Play This Set May 2025 - 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. Our inbox is always open, whether you're an achievement developer looking to promote your work or a player wanting to spread the word about your favorite hidden gem. If interested, submit your write-up as a private message to {% rauserpic RANews %}. Please note that we currently have a large backlog of submissions, so it may take a long time before yours is featured.

Game	Console	Genre
Elf Bowling 1 & 2	Game Boy Advance	Sports - Bowling

• Set by: {% rauserpic Dexterspet %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Whynot15 %}

Elf Bowling 1 & 2 is a port of two..."beloved" Christmas themed games that first circulated the internet back in 1999, with a ridiculous story (Santa is punishing striking elves by using them as bowling pins) and very simple gameplay. You tap a single button to throw and the elf "pins" will react the same way when thrown from the same spot, making the game a simple process of hitting the same timing 11 times in a row (and hoping not to get ruined by an elf randomly dodging your ball and ruining a perfect game). Isn't it crazy what we considered fun in the early internet days? The most memorable part, the questionable and sometimes dirty banter from the elves, is either removed completely or butchered by poor audio quality, and the port's graphics are significantly worse the original 90s Flash style.

Elf Bowling 2 is a slightly better game. Instead of bowling, you play shuffleboard with elves as the pucks. It also introduces a favorite Christmastime character - Dingle Kringle, Santa's loser brother and failed used iced salesman. There is much more of a game here - not necessarily a five-star foray, but a game nonetheless, where you complete against Santa or Dingle (heh) in a semi-competent shuffleboard game. Again, the port manages to do wonders by charging money for a version of a game that was completely free decades ago, with iffy audio and spotty graphics.

So why am I saying to play this set? Because this is a neat dive into video game Christmas history. During December 2000, Elf Bowling was one of the top 10 most played PC games, with over 7.6 million players! It's hard to say you've fully explored video game history if you haven't experienced the good, the bad, and the...elf-y. It's a short romp to beat and an only slightly longer (yet much more annoying) run to master. So kick back with some hot cocoa and your choice of holiday movie in the background while you harass some elves for your own enjoyment!

Game	Console	Genre
The Grinch	PlayStation	3D Platforming, Collect-a-thon

• Set by: {% rauserpic Alfex %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Sobou %}

This game is what I call "strangely compelling". It's crap, it's bad, it's licensed, yet there's just enough about it that compels me to play it. Other than listing objectives, this monstrosity doesn't guide you well in what you're supposed to do and how to get there. It is a confusing, unexplained, and janky mess. The platforming is awkward (especially the gymnastic pole stuff), hitboxes can feel bizarre, and the game doesn't even list its controls! I had to look up the manual to figure out that holding L1 let me cycle the gadgets after I had built the rocket jump piece.

Yet for all its bad pieces, it does some things weirdly well. The collectibles are pretty clever in how some are hidden and you really gotta dig around to find them. The music goes hard with how good and ambient it can be; Mount Crumpit alone shouldn't be as good as it is. And the VA, while narmy, is also good! The VA for the Grinch does the grump well enough - YA GRINCHED!! - and the narrator is none other than George Lowe, the VA for Space Ghost!

In regards to the set itself for The Grinch... arguably the Dreamcast version is the superior one, as objectives are individually listed and it's a more robust list. I'm of the opinion the PS1 version needs a revision and that it sucks that the first achievement you can even get will take a few hours of gameplay. But nothing as it is right now is missable, it's very simple, and you'll get the full experience of the game by mastering the PS1 version. If you're like me and can be picky about missable or challenge achievements, this can be seen as a blessing. And FWIW both sets are the same total point values.

I should note that the gadget that simplifies getting presents dramatically, the Grinch Copter, isn't acquired until near the end of the game. By the time I had acquired it, I had very few presents left to actually get since in stumbling around blindly trying to finish all the objectives I had acquired most of the presents by then. You WILL not get the 100% present achievements until you've finished the main objectives for all four areas and built all the gadgets, so keep that in mind.

It's a basic set for a weird janky game, but it has merit and should be experienced. I'm glad I chose to play it for the RetroAchievemas event!

Game	Console	Genre
~Hack~ Pokémon Emerald Rogue V2	Game Boy Advance	Roguelike, Turn-based RPG

• Set by: {% rauserpic Brylefi %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic theelkspeaks %}

One of the most popular challenge runs for Pokemon players outside of RA is the Nuzlocke run. Building a carefully crafted team and box, planning ahead for known and unknown fights, accumulating resources and choosing when to spend them - especially in randomized runs - provides a test of skill, planning, and creativity where no two runs are the same. Normally speaking, RA wouldn't be able to support the excitement of a Nuzlocke run, as it demands tracking carefully across multiple sessions. But there is a hack that captures much of the spirit of Nuzlocking in its own way - Pokemon Emerald Rogue V2. (or V1, but this is about V2).

