Play This Set March 2023 - RetroAchievements/RANews GitHub Wiki
Play This Set is a showcase for our passionate community members to write about the games and achievement sets they love. Whether you're an achievement developer looking to promote your work or a player wanting to spread the word about your favorite hidden gem, we're always looking for new Play This Set submissions. If interested, submit your write-up as a private message to {% rauserpic RANews %}.
Game | Console | Genre |
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Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars | PlayStation | Point-and-Click Adventure |
- Set by: {% rauserpic hardt %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic MikeyG %}
One of my all-time favorite games and so pleased to see a set made for it. The PlayStation version of this game does suffer from some limitations in the controls because of its point-and-click nature. A PlayStation mouse is supported. What shines about this game is its storytelling and how the achievements fit in with the linear storytelling. Most achievements are for completing chapters and scenes in the story, but there are 1 or 2 missable achievements to watch out for, so doing multiple saves is recommended just in case you need to go back. If you've never played the Broken Sword series and enjoyed other point-and-click adventures, then this is worth your time.
Game | Console | Genre |
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Pokemon Pinball mini | Pokemon Mini | Pinball |
- Set by: {% rauserpic jos %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic BahamutVoid %}
We've seen Pokémon themed pinball before, but this entry does things differently. The main Quest mode includes 70 levels with differing setups, but most of the time you're plugging holes with a Poké Ball to reach a certain score or to complete the level in a certain time. These levels only last minutes each and the layouts are fairly simple, but there lies what makes this game so great. As you slowly go through the levels, getting to grips with how the physics work, you'll suddenly be catching a Pokémon. Up until now you've been using a Diglett, but there's 4 more to choose from once you've unlocked them. Pikachu sends the ball in a random direction which is useful when you're limited on time, Clefairy gives a small amount of control over the ball in mid-air, Wobbuffet is slow to use but hits the hardest, and Poliwag is the opposite being fast but weak. I was first introduced to this game in Pokémon Channel, but that version was heavily stripped down, so I never got to see all the interesting level mechanics like gravity flipping and Pichu juggling. The set is robust; it's got interesting challenges and tight but fair time attacks. It's easily my favourite game for the Pokémon Mini.
Game | Console | Genre |
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Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence | PlayStation 2 | Action-Adventure, Stealth |
- Set by: {% rauserpic wilhitewarrior %}, {% rauserpic gollawiz %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic Wispydream %}
Get ready to feel some pain, some sorrow, and maybe even joy. For anyone that's interested in getting into Metal Gear, MGS3 is a great starting point, as it's the first game chronologically in the series. You'll get an introduction to the characters that will play important roles over the rest of the series, along with more polished gameplay and controls compared to earlier entries. Couple this with a wonderfully cinematic story and surprising depth of mechanics when it comes to stealth and survival.
Your experience will differ depending on how you decide to play: taking a more pacifist approach, or going all out in lethal combat. A few playthroughs are necessary, but by nature the game has great replayability. To cover the scope of all that is possible with the set, especially considering there are two entire separate games (Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2) included is a huge undertaking, and {% rauserpic wilhitewarrior %} and {% rauserpic gollawiz %} have delivered beautifully. The set is both comprehensive as well as inventive and clever with its unique challenges.
I want to encourage players that are new to the series as well as vets not to be intimidated by the set and to give it a playthrough!
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Mega Man X: Command Mission | PlayStation 2 | Action, Role-Playing Game, Turn-based RPG |
- Set by: {% rauserpic Snow %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic Olafur %}
Here's a few details about the game. It's a turn-based RPG, but with some unique elements. First off, there are Hyper Modes which temporarily turns a party member into something much more powerful and gives them new and powerful attacks. They also have Action Triggers, a special skill unique to each character.
The story centers around X going to Giga City to defeat a group of Mavericks called the Rebellion. Along the way, he meets new friends such as the tricky Spider, the heroic Massimo, the sneaky thief Marino, and the kind-hearted Cinnamon. Their mission is to stop Epsilon from doing bad things using powerful materials called Force Metals.
