2023 Game Clear Thread

[The Shoemaker]

Finally.



This game goes on forever, which is not a bad thing if you enjoy Picross. But when you feel like you're close to the finish line and think to yourself "I'll just knock out these last couple puzzles" and then you end up unlocking a whole new difficulty mode, it's lol. It's lol.

This must have been a really satisfying finish for you!

[The Shoemaker]

Finished:
Jan 29. Splatoon 3
Feb 12. Mario Kart Super Circuit (NSO GBA)
Feb 12. Kirby Super Star (NSO SNES)
Feb 12. Kirby's Dream Land (NSO GB)
Mar 08. Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch)
Mar 11. Persona 5 Royal (Switch)

P5R was a big investment, started playing back in December. Finally finished! I really enjoyed it, well worth the wait. It did get a little long in the tooth though.

[Kong Wen]

P5R was a big investment, started playing back in December. Finally finished! I really enjoyed it, well worth the wait. It did get a little long in the tooth though.

I've heard it's way longer in the tooth than the peasant version. In fact I've even had non-Royal recommended to me over Royal specifically for that reason.

[The Shoemaker]

P5R was a big investment, started playing back in December. Finally finished! I really enjoyed it, well worth the wait. It did get a little long in the tooth though.

I've heard it's way longer in the tooth than the peasant version. In fact I've even had non-Royal recommended to me over Royal specifically for that reason.

Thats what I understand as well. Granted you could get the vanilla P5 ending in P5R and stop there without even knowing there's more, but the stuff they added is pretty good. The entire experience is better throughout in P5R just due to all the tweaks and additions they added.

It took me 140 hours, granted I could have engaged with the "side" content a lot less. I wouldn't have complained if the game ended around 100 hours even

Finished:
Jan 29. Splatoon 3
Feb 12. Mario Kart Super Circuit (NSO GBA)
Feb 12. Kirby Super Star (NSO SNES)
Feb 12. Kirby's Dream Land (NSO GB)
Mar 08. Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch)
Mar 11. Persona 5 Royal (Switch)
Mar 12. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Mar 13. Mario Kart DS

With the 3DS eshop closing soon I figured it was high time I modded my 3DS. Got some DS emulators and played through the original NSMB. Fun game, I actually say it's biggest weakness is a lack of interesting power-ups. 90% of the game is mushroom and fire flower.

Also played through MKDS, which still holds up really well. Feels like a full Mario Kart title on a handheld for the first time, also the first time they remade retro courses. MKDS has a lot of great original courses, surprisingly majority of them have been brought forward to the other games in the series, but good to play the few that haven't again.

[The Shoemaker]

Finished:
Jan 29. Splatoon 3
Feb 12. Mario Kart Super Circuit (NSO GBA)
Feb 12. Kirby Super Star (NSO SNES)
Feb 12. Kirby's Dream Land (NSO GB)
Mar 08. Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch)
Mar 11. Persona 5 Royal (Switch)
Mar 12. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Mar 13. Mario Kart DS
Mar 14. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Mini-Land Mayhem (DS)

Never played this mario v DK game, it was alright. I actually prefer the previous game in this style, you had a lot more control/options over the mini Mario's and the game had more productive value in cut scenes and whatnot. Still, fun to experience it. Loved the series when I was young.

[The Shoemaker]

Finished:
Jan 29. Splatoon 3
Feb 12. Mario Kart Super Circuit (NSO GBA)
Feb 12. Kirby Super Star (NSO SNES)
Feb 12. Kirby's Dream Land (NSO GB)
Mar 08. Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch)
Mar 11. Persona 5 Royal (Switch)
Mar 12. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Mar 13. Mario Kart DS
Mar 14. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Mini-Land Mayhem (DS)
Mar 23. Kirby: Squeak Squad (DS)
Mar 25. Kirby: Mass Attack (DS)

Never played Sqeak Squad before, and it's probably the most "okay" Kirby game I've played. Not a whole lot in terms of level variety or secrets. Still, running and jumping through the levels is fun enough.

Mass Attack on the other hand was a great time. Creative level design especially towards the end. Can be pretty tough at times too!

