Second Quarter 2019 Games Progress

Alright, I'm finally back with an update about the games that I've completed this year. You can read about earlier games in my Four in February and First Quarter articles from earlier this year. I've been hoping to complete many games from my collection of 2,000+. During this quarter I gave a few games a chance that I passed on in the past. There are a lot of games in this list, as I was unemployed during this time.

Here's the list for games completed in April, May, or June with a short review of each:

32. Dark Quest (PC) - April 2nd, 2019

Dark Quest is a video game version of the classic Warhammer-based board game HeroQuest. HeroQuest was essentially a tabletop RPG like Dungeons & Dragons in a board game format. It was basically the first tabletop RPG I ever played (though my copy from St. Vincent de Paul thrift store was missing significant components, which lead to some degree of making up rules). Dark Quest is nearly identical to HeroQuest with some differences (like the omission of the Elf character). Even the story and quests have similarities. It's wears a little thin over the course of the game, but Dark Quest isn't particularly long either.
Rating: Good

33. The Emptiness Deluxe Edition (PC) - April 3rd, 2019

The Emptiness is a point-and-click hidden object game with a horror theme that's dipped in cheese. The story concerns a depressed individual, and I found that meaningful. However, the actual telling of that story along with the repetitive (even compared with other games in this style) gameplay and limited environments made it somewhat of a chore. The cheesy horror is kind of cool, but I don't know what it fits the theme.
Rating: Good

34. Mobile Suit Gundam (PS1) - April 4th, 2019

This game based on the original Mobile Suit Gundam is pretty basic. It was a very early game for the original PlayStation that combined some simulation (almost racing game) elements with a first-person shooter. I had fun with it, but it's short, has awkward controls, and has limited replayability.
You can read the full review here.
Rating: Good

35. F-Zero (SNES) - April 6th, 2019
I'm sure you are familiar with this game; it was the first game in the F-Zero series and a launch title for the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom. I am a bigger fan of the later F-Zero titles, as this one always felt a lot different. I'm not a big fan of the wild, out of control bobbing that occurs after a collision, the infinite generic racers, and the lack of multiplayer. the musick and the color palette are great, though. I never realized how to make various jumps in this game, so I never finished it when I was younger. After learning to hold down on the D-pad, I was able to finish the game, at least on the easiest setting. I might do the harder versions of the cups at some point later.
Rating: 

36. Mario’s Picross (GB) - April 8th, 2019
Mario's Picross is a picross game on Game Boy. Some things are Mario-themed, while other things are generic. I enjoyed how the game timed each puzzle completion, docking points for each mistake made. It took a bit, but I was able to clear all of the main puzzles and see the credits. I unlocked the extra Time Attack ones, but I haven't done too many of those.
Rating: Good

37. BMX AirMaster (2600) - April 8th, 2019
This is one of the best games on the Atari 2600. BMX AirMaster is an extreme sports game done right, years before Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. There are three different events/levels, and then the game loops. The goal is just to score the most points, and the musick and graphics really get me excited to play. I love the little theme that plays. I was able to do quite a few loops through the game before I finally failed too many times. Play this if you haven't (or even if you have).
Rating: Good

38. Phoenix (2600) - April 9th, 2019
Does this even count? I figure if you can loop an old-school arcade game, you have completed it; it's just a much smaller trial than completing most console games. I was able to destroy the mothership in Phoenix, a Galaxian-style shmup, causing the starting waves to reappear. I may have done this in the past, but I had no record of it logged. Anyway, this game is pretty basic but fun. The enemies are alien birds that can take shots to their wings without much effect with a central shot destroying them.
Rating: Good

39. Go Go Ackman (SFC) - April 10th, 2019
Go Go Ackman is an action-platformer based on a manga series by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. I played this around when I went to Pittsburgh's anime convention, Tekko. It stars a weird little demon guy named Ackman who kind of looks like Dragon Ball's Trunks. He's shorter and has no nose, though (also he's a demon!). The game is a pretty solid platform hopping adventure with powerups to collect and enemies to defeat. The graphics are really nice.
You can find the full review here.

