Vic Boss

At the insistence of a friend, I started playing Fallout New Vegas on PS3. Trophy hunting of course. I'm slowly getting into the setting (post apocalyptic + silly are not my favorite things) but only playing it on very easy because the combat system kinda sucks (and the increase in damage helps trophy farming).

My dad watches the Jays so I heard about it most of the year that they were turning it around. We'd watch the games during NASCAR commercials so I kinda hopped on the bandwagon late in the season. Was a fun ride because of how weird the characters were on the team. I missed both of the Yamamoto starts, that guy was just a monster.

Yeah. There's really nothing like it. It can be super violent, super messed up and then literally minutes later super chill and super comfy. It can be funny as fuck at any moment and then lights you up with a great plot twist. Bear CGI was awful though.

I blame Don Mattingly

Did'em last year but whatevs 0) Metroid Prime 4 Beyond (100%ed) It was fine for what it was but undercooked. The free-roam map needed more in it. Another area or two would've felt "full." I wasn't a big fan of the supporting characters, pretty bland tropes, but kinda recognize that Prime has the modern-gaming problem that you need to deliver a story somehow because people don't read the scans (Heck, people didn't read the scans back when Prime 1 was new). The psychic powers were cool, the Akira bike was cool, combat and exploration were still solid. I think the Prime series in general also has this problem where people only remember Prime 1 and forget that Prime 2 was kinda clunky with the light/dark mechanics and Prime 3 had similar "modern shooter" things held against it and think all of them were great. Prime 4 is another good but sorta-flawed sequel to a game none of them can live up to anyways. 0) NASCAR 25 (Platinum) Hell yeah, buddy. The new series pared back how complex shit was getting in the previous games and just gave you the ability to drive casually and easily if you wanted to. If I had more time I'd play it more regularly. 0) Terminator 2D No Fate (Platinum) 2D Contra + Terminator = good time. Wouldn't have platinumed if not for the cheat codes though. Also kinda funny how little Arnold is in it (they got everyone else's likeness but his so the T-800 has very limited screentime). The future levels were the funnest but some of the other levels were pretty creative.

GOLDEN KAMUY

For anime series and movies that haven't been released in the current season. I'm gonna clear out some of the movies and things that I've gotten behind on while the quarantine is making things difficult for regular anime seasons Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva was a really well-animated movie, pretty perfectly captured the feeling of the games. One sequence felt a little off Also this guy being voiced by Hochu Otsuka was great

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Gold Medal, 64:07 😎) 1a) Doom (1993) 2) Donkey Kong Country Returns Remastered (200%, All Kong Letters, Puzzle Pieces and Mirror Mode Levels Complete) 3) Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (100%, All Figurines) Now I remember why I didn't try to 200% it. A few really cool levels and the Mine Cart and Rocket Blast levels were more creative (tbh thought giving the Rocket Barrel two hearts was a bit of a cop-out). Water levels weren't all that great and I didn't think the additions of Dixie and Cranky added all that much to the game beyond the water levels and a few secrets they were needed for. Bosses took way too many hits, and Hard Mode denying you save points while forcing you to collect all the Kong Letters without being hit makes it feel similar to time trials, not worth going for.

Gonna get as close to day 1 as possible, RIP a paycheque or two to buy it though

Merry Christmas

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Gold Medal, 64:07 😎) 1a) Doom (1993) 2) Donkey Kong Country Returns Remastered (200%, All Kong Letters, Puzzle Pieces and Mirror Mode Levels Complete) Fuck doing time trial gold medals, but otherwise, can still ball with that game. Mirror Mode felt easier than last time I did it. Controls felt a bit off to me at first but I got used to them pretty quick.

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Gold Medal, 64:07 😎) - I can see why this was so well loved back in the day. Cute, fun, easy to play, new twists and wrinkles thrown at you through about 3/4s of the game to keep you interested. Side quests are there if you want and easy. Probably would've hated some of it more if it wasn't for the QOL improvements that the Switch version added. - I liked the Twilight Town plot twist the most - Bowser felt shoe-horned in and wasted, though I absolutely fucking loved when he Solid well-done RPG all around. 1a) Doom (1993) First episode definitely the best. Fourth episode was not fun. Still love the sound effects and how visceral it is to kill the shit out of things. Have it listed as 1a because part of me still wants to try to platinum (probably won't happen, beating the hardest difficulty on co-op is way too rough) and part of me also at least still wants to try the speed run trophy (the only other trophy I didn't get).

Road To Double or Nothing Episode 8

Finally got around to watching the last special, which was all I needed to finish it. My opinion on the series has mostly stayed the same: extremely cool story and setting up until the timekskip and then excepting a few strong character moments (set up by the original season...) and a few cool fight scenes, it just kind of all fell apart for me. They looked at such a cool concept and setting and for some reason decided "needs more WWII." Pieck-chama though ??

1) Mario vs Donkey Kong (100%ed collectibles, did not do time attacks) 2) Princess Peach: Showtime (100%) 3) :gameboy: Super Mario Land For its time and what it was, not bad. As a Mario game, not great. Jumping and momentum feels wooden and poor, falling speed is horrendous. The submarine and flying levels are cool. I remember there being complaints that the initial Switch Game Boy offerings didn't include this game, but I think they made the right choice putting 6 Golden Coins first.

1) Mario vs Donkey Kong (100%ed collectibles, did not do time attacks) 2) :switch: Princess Peach: Showtime (100%) Nice like game, similar to a Kirby game. Most of the play styles are simple but there's only a few levels of each so none wear out their welcome. I'd be cool with hard-mode DLC or more levels if it came out.

