Getting back on the Trails train with Trails of Cold Steel IV and trying to finish the Crossbell and Cold Steel arcs prior to the Trails in the Sky remake as a prequel of sorts. Plus: I think my daughter is ready to storm Hyrule Castle I Breath of the Wild, so that's pretty exciting as a father 😁.
Plus some electronics/programming gadgetry to dig into while the weather is still nice here.
I didn't 100% it but did get the "true" ending this weekend and set it down. It's really cool that they're doing and a few little curves to complicate battles might have been interesting but I'll wait until Throes of the Clockmaker until I dig into it.
Rolled final credits on Sea of Stars, which was just overflowing with charm. I'm really glad I played The Messenger prior, although its just fantastic too. Highly recommend both games, in either order. On to my next RPG!
Beyond that, I thought I was freed from Vampire Survivors, but Ode to Castlevania brought me back. The game really is lightning in a bottle.
About two thirds (?) into Sea of Stars. I'm somewhat mixed on it... I like the story a lot, and the turn-based RPG with Metroidvania bits is a cool idea, but outside boss battles the mechanics are a little meh. It's going to rain all weekend, so I might get back into Ori and the Blind Forest, which I was having fun with but couldn't really stay with it.
Rolled credits on Persona 5 Royal and I started Sea of Stars, which is a bit Chrono Trigger like, but I think that's reductive to a game that's really it's own and very definitely feels like a Sabotage Studios game.
Also... Neva! Downloaded but I need to get back in town to play it 😅. But I did get out to see Opeth and it was one of the best concerts I've ever attended, and was a really special experience for my wife and I.
That is, these are further activities if I can wrench control of my Switch from my daughter who is charging toward Vah Medoh in Breath of the Wild.
"Interesting ideas but with serious flaws" can really describe just about any SaGa game, so that's pretty on brand. If they care to fix some performance issues I'm fine with some jank tho.
Incrementally getting through [REDACTED] third semester palace in Persona 5 Royal. I think I'm spending more time fiddling with high level fusions. But breaking the game is half the fun of a JRPG.
Eyeballing the next 100+ hour game, although I've never tackled Torna: The Golden Country and my memory of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 might fade a bit if I put it off too much. And it all gets put on hold when Neva comes out.
Echoing other posters because I'm sure it's every bit as gorgeous as what I've seen, and I'm already sold. And for those of you who haven't played Gris, it's one of the most magical few hours you can spend with a game.
Persona 5 Royal trying to get going with the third semester, but the game is so long and adult responsibilities are the worst. My daughter is also committed to Breath of the Wild so access to that is spotty. Maybe some Vampire Survivors with my youngest.
I'm on the MORE OF BOTH crowd... traditional dungeons were great... when they were great. The new games provide a different exploration facet that were new life in a way we hadn't really played (although the depths didn't really need to be all of Hyrule to get the point across). I haven't played the new game, but I'm looking forward to it. If it leads to more good Zelda, mixing mechanics between games is just fine.
Slowly but surely chipping away at Persona 5 Royal, stalking Mementos to take down [redacted], but also plan on taking a shot at the Reaper now that I'm geared up and overleveled from ramming shadows with the Catbus.
Although really more reading and taking my wife to see a concert out of town. But it's still a good weekend.
My daughter got hooked on Breath of the Wild so I'm not likely to have much time. Maybe the final semester of Persona 5 Royal at night. O well. Part of a balanced life.
Still on Persona 5 Royal nearing November 18th, with everything important about that date. Also a little meandering in Ori and the Blind Forest, which is absolutely stunning and I get distracted from the gameplay at times.
If I had to throw my two cents for FF4 version, I'd say GBA, as it was the only one with really good bonus content, altho the pixel remasters can let you bypass the grind a bit.
Mostly playing Persona 5 Royal which I've actually been able to chip away at somewhat well... being on the Switch really does help get in on short sessions. I'm infiltrating the fifth palace and knocked down as many Mementos requests as I've been able to dig up.
