The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#592 - 595)

 

#592 Dark Souls (Playstation 3) – Fall 2015

Now this was the perfect Halloween game, and I basically spent the month of October playing it. Out of the Fromsoft Big Seven (Dark Souls 1-3, Demon Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring) this is the one I enjoy revisiting the least; it's dark, grungey, muddy, and just generally the least-sexy of the lot.

That said, it's still one of the best of those games from a world design standpoint. Everything clicks here. After playing the hell out of Bloodborne and Scholar of the First Sin a few months previous, I was willing to go back to PS3 yet again to play what came before.

Wasn't sure what to expect with this one, or how playable it would be with the lower-res, lower-FPS visuals. Well, once I got used to the system downgrade, it was fine, and it very effectively captures the retro vibe of challenging games on the NES, SNES, PS1. It doesn't hold your hand, and it's all about finding your way through an interesting series of interconnected levels. In short, it feels like a GAME, and it steps back and lets you PLAY. Which both seem obvious, but they weren't a given anymore by the 2010's.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#581 - 591)

 

#581 Fallout: New Vegas (Playstation 3) – Summer 2015

This game has five expansions and they're all great. Each one tells a different story and the game almost takes on a Twilight Zone type episodic feel because of it. I started this one way back in mid-2012 after Fallout 3 and played a lot of it then, but it didn't grab me the same way FO3 did at the time. FO3 has that incredible setting with post-apocalypse Washington DC, while this is less post-apocalyptic and more just a desert. It's got a completely different mood.

This one feels more like a Western, more like Twilight Zone, more like something out of the 1950's. FO3 feels more futuristic, with lasers and whatnot being emphasized while this game errs more towards the classical weapons.

Code Vein Boss Fights

 

This is a great game. It's basically Souls with less polish, much worse world and level design, and way more attractive characters. The sum total of all of that is that it's a blast. One thing's for sure, ally characters being able to revive you (on a 30 second or so cooldown) really saved me in this game. Recorded all the boss fights, here they are.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#573 - 580)

#573 Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Playstation 3) - Summer 2015

In some ways, more like a Chrono Trigger sequel than Chrono Cross is. A game where you travel through time to various eras of the planet's history to solve problems and put right things that once went wrong. While Lightning is featured heavily in the game's artwork, cases, etc, she takes a backseat to Serah in this one. Serah was more or less the "8th main character" that was never actually playable in FF13, so it makes sense that they'd bring her out for the sequel and make her the focal point.

This game is very, very solid. I liked FF13 more than most people already, but I admit it has numerous flaws. This game managed to fix most of them, and was a rare instance of a developer actually listening to player criticisms. Not many people played it, but the ones who did generally sung its praises.

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (PS1, 2000)

 

My God. Look at how they massacred my boy.

This spinoff centers around Jax versus Kano and his Black Dragon Syndicate. It's safe to say that right now (or the last few months, anyway) is the most that anybody has played or thought about this game ever (yeah, even when it first came out). It got a lot of press due to being included in Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection. I previously did a post on this and MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero, but it only covered the first few minutes of each game before I tapped out. So I dug that post up specifically to actually cover the whole game now that it's available and playable on a TV. I'll also be re-doing MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero and covering that.

God Help Me.

Originally posted a few years ago, now expanded

Dragon Quest II HD-2D, Part 9 - Debts From The Atlantean Age

Today on Episodio Nueve: Ocean, ocean, and more ocean, as I finish off Sigilquest...by convincing mermaids to kiss our heroes. Oh Yeah. Which lips, though? Where exactly do we need to kiss these mermaids?

Dragon Quest II HD-2D, Part 8 - Conquistar el Mundo

 

This is like reading self-censored online posts that are trying not to run afoul of some view-stifling algorithm. So instead of "shot" they say "sh*t" and it makes it look ten times worse.

Today on DQ2: I reclaim the Sigils and all of their buffs, as this super-good game rolls on. Now that I've finished the game in real-time, I'm booking it towards the end on posts.

Dragon Quest II HD-2D, Part 7 - Guajira Guantanamera

 

Today on DQII - Lots of sea travel, as I talk to the Maharaja of Medals, mermaids, mermen, and get things generally sorted out. Oh yeah, and start the game over on an entirely new system.

Dragon Quest II HD-2D, Part 6 - The Cannock Dynasty

 

Just going to take a minute to say, this DQII remake is really, really, really good. It was a game with potential that was in dire need of fixing and improvements, and...they did everything it needed, and then some. It's so good that it retroactively elevates the original, and I no longer think of that as a series-worst game (I'd play the original version of DQII over the original versions of DQ6 or 7 any day of the week...largely because it can actually be played in a day, rather than requiring the better part of a month like the others).

I wasn't super crazy about DQ1 HD-2D and some of the changes it had, a lot of which didn't work. That midgame difficulty-spike (which was more of a wall) with the five-on-one, and various other issues, kept it from being my favorite version of DQ1. However, it's still an important game and worth playing as a lead-in to this much better game. Kind of like what FF7 Remake is to FF7 Rebirth. Not great in a lot of ways, and a bit tedious to get through at times, but an important playthrough regardless to lead into a much bigger and better quest.

