- This particular completion is only good for 1 star; I have not done any of the postgame stuff or been to the WWW at all.
- For me, BN2 is the sweet spot of Battle Network games. The first one is too simplistic, and later ones are too complicated. It is, however, easy to see why so many of these got made. The gameplay is so, so, so much fun.
- In the last levels (Gospel computers in the Apartment) there’s even a throwback to old MegaMan music.
- The funnest way to play this game is to build a Gater folder as soon as possible, then use that to go around collecting all the chips you actually want. The entire game can be as hard or easy as you make it.
- I had this when it was released, but could never even get to the FreezeMan fight. Feels good to come back and get all the way through it.
- The only part which can be a little annoying is how long some of the fetch quests are. The world of this game is really, really big, and getting between all the areas can be time consuming. For me, this isn’t a dealbreaker, because the artwork, settings, people, and stuff to interact with all keeps the world interesting.
- Overall, belongs in the “still worth playing today” list. Highly recommend.
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サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Mega Man Battle Network 2
(Completed on 18 Aug 2023)
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サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Pocky & Rocky 2
(Completed on 2 Aug 2023)
- This was the first Pocky & Rocky I had ever played - apparently the original is also on SNES, and there’s a GBA one called Pocky & Rocky With Becky. Odd that I don’t hear much about these games, but this one at least is really fun.
- The setting, artwork, and colors are really captivating, it’s very easy to get into the whole Pocky & Rocky world.
- There are some pretty fun mechanics in this game such as knowing when to use the wand vs throwing projectiles, when to pick up items because you need them vs using an ally to pick them up for more score points (every 10k score points grants an extra life)
- The health and lives system were very inscrutable to me at first, even after having read the manual. I think I had a hard time seeing when I got hit, not having a “health bar” threw me off. The whole system does actually work well though, once you understand what’s happening.
- I don’t think I have ever seen a game with a steeper difficulty ramp. The vast majority of the game is a fun little cute-‘em-up. I was even able to finish some of the much later levels without using a continue. The final boss, however, was an absolute nightmare. The level is a nightmare, everything you have to do to get to the final boss (including a mid-boss) is annoying, and you have to do it from the beginning of the level every time you lose. Eventually I figured out a system, but the last 5% of the game probably took me more time than the earlier 95%. It was such a slog.
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Ninja Gaiden
(Completed on 2 Jun 2023)
- Another one which genuinely feels like a big achievement. Beating this takes a ton of work, but the payoff feels so good.
- When it came to the final boss gauntlet, I did get smart and choose NOT to walk in until I could get there with a Spin Slash equipped, but for my first try, this didn’t help at all. The first phase of the boss went down easily, then I proceeded to get annihilated on the second phase. This booted me back to 6-1, where I was extremely mad about having to fight all the way back.
- After a while though, you do kinda get into a ‘rhythm’. I would bet that despite some of the levels in stage 6 being the hardest ones in the game, I am better at getting through there than I would be at some of the earlier levels. You just kinda memorize it and get used to it.
- Since I always play these games as closely as possible to original hardware as I can get, I did not attempt to reset or walk back any progress after losing to one of the 3 final bosses. I just fought all the way through 6-1 through 6-3 every time I failed. This did not feel good, but maybe it’s character building.
- I really like the controls of this game and they feel amazing once you get used to them. Movement and jumping and combat are really fluid.
- Obviously the music is some of the greatest ever made for a video game; nothing else really needs to be written about this, everyone knows it’s great because everyone who has beat this game has spent A LOT of time with it.
- I absolutely now want to play the sequels to this game, and maybe even come back to this one in the future. The difficulty does NOT make it un-fun.
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サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Super Mario World
(Completed on 3 Apr 2023)
- Another childhood favorite, which I’m not sure I ever finished as a kid?
- It is cool to see how many of the mechanics which were invented just for this game, have carried forward into even today’s 2D sidescrolling Mario titles. This one really is the template for all else.
- I had forgot just how many secrets are all over the place in this game. It is covered in them, and they are so much fun to find.
- Absolute stone cold classic; like other stone cold classics, it is impossible to write anything that hasn’t already been said.
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
Leged of Zelda: The Minish Cap
(Completed on 22 Mar 2023)
- This is the first GBA game on the site which I finished on something other than the Pocket. Not sure why I went with the Switch version. D-pad controls definitely would have been better, but this game isn’t anywhere near hard enough for that to matter
- Maybe I live in a bubble but this game seems underrated?? It’s perfectly casual friendly, there are tons of secrets to find, the game play is awesome, the world is exactly the right size, and this era of “wind waker style” artwork was awesome.
- Speaking of casual-friendly, it might be a little too casual friendly. After I finished, I found myself wishing there was a second quest or ‘hard mode’ like in other Zelda games.
- I was able to finish this one without looking anything up, and as a result, never fully pinned down how the Kinstone system worked. This is a really good thing, because the mystery of it kept me doing every Kinstone fusion I could find. I was never sure what the reward would be- I still don’t know how to predict whether you’ll get a small treasure (like rupees) or a big treasure (like another bottle). That made the system really fun.
- SO. MANY. SECRETS. Not just from Kinstones; the overworld is absolutely covered in stuff to find.
- The equippable items available in this one are some of the best in any Zelda game. The lantern is back and works identical to the NES original. Roc’s Cape is here, but not Roc’s Feather. And most items remain useful for the entire game, including up to the final boss, so you’re never carrying around something that feels like it was just for 1 dungeon.
- Interestingly, this game makes reference to SO many other Zelda games (Farore, Nayru, and best girl Din are even here!) but no reference at all to the Master Sword. I guess they were really trying to make the Four Sword thing happen.
- Overall, I’d recommend this game to anybody. There is no focus at all on hardcore level design or brutally difficult boss fights, just pure fun.
サーフィン CLASSIC VIDYA REVIEW
NinjaWarriors
(Completed on 12 Mar 2023)
- Having just finished this game, the thing that still stands out the most by a LONG shot is the music. If this game had been made by Nintendo or Rareware, people today would say it has one of the great soundtracks.
- Most of the rest of the game doesn’t feel very remarkable to me, but I also know nothing about the beat-em-up genre and I am really bad at them.
- That being said, the progression and difficulty ramp feels very fair. The continue system is also extremely generous. You do NOT have to re-do an entire level if you die on a boss. You can repeat just the boss fight as many times as it takes.
- The enemy variety is huge, the levels and set pieces are unique, there’s always something different to look at; at no point does the game feel repetitive or boring.
- I did this run entirely as Kamaitachi. Did not even try out the other characters. Having a choice of 3 is pretty cool though; some time in the far future I may play this again with one of the other fighters.
