End of the year!
This will most probably be the last weekly thread for this year. Next Friday will be 26th, so the weekly thread will be back on 2nd Jan (or if something comes up, 9th Jan)!
Now, without further ado!
Finished Dark Souls Remastered !
Spent the whole weekend playing it and finally finished it! Ornstein and Smough, the boss I was stuck on last to last week, were probably the hardest boss in the game. Only thing that came close was a boss in DLC, Kalameet, an optional boss, but it was also a tough one. Rest of the bosses were much easier.
I would like to reiterate that if you are staying away from soulslike games because of their reputation, ignore that and give them a try. You just need to a bit deliberate in how you play them. Use a guide if you want, to get used to how the game works, but these are fun games. As for dying, I have probably died more times in a single Mario level then whole sections of Dark Souls. Of course, nothing wrong with it if you don’t like the genre, just don’t want people to ignore them because of the over hyped difficulty.
After finishing that, didn’t feel like starting anything new, so went back to Princess Peach Showtime and finished that.
When I played it the first time I gave it a very bad review, but saw my daughter playing it later, and some of the stages looked fun. Not AAA game kind of fun, but a mobile mini-game kind of fun, which suited my current mood. So went ahead, cleared all the levels and finished the game.
Didn’t try for 100%, if you miss a collectible you can’t just backwards in the level and collect it, you have to replay the whole level. So ignored that completely. Game is too expensive for what it is, but if you can get it at a very good bargain, then not a bad game for little kids who like Princess Peach.
With those two wrapped up, and after the new Mega Man announcement, I wanted to give the series another try (tried them once a long time ago but found them super hard so never tried again), so after some suggestions from the wonderful people here, I decided to go with the published order and got the Mega Man Legacy Collection .
Played (and finished) Mega Man 1 and 2.
These games are hard, specially the first one, but the bosses were interesting so had fun fighting them, though I had to make extensive use of Rewind feature to stay alive. Specially in final bosses sequence. You fight multiple bosses back to back without any healing in between. Would have died over half a dozen times if not for Rewind.
Next was Mega Man 2. It is such an upgrade from the first game, I had to confirm it was still a NES game and not a SNES one. It was much easier than the first one, but still not an easy game. Another set of interesting bosses, and some extensive use of Rewind still required, though I like to think I got a bit better by the time I reached the end.
This is pretty much what I played the last whole week. I did start two new games, but I have just started them so can’t say much about them yet.
Started Assassin’s Creed: Rogue Remastered. Wanted to get it on Switch, but it’s only available in a bundle with AC: Black Flag, and since I have already played that, didn’t want to buy that again. So got it on PS5, and playing through it now. Have only played couple of hours yet though.
On Switch, I have been itching to play Skyrim again, was planning to spend dozens of hours in that, but then decided to start Risen . It’s remaster of 2009’s RPG, originally developed by Pirhana Bytes, developers of Gothic series. I loved Gothic, but never played Risen, or any other game from them, and it has been on my wishlist for so long, so it was a good moment to start that. I have only played an hour or so and the only complaint I have is that jump is on R3, and there doesn’t seem to be any way to rebind the keys. Other than that, it’s scratching that do-anything-RPG itch of Skyrim.
Will probably have more to say about these next time.
What about all of you? What have you been playing and/or plan to play?
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Finished up Harvestella.
Overall, I really like the game. The farming and combat are both somewhat simple and the story does start out generic. However, then it speedruns a complete JRPG story within a single chapter and then throws another 5 chapters at you. The characters are fun, the world is interesting and I felt engaged throughout. Even did some more farming after I already bought everything until I hit the money cap at 999,999.
Finished Pokemon Legends Arceus!
My initial impression stands. The first area was some of thr best Pokemon I ever played. Afterwards the entire thing kind of fell apart. Too many repeated Pokemon per area; most things didn’t even reach half my level and fhe story never hooked me. The final fight against the hidden antagonist, I guess, was somewhat challanging, but I don’t think the battle system is all that fun. Sometimes, you defeat a Pokemon and the next one just gets 4 turns in before you move again (even using my fast moves!). But still, I really enjoyed that initial catching of Pokemon and think it’s woth trying.
Just yesterday, I started Shin Megami Tensei V Vengence.
