Author Topic: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition  (Read 17275 times)

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Online Khushrenada

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Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« on: August 01, 2023, 04:17:25 AM »
After hosting it for the past three years, allow me to take that role on from pokepal 148 since I don't know if he will be here to start this. But I do want his best contribution to these forums (so far) to continue and I do look forward to this now. I guess it just helps to have some incentive to buckle down and play through games even if it is an arbitrary deadline. In line with what pokepal148 had set up, here's the gist of the event:


Backlaugust: The Official Nintendo World Report Month for Decimating Backlogs!â„¢ is back again for more action! So start looking through your backlog and get started!

Here are the "rules":

Games can be on any system, not just Nintendo systems. I know we're a Nintendo fan site, but most everyone here is a multi-console owner. So play a game on any system you want.

Let us know what you're playing. Mostly just so we can cheer each other on.

Play games you already own. A lot of people tend to buy a game then not play it, or play it for a significant amount of time and then put it down. This is what we're aiming for. Games that launch in August don't count. Since I'm taking on the hosting duties, I'm going to strike that last statement. More on that in the next post.

Try to pick up games you aren't actively playing right now. Games you're currently playing can be allowed, but in the spirit of Backlaugust, let's try to make them games you aren't playing at the moment. Make it a game you haven't touched in a month or more if possible.

When is a game done? That's up to you! Mark a game off your backlog when you've seen the ending or end credits, or once you've seen enough of the game in a game without a "proper ending" (like an arcade-type game). You don't have to do or get everything unless you want to.

Finished games will be posted in the OP. Because everyone likes to see their accomplishments recognized. Just post when you're done and I'll try to update daily.


Games Completed So Far:

Kirby's Dream Land (3DS VC) - Khushrenada
Xeodrifter (3DS) - Khushrenada
Road 96 (Switch?) - lolmonade
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (Switch) - M.K. Ultra
Kirby's Dream Land 2 (3DS VC) - Khushrenada
Concrete Genie (PS4) - M.K. Ultra
Castlevania Bloodlines (Switch) - Mop it up
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (3DS VC) - Khushrenada
Kersploosh! (3DS) - Khushrenada
Mega Man II (3DS VC) - Khushrenada
Mass Effect 3 (Wii U) - M.K. Ultra
Resident Evil 2 Remake (XBox Series X?) - Lemonade
Dillon’s Rolling Western (3DS) - Lemonade
Super Princess Peach (DS) - Lemonade
A Short Hike (Xbox Series X) - Mop it up
Dead Cells (PS5?) - Broodwars
Process of Elimination (PS5?) - Broodwars
Pokemon Trading Card Game (Switch NSO) - Mop it up
Resident Evil 3 Remake (XBox Series X?) - Lemonade
The Revenge of Shinobi (Switch NSO) - Mop it up
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Switch?) - RABicle
League of Enthusiastic Losers (Switch?) - RABicle
Florence (iPad?) - RABicle
Shadow Dancer (Switch) - Mop it up
Shinobi III (Switch) - Mop it up
Yoshi’s New Island (3DS) - M.K. Ultra
Shadow Archer (Wii U) - M.K. Ultra
Tunic (XBox Series X) - Mop it up
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) - Luigi Dude
Maestro! Green Groove (3DS/DSiWare) - Khushrenada
Mighty Milky Way (3DS/DSiWare) - Khushrenada
Kirby's Blowout Blast (3DS) - Khushrenada
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Switch) - Khushrenada
Tunic (PS4) - Broodwars
Death's Door (PS5?) - Broodwars
Balan Wonderworld (PS5?) - Broodwars


For a total of 36!
« Last Edit: September 03, 2023, 04:15:21 PM by Khushrenada »
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2023, 04:31:43 AM »
If interested, here are the past threads for this event:

Backlaugust 2020
Backlaugust 2021
Backlaugust 2022

(Not that it is that hard to search back for them. Not like the forums have been inundated with new topics these past few years. :'( )


Now I've said it before and I'll post it again right now. To me, any game is part of the backlog whether you've had it for 10 years or 10 minutes. Until you've actually played and beat it to your satisfaction then it is part of your backlog. Of course, I do get the idea of using the month to perhaps motivate a person to tackle some of those games that have been in the backlog longer but anything you haven't beat or completed in your backlog is valid no matter how long it has been on your personal gaming backlog.