[The Shoemaker]

Finished:
Jan 29. Splatoon 3
Feb 12. Mario Kart Super Circuit (NSO GBA)
Feb 12. Kirby Super Star (NSO SNES)
Feb 12. Kirby's Dream Land (NSO GB)
Mar 08. Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch)
Mar 11. Persona 5 Royal (Switch)
Mar 12. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Mar 13. Mario Kart DS
Mar 14. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Mini-Land Mayhem (DS)
Mar 23. Kirby: Squeak Squad (DS)
Mar 25. Kirby: Mass Attack (DS)
May 27. Hogwarts Legacy (PS5)
May 28. Super Mario 64 DS
Hogwarts legacy was a decent time. As a game, it's good enough. Fun to fly around on your broom, combat is engaging enough while being a bit repetitious. The open world objectives are fine, but the rewards never seem too worthwhile. As a Harry Potter game, it does a great job of letting you experience almost everything you'd want to in a Harry Potter game. The world and castle look great, and there's a lot of love and fanservice throughout.

Overall, an OK game held up by a great use of its IP.

And continuing on my DS streak, played through Mario 64 DS. I was interested to play it again for the new stars and characters. Overall, I'd still rate the original higher than this. The new stuff is neat, but the 4 characters just slow the game down since abilities are split between them all. The new levels/stars are cool, but kind of feel like a ROM hack. But the biggest limitation is that the game is the lack of an anologue stick. Makes it very hard to control in certain situations. Still, cool little oddity in Nintendo's history.

[The Shoemaker]

Finished:
Jan 29. Splatoon 3
Feb 12. Mario Kart Super Circuit (NSO GBA)
Feb 12. Kirby Super Star (NSO SNES)
Feb 12. Kirby's Dream Land (NSO GB)
Mar 08. Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch)
Mar 11. Persona 5 Royal (Switch)
Mar 12. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Mar 13. Mario Kart DS
Mar 14. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Mini-Land Mayhem (DS)
Mar 23. Kirby: Squeak Squad (DS)
Mar 25. Kirby: Mass Attack (DS)
Mar 27. Hogwarts Legacy (PS5)
Mar 28. Super Mario 64 DS
Mar 30. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (NSO SNES)

Another kirby game down. Dream Land 3 was alright, I liked the pastel/pencil crayon look, and the buddies were fun. Honestly a step down from super star in terms of looks and mechanics imo, and super star came one year before it.

[Kong Wen]

I've been making my updates via edits in my original post and then making monthly update summaries in a new post in the thread, to remind people that I'm still playing games silently in the background.

In March, I managed to beat 6 games (tied with February), all of them full completion (one more than in February), plus tidying up another completion for a game I had beaten earlier in the year, and I also gained two new Platinum trophies.

This makes March officially my most productive gaming year since before Destiny came out in 2014. I predict a slightly slower April, as I've been spending a lot of time setting up my new office, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep momentum up, although I do have several games in the hopper. I plan to tackle Monster Sanctuary on PS5 (won't be a quick beat), finish hard mode in Kirby's Dream Land, and of course continue with Tactics Ogre (although that won't be a quick beat either). Who knows what else the future brings?

2023 PROGRESS

FINISHED:

01-15 - Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PS5)
01-20 - Firewatch (PS4 via PS5)
01-22 - TOEM: A Photo Adventure (PS5)
01-25 - Wandersong (PS4 via PS5)
01-30 - Adventures of Pip (PS4 via PS5)
02-03 - Doki-Doki Universe (PS4 via PS5)
02-05 - Flower (PS4 via PS5)
02-10 - Pic-a-Pix Color (PS4 via PS5)
02-15 - Puyo Puyo Tetris (PS4 via PS5)
02-18 - Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4 via PS5)
02-21 - マリオのスーパーピクロス (SFC via Switch)
03-07 - Gris (PS5)
03-08 - A Short Hike (PS4 via PS5)
03-15 - Tembo the Badass Elephant (PS4 via PS5)
03-19 - Pokémon Blue Version (GB via Analogue Pocket)
03-22 - Super Mario Land (GB via Analogue Pocket)
03-28 - Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB via NSO)

COMPLETE:

