A Key to the Arcade on the corner

Key · 10-26-2022, 09:32 PM

My Top 3 of 2022

2022 has certainly been an interesting year for gaming. There haven't been a large amount of standout games, though I would take back what I said about a lack of releases as there actually have been a lot. Though, I think I've really only played a few games that were released in 2022. Most of that is playing catch up with games that released years prior that I hadn't played yet, or simply...I just wanted to play another game for the 1000th time. Either way, that didn't stop me from having some really great experiences with gaming. Hell, I've had quite a few times this year where I was left nearly speechless with a game, in a good way. I'd like to talk about a few of those here:

#3: Despot's Game:
I did a piece on this already this month, but I wanted to reiterate my thoughts on this because when I look back to the games that I played this year, even though I got to it a little bit late and I was hesitant at first, I've ended up really enjoying my time with this game to an extent that it's become a regular play for me as of late. It's perfect for those times when you don't really know what else to play but it's also got the mechanics that I absolutely love. And with a killer soundtrack, the whole entire game blends together so well that it's hard not to give it positive feedback. I do recommend it very highly if you're looking for another great dungeon crawler / roguelike.

#2: Steel Rising:
It seems to be a trend lately that I've been enjoying the hell out of souls-like games ever since I played many many hours of Elden Ring, and it still held true with Steel Rising. While it did bring some of its own unique gimmicks to gameplay and the world building etc, I still feel like this was is a hidden gem that I don't think enough people appreciated. I think it certainly had a lot to do with the fact that people were a little burned out with souls-like given that Elden Ring took up a lot of people's time. Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves with Elden Ring so it's no surprise that people weren't necessarily quick to try another one so soon. But, I have certainly enjoyed my time with Steel Rising and still plan to finish it at some point.

#1: Elden Ring:
And of course, the behemoth itself, Elden Ring. I said this back when I talked about Elden Ring, and I'll say it again, this is my game of the year. Even with the games that I have played since Elden Ring, nothing has come quite close to achieving what that game did for me. I never really played a lot of souls-likes before this one. I mean I played the original Dark Souls for a few hours and the same with Sekiro, but I couldn't get past the difficulty wall. Couldn't figure out mechanics, etc etc. Elden Ring gave me and I'm sure others that opportunity to take time to understand how souls-like mechanics work and how people seem to keep themselves alive long enough to take down bosses. While also doing this, it also managed to capture my imagination immensely to the point where I felt like I was really adventuring across this land. The absolute beauty that this game brought with its world is something I have never seen in video games before it, maybe with a few exceptions. But Elden Ring is not only mechanically strong, but is an absolute joy to both play and look at. I still want to go back and do a third playthrough but I really want to let it sit for a while so that I can go in fresh and new. I have seen everything the game has to offer and I still feel the need to go back and experience more of it. I love this game and am happy it got received so well, from both veteran souls-like players and people like me that really wanted to play a souls-like but just couldn't quite grasp it. Everybody can feel included with this one. And man it is a great way to spend a weekend, I'll tell you what.

Well, I certainly would have never anticipated my game of the year and follow up to both be souls-likes, and of course I did anticipate that my 3rd choice would have been in the roguelike/dungeon crawler genre as I did play quite a few good ones this year. Still not too sure what I'm ranking as my #4 and #5 hence being a top 3 at the moment. However, it is nice to have experienced the games that I have this year because it has been a nice escape in a lot of ways. I love playing games and hope to never have to stop.

Key · 10-27-2022, 10:31 PM

Gunfire Reborn - First Impressions
Developed by: Duoyi Network

It's a roguelike. It's a first person shooter. It's got cool graphics and fun music. It's got guns. Elemental weapons, etc etc. Gunfire Reborn is exactly as I said, a roguelike first person shooter. There have been games before this one that have done this formula well, yet Gunfire Reborn still feels unique and its own and does a good job at what it's going for. I jumped in for the first time today since it just got released on Game Pass and I didn't expect to sit there for over an hour, but alas some of the best experiences with gaming happen that way. Those "before you know it, it's midnight" type nights. I can certainly see why people love this game, as I hadn't realized that it has been released a year ago now. Why I haven't played it yet, I don't know. However I am glad I did now because it's really really fun.

I've had two runs where I got to the final boss in the first floor of sorts, and while it does take a lot to take down the boss, it does definitely seem possible with nearly any weapon you go in with. Though it's recommended to use lightning based weapons due to its shield. Something for me to remember anyway. I play to do many more runs after this so maybe i'll start to get really good at taking down this boss, so that I can see what the game looks like after it as it is only the first floor of the game.

