Topic: Backlaugust 2026 - (Splatoon) Raiding the Backlog

[Mop it up]

I actually have the "plus" version of Sonic Origins, which includes the 12 Game Gear Sonic games as a bonus. Unlike the main attraction, they're just straight emulated ROMs with no enhancements. I don't even think I knew the Game Gear existed until long after it was dead, I've never seen one in person and never played any of its games before this. I started with the Game Gear Sonic the Hedgehog which claims it's a port of the Genesis version, but what I think they actually meant was the Master System version (another system I never heard about until the Wii Virtual Console). And I gotta say...

...and I thought the screen space felt small in the main games! Sonic was never meant to be held in hand, and the 8-bit graphics look just enough off that this feels more like playing a bootleg Flash version of Sonic. The devs may have realised this too, as the stages are a lot smaller with usually just one path through as opposed to the multiple routes often found in console Sonic. To my surprise, the second zone also features... an auto-scrolling level! How am I supposed to go fast if the screen won't let me?! The game isn't difficult until the last couple stages, which feature a maze I'm still confused about, and a sky stage with lightning everywhere: I guess this is the part where they tried to prevent rentals from beating it. One weird thing about the way checkpoints work in this game is that when you respawn at one, you have to hit it again if you want to respawn there next time, otherwise you start at the beginning! Rude!

[broodwars]

I'm going to change the ruling on Sonic & Knuckles after looking into it further. The version that's in Origins is the 3 & Knuckles version, so while S & K and 3 were sold as separate games and could be played separately at the time, they aren't presented that way in Origns like the other games are. You have to use a level skip to get past the 3 content and get into the S & K levels. You still have 16 games to use to pad your score clear your backlog, which I have to be honest I don't think I'm going to be able to overcome by the end of the month. 

And yes, I have the Atari 50 Collection, too, so I had a feeling that's where you were headed when you asked about collections, Mop.

[ThePerm]

I also got to give props to the Power A gamecube controller for switch for not running out of batteries the entire time I've played Vice City and San Andreas.

[broodwars]

Currently in the midst of playing a collection of really fucking bad games, so took a bit of a break to catch up on the PS5 version of a game I've previously enjoyed: Carrion





Don't really have much more to add about this game that I haven't said before. It's still a nice, cathartic little quasi-Metroid game where you absolutely demolish and devour everything in your path and it doesn't outstay its welcome. I wonder what the devs are up to these days. Apparently, they haven't released a game since Carrion in 2020.

[Evan_B]

I'm starting to think I won't even stand a chance against Broodwars in this competition. Makes me think his hosting of this thread is a bit self-fulfilling.

I've come to realize that I don't tend to grab lots of short games, and when I want a short game, it takes a very specific sort of combination of elements for me to really enjoy it. Let us observe Evan Bee's latest acquisitions and marvel at his strange tastes.

Boxboy is a strange creature, there's no doubt about that. However, I think that a game like Boxboy works for a very mobile sort of platform like the Nintendo 3DS, because it is so bite sized and usually low-investment. Boxboy and Boxgirl, however, is a Nintendo Switch game, and it really doesn't need to exist. I mean, I know why it exists: it is an attempt by Hal to deliver a compact eShop title that also has CO-OP! Yeah, baby. The problem is, Boxboy is just not as novel a concept as something like Snipperclips in a variety of ways: Boxboy's aesthetics are incredibly bland and I'm honestly shocked that the series(?) hasn't grown or experimented in this respect. Also, Boxboy is a very... wiggly game. When you make boxes, you don't place them on a grid, per se, but they can "overlap," which sometimes makes you feel like you're cheating the game's puzzles when you "wiggle" out a solution. It's structured, but also not? Anyway, Boxboy and Boxgirl was solitary experience, which is too bad because as a Switch 2 owner I sure wish I could play the co-op puzzles with someone online. I completed all of the challenges for the single player mode and I think I can live with that. Even a side, single player mode felt like it overstayed its welcome.

Now, another game that has very concrete and maybe controversial aesthetics is Saturnalia, which is a fascinating survival horror game set in a town that resets and scrambles itself when your playable party is all sacrificed by that supernatural horror that stalks its streets. If that sounds stressful to you, imagine the entire experience being drenched in pinks, purples, and blues that bloom onto the screen when you start sprinting or come close to a structure, paired with models that have a perpetually jittery filter effect. Personally, I find the game stunning, and the gameplay conceit fascinating... but in execution, it stumbles somewhat. Your early jaunts into the town are incredibly stress-inducing, and since you gradually gain characters by completing certain objectives, you will likely end up scrambling your town at least one or twice before you become accustomed to the creature's behavior and your own objectives. The game then settles into a sort of predictable rhythm, especially as you push out of the town streets and towards the town periphery, which is understandably constant due to the complexity of some of the environments presented. All in all, the game runs about ten-ish hours and has other difficulty modes and custom settings to make the experience all your own. Sadly, my campaign is bugged in its final sequence, which means I can't complete the very last objective to escape the town, but the entire experience up until that point was quite thrilling and multifaceted, with a number of narrative and gameplay twists that really kept me hooked. I've been pining for more novel horror/survival experiences and this really scratched an itch.