The game isn't too long and it can be a bit tedious at times, but it's a fun experience with nice voice acting, great music, and colorful graphics.
Game | Console | Genre |
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~Hack~ Super Metroid: Ancient Chozo | SNES | Metroidvania |
- Set by: {% rauserpic wolfman2000 %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic MatheusBrazuca85 %}
What I really like about Ancient Chozo is how they mix both Project Base, which is a Super Metroid hack project to add QoL changes, along with new mechanics like "Respin" and "Backflip", new graphics and hubs, and a really ancient looking Zebes like the hack name says to make the world you explore more "new", as if you are seeing what has survived from the Chozo civilization before they got wiped out in Metroid lore.
The game is also pretty open to do any boss order you want. It's really great to speedrun any% or 104% in your own way, and there is a lot of sequence breaks to get items earlier than you should. The set by {% rauserpic wolfman2000 %} covers a lot of the potential you can have with this, be it by fighting Phantoom first without needing the SM vanilla speedrun tricks, using the Project Base backflip to skip Bomb Torizo, or using the so-hard-to-learn but useful "Meteorball" mechanic for getting almost everywhere on the map with your portable and fast Shinespark/Speed Booster.
It's a set I really recommend for a hack I recommend even more, and remember: face a direction > do a bomb jump > hold forward to the direction you're facing and press up > start running a little then press down > you can now do a Shinespark to anywhere you want on the planet!
Game | Console | Genre |
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Final Fight 3 | SNES | Beat 'em Up |
- Set by: {% rauserpic jplima %}, {% rauserpic SamuraiGamerCat %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic xtagnado %}
I played Final Fight 3 a lot in my childhood - the game is difficult and unfair. This type of game always gets more wonderful when you reach new stages. Now I'm a grown man and I've tried playing this again - still hard as hell and challenging like the first time. So I became a speedrunner in all categories, grinded for 1 year, and became a world record holder in several categories. Mastering the set is an amazing experience. Dean is as hateful as ever, Haggar is my favorite as ever, and mastery only once is little for how much I enjoy and appreciate this amazing game.
Test this game, love it and hate it, but master it.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game | Game Boy Advance | Collectible Card Game |
- Set by: {% rauserpic MelodyAsh %}, {% rauserpic voiceofautumn %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic Whynot15 %}
While the vast majority of achievement sets here are thought-out, well-done pieces of work, sometimes you find that magical combination of a game with some below-the-surface features and a dev passionate enough about the game to explore said features. Often, this combination comes in unlikely forms! I would like to shed some light on one such game and achievement set...from a anime card game no less!
Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game is, unsurprisingly, about playing the DBZ Collectible Card Game. While it never had the same following as TCG heavyweights like Magic, Pokemon, or Yu-Gi-Oh, it had some fun mechanics like rewarding purposefully restricted deckbuilding and a heavy focus on a single hero or villain "personality". While the game is perfectly competent and something I had tons of fun playing as a kid years ago, the real highlight is the detailed and thoughtful achievement set the game features.
I won't dive too deeply into the mechanics of the card game (as I'm far from an expert of the game myself), but rather than focusing on summoning and using monsters and minions like many CCGs, most of your cards are various types of attacks, defensive techniques, and other manuevers found in the magical martial arts world of DBZ. You use these to pummel your opponent as well as deflecting or defending against your opponent's own assaults, all as you both aim for one of several victory conditions. These can range from completely disabling your opponent by making them run out of strength (aka decking them out), reach a high enough level by building your anger, or collecting all 7 of the titular Dragon Balls.
As stated before, this is a perfectly capable port of the DBZ card game. You get a nice variety of cards and a fairly large cast of playable characters, from mainstay heroes and villains like Goku and Cell, supporting characters like Trunk and Krillin, to even minor single-saga representation like Guldo and Nail. This is called "Play this Set," and this set deserves the spotlight. Alongside the standard progression and unlock achievements, you have ton of character and matchup specific achievements requiring you to plan and deckbuild to successfully meet the requirements. These achievements are all quite thematic, such as winning with the quasi-pacifist Gohan without making a single attack, claiming victory as Goku over Frieza by going Super Sayian just like their famous clash, or using multiple sword-based attacks as King Cold vs Trunks, calling back to the former tyrant's obsession with Trunks' blade during their clash. The developer even went out of the way to provide specifically modified saves to let you play as the otherwise unusable final boss, Cell, who has his own achievements displaying his versatile ability to use even restricted moves with mastery.