The rest of the weekend is spent on school so there wont be a huge amount of variety. Getting preliminary plans together to set up a modest IoT lab. Busybusybusy.
@Grail_Quest it's hard to explain to kids these days how hard those tropes hit back then because they weren't tropes yet. They just started here. And let's not get started on that treacherous cur [REDACTED] because I don't know the spoiler tag.
Edward could have been a better character if he was either a healer or buffs/debuffs were more effective. I get that they were still figuring out how to balance games back then, but some characters just didn't have the utility others did (to include the last one one introduced that was kept at endgame).
Wading thru Persona 5 Royal making incremental progress and settled in on Ori and the Blind Forest for a secondary. It's going to be unbearably hot so I might get some time for those.
Also some study and working on a little microcontroller project to lower a large spider when people are detected coming up to my door, which I should have polished for use come halloween
@ScalenePowers I've actually put a decent dent in them this year, but I still have:
Persona 5 Royal (currently playing)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Both Ori games
Inside
Steamworld Heist
Nier: Automata
Sea of Stars
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Unicorn Overlord
Inscription
Death's Door
Gone Home
The Stanley Parable
Ni No Kuni
Lost in the Woods
...and an embarrassing number of additional "Pretty Good" games if I want to go below 85 on Metacritic from my DekuDeals list that I tend to love (the Trails games come faster than I can get thru them).
It's an unfortunate result of having adult money and the according amount of time that affords when trying to lead an otherwise balanced life. But my kids make out great from it 😁
Edited to add: I didn't process the full list till it posted and I'm mortified 😳
Just got through the second palace in Persona 5 Royal. I'm doing okay with that but I'm still trying to find a second game to put some space between chapters. I recognize that Ori and the Blind Forest as a game that I would definitely enjoy but I bounced off of it, at least until I get more geared up to do so. I may give Transistor a try as part of my "chip away at the highly rated backlog of games I got on sale but never touched" campaign.
Might be the last weekend of getting good time in, fall semester classes start up this week and I'll probably be pressed for time until December.
First weekend playing in a bit from work and family needs. Currently playing Persona 5 Royal and dipping my toe in Ori and the Blind Forest. I don't think I'm going to get to terribly far in either though.
Also finally got my RPi weather station built and online with Weather Underground! I have sensors to calibrate and want to figure out a way to do get my little sensor clusters on solar, so that's nowhere near finished, but a fun project that's really progressing.
This is what happens when you go in without any really knowledge, notice that active live service games are immensely profitable, and proclaim "we'll have an immensely profitable live service game" to investors, without understanding how much effort it takes to make a successful one, the failure rate, and the cost of tanking, all while banking on the commercial viability of the DC universe, which is a pale shadow of Marvel that many are already burned out on.
If regular people weren't the ones losing their jobs, I'd say it couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people.
So the company exists, but no one involved in anything you liked is working there anymore. It's functionally a new company.
I love video games (it's why we're here!) but I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would be a dev in the industry. The pay scale in the industry is at the bottom edge of the skillet and qualifications, the hours are atrocious, and you're basically just a contractor these days to be cut unceremoniously to make numbers dance for quarterly earnings even after releasing a highly successful project.
I got through Vesperia which I mostly enjoyed but it started to drag near the end. I would be interested in this, but I'd wait to see the reviews on the port since Bandai burned a lot of people with Abyss.
Wound up with more free time than expected this weekend, so I'm going to try to finish The Messenger. Making up my mind whether to stick with Persona 5 Royal or shift to a different game, namely Ys VIII: Lacrymosa of Dana, which I've false started on at least 4 times.
Also working an electronics-based experiment and some minor hiking and cooking a fancy dinner.
@KimBread it can be any of the above. Many DLCs put on an extra chapter, some off your built save and some slightly outside of it. Xenoblade 2 made an entire standalone prequel that you can buy as a separate game, to give you an extreme case.
The Sea of Stars one in particular has been described as a "side adventure," although beyond that I'm trying to remain mostly ignorant.
