Games Completed 2021

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Alex79
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Alex79 »

Alex79uk wrote: January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)
SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)
OCT - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Aliens (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Alien Isolation (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Attack From Mars (Switch)
OCT - Superliminal (Xbox)
OCT - Haunted Castle (Arcade on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES on Switch)
OCT - Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox)
OCT - Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (SMS on Vita)

I remember as a child showing this game off to a NES owning friend, and telling him to prepare himself for the best graphics he's ever seen. I stand by the fact that this game still looks exceptional for an 8-bit platformer. The vibrant colours and imagination of the artists is fantastic. The animation is great, and Mickey controls perfectly. I really loved this game as a kid, and would beat it over and over again. I'm pleased to say it's held up really well. I far prefer this over the Megadrive counterpart, I just think it's a better, more fun game. The music is excellent, the stages are interesting, and although the challenge level is fairly low, this is certainly one for any Sega Master System collector to make sure they own.
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Alex79
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Alex79 »

Alex79uk wrote: January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)
SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)
OCT - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Aliens (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Alien Isolation (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Attack From Mars (Switch)
OCT - Superliminal (Xbox)
OCT - Haunted Castle (Arcade on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES on Switch)
OCT - Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox)
OCT - Castle Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Land Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)

Oh man, this is a fantastic game. The 8-bit sequel to Castle Of Illusion, this must be one of the best looking games on the Sega Master System. I owned this one too as a kid, but got it much later so played it far fewer times than its predecessor, and remember much less of it. But it's so much fun, some really clever ideas in the game and some great power-ups, too. If anyone is a fan of old platformers, this is still so worth playing. And it's just lovely looking - look at it!

Image

(Whilst looking for a screenshot I also learned there was a third game in the series, Legend Of Illusion, which I never even knew about! Guess I know what I'm playing next...)
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Truk_Kurt »

Spoiler: show
1. GRIS
2. My Friend Pedro
3. Doom Eternal
4. Donut County
5. What Remains of Edith Finch
6. Luigi's Mansion 3
7. Locomotive
8. Bowsers Fury
9. Mafia Definitive Edition
10. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
11. Halo: Combat Evolved (Anniversary Edition)
12. It Takes Two
13. Mario Golf Super Rush
14. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
15. Into the Breach
16. The Artful Escape
17. Katana Zero
I love Hotline Miami and knowing this a friend recommended I played this a few months ago. I saw last week that it was set to leave Game Pass on October 16th so I thought I had better give it a go before it left. The game is fantastic mechanically, you only have one weapon (your Katana) and you jumped, dash and didge your way through small stages in a similar way to Hotline Miami but from a 2D side scrolling perspective rather than top down. It also has a slo mo ability to help with particularly tricky sections. Basically you feel like a total badass ninja when you finish a stage as they are all pretty hard if not brutally hard in places but ever so rewarding. You also have the benefit of watching a replay of the level you have just done to admire your skills in real time. The bosses are amazing too, they're mostly about learning patterns like any boss but given everything in the game is a one shot death to your character, you can't mess up even once and so the slo mo and dodging becomes more important for the bosses. My only complaint is that I found the story initially intriguing but by the end I just had little idea of what was going on anymore, I had a basic idea of the core plot but it was like it was trying to be too trippy and weird to tell a coherent story. 8/10
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Sinclair Gregstrum wrote: July 21st, 2021, 10:49 am Jan - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
Jan - Gears 5: Hivebusters (XSX)
Feb - Yakuza 0 (XSX)
Mar - Klonoa: Door To Phantomile (PS1 via Vita)
Mar - Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5)
Apr - Dishonored: Definitive Edition (XSX)
May - Outriders (XSX)
Jun - Psychonauts (XSX)
Life (family, work, everything!) has been a whirlwind for months so I've not been around these parts much sadly. Have still been listening to the podcast religiously as always so was still a C&R devotee if only in the shadows!

Anyway, I noticed my 'completed' list had gotten woefully out of date (I have been managing to squeeze in some gaming to keep me at least somewhat sane!), so thought I'd log in and update it!

Jul - Jurassic World Evolution (XSX)

I really got into Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis on the Xbox back in 2003 (18 years ago :shock: ), and have wanted another park builder based on the franchise ever since. Not without its faults but overall a beautiful and brilliant game that makes the most of the licence, and that any fans of Jurassic Park or the park-building genre should absolutely check out.

