What Did We Do Last Night... Plus My List Of the 20th Greatest Fighting Games Of All Time

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream was a lot of fun as we featured three games, the first being Super Night Riders, a game I've messed around with off-stream during my latest achievement streak run. We knocked out two achievements, both of which required multiple runs of the Valley and Hanami stages to accomplish. I did make an on-stream attempt at the Course 1 to 6 achievement, and only made it to the 15th lap out of 36. We might occasionally make on stream attempts at it in the future. A phrase that folks heard me say a lot was 'the runs have to be perfect' because the margin for era is very slim.

The second game we featured was SoulCalibur II HD Online, as we messed around with it's Arcade and Team Battle modes. I am going to count this as a game finished on this years tour we actually got the achievement for clearing the Arcade mode on stream. We did try using Tekken's Heihachi Mishima, and it's just surreal because he doesn't use weapons, he uses his iron fists! 

We were joined by PandaSweet when we jumped over to play some Paladins, and thinks started off on a hot streak, I believe we started with 5 or 6 wins in row! Things got a little more iffy as the night went along. I ended up using the following characters of Ying, Viktor, Tyra, Ashe, Inara, & Cassie. Big thanks to Panda for being apart of the fun

 Super Night Riders Achievements

• Valley Stage Cleared: Cleared the valley stage.
• Hanami Stage Cleared: Cleared the hanami stage.

SoulCalibur II HD Online Achievements

• Flame Wielder: Victorious over Inferno in Arcade
• Comrade in Arms: Team Battle Cleared

Twitch Clip Links

• We can do this! 
• We did it! (Barely)
• Beating Inferno! 
• That got close!
• That worked! 
• Frantic Action
  

For the raid, we dropped in on Kalenal during their Birthday stream as they were playing Final Fantasy XIV over on twitch.tv/kalenal!  

Speaking of Final Fantasy XIV, I did a few Main Story Quests, and it really seems like a lot of the post-Endwalker content is going to be about setting up traveling between the Source and the First more common place for the NPCs considering the deep ties the Scions have with the other world based on what happened in Shadowbringers. 

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Weaving Combo #2, Beginner Combo #2 and Straight Combo #1

Recently WatchMojo put out a list of the 20 greatest fighting games of all time, but it was clear they were trying to make sure franchises were represented in some way, so I figure I'd do my own list. Using the rule of one game per franchise, I list my personal top 20 fighting games of all time, with the stipulation being that I actually have played it, not based on its reputation. 

1. Street Fighter Alpha 2
   
2. Virtua Fighter 2
3. Skullgirls 2nd Encore
4. Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age Of Heroes
5. Tekken 3
6. Mortal Kombat X
7. Dead or Alive 5 Last Round
8. BlazBlue:Central Fiction
9. Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
10. Rival Schools: United By Fate
11. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
12. SoulCalibur V
13. Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- 
14. Injustice 2
15. King of Fighters XIII
16. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
17. WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game
18. Jump Force
19. Under Night In-Birth 
20. Super Smash Bros: Ultimate 
    

Keep in mind, I play fighting games very casually, so what I look for is something that sticks with me and that I enjoy the game play of it to consider playing again if I have the means to do so. Also WWF WrestleMania The Arcade Game is without question a fighting game... I actually consider it the 'improved' version of what Pitfighter was.  Actually, the biggest problem people will have with my list is that Killer Instinct (2013) isn't on it... and the reason is simple, I've never played it.

Putting that list together does make me consider getting a wired control for the PC again, since a few fighters I have only through STEAM. I'm actually surprised Skullgirls 2nd Encore is not on the Xbox side of things... I know the original version is.

It's the start of a new week, so lets look back at all the games from the past seven days which featured Overwatch, Mass Effect 2, Fallout 76, Final Fantasy XIV, Persona 5 Royal, Paladins, SoulCalibur II HD Online & Super Night Riders!

The 76ers blew out the Raptors last night... and one wonders if that success can be found three more times, considering some key members of the 76ers roster can't enter Canada due to not being fully vaccinated against COVID.

For tonight's stream, we're playing Overwatch, as we'll see what what archive options are being featured, but mostly focus on Quick Play.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden! 