@Waluigi451 that's fair, but Link is as silent as a protagonist gets. Honestly, Ganondorf could be a really compelling character as the once in a century son of the Gerudo burdened with leading them to survival and prosperity, for which he seeks ever greater power. Ultimately he'd be corruptible as any man convinced he's doing everything he does for the greater good, as he finally makes the fateful play for the Triforce, finishing the transformation into Ganon.
It goes without saying it has to be Hot Ganondorf.
I finally rolled credits on Trails of Cold Steel III and into Persona 5 Royal, which seems rather odd that I haven't played yet but I only own a single console on principle and my backlog is immense. Always have to have that 100 hour game going.
Other Persona/SMT games have really grated on me by the end, so I decided to play it more episodically with The Messenger to break up the experience and maybe a to-be-named third game. But man, Persona 5 is stylish in a way that feels like Cowboy Bebop did when it came out. Assuming the interpersonal drama doesn't wear me out, I'm going to have a tough time resisting it based on the first few hours.
@gcunit that's how it normally works if you're a bigger development group. Smaller ones looking to take a large growth step may be willing to take a bigger risk, even if it threatens the stability of the company.
And sometimes management just fails to listen to engineers or other advisors when told its either a bigger job than is being sold or that their business partner isn't as steadfast as management had hoped.
I get that the Switch isn't bleeding edge, but technically the videos look like a PS1 game given the Octopath treatment. I wanted to give it a go but it's hard to know what discount makes the risk worth it if it's not immediately clear that this is in a playable state yet.
The SNES Classic gave me a few things: Secret of Mana did not age well for combat with the incessant cooldowns and spell grinding. Earthbound lives on in my heart, but man that battle system is hard to go back to. I worry that an official Mother 3 release will probably fall into that.
I've been putting off Link's Awakening for the reason noted above, it was clunky then swapping items on two buttons and the remake reportedly didn't stick the landing.
Still chipping away at Trails of Cold Steel 3. I'm getting all the great swag to the point I'm game breaking and might try on Nightmare but maybe I'll just finish out.
Fighting the urge to play Unicorn Overlord which I got at a great sale as a physical - it's always walking that line to get the sale before used copies flood the market and drive new back up. I feel like a great economic mind when I get it right, even though I very much am not.
The chili Link's Awakening style made me hopeful this would be a slightly silly "anything goes" with lore mix-and-match bits from everything (maybe even a chain chomp?). I didn't even remotely have this on my radar and I'm so beyond stoked it exists now.
So stoked. I'm glad they were able to keep the NES feel - I can still remember the game feeling like this in my head. Gaming is objectively better now, but there was something about when games started feeling BIG way back when.
@Diogmites I keep eyeballing Scarlet Grace when it comes on sale, but I bounced hard off the last Romancing SaGa (2) I played. How is it? I can tolerate a little jank and melodrama, but I didn't care for the characters and a lot of it felt a little same-y by a third of the way in.
Entering Chapter 4 of Trails of Cold Steel 3. They really bring the drama at those chapter wrapups (I know, in a trrTrails game?). Looking forward trading for all the sweet swag now that my item collecting habit pays off. Going to get in the time I can, as I'll be spending a chunk of time cooking for my daughter's birthday. A few fancy dishes have been requested
Also playing with some Raspberry Pi electronics - I started a project a while ago processing messages from Alexa skills to try to integrate voice activation for local devices that I'd like to prove out.
I'm all for it, although I do wonder how the first DW/DQ especially becomes a game that can stand on its own in the modern day without nostalgia carrying it. Maybe the trilogy is merged into a single experience in acts?
I got a lot of the feels in DQ XI, especially going back from Tickington for the past missions. There's a lot of that DNA that is in modern JRPGs to the point that those feel quaint (like in the SNES Era FF games) but those were just so new back then.
@YourDaddy that's the great part - you don't! The stories are not directly connected, with the exception of one key side quest chain that I won't spoil.