The difficulty certainly ramps up as you progress but you can get upgrades in your runs as well as after your run when you level up your character with permanent upgrades that go with you for every run afterwards. The feeling of progression is definitely there and it really works well in this setting.

I honestly have not seen much of the game yet given my short playtime but I really do feel like I'm going to put countless hours into it. The gameplay is just so smooth and fun that it's hard not to play a few runs before calling it a night. I call it the Dead Cells spell.

Anyway, this is a good one.

Key · 10-27-2022, 10:35 PM

And with that, I'm gonna call that a wrap and deem Video Game Month 2022 officially at its end. I wrote about nearly everything I wanted to write about and I'm honestly happy with how much I talked about certain things and that my thoughts carried over to words well enough for them to make sense.

see you in the next update, whenever that may be.

Key · 10-31-2022, 12:38 PM

Blasphemous
Developed by: The Game Kitchen
Published by: Team17

Blasphemous is great. Lemme get that right out of the way. For someone like me who absolutely loves the likes of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Blasphemous is a nice call back to those days where developers weren't afraid to add real difficulty into a game and often times do things that would be considered cheap tactics etc. But, that's always what I've loved about platformers of this caliber is that it's not always your fault for the death you just endured. Sometimes the game just feels like punishing you.

I'd also like to point out that up until recently, I had only played this game once before, and very little of it. And by very little I mean I beat the first boss and never felt the urge to continue. That was back on the PS4. I found out a few days ago that this was very dirt cheap on the Xbox store, so I decided to pick it up. And with only a few hours under my belt, I had successfully beaten the first boss as well as getting further than I had ever gotten before. And I finally got to see the game open up more than what it showed in the first hour or so. The game is excellent in terms of its progression and throwbacks to games of old where filling in the map is part of the experience. I've seen many different tactics that the developers will throw at you that feel like cheap deaths, and sometimes they are. But you learn to progress and overcome those moments, and nothing feels better than taking on enemies over and over only to finally have that one moment where you take on more than you expected to get to new areas on the map. I felt the feeling of satisfaction each time I got into a new area. It's exactly how it felt back in the Castlevania days when you finally get that upgrade you need in order to fill in the map more. It's little things like that that make these games worth going back to over and over again. Finding secrets, defeating tough bosses, it's all there.

As far as style points go, Blasphemous absolutely nails the old school metroidvania / castlevania feel from the way you move around with platforming all the way to how it feels to attack your enemies. It all feels good, and still fresh despite this style of game being around for a long time.

I'm sure hearing that this game is on the difficult side will turn people away from it, but that's one of its biggest strengths imo. It's nice to have a challenging platformer because it makes traversing the world that much more satisfying when you get past a room or a selection of rooms that seem impossible at first. Parrying comes in hands many times and once you figure out how to parry everything, you'll want to do it for every monster you come into contact with. It allows you to perform a sort of final blow if you attack them enough times which can either involve you crushing them under their own shield or whatever. It's satisfying each time, and sometimes you may not parry at the right time. But you learn to overcome it.

If you love metroidvanias and are looking for one on the more difficult side, pick this up. I'm about 20% of the way through and am having an absolute blast.

The Batlord · 10-31-2022, 03:15 PM

I've played a bit bit of Blasphemous and I am not looking forward to buying a new controller after my first one walks into a door knob.

Key · 10-31-2022, 09:12 PM

It's definitely tougher than it looks but oh so satisfying when you progress. I hope to beat it in its entirety but I'm moving towards the 2nd boss and have no clue how tough he is yet so we'll see. I'm enjoying it despite getting frustrated. Elden Ring spoiled me so but now i know how to just say "ok 1 more shot" much easier and calmer.

Key · 11-01-2022, 09:23 PM

Welcome to November or in other words...

November 64

That's right, coming right out of doing Video Game Month for October, I've long had the idea to do a theme month revolving solely around Nintendo 64 games and more specifically keeping it to the ones I have played myself. And while I do still have opinions about the ones I haven't played (thanks to lets plays etc), I want to try to keep this contained to the ones I have played, but who knows, I'm known to break a rule or two.

The Nintendo 64 is full of many goodies and stories and I'm excited to jump into this. First November 64 update coming soon. This will be structured pretty much the same way as Video Game Month where I'm not holding myself to a pretty strict schedule or standard. Just talking about games I love.