Just Your Typical Random Saturday Night

 Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream was interesting as two hours before it started we had a big power outage, and then during the stream, one of the games I wanted to feature on the PlayStation 3, namely WWE Legends of WrestleMania would not work... keeping in mind everything I do on the PlayStation 3 is using physical copies. This was weird because the other things we featured, Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet and Spider-Man 3 both worked. My guess is the issue is with the game disc itself... so that was disappointing.

Now on too Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet, it is a game I started on my original PlayStation 3 way back in 2013, and I do remember seeing the show on TV around the same time frame. The game itself is your standard beat'em up brawler with some puzzle solving elements as well. Clearly it is best to play in a co-op if possible, We only did a the first few stages as I wanted to check out a few different things tonight on the PS3. A few things that standard is that the writing and voice acting in this game is well above average, and captures the spirit of a more over the top Marvel Universe.

Spider-Man 3 is often considered terrible, but we're not talking about the movie... the PlayStation 3 game is an open-sandbox where you can basically just go swinging around finding random stuff to do if you don't feel like playing any of the missions. Bruce Campbell as the narrator was a nice touch, and the game play certain felt good. On top of the game, visually it still holds up fairly well.

We also messed around some with Smite and Paladins, winning a couple of matches in each, nothing to write home about in either game, as I use both as occasional filler.

Twitch Clip Links.

• It's what the god of losers deserves! 
• The Spinning Piledriver!
• That worked! 
• Just A Double Kill
  

For the raid we dropped in on Kalenal who was playing Final Fantasy XIV over on twitch.tv/kalenal! 

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Triple COmbo #2, Intermediate Combo #1 and Biceps Shape Focus Combo. We hit the goal of reaching 30+ hours with Martina as the trainer, we are now switching to Bernardo, who we have 15 hours already with him, so another 15 would net us his Contender achievement. Kept it basic today, just doing the daily exercises.

Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise EX Achievements

• Martina's Contender: Train with Martina for over 30 Hours
• 91% of all EX Achievements has been unlocked
  

Jumping back to Smite for a moment, I did do some off-stream playing as I noticed I was close to getting an achievement in that, so using some boosters I had saved up I finally got the 40 Gods Mastered achievement, which surprisingly only 3% of Xbox players have done. I will assume that percentage is much higher on the PC side.

SMITE Achievements

• Adept of Mastery: 40 Gods Mastered.

Another night, and another failed attempt at the Course 1 to 6 achievement in Super Night Riders, if things go right I can barely make it to lap 14, but at least I knocked out another achievement in it.

Super Night Riders Achievements

• Canyon Stage Cleared: Cleared the canyon stage.

It's Sunday, lets take a look back at the game we played last week which included: Overwatch, Mass Effect 2, Fallout 76, Final Fantasy XIV, Persona 5 Royal, Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet, Paladins, Smite and Spider-Man 3!

For tonight's stream, well you know it's Sunday which means Overwatch as we begin a new week!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

The Bank Palace Story Arc Is Done!

 Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream certainly proved that by going into Mementos early when we first discovered it and choosing the wrong things has caused a whole lot of issues with it comes to possibly getting the good ending of Persona 5 Royal, but still it was a very productive night in many other ways as we wrapped up the Bank Palace and covered a lot of ground as it pertained to trying to get Ryuji caught up and nearly maxing out Ann. 

Makoto's arc of breaking out from what everyone wants her to be to finding her own path is really well done, and her integration to the Phantom Thieves as someone to keep them focused on the exams really goes a long way balancing out the personalities of the team. That said, Sae certainly is irritating when comes to just how 'career and success' focused she is, so hopefully that even outs at some point, which it probably will since I reached the point in the story where the Judgement persona becomes available

Which means the romance options are starting to open up as possible choices as well, and knowing there are probably a dozen choices, I did not instantly lock in with Ann just to get the trophy. And it seems to me, in terms of Hetero-parings, Ann and Ryuji seem like a better pairing than 'Joker' and Ann, if we go with the Fem-pairings, then obviously Ann and Shiho are probably the most obvious pairing based on what I've seen so far and having see Shiho's return to the roof the academy.

Still, looking forward to trying to straightening out a lot of the screws ups I did in terms of the Confidants levels next week as the fourth story arc of Persona 5 Royal will begin.

Persona 5 Royal Trophies

• The Deviated Cognition: Encountered a deviation in Mementos.
• Talent Thief: Obtained a Skill Accessory from a Palace ruler.
• The Phantom Philatelist: Traded in stamps while in Mementos.
• Jose's Favorite Customer: Traded in flowers while in Mementos.
• Bank of Gluttony: Cleaned Out: Completed the bank Palace.