That said, I do think you'll get more satisfaction out of the event if you finally get around to tackling a game you've been meaning to play for 5, 10, or 15+ years. Yet, I realize that sometimes a player may also want to focus on something that is recent and they are currently engaged in like, say, Pikmin 4. So, I get it if a lot of people were to check that game off this year and finish it during Backlaugust. That's ok by me.

At the end of the day, Backlaugust should be seen as a personal quest or, in literary terms, the conflict of man vs self. Challenge yourself to make up a list and see how much you can conquer in the span of 30 days.

In 2020, the gamers/users of this site were able to complete 44 titles. In 2021, it was 39 titles. In 2022, it was a new record of 56 titles!  :o :D Can we beat that this year? Who knows but no harm in trying!
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2023, 04:59:25 AM »
Even though I just mentioned to view this as a personal quest, a funny thing happened in the first Backlaugust event. Let's go back to everyone's favorite year (2020) and review. A third of the way into the month, I had finished a couple games that I'd already been playing before the event started which were Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. About a third of the way into the month, I decided I could do my part to contribute to the thread and post those two games as part of the total.

I guess one might as well use this thread as a temporary "What was the last game you beat?" location. Wrapped up Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition over the weekend by finishing up the Extra Story content. So that is done and dusted from my backlog. And tonight I beat Yoshi's New Island for 3DS. Just have 3 extra/bonus levels to complete. So, rack up another couple for NWR.

RABicle, who had totally gotten on board with the idea as soon as he saw it and had been on a gaming tear, replied to my post with:

Sounds like you're trying to compete with me! I know it's not a competition, but I'm winning!

But for real just announce your intentions to clear off some other games here in this thread. Join the fun!

...

UPDATE: OH MY GOD I BOOTED UP BOXBOY + BOXGIRL AND FOUND I MY SAVE PROGRESS WAS RIGHT BEFORE THE LAST WORLD OF LEVELS! I HAVE NOW BEATEN THAT! YOU GUYS WILL NEVER CATCH ME!

That comment of I'm winning and then the added you guys will never catch me suddenly ignited a competitive fire inside of me. Having known RAB a long time on these forums, I knew it wasn't a personal attack on me and it was all friendly banter but I wanted to see if I could pull off an upset he didn't see coming after that comment. I then went on a gaming tear of my own. In the end, I ended up beating 14 games to RABicles 17 for the month but I still enjoyed making him sweat once he saw someone else begin to start racking up a bunch of finished games. That spirit of competition may also give you some extra motivation in getting through games in your backlog.

However, the idea of making Backlaugust a competition raises some new questions about rules which came up in the 2020 thread. If a game has multiple endings, does getting a different ending each time count as beating a game? What if a person has multiple copies of a game? For instance, I have Kirby's Dream Land on my 3DS but I also have Kirby's Dream Land on the Switch Game Boy app and Kirby's 25th Anniversary collection for the Wii? How much can one "game" the system here?

Let's go back to the first rule. When is a game done? That's up to you! Mark a game off your backlog when you've seen the ending or end credits, or once you've seen enough of the game in a game without a "proper ending" (like an arcade-type game). You don't have to do or get everything unless you want to. Thus, getting multiple different endings in a game would suggest do everything in a game which one doesn't have to do for this event. Likewise, the website Backloggery only gives two options for finishing a game which is Beaten - The main objective has been accomplished. Usually marked by the defeat of a final boss and/or viewing of credits and Completed - For games which are 100% done. All extras and modes have been unlocked and finished. All significant items have been collected. For this event, we are mainly interested in just accomplishing the first goal of beating a game. Therefore, if a game has multiple endings, we only care about you achieving one of those endings to beat the game. If you want to keep playing for it and go for completion that is up to you up but you can only count it once from the first time you beat. I know that I've gone back to some games I've beat in Backlaugust to complete them in the months after so you may want to do the same.

