GB's Game Reviews: 2024-2025 Edition

2024, or at least the first half of it in particular, was the year of playing games I'd played already.

I love Backloggery. I've talked about it before. It's a really cool website that lets you compile a database of your video game collection and track your progress with them, referring to the games you own but haven't beaten yet as "your backlog". It's a great idea, but admittedly I think it's given me a bit of tunnel vision. Sometimes I think a little too much about how next to enhance how my collection looks on Backloggery, choosing what to play on the basis of needing to beat more games. This is fine, but it can go too far when I'm reluctant to play something I've already 100% completed, or have beaten but can't realistically 100%, just for the fun of playing it. When I was a kid I didn't have this problem - even if I'd beaten a game a dozen times over, if it was fun enough I'd pop it in the system and do it again. Playing a game you've already finished isn't a "waste of time" - it basically accomplishes just as much as playing something you haven't played before, as long as you still get entertainment out of it. Games are meant to be fun, after all, and trying new ones is a good idea, but I shouldn't be casting old favorites into a "never touch again" box if they can still bring me joy.

Anyway, that preamble is because in 2024 I placed an unusual amount of focus on playing older games, many of which I'd beaten before. This started out as getting 100% completion on games I'd played thoroughly but had never managed to do everything in. This was seen in my reviews last year, where I finally 100%'d a number of games I consider absolute classics, such as the original Sonic games and Banjo-Kazooie. That mindset continues into this year's reviews, with the likes of Super Mario 64 crossed off the list, but then I also spent a lot of time with Vampire Survivors, which I had started in 2023 but didn't finish. However, eventually I even started playing games I'd finished a long time ago, such as Pokemon Snap and Pokemon Trading Card Game. Since it's been over a decade since I've reviewed some of these old games, though, I will be taking another look at them here in this edition of the blog, marking the first time in this blog series I've ever re-reviewed anything. As summer became fall, I started playing more new games (though Banjo-Tooie joined the replay fun after its' surprise NSO release), and you'll see that reflected in the reviews as I start tackling a number of small indie titles as well as a few bigger games I'd never played before this year - but I do still finish the blog off with a review of a game I first played over fifteen years ago. I also end up playing a whole lot of Sonic games here as I became re-invested in the franchise that got me hooked on video games. I tried out both Sonic's newest games and some popular fangames as well as going back and taking care of some older titles I never beat. If you read my January blogpost about my history with the Sonic series and still want to read more words about that darn blue hedgehog, he's all over this blogpost.

I hope you enjoy this especially retro-flavored look at what I've been playing since April 2024!

Welcome to the Next Level

(Co-written with Jumpropeman.)

You hear talk about "man caves". Side rooms or basements that are stuffed with the hobbies of a guy with disposable income. Well, ain't no rule says a woman can't have a cave too, right? And so, over the past few years, that was exactly what had happened at the home of Meredith and Rachel, AKA Mega Drive and Nomad.

Mega Drive opened the door and stepped into the room, taking a moment to just breathe it all in. This refinished basement was a shrine to Sega. Shelves were lined with hundreds of games for every Sega system (with the Genesis unsurprisingly the most prominent). Merchandise of Sega characters also dotted the shelves, with Sonic the Hedgehog getting a whole section to himself where all of his games and merch was concentrated. Original Sega store displays and posters went up anywhere there was space. Sega arcade cabinets were here as well. For space reasons, there was a multicade that could play dozens of Sega arcade originals, but for nerd reasons, there were also a couple of genuine OG cabinets as well, including a The Lost World: Jurassic Park pinball machine. A place of honor was given to Periscope, a 1966 electro-mechanical arcade machine that was accompanied by a plaque proudly stating that it was Sega's very first game. Rachel had bought it for Meredith for Christmas 2024. That darn red-hooded nerd had always been trying to top herself, getting Meredith more extravagant and obscure Sega gifts each year, and Mega was at a bit of a loss as to how Rachel could possibly top this one next holiday season.

Meredith put a hand to her chin in thought as she looked over the Genesis games, almost reaching for a curious-looking one called Socket, then looking over at one called Chuck Rock, and then her eyes settled on a familiar favorite - Toejam and Earl. "Ah, it's so hard to choose sometimes..." she mumbled to herself. "Do I play something I don't have much experience with, or do I stick with an old faithful?"

"I have a suggestion!"

Meredith jumped a bit in surprise and turned to see Rachel had slipped into the room. "Ah, Rachel! Do you? That would be nice. I could use some help settling on something to play."