[broodwars]

I'm starting to think I won't even stand a chance against Broodwars in this competition. Makes me think his hosting of this thread is a bit self-fulfilling.

I've come to realize that I don't tend to grab lots of short games, and when I want a short game, it takes a very specific sort of combination of elements for me to really enjoy it. Let us observe Evan Bee's latest acquisitions and marvel at his strange tastes.

TBH, I don't tend to play many short games, either, as I was reminded as I was skimming through my PSN library earlier today. I mainly play RPGs. I was content to slow down and play something lengthier for the rest of the month (still haven't gotten around to playing Puppeteer), but it seems an arms race has begun. 

[M.K.Ultra]

For what it's worth, the 360 and Rare Replay versions of Banjo-Kazooie have some quality of life updates like notes always being saved when you collect them, so you don't have to collect them all over again when you die. Those versions are much easier and much less tedious to 100%.

Well now! So much for me being able to take some nights off after work and sleep, since Khush is making a serious push on the leaderboard! 

Yeah, I played via Rare Replay and was able to 100% the game without using rewind or save states.

[broodwars]

Note: Due to the PSN protest going on for the next week, that means my PS devices will be logged out of my PSN account, so no images on any new games I may post about. Well, at least not high-quality ones. I have my phone. It also means any trophies I post about won't be reflected on my PS account for the next week.

Pretty sure that whole thing is pointless, but it would be out of character for me to not take the opportunity to raise the middle finger at Sony right now.

[M.K.Ultra]

With the start of school I have been too busy for much gaming. However I still have two games to report.

First, I beat Contra III: The Alien Wars played via the SNES classic. This was my first time beating a Contra game. The SNES classic has save states and rewind making this easy to do but I limited myself to only using rewind to practice parts and then only saving between stages. So each stage was beat, in the end, without rewinding or saving in the middle. That ended up being just the right amount of challenge for me, though I am not sure if I have the patience to beat the game all the way through without saving. All in all it took about 10 hours to play. The game itself has beautiful sprite work and great controls. The stage variety is nice too with stages 3 and 5 being top down and having the objective of destroying 5 alien nests; stage 4 is one of those vehicle riding stages. In the end I did not even see the credits, only the screen shown here and then the game started over in a harder difficulty.


Now I was able to roll credits on Disney's Illusion Island on Switch. I have playing this coop with my partner throughout the summer and was glad we could finish it this month to help pad my numbers. This is a Metroidvania where you cannot attack, only avoid enemies. You can choose the difficulty by choosing how many hearts you have, anywhere from 1 to unlimited. The game is quite generous with checkpoints ultimately quite easy. I think the art style was what sold me, it really is a pretty game. It only takes about 8 hours so it is funny it took us so long to finish.



I have one more game to try and finish this month but it will come down to the wire. 

[broodwars]

Now I was able to roll credits on Disney's Illusion Island on Switch. I have playing this coop with my partner throughout the summer and was glad we could finish it this month to help pad my numbers. This is a Metroidvania where you cannot attack, only avoid enemies. You can choose the difficulty by choosing how many hearts you have, anywhere from 1 to unlimited. The game is quite generous with checkpoints ultimately quite easy. I think the art style was what sold me, it really is a pretty game. It only takes about 8 hours so it is funny it took us so long to finish.

Yeah, I played through Illusion Island last year IIRC. Was a pretty alright kid-centric Metroid game, though I felt the level layout was pretty bland and led to the game feeling pretty dull after a while. And if you're going for 100%, those time trials can **** ALL the way off. Iron Mouse mode is...special, particularly in that final chase sequence.

[broodwars]

Picked this one up as a PS1 Classic on my PS3 a few months ago when Sony announced they were shutting the store down. Always heard good things about it (it's a series that Sony seems especially proud that they published), but never got around to trying it. As it turns out, Sony also ported the game to PS4/PS5 as a PS Classic, so I also got that version.









Jumping Flash! is a PS1 1st Person Platformer, and if just hearing that phrase makes you instinctively convulse considering just how bad First Person Platforming was back then, I hear you but this is the rare exception. I had a blast with this one. It's also one of the more surprisingly "happy" games I've played in a while.

The game's setup is as dumb as it is simple (and presumably spelled out in the manual, because I had to go online to find out what the plot was. The cutscenes do not in any way tell you): a mad scientist has stolen chunks of planets to form his own resort, so you (a robot bunny) have set out to kick his ass.

The game's broken up into 6 sets of 3 levels, with the last level of each set being a boss fight (aside from the last set, where the last 2 levels are boss fights). In the normal levels, you explore a relatively small area looking for carrot-shaped "jet pods". Once you collect all 4, you run to the exit and you're done. The levels are timed, and you get point bonuses if you collect the pods in the right E-X-I-T order, but for the most part that is it. Along the way, you can blast or jump enemies Mario-style, as well as collect special weapon power-ups that are extremely necessary for the boss fights. There's even 1 power-up that turns the screen all rainbow flashy as you become an invulnerable killing machine for a few seconds, very Mario Power Star-y.

