Having a very pleasant replay. Still very cute. Love all the flavor text by checking that I didn't do when I played it the first time. There's some really good jokes in there.

Toriel is still ADORABLE and still MAKES ME SAD
The music is still FANTASTIC and still MAKES ME SAD

I love seeing Sans and Papyrus just look back and forth over and over again only to confuse a rock with a human lol

Ate my face in from the word go. At first I thought it was easy with the first two enemies, but as soon as the big guy shows up, immediately had to adjust hard to the controls and figuring out how to set shit up.
And at that point, was absolutely invested. This game is so, so, so much fun. Combos are insanely customizable and the game really asks you to be on your dodge game... which also shows how bad I am (I don't even know how many times I've died already up to the first boss). I love and hate the dynamic difficulty. I understand the game getting easier when I suck so I enter the flow state easier, but I also find the game less fun at Lv 1 than I do Lv 2. I have yet to even touch 3 or DIE though lol

Absolutely cheesed the first boss as much as I could, if you could even call it cheesed because I still died 35 times, it is a HUGE step up in difficulty. Just quick on roulettes and god hand, trying to get them stuck in a corner as they acrobat jump all over my ass and make me eat the ground. I love this game.

Still feels insanely nostalgic to open the game up (playing on Mother 1+2 translation). Also still hilarious how the Easy Ring was patched in, the TL was really that mad at the game that they intentionally made the game easier lmao

The music is such a vibe, such impressive music for NES-era and the GBA does a really good job emulating it as well, which is a surprise!

The battle system is still lame as hell and I'm really just mashing the attack button for levels 1-14, as well as examining what PSI is, but the Easy Ring makes everything else more than just tolerable.

Currently just got Lloyd, I'm moving decently fast (thank you Easy Ring!). There's still a few annoying things in terms of inventory space up to that point (I drop so many things ;_;), but otherwise I'm so glad I'm playing this version.

Got absolutely fucked by the tutorial boss, but otherwise haven't died once, although I'm also a really cautious player. There's always a ton of grass if you look hard enough.
I like the oppressive aesthetic of the world, it's so dreary. It kinda melds into every single enemy, which might be a turn off to some but I find it really helps the atmosphere. It's soulless but it's the point, I think.

Phalanx, for example, has little to no soul to it as far as I know. It's just a mass of shields and spears, and there's very little color to it, save for a light color in the middle, behind all of it... wish the boss fight was any good, though. I found it really boring to just run and cut.
The problem is that Hoplites are introduced to you before the boss itself, which makes the boss' puzzle ridiculously easy. You already learn "oh get behind them", now it's "run around and murder". The only difference is you have to be quicker on your feet, I guess.
Also didn't expect one area in Demon's to take so long! This is my first Souls experience but good lord.
I also haven't gotten any spells? Is there a place to get them?

I've also just been informed Phalanx has lore that I might be able to figure out if I didn't leave one Hoplite alive because I'm used to bosses going apeshit when they're the only one left in a plethora of other games. I was worried about an enrage thing.

OK the energy tank in the hallway having a trap was actually a good one. I was already full on energy tanks but that is hilarious, well played game.

Also finished my first run! Did it in 2:15. Mother Brain was heavily annoying and I never realized how scary the Metroids are without Ice Beam even if they're very fleeting (like... 4 rooms?). I'm going to go for a speed time to get under an hour and then end it there.

Not a fun game, and it's not just limitations and the timeframe. Movement is super restrictive and everything feels like it lags. I appreciate the violent alien atmosphere that thinks Samus should leave and the disorientation it tries for, but it is so unfun to play and how combat is just "tank the damage and hope for the best" is grueling.

Been so long since I played this, it's time to board the nostalgia train. Already started tearing up when I saw "Starting a new journey may not be so hard, or maybe it has already begun". All it takes is that and Shimomura music and the tear ducts star to flow. Dearly Beloved especially. SIMPLE AND CLEAN IS THE WAY THAT YOU'RE MAKING ME FEEL TONIGHT

Chose FM difficulty, Staff/no sword, and the adventure begins in the dead of night. If I recall I never fully explored using magic as like a combo thing in this game.

Fuck your Blitzball Wakka, I'm built different.

I can't believe I spent 30 min beating the crap out of Tidus and Selphie i.e. two kids just to farm XP. The three-on-one fight is fun though.

And thus begins a co-op experience between a pragmatic lib politician who doesn't understand how economics works named Tatsuki, and a sweet loving pyromaniac who actually knows what they're doing named Karma.

For some reason a tutorial didn't happen and I ended up throwing fireballs at myself, woops. It's OK my charisma is really high I'm sure things will work out.

