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No new games in 2020, unfinished backlog only

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LegionX

Member
Got through a couple more from the backlog!

11. Soldier of Fortune

A 20 year old FPS this time.... This was one of the early controversial games of the era due to the fact you could shoot off individual limbs, heads etc... but wow.... The Quake 2 engine.... how far we have come graphically... The models etc are so basic that these days I really wonder what kind of rating this would get.... I certainly don't think people would even give it a second glance... Aside from that, it's clearly dated in its level design etc, but it's still a fun game to complete, as long as you can look past the graphics!!

12. CSI - Hard Evidence

An odd choice possibly... but it's actually an early Telltale game, they did a few of these CSI games early in their career, back when they were putting out the Sam and Max games pretty much. It was released as a complete game, but it DOES play as 5 separate episodes, like a lot of their other games... It has the likeness (and sometimes voices) of actual CSI actors... but as I've never watched the show that wasn't so exciting for me. Once again it's another graphically basic game (1280x1024 was the highest supported resolution as an example), but it kept me entertained. You skip between kind of hidden object type screens, looking for evidence, sections where you talk to witnesses/accused, and times when you are processing evidence.... It's basic but I enjoyed my time... each "case" features a different CSI actor, and takes up to 2 hours I'd say... so I was doing one case a day after work.. and enjoyed it enough for what it is!
 

DelireMan7

Member
Long time I didn't post... Here an update :

My challenge :
No 2020 games (or the strict minimum). I can buy older games as my "physical backlog" is quite limited ( 2 physical games and 1 from PS+ I really wanted to play).

"Physical backlog" :
  • Xenoblade Chronicles (On going)
  • Final Fantasy XII
  • The Last of Us (PS+) Done !
  • The surge (PS+, still don't know if I want to play it or not)

Games completed :
  1. Dragon Age Origins (started early 2019, finished 6th January 20, around 80h)
  2. The Last of us + Left Behind (Started 1st January, finished 19th January 20, 18h30 + 2h20, Survivor Difficulty)
  3. Dark Souls Remastered (thanks to the lockdown, finish a coop playthrough (half NG and full NG+) with a friend)
Well, this game is by far the best game I have ever played. And each time replay it, I am still amazed how magic it is...
Did a Dex/Faith build with Darkmoon bow/miracles and testing a lot of melee weapons. We'll continue a bit in NG++

Currently playing :

  • Xenoblade Chronicles (Started 25th January 2020)
Took a break of it to play Dark Souls and a bit of MP games (For honor, Warcraft 3) but was still playing here and there. I have started playing it as my "main game" again and I am now at 62 hours (lvl66/67). Around 1/4 of this time was spend on sidecontent. So I guess I am slowly approaching the end (Just arrived to the Mechonis Capital Agniratha).
Still liking it but want to finish it so I focus a bit more on the main story (which is pretty good so far). I love constantly mixing my party to try new strategies and build my relationship for unlocking the "heart to heart".
Also the OST is awesome.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
I feel like I have reached the git gud point of Sekiro. The Owl boss fight in Hirata estate.

I’ve quit out to the menu screen and got myself a small glass of whisky 😂
Fun boss battle with some new moves to watch out for. If you've managed to reach that (optional) boss before giving up, you must be doing pretty well.
 

mekes

Member
Fun boss battle with some new moves to watch out for. If you've managed to reach that (optional) boss before giving up, you must be doing pretty well.

Yeah I was caught off guard! I thought I had a strat going by the earlier fight but he killed me within 20 seconds on each of my first 3 attempts. I need to learn the patterns and cues! And git gud
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Sorry DunDunDunpachi DunDunDunpachi but I've completely fallen off the wagon for this challenge.

I just beat my 8th game that released in 2020 (Trials of Mana). So that's 8/29 = bad.
 

LegionX

Member
13. MotoGP 08

Yea... Even I know this one was just wasting my time.... however... I have a literal moving box full of old PS3 games and now there's one less in there.... I wasn't about to dig deep in to this one, so I just played through a single championship in the premier class, went through all the tracks with qualifying and racing.. and that's me done... No point saying much else.... It was fun enough... but there are many newer versions that are no doubt better... certainly visually at least... as this one is rather plain looking
 

DelireMan7

Member
My challenge :
No 2020 games (or the strict minimum). I can buy older games as my "physical backlog" is quite limited ( 2 physical games and 1 from PS+ I really wanted to play).

