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Post by Star Platinum on Jul 9, 2024 13:41:31 GMT
There's definitely something to be said to the Ooga-Booga approach to cavemen that Chrono Trigger took. Agreed, I think chrono trigger handled the prehistoric period far better. The cave men could communicate albeit with broken English, and they had the reptiloids for any sizable exposition that was needed. While I admit, I’m a little fuzzy on the plot of Pogo’s chapter, the final boss of it was able to glean the important details relevant to the overarching plot. Still, I gotta finish the rest of the game to figure out what that’s all about. I’ve got to admit, these graphics are really not helping me be patient for the Dragon Quest III remake.
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Post by bethhigdon on Jul 9, 2024 15:33:49 GMT
There's definitely something to be said to the Ooga-Booga approach to cavemen that Chrono Trigger took. Agreed, I think chrono trigger handled the prehistoric period far better. The cave men could communicate albeit with broken English, and they had the reptiloids for any sizable exposition that was needed. While I admit, I’m a little fuzzy on the plot of Pogo’s chapter, the final boss of it was able to glean the important details relevant to the overarching plot. Still, I gotta finish the rest of the game to figure out what that’s all about. I’ve got to admit, these graphics are really not helping me be patient for the Dragon Quest III remake. I'm excited for the entire The Erdrick Trilogy. So I'll probably wait to pick up 3 after 1&2 are re-released.
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Post by Star Platinum on Jul 9, 2024 16:03:04 GMT
Agreed, I think chrono trigger handled the prehistoric period far better. The cave men could communicate albeit with broken English, and they had the reptiloids for any sizable exposition that was needed. While I admit, I’m a little fuzzy on the plot of Pogo’s chapter, the final boss of it was able to glean the important details relevant to the overarching plot. Still, I gotta finish the rest of the game to figure out what that’s all about. I’ve got to admit, these graphics are really not helping me be patient for the Dragon Quest III remake. I'm excited for the entire The Erdrick Trilogy. So I'll probably wait to pick up 3 after 1&2 are re-released. I’m looking forward to 3 the most. I’m on the fence about 1 and 2. They’re going to look amazing, but I already have the switch versions of them and they’re a little rough around the edges. Really, it’s the price point they offer for them that will make or break it for me.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Jul 10, 2024 3:44:22 GMT
Also worth noting/reminding that 3-2-1 is the "chronological" order for the Erdrick trilogy, even if there really isn't *that* much linking the games together.
And strong agree on being most excited for DQ3. It's kind of hard to get too excited for the first too games, because while fun, DQ1 is super short, and DQ2 is... solid for it's time, but probably the weakest (mainline) entry in the whole series. DQ3, on the other hand, is one of those rare games that makes you sit up in your seat and think, "Wait, how did they manage to get a game like this to run on the NES?"
DQ4 is much the same. And if I'm being honest, I'd much rather see the Zenithian Trilogy remade instead. Maybe we can hope for that after the Erdrick games are out? Can't say I'm very confident in that happening, given how Square-Enix once intended to remake all of the classic Final Fantasy games but gave up after FF4.
Anyway, all this talk of HD-2D games reminds me that I really need to give that Star Ocean 2 remake a play, too.
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Post by Star Platinum on Jul 10, 2024 4:57:21 GMT
I’ve been bouncing around a bunch of different games lately, mostly dependant on my mood and what Big Finish I’ve been listening to.
Hades
This one has been a lot of fun. I haven’t enjoyed a Rougelike this much since Binding of Isaac rebirth came out. I’ve been listening to the First Doctor Big Finish stories with this one.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
This one is excellent. TTYD has always been the pinnacle of the Paper Mario franchise and it isn’t hard to see why. This game is exceptionally well written. It’s game play is smooth, the art style is gorgeous, and the writing is top notch. I’ve been listening to the Second Doctor with this game.
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
A remake of the 3rd Fire Emblem game. The plot is just picking up, but things are moving pretty slowly as I don’t get to play often. Story is fairly light, but I’m curious to see how Marth’s second game plays out. Pairs very nicely with the Third Doctor and Liz.
Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
This one had a very nice glow up with it’s remake. The game plays so much better when not confined to the tiny game boy screen. Huge quality of like improvements elevate a very good Gameboy game to a fantastic switch game. I’ve been going through the Doctor’s catalog with this one.
