91-100
Game 91 - Super Mario 3D World -
Switch - 100% Complete co-op - 95/100
This is a fantastic game in every way. The levels are creative, the gameplay is tight and a ton of fun. I only played this in small snippets when it released on the WiiU but we spent more time tossing each other off cliffs than trying to complete the game. Years later my brother and I sat down and made a point to finish the game. I wasn't planning on it but we ended up getting every single star in the game and outside a few levels where having multiple players on-screen actually makes things harder the entire experience was a blast. I really hope the next Mario game has co-op again. As much as I love Super Mario Odyssey, I never felt the competitive drive to 100% the game though I am pondering it after playing through this. If you haven't played this yet and you enjoy platformers, just play it.
Game 92 - Batman: Arkham Origins -
PC - 100% Complete - 65/100
I played this right on the heels of Arkham Knight, so going from one of the best looking 2015 games (or really one of the best looking games ever) to this was a shock. This almost felt like it was in another universe than the Rocksteady games. The world had far less character in it than the Rocksteady games, the enemies didn't quite fit in with the Rocksteady version of the characters and the section of Gotham City used in the game doesn't line up quite right. While it was interesting seeing the Origin stories for many characters even they often didn't quite jive with the unlockable audio tapes found in Asylum and City. Boss fights ranged from basically nothing to QTE-ridden add-fests with only a couple memorable fights. Traversal gameplay was also not quite there with a strange flight ceiling forcing you to work your way around the Gotham Power building and frankly the grapple hook was even sketchier than the one in Arkham Knight, randomly firing at ledges in a different time zone than the one I was aimed at. Perhaps the biggest offender in this game is the motion jpeg-tier cutscenes all over the game that were clearly made for the console versions running at 720p/30fps with pretty awful CG models. It was kind of hilarious watching those and being put back into a 1440p/144Hz max setting modded PC game that looked infinitely better. Easily the worst of the Arkham games for me.
Game 93 - Final Fantasy V Advance -
Game Boy Advance - Complete playthrough, Brave Blade run - 90/100
I'd never played Final Fantasy V before. I got my start with JRPGs with the release of Final Fantasy III (VI) on the SNES and actually only rented it on a whim before completely losing myself in it. I later played Final Fantasy II (IV) on the SNES and later Final Fantasy III on the DS but never really went back to the well. Like each game in the series before it, Final Fantasy V felt like it was entirely new, but at the same time carried the spirit of the previous titles. Just like the previous games the adventure is grand, full of a small cast of memorable characters who become more fulfilled with each entry in the series. This game features two worlds in separate dimensions that come together as one which combines the games two maps into a single map of overlaid worlds. The villain is a wacky character, a sentient tree who can shape-shift into any wooden object even as small as a sliver and enjoys beating up on tortoises. Like previous installments this game featured crystals that protect the earth and a lost-civilization storyline where technology from the past is needed to overcome the dark magic rearing it's head in the present. The game prominently featured an improved version of the job system previously seen in Final Fantasy III. There are a ton of new unique jobs to learn and experiment with making this a very replay-able game for what it is. In the end I think I preferred IV. While the job system was interesting it was perhaps a bit too much as a single playthrough wouldn't allow full use of all the jobs and I found I liked the characters more in IV. Still easily one of the best JRPGs of it's day and still worth playing today.
Game 94 - Batman: Arkham Asylum -
PC - 100% Complete - 80/100
This is the best of the Arkham games overall. The game only features the small island the Arkham Asylum is located on and covers just the facilities themselves. This game was a treasure trove of cool hidden shit , origin stories and characters all given a fresh coat of paint by Rocksteady's artists. Beyond that great voice actors were used from the animated series like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to reprise their roles as Batman and the Joker. The game plays more like a Metroidvania than later games in the series with hidden paths unlocked by acquiring new gear. By the end of the game you find yourself able to access almost any area in the game from just about any other area with a few exceptions. The fluid combat system developed for this game was and still is very fun to use, not only being near seamless in action but also rewarding proper timing to dissuade button mashing. The boss fights were pretty decent and fun as well. For me the highlights were the supervillains like Scarecrow who poisons you and bring you into a world inside your mind, Killer Croc who you must avoid while sneaking around his lair under Arkham Asylum and Poison Ivy which played like a classic action game boss. Absolutely worth playing and it holds up incredibly well.
