100th Post!!! A reTROview reTROspective

I never thought I'd make it to 100! While precious few people are actually reading this, I've enjoyed it, and that makes it worthwhile to me. Perhaps the best side effect of doing the blog has been that it has increased my dedication to clearing out my backlog of video games. In the last calendar year, I have completed for the first time, without any cheating, including improper use of save states via emulation, the following 37 (!) games (in order):

Mega Man 7
Mega Man 8
Mega Man 9
Mega Man Zero 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Mega Man X
Mega Man X2
Mega Man X3
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Donkey Kong Country 3
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles
Pokemon Sun
Kirby's Dream Land 2
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Tales of Phantasia
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castelvania: Harmony of Dissonance
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment
Pokemon Trading Card Game 2
Super Metroid
Banjo-Kazooie
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Mario Kart 8
Final Fantasy XIII
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

NERD ALERT!

Here are a few quick charts showing the patterns of my playing this year (I love charts):

Figure 1: Games by Genre

 

Holy platformers Batman! RPGs come in a not-so-close second with 4 games, compared to 21 platformers!

Figure 2: Game Rating by Genre

 

These ratings don't necessarily reflect my general liking of these genres, but it is interesting to look at it! By the ratings, racing was my favorite genre of the year, although this is because I only beat one racing game, Mario Kart 8 (which I adored). And card games are my least favorite genre, which definitely isn't true based on how much I play Hearthstone. But this is simply selected from games I've newly beaten thus far this year, that I've reviewed on reTROview, so take it with a grain of salt. The only two genres above 9.0 are racing and action, buoyed up by small sample sizes and a few excellent games (the Zelda games and Mario Kart 8).

Figure 3: Games by System*

 

*This refers to the system the game was originally on, not necessarily the one on which I played it. If it was originally released on more than one, then I coded it based on the system on which I played it.

I always say that the Super Nintendo is my favorite system of all time, and I sure walked the walk this year! Few can accuse me of not being retro enough, with only 3 games being played on HD systems, with one of those being the decidedly retro Mega Man 9 on PS3. My 3 3DS games may count slightly against my retro cred, though, but with one being Pokemon, and the other two being retro-style platformers, I think I've maintained my credibility.

 Figure 4: Game Rating by System

 

My most played developer this year was Capcom, in a not so stunning turn of events. I beat 7 new Mega Man games, and 3 Capcom developed Zelda games. Nintendo came in second with 7 games developed.

Figure 5: Game Rating by Developer

 

And developer of the year award goes to...Yacht Club Games! This award is based solely on their one game I played this year at a 9.3 rating, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment. Sega, however, with their excellent trilogy of Sonic games, comes in at a very close average of 9.267. We miss you, Sega...Camelot pulls up the rear with their dreadful Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, on which I may have been too harsh, but really didn't enjoy it much at all. But those Mario Sports games are fantastic, as are the earlier Golden Sun games, so this isn't necessarily a criticism of the company more generally.

Figure 6: Handheld or Home?

 

With progress on handhelds bogged down a bit by a few very long RPGs (Final Fantasy Tactics Advance A2, Tales of Phantasia, and Pokemon Sun), the home consoles edged out handhelds by a hair, despite the fact that I probably spend more total time gaming on handhelds than on a TV. Short platformers that only took me a few days to beat, like Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Buster Bunny Busts Loose, and shorter games like Mario Kart 8 also helped to add a few to the home completion list. Note that I counted a game as a handheld based on how I played it, not necessarily based on the platform on which it was originally released. For example, Super Metroid was a handheld game for me, as I played it on the 3DS virtual console.

Figure 7: Ratings for Handheld and Home

 

This was neck and neck, although handheld had a tiny edge, with an average rating of 8.58, compared to the home rating of 8.43.

Figure 8: Games by Company

 

NINTENDO FANBOY ALERT!!!!! All kidding aside, I do so love Nintendo. I've always had a psychological attachment to the NES and SNES, my first and second consoles, and no one does handhelds like Nintendo (this is an empirical fact and not subject to anyone's opinions). I played 10 Nintendo games for every 1 Sony and Sega game this year. And 0 games from Microsoft, Neo Geo, NEC, or other companies. Ouch.

I am working on a Microsoft game at the moment, though!

Figure 9: Game Rating by Company

I guess I should be playing more Sega games! Sample size problems assured Sega's reign here, as well as the fact that all four of the true bombs (rated under 7.0) that I reviewed were Nintendo games. When you're only playing Genesis Sonic games, your Sega rating will be a bit better. Good thing I didn't play Altered Beast.

Awards:

Game of the (reTROview) year: Super Mario Bros. 3

With a rating at at a perfect 10, you can't get better than Super Mario 3. Honorable mention goes to Super Mario World, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, and Shovel Knight, which all rated as a 10 as well, but weren't newly beaten for this year's data.

Best New Game (to me) of the (reTROview) year: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

To qualify for this award, the game had to have never been touched by me before starting the blog, and at a 9.8, this one is the winner! I have very fond memories of this one, and will probably play through it again at about the same rate I play through Link to the Past, which is to say about every 2 or three years. Honorable Mention goes to Mario Kart 8, at an excellent 9.7 rating. 

Stinker of the (reTROview) year: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

 

Ew. With a score of 5, this game was awful. Dishonorable Mention goes to runner up Buster Busts Loose!, with a dismal score of 6.

Median Game of the (reTROview) year: Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

 
Better than some and worse than some, this was your median game of the year!

Newest Game Reviewed: Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment

A game from 2017! Hooray.

Oldest Game Reviewed: Super Mario Bros. 2

 
Wow. I need to get more retro than 1988. But I really don't care for the Atari 2600, so it'll have to be another NES game, as the Game Boy didn't release here until 1989. Unless I find that magical Atari 2600 hundred game I REALLY want to play. Because I don't think I ever want to play that dreadful Pac-Man cart I have sitting at home, which is my only 2600 game. My Genesis Ms. Pac-Man? Maybe. But not that abomination on the 2600.

Well, that's my first 100th blog post detailing my gaming progress dating from games I've reviewed  since starting the blog, and have newly beaten in roughly that time. If I can beat another 37 games in the next 100 blog posts, I'll be pleasantly surprised. I think that for once, my beating games may have actually outstripped the rate at which I have acquired them, so that's a big positive. I'll have to keep that up to save money and have more fun! I've been working on this post for several days, so I've missed a few days, but I think this will be worth it.

I'd give this post a 100/100.

-TRO