I didn't play any at the time but I've since played through 2 and 11 solo, and X with retroking. 11 deserved a bit more attention than it seemed to get, I'm no expert on the series but it felt like it was doing things correctly.

Yeah, I'd like to play 11 as well. Frustratingly, I've cleared 2,3,4,5 BUT NOT 1.

28. Cake Bash (Switch)
Bullshit kids party game. Made the mistake of browsing through sale items with the kid present and this came up because it had a quid off or something. You are a cake. Compete with other cakes to be the tastiest, in a series of roughly ten very similar confectionary-themed games. The kid thinks she likes it but it winds her up a treat. It's really pretty unfair a lot of the time. Little room for skill. Very annoying. A free for all button masher. It's graphically ok compared to some of the dross that you find on the Switch aimed at that market. Instant infuriation ware. I've refused to carry on playing it with her. 43%

retroking1981 wrote:

I like the series but haven't completed many either, only 1, 2, X and 7.

Waiting for a sale on 11 too.

I played Legends for about an hour a month ago, really enjoyed what I played of it surprisingly. Definitely one I intend to get around to finishing.

Oh I've cleared X1 and 2 like 10 times each. X was one of those few games I had for my SNES as a kid and I just trained myself to get good at it. Made sure to buy a SFC copy in Tokyo.

29. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
God this took some doing. Played as God intended with the built-in save system and checkpointing. And the required two playthroughs to get the final levels and good ending.  
Astro Boy does lasers like nothing else. They look and sound great. The tools it gives you for crowd-control when things get hectic are sublime. Smack them up, bounce them about, fly straight through their attacks and unload in their face with an always satisfying mega laser. Crazy characters pulled from the author's oeuvre that veer between Looney Tunes style cartoons and something more like Dragon Ball Z. There's almost no traditional structure at all. One set of levels starts with two boss fights. Then a short couple of screens where you fight some baddies. Then some more boss action. 

First playthrough is pure gravy with no-repetition checkpointing. Bosses that seem invincible on the first bash but you learn a bit more each time. Then you start again, tearing through the early bits of the game but more powered-up. Then it goes off the rails for a while. Fully mental unlock system involving going in and out of random levels finding crucial game progression characters hidden in the most obscure places they could think of. Checkpointing no longer very generous (or at least I came a cropper more often which exposed it a bit). Slight mistakes punished brutally. But it's not just that the game gets harder. The difficulty is quite uneven as well. One boss is unchanged but you are stronger. Then suddenly the next one has got a mate with him and it's rock solid. Then the next unchanged again.

If anyone is still following the plot at this point, then well done. Every character seems to have two personas. The second playthrough introduces a time-shifting plot with some similarities, some differences. Identical looking people with different alter-egos swap places and roles. It's a mess. An absolute mess. Combined with the unlock thing, I nearly packed it in at that point. Presumably for fans, this is a complete smorsgaboard of service. So I'm sure opinions differ there, and I'm not deducting any points for it. But you do need to pay some attention to it as you have to try and find some of these mental characters dotted around (*cough* walkthrough). 

Then the final set of levels kick in. It's still quite punishing, there's one boss rush part in particular that can get in the bin, then a quite easy last couple of bosses. It's all so epic and enjoyable that, despite some wrestling with its progression format, all grudges are forgiven. Plus it has bum guns. Actual bum guns. 91%

I can't resist, apologies.

1. Bangai-O (Dreamcast for me)
2. Dynamite Headdy
3. Sin & Punishment 2
4. Astro Boy
5. Gunstar Heroes

I was too crap at Ikaruga to consider it and I really should find a way to play Gradius V, Radiant Silvergun and Silhouette Mirage. Am I forgetting something major though?

My eternal Bangai-O shame is the faint memory of getting repeatedly pummeled by one of the early stages in the XBLA sequel and watching Dubs hoover up all the achievements in a few days.

1cc on Ikaruga here btw.

30. Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System)
Not great. Wanted a quick and easy romp to play when I was ill. More or less delivers on that small ask but was hoping it would be a bit more fun. Quicker and slicker than your average 8-bit platformer. It controls really well. But the levels are dull, the underwater stage is tedious even for an underwater stage. Fair bit of dodgy collision detection. Not a classic. Low score but respectable enough for a game of this type. 67%   

31. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Master System)
Worse than above. No improvements. Seems like the same game that they've made some new levels for. It does at least have some loop the loops, which I didn't spot in the first outing. But poor old 8-bit Sonic barely has the puff to get round them. And this time you've got to find 5 hidden chaos emeralds just to play the final level and get an ending where Tails doesn't die. That requirement, plus a ridiculous maze stage full of pipes and spike traps meant I turned to a walkthrough. A walkthrough! To complete a Sonic game! A damning indictment of the tedious old practice of artificially-induced longevity? Or Scrubman Monkey's final shame? 58%

The later 8-bit Sonics seem better (they've got the spin dash at least). But I'm a bit burned out now so leaving them for another time. 

And that's it. Up to date. Next up, the Shovel Knight quadrilogy.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

I can't resist, apologies. 1. Bangai-O (Dreamcast for me) 2. Dynamite Headdy 3. Sin & Punishment 2 4. Astro Boy 5. Gunstar Heroes I was too crap at Ikaruga to consider it and I really should find a way to play Gradius V, Radiant Silvergun and Silhouette Mirage. Am I forgetting something major though?

1. Astro Boy
2. Headdy
3. Ikaruga (even though I'm shit at it)
4. Sin & Punishment 2
5. Mischief Makers

I haven't played everything they've done, of course. I'd like a crack at Gradius V at least. I only played the handheld version of Bangai-O, which was pretty good but not quite up there.

Nice reviews @monkey

14. Oddworld: Soulstorm [5]
There's plenty to this and I enjoyed the variety of ideas and changes of pace. But the execution of so much of it is off, and it drags its levels on too long. Stodgy controls and poor visual communication make some pretty exacting action platform business much less fun than it should be.

15. Demon's Souls [9]
It's a bit of strange coming to this for the first time after all these years. So much of what would have been mind blowing has been repeated in later games, so it's familiar now. But the structure and much of the level design still really stands up. It's more imaginative and experimental than the Dark Souls sequels, and that still shines through. I like that the bosses are more interesting ideas than brick wall challenges too (actually, the latter stages of the game were pretty easy). And playing it on the PS5 is pretty great - even if it were just for the loading times, an absolute marvel. The first Dark Souls is still the sweet spot for me for this bunch, but this can tuck in behind, next to Bloodborne and ahead of Darks 2 and 3.

Thank you for your service, moot

Good heavens.