there are buttons just to taunt people, it's so fantastic! I laughed so much while playing this. And there's even post-game content that ramps up the difficulty. While playing it, you think "I've never had so much fun being the villain", but then by the end you start to think "but maybe I'm the hero". lol

 

[CitizenOfVerona]

Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (NS)

So before I talk about this game, just think about 2D Zelda. Picture some characters, animations, weapons, bosses, etc from the series. Got it? Now check out the trailer.

So, yeah, Blossom Tales is a lot like Zelda. I know the world "clone" is popular these days, and that word tends to carry a certain vibe when using it to describe a game, but I personally don't mind if the game is fun. Blossom Tales is certainly fun, but the first few hours are the best in my opinion.

First of all, I want to say I adore the story setup. It's a Grandpa telling his two grandchildren a story. So when you pick up a new item it ain't just a random text box describing it, it's the Grandpa telling his kids what it is. There are also times where you'll encounter a character and the kids will interrupt asking if it's a Ninja Master or a Pirate Queen. You then decide who that character will be. When you quit the game and boot it back up, the kids and Grandpa will talk about where you left off and what you're working towards now. It's super fucking charming.

The world reminds me of Termina from Majora's Mask. A central town with 4 regions surrounding it. I think the first area is the best. I had 7 hearts before I even beat the first temple. That area is pretty jam packed with secrets and whatnot. The second area is a sparse dank swamp, not as much happening, but it fits the theme of the area. The third place has more stuff, and the final area is a few enemy encounters before the dungeon.

I think the dungeons are simultaneously great and a bit disappointing. The first one was fun, but the next two are pretty similar. It's never a question of where to go, but mostly fighting the current batch of enemies or solving the puzzle in that room. The first three feel similar in structure, some puzzle types show up throughout and they don't take full advantage of the weapons and items you get. They weren't bad, and I get it's a small indie game, I can't expect Nintendo-tier stuff, but a bit more variety in how they're stitched together would be nice. Not a deal breaker by any means but something that was noticeable. The final dungeon was pretty great though.

Combat was good, but your spin attack seems to kill most things in one hit, so using your sword normally felt weak.

And that's pretty much that. Fun game with a charming as hell setup with lots of secrets to find. I'd recommend it, but if you're looking for 2D Zelda action on the Switch, chances are you just played or are currently playing Link's Awakening. Still, gotta support the little guys yeah?

 

[Juegos]

Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (NS)

So before I talk about this game, just think about 2D Zelda. Picture some characters, animations, weapons, bosses, etc from the series. Got it? Now check out the trailer.

So, yeah, Blossom Tales is a lot like Zelda. I know the world "clone" is popular these days, and that word tends to carry a certain vibe when using it to describe a game, but I personally don't mind if the game is fun. Blossom Tales is certainly fun, but the first few hours are the best in my opinion.

First of all, I want to say I adore the story setup. It's a Grandpa telling his two grandchildren a story. So when you pick up a new item it ain't just a random text box describing it, it's the Grandpa telling his kids what it is. There are also times where you'll encounter a character and the kids will interrupt asking if it's a Ninja Master or a Pirate Queen. You then decide who that character will be. When you quit the game and boot it back up, the kids and Grandpa will talk about where you left off and what you're working towards now. It's super fucking charming.

The world reminds me of Termina from Majora's Mask. A central town with 4 regions surrounding it. I think the first area is the best. I had 7 hearts before I even beat the first temple. That area is pretty jam packed with secrets and whatnot. The second area is a sparse dank swamp, not as much happening, but it fits the theme of the area. The third place has more stuff, and the final area is a few enemy encounters before the dungeon.

I think the dungeons are simultaneously great and a bit disappointing. The first one was fun, but the next two are pretty similar. It's never a question of where to go, but mostly fighting the current batch of enemies or solving the puzzle in that room. The first three feel similar in structure, some puzzle types show up throughout and they don't take full advantage of the weapons and items you get. They weren't bad, and I get it's a small indie game, I can't expect Nintendo-tier stuff, but a bit more variety in how they're stitched together would be nice. Not a deal breaker by any means but something that was noticeable. The final dungeon was pretty great though.

