Beaten In 2023

[Az]

11. Battletoads: The Arcade Game (Xbox One) 04/16

I slogged my way through this last night through Rare Replay, never played this one before. What a horrible game, and that's coming from someone that can enjoy even the worst of beat 'em ups. The fighting mechanics are unsatisfying & the levels are just way too long and boring. Pretty much every section could be cut in half and still might be too long.

Screenshots from back in the day made this look jaw dropping. After finally playing it though.. I'm not a big fan of Rare and this game personifies a lot of the reasons why. All this effort was spent on huge sprites and lame one-off stage mechanics like the cavern or shoot 'em up spaceship sections, yet the actual fighting part is no better than the NES original.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27

I finally finished this one up after over a month of very slowly chipping away at it (often playing only around 30 minutes a day). The in-game clock was at about 19 hours, I believe, which seems in line with what most SNES RPGs and adventure games tend to take me. It's only got a few dungeons, but each is pretty meaty, akin to the Zelda games that only have a few. I know the reception of this game is pretty mixed, for whatever reason, but I found it to be a satisfying, enjoyable adventure with no particularly glaring flaws. Definitely has its quirks, some a product of their time, but nothing that bothered me much. Like Illusion of Gaia back in September, I'm happy to finally have this under my belt after owning both for probably 20 years, give or take. It's actually funny how much the two games have in common, for me personally at least. I bought them roughly around the same time period, beat them for the first time only half a year apart, they're both SNES Zelda-style adventure games from Enix, of course, they were both published at practically the same time, with back-to-back features in the same issue of Nintendo Power, and they're both in loose trilogies of SNES/SFC games (four-game series if you count their PlayStation games), of which I've only played the second games. I didn't even know until after I started playing that Brain Lord is connected to The 7th Saga and Mystic Ark. It's funny because I rarely buy Japanese artbooks outside of those related to tri-Ace's games, but two of the ones I do have are one by the character designer of Brain Lord and one by the character designer of Mystic Ark. I never knew that these two artists I love worked on the same series. It's hilarious that Remeer, such a dumpy looking character in-game, has such beautiful designs otherwise. I have a copy of Mystic Ark, and I never would've guessed it's the Brain Lord guy on the cover. Heck, I always thought that cover art was of a girl.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27
10. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC/NES) 5/8

I didn't even get a chance to post that I had started this game, but it only took me a few short nighttime sessions to finish it off for the first time. It may be a spin-off, but it's nice to have another Castlevania game, kinda, sorta, under my belt. I do have a copy of Castlevania Anniversary Collection, with the first-ever localization of this, but I figured I'd go through the game with the legit cart and original hardware before I mess with an emulated version. That said, it's good I have a small understanding of Japanese. You'd think what appears to be a straightforward platformer would be import-friendly for most anybody, but it's got a fair bit of text. Between the hiragana passwords and the quiz in the New York stage, I can picture people who can't read any Japanese getting annoyed, so kudos to Konami for getting it localized. Though, I wish the compilation also included the Game Boy Kid Dracula, since I don't have a copy and sure as hell am not paying the current secondhand going rate. Anyway, most of the game was pretty easy, but the two stages ending with fights against Galamoth were a pain, at least for my tired, end-of-day self.

It's hard to believe it's been over ten years since I last beat any NES/Famicom game, but I did knock out a bunch of NES games in the '00s and haven't felt like replaying most. I've already beaten more games on home consoles than I did last year, haha, and I'm well on track for exceeding the total number of games I beat last year.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27
10. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC/NES) 5/8
11. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) 5/16

I didn't get a chance to post about starting this game either. It's only been about a year since I beat the first BoxBoy!, but this game feels less like a totally new game and more like DLC adding more levels to the original. Even its "gimmick" (for lack of a better word) of creating two sets of boxes before any disappear, despite being presented as a new thing, was first in the original game (but only in post-game bonus stages, if I remember correctly), But that's just an observation, not a criticism. The first was enjoyable, and this was totally worth dropping another $5 for. Like the first game, there's a fair number of post-game bonus stages, so even though I got the ending and credits, I have more to do. Looks to me like the post-game accounts for about a third of all the stages. In total, it seems like this sequel has a similar amount of content as the original, but I've been blowing through it faster. Part of it is that I already understand the mechanics and various techniques you can pull off, and another part is that data gets carried over, so I have all the costumes I unlocked in the original. I'm almost always in the Bunny costume for the higher jump, unless the extra box granted by the Wizard costume seems more useful. The game obviously has to be beatable without those for people who, for whatever reason, skipped the first, so you could say I'm playing on "easy mode" by using the costumes that improve Qbby's abilities. But if they're gonna give me the option to use them, may as well take advantage. I've still been a little stumped here and there, so it's not like the costumes completely eliminate the challenge. And I'm all for a laid-back, breezy puzzle game, rather than something that's gonna drive me mad like Boxxle.

