FX102A

Starting to look like an all-digital release, or one where only Japan and maybe Asia get the physical release.

Will have to keep an eye out for more details.

Started the game twice but rarely got far. The loading times for each battle tested my patience.

Which version has the fastest loading times?

Oh and the lack of a shopping basket remains incomprehensible.

From my experience, I found my short xbox series S to be the best experience, followed by PS4 and Switch last.

Goodness sake, what is it with people’s obsession about background music? The store is too slow? Lets slow it down even further by using up more bandwidth for an unnecessary repetitive jingle thats more likely to make me vacate than buy anything.

Overall though yes, the eShop is the most dire online shopping experience of the 3 consoles. I think I’ve only ever scanned the complete “on offer” list 3 times in 5 years.

Thank goodness for Deku Deals.

I can understand and even usually respect Nintendo’s insistence on doing things with their own twist and playing to their strengths. However they can sometimes take this to the extreme and try to do something differently just for the sake of being different, even if it ends up being inferior.

Finally trying to finish Bastion as supposedly a game with a good mix of gameplay and storytelling. Honestly, its average at best for me.

Haven’t yet decided what to play next. Need me a good Switch game that plays well in portable mode. Maybe Dragon Quest XI or some other JRPG.

I also started up Solatorobo on the DS.

So for Switch owners, the biggest change that will happen is a name change; which is what has happened for the last few releases.

Its times like this I am so thankful I have zero interest in sport.

So they’re selling a load of their Western studios from their previous attempt to follow the trend of more Western games during the 7th Gen and now moving into the current supposed “trend” of blockchain and stuff.

Somehow I have a feeling things may not go entirely to plan.

And yet the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters stayed tied to phones & PCs.

I did have a couple of cases recently where the console would not turn on when docked, but it did eventually. Wonder if this was it?

Not surprising, the Wii U launch for me where I got the Zombie U pack along with NSMBU. Honestly, I could have waited another year and probably saved a bit and had better games right form the start. Still love the console though despite its flaws.

Whilst tempted to say the 3DS too, the Ambassador Programme honestly made it worthwhile for me.

As for Nintendo games, I suppose Splatoon (although was cheap). Effectively cemented to me that you had to be a fan of multiplayer to get the most out of it and I wasn’t one. Still have my copy though as its got barely any resale value.

Like Gavin though I got my fair share of stories of trading and selling games in the past. My biggest gripe is trading in my entire Pokemon game collection. Got me like £150 in credit at an indie retro store, but sure I could have gotten like close to £500 today…

The sale prices would have been helpful, as that will almost always be a major factor in deciding to buy during a sale.

Looks like the majority of titles in the Top 10 are current and future evergreen titles. I believe the Lego SW game will continue to sell well as it combines two properties with mass market appeal and public awareness.

It really all comes down the personal tastes. I own only the SNES & Core GraFX (PC Engine) Mini and I love the latter a little but more as so many of its titles are not available elsewhere at reasonable prices.

That and I’m a Shm’up fan or which the PCE was renowned for.

The Happy Pachinko Childhood Crushing IP Hoarding Entertainment Corporation has a nice ring to it.

I feel porting it over would be a bit more complex as some of the stages were built around the gamepad control scheme plus grabbing some of the high scores necessitated it as it allowed you to destroy enemies more quickly and even after they exited the TV’s field of view.

Furthermore, once you set the control scheme aside the game itself wasn’t really all that impressive.

And on the subject of a possible SF Assault remaster, whilst I also remember it more fondly than Zero it was still okay at best. The ground and turret stages were rather dull with only 2 on-rails flying stages in the entire game.

When I first saw the table I was worried Sega had been copying EA & Ubisoft’s homework not realising it was filled with errors.

Just waiting on the LE to open pre-orders.

Having recently finished XC Definitive recently, all set for this.

That is unless there was any story-driven extra content added to XC2 outside of the Torna expansion.

It is a tough one. The SNES had a huge number of bona fide classics that hold up even to this day. The GameCube also produced some stellar entries to some of Nintendo’s greatest franchises and the GBA had the spirit of the SNES with several rereleases / ports. I also can’t deny that the Switch generation has been a great one for Nintendo.