This game creates a compelling Pokemon hack with roguelike runs and metaprogression, and gives the option of using a complete, 9 generation National Dex to boot - all built on the backbone of the Gen 3 engine (with a lot of custom work under the hood). You'll face a series of choices such as routes with a two word description (i.e. CALM CHILLY) where you can catch mons and battle trainers, marts, daycares, risky deals and honey trees. After a few choices, you might have a rival fight, and you'll eventually reach a gym leader. Win your badge, raise your cap another 10 levels, and move on. The items you find are enough to keep you going, but not so abundant that you won't still be looking for that daycare heal, or the increasingly expensive pre-gym heal you can buy with Pokedollars.

During the main game, you'll be assigned a region, and your 8 gym leaders will match the leaders of that region - so if you're assigned Johto (like me), you'll face the 8 Johto leaders in a randomized order each run, each of which will have a randomized team of their type that get increasingly hard as you get closer to the end. Building up a monster Pokemon with move tutor moves, strong items, maybe even a TM/TR investment or an evolution item is huge, and can give you a strong carry, but for the most part your deaths are permanent, and if you lose that key mon, your run can swivel into panicked adaption on the spur of a moment.

Completing quests in the game gives you access to build out your town, increasing the quality of items in your starting bag, catching new mons to use as your 1 starter per run, or even getting powerful TM moves early - an awesome option for meta-progression. And once you manage to clear a full run through the champion, you'll even unlock a massive postgame featuring other challenges like monotype runs and more! For a true planning on the fly Pokemon game that requires mastery of almost every mechanic the series has to offer, and all playable on the GBA engine, check out Pokemon Emerald Rogue V2 today!

Game	Console	Genre
~Hack~ CTGP: Nitro	Nintendo DS	Kart Racing

• Set by: {% rauserpic Brylefi %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic MeloDeathAtmoBlack %}

At this point, I don't think the Mario Kart custom track modding scene needs any introduction - we've got some incredibly talented people making hundreds of new and wacky tracks that might not match the polish and overall quality of Nintendo's own offerings, but more than make up for it with unhinged creativity. I was thrilled when I saw that we had its DS incarnation here on this site, and I can't recommend it more.

The best courses are wholly original designs. Drive and drift on a roller coaster in Alonso Park. Toy Time Galaxy is a great shoutout to Mario Galaxy with some of the most thrilling drifts in the game. Bask in the dark-gothic ambiance of Sky-High Cathedral. We all knew Yoshi's face made a great race track design from Double Dash, but now we can experience it again as a snowy mountain peak in Yoshi Mountain. And my personal favorite, Toad's BBQ turned an entire outdoor cookout into a fantastic obstacle course, driving along picnic tables, spatulas, burgers and bacon on the grill, soda bottles, and paper towels - it's immensely creative and awe-inspiring (even if should really be called Toad's Cookout. I lived in Texas for five years, so I'm very passionate about true BBQ).

Admittedly, I'm recommending this set not for the achievements, since they're nothing particularly noteworthy. You'll need to race each Gran Prix four times over at minimum (five, including the time trials), which is admittedly not the most satisfying from a set perspective, but it was a good filler set to work towards in the long-term. I could just stop playing whatever game I had going for an hour or more, and quickly race a GP as a palette cleanser, and I recall doing a few shorter GPs while waiting for dinner to cook. As for the time trials, some of the times can be intimidating, but most can be knocked out with a reasonable amount of practice. If nothing else, play the GPs for a few hours, start to learn the tracks, and switch to the Rob-BLS kart, you might wind up making better times than you thought you would. That's what happened to me.

Game	Console	Genre
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance	GameCube	Tactical RPG

• Set by: {% rauserpic voiceofautumn %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Lugero %}

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is one of my favorite turn-based strategy RPGs. It is one of the most well-rounded titles of the FE franchise; it has a great cast of characters, good story, amazing world building, a solid soundtrack, and the simple but enjoyable gameplay that you would expect from a FE game.

Starting with the gameplay; it is simple to understand even if you've never played a strategy game before, but it has enough depth and mechanics to never be dull. The game has a tutorial available on the in-game menu that explains really well all of the most important mechanics and controls with gameplay shown (and with very humorous dialogue to boot!).

