BaD #1: January 2021 Recap and BaD Introduction

On 02/01/2021 at 03:31 PM by daftman

Games Beaten

-The Ninja Saviors—Return of the Warriors (Switch)

Lacking the ability to run really annoyed me at first but it forced me to hunker down and engage with the combat on the game's own terms. I couldn't just dart in, attack, and get away. And the game is so rewarding once you really learn it. The combat is quite deep. I really enjoyed it. One of the bosses was a lazy double of the first stage boss and the final one relies on an annoying mechanic you don't have to use otherwise. But still a very fun beat-'em-up.

-Gunbird (Psikyo Collection Vol. 1, Switch)

Gunbird is interesting. Mechanically it is solid but nothing special. There are power ups and bombs, with the characters themselves acting as the different guns. None of the enemies or bosses is that interesting (though a few are weird). But the setting is this neat steampunk/magical Japan mash up. Each character has two endings depending on a choice at the end. Each one I saw was delightfully silly, plus it's a short game to play through.

Games Bought

January was a decent acquisitions month. My wife finally got a copy of Ring Fit Adventure (Switch) and has stayed fairly consistent with it for a couple weeks now. Seems pretty cool. Also physically for the Switch: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (which I regretted not getting on the Wii U and now am happy for my procrastination), Celeste, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (now I can continue playing this series!), and Mighty Gunvolt Burst. On the digital front I downloaded Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch) because it was a really good deal on the eShop and I've given up finding a decently priced physical copy of that. I also bought a copy of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (PS4), which sounds like it has a delightfully bonkers story. And I grabbed both PS4 PS+ games: Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Greedfall.

Games Being Played

-Octopath Traveler (Switch)

After a couple weeks of not really touching it, I'm back into playing. I finished Chapter 3 for Tressa (my starter) and now am going back to H'aanit's Chapter 2, the last of that bunch.

-Sakura Wars (PS4)

Progress slowed down for this game too, unfortunately. January was not a real heavy month for playing a lot (plus there was prep for BaD). But I'm working on it, slowly but surely.

-Dragon's Crown Pro (PS4)

We beat first Ancient Dragon, a.k.a., Normal Mode. Working on getting the Hard Mode talismans.

-Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)

My wife and I started a new town on the Switch Lite, free of meddling children lol.

-Destiny 2 (PS4)

Getting ready to start a new season. Didn't even come close to fininshing the stuff from the previous season O_O

Blog-a-Day!

For BaD this year I'm going through Taito Legends, a PS2 collection of Taito arcade games. There are more than 20 games in the collection, so I won't be getting through the whole thing but we'll see how far I get! (I haven't prepped all the blogs yet, so even I don't know yet lol.) See you tomorrow!

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/01/2021 at 05:26 PM

Oooohh, I know barely anything about Taito. That'll be cool.

daftman

02/02/2021 at 07:06 PM

Me either! It has been very educational

KnightDriver

02/01/2021 at 08:32 PM

Curious about that PS4 Sakura Wars. I watched a trailer for it.

Yeah, Taito. I love the games in that collection.

02/02/2021 at 07:07 PM

I've hardly ever played any of these Taito games, so it has been an interesting experience.

02/02/2021 at 09:21 PM

There is a Volume 2 and a PSP version called Power-Up. My recent favorite on those collections is Lunar Rescue.

02/04/2021 at 09:52 AM

I have volume 2 as well! Maybe I'll get to that in the coming years.

02/04/2021 at 04:25 PM

My PSP copy got lost somehow but I want it back.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/02/2021 at 12:30 AM

I played the demo for Bravely Default 2. I love the look of it, kind of like Octopath, but with new ideas. A little grindy though. I turned down the difficulty. But I still got my party wiped.

02/02/2021 at 07:19 PM

I love the graphics of Octopath so. Much. More. I know they're just following up the art style of the first Bravely Default but I'd take beutiful HD sprites over 3D chibi characters any day.

Cary Woodham

02/02/2021 at 08:05 AM

Gunbird 1 and 2 are fun little shooters. The third game in the series, which is on that collection, is actually a BreakOut style game!

Wait, you got a physical version of Mighty Gunvolt Burst? Did I read that right?

Ys 8 was a lot of fun. Not as good as Ys 7, but I still had a lot of fun with it. My brother called it "Jurassic Park: The JRPG." I can't wait for Ys 9, which comes out soon!

I love the Taito Legends games! I miss when companies would make arcade collections and put tons of games on them, even obscure ones!

02/02/2021 at 07:33 PM

Yes, Mighty Gunvolt Burst was a Limited Run Games release. I ordered it, like, six months ago lol. 2020 was an expensive year of LRG games for me, and there were games I would have liked to get but skipped over anyway. Ugh, money.

This is actually the first Ys game I've bought (surprising, given my penchant for backlog bloat) but I'm really excited to play it. I love the soundtrack so much. I wish Falcolm would bring the Ys games from the PSP to Switch. Those are so expensive to get now.

PixlBit