Combat was good, but your spin attack seems to kill most things in one hit, so using your sword normally felt weak.

And that's pretty much that. Fun game with a charming as hell setup with lots of secrets to find. I'd recommend it, but if you're looking for 2D Zelda action on the Switch, chances are you just played or are currently playing Link's Awakening. Still, gotta support the little guys yeah?

Ayy, I reviewed this game a while ago (it's been two years already? JFC; slow down, time): https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/blossom-tales-sleeping-king-review-nintendo-switch/

I, too, liked it.

 

[Shoulder]

The Last of Us Remastered + Left Behind (PS4)

It was good to revisit this, as well as play through the DLC portion for the first time, although despite my love of the storyline, and characters, this go around was nowhere near as memorable, but I guess I expected it. Still though, the intro still hits you quite hard, and I'm sure many others who first experienced it felt similar. Troy Baker is phenomenal as Joel, and I can't speak enough about Ashley Johnson as Ellie. Both did a fantastic job in their respective roles, and the supporting cast does not disappoint either.

Yes, the level design is very linear, and the gameplay mechanics are not the most engaging, but it gets the job done. I wish the AI were a little less dimwitted, but perhaps if I played it on a much harder difficulty, that could change. Overall though, I'm glad I replayed through this, got to experience Left Behind, and had more insight to Ellie's backstory, and makes me more excited for Part 2 coming next year.

 

[Karkashan]

Batman: Arkham City (PC)

My least favorite of the Arkham games, but it's still an Arkham game and therefore pretty great.

It's kind of amazing playing this in 2019 because the City, which felt so huge back then, is actually kinda small for a sandbox. I wouldn't necessarily call this aspect of it a demerit, however (in some cases it can make things much more manageable). It's just amusing to me that my remembrance of the scope of this game was a trifle different than reality.

The Catwoman DLC, upon replaying the game, really feels awkward and jammed in, and isn't all that fun to play. It's not bad, I just don't think it's good either. I didn't touch the grieving Harley DLC yet, will probably get back to that maybe later on tonight if I'm feeling up to it.

 

[CitizenOfVerona]

It's kind of amazing playing this in 2019 because the City, which felt so huge back then, is actually kinda small for a sandbox.

I had this feeling while replaying Donkey Kong 64 a year ago. I remember it being huge and confusing, but the levels are usually just circular rooms with one hallway connecting them, or in the case of the ice world, just a U shape.

 

[sjmartin79]

Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (NS)

So before I talk about this game, just think about 2D Zelda. Picture some characters, animations, weapons, bosses, etc from the series. Got it? Now check out the trailer.

So, yeah, Blossom Tales is a lot like Zelda. I know the world "clone" is popular these days, and that word tends to carry a certain vibe when using it to describe a game, but I personally don't mind if the game is fun. Blossom Tales is certainly fun, but the first few hours are the best in my opinion.

First of all, I want to say I adore the story setup. It's a Grandpa telling his two grandchildren a story. So when you pick up a new item it ain't just a random text box describing it, it's the Grandpa telling his kids what it is. There are also times where you'll encounter a character and the kids will interrupt asking if it's a Ninja Master or a Pirate Queen. You then decide who that character will be. When you quit the game and boot it back up, the kids and Grandpa will talk about where you left off and what you're working towards now. It's super fucking charming.

The world reminds me of Termina from Majora's Mask. A central town with 4 regions surrounding it. I think the first area is the best. I had 7 hearts before I even beat the first temple. That area is pretty jam packed with secrets and whatnot. The second area is a sparse dank swamp, not as much happening, but it fits the theme of the area. The third place has more stuff, and the final area is a few enemy encounters before the dungeon.

I think the dungeons are simultaneously great and a bit disappointing. The first one was fun, but the next two are pretty similar. It's never a question of where to go, but mostly fighting the current batch of enemies or solving the puzzle in that room. The first three feel similar in structure, some puzzle types show up throughout and they don't take full advantage of the weapons and items you get. They weren't bad, and I get it's a small indie game, I can't expect Nintendo-tier stuff, but a bit more variety in how they're stitched together would be nice. Not a deal breaker by any means but something that was noticeable. The final dungeon was pretty great though.