"Physical backlog" :
  • Xenoblade Chronicles Done !
  • Final Fantasy XII
  • The Last of Us (PS+) Done !
  • The surge (PS+, still don't know if I want to play it or not) Not interested finally

Games completed :
  1. Dragon Age Origins (started early 2019, finished 6th January 20, around 80h)
  2. The Last of us + Left Behind (Started 1st January, finished 19th January 20, 18h30 + 2h20, Survivor Difficulty)
  3. Dark Souls Remastered (thanks to the lockdown, finish a coop playthrough (half NG and full NG+) with a friend)
  4. Xenoblade Chronicles (Started 25th January 2020, finished 10th May 20, 78h30)
And DONE ! What a great game. Really happy about it. I love the combat system which offer a lot of strategy, especially with the deep customization system (gems, arts, skills, shared skills). Was a pleasure to constantly mix my party/gear to offer new way to fight.
The story was REALLY good. I was so much into it. In some part, I was eager knowing what happen next I couldn't stop playing the main story even so I wanted to do some side content. Full of good and unexpected twists. Was not disappointed at the end. Also I really like how it was delivered : regular short cutscenes all along the main quest is a good way to keep it attractive and build the characters and the party bonds.
Also i was suprised on how good some cutscenes are : some combat scene are really badass and the music made some of them epic !

I loved the characters and how you build up their affinity to unlock the "heart to heart" moments.
I have to mention the Gems production as I spend quite some time on it and took a lot of pleasure to it.

Let's finish with the OST... So GOOD ! JRPG are synonym of memorable OST for me. And this one is fully confirming this rule.
Few of my favorite :
Satorl marsh night (Favorite of the game actually)
Valak Mountain Day and Night
Confrontration with the Enemy (especially when the female voice starts... this made cutscenes epic ! )
This part of "Those who bear their name" (unique enemy / some boss battle theme) got me each time ! Especially when happening during a Chain attack.

Final words : "Man, what a bunch'a jokers "

What to play next :
If I look my backlog, the answer should be Final Fantasy XII but I don't want to jump into another long JRPG immediately.
I never touched the Assassin's Creed franchise... I was tempted with Origins (the Ancient Egypt setting is my thing) but didn't took it in the end. Beginning of this year I was tempted again but wanted first to see the foundations of the franchise. A friend of mine (the same who gave me Xenoblade actually and my Dark Souls mate) gave me Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood, Revelations, 3 and Black Flag. I could find the first one for really cheap.

So Assassin's Creed it will be (EDIT : Started the 12th of May). If I like it, I'll do the second as it seems having a general consensus to say it's the best. Then I'll see if I continue with the franchise (But will not play everything for sure).

Also I'll break my rule as this same friend propose me to take Streets of Rage 4 for coop playthrough. The first Streets of Rage is part of my chilhood so I couldn't say no. And the game looks fantastic !
 
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LegionX

Member
What to play next :

So Assassin's Creed it will be. If I like it, I'll do the second as it seems having a general consensus to say it's the best. Then I'll see if I continue with the franchise (But will not play everything for sure).

While I can't knock you starting from the beginning (As it's exactly what I do myself), I will put up a word of caution on this one.... the first Assassin's Creed is easily the worst... with a lot of repetition and a number of annoying gameplay/design decisions that are fixed from the second game onwards.... In saying that.. I did enjoy it when it came out... but I haven't touched it since... and the following games are a significant step up.... Good luck anyways! (And I'd say the Ezio trilogy are still my favorites even now, though I haven't played the last couple games to compare those....)
 

DelireMan7

Member
While I can't knock you starting from the beginning (As it's exactly what I do myself), I will put up a word of caution on this one.... the first Assassin's Creed is easily the worst... with a lot of repetition and a number of annoying gameplay/design decisions that are fixed from the second game onwards.... In saying that.. I did enjoy it when it came out... but I haven't touched it since... and the following games are a significant step up.... Good luck anyways! (And I'd say the Ezio trilogy are still my favorites even now, though I haven't played the last couple games to compare those....)

It's what I read/heard about the first game but I like the idea to see the foundations of this long serie.
I think I am easy to content and my expectation are not high so it should do it. But if I don't like it, I'll probably try the second one because I heard only good thing about it.

