Messages

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: May 01, 2026, 07:12:46 AM »

It looks like the Four on Four has officially come to an end, but feel free to continue posting about games played in April. I was able to play six games across six different devices:

• Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche - Switch
• Gunright - ZX Spectrum/Xbox One
• Alien Crush - TurboGrafx 16
• Chicken Wiggle - 3DS
• Tron: Evolution - PlayStation 3
• Mario Clash - Virtual Boy/Switch 2

Maybe I can get 7 on 7 next year 

I want to thank broodwars and Evan_B for joining the fun!

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 30, 2026, 04:42:47 PM »

Over the weekend I was able to beat all 99 levels of Mario Clash which I was playing on Switch 2 as part of the Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics app. First off, a hot take, the Virtual Boy is not really virtual reality, it's just 3D. You can't change your perspective or interact with objects the way you can in VR. As for the game, it is a nice 3D version of Mario Bros. (the not super one), which is a game I really like. When playing this I wondered why I never tried to get to the end in the Arcade Archives version of Mario Bros  .  Anyway, I heard there were only 99 levels so I aimed to see them all. Most are really quick but a few of them took quit a while and I don't think I would be able to beat this without save states. I did only use save states between levels and I did not use rewind. When the score hits a milestone you get cool little graphic like the one shown below. The Princess/Fantastic one is the highest I got as my final score was 640,950. Turns out if you get to 1,000,000 you get a message indicated you have beat the game. If I ever replay this I will chase that score, but marking the game as beat for now.

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 24, 2026, 01:31:03 PM »

This week I beat Tron: Evolution on PlayStation 3. This was my first PS3 game making use of the Move controllers. While I have those from PSVR I did need to pick up a PlayStation Eye camera to make them compatible. These are pretty cheap online, even brand new. The game also includes stereoscopic 3D support which is decent for games from that platform. Not knowing much about the game, I was expecting to be throwing discs with my move controllers, but the motion controls are only for steering the light cycle (same as the Wii version). The game is mostly a beat 'em up with some 3D platforming connecting the battles. The story was decent and serves as a prequel to the second film. I was surprised to see Bruce Boxleitner and Olivia Wilde reprising their roles in the voice acting. The game only takes about 5-10 hours to beat, though without the online trophies the Platinum is no longer available.

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 24, 2026, 01:09:40 PM »

I've rolled credits on Astral Chain.

That final boss is fucking awful.

I mean...really? It has high health, high damage, high combo ability, the ability to teleport at will, and the ability to split into multiple copies & attack you from behind WHILE teleporting? Like the entire 2nd half of the game, it's just not fun to play.

Oh, and you have a heavy dose of the game's awful platforming before you even fight it.

It doesn't even look cool to fight, as it just looks like every other copied & pasted humanoid chimera in the game.

Good riddance to this game. Yes, I know there's a bunch of sidequests you can do in the epilogue post-game chapter. I don't care.

I was really hoping you were going to like Astral Chain. I don't remember the final boss being such a pain. I still have some of those epilogue quests to take care of.

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 17, 2026, 01:39:59 PM »

I hit an end to my time with Chicken Wiggle on 3DS. I was playing this via the atooi collection from Limited Run. As is well documented online, there is a game breaking bug on the second to last level (8-5). It prevents players from accessing the last two levels. I did 100% complete all levels before this. With no official patch and not wanting to mod my 3DS I am going to consider this completed.

I really enjoyed my time with this game (~5.5 hours). The controls are tight, the game looks great (especially the 3D  ), and the level design was strong. I sharing features are no longer available and I did not try using the level creation tool. It was nice to get back into using my 3DS. I had not played it since I wrapped up Etrian Odyssey last year. I am not a little more motivated to tackle that part of my backlog.

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 17, 2026, 01:04:31 PM »

Completed my time with the Switch version of Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair, getting all the Coins, Tonics, and Bees you can get without clearing the lair hit-less.

That sounds like the level of completion I had. What do you get for clearing the impossible lair without getting hit?

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TalkBack / Re: Mario Galaxy Movie Has Nice Second Weekend, Takes In US$69m

« on: April 14, 2026, 03:33:44 PM »

I think economic conditions are also affecting these results. While it may not match the earnings from the first film it should be plenty profitable.

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 14, 2026, 03:31:19 PM »

Over the weekend I played Alien Crush on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini. A well known PC Engine exclusive, the game applies a sci-fi theme to pinball gameplay.  Controls here are quite simple with the d-pad and face buttons used as to control the flippers. The game has two speeds but I found the default fast setting to be manageable. As with real pinball machines, the level is too tall to fit on the screen so only half is shown at a time, but when the ball moves between halves the change in the screen is a little jarring. Otherwise the sound and graphics are a positive. I think I saw all of the bonus rooms and my high score was 4,749,000. Apparently there is an end screen when you hit 999,999,900 points which takes about 20-40 hours. If you have the mini console this is worth playing for a bit.

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 13, 2026, 08:12:34 PM »

Why do the costumes cost such an absurd amount? NO player will EVER buy them. Why would they when you could buy prayer beads, transcendence beads, or charms to make your camera stronger?

That always drops my rating of a game. In general, I think you should be able to buy everything in the game on a single 100% run.

The deed is done. Fatal Frame 2 Remake 100% completed.

The first and probably last time I will ever do that with a game in this series.

So did you buy all those costumes?

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TalkBack / Re: Rhythm Heaven Groove Releasing July 2

« on: April 09, 2026, 12:53:05 PM »

Is it me, or does the voice in the trailer sound like Monita from Nintendo Land?