One of the most important aspects on Fire Emblem are is characters, even if some don't tend to be as fleshed out as others, the game gives them enough dialogue in the form of base conversations, supports dialogue and in the main story. On the gameplay front, most of your unit will be perfectly usable if you give them enough time and resources to growth into powerhouses, you just pick the ones that interest you, that's one of the most satisfying aspects in these games

It also has one of the better stories told in the franchise. That's one of the most criticized aspects in Fire Emblem, but Path of Radiance pulls its weight good enough on that front as well with the worldbuilding being my absolute favorite.

The Soundtrack is very solid, not the best the franchise has ever shown, but still has some awesome tracks worth listening.

For all the praise I give this game, it's not without is flaws:

• The game speed is slow with battle animations slowing the flow of the game
• Most units while usable, it favors mounted and flying units a lot, making this FE one of the least balanced in terms of unit disparity
• It's a bit easy even on hard, which isn't a bad thing for newcomers, but the hardest difficulty is region-locked to Japan: the Maniac mode, a difficulty that's quite infamous for being tedious rather than challenging

Last but not least, she Set of this game in RA is quite involved, but nothing too difficult if you're a completionist. I would recommend to check the comments in specific achievements as they all give good tips, keep an eye in some achievements for the later achievement parts to never miss out on anything.

All in all, this game deserves my recommendation for any Fire Emblem and turn-based strategy fans, I'm sure this game will leave a positive impression in most players like it did for me many years ago.

Game	Console	Genre
Jersey Devil	PlayStation	3D Platforming

• Set by: {% rauserpic mario2188 %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Melodius %}

One of my all-time favorite 3D platformers. Jersey Devil was released very early on in the PS1's life cycle, not even allowing full analog movement, instead relying entirely on the D-Pad. That being said, a fairly functional camera allows for a surprisingly versatile range of movement options that allows this pioneering platformer to provide some perilous pitfalls and puzzles to parry.

The game comes packaged with 11 full levels which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours each on a first-time playthrough for casual players. This is quite remarkable for such an early 3D game. Personally, I find that the levels have a good blend of open-worldness while also maintaining an obvious path forward to reach the end of any particular stage. A lack of either often leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The bosses are okay. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to overly complain about either.

However, I've been burying the lede. The most attractive elements of Jersey Devil are its atmosphere, music, and oblong comedy. The Halloween-themed town of Jersey City has an oddly charming Noir aesthetic. Fans of either the original Batman: The Animated Series or the new version will find the original soundtrack hugely reminiscent of many dusty, downtrodden musical pieces in the aforementioned Noir environments. I actually find myself coming back to this game sometimes just to relive the levels which don't really have peer in other 3D games (and I play a lot of those...).

If there is ever another Halloween event and this game is on the event checklist, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't at least go for the beat. I can't sing enough praises about this game.

Game	Console	Genre
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus	PlayStation 2	3D Platforming, Stealth

• Set by: {% rauserpic ThatAmericanSlacker %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Tehkoa %}

A set I think everyone should at least attempt is Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. The set has 110 achievements, with 23 being missable. A perfect blend of time attack, stealth, damageless, and collection all wrapped up in one nice little bundle. The game controls really well, all while having a great soundtrack and a semi-comedic story to go along with it. I believe it to be the perfect entry into the series, and is easily a set either a novice can pick up and master in a few days or so, as well as a master of games playing it for the first time, and have equal amounts of fun. The only achievement I would say gave me the most problem would be The Burning Smell is Normal, Right?. Once you learn the motions, it's not too bad. Overall, I would give this game a solid 8/10 and a difficulty of around 4-5/10. If this convinces you to give it a shot, feel free to post on my wall and let me know what you thought about it!

Game	Console	Genre
Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back	SNES/Super Famicom	2D Platforming, Action

• Set by: {% rauserpic Xunkar %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic TheRealBillHicks %}

This is not the first time I've campaigned for this game. As an all-time favorite of mine, I'll take any chance to ramble about the things I love in this Super Nintendo classic. Now let's go ahead and address the first thing people familiar with this game think of when they see it: the difficulty. It's no secret that the Super Star Wars trilogy is infamously difficult, but with the right guidance and a little patience, you too can become a Jedi Master! I'll leave a couple of my own tips and tricks at the bottom, but first let's talk about the game.