Aug - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5)

Visually stunning and hits all the usual beats that make Ratchet & Clank games so much fun, so if you like those, you'll like this. That said, it is just another Ratchet & Clank game. The portal jumping was massively overplayed in the pre-release marketing, and bar rare standout moments is largely restricted to scripted events.
So a good game but not a great one, and with it being one of the few genuine PS5 exclusives it's a shame that really it’s not much better or different from the 2016 PS4 incarnation.

Aug - Donut County (XSX)

Inventive, original, fun, short - just what I need in a video game right now really. Loved it!

Sep - Horizon Zero Dawn (PS5)

Took a little while to get it’s hooks into me, but when it did this became one of the best open world action-adventures I’ve played. It is gorgeous, has a genuinely interesting story, and features some of the best archery-based combat in gaming (always been a big fan of a bow & arrow!).
On the negative side the RPG-lite systems never felt that finely tuned or interesting, while the environment traversal can feel clunky and restrictive at times. Hopefully both will be improved upon for the upcoming sequel, and while I’m a little disappointed Forbidden West won’t be a PS5-only showcase, I enjoyed Zero Dawn enough for me to be there day one rather than waiting four years this time around.
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Combine Hunter »

Spoiler: show
06/01 - Monster Hunter: Iceborne (PS4/PS5)
22/01 - Black Mesa (PC)
24/01 - HITMAN 3 (PC)
15/02 - The Pathless (PC)
06/03 - Homeworld: Remastered (PC)
07/03 - Demon's Souls [Remake] (PS5)
07/03 - Little Nightmares (PC)
05/04 - It Takes Two (PC)
11/05 - Resident Evil Village (PS5)
23/05 - Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS3)
17/06 - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5)
13/07 - Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
21/08 - Hypnospace Outlaw (PC)
27/08 - Death's Door (PC)
07/09 - Psychonauts 2 (PC)
11/09 - Metro: Exodus (PC)
20/09 - Quake (PC)
25/09 - Castlevania (Switch - Via the Collection)
12/10 - Metroid Dread (Switch)

I really, really loved this game. Super Metroid is a pretty impossible bar to clear for me, so it not being as great as one of my favourite games ever made is no criticism at all. It is, at the very least, rubbing shoulders with Metroid Prime.
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ThirdDrawing
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by ThirdDrawing »

#28 - GTA V (finished a second playthrough after playing GTA 3 while at home)

#29 - Yakuza Kiwami 2
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by ColinAlonso »

Spoiler: show
Jan 1 - Slay the Spire (Switch)
Jan 10 - Streets of Rage 4 (PS4) (Cherry - Normal)
Jan 24 - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch) (True Ending)
Feb 28 - Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (Switch)
Mar 28 - Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Vita)
Jun 13 - Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (PS4)
Jul 11 - What The Golf? (Switch)
Jul 17 - Everything (PS4)
Jul 24 - Astro's Playroom (PS5)
Aug 2 - The Darkside Detective (Switch)
Aug 5 - Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
Sep 4 - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS5)
Sep 10 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Switch)
Sep 26 - Blaster Master Zero (Switch)
Sep 29 - Flipping Death (Switch)
Oct 11 - Yakuza: Like A Dragon

I wanted to like this more than I did, but it sits somewhere in the middle in my ranking of Yakuza games. It still has a lot of the series goodness, though that doesn't hit the same after 8 games. Ichiban is a little too silly for my liking, though his party, notably Adachi, are good. The job system needs a bit more fleshing out in a sequel. I feel the turn-based combat needs to be snappier, though this could be an effect of the previous games' battles consisting of wailing on some goons for 30 seconds and moving on. The larger minigames didn't quite scratch the itch that 5's and 0's did and the area of Ijincho is just a bit too large with everything a bit too far away from each other.
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Magical_Isopod
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Magical_Isopod »

#17 - Metroid Dread

If I could describe this game in one word, it would be "tedious".

The internet seems to be fawning over this game, and while I definitely thought it was good, I'm more like a 6 or 7 out of 10 on this one. It does a lot of stuff right, but also a lot of stuff very wrong.

The Good:

- The animation team on this game deserves a freaking reward. My god, this game has some absolutely stunning animations, movement, all that stuff.