Let's play and see :)
 
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DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
I am nearly finished with Henry's adventure in Kingdom Come (minus the DLC, which I think I'll skip). Excellent open-world game. It was a lot more on the "simulation" side than I expected. The realism isn't bad, just unexpected. Combat and aiming the bow in particular are still tough. What I love about this game is I can play it for the narrative (following quests) or for the simulation / survival aspects (cooking food, gathering material, hunting, buying/selling for profit, etc).

Next on the list is Red Dead Redemption 2. I followed a buddy's advice and got through the first chapter, which is like a tutorial. Now I'm ready to truly "begin" the game but I wanna finish KCD first.

I wanna circle back again to Sekiro and Bloodborne for another playthrough in each.
 

mekes

Member
I’m so close to the ending credits of Sekiro. I think I have a plan now, I was running away too much but I’m having better luck staying close. I can smell the credits now!

Edit - I did it on my next try! Phew, finally. Really fun game. I got really pissed off at the final boss, damn thing stressed me out! But in the end I did it with a resurrection and 7 healing gourds remaining 😂

Finishing the game has me hyped up for their next game 👍
 
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Phase

Member
Been a while since I posted in this thread, but have a few finished games to add to the list.

18. Halo 3 - A quick playthrough for funs.
19. Halo Reach - Had to play on PC.
20. Deus Ex - Was absolutely amazing and was my first time experiencing this masterpiece.
21. Doom 2016 - Loved it. Recently dropped Eternal as it just went full in on aspects I hate and diluted the gameplay imo.
22. Amid Evil - Really cool. The last few levels are a trip.
 

SpiceRacz

Member
Started Dark Souls Remastered last week and finished it yesterday. 45 hours total. I've ran through about 60% of the game on PC previously and never went back. Game is a masterpiece, but I still prefer DS2.
 

Phase

Member
Finally finished Gravity Rush 2 (#23). I had been playing it on and off the past few months. Very similar to the first and I enjoyed it just as much. They stuck to the strengths of the original and I appreciate that.
 

LegionX

Member
14. Golden Axe -Beast Rider

Another old PS3 game completed (so old it's pre-trophys!)
This is a hack and slash type game... I'd say like the God of War series... but much more simple than that... it's also very much from that... drain all the colour and make the world look brown.. era... so it gets visually boring rather quickly... It's also got a pretty rubbish fighting system with very limited moves.. there's a parry system where depending on what colour the enemy flashes, you press the relevant button in return to parry with a hard shot... but unlike other games, it never felt like the timing was quite right.. There were a couple frustratingly difficult parts (not any of the boss fights oddly enough) but otherwise the difficulty wasn't that bad.. certainly not Souls level.. though equally, you never felt that in control of the character.... All up... happy to beat it, sell off the old game, and move on!
 

mekes

Member
I’ve chosen Greedfall as my next game. I’m not too far into it yet, just 5 hours or so. At the start I had to accept that it wasn’t going to be the most polished game I could play. Textures, voiceovers and controls definitely need a little acclimating to, but there seems to be a lot of charm in the game. I’m having a lot of fun with it so far!
 
H

hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
I’ve chosen Greedfall as my next game. I’m not too far into it yet, just 5 hours or so. At the start I had to accept that it wasn’t going to be the most polished game I could play. Textures, voiceovers and controls definitely need a little acclimating to, but there seems to be a lot of charm in the game. I’m having a lot of fun with it so far!

I’ve had my eye on that for a while, I look forward to hearing what you think of it.
 

Bakkus

Member
Just finished Metal Gear Solid 2; I liked the gameplay, but my head still hurts from all the technobabbling, story arcs and plot twists. The final few hours has no joke more plot twists than you are able to count on your two hands. MGS1 is like Super Mario Bros compared to this game.
 

Tesseract

Banned
mainframe psu is dead, ordered another

gonna take out the 360 and wii u, maybe hack the wii u and see what that portal looks like, sure there's plenty of fun to be had with emulation
 

ROMhack

Member
I'm actually going strong on this. Only game I bought this year was FFX because I wanted to play through some of the main FF titles I missed over the past few years.

It's pretty damn satisfying clearing this old backlog and spending money on other things instead.
 