I love the original SMT V, it’s one of my favorite Switch games. Having played some more SMT games since then, it does show some cracks, but I’m still having a great time and enjoy the new stuff. It’s probably best coming of Persona and I still prefer it over SMT 3 Nocturne, which I think is somewhat uncommon. (Although that’s mostly due to Nocturnes save system. On the highest difficulty, not being able to save for sometimes hours at a time really does suck when you could die from a single random encouter at any time. At full health. Without getting a turn in.)
What’s the difference between SMT V and SMT V Vegence? Is just like Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal?
It’s both an expansion (similar to Royal) with more demons, quests and QOL improvements, but it also includes a brand-new “alternate” storyline.
It’s in a similar vein. There are new demons, quests, QoL stuff and some rebalancing changes just like in P5R. However, instead of a new chapter, Vengence added a new route through the game - revamping most of the story. (Or fixing the lack thereof.)
Currently, it’s still quite similar to vanilla SMT V, but I’ve been told it will diverge a lot more quite early. Don’t know if or how many new locations there are.
Slow progress on Xenoblade X. But that’s fine, I still boot up the game to get my 300 material tickets per day to lessen the grind for the level 60 Skells. I didn’t think the jump from level 50 to 60 was going to be that great, but just looking at the raw defense of the default armor tells a different story. I’m level 59 right now, soon everything will die…
That being said, I’m past what was the ending of the Wii U version. I forgot exactly what it was, but I’m mad all over again that they thought it was a good idea to end the game there. You finally get some answers, but then they change the questions! Curious to see where this goes now.
Still playing Metroid Prime 4. I’ll withhold any comments until I’m done, just to be sure I’ve seen the whole picture. As it stands, it’s en route to become my least favorite Metroid game, barring the NES and GameBoy games on account of their age, and I don’t want to say that too lightly. Let’s see where else this goes first.
Title Update 4 for Monster Hunter Wilds is here and the Switch Axe got some unexpected buffs. Being able to dodge-cancel the charge of the Full Release Slash is huge! They added Gogmazios as the game’s first Elder Dragon. (Editor’s Note: Its definitely not the game’s first Elder Dragon) It starts out as a normal fight, has an interesting interlude and then goes to shit in its third phase. Packing away your weapon and repeatedly shooting it with what is basically a slingshot is just not fun, especially when the ground keeps exploding while you have to look up!
But I’m super motivated to play again regardless, because they added a way to boost lower rank armor to endgame levels. My set has been stagnant for more than half a year and now I can finally work on that again!
Oh yeah, there’s a big power jump when you move to level 60 Skell, don’t think anything gave me too much trouble after that.
it’s en route to become my least favorite Metroid game
Worst Metroid game, but still a fun game? Or not much fun at all?
Have fun with MH: Wilds!
Rayman 2. Loved this game as a kid.
I have played a Rayman 3D game when young, it wasn’t Rayman 3, so could be Rayman 2, not sure.
How does it hold up now?
I have my fun with it. Of course it is way smaller than I remebered it but thats normal for games you play as a kid. What I realised is that the design is really unique and, for the lack of a better word, french.
I’m planning on buying “Is This Seat Taken?” For Switch. It’s a cute little puzzle game that my fifth-grader has been asking for. Winter Break from school is a great time for this sort of purchase.
I might also get the Capcom version of Picross.
I have heard good things about “Is This Seat Taken?” Hope your kid enjoys it too.
I play Picross slowly. I am still at S5, it will be a long while before I reach the Capcom one.
Replaying Kirby and the forgotten land. The dlc will be new for me to play. But I’m unsure if I will begin my game this weekend, I might wait till Christmas is around the corner so it feels better to play through the game. My family is too busy to hangout after we exchange gifts so I need to do something fun on that day
Ah, at least you’ll have something fun to play. Would love to hear what you think of the DLC. I haven’t played the game yet but should be getting it soon(ish).
Finished Dragon Quest IX. The gameplay has been fun but I didn’t really pay much attention to the story/dialogues.
Started playing Dragon Quest IV. I will see if I enjoy it as much.
Binging Dragon Quest games. I recall you were playing DQ VII before that. Which is your favourite one yet?