Oh yeah I chose to be a Wanderer because animals are fucking cool and I like ranged combat. My spider shall commit slaughter while I say I have nothing to do with it like a good politician. I don't know if this game allows the character to go through a midlife crisis of "what have I done" but I hope so.

Apparently "let's sober them up" means killing them that is not what I meant holy shit I just wanted to knock them out oh god reload reload reload

To the people who played this game without any map or guide to help you out, I'm happy you're built different, but also is it a product of cope, because these walls all look the fucking same and I'm known with being good with directions and I still got lost, which is a first!

Got terrified by the things that show up in some item rooms if you leave and come back. Yeah they barely do any damage but it looked like a fucking glitch

This game is painfully slow. The movement hurts and genuinely is kinda unfun to play.
Wall jump glitch is fun though.

Playing Celeste is like learning a skill. It's something that can deteriorate over time. So I had to start back from square one because I couldn't even remember the controls and god knows I don't want to start right from Chapter 9

I still like how much control I have over Madeline, it's still my fav platformer in terms of "I have absolute minute control", and I like how there's some leeway in terms of both jumping off of platforms and the traffic light speed. That being said, don't be me and go straight to the B-sides right when you unlock them. The progression still feels like it's all A-Sides BEFORE all B-sides, otherwise it punches you in the throat. There was one slide in 1-B that you have to go super fast to then crouch, dash into a jumpy thingy, and then dash again, and I wasn't ready. Still got through because I REFUSE TO LET THIS GAME BEAT ME.

Music still rocks. GOD I love Lena Raine, everything she touches is gold.

This is a really fun bullet hell, if mostly because it being in tune with the music makes it that much more appealing to me. Love Barracuda and New Game, I think I've enjoyed every boss in this game so far. The game is definitely on the easy side when it comes to bullet hell, especially with a really busted dash, but it might still catch people by surprise for the bosses.

First time actually playing Terraria singleplayer and realizing how much of a wiki game this is, more than Minecraft is at this point. The achievements push some kind of progression but good luck figuring out the rest, pal!

There was one song that I heard as I started mining underground and it was awful but it eventually went right back to the main theme so I guess it's fine.

Zelle spooked the fuck out of me in its first hour before setting itself up to be more atmospheric, but still damn that was spooky. I like the music, very reminiscent of Undertale in texture but different in structure (melodic motivation instead of motifs).
This definitely has things to say about faith and religion. The arbitrary rules set forth by a thoroughly punishing goddess (even lying to you about her gifts) that seem ignored in favor of a second chance while really just using you for their own ends is a harsh critique, and it also goes hand in hand so far with a conversation around suicide. This shit is going to get heavy.
Very curious to see where this goes. It's apparently a short game.

Because Arcades are straight up dead in the US, I am emulating the Arcade version. Sue me. RA may have audio bugs but THAT WON'T STOP ME

Mario apparently dies on contact with the ground from like an inch down if they don't jump, and like 3 inches down if they do. Did Mario originally skip leg day?

I might need to watch speedrunners or records but is the best way to rack up points is to complete levels as fast as possible or to continually jump over barrels? Or the hammer? I'm not sure which racks up the most.

Trying to get achievements to work on this thing with RetroArch is insanity, do not do this. Arcade games do not work with RetroArch if you're emulating, stick to MAME or literally anything else. Do NOT be me.

I haven't played this game in years but I like how the tutorial heavily teaches the fundamental buttons and roman cancelling without actually teaching like, actual core shit like how useful a crouching dust attack is or not even teaching specials. I assume there's other tutorials for that but those feel like things you'd want in like, the main tutorial. Apparently nobody speedruns the tutorial but my days of playing Rivals of Aether way too much kicked in and I got the cheevo on the second go, it's actually not that hard.

I got an achievement for fishing that's rad

I get the traversal being so stingy is part of how the physics interact with the puzzles, and what gives the challenge, but that doesn't change how awful it FEELS to constantly zig-zag move around or you grind to a halt. So far in the first two levels, it's fine because the areas are small, but it was still annoying to have to go all the way back to smack a checkpoint so I didn't have to repeat progress (why can't there be more checkpoints?).
The music sounded like someone was knocking on my door which ruined my immersion 0/10

Ichabod: "We have to find the murderer amongst us"
tries really hard to hold back laughter

Halfway through Chapter 1 atm.

I never quite understood the people criticizing Telltale for not "honoring decisions" when the strengths of their games rely on telling stories in entertaining QTE/dialogue ways rather than just watching a TV show. Although considering the big fat disclaimer at the beginning saying "YOUR CHOICES MATTER", I can kinda see where they're coming from at the get go, but I'm here for where the story takes me still.

