mcdreamer

I enjoyed both, but there was way too much fluff in Three Houses. If you're a longer time fan of the series, Engage easily takes the crown. 3H is still good though.

I've bought all of these games over the last three years and finally bit the bullet and started Sky FC on Steam Deck last May. I've played a few other games in between, but I'm now on Azure. I can't see many other games getting a much of a look in now until I beat Reverie.

In terms of where to start, I initially tried with Cold Steel III back in 2020, followed by Cold Steel I a few months later and then Zero when it initially came to Switch. Played 5-10 hours of each. I really hate to say it, as I was looking for reasons to play what was most convenient first (as I initially had nowhere to play Sky before I got the Steam Deck), but I'm really glad that I started with FC and am playing in order.

Zero certainly stands alone, though certain moments won't hit as hard without having played Sky. Azure starts off with something which was a nice and unexpected surprise for me, again because of Sky. I can't yet speak to the rest of that game. When I get to Cold Steel again, I'll probably start from scratch as I did with Zero.

I don't believe there should be any gatekeeping around where to start, and I think Zero, Cold Steel I or even III are probably fine. Especially as some games provide backstory and context in the menus. However, having resisted it for a long time, I do think it's best to start with Sky if you can.

And, whilst these are slightly older games, there are actually quite a lot of nice "modern" conveniences which mean they're not a slog to play. I even love how the games look (though I've been gaming since the 80s, so to me none of these games are even that old ). So, don't let the age put you off Sky either.

It's mildly terrifying to think this game is already five years old... Great game though!

I really want to get these games but with BG3 and AC6 I'm not sure when I'd get to them.

I have the collection but not the Plus version. It's missing a few things for me: the Master System games, the MJ music and the ability to play vanilla Sonic 3. I never had 3&K growing up so the original release of 3 is the classic for me. It would have been cool if you could access both.

@LikelySatan I've been thinking about getting it up and running on my Steam Deck but can also play on my Mac. In fact, I still have the original CDs for the PC version (and Team Arena)! Would just love to see what they would add in a remaster given how well the Doom, Quake and now Quake 2 updates have been done.

@SalvorHardin Yeah, would be really interesting to see what they do with it if 3 gets the remaster treatment!

Looks great. Quake 3 was always my favourite. I wonder whether they’ll eventually give that the same treatment.

I finished FF16 this week. In the end I quite liked it. The cast of characters is great, the story and world was very Final Fantasy. And whilst a bit of a change, the combat was fun, if not a bit less expansive that I'd have liked. A solid 7/10 game.

Now I'm spending most of my time on Trails in the Sky FC. Just started chapter 3. Also continuing Act 2 of the Diablo 4 campaign. Contemplating taking something off the backlog too. Maybe Ryza 1 or Tokyo Xanadu eX+.

Mine have arrived safely. My first amiibo. Not sure yet whether I'm going to leave them in the box or take them out to stand alongside my X3 special edition...

Still on the fence about Marie. I was just about to buy it but then stepped back at the last moment. I still have Sophie 2 and Ryza to play, so really I should get into one of those first. It's another series that I'm really interested in but have never quite played enough to work out whether I really like it yet.

It's more FF16 for me. Coming up on 50% completion according the PS5 dashboard. Enjoying the game and really interested to see where the story goes. Ready for it to ramp up another notch now but I'm pretty sure current events are leading to that.

My copy of Reverie arrived but Sky FC is my other main game right now. Will probably have a few matches of SF6 too. Sadly Diablo 4 has taken a bit of a back seat but looking forward to returning to it post FF16. I also really want to finally play the Xenosaga trilogy following Future Redeemed. Those are ready to go on my Steam Deck.

I too also have hopes this means there's going to be backwards compatibility, though you have to do a lot of reading between the lines to see this as a potential confirmation.

Never played a Pikmin game before. Very tempted to start with these two now though!

Chrono Trigger and Xenoblade X would both be great. Along with Metroid Prime 2/3/4 and a new 2D or 3D Mario of some kind even better!

