Games Completed 2024

[Alex79]

These sound great. Wish I had a PC to play little games like this that never come to console. Strongly thinking of picking up a Steam Deck later this year just for the curios like these.

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Duke Nukem Remastered (Evercade)
APR - Castlevania Legends (Gameboy on Switch)
APR - The Combatribes (Arcade on Evercade)
APR - Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen (Switch)
APR - Bioshock (Switch)
MAY - Tinykin (Switch)
MAY - Elden Ring (Xbox)

JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade on Switch)

This is easily my favourite Street Fighter game. I completed the arcade mode with Ryu, Dan, E.Honda, Dhalsim, Charlie, Guy, Cody, Sodom, Rolento, M.Bison, Chun-Li, R.Mika, Karin, Cammy, Sakura, Rose, Sagat, Birdie, Vega, Adon, Gen, Akuma, Blanka, Zangief and Ken.

Yes, the eagle-eyed amongst you might have spotted that's every single character.

It's a shame the PSP version of SFA3 isn't available anywhere else because that was really the definitive version. It's never been uninstalled from my Vita since I downloaded it, but would be nice to have had on this collection too. It's got loads of extra modes, native widescreen etc. But even so, the arcade version is still a brilliant fighting game.

EDIT: Hang on, just realised - you can't play as Balrog in this game! Despite the fact you can fight against him occasionally when you reach Bison's final stage, before fighting Bison himself. That's interesting. I bet there must be a secret code to unlock him or something.

EDIT 2: There is! Right, better beat the game with him now too then!

EDIT 3: OK, done it with Balrog now too.

[Rhaegyr]

Dramatic Battle was such an awesome concept - loved playing it with my brother.

[Jobobonobo]

I have the cart for this too and I NEED to give it a full playthrough.

Oh yes, you really should! It improves on everything Legend of the Mystical Ninja did and adds lots of iconic aspects of the franchise. It is criminal the amount of gold on the SNES that never left the shores of Japan.

[Jobobonobo]

Spoiler: show

Jan 7: New Super Lucky’s Tale
Jan 7: Super Mario Land
Jan 9: Tetris Attack
Mar 2: Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Mar 17: Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Apr 6: Stray
Apr 18: Pac-Man World: Re-Pac
May 1: Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun Magginesu

June 6: Code of Princess

So I decided I would try something out that I rarely venture into and that is a beat em up. I like these games well enough butn usually only in multiplayer and it has been quite sometime since I was able to organise a night of friends coming around for a session of Streets of Rage. Still I wanted something a bit more mindless than the other titles I am currently playing so gave this a shot for my 3DS.

First off, the main protagonist is ridiculous being a royal princess in a armoured bikini. Even for hypersexualised video game women she takes the cake and would be easily dispatched by a competent swords fighter. However this is offset by the game not taking itself too seriously and is full of cheesy humour which is preferable to stuff like Quiet needing skimpy clothes to breath like Hideo Kojima claims.

As for the actual game, it is alright. The fighting is mostly mindless with some strategy in later fights requiring you to sidestep attacks and certain equipment allowing for healing if you have enough MP. The big problem is that it is also an action RPG in that you gain experience and level up after each fight. This is an issue because certain fights really ramp in difficulty and enemies spam really strong attacks that if you get caught in them you are done. This means the only solution is to grind earlier levels. One level requires you to survive an onslaught of powerful dragons and this is achieved by running back and forth across the stage for a minute and a half. You gain lots of experience but it makes a mindless game even more so. You can play as four characters in the main campaign but with this leveling system you are encouraged to just stick with one and getting all characters up to the same level would require hours of grinding.

I think simplifying things even further and having it that all characters can gain health and new equipment throughout the adventure would giver players the freedom to experiment a lot more. As it is, Code of Princess is a basic but fun enough beat em up with needless grinding that makes it hard to recommend. Could do worse but there are also a lot better examples of the genre out there.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Battlefield 3 - Series X.
(Jan) Hi-Fi Rush - Series X.
(Jan) Daymare 1998 - Series X.
(Jan) The Beast Inside - Series X.
(Feb) XIII - Series X.
(Feb) Close to the Sun - Series X.
(Feb) Atomic Heart - Series X.
(Feb) Return to Grace - Series X.
(Feb) MADiSON - PS5.
(Mar) TDPA: House of Ashes - PS5.
(Mar) RE Village: Shadows of Rose - PS5.
(Mar) Those Who Remain - Series X.
(Mar) Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Series X.
(Mar) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - PS5.
(Mar) Control: Ultimate Edition - Series X.
(Mar) DREDGE - Series X.
(Apr) Little Nightmares - Series X.
(Apr) Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition - Series X.
(Apr) Robocop: Rogue City - PS5.
(Apr) Little Nightmares II - Series X.
(May) Fallout 4 - PS5.
(May) The Maw - Xbox 360.
(May) Senua's Saga: Hellblade II - Series X.
(June) Alan Wake II: Night Springs dlc - Series X
(June) Castlestorm: Definitive Edition - Series X