I enjoyed the first one but it had its flaws. If you're bouncing off the first one from the disjointed stories and/or grindiness, you may prefer just to move on since they tweaked the second game to address that.
@YourDaddy the second one is much better, and it's easier to farm Caits and Octopuffs so you may find yourself OP without a lot of effort. By the last chapters I was rolling bosses on the first break.
Working this weekend, so not a lot of time to play, maybe a game of Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate with the kidlets. Still in my quest to catch up on the Legend of Heroes series, although Falcom is coming out with games faster than I can finish them 😅
@Duncanballs I think the Crossbell Duology is fine if you don't want to start from the beginning. There will be some callbacks but you won't be lost. Frankly the line between past character you missed and a completely new character with really confusing motivations is pretty thin.
Unpopular opinion, but if you play those, you can jump into Cold Steel 3 without being completely baffled by the goings-on. Will you get more out of it? Sure. But it also cuts out a 5 game prerequisite.
I don't think I've seen the concept of bullet hell/rpg at all outside of Undertale, and that seemed kind of gimmicky, if really innovative. I'm interested to see where this ends up going.
It sucks that we've reached the point in which there is extractive industry for other real business as the norm (it's happened since GE). I feel for the people who love the games they make enough for it to be their livelihood, but it's hard to see how we have an industry years down the line once the talent responsible decides the love of their work doesn't keep them from losing their home and works for a telecom or something.
Maybe it's reading too far into it, but highly skilled labor in other industries don't typically accept that kind of volatility. I would probably start updating my resume the second the word 'equity' pops up in relation to leadership of my organization.
@amongtheworms the first time down in the depths is scary, especially when you fell in unprepared by accident and immediately run into a gloom Lynel 😅. You're a braver human than I for going no fast travel.
@deecas I think you'll find a lot of spirited disagreement in the series because everyone has different value on complex story vs. deep gameplay. XII is extremely fiddly with the systems and is almost a solo MMO, whereas X/XIII are the opposite (although also fiddly with certain aspects). They all have their flaws, but if you like JRPGs of any flavor there's probably one more you'll latch onto (I will die on the hill that VI is forever the peak).
Even VIII has its charm with odd systems and a story that completely jumps the rails at a certain point 😅
Comments 361
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (23rd November)
Getting back on the Trails train with Trails of Cold Steel IV and trying to finish the Crossbell and Cold Steel arcs prior to the Trails in the Sky remake as a prequel of sorts. Plus: I think my daughter is ready to storm Hyrule Castle I Breath of the Wild, so that's pretty exciting as a father 😁.
Plus some electronics/programming gadgetry to dig into while the weather is still nice here.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Sea Of Stars 'Dawn Of Equinox' Free Update Arrives Today, With Co-Op, New Combat & More
I didn't 100% it but did get the "true" ending this weekend and set it down. It's really cool that they're doing and a few little curves to complicate battles might have been interesting but I'll wait until Throes of the Clockmaker until I dig into it.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (9th November)
Rolled final credits on Sea of Stars, which was just overflowing with charm. I'm really glad I played The Messenger prior, although its just fantastic too. Highly recommend both games, in either order. On to my next RPG!
Beyond that, I thought I was freed from Vampire Survivors, but Ode to Castlevania brought me back. The game really is lightning in a bottle.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Amazon Appears To Be "Directly" Selling First-Party Switch Games Again (US)
Really odd that Woot continued to do so (at a steep discount!) given they're owned by Amazon. I'm sure there's a legal reason that was possible.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (2nd November)
About two thirds (?) into Sea of Stars. I'm somewhat mixed on it... I like the story a lot, and the turn-based RPG with Metroidvania bits is a cool idea, but outside boss battles the mechanics are a little meh. It's going to rain all weekend, so I might get back into Ori and the Blind Forest, which I was having fun with but couldn't really stay with it.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (26th October)
Rolled credits on Persona 5 Royal and I started Sea of Stars, which is a bit Chrono Trigger like, but I think that's reductive to a game that's really it's own and very definitely feels like a Sabotage Studios game.