LegionX

Member
15. The Lord of the Rings Conquest

Another older, not great game.. It's basically Battlefront, but with melee, magic, and arrows.... I only played the two single player campaigns as I'm pretty sure the multiplayer is long dead (didn't even look though)
The single player is split in half, first half is all the big battle moments from the movie in order, with some voice work from Elrond while footage from the movie plays, whereas the second half if a what-if type thing, where you play as the bad guys, kill frodo in the first level and take the ring, then go backwards in the movies winning all the battles until it ends with you trashing hobbiton and gandalf in the final level (which was oddly satisfying!). It's like the Battlefront games in that it's objective based, where you have to hold points, recapture points, etc, but with boss battles at the end of the levels generally.

All up, largely forgettable, but was fun enough for a single play through
 

DelireMan7

Member
My challenge :
No 2020 games (or the strict minimum). I can buy older games as my "physical backlog" is quite limited ( 2 physical games and 1 from PS+ I really wanted to play).

"Physical backlog" :
  • Xenoblade Chronicles Done !
  • Final Fantasy XII
  • The Last of Us (PS+) Done !
  • The surge (PS+, still don't know if I want to play it or not) Not interested finally

Games completed :
  1. Dragon Age Origins (started early 2019, finished 6th January 20, around 80h)
  2. The Last of us + Left Behind (Started 1st January, finished 19th January 20, 18h30 + 2h20, Survivor Difficulty)
  3. Dark Souls Remastered (thanks to the lockdown, finish a coop playthrough (half NG and full NG+) with a friend)
  4. Xenoblade Chronicles (Started 25th January 2020, finished 10th May 20, 78h30)
  5. Streets of Rage 4 (Online coop with friends, 2 run on hard)
  6. Assassin's Creed (Started 12th of May, finished the 30rd of May)
Streets of Rage 4 :
We really enjoyed it and will continue for the next months. Art is stunning and gameplay pretty solid even if you don't get everything yet (didn't find how to dodge or avoid some ennemy's move).
Disappointed by the last boss (Mr.X and Ms Y with the "spider robot") which is the easiest of the game in my opinion.
The OST is OK but I prefer the retro soundtrack.

Assassin's Creed :
Finally I got to get into this saga that people love to hate ;) Went their mainly for the lore/story without much expectation for the gameplay. Really not disappointed by the story and I am really want to see more about the Assassin/Templar conflict. Especially in the modern day sequences.
On the gameplay, I was pleasantly suprised. The combat is basic but enjoyable and I really liked the parkour. It flows quite well with almost no "mistake" (just once Altaïr did not perform a Leap of faith and just commit suicide which was quite funny).
Of course, the missions are pretty similar but it was not much a problem for me. Did quite a bit of "sidecontent" (Saving civilians and tower, not the flags collection...).
My only complaint are the mandatory group fights at the very end... Suddenly you face opponents which as new moves and can quickly reduce your HP but the main issue is that you basically get the same fight (with different skin) 4 times in row (Robert des sables, at Masyaf, the illusions of the 9 you killed and Al Mualim's illusions)... It's the only moment where it was a pain to play for me.
Also the movement speed in modern days... Why not able us to run or just walk faster ?

Looking forward the sequels and will quickly jump into Assassin's Creed 2 which looks quite promising...

Multiplayer games in which I sunk quite some time :
  • For honor (January/February, 1v1 Warden/Peacekeeper)
  • Warcraft 3 (April/May, 1v1, Orc)
 

SpiceRacz

Member
Finally sat down and finished Last of Us last night. I think I started it a year ago and played it here and there. Not much to say that hasn't already been said. It's a masterpiece and belongs in the GOAT conversation.

Also started Lords of the Fallen last night and good god this game runs like shit on PS4. Characters, story, and art are kind of generic too, but I'm enjoying it way more than I expected.
 

Phase

Member
Recently finished FEAR 2 (#24) and Black Mesa (#25).

Loved both. Fear gave me a few good jump scares lol. Black Mesa was so well done. I had forgotten how hard it gets near the end. Finally beat it though. Well worth the effort. I'm currently playing Gran Turismo Sport and Witcher 2. Was planning on playing some shorter games next, but wasn't really feeling the ones on my list. On we go!
 
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Happosai

Hold onto your panties
This was posted before the whole COVID-19 outbreak thing and all of the economic setbacks; I think it you backlog games for the past 4-decades...you can still get through years without touching anything new. I jumped off the new games market midway through the 7th generation. With Japanese imports in mind for so many 3rd-7th gen consoles -- I can say I'll have enough to play for the next decade. I also like to play a game slowly and have never been able to sit down for any game for more than 45 minutes (1 hour max). I have to move around and do something.