[Spartacus]

I was going to ask if the 3DS eShop BoxBoy! download was a trilogy or were the three 3DS games BoxBoy!, BoxBoxBoy!, and Bye-Bye BoBoy! sold seperately, but you mentioned dropping another $5 so I'm guessing they were sold individually.
I purchased the physical Japnese version called Hako Boy! Hakozume Box which included all three games and the Japanese exclusive Qbby amiibo. The amiibo is region free and now highly sought after, fetching high prices on eBay. Sadly, the 3DS being region locked, the game requires a Japanese 3DS to play the physical version.
A fourth BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! is available on Nintendo eShop for the Switch and includes multiplayer. Personally, I never download anything because they look like ass on my game shelf. But I certainly understand the convenience.

[Aussie2B]

I bought all three individually, and as best as I remember, each was $5. I never saw any option to get them as a bundle. I wouldn't say I got them out of convenience, since I would prefer to own them physically. I just almost always prefer a localized version of a game over one in Japanese, even if that means opting for a digital-only English version over a physical Japanese release, since my understanding of Japanese is still pretty miniscule. These games are low on text, but it's still nice to have the menus and such in English. And there's also the fact I don't have a Japanese 3DS and don't have any intention of ponying up the cash for one, at least not anytime soon, but I am glad a physical option exists. I believe I have heard there's a way to break the region-locking on a 3DS, but I've never been one to hack my systems like that.

[AceAerosmith]

1.Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PS4) 01/10/23
2.Murdered: Soul Suspect (PS4) 01/16/23
3.Call of Duty:WWII (PS4) 01/25/23
4.Sniper 3:Ghost Warrior (PS4) 02/12/23
5.Assassin's Creed Origins (PS4) 02/26/23
6.Still Life (XBX) 04/01/23
7.DarkWatch (PS2) 04/03/21
8.Half-Life (PS2) 04/25/23
9.Ratchet: Deadlocked (PS2) 05/07/23
10.Reservoir Dogs (PS2) 05/08/23
11.Call of Duty 3 (PS3) 05/31/23
12.Mafia II (PS3) 06/05/23
13.Quantum Theory (PS3) 06/14/23
14.Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater [Metal Gear Solid HD Collection] (PS3) 06/22/23
15.Aliens Vs.Predator (PS3) 07/18/23
16.Infamous:Second Son (PS4) 07/31/23
17.Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon - Wildlands (PS4) 08/14/23
18.Rogue Trooper (PS2) 11/20/23

[Tron 2.0]

10. World Heroes (Neo-Geo) 04/12

Made a quick 1CC run through this when testing a monitor after doing some work on it. I know this is a rubbish game but I absolutely love it.

It is kind of hard to go back to to the first world heroes with the likes of wh2 jet and whp going forward.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27
10. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC/NES) 5/8
11. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) 5/16
12. Code:Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Vita) 6/26

It only took me 7+ years, but I finally cleared an entire route in this visual novel, haha. I got the fandiscs/sequels for this when they came out in English too, so let's see if I can actually complete them all before I die of old age.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27
10. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC/NES) 5/8
11. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) 5/16
12. Code:Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Vita) 6/26
13. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) 7/24

I didn't expect to be posting about beating this so soon, and it kinda feels like "cheating" doing so, but apparently, beating the last cup on 50cc is enough to get a credits roll. I could've sworn that the credits didn't roll in Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 until beating the last cup on 150cc, but I could very well be remembering wrong, considering the last time I beat either of those was back in the '90s. Which also makes this the first Mario Kart I've beaten since then. We've had Double Dash since at or near its launch, but I never got that into it. Back in the '00s, we were still addicted to four-player battle mode in Mario Kart 64. I got a copy of Mario Kart Wii semi-recently and haven't even tested it out, but I have played that and Mario Kart 8 a bit in multiplayer with family and friends. So yeah, my experience with post-2000 Mario Kart games is still fairly limited. Now to tackle 100cc in Super Circuit.

