DemonKow

I wonder if it's any more difficult to have to deal with being an adult putting aside a game you love for your grownup responsibilities if that's for another game that is now your job.

That's how I got out of doing electronics as a hobby.

I loved the battle system of BD II but man the story could have used some rewrites. A remaster announcement would still be cool tho.

I mean, I kinda get why Nintendo doesnt have the appetite. The Mother series, despite its cult status, has always been niche and the only major western release was an immense flop. I don't think it's reasonable to expect anything other than:

1. Sales are still tepid as the most dedicated audience already has it
2. That fanbase goes ballistic over any change from what they expected after the fan translation

I've been a casual observer of the Starmen for almost 20 years, and I can tell you as a business decision I wouldn't touch any of that with a ten foot pole. Coming from someone who would buy it day one.

I haven't spent a lot of time gaming, I kind of stalled on Octopath Traveller II after everyone's first chapter. It's great so far I'm just not able to spend the time I want on it at the moment.

I'm enjoying AI: The Somnium files but I want something with meatier gameplay from the backlog. I'll try Transistor since Supergiant hasn't been wrong yet and it's been sitting since I got it on sale.

Hard pass. If it's a standalone route, I don't know why it can't be done like Torna (XC2)... if it's that big make it a standalone smaller purchase. I'm not repurchasing a 2 year old game.

The obvious ones are fine, I guess. I do love to speculate on dark horse types in order of increasing absurdity:

• DQ8, Chrono Trigger, or other lesser known back catalog ports from S-E
• Hades 2 Switch announcement
• New Mega Man (X?)!

I still believe Silksong is eventually coming, but is certainly not going to get mentioned tomorrow.

@HeadPirate I think you're definitely on point with how its going to go, and it could also be argued that it could very easily be mistaken for a Tales of game by a casual observer, which is totally why trademarks exist to begin with. I actually think Bandai would be in the right here.

Have some family in and I've been super busy cooking and studying, so right now just a little AI: The Somnium Files at night. It's probably best I'm between major games at the moment 😅

Happy gaming everyone!

Finally brought Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to a close after a week otherwise occupied with life. For all its flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed the game, although I'm not quite ready to dive into Torna: The Golden Country just yet. I've got a monstrous backlog and I'm trying to figure out the next game to dive into.

Thinking Octopath Traveler II or Persona 5.

Playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and absolutely consumed in side quests. It's therapeutic to have little diversions to go on about when thousands stand to die if I don't act immediately (but they won't!). I don't know that I need to collect all the rare blades or get them all to S rank, but when I do get them I feel the need to go through their quests.

Also bits and pieces of AI: The Somnium Files while trying to get to sleep.

I'm excited. I probably would have grabbed it by now but they announced physical so early, and my backlog is long enough I'm not exactly short on stuff to play.

I mean I get what they're saying, there's been a mixed bag of AAA disappointments, AAs that were fabulous but maybe a bit niche, and some experimental titles that were very hit or miss. I'm just concerned the conclusion they're drawing from it isn't as much "give each game in development sufficient time and resources to be good" and more "we will focus our resources only on safe games." We may just end up with better looking equivalents to Bravely Default 2.

Also, how about Chrono Trigger on modern consoles guys?

@TempestStotm with the Black Mages version of Darkness and Starlight for the Ultros fight at the opera!!!

Not terribly concerned, MicroSD cards even at the TB range are cheap. I'd rather the console be affordable and very widely adopted.

Furiously trying to finish up Xenoblade Chronicles 2 before I go back to school(!), which is 100% not going to happen. I can't stay on task to save my life, and I don't think I'd enjoy it so much if I actually could. It might have to wait for the semester break.

Also a few rounds of Vampire Survivors which is feeling how NES games used to feel way back when (I'm thinking Gauntlet and Castlevania). And not necessarily like those games, but like how it felt in the 80s when my brothers let me stay up way too late hopped up on Mountain Dew and blasting Iron Maiden. My youngest got hooked on it too, so we're having a grand time discovering things and dealing absurd DPS.

...I think I might need to go to the store to get some Mountain Dew 😁

Happy gaming everyone!

I'm maybe halfway into Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and getting into Blade quests. I rather enjoy the mannequin witch with what could reasonably be described as an unhealthy attachment style. Loads of fun if you don't take it terribly seriously.

Also, I've been playing Vampire Survivors and figured out how to stay alive for reasonable amounts of time and I'm now addicted. Please send help.