"I'm always ready to give my Sega Princess a helping hand." Rachel said softly, coming in close and hugging Meredith. "Come, let's get you to the royal couch." Rachel grinned and swept Meredith off her feet, Meredith letting out a "WHOOP!" of excited surprise as the most athletic girl in Nerd Club managed to heave her up in a princess carry. Rachel's grin turned a bit cocky as she did a couple reps with Meredith, lifting her up and down like a barbell and making her blush deeply. "You make excellent weight training." Rachel said as she stepped towards the couch, bowing her head to smooch Mega on one cheek. Meredith was lowered gently onto the couch, then Rachel stood in front of her and started rooting around in her Nomad robe for something.

"Oh, are we playing on Nomads today?" Mega asked, her cheeks still pink.

"Nah, not today. But I've got the perfect game for us to play on the big screen!" Rachel pulled out a generic plastic game case, then opened it and produced a blank Genesis cart. Instead of a label, it simply had a piece of masking tape across the front with "SOR2" written on it in marker. She stuck it in the Genesis and plopped down on the couch next to Meredith, both of them soon holding controllers. The Streets of Rage 2 title screen appeared on Meredith's large CRT television, the nerd brightening.

"Ah! A classic for sure! And the perfect co-op game to unwind with!"

"You bet! This one's a little special, though."

Mega was about to ask what was special about it, only for the character select screen to make it abundantly clear. This version of SOR2 had new playable characters. Axel, Blaze, Max, and Skate were gone, and had been replaced with... Meredith, Rachel, Gale, and Sumireko!

"Oh my goodness!" Meredith gaped in surprise, moving her cursor around to flip between the girls and admiring their sprites. They looked quite accurate, right down to the fact that all four girls were cute squishy nerds instead of muscular street toughs.

"It's us and our best friends, heading out to deal with Mr. X." Rachel said, looking quite proud of herself. "I'm no hacker, but I got some help from the rest of Nerd Club to make this happen. Ready to play?"

Meredith wasted no time in selecting herself as her playable character, looking giddy as Rachel did the same. "Absolutely!"

"Oh, and can't forget." Rachel reached into her cloak again and pulled out a big bag of chocolate-covered pretzels and a couple cans of soda. "Gotta have some game fuel, right?" She placed the bag in between the two of them and handed Meredith a soda, Rachel popping the tab on hers and Meredith crunching down on a pretzel as battle commenced on the STREETS OF RAGE.

Chatzy Madness Volume 425: That's A Peko

Jumpropeman: right now, one of the biggest most important cards in the physical pokemon tcg... is budew
Gooper Blooper: let me look at one and see if I can figure out why
Jumpropeman: look at that MONSTER
Gooper Blooper: Well, if you need to stall against an opponent who can't fight back because they can't set up, that's pretty good, but one attack from just about anything kills it
Jumpropeman: the official pokemon website even made a page explaining it
Jumpropeman: i guess unless you also face a budew, you can set up your own crazy item strategies while the opponent is forced to just attack the little guy. 1 prize is a small price for getting something huge online
Gooper Blooper: "How do you counter Budew?"
Gooper Blooper: imagine the intense budew-v-budew lulls
Gooper Blooper: these thumbnails are spectacular
Gooper Blooper: another video description tells me that this is Budew's first card in 16 years
Jumpropeman: THREAT OR SAVIOR
Gooper Blooper: it was gathering power all this time
Jumpropeman: the funny thing is, it's so dominant, it might not be the last
Jumpropeman: apparently Tapu Lele was such an important card it gets thrown into sets now and then as a secret rare to pay tribute
Gooper Blooper: I know a lot of baby Pokemon took extended breaks from the TCG because they didn't know what to do with them
Jumpropeman: budew and cleffa show they are too powerful...
Gooper Blooper: Budew must have been caught up in that, made worse by being such an overlooked pogey, but... seriously, nothing for BDSP or Legends Arceus?
Gooper Blooper: found some guy's blogpost listing the top six best cards from the new set, and Budew is #1, but look who they picked for #2
Jumpropeman: THE BOY
Gooper Blooper: if your opponent DARES terastallize
Gooper Blooper: eat fuckin' three hundred and thirty damage