The platforming in this game is so similar to what we'd later see in Metroid Prime I would be very surprised if folks at Retro hadn't been studying this game while they were prototyping their most famous one. Your character has a triple-jump, and much like MP as soon as you do that first double-jump the screen angles down to let you see where you're going to land (including a helpful shadow). Combined with that 3rd jump, this gives you an exceptional degree of control and confidence over your jumping once you get used to the controls, even with just a Dpad to work with.

Where I think the game substantially falters is with the boss fights. In general, they're pretty bad bullet sponges, able to take you out in a handful of hits while it takes you the better part of several minutes to whittle down their health. And they don't have the downside of a very slow turn speed when you try to dodge or jump past them. These are pretty much what you save your special weapons for, and even they will usually only take out 1/3 - 2/5 of the boss' health bar.

Overall, I quite enjoyed that one. I miss the days when Sony would put out games like this.

[Mop it up]

I had taken a brief break from going fast to blaze through Wolfenstein 3D since it was newly-added to Game Pass. I've only ever played the SNES version of it, so I'd been curious about the original and it was interesting to view this history lesson. I didn't realise the SNES one actually offered enhancements, as the flamethrower and rocket launcher are not present here in the original. That's fine, but what's sorely missing is the lack of a mini-map to help with navigating the game's samey, mazey levels. While it's an important steppingstone for the FPS genre, I think it's a little too simplistic to hold up compared to what soon followed.

Currently in the midst of playing a collection of really fucking bad games, so took a bit of a break to catch up on the PS5 version of a game I've previously enjoyed: Carrion

I remember playing that years ago on the 'Pass. I thought it would be a little more puzzley than it was, but it was still fun to play the other side of a game like this. Looking back, I didn't realise it was so soon after it released:

[Khushrenada]

It seems that, unlike Broodwars, I was the one that ended up having a few nights off from gaming after my last report. But then the weekend arrived and I was able to get back at it. What has been the result?

Carto - I came across this game in the eShop when it was on sale and decided to give it a shot based on its trailer. The idea of being able to split apart and rearrange your game map seemed appealing and I figured it would sort of all be part of a broader large puzzle of having to put back together the whole game world into a correct order but it doesn't quite go in that direction. Overall, the puzzles the game has from this mechanic aren't too challenging. There was only one at the end that I think took around 30-45 minutes for me to figure out what the game was trying to get me to do as I was thinking it was something else and trying to solve it the wrong way. While the time spent was pleasant enough, it's also a game I just don't see myself replaying. I don't feel there's much in the story for a replay and when you know the solution to the puzzles then you're not going to feel much satisfaction in solving them again. Did find all the mystery pieces to unlock the bonus/extras room so game is beat and complete in my book.

Tokyo Crash Mobs - This is a game that was on a lot of lists as something worth checking out on the 3DS eShop before it went down. Reviewers talked about it being a weird and silly game of throwing people to get through crowds. I've found fun in weird and silly games so I got it and then let it sit on my 3DS until now. Upon playing it, I have discovered that it wasn't quite at the level of silly weird I was expecting it to be. Even though there is a story mode, it's just too full of random clips to really be considered a story. You can try and infer some type of meaning if you want to them but I just stopped caring about them pretty quickly and nothing about them made me smile or laugh. As for the gameplay, the story takes place over three weeks. Each day of the week, you alternate between two characters and then on the seventh day, they combine for a bit of a different take on the game using the 3DS gyro controllers. I found myself preferring the Grace character's levels of taking out a single line to enter a location over the Savannah character's levels of having to fully take out a circular or two windy lines of people marching towards a sort of doom button. Early on, there could be some little joy to be found in throwing a person to knock out people trying to cut in a line since line cutting is one of the most hated social faux pas. Yet, ultimately, everything just becomes pretty repetitive even as the game tries to keep adding a little bit of a twist or difficulty as it keeps progressing through these two level styles. With the story adding nothing but rather detracting as it goes on and this feeling of staleness, I was so glad to be done with this game and just do not see myself returning to it.