Super Empire Strikes Back, much like the movie it's based on, is a huge upgrade from what came before it. Right away you're dropped into the action battling alien warthogs and imperial probe droids as Luke Skywalker. Unlike the first Super Star Wars title, you're given your signature blue lightsaber right away, as well as your blaster and a fancy new double jump. Like the first game, you'll have the opportunity to upgrade your blaster with new firepower along the way such as fireballs, seeker-missles, a rapid ion blaster, and a plasma blaster. Be careful though, as losing a life resets your blaster upgrades.

Blasters and lightsabers won't be your only defense against the Empire, as you'll also command vehicles such as snowspeeders, X-wings, and even the Millenium Falcon as you make your way through iconic locations and scenarios. You'll take down AT-ATs in the Battle of Hoth, learn the ways of the Force in the swamps of Dagobah, pursue a mysterious bounty hunter in the beautiful Cloud City, and finally you'll learn and impossible truth in a showdown with the Dark Lord himself, Darth Vader.

While just progressing through this game will be challenging enough, some of the hardest achievements in this set will test even the most dedicated Jedi. To master this set you'll have to beat this game on all three of its difficulty settings: Easy, Brave, and Jedi. With each increase in difficulty you'll take more damage from each hit you take. That's it. The bosses aren't harder, your weapons aren't nerfed. While it's only one change, I assure you, it's a big one. The first thing you're gonna want to do is farm some extra lives. The second cave level is a great place to do this early in the game. There are about 5 or 6 extra lives you can collect easily enough before purposely losing a life and starting over. I suggest doing this until you have a comfortable amount of extra lives. This will probably be the easiest way to get the There is No Try achievement for beating the game with a single continue.

One more piece of advice I can give you is regarding the Vader fight. Specifically, the achievement Building Confidence. This one's hard. My method was to learn Vader's pattern, use the "Deflect" Force power to prevent taking damage while unleashing as many furious slashes with my saber as I could before my Force powers ran out. Then it's just a matter of dodging. Stay out of Vader's range until he levitates up and over you. Take this opportunity to swing upward, dealing damage as he flies overhead. Patience, you must learn patience.

While I'm no doubt biased, I do believe that this is one of the best games released for the SNES, and as hard as it can be, it's not nearly as unforgiving as its reputation would have you believe. This game can be as much fun as it is challenging, and for a classic Star Wars fan I'd consider this one a must-play. Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it.

Game	Console	Genre
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective	Nintendo DS	Adventure, Visual Novel

• Set by: {% rauserpic Poppers %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic Varilinity %}

Mastered this one a while ago, but thought I'd write up a quick review on it and why anyone hesitating should play this game. Ghost Trick is easily in my top 10 games of all time. The story, the graphics, the characters, the flow, the music. This is one of the few games I've had the pleasure of playing that doesn't fall flat on any aspects. You play as a man recently killed who is gifted with powers to manipulate his surroundings by possessing objects such as phones, stacks of paper, wires, etc., and so the obvious choice of action is to find out who killed you. This simple premise makes for one of the best plots in any game I've played to date.

By the time this game ended, I was almost gonna email Capcom myself and demand a sequel. Unfortunately, this is the only story we get of our spiky haired friend. Maybe one day they'll see the error of their ways and rehash it, but until then, this is a game everyone needs to play. If you only play one game on this website, let it be this. I can not give this game higher praise.

Game	Console	Genre
Quarth | Block Hole	Game Boy	Falling Block Puzzle, Shoot 'em Up

• Set by: {% rauserpic Vancleef %}
• Write-up by: {% rauserpic PaddyW %}

The game Quarth for the original Game Boy is based on an arcade game named Block Hole from 1989. Both versions were developed by Konami. The game is a unique mix of puzzle and shoot 'em up and is a lot of fun to play.

There's no lore behind the game. Different shapes fall from top of the screen, and the player has to shoot blocks to create rectangles - the larger, the better. Sounds weird on paper, but it's easy to understand how to win while playing the first level.

I've played Quarth for the first time as a kid and was never able to beat it back then, because the later levels are extremely fast and hard. Without strategy, memorization, and proper use of bonus items, it's impossible to finish in my opinion. Of course, fast button pressing is mandatory. It's an "easy to play, but hard to master" game.

The set itself contains achievements for beating each of the 45 levels and some additional challenges like reaching specific scores and bonus points. Nothing too wild, but difficult enough. Especially the 600k points highscore demands a lot of patience from the player.

For pure puzzle lovers, Quarth could provide not enough fodder for the brain, while shmup fans would criticize the lack of variation. But that's always an issue with genre-mixes. Nevertheless, it was a great challenge to try it again here on RA and finally achieve the mastery badge with some pain in the fingers.