Also... Neva! Downloaded but I need to get back in town to play it 😅. But I did get out to see Opeth and it was one of the best concerts I've ever attended, and was a really special experience for my wife and I.
That is, these are further activities if I can wrench control of my Switch from my daughter who is charging toward Vah Medoh in Breath of the Wild.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Review: Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge Of The Seven (Switch) - A Remake That's Equally Intriguing & Underwhelming
"Interesting ideas but with serious flaws" can really describe just about any SaGa game, so that's pretty on brand. If they care to fix some performance issues I'm fine with some jank tho.
Re: Final Fantasy Composer Nobuo Uematsu Says Fantasian Neo Dimension Is His "Final Project"
COULD WE BE GETTING A BLACK MAGES REUNION????
I can hòpe that's what his "other projects" include.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (12th October)
Incrementally getting through [REDACTED] third semester palace in Persona 5 Royal. I think I'm spending more time fiddling with high level fusions. But breaking the game is half the fun of a JRPG.
Eyeballing the next 100+ hour game, although I've never tackled Torna: The Golden Country and my memory of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 might fade a bit if I put it off too much. And it all gets put on hold when Neva comes out.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Exclusive: Check Out The First 15 Minutes Of Gameplay From 'Neva'
Echoing other posters because I'm sure it's every bit as gorgeous as what I've seen, and I'm already sold. And for those of you who haven't played Gris, it's one of the most magical few hours you can spend with a game.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (5th October)
Persona 5 Royal trying to get going with the third semester, but the game is so long and adult responsibilities are the worst. My daughter is also committed to Breath of the Wild so access to that is spotty. Maybe some Vampire Survivors with my youngest.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Opinion: I Didn't Realise How Much I'd Missed 'Traditional' Zelda Dungeons
I'm on the MORE OF BOTH crowd... traditional dungeons were great... when they were great. The new games provide a different exploration facet that were new life in a way we hadn't really played (although the depths didn't really need to be all of Hyrule to get the point across). I haven't played the new game, but I'm looking forward to it. If it leads to more good Zelda, mixing mechanics between games is just fine.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (28th September)
Slowly but surely chipping away at Persona 5 Royal, stalking Mementos to take down [redacted], but also plan on taking a shot at the Reaper now that I'm geared up and overleveled from ramming shadows with the Catbus.
Although really more reading and taking my wife to see a concert out of town. But it's still a good weekend.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Get A Closer Look At Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake In New Gameplay Trailer
I mean, I loved DW3 back when and it's a nice thing for modern audiences, but couldn't we have gotten a remaster of 7 or 8?
/entitled complaint
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)
My daughter got hooked on Breath of the Wild so I'm not likely to have much time. Maybe the final semester of Persona 5 Royal at night. O well. Part of a balanced life.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (7th September)
Still on Persona 5 Royal nearing November 18th, with everything important about that date. Also a little meandering in Ori and the Blind Forest, which is absolutely stunning and I get distracted from the gameplay at times.
If I had to throw my two cents for FF4 version, I'd say GBA, as it was the only one with really good bonus content, altho the pixel remasters can let you bypass the grind a bit.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (31st August)
Mostly playing Persona 5 Royal which I've actually been able to chip away at somewhat well... being on the Switch really does help get in on short sessions. I'm infiltrating the fifth palace and knocked down as many Mementos requests as I've been able to dig up.
The rest of the weekend is spent on school so there wont be a huge amount of variety. Getting preliminary plans together to set up a modest IoT lab. Busybusybusy.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Reaction: Shadow Drops & Surprises - A Stuffed Direct With Something For Everyone
I'm so excited for Neva. Like I will drop anything I'm playing come October for that.
TRAILS IN THE SKY REMAKE Y'ALL.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (24th August)
@Grail_Quest it's hard to explain to kids these days how hard those tropes hit back then because they weren't tropes yet. They just started here. And let's not get started on that treacherous cur [REDACTED] because I don't know the spoiler tag.
