Completed 54/52:
Game 01: Risen (PC) - Time:35h0m - Status: COMPLETED January 2
Almost forgot to put this one because I started it December's last week. This game screams "GOTHIC PLAYSTYLE" in almost every aspect, and that's fine. Different factions to join. Lots of Quest which are possible to complete through different means. Neat combat mechanics that reward skilled well timed meleeplay andspecialized character's development. Risen falls off notably after chapter 3 but is understandable because is a relatively short game. Silly endboss but anyways.
Game 02: Fallout New Vegas (PC) - Time: 70h3m - Status: COMPLETED January 10
All DLCs done. Dead Money has an outstanding quality in writing, is a shame the DLC experience is quite crippled by rage inducing mechanics like detonator speakers, toxic fog and confusing map's navigation. Honest Hearts introduces us a very interesting character like Joshua Graham and the beauty of Zion, quest
are somewhat bland since they are mostly the typical fetch this - kill that. Old World Blues is a truly delight for classic Fallout fans, since It contains all the elements that made them great: mad science, amusing characters, several choices and consequences etc. For me the best DLC. Lonesome Road is pretty a linear straightforward FPS but is meant to be the closure of Overall DLC's plot.
Playing the Dlcs gave quite an insight related New Vegas Story. What a wonderful rpg with a lot of potential and scope tarnished by the mediocrity of gamebryo engine.
Game 03: Fallout 4 (PC) - Timer: 73h2m - Status: COMPLETED January 30
The writing sometimes is as retarded as in Fallout 3, the game treats dialogues like a hindrance. I feel like playing an uninspired dungeon crawler fps more than rpg. Bland factions. Pointless crafting since you can obtain better gear increasing difficulty,
Luck perks and hunt legendaries. Boring fetch and kill quests. clunky animations. The revamped power armor, settlements and decent atmosphere don't outshine the faulty mechanics, horrid UI and overall mediocrity of this game. And the main quest is just underwhelming
and boring. Kind of expected that since I'm aware of the effort Bethesda tends to put in the main plot.
Game 04: Undertale (PC) - Timer: 13h6m - Status: COMPLETED January 12
Astounding. What a beautiful and intense game. For such a small rpg, It has everything: lighthearted shenaningans, tearjerking moments, disturbing scenes,
moral decisions. I wholeheartly recommend it.
Game 05: EarthBound (SNES) - Timer: 36h24m - Status: COMPLETED January 24
Earthbound satirizes the golden days of jrpgs in a good way. I can really appreciate its value in videogame's history
and its legacy is alive within the indie devs.
Pretty wacky rpg with some unusually creepy and disturbing moments that are not quite out of place. Earthbound
handles modern era creatively, adding everyday stuffs like sentient enemies and unsuspecting allies, junk food as healing potion, public transportation instead of flying ships and psionic powers instead of magic. None of this is a novelty nowadays, but think back how was that in the 90's during a market drowning with medieval or scifi inspired jrpgs.
Game 06: TES III Morrowind (PC) - Timer: 62h3m - Status: COMPLETED february 9
My god The Bethesda decline is blatantly real. Oblivion and Skyrim were seriously dumbed down compared to Morrowind. In spite of shoddy combat mechanics, flawed attribute/skill progression system balance, some badly implemented birthsigns. TES III offers a genuine Role playing experience for those who love lore and exploration. Plus it has tons of factions and populated areas, even a higher diversity of creatures,dungeons,items compared to Its sequels. And customized magic spells, though It certainly have room for improvement, is a neat idea that I'm yet to understand why they decided to remove it in next titles. Got me hooked.
Morrowind convinces me that Bethesda could do far better. But they are determined to keep making retarded lazy design decisions.
Game 07: PlaneScape: Torment (PC) - Timer: around 60h - Status: COMPLETED February 22
Planescape Torment is a game that any RPG fan should play at least once. It is the epitome of story driven videogames.
