A collage of all the games I've beaten in 2025. From left to right, top to bottom: Stinky and Loof in Wonderland, Shinobi, Jaseiken Necromancer, Chiki Chiki Boys, Atomic Runner, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, Ghostbusters, The Addams Family, Wonder Boy, Tomb Raider: The Last Reveleation, Tomb Raider Chronicles, Touhou Kinjoukyou ~ Fossilized Wonders, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice, Estpolis Denki, and Estpolis Denki II.

And the final count for #GamesBeatenIn2025 is 16. A far cry from the 25 I was aiming for originally, but somehow I just didn't have the drive to do a whole lot of anything this year. Barely managed to reach parity with 2023.

Box art for the game. The four heroes are riding an airship through the sky, looking out towards a floating island.

Commencing the final battle.

Two balls of light are flying across the land.

To be continued (in) ESTPOLIS I

Game #16: Estpolis Denki II
31 December 2025

Glad I got this one cranked out before the end of the year. Game's kinda piss-easy, but the story more than makes up for it, and the reprise of the final dungeon theme gave me goosebumps all over my body, my god...

#GamesBeatenIn2025

The box art for the game, showing the four protagonists standing on a cliff, looking out to a fortress on a floating island.

The final boss defeated.

Biography of Estpolis - Fin

The final results screen, showing the total play time, the amount of times my party got wiped, how often each party member died, how often I stayed at an inn, how many battles I found, how many times I lost to bosses, how many treasure chests I opened, and how many hidden items I picked up.

Game #15: Estpolis Denki
26 December 2025

Fairly interesting battle system for this one. Also didn't need to grind at all, thanks to the stupidly high encounter rate. The story is lighthearted for the first 90%, then immediately starts punching you in the gut repeatedly.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

The box art for the game.

A sepia picture of the face of a law office in Khura'in, with the Capcom logo in front. This is the final screen of the credits.

Sorin bridal-carrying his wife, Ellen.

Game #14: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice
23 November 2025

Like DD, I feel like this had a really weak first case. Athena got done extremely dirty, too, and the game just drags on way too much. I still really enjoyed the story, though, and Simon is peak malewife material.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

The box art for the game

The final screen from the credits, with Apollo, Phoenix and Athena all dramatically pointing at the viewer.

Phoenix about to get kissed by an orca.

Game #13: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
8 November 2025

I wasn't too sure about this one at first, but the second case immediately pulled me in. Really anticlimactic ending after all that build-up, though...

#GamesBeatenIn2025

Jewel case cover for the game. The background consists of blues, greens and whites, with a faint silhouette superimposed on top.

Final stage cleared.

The final screen of the credits, showing a pyramid under the full moon. The text congratulates me for my Normal 1cc and encourages me to try Extra next, which I did.

Extra Stage cleared.

Game #12: Touhou Kinjoukyou ~ Fossilized Wonders
19 August 2025

Technically got my first Normal 1cc two days ago, but I only just cleared Extra. The demo gave me a pretty mixed first impression, but the full version actually turned out pretty nice.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

One of the game's box arts: A bust shot of Lara Croft holding one of her pistols while surrounded by dark blue clouds and lightning.

Lara in a catsuit, landing atop some wide, tiled-floor stairs. Her mission control, Zip, is telling her to get her bony ass outta there.

Final statistics, seconds before exiting the final level of the game. All 36 secrets were collected, and the total play time is only a little over five hours.

Game #11: Tomb Raider Chronicles
13 July 2025

Fairly short game, but also one where the devs made it abundantly clear that they hated every second of working on it. The remaster may have fixed the bugs, but kept in all the other questionable design decisions.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

Box art for the game. Lara is exploring an Egyptian tomb, holding a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other.

Statistics before completing the final level, Temple of Horus. Of note is that all 70 secrets were found.

Statistics before completing the bonus level, The Times Exclusive. It's a short level with only two secrets, both of which were found.

