Bio
a big fan of games who has too little time to play them

Top 4 are rotating faves

My tastes vary but I generally gravitate towards the old school.

I generally like games that have strong gameplay and an interesting atmosphere, or have something interesting to say.

Pinning down favorite genres is difficult, but I will say I gravitate towards 2D classic side-scrollers with platforming elements (i.e. Super Metroid, Castlevania, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, etc), turn-based JRPGs, From Software games, and 90s PC FPS games ("boomer shooters" as people call them nowadays, like DOOM, Wolfenstein, etc).

Ratings are not wholly arbitrary. I have some sort of a scale in my head but have yet to really codify it externally. The best I can say is generally a 2.5 is average (meaning I don't love or like the game but I don't dislike it), anything above the 2.5 is good and anything below is not good. Though generally, anything I rate a 2.5 or above is worth checking out. Form your own opinions!
Personal Ratings
1★
5★

Badges


GOTY '23

Participated in the 2023 Game of the Year Event

Loved

Gained 100+ total review likes

Gone Gold

Received 5+ likes on a review while featured on the front page

Well Written

Gained 10+ likes on a single review

GOTY '22

Participated in the 2022 Game of the Year Event

Gamer

Played 250+ games

Best Friends

Become mutual friends with at least 3 others

3 Years of Service

Being part of the Backloggd community for 3 years

N00b

Played 100+ games

Popular

Gained 15+ followers

Noticed

Gained 3+ followers

Liked

Gained 10+ total review likes

Favorite Games

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
EarthBound Beginnings
EarthBound Beginnings
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
Demon's Souls
Demon's Souls
Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu he...
Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu he...

278

Total Games Played

001

Played in 2024

911

Games Backloggd


Recently Played See More

Half-Life
Half-Life

Feb 25

Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Dec 26

Red Dead Revolver
Red Dead Revolver

Nov 11

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Nov 09

Marvel's Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps
Marvel's Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps

Nov 06

Recently Reviewed See More

I've been replaying this a lot lately on my phone and I have to say this might be my favorite mobile game that is not a port of some kind. Its an incredibly nostalgic game for me. I played the crap out of this around the first year of its release when I was transitioning between high school and undergrad and I pretty much poured all of my mobile gaming time into this through undergrad until Mortal Kombat X Mobile released. On the face of it, Injustice Mobile is quite a simple game, where you are merely swiping and tapping to fight. There is a fair amount of complexity when it comes to gears and teambuilding though, and you want to make sure you have a team that is not only strong stat-wise but also has good synergy. Its still quite simplistic as games go but for a mobile game I still quite enjoy it. While the whole gameplay loop is pretty much grinding, I honestly enjoy the grind (as I do with grinding in general). When I'm on one of my 17 minute study breaks or walking on the treadmill or outside, Injustice makes for a nice diversion. It will never break into my gaming canon list, but honestly I kinda fuck with this game, and it brings me some sort of nostalgic joy as grad school continues to kick my ass.

For years, I have called Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom my "white whale." Like Ahab, I have pursued my Moby Dick for a decade, unable to complete the game without save states and always burning through all five (5) continues. Since high school, I have pursued the challenges of difficult games, notably the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy, and while I have been able to complete I and II without save states, III has eluded me. I considered this game to be the most difficult game I have played, ever. This is primarily due to the five (5) continues the game offers you, as opposed to unlimited in the previous games, but also due to the multitude of changes made to the North American version to make it more difficult than its Japanese original. Yet, within the past week, I have completed this game nine times, all of which I did not use a single save state or continue, four of which I defeated all three forms of the final boss on a single life. I now question whether I think this game is truly the most difficult of the NES trilogy. While the limited continues prove a significant challenge initially, I feel that since the game asks for you to truly master it, that it might be possible that the unlimited continues of the previous games act as a "crutch" with which one can throw oneself at the challenge repeatedly with some (but not disastrous) consequences, and eventually complete it. In this sense I feel like I have truly mastered Ninja Gaiden III, as opposed to the first two, where I feel as if I have a lesser degree of mastery.

Despite having played it so many times, more than the times I have played the other two entries combined, I feel that this isn't even the best of the trilogy. The story is easily the worst of the trilogy, as Clancy is not a compelling villain at all, the plot is quite played out by this point, and the story lacks the emotional core the first game had. While having many quality of life changes like being able to fully scale and vault over walls, not having respawning enemies, as well as having less knockback and being able to see which items are in the orbs, the gameplay suffers from the changes made to the North American version, namely: the sword extension power-up for Ryu (the range he gets with the extension power-up is the default range of his sword in the original version), taking more damage from enemies and hazards, and more difficult enemy placement. If this game is such a mixed bag, then, why have I replayed it so many times within the past week?

I am currently at a crossroads in my life. The start of a new chapter. Within a month, I will be leaving my parent's home and going to graduate school to become a physical therapist and fully embark on my career. Yet, part of me still wants to remain where I currently am, since it is comfortable, even though I will not grow as a person should I fail to cross this threshold. Game designer Goichi Suda describes the ethos of his overarching series of games, known as 'Kill the Past,' with these words:

"I have seen a lot of people who only remain themselves by repeating the same things they've done in the past and I really don't want to be like them. Killing the past is also synonymous with fighting with the future, and what makes the future alive is facing the past and settling things."

I have long told myself that I am not worthy, I will not amount to anything in life, no one will ever love me, etc. This self-hatred has long kept me from achieving my dreams, seizing my inner power, and becoming my best self. In order to cross this threshold, I will need to "kill the past," as Suda says, and perhaps this is why I continue to replay Ninja Gaiden III after I have finished it once. Perhaps subconsciously, every time I beat this game, I envision myself killing my past self over and over again, destroying the weak one who hated himself, the one who could not defeat Ninja Gaiden III. Maybe finishing Ninja Gaiden III is the beginning of me killing the past, in order to make my great future alive.

the curse that has plagued me since high school has lifted...
i am finally free...