Wish this Set February 2022 - RetroAchievements/RANews GitHub Wiki

Game	Console	Genre
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus	Nintendo DS	Card Game

• Writeup by: {% rauserpic MatheusBrazuca85 %}

Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game started as a battle card game with simple mechanics like placing cards for one turn before using them as trap cards, weak monsters with situational effects or cards you needed some time to use because they're strong.

As the time goes on, we get more complex mechanics like using specific monsters for a Ritual Summon, fusing two or more monsters for a Fusion Summon, synchronizing a specific monster called tunner and a few others to get the level of the Synchro Summon, mixing two monsters of same level for a XYZ Summon, placing two pendulum cards to realize a Pendulum Summon and the list goes on...But, how is Yugioh nowadays?

Buy the newest meta to win? Spend 10 minutes on the internet to find a one turn win deck? Nevertheless, most of old Yugioh players can say nowadays it isn't fun anymore because it is too complex, it doesn't have story, no iconic characters, it's pay to win or it isn't fun... And that's why the old retro Yugioh games like Tag Force franchise, Forbidden Memories or World Championship series are the remaining light of a game we like so much but Konami kills it everyday. So, today, we are going to talk about one of the best retro Yugioh game we have, the 2011 version of Yugioh 5D's World Championship - Over The Nexus.

Where to start? This game have a self-insert character which you can really feel you are a part of the 5D's Gang like in the anime, it have many things to explore and collect for RPG lovers (even if this isn't a Role Playing Game), there's a "post-story" quests to get more close to the cast of the third Yugioh timeline after GX, the duel OSTs are too good, perfect to get immersive in the duel, there's a big variety of archtypes to play and replay again like Six Samurai, Lightsworn, Elemental Hero, X-Saber, Synchro, Assault Mode, Fairy Type, Monarch or Blackwing, and talking about it, the duel mechanics are fun if you're playing 1v1, 2v2... And the thing this game really shines at least for me, the Turbo Duel mode.

Ever felt like playing like Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Anime with the speed magic cards and the tokens you gain each turn? A fast duel on the bike running against the main characters? Entering yourself in the World Racing Grand Pix for winning against the runner duelists? This game is the best chance to do that!

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2011 - Over The Nexus doesn't have the best story of the franchise, it does not have a lot of cards and archtypes like Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force Special on PSP I really want a set of that to spam Nekroz and Hero decks and it isn't a childhood special like Forbidden Memories on PS1 which a lot of people played back in the days, but it is unique in the way the game gets to connect you to 5D's universe as if you're a part of it, and that's why I really wish to play this set again while I ride on my bike as a runner duelist to win the championship over the nexus!

Game	Console	Genre
Paladin's Quest	SNES	Role-Playing Game

• Writeup by: {% rauserpic Akai %}

Paladin’s Quest (Also “Lennus: Memories of an Ancient Machine” in Japan) is a hidden gem of an RPG for the SNES. You start out as a young teen spiritualist named Chezni in a magic school. On a dare from one of your friends, the two of you climb a forbidden tower on the school grounds, only to accidentally release an evil machine known as the Dal Gren, which subsequently knocks you out. When you finally awake, the school has been leveled with only the school’s master and yourself surviving. Your master sends you out alone to stop the machine that you released from destroying the world known as Lennus.

Thus begins the story of Paladin’s Quest.

You won’t be alone for long. The game will shortly introduce you to your second and final permanent member of your party, another young spiritualist named Midia. From here as you traverse the world, you can hire mercenaries at various towns, or in some cases get temporary members forced upon you. These other characters can be leveled, so good earlier mercenaries with levels invested may be preferred over later average mercenaries. The only downside is that you cannot change their equipment or their learned spells. Some mercenaries also come with interesting quirks; like “Mean Ma”, a decent mercenary who will not leave your party unless forced out by a story mercenary or left for dead after a battle. Another example is the Rasav brothers, who come as a pair. The older brother is a good fighting mercenary, but the younger brother is quite worthless. There’s also the overpowered Nails, a robot with double the health of most characters with great weapons and stats...with the minor downside that a robot cannot be healed with medication or sleep. When he loses all his health, you’ve lost your war robot. These are only a few examples I can remember, but in total there are 30 different characters that can end up in your party of four over the course of the game.

As you travel across Lennus, you’ll notice a very distinct art style for it’s time period. Literal green mountains, blue orb-like trees, giant flower towers, and multicolored tiled rooms are just examples. While odd, it fits the setting of the game and literally gets darker as you make your way to the second half of the game. The music from composer Kohei Tanaka is quite memorable, from the themes of the northern continent, to the funky boss music, and the motifs of the big bad throughout various areas.

Paladin’s Quest has a few unique systems compared to other RPGs in the era. First is the spell system. Characters do not have mp or any spell charges, but actually use their own HP. Healing is limited to the use of drugs, inside bottles. Each character can only carry 1, with 9 uses inside, limiting in-combat healing. Extra bottles can be found in limited quantity and used from your bag outside of battle. The only way to refill these bottles is to return to town and head to your local tool shop. Also, almost all bottles are single target healing only, with two bottles capable of AOE healing found near the end of the game. Combine this with the fact that some battles can be against 10+ enemies, and spells costing HP, you’ll be needing to ration everything carefully in the midst of the game’s numerous dungeons.

The spells you can learn throughout the game draw their power from 8 different spirits. Each spirit has to be learned from different schools before you have access to them. There are 8 mono-elemental spells, and 28 combined spells with 1 special one. Using spells in battle will increase the power of their related spirits, thus increasing the strength of those spells over time too!

The difficulty of the game is hard to gauge being over 25 years since I fully played it, but I believe it is a decently challenging RPG. Between this, the unique mechanics, art, and music, it is definitely worthy of a set on this site!