Key · 11-01-2022, 09:24 PM

Index for November 64

Introduction - Nov. 1st 2022
Super Mario 64 - Nov 1st 2022
My Favorite Levels in Super Mario 64 - Nov 2nd 2022
Some Of My Favorite Musical Moments in Super Mario 64 - Nov 2nd 2022
Banjo-Kazooie - Nov 3rd 2022
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nov 4th 2022
My Favorite Ocarina Songs From The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nov 4th 2022
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil is a great game - Nov 4th 2022
Glover - Nov 5th 2022
My Favorite Level in Banjo-Kazooie - Nov 6th 2022
My Favorite Music in Banjo-Kazooie - Nov 6th 2022
Chameleon Twist - Nov 7th 2022
Banjo-Tooie: My Favorite Game on the Nintendo 64 - Nov 7th 2022
Memories of the Nintendo 64 - Multiplayer - Nov 9th 2022
Diddy Kong Racing - Nov 10th 2022
My Favorite Track in Diddy Kong Racing - Nov 10th 2022
The Nintendo 64 Controller - Nov 11th 2022
The Nintendo 64 and it's massive library of games - Nov 12th 2022
Banjo-Kazooie Promotional VHS Tape - Nov 12th 2022
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - Nov 13th 2022
Grunty's Furnace Fun from Banjo-Kazooie - Nov 14th 2022
My Favorite Characters That Appeared In Games On The Nintendo 64 - Nov 15th 2022
Yoshi's Story - Nov 16th 2022
Some More Musical Tracks From Various Nintendo 64 Games - Nov 17th 2022
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Nov 18th 2022
Star Wars Episode I: Racer - Nov 19th 2022
WWF: No Mercy (pt.1) - Nov 21st 2022
WWF: No Mercy (pt.2) - Nov 21st 2022
Goldeneye 007 - Nov 23rd 2022
And Even More Musical Tracks From Nintendo 64 Games - Nov 23rd 2022
Mario Kart 64 - Nov 24th 2022
In Conclusion - Nov 25th 2022

Key · 11-01-2022, 09:37 PM

Super Mario 64

Because this game gets constantly speedrun, I feel like it's the perfect way to kick off November 64, what with talking about possibly the greatest 3D platformer ever made. And while it was great, even groundbreaking for its time, I would like to say it still holds up and simultaneously still brings joy to whomever plays it. It's one of those games that you like to look back on and be like "yeah, I remember that" and subsequently leads to the enormous amount of nostalgia there is to be had about Super Mario 64.

You've got stellar platforming, great enemies, great level design, great bowser fights, just great everything. Mario can move all over the place, he can slide, he can flip, he can swim, he can do it all. Obviously I don't remember exactly how my first experience of this game actually was given that I probably played it for the first time maybe 20+ years ago? I don't know. Feels like it. But anyway, I'm confident that my first experience was great. Seeing a 3D platformer as fleshed out as this one is even at a young age would have certainly been mind blowing. I do remember getting frustrated with it at times, as well as my brothers also getting frustrated at it because not only was the game great, it was also tough. You had some tough platforming that you had to get through to traverse some levels, and sometimes that meant figuring out the timing for a side flip or figuring out when to start doing your triple jump. It's all precise and carefully calculated that no matter what you do in the game, you feel cool doing it because the game responds well to creativity. If you want Mario to flip all the time, have him flip all the time. Want to do a run where you don't flip at all? Sure. Don't know how hard that'd be but I'm sure you could figure it out.

And that's not even touching one of the best parts of the game: the powerups. As is a staple in any Super Mario game is that you have to have powerups. And Super Mario 64 is perhaps one of if not the true shining example of putting in great powerups. You've got flight, you've got invisibility, you can run through walls, run through toxic clouds. And it of course all works so well together with the level design as would be a shining example of the care that the developers took when making this game.

Granted they are also vague, I do remember this as a great time of gaming for me personally because I didn't grow up with the Playstation or Sega, it was the Nintendo 64 for me. And this was during a time when not only did I experience Super Mario 64, but many other staples in gaming that I will surely talk about in the coming days. But for now, let's continue onwards talking about Super Mario 64.