Combat was good, but your spin attack seems to kill most things in one hit, so using your sword normally felt weak.

And that's pretty much that. Fun game with a charming as hell setup with lots of secrets to find. I'd recommend it, but if you're looking for 2D Zelda action on the Switch, chances are you just played or are currently playing Link's Awakening. Still, gotta support the little guys yeah?

I need to finish this game, but I really liked it too. I loved the Grandpa with the kids aspect of it. That pushed the charm level through the roof.

 

[BobSilencieux]

Astral Chain - NS

This is a thoroughly excellent game. I feel like it's flying under the radar a bit; I'm not seeing a great deal of talk about it, but my goodness, it certainly warrants being talked about! It's just so comprehensive, so extensive. It's way closer to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 than I ever imagined. It's like 70% XC2 and 30% Wonderful 101. Actually, I think it's more like 60% XC2, 35% W101 + Bayonetta, and 5% Batman Arkham City. Specifically, the detective work aspect of that game.

Man, it's such a great game. I'm not sure if it's my favourite Platinum game (W101 would have something to say about that) but what it lacks in pure action, it makes up for in other gameplay elements. RPG elements, systems layered on top of systems, customisation options, detective work, side quests...

I remember a quote from a P* guy from years ago (maybe Kamiya himself) talking about how the first playthrough of a P* game is all about learning how to play the game and subsequent playthroughs are where you really get to unleash your skills, and this game is definitely showcasing that philosophy, given that I was still figuring out pretty basic concepts and strategies in the final level of the game!

I played on Platinum Standard difficulty and finished up with a low B rank overall, so it's definitely more forgiving than the other P* games that I've played; I was surprised on more than one occasion to earn an S or even S+ rank on a mission where I tanked a load of damage. Not that it's an easy game, by any means - much like my delightful ex girlfriend, I had to swallow an awful lot of D's before I stopped sucking so bad - but it certainly is a lot more accessible for non- action game veterans.

I've already started back at the beginning again, and the progress I've made is astonishing - I'm whipping through these earlier, easier enemy encounters with speed, style, and precision, S+ ranks falling like rain, and that is a great feeling. A Platinum kind of feeling.

I love it.

 

[sjmartin79]

Astral Chain - NS

This is a thoroughly excellent game. I feel like it's flying under the radar a bit; I'm not seeing a great deal of talk about it, but my goodness, it certainly warrants being talked about! It's just so comprehensive, so extensive. It's way closer to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 than I ever imagined. It's like 70% XC2 and 30% Wonderful 101. Actually, I think it's more like 60% XC2, 35% W101 + Bayonetta, and 5% Batman Arkham City. Specifically, the detective work aspect of that game.

Man, it's such a great game. I'm not sure if it's my favourite Platinum game (W101 would have something to say about that) but what it lacks in pure action, it makes up for in other gameplay elements. RPG elements, systems layered on top of systems, customisation options, detective work, side quests...

I remember a quote from a P* guy from years ago (maybe Kamiya himself) talking about how the first playthrough of a P* game is all about learning how to play the game and subsequent playthroughs are where you really get to unleash your skills, and this game is definitely showcasing that philosophy, given that I was still figuring out pretty basic concepts and strategies in the final level of the game!

I played on Platinum Standard difficulty and finished up with a low B rank overall, so it's definitely more forgiving than the other P* games that I've played; I was surprised on more than one occasion to earn an S or even S+ rank on a mission where I tanked a load of damage. Not that it's an easy game, by any means - much like my delightful ex girlfriend, I had to swallow an awful lot of D's before I stopped sucking so bad - but it certainly is a lot more accessible for non- action game veterans.

I've already started back at the beginning again, and the progress I've made is astonishing - I'm whipping through these earlier, easier enemy encounters with speed, style, and precision, S+ ranks falling like rain, and that is a great feeling. A Platinum kind of feeling.

I love it.

This is on my must-play list. I don't have a ton of time to play games, and Steve2's favorite series is Pokemon, so we'll be playing that together this next week. Then it's Luigi's Mansion 3, then Astral Chain. My goal is to get to it before Christmas.
Glad to see another person review is positively.