The credits scroll by. Behind them, Lara is preparing to snatch a golden skull from a pedestal as tall as she is.

Game #10: Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
29 June 2025

Continuing my trip through the classic Tomb Raiders. This one tried a lot of new things, but not all of them landed, and the remaster itself added its own fair share of frustrations with the usual bad lighting.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

The cover art for the game, showing a minimalist illustration of Tom-Tom (blond-haired boy wearing a leaf skirt (?) and holding a stone hammer) jumping over a snail that's at least twice his size.

Tom-Tom inside a castle, facing off against the unnamed evil king who kidnapped his girlfriend

The same castle interior, but with Tanya rescued. She throws up her arms in celebration while a heart floats between her and Tom-Tom. The text above is her dialogue: "Thank you for risking your life to rescue me. Oh, Tom-Tom, I love you so much!"

The End. My highest score is 214060 points, with my final score not even coming close.

Game #9: Wonder Boy (SMS)
28 June 2025

An any% clear that missed three dolls and took probably dozens of continues, but it still counts! Now I can finally say that I've beaten every entry in the Wonder Boy series.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

The box art for the game, showing the family posing for a group photo. Gomez and Morticia are in the center, embracing each other. Behind them is Lurch, brandishing a feather duster. To the left (from the viewer's perspective) are Grandma and Wednesday, to the right are Fester and Puggsley. Thing is standing on its fingers on the ground, in front of them.

Gomez inside the Addams family vault, dodging a volley of golden gavels thrown by the evil judge, who's standing atop what looks like a purple booth. Morticia is kept captive (?) inside, one hand on the counter while the other is raised with the palm facing upward.

A framed scene of Gomez and Morticia in front of some wallpaper with a red striped pattern. Hearts are flying up from below the screen, partially obscuring the text. It's a line spoken by Morticia, which reads: "Well done, my darling, you have saved the family fortune and Fester has returned to the fold."

A shot of the Addams family residence at nighttime. Most of the windows are lit, and fireworks are being shot into the sky.

Game #8: The Addams Family
7 June 2025

I distinctly remember struggling heavily with this game as a kid, but this time around, I just breezed right through it, despite the slippery controls.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

The box art for the game, depicting the iconic Ghostbusters logo: a surprised ghost poking through a "no entry"-like red sign.

Raymond facing off against the final boss: Janna, who seems to be taking the shape of some kind of floating undead samurai with long tusks and an eyeball in its abdomen. The stage consists of purple rocks, with the background showing various skeletons embedded in the wall, tinted entirely in green.

All stage clear!! A bonus of 10 million points is awarded for clearing the game, equating to almost 32 times the amount of points I scored over the course of the game up to that point. To the left of the text box is a portrait of Raymond beaming at the viewer.

Raymond posing with a double bicep flex in front of a cheering crowd. The text "Presented by Sega 1990" is written above him.

Game #7: Ghostbusters
6 June 2025

Oh fuck, two games in one day! Got this one by the sheer skin of my teeth. Not to mention I was gripping my controller so hard for most of the playthrough that now my hands hurt...

#GamesBeatenIn2025

POV of the cockpit of Michael Jackson's battleship. An exploding vessel is seen in the crosshairs. Below that is an incoming message saying "Noooo...", and to the left of that is a portrait of Mr. Big, the game's antagonist. To the right of the message window is a radar, showing the position of Mr. Big's ship as a blue dot.

The same screen as before, just without any trace of Mr. Big or his ship. Instead, "CONGRATULATIONS" is written across the screen in big, shiny letters.

Game #6: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
6 June 2025

A major cakewalk, compared to the hell that was Atomic Runner. Though this game wasn't without its sudden and unreasonable difficulty spikes, either.

But hey, another childhood game checked off the list!

#GamesBeatenIn2025

Box art for the game. A helmeted man in a metal suit (the protagonist, Chelnov) is shooting lightning from his fists. A city skyline at night serves as the backdrop.