Aside from all the things I have already talked about, I want to focus solely on the final Bowser fight for a little bit because I still to this day think it's one of the best examples of what the level prior to a boss fight should be like then how the boss fight should be once you get to it. And I remember many times getting really frustrated with this final fight because once you've get him 2/3 of the way down, the stage changes before your eyes and it makes getting that final blow that much tougher. But oh so satisfying once you do it and collect your star and see Mario just jump into the air like a badass.

It really is a great game and like I said, has held up quite well with it being released when it was. People still play the **** out of it and I've been planning to do a full playthrough of it again once I get the motivation to do so. I also plan to do it on original hardware so I just gotta find a copy and off we go!

I'm sure this is no surprise for anybody to see Super Mario 64 get nothing but praise because it's pretty well known and seen as a staple in gaming for a lot of people, myself included.

Key · 11-02-2022, 09:25 PM

My Favorite Level(s) in Super Mario 64

As far as I'm concerned, all of the levels in Super Mario 64 are great if not really great, however there are still a couple that tend to standout more than others, at least for me. And I want to talk about them:

Bob-omb Battlefield:
Of course, how could you start a list like this without mentioning the first world you jump into - Bob-omb Battlefield. It's got everything to a great song, to great moments to learn the basics of what you will be doing throughout the game, and a lot of really fun platforming sections that makes it an absolute blast to go through upon starting the game. I also think it's the perfect way to get a good lift on what the rest of the game will be like. I have always enjoyed this level as being a staple in Mario games altogether and I still think it's one of those levels where you look back and think "yeah, good times." It's certainly one of my favorites because of the boss fight against the king Bob-omb themself. It's not the most difficult fight in the world but it does give you an idea of how to take on bosses later in the game. I can hear the music playing in my head as I type this which should be a good indicator of how powerful the soundtrack is in this game, but that's another topic for another time.

Hazy Maze Cave:
I have always remembered this level as being the level that finally gives you access to the metal cap which along with the level itself having a great soundtrack, the song for the powerup is absolutely perfect for what the power is, and it just makes you feel like an absolute badass. Level design is top notch despite the red coin star being a total headache at times, but it's still fun to do all the same. Going down into the big cave of water where you find Nessie, a big blue dragon-like creature that when you slam on its head, it will give you access to another star, at least from what I remember anyway. I've always enjoyed this level not just for the theme, but for how it ramps up the difficulty. You start to really see what this game can offer in terms of difficult when you get to this part of the game, along with Lethal Lava Land and Shifting Sand Land. Hell, that entire bottom floor is full of levels that may or may not make you rip your hair out, but fun all the same. Hazy Maze Cave for me is the best of the 3 though I wouldn't be surprised if the others were other peoples favorites for various reasons.

Tick Tock Clock
Moving on from the basement to the upper floors, you've got levels like Rainbow Ride and Tiny, Huge Island but the level that really takes the cake for me is Tick Tock Clock. There's something fascinating about not only jumping into the world at a certain time to find that it does have an effect on the level itself, but the other fact that it's simply a clock that you're trying to traverse, and god damn I remember falling from the highest point in this level only to find myself getting frustrated, though coming back to it later to then finally get that star at the top. It's certainly not the most difficult level in the game, hell I don't even really know which level that would be. But comparatively, this level is difficult. But once you beat it, you never have to go back in again. At least until you start another file and relive it again and again and again.

All those aside though, there is still one level that I consider to be my all time favorite and I mentioned it in the post prior to this - Bowser In The Sky. The combination of the difficulty of this level as well as the final fight with Bowser at the end is, like I said, a really good combination of levels as well as a really good payoff when you finally beat Bowser for the 3rd and final time. I also really like the music in the boss fight though the music in the level itself is one we've heard before, which doesn't make it any less amazing. But the actual boss fight music is some of the best Mario music out there, for sure. I can still visualize this fight in my head from the second you get into the fight to the final scene at the end of it all. I reiterate that it really is one of those levels that is memorable for so many different reasons. And to have pulled it off on the Nintendo 64 is truly remarkable. There have been some really great boss fights in Mario games after this one, but I still don't think any of them have topped this one in particular. It truly feels like everything is on the line when you fight Bowser in this one, and the feeling of potentially losing it all (not really losing it all) if you lose is honestly terrifying. But it fuels your want to beat him more and more to finally get to that end credits scene when everything goes back to normal. At least until Peach gets captured again, which she inevitably will.

