Starcakes

I hope that little jape was worth your credibility buddy.

Surprised people are raising such a fuss about the fps, it's a turn based RPG people, not a fighting game.

Please sell well! Pelting Squeenix with money is apparently the only way to get them to understand that RPG's still have an audience.

And I still want my bravely third!

@Krisi We definitely wouldn't have Pokemon without Dragon Quest, remember that training monsters was pioneered by Hand of the heavenly bride.

@Monkeido Anime is literally animation, you could tell a Japanese person that Ducktales is your favorite anime and they wouldn't bat an eye.

@RadioHedgeFund I am surprised you think that way, stylistic choices aside, the original Xenoblade was not any less "anime" Monolith has outright said the game was written as if it was a manga.

Ditto for the FF games, VIII even had gun blades.

And it's weird, cause I completely understand, I am also not into anime at all.

If you are into more sober JRPG's, I do encourage you to maybe try titles like FF Tactics, Valkyrie profile, Ogre Battle and Tactics ogre. They are all pretty old, and a little rough around the edges, but they are all superbly written and surprisingly grim. They are unlike anything you'll find nowadays.

Anyhow, I disagree, but I am not here to change anyone's mind. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

How do I pick the neutral route?

And Marina is YHVH, I should have seen that coming, with all that people worshiping her.

It's about time for my annual Ogre Battle 64 play trough.

@sixrings Give it a rest, that argument is a cheap, hollow and meaningless excuse given by trash publishers like Electronic farts.

Even with increased production values, game development is still significantly cheaper than movie production and also makes more money. Most of the costs are spent on marketing anyways.

Also, companies like EA and Activision are known for their blatant tax evasion and refunds. Not only not giving anything of value back to society, but also actively stealing from tax payers.

Stop spreading misinformation, in case the continued success of Nintendo and Sony's first party offerings somehow weren't clear indicators, games don't need gambling in order to be profitable.

The one thing yearly by the numbers sports titles needed, even less new content and features.

So glad sport games are the one genre in the industry that I have always despised.

@RadioHedgeFund You couldn't tough, Sharla had exclusively slutty armor, she doesn't have a single chest piece that doesn't have cleavage, and the best thing she had on the bottoms front were her og booty shorts, even heavy armor was bikini armor.

Fair enough on the proportions front.

How was it a step back? Legitimately curious, if you are willing to share.

The only major down grade is the pacing, which was perfect on the original, and does falter on XC2. And yeah, the anti-fatalist theme was better realized than the anti- nihilistic themes on the second.

Aside from that? I really can't think of much that can be directly compared and XC2 did significantly improve on several fronts.

The main party is smaller and more focused, so all characters feel like an important part of the story and none of them feel like they lose relevance, like with Sharla who after her recruitment pretty much loses all relevance to the main plot until gadolt shows up for a few secs before dying or Riki who is basically just a mascot...or you know, Fiora, who is abscent for two thirds of the game.

The party also has better interactions because heart to hearts are no longer locked behind grind walls and they can now involve several characters instead of just two.

The antagonists are much better as well, since they actually have depth and motivations. While on the first one Dickson is...well a dick for no real reason, same for zanza who is a megalomaniac and little else. Egil was cool, but he doesn't have enough presence and drops entirely too fast.

World building was also taken up a serious notch. The relation between people, blades and Titans and how it affects their way of life is beatifuly explored from beginning to end, and one of the final reveals ties up everything perfectly.

On the original the setting of the world doesn't really come to a head until the nature of the mechonis and bionis is revealed, and even then, it's never explored how the setting changes how people live and react to different things.

This is more subjective, but characters in XC2 felt like they were more dynamic and prone to growth. In XC2 almost all characters get kicked in the teeth, and those lows usually beget change or reveal something about them, while on the original they were mostly catalysts for resolution and not much else.

It's very obvious, but I disagree that one entry is superior to another. They each have their highs and lows from both a narrative and game play perspective.

Hope I didn't bore you with my long winded trash. I just have a lot to say about these games.