I like the vaguely comic book aesthetic this goes for. It kinda helps some of the designs and the moody noir city really fits, even if the music is more cinematic drama than actual noir music.

On my second playthrough to clean up some achievements before Second Quest, time includes my first playthrough as well.

I think the exploring, enemy design for the most part, and combat is still really good. Yes they're tank controls but the enemies are designed around those tank controls. Wizzrobes are still the most infuriating for their high damage output but the sword is not the only weapon in your toolset, and I think people are scared to use non-sword weapons (like the the wand is insanely useful for a while!). I think it's still a satisfying game to play at heart.

Darknuts still terrify me when they're jam packed in a small room with little places to go. Bombs away!

Just finished the Prologue, like past the first day of Day 1?
On replay, the aesthetic is still really nice. I like the CG cutscenes, the music just rockets to attention, and the art is firing on all cylinders.
But man the dialogue.... it does not hit me. The otaku has some REALLY cringe lines, the "ogre" shit and the weird structuring of conversations feels so unnatural, and all the characters start on really bad starts. I don't remember if it gets any better but here's hoping!

This is a really simple but fun Kirby-like before Kirby was even a thing. Everything is really damn cute and I love the designs. The gameplay has a curve and attacking is just one button (and the game doesn't teach you how to change base form), but it's still neat and actually quite frustrating in some sections. But the game is REALLY short, I went through the whole game in 50 minutes.
Ultimate Form is a monstrosity though... and super busted.

Drifting is fucking hard in this game I swear to god
Beat pretty much everything on 50cc, getting a comeback from 5th to 1st on the last lap is really hard in this game.
Probably the least amount of leeway for a starting boost

And that makes 100% completion today.
Scrap Brain isn't as bad as Labyrinth Zone but it's close. Pro tip: Go really fucking slow. I know, it sucks, but that is how you beat it. Every single trap feels like it's asking you to rush past it so you miss signposting and get zapped or murdered, and there are blocks that you have to wait to appear. Enemy design isn't nearly as bad as Labyrinth Zone, though, just traps are worse. That being said, having to play through it so slow to function is distressing, if not the antithesis to what the game seemingly wants?
The final boss? No rings. I thankfully got through it unscathed, finding the electric balls easy to react to, and positioning myself so I always had an out. Never got hit once, although asking for the player to never get hit is still asking too much. Made the boss kind of a joke for me, though. If you're impatient, you're dead.

The last three achievements on RetroAchievements were invented by people who felt like abusing the player, at least in my book. Completing Marble Zone in less than 90 seconds is a neat challenge, and actually not that hard to do. The underachiever and 200 rings achievements? Ridiculous. The underachiever asks you to wait 5 minutes in every stage of Green Hill, and have 0 rings when you get there, AND have hit no enemies. Green Hill is already a slightly unfair stage, but now it's completely jacked up, and waiting is painful without speed on emulation. But the 200 rings might be the worst one simply because most stages are in the 210-230 range if they're even close, which means backtracking through each path of a level. I walked out of a stage with only 198 because some were impossible to get in one go, and said fuck it. Time for cheats. I'm not sorry.

24 of 24 achievements.

Going to go between short spurts and long ones for this. Green Hill is nice and clearly the best level here, but it still has annoying enemy placement designed to make you stop and reactions that are just too close to perfection required. Getting the best pathway shows how much the physics system and Sonic's movement kinda sucks for slow platforming, being insanely slippery and easy to fall off blocks, best seen in Act 2 and 3 of Green Hill. 4 of 24 retro achievements so far. Managed to net 4 unique checkpoints.

Played as a Doctor. Party members:
Leader -- Tatsky
Erika
Schredd
Angel
Quil

Quil got cholera. A fire in my wagon destroyed almost all of my bullets, a ton of my food, and a few sets of clothing. Had to restock later. Thankfully only had to hunt 4-5 times (I bought a LOT of food).
Schredd and Erika were bitten by snakes, which I didn't even have to rest for. I did have to rest for Angel's measles, which didn't matter because he got a random fever and died in one night, absolute bullshit.

Fuck impassable trails. Had some spooky guy telling me my wagon was going to blow up or something. Never happened.
Quil got a fever along with Erika getting exhaustion, this time rested immediately. They lived.

Decided to do the river with the rocks and it was the easiest shit ever, I have made the trail with 1760 points! :D

I have to improvise due to a lack of zapper in my household. This is essentially cheating as it's a mouse, but oh well. I'm not planning on speedrunning, the NES itself is ~$73 I don't have, and the Zapper is ~$34 I also don't have.
It's really hard to perfect C, those discs go fucking fast.
Even harder to perfect 15C aaaaaaaaaaaaaa