Game 95 - Final Fantasy VI Advance -
Game Boy Advance - Complete playthrough - 95/100
This is a game I've avoided playing again for 20 years. I have always considered it my favorite game of all time. I first played this in the 90's on the SNES. It was really my first jaunt in JRPGs and it's the standard I've held other JRPGs up to since. My brothers and I rented it multiple times before finally putting down the cash and buying it. I played through the game multiple times on the SNES but never played it again after that. I remembered every music track from it's fantastic soundtrack, I remembered every character in it's massive roster and I remembered every twist and turn in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire 76 hours I put into this playthrough, more than I even expected to. In contrast to previous entries in the series, the game features a massive list of characters all with their own abilities. It's like the job system, but each job has a character and story attached to it. The character abilities are all fun to use and experiment with even within the confines of a single playthrough. The game's world is full of interesting locales from haunted woods with a ghost train passing through it to a massive steampunk Imperial city piecing the clouds to a transforming castle that can submerge beneath the desert and travel under a mountain range. The story in the game is the first in the series to abandon the crystals and instead focuses on magic and follows a large group of people as they become acquainted with the power it holds. The story in the game is fantastic, full of many twists and turns and possibly one of the saddest moments in a video game. To back this the game's score is easily one of the best ever composed for a game which sounds great even given the limitations of hardware when it was released. The game's ending is one massive musical number showcasing each character in the game and wrapping up the adventure in a way that gives closure but will always have you wondering what came next. After a couple decades I still consider this my favorite game ever made. You might be wondering how my favorite game has a 95 when I've rated other games 100, right? The Game Boy Advance version of the game is not as good as the original. The music is often a bit butchered as the GBA sound chip was a bit on the shitty side and the music in the game was a massive part of what made it as great as it was. This version adds flourishes that don't fit and is missing any sort of bombastic punch the original featured. This version also featured censored content and added post-game shit which was almost entirely worthless. If you play this game, play the original game.
Game 96 - Batman: Arkham City -
PC - 100% Complete - 80/100
I played this game on the Xbox 360 back when it first released and I didn't remember a lot of the game as I likely played it after long shifts where I should have been going straight to bed. After playing through it again I feel I enjoyed it more than I did originally. The prison city is fascinating with plenty of hidden backstory items, characters and this game featured a lot more style than the original Arkham Asylum did. The idea of having a section of old Gotham made into a prison gave the developers a way to shoehorn as many villains into the game as possible without it feeling off. The gameplay was a great evolution of the first game's fluid combat and traversal was made simple with the ability to grapple and glide around the city. The Riddler puzzles were plenty and fun to find and figure out. Most importantly the Rocksteady versions of all the characters were more fleshed out in this game with more personality. The story was great, full of twists and a big surprise at the end that really had me flipping the first time. While I prefer Arkham Asylum overall for it's map design and just how memorable it all was, this game was a lot of fun to play through again. Definitely worth playing through.
Game 97 - Power Wash Simulator -
PC - 100% Complete - 60/100
I went into this game expecting a time waster and initially was disappointed that it was a "simulator" and not an actual simulator. One of my dreams in life is to eventually operate an automotive detailing service. I love cleaning things so when this game was basically erasing dirt textures I was more than a little let down. Still a great time waster though with a weird story going on in the background involving a growing threat from a volcano and a bunch of crazy shit. I put way too many hours into this game that I could have used for something more productive like watching paint dry or grass grow. Give it a shot but don't play until 3AM like I did.
Game 97 1/2 - Cooking Simulator -
PC
This seems like a more serious simulator game than Power Wash Simulator, but the first thing I did was pour water in a bowl, dump some tomatoes and a whole fish in it, ram a blender in the bowl, microwave it then serve it as tomato soup. It worked. Then I literally blew up the entire kitchen. I don't think I need to play this any more than that.