-Sees Kid Icarus entry "oh!" perks up

-Sees it's mostly dedicated to throwing shade at the controls "oh..." Sad noises

@Cheez Torna is an expansion, it is meant to improve.

But without the base campaign, it just isn't a particularly good experience bar game play.

It's too short to flesh out characters, and even the characters that benefit the most out of it (mythra and Jin) fall pretty flat without the main campaign to give the full scope and depth of their characters.

And no, the story telling isn't any better, it's as good as the base game. The difference being that one story is entirely self contained and the other is reliant on another.

Feel good news of the day, they deserve every copy sold.

Monolith soft took my favorite studios list by storm, I always knew they where good (baiten kaitos exists after all) but damn.

Xenoblade 2 does so many things so incredibly well. An absolute master class in world building, a story and characters so well written they rival Nier automata for best written game in at least 5 years (the only blemish being the ending), and a combat system that improves what was previously established as much as it adds to it to create it's own distinct, yet familiar style.

The game is far from perfect, hiding the best blades and the most interesting side quests behind RNG elements is just stupid, it's presentation isn't as good as it could be, most side quests are pretty bland, it's pacing can come to some ugly crawls and it's UI was pretty messy at first.

Despite it's lows, it's highs are just really, really high.

Just a bummer so many people dismiss it for the most trivial reasons, chief among them being it's art direction (which for the record, I don't particularly like either).

I can safely say I eagerly await whatever they got cooking next. Monolith soft is in a constant state of improving.

@RadioHedgeFund That is a very shallow reason to dismiss the game.

I mean, FF XII had Fran, the first Xenoblade had Sharla whose more modest attire consisted of booty shorts and a very low cut top, her design is basically Pyra but less anime.

I'll take anything you serve Platinum, as long as it doesn't involve Activision.

Aside from the Switch side of things, I am really looking forward to see what Babylon's fall is like, I'd gladly take any ports as well... that grand blue game looks pretty rad.

@Tsurii Game n Wario was pretty relaint on the game pad as well.

@Silly_G personally, it's not about the graphics or even the FPS, I just really like playing with a mouse.

In my personal experience, I'd sooner pick the Switch port over the PS4-Xone versions. I played the PS4 version, and while perfectly serviceable, it was pretty lack luster compared to playing it on PC, if I am going to play a version that had to make sacrifices, might as well get portability and gyro while I am at it.

I know I am getting Doom eternal on both PC and Switch at one point or another. The only deal breaker for me is if the base game requires a download. And I know my priorities are terrible, but it's not even because of the possible repercussions on the longevity of the game, I simply can't stand the warning that takes one quarter of the box art.

After reading these news in other outlets, turns out The Royal won't even include the DLC for the vanilla P5 even if you bought them.

I might just skip The royal, PS4 or not.

@frogopus Oddball indeed, but i can't say the idea doesn't excite me a bit IF this hypothetical game featured characters from the spin-offs.

Y'know, Fawful, Dimentio, Rawk hawk etc. I honestly just want any excuse to see more of those guys.

Dying for info on Astral Chain, a single trailer was enough for it to place itself straight at the top of my most anticipated games.

The game page on the E-Shop mentions multiplayer, i hope they will elaborate on this.

Doom Eternal is another that i am really dying to try, tough i am still debating on which system i should get it for. PC is the best way to play it obviously, but it devaulates pretty quickly, so i am tempted by the switch port for portability and Gyro and then get it on PC when it has a significant discount.

Y'know, unless it has one of those hideous "DOWNLOAD REQUIRED" on the box art, i really don't need that in my life.

As for "hopes" SMT V is a gimme, and i am pretty curious as to what game Nintendo saved from the grave.

@Coffee_Drinker Blessed man of culture, i thought i was the only one crossing fingers for 13 Sentinels on a handheld that isn't in a necrotic state.

Going from a relatively unexpanded sub-genre to one that has seen the likes of Rayman Legends and Tropical Freeze raise the bar ever higher is quite a bold move playtonic, i hope you know what you are doing.