But in technical aspects PS: torment is a regular rpg: the real time isometric combat mechanics feel like an unpolished
Diablo, pretty basic and awkward, difficult to multi target, infuriating to micromanage and delay responsive. Not much to
worry, the combat is an almost skippable experience that will cover vastly less time compared to you will spend reading
and choosing carefully your answers. Therefore combat is a minor annoyance that doesn't hinder narrative flow while you
are advancing. And since the experience requirements to advance each level are HUGE, grinding is not time efficient as
doing as much Quest available you stumble upon.
It also brilliantly decontructs many RPG tropes in interesting ways. Think Undertale, but without all those annoying fourth
wall breaking and with a more enthralling, emotive, coherent, tragic and deep story. If you loved Undertale for the story and characters, then go ahead and make yourself a favor, play Planetscape Torment.
Game 08: -Jagged Alliance 2 (PC) - Timer: 62hr 3m - Status: COMPLETED February 28th
The voice acting is hilarious. And the Tactic combat system is so good: you can crouch, run, stay prone, focus your aim, sneak, throw knives and grenades, use the environment to your advantage, attack by day or night etc. Also is awesome to freely explore the map seamlessly and make progress the order you desire. Did you know any non linear tactics RPG that gives you the freedom to choose your approach and pace the way your want to accomplish the only game's objective? No Fire Emblem series , nor Final Fantasy Tactics. Those games feel very constrained compared to Jagged Alliance 2.
Game 09: - Gothic 2 rerun(PC) - Timer: 36hr 2m - Status: COMPLETED march 4th
Since my first run was with the expansion Night of the Raven, which introduce some significant gameplay and difficulty changes. I decided to play the vanilla version to experience first hand how much it was improved an already great game; and certainly, Night of the Raven is a long way harder than Gothic 2 without expansion, since there is a real possibility that you can screw up your character, the Nameless one, and render him totally useless for latter boss fights.
Anyway, I consider that Gothic's legacy paved the way that shows how a open world Rpg with real time combat is made. A seamless, handcrafted, incredible game.
Game 10: -One chance (Newgrounds) - Timer: 30m - Status: COMPLETED march 5th
One of those tiny games of 10 minutes duration that tells an inane story with different ending and interesting enough to
replay several times. You're a family guy working as a government scientist, head of a project looking for the definitive
cure for cancer. When finally found it all is cheerful celebrations and stuff until they realized (too late) that the cure is
lethal since It annihilates not only cancer cells but all living ones (facepalm). Now the world will end in 6 days for a retarded
reason. It's up to you how you gonna cope with your last days breathing. Will you bang a coworker? Commit suicide?
Work your ass off looking for a cure before die in six days? Stay with your naive child and depressed wife?.
It has a little of choices and consequences in it and quite dark ones. But again It's difficult to feel "moved" by this game
considering how ridiculous is that a bunch of idiotic scientists released an untested pathogen and claimed to be a cure for cancer.
Game 11: -Pokemon Argent version Soulsilver (DSi) - Timer: 35h 4m - Status: COMPLETED march 25th
Dragonite steamrolling FTW.
Game 12: - New Super Mario (DSi) - Timer: 6h 25m - Status: COMPLETED march 27th
Suffice to say is a good same ol' Mario game. Not wonderful or exceptional like Galaxy series but It offers fair
challenge and diversity.
Game 13: - Pokemon Black & White (DSi) - Timer: 34h 2m - Status: COMPLETED April 5th
A pokemon game taking its own plot too seriously LMAO. Japanese Clichés and fake choices aside, at least the story
is consistent enough. Its forced linear playthrough is annoying as usual. But at least the elite 4 and the over the top final
battles were challenging enough. Although still you can easily wipe the floor with them using fighting,ground,dragon or
steel pokemon types like the previous gens. Great music also.
Game freak really improved some stuff in Gen V: Unlimited TMs, simplified HMs, multiple item button assign and a
comfortable interface. Amusing animated sprites are also a plus. The Pokemon also started to have hidden abilities since this gen. And oddly they didn't abuse in putting lots of pointless minigames.