Mega Man III - I had played the first two Game Boy Mega Man games in previous Backlaugusts so I might as well keep that tradition going by moving on to the third. It keeps my history with the series an oddity having still never played through any of the NES or SNES games and thus only the GB games as my actual point of reference to the series. It continues to be a mixed bag for me when playing these games. I remember having to force myself a bit to keep playing the first one but thought the second was a bit better. When playing this one, I was surprised at how there seemed to be some momentum for me this time when first beginning. I went in a direction of Shadow Man, Gemini Man, Snake Man and then Spark Man. I'm not sure if that's anywhere in the proper order but the levels had a bit more variety and were just more fun to play than I remembered the other games being like. While I was still using the save state mechanic to try and keep things moving along more quickly, I didn't feel like I needed it that much at first. However, after defeating those four, the game then has a second half in which you need to defeat another four and it was around this point that I felt the game slowing down and encountering more frustrating moments and things where I'd have hated to play this in its original form without save states knowing I'd have to keep replaying and replaying to try and get back to some places and trying to experiment to figure out how to get past them. There was also a strange encounter just before the Wily battle in which another robot master appears and it seemed like none of the weapons you had picked up had an effect on him. It just had to be defeated with your regular blaster which seemed odd to me since what was the point in getting getting all those upgrades. In fact, a lot of the robot master weapons felt kind of useless in this one. Looking back, I am so glad I went with Shadow Man first as that sort of ninja star weapon was probably what I used most in the levels and with a lot of the bosses. Snake Man, Skull Man and Spark Man's abilities I just could not find much use for them while playing and I did find myself returning to the regular power blaster more than I expected based on my memories of the first two games. In summing up, a fun enough first half followed by a more traditionally frustrating second half that keeps me from really embracing or liking this series as many gamers did in the 90s. Yet, I may jump in Mega Man IV yet this month because of that first half.

A Short Hike - I remember being pretty much sold on this game when it showed up in a Nintendo Direct. I put off playing it for some time though because I always felt like it would be a good game to save for Backlaugust and remember Mop it up proving that point by playing it herself and finishing it quickly in a past event. It's finally time for this game to shine and it certainly does. One of the highlight games so far that I have played. It hit me early on that A Short Hike is sort of my ideal of a video game. If someone says the word videogame, it might conjure up different things for different people. It might be first person shooters for some, could be sports sims for others or maybe it is RPGS are what come to one's mind. For myself, it's probably more Nintendo focused but also more action and platformer oriented. Things like Mario Sunshine and Breath of the Wild in which the fun comes from exploring a new 3D space and while collecting objects to finish side missions along the way of the main objective. The game as a simple premise of just getting to the top of the island you are on but you encounter many NPCs on the way and get items to help you or help them in order to fulfill that central goal. There's treasure chests to be found. Races to be won. Even a bit of Animal Crossing thrown in with digging up some marked holes in the ground or doing some fishing. While I have done the central quest and seen the credits roll, I will be returning to this game after the month is over to do a bit more clean up duty. There's still a few things I need to do like finding a missing watch, collect all the golden feathers and some parts of the island I still haven't fully explored yet but am looking forward to doing. All in all, a perfect little bite-sized pocket of gaming that just hits so many of the gaming sweet spots for me.

Catan: Console Edition - And now a little cheesing of the stats because it just wouldn't be Backlaugust without it. Mop it up is already proving that with her Sonic Origins stuff and the Namco 50 talk. Another game that I saw on sale on the eShop and decided to pick up. I've played the Settlers of Catan board game a few times over the years but don't own an actual physical copy. Thought I'd pick up this game as something to have as an alternative to the Mario Party option but also as a way to play the game myself or perhaps with others online through the multiplayer option. I've thought about possibly picking up the Clue / Monopoly / Risk games I often see on the eShop also if other people I knew were interested in getting those games and possible playing them together without having to travel and meet up. But I guess I'm digressing and getting off my point with my dreams and schemes of future possibilities. In any case, when looking up the game I Deku Deals, I saw that it had never been on sale once before until that time and it had been released for quite awhile. I decided to plunk down the dough and give it a shot. Overall, it is a pretty barebones experience. There's a quick version of the game in which it has made a few possible decisions before hand and then one where you can make a couple more decisions like how many players and what the AI avatars will look like. I had played and won a quick version game when I first bought it but when playing a full 6 player game, I kept losing. I think I played it three times and lost each time. I'd been close as a lot of Catan games often are but just kept coming up short. I was wondering if I should attempt to try winning at that regular style game mode as I'd hate to end up sinking time into it and coming up short a few times instead of playing other things but I wanted to hit that double digit 10 game mark before the weekend was up so I took a chance and I'm glad I did as I did get that win on the first attempt. In fact, it was sort of a blowout win too. Got my ten point and the closest AI player was at 6 when I made it and I could have lowered that down some by taking away Longest Road if I had wanted to but just turned a settlement into a city to end the game as I had been planning to do. And that seems to be it. There's nothing to unlock in the game. No extra player avatars or customizable features like different styled tiles or anything like that. As I said, it's pretty bare bones. It's the Catan game and that's about it. A little cheesy for the stats? Perhaps but as far as I'm concerned it counts. It's a game and I won it. 

[Khushrenada]

Note: Due to the PSN protest going on for the next week, that means my PS devices will be logged out of my PSN account, so no images on any new games I may post about. Well, at least not high-quality ones. I have my phone. It also means any trophies I post about won't be reflected on my PS account for the next week.