Jumpropeman: i love that the tcg can give underpowered pokemon their days in the sun
Jumpropeman: not sure if its outdated info but, looks like the highest natural hp in tcg is 340
Gooper Blooper attaches a single PlusPower
Jumpropeman: work your way up to this bad boy
Jumpropeman: then Regigigas smashes you to shards
Draco: Dang. 340 HP? That's almost enough to survive Base Set Charizard.
Gooper Blooper: 120 damage for one energy
Jumpropeman: at some point the card game realized getting a third evolution on the field can be pretty difficult so the energy costs went down for them
Jumpropeman: although that tyranitar's also ex tera so its even more overtuned

---

Jumpropeman: on pokemon presents, I was pretty excited when the mobile games were going by so quickly, leaving extra time for... announcing latin american spanish for like three minutes

Harpnaomi: yeah that was weird but i ain't gonna complain

Jumpropeman: its good, but it was part of me realizing how weird it is that pokemon presents has buttoned up businessmen talk so much

Jumpropeman: you'd think it would have a more kid-friendly energy or something

Harpnaomi: channeling their Larry energy

---

Harpnaomi: drg: anniversary event is live!

Draco: ROCK AND STONE

Jumpropeman: what's it entail

Harpnaomi: had to quit partway through a mining mission because i did not see any fucking morkite

Harpnaomi: do mission, get cool hat and materials

Harpnaomi: its a 4 mission assignment

Harpnaomi: also the pilot lost the fucking trophies again because OF COURSE

Harpnaomi: i want to see mission control fistfight the pilot

Jumpropeman: this guy

Jumpropeman: he doesn't know what a lock is

Harpnaomi: inb4 i make a plot about this guy

Harpnaomi: "help me collect all the trophies i dropped and i'll give you this jiggy"

Harpnaomi: oh god i found my mayplot already huh.

Jumpropeman: that's a real collectathon

Jumpropeman: collect thing to collect things

Harpnaomi: i have a cooler better idea for a mayplot than that but hey, nobody has a rule against having TWO mayplots

Draco: And then Cagliostro offers up a Jiggy to fight her...and nobody fights her.

Harpnaomi: only way you'll get someone to fight you is for you to be in the brawl

Harpnaomi: and even then...

Jumpropeman: everyone runs when they see cagliostro

Jumpropeman: turns out, it's never been about morals. She just has BO

Draco: Le gasp

Harpnaomi: shtinky

Old Faces, New Faces

 -The Backrooms-

Three women walked together down a hall of the realm of The Backrooms that was referred to as 'The Waiting Rooms'. Here on the border of the Waiting Room and the nearby Classrooms was a hazy in-between area that resembled a school library. Books lined the walls, assembled on shelves that stretched up to near the ceiling. Various statues and other pieces of decor sat at the very top of the shelves, wooden figurines and stuffed toys looming over the trio like hunching gargoyles.

"Fascinating place you've got here." said Binah, looking around with appreciation. "You've certainly got some impressive discoveries under your belt already, Loremaster."

"Thank you, Binah!" Loremaster replied with a cheeky smile. "For the last year and a half, almost, studying this place has been my number one goal! It's a bit sad to de-prioritize it, but with its' main mysteries conquered, it's prudent I join you in Titan research. That seems rather more urgent. Now, to my honored guest..." Loremaster glanced over at the third woman in the party. "Allow me to introduce my latest breakthrough here in The Backrooms. Are you familiar with 'lost media', miss?"

"Yeah!" came the enthusiastic reply. "I help searches sometimes. In fact, just last month I managed to dig up a critical lead that helped people find the promo bumpers for the 1996 Kids Blast The Ballot Box awards show hosted by Stereoscope!"

"...Excellent!" Loremaster said, nodding as if she understood what any of that meant. "Anyway. I found out about lost media not too long ago, and I realized it could be entwined with The Backrooms. As I've shared already, I have a growing body of evidence that indicates that The Backrooms are formed and influenced by the memories of people on Earth. The places and things that appear here seem to be connected to half-remembered memories of the past. Which means, this could be a hotbed for lost media! If people remember something but it isn't easily accessible today, it could well be found here!" Coming to another room, Loremaster spread her arms and let her two guests soak in the sight of a personal study, shelves packed with books, discs, and cassette tapes (both audio and video), and a large desk with a computer acting as the centerpiece of it all. "Here, I have collected a large number of interesting-looking Backrooms books and media. I don't have the time to look through it all, unfortunately, but if you'd care to join us at Monarch, miss, I would be happy to give you access to this collection. Perhaps you'll find some new lost media!"

"WOW!" the girl exclaimed, pumping her fists excitedly. "This is the chance of a lifetime! And you're saying all I gotta do to get to use this study is to help you with Monarch? It's a deal!"