Rating: Good

40. Bishi Bashi Channel (Arcade) - April 14th, 2019
Kaiti and I played Bishi Bashi Channel at Tekko. It's a colelction of minigames like the other titles in this series. Some of the humor is kind of bad, with some homophobic/transphobic stuff. It's also kind of painful to play for a while, as the game is played by quickly smashing buttons on the cabinet. This one is kind of amusing, having a theme of basically YouTube channels competing for views. Multiplayer is pretty good.
Rating: Good

41. The Moon Sliver (PC) - April 15th, 2019
The Moon Sliver was the first game I heard of that was made by David Szymanski. It's a short adventure game, seemingly made on the cheap. The story is somewhat expressionist, surreal, and murky. It's a tale of the recent(?) past told from the present via found journals and notes. The game is meant to be played in one sitting; there are no save points or anything like that, but it only takes an hour or two. Since there are no real enemies or anything, you can also always leave the game on and come back. The game feels a bit amateurish, but it's charming in a way too. We can all tell our own stories with a bit of effort, practice, and skill.

Rating: Good

42. Where Is My Heart? (PS3) - April 16th, 2019
I started Where Is My Heart? years ago. It was one of those games that I stopped playing for some reason. Around the time I came back to this, I was going through unfinished games (ones that I got a decent chunk into but never finished) and games in my Steam backlog (like The Moon Sliver above). In this case, I stopped playing Where Is My Heart? because I was afraid of losing too many points from dying too many times. There were only a few more levels, and I decided that I would do my best without worrying too much.
Rating: Good

43. Jump/Boxer (PC) - April 16th, 2019
Another short game that's been in my Steam library for a long time, Jump/Boxer is another Blaze Epic game like samurai_jazz from last time. It seems to take place in the same world or even the same city. Unlike samurai_jazz, Jump/Boxer is a platformer/beat 'em up. I had a lot of fun with it, even if it's short.
Rating: Good

44. Cruis’n World (N64) - April 17th, 2019
Cruis'n World is the sequel to Cruis'n USA, one of the first games I played on the Nintendo 64 at my friend Shane's house. It's a racing game with 3D graphics but still a lot of pixelated sprites (think Doom). You can do some absurd tricks and upgrade cars. The different courses are cool, and the final one is on the Moon.
Rating: Good

45. Mischief Makers (N64) - April 17th, 2019
I also played Mischief Makers at Shane's house. Neither of us really knew what it was (I think it was Shane's mom's game or she had bought it for him because she heard it was cool). I only saw it after he had done many of the levels, so to me it was always really mysterious. I got the game, complete(!), in 2016 at Too Many Games in 2016. I played through about half of the game sometime after, so this was another partially finished one. It wasn't too tough to complete, though it's not super easy either. The game is about a sort of magical girl character that can boost around with a jet-powered suit, pick up weapons and NPCs, throw stuff, and of course shake things. Shaking things has various effects. The game has a self-referential humor to it. I highly recommend it.
Rating: Good

46. Cruis’n USA (N64) - April 17th, 2019
Alright, here we go again. It's basically the same as Cruis'n World, but this one came out first. It's a bit more basic with slightly lower-end graphics. Both are arcade-y racers that started as arcade games. It's weird to see Nintendo and Midway team up for a trashy American thing.
Rating: Good

47. Space Station Silicon Valley (N64) - April 18th, 2019
Space Station Silicon Valley was one of my favorite N64 games as a kid. It was advertised to me as a cult classic, and that's still accurate today. This game isn't widely known, but it is a really fun game from DMA, creators of Grand Theft Auto, Lemmings, and Body Harvest. All of those games have some connection here. As a moving integrated circuit, you can steal robot bodies for your own like the car jacking of GTA Body Harvest. The game has the quirky humor and puzzle/adventure genre of Lemmings. This one's much more action-packed. I had trouble finishing it, because the game froze on me constantly back when I was younger. Apparently, one of the levels freezes if you use an Expansion Pack, and that peripheral provides no benefits either. Just say no to Expansion Packs if you are going to play this great game about a runaway space station that used to be a zoo.
Rating: Good