Since you can only count completing a game with multiple endings once, it only makes sense that, in the case of a game having been released on multiple systems, we only allow a title to be beaten once in the month by a player. Going back to the example of Kirby's Dream Land, if I beat the copy I have on my 3DS for the month then I can not also play the version on the Switch app and the version of it in Kirby's 25th Anniversary and have that all count as three games beat during Backlaugust. Only one copy/version/port of a game may be allowed to be added to your total for the month. In my backloggery account, I have some cases where the same game is listed on different systems like DKCR on Wii and 3DS. I count each version separate in that I don't list the Wii version as done until I beat it on the Wii and I don't list the 3DS version done until I beat it on the 3DS. But for this event, I'd have to chose either to play and beat the Wii version or the 3DS version as one of the titles I'd like to take off my backlog but not both versions. (If I hadn't beaten them both already in this example but I have.  8) )

Once more, this isn't a real competition against other users. There is no prize for whoever may finish the most games this month aside from any "bragging rights" that one may personally feel for doing so. With a new judge in town ;), I can help clarify any other questions that might arise but the main thing is to just play and finish more games than RAB this month since he started this whole competition aspect in the first place.  ;D
« Last Edit: August 01, 2023, 03:56:45 PM by Khushrenada »
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2023, 05:27:59 AM »
Oh right we’re on and the stage is set because I’m suffering through a long commute and have an insane multi day road trip coming up next week. However I think the GF has forbidden gaming while we’re actually camping and I’ll have to do half of the 30+ hours of driving. I’ll edit this post with more details as I go but will be sure to update on the discord too.

So what have I got to play? I suppose I’ve already beaten Pikmin 4 and it’s about the backlog so let’s start by going all the way back to Oxenfree II on the iPad. Should be an easy enough task to get going and then I might start digging into my switch backlog. I know Opus: Echos of Starsong has been waiting for me as well as Eastward but that is probably pretty long being an RPG so I’ll be sure to keep League of Enthusiastic Losers on standby for a quick sugar hit. Part of me really wants to knock over Xenoblade 2 so I can justify buying Xeno 3.
Goddamn I’ve been falling behind in my reading lately too, all because of Zelda. Damn I should’ve known to leave Ganon for August to do that too!

Ok I’m approaching my station but I’ll examine my switch backlog when I get back to my Grandma’s house where I’m staying during the winter of the house renovation.

Only 1% battery on the iPad lemme quickly list other candidates
Arrest of a Stone Buddha
Sports Story
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Blanc
Spiritfarer
This War of Mine
« Last Edit: August 03, 2023, 05:51:06 AM by RABicle »
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Offline M.K.Ultra

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2023, 12:05:11 PM »
Thanks for picking up the torch on this event Khush as I have been looking forward to it. I have the following games on deck so I will try to finish these first:
  • Mass Effect 3 on Wii U
  • Yoshi's New Island on 3DS
  • Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes on Switch
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Switch

I am looking at playing Concrete Genie and Sunset Overdrive next but those are just stretch goals at the moment.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2023, 02:07:28 PM by M.K.Ultra »

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2023, 01:24:11 PM »
Is it that time again already?

I feel like there's no chance I can finish Zelda at the pace I've been going. Although I feel like I can probably get through Pokémon Scarlet this month. It's an easy breezy kind of game where the biggest obstacle to completing it is myself.

