March 2020 Recap

On 04/01/2020 at 06:02 PM by daftman

Games Beaten

-Sonic Mania Plus (Switch)

By and large I don't think 2D Sonic games are for me. I don't like the seemingly haphazard design of the stages or the few moments that require precise platforming, and the few zones after Green Hill in this game really grated on me, especially the airship one. Hated it. But then they got better, less arbitrarily designed, and more interestingly themed (I loved Press Garden Zone). So it won me back, mostly. The game looks and sounds wonderful and the bosses are quite creative. But I'm happy to be done.

Games Bought

March saw a few purchases, like Slay the Spire and Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection, both for the Switch. I downloaded a couple games in a recent Switch eShop sale: Revenge of the Bird King (a solid homage to Zelda II) and Vasara Collection (two Japanese arcade shmups). I also bought Dragon Quest Heroes II (PS4) because it was $12 new. I had to get it!

Games Being Played

-Cosmic Star Heroine (PS4)

Almost done! Just need to clean up some side quests and head to the final area.

-Mega Man Zero (MM Zero/ZX Legacy Collection, Switch)

This version includes the option to add extra checkpoints in the levels and they are a real sanity saver!

-Picross 3D (DS)

I'm still in the Easy puzzles.

-God Eater 3 (PS4)

We have officially retired Earth Defense Force 2025! (For a while, anyway.)

-Destiny 2 (PS4)

I'm trying to stay a little more on top of the season-specific activities this time around but I doubt I'll be able to put in enough time. It's kind of a grind.

Super Step Contributing Writer

04/01/2020 at 08:06 PM

I do like Sonic Mania, but I definitely did not understand why it seemed to be the most-hyped game of its release year among my social media circles.

daftman

04/02/2020 at 08:17 PM

I think your enjoyment of Sonic Mania is directly proportional to your amount of nostalgia for the Genesis Sonic games. I first played Sonic 1 in the early 2000s, so my nostalgia is very small.

04/02/2020 at 09:08 PM

I reckon that has to do with it as well. I played Sonic 2 for a bit at a mall kiosk once in the 90s and got jealous of my neighbors cause the system looked so cool.

But I don't think I played any of those games for any extended period of time until at least the 2000s, when I rented some Gamecube collection. Definitely played my fair share of Adventure 2 though.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

04/01/2020 at 08:27 PM

I feel the way you do about 2d sonic, but I played it a lot growing up so I have nostalgic feelings for it. It just can't compete with Mario though.

I'll have to check out that Bird King game. I love Zelda 2.

04/02/2020 at 08:19 PM

It's often ridiculously on sale, so you haven't got much to lose.

KnightDriver

04/01/2020 at 11:41 PM

I put down EDF 2025 too today. Most of the levels on hardest and inferno are seemingly impossible. I wish you could have drop in multiplayer to help with it, but they set that up as a completely seperate mode, so there's no hope for me in single player on those difficulty levels. Oh, and multiplayer online is a pain. Mark and I couldn't even get it to work for us last time we tried.

04/02/2020 at 08:24 PM

The online in EDF 2025 is definitely very finicky! There have been nights where my group would get very little done because of the online problems. 4.1 on the PS4, I assume, is much more stable.

04/02/2020 at 10:04 PM

I haven't tried the online on 4.1 because I don't have PS+ but I really wanted to. One of these days I'll have PS+ and get that done.

The Last Ninja

04/02/2020 at 08:17 AM

I'm hoping to pick up the MM Zero/ZX Collection soon because I've never played any of those games, but I hear they're really great. Right now I'm playing through a bunch of Genesis games on the Genesis Mini.

04/02/2020 at 08:27 PM

I would not have patience for MM Zero 1 if not for the extra checkpoints! The levels have all been quite short but I can't imagine playing through them again and again while trying to learn the boss patterns.

Cary Woodham

04/02/2020 at 08:25 AM

I'm not a big Sonic fan and while Sonic Mania was a step in the right direction, I didn't get very far in it. I did like the boss of the Chemical Plant Zone, as it was just a round of Puyo Puyp/Mean Bean Machine!

04/02/2020 at 08:30 PM

That was such a cool boss! The bosses in that game are by and large quite good, other than the one you fight while running on the highway. Not a fan of that one.

PixlBit