Zelda: Ocarina of time.
What’s there to be said that hasn’t been said about this game? Utterly perfect. My version of gaming comfort food, and the perfect companion for Fifth a Doctor Audios.
There are a few more, but these are the ones I’ve spent the most time with recently.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 13, 2024 22:57:52 GMT
After two years of it sitting on my laptop unplayed, I finally went back to Star Wars Battlefront II and finished the campaign. It’s pretty much what you’d expect of a Star Wars game and that’s about it really.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Jul 14, 2024 15:59:14 GMT
After two years of it sitting on my laptop unplayed, I finally went back to Star Wars Battlefront II and finished the campaign. It’s pretty much what you’d expect of a Star Wars game and that’s about it really. The new one or the old one? I've not really given either a chance: new one bored me pretty quickly, but I keep meaning to at least finish the campaign -- surely the story can't be any worse than Squadrons; the old one, I've heard, has a bunch of really cool mods I'd like to try someday.
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Post by tuigirl on Jul 14, 2024 19:53:25 GMT
After all the upheaval in the world, I was looking for something to take my mind off things and which I could play while laying save and cozy on my couch with a blanket.
What better than some Lovecraftian HORROR?
Just started on Still wakes the Deep.
This is a walking simulator (with platforming elements, which I dislike, but will grudgingly power through) horror game similar to A Machine for Pigs (made by the same people). I admit I never made it through the other Amnesia games (I cannot really handle them mentally) but I liked A Machine for Pigs, despite the mixed reviews. Still wakes the Deep also features AMAZING voice acting and a really great line-up of voice talents. They even got Neve McIntosh (Vastra)! Plus, the game plays out on a Scottish oil rig, so everyone is talking in an amazing Scottish accent. I LOVE the Scottish accent.
Seriously, this is some amazing voice acting for a computer game!
So what is this about? Scottish oil rig in the North Sea, like the Dwarves in Lord of the Rings, they drilled too deep and awakened something ancient and evil. Awesome looking game, you really feel the misery of working on an understaffed / underfunded oil rig, everything is falling to bits; you feel the claustrophobia and the terror and have to fear what lurks in the dark (and bring your trusty lamp). There are also some personal issues the characters are going through, so the characters feel like real people.
The creepy atmosphere is top notch.
Plus, this plays well on my Steam Deck.
However, this is a short game and the reviews say it is around 6 hours, so this will just be an interlude to playing Octopath Traveller II (which is more than 60 hour playtime).
Recommended.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 14, 2024 22:49:32 GMT
After two years of it sitting on my laptop unplayed, I finally went back to Star Wars Battlefront II and finished the campaign. It’s pretty much what you’d expect of a Star Wars game and that’s about it really. The new one or the old one? I've not really given either a chance: new one bored me pretty quickly, but I keep meaning to at least finish the campaign -- surely the story can't be any worse than Squadrons; the old one, I've heard, has a bunch of really cool mods I'd like to try someday. The one from 2017, if that’s still considered new. If you commit to it, the campaign can be done in couple of hours. It’s fine for what it is, but it’s obvious the main focus was multiplayer. I did try some multi but it seems quite slimly populated and as all players are pretty experienced it’s quite easy to get trapped in a loop of spawn, run to where the action is, die instantly. I liked the starfighter mode the best as it doesn’t have that run section each spawn, so much less annoying to be shot down repeatedly.
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Post by tuigirl on Jul 22, 2024 9:51:03 GMT
I fired up Grim Dawn again.
This is my favorite ARPG and I have been playing it since the Early Access (when only the starter region was active). I think this might be the game where I have accumulated the most hours (more than 300h by now!). I just love the style, the setting, the enormous variety of character builds and that the developers are still very active and there are new things to discover all the time.
There is even a new DLC coming out soon in 2024!
By now, I have created 8 characters. I have seen that it also runs on the Steam Deck, so I thought I download it to my Deck and try it out. Sadly, right away, I ran into the annoying and common Steam Cloud bug. For some reason, the Steam Cloud does not sync to the Deck, so all my created characters from earlier are not available. I tried for several hours to try to fix this, but I just cannot get it to load. Oh well. Other ARPGs force you to create a new character every season. So I just start a new character.
We will see if I am motivated enough to built up this character for the upcoming expansion.