My wife likes/owns/plays 8th gen games and I don't mind watching her play through Switch games or a handful of PS4 titles. I usually don't invest time or money into games until they've ever at least 7-8 years. Watched my wife play the RE2 port and RE7...I was not impressed. The remaster itself of RE2 is impressive but the dub dialogue changes IMO are awful. I preferred the GameCube port. Watching RE7 was painful and seemed to distract away from the whole premise of RE games (I've never played 5 or 6...but I imagine they may have led up to the decline).

Bottom line, I've been inadvertently participating in not buying new games (except what I buy for my wife). I'll give the 8th gen a chance when prices come down, hype comes down, and the 9th gen is midway through it's cycle. That's what I usually do.
 

ROMhack

Member
This was posted before the whole COVID-19 outbreak thing and all of the economic setbacks; I think it you backlog games for the past 4-decades...you can still get through years without touching anything new. I jumped off the new games market midway through the 7th generation. With Japanese imports in mind for so many 3rd-7th gen consoles -- I can say I'll have enough to play for the next decade. I also like to play a game slowly and have never been able to sit down for any game for more than 45 minutes (1 hour max). I have to move around and do something.

My wife likes/owns/plays 8th gen games and I don't mind watching her play through Switch games or a handful of PS4 titles. I usually don't invest time or money into games until they've ever at least 7-8 years. Watched my wife play the RE2 port and RE7...I was not impressed. The remaster itself of RE2 is impressive but the dub dialogue changes IMO are awful. I preferred the GameCube port. Watching RE7 was painful and seemed to distract away from the whole premise of RE games (I've never played 5 or 6...but I imagine they may have led up to the decline).

Bottom line, I've been inadvertently participating in not buying new games (except what I buy for my wife). I'll give the 8th gen a chance when prices come down, hype comes down, and the 9th gen is midway through it's cycle. That's what I usually do.

Yeah you touch on a very good point - that if a game is worth playing it'll be worth playing 5/6 years down the line rather than only at launch.

I don't think a lot of apparently 'good' games stand this test of time too well.

It's not too weird either - in film circles you have those who prefer the Criterion collection more than new movies.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Yeah you touch on a very good point - that if a game is worth playing it'll be worth playing 5/6 years down the line rather than only at launch.

I don't think a lot of apparently 'good' games stand this test of time too well.

It's not too weird either - in film circles you have those who prefer the Criterion collection more than new movies.
Thank you for concluding that thesis. I enjoy replaying games as well for many years. Ocarina of Time comes to mind. I also share the same sentiments with film. I feel we stopped pioneering the film genre nearly 30-years ago and what's come out since then is not quality, in my opinion.
 

DelireMan7

Member
Yeah you touch on a very good point - that if a game is worth playing it'll be worth playing 5/6 years down the line rather than only at launch.

I agree on that but just wanted to add that waiting too much can make you miss some online feature that make the game greater.
I am thinking to the Soulsborne serie (what a surprise !). Playing them at a time where people play it less (or even after server shutdown) removes part of the greatness (not even thinking about coop/invasion but just the random ghost, messages, bloodstains, vagrants...). While playing them offline is fine and it remains great games, you lose a bit something in the process.

Haven't play Death Stranding yet, but I heard about these kind of mechanics (I stayed almost blind on this game to keep surprises) so I hope I won't lose much when I'll play it later.
 

ROMhack

Member
I agree on that but just wanted to add that waiting too much can make you miss some online feature that make the game greater.
I am thinking to the Soulsborne serie (what a surprise !). Playing them at a time where people play it less (or even after server shutdown) removes part of the greatness (not even thinking about coop/invasion but just the random ghost, messages, bloodstains, vagrants...). While playing them offline is fine and it remains great games, you lose a bit something in the process.

Haven't play Death Stranding yet, but I heard about these kind of mechanics (I stayed almost blind on this game to keep surprises) so I hope I won't lose much when I'll play it later.

Some truth in that, yeah. Journey is the same and Death Stranding is very much a game that needs online functionality to make sense.
 