Chelnov standing atop the shoulder of the Statue of Liberty, having just vanquished the queen of the alien race of Destarians/Deathtarians, who were looking to take over the world. Her face is currently exploding as she is falling off the statue.

The same scene as before, just without the alien queen. The screen has dimmed, with the text reading: "High above Liberty Island, the Atomic Runner now stands alone. 'I have defeated the alien reign!' he shouts. 'I have restored peace and order to our planet and forever lifted the tyranny of evil from the people of the Earth!'"

A black screen reading "END" in large, orange-and-black letters. Below, a copyright notice attributing the game to Data East and its release date to 1992.

Game #5: Atomic Runner
2 June 2025

Surprisingly engaging run-n-gun with a banger soundtrack. Managed to get a 1cc after much frustration, though the run that got it couldn't have been any cleaner.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

A photo of the clamshell case, depicting cover art of the titular boys in the sky. The blue sibling is in the foreground, riding on a cloud. The red sibling is in the back, fighting a dragon who is very much *not* enjoying himself.

The blue brother, named Baru for this playthrough, brandishing his sword against animate stalagmites in a cave.

A portrait of the two siblings. It says "1993 Capcom" on the frame, and "Chiki² Boys" on the ribbon in front. Though the text below says "Game Over", this is actually this game's "The End" screen after completing the game.

The top 5 scores for this session. I obtained a total score of 218040 points.

Game #4: Chiki Chiki Boys
13 May 2025

I literally *just* got my hands on it, never even played it before in my life, and already beat it in my first session. Granted, it was neither a 1cc nor did I get the good ending, so there's room upwards.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

The cover art for the game, showing an illustration by H. R. Giger of a multi-armed skull holding a sword between its teeth.

The final boss, Azathoth.

A shot of the starting town, Randameria. The text reads: "The battle between Light and Darkness has come to an end, and peace has returned to the Earth."

The final scene of the ending before the "The End" screen, a post-credits stinger. The Giger-esque head from the title screen's last words are "Listen -- you can hear the sound of earth being upturned...", indicating the Necromancer being dug up again by an avaricious individual after the protagonist requested that it be buried as deep as possible.

Game #3: Jaseiken Necromancer
23 February 2025

Got reminded of this game by @randomstranger.bsky.social and decided to give it another shake after giving up on it years ago. All balancing goes out the window once you obtain the eponymous sword.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

A file on the Masked Ninja, the final boss of the game, showing a mugshot and a map of his whereabouts. It has been stamped with a red 済 in a circle, indicating that the mission has been completed.

The title screen, showing the name of the game and a headshot of a ninja glancing off to the side. The hi-score of 600,200 points is the only true proof I was able to get of my having actually beaten the entire game.

Game #2: Shinobi
3 February 2025

Cranked this one out before work just now. Major chokepoints were Mandara, 4-2, 5-2, and the final boss himself. Of course, you can also get the game's ending by just running out of lives.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

The world map of the final official levelset in the compilation, Secret Worlds, showing that all 109 levels have been completed.

The Steam header for this game's library entry, showing that I've earned all 28 achievements over 53 hours of play time.

Game #1: Stinky and Loof in Wonderland
25 January 2025

Imagine my delight when I rediscovered this hidden gem from my childhood. Funny enough, though, 100% completion was only possible after I reported a bug with one of the levels that rendered it unsolvable.

#GamesBeatenIn2025

#GamesBeatenIn2025
#2
#DeadRisingRemaster

This zombie-filled photo fest in the mall isn’t quite as chaotic as the sequel, but like the original title, it retains the tile management and anxiety-inducing gameplay, somewhat reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.
An acquired taste.

a man in a black suit is standing next to a ninja with green leaves on his face ALT: a man in a black suit is standing next to a ninja with green leaves on his face

#GamesBeatenIn2025
This pricey add-on for the underwhelming Mortal Kombat 1 is short but introduces a few new features to help round out the package.
The T-1000 isn’t available yet.

Your enjoyment may vary depending on your core interest in the MCU-inspired multiverse narrative.