I noticed you've often posted pictures of the games you've played and never really thought anything about it. Just that it seemed like you were doing your own mini-review and including some shots of the game for that. However, on reading this, I realize that you were also posting to show a trophy and sort of prove that you beat/finished the game. Never thought about screenshots or proof before like that with Backlaugust. I've always accepted it as a word of honor premise. Plus, it's always been a hassle to make screenshots or photos from a game to a post on the forums that I'd rather just not bother. I don't know if it is something that people should do moving forward in future events when participating in this but it's something I'll probably look into particularly if I'm going to put in a challenge for the leaderboard like I am this year.

Boy, now I wish I hadn't been so busy at the start of the month. I'm starting to think I might have been able to hit the 20 mark if I hadn't had such a slow start and lost about a third of the available time to participate.

You still have 16 games to use to pad your score clear your backlog, which I have to be honest I don't think I'm going to be able to overcome by the end of the month. 

Also, I can't help but feel that Luigi Dude is out there somewhere playing some kind of older game collection in order to show up at the end to say he finished 21 games this month. How many Castlevania and Mega Man collections have there been released into the world anyways?!

[broodwars]

I noticed you've often posted pictures of the games you've played and never really thought anything about it. Just that it seemed like you were doing your own mini-review and including some shots of the game for that. However, on reading this, I realize that you were also posting to show a trophy and sort of prove that you beat/finished the game. Never thought about screenshots or proof before like that with Backlaugust. I've always accepted it as a word of honor premise. Plus, it's always been a hassle to make screenshots or photos from a game to a post on the forums that I'd rather just not bother. I don't know if it is something that people should do moving forward in future events when participating in this but it's something I'll probably look into particularly if I'm going to put in a challenge for the leaderboard like I am this year.

Little of A, little of B. The images add a bit of color to a sea of text, so I like using them. Plus, it helps me put my own spin on the process and might lead people to checking out the sometimes obscure **** I play. Plus, it's pretty easy to just screenshot on PS5, kick it up to the app, download from the app, post to Twitter, and then copy & past the image link over here.

Well, simpler than it sounds, anyway.

Seriously, would you believe a fairly notable Christmas Carol Metroidvania existed if you hadn't seen it for yourself? 

A pity I can't really do that with Puppeteer right now. I started my playthrough last night, and that game still looks gorgeous 13 years later. I don't think I'll have it done by the end of the month because I'd like to really take my time and savor that one, but if you have a PS3 and haven't played it, you should. It's a real shame that game is trapped on the PS3. It came out 2 months before the PS4 released and just got absolutely buried. It's the last truly great game Japan Studio made and oozing with charm.

Besides, I'm usually posting my Platinums on Social Media anyway, just to show that I went to the effort of 100% a game.

This is definitely the last Backlaugust where I'm going to make an active effort to chase the Top Spot. It's a fun novelty and it's definitely lead to me playing some stuff I wouldn't have gotten around to for a very long time (and other stuff I have no earthly idea when or why I bought it), but it does mean I'm actively avoiding playing longer stuff I would otherwise be playing.

[broodwars]

OK, wow...saw this thing in my PSN library, was curious about what it was, so I spent an evening diving through it. Well, you know what they say about Curiosity and Cats...





Elea is a first person...psychological horror...walking simulator...adventure game? Google describes it as "exploring strange, mind-bending events that test human reason, memory, and the meaning of life."

BULL...****. Oh yeah, I'll give them the "strange" part, and getting through this game sure tested my human reason, as well as making me dwell on the meaning of my life devoting 4 hours of my limited time on this planet to playing this broken piece of ****. But clearly NONE of that was intentional on the part of the developers.

It certainly doesn't start well when you hear some of the worst, barely English voice acting you've ever heard in your life before even hitting Start on the main menu, followed by this very...slowly...scrolling up the screen:



Ah, excellent. We're taking our storytelling notes from Uwe Boll, though at least he used a readable font size in Alone in the Dark. Once that screen finally passes, the player is blasted with THIS:



Because, you know, nothing quite says "easing the player into the experience" quite like shoving a one page summary of the manual in the player's face they need a microscope to read before they've even DONE anything.

What this "game" is is an excuse to have players wandering around looking at crap until the developers decide to start flashing lights in the player's eyes and cranking the sound effects up to 100 decibels. Sure, it starts out kinda ok, with you playing as a pregnant mother (no, that isn't redundant here) wandering around a house turning on lights and interacting with objects. Then...the game intentionally completely breaks with visual glitching and hitching and starts doing some Inception nonsense, revealing that this entire first 1/3 of the game is a broken memory simulation of the MC's past.



The rest of the "game", you wander around a ship clicking on stuff (or, more accurately, "try" to click on stuff, because the interact buttons rarely work and often cause the screen to freeze for several seconds) and waiting for the plot to happen. Apparently, you're looking for your husband. If I didn't know that from the title summary online, I couldn't have guessed. And if you're me, you're dreading this screen:



THIS screen was the bane of my existence. There's a part in the game's 3rd act where you have to climb into a medical chamber, at which point you have to control the character monitoring you FROM the perspective of your character in the chamber. In the dark. With a heavy glass effect obscuring your vision. With several objects in that character's way that you can't see.