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2023, 04:05:52 PM »
Neat idea folks, happy to join in.  Some of them aren't backlog so much as recent games I don't want to let linger, but in my rotation right now is:

Moons of Darsalon (PC)
Fall of Porcupine (Switch)

And some genuine backlogs:

Disco Elysium (PC)
Subnautica (PC)
Ghosts of Tsushima (PS5)
Astro's Playroom (PS5)
Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster (Switch)
Transistor (Switch)
Divinity: Original Sin 2 (PC)
Wildermyth (PC)
Jack Move (PC)
Ghost of Tsushima (PS5)
Road 96 (PC)

I'll add more if I can think of em.  In the age of social media implosions and fracturing, perfect time to revitalize the NWR forums.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2023, 11:23:04 AM by lolmonade »

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2023, 05:28:26 PM »

I'll add more if I can think of em.  In the age of social media implosions and fracturing, perfect time to revitalize the NWR forums.

Hahaha! The NWR Forums existed before Twitter and they may continue to exist after Twitter with the way things are going. Indestructible social media right here, folks!
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2023, 05:55:12 PM »
For myself, I'll guess I'll bring up what's been going on in my gaming world which is... not much. I started the year of by tackling a game I've wanted to get to for some time which was Paper Mario: Color Splash. I played and completed that within January. I wrapped up Picross 3D Round 2 in February. I may have attempted to try beating Hollow Knight completely in under 20 hours around that time but can't remember. In any case, I haven't touched the game since I last had attempted that. During the great eShop shutdown of March, I downloaded a whole whack of titles for the 3DS and a little bit for the Wii U. By the time that purchasing frenzy was over, I had a bunch of games I needed to organize and update my Backloggery with but I put it off until now. Yesterday and today, I finally went through and updated my account. I went from the 666 games I'd had since the start of January this year to 727. Yowzers! Of course, that also includes a few Switch eShop and physical games I bought after the eShop shutdown. Still, that's 61 titles added and I've hardly done much gaming to take anything off the backlog.

I've puttered around a bit with the NSO stuff. Been playing Mario Golf 64, Yoshi's Story and Mario Party in the N64 app but haven't really finished any of them. Been playing a bit of WarioWare and Super Mario Advance 2 on the Advance app. Started Joe & Mac and Harvest Moon and played and completed DKC3 on the SNES app. Have played a bit of Tetris and Super Mario Land 2 on the GB app. As you can see, it's just small little bits of gaming piece meal here and there. Played a little bit of Tetris 99 to keep up the platinum points for purchasing new Switch player avatars. Wheel of Fortune on the Switch keeps getting played when my family is in town.

At one point, I looked at my Backloggery Account and wanted to complete some stuff from last Backlaugust that I beat but didn't 100%. So, I played a bit more Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 and got close to unlocking most of the costumes but then let it fall to the wayside again. I almost wrapped up BoxBoy + BoxGirl and unlocking all the costumes there except I need a second player to help me finish the Balloon Challenges for the Two Player section. Something I may be able to arrange soon but it also remains just short of completion. I thought enough time had passed since I finished the first half of the Great Ace Attorney so I think around late May or start of June I began playing the second half. However, I've only gotten as far as starting the 4th (or second last case) yesterday. Not sure if I want to try and power through the rest of that game for Backlaugust or not.

The one thing that did suddenly dominate my gaming time was Civilization 3. I wanted to go through the Civilization games to remind me of what they were like and the evolution from 3 to 4 to 5 and then see about getting into 6 now that I had it on the Switch. Instead, I've just been playing round after round of Civ 3. It was the title I most played back during the GameCube days when I seemed to have the time for long gaming session. I still like so many things about it even now. Finally took a pause on it a couple weeks ago but I've done about 4 rounds that I think might average to around 20 hours a game so that's what I've been doing while my backlog grows and swells.