10-26-2022, 09:32 PM	#201 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	My Top 3 of 2022 - Video Game Month 2022 - Oct 26th 2022 My Top 3 of 2022 2022 has certainly been an interesting year for gaming. There haven't been a large amount of standout games, though I would take back what I said about a lack of releases as there actually have been a lot. Though, I think I've really only played a few games that were released in 2022. Most of that is playing catch up with games that released years prior that I hadn't played yet, or simply...I just wanted to play another game for the 1000th time. Either way, that didn't stop me from having some really great experiences with gaming. Hell, I've had quite a few times this year where I was left nearly speechless with a game, in a good way. I'd like to talk about a few of those here: #3: Despot's Game: I did a piece on this already this month, but I wanted to reiterate my thoughts on this because when I look back to the games that I played this year, even though I got to it a little bit late and I was hesitant at first, I've ended up really enjoying my time with this game to an extent that it's become a regular play for me as of late. It's perfect for those times when you don't really know what else to play but it's also got the mechanics that I absolutely love. And with a killer soundtrack, the whole entire game blends together so well that it's hard not to give it positive feedback. I do recommend it very highly if you're looking for another great dungeon crawler / roguelike. #2: Steel Rising: It seems to be a trend lately that I've been enjoying the hell out of souls-like games ever since I played many many hours of Elden Ring, and it still held true with Steel Rising. While it did bring some of its own unique gimmicks to gameplay and the world building etc, I still feel like this was is a hidden gem that I don't think enough people appreciated. I think it certainly had a lot to do with the fact that people were a little burned out with souls-like given that Elden Ring took up a lot of people's time. Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves with Elden Ring so it's no surprise that people weren't necessarily quick to try another one so soon. But, I have certainly enjoyed my time with Steel Rising and still plan to finish it at some point. #1: Elden Ring: And of course, the behemoth itself, Elden Ring. I said this back when I talked about Elden Ring, and I'll say it again, this is my game of the year. Even with the games that I have played since Elden Ring, nothing has come quite close to achieving what that game did for me. I never really played a lot of souls-likes before this one. I mean I played the original Dark Souls for a few hours and the same with Sekiro, but I couldn't get past the difficulty wall. Couldn't figure out mechanics, etc etc. Elden Ring gave me and I'm sure others that opportunity to take time to understand how souls-like mechanics work and how people seem to keep themselves alive long enough to take down bosses. While also doing this, it also managed to capture my imagination immensely to the point where I felt like I was really adventuring across this land. The absolute beauty that this game brought with its world is something I have never seen in video games before it, maybe with a few exceptions. But Elden Ring is not only mechanically strong, but is an absolute joy to both play and look at. I still want to go back and do a third playthrough but I really want to let it sit for a while so that I can go in fresh and new. I have seen everything the game has to offer and I still feel the need to go back and experience more of it. I love this game and am happy it got received so well, from both veteran souls-like players and people like me that really wanted to play a souls-like but just couldn't quite grasp it. Everybody can feel included with this one. And man it is a great way to spend a weekend, I'll tell you what. Well, I certainly would have never anticipated my game of the year and follow up to both be souls-likes, and of course I did anticipate that my 3rd choice would have been in the roguelike/dungeon crawler genre as I did play quite a few good ones this year. Still not too sure what I'm ranking as my #4 and #5 hence being a top 3 at the moment. However, it is nice to have experienced the games that I have this year because it has been a nice escape in a lot of ways. I love playing games and hope to never have to stop.

10-27-2022, 10:31 PM	#202 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Gunfire Reborn: First Impressions - Video Game Month 2022 - Oct 27th 2022 Gunfire Reborn - First Impressions Developed by: Duoyi Network It's a roguelike. It's a first person shooter. It's got cool graphics and fun music. It's got guns. Elemental weapons, etc etc. Gunfire Reborn is exactly as I said, a roguelike first person shooter. There have been games before this one that have done this formula well, yet Gunfire Reborn still feels unique and its own and does a good job at what it's going for. I jumped in for the first time today since it just got released on Game Pass and I didn't expect to sit there for over an hour, but alas some of the best experiences with gaming happen that way. Those "before you know it, it's midnight" type nights. I can certainly see why people love this game, as I hadn't realized that it has been released a year ago now. Why I haven't played it yet, I don't know. However I am glad I did now because it's really really fun. I've had two runs where I got to the final boss in the first floor of sorts, and while it does take a lot to take down the boss, it does definitely seem possible with nearly any weapon you go in with. Though it's recommended to use lightning based weapons due to its shield. Something for me to remember anyway. I play to do many more runs after this so maybe i'll start to get really good at taking down this boss, so that I can see what the game looks like after it as it is only the first floor of the game. The difficulty certainly ramps up as you progress but you can get upgrades in your runs as well as after your run when you level up your character with permanent upgrades that go with you for every run afterwards. The feeling of progression is definitely there and it really works well in this setting. I honestly have not seen much of the game yet given my short playtime but I really do feel like I'm going to put countless hours into it. The gameplay is just so smooth and fun that it's hard not to play a few runs before calling it a night. I call it the Dead Cells spell. Anyway, this is a good one.

