Beaten in 2019

[Aussie2B]

1. Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum (N64) 1/7
2. Magic Knight Rayearth (GB) 2/21
3. Sesame Street: The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (GBC via emulation) 2/23
4. Skate or Die: Bad 'N Rad (GB) 2/24
5. Crayon Shin-chan 2: Ora to Wanpaku Gokko Dazo (GB) 2/25
6. Sorcerer's Maze (PlayStation via emulation) 3/3
7. Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (Wii) 3/7
8. McDonald's Monogatari: Honobono Tenchou Ikusei Game (GBC) 3/14
9. Metal Gear (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 4/14
10. Tokyo Tattoo Girls (Vita) 4/27
11. The Simpsons (Arcade via MAME) 5/25
12. Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 2 (GBC) 6/9
13. Monsters, Inc. (GBC) 11/28
14. Donkey Kong Country (GBC) 12/4

I guess, in the grand scheme of things, I got through this pretty quick, but it felt slow going when I could casually zip through the SNES original in a day or two. It's funny that I had a much easier time with all of the final area's stages than I did with certain earlier stages, just because the size and control differences didn't seem to affect those last several stages as much. Meanwhile, I died a ton of times in Millstone Mayhem, of all stages. :/ Anyway, I'm not done with the game quite yet. I got most of the bonus rooms in the first few areas, but I'll have to get what I missed in the later stages. I have one more of Candy's challenges to complete, and I have plenty of stickers to find. I'll just use a guide because I'm not about to scour every stage multiple times over with various combinations of barrels on and off.

[Aussie2B]

1. Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum (N64) 1/7
2. Magic Knight Rayearth (GB) 2/21
3. Sesame Street: The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (GBC via emulation) 2/23
4. Skate or Die: Bad 'N Rad (GB) 2/24
5. Crayon Shin-chan 2: Ora to Wanpaku Gokko Dazo (GB) 2/25
6. Sorcerer's Maze (PlayStation via emulation) 3/3
7. Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (Wii) 3/7
8. McDonald's Monogatari: Honobono Tenchou Ikusei Game (GBC) 3/14
9. Metal Gear (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 4/14
10. Tokyo Tattoo Girls (Vita) 4/27
11. The Simpsons (Arcade via MAME) 5/25
12. Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 2 (GBC) 6/9
13. Monsters, Inc. (GBC) 11/28
14. Donkey Kong Country (GBC) 12/4
15. Super Metroid (SNES) 12/31

I succeeded in my mission to save the friendly creatures of planet Zebes. And I defeated the space pirates along the way, no big deal. I only had 4 seconds left when I reached Samus's ship, and similarly, it was down to the wire squeezing in one last beaten game before the new year. I know it wouldn't be impressive to many others, but this is the first time I've hit at least 15 games beaten in a single year since 2012, so I'm pleased with that. In 2011, I had beaten over 20, and I'd love to hit at least 20 in 2020 (not to be cute about the date, but just to improve upon this year's 15). I think that's about as much as I can reasonably shoot for, since the only year where I've documented beating at least 25 is 2005, when I beat precisely 25 between only September and December. Who knows what my actual total for that year was, but I think the days of blowing through games at that rate are probably behind me, unless I put a concerted effort into picking out games I could beat quick and skip optional content. But I like my leisurely style of gaming. The only thing I'd really like to change is my gaming droughts, like the gap between June and November on this list. Seems like every year there's a big gap at some point. Sometimes I'm barely touching games, sometimes I'm playing through additional routes in visual novels and only counting the first route as when I beat the game, but whatever the reason, I'd like to play a bigger variety of games each year.

[gbpxl]

how long did it take

[Aussie2B]

I think the in-game clock was around 9:15, so just barely short enough to qualify for the middle ending, where the helmet comes off. I don't think I've ever gotten the best ending in any Metroid game myself. I've never been a fan of speedrunning, as I hate feeling rushed.

[gbpxl]

agreed completely. personally I play a lot of games just to relax not rush through a game like a madman