- The range of abilities is really great, and the absolute power trip you feel late game is good fun.

- Metroid, at its core, is a great formula... Obviously, there's an entire genre with its namesake, but the run-and-gun gameplay is far more appealing to me on a base level than, say, Igavania. It's a strong enough formula that it kept me going for the whole runtime.

- Some of the story revelations were neat, if not predictable and of little consequence.

The Bad:

- The music in this game is so bad I barely even noticed it was there. The art direction and samey environments were equally bland.

- The controls. There is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be able to re-map controls or use the d-pad for movement. Yes, you need the stick to aim... You could have easily used the left stick in aim mode only and used d-pad to move around. Way too often, I missed morph balls, or didn't point my gun in the right direction, because there's way too much play in a stick rather than a d-pad. And yes, I know you can re-map the controls on (some) Switch controllers... No option will let you use the d-pad. It was perfectly fine in Samus Returns because the circle pad is snappy and has a limited range of motion. But on a modern stick, no bueno, did not work for me AT ALL.

- The difficulty. And I don't mean like, "This game is too hard," because it's really not. But way too many encounters are less "Wow I finally overcame that obstacle" and more "Thank god that tedious crap is over with." By late game, bosses are carving off huge amounts of HP every single hit, so you can't make many small mistakes. The controls exacerbated this in a big way. And when the bosses generally feel like bullet sponges with way too much HP and little indication of remaining HP...

- The EMMI sections entirely. I hated them. Halting progression completely to play Grandmother's Footsteps with one-hit deaths was an absolutely grating experience.

- The Switch. This console has some absolutely dreadful input lag. I was playing with an SN30+ Pro controller, and the input lag was so bad I couldn't counter EMMI. Like it was absolutely impossible. It was more reliable with the joycons playing handheld, but even then, I would frequently miss QTEs because of the inherent latency issues of the console... So why make the window for these so damned tight?

- I found the map and navigation to be obtuse and confusing in a way Metroid games usually aren't, especially when trying to see items and locked doors, as they're poorly highlighted and are only marginally brighter than collected items, etc.

Conclusion

By the end, I just wanted it to be over. This one's honestly probably my least-favourite of mainline Metroid series, WITH THE CAVEAT that we include the remakes of 1 and 2 over the originals. Yes, I liked Samus Returns more. Apparently, this is heresy. But I loved that game. I only "like" Dread. If it weren't for the cultural zetigeist surrounding it at the moment, I probably wouldn't have finished it. It overall felt tedious, bland, and workmanlike. There was definitely a ton of passion in the story and cinematics here, and there were a lot of cool and often ambitious ideas for movement tech and exploration, but everything else felt total assembly line to me, and I'll definitely be selling this one second-hand.

That being said though, October is a weirdly busy month for game releases that interest me and basically no one else... Visage, The Good Life, House of Ashes and maybe the Corpse Party remake are on the docket for me. The first two amongst those are on Game Pass! So I'll probably finish another couple of games before month's end.

&iso2021
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Alex79
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Alex79 »

Alex79uk wrote: January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)
SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)
OCT - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Aliens (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Alien Isolation (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Attack From Mars (Switch)
OCT - Superliminal (Xbox)
OCT - Haunted Castle (Arcade on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES on Switch)
OCT - Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox)
OCT - Castle Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Land Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Akumajō Densetsu (Famicom on Switch)

I wanted to play through the Japanese version of Castlevania III to see if there were many differences, as I've heard the Japan one is a lot better than the US. If I'm being honest, I didn't really spot any major changes other than on the final boss where in the US edition the lasers will target the player, whereas in the Japanese one the lasers follow a set pattern, which makes it so much easier. I beat him first try! Almost got a 1cc apart from some silly deaths where I fell down holes. Really enjoyed this game, I think I prefer it to the original Castlevania, and the different routes and players available make it much more repayable.

On to Super Castlevania next!
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by ratsoalbion »

Magical_Isopod wrote: October 15th, 2021, 6:05 am #17 - Metroid Dread
- The Switch. This console has some absolutely dreadful input lag. I was playing with an SN30+ Pro controller, and the input lag was so bad I couldn't counter EMMI.
If you're experiencing appreciable input lag on Switch that will be to do with your environment/setup (TV, controller, etc.) rather than the console itself.

https://www.reddit.com/r/8bitdo/comment ... input_lag/

Marlew
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Marlew »

The timing on the EMMI counters is deliberately difficult and far more of a roll of the dice than timing. The game itself tells you this.