Truth be told, she probably would have helped even without this extra incentive, but she certainly appreciated it. After all...

Now she had twice the opportunities to expose the esoteric!

Chatzy Madness Volume 424: I Don't Like Killing, But I LOVE Steroids

RubyChao: Exactly how bad is the funding situation for Monarch, again?
Gooper Blooper: oh god
Gooper Blooper: Monarch is a huge deal in the Monsterverse and is easy bait for a massive, world-spanning plot, which I still might do, but I liked the idea of starting small
Gooper Blooper: Binah dreams of being a globetrotting kaiju whisperer but she's stuck here in the desert with Doug
RubyChao: i like it too however binah having to do a stint at mcmechos is still funny to picture

--- 

(After JRM changes his avatar to Mimi Sentry)

Jumpropeman: I can promise

Jumpropeman: Mimi is an idiot

(Later)

Gooper Blooper: the real reason JRM dislikes single fangs: why have just one when you can give a girl a mouth like a bear trap

Brine: Accurate, best kind.

---

New Years Eve-Il: "In Lufia 2, The Sea Ring is strong against Sea Creatures...but the programmers didn't flag any monsters as "Sea Creatures".

Harpydia: owned

Gooper Blooper: Big "Gen 1 ghosts beat psychics" energy

New Years Eve-Il: "Likewise, there is a Capsule monster with "Soil" attacks. There are no monsters with the Soil weakness flag set."

RubyChao: big "moon ball and burn heal" energy

New Years Eve-Il: "Final Fantasy Adventure has an item that cures the "Moogle" status—but the player can't use items as a Moogle, which renders the cure useless."

Harpydia: get moogled, idiot

---

Gooper Blooper: started playing a new robot fighting game today called Battle RC, runs great on the new comp

Jumpropeman: according to steam, Battle RC is similar to the game I've played, Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed

Gooper Blooper: My favorite thing about it is the Steam Workshop where people are uploading bot designs because there are a couple of super hardcore robot combat fans on there. Know how I know? Because instead of making replicas of famous and popular robots, they're putting the most obscure and random robots imaginable into Battle RC

Jumpropeman: excellent

Jumpropeman: ZFRP tier selection methods

Gooper Blooper: link

Jumpropeman: that's the kind of robot you throw into a tournament and it goes on an inexplicable run

Gooper Blooper: A few actually famous robots like Tombstone, Hydra, Toro, and Rusty did get representation on the workshop, but they are definitely outnumbered by the hordes of obscure one-and-done robots from multiple seasons ago

Gooper Blooper: who could forget... *checks notes*... Bucktooth Burl, who entered one tournament and didn't even get on television

Jumpropeman: excellent

Jumpropeman: sorted by most popular, looked at the first page, only recognize Tombstone :V

Gooper Blooper: You mean you don't recognize this famous bot?!

Gooper Blooper: (Malice is on the front page though, we know them because they sent me cool merch!)

Jumpropeman: Unidentified Red and Yellow Flipper for next Robot Champions

Sonic's Good Again: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of My Relationship With the Sonic the Hedgehog Series

-The Beginning-

You know this story. I've told it before. But here it is, one more time, to set the scene.

It was 1993, and little three-year-old Goops was beginning to form an attachment to video games. I played my mom's Atari 2600 as often as possible, usually playing Space Invaders. One day, the system went dead and refused to turn on again. I was beside myself with grief, and my mom knew what she had to do: get another video game console. She understood the Atari 2600 was old news by the 90s, but since she hadn't kept up with gaming since getting it, she wasn't sure what would be a good system to buy. Originally she considered an NES, but when she asked my older cousin for advice, he directed her away - the NES was old hat, too. The SNES, then? Nah. There was something much cooler on the market. If she wanted the most awesome video game system 1993 had to offer, she needed a Sega Genesis. And so, one morning I woke up to the sight of a new-in-box Model 2 Genesis in the living room and I was enraptured. Later that morning, the system was hooked up and I turned it on for the first time...

My mom has since added some additional information and a correction to this classic tale of how I first got into video games. Firstly, it wasn't a birthday gift like I had misremembered - the Atari did not happen to break down around then, she just wanted to cheer me up with a modern video game console after seeing how upset I was that the Atari had bitten the dust. Hilariously, she also added that when she became a mother, she had actually planned to raise a child without video games, which were at the height of their stereotypical "bad influence/brainrot" stereotyping in the early 90s, and she had bought into that mindset. When I'd found the Atari hanging around the house, though, she'd been willing to let me try it, and when she saw how despondent I was upon its' death, she already knew it was too late and couldn't bear seeing me so sad. Since then, my younger brother and even Mom herself have grown into avid gamers, and we've held the medium in high regard in this household ever since.