If you're looking for a fun collectible card game, DBZ will likely scratch that itch. But the achievements elevate this game from a simple card game port to a way to deeply explore almost every aspect of a card game you may not have known existed.
Game | Console | Genre |
---|---|---|
~Hack~ Rockman 3: The Last of Mushroom Kingdom?! | NES | 2D Platforming |
- Set by: {% rauserpic wolfman2000 %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic freezestar %}
I've always been a fan of crossovers. Marvel vs. Capcom, Capcom vs. SNK, Super Smash Bros. Rockman 3: The Last of Mushroom Kingdom combines Mega Man and Mario, but not in a way I've seen before. Rather than Mario being in a carbon copy of a Mega Man level or vice versa, Last of Mushroom Kingdom is Mega Man in enemies and bosses, but Mario in level design. The level layouts are one-to-one but filled with Mega Man enemies and power-ups, and at the end of each *-1 stage, you can fight a robot master. I say you can because you can also skip them if you want to do a buster only run. To help you on your run Mega Man can now jump immediately after sliding, keeping momentum and sending him flying. Not only can this be used clear large gaps Mega Man couldn't before, but also reach higher platforms. This game still has a bunch of secrets from the original SMB1, as well as its own, but I won't tell all of them. I highly recommend this romhack if you are a fan of Mario, Mega Man, or both.
Game | Console | Genre |
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~Homebrew~ Pringles Game | Mega Drive | Platforming |
- Set by: {% rauserpic Bl4h8L4hBl4h %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic 14ausher %}
What's your favorite chip? If you said "Pringles", or anything else really, then you may be interested in the Pringles game for the Sega Genesis. Now, this isn't an official game at all - it was made in 2009, but that's probably for the best all things considered. The game is a short and sweet platformer where the objective is to bounce on as many Pringles as possible in one continuous chain as you make your way to the goal. You are then graded at the end based on how good your chain was; a perfect chain gets you the prestigious A rank. There are 9 levels and the game could beaten in like half an hour if going for all A ranks, and like 2 minutes if you don't care about them at all.
That's where the achievement set comes in: it turns a half-hour game into a 45 minute one, via the way of time trials and highlighting secrets. Overall, it takes a fun little game and squeezes a bit more juice out of it. It's a lot more fun than a lot of games in the Meme Sets and Meme Games hub. I would recommend giving it a try if you want a quick little enjoyable experience, and especially if you love Pringles.
Game | Console | Genre |
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Kuru Kuru Kururin | Game Boy Advance | Puzzle |
- Set by: {% rauserpic coczero %}
- Write-up by: {% rauserpic WarioFan63 %}
Kuru Kuru is a special type of Japanese sound effect that means spinning round and round, which is what happens nonstop in Kuru Kuru Kururin for the GBA. You play as Kururin, a bird who's out to rescue his lost siblings by piloting the Helirin, a special type of helicopter where the cockpit is dead center and the blades constantly rotate around it. The levels ahead have lots of winding paths in front of you, so you'll need to navigate carefully to make sure you don't damage your copter too much.
Surviving the levels is one thing, but to max out the game and this set, you're going to need to know how to navigate almost the entire game flawlessly, making your way through every crevice and passage without getting hit a single time, something that's a brutal task the closer you get to the end. But it also doesn't stop at playing the levels without a scratch. You'll need to pass several sets of time trials to truly truly master it. And once you think you've hit the top of the leaderboards, you've suddenly unlocked a whole new set of times to beat. There may even be times where damage boosting through would be the best way forward.
Between the themed worlds in the main game and the mini-levels in challenge mode, this game will keep you busy for awhile as you try to earn the mastery for it, and it will be well deserved.