10-31-2022, 12:38 PM	#204 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Blasphemous Developed by: The Game Kitchen Published by: Team17 Blasphemous is great. Lemme get that right out of the way. For someone like me who absolutely loves the likes of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Blasphemous is a nice call back to those days where developers weren't afraid to add real difficulty into a game and often times do things that would be considered cheap tactics etc. But, that's always what I've loved about platformers of this caliber is that it's not always your fault for the death you just endured. Sometimes the game just feels like punishing you. I'd also like to point out that up until recently, I had only played this game once before, and very little of it. And by very little I mean I beat the first boss and never felt the urge to continue. That was back on the PS4. I found out a few days ago that this was very dirt cheap on the Xbox store, so I decided to pick it up. And with only a few hours under my belt, I had successfully beaten the first boss as well as getting further than I had ever gotten before. And I finally got to see the game open up more than what it showed in the first hour or so. The game is excellent in terms of its progression and throwbacks to games of old where filling in the map is part of the experience. I've seen many different tactics that the developers will throw at you that feel like cheap deaths, and sometimes they are. But you learn to progress and overcome those moments, and nothing feels better than taking on enemies over and over only to finally have that one moment where you take on more than you expected to get to new areas on the map. I felt the feeling of satisfaction each time I got into a new area. It's exactly how it felt back in the Castlevania days when you finally get that upgrade you need in order to fill in the map more. It's little things like that that make these games worth going back to over and over again. Finding secrets, defeating tough bosses, it's all there. As far as style points go, Blasphemous absolutely nails the old school metroidvania / castlevania feel from the way you move around with platforming all the way to how it feels to attack your enemies. It all feels good, and still fresh despite this style of game being around for a long time. I'm sure hearing that this game is on the difficult side will turn people away from it, but that's one of its biggest strengths imo. It's nice to have a challenging platformer because it makes traversing the world that much more satisfying when you get past a room or a selection of rooms that seem impossible at first. Parrying comes in hands many times and once you figure out how to parry everything, you'll want to do it for every monster you come into contact with. It allows you to perform a sort of final blow if you attack them enough times which can either involve you crushing them under their own shield or whatever. It's satisfying each time, and sometimes you may not parry at the right time. But you learn to overcome it. If you love metroidvanias and are looking for one on the more difficult side, pick this up. I'm about 20% of the way through and am having an absolute blast. Last edited by Key; 10-31-2022 at 09:18 PM.

11-01-2022, 09:23 PM	#207 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Introduction - November 64 - Nov. 1st 2022 Welcome to November or in other words... November 64 That's right, coming right out of doing Video Game Month for October, I've long had the idea to do a theme month revolving solely around Nintendo 64 games and more specifically keeping it to the ones I have played myself. And while I do still have opinions about the ones I haven't played (thanks to lets plays etc), I want to try to keep this contained to the ones I have played, but who knows, I'm known to break a rule or two. The Nintendo 64 is full of many goodies and stories and I'm excited to jump into this. First November 64 update coming soon. This will be structured pretty much the same way as Video Game Month where I'm not holding myself to a pretty strict schedule or standard. Just talking about games I love.