In the end though, the GC / GBA era remains my most memorable.

The CoD games would be perfect for me on Game Pass. I am always like 5 years behind as to play the campaign it feels like £5 to £10 worth of the game’s total value; so I wait for second hand copies at CEX to drop to that price.

Of course I’d need to buy an Xbox first and I returned my Series S after 1 month due to repeated game crashes and Microsoft only offering me a refurb to replace it. Went for total refund at store in the end.

I'd only be interested in the campaign, so I was kind of hoping for a CoD MW Trilogy pack. I'd pay full price for that but not for just the 1st game alone.

I only hope that with Microsoft's acquisition, they'd be more willing to do deep sales years later. The digital price of CoD games barely drops below £30.

I still have my copy and hope to one day finish it. But the controls, despite many attempts the controls were such a hinderance and never truly click for me. Each time I would get fed up and play something else and took so long I always had to then start again.

Tried its predecessor and wasn’t impressed. Controls weren’t smooth, stuttered, gameplay was rather dull and its mobile roots could be seen from the maximum range of an AGM-158D JASSM away.

After Ace Combat 3D Cross Rumble being a thousand times better than it needed to be on the 3DS I did have hopes that the next portable AC title would grace the Switch. Those hopes are basically non-existent now.

Cue the Banjo!

@CharlieGirl True, but I believe if you’ve linked your Wii U and/or 3DS to your NNID you can use any credit you’ve added via your Switch right up to store closures.

I’ve reached the point where whenever I fire up an old game and the EA logo pops up I am genuinely surprised and realise I haven’t seen that logo in a game for so long. They basically gave me my PC flightsim era through the Janes Combat Sims series.

First thing I thought was button re-mapping, yet what annoys me the most is Nintendo is actually one of the biggest culprits in this. Yes you can change buttons at the system level, but then have to revert it for another game where you are fine with the controls.

Already decided to buy both Switch & PS4 variants. My cousin and I played countless playthroughs of Turtles in Time on the SNES. Now we can attempt the arcade and Hyperstone Heist games together.

Whilst I wasn’t the biggest fan of the EMMIs, I was willing to tolerate them. However the game would have been improved if it had the following:

1) Partway through you acquire abilities to stun the EMMIs just like the ice missiles on the SA-X.

2) Make the counter move easier to perform and make it so that you loose a sizeable chunk of energy when caught so there is some impact to being caught but not make it practically a 1-hit death.

I first encountered something similar when I learnt about XBOX Rewards and the cynic in me can’t help its a way to make gaming feel less like a form of entertainment and more like a job where you play when they say to get rewards.

I think I’ll stick to the game I’m playing now and the list I’ve prepped.

I had been happily playing Megaman Battle Network on my Analogue Pocket, but I then had to go on a trip and I was unable to acquire a suitable case. So back to my Switch with Hardcore Mecha being the game of choice.

I played XC & XCX with English dub whilst I played XC2 in JP with subs after its amazing reveal trailer (felt it matched with its more anime feel; also is why I know that Tora was secretly planning the bikini module).

As for this one I’m not sure which way I play as I feel like going dub, but the scale of British accents in the trailer was surprising.

Originally I had a great difficulty trying to comprehend this; having to patch a game running on a server potentially 1000s of miles away. I am guessing its for the portal / program through which you stream the game that needs the updates.

Still, I’d sooner buy finger puppets and act out the game than pay an access fee for these releases.

Wouldn’t mind seeing the Modern Warfare Trilogy released as a bundle. Preferably with the option to buy the campaigns only but like Hell they’re gonna do that.

As a JRPG & Mecha fan, this direct just wowed me. Obviously stuff I had no interest in (MLB, Splatoon 3, Disney Kart) but with a mixture of classic rereleases (Live A Live, Chrono Cross, Front Mission), brand new stuff (Xenoblade 3, Gundam) and expansions (MK8 DLC) I was very satisfied for what I was expecting.

Whilst the NSO offer is tempting, I don’t want limited access DLC so will buy instead.

This piques my interest, although getting tired of the musou style gameplay. Also from what little info available may be tilted more towards multiplayer.