Things really are quite exciting this time around as a lot of franchises have had recent releases, and we don't know much generally, so it's all to play for. Going in with realistic expectations but hoping for a nice surprise or two.

I really have no idea what to expect from this one! We've had a lot of big releases of late for most of the big Nintendo franchises so this feels like a bit of an open book. I'd love to see more Metroid, but of course the big one we've not heard from in ages is Mario. Could it be his time again?

@Cordyceps After years of dithering and playing the first hours of various entry points to Trails, I'm now playing through Sky FC. I'm really loving it, but this is most definitely a years long commitment that I'm quite daunted by!

@Cordyceps I'm going to push through FF16 as the demo was just about passable, but I'm sad with what the series has become. Fortunately we do at least now have the fantastic pixel remasters to play. I'd highly recommend Xenoblade. It's different in many ways to FF. The combat is probably most like FF12, but it's really it's own thing. It's also quite a bit more colourful. Great story though. Well worth starting with the original entry.

Managed to secure my pre-order with My Nintendo too thanks to this! First amiibo I've ever purchased but I can't pass up anything Xenoblade related.

I've given up on Tears for now. Made it about 15 hours in but it's just not grabbing my attention. I will go back one day but it's likely to be several months at least. I went through the exact same arc with BotW and did end up finishing it in the end.

So it's mostly SF6, Diablo IV on Xbox and PS5. Both amazing games. On Switch I put the Live A Live cart back in. I think it might be time to finally play it. Really looking for a high quality turn based RPG.

Definite 8/10 for me. A very good game, but like BOTW I feel there's far too much hype around it. I do think TOTK improves on nearly everything from BOTW even after my fairly limited progress out in Hyrule. For example, the tutorial area is considerably better than the Great Plateau.

I started TOTK last night. I was unsure whether I was going to play it at all, but I've been pleasantly surprised. Still in the starting area but I feel like overall this is going to exceed BOTW in almost every way.

In fact, BOTW was the first Zelda game I ever played. Going back to the older games, I could see something was there, but none felt particularly special. Whilst I never thought BOTW was the best game I've ever played, the earlier Zelda games started to dull my memory of it. This is why I didn't really get caught up in the hype for TOTK and pretty much assumed I wouldn't play it.

I think in the end this has been a good thing for me. As my expectations weren't particularly high, after a few hours I've come away impressed. In fact, even after that first session I'm already waiting to dive back in later and am so glad I got the game. Next big game for me is FF16 so I've got plenty of time to enjoy it!

I just finished Future Redeemed last night. I'm a little annoyed I was partially spoiled on the story as some of the final sequence would have come as a huge surprise otherwise. That being said, I really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. It really delivered in the story department. I really enjoyed base 3, and in many ways it's the best game in the series, but the story was perhaps the one I found the least satisfying. However, FR really recasts that and more than filled that gap. Plus, I loved playing as Rex again. Especially with 3's combat system.

I'll finish off the Horizon FW DLC this weekend, and then I'm not sure what's next. I'm tempted by Advance Wars but I would like to go back to Forspoken, RE7 and Trails In The Sky...

Future Redeemed of course. Not massively far in yet but hoping to sink a ridiculous amount of time into it today. Besides that I'm playing Trails In The Sky SC on Vita.

This is very true. Torna was simply amazing. Actually, it's how I started out properly with Xenoblade. I played it before getting very far in the main campaign of 2 (and 1). That's a slightly odd way to go about it but its size and relative simplicity really helped me really get in 2 once I went back.

Future Connected was also great. Whilst I was initially expecting something on par with Torna, and was a bit disappointed that it wasn't quite that, on reflection I don't think it was really trying to be.

Future Redeemed feels like it should be more Torna sized than FC sized. I can't wait to dive in. I'm just so delighted that both Shulk and Rex are making an appearance. I would have been very disappointed if they weren't.

(I woke up early this morning hoping to play a bit but here in the UK it actually unlocks at 2AM tomorrow morning. Another day to wait!)

There is a kind of a single piano riff which sounds vaguely like it could have come from Persona 4, but otherwise this is peak Xenoblade.

In fact, watching the trailer yesterday I was thinking they've gone for a Torna like vibe again. Makes sense as both are big expansions.

