Games You Beat in 2026: RIP to our backlogs

[toxicitizen]

Pokémon FireRed

 

I picked it up when they released the port on the eShop earlier this year and got most of the way through it but then something else came out that distracted me from it and I only just got around to finishing it. Except for a difficulty spike at the very end that forced me to spend a few hours grinding, I enjoyed it for the most part. I did what little bit of story there is in the post-game and I'm at the point where all that's left to do is grind some more and fill out the pokédex. And since I don't have anyone to trade with, I'm not going to bother.

 

It was fun to revisit the series after all this time, though. I had only played the first two gens on gb/gbc back in the day, so this version was good for a retro nostalgia trip while still feeling a bit fresh. I definitely want to play more of the series but I'm not sure where to go next. There's rumors that more ports might be coming soon so maybe I'll just wait for those but it's tempting to jump ahead to the more recent gens to see what modern Pokémon games are like.

[MetalCaveman]

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (JP)

 

Counting this as a separate game from the US version because they're completely different.

 

This one has a ton of cutscenes (by Production I.G. no less), several characters, multiple endings, a hidden true ending unlocked when you get all the other endings, it's easily one of my favorites in the series.

 

Really liked the UPEO and Cynthia endings, both are fairly bittersweet but still end in a higher note than some of the other paths, then the true ending played out.

 

Spoiler

Oh hey! None of what you saw happened, in fact, all the endings and paths you can take are nothing more than simulations inside a system. 

 

Also, you are not real, just a program, NEMO, created to find a way to destroy Dision, also now you'll be released into the real world, have fun!

 

 

I would love to see a remake of this one, or at least a proper release of this version in English, the series is more popular than back then so maybe there's a chance.  

 

My only issue, as with the US version, is the Electrosphere mission lol, cool concept, but a visual nightmare.

 

Grade: S

[MetalCaveman]

Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies

 

We've made the jump to PS2!  

 

A bunch of changes and improvements, better graphics, special weapons, the ability to buy new aircraft and weapons, lots of cool stuff.

 

Story presentation also changes, the story here is mainly told through the narration of this boy who loses his home and family after an enemy ace, Yellow 13 shoots down a jet that crashes into his house. Pretty different from the previous 3 games, also, your character doesn't really appear in the main story, except for some mentions later on.

 

Spoiler

Also mentioned in the ending, when it turns out the narration so far has been the boy recounting his experience during the war as he writes a letter to Mobius 1.

 

The other part of the story is similar through previous games, mission briefings and result screens tell you how the war is progressing, were your forces are, losses, wins, etc.

 

Fun thing about the story too, this is the first game that presents you as this super pilot, Ace of Aces, living legend, etc.

 

1 and 2 had you as the leader of Scarface squadron, and while your team was famous, this wasn't as big of a deal during the actual game, 3 had some pilots knowledge your skills (pretty funny considering the true ending lol), this one though, is a whole new level.  

 

During missions allies will go all "it's Mobius 1! We're saved!", "Mobius 1 is here! Victory is ours!" while your enemies are all "That's the ribbon fighter! The grim reaper!" It's over the top, it's cheesy, I love it.

 

Last mission took me several tries, even if they're pretty short, four tunnel runs in one mission is too much lol.

 

6 was my first AC, and this one is much closer to it than the previous 3 games, so it was a cool experience.

 

Grade: A+

[danielpholt]

Mortal Shell II

 

Didn't expect anything of this when I heard it was coming out a few months ago. However, after 45 hours with the game, I think I'm officially a fan.

 

It doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything, but it does everything really well, and without any real frustration. I enjoy these games greatly, but often I find there's one little thing that frustrates me no end. That wasn't the case here. Sure, there's the occasional badly designed boss, but for the most part, the rest of the game felt like it was designed to give the player a challenging but incredibly fun time. 

 

4/5 - About as high a score I can give a game without it becoming something I'd consider getting tattooed on my actual human body. 

[MetalCaveman]

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

 

"When history witnesses a great change, Razgriz reveals itself..."

 

EXCELLENT \m/ \m/

 

The longest of the AC games I've played so far, sure 3 has more missions but since they're all pretty short and spread out across the different paths/endings, this one is technically the longer one.

 

Some changes from 4 in terms of gameplay and progression. You can no longer buy special weapons, whatever comes with the aircraft is all you get, however, some planes have a kill count bar, the more you use them and the more enemies you shoot down with it the more it fills, once full, you unlock a variant of that aircraft with different weapons and stats.

 

Also, you're now in charge of your squad, that means having to buy multiple of the same aircraft, or different ones, either way, you'll want enough for each member of your squad.

 

There's also squad commands, you can tell them to attack, cover you, disperse or use their special weapon.

