Mento

@bigsocrates: There is some significant distance between RCR and LaD, not just chronologically, but I'm not sure they're fundamentally different games. The amount of time I spend in either just beating up dudes and then waltzing into a nearby restaurant to replenish health, or maybe stocking up on healing items and gear to improve my combat skills, for instance. I guess my argument was that I get most of my old-school brawler fill from LaD and much more besides, and that's why going back to its roots is a little tougher. If one of these brawler throwbacks ever put in a Komaki Tiger Drop counter move I'd change my tune pretty quick.

Now you've got me wondering if there's any significant fundamental differences between 2D and 3D platformers, since I play a lot of both. The former's more challenge-based and the latter's more exploration-based? But that's not universally the case. I still enjoy both the older and newer style of those games, conversely to these brawlers, but maybe that's just a genre preference.

No arguments from me that RCG's presentation is excellent, though. I'll be dipping into that OST frequently in the future I'm sure.

@manburger: Sorry about all that. I must've salmonned those puns from the depths of hell.

@chamurai: Thanks for the translation work, as always. I wasn't even going to try with most of those kanji. At least I figured out "amemasu" by myself?

@hunkyhairshaver: You're all good. It's just the page that's glitching out. I'll let someone know.

@manburger: Thanks! It's true, if this playthrough was a pizza it'd be a Kalameet feast. (Honestly, shout outs to Elden Ring for getting me so used to fighting dragons. Skyrim too, I suppose.)

@shindig: Given how warped everyone became just from acting out the cutscenes, I'm not sure if that's in the cards. I don't know anything about how the DS engine rigs its character models for animation though so maybe someone could figure it out.

It would, however, be very funny to see Sif or Kalameet try to do Smough's butt stomp. I'm already struggling to take this game as seriously as I used to as is.

@bigsocrates: You're probably right. I'm seven hours in with about 3-5 left to go, if I had to guess. I suppose I just kept rounding that runtime figure up as I was writing.

Knowing the wackiness never really picks up is disappointing. The upgrade tree has some wild transformations on it and the game is dropping hints about possible Cthulhus and such (the tenth bounty hunter was involved in "the Battle of Innsmouth"), but I guess they might be saving all that for DLC/sequels.

I'm still inclined to say 2017 was the (recent) peak, since it's the only year where I have a top 100 instead of a top 10 or 20, but I think upon review (and enough time to catch up with everything) 2023 will end up pretty close. Sadly, unlike in 2017, we didn't get a Ys this year (at least not in the west).

I only have GOTY lists from when the site started, maybe I should try some retrospective ones later. Can never have enough lists on here.

@wollywoo: Probably better than my back-up title, "La Sus Dork".

@broshmosh: Only biggie is remembering to hit the screenshot button when something interesting happens. Maybe I'll snap one of the strange visual glitches that occur in pre-boss fight cutscenes.

@manburger: I kinda feel bad for seeing so many of those red crabs now that I know how rare they are in regular playthroughs. Those missile barrages really do hurt though. (They don't drop any Twin Humanities either, but the rats often do.)

@sombre: I was planning to stop but they keep releasing more Indie games. I figure I can outlast them though.

@ford_dent: Not at all, thanks for the extra info. I really should've stuck with the game a bit longer, but it took enough time to complete 1-1 without dying that I sort of lost all motivation when 1-2 was basically the same but worse. I guess when your game has four worlds total you really need to stretch out that runtime.

I'm definitely going to have to watch more of the classic Dirty Pair. It's just too much fun.