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 07, 2026, 09:34:14 PM »

I completed Gunfright via Rare Replay on Xbox One. How many more of these ZX Spectrum games are there? Looks like just two more. This was the last one chronologically and is different enough from the others. This has the usual 5 stamps and 5 snapshots like the others and is easily wrapped up in a few hours if you are using save states, rewind, or infinite lives. Not using any of those would be quite frustrating as the shoot out part of this is really tough.

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 07, 2026, 09:26:15 PM »

My Switch game for the month (yes, I am going to be semantic about it)

I am going to try to boot up the old 3DS and sink some time into a smaller game

That is how you do 4 on 4! I am working on a Switch 2 follow up to my switch game. Also working on a 3DS game.

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 07, 2026, 09:22:56 PM »

I don't think I'm going to be able to fulfill the requirements of the scenario, but what the hell. Let's talk about the latest Fatal Frame 2 remake.

Playing this on PS5?

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General Gaming / Re: 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 03, 2026, 04:23:29 PM »

I rolled credits on Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche yesterday. I played the game on Switch. With the game originating as an April Fools joke it felt appropriate for this week. The real joke was just how short it is. In about 45 minutes I completed each of the three stages. I cannot seem to find any collectibles, achievements, or harder difficulty to prolong the game. I even replayed the first stage in that time looking for more to do. What is there is clever and the animation and writing are up to Way Forwards usual standards. I usually think games are too long but this is the rare occasion where I would have wanted more. If you can get it cheap and enjoy a novel shooter I would still recommend it.

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General Gaming / 6th Annual NWR Four on Four

« on: April 01, 2026, 06:30:20 PM »

Hey there forum fools! It's April and you know what that means...time to take those DVDs out of your PlayStation 2, gesture to your Xbox Kinect, find 6 AA batteries for your Game Gear, and put a game key card in your Switch 2. That's right, it's the fourth month of the year and this will be the 6th annual Four on Four community event!

The basic idea is to complete four games from four different systems during the month of April. This will encourage us to play more games as well as games on different systems. Feel free to modify the rules as you see fit. You could use the system the game was originally released on rather than the system you played it on. Maybe you just play four games on four different systems without beating them.

Just post the games you are playing and what system you are playing them on and have fun! I also like to report back when I beat or complete a game and have this temporarily take over as the "What is the last game you beat?" topic of the month.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« on: March 29, 2026, 10:25:41 PM »

On a side note, I find it hard to care about the new Fire Emblem. I bailed out on 3 Houses out of boredom with the monotonous out-of-battle routine of scouring the map for stuff on the ground, giving stuff to the students, micromanaging everything, etc. I never got around to Engage, though I should sometime soon since I'm trying to catch up on Switch stuff on Switch 2.

Engage has you spending more time in the battles so I think you will like it more than Three Houses.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Announces Changes To Pricing Of Switch 2 Games, Ends Price Parity

« on: March 25, 2026, 02:55:31 PM »

Still no preorders?

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TalkBack / Re: Indie World Presentation To Air March 3

« on: March 02, 2026, 09:53:19 AM »

Come on Stage Fright releasing in 2026!

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TalkBack / Re: Xenoblade Chronicles X Gets Surprise Switch 2 Edition Today

« on: February 20, 2026, 02:43:29 PM »

I was going to buy 2 and 3 but will hold off in hopes of switch 2 physical versions.

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TalkBack / Re: Capcom Brings Amiibo, Demos and more in Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase

« on: February 06, 2026, 04:45:38 PM »

I am interested in Pragmata but want to see how the reviews are before picking it up.

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TalkBack / Re: Other News From The February 5 Partner Showcase

« on: February 06, 2026, 01:20:00 PM »

HAMSTER Corporation announced the launch of the “Console Archives” series, which brings classic home console games to modern gaming platforms. The first two games in the series are available February 6th, 2026, on Nintendo Switch™ 2, and include Cool Boarders and Ninja Gaiden II.

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TalkBack / Re: Disney Afternoon Collection Finally Coming To Switch February 26 Alongside Switch 2 Version

« on: February 03, 2026, 09:12:30 AM »

I did pick this up on PS4 but would double dip for a switch 2 cartridge.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Updates Results For 2025-26 Fiscal Year Holiday Quarter, Switch 2 Outsells Wii U, Switc

« on: February 03, 2026, 09:10:29 AM »

Do we think Switch will surpass PS2?

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What will Nintendo release in 2026?

« on: January 25, 2026, 11:26:11 AM »

Super Mario Maker 3 with a new Super Mario Bros. Wonder level theme. This feels like the only way to justify why Meetup In Bellabel Park is such a clownshow with no new Worlds/Levels.

I have a good feeling about some kind of maker game. I initially though Mario Maker 3, then thought Switch 2 version of Mario Maker 2 with added style - like Wonder. Then I was thinking we might finally get a Zelda maker. Then I went back to my first instinct of Mario Maker 3. With the mouse controls this feels like a great fit for the system, and might be a game where I actually use them!

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Switch 2025 Year in Review (now with December!)

« on: January 15, 2026, 11:41:41 PM »

As you can probably guess, my main goal in the latter half of the year was to get to Xenoblade 3 by finally completing my 8 year odyssey to force myself through the (total piece of ****) Xenoblade 2.

I am now planning to get caught up with the series myself. I have only played X but just acquired the first game and might be caught up in 8 years or so.