I definitely need to start checking some titles off.  ;)

On the other hand, my movie watching has really gone up. I've seen 125 films for the first time this year which totally surprised when I reviewed my movie list a few days ago. At this rate, I may get to 200 before the year is over. Now, some of that is because of length. There are 4 Harold Lloyd shorts which can range from 12 to 30 minutes. There are also a few movies I've seen which are a little over an hour long like Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome or Nancy Drew... Reporter which has definitely allowed me to see multiple movies in an evening. But it is always the same old balance for me. Either my gaming time goes up and my movie watching time goes down or vice-versa.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2023, 06:02:00 PM by Khushrenada »
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2023, 07:16:17 PM »
Well I've been playing Tears of the Kingdom since May so I'd say that counts as a backlog game.  Lets see if I can finally finish it by the end of the month.
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2023, 10:33:57 PM »
No participation from me this year, as I did my backlog diving a few months ago when I binged 3 Ys games (Celceta, Dana, & Monstrum Nox) in a row...twice...to 100% them. I doubt my Final Fantasy Mode playthrough (i.e. New Game+ Hard Mode) of FF 16 right now really counts. I plan on playing Tunic after that, which just came out on PS4/5 on physical disc.

Best of luck clearing out your backlogs.
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #11 on: August 02, 2023, 03:52:36 AM »
Now you may be wondering from my previous post (since I know all anyone wants to do here is read my walls of text) just what all did buy to add 61 games to my backlog. It's your lucky day because I will tell you. First there's regret. Got my money's worth there. ;) But also the following:

Dsiware

Dragon Quest Wars
Mario vs Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!
Chronos Twins
Dark Void Zero
Escapee GO!
Extreme Hangman
Maestro! Green Groove
Rayman
Mighty Milky Way
Mighty Flip Champs!

3DS VC Games

Pokemon Crystal
Kirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Dream Land 2
Harvest Moon
Mega Man Xtreme
Mega Man Xtreme 2
Harvest Moon 3
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge
Mega Man II
Mega Man III
Mega Man IV
Mega Man V

3DS eShop Games

Kirby Fighters Deluxe
Tank Troopers
Nintendo 3DS Guide: Louvre
Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers
Weapon Shop de Omasse
Tokyo Crash Mobs
HarmoKnight
Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe
The Denpa Men 3: The Rise of Digitoll
The Denpa Men 2: Beyond The Waves
The Denpa Men: They Came By Waves
VVVVVV
Fluidity:Spin Cycle
Ketzal's Corridors
Aero Porter
Kersploosh!
Liberation Maiden
Kirby's Blowout Blast
Xeodrifter
The Starship Damrey
Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation
Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale
Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword
Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure

3DS Streetpass Games

Slot Car Rivals
Market Crashers
Feed Mii
Mii Trek
Ninja Launchers


Wii U eShop Games

Affordable Space Adventures

Switch eShop Games

Baba is You
Shantae and the Seven Sirens
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

Switch Physical Games

Xenoblade Chronicles 3
It Takes Two
Bravely Default 2
Octopath Traveller 2
Crusin' Blast
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Plus, there was some DLC for a few games. Woo-ee. It's hard to believe the 3DS eShop is gone. Still would regularly check in on it for so long. Still some titles I wonder if I should have picked up. (And that's the regret I was talking about earlier.  ;D ) As might be expected, there's a bunch of games from that list which I will be looking at tackling through for this month.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #12 on: August 02, 2023, 11:48:34 AM »
I'm still working through Tears of the Kingdom and I doubt that will be finished in August.  If it is then I'll go back to Shin Megami Tensei V where I appear to be near the end.  That game has been interrupted twice now, first by Pokemon and then Zelda.

I've tried to be disciplined with the Switch where I try to finish a game before I move to another one but I have not been so disciplined with sales so I have a big backlog of physical games that are still sitting sealed on my shelf.  A least half of them are RPGs, which of course means they're long games.  So even if I took the whole time off work I probably couldn't get through them within a month.  The dumbest move on my part was getting into the SMT franchise as I've also bought some games in the series for the 3DS and PS2.  When will I find time for those?

For me the ideal month for backlog clearing would be March.  Football season is over but the weather is still cold and rainy enough that I don't have a bunch of yard work to do.  Without even really trying to find I play videogames a lot during that time.