[YoshiM]

1. Portal 2 (Switch) 2/22
2. Castle Crashers (Switch) 3/4
3. Toe Jam and Earl (Genesis) 8/12

Caveat on TJ & E: this was played on a Mini and my youngest step son and I used the save states a lot.

We played this off and on for a while and finally finished it off this afternoon. That game throws everything at you beyond level 18. I can't recall encountering the ice cream truck BITD. It was a good time and he was jazzed after beating it.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27
10. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC/NES) 5/8
11. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) 5/16
12. Code:Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Vita) 6/26
13. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) 7/24
14. Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum (N64) 10/13

I pulled this out and the dance pad that goes with it a couple days ago, and since it takes very little effort to get the credits roll, here's a quickie for the list.

[Az]

12. Goldeneye 007 (Xbox One) 05/01
13. Mortal Kombat 11 (Xbox One) 05/21
14. AEW: Fight Forever (Xbox One) 07/29
15. WWE All-Stars (Xbox 360) 08/30
16. Super Probotector: The Alien Rebels (SNES) 08/20
17. Super C (NES) 08/28
18. TMNT: Tournament Fighters (SNES) 09/18
19. Contra: Hard Corps (Genesis) 10/08
20. Space Jam: A New Legacy (Xbox One) 10/21
21. Halo 2 Anniversary [Master Chief Collection] (Xbox One) 10/22

I had never spent any significant time with Goldeneye before so I had no nostalgia for it. Having a modern control scheme was definitely a plus, as I just could not get used to the original N64 controls.

I rebought WWE All-Stars after selling it 10+ years ago. I wasn't the biggest fan of it at the time and I figured I'd never have any interest in playing it again. It was going for high prices on eBay, so I figured I'd strike while the iron was hot and get rid of it. I ended up rebuying it a few bucks less than what I sold it for. It's probably the best fast paced, arcade style wrestling game of the past 20 years.

After forcing myself to get all the endings in Contra: Hard Corps, I can assure you that I will never play that game again for the rest of my life. Even with save scumming my way through the entire thing I still felt like it was far beyond unfair and just flat out no fun. Maybe it flew back then, but there's no way I could had the controller to a new player today (of any age) and expect them to have fun with it. Konami went overboard by removing the life bar, as you can tell the entire time it wasn't designed to be a one hit kill game. Sheesh!

[Niku-Sama]

oh i thought i added to this already. i havent beaten much but...

Metro 2033
Metro Last Light
Super Mario Wonder

New Mario games, while fun, are almost too easy any more. Ever since NSMB Wii i end the game with max lives with out hunting for every coin in the level and most levels are beaten first try. Same with Wonder here. First try beat bowser with no problem other than it was buggin out when i would try and hit the switch needed to deal a blow (you'll understand when you play it) but eventually i got it to work.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27
10. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC/NES) 5/8
11. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) 5/16
12. Code:Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Vita) 6/26
13. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) 7/24
14. Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum (N64) 10/13
15. Fuga: Melodies of Steel (PC) 10/27

Man, what an excellent game. Even with it being so different from the prior Little Tail Bronx games and with it obviously being pretty low-budget, since it had no outside funding and was CyberConnect2's first independently funded and published game, I enjoyed just about every second of Fuga. That's extra impressive considering I sunk around 40 hours into it, which is the longest game I've played since before becoming a mom. I was worried that I'd get burned out playing a longer game stretched out over so many weeks, but as long as the game is this good, it's obviously not a problem for me. I think I'd still rank it at the bottom of the Little Tail Bronx games I've played (below Solatorobo, which I'd put below Tail Concerto; never played the Japan-only mobile game that wasn't even up for long), but that isn't a slight against Fuga. It just shows how much I love all three of these games. If I could complain about anything, it's that I wish I could've seen everything in one playthrough, but it's obviously designed to be replayed. I only scratched the surface of the link events, and there's other stuff to unlock still, plus more achievements, and that's with me already earning the best ending, with no sacrifices made. Though I'm sad to move on to something else, I think starting a replay of this right away would be overkill for me, even with the features to speed things up, but I'm also hesitant to start Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 until I fully complete this. So I may take extra long to get around to the sequel, and I don't know if it was the wisest business decision on CyberConnect2's part. On that note, I'm really curious what they did with the sequel (and what they have planned for a third one). This one wrapped up nicely, and the way they linked things to Solatorobo was really cool.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27
10. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC/NES) 5/8
11. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) 5/16
12. Code:Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Vita) 6/26
13. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) 7/24
14. Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum (N64) 10/13
15. Fuga: Melodies of Steel (PC) 10/27
16. Phobos Dere .GB (GB) 11/6