Besides the cloud issue, I agree, the game plays well on the deck, better than I have anticipated.
This game is a breath of fresh air, since this is not placed into "Generic Fantasy Setting 3987", featuring elves, orcs and wizards. No, it plays out after the world has ended and hordes of demons and Lovecraftian horrors have overrun the world, leaving only a few human survivors to fend for themselves.
I very much recommend this game to everyone who is into dystopian horror settings, full of darkness and despair, with a touch of Lovecraftian horror. And it is just a very well crafted ARPG with lots of variety.
Plus, it lets me play summoners.
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Post by bethhigdon on Jul 31, 2024 18:27:24 GMT
I'm still slowly making my way through Pokemon Heartgold. This is my first time trying to seriously play through a complete Pokemon game (I grew up on Digimon) and I'm finally starting to get the hang of the mechanics. Everyone acts like Pokemon is supposed to be an easy RPG compared to most, but given the shear amount of stuff that you have to remember I'm finding it more complex then some old Final Fantasys.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Aug 2, 2024 4:25:07 GMT
Started playing the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. It's really good! I actually did own a Gamecube as a kid, but it was the subsequent generation, so a lot of the "big" games were too rare for me to ever get ahold of (iirc I bought the thing w/ all accessories for around $30 USD, or the equivalent price of a single three-episode Big a finish boxset), so I just sort of vaguely had them in mind for, "If I ever happen to find a copy, I should pick it up." Only for most of those games, that never happened. Never got to Mario Sunshine or Paper Mario or Super Sluggers or Symohonia or the N64 Zeldas -- at least on that old Gamecube. An old Gamecube that, I'm pretty sure, is still in working order! Or at least it was last winter, when I played a bit of that one FFX-inspired Lord of the Rings RPG (which looks surprisingly good upscaled to a 4K television screen, by the way). Anyway, I'm pretty hot and cold on the Paper Mario series overall, so I was a bit hesitant about this one. I was pretty lukewarm on the N64 game, did not like the Wii or 3DS ones at all, missed out on Color Splash, and adored Origami King. But, nah, TTYD is really fun -- though, man, the combat system is a bit too simple and slow-paced for my tastes. Speaking of which: Everyone acts like Pokemon is supposed to be an easy RPG compared to most, but given the shear amount of stuff that you have to remember I'm finding it more complex then some old Final Fantasys. That's pretty much been my experience with the series, too. I think that reputation for "simplicity" has more to do with how limited your mid-combat options are, as you don't really have a big party of characters with dozens of different abilities each to juggle. That, and the fact that the narrative framing the adventures are always extremely barebones, presumably to keep things accessible to very young players. Personally, I could never get into the games as a result: if I'm gonna really want to sink my teeth into a complicated combat system, I'm gonna want some equally compelling narrative context to go with it, no matter what. So for that particular style of game I've always gravitated a bit more towards MegaTen and Dragon Quest.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Aug 2, 2024 4:43:33 GMT
Oh, also, I don't remember if anyone else here was as fond of Wildermyth as tuigirl and I were, but the console port finally got a release date -- October 22! -- so if any of y'all were interested in that shiny little gem of a game but for whatever reason weren't able or willing to play the PC version, how's your chance! I suspect I'll probably wind up picking up another copy for the Switch, myself.
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Post by eric009 on Aug 2, 2024 14:57:27 GMT
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Post by fitzoliverj on Aug 2, 2024 17:57:10 GMT
The "Lower Decks" game and "Doctor Who Lost in Time". Boimler, Mariner and River Song are trapped on Skaro; the Doctor and a Dalek have found their way onto the Cerritos holodeck. Meanwhile, I'm clicking. Clicking. Lotta clicking.
I'm not saying it's *not* enjoyable, but I'm not altogether sure I see the point of games designed in this manner, and it certainly didn't deserve a big lead-up.