11-01-2022, 09:24 PM	#208 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Index - November 64 - Nov. 1st 2022 Index for November 64 Introduction - Nov. 1st 2022 Super Mario 64 - Nov 1st 2022 My Favorite Levels in Super Mario 64 - Nov 2nd 2022 Some Of My Favorite Musical Moments in Super Mario 64 - Nov 2nd 2022 Banjo-Kazooie - Nov 3rd 2022 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nov 4th 2022 My Favorite Ocarina Songs From The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nov 4th 2022 Turok 2: Seeds of Evil is a great game - Nov 4th 2022 Glover - Nov 5th 2022 My Favorite Level in Banjo-Kazooie - Nov 6th 2022 My Favorite Music in Banjo-Kazooie - Nov 6th 2022 Chameleon Twist - Nov 7th 2022 Banjo-Tooie: My Favorite Game on the Nintendo 64 - Nov 7th 2022 Memories of the Nintendo 64 - Multiplayer - Nov 9th 2022 Diddy Kong Racing - Nov 10th 2022 My Favorite Track in Diddy Kong Racing - Nov 10th 2022 The Nintendo 64 Controller - Nov 11th 2022 The Nintendo 64 and it's massive library of games - Nov 12th 2022 Banjo-Kazooie Promotional VHS Tape - Nov 12th 2022 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - Nov 13th 2022 Grunty's Furnace Fun from Banjo-Kazooie - Nov 14th 2022 My Favorite Characters That Appeared In Games On The Nintendo 64 - Nov 15th 2022 Yoshi's Story - Nov 16th 2022 Some More Musical Tracks From Various Nintendo 64 Games - Nov 17th 2022 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Nov 18th 2022 Star Wars Episode I: Racer - Nov 19th 2022 WWF: No Mercy (pt.1) - Nov 21st 2022 WWF: No Mercy (pt.2) - Nov 21st 2022 Goldeneye 007 - Nov 23rd 2022 And Even More Musical Tracks From Nintendo 64 Games - Nov 23rd 2022 Mario Kart 64 - Nov 24th 2022 In Conclusion - Nov 25th 2022 Last edited by Key; 11-25-2022 at 07:46 PM.

10-27-2022, 10:35 PM	#203 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	And with that, I'm gonna call that a wrap and deem Video Game Month 2022 officially at its end. I wrote about nearly everything I wanted to write about and I'm honestly happy with how much I talked about certain things and that my thoughts carried over to words well enough for them to make sense. see you in the next update, whenever that may be.

10-31-2022, 09:12 PM	#206 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	It's definitely tougher than it looks but oh so satisfying when you progress. I hope to beat it in its entirety but I'm moving towards the 2nd boss and have no clue how tough he is yet so we'll see. I'm enjoying it despite getting frustrated. Elden Ring spoiled me so but now i know how to just say "ok 1 more shot" much easier and calmer.

11-01-2022, 09:37 PM	#209 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Super Mario 64 - November 64 - Nov. 1st 2022 Super Mario 64 Because this game gets constantly speedrun, I feel like it's the perfect way to kick off November 64, what with talking about possibly the greatest 3D platformer ever made. And while it was great, even groundbreaking for its time, I would like to say it still holds up and simultaneously still brings joy to whomever plays it. It's one of those games that you like to look back on and be like "yeah, I remember that" and subsequently leads to the enormous amount of nostalgia there is to be had about Super Mario 64. You've got stellar platforming, great enemies, great level design, great bowser fights, just great everything. Mario can move all over the place, he can slide, he can flip, he can swim, he can do it all. Obviously I don't remember exactly how my first experience of this game actually was given that I probably played it for the first time maybe 20+ years ago? I don't know. Feels like it. But anyway, I'm confident that my first experience was great. Seeing a 3D platformer as fleshed out as this one is even at a young age would have certainly been mind blowing. I do remember getting frustrated with it at times, as well as my brothers also getting frustrated at it because not only was the game great, it was also tough. You had some tough platforming that you had to get through to traverse some levels, and sometimes that meant figuring out the timing for a side flip or figuring out when to start doing your triple jump. It's all precise and carefully calculated that no matter what you do in the game, you feel cool doing it because the game responds well to creativity. If you want Mario to flip all the time, have him flip all the time. Want to do a run where you don't flip at all? Sure. Don't know how hard that'd be but I'm sure you could figure it out. And that's not even touching one of the best parts of the game: the powerups. As is a staple in any Super Mario game is that you have to have powerups. And Super Mario 64 is perhaps one of if not the true shining example of putting in great powerups. You've got flight, you've got invisibility, you can run through walls, run through toxic clouds. And it of course all works so well together with the level design as would be a shining example of the care that the developers took when making this game. Granted they are also vague, I do remember this as a great time of gaming for me personally because I didn't grow up with the Playstation or Sega, it was the Nintendo 64 for me. And this was during a time when not only did I experience Super Mario 64, but many other staples in gaming that I will surely talk about in the coming days. But for now, let's continue onwards talking about Super Mario 64. Aside from all the things I have already talked about, I want to focus solely on the final Bowser fight for a little bit because I still to this day think it's one of the best examples of what the level prior to a boss fight should be like then how the boss fight should be once you get to it. And I remember many times getting really frustrated with this final fight because once you've get him 2/3 of the way down, the stage changes before your eyes and it makes getting that final blow that much tougher. But oh so satisfying once you do it and collect your star and see Mario just jump into the air like a badass. It really is a great game and like I said, has held up quite well with it being released when it was. People still play the **** out of it and I've been planning to do a full playthrough of it again once I get the motivation to do so. I also plan to do it on original hardware so I just gotta find a copy and off we go! I'm sure this is no surprise for anybody to see Super Mario 64 get nothing but praise because it's pretty well known and seen as a staple in gaming for a lot of people, myself included.

