Jade37

I want to like the series, but I can't gel with the combat. Turn based is a plus for me, but the dumb (to me) rock>paper>scissors of it all and the fact I only seem to be able to control the main character means I'll be sitting this one out. I've heard combat gets better when you get further into the games (1 & 2) but don't think I could make my way there.

@the_beaver
Arise, I didn't finish Baseria on PS4 but I did finish Arise (just not the DLC).

Part of it for me is that I feel like the devs finally realized that people like playing caster characters and you don't get every monster on the field trying to kill you while trying to cast magic like in older games.

@RiasGremory
Walmart's Onn brand microSD can get cheap for this type of SD card, got a 512 for $65 during a sale. It's a little slower than the SanDisk ones but I've been using it for 6 months or so now with no problems.

I had 86 games played and 1238 hours, mostly in June cause no work.
1) Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
2) Pokemon Unite
3) Story of Seasons Grand Bazaar

I'm honestly shocked Grand Bazaar is that high, still don't even have everything done in it, so many upgrades left to get. Unite was padded cause played daily with a friend but we dropped off that when MH Wilds came out and moved to MHGU instead so not shocked that its my top played.

@Andee
Not who you're asking but can answer. Back when I started in ARR I was on my PS4 and was able to sign into the SquareEnix account on PC later when I got a good rig and was able to use the same character. You just have to rebuy everything since the license is for each platform. If you log into your Mogstation, you can see which platforms you've bought the game on with that SquareEnix account

To anyone even somewhat interested in this, I highly suggest getting the free trial first and seeing how the game plays. While low level play isn't the same as high level, I remember Black Mage played very differently depending on what level cap (Lv50, 60, 70, etc) you were at, it still gives you an idea of what the game will be like. Solo play is very possible, only a few things in the story require joining up with other people so you can almost treat it like a single player game if you so wish.

Story is good for the most part, I enjoyed A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, Stormblood was okay, Shadowbringers was better than SB worse than HW, then I stopped after Endwalker's expansion story, didn't do the patch content. Gameplay though, if you like to play a Healer type class in group games, just don't even bother. You can easily be replaced by tanks in most content, the only reason that the issue isn't widespread is cause using the Auto Queue system requires a Healer.

Long running games like MMOs I feel go through a pattern of things and XIV is neck deep in the "make everything for everyone so no one is satisfied" section. Which means that some time "soon" then they should be figuring out that it's bad for business and changing direction, but who knows how long it'll take them.

signed, a very salt AST

to possibly add some context for the "netflix losing subs" while being as middle of the road as I can here.

Netflix does have some shows/cartoons that are more progressive (woke) in their messaging. These shows have been around for a few years. Conservative leaning people have just recently, a few months ago, learned that these shows were on Netflix. They likely did take a hit in their sub numbers from this.

@Charlirnie
Start with the first one. The story doesn't require you to play them in order, but it certainly is better to do so.

Then if you like the combat of the first game and want to explore a big map with little story to get in your way, play X. Can't speak to X Definitive Edition, but I didn't find the WiiU version that great despite liking XC1's combat.

@UltimateOtaku91
If I remember right it's just 1.2x

If you're really looking for JP it's getting the Unscathed bonus in a fight. Find somewhere you can reliably get that so that it stacks to the higher Ace and Hero versions. Honestly when I wanted to farm JP I'd go and turn off EXP and pg gain, set the game to Easy and set my team up for one turn sweeps with Auto and just ran around an area. Taking JP Up does help, but you also cap at 999JP per fight and depending on how far you are, Unscathed Hero can reach that.

Edit: Also there's the Growth Egg accessory that doubles EXP and JP but gives you no pg. Does not stack with JP Up

Bit sad the tag line of the article wasn't some form of "Fire Emblem Shadowdropped"

@XenoMario
While Sky 1st Chapter is the start of the series and is a good jumping in point, the series has been on Playstation since it came out so it wouldn't surprise me if that's where the fans are. You still can't get Cold Steel 1 and 2 on Switch

Then there's people are like me who have played the first one and probably waiting on a sale to grab this one cause there's a JRPG coming out each week right now it feels like. Sky 1st, Atelier next week, Digimon week after, then Pokemon not long after that. I understand that I'm in the low number of people that enjoy all those series.

@Dfua82
if you're in the US, I can say for sure that Metroid Prime 4 has been added to the vouchers, as I used my last voucher on it. Just make sure you're looking at the Switch version and not Switch 2 version.

@Ryu_Niiyama
I was weak and bought the game after trying to talk myself out of it. I have no regrets.

The central mechanic of the game, the Bazaar, looked like it would be boring to me so I tried to convince myself that I didn't need to buy this game. Now I find myself looking at what day it is and trying to plan to make the most out of each Bazaar day. In classic farming sim fashion though I get distracted by something else I need to do instead.

@Dr_Awkward
I stand by what I said, it's bad game design. The fact that it's in a trap filled section I say makes it worse. If the game is hard and there's been the unspoken agreement that the bench is your safe haven for an entire game (didn't hear about any trap bench in Hallow Knight) then that rule should stay true.