48. Easter Bunny’s Big Day (PS1) - April 20th, 2019
Oh boy! This is a children's activity book as a video game. It's done quite poorly too. There are jigsaw puzzles and a few unpolished minigames. The puzzles have some cool images, but the game is just not very good at all. One thing that's pretty interesting about Easter Bunny's Big Day is that the spine of the rear artwork within the case is blue instead of black. I don't think I've seen any other games like that.
You can read the full review here.
Rating: Bad

49. The Way of the Pixelated Fist (PC) - April 22nd, 2019
Here's another one from Blaze Epic. The Way of the Pixelated Fist is the same platforming beat 'em up as Jump/Boxer, but this one requires the player to explore the world, defeating various martial arts masters in a certain order. I liked this game overall, but it was really repetitive and tedious having to backtrack constantly, fighting the same enemies over and over. Also there is some really weird scene composition here with the camera sometimes clipping characters' heads and the like. It looks like the developer wanted to replicate Tokyo Drifter or the opening to Cowboy Bebop. There are good ideas here, but there are some big flaws too.
Rating: Neutral

50. MediEvil II (PS1) - April 24th, 2019
I was so disappointed with MediEvil II. I never played it when it came out, because the humor seemed off. The original game was sardonic and dry, and this was more like a Looney Tunes cartoon. Why did Sir Dan have a Gatling gun? What was with the cockney ghost? I got over that stuff, but the actual game didn't work well either. The camera is a mess, and this sequel loves incorporating poorly done platforming into the level design. You have much more limited health, being unable to refill your health vials at fountains (the fountains run out after being used once), and the game is much more linear, having no reason to backtrack other than if you missed a chalice or if you just wanted to go back. The story is barely related to the first MediEvil and feels uninspired. On the other hand, the ending became enjoyably tough, and the setting was kind of cool (if underutilized). As I was playing MediEvil II, I got the impression that Sony had smoothed Sir Dan out, made him more bland to appeal to the lowest common denominator in hopes of establishing a franchise. It didn't work of course. I'm excited to see what happens with the new remake that comes out this week.
Rating: Neutral

51. Ridge Racer Revolution (PS1) - April 26th, 2019
Ridge Racer Revolution was the second Ridge Racer game on the PlayStation. It's kind of like an expanded version of the original, as it has three courses, the courses from the first game, and some weird extra modes. There's even another arcade minigame to play as the game boots up, Galaga '88. I really liked the vapor-y look of the courses in Ridge Racer Revolution. I'm still no good at controlling with a NeGcon.
Rating: Good

52. Trauma Center: Under the Knife (DS) - April 30th, 2019
Boy, I had trouble with Trauma Center: Under the Knife. It's a tough puzzle game about doctors curing diseases where you need to be fast, fast, fast and very precise. Some things feel really cheap and pedantic. I never got a good rank sewing a wound back up. The later stages are excruciating. The story is told like a visual novel with anime characters and tons of drama (and melodrama). I expected more goofiness, but apparently that's only in the later games. Trauma Center was an alright game overall.
Rating: Neutral

53. Comix Zone (Genesis) - May 2nd, 2019
Another great game that I never finished when I was little (or maybe did but never documented it [or only with the bad ending {or only with a code}]), Comix Zone is a beat 'em up/adventure game that takes place in a comic book. The graphics make it look like your character, Sketch Turner, navigates through panels and rips paper out of the pages. The game is pretty tough, but it's manageable once you learn the tricks and solve the puzzles. It also helped to use a level select code to skip ahead past the stuff I've done a million times. There's no benefit in terms of lives or anything when doing this either, so there's no cheap benefit other than avoiding tedium. I love the soundtrack.
Rating: Good