11-02-2022, 09:25 PM	#210 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	My Favorite Levels in Super Mario 64 - November 64 - Nov. 2nd 2022 My Favorite Level(s) in Super Mario 64 As far as I'm concerned, all of the levels in Super Mario 64 are great if not really great, however there are still a couple that tend to standout more than others, at least for me. And I want to talk about them: Bob-omb Battlefield: Of course, how could you start a list like this without mentioning the first world you jump into - Bob-omb Battlefield. It's got everything to a great song, to great moments to learn the basics of what you will be doing throughout the game, and a lot of really fun platforming sections that makes it an absolute blast to go through upon starting the game. I also think it's the perfect way to get a good lift on what the rest of the game will be like. I have always enjoyed this level as being a staple in Mario games altogether and I still think it's one of those levels where you look back and think "yeah, good times." It's certainly one of my favorites because of the boss fight against the king Bob-omb themself. It's not the most difficult fight in the world but it does give you an idea of how to take on bosses later in the game. I can hear the music playing in my head as I type this which should be a good indicator of how powerful the soundtrack is in this game, but that's another topic for another time. Hazy Maze Cave: I have always remembered this level as being the level that finally gives you access to the metal cap which along with the level itself having a great soundtrack, the song for the powerup is absolutely perfect for what the power is, and it just makes you feel like an absolute badass. Level design is top notch despite the red coin star being a total headache at times, but it's still fun to do all the same. Going down into the big cave of water where you find Nessie, a big blue dragon-like creature that when you slam on its head, it will give you access to another star, at least from what I remember anyway. I've always enjoyed this level not just for the theme, but for how it ramps up the difficulty. You start to really see what this game can offer in terms of difficult when you get to this part of the game, along with Lethal Lava Land and Shifting Sand Land. Hell, that entire bottom floor is full of levels that may or may not make you rip your hair out, but fun all the same. Hazy Maze Cave for me is the best of the 3 though I wouldn't be surprised if the others were other peoples favorites for various reasons. Tick Tock Clock Moving on from the basement to the upper floors, you've got levels like Rainbow Ride and Tiny, Huge Island but the level that really takes the cake for me is Tick Tock Clock. There's something fascinating about not only jumping into the world at a certain time to find that it does have an effect on the level itself, but the other fact that it's simply a clock that you're trying to traverse, and god damn I remember falling from the highest point in this level only to find myself getting frustrated, though coming back to it later to then finally get that star at the top. It's certainly not the most difficult level in the game, hell I don't even really know which level that would be. But comparatively, this level is difficult. But once you beat it, you never have to go back in again. At least until you start another file and relive it again and again and again. All those aside though, there is still one level that I consider to be my all time favorite and I mentioned it in the post prior to this - Bowser In The Sky. The combination of the difficulty of this level as well as the final fight with Bowser at the end is, like I said, a really good combination of levels as well as a really good payoff when you finally beat Bowser for the 3rd and final time. I also really like the music in the boss fight though the music in the level itself is one we've heard before, which doesn't make it any less amazing. But the actual boss fight music is some of the best Mario music out there, for sure. I can still visualize this fight in my head from the second you get into the fight to the final scene at the end of it all. I reiterate that it really is one of those levels that is memorable for so many different reasons. And to have pulled it off on the Nintendo 64 is truly remarkable. There have been some really great boss fights in Mario games after this one, but I still don't think any of them have topped this one in particular. It truly feels like everything is on the line when you fight Bowser in this one, and the feeling of potentially losing it all (not really losing it all) if you lose is honestly terrifying. But it fuels your want to beat him more and more to finally get to that end credits scene when everything goes back to normal. At least until Peach gets captured again, which she inevitably will.