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #13 on: August 02, 2023, 06:21:34 PM »
Well, allow me to draw first blood and get this month rolling.

Kirby's Dream Land - 3DS VC. I debated for most of the time when the 3DS eShop was open if I should bother buying the first couple Kirby Dream Land games especially the first since it's pretty short and nothing too special. Plus as it was deadline for the closure, at that point, the Switch GB app had already been announced making it seem further irrelevant to get. Yet, I also reasoned that, things could change in the future. Maybe there would be times were I didn't have access to the app or Nintendo shut it down and changed how they handled their older games. And the only other version I had of it was the port of it for Kirby's 25th Anniversary collection. I'd much rather just pull out my 3DS to play it then go through all the time of getting it loaded on the Wii U. I was also buying a few other Kirby games like Kirby's Blowout Blast and had a bunch of other Kirby VC games so I decided to add them and really make the 3DS a strong Kirby game machine for myself. And now that decision has paid off by allowing me to beat the game for Backlaugust this year. Everything works out for Khushrenada!  8) ;)


Playing it again, I reminded that I really don't know the game as well as I think I do. My main exposure to Kirby's Dream Land has been Kirby Super Star and it is that version I have played way more and am more familiar with. I'm pretty sure the first time I ever played the actual original GB version was when I played it in the 25th Anniversary collection and was surprised to find out there was a world/level that had been excluded in the Superstar version with a Blimp boss battle. Totally surprised me. Playing the original again now for maybe only the second time is still a bit of a surprising experience. It's strange to not have the copy ability and levels just aren't what I expect. I don't think I made the connection that the spicy curry item in Smash Bros. comes from this game. I'm pretty sure that's the spicy curry that you in eat in a couple levels and then seem to shoot out some flames with. I feel I learned something new playing this. The challenge is still pretty mild though it would also probably been a bit harder if I didn't use the 3DS VC save states to help move things along faster. When thinking about versus other GB games, I still put it on the positive side of titles worth playing and think of it as the equivalent of Super Mario Land. Overall, it will get a quick snap judgement rating of 2.5/5 stars.
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #14 on: August 02, 2023, 09:35:12 PM »
Playing it again, I reminded that I really don't know the game as well as I think I do. My main exposure to Kirby's Dream Land has been Kirby Super Star and it is that version I have played way more and am more familiar with. I'm pretty sure the first time I ever played the actual original GB version was when I played it in the 25th Anniversary collection and was surprised to find out there was a world/level that had been excluded in the Superstar version with a Blimp boss battle. Totally surprised me. Playing the original again now for maybe only the second time is still a bit of a surprising experience. It's strange to not have the copy ability and levels just aren't what I expect. I don't think I made the connection that the spicy curry item in Smash Bros. comes from this game. I'm pretty sure that's the spicy curry that you in eat in a couple levels and then seem to shoot out some flames with. I feel I learned something new playing this. The challenge is still pretty mild though it would also probably been a bit harder if I didn't use the 3DS VC save states to help move things along faster. When thinking about versus other GB games, I still put it on the positive side of titles worth playing and think of it as the equivalent of Super Mario Land. Overall, it will get a quick snap judgement rating of 2.5/5 stars.