@1UP-HUSKY
Actually FromSoft has said they'd never do that with their bonfires because of how much it'd make their playerbase mad to see that safety of the bonfire only to (likely) get killed by it instead. They had concept art for what it'd even look like before scrapping the idea.

For Silksong doing this, I agree with others that it's just bad game design. Having never played either Hallow Knight games, my understanding is the bench is a save point/safe zone thing? In a hard game, seeing your one safe point should never be a trap, it should be a silent agreement that this is where you can take a moment to collect yourself before moving on.

as most others here, I expect Prime 4 to get a release date.

What I want though is to know whatever Monolith is up to and that the Fire Emblem team is doing something that doesn't involve being part dating sim. Yes, I know bond events could have characters end up together in the epilogue, I don't play FE to ship everyone though.

Any news on Golden Sun 4 would blow me away. While I wouldn't say no to a remake of the first two games, I'd honestly rather they wrap up the story they left hanging in Dark Dawn first.

If they wanted strong sales they shouldn't have cut content for it then. It never feels good when the newest version of a game has less than an older version. I'd like more Tactics games from Square (also another crack at Explorers), but I can't get behind paying full price for game that is missing things.

@Anachronism
it's a Ubisoft game, 75% is likely within a few weeks.

As for the article itself, not shocked it's going to run worse on S2 than PS5 or XSX. Nintendo isn't for the graphically obsessed, think they made that clear with the Switch. Likely the game runs fine for the vast majority of people though I wouldn't put it past Ubisoft to do a subpar port either.

they need to put out a demo for this game (if they already have, please let me know). After playing Yumia I don't exactly trust the team as I used to on making a good game with a good crafting system.

going to be playing some Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate with a friend and also some DnD on Sunday. Enjoying this last weekend I have before summer vacation ends and I have to do my job of dealing with kids again.

@Friendly
unlikely that the NFC costs Nintendo much of anything. If consumers can buy a pack of 50 tags on Amazon for $9, can only imagine how cheap they are for a company like Nintendo to bulk order. Good wooden block toys just sell high. I was sticker shocked the first time I had to stock some when I worked at Target and put a set out that was over $100.

@Rect_Pola
at least Gunvolt trilogy is 50% off if you already have the 1+2 pack (possibly if you have 3 as well?). I'm going to guess that this trilogy pack will be $90 like the other DX packs, with each game $40 on its own.

@StewdaMegaManNerd
For the back buttons I really think it depends on what you play as to how useful they are. Some games it's just a neat little feature being able to map a button to the back. Ones like Monster Hunter, really feel the lack of them as I map the d-pad left/right to them so I can quickly cycle through my items.

For me, it was worth having an official controller with the back buttons since my luck on 3rd party ones with them was bad. Fact that it saves different mapping for each game is the cherry on top.

Pulled from my chat with a friend, sent him this list earlier today about what I think will be in the Presents.

TGC- some tournament and new card packs
TGC Pocket- trade changes and new pack
Unite- Anniversary event
Sleep- New pokemon
Battle Masters- New trainer
Cafe- New pokemon
Gen9- New terra raids and Switch2 upgrades
ZA- Some megas
Champions (maybe)
Gen10 (maybe but unlikely)
some form of show (someone mentioned concierge earlier)
oh, and whatever Go is doing

@Fiergala
if that's your goal, Tactics Ogre I think is the Palace of the Dead stuff which is base game (ARR) and then Ivalice is the Alliance Raids (24 people) in Stormblood which is covered in the free trial.

There's more Ivalice stuff in Bozja I think, wasn't content I enjoyed so I can't say for sure other than the story at least was done by the same guy. But that's Shadowbringers content so you'd actually have to pay there.

Most of the game can be played solo with NPCs in dungeons where you'll only need folk for any Trials that come up with are 8 people arena fights, and ARR's Alliance Raid series. So if you got the time, it's free for most of what you want to do.

@VoidofLight
Last I'll say on the matter since this really isn't the place for a XIV discussion.

I think Ishikawa was the problem, she's good at small stories like the DRK questline but she fumbles when it comes to doing something big like the MSQ. Shadowbringers, where Ishikawa took lead, is where the Scions started to blend together into one character and your party became bland.

HW might be a generic fantasy story, but that's not bad in itself, it's a well told one.

@Fiergala
While I agree with you, and normally will take most any chance to bash the XIV team, once upon a time they were able to write a good story. A Realm Reborn and Heavensward are good stories, Stormblood was "meh", came back at the start of Shadowbringers but have just gone downhill from there. I haven't played the latest expansion so can't say, but haven't heard good things.

@Ryu_Niiyama
never said I sympathize, just I see an obvious cause and effect with a simple solution to get rid of a lot of these threats.

@Ryu_Niiyama
Is why I said I don't agree with the people making the threats. Just that if you (The Company) only respond to extreme reactions, you are 100% conditioning your customer base to jump to extreme reactions. Death threats are extreme

@Ryu_Niiyama
Just want to start with saying in no way do I agree that sending death threats is a good thing.