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Duke Nukem Remastered (Evercade)
APR - Castlevania Legends (Gameboy on Switch)
APR - The Combatribes (Arcade on Evercade)
APR - Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen (Switch)
APR - Bioshock (Switch)
MAY - Tinykin (Switch)
MAY - Elden Ring (Xbox)
]UN - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade on Switch)

JUN - EAFC 24: Euros 2024 Mode (PS5)

Since the latest EAFC update broke my career save I had a quick run through of the recently added Euro 2024 mode, taking England to victory, beating Poland 2-0 in the final. It was fun, all the groups are correct which is nice, but I hope they fix my career save with the next update...

[markfm007]

Spoiler: show

January 6th - Persona 5 Royal
January 11th - Control: Ultimate Edition
January 23rd - Alan Wake 2
February 13th - Batman: Return to Arkham - Arkham Asylum
March 2nd - Cocoon
April 6th - Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition
April 20th - Persona 3 Reload
May 24th - Doom (2016)

June 11th - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Really enjoyed my time with this game, that largely exceeded my expectations as a sequel. I’m glad I played the original VII in between the two, as it ended up enhancing everything rather than spoiling it. It’s such a fun and joyful experience that I loved seeing how they approached each part of the story. Some highlights being the opening sequence and Kalm, Junon and the journey to Costa Del Sol, and the latter half of the Temple of the Ancients.

Everything is cranked to 11 all the time. The crazy amount of mini games, the detail and richness of every town and region, every story and character moment, every boss. It does get too much at times, and starts to become over the top or overly padded. I do think that condensing these two games into one might have been better for the remake project as a whole. Easy for me to say of course. But overall I enjoyed far more than I didn’t, and will likely be playing for many hours yet. These chocobos aren’t gonna race themselves.

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Duke Nukem Remastered (Evercade)
APR - Castlevania Legends (Gameboy on Switch)
APR - The Combatribes (Arcade on Evercade)
APR - Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen (Switch)
APR - Bioshock (Switch)
MAY - Tinykin (Switch)
MAY - Elden Ring (Xbox)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade on Switch)
JUN - EAFC 24: Euros 2024 Mode (PS5)

JUN - Policenauts (PS1 on Vita)

I've been wanting to finally play this properly since the English patch was released back in 2009! Started and stopped so many times, but when I saw it on this years Cane and Rinse list I knew I had to get it finished at last, and I'm glad I did because it's brilliant! Thoughts in podcast thread.

[markfm007]

Spoiler: show

January 6th - Persona 5 Royal
January 11th - Control: Ultimate Edition
January 23rd - Alan Wake 2
February 13th - Batman: Return to Arkham - Arkham Asylum
March 2nd - Cocoon
April 6th - Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition
April 20th - Persona 3 Reload
May 24th - Doom (2016)
June 11th - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

June 15th - Astro's Playroom

Catching up on the origin story before the full game releases. It's fun and charming, plays well, even the gimmicky controller stuff works really well. I like the inclusion of other playstation games. The hardware stuff I could do without. Looking forward to the full game though for sure.

[Scrustle]

Spoiler: show

12/01 - The Legend of Zelda: The Missing Link
28/01 - Tony Hawk's Underground
02/02 - Max Payne
03/02 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Hero Mode)
07/02 - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
14/02 - Max Payne 3
23/02 - Splatoon 3: Side Order (first clear)
28/02 - Splatoon 3: Side Order (all Palettes cleared)
05/03 - Alan Wake
08/03 - Alan Wake's American Nightmare
17/04 - Skye
27/04 - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD (Hard)
04/05 - Star Wars: Republic Commando
13/05 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
23/05 - NieR: Automata (endings A-Z)
01/06 - Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements
03/06 - Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1
03/06 - Off-Peak

15/06 - God of War: Ragnarök

An absolutely fantastic game. It's a really impressive step up from an already great foundation. Brilliant character writing, art design, combat mechanics, variety, and breadth of content. I do have a few smaller issues with it, but they are mostly nitpicks in the grand scheme of things.

I did have a lot of notes written down on my deeper thoughts on all the intricacies of everything, but I don't have the motivation to write up a several thousand word long essay right now. Maybe I will edit this later to add all that stuff in. I've also still got a lot of post-game content to do, and of course the Valhalla DLC as well.