Game	Console	Genre
Final Commando: Akai Yousai | Jackal (FDS)	NES	Run and gun

• Writeup by: {% rauserpic JAM %}

Most of games released on both FDS and NES are very similar and even may share the same entry, but there are a lot of hidden gems released on FDS only or with major differences from the NES version. This game is one of them. Many people knows of Jackal (NES). Few people have heard of arcade version of Jackal, also known as Special Forces Jackal and Top Gunner depending on region released in. And almost no one knows about FDS version named Final Commando: Akai Yousai.

This game has many differences over the arcade version. Game area is now divided by levels and each level has its own boss with an extra final boss on the final level. The arcade version only has one boss in the game - the final building deep in the enemy base. There are difference in enemies. There are no laser tanks, but statue heads, battleships and train have been added. Hidden star power-ups are also new in this version. They upgrade the main weapon to the max power, destroy all enemies on screen, or give you extra life.

There are also interesting gameplay modes. You can play solo, in co-op with each player having their own jeep to control, or in co-op with 2 players sharing the controls of one jeep - one player shoots, one player controls the jeep movements. When you beat the game you can try the 2nd loop, AKA the hard mode like in Contra. You start from the first level with the number of lives you had after beating the game. There are a few enemies that do not appear in same places as the 1st loop and enemy behavior is more aggressive. Enemy soldiers will shoot 3 bullets in a row on later levels. This version have its cons too. The first level has been scrapped and you start from ruins, the last level is very shortened, and there is no horizontal scrolling, making the levels more squished and linear.

The NES release has fixed most FDS cons. Horizontal scrolling was restored, levels were enlarged horizontally, the first level from arcade was added, and the last level was extended like in the arcade version. Continues were added to this version. Laser tank was added to the game as well as new enemies: helicopters and flamethrower soldiers. Short cutscenes are also new here. The area map from the arcade version is now displayed between levels. You can still play in co-op, but only one co-op mode is present. Each player controls their own jeep. The 2nd loop is still there, with the same difficulty as in the 1st loop, but you can't use continues anymore. All this makes FDS version unique.

I really hope this game will have a set soon.

Game	Console	Genre
Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns	Nintendo DS	Roguelike

• Writeup by: {% rauserpic Gamechamp %}

Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja and Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns are dungeon-crawling roguelike RPGs. Of course, I'd hope for both games to get sets, but when choosing between the two Izuna 2 is a WAY more robust experience.

Gameplay consists of the standard roguelike loop: you enter a semi-randomized dungeon with the hope of reaching your goal on the final floor. Dungeon crawling takes place on a grid; combat is turn-based, and taking a step or attacking causes time to advance. You also heal a small amount of HP whenever a turn is taken. Even so, reaching the final floor of a dungeon isn't usually doable in a single run through, as your character's base stats are mediocre and you're bound to be overwhelmed at some point. You can find weapons in the dungeon to help, but if you die in the dungeon you lose your inventory!

But in addition to weaponry, there are tons of other helpful items scattered throughout the dungeon that can both be used cleverly in a pinch or, with some semi-rare items, burned into a weapon to permanently increase its stats. The strategic possibilities of the variety of items are where a lot of the fun comes in. For example, there's a scroll which, when used, teleports the user back to town. If used yourself, you'll retreat. But you can also attach scrolls to weapons; that way, the weapon will return to town with you, giving you a little bit of a safety net. Finally, all items can be thrown. If you throw a scroll at an enemy, it will be used directly on the enemy. By doing so with the town return scroll, that enemy will teleport to town. It's someone else's problem now!

Everything I just said is true of both the first and second Izuna games, but the second adds tons more on top. Way more dungeons to explore, more items and weapons, a longer and more fleshed-out story, and new player characters. In the first game you're limited only to Izuna, but in the second you have a large party of playable characters, each with their own stats, special abilities, and equippable weapon types. My personal favorite weapon is the Yo-Yo: mid-range attacks with no ammo requirement! You can also bring in two characters when you enter a dungeon, swapping between them on the fly, allowing for way more strategic depth. And separate from the gameplay, both games have a charming and very anime atmosphere, following a group of dumb ninja dorks that are a treat to watch go about their daily lives that have surprisingly little to do with their unemployment. These two games were my introduction to the roguelike genre, and it was a really fun learning experience! I've also never actually 100%ed either game, and have been waiting patiently for them to get sets on RA so I can finally replay and complete them~

I should also note I last played these games when I was a baby so I may have remembered some stuff wrong. But I'm pretty sure they're good games at a minimum!

Game	Console	Genre
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4	Nintendo DS	Action-Adventure

• Writeup by: {% rauserpic Sm0r3s %}

I haven’t actually used any of my set requests yet, but when I saw that this game didn’t have a set, I knew that I had to choose it. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is part of the LEGO video game franchise and is only one part of the story. When I was younger, me and my older sister would always play the PS3 version of this game. I haven’t actually played the DS version, but I’m sure it would bring the same nostalgic feeling back.

You usually play as Harry Potter, the main character, but sometimes you’ll play as the side character. The main storyline of the game goes through the Harry Potter years in chronological order, and you slowly develop your magical skills while meeting new wizards and new tasks. However, like most games, this is not just a storyline game. In each “chapter” there are collectable items. Most of these items could not be collected the first time through and would have to be replayed through freeplay. These items include new characters to play with, some who have unique characteristics. In addition to these collectables, there are also side quests to unlock even more items. This game is the prime game for a completionist. Whenever me and my sister played, we were never able to fully 100% the game, but we got so close. I would love for an opportunity to finally 100% the game while getting double the rush with unlockable achievements.