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Kestrel
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,693
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Post by Kestrel on Aug 2, 2024 18:39:01 GMT
The "Lower Decks" game and "Doctor Who Lost in Time". Boimler, Mariner and River Song are trapped on Skaro; the Doctor and a Dalek have found their way onto the Cerritos holodeck. Meanwhile, I'm clicking. Clicking. Lotta clicking. I'm not saying it's *not* enjoyable, but I'm not altogether sure I see the point of games designed in this manner, and it certainly didn't deserve a big lead-up. I think the original appeal was to just give folks something mindless they could use to kill time in 2-3 minute increments while waiting for a bus or something, but eventually that kind of morphed into... whatever appeal it is that keeps some folks sitting at a slot machine for hours-on-end dumping money in one coin at a time just to watch a few cylinders spin around. It certainly didn't deserve the lead-up, nor did it warrant being used as a gauge to judge, well, anything about the state of either franchise -- it's just a cheap, easy bit of cross-promotional marketing. Nothing more than a gimmick.
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Post by bethhigdon on Aug 2, 2024 19:06:58 GMT
The "Lower Decks" game and "Doctor Who Lost in Time". Boimler, Mariner and River Song are trapped on Skaro; the Doctor and a Dalek have found their way onto the Cerritos holodeck. Meanwhile, I'm clicking. Clicking. Lotta clicking. I'm not saying it's *not* enjoyable, but I'm not altogether sure I see the point of games designed in this manner, and it certainly didn't deserve a big lead-up. I think the original appeal was to just give folks something mindless they could use to kill time in 2-3 minute increments while waiting for a bus or something, but eventually that kind of morphed into... whatever appeal it is that keeps some folks sitting at a slot machine for hours-on-end dumping money in one coin at a time just to watch a few cylinders spin around. It certainly didn't deserve the lead-up, nor did it warrant being used as a gauge to judge, well, anything about the state of either franchise -- it's just a cheap, easy bit of cross-promotional marketing. Nothing more than a gimmick. I said it my review that Lost in Time isn't a game, it's a 'pay to not play' scam.
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Post by fitzoliverj on Aug 3, 2024 15:59:21 GMT
The "Lower Decks" game and "Doctor Who Lost in Time". I think the original appeal was to just give folks something mindless they could use to kill time in 2-3 minute increments while waiting for a bus or something, but eventually that kind of morphed into... whatever appeal it is that keeps some folks sitting at a slot machine for hours-on-end dumping money in one coin at a time just to watch a few cylinders spin around. Yes, it does feel rather like that.
Lost in Time isn't a game, it's a 'pay to not play' scam.
Thing is, there's nothing about this game that grabs me enough to spend any money. "Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow", which was a 'set a character to do something then come back when they're finished game' did actually get money out of me, but neither of these current ones give me much sense of achievement or desire to acquire characters etc
Also, the Daleks are pretty complacent. Haven't exterminated anybody. Not even Troi after she tried to psychoanalyse it and asked it why it was so angry (whcih was pretty funny, granted)
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Post by sherlock on Aug 4, 2024 18:35:59 GMT
Finished Breath of the Wild (or at least declared myself finished, given open world games with collectibles in the hundreds really only end when you decide they do). I understand why this is so lavished with praise; it’s taken the Zelda elements and mixed them up with a genuinely stunning world.
Don’t think I’ll rush for the sequel for a bit as may burnout on this style of gameplay if I do, so may go back to my DS games for a bit or see if any other Switch games take my fancy.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Aug 5, 2024 20:20:42 GMT
New trailer/preview for Echoes of Wisdom just dropped, and, personally, I'm thinking the game looks spectacular. Though I am a bit... lukewarm on how Zelda, apparently, doesn't have any means to directly attack enemies. Kinda feels like a design choice resulting from some good ol' fashioned misogyny, that, only a shade or two less eyebrow-raising than the that infamous peach game that weaponized her emotions. And, frankly, it just won't feel like a proper Zelda game if you can't go around chopping down all of the grass that you see. Finished Breath of the Wild (or at least declared myself finished, given open world games with collectibles in the hundreds really only end when you decide they do). I understand why this is so lavished with praise; it’s taken the Zelda elements and mixed them up with a genuinely stunning world. Don’t think I’ll rush for the sequel for a bit as may burnout on this style of gameplay if I do, so may go back to my DS games for a bit or see if any other Switch games take my fancy. TotK gameplay is very different in feel -- a more dense world with a lot more freedom with traversal (and traversal can be much, much faster) but all of the sidequests and (optional) companions make the world feel a lot less lonely... but the burnout thing is very real just for the fact that it reuses so much of the same world (and the new areas they did add are severely underbaked).
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