Did you play the Hard mode that the game tells you how to unlock after you beat it?  I like how it adds completely new enemies to the game and the bosses get a lot tougher.  It's still the hardest traditional Kirby game, that's not the optional True Arena's from the later games.  It's always funny how the biggest complaint people have is the Kirby series being too easy, when the first game had a legit Hard mode that made it significantly more challenging.
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #15 on: August 02, 2023, 11:29:26 PM »
No, I did not. :o It just said something about an Extra Game mode by pressing up, select and A. I was wondering if that was something different but when pressing them altogether on my 3DS nothing happened. I tried a couple different configurations in case B or Start needed to be pressed and had been mapped incorrectly. Nothing was happening so I just gave up and figured that was just to reset the game and allow you to start it over again. That ending screen surprised because I don't remember seeing that come up when I first played through the game on the 25th Anniversary collection. Wow! Learning Kirby stuff after all these decades!  :D Now I got to figure out how to make it start this hard mode....  ???
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #16 on: August 03, 2023, 12:23:39 AM »
I just finished up New Super Luigi U a couple weeks ago, I wasn't thinking, I could have just dragged my feet a little bit more and it would have counted for this. Anyway, my first plan right now is to finish the main campaign of Super Mario 3D World, after I believe doing Bowser's Fury for last year's Backlaugust. I'm already fairly deep into it, I into the Bowser world now.
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #17 on: August 03, 2023, 04:28:12 AM »
Also, I figured out hard mode for Kirby's Dream Land. Looking at the message again, I needed to press those buttons while on the title screen. So reset the game, entered them and started it up. Those enemies are OUT FOR BLOOD!!! They ain't waiting for Kirby to come at them. They are taking the fight to him. It's clearly going to take some effort to get through that game now. Fortunately, for the purpose of Backlaugust, I can worry about that for next month while I move on to getting the credits for some other games. Definitely curious to find out what hard mode Kirby will be like when I get back to it later.
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #18 on: August 03, 2023, 11:00:54 AM »
Also, I figured out hard mode for Kirby's Dream Land. Looking at the message again, I needed to press those buttons while on the title screen. So reset the game, entered them and started it up. Those enemies are OUT FOR BLOOD!!! They ain't waiting for Kirby to come at them. They are taking the fight to him. It's clearly going to take some effort to get through that game now. Fortunately, for the purpose of Backlaugust, I can worry about that for next month while I move on to getting the credits for some other games. Definitely curious to find out what hard mode Kirby will be like when I get back to it later.

Yeah that was my biggest surprise when I played the game for the first time back in 2010.  I was expecting something like Adventures Extra mode where Kirby has less life but everything else is the same.  Nope, Dream Land has new enemies that are way more aggressive and the bosses that are much harder.

It kind of makes me wish all Kirby game did something similar to this.
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #19 on: August 04, 2023, 02:26:45 AM »
Oh, its this topic again. I can participate.
Resident Evil 2 and 3 remake are my goal for the next few weeks

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #20 on: August 04, 2023, 03:30:48 PM »
Last year was extraordinary circumstances for me for various reasons, so I don't think this year will be anywhere close to it! I may still focus on some classic games though, as they tend to be breezier completions. I think I still have one or two more Castlevania games to get to, and there are a few titles in the Genesis collection that I haven't yet tried. Switching gears, I was also considering giving Tunic a go for this due to its positive reception, though I'm unsure of the length of that one.

Recently I've started Dragon Quest XI, but I hear tell it's a looooooong game so I won't be attempting completion in August. I'll probably be putting it on hold from time to time to tackle this event.

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #21 on: August 04, 2023, 06:33:46 PM »
Xeodrifter - Beat and complete. Pretty easy enough to get all the power-ups along the way so I was able to completely finish the game which I don't usually do in Backlaugust. I had wanted to pick up this title for some time since years back when I'd first beat Mutant Mudds. I think Insanolord may have recommended it as a good follow-up or maybe it came up during my best of the 3DS eShop threads. In any case, I just knew it was a take on the Metroid formula and that was about it. The problem was that despite knowing it used to go on sale, I didn't see it go on sale for years while tracking 3DS eShop sales and having it on my Wishlist. Finally, as the eShop deadline approached it went on sale and I snapped up during that shopping frenzy.