It's not input lag.
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Scrustle »

Spoiler: show
05/01 - Brutal Legend
07/01 - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
13/01 - Sludge Life
17/01 - AER: Memories of Old
19/01 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Human - Nero/Dante)
05/03 - CrossCode: A New Home
14/03 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
17/03 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (100cc)
02/04 - Drakengard (Endings A-D)
14/04 - Drakengard 2 (Ending A)
28/04 - Drakengard 3 (Endings A-D)
02/05 - Rain
10/05 - God of War: Chains of Olympus HD
15/05 - God of War: Ghost of Sparta HD
24/05 - NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... (Endings A-E)
08/06 - Final Fantasy XV (NG+)
02/07 - God of War II HD
15/07 - Scarlet Nexus (Yuito)
20/07 - TRON: Evolution
21/07 - Sky: Children of the Light
01/08 - Scarlet Nexus (Kasane, NG+)
12/08 - Forza Horizon
18/08 - A Plague Tale: Innocence
21/08 - Contrast
31/08 - Forza Motorsport 7
04/09 - No More Heroes III
13/09 - Metal Gear Solid
23/09 - Metal Gear Solid 2 HD
09/10 - Psychonauts 2
15/10 - Unsighted

This is a game that is very well made in a lot of ways, but I can't say that I really enjoyed it. Most of it was an incredibly stressful experience, and I came close to throwing in the towel at one point. While the combat mechanics are very well done and nail the challenging and fast paced, parry heavy style, the conceit of having almost every character on a ticking clock really soured the experience for me. But I get that is a totally intentional part of the experience. If anything it's probably too good at that.

I did find I had a problem with the world design though. At times it was really unintuitive and hard to work out what the way to progress was. I've had this issue with some other games before, where it feels like I'm given loads of options but every one of them is the wrong one. Butting my head against so many wrong paths over and over, often overthinking things. Combine that with the time limit and it becomes a miserable time.

But to end on a positive note, the bosses are fantastic. They make really good use of the strengths of the combat, and are just the right level of challenging. They're hard, but not ridiculous. It makes for a really intense experience where you're hitting parry after parry and it feels fantastic.

I can see this game creating a small but very dedicated community around it that appreciate the ideas it goes for and really wrings everything out of it. It's built with replayability and sequence breaking in mind in a way very few games are. I'm sure there are people who will get a lot out of that.
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Megadirt »

Edit: This ended up being a much longer ramble of text than I expected. Please see reference to recently diagnosed ADHD for more information

I was looking at my completion history for the year and I have pumped a lot more time into single titles for the platinums etc than normal, so the quantity is nearly microscopic relatively.

But on that note :

Demon's Souls

I have played every FromSoft game the week it came out, as I worked in Game around Demons/Dark era, and reviewed videogames for the CEX website around the release of Bloodborne, Scholar of the first sin, and DS3. I abandoned them so fast as I just could not get into them. Now maybe it was the frame rate, maybe it was the excitement of a new console, or maybe it was the fact that I got diagnosed with ADHD and given medication that is nearly identical to meth, but I could not stop playing Demon's Souls. I finally 'got' it. I played by myself, with friends, and strangers and eventually platinumed it as my first proper attempt with a Souls game, and first completion of the year.

Dark Souls - Remastered

Not very difficult to guess what happened here, I immediately decided to continue my journey with the Fromsoft games to see if I had changed, and I had. It took me a while to appreciate Dark Souls after Demon's since I had got very used to certain QoL things, the games felt similar but in many ways completely different, I was pleased to hear this echoed back to me on the C&R episode. I eventually fell in love with it, watched countless lore videos, and managed to decimate the final boss with a well timed parry (which I had never successfully got away with until this point, but it was an emergency).

Dark Souls 2 - Scholar of The First Sin

I hit a wall with this one, I played most of it co-op and I learned that that is fun in it's own way, but though I completed it, I don't really feel like I actually earned very much of it, because my co-op partner was great, whereas I suck balls at Dark Souls 2 in particular for some reason. I enjoyed it, and I thought a lot of the enemies and locations were as beautiful and interesting as any (except Anor Londo) in DS. I gave up for maybe 6 months and polished it off the other day, discovering I was maybe 10 minutes from the end which was slightly annoying.