Brilliant. I was looking at all my old Square classics and thought "but couldn't I have something more derivative and worse?"

Main game is Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which is proving to be cringy with a dense and endlessly fiddly blade system that I am thoroughly enjoying. I'm going back to school in January and may not have time to finish before that starts between that, work, and family, because there's just too much to do.

Also playing AI: The Somnium Files and finally checked in on the hype for Vampire Survivors, for which my first thought was "O no. This is brilliant and will take over my life."

I gotta say, I'm still working on it. But the first chapters are so much better than the original - OT1 was one of the best games I couldn't recommend because it's difficult to tell someone "you just gotta play 30+ hours and it gets good!" Especially when the stories play out with inconsistent quality and you gotta do an endgame grind and a series of side quests to get the full story.

Looking pretty set with Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Its story can be a bit cringy and there are layers of near impenetrable systems but I'm really enjoying it so far. With all that going, the big sales are drawing my eye, and I may pick up something shorter like Oxenfree II: The Lost Signals or Kentucky Route Zero.

Happy gaming everyone!

I do appreciate the game design that goes into intuitive learning of the systems without tons of reading. While MMX wasn't super complicated, I do agree it was user friendly NM in ways the original never was.

And the soundtrack was a banger start to finish too. I still get the Armored Armadillo song stuck in my head.

@BodkinDQ I feel you on Triangle Strategy. I loved the story and the game play overall, but it doesn't really get out of its own way at times. When it gets grating, I usually switch the voice acting to Japanese (as with Octopath Traveler). For all I know, it's equally stilted, but I don't have any way to pick up on that so it seems easier to deal with.

After finally completing Tears of the Kingdom at a whopping 150 hours, 148 shrines, 110 light roots, and 297 Korok seeds, I closed the book on it and said I needed another 100+ hour game tomake my life feel complete, so I got underway with Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I'm going in fairly blind beyond knowing the battle systems are ridiculous and the character models are... interesting. And it's big.

My big counts were TotK, Triangle Strategy, and Trails to Azure. Pretty good year, but my backlog is Neverending. That's not a bad problem to have.

@awaltzforvenus I remember updating the MIDI player and the music absolutely blew me away - I could tell exactly which songs they were riffing on and it could get you pumped to wade through Hell's legions. It was a magical moment in gaming that I don't think I ever really recaptured.

And I remember the stern warning that those pirating the game would go directly to Hell 😅. I've purchased it no fewer than three times now so I'm probably safe.

As more and more money gathers in the C suites of major gaming companies, it almost seems like they want to be doing anything but making video games. It's almost like the other execs will mock them unless it's "but we've got a movie coming out, that's REAL media!" Or NFTs. Or the next not games thing.

I get it, they've got a big non union workforce of people who do require some pretty intensive skills. But that's another reckoning they should know is coming. It's hard to accept that your pay is weak compared to other industries and you've been laid off when you're hearing about record profits and an amazing year in the quality of gaming.

Bring back Altered Beast you cowards!!!

...kidding. It was a game that worked in its time but probably has past. Golden Axe may fit that bill tòo...

Tears of the Kingdom! Over 140 shrines and upgraded my armor to the point I'm nigh unkillable. I should probably finish up since im basically at the endgame and there isn't much new to see. It's been a great ride, and I loved beating challenges in ways the designers clearly didn't intend, but I don't need to get into finding every korok and such nonsense.

I'd be thrilled with Zelda, especially if they gave her completely different mechanics. Considering the new direction seems to be about the way you interact with the world, that seems like a really interesting prospect.

If it's just a gender swap, Link always seemed pretty neutral anyway, so Linkle seemed like a redundant concept.

Continued exploration in Tears of the Kingdom, plinking off individual shrines still hanging out there. Decided to pull the trigger on This Way Madness Lies, something about a short magical girl RPG based on Shakespeare feels ridiculous enough to give a chance, especially on sale.

@mudkipfan217 CrisTales is absolutely gorgeous and has a rather charming plot in a short run time (if you're used to 60+ hours from many games, it's almost refreshing). It's not flawless (load time performance drags) but I'm really excited to see more from that studio. I hope you enjoy it.

Getting through Tears of the Kingdom. Two temples down, ~120 shrines, and more caves than I can count. I am feeling a bit of fatigue and may just go ahead and finish it next week or so. Going back to school next semester so it may be a good idea to tie things up 😁

Also Mario Kart with the kids when not out touching some grass. Reviews of the last wave are middling but Wii Rainbow Road was one of my favorite tracks so I'm happy with it

As great as this looks, I may have hit the saturation point of what I can reasonably play in 2023, and my SNES Mini, which is an almost perfect collection of games of the era, already has it.