Edward could have been a better character if he was either a healer or buffs/debuffs were more effective. I get that they were still figuring out how to balance games back then, but some characters just didn't have the utility others did (to include the last one one introduced that was kept at endgame).
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (24th August)
Wading thru Persona 5 Royal making incremental progress and settled in on Ori and the Blind Forest for a secondary. It's going to be unbearably hot so I might get some time for those.
Also some study and working on a little microcontroller project to lower a large spider when people are detected coming up to my door, which I should have polished for use come halloween
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (17th August)
@ScalenePowers I've actually put a decent dent in them this year, but I still have:
Persona 5 Royal (currently playing)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Both Ori games
Inside
Steamworld Heist
Nier: Automata
Sea of Stars
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Unicorn Overlord
Inscription
Death's Door
Gone Home
The Stanley Parable
Ni No Kuni
Lost in the Woods
...and an embarrassing number of additional "Pretty Good" games if I want to go below 85 on Metacritic from my DekuDeals list that I tend to love (the Trails games come faster than I can get thru them).
It's an unfortunate result of having adult money and the according amount of time that affords when trying to lead an otherwise balanced life. But my kids make out great from it 😁
Edited to add: I didn't process the full list till it posted and I'm mortified 😳
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (17th August)
Just got through the second palace in Persona 5 Royal. I'm doing okay with that but I'm still trying to find a second game to put some space between chapters. I recognize that Ori and the Blind Forest as a game that I would definitely enjoy but I bounced off of it, at least until I get more geared up to do so. I may give Transistor a try as part of my "chip away at the highly rated backlog of games I got on sale but never touched" campaign.
Might be the last weekend of getting good time in, fall semester classes start up this week and I'll probably be pressed for time until December.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (10th August)
First weekend playing in a bit from work and family needs. Currently playing Persona 5 Royal and dipping my toe in Ori and the Blind Forest. I don't think I'm going to get to terribly far in either though.
Also finally got my RPi weather station built and online with Weather Underground! I have sensors to calibrate and want to figure out a way to do get my little sensor clusters on solar, so that's nowhere near finished, but a fun project that's really progressing.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Warner Bros. Is Reportedly Looking To Sell A Stake In Its Games Business
This is what happens when you go in without any really knowledge, notice that active live service games are immensely profitable, and proclaim "we'll have an immensely profitable live service game" to investors, without understanding how much effort it takes to make a successful one, the failure rate, and the cost of tanking, all while banking on the commercial viability of the DC universe, which is a pale shadow of Marvel that many are already burned out on.
If regular people weren't the ones losing their jobs, I'd say it couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people.
Re: All Humble Games Staff Reportedly Laid Off As Publisher Announces "Restructuring"
So the company exists, but no one involved in anything you liked is working there anymore. It's functionally a new company.
I love video games (it's why we're here!) but I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would be a dev in the industry. The pay scale in the industry is at the bottom edge of the skillet and qualifications, the hours are atrocious, and you're basically just a contractor these days to be cut unceremoniously to make numbers dance for quarterly earnings even after releasing a highly successful project.
Re: Rumour: 'Tales Of Xillia Remastered' Switch Release Spotted Online
I got through Vesperia which I mostly enjoyed but it started to drag near the end. I would be interested in this, but I'd wait to see the reviews on the port since Bandai burned a lot of people with Abyss.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (20th July)
Wound up with more free time than expected this weekend, so I'm going to try to finish The Messenger. Making up my mind whether to stick with Persona 5 Royal or shift to a different game, namely Ys VIII: Lacrymosa of Dana, which I've false started on at least 4 times.
Also working an electronics-based experiment and some minor hiking and cooking a fancy dinner.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Production On Sea Of Stars DLC Is "Going Well", Says Sabotage Studio
@KimBread it can be any of the above. Many DLCs put on an extra chapter, some off your built save and some slightly outside of it. Xenoblade 2 made an entire standalone prequel that you can buy as a separate game, to give you an extreme case.
The Sea of Stars one in particular has been described as a "side adventure," although beyond that I'm trying to remain mostly ignorant.