54. Mr. Driller (PS1) - May 12th, 2019
Mr. Driller is an arcade game ported to PS1. You play as the titular character who is exploring underneath the world to investigate the sudden appearance of blocks on the surface. Oddly, Mr. Driller is the son of Taizo Hori from Dig Dug, and the series also connects with Galaga and Ace Combat in a weird Namco Universe. Anyway, this is an action-puzzler with degrees of luck and skill to dig down while making sure you get enough air to keep digging. It's on tons of other consoles too, if you haven't played this yet.
Rating: Good

55. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2) - May 15th, 2019
In another act of reversing a decision I made when I was younger, I decided to give this spinoff of the original Baldur's Gate a chance. It was okay. This PS2 hack-and-slash Diablo-like really doesn't replicate anything about the original game that helped breathe new life into Dungeons & Dragons. It's all action and grinding with little tactical combat and no party members. Though the game claims to use the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules, it really doesn't except in the barest sense. Anyway, Dark Alliance is repetitive, but it was interesting enough to finish. I got pretty into it as I neared the end, especially with some cool environments like the swamp with all the zombies in it. The final boss was pretty cheesy, though. Dark Alliance has almost nothing to do with Baldur's Gate (it doesn't even take place there except the first level), but it's a decent action-RPG.
Rating: Neutral

56. Tetris (GB) - May 16th, 2019
I'm counting Tetris as a completion, because I got the space shuttle cutscene. I'm sure you know about this one. It's a good game.
Rating: Good

57. Tetris Blast (GB) - May 18th, 2019
Tetris Blast is actually a game called Super Bombliss. It's a game about fusing blocks together to make larger and larger explosions to set off. In Contest Mode, you try to clear the field of blocks, and in Fight Mode you fight against a computer opponent by setting off explosions that damage the enemy. I had fun with and completed both modes.
Rating: Good

58. Samurai Shodown! 2 (NGPC) - May 20th, 2019
In May, I suddenly got a Neo Geo Pocket Color,and it came with a bunch of games. This was one of those games, and it is a great portable adaptation of SNK's weapon-based fighter, Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage. I haven't played that one, so this was all new to me. It's a furious battle of blades, and this handheld version includes collectible cards to power up the fighters.
Rating: Good

59. Fatal Fury: First Contact (NGPC) - May 21st, 2019
Fatal Fury: First Contact is just like Samurai Shodown! 2, an chibi handheld adaptation of an already existing SNK fighter. I think this is one of the first games I ever played on a Neo Geo Pocket Color when my friend Shane borrowed one from someone he knew. It's based on Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, and it is a blast to play.
Rating: Good

60. SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium (NGPC) - May 21st, 2019
Here's another one of these handheld adaptations with SD characters. SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium is a crossover fighter. You can choose from various characters from Street Fighter, King of Fighters, and more. The game can be played in teams of two or three, or you can just take it one-on-one. You can also select between Capcom or SNK styles. The Olympic Mode has some great minigames to play using more characters from the two companies. This game was great, just like the others.
Rating: Good

61. King of Fighters R-2 (NGPC) - May 21st, 2019
Okay, this is the last of these handheld chibi fighters, at least for now. King of Fighters R-2 is based on King of Fighters '98. There are some unlockable characters and also the weird Making Mode where you pick a character and unlock new skills for them. It's all good fun.
Rating: Good

62. SNAFU (Intellivision) - May 21st, 2019
SNAFU is your standard Snake game. I beat the computer in a match, so I counted it here. There aren't really levels or anything, so this is kind of silly.  I think it would be fun to play SNAFU with another player.
Rating: Good

63. Star Strike (Intellivision) - May 21st, 2019
Star Strike is essentially the Death Star Trench Run. You fly down the trench of a space station that is set to obliterate a planet, destroying weapons silos and avoiding enemy fire along the way. If you take too long to destroy all of the weapons silos, the planet is blown to smithereens. It's a tense and fun game of patterns and timing. I completed the game on most of the difficulty levels.
Rating: Good

64. Space Armada (Intellivision) - May 21st, 2019
Space Armada is Space Invaders on Intellivision. Enemies shoot, and you shoot back. You can hide behind bases. When the Space Armada is destroyed another one appears. If you destroy one, you've done as much beating the game as you can really.
Rating: Good

65. Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4) - May 22nd, 2019
We return to the present day of gaming through a game that takes place in an alternate past. The Nazis won World War II. You play as BJ Blazkowicz as he contributes to the resistance against the fascist scum in control. Wolfenstein: The New Order is your usual first-person shooter with some exploration and a heavy story. I thought the character development was well done, though the gameplay could be repetitive. Some of the levels were not your usual running and gunning, and some that were were pretty exhilarating. I don't know when I'll play the sequels, but I'm sure I will at some point.
Rating: Good

66. King of Fighters 2006 (PS2) - May 24th, 2019
King of Fighters 2006 is King of Fighters in 3D. It's actually a sequel to KOF: Maximum Impact. The story involves some pretty bizarre demon-humanoids. I thought the bad guys were kind of cool, and the selection of characters overall was great. The fighting engine combines some elements of 2D and 3D fighters in a fun way. I think that this kind of thing might be the most natural fighting game for me.
Rating: Good

67. Depth: Sweepstation Vol. 1 (PS1) - May 25th, 2019
One of my Summer water-based games for PlayStation Basement, Depth: Sweepstation Vol. 1. is actually a music creation tool where you control a dolphin through visualizations of a song, trying out different sonic effects until you unlock the next area. You can "complete" the game in under an hour, but that just unlocks all of the tracks available for editing. My girlfriend and I had fun creating electronic songs with the components available.
You can find the full review here.

Rating: Good

68. King of Fighters XI (PS2) - May 25th, 2019
It's another SNK fighter, another King of Fighters game. I liked this one, but I couldn't tell you much about it in terms of the story. These games blend together for me; it doesn't help that I haven't played them in order, haven't played a lot of the earlier entries, never played them when I was younger, and never read much into the back stories of the characters. In terms of gameplay, the Challenge Mode has some tough matches to win, often with odd conditions, to unlock characters, and SNK's usual Edit Mode returns to customize character colors. Time overs are won by a more complex Judgement Bar instead of the usual highest health remaining. Dream Cancels let you do big combos if you have the skills. King of Fighters XI is a pretty fun game for 2D fighting fans.
Rating: Good

69. Killer Instinct (SNES) - May 27th, 2019
I don't like it. Maybe you do; a lot of people seem to like this game. I don't think I'll ever understand the appeal of Killer Instinct. I remember being impressed with the arcade graphics at a skating rink when I was little, but the SNES version looks so messy. The system has the goofy "dial-a-combo" stuff for long combos from this cast of cyborgs, elementals, and monsters. Many games appeared in the wake of Killer Instinct, and most of those weren't good either.
Rating: Bad

70. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) - May 30th, 2019
I was amazed when I played Super Mario Odyssey after putting it off for a while, intimidated by the size of the game. When I popped it into my Switch, I was hooked, grabbing as many moons as a I could in this Super Mario 64 spiritual successor. Mario controls so smoothly, the graphics are beautiful, the colors are bright, and the level design is stellar! I loved every minute exploring this game and finding all of the easter eggs. I still need to do the post-game content, and I'm excited to get back to it when I get the chance.
Rating: Good

71. Crystal Crisis (Switch) - May 31st, 2019
Crystal Crisis is Nicalis' version of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. It's a versus puzzle game with various characters, though the ones here don't mesh as well as the Capcom characters. I didn't know who many of these people were except Astro Boy, Blackjack, Johnny Turbo, and a few more. The game is decent, but the characters are really unbalanced. Also, it's really bare bones with no endings to the story mode for example.
You can read the full review here.