As for DQ3 HD-2D...it is what it is, was perfectly decent although, again, I didn't like some of the changes. It's interesting, the worst aspects of the 1 and 3 remakes tend to be new things created for them, while the best aspects of 2 tend to be new things created for it. Especially dialogue scenes and the like.

Just some thoughts on this about halfway through. It's a pretty damn good game and I respect what they accomplished here.

Dragon Quest II HD-2D, Part 5 - The Voyage Home

 

Today on DQII: I've obtained the ship, and now it's time to make the voyage back to Alefgard and find the Sigils. Excited to see how Alefgard is realized in this remake.

We are leaving space dock, and it's a good thing we got permission to take this boat because otherwise we'd have to sabotage Excelsior to get away.

Dragon Quest II HD-2D, Part 4 - The Nippleheim Incident

 

Our heroes get visited by God while sleeping at the inn, and gives them one mission: Find the boat. But what does God need with a boat? Nothing, actually, it's specifically for me. That's today's journey: Finding the boat. Not finding the little man in the boat, finding the boat itself. I've delayed this long enough, time for The Nippleheim Incident.

Mortal Kombat 1 - Khaos Reigns DLC

 

This is the DLC expansion for MK1, kinda like what MK11: Aftermath was. They're canon and basically sequels, running about a third of the runtime of their respective games. This one serves the purpose of getting lame-ass Havik out of the way so that the next main series game can move on to an actual interesting bad guy.

Brutal: Paws of Fury (Sega Genesis, 1994)

 

One of the worst fighting games of the 16-bit era, and it's unfortunate because it's a cool idea. A bunch of animals, each representing a different martial art, having a tournament on an island to determine what the greatest martial art is.

When I was a kid, I actually really wanted this game. It was one of those "read about it somewhere and then ask my mom to get it" games that I thankfully got ignored on, mainly because she figured it was terrible due to the villain being THE DALAI LLAMA and the game being called Brutal. In any case, time to find out why this game should have been called Brutal: Paws of ASS.

Dragon Quest II HD-2D, Part 3 - The Bridgewater Triangle

 

The lore artwork in this remake is great, and usually accompanies a character retelling a legend or a fable. In other news, I've been reading up on the Bridgewater Triangle and all the weirdness that occurred there over the centuries, and it really is the kind of location you'd find in a DQ game. If I were designing one of these RPGs I'd probably base an area directly off of that place, and Hockamock Swamp.

Dragon Quest II HD-2D, Part 2 - Grieving Angel's Lament

 

WTF? I think this woman wants to milk us.

.......the title of this post is way too good for this post or anything in it.

Dragon Quest II HD-2D (Multiple, 2025)

 

I've had a tumultuous relationship with Dragon Quest II. For a long time I considered it the worst game in the series, due to the uneven difficulty, unappealing map layout, and one of the three characters being utterly useless. However, it also has a charm about it that I've always liked, and I never dreaded replaying it or anything. So I'm hoping that this remake will take the DQ game most in need of refinement and give it that much-needed forging.

For the record: After replaying the first seven games again in the last few years, I'd probably now rate the original DQII above DQVI and DQVII in the grand scheme of things. Those games are way over-long and most of the runtime is mundane, things DQII has no problems with. Even in the original rudimentary NES form, this game doesn't take that long to run through and each section of the game held my attention.

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#570 - 572)

 

#570 Bloodborne (Playstation 4) – Spring 2015

Finally, something I remember and have things to say about, after months of things I barely remember. This was my first From Software game and the game that revived my interest in the PS4. The system had a pretty weak first year, with Assassin's Creed 4 and Assassin's Creed Unity being the only things that particularly got me excited for it. Then this game came along, and it looked so...different and interesting that I had to give it a try. 

EVO: Search for Eden - Finale

EVO wraps up with the Modern Era. Really interesting game here, another of Enix's weird classics that grows on you if you let it.

Originally posted March 2015, revised for 2026

EVO: Search for Eden (Super NES, 1992)

Time to look at a true classic from Enix. ...and by classic I mean a stiff, difficult grind-fest that is definitely an acquired taste. Despite that, there's something appealing and cool about this game that made it a lot of fun back in the day, and back in 1997 or so this was actually my rental of choice for a little while.

I pretty much permanently associate this game with New Year's Day, since I spent Jan 1st 1997 playing it and sipping egg nog.

Originally posted March 2015, revised for 2026

The 1000 Games I've Beaten (#551 - 569)

 

#551 Assassin's Creed: Rogue (Playstation 3) – Winter 2015

Kind of an oddball game because it was the series stepping back to "last gen" one more time, for whatever reason. This ended up being one of the best games in the series and serves as a good sequel to Assassin's Creed IV (one of the best in the series, as well). This is a departure from the norm of the series and has you playing as a Templar instead of an Assassin. I'm not sure which is better between this and ACIV, but I can say they're likely the best one-two punch of games in the entire series.

Toughest Part: The battle with the Stalkers. A bunch of stealthy female assassins who turn your own killing methods against you, leaping out of bails of hay and going for one-shot kills.