I'm still sort of in gaming limbo since beating Fuga. It was such a great experience that I don't really want to move on to something else yet, but I don't want to replay it just yet either. I also don't want to start anything long right now because I'll probably be staying with family for a while relatively soon and plan to only take my Vita with me, so I don't want to leave with something unfinished. I was thinking I would play something on my SP, and then I remembered that I still had this game to play. Around a year ago, when Limited Run Games was selling it, I told a friend that it looked kind of interesting but not $50+ interesting. He later bought the ROM for me as a gift, and my husband put that on our flash cart. I figured it wouldn't be a big time sink, and indeed, here I am with another completed game already. I'm not much of an indie player, let alone retro homebrews, so it was a change of pace for me in that regard. As a platformer, it's not so great, as the controls are really slippery and imprecise. Thankfully, there are only a few sections that are at all demanding in terms of platforming. Most of the game is just a matter of wandering around and having no idea what's going on or why. I can't say I found it scary, but that's probably for the best because I'm a weenie with traditional horror games. Definitely seems to be banking on the whole analog horror fad, what with the VHS-style trailer and cursed Game Boy game premise. I feel like this kind of horror only really freaks out younger generations, for whom stuff from the 80s and 90s is largely foreign. For those of us who are accustomed to old technology that doesn't always works right, a game seemingly glitching out is not gonna be a jump scare, haha. All that said, it was still worth experiencing and definitely worth the mere $3 they charge for the download.

[celerystalker]

I played through a few in the last couple of weeks. My brother had knee surgery, so spent some time with him, then some busy Halloween time with the kids.

I finished the Adventure Mode in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2. It has pretty brutal scaling difficulty, so by the end, it was just crazy. The CPU was doling out Tetrises every few seconds and full-screen Puyo combos so quickly that I had to completely reinvent how I play Puyo Puyo. It was definitely fun, though I don't think I can understate how hard the variable difficulty can get. It can be turned off, which makes it way easier, but I wanted to finish how I started.

I also 100% completed Super Mario Wonder, and it was a good time. They kept the Wonder effects pretty fresh all throughout, and the amount of collectibles isn't cumbersome. It took about 10 hours total on my first playthrough to hit 100%, maybe a little less. I'd say it was the easiest Mario game in a long time, and even the final, final challenge stage wasn't tough. I enjoyed how fresh it felt, though that came more from the Wonder effects and not the new power ups. I like the Bubble Flower a lot, but Elephant and Drill Mario weren't particularly more fun to use.

I played through a few others with my kids, but they were games I've beaten before. I enjoy seeing what they gravitate toward given access to games from all eras. Left to his own devices, my oldest loves 16 bit games, although, he plays a lot of modern stuff on Switch as well. The younger boy likes to dress up like a ninja or pirate or play with toys more, which is also funny, but in video games, he prefers beat 'em ups, preferrably where he can be a ninja or knight. My daughter likes Pac-Man, Galaga, and Popeye, though she'd rather put makeup on my wife (and make her look like she just survived a car accident).

In my downtime this week, I've been working on a 1cc of Operation Logic Bomb on SNES (well, the Japanese version, Ikari no Yousai, anyway). I like the graphics and play control alot, and if there was just a little more variety in enemies and backgrounds, it'd probably be considered a minor classic. I hadn't played it in ages, but when my oldest son was playing it on Switch Online in between judo matches last weekend, I got the itch after he asked for some help figuring out where to go. I'm gonna miss when he's too old to call me daddy anymore.

[celerystalker]

I did my 1cc of Operation Logic Bomb for SNES tonight. It's a pretty easy game overall, but the 1cc was super easy when I found a safe spot on the final boss and didn't even take a hit this time. Maybe breaks the game a little, but fun all the same. Maybe I'll play the 2 Game Boy games in the series soon.