Finished up Engage's Fell Xenologue earlier in the week. Really enjoyed going back into the game and liked what they did with the story. I still have two Divine Paralogues to complete, which I may get to when I need to scratch the FE itch.

Besides that I've been in the world of RE4 Remake.

If true I would definitely pick this up. I played P3P as at the time I didn't own a PS3. I do now have one but I still haven't really given FES a proper go. I wonder if this remake will be the ultimate version, including both full control of party members and FES. You'd like to think so. Whatever it ends up being, I would buy it day one!

It's going to be RE4 Remake and not much else for me. I'm also browsing the 3DS and Wii U eShops for the final time. I think I have almost everything I want. Just need to decide if any of the remaining things I'm half interested in are really worth buying or not. Especially true for games where the physical price is already way out of reach.

As much as I want to get into these games, Ryza and Sophie 2 are probably destined to remain forever on my backlog.

I cannot wait for this. I'm surprised but pleased it's arriving so soon. I still need to go back and do the latest set of divine paralogues too, so those will serve as a great warmup. Honestly after this and Metroid Prime I've felt very flat on what to play next (much like after Elden Ring and Horizon last year).

I finished Metroid Prime this week and still working out what I want to play next. I don't want to get into anything big before RE4 comes out in a couple of weeks, so finishing off Kirby and the Forgotten Land and replaying the start of Dread. I love how responsive and the the controls are in Dread. I think the game still edges out over Prime for me.

@John_Deacon Sounds like a good strategy. I struggle with the first part where you're supposed to hit from underneath and slow him down. In the next part it's the timing of the spin jump behind him when he gets close I can't nail. I've been ruined by the tighter controls of Dread!

Off topic: Whenever there's an article like this I never understand why people always feel the need to decry the Switch Online service. Especially now it's really pretty good value - a lot of old games available. It's also fine not to want to pay for it, without passing comment.

On topic: I've not finished this game. I bought the GBA cart last year and I'm currently stuck on Nightmare. That thing is, well, a nightmare! Once I've finished Zero Mission I will definitely go back and blast on. Was really enjoying it until I got stuck.

More Metroid Prime for me. I think I now have the final suit and am closing in on the end of the game. Seems like I have something of a hunt on my hands before I can get there however.

Playing Prime has also made me jump back into Dread. That game is so good. The movement is so unbelievably fluid and the atmosphere and soundtrack is great. As much as I'm enjoying my first playthough of Prime, I think 2D Metroid is where it's at for me.

I bought the Fusion GBA cartridge last year and I'm currently stuck at the junkyard boss. That thing feels impossible to beat. I'm just near the end of Zero Mission, so once that's done I'll go back and hopefully push through to the end of Fusion.

Mostly continuing on with Metroid Prime. By glancing at a guide I think I'm probably about halfway through now. Really enjoying it so far.

Also starting to think about making sure I have everything I want before the eShop shutdowns. On Wii U I think it's only Wind Waker HD I want. I'm not a huge Zelda fan - the only game I enjoyed was BoTW - but this one does seem to be very well loved. When I picked up the Wii U (for Xenoblade X) I nearly bought a physical copy of WW. Was going for £20 new at the time but now I see the prices have shot up. So, I will need to make a call on that digital purchase soon.

I finished Fire Emblem Engage last night. What a brilliant game. I loved the return to the more classic format, the Engage system, the map design and the music. Easily better than Three Houses for me (which I also liked). Up there with Fates/Shadows Of Valentia. The story is pretty predictable and verbose at times, though even that was OK. I still have a few Paralogues and one Divine Prologue to play, which I might dig into when the story expansion comes out.

As for what's next, well it's Metroid Prime. It's come out at pretty much the perfect time for me. I've never played it before and a few hours in I'm very impressed with how they translated Metroid into 3D. This is old news but now I've seen it myself I can really believe it. I also have the new Xenoblade 3 DLC waiting too but I may also save that as a warm up for the upcoming story expansion. I still have Live A Live waiting too.