I'm glad I did as I think being able to play it the 3D effect adds to the experience and it turned out to be a pretty fun and addicting game to play. I liked the fact that the game really doesn't offer you much explanation for things and it is pretty much up to you to figure it out. At the start, I went to a couple planets before finding the one to start with. Later on, I noticed that there were numbers to the planets on the bottom screen but the game leaves it to you to figure out these details and learn. Although this also meant that I ended up making things a bit harder for myself as the game went on due to not fully understanding the way the gun power-ups work. I didn't realize you could combine powers to make them more powerful. I also didn't realize I could just hold down Y and the gun would keep shooting automatically. I was also tapping Y to shoot around maybe the 5th boss or a bit after that. But I suppose that's like any Metroid game. Once you've learned things on your first run like where some power-ups are or the map then you are much more proficient on subsequent runs. Playing it again, I think I'd be able to really power through it without a very low loss of life on that second run. In the end, when comparing it to the Metroid series, I'd say it gave me vibes of the 3DS Samus Returns game. Snap judgement rating of 3.5/5 stars.
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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #22 on: August 05, 2023, 09:00:17 AM »
I assumed RE2 was all just exploring the police station. I just looked at a guide and it turns out Im only a quarter of the way through the game.

Turn out that I much prefer the more actiony resident evils and this is much more limited resource survival.

The police station layout and progression also feels like a zelda dungeon, which I dont really like.



If I end up skipping this and going to 3 remake, I hope I like that more.

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2023, 11:18:36 AM »
I can mark Road 96 off the list, which is a first-person adventure where you play as a series of teenagers who are trying to flee the country and cross the northern border in the midst of societal revolt.  The set-up for each round is a Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson style show which spends most of their time carrying water for a conservative politician during an election year, and ends with the host expressing concern over a "kidnapping crisis".  You select one of three characters with characteristics like age, distance from border, energy, and cash on hand. 

Each teenager's journey is a series of locations across the journey.  Each location will usually include one of 6 characters in the story from one walk of life or another, including a police officer whose trying to keep order, a truck driver secretly planning a revolt from revolutionaries, a teenage prodigy, a couple of robbers, a serial killer, and the tv host.  So in one case, I had stopped at a gas station and needed to create a distraction so the kid can escape the police.  It includes setting up the chain of events to cause a distraction by searching the area and picking-up the right items to do so.  In addition to this, trying to scrounge up food or money is extremely important, as losing all your energy ends in death and having no money makes your options limited.  In leaving each area, you'll have options like hitchhike, paying for a taxi, paying for a bus, or stealing a car if you find keys lying around, which seems to change not only distance but which story characters you might have to interact with.  The characters are well defined and dialogue options do seem to offer meaningfully different dialogue responses.

If I have an issue with the game, it's that the world and characters are presented as very surface level.  The broader world has a three-pronged alignment system - Revolutionaries, Conservative candidate, and liberal candidate.  Understanding there'll be limitations when talking about an independent game, that broader story doesn't feel nuanced in any way.  The characters have more shades of personality, but it goes back to having that very basic alignment in those stories as well.  I enjoyed the characters plenty, but the world feels very strictly defined in a way that doesn't benefit a more touchy subject they're navigating in the storytelling.

That said, I did enjoy the experience.  I caught it on sale so it was the right price for me. 

7/10.

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Re: Backlaugust 2023! (Forums Aren't Dead Yet?) Edition
« Reply #24 on: August 06, 2023, 01:36:23 PM »


I wrapped up completion of Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes on Switch yesterday.
I had previously played the game upon release and without trying too hard had about half of the collectibles. Since then there was some DLC released so I was ready to jump back in and 100% the game.
As you can see from the photo above there are five different things to find in the levels. There are also t-shirts to buy (I did end up buying all of them), though there is an option to unlock all of them for free. Also you can find Jeanne (Travis' cat) in each level, which gives you a skill chip. The time shown includes both playthroughs, but only about 15.5 hours was spent on this replay.

For those unaware, this is essentially a No More Heroes 2.5, which plays as a demake version of the mainline games. It mixes typical NMH action levels with some visual novel episodes that use vector graphics. The game is very stylish and well written as you might expect from Suda 51, but especially psychedelic at parts (see picture below. As for the DLC you end up with new playable character(s). I replayed with Shinobu, though they all have character specific skills. The DLC also gives you a new level and episode. The game is great and worth going back to for completion.