Game 14: - Pokemon Black 2 (DSi) - Timer: 66h 40m - Status: COMPLETED April 24th
Took me longer than I thougt. The Pokémon Hollywood thing was a fancy tutorial to learn how to properly use some uncommon moves, nice. The biggest feature is the Pokémon World Tournament, tons of fan service, but more enjoyable than battle train. Although picking a rental pokémon team is a waste of time since they put you against enemies that counter you. First time I see a "poké-fusion" done with the gen VI signature legendaries. Legendaries in pokémon are so pointless in game by the way, only for fancy collection or to grind elite four. Can't use them in battle train or world champioship.
Game 15: - Tales of Maj'eyal (Steam) - Timer: 112h 52m - Status: COMPLETED April 24th and still playing
ToMe is THE roguelike. Tons of classes and races. Different playstyles. Amusing turn based combat mechanics. Come, join the fun, overcome the randomness and oneshot ludicrous strong enemies with superior strategy and amusing min-maxing, or get your noob baptism entering dark crypt and getting your ass handed by corruptor's diseases and hexes.
Game 16: - Divine Divinity (GOG) - Timer: 56h 30m - Status: COMPLETED May 18th
Divine Divinity was launched as a response to Diablo 2. It has a deeper character development, better story, compelling dialogue ad overall superior roleplaying. It's a shame people regarded it as just a diablo clone at first. I recommend it to play it at least once and then move on to its sequel.
Game 17: - Tactics Ogre Let us cling together (PSP) - Timer: +70 hours - Status: COMPLETED May 31th
So insanely good and vastly superior in comparison to Final Fantasy Tactics,which the latter is one of my favorites games. In FFT, your only options are similar to any Fire emblem game (which I mean there is not braching in the storyline's path) but that's not the case of TO, fortunately. TO is a comprehensive game with a well tailored and balanced difficuly, although
I admit there are ways to break the difficulty wall, although not as blatantly ludicrous as you can in FFT and Fire Emblem.
Game 18: - System Shock (PC) - Timer: +10 hours - Status: COMPLETED June 4th
Like its sequel, The game conveys some really very creepy vibes ,although is not essentially a survival horror. Your character, the hacker, have to explore (as is quite typical in sci fi terror) a station devastated by a relatively recent incident, often having to navigate through narrow corridors lit by dim fading lights. Like in Bioshock, the main villain haunts you with his constant taunts and rants, but also becomes your only companion. Fascinating.
Game 19: - Zelda Ocarina of Time (Wii Virtual console) - Timer: +20 hours - Status: COMPLETED 100% June 8th
So many years have already passed, so many times I finished this game. Never got tired of playing it, perhaps is childhood nostalgia more than being actually a perfect game, but is undeniable that the legacy of Zelda OoT will last beyond the contemporary videogame industry era.
Game 20: - Zelda Majora's Mask (Wii Virtual Console) - Timer: +20 hours - Status: COMPLETED 100% June 15th
Now we have here the most atypical Zelda title of the bunch. In Majora is the first time we see some sort of sidequest tracking introduced into the franchise, and pretty neatly made without a doubt. Sometimes I wonder how this gloomy setting came into fruition from the developers's minds.
Game 21: - Mario Party 2 (Wii Virtual Console) - Timer: + 8 hours - Status:COMPLETED 100% June 18th
Hey, this game also counts too, and I didn't play it alone, which is kind of lame and boring. Me and some friends and family beat the game within 2 days. Is always fun to screw your beloved in an insidious friendly way.
Game 22: - Kirby 64 (Wii Virtual Console) - Timer: +6 hours - Status: COMPLETED June 21th
I was bored that day and decided to give it another go to Kirby since I had the Wii connected already. Pretty short and
painfully easy, but is always fun to try several power combinations.
Game 23: - Super Mario 64 (Wii Virtual Console) - Timer: +8 hours - Status: COMPLETED June 24 th
Following my self imposed Nintendo 64 Nostalgia trip, I also played the good old super mario 64. I didn't realize how annoying ad flawed was the old camera rotation, but I guess it was a neat innovation when it was released. Not the best
Super Mario game, the boss fights are too easy and hard at the same time, I mean, is quite easy to outrun and grab the tail of Bowser, but the last fight is pretty complicated to hurl him towards one of those explosive mines.