1) Mario vs Donkey Kong (100%ed collectibles, did not do time attacks) Mostly chill and fun. I think I liked the second set of levels the most, everything compacted onto one screen or area made it all flow better.

Vince sucks and I hate him

1) Goldeneye 007 :xsx: (100% Achievements) 2) NASCAR Heat 4 (Platinum) 3) Pokemon Scarlet (80ish hours) 4) Wolfenstein 3D :xsx: (100% Achievements) 5) Mario Wonder (100%) 6) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass Wave 3 (everything triple starred) 7 Metal Gear (100% Trophies) 8 ) Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (100% Trophies/Platinum) 9) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass Final Wave (everything triple starred) 10) Mario RPG Remake UWAAAAA THE COAT OF PRETTY PAINT The game was easier than the original due to the splash damage from perfectly timed hits, though I also played the original so much that I already had decent muscle memory for some of it. Also felt like some of it was slightly off on the timing but it's not a hard game. I was max level partway through the Smithy factory and IIRC I'd usually be around level 25 or 26 by then when I played the OG game and that was with fighting every enemy I came across. Did not 100%, never have been able to do 100 Super Jumps (can barely break 10) and I don't care about the mini games. 100%ed the monster list with thoughts, found all the hidden treasures and beat all the post-game boss rematches. I think the Punchinello and Booster rematches were the ones I had the most problems with (Punchinello because the timing felt off compared to my muscle memory, Booster because I was just didn't equip correctly for it), even managed to beat the Culex rematch on the first try once I got the rhythm down. Most of the soundtrack was decent to great (they knew what they were doing when they played the Forest Maze theme in the trailer), the only song I really didn't like was the map song compared to the OG map song. Love this remake.

Had to stop MGS1 for Mario RPG Remake. Very well done so far. Just beat the Forest Maze. Music is mostly good, the new play mechanics make things interesting (I'm probably healing a lot more than I did on the original game due to the special enemies).

1) Goldeneye 007 :xsx: (100% Achievements) 2) NASCAR Heat 4 (Platinum) 3) Pokemon Scarlet (80ish hours) 4) Wolfenstein 3D :xsx: (100% Achievements) 5) Mario Wonder (100%) 6) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass Wave 3 (everything triple starred) 7 Metal Gear (100% Trophies) 8 ) Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (100% Trophies/Platinum) 9) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass Final Wave (everything triple starred) Felt this group of tracks was weaker overall than some of the others. Rome Avanti was okay for a twisty-turny course that runs back in on itself, and Rainbow Road Wii and SNES Bowser Castle 3 are effing awesome. The rest are so-so. I also kinda wonder if 150cc difficulty was nerfed, I got bombed by four blue shells in one race and still won with a heavy lead. Had no real trouble that wasn't self-inflicted when I went to triple star anything

1) Goldeneye 007 :xsx: (100% Achievements) 2) NASCAR Heat 4 (Platinum) 3) Pokemon Scarlet (80ish hours) 4) Wolfenstein 3D :xsx: (100% Achievements) 5) Mario Wonder (100%) 6) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass Wave 3 (everything triple starred) 7 Metal Gear (100% Trophies) 8 ) Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (100% Trophies/Platinum) This one holds up a lot better, probably because MGS1 is a partial remake of it. This is another one I feel like I'd want to try bumble through myself at some point.

1) Goldeneye 007 :xsx: (100% Achievements) 2) NASCAR Heat 4 (Platinum) 3) Pokemon Scarlet (80ish hours) 4) Wolfenstein 3D :xsx: (100% Achievements) 5) Mario Wonder (100%) 6) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass Wave 3 (everything triple starred) 7 Metal Gear (100% Trophies) Platinum is tied to getting the trophies for both of the MSX games. Used a quickie/speedrun guide for it. I've watched a playthrough before and it's always seemed pretty obtuse in the english-version Castlevania II way. Feels like a game I want to try to bumble through but at the same time, I was getting annoyed with the repeating save system while I was playing the guide, so I dunno if I'd last. Series spoiler ahead

1) Goldeneye 007 :xsx: (100% Achievements) 2) NASCAR Heat 4 (Platinum) 3) Pokemon Scarlet (80ish hours) 4) Wolfenstein 3D :xsx: (100% Achievements) 5) Mario Wonder (100%) Including having to play through the final-final level twice because the first time I fucked up getting the golden flag. Pretty good game. Best 2D Mario in years. I think it tried to do for 2D Mario what Odyssey for 3D Mario but didn't quite get there. The new coat of paint was needed, the focus on Wonder weirdness was cool, but it did start to feel like it was losing steam around 3/4s of my playthrough through. With the caveat that a) I played the secret world levels as soon as I found them rather than leaving them all for the end, so that may have played a hand in it and b) when it gave the option to choose which world you wanted to play, I went for the hardest world first, so again, I might've seen all the coolest shit earlier than I theoretically should've. The Last Boss might've been the most disappointing thing in the game to me It's like an 8.8/10 all together but sometimes feels like a 9.5/10. Oh, and 6) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass Wave 3 (everything triple starred) Never did get around to triple starring everything, wanted to do it before Mario Wonder came out but didn't quite have the time. Athens Dash, Squeaky Clean Spring, and Vacouver Velocity are pretty fucking cool. Koopa Cape and Moonview Highway continue to be solid.

Mario Wonder. 100%ed 5 worlds so far