Re: Talking Point: Could Ganondorf Ever Be The Star Of A Zelda Game?
@Waluigi451 that's fair, but Link is as silent as a protagonist gets. Honestly, Ganondorf could be a really compelling character as the once in a century son of the Gerudo burdened with leading them to survival and prosperity, for which he seeks ever greater power. Ultimately he'd be corruptible as any man convinced he's doing everything he does for the greater good, as he finally makes the fateful play for the Triforce, finishing the transformation into Ganon.
It goes without saying it has to be Hot Ganondorf.
Re: Random: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Overtakes NES Lifetime Sales
Not a new take, but this has a problem like Smash Ultimate - it's hard to see what the next installment really adds aside from just "more."
Re: Feature: "Hades In Particular Further Opened Our Eyes" - TMNT: Splintered Fate Dev Talks Crafting A Radical Roguelike
Hades but with Ninja Turtles. I'm so in.
It's fine to copy someone's homework if it's the smart kid's and you change enough to make it look like your own.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (6th July)
I finally rolled credits on Trails of Cold Steel III and into Persona 5 Royal, which seems rather odd that I haven't played yet but I only own a single console on principle and my backlog is immense. Always have to have that 100 hour game going.
Other Persona/SMT games have really grated on me by the end, so I decided to play it more episodically with The Messenger to break up the experience and maybe a to-be-named third game. But man, Persona 5 is stylish in a way that feels like Cowboy Bebop did when it came out. Assuming the interpersonal drama doesn't wear me out, I'm going to have a tough time resisting it based on the first few hours.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Square Enix And Nintendo Co-Dev Reports Losses After Multiple Projects Cancelled
@gcunit that's how it normally works if you're a bigger development group. Smaller ones looking to take a large growth step may be willing to take a bigger risk, even if it threatens the stability of the company.
And sometimes management just fails to listen to engineers or other advisors when told its either a bigger job than is being sold or that their business partner isn't as steadfast as management had hoped.
Re: Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Receives Another Switch Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
I get that the Switch isn't bleeding edge, but technically the videos look like a PS1 game given the Octopath treatment. I wanted to give it a go but it's hard to know what discount makes the risk worth it if it's not immediately clear that this is in a playable state yet.
Re: Talking Point: What Games Are You Nervous To Replay In Case They Don't Hold Up?
The SNES Classic gave me a few things: Secret of Mana did not age well for combat with the incessant cooldowns and spell grinding. Earthbound lives on in my heart, but man that battle system is hard to go back to. I worry that an official Mother 3 release will probably fall into that.
I've been putting off Link's Awakening for the reason noted above, it was clunky then swapping items on two buttons and the remake reportedly didn't stick the landing.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (29th June)
Still chipping away at Trails of Cold Steel 3. I'm getting all the great swag to the point I'm game breaking and might try on Nightmare but maybe I'll just finish out.
Fighting the urge to play Unicorn Overlord which I got at a great sale as a physical - it's always walking that line to get the sale before used copies flood the market and drive new back up. I feel like a great economic mind when I get it right, even though I very much am not.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Feature: 25 Things You Might Have Missed In The Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Reveal Trailer
The chili Link's Awakening style made me hopeful this would be a slightly silly "anything goes" with lore mix-and-match bits from everything (maybe even a chain chomp?). I didn't even remotely have this on my radar and I'm so beyond stoked it exists now.
Re: Hands On: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Is Much More Than A Pretty Picture
So stoked. I'm glad they were able to keep the NES feel - I can still remember the game feeling like this in my head. Gaming is objectively better now, but there was something about when games started feeling BIG way back when.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (8th June)
@Diogmites I keep eyeballing Scarlet Grace when it comes on sale, but I bounced hard off the last Romancing SaGa (2) I played. How is it? I can tolerate a little jank and melodrama, but I didn't care for the characters and a lot of it felt a little same-y by a third of the way in.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (8th June)
Entering Chapter 4 of Trails of Cold Steel 3. They really bring the drama at those chapter wrapups (I know, in a trrTrails game?). Looking forward trading for all the sweet swag now that my item collecting habit pays off. Going to get in the time I can, as I'll be spending a chunk of time cooking for my daughter's birthday. A few fancy dishes have been requested
Also playing with some Raspberry Pi electronics - I started a project a while ago processing messages from Alexa skills to try to integrate voice activation for local devices that I'd like to prove out.