Game 98 - Xenoblade Chronicles 3 -
Switch - Complete playthrough including post game (I think I've found and completed all side-quests, but it's a big game so I'm sure I missed something) - 95/100
This is one of my longer reviews but the game deserves one. After the PS1 came and went with a ton of fantastic releases I kind of fell out of JRPGs. The new Final Fantasy games didn't seem appealing to me (after playing X and X-2 recently, I feel I made the right choice not playing them) and as time went on, I moved into other genres but always remembered the genre fondly, Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger are still my two favorite games ever released in fact. When the Wii came about my brother and I were both hyped by the trailers for a new RPG from MonolithSoft. After it released he played through Xenoblade Chronicles long before me and he'd mention the game and recommended I play it. This went on for some time but I was stuck in a phase where I played hyped-up shitty games over actual masterpieces for some reason. I missed Xenoblade Chronicles in 2010 but lucky for me I came to my senses and gave it a go on the WiiU. The world, which was contained to the bodies of two long-dead gods was enormous, the scale still unmatched to this day. The variety within the world simply incredible, especially for a Wii game. The story was a series of twists that floored me and included some very memorable characters and a surprisingly great English localization which gave flavor to the already good characters. Then there was the music... it was sublime. XCX came next with a very different feel, several things tying it to XC1 but in the end being a mental roller-coaster which again featured a massive crazy world, this time called Mira, with ties back to Baten Kaitos. When XC2 released once again I had a massive world to explore, a world of clouds with massive creatures (yet still tiny compared to the Bionis and Mechonis) making their way around a massive tree in the center. Eventually you discover the world is not what you thought in another series of twists. This game was full of memorable characters and almost felt like an anime with how over the top goofy scenes could be. In the end it became one of my favorite games that I will certainly play again in the future.
That brings us to XC3. Once again although obviously tied to XC1 and XC2, the box art alone leaves no question, the game takes a much more serious tone similar the XC1. The worlds in XC1 and XC2 have been united and the result is a world of nothing but fighting and death. Two military nations who make up the entirety of the populace, Keves and Agnus, are locked in a perpetual battle that has lasted thousands of years, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years. People are born in capsules and are pumped out as fighters, live just ten years, then are returned to their queen should they survive that long. People that die in battle have their life force used to keep the opposing faction alive using a device known as a flame clock which absorbs their essence. The game has a ton of incredibly sad moments throughout that deal with loss, death, dwelling on the past and the fear many have of what the future might entail. The world is once again a wonderful place to explore and discover as you bring the people in it together for a common purpose. If you've already played XC1 and XC2 (you should first) you'll recognize most of the world and appreciate it more. The gameplay is a mix of previous titles just like the world, the battle system is active and fun with a ton of customization open for the characters. The Hero system is fantastic and expands the cast into the dozens, all with full character development through the many side-quests. Gone is the Core-crystal system used in XC2. Despite dozens of hours of farming, I never managed to complete my blade collection, something that actually bugs me. The music is not as memorable as XC1 or XC2 but is still top-tier, full of calm melodies, punchy battle themes and bombastic tracks all appropriate to the settings. Like previous games the story remains a mystery until it's shoved right in your face, knocking you on your ass. The English localization once again was fantastic, while it's not the same as the Japanese voice acting, I feel I actually prefer the flavor it adds over the Japanese voice work. In the end I did every side quest I could find and as I got to the end of the game I felt sad that it was almost over. Once finished I was treated to perhaps the absolute saddest happy ending I can remember seeing, pretty strong stuff. I can't wait for MonolithSoft's next game, in the meantime I look forward to the expansions for this game to release over the next year.
Game 99 - Fire Emblem -
Game Boy Advance -
Abandoned for now - 80/100
I've only played Fire Emblem Awakening and the mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes in this series. I really enjoyed Awakening, I play the mobile game almost daily and so far, I'm enjoying this entry just as much. The battle animations are awesome despite the simple character sprites. Unfortunately, I painted myself into a corner with my last few saves and despite several attempts I don't have the items or abilities needed to finish the area I'm in without losing half my characters and since this game features perma-death I'm going to have to either restart or take my lumps. I feel like doing neither right now so I'll come back to it next year.
Game 100 - Inside -
PC - Complete playthrough - 40/100
Phil Spencer said this was his favorite game a few years ago. He's so full of shit, there's barely a game here. This game consists mostly of holding the stick to the right and watching pretty uninteresting shit happen while doing so. There is absolutely no music, just ambient tones. The visuals look almost decent at times when the light is just right, but then you notice everything is basically a featureless blob when it's lit up. The few puzzles that exist in this game are not exactly made for the thinking man, most have single steps while the most complicated has you do a few things to proceed. The game played floaty and slow yet the devs felt confident to put a couple platforming areas in the game which were not great. There were a few fun bits thrown in there like becoming a human orgy monster at the end of the game and smashing through walls but for the most part this was an extremely linear, short and dull experience. If you're looking for something to kill a couple hours on Gamepass by all means give it a go but if you're going to play a game like this do yourself a favor and play something like Flashback, Out of This World, Abe, Blackthorne, etc. They were better games.