I'd really like to continue Crisis Core on PS5 and start Star Ocean The Divine Force on Series X but it seems those consoles are fated to remain in sleep mode for a little while longer.

I went for the Samus Returns suit, though it was a close one between that and the Dread suit.

@Timbledon As always for this type of game this was the first thing I looked for. At first I couldn't find it, but it is there in the settings. In the controller options you need to scroll the right hand list down and you'll find the option. I was relieved!

I'll be flipping between Metroid Prime and FE Engage. Two huge drops on the same day with the Direct! I've only played the Camilla DLC mission so far so have the other two left to go. I think I've got around 6 chapters left of the main story. I normally like to rush through games but really enjoying taking my time with this one.

As for Metroid Prime, this is my first time playing it. I really love how they translated the 2D formula into 3D. I was always a bit sceptical about it, even though I knew people love the game, and I'm so glad to be wrong. It also looks amazing. They've done a great job with this remaster (even remake?).

Amazing! I still can’t believe this. Already downloaded ready to play properly tomorrow. At least I confirmed you can invert the Y axis for aim so that’s good. I’ve been absolutely loving Engage, and of course that has the next set of DLC now too, but I will have to take a break for an evening now!

All about Fire Emblem Engage for me. I think I'm approaching the half way point now. Really enjoying how streamlined it feels compared to Three Houses. I really enjoyed 3H but the monastery sections felt like a total drag. The Somniel by comparison feels light and unobtrusive. It's also really fun seeing the older character appear. If I keep going at my current rate I might be nearing the end by next weekend.

I'm also trying to resist picking up the Dead Space remake. I suspect I will cave at some point but I should really finish FE first.

Brilliant to see. Absolutely loving the game so far. I enjoyed Three Houses but felt like there was too much fluff when it came to the monastery sections, especially towards the start of the game. Engage feels like a welcome return to how the 3DS entries were structured and it's really fun to see characters from those games (and more) returning via the various ring systems.

Picked up Fire Emblem Engage last night. Looking forward to diving into it today!

I played P5R, P3P and P4G back to back in the second half of 2020 having wanted to for such a long time. I think you can probably play them in any order if you’re ok with older games (as the article says).

5 and 3 are tied when it comes to my favourite. 5 is obviously a lot more modern with more variety in gameplay but the characters, setting and story of 3 are great. The fact you don’t have to walk around during the visual novel sections also streamlines it quite a bit.

I struggled a bit more with 4 towards the end, despite enjoying it almost as much as the others. In fact I didn’t play the final section beyond the standard endings and just watched the true ending and final hours on YouTube. Probably a result of playing all the games back to back.

It’s really hard to go wrong with the series though. They are absolutely brilliant games and I can’t wait for Persona 6!

Also, whilst it’s a very different sort of game, if you enjoy Persona’s combat then it’s definitely worth checking out SMT V.

Merry Christmas to all! And happy gaming! Hope you all have some nice new titles to unwrap.

It was always weird that these weren't on the Switch from the start. In the end I bought FFVI on the Vita, though I'd probably prefer to play these versions.

So excited about this. Possibly my most anticipated game for next year, and that's even after TGA announcements!

Mostly been Scarlet and Bayonetta 2 this last week. Scarlet has left me more conflicted than I’ve ever been about a game. Technically it’s a mess and clearly unfinished in places (what happened to the inside of shops for example?), but it’s a great evolution for the series. I will finish it but I’m not going to rush through like I normally do.

Bayonetta 2 on the other hand is a delight. Just got to the final chapter so looking forward to finishing that up today. Will go back to the first game next.

Finished Bayonetta 3 last weekend and absolutely loved it. About half way through Bayonnetta 2 now and enjoying it just as much.

I started Pokemon Scarlett this morning, and the disappointment kicked in almost right away. I could forgive performance issues for Pokemon, and certainly did in Acres, but this is a whole new level of bad. It's unbelievable how janky it is. However, I will likely press on and enjoy the game overall. It boggles the mind that they can't produce a better product.

I did also start Sonic Frontiers on PS5 this week, and unlike Pokemon, I've found it both to run much better than people said and be pretty enjoyable so far.