 

[Karkashan]

I played on Platinum Standard difficulty and finished up with a low B rank overall, so it's definitely more forgiving than the other P* games that I've played; I was surprised on more than one occasion to earn an S or even S+ rank on a mission where I tanked a load of damage. Not that it's an easy game, by any means - much like my delightful ex girlfriend, I had to swallow an awful lot of D's before I stopped sucking so bad - but it certainly is a lot more accessible for non- action game veterans.

I've already started back at the beginning again, and the progress I've made is astonishing - I'm whipping through these earlier, easier enemy encounters with speed, style, and precision, S+ ranks falling like rain, and that is a great feeling. A Platinum kind of feeling.
.

Astral Chain's ranking system is actually based on the variety of attacks and strategies you use, not on damage (not) taken. So that's why even if you die once during an encounter you can still get a pretty good rank out of it.

 

[Karkashan]

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (NS)

Finally got back into this game this weekend, did the Color Dungeon and levels 4 through 8.

What a wonderful, charming remake (I think they might've put out a performance patch? Cause the game felt a lot smoother this time).

praisegrima

 

[EvilTw1n]

Super Metroid (NS)

3:39 / 65%

I have had zero time to play games lately. So to dig back in, I went to comfort food.

I wondered how Super would stand up to a relatively close replay. It's just as great, of course.

Believe it or not, this actually started as a quasi-speedrun. I watched a video of the record run and decided I'd try to play as fast as I could. That lasted about an hour before I couldn't stand it. Just not my bag, fam. And yet, rushing a little bit at the start knocked a full hour off of my prior play-through time, anyways.

 

[CitizenOfVerona]

Tales of Vesperia (NS)

I really love a good RPG but most ones I play tend to be from Square Enix. In elementary/high school, I didn't have high speed internet or magazine subscriptions. If I didn't see a commercial for a game or hear it from a friend, all I had to go on was box art I saw at the rental store or on the very rare trip to a game store that was an hour's drive away. Because of this, I missed out on quite a lot of games I've since went back to, and it's also because of this, I just simply wasn't aware of a lot of non-Square Enix RPGs. I knew of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, and my sister had a PS2 so she had few RPG's outside of those series, but it's only lately that I'm realizing just how many non-SE RPGs there is. So after Final Fantasy 15 and Kingdom Hearts 3 leaving me a bit cold, up comes Tales of Vesperia riding it's motorcycle, coolly saying "this guy boring you baby?". It makes me think just how many good RPGs are out there that I know next to nothing about.

This was a great time. A good story with great characters and a fun combat system. It's pretty classic in terms of structure, with an overworld, towns, dungeons and bosses. I only really have two gripes with this game. First is that animations outside of combat are pretty lackluster. Cutscenes involve very stiff robotic animations. I must have seen the same few animations dozens of times. Sometimes the action will happen off screen while the camera stays fixed on a barely moving character. It's not the best, especially since combat and victory screens have pretty fluid movements and whatnot. Lip syncing is also possibly the worst I ever seen. It's distracting but I did get use to it. Next time I play a game with mo-cap actors I'll shit myself.

The ending is also pretty abrupt. There are illustrations during the credits showing what life is like after the final battle, but I'd still like to see it in a cutscene or something. Oh well.

I also feel like I didn't make the most of combat. There's a lot to tinker and play around with, you can even play as any character in your party, but I stuck with the main character and yeah combat did get a bit tedious after awhile. The skills and spells other party members where learning seem way cooler than the main character. It wasn't until very end game I realized I probably did a few things "wrong" in terms of leveling up and whatnot, but hey, I beat the final boss first try so at the end of the day it all worked out. I'd love to see a pro or speed runner play this.

All that said, there's a character in this game who is essentially a Looney Tune. She fights with toy boxes that springs a 10t weight, she flys on a rocket into space than crashes back down on a star, calls upon skillets and frying pans and can make magic with playing cards. 10/10 GOTY.

I just really had a good time with this. My friend tried to get my into the series awhile ago, but it wasn't until this went on sale last month I finally tried it. Glad I did, I now have another series to slowly pick at, and the newest game looks beautiful like holy shit.