And if you take too long to navigate a character you can't see who moves with tank controls from a 2nd person perspective, the game will not only hard crash your PS5 but also set you back a good 10 minutes of game time to the last auto-save.

It took me 3 tries to clear that section without crashing my console, by which point I was just playing out of pure spite. I haven't had to put this much effort into clearing a bad, broken game since the last Bethesda game I played.

So you do some stuff without ready explanation of why, you do a shitty chase sequence concluded by a button prompt that didn't work the first 5 times I tried it (leading to an instant death), you hit an escape pod, and...the game stops.

You see, Elea has another name on certain other consoles: Elea - Episode 1. This piece of **** was planned to be an episodic game. Well, Episode 1 came out in 2018. I'll just look forward to Episode 2 around the same time Blood & Bullets gets its 3rd episode. Oh wait. I LIKED Blood & Bullets.

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/elea-episode-1/BNJL0X82JT46?wfExp=382CT

**** this game. I have no memory of having bought it or why, though considering the game is a whole $1.50 right now on PSN, I think we might have solved the mystery, Gang! 

I've played some bad games this year, but I don't think I've seen such a shining example of utter incompetence. The story is so fragmented and poorly told that you can't enjoy it as a narrative experience. The gameplay borders between being barely existent and barely functional. At least it did me the small mercy of being short.

[Khushrenada]

This is definitely the last Backlaugust where I'm going to make an active effort to chase the Top Spot. It's a fun novelty and it's definitely lead to me playing some stuff I wouldn't have gotten around to for a very long time (and other stuff I have no earthly idea when or why I bought it), but it does mean I'm actively avoiding playing longer stuff I would otherwise be playing.

Yeah, after inaction on my part the last couple years, I really wanted to get back into it this year and, like you say, I find it also motivates and pushes me to check off some stuff I bought for one reason or another but didn't feel compelled enough to actual get to until now. Yet, I also finally picked up a Switch 2 about 10 days ago and if I hadn't already started the race for top spot then I'd probably just be playing a couple games on that (namely Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza). In fact, I do want to get started on Bananza soon so that I can see about finishing these DK Challenges that are available before they end at the start of September. I finished all the classic DK ones so trying to get a few more games in before I likely start playing Bananza this upcoming weekend. Sometimes I wish this event was not tied to August but some other month because there have been times it just hasn't been the most convenient month. Then again, it could be that some other month would turn out to be more inconvenient than August when the next year rolls around so you just never know. I guess that's part of the challenge of the event.

Kirby Fighters Deluxe - Throw another shrimp game on the barbie. Just part of my desire to tackle all Kirby content. Although it occured to me while playing this that I never picked up the Team Kirby Clash Deluxe offering since I didn't care much for Super Kirby Clash when I tried that game on Switch. So, I guess there will be just a little bit of Kirby content I'll never get around to playing. Anyhoo, Kirby Fighters is sort of like a Kirby themed Smash Bros. In fact, I'd say it feels most like playing the Classic mode in Smash Bros. single player. It sort of follows a bit of a routine while mixing up a few things like stages and the type of fighters aka abilities you'll be facing off against as you progress along to its final battle. Since I've often played Smash Bros. more as a single player challenge in collecting all the trophies in those games, playing this Kirby themed version and having to go through the same kind of routine for each ability felt much like playing Classic mode over and over with different characters for their trophies in Smash. You can select to play it as Easy, Normal, Hard and Very Hard. Not much changes between the versions with the final Dedede boss fight being the more difficult part. I played through all the abilities in Easy. Just doing that unlocks the alternate look for that ability and then has the game credits roll so the game has been beat in that regards. I did play Normal with one ability and, even though a boss rush mode isn't something I find appealing and the case could be made that this is sort of what this game is, I do think I may go back and see about beating it on Hard and Very Hard with at least one ability because of it having that Smash sensibility which I find a bit more appealing than a true boss rush mode. Some abilities are also better or easier than others. I would not want to do this game in Very Hard with Archer or Ninja, for example. Looking it up, the only other thing that happens when beating the game in Very Hard is that you unlock an alternate Kirby color and nothing happens if you beat Very Hard with each ability aside from them getting a rainbow ribbon attached to the ability on the select screen instead of the bronze, silver or gold stars they get from completing one of the other difficulties.

Am also in the midst of another game that was supposed to be short but I'm already past the two hour mark that it was supposed to take according to howlongtobeat.com. I guess that's just me and my desire to keep poking into every nook and cranny of not wanting to miss out on something instead of just plowing through like I should be doing games during this month. Perhaps tomorrow I'll have another title to add to the list if it is still actually a short enough game.

[Khushrenada]

Elea is ....

BULL...****.

Nothing like reading a review of a game a person loved. 

[Khushrenada]

I bought the GTA Definitive edition trilogy for like less than $20.

It's been fun. And I got it well past the point where it was a buggy mess with a lot of broken stuff. Though I have seen some floating trees. And I lament some missing soundtrack pieces and the ability to make your own radio station on the pc version.