@The-Chosen-one it shows your shrines, light roots, and other such info on the loading screen when you fast travel

Probably keep the original for travel, I don't think I'll complete my Switch backlog before I die, so I can reserve some for that. I imagine some growth in the transition period too.

Playing Tears of the Kingdom this weekend. I'm about 100 shrines in and dealt with the regional phenomena in Hebra. Still having a blast, although very easily distracted.

Also started Octopath Traveler II while on business travel, turn based is usually easier for me undocked. Really enjoying that so far too.

And final Mario Kart 8 booster pass!!!

I had hope hearing about Embracer buying IPs/studios years ago with the expectation that games would be made again, naively forgetting that equity groups exist to strip things for any value that can be extracted and write the rest off. There was never any credible intent to produce anything.

Of course I could say a lot of corporate folks in the video game industry seem to want to be doing anything but be involved with games, so it's hard to say that there was much to gain otherwise.

@russell-marlow i would piledrive a shark if they announced a new Final Fight

Still playing Tears of the Kingdom and still haven't gotten to any of the Regional Phenomena. I went looking for an upgrade ingredient while starting one and got distracted and found a dozen shrines on the way (I'm up to 3 of noted plant ingredient). I might get back to the real quest two hearts and a stamina vessel up 😅

@LadyCharlie right? This isn't even a $70 game if you actually wanted the content released on day 1.

I mean if you're a physical only kinda person who only resisted Annapurna because they're mostly digital this is good, right?! There are a lot of fantastic games on this cart.

...which are usually on sale at a steep discount and don't take a lot of SD card space...

@Teksetter I feel you on the kid rut. Aside from Mariokart, it's been hard to keep them together when the weather isn't good enough to go out. My oldest came up with Boomerang Fu and an occasional other B Tier game that you can get on the cheap for quick plays, sometimes it helps to know what the kids are streaming 😀

Further on my Tears of the Kingdom exploration and having a grand time. I've done virtually nothing asked of me on the main quest aside from the Tears themselves (I don't know how to do the spoiler mask, hopefully that's innocuous) and somehow just came up with the Master Sword.

@fenlix it is kinda a win, but Kotick is without a doubt departing with a nine-figure sum and no real accountability for what happened on his watch (or directly by his own hand). We'll see if Microsoft guts their entire C-suite for cause, but I don't hold a lot of hope.

Some more Tears of the Kingdom, altho probably not a lot. I haven't put that much time into it but my wife claims she will be starting a Zelda Widows support group.

Also some Boomerang Fu with the kids. I hadn't heard of it before my daughter and her friends wanted to download it. It's a charming little party game..

A shout out to the person playing the SNES Addams Family. Fantastic little game forgotten from its time.

It took me a couple tries to get into it, but What Remains of Edith Finch is a fantastic story to experience, although there is no way you come away from it feeling great.

My son had an absolute blast with Donut County

I would think if Switch 2 Successor TBD is only recently being privately demoed to developers, we likely don't see any substantive third party support until at least the back half of 2025 unless it's just crossgen/backwards compatible. I agree the announcement of Switch support isn't anything we didn't already know, but it's good they're saying it.

Second week on the Tears of the Kingdom quest, realizing the game is worth every bit of hype it gets. I'm bouncing around from things over the next hill, in that next chasm, taking quests, and just getting lost in an ADHD kid's playground.

Side pitch, my daughter just got thru Harvestella, which got mixed reviews but if you're into farm Sims and ARPGs (which she very much is) it delivers on exactly what it says it is.

I (unwisely) favor RPGs, so I'm usually working a 60+ hour game. I do like to break up with short indies that end up in my backlog due to sales, like Gris, What Remains of Edith Finch, Inscryption, or something similar. It really breaks up the time commitments and keeps gaming from feeling like a job 😅

100% agree. You get to oversaturation and iyour hobby feels like a job just to make it thru, and you drop a game.

Altho I did just start it and am really enjoying it disconnected from everything. All I know about it is a large contingent of folks thirsting for Purah and/or Ganondorf and you can basically get anywhere without necessarily having the expected solution (a few examples I stumbled on before getting off Time Island). Makes it fun to just get lost without expectations or pacing.