Finished Borderlands 3. Still have quite a few side quests left, but have played it enough. Was thinking about Platinum previously, but don’t want to play 20-30 more hours just for trophies. Maybe if it had a really good narrative, which it doesn’t.
Started Greedfall. It’s a AA-ish RPG by Spider. The world building is interesting, and story and quests aren’t bad. There are different factions and how you do the quest you can improve or worsen your relations with them. You can use stealth, or direct combat, or even talk your way through them.
Where I am currently, I haven’t gotten any quest that will improve my relation with faction at the cost of worsening it with another (though there were ones where I could choose different faction, and improve my relation with them), but I am still very early in the game.
The weakest part is the combat. You have 3 classes, and you can select upto 2 companions, all of who are of different factions and different classes. The combat itself isn’t that great though. While it is serviceable it would’ve been pretty much unacceptable if it was released today. Have played some 5-6 hours yet, so things may open up a more.
Reached Episode 4 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All.
Episode 3/4 spoiler
It was really cool to see Edgeworth again. I mean I knew he wasn’t dead because there are games released after this one that has him, but still it was nice to see him again.
Didn’t get to play Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter last week, but will give it some time this one. On a related note, really excited about the remake! Still going to finish it, but going to play the remake too. Probably not at launch, but soon-ish.
What about all of you? What have you been playing?
I finally managed to get into Breath of the Wild the other night after getting it on launch day and never enjoying it. I played 9 hours solid, then had to go to work for a few days, so I’m looking forward to going home more than usual.
Other than that, there’s the seemingly endless hunt for my last 3 Monster Hunter World achievements (only ~480 hours in, so I’m doing ok). Also, I’ve finally got around to trying Suicide Squad, and I kinda dig it so far. Just gotta clear my plate a bit for the PC release of FF16 in a few weeks, but I can almost guarantee I’ll be too stuck into either Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom to play it.
Finished The Fox Awaits Me HANA! (Link to Japanese eShop)
Easily the most obscure visual novel I’ve ever played - the VNDB page has zero reviews, a total of 3 ratings including my own, and even had a hilariously incorrect plot summary before I fixed it.
But this was an excellent story. It makes good use of having a cast already developed by the first game to stick to a faster and tighter pacing, there’s some really good twists, in particular in the nature of the “groundhog day” loop that you spend a good portion of the game, and the climax of the story offers strong emotional moments.
I did have some trouble with the game though, could not find any english-language guides and it took me a while to get “unstuck” in one part of the story, but I eventually got past that with some help from a korean wiki and Google Translate. I’ve submitted a guide to GameFAQs based on my playthrough, so if someone sees this post and gets motivated to try this game they won’t run into the same problems. 🙂
Finished Cat Quest 2!
Needed a short breather from VNs and remembered I had not finished this one. A simple hack-and-slash with a lot cat puns, very fun and highly recommended. It’s on sale (-75%) right now and even has a demo, so go try it out!
I’m starting some longer VNs and will probably need breaks from time to time so I think I’ll also play the sequel as a “side game”.
Playing Hatsumira: From the Future Undying!
This is an Isekai visual novel - a genre about people getting transported to a different world, typically with a fantasy/magic setting. This genre has been extremely popular in anime/manga/light novels for a decade or so, but oddly enough it’s quite rare to see it in visual novels.
First impressions have been mostly positive - production values are solid, the pacing has been good, and I’m enjoying the MC - he’s a capable and sharp-tongued adult, and his interactions with the rest of the cast have been hilarious.
Definitely not a fan of the heroine character designs, the the first time I saw Yukikaze I thought “wait, isn’t that just Yumiko from Grisaia in a bad cosplay?” 😆, but I think my biggest issue so far with the game is the localization - I don’t mind when the translator tries to make the dialogue more colorful, but I think they overdid it with this one - the MC uses way too much (british?) military slang and his dialogue feels very out-of-place for a japanese soldier.
According to the rather nice in-game progress display I’m currently at 6% of the game. This is going to be a long one.
I love the Cat Quest games. The games themselves are simple, but still pretty fun, not to mention the humour and all the cat (and dog for Cat Quest 2) puns.
I see you are still dealing with the consequences of your VN Madness Month. Good luck!
I love the Cat Quest games. The games themselves are simple, but still pretty fun, not to mention the humour and all the cat (and dog for Cat Quest 2) puns.
They are so good. Extremely simple but so fun, everyone I know who tries those can’t stop playing.
I see you are still dealing with the consequences of your VN Madness Month. Good luck!
Definitely paying for my sins here. 😅 But at least it came in a good time, I’ve been in a good mood for playing VNs these past few weeks.
I finished The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past before last week’s thread, but I didn’t end up posting then. I think it became more fun in the end, and after getting lots of upgrades. It was worth it.
I went through my backlog and started playing Turrican from the Anthologies on Switch. I grew up playing Super Turrican and played Mega Turrican when I was a bit older. Now I’m going through every title chronologically and it’s been super interesting to see the evolution. They’re very fun games, but the music is just incredibly good in every single one. Chris Hülsbeck is a genius! I’ve finished the first two for Amiga, and playing Turrican III now, about to finish it. I’m looking forward to playing the Director’s Cut version of Super Turrican and Super Turrican 2!
Just to get you more downvotes, how would you rate A Link to the Past with other Zelda games?
I have heard a lot about Turrican but never played any of the games. Same with Contra. Have eye on the new Contra game, and may try the old ones too, not sure yet.