Game 24: - Paper Mario (Wii Virtual Console) - Timer: 32 hours 42min - Status: COMPLETED June 27 th
A worthy Super Mario RPG incarnation, the action-trigger mechanics really make turn based combat interesting and provides tons of possibilities. Surprisingly, the badges allow plenty of build options, so you can fit your playstyle in several ways.
Game 25: - Paper Mario: A thousand years door (Wii gamecube retrocompatibility) - Timer: +40 hours - Status: COMPLETED July 1st
My second run gave me a better insight of Paper Mario saga. It seems more of the same but Nintendo managed to enhance every aspect that made the former Paper Mario great: more badges, polished action trigger mechanics, better story, dialogues and even more memorable companions. The best Paper Mario so far.
Game 26: - Super Paper Mario (Wii) - Timer: aprox. 18 hours - Status: COMPLETED June 7 th
It was truly disappointing that Nintendo decided to take several step backwards in the RPG side of Paper Mario franchise, in fact, is not really a RPG anymore. Is an amusing platformer, but nothing else. One thing I can say to its favor though,Super Paper Mario is one of several few Wii games that takes full advantage of Wii remote technology. Thus it can be played smoothly while standing up or sitting idle without any place for uncomfortable strains.
Games 27,28, 29,30,31: - Geneforge I/II/III/IV/V - Timer: +200 hours - Status: June 28th
I decided to bundle this game up here because its sequels, albeit of being standalone games, are pretty much the same thing. Geneforge saga is Jeff Vogel's rpg masterpiece, Jeff Vogel is a veteran full time indie developer that programmed all these little marvels alone, with only being helped by his wife. The UI is ugly and music is pretty much non existent, but since these games are developed by him alone, the former tradeoff mentioned are kind of understandable.
Anyway, Geneforge is a PC videogame that plenty of RPG developers can learn a thing or two, including GameFreak and their Pokémon franchise. Why? Because Pokémon shares some very slight similarities (although they're not related in any way, I guess even the Gamefreak guys don't know who is Jeff Vogel or his SpiderWeb software company in first place) with Geneforge, of course, if you can imagine a Pokémon trainer like a sorcerer capable of shape magic into organic lifeforms in ways that are beyond the understanding of the common mortal and a fondness for bathtub robes instead of a red caps and jacket outfit. Therefore, instead of venturing the wilderness and look for some monsters to catch, you create them in order to fight (and die) in your place or alongside you, a bit like Shin Megami Tensei.
But why I claim it shares more similarities with Pokémon than, say, SMT saga ? Because
It delves further into the Master-Servant relationship predicament. In geneforge, the way you think about your creations and servitude will lead you to a different path and also provides you with different allies and enemies. Instead of trying to convey a lesson about friendship and loyalty through a lineal storyline like in any typical Pokémon game.
But don't get me wrong, I'm not really interested in whether Gamefreak should change their Pokémon storytelling or not, thereby is not in that aspect they would learn something, but in the way Jeff Vogel conveys exploration and and adventure feeling in those games. In geneforge, exploration is highly rewarded and there are not storyline constraints that limit your path, instead, the storyline is determined by which kind of stuff you find out or whose people you decide to help. To summarize, You can find out everything by your own, and is heavily focused on exploration. In Pokémon, you can find a bit of that, but most of times is quite obtuse in that regard, like how some pokémon evolve or some backstory of those.
Game 32,33,34: - Dragon Quest II/Dragon Quest III/Final Fantasy VI(Android) - Timer: +60 hours- Status: COMPLETED July 3rd
Putting the desktop PC and consoles aside, I decided to play some titles I acquired from the Play Store. There is not much else to say regarding those classic JRPGs, although I found out after playing classic Dragon Quest I finally grew tired of random encounters and "blobbler" turn based combat style, also, the first Dragon Quest titles have almost non existant character development and are quite focused towards dungeon crawling, in my opinion, when it comes of dungeon crawling, Shin Megami Tensei is clearly superior. Final Fantasy VI, on the other hand, has the weakest
playable character cast of Final Fantasy's metaverse, even more than the characters from the bland FF XII, but is kinda understandable since there are so many characters to choose. Kefka certainly is a memorable villain, He embraces the "psycho harlequin" trope neatly, and is motivated by an evil agenda that deviated from the typical "world domination" evil scheme.