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Soapbox: The Erdrick Trilogy Is The Right 'Dragon Quest' For The HD-2D Treatment
I'm all for it, although I do wonder how the first DW/DQ especially becomes a game that can stand on its own in the modern day without nostalgia carrying it. Maybe the trilogy is merged into a single experience in acts?
I got a lot of the feels in DQ XI, especially going back from Tickington for the past missions. There's a lot of that DNA that is in modern JRPGs to the point that those feel quaint (like in the SNES Era FF games) but those were just so new back then.
Nostalgia still coloring it 😅
Re: Octopath Traveler II Receives A Surprise Update On Switch Today
@YourDaddy that's the great part - you don't! The stories are not directly connected, with the exception of one key side quest chain that I won't spoil.
I enjoyed the first one but it had its flaws. If you're bouncing off the first one from the disjointed stories and/or grindiness, you may prefer just to move on since they tweaked the second game to address that.
Re: Square Enix RPG Octopath Traveler II Receives A Surprise Update
@YourDaddy the second one is much better, and it's easier to farm Caits and Octopuffs so you may find yourself OP without a lot of effort. By the last chapters I was rolling bosses on the first break.
[Redacted Superboss] is still some crap tho 😅
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (1st June)
@Link41x the height of option football from days long gone by.
I just feel compelled to recognize anyone who remembers that somewhat obscure little gem.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (1st June)
Working this weekend, so not a lot of time to play, maybe a game of Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate with the kidlets. Still in my quest to catch up on the Legend of Heroes series, although Falcom is coming out with games faster than I can finish them 😅
Happy gaming everyone!
Re: Feature: Is 'Trails Through Daybreak' The Fresh Beginning The Trails Series Needs?
@Duncanballs I think the Crossbell Duology is fine if you don't want to start from the beginning. There will be some callbacks but you won't be lost. Frankly the line between past character you missed and a completely new character with really confusing motivations is pretty thin.
Unpopular opinion, but if you play those, you can jump into Cold Steel 3 without being completely baffled by the goings-on. Will you get more out of it? Sure. But it also cuts out a 5 game prerequisite.
Re: Celeste Composer Reveals New Shmup RPG 'ANOTHEREAL'
I don't think I've seen the concept of bullet hell/rpg at all outside of Undertale, and that seemed kind of gimmicky, if really innovative. I'm interested to see where this ends up going.
Re: Take-Two CEO Responds To Reports Of Studio Shutdowns
It sucks that we've reached the point in which there is extractive industry for other real business as the norm (it's happened since GE). I feel for the people who love the games they make enough for it to be their livelihood, but it's hard to see how we have an industry years down the line once the talent responsible decides the love of their work doesn't keep them from losing their home and works for a telecom or something.
Maybe it's reading too far into it, but highly skilled labor in other industries don't typically accept that kind of volatility. I would probably start updating my resume the second the word 'equity' pops up in relation to leadership of my organization.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (25th May)
@amongtheworms the first time down in the depths is scary, especially when you fell in unprepared by accident and immediately run into a gloom Lynel 😅. You're a braver human than I for going no fast travel.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (25th May)
@deecas I think you'll find a lot of spirited disagreement in the series because everyone has different value on complex story vs. deep gameplay. XII is extremely fiddly with the systems and is almost a solo MMO, whereas X/XIII are the opposite (although also fiddly with certain aspects). They all have their flaws, but if you like JRPGs of any flavor there's probably one more you'll latch onto (I will die on the hill that VI is forever the peak).
Even VIII has its charm with odd systems and a story that completely jumps the rails at a certain point 😅