I beat Vice City, which I give an 8.5/10

and I'm 60-70ish percent through San Andreas which I also give an 8.5/10 so far.


Last Summer I played through Red Dead Redemption 1 and I give that one a 9/10

I am halfway through Undead Nightmare, but haven't touched it since last summer.

I also give Red Dead Redemption 2 a 9.5/10.

I got GTAIV too on mu backlog. I played a little bit of it before switching to Vice City.

So, I've almost played through all the major Rockstar games.

Just checking, but am I reading correctly that Vice City was the only game of this list that you completed this month so far?

And, oh yeah, I was going to comment on this earlier but, when I read ThePerm's post, I got the feeling he just saw everyone posting and talking about games they were playing right now and decided to join in as though this was the new "What Are You Playing?" thread.

And, sure, there's nothing wrong with that if anyone want to join in and talk about games people have posted here or have beat during the month but he certainly buried the relevant info of just beating Vice City this month in amongst his talk about Rockstar games he's played and beat in general.

[Mop it up]

Back again now with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Game Gear, which I believe is also a port of the Master System version. And I've gotta... puke! This is easily the most difficult Sonic game I've tried, and not in any way that a sane person would dream up; they must have really been worried about people beating this one as a rental! I appreciate that they needed some gimmicks to make this stand out from Genesis Sonic 2, but the janky minecarts and hang gliders were not the play. One of the final levels is a stretch of pick-a-pipe which often have spike pits waiting at the end of incorrect choices, long before Mario Maker made it cool. Full disclosure, I had to abuse the mop outta save states to make it through this one, I don't think there's any way I could beat it legitimately. I'll leave it up to the panel of judges here if it should count. Also, I'm preeeeeetty sure that the devs mistook Tails for being a girl...

[broodwars]

Back again now with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Game Gear, which I believe is also a port of the Master System version. And I've gotta... puke! This is easily the most difficult Sonic game I've tried, and not in any way that a sane person would dream up; they must have really been worried about people beating this one as a rental! I appreciate that they needed some gimmicks to make this stand out from Genesis Sonic 2, but the janky minecarts and hang gliders were not the play. One of the final levels is a stretch of pick-a-pipe which often have spike pits waiting at the end of incorrect choices, long before Mario Maker made it cool. Full disclosure, I had to abuse the mop outta save states to make it through this one, I don't think there's any way I could beat it legitimately. I'll leave it up to the panel of judges here if it should count. Also, I'm preeeeeetty sure that the devs mistook Tails for being a girl...

I'm not going to judge anyone for save state usage here. I save that for the likes of losers like DarksydePhil, the self-styled "King of Retro". You put in the time and enjoyed the game to whatever level of satisfaction works for you.

[Mop it up]

Up next is Sonic Chaos for Game Gear, not to be confused with the Chaos from Sonic Adventure and later stuff, apparently. This is the final port of a Master System game, so hopefully that means the next one won't have such bad screen crunch... I'm not sure where the "Chaos" comes in as it still seems like pretty standard Sonic fare, so there's not much to say about it. I did notice it has an oddly high amount of springboards in its stages, so maybe that's it. Fortunately it's a lot easier than the previous title, so it wasn't much trouble getting through it. I recognized the second boss from Mania, I hadn't realized it pulled from the Game Gear games. For some reason they thought it was a good idea to bring back the pipe maze during one of the final stages, but at least it was less trollish this time!

[Khushrenada]

Full disclosure, I had to abuse the mop outta save states to make it through this one, I don't think there's any way I could beat it legitimately. I'll leave it up to the panel of judges here if it should count.

Yeah, not a big deal. I've talked about my save state usage to get through some older titles already and in past events. Sure, that feature isn't available if you play the actual game but in this version of the game it is so I might as well use all tools available to me. If I want a "true" experience, I can always play it again and ignore it then.

[Khushrenada]

Well, after work, went to the movies and saw The End of Oak Street. And then I came up home and wrapped up another game. Khush can't stop!

What Remains of Edith Finch - I've been semi-aware of this game for years. I'd seen a lot of positive reviews about it but never really read up on what it was about. Constantly would see it on sale on the eShop. For whatever reason, I decided to finally get it on a recent sale a couple months ago. My take from the screenshots I'd seen of it was that it seemed like a possible point and click adventure in which you go through an abandoned house to solve a mystery which, for some reason, I thought was the case of a missing person called Edith Finch. That's not really what this game is. In fact, it really stretches the definition of a game. Sort of like how Phoenix Wright is sometimes referred to more a visual novel, to me WROEF is more like an interactive movie. Or maybe a theme park ride or museum tour. There's very little gaming to be done. You're mostly just moving the main character along a linear path and being given their thoughts on this journey as well as encountering some stories/histories of the people who lived in the house which often have a brief gameplay element tied to them but I wouldn't really call much of that gameplay as fun or engaging. The story has a pretty heavy feel to it which is probably why I felt like taking some breaks from the game instead of trying to finish it all in one go. In the end, this idea just didn't work for me and I could probably get into a bit more detail on that. For now, I just want to check off that this game has been beat and complete and am moving on to the next one.