 

[Karkashan]

AYY forums are working again. Nice

Anyway. Pokemon Sword (NS)

I'm still not 100% how to pontificate my feelings on the game, but for a tl;dr I thought it was a fun game, a good step forward, a somewhat flawed experience but that's all the Pokemon games so it's not that much of a detriment to me.

 

[CitizenOfVerona]

Luigi's Mansion 3 (NS)

Overall was a very enjoyable time but some things did annoy me.

I feel the first half of the game is better. Each floor of the hotel has a boss ghost that needs to be defeated in order to progress to the next one, and every few floors tends to be a, for lack of a better term, "bigger boss" floor, where the level is pretty small. In the second half, these seem to happen more often making the pacing a bit weird.

Combat was okay, but doesn't evolve much at all, and it got to the point where it felt like it was just getting in the way of the real fun of puzzle solving and exploring. A couple of bosses weren't that great either. Every power up and mechanic that comes from Dark Moon is obtained pretty early in the game, so for a majority of the time it doesn't feel like anything is progressing mechanically. One new power up is given to you early and the other comes in the late game that's only used once for story progression and twice optionally for hunting collectibles. I'm mostly fine with this as I don't think every game under the sun needs an RPG/skill tree, but I think it wouldn't have hurt this time. I never stopped having fun with exploring, and I did find all the hidden stuff (sadly the rewards are lame), so the main gameplay loop was fun enough for me.

You collect money as well like always and I ended the game with more than $70,000 which only affects the end screen like Luigi's Mansion 1. There are three items in a store, extra lives, a gem finder and a boo finder. That's kinda lame too.

I love going to each new floor and exploring it so much that I'm willing to forgive some annoyances or lack of real innovation. It's pretty stellar how much fun and puzzles the developers can add to this gameplay. There are sections I think could have just been removed though, such as the two times you're required to backtrack to previous floors hunting a ghost that stolen a key item. This isn't RE1 or 2, or even Luigi's Mansion 1 backtracking, this is just the game padding out time needlessly in an already long enough game in my opinion.

Towards the end of the game I was reminded of No More Heroes. Each level has a unique boss fight and it's own style before you go on to the next one. I do miss the more interconnected mansion from 1, but if you just want a Luigi action/puzzle solver, it's great. Going for 100% and such is ultimately, not worth it unless you simply like completely everything in games, which I sometimes do. I don't mind getting as much money as I can in 1 because it's a pretty short game that I can replay so much, but the idea of replaying this and getting as much money as I did again is a bit tiring to think of.

I don't mean to be super negative or anything, I just think there are some aspects of the game that could be re-worked a bit to make a better experience overall. I don't want every game to play similar to each other like how a lot of AAA games are these days, but perhaps spending money on new items, tools, or powering up stuff like Resident Evil 4 (with hoping it's own merchant style character) would be the way to go.

 

[CitizenOfVerona]

Super Mario Odyssey (NS)

Shiieeeet. Don't know what I can say that I'm sure everyone who will read this doesn't already know. The last Mario game to truly wow me was Galaxy 2, despite enjoying the 3DS, Wii U and 2D games since then. Odyssey really did wow me. Only nitpicks is I was surprised to see most of the levels follow the traditional "grasslands, desert, water, ice, etc" level tropes. I don't mind too much, the levels were great, it's just with how much marketing was behind New Donk City (love how all the streets are named after DK characters btw) I was expecting a shake up in level themes.

Also, there's a lot of moons that are simply "go here" or "groundpound here", especially the post game stuff. On the one hand, they don't really add to the quality of the game significantly, but on the other, there's no wasted space here like so many other open games. Then again, all the green stars in Galaxy 2 are literally just added to the levels with no objectives tied to them so it's in line with Mario.

I did get 999 moons in this game. I enjoyed most every minute of it, but if I got the hankering to 100% a 3D Mario game again soon, it most likely won't be this one. I'd rather have 120 unique stars with objectives, or that alters the levels, etc rather than hundreds of same-y moons. But again, these are mere nitpicks in the grand scheme of things, and Odyssey certainly is grand.