Game 35,36,37: - Dark Souls/Dark Soul II/Dark Souls III (PC) - Timer: +100 hours- Status: COMPLETED August 4th
I finally bought Dark Souls III, and decided to devote the remaining July to play the former Dark Souls games in order to sharpen my combat mechanics and "git good" and be prepared for the last challenge that Miyazaki brought to us. What I have to say is just that the ending is a bit disappointing but perhaps I shall wait until I play the DLC.
Game 38: - The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (PC) -No Dlc- - Timer: 78 hours- Status: COMPLETED August 17th
The Witcher III is a marvel to behold. It has all the elements a good CRPG must have: Choices and Consequences, good writing, interesting secondary questlines. But it also has ugly flaws: fast paced but clumsy combat, cumbersome UI, annoying crafting system. Regardless, despite all the drawbacks is quite the Open World CRPG any PC gamer is been waiting for years.
Game 39: - Enderal -A skyrim total conversion Mod- (PC) - Timer: 52 hours- Status: COMPLETED August 24th
A total conversion Mod, like Enderal, replaces entirely the vanilla game. It is a game that was developed by the same team of talented gals that made Nerhim, a total conversion mod for Oblivion. Enderal is a continent that, despite not being as ample as Skyrim in comparison, offers a pretty diverse bioma:Tundra, lush Forest, archipelagos, desert, coastal regions and jungles. For me, Ark is one of the liveliest metropolis I have ever experienced within a videogame and the greatest highlight of Enderal, It has different market districts, high novelty residence, catedral, slums, etc. Is a boon to have the ability to quick travel across different districts, otherwise It would be kind of overwhelming.
Game 40,41: Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic I/II - (PC)- Timer: 72 hours - Status: COMPLETED September 2nd
First game developed by Bioware, an amusing rpg that really enriches the Star Wars Universe, Darth Revan became one of the most popular Jedi and Sith, and his relevance within the Old republic arch is without a doubt crucial, since he led his jedi comrades to the mandalorian wars, clearly defying the Jedi Council desires. The sequel was developed by Bioware, creating a Rpg with an expected superior writing, and a bunch of memorable characters, perhaps the Jedi protagonist is kind of special snowflake since She manages to be cut down from the force and eventually become stronger, but Kreia struggle against the force itself is undeniably the most fascinating aspect of the story.
Game 42: Warcraft III Reign of Chaos (PC)- Timer: 12 hours - Status: COMPLETED September 6th
I stumbled across my old disc and nostalgia kicked in, I'm glad to relive Arthas falling from grace to eventually become in everything He once hated. Kind of ironic.
Game 43: Deus Ex (PC)- Timer: 32 hours hours - Status: COMPLETED September 9th
The multiple paths available for every objective you have to complete is oustanding, yet nowadays for that reason there is not a single first person shooter with stealth mechanics able to provide the freedom the first Deus Ex has. And it even being focused on delivering a FPS experience, it performs better as a Rpg than many modern CRPGs (like Elder scrolls, pillars of eternity, dragon age II and II). LOL
Game 44: Deus Ex Human Revolution Director Cut's (PC)- Timer: 26 hours - Status: COMPLETED September 12th
Does not provide the degree of freedom like the first Deus Ex, and non lethal fully stealth approach is highly encouraged and better rewarded (see the achievements). It has its share of story's path branching and some RPGs elements, fairly decent videogame, with better gameplay mechanics than the first one, but far less ambitious in comparison. Is a shame that It feels like a generic modern action game than a Deus Ex. But that's my opinion.
Game 45: Dragon Age Origins (PC)- Timer: 65 hours - Status: COMPLETED September 20th
DAO is the best and, in my opinion, the only Dragon Age games that is worth playing. Regardless, It does not perform as an outstanding RPG or a flawed gem, but a just OK Western RPG with its share of highlights. Is a fairly well rounded RPG that was launched in an age that the genre was plagued with mediocrity, so it can sate some gaming cravings, but is unlikely it will become into something that will linger in your memories.
* On this post I continue writing my gaming odyssey*