Rating: Neutral

72. Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS (3DS) - June 3rd, 2019
I didn't make any levels in Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, but the single-player campaign was really fun. The levels serve as an example of what can be created, and playing them unlocks more parts to use. This version has limited functionality for sharing creations, but at least the single-player game is great.
Rating: Good

73. Maru’s Mission (GB) - June 4th, 2019
Maru's Mission is a Ninja Jajamaru game, a huge series in Japan with very few releases in North America. This Game Boy outing has our ninja buddy going on a trip around the world to rescue his girlfriend Cori. Bosses include a cyclops, Dracula, a huge bug, and Medusa, among others. Strangely, the stage in Brazil features the Hydra and Cerberus from Greek legends, though there is also a level in Greece.The game is a fast-paced action-platformer with some clunkiness. I was able to complete the game, but I got stuck and lost tons of health at one part. I beat the final boss with almost nothing left. The fishing stages are pretty bad. Maru's Mission is otherwise a great game.
Rating: Good

74. Star Fox Command (DS) - June 5th, 2019
Star Fox Command has flaws, but it's not a Bad game. I wish that the developers hadn't gone all in with their touchscreen controls, though I'm not surprised considering the era. You use the touchscreen to aim, steer, and do various maneuvers with the other buttons firing the Arwing's main weapons. Command adds the ability to play as other characters such as Slippy and Falco. Every stage is both a strategy map and various action stages. The stages aren't rail shooters like the traditional Star Fox, but they are also basically all the same (destroy so many targets to collect objects or destroy the military base). The story was interesting, but I didn't like that you can't select different choices (that still appear on the screen) without beating the game first. This one really could have been great with some changes. I hope it gets an expanded remake one day.
Rating: Neutral

75. Avenging Spirit (GB) - June 8th, 2019
I wanted to play Avenging Spirit since I looked into what this game was. I never saw it when I was little and thought that the cover art was generic at first glance. The concept is awesome though - you play as a ghost who can possess other characters to control them in this action-platformer set in the criminal underworld. There are only a few levels, but they require some strategy and usage of certain characters in certain parts to get through unscathed. There's no actual necessary character for the most part; there are just better ones. If you collect all of the keys throughout the game, you can play as a special character and get the good ending. This game is worth hunting down; it's a real masterpiece.
Rating: Good

76. Mario Kart 7 (3DS) - June 11th, 2019
Mario Kart 7 is an okay entry in the Mario Kart series. I'm actually not really that good at these games and kind of avoid them due to the blue shells and stuff that overtook the series in more recent entries. The underwater and gliding sections of tracks didn't make me that excited about this one. The big problem is the previously mentioned blue shells - some races I got hit by seven or eight of them while in the lead! I understand how this works (the powerups level the playing field a bit with losing characters getting better ones), but this was just absurd. There has to be some curtailing of crazy powerups or the game just becomes too based on luck. Mario Kart 7 still isn't terrible, but it isn't great.
Rating: Neutral

77. Mega Man III (GB) - June 11th, 2019
Mega Man III is not Mega Man 3 on the NES; like almost all of the other Game Boy entries, it uses elements from two NES Mega Man games (Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4 in this case). I defeated all of the Robot Masters after a few short bursts of playing over a year and two jobs (a barista at a coffee shop and help desk for a large company). Dustman had me in the dirt for a while. I was so glad to finally beat Mega Man III. I haven't beaten many of these games, and seeing the ending really made me smile.
Rating: Good

78. Battle Hunter (PS1) - June 15th, 2019
My friends and I played the tactical post-apocalyptic multiplayer RPG Battle Hunter for tons of hours when we were younger. It's really great while also be somewhat limited. The game was a budget release, and you can tell. The bare bones story, poor translation, and limited gameplay mechanics showcase this obviously. The simplicity also means that this game was easy to get people into it.
You can find the whole review here.
Rating: Good

79. The Blackwell Legacy (PC) - June 16th, 2019
Here's another ghostly detective game, The Blackwell Legacy. The game originally came out in 2006, and got some later releases in 2014. It's about Rosangela Blackwell, a writer in New York City who stumbles upon a supernatural family secret and a chain of suicides at a local college. Uncovering the story by finding clues and talking with individuals provides an excellent experience other than the odd times where you have to leave an area and then come back to progress. The notebook system in the game is a pretty neat idea. I'm going to continue the story with the other games in the series soon enough.
Rating: Good