Haha! Here we go… raises Hylian shield
I’ve liked every single Zelda game I’ve played and I’m a big fan of the series. I think A Link to the Past is not particularly a masterpiece on its own (just my personal opinion, don’t get your panties in a bunch people), but definitely a necessary evolutionary step for what came later. This is most probably because I didn’t play it when it just came out. At that time, Link’s Awakening was all I knew, and I must have played a Link to the Past even after Ocarina of Time. I’m assuming it must have been more “mind blowing” at the time if all you had played was the NES and Game Boy Zeldas. But in my personal experience, I had to play a lot before it grew on me, unlike the other Zelda games I’ve played. And that’s probably a factor, I’ve played it after playing Ocarina Of Time, A Link Between Worlds, Wind Waker, Breath of the Wild, etc…
I would rate Skyward Sword as the least enjoyable Zelda (again, personal experience and all that…), but I must say I played the HD version on Switch. The story is good, the game in general is great, but the combat with the sword is excruciatingly annoying for me on the Switch. Instead of moving the Wiimote, you use the sticks, and it’s as precise and comfortable as trying to thread a needle with one hand while riding a bike on a rocky path. If they had used standard Zelda attack like other 3D Zeldas, I would rate it much higher. But it was an annoyance I never got over, and I was relieved when I finally beat it. That would be the only Zelda I haven’t enjoyed that much, I’d rate A Link to the Past higher, I actually enjoyed it and got over the things that annoyed me. I still liked Link’s Awakening more (probably due to being my first Zelda, and lots of experiences connected to that game) and others.
I played the demo for the new Contra and it was quite good, seems like it could be fun to play co-op. I had only played the first one on NES and maybe a little bit of one of the SNES ones. Turrican is in that same style, but maybe more exploration involved, which rewards you with 1ups and other bonuses. Did I already say the music is amazing? 😅
You went o full defensive mode! 😀
Well, it makes sense. It matters a lot when you play the game. Playing something when it’s new and breaking new ground, compared to playing it much later when other games have not only copied that, but improved upon it. At least you ended up enjoying it.
Finished Paper Mario TTYD. I’ve done pretty much everything except all recipes with my 10HP. For some reason Bonetail felt easier than Gloomtail and I couldn’t tell you why or how that even makes sense. There was just a certain rhythm that worked out perfectly. Prince Mush turned out to be a really stupid fight, turning himself invincible in the second phase unless you perfect guard him. So much for preparations, I guess! I cheesed him with a huge stack of Charges to defeat him before he can switch to phase 2. If he cheats, I cheat!
So next, I’m finally going to start Baten Kaitos 2. Since the game was never released in Europe before, it’ll be my first time playing it. I did my research, there’s no need to leave the system running for two weeks, or any unreasonable amount of time in the sequel!
And, then… there’s my mystery game. It’s done and it was Danganronpa V3. I kept it a secret because I didn’t want to risk anybody saying anything. It’s the kind of game you don’t want to hear anything about before playing. Until recently, my spoiler-free verdict was as follows:
The visuals are by far the best in the series, I especially like the overgrown look of the school. And even though it’s neat that everything slowly changes overtime, it’s a shame it changes to be much less interesting. Don’t cut down all the greenery! But overall, I wasn’t too fond of the game. A lot of the killings were very gimmicky and some elements were just left completely unused. Like that one murder motive nobody understood, nobody used and was ultimately taken away and never brought up again. I think the game’s biggest handicap is essentially trying to tell the same story for the third time.
The above was my verdict… but then I beat the game. Oh, boy… that… was the worst ending I have ever seen in a game. I’m a “the journey is more important than the destination” kind of guy, so I never really understood how an ending can ruin someone’s entire experience. I get it now. I understand why people get so upset because it truly feels bad. I have completed the first two games 100% because I just enjoyed them so much, but I didn’t even look at the post game content because I did not want to spend another second with any of these characters. I hate them now. Them and everything that happened. In a messed up way, the ending explains some of my earlier complaints and I actually really liked that, but that doesn’t change how stupid the ending is. The only thing more stupid is the fact that I lost sleep over this. Luckily, it was only that one immediate night.
And since I cut the game off here, I am once again in the situation of having finished both of my current games at the same time! How does this keep happening? I’ll be filling this slot with the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider. The original series never really interested me, but the reboot has been on my radar for a very long time.
And, then… there’s my mystery game. It’s done and it was Danganronpa V3.
Oh, so that was the secret game! I was very curious about it after the last post.
… and yeah, I wasn’t very impressed with that one either when I played it years ago. The twist in the first chapter was cool, but after that it never got anywhere near as good as the previous two games and like you said the ending was terrible.
I’m glad Kodaka moved on from the series to try new things after that. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code was quite enjoyable, and while I don’t think it’s as good as the first two Danganronpa games the overall mood of the game was fantastic (Kanai Ward was such a cool location) and got me wishing for a sequel in the future.
Congratulations on finishing that 10HP run!
Ah, hope no body spoil anything about Danganronpa even now, as I still have to play the whole series.
I played original Tomb Raider games when I was a kid and enjoyed them a lot. I have been thinking about revisiting them with the remaster collection that was recently released, since I don’t remember anything about those now. I have only played the first game in the reboot, didn’t realise it was from 2013, I guess I should stop delaying rest of the series and play them now.
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] - I WON A FIVE MAN BRACKET WOOOOO! Also played some Skullgirls casuals for a little while after the bracket ended.
Mahjong Soul/Riichi City - :(
Splatoon 3 - Heavy Edit got shot. The rest of the changes seem fine, but as always I’m just annoyed that they don’t do more.