 

A simple "conversation" system is also here, sometimes characters will say something or ask basic questions and you can reply with a yes/no. It's pretty basic, but still neat. Some of these will result in your squad changing orders, sometimes they'll go all "the enemy is spread out throughout the operation area, should we split to deal with them?" and you can tell them whether to spread out or not.

 

The story is cool, this time told through CG cutscenes following your squad. As you progress, you get different quotes from a poem from Strangereal, telling the legend of Razgriz, a fictional entity that appears as a demon that brings destruction, dies, then returns as a hero.

 

The poem bits change to reflect the status of your squad as the story advances. The whole Razgriz thing, the legend, poem and how eventually your own squad uses it as its name is imo, the perfect combination of cheese, badass and fun.

 

While I liked it a lot, there were a couple of missions that were a bit annoying, one involves a recon mission where you have no weapons and have to avoid a ridiculous amount of radars, you might as well just lower the landing gear and drive the plane around given how low you have to fly to avoid detection lol. Another one took me a bunch of tries until I ignored all enemy drones and focused on the boss ship.

 

It was not a big deal, but there are also times where you'll be restricted to specific planes, and also some missions will immediately move to the next one, which can be a bit annoying if you've prepared an anti-ground loadout only to find the next mission involves some serious anti-air combat.

 

Overall, it's a pretty fun entry in the series, story is among my favorites, definitively would like to come back to it in the future, now though, it's time for Ace Combat Zero!

 

Grade: A+

[toxicitizen]

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

 

I went into this one with pretty high expectations. I was basically hoping for Samurai Resident Evil 4. And that's not too far off from what the game ended up being.

 

Roughly half of the game is linear areas that are structured pretty much like in RE4. The other half is spent running around Eastern Kyoto doing side-quests, finding secrets and unlocking new sections of the map as you progress through the story. That second half is the weakest aspect of the game. It's fine but it gets kind of repetitive after a while. The entire map looks very samey and after a while you run out of new things to do, so you just end up repeating the same kind of missions. If they make a sequel, I really hope they'll take the time to make the side-content meatier and add more variety to the map.

 

The combat is where the game really shines, though. Combat against basic enemies is way too easy early on but once you start running into bosses it's a completely different game. This is the most satisfying sword combat I've played since Sekiro. It's nowhere near as difficult and it's definitely not a souls-like. But once you've got a boss' pattern down, it gets into a very similar rhythm where it almost feels like a rhythm game. Parry a few attacks to enter the blaze state, then start deflecting attacks to chip away at their stamina bar and once that's depleted you get an opening to hit them with an Issen Break attack that takes a huge chunk of their health bar. 

 

There's a training room you can go into to replay the tutorials and rematch all the bosses and I think the biggest compliment I can give to the game is that I almost always went in there for the rematch immediately after beating a new boss in the story. It was just so satisfying to fight them again after mastering their moveset and just wipe the floor with them. Especially the ones that gave me trouble in the story. Even when the early game bosses start being re-used as minibosses later on in the game, it never bothered me to fight them again. And now that I'm done, I can't wait to jump into new game plus on Carnage difficulty and do it all over again.

 

So yeah, that's another banger from Capcom. At this point that's like 3 GOTY contenders from them this year. If it wasn't for GTA 6, I'd say they have it on lockdown...

[MetalCaveman]

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War

 

*flamenco music intensifies*

 

Absolute Cinema! 

 

Arthurian references, flamenco, lasers, one of the best player titles in the entire series, this game has everything!

 

This is also the game that holds your character in the most legendary status lol, 5 had the Demon/Ghosts of Razgriz thing, and previous games have you eventually become a legend among both allies and enemies, this one takes things to the next level. Which makes sense as the story takes place after the war, still, right from the start, your character is referred to as "Demon" and eventually you get the title of "Demon Lord of the Roundtable". \m/ \m/

 

The story is told via this documentary being made on the Belkan war and the actions of your character, Galm 1 Cipher. Cutscenes are live action, interview style, with characters talking about their experiences going against Cipher. Along with 3, this is at the top of Ace Combat stories for me.

 

Gameplay has some changes, you can't choose wingman aircraft, but you can change their special weapon, the conversation system from 5 is gone, but wingman commands remain.

 

The biggest change is the introduction of the Ace Style system.

 

"Did you know, there are three kinds of aces?"

 

Depending on how you play, you'll move the Ace Style gauge between the three different styles, you start as Soldier, if you focus only on mission targets, ignore certain targets and spare enemies when they can't fight anymore you'll move to the Knight style, destroying everything including some neutral targets and incapacitated enemies will move you to mercenary style, mixing strategies keeps you in Soldier.

 

This affects which enemy squads you face against and in turn, changes the story, who shows up in the interviews and what they have to say about you depends on your Ace Style.

 

Credits song is also one of the best in any game, ever!

 

Grade: S