80. Pokkén Tournament DX (Switch) - June 17th, 2019
A Pokémon fighting game, Pokkén Tournament DX does an adamant job at creating a simplified experience. The game is kind of like Evil Zone with a similar distance-based fighting system, but this one has explicit modes of close-quarters fighting and long-range fighting. I felt like switching between modes was kind of weird, the long-range mode feeling limited at times. There are also partner Pokémon to summon for assistance and a super mode to transform into. The characters feel really different to use, with Gengar playing way different than Scizor or Empoleon or Machamp. My one real big gripe is the single-player campaign, as it is extremely long. It took me hours to compete with all of the different cups and opponents to fight. The problem is that you are fighting the same characters over and over. It's sort of like Monster Rancher with less variety but more action. I do like the character customization options; there are hundreds of choices for clothing, hair, accessories, and more. I haven't tried multiplayer yet, but I think that will be fun to play with even inexperienced players.
Rating: Neutral

81. Ganso!! Yanchamaru (GB) - June 18th, 2019
Ganso!! Yanchamaru is another ninja game on the Game Boy. This one plays a bit like Super Mario Bros. with breakable blocks, powerups, bonus stages, and trickier platforming. Though there were a few games in this series fro Irem, only the first game came stateside as Kid Niki: Radical Ninja. I didn't have too much trouble with this one, and I got the good ending after beating the fox ninja at the end!
Rating: Good

82. Batman: The Video Game (GB) - June 19th, 2019
Batman: The Video Game is a great early Game Boy title. Based on the 1989 film, this game seems to star a more Golden Age, gun-toting Batman (though the movie version was perhaps like that too in a way based on his Batmobile). You play through the chemical factory, the cathedral, and face off against the Joker at the end. There are even some scrolling shooter stages in the Batwing. I almost beat this game earlier in the year during the Winter when I was still working at a help desk and playing lots of Game Boy. Completing this, and the other Game Boy games before it really made me miss my former job; honestly, it was a pretty good place to work. It also gave me nostalgia for the Batman craze of the 1990s, especially the toys and the animated series. I'm sure that you will have your own kinds of nostalgia from this game if you were a kid at that time.
Rating: Good

83. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (DS) - June 20th, 2019
Once more, a ghostly mystery occurs, this time as a visual novel/adventure game with puzzles to solve and time to be traveled. A mysterious event occurs one night, killing a spiking-haired blonde man who thinks his name is Sissel. He is then embroiled in a case about spies, broken families, a brave Pomeranian, and the smell of death. Can Sissel solve the mystery before the night is over and he fades away? I played this game after hearing about it from every YouTuber on the planet. I was also suffering from severe thanatophobia for months, and this was part of the healing process. There's some similarity with Avenging Spirit, but instead of possessing people, you possess objects. I had some trouble with some puzzles but ultimately made it through. The end was excellent, making it all worthwhile. This is one of my favorite games on the Nintendo DS.
Rating: Good

84. Mortal Kombat (GB) - June 21st, 2019
I expected the Game Boy port of Mortal Kombat to be bad, and it was. Everything moves in slow motion, Johnny Cage is missing, the musick is a disaster, and the controls are a mess. Special moves don't work half of the time. The whole thing resembled the awful port of Mortal Kombat 3 I played last year. Just avoid this one.
Rating: Bad

85. Mortal Kombat II (GB) - June 21st, 2019
I actually have a compilation of Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II, and that's how I played what I expected would both be awful games. I questioned why I even owned this cartridge as I was fighting Goro in the first game. Amazingly, Mortal Kombat II is a Good game! It's really fun, with fast movements, snappy controls, sharper graphics, and good sound. I couldn't believe it! I had a lot of fun with this one. It might be better than the console versions; it just feels snappier.
Rating: Good

86. Ultimate NES Remix (3DS) - June 21st, 2019
The idea of Ultimate NES Remix was exciting; the execution was just alright. I thought this would be more zany crossovers, playing Link in Metroid and the like. There's some of that. The majority of the game is composed of short challenges within one game, something like getting so many coins in so many seconds in Super Mario Bros. 3. I liked that, but it just could have been better.
Rating: Neutral