01-20 - Firewatch (PS5)
01-22 - TOEM: A Photo Adventure (PS5)
01-25 - Wandersong (PS4 via PS5)
01-30 - Adventures of Pip (PS4 via PS5)
02-03 - Doki-Doki Universe (PS4 via PS5)
02-05 - Flower (PS4 via PS5)
02-10 - Pic-a-Pix Color (PS4 via PS5)
02-15 - Puyo Puyo Tetris (PS4 via PS5)
02-18 - Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4 via PS5)
03-07 - マリオのスーパーピクロス (SFC via Switch)
03-07 - Gris (PS5)
03-08 - A Short Hike (PS4 via PS5)
03-15 - Tembo the Badass Elephant (PS4 via PS5)
03-21 - Pokémon Blue Version (GB via Analogue Pocket)
03-22 - Super Mario Land (GB via Analogue Pocket)
03-28 - Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB via NSO)

MASTERED:

03-07 - マリオのスーパーピクロス (SFC via Switch)

PLATINUM:

01-22 - TOEM: A Photo Adventure (PS5)
02-10 - Pic-a-Pix Color (PS4 via PS5)
02-16 - Puyo Puyo Tetris (PS4 via PS5)
03-07 - Gris (PS5)
03-08 - A Short Hike (PS4 via PS5)

PROGRESS   2020   2021   2022   2023
Finished     10      2     10     17
Complete      3      1      8     16
Mastered      1      1      1      1
Platinum      2      0      2      5

PREVIOUS   2010   2011   2012   2013   2014   2015   2016   2017   2018   2019
Finished     36     59     57     96     58      7     14     17     17     11
Complete     12     27     27     46     28      7     10      9     11     10
Mastered      1      0      1      3      2      1      0      4      2      1
Platinum      5      3      2     13      8      3      4      5      5      4

2023-03-28 - Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB via NSO) - To be honest, I didn't think this was as good as the first one. It's bigger and chunkier, has a world map, and is basically based on Super Mario World, but the gameplay and stage designs aren't as tight, making it overall more boring.

2023-03-22 - Super Mario Land (GB via Analogue Pocket) - I'm 99% sure I beat this (repeatedly) as a kid, but since I had the Pocket all charged up for Pokémon, I figured I might as well dust this off and crack through it. Some fun elements in here. Funny to play auto-scrolling shmup levels as Mario in a submarine/plane.

2023-03-19 - Pokémon Blue Version (GB via Analogue Pocket) - I thought this whole time that this was going to be my first beat of the series, but my records indicate I also beat SoulSilver... not a great sign that I have absolutely no recollection of that lol! Anyway, I'm the champ. I'm going to go back to each zone and try to catch everything that is on this cart (nothing from Red required for completion of Blue).

2023-03-15 - Tembo the Badass Elephant (PS4 via PS5) - Like Game Freak's previous non-Pokémon platformers (Pulseman & Drill Dozer), this is pretty good, based on a strong concept with middling execution. Won't match up to the real stars of the crowded genre, but functional and fun in a small dose (which, thankfully, this was).

2023-03-08 - A Short Hike (PS5) - A really cute little low-stakes adventure game that lets you get right on with the adventure if you want. You can tackle the main goal (climb the mountain), but the game offers tempting little side-quests and errands to take part in. They're compelling because they're easy and not time consuming, just a little jaunt here and there to help people. It's got a lighthearted atmosphere and the characters are all kind. A great little diversion. Easily worth the $5 or whatever it was on sale for.

2023-03-07 - Gris (PS5) - This game was more beautiful and affecting than I thought it was going to be, and I was fully expecting it to be that kind of game. Nicely executed platformer, well-paced, perfect length, good atmospheric music, great integration of its thematic material into the gameplay, etc. Happy I finally played it!

[Sharecrow]

Outlast II (Nightmare mode) - PS4
Life is Strange: True Colors - PS5

+ Raider V: Director’s Cut - PS5


2023 total games beaten = 3 (2 new)
2022 total games beaten = 35 (26 new)
2021 total games beaten = 18 (12 new)
2020 total games beaten = 26 (16 new)
2019 total games beaten = 28 (20 new)
2018 total games beaten = 29 (16 new)
2017 total games beaten = 25 (22 new)
2016 total games beaten = 38 (21 new)
2015 total games beaten = 25
2014 total games beaten = 35
2013 total games beaten = 17
2012 total games beaten = 37
2011 total games beaten = 35