@drewber2635 As i said, i understand, Pokemon makes the kind of cash that has the likes of Disney green with envy, i can undertsand why it isn't exactly a franchise willing to risk it.

However, i wasn't asking for risks, just effort. Stuff like a good presentation hardly has bearing on the core of the game, after all.

Dragon Quest is also a franchise not prone to radical change, yet i am still deeply in love with it. A great part of that is because of it's overwhelming charisma.

No offense to any Pokemon fans, but this game's spirit animal is probably whole wheat bread.

@Onion I'd say even us PS4/Switch owners got shafted, Persona and handheld devices is a match made in heaven. After playing literally every other entry in the franchise in a handheld, i can't say i enjoy the thought of P5 somehow being the exception.

Sides, i don't want the family to see me making the MC flirt with a variety of older women, that's just awkward haha.

@BanjoPickles Yeah exclusives exist, doesn't mean they don't suck, and they particularly suck when there is literally no reason for them to be exclusives at all. Atlus isn't beholden to anyone, one would think they'd want as many people as possible to get their hands on their excelent offerings.

Atlus scattered releases make it a major pain for their fans, like myself, to keep up.

To keep up with their major releases on the last few years you need: a PS4, a PS Vita, a 3DS and now a Switch.

And it's not just the barrier between Sony-Nintendo, Atlus is just a stubborn goat for no real reason, Persona 4 Golden and the Muramasa DLC are STILL buried with the Vita despite the demand, Persona 4 Golden sold tons on a still born system like the vita, imagine just how much more people it could have reached on an actually commonly available system like the PS4? but of course Atlus couldn't be bothered to let someone handle the port of a damn PS2 game.

Persona 5 AND SMTV should be on as many systems as possible, period.

I love Atlus, i truly do, but it's a taxing devotion.

I'd say i am disappointed, but that would imply i expected much in the first place.

I understand not wanting to mess with the formula of gold, but i am still amazed at just how unispired and lazy game freak can be.

Stuff as simple as models having actual expresions and better animations for the mon's would go a long way. With how careless the presentation in the game is, you'd think this is a small time studio and not a studio that holds the single highest grossing multi media franchise in the world.

But whatevs, i guess i outgrew the franchise's target audience a while ago, i'll stick to Dragon Quest XI instead.

@Ralizah Yes it was, because we could have gotten Terra instead.

Yeah, yeah like i need any more Persona milkage, what about SMT V Atlus?

Heroland sounds cool, I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled for that one.

Sakuna looks solid, but it honestly just makes me wish vanillaware would finally release the extra Muramasa content from its Vita shaped coffin.

@Tao of course, there is also the option of letting fans do the work for you.

Worked wonders for Capcom and Sega after all.

@Tao isn't that the issue? They are offering a completely free alternatives to the products Nintendo is trying to sell.

Another Metroid 2 remake comes to mind, which was good enough to give the actual official remake a run for it's money.

Ditto with Pokemon, they probably don't want fans attempting wild and new creative ideas because then people are either gonna start demanding new things from game freak or will just give them and their by the numbers sequels the cold shoulder.

Just to finally drive the point home, I absolutely adore brutal Doom, breathes completely new life to a classic I already loved anyways. If they sold the original Doom duology on PS4/Switch etc, I would not even entertain the thought of getting it because it wouldn't be brutal Doom, and it's worth noting, if I had never played brutal Doom, I would have bought them in a heartbeat.

It sucks, but I think it makes sense from the perspective of the companies peddling their software.

@Not_Soos Their dip in quality only really showed after the jump from the 64, everything between that and the SNES was mostly great.

Killer instinct, Perfect Dark, Conker's bad fur day, Rare had no shortage of new ideas and they were an absolute boon on 64 owners everywhere.

The only rare games from that time period I'd acuse of questionable design are Banjo tooie and Donkey Kong 64, both of them confusing more content for better content.

"bee back"? Isn't the antagonist named Capital Bee?