Final Fantasy XIV : A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood

After a few months of playing Elder Scrolls online (I normally don't play MMOs but it was free, and it had no monthly cost) I decided to pay the 10 quid a month to upgrade to the extra exp and bag space that came along with it, then I realised my only reason for not playing FFXIV was because of the monthly fee and ESO was starting to feel like a second job (I had shared google sheets created to manage crafting materials). So I dipped into FFXIV and struggled for a while with relentless tutorials, but eventually I broke free of the overwhelming first few hours and realised "Oh no, I'm now an MMO person". I have ploughed through this glorious game as fast as I can, pre-ordered the cookery book, and taken up playing piano just so I can learn the "Sultana Dreaming" music. It's taken over my life, and I will genuinely be happy to see the back of Endwalker so I don't have to care about it anymore, but I love it so much.

Darksiders Warmastered Edition

Zelda meets God of War meets World of Warcraft character design department. I remember working in Game when this came out around the same time as Bayonetta and I was stuck between which one of these 10/10 'masterpieces' I was going to buy, and I was stuck for so long that I didn't get either. Having completed Bayonetta last year (and holy balls that game is amazing ,full of fighting, fuck you, and finesse), and continuing on my C&R quest, I was very optimistic and, maybe it is because it's old, maybe it's because I'm old, but it was ok I guess. The Zelda part of it was so much more exciting and interesting to me than the God of War part, and I recommended it to people as I was playing it, but by the time I got to the end I was writing redaction letters to everyone to whom I had prattled.

No More Heroes (PS3 version)

Keeping with the C&R saving my ADHDumbass from having to make a decision, I moved on to No More Heroes. This game was the equivalent of dating someone who is amazing, hilarious, and gorgeous but for some reason you have to break it to them that you are going to have to call off the engagement. Its crazy lightsaber, over-the-top fighting styles, and absurdism were so cool, but I just didn't really enjoy having to go back to it each day. It would have made a fun arcade game or something, as it felt a bit like the Jay and Silent Bob movie because we thought that's what we wanted, but really 15 minutes we got in Clerks was as much as we could stand.

Metal Gear Solid 4 : GOTP

I had a weird relationship with Metal Gear Solid, I was obsessed with it as a kid. I could have completed the PSX version of that with an invisible controller and a red bandana over my eyes, and yet when the second or any other games came out, I never played them. Never even tried. I continue to love it so much that it is directly responsible for me hunting out a podcast that would do a deep dive into it, which is how I ended up here. Some of the plot points, and feature length cutscenes I found gripping even though I sometimes didn't touch the controller for an hour at a time. I really enjoyed the 1950s esque noir section, it really reminded me how much fun MGS could be, and (aside from the Revengence title) this is my final step in the canon of MGS games, and it was wonderful. It was also however the least memorable.

Final Fantasy VII Remake - Intergrade

My craving for something new and something exactly the same as the original, and all the fears that come along with that, were absolutely tested with this game. Not only did I love it start to finish, but I was plagued pretty constantly the whole time by an anxiety, so concerned that other people I knew would hate it and be heartbroken.

I finished it last year the week before I got hospitalised with COVID-19 (and started worrying about tempting fate all those times I'd said "If they remake Final Fantasy VII for the PS4 I can die happy"), when Intergrade arrived I grabbed it immediately, and it was great. I loved how the mechanics worked for Yuffie completely differently, the reintroduction of Fort Condor was addictive af, and the PS5 made everything so vibrant and sharp that I went back and platinumed the whole thing.

Grass Cutter
Shameless quick plat

Mekabolt
Attempt at a shameless quick plat, until I realised it had no plat

Final Fantasy XIII

I decided if I was going to plat FFVII, I may as well plat every final fantasy game, and christ was this the wrong one to start with. I still argue that this is a better game than it's given credit for, but it definitely feels more like a crappy FF game that leads into a moderately good Monster Hunter game halfway through. I finished the game in about 30 hours, I platinumed it after 127. I could've cut James Franco's hand off in that time.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

I discovered I don't learn lessons very quickly. This was a lot more fun to play, really interesting battle system, much better paced story, and a very genuine feeling of freedom and exploration. The psuedo-pokemon element for making up the third team in your party and the Ghost Trick esque way of creating paradoxes I actually found very fun and the plat wasn't anywhere near as stressful as with XIII. I decided to take a break from this 'plat all FF games' quest as I had started to go insane.

