Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

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Apologies for the late replies, but I'm having a rough week IRL. Quite a lot going on both with work and personal matters, and on top of it all I'm experiencing my first bout of (hopefully short-term) insomnia. I've tried adjusting my routine and sleep schedule accordingly, but nothing (including the time change) has really helped so far. Nor am I entirely sure what set this all off. I can fall asleep fine, it's staying asleep in the early morning hours (3 AM onward) I'm having issues with. Trying out lifestyle and environmental stuff first, but if this keeps up I'll likely head to ye olde doctor.

On the VA conversation a couple of pages back: The award for "Worst Voice Acting" in a game that I've actually played would go to Typing of the Dead. It was still fun, but the VA work was hilariously bad. Worst VA work I've heard in a game I haven't played goes to Chaos Wars.

@BruceCM Most Shrines are short and to the point, but I did genuinely get stuck on a couple. The only ones I actively disliked were the Tests of Strength.

@MarioLover92 I'll unlock most levels in Mario games and have actually 100%ed a couple of them, but I usually don't do so lol. The Dual Blades in MH are fun and speedier to use; they're my second favorite after the Switch Axe. I took to the latter due to the versatility, though I do admit it's one of the slower weapons lol.

@Sunsy Yep, older Nintendo systems with a clock function unfortunately need to be manually set. I usually don't bother unless it's one I've been playing on a lot recently, and only if the time difference annoys me often enough lol.

@TheJGG No apologies necessary; I've been hit by the life train lately as well, which includes work, mild health issues (nothing too concerning), and personal matters. I can definitely relate. I find open topic papers to be quite engaging since they offer the opportunity to delve into one's interests. I'm very curious indeed to see some of your subject matter when you're finished, but no rush; good papers take time!

I do agree that it's easier to ignore the faults in what's otherwise a good game if the experience is fresh. I admit that nostalgia can play a similar role; for example, I loved the earlier Pokemon titles, but later series entries definitely have made the series more accessible (I'd argue they went too far in that direction recently, but that could easily be remedied with difficulty modes and making certain things optional). I can't comment on Death Stranding - maybe someday - but XC2 is indeed quite vague at times when it comes to the battle system and some of the other "extra" mechanics. For one thing, I'm still not sure I completely understand how to build affinity with towns/Titan provinces using the deed system.

I would've liked to receive KOS-MOS as I really like her design, but ultimately I didn't think grinding for her and a couple of other Blades I wanted would be worth it. I've never been particularly fond of gacha mechanics in games (Never used loot boxes for this reason), but as long as there's a decent chance all around I'm fine with it. I did collect all the figurines in The Minish Cap, after all! I think that XC2's story was quite solid overall, but mechanically I'd definitely rank it under the other two entries. We'll see when I jump into Torna; I'm debating about playing it when hype for XC3 starts building. As much as I want XC3 day one (especially if there's a special edition), I'm unsure if it would be wise to actually start playing it at that time of year; I highly doubt I'd finish the game before Haunt Season. That takes up a lot of my spare time during the fall.

About your Final Fantasy XV impressions: That's one of the reasons why I like revisiting - though it's admittedly rare lately - some gaming favorites: the world building. So many details that one might've missed before that help add some life to the world presented to us on the screen. The phrase "it's always the little things" is quite fitting here IMO. I've been enjoying my handheld titles! As for Octopath, I tried the demo and am...admittedly mixed on it. The music and graphics are amazing, and mechanically the combat is decent and reminds me of the Bravely series. Where the demo fell flat with me was the plot, plus the realization that it would repeat those same mechanics over an 80+ hour campaign. It's by no means a bad game, and I know many people have gotten some decent mileage out of it. However, when it comes to JRPGs, with a few exceptions, story and decent mechanics are both the major players when it comes to garnering my interest.

I'm fine with games that use death as a simple learning opportunity, so I may indeed look up Celeste. You've roughly touched on why I don't go near the Souls games; I'm sure they're fun and understand why people enjoy them, but I play games to have fun, not to sustain an aneurysm and send controllers flying lol. I'm not afraid to use easier modes if staying on a higher mode is severely hampering my enjoyment, though I'll certainly try to persevere up to a point before changing any settings.

On The Batman: I'm fine with films not rushing things as long as the pacing isn't glacial and there's a good payoff at the end. Which, in short, I believe the film pulled off beautifully. I'm still old-school when it comes to new movie viewing and don't mind going to the cinema if it's something I really want to see. This has absolutely nothing to do with me avoiding TV streaming services for whatever reason, nope. Though that approach is keeping me from viewing some exclusives I'd like to watch, like Turning Red on Disney+.