Completion Thread: 2015 FINISH HIM!!

[koda]

I just beat The Banner Saga. It took me 9.4 hours over two evenings. By far the shortest and shallowest SRPG I've played -- I didn't realize that it was a mobile game before I bought it. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I'd have been a bit upset if I had bought it at the full price of 19.99... it's 4.99 on Google Play, which seems a lot more appropriate.

[A Robot Bit Me]

lol

edit: How much did you rely on a walkthrough of some kind [for Vagrant Story]?

Ha, I just saw this. I spent a little time reading about general battle strategy, all of which can be summarized as buff, debuff, scan for weaknesses, then equip the corresponding elemental/class gems and hammer away at a body part you're not likely to miss. If that fails, take some damage and spam the attack that deals flat damage based on a percentage of your missing HP. That's the game!

Moving around from one objective to the next is easy enough if you consult your world map to see which doors you can unlock but haven't; you won't need a walkthrough to get around. But I did start using a FAQ for the box puzzles as soon as I spent about twenty minutes on one that I kept failing only because I was trying to reach what turned out to be a wall texture and not a grabbable ledge.

[gameoverDude]

24) Gigantic Army (PC)
Score: 3640914 (1CC)
Weapon choice: Riot Gun/Beam Cannon
Difficulty: Normal

Another good side-scrolling mech combat game from Astro Port. Instead of the mouse aiming from its sequel Steel Strider, this one uses a "hold fire to lock" system.
The Beam Cannon subweapon has a seriously limited stock per level, but it MURDERS bosses (two uses of it against certain bosses will result in it getting KTFO if you keep it in contact with the weakpoint), but is good if you're trying to get a more difficult boss/mid-boss down to save time, one of two things that help end of stage bonus.

Like Assault Suits Valken there's a shield, but it can be broken after it eats enough hits. Dashing is also there, done by a double-tap.

[haohmaru]

Fallout 4 (PS4)

Disappointed with how the story arc played out and the paths of the 4 endings. Too many sweep and clear missions - really dragged towards the end. I liked it but ultimately disappointing.

[Tain]

20. Yakuza 5



Hard mode. I considered 4 the best in the series, but this is a step up. It's more of everything (this game feels, like, Witcher 3 big), but without any dip in quality. They incorporate the side stuff into the main game a bit more, which is a plus, and the combat is beefier than ever. There's a ton of variety in the locations, the characters all play super-differently (especially and obviously Haruka), and the cutscenes are pretty engaging (though, as always in this series, they could have been cut down a bit). I wish these games didn't have such a goofy difficulty curve.

Looking forward to playing Yakuza 0 in 2017 or whatever.

[Tain]

21. Devil's Third



Hardcore mode.

Hmmmm. This is, like, a skeleton of a masterpiece. The execution of a combination NG-style game and a first person shooter is actually pretty well-realized! You'll use plenty of both. The block-and-dodge melee combat is by no means Ninja Gaiden beefy, but the core is there. Many animations are weird, many animations clip into walls and shit, and many enemy attacks seem to have needlessly huge active windows, but there are some pretty solid boss fights built entirely around the melee combat and many of the zippy standard enemies are best dealt with in melee as the game progresses and arena layouts get more complex. The shooting, on the other hand, is pretty standard cover shooter stuff: the weapons feel nice, there are goober satisfying enemy hit reactions and deaths, and the arenas have neat destructive cover here and there, but the aiming feels weird (reminds me of The Darkness) and on Hardcore you'll wind up doing a lot of classic edge-peek exploiting. The game's visually all over the place, with lots of areas and enemies looking ugly, and the Wii U is not cut out for this game on a technological level (hella stuttering, sloooow pop-in).

If this game had the visual polish of Ninja Gaiden, better aiming controls, and a bit more variety in terms of player abilities and enemy behaviors (remember all the wallrunning shit from the old trailers?), it would be insane. As it stands, it's solid. Worth a look if the concept sounds appealing to you and you can deal with all the crust.

[Tain]

22. DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours



1CC'd the first couple Original courses in AC.

I was a bit uncertain about this because most of the praise I heard was based around big fluff-sounding modes, and the very first release I assumed got praise for being the only solid original PSP shooter. I was wrong, this game rules. The arcade game's Original courses may only be three stages each, but they're the real deal: the difficulty curve is on-point and steep. The music is wonderful, and the stages can look pretty striking in motion once you get over their PSP roots. The player ship selection is huge and some of the ships have really unique mechanics. The new timing-based laser clashes are super-satisfying, especially with the wood-clack audio cues you get before enemy laser fire. The laser pod placement mechanic is awesome, and the game throws plenty of things at you to make you learn to use it. The bosses are so good and put said laser pod placement mechanics to great use. With all this screen space that you're given and with the way this game divides lives between players, this is one of the few STGs I've played where co-op is enjoyable. And that's all the core arcade modes! The other modes are neat and a good way to stretch out an arcade game, as they're kinda-sorta Crazy Taxi's Crazy Box x 1000.

The port is pretty nice, too. Arbitrary resolution support, multi-monitor support (it's nice). I just wish they showed player's names in Chronicle mode.

[IrishNinja]

on a classic Sega kick - tied up Crusader of Centy, Beyond Oasis, Wonder Boy IV and almost Shining Force CD. after SF II, it's onto Saturn stuff.

20. Yakuza 5



Hard mode. I considered 4 the best in the series, but this is a step up. It's more of everything (this game feels, like, Witcher 3 big), but without any dip in quality. They incorporate the side stuff into the main game a bit more, which is a plus, and the combat is beefier than ever. There's a ton of variety in the locations, the characters all play super-differently (especially and obviously Haruka), and the cutscenes are pretty engaging (though, as always in this series, they could have been cut down a bit). I wish these games didn't have such a goofy difficulty curve.

Looking forward to playing Yakuza 0 in 2017 or whatever.

i'm at Saejima's part now, and loving everything about this post