I was playing DQ III. I prefer the original (NES) version over the HD-2D remake. But I will try to SNES translated version later. DQ III is still my favourite of the series.
Actually never played DQ VII, I’ve heard too many people saying the DQ VII is too long and slow paced. I think I will play the upcoming remake which is supposed to be streamlined.
Ah, must have mixed it up.
I haven’t played the older Dragon Quest games, will probably start with the HD-2D remakes.
With your profile pic, I would expect that you have played every DQ game. Anyway, my recommendation: 3>9>5>8>4>1>2
I dislike DQ XI, mainly because of the music.
VII is one of my favorites! It is quite long, yes, but it’s structured in such a way that you can easily take breaks inbetween mostly self-contained areas.
Thanks. I was more concerned about the intro of VII which many people say take too long. I don’t want to wait 90 minutes before the first battle starts.
I think it will be improved in the upcoming remake, and I like the art style based on what I have seen so far. So I will probably wait until the remake is available.
@slimerancher@lemmy.world congrats on finishing Dark Souls!
For me the last weekend was crazy busy and slowed down gaming progress, and also meant no time for Super Robot Taisen Y again. 🙁
Finished Islets!
Really fun and cute game. It’s on the short side, the in-game clock unfortunately counts the time I left it on “sleep” so it’s hard to give accurate numbers but probably took me 8h or so.
One surprise was the difficulty, from the visuals I was expecting an easy game but most bosses took me a few tries to defeat and I died quite a few times while transversing the map. It’s still a chill game though, you don’t lose any progress when you die, save games are plentiful, and you are constantly opening shortcuts so getting back to the spot you died is usually quick.
I also like the upgrade system, besides the mandatory story upgrades you’re constantly finding smaller upgrades that give you three options each time, so you have a lot of flexibility on what to prioritize. The fact that these are very abundant (looks like there’s 60 of these overall) helps keep a constant sense of progression.
Playing Crypt Custodian!
Another metroidvania from the same developer as Islets, but with a top-down perspective reminiscent of old-school Zelda games. The game stars a cat who ends up having to work as a janitor in the afterlife, using his trusty broom to beat down monsters and clean up dirt everywhere.
The mood is more melancholic than Islets, but still on the “cute” side. It has an equipment system similar to Hollow Knight with “upgrade slots” where each equipment uses a certain number of them, but slots are very plentyful which gives you more options on how to assign things
Still fairly early in this one, just defeated the second boss.
Playing Witch on the Holy Night!
Both parts of Chapter 5 were amazing battles, really impressed by how much they got me hyped. Felt like the “mid-game climax”, and also got the main POV characters (Aoko and Shizuki) working together at last.
Just started Chapter 6 and it looks like this one will be a more chill chapter showing how things settled after that battle.
Thanks. I finally feel a bit confident that I can play soulslike game. I have finished a couple before but there was still a fear that I’ll get stuck and won’t be able to finish. Happy about finishing it.
Nice to hear about Islets and Crypt Custodian.
Is Witch of the Holy Night long or are you just playing slowly, cause usually you don’t take this much time with VNs.
Is Witch of the Holy Night long or are you just playing slowly, cause usually you don’t take this much time with VNs.
I am playing slowly, but most of the VNs I played recently were on the short side (~10h or so according to VNDB), with WotHN being triple of that.
There are much longer VNs though. 😀 I have Little Busters or Fate/Stay Night in my backlog that are listed on VNDB as being 80h+.
Wow, that’s long. And I can’t even imagine what 80 hours of VN will have in it. That’ll be equivalent to a 1000 page novel or something?
Fate series has been on my list for a while, but it has so many sub series, it feels very confusing. Maybe one day I’ll search what the whole thing is about.
Wow, that’s long. And I can’t even imagine what 80 hours of VN will have in it. That’ll be equivalent to a 1000 page novel or something?
Apparently even longer. I was checking some stats, Fate/Stay Night has roughly the same size as the King James Bible ( ~750k words), which typically is printed in ~1500 pages.
Umineko which is a famous for being a ridiculously long VN is is 50% longer than that (~1150k words). That’s more than the entire Harry Potter series with seven books.
Wow. I’ll wait your reviews of these VNs now. 😁