Twitch Clip Links

• You mean to tell me I can't get books by Drace here?
• On the receiving end of Make It Rain 
• They just hung up on us... rude... 
• Her personality certainly switch 

Big thank you to MommyBee for their raid during the stream last night, they were playing standard version of Persona 5 over at twitch.tv/mommybee!

For the raid, we dropped in on SheepFuzz who was doing their weekly community stream of Jackbox Party Packs over at twitch.tv/sheepfuzz!

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Difficulty Challenge Combo #1, Difficult Challenge Combo #2 and Difficulty Challenge Combo #3. I should be able to wrap up the Martina's Contender EX Achievement tomorrow

Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise Stats For 4/3 to 4/9/2022

• Punches Thrown: 16,139
• Estimated Calorie Burn: 6447.50 kcal
• 29/30 Hours Trained for Martina's Contender
  

Played some Smite following the stream last night trying to get an understand of Aphrodite's abilities, in theory I understand them, but without a team to watch my back I'm easy pickings in Arena. She might be better to use in some of the other game modes, but those matches can last well over 30 minutes.

SMITE Achievements

• Bloodthirster: Get 10 first blood accolades in qualifying matches.

Knocked off another achievement in Super Night Rider, but for the big achievement of clearing the Course 1 to 6 race, I only made it to lap 11. While it's possible, a lot of the 'pop in' obstacles

Super Night Riders Achievements

• City Stage Cleared: Cleared the city stage.

With those two achievements earned, my current daily Xbox achievement streak is up to 58 days. Using Super Night Riders to earn at least one achievement on Sunday will of course put us to where Mass Effect 2 and possibly Fallout 76 can carry things through Wednesday. For the record, my longest streak is 87 days.

The hammer came down and Will Smith has been banned from the Academy Awards for ten years, and since this was post #MeToo, when a code of conduct was put in place, it does set of standard. Now the question of does it apply retroactively is certainly a topic for debate.

For tonight's stream we'll be messing around with some random stuff, probably from the PlayStation 3 era of gaming. I think we'll lead off with Marvel Super Hero Squad.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

Feeling the Fallout 76

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Fallout 76 saw a slow, gradual process of working on the early in game story stuff, and... my character became a "Responder". Not sure if that was joining a factor or not, but it was a nice bit of progression to make it feel like I'm getting stuff done. I also made a nice little shack for myself. I figure keeping a nice gradual pace will make this game last because I'm really in no rush to get things done.

Iceman also joined in for a lot of fun as we tackled a few of my early quests, find various items and also realizing that I'm blind as hell when it came to finding a set of doors that was next to another set of doors! The help Iceman has provided with various games cannot be understated, damn best wingman to have in co-op games! 

Fallout 76 Achievements

• First Contact: Complete "First Contact"
• Second Helpings: Complete "Second Helpings"
• We Must Rebuild: Build 20 C.A.M.P. Items
• Wayward Child: Complete "The Elusive Crane"

Twitch Clip Links 

• Like really?!
• We we dead... 
• The door was right here...
  

For the raid we dropped in on x9abenonymous9x who was playing Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City over at twitch.tv/x9abenonymous9x! He was doing some co-op stuff with FnDanteSavage!  

Now because of the on going issues between Twitch and the Music Industry... in particular the RIAA, Twitch has enabled a few features, that means having VODs on my channel would be inadvisable because of how I got for as much of the actual experience of the game as possible. The VODs do get stored for up to 60 days at a time, but since I just forward them to my YouTube channel it's no big deal. 

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Block Combo, Waist Shape Focus Combo and Hook Combo #1. We're 26 days away from the days in a row hitting a unique number.

My Xbox Achievement streak is extended through today by knocking out three more achievements in Super Night Riders, and to give an idea of how hard these are getting, it took 20 minutes for me to clear course 5... and then 40 to clear course 6... based on multiple attempts. Then I learn the next big course achievement is do do all six course back to back, that is going to take a lot of effort.. I think I'll focus on the 'stages'  

Super Night Riders Achievements

• Course 4 Cleared: Cleared the course 4.
• Course 5 Cleared: Cleared the course 5.
• Course 6 Cleared: Cleared the course 6.