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Duke Nukem Remastered (Evercade)
APR - Castlevania Legends (Gameboy on Switch)
APR - The Combatribes (Arcade on Evercade)
APR - Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen (Switch)
APR - Bioshock (Switch)
MAY - Tinykin (Switch)
MAY - Elden Ring (Xbox)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade on Switch)
JUN - EAFC 24: Euros 2024 Mode (PS5)
JUN - Policenauts (PS1 on Vita)

JUN - Nyghtmare: The Ninth King (Evercade)

This is the free game this month on Evercade. It's styled as a Gameboy game and runs on that hardware, and I think they actually released physical Gameboy carts for it which is cool. It's a blatantly classic Castlevania inspired side scrolling platform/combat game, complete with whip and sub-weapon; it really couldn't me more 'Vania! It's fun to play and easily beaten within an hour. There are two characters to play with who control slightly differently so I might have another run through it before it's replaced by next month's game. If you've got an Evercade EXP/VS though it's certainly worth a quick playthrough.

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Duke Nukem Remastered (Evercade)
APR - Castlevania Legends (Gameboy on Switch)
APR - The Combatribes (Arcade on Evercade)
APR - Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen (Switch)
APR - Bioshock (Switch)
MAY - Tinykin (Switch)
MAY - Elden Ring (Xbox)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade on Switch)
JUN - EAFC 24: Euros 2024 Mode (PS5)
JUN - Policenauts (PS1 on Vita)
JUN - Nyghtmare: The Ninth King (Evercade)

JUN - Cocoon (Switch)

This was really quite incredible. Everyone knows what the game is, but what a smart little puzzler it is. I really enjoyed this from start to finish. Looked absolutely gorgeous, beautiful soundtrack and some really clever, multi-layered puzzles. My only criticism, and it is quite a significant one to be honest, is that it's too short. I wanted more, I felt like there should have been more. It was all over too quickly, my playtime barely scraped five hours. It felt like it ended as it was getting going. I think there was room for much more complex puzzles and I think perhaps 2 or 3 additional hours and another orb or two would have made this game perfect. As it is, it's the best puzzle game I've played in years. I know the developer and publisher don't generally go in for sequels, but I'd love a Cocoon 2 at some point.

[Michiel K]

16 June: The Ninja Warriors Again (SNES/SFC)

Yes, I cleared The Ninja Warriors Again yet Again. This time with Kunoichi. Her basic reach is pathetic and she can't take as much damage, so you really need to learn safe approaches and rely on airborne moves a lot, which of course don't do that much damage.

I found it much tougher than with Kamaitachi and the final few bosses were nightmarish, also because you can't take too many hits with her. Done though!

I only have a Ninja clear left. I've played with him in the past, so I know he'll be the complete opposite of Kunoichi, relying more on a ground game, defense and precise timing of your hits.

[Truk_Kurt]

Tunic
Enjoyed it, the exploration was the highlight for me and the puzzles were pretty good for the most part (though some a little obtuse), the only real negative is that I think it’s a bit too hard on normal. I know you can reduce the difficulty but I’m someone who doesn’t like to do that if I can avoid it. The manual stuff is cool too. 8/10

[Scrustle]

Spoiler: show

12/01 - The Legend of Zelda: The Missing Link
28/01 - Tony Hawk's Underground
02/02 - Max Payne
03/02 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Hero Mode)
07/02 - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
14/02 - Max Payne 3
23/02 - Splatoon 3: Side Order (first clear)
28/02 - Splatoon 3: Side Order (all Palettes cleared)
05/03 - Alan Wake
08/03 - Alan Wake's American Nightmare
17/04 - Skye
27/04 - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD (Hard)
04/05 - Star Wars: Republic Commando
13/05 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
23/05 - NieR: Automata (endings A-Z)
01/06 - Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements
03/06 - Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1
03/06 - Off-Peak
15/06 - God of War Ragnarök

18/06 - God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla

I enjoyed this a lot too. It does a really good job of covering specific topics with its story that was one of the very few things I felt was missing from the main game, by having a much more direct reflection on Kratos' past and how far he's come now. You get to see a lot from a certain character from the main story that I also wished we got more of as well.

The roguelike structure was cool, but the way it's used here is pretty different to the design philosophy it usually has, and I think that was a big factor in why I liked it. It uses this structure more as a way to have a looping framework, rather than being a difficult challenge where simply managing to get to the end of a run is basically what the game is. Completing a run isn't hard, but you intentionally have to go through a handful of them to actually see the whole story. I never lost a single run, and only came close once on the last one.

I liked how the game incentivises you to experiment with stuff more to, with how it provides bonuses for using stuff I usually wouldn't, or the inherent randomness of what perks and abilities show up. But I think having this be side content for a game I'm already familiar with helps to make this kind of thing way more appealing than it would be otherwise. I guess it shares a lot with Side Order in that. I really liked the new Rage mode they added in here too. So much it might be my new favourite one. It definitely makes me wish it was in the base game.

Although I hit the credits there's still more story to see, so I do intend to keep on going with this. For the trophies as well, since I did end up getting the platinum for the base game. Might as well clean this one up too.