The Forgotten City

A friend in Australia text me waking me up asking me if I had heard anything about this upcoming PS5 game, telling me about how it's a groundhog day style mystery, where you have to figure out who causes a crime before the city gets punished by the Roman Gods for doing it. It's very brief, but it's an absolute joy to solve and uncover all the different elements and possibilities in this game, considering it started out as a Skyrim Mod I was incredibly impressed, because Skyrim bores the crap out of me. If it wasn't for my friend saying he had heard good things at 4am, which is also exactly when I get paid, I probably would have missed out as I wouldn't have pre-ordered it or the following game

Hades

Having patiently waited for the physical copy of this to release I ordered it as soon as I could. No chance I would have done this if I hadn't played Bastion last year with C&R, and I loved it right out of the gate, then I hated it for 2 days, then I didn't stop thinking about it for 2 weeks, and finally finished it. It is a game that would be enjoyable from game mechanics alone, but the story, the voice acting, and the art are absolutely top-tier. I stuck 70 hours into it in two weeks. I have a full time job for christ sake, and I think rogue likes are usually a waste of time.

Devil May Cry 3 HD

Wasn't sure what to expect by this, short answer I'm in team Bayonetta, though I absolutely adored Devil May Cry 3, it never felt brutally unfair, and it was so efficient, and more games need to have the '10 minute long levels you can chip away at' formula. The precision fighting, the joy of getting better, the increasingly fancy and absurd weaponry and everything Dante does best, make this hold up a lot better than Darksiders, and it is nearly on par with Bayonetta despite being a generation earlier. I instantly went out and bought the PS5 version of DMC5

Horizon Zero Dawn

I'd been putting this off for ages, and I finally got around to it. It was so nice to have a huge open world game, with lore I actually cared about. The best thing were the side quests, the corrupted zones, the viewpoints, and all the collectibles. By which I mean, the fact that you could totally ignore any and all of those and not suffer for a second. They tempted me in through story telling and lore, but I wasn't as invested as I thought I would be, though whether thats me or the game who can say. Super glad to have played it before the sequel comes out.

Castlevania

Heavy use of save states for this I admit. But I hammered this one out, and I'll tell you if I got to that final boss with out save states, or even Frankenstein, I'm fairly sure I would have never played it ever again

I am within spitting distance of a few others at the moment, so I may update this later. It's definitely been a very high quality year aside from a few cheap ones. My back-cat is getting unmanageable.
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ThirdDrawing
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by ThirdDrawing »

#30 - Space Ace!

(With continues, because I would never have beaten it otherwise)
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seansthomas
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by seansthomas »

Alex79 wrote: October 10th, 2021, 9:14 pm
Alex79uk wrote: January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)
SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)
OCT - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Aliens (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Alien Isolation (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Attack From Mars (Switch)
OCT - Superliminal (Xbox)
OCT - Haunted Castle (Arcade on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES on Switch)
OCT - Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox)
OCT - Castle Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Land Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)

Oh man, this is a fantastic game. The 8-bit sequel to Castle Of Illusion, this must be one of the best looking games on the Sega Master System. I owned this one too as a kid, but got it much later so played it far fewer times than its predecessor, and remember much less of it. But it's so much fun, some really clever ideas in the game and some great power-ups, too. If anyone is a fan of old platformers, this is still so worth playing. And it's just lovely looking - look at it!

Image

(Whilst looking for a screenshot I also learned there was a third game in the series, Legend Of Illusion, which I never even knew about! Guess I know what I'm playing next...)
Great to see this get a bit of love. I never hear people talk of it too fondly and I adored it as a kid. Way preferred it to Castle of Illusion.
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Scrustle
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Scrustle »