87. Windjammers (Switch) - June 24th, 2019
Windjammers has gotten really competitive lately, something that I have almost no connection to. It's a fun game for sure, a combination of fighting game and Pong with a vapor 80s look of bright tropical palettes. You can select between a few different characters with different stats representing different countries, and then it's time to fling that disc at the opponent's goal! The single-player mode is short but fun, and then there's tons of multiplayer for experts and newcomers alike. This is a great and elegant design.
Rating: Good

88. Ultraman: Towards the Future (SNES) - June 24th, 2019
Ultraman: Towards the Future gets a lot of hate, but I don't think it's a bad game. It's not the best fighting game ever, for sure, but I kind of like it. It's an example of a pre-Street Fighter II fighting game, though this actually came out a little over half a year after that game. Ultraman: Towards the Future is based on the North American Ultraman series of the same name from 1992. I don't think I've ever seen this series, at least not that I can remember. Apparently it was made in Australia. Anyway, the game has a lot of the usual aliens to fight with a stiff Ultraman to control. You have a meter that builds up and allows you to use different maneuvers depending on where it is filled to (higher allows for stronger moves). You need to finish each opponent with your Burning Plasman attack, which requires a full bar, after you reduce their life to a sliver. If you miss with your beam, the enemy will slowly recover. It's a bit tedious, but I enjoyed the challenge and the limited continues.
Rating: Neutral

89. Spider-Man (Atari 2600) - June 25th, 2019
Spider-Man is another arcade-y game that I looped. There are only a few different layout for buildings that Spider-Man must climb, avoiding bombs, crooks, and falls. When you get to the top, you have to avoid the Green Goblin and disarm the bomb. The action is fast, fun, and precise. Spider-Man is really fun to play for a short time.
Rating: Good

90. Haunted House (Atari 2600) - June 25th, 2019
A survival-horror game on Atari? Haunted House is sort of that, though survival-horror is just a Capcom-marketing term for a their series of action-adventure games known as Resident Evil. Haunted House stars a pair of eyes who must navigate the mansion of the deceased Zachery Graves to collect items and keys. Spiders, bats, and the ghost of the former owner hunt the player down in the dark mansion. You can light matches for a temporary way to see where you are going. Most importantly, the cover art is one of the coolest video game cover art pieces ever. I was able to complete many of the difficulty levels of Haunted House. It's another short and fun game.
Rating: Good

91. Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (Arcade) - June 29th, 2019

Kaiti and I went to the going away party for my friend Victor (The Modern Gafa). It was held at Victory Pointe, a hip arcade and ice cream place, on the South Side of Pittsburgh. I was excited to go to Victory Pointe for the first time, and we got to go for free. The party was unfortunately a dud, but I had fun playing some games. Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters is a fighting game that plays like the classic Mega Man games. You fight a Robot Master, collect a new power, and then move on to the next. It's all boss fights with no levels in between. This game was pretty easy, but it moves fast; a few of the fights ended up with me almost destroyed too.
Rating: Good

92. The Simpsons (Arcade) - June 29th, 2019

Kaiti and I played The Simpsons beat 'em up game after Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. Surprisingly, I had never played this classic before. It was pretty good, and I loved the art design of it all - it looks just like the early seasons of The Simpsons. We were able to clear the game since we had infinite continues, but The Simpsons felt a lot more fair than some other beat 'em ups I've played.
Rating: Good

93. NORTH (Switch) - June 30th, 2019
The last game of the quarter was NORTH, an odd indie title, a sci-fi story of immigration and alienation. It's a weird world, and you have to understand it. The city is dark, and the residents are quite unusual. The low-poly aesthetic brings this computer world to life in ways that I dreamed of over twenty years ago. Make the trip NORTH.
Rating: Good

If you made it all the way to the end, congratulations! I'll be back soon with a list of the third quarter games. That one is a lot shorter. Moving and a new job really messed up my free time. I'll be back to tell you about it sometime soon.

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