[broodwars]

Well, after work, went to the movies and saw The End of Oak Street. And then I came up home and wrapped up another game. Khush can't stop!

What Remains of Edith Finch - I've been semi-aware of this game for years. I'd seen a lot of positive reviews about it but never really read up on what it was about. Constantly would see it on sale on the eShop. For whatever reason, I decided to finally get it on a recent sale a couple months ago. My take from the screenshots I'd seen of it was that it seemed like a possible point and click adventure in which you go through an abandoned house to solve a mystery which, for some reason, I thought was the case of a missing person called Edith Finch. That's not really what this game is. In fact, it really stretches the definition of a game. Sort of like how Phoenix Wright is sometimes referred to more a visual novel, to me WROEF is more like an interactive movie. Or maybe a theme park ride or museum tour. There's very little gaming to be done. You're mostly just moving the main character along a linear path and being given their thoughts on this journey as well as encountering some stories/histories of the people who lived in the house which often have a brief gameplay element tied to them but I wouldn't really call much of that gameplay as fun or engaging. The story has a pretty heavy feel to it which is probably why I felt like taking some breaks from the game instead of trying to finish it all in one go. In the end, this idea just didn't work for me and I could probably get into a bit more detail on that. For now, I just want to check off that this game has been beat and complete and am moving on to the next one.

I quite enjoyed What Remains of Edith Finch, though I think BAFTA giving it GOTY nods was more than a bit contrarian for a "game" that slight. That said, I really enjoyed some of the stories, particularly the last one with the son working in the fishery. That's the one that really felt like it took advantage of the gaming medium to do something unique.

Oh dear, it seems that Kushrenada has caught up to me. Well, there's only 1 thing I can say to that...



Yeah, I've been putting this one off for a while. Just really haven't been in the mood to commit to Star Fox (2026), especially since I really didn't like the handheld experience in the demo. But I found myself finally with time to kill at work and nothing but my Switch 2 to do it with, so I thought I'd finally give it a go.







Between that 1 playthrough at work and the 2 I did after work tonight, I feel like I've seen everything I wanted to experience of this game for the moment. Between those playthroughs I saw every level in the game except Titania, and given how absolutely idiotic the requirements to access that level are I didn't care enough to do a 4th playthrough just to see the level you reach when you really suck at the game.

It's funny. My intention on my 1st playthrough was to play through the "easy path" levels first and get the false ending, and then do the "true ending" path on my 2nd and 3rd playthroughs. Unfortunately, my memory of SF 64 is a bit fuzzy and I forgot that Sector Z and the venom section after it were considered the "hard path" to the True Ending, so...I got the True Ending on my 1st playthrough by pure accident.

Overall, Star Fox 2026 is a superb remake of a game that really, really...REALLY didn't need another one. Aside from Solar (which REALLY looks "early Switch 1"), this is a gorgeous game with a strong emphasis on detail & lighting. Unfortunately, this can also be a bit of a negative at times, as the game is much less "readable" than the N64 original. It can be difficult at times to even SEE what you're shooting at, particularly if you can't lock onto it. It can similarly be difficult to see and hit the weakpoints on the new boss designs. Aside from that, though, this is still Star Fox 64 at its heart so the gameplay is as excellent as ever...even if I think the Star Fox team feels way more fragile in this version than in the original. It's nearly impossible to beat Venom 2 without at least 1 team member going down. I had to restart that mission so many times to finally take out Leon or Pigma before they took out their counterparts.

The major new content in this version are the new CG cutscenes, though, which are very well-done and do take into account minor differences in your playthrough, such as whether you'd been to Aquas before going to Macbeth. Even the montage of areas in the ending credits is based on the path you took to get to Andross. And while the script is generally very faithful to the original game, it feels like there's a lot more banter between the team as the levels play out. Just hearing more interactions between the team is very much appreciated. As lovely as the cutscenes are, though, I was slightly taken out of the experience by boss kills immediately jumping into pre-scripted cutscenes instead of fully playing out in-game.

Special shout-out to the music, by the way. The new orchestrations (particularly Aquas' theme) are outstanding. I'm very mixed on the new voice acting, though. In general, it's higher quality than the original game, but the performances are so much less expressive and passionate. It's a very "business-like" dub. No one's especially bad (aside from the train guy on Macbeth, which just...could you please give a ****?), but no one's especially putting in a great effort, either.

Well, aside from the guy they had voicing the pirate captain on Zoness. THAT guy understood the assignment.

Overall, I really like this remake, but I wish there was more "new" to it besides additions around the edges. This version could have used some whole new levels.

On a side note, I find it hilarious how absolutely cutthroat team Star Fox is about getting paid in this version, considering how continually terrified Nintendo is of allowing Samus Aran to be a Bounty Hunter seeking bounties in HER games.

And with that, my backlog is finally free of Switch 2 games. I've cleared all the ones I've bought so far.