Spoiler: show
05/01 - Brutal Legend
07/01 - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
13/01 - Sludge Life
17/01 - AER: Memories of Old
19/01 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Human - Nero/Dante)
05/03 - CrossCode: A New Home
14/03 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
17/03 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (100cc)
02/04 - Drakengard (Endings A-D)
14/04 - Drakengard 2 (Ending A)
28/04 - Drakengard 3 (Endings A-D)
02/05 - Rain
10/05 - God of War: Chains of Olympus HD
15/05 - God of War: Ghost of Sparta HD
24/05 - NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... (Endings A-E)
08/06 - Final Fantasy XV (NG+)
02/07 - God of War II HD
15/07 - Scarlet Nexus (Yuito)
20/07 - TRON: Evolution
21/07 - Sky: Children of the Light
01/08 - Scarlet Nexus (Kasane, NG+)
12/08 - Forza Horizon
18/08 - A Plague Tale: Innocence
21/08 - Contrast
31/08 - Forza Motorsport 7
04/09 - No More Heroes III
13/09 - Metal Gear Solid
23/09 - Metal Gear Solid 2 HD
09/10 - Psychonauts 2
15/10 - Unsighted
17/10 - Sable

I like this game in concept but in reality it has way too many technical problems that mar the experience. It's a real shame, because I can see how this could have been a new favourite. On paper it has a lot of things I really appreciate, and occasionally you do get glimmers of what could have been. But it has way too many faults that drag it down and compromise its potential.

To look at its very impressive at times, with a very unique style that creates some striking vistas with its surreal and vast landscapes. The sense of freedom and aimlessness works well with the concept of this being a journey of self-discovery with no real solid goal. The way interacting with characters comes with novel-like narration from the protagonist is a nice touch that gives you a look in to their thought process in a natural feeling way that also allows the game to not have to do much character animating. The idea of flying around on a hoverbike that you can customise at will is really appealing too.

But unfortunately the bike isn't really that fun to ride. It feel unstable and unreliable. It's always trying to flip over on every little knock and bump, veering off to the side, even pirouetting on its nose at times. Given that such a large amount of time in the game is spent riding, it's really not something that can be overlooked as a little bit of harmless jank.

The game is beset by a huge amount of bugs and performance problems too. Whenever you're riding around the frame rate will frequently stutter and chug, presumably as its trying to stream in new parts of the world. Turning down all the graphics options to minimum doesn't do much to help, and having to turn down the draw distance in a game that is trying to emphasis vast distances is rather counter-productive anyway. There's also massive amounts of audio issues. Sounds crackling and cutting out like it isn't buffering correctly, effects continually looping when they shouldn't, loud random effects playing for seemingly no reason, music tracks overlapping, and even music getting out of sync with itself too. The camera also has issues as well, sometimes veering off in a random direction for no discernible reason. And collision detection can be an issue too. A couple of times I got stuck trying to climb up something as the game got confused and lodged me in between some weird bits of geometry. Not to mention that in a game that also allows you to climb almost anything, some structures just have no collision detection at all, despite seeming obviously climbable.

So despite there being some bright spots, most of the time it was a pretty subpar experience that was plagued with chaotic, broken audio and messy, stuttery locomotion. What makes it even more of a shame is that none of these problems are fundamental to the design of the game. These are problems that could conceivably be fixed. If this game spent like another six months in bug fixing and tweaking the bike controls, this could be a really special game. I can very easily see a version of this game that I love and really connected with. But sadly it was not to be.
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Alex79
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Alex79 »

Alex79uk wrote: January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)
SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)
OCT - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Aliens (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Alien Isolation (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Attack From Mars (Switch)
OCT - Superliminal (Xbox)
OCT - Haunted Castle (Arcade on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES on Switch)
OCT - Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox)
OCT - Castle Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Land Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Akumajō Densetsu (Famicom on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania: The Adventure (Gameboy on Switch)

I know this game doesn't have a very good reputation, but my first impressions were that the game was a competent, if stripped back, approximation of Castlevania. By stage 3, however, it turned in to an absolute shit show. The race against the wall of spikes, hampered by the pixel perfect jumping required and the awful s-l-o-w--d---o----w-----n meant that I felt absolutely no guilt in abusing save states for the first time in the series.

The game has about 4 or 5 enemies throughout, and at only four stages long it can be rattled through in an hour. It's fairly poor, but I hear the second Gameboy game improves things a bit. Hard to recommend this to anyone other than those who bought the Anniversary Collection and want to get their moneys worth!

(Oh yeah, the bosses are laughably easy, too!)