[Aussie2B]

1. SWAT Police (Arcade via MAME) 2/2
2. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP) 2/7
3. Barney's Hide & Seek Game (Genesis) 2/24
4. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX via Vita Metal Gear Solid HD Collection) 3/8
5. TwinBee Da! (PSP) 3/10
6. Detana! TwinBee (PSP) 3/13
7. TwinBee Yahho! (PSP) 3/16
8. TwinBee (PSP) 3/19
9. Brain Lord (SNES) 4/27
10. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (FC/NES) 5/8
11. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) 5/16
12. Code:Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Vita) 6/26
13. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) 7/24
14. Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum (N64) 10/13
15. Fuga: Melodies of Steel (PC) 10/27
16. Phobos Dere .GB (GB) 11/6
17. Imagine Figure Skater (DS) 12/6

Exactly one month since the last, here's another, maybe the last for the year, I don't know. Either way, I've already beaten more games this year than I have in any single year in over a decade, and that's with dealing with my crazy busy mom life, so I'm pretty proud of that. There are definitely some games that could be considered "filler" here, but I could say that about some of the games I beat in just about any year. Anyway, I was surprised this game ended up taking me 15 hours, but seeing as this is a localized Japanese game, rather than something made specifically for the Imagine series, I guess it probably would be meatier than the average Imagine release. Once I started creating my own programs of nothing but the same combination jump over and over, haha, it was smooth sailing clinching first place in every competition. I don't know if there was even a point to all the extra stat grinding I did. I still don't know how the stats actually affect anything. For example, I could run out of stamina halfway through a program and still pull off my jumps just fine. I also have no idea why the protagonist ended up with Tobias rather than Kevin, unless that's scripted for Cindy (or maybe Kevin is just totally unobtainable). Outside of extra grinding, it seems like the game is pretty linear and requires you to talk to everyone to progress. Maybe the order in which you visit locations changes something? The game apparently has a new game+ mode, which makes sense considering rivals always give the protagonist an outfit upon being defeated, and there would be no way to use the outfit from the rival at the World Competition if it didn't carry over into a new game. It also gives the player a chance to get all the accessories and such, as there isn't enough cash available in one playthrough, and I noticed a couple bonus accessories with the Spike logo are added too. Outside of those new game+ features, it didn't seem like anything else was different when I started up a different character. I guess they just swap around the rivals depending on who you play as, but I won't know for sure unless I decide to play through again. I'm good for now, though, so back to the shelf it goes, and just in time too, as I'm heading off to visit family again and plan on taking only my Vita and a couple flash carts for systems I already have there.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the localization completely removes the credits for the Japanese staff who actually made the game, haha. There's only the Ubisoft people. And I was surprised to see "J. Blaustein" listed as the localizer. That must be Jeremy Blaustein, one of the more famous translators in game localization, having worked on a lot of Konami's most highly regarded games along with a bunch of other notable stuff. He was kind of slumming it taking on Imagine Figure Skater, haha, but no disrespect to him or the game. It makes a lot of sense in retrospect because, despite the buggy nature of graphical text elements, the script itself is surprisingly clean and natural for such a niche game that probably got minimal budget to be localized. I mean, I did notice a couple mistakes in the script (and I'm guessing they put little effort into QA), but I would've expected a much more stilted translation.

[Az]

22. Kasumi Ninja (Atari Jaguar) 10/30
23. Final Vendetta (Xbox One) 11/18
24. Champion Wrestler (Arcade) 11/19
25. Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (Xbox 360) 11/23
26. Saturday Night Slam Masters (Genesis) 12/03
27. Ultra Vortek (Atari Jaguar) 12/10

Champion Wrestler was an odd duck. I had never played it before, first match I lost by TKO when the timer ran out. Restarted the game and proceeded to get a 1CC...(!). It's very basic (along the lines of Mat Mania or NES Pro Wrestling) but it's still enjoyable.. Slam Masters left me underwhelmed. The whole thing was just Final Fight with less screen real estate. Maybe the tag match spinoff that has a dedicated grapple button fares a bit better.

Both Ultra Vortek and Kasumi Ninja were nice to play for the first time. Both require you to play on a higher difficulty level to face the final boss and get a real ending. Ultra Vortek has possibly the shittiest method of padding by making you play 3-in-1 endurance matches against all black "shadow" clones of existing characters, all while against a drab brick wall background. I can enjoy both for being trashy diversions but I'd say the joke would lose it's punchline if I had actually paid $50 each for them back in the day.