I would like a more story-driven tactical shooter type game. I know Battle Operation 2 is available but its Free to Play with all that timed drops and other FTP malarky I have no time for; whilst the recently released campaign forces you to play as genocidal Space Nazis so not interested there.

How I miss the PS2 and the golden era of Gundam games (yes they weren’t exactly outstanding beacons of quality but they were fun, contained packages; well several of them).

This was so unexpected!

Unfortunately for me I already know the big story twist due to a video I watched as I was convinced this would never be released here. Still going to play through it though.

If Rookie Mode makes the EMI counters easier, honestly I’d play this for my second playthrough. Might make the game a little less frustrating in areas.

As for Dread Mode, yeah I ain’t a psychopath who enjoys rubbing sandpaper with chilli powder on my face and crotch; so will be skipping that.

Excuse me whilst I go change my undies, I just blasted a hole through the front.

Since getting my Xbox Series S, been using Game Pass to play back through the Halo games and now playing my first unplayed title; Halo 5. However I would like to get back into a JRPG or mecha strategy game. Toying with Trails of Sky II on Vita, a Tails game on the PS4, Gundam G Generation Genesis on Switch of SRW Taisen on GBA.

No surprise. As much as I love my Wii U, I acknowledge its flawed design and concept, with multiple factors driving it to its eventual failure. Probably the only Nintendo console I regretted buying at launch, even though it redeemed itself in around a year’s time.

Yet its got 1 thing over the PS5, it had actual exclusive titles (at the time). Alongside high price, dislike of design and lack of availability, my interest in a PS5 is non-existent due to a lack of exclusive titles that make me want to buy it. Sometimes it feels more like the main drives to buy a PS5 are its rarity, the chance to play games yet to come out or as a status symbol. About the only good reason I’ve heard to own one was my friend who gifted his PS4 to his fiancé so he uses his mainly as a PS4.

It was interesting going through these arcades back in 2015. I never realised that arcade machine technology had advanced to such a degree in Japan with unique designs, control inputs and gameplays, multi-LCD displays, online connections and memory cards.

Although I must admit my favourite was one in Hiroshima where the top floor was filled with machines from the 90s and 00s, including a row of shm’ups. I just plonked myself on the far right and shimmied myself leftwards after a single credit play each.

Well may have popped in a second credit for the Macross shmup.

1) Giving away a load of SNES games to son of our family’s cleaner; although at least he had the chance to play a lot of classics as we had bought him the SNES for Christmas years earlier as they couldn’t afford it. So I take some solace in that I enabled him to play lots of games and maybe had a good influence on his life. I’ve since rebought many.

2) Trading in all my Pokemon games a few years back; today I probably could make 5-10 times as much as I did then.

3) Trading in all my Armoured Core PS2 games to a friend. He still has them though. Some day…. Or may just hit eBay.

4) Buying Last of Us on launch. Mentioned here before, bought it at launch for an in-store price to get a special phone case bonus to give to a girl I liked. Didn’t get the girl (stayed friends though) and pushed myself through one of my most miserable and disliked games ever and probably got only around £15 most worth of “credit” via a private trade.

In life in general I always worry about future impacts of all my decision, which is why I still hold onto so many games I may never actually live to play. Heck I’m doing a replay of all the Halo games on Game Pass (plus the new one) now instead of completing a new game!

@PessitheMystic Might be a while before I get it as at the time they didn’t ship to the UK, so sent to the In-Laws.

Didn’t orders for this open in May 2021? Thats when I ordered my copy.

Purchased quite a number in the last sale, but I set a rule to mostly buy only titles priced at £5 or less. That will stay with the exception of Megaman Zero Collection.

Not so much a trailer as a cast list.

Likely wait for a few reviews and perhaps a sale.

That shadow being cast makes me think she could pass off as a Diablo or Dark Souls boss.

Either I’m way behind modern fashion trends or they’re trying just about anything this day.

I own it for PS4 (after playing the demos the 60 fps was just too smooth) and hope to buy on NSW when it does on sale physically, but yet to play it. The character designs haven’t really attached to me as much as the original. Possibly too much “ear bling”.

Still likely to kick it off in the new year as my next JRPG commitment.

Sega probably felt it made their internal teams look bad.

I mean I’m surprised we’ve yet to see a Sonic Mani sequel.