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DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Danjin44 Danjin44 To mix things up, I started a fresh save file of Gravity Rush 2 on the PS4 Pro. It was a bit jarring to play a game where the cutscenes are sparse and the gameplay is tuned for fun instead of realism. Flying around and using the gyro for fine-tuning feels even better than the first game on Vita. I've reached the first large city area and it's much more interesting to explore. While flying through the air, I remember the world in the first game impressing me with its color and art style, but close up there is very little detail or variety.

GR2 is far more detailed and has far more variety. Yet the game retains the simple, whimsical gameplay instead of getting too serious or too bogged down with complexity.

I'm really loving it so far. I've officially passed the furthest point I reached in my previous save file (not sure why I lost steam and quit).
 

ROMhack

Member
One of these days I'll try to replay Gravity Rush 2. I really didn't like it the first time round but the way you guys go on about it... maybe I missed something.
 
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Bakkus

Member
Finished Super Mario Bros. 3 for the first time ever. And honestly, it was a pretty mixed bag. Some of the levels are a mess, especially later on. They're brutally hard if you come in empty, but a cakewalk if you are lucky enough to have the right power-up in your inventory. Don't even get me started on the shitty ass Game Over system. I had to do a trick to get 100 lives to bypass it, but even then I ran out at the end of world 7. The card game is nonsensical luck you only have a 1% chance at winning. I also didn't like how slippery Mario can feel. Especially as someone who grew up with the GBA versions of the SNES Mario games, which I feel are superior in every way and controls perfectly. I respect what this game did for the industry aswell as the platformer genre, but looking back, it's pretty flawed in certain areas. I did not hate the game. There were some very well designed levels (even if it could be a bit cryptic some times, especially those later castle levels), but I would still only give it an 6.5 out of 10.
 

SpiceRacz

Member
Finished Super Mario Bros. 3 for the first time ever. And honestly, it was a pretty mixed bag. Some of the levels are a mess, especially later on. They're brutally hard if you come in empty, but a cakewalk if you are lucky enough to have the right power-up in your inventory. Don't even get me started on the shitty ass Game Over system. I had to do a trick to get 100 lives to bypass it, but even then I ran out at the end of world 7. The card game is nonsensical luck you only have a 1% chance at winning. I also didn't like how slippery Mario can feel. Especially as someone who grew up with the GBA versions of the SNES Mario games, which I feel are superior in every way and controls perfectly. I respect what this game did for the industry aswell as the platformer genre, but looking back, it's pretty flawed in certain areas. I did not hate the game. There were some very well designed levels (even if it could be a bit cryptic some times, especially those later castle levels), but I would still only give it an 6.5 out of 10.

That's an interesting take. As I've gotten older, my appreciation of SMB3 has grown. I like that it's considerably more difficult than Mario World. To me, it's probably one of the few games I'd say is a 10/10.
 

Bakkus

Member
That's an interesting take. As I've gotten older, my appreciation of SMB3 has grown. I like that it's considerably more difficult than Mario World. To me, it's probably one of the few games I'd say is a 10/10.
Hehe, I know my opinion is controversial, but it's my honest one. Most NES games have not aged well imo (I like Mega Man, tho), and I know almost every gamer born between 77-85 have this game as one of their all time favorites, and still love NES games, but due to my younger age, I cannot relate that much.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
I love both SMB3 and SMW, but SMB3 wins out for me personally.

During the NES era, there were a huge variety of platformers. Many of them were decent, but almost all of them suffered from a few core problems. One of the most common problems popping up was pointless item-hunts that forced the player to explore a frustrating map. This was doubly frustrating in games where the enemies respawned every time you entered the screen. When Super Mario Bros 3 came around, it wasn't just a great Mario game, it was also a platformer that had trimmed the fat and focused on fundamentals. Levels are fairly brief, and secrets either lead to a power up or a 1up. World had multiple paths but since the level difficulty ramps up pretty quickly, it felt good opening up a path to a Toad house without losing too many lives in the process.

Super Mario World conceded to the old lazy item-hunt design. Not only were you hunting for those Yoshi coins (optional), you were also hunting for alternative exits to fully explore the map. Save points and several exploitable tricks made lives trivial in SMW, but completing all 8 worlds and beating SMB3 demonstrates a certain amount of competency.

I think in a mirror universe where SMW came out on NES and SMB3 was the follow-up with better graphics, it wouldn't even be a conversation.
 
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