(Second oh yeah: the music isn't half bad, it's surprisingly decent for a Gameboy game).
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Scrustle
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Scrustle »

Spoiler: show
05/01 - Brutal Legend
07/01 - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
13/01 - Sludge Life
17/01 - AER: Memories of Old
19/01 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Human - Nero/Dante)
05/03 - CrossCode: A New Home
14/03 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
17/03 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (100cc)
02/04 - Drakengard (Endings A-D)
14/04 - Drakengard 2 (Ending A)
28/04 - Drakengard 3 (Endings A-D)
02/05 - Rain
10/05 - God of War: Chains of Olympus HD
15/05 - God of War: Ghost of Sparta HD
24/05 - NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... (Endings A-E)
08/06 - Final Fantasy XV (NG+)
02/07 - God of War II HD
15/07 - Scarlet Nexus (Yuito)
20/07 - TRON: Evolution
21/07 - Sky: Children of the Light
01/08 - Scarlet Nexus (Kasane, NG+)
12/08 - Forza Horizon
18/08 - A Plague Tale: Innocence
21/08 - Contrast
31/08 - Forza Motorsport 7
04/09 - No More Heroes III
13/09 - Metal Gear Solid
23/09 - Metal Gear Solid 2 HD
09/10 - Psychonauts 2
15/10 - Unsighted
17/10 - Sable
18/10 - Halo: Reach (Master Chief Collection)

This game has always been near the bottom of my rankings of the series, at least when it came to the Bungie games. While I've never disliked it, it always seemed less interesting than the main trilogy, and some technical choices they made with the presentation of the game always got in the way for me. Ever since they released this updated version of Reach, I had hoped that at least those latter issues would be alleviated.

Turns out that was the case, and this version is a much improved experience compared to the original. Playing on PC with the higher resolution, better frame rate, wider FoV, and better anti-aliasing made a huge difference. Originally I always put off by how blurry this game looked, thanks to the early use of temporal anti-aliasing it used to have. The ghosting it created was terrible. That, combined with a cramped FoV made the game kind of an alienating experience. Now both those issues are gone, and it really helps this game put forward its best qualities. The game feels much tighter and smoother to play, and it doesn't feel like anything is getting in the way of that experience. I also think it helped out a lot with the aesthetics of the game too. Having a much clearer picture and being able to fit much more on screen improved the look of the environments, giving them a better sense of scale and framing than before.

Although with that said I don't think I'm changing my overall feelings on the game much. This version certainly helped put the game in the best light possible, but it's still sort of underwhelming in a lot of ways. Despite the improvements to visuals, I'm still not particularly enthralled with Reach as a place. It's simply not as interesting a setting as the Halo rings or weird alien Covenant worlds. The campaign doesn't have many memorable set pieces, and it does sort of blur together as a procession of arbitrary events. There's no unfolding mystery or anything like that. The characters are still extremely bland cliches that the game fails to make you care about despite framing their death scenes as these poignant tragic sacrifices. But it's still got the good old Halo gameplay, and it still beats out Halo 5, so it's far from a disaster of a game. Just one I'm sort of nonplussed about.
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OneCreditBen
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by OneCreditBen »

Image

Castlevania 3 (Japanese Rom)
Continued a few times but the foundations for a good clear seem there now.
Might take a bit of time but we'll 1CC this, I promise.
Amazing experience, I'd recommend anyone play the Japanese Version over any other, just because of how much better the music is.
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Alex79
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Location: Walsall, UK.
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Alex79 »

Alex79uk wrote: January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)
SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)
OCT - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Aliens (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Alien Isolation (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Attack From Mars (Switch)
OCT - Superliminal (Xbox)
OCT - Haunted Castle (Arcade on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES on Switch)
OCT - Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox)
OCT - Castle Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Land Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Akumajō Densetsu (Famicom on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania: The Adventure (Gameboy on Switch)
OCT - Super Castlevania IV (SNES on Switch)

5th Castlevania completion in a week or two, and this was great fun. What a game! Never played it before, but it takes everything great about CV 1 and 3 and makes it prettier, better to control, great music. The game seemed a little easier than the NES games, but I don't know if that's just because I've rinsed through the series in a short time, but the bosses were pretty simple aside from the final one, who wasn't too bad once I realised you can use the whip as a shield! Really fun. Not sure if I need a break from Castlevania or whether just to push on through the second Gameboy game, Bloodlines and Kid Dracula...
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