That said, companies have cultivated that kind of response. They don't move to fix minor issues unless there is massive backlash. What is bigger than a death threat? Once companies start to treat customers like people, or at least an important part of their business, then the death threats will go down to just the actual crazies.

Again, I don't agree with death threats.

@Nalverus
All flash, no substance is what YoshiP's team (Creative Studio III) is really good at.

Hmm, while the box (first picture) looks good I think I rather the US version of it. The scenery on the US box is beautiful.

Had heard that the Earth Dancer's Edition was delayed, but that didn't stop Walmart from getting it to me on the 6th. This game and Bravely have pretty much been what I've played on Switch2.

@NintendoByNature
if you're talking about BDII getting to hard at the end, know that this one doesn't have the Counter mechanics that BDII does. That whole counter system was what dragged the game down for me at the end as some builds were needlessly punished cause just "screw you" I guess.

That said, played both games on Hard so my idea of difficult can be different than yours.

will be trying the nearby target tomorrow morning. One of my friends still works there and he said they got in a fair amount for the little foot traffic that store actually gets.

As for games, will try for Mario Kart bundle, but also getting Bravely Default and my Earth Dancer edition of Rune Factory is supposed to arrive on Friday.

@Olliemar28
I get where you're coming from on this, but I got to agree with the other comments that this looks more Sonic like. We even see the male character rolling along like he just did a spin dash.

@Siaha
currently, and I hope this stays true, my preorder of the collector's edition is still set to arrive on release date.

@Axecon
I agree, I'd easily take XC4 or something new from them.

Either way though, I want them to ditch the class change systems. Normally I really like such systems, half the reason I play Bravely Default and such, but XC2 and 3 just don't scratch that class change itch. XC1 and X (aside from MC) with characters having set skills felt better.

@speed_loafer
I can empathize with his reaction as well, maybe not for this game myself, but I get it. There just should be some level of professionalism is all. Any other job that deals with the public, if you said that, I'm sure your boss would rightfully call you in to talk.

While I personally have no care for the game, Ollie is fully free to write about it. Heck, maybe the reason they delayed the game was to get a Switch 2 version ready to launch them all together.

@speed_loafer
-Just lost polygon and pretty sure we've lost another big-ish site before that
-Google AI snippets are eating everyone's traffic
-saying comments like "don't like? don't read" are rude and the staff here should be more professional than that. Specially when google is eating their traffic, shouldn't want to give people reason to leave.
-not sure who "dear leader" is supposed to be.

can give a more detailed response if you wish, but that's the sum of my point.

@Ploppy
and for others like me, who don't get the hype for this game (mostly here to read comments), it's a collective groan to keep hearing about it for another year.

No digs against anyone that likes it, just not my cup of tea.

@Olliemar28
being rude like that is why sites like this are going down. No need to get snippy because someone didn't like the article. In your own words, you didn't like it, don't read his comment.

Golden Sun is the correct answer, been waiting for a conclusion since Dark Dawn in 2010 (now I feel old) But also looking forward to the usual stuff, Zelda, Xenoblade, Pikmin, and Fire Emblem.

While I did sign up for the My Nintendo pre-order, think I'll try for an MKW bundle through Best Buy and if my luck sucks on that, just go with the basic version I signed up for with Nintendo.

Sucks that accessories are up for any that planned to buy them, I expect the amiibo will see a price increase as well and they're the only thing I want to buy alongside the console. Will be holding off on playing Rune Factory till I get my S2

@metroid02
The Japanese release was more than a few weeks ago. 27 weeks ago was the Japan release of The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria, which is Beyond the Horizon for us.

@BenAV
I'm with ya, I got to the 2nd area and just haven't gotten the urge to go back and play more. For me the watered down crafting system killed my enjoyment.

I'll be playing Yumia this weekend and probably do a few matches in Pokemon Unite when my friend bugs me to.

@mikegamer

to add to what others have said, I started on Cold Steel by finding a Vita copy cheap at GameStop one day. Wasn't till I went to find out when Cold Steel 3 was coming out that I learned it was part of a larger series. Partly played some of Sky 1, neither Crossbell game, and have had no problems keeping up with the story.

have the Earth Dancer Limited Edition of Rune Factory pre-ordered. It's expected release day is March 31st.

Also ready for Pokemon and Metroid. Will be keeping an eye on Yumia, but from the looks of it combat has changed for the worse so will probably wait for it to go on sale before buying it. Fantasy Life is one that I'll also find used or something to get it cheap, play my fill, then give to my older sister

I do love old RPGs and never played these two . Price will determine how quickly I get it. $40 day one for sure, $50 means it'll depend on what else is coming out at the time. Anything higher will be a "wait for sale" thing .

@belmont
they don't have the green checkmark, but they do have the yellow ! so they are compatible.

Which I guess depending on your definition of "compatible" they might not be if you have to go into settings to get a few things working 100%. Think it was 1 that says it defaults to M&KB so need to go into setting set for controller.