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Duke Nukem Remastered (Evercade)
APR - Castlevania Legends (Gameboy on Switch)
APR - The Combatribes (Arcade on Evercade)
APR - Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen (Switch)
APR - Bioshock (Switch)
MAY - Tinykin (Switch)
MAY - Elden Ring (Xbox)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade on Switch)
JUN - EAFC 24: Euros 2024 Mode (PS5)
JUN - Policenauts (PS1 on Vita)
JUN - Nyghtmare: The Ninth King (Evercade)
JUN - Cocoon (Switch)

JUN - Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (Switch)

An absolute delight of a journey through the mind of one of the most idiosyncratic games developers Britain has ever seen. Jeff Minter is a shining beacon of psychedelic whimsy. His games, often riffs on existing ideas, are always interesting and, more often than not, highly playable. Sure, there are games on here you will never play more than once, but there are some stone cold classics, too. Llamatron: 2112, the Atari ST version of Gridrunner, and of course, his take on Tempest which would go on to form the basis of many of his future games.

This interactive documentary is a real love letter to the work of Minter and I couldn't recommend it more. By 'completion' I suppose I mean I came to the end of the documentary and played all the games in the collection, but I'll be dipping back in to this for years to come. It's an outstanding piece of art, the likes of which I would love to see more of. Although nobody is quite like Minter.

[Michiel K]

20 June: The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors (Nintendo Switch)

After clearing the SFC original with Kunoichi, I did the same for the remake on Switch. And I'm starting to get the hang of playing with her, using her guard somersaults to safely get in close to enemies. Of course her new moves in the remake, such as the helm splitter, also help!

[Scrustle]

Spoiler: show

12/01 - The Legend of Zelda: The Missing Link
28/01 - Tony Hawk's Underground
02/02 - Max Payne
03/02 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Hero Mode)
07/02 - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
14/02 - Max Payne 3
23/02 - Splatoon 3: Side Order (first clear)
28/02 - Splatoon 3: Side Order (all Palettes cleared)
05/03 - Alan Wake
08/03 - Alan Wake's American Nightmare
17/04 - Skye
27/04 - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD (Hard)
04/05 - Star Wars: Republic Commando
13/05 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
23/05 - NieR: Automata (endings A-Z)
01/06 - Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements
03/06 - Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1
03/06 - Off-Peak
15/06 - God of War Ragnarök
18/06 - God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla

22/06 - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

This was one of those games I've been meaning to get around to forever. I did give it an attempt at one point years ago, but this is the first time I played through the whole thing.

It was pretty good, although it's somewhat hard to talk about with how hugely influential this game has clearly been. I feel like I've seen basically everything it does done in hundreds of other games, although clearly this is the one they are all taking from. Although by this point these design trends are so baked in to games now that it doesn't feel like others are an iteration on this game specifically anymore.

The platforming mechanics are well done for a first attempt. This kind of cinematic, very prescriptive style of platforming can easily fall in to several pitfalls that this game manages to avoid. It does have some elements of timing and skill to it, while also maintaining a focus on making navigation feel almost more of a puzzle in itself. So it doesn't make the mistakes of feeling too rigid and rote, or way too easy and Simon Says-esque. So even if you're not doing any fine adjustments of mid-air trajectory, there's still a fun task in working out exactly how you should apply your toolset to a situation, with just a sprinkling of more reaction based elements to give it a sense of fluidity and momentum to it.

I was not fond of the combat at all though. There is a nugget of something good in there, but it was brought down by other things. The way it tries to be acrobatic like the platforming is interesting, with how leaping over enemies or bouncing off walls are some of your more useful attacks. But the camera is so atrocious during fights that they become a real pain to participate in. It is constantly swinging around wildly by itself for no reason, and is very prone to getting stuck behind obstacles and such. When the direction you point your attacks in is so important, this is a massive problem. I was also really not fond of the later enemies that can parry your attacks and have a tendency to crowd around and stun-lock you.

Aesthetically it's pretty nice. The fantastical Arabian style architecture is really nice to explore and take in, and the use of lighting is very well done too. The more cinematic style of presentation also makes for some great shots when you're scaling these massive palace structures as well.

I'm intending on continuing on with the other games in this trilogy. Not sure if I want to do it right away though, I'll probably space them out a bit.

[Michiel K]

24 June: The Ninja Warriors Again (SNES/SFC)

Awww yeah, again and again! I cleared the game now with Ninja, so now I've tackled each stage and each boss with all 3 characters. Doing it with this heavy felt a bit like playing Street Fighter with Zangief, playing defensively, getting in and laying the smackdown. Up throw, which is a bit like a giant swing, is your friend for clearing the screen, down throw is great for wrecking a single enemy fast.

Some late game bosses, like the 2 giants and the green man, made me break a sweat, but I made mince out of the final boss with this character.