But it all comes back to that Genesis, and the pack-in game. Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Chatzy Madness Volume 423: I Have To Turn Gabriella Into A Solifugid

Gooper Blooper: link
Gooper Blooper: evening
RubyChao: "Hotel Mario is a 1994 puzzle video game"
RubyChao: There is a non-zero chance Hotel Mario contains unforgivable sin.
Gooper Blooper: HEY YOU, GET OFFA MY CLOUD
Gooper Blooper: wait a second
Gooper Blooper: could THIS be the unforgivable sin:
Harpydia: yeah that's assault, bro
RubyChao: oh my god
RubyChao: assault and battery
RubyChao: theft
RubyChao: this is the moment where mario becomes destined for hell
Harpydia: truly a sadge moment
Gooper Blooper: he coulda spawned in the OverThere if not for this
Gooper Blooper: damnation it is

--- 

Gooper Blooper: https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/6895769
Jumpropeman: egg!
Gooper Blooper: https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/5209852
Jumpropeman: more egg!
Jumpropeman: when's her older sister join her in rp
Gooper Blooper: I unironically very briefly considered using Eggmaam as an antagonist for a Sonic-themed plot before realizing "no, this is just Eggette again" and scrapping it :V
Jumpropeman: why whats the problem with TWO eggettes-
Draco: Sage says they're copycat posers.
Gooper Blooper: I still find it suspicious that Sage popped up a few years after Eggette
Gooper Blooper: Sega had to have known about her...
Draco: Funny how Eggette hasn't been seen since... BI
Gooper Blooper: she was spotted this past May as a commentator for some big dumb robot fight where she revealed herself to be a stan for Chinkilla
Draco: ...hasn't been seen since...
Draco evacuates.

---

Draco: Two Dracgirls.
Gooper Blooper: I don't recall seeing the Archangel in RP, is this a reveal?
RubyChao: no, Draco used her as a faceclaim for the Mage General in agama
Draco: She had a minor role in Agama, faceclaim for Mage General Michaela Arcanjo. She's Silvania's step-daughter.
Gooper Blooper: Ah, yeah, we didn't see much of her
Gooper Blooper: totally forgot that character even existed
Draco: Yeah, she didn't do much.
Draco: She was a tertiary dueteragonist or something.
Jumpropeman: can you describe her with at least 30 adjectives?
Draco: Mean, rude, bullying, angry, bitter, sour, unhappy, commanding, domineering, dominating, magical, serious, busy, powerful, unimpressed, annoyed, steely, hardened, unforgiving, suspicious, untrusting, intelligent, clever, strategic, militaristic, hawkish, aggressive, brave, courageous, beautiful.
Jumpropeman: excellent, the first and most important zoofights rp wiki page can now be made
Jumpropeman: is she as beautiful as Ms. Fieldmouse though
Gooper Blooper: Ms. Fieldmouse's page got reworked at some point since JRM first found it and is a lot less unhinged in its' simping of her now
RubyChao: How dare.
Gooper Blooper: there's still this:
"Personality
Kind, caring, greedy, beautiful, attractive"
-but it doesn't call her "insanely sexy" any more
Draco: Nobody is THAT beautiful, JRM.
Jumpropeman: finally, modern hip Ms. Fieldmouse
Gooper Blooper: thanks, AI
RubyChao: Both Ms. Fieldmouse and Jacquimo the Swallow mention Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Jacquimo calls attention to the eponymous characters' impossible love, finding it romantic, while Ms. Fieldmouse comments in her song that their love was meaningless because it got them both killed.
However, Ms. Fieldmouse's allusion to Romeo and Juliet is actually incorrect, perhaps implying that she did not actually read the play: she says that they were "very much in love when they were wed" when actually the two lovers died before having the chance to get married (CORRECTION: Romeo and Juliet get married in Act 2, Scene 5 by Friar Laurence).
RubyChao: i like how they didn't bother to remove the incorrect one
RubyChao: but just add a correction
Jumpropeman: they didn't have any whiteout
Draco: The idea that Mrs. Fieldmouse might have not read Romeo and Juliet is very important to understanding her character.