Beaten

Illusion of Gaia – see post here

Shin Nekketsu Kouha – see post here.

Bravely Second – see post here.

Ninja Smasher – This is a neat little metroidvania game for the 3DS I picked up last month. The central mechanic of the game is that every time you hit an enemy with your attack it allows you to jump again, meaning that you can fly through areas slashing enemies and leaping to the next one. It is fun, for a while. The game takes about three hours to complete, but it starts to lose its luster about an hour in. The levels aren’t that interesting and the bosses are just damage sponges. You get your four bucks worth, but that’s about it.

Pokémon Alpha Sapphire – I am on the record as loving the Pokémon series. Black & White, Black & White 2, X & Y: the three previous versions of Pokémon were all a ton of fun. The only generation of Pokémon that didn’t really do it for me was the third, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. I played them, but I usually gave up about halfway or so through the game. When the inevitable remake happened, I was eager to fully experience the game. But that just didn’t happen. I ended up skipping the games when they were first released, only getting it a half a year later during a surprise sale on the game. Then I played it. Pokémon Alpha Sapphire is likely the best rendition of the Pokémon formula. It does nearly everything well. Still, I found myself utterly disinterested in the experience. Part of it was the lack of newness; there are no new Pokémon in Alpha Sapphire, nothing this game does that other Pokémon games don’t also do. The bigger part is that I have never really enjoyed this setting. The routes are laid out in unintuitive and frustrating ways, there is too much surfing and an overreliance on field HM’s altogether. I know a lot of people that love this game, both the original and the remake. No matter how many times I try, I just can’t get into this particular version of a series that I like. Now that I’ve beaten the game, I don’t feel a particular need to do so.

Ongoing

Space MegaForce – I’ve played a couple of stages of this SNES shooter and it is fast. I haven’t played enough to form much more of an impression than that, but that is impressive enough so far.

Super Mario RPG – please understand.

Fire Emblem Fates Revelations – I’m pressing through this third path of Nintendo and Intelligent System’s excellent strategy game, but it isn’t really doing it for me early on. There are just too many gimmick maps. There is a teleporter map, a windy and a map filled with ice all to start things off. Those gimmick maps are fine, but they are best when they are used to offset regular stages. I hope there is more to this than just these bullshit stages because I really want a solid wrap up to this game’s story.

Monster Hunter Generations –

Maybe it is just that I had my fill of MH4U and wasn’t ready for more Monster Hunter, but so far I have been unable to really get into this game. There is a lot I like about it in theory, from its monster list to some quality of life changes made to this version from MH4U, but none of that has really helped me find the desire to sink my teeth into it and really play. Of course, my problems might all stem from forcing myself to change my weapon. In previous MH games I have used the hammer. I’d try out others; I tended to use a light bowgun quite a bit online, but primarily I stuck with the slow but powerful hammer. This time I wanted a different experience, so I’ve used the lance, gunlance, and sword & shield. None of those weapons feel as natural to me as the hammer does though. When I get back to this, likely after I finish Fire Emblem, I think I’ll switch back to my trusty favorite.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions –

I am still pushing through this game and still greatly enjoying it. It is a long game and I haven’t had the time I’ve wanted to get this game beaten. TMS is pretty perfectly paced throughout the first two thirds. Each new dungeon adds a new character or concept, but it doesn’t feel like those things were artificially kept from the player but that the abilities of the party are growing. That is one of Tokyo Mirage Sessions overriding themes; it is about growth. Each of you party member’s grows individually as an entertainer and they grow as a team. That growth is reflected in their ever increasing combat abilities. I hope the game is able to stick the landing.

Upcoming

Secret of Evermore – As soon as I clear out Super Mario RPG and Space Megaforce I am on to this.

Legend of the Mystical Ninja – I’ve got this downloaded to my WiiU, ready to go as soon I have time. This is a game I have played before, but only enough to know that I want the full experience.

Skyblazer – This is more wishful thinking that anything else, but if I get done with the four other SNES games on this list, Skyblazer is up next.

Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice – We appear to be missing out on anther Ace Attorney spin-off, but I am not going to complain about the Ace Attorney games we are getting. I can’t resist this series.

Dragon Quest VII – I got the PS1 version of this game three or four years ago, shortly before the 3DS remake was announced. I held off playing it, thinking this would come over. Then it didn’t. I held off until close to a year ago, but soon after I started it was announced that the 3DS game was getting an American release. I am so ready to play this damn game.