@Ardisan You can't play drawings, for starters.

Oh man, Dark world hype.

I need this thing.

Geez AC fans, it's only been a few months.

Try to imagine how a SMT fan feels, or a Bayonetta fan...or a Metroid fan.

Or a combination of the three... * sob *

Between the compromises on a technical level and the probably elevated price on a 5 year old game, I am not sure it's worth all the hassle.

And to be perfectly honest, I wasn't exactly satisfied by its performance on PS4, I can't imagine how the Switch would fare.

Here's hoping for the best tough.

I've been looking forward to this. Time for another addition to my "ascended flash games" collection, hollow knight was getting a bit lonely.

@NIN10DOXD Maybe in the PS2/GameCube era, but between Ducktales, Turtles in time and the Aladdin game there's no room for no square bottoms.

Darkwing Duck, Chip n Dale rescue rangers, Castle of Illusion, Bucky O'Hare... I'll have you know licenced games used to be quite good!

-Hipster beard (that doesn't even match his hair)
-Booty shorts
-Are those air Jordans?

I am ready to nominate this dude for worst champion design to date.

@Aerona There were plans for a continuation of Lament of Innocence, but it never came to be, so we were left with a cliff hanger.

Basically, we never got to see the ascent of Dracula as we came to know him. Lament of Innocence sets the stage, but then the time line skips straight to Trevor Belmont, were Dracula is already the bane of mankind.

The tale of Dracula is missing both it's origin and climax, go figure.

The 1999 Castlevania is the half life 3 of the franchise. It's almost criminal we never actually got to see the end of the series antagonist not to mention the plot thread of the Belmont's disappearance never got explained.

On the other hand, I am not sure I trust Iga. The man is responsible for tons of good decisions in the series, but he is also responsible for some pretty crummy ones like the terrible tone shift in Dawn of sorrow and freaking kokoro Belmont.

It also rubs me the wrong way how he seems to take credit for the franchise, reminds me of Inafune.

Let's see how does Bloodstained pans out first.

Repede, Amateratsu, Sif even D-dog. It's honestly so generic it's reminiscent of any canine companion that ever held any sort of equipment in it's mouth, maybe because that seems to be it's only shtick...

@Itzdmo Honestly I could understand your posture (understand, not agree) but then you added that last bit about "rubbing elbows with AAA" give me a break.

Literally the only difference between an indie game and a "AAA" game is the size of the wallet involved, and AAA games are just as likely, who am I kidding? Are far more likely to fall into the traps of lazy design because they mostly rely on the sheer brute force of their economic power, how do you justify AAA gems such as Fallout 76, Anthem, or any yearly release snore fest like Far cry? Games more concerned with shoving themselves down the collective public throat than actually being any sort of fun, or having any kind of interesting design.

And as the recent remake galore tells us (Crash, Spyro, Medevil etc.) They are definitely not above nostalgia pandering.

That is the Crux of AAA games, they rely on either the size of their wallets or the perpetually turning wheels of popularity ala CoD, FIFA or even Pokemon.

Actual creative design is a proverbial miracle and only exists to be exploited until any joy it could bring is destroyed cough dead space cough Resident evil 4 cough

Indies for better or worse actually need to get noticed, since they can't afford to brute Force their way to collective awareness nor can they get constant shilling from games media (at least, not until they do get noticed).

Pixel art is fine, graphics are literally the lowest rung in the game totem. Minecraft is the best selling game ever and it looks like somebody barfed on an Ikea warehouse. And as for pixel art, undertale looks like crap and it took a gigantic piss on The phantom pain.

Stop being a clueless and needlessly resentful and go back to playing FIFA or whatever it is that floats your boat.

The subtitle bothers me more than it has any right to. This title was obviously shooting for Order of Ecclesia, Symphony of night is not the only game in the Castlevania franchise!

Dumb gripe aside, I'll pick it up, if only because I am starved for 'vania content even if it's ironically dropping on the same month as Bloodstained.