If you think Joe Biden is to blame for gas prices, you're a fucking idiot. Price gouging by the oil and gas companies has always been a thing which can easily be tracked back going all the way back to the 1970s. 

For tonight's stream we shall be featuring Final Fantasy XIV, as I know I'm looking to do the Fourth Circle raid to get the last item needed to craft another item to get the best possible weapon I can get without doing Savage runs. Beyond that, we'll do some Fishing, Gathering maybe grind out a Blue Mage level or two and whatever else comes to mind!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden! 

 

More Mass Effect 2 Progress

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Mass Effect 2 went about well as planned, as went and picked up Mordin on Omega, and I was right, that triggered the start of the Horizon colony mission... which was a lot harder than I was use to, as Garrus and Miranda kept getting downed. I think I used more Medi-Gel in this one play through of Mass Effect 2 than I did the entire franchise up to this point. 

Anyway, once that mission was done, that unlocked the start up of the current squad's Loyalty missions, but I held off on doing that to tackle the Arrival DLC mission. Now technically that mission is supposed to take place after the Suicide mission of the main story, but I like to get it out of the way because it gives Shepard an extra level up if things go right, progress can be made to a few achievements during in and there are two things I hate about... sneaking around the prison camp... and then trying to survive five waves of enemies. 

Now I know the best strategy is to duck behind the L-Shape desk that is to the left from the side Shepard enters the room, the problem is I forget about how the enemies with the flamethrowers will get in close... plus I should've used the heavy weapon I was carrying to make it more possible... but I like to save it's ammo to deal with the mech when making the grand escape to the comm tower.

 

Once Arrival was done, I cleared out a couple of 'findable missions' that popped up and nabbed the final items I needed on Omega. At this point I will need to tackle some loyalty missions and find a few more side missions to try and get all the items I can that are on Ilium and Tuchanka.

Mass Effect 2 Achievements

• Covert Action: Rescue Dr. Amanda Kenson without attracting hostile attention
• The Ultimate Sacrifice: Complete the Arrival DLC pack
• The Professor: Successfully recruit the Professor
• Scientist: Complete any research project in the Normandy's laboratory
• Colony Defense: Defend a human colony from attack
• Power Full: Evolve any power

Twitch Clip Links

• Sweet... oh wait there is one more!
• Oh great... the Scions
• It's not like it's going to explode... 

For the the raid we dropped in on Joliet4 who was playing Halo: Reach over on twitch.tv/joliet4! You know I have never play any games in the Halo franchise... it is on the to do list.  

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 workout featured Weaving Combo #2, Straight Combo #1, and Beginner Combo #2.Also set a new personal best for Difficult Challenge Combo #2 on No Mercy difficulty. (895 Actions: 884 Perfect, 11 OK, 1 Miss)

Messed around with Super Night Riders off-stream laster, which actually has a connection to another game we played this year Light Fairytale Episode 1. It is an arcade style racer, similar to say Super Hang-On, where you race to each check point as quickly and efficiently as possible to continue. There are 20 achievements, and I managed to knock out 10 tonight. I figure we can go for one or or two night to help extend the Xbox daily achievement streak which is up to 55 days.

Super Night Riders Achievements

• That was Close!: Pass near a rival without crashing.
• 1st Stage Cleared: Cleared your first stage.
• Mélomane: Listened to all the music tracks.
• Hang On!: Keep trying after a game over.
• Hang On and Pass!: Keep trying and pass the stage you previously failed on.
• Course 1 Cleared: Cleared the course 1.
• Course 2 Cleared: Cleared the course 2.
• Max Score: Get a score of 75K in one second.
• Course 3 Cleared: Cleared the course 3.
• Forest Stage Cleared: Cleared the forest stage.

So the Overwatch Anniversary Remix event started and... boy the new looks for some classic legendary skins are a real mixed bag. Mercy's Mage skin variant of the Witch skin looks nice, as does D.va's White Cat variant of the existing Black Cat, but the new variants for Genji, Repaer, Reinhardt and Zenyatta are just... lazy with the new alternate color skin (Demon, Evermore, Steelhardt and Zealot). The second chance event for the limited challenge skins is fair play for those who missed it the first time around, as this week it is the D.va's Nano Cola Challenge.

For tonight's stream we will be focusing on Fallout 76, and seeing if some things that I read were correct regarding what I have to worry about in the game besides everything.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!