centipede
Off-Brand Transformable Robot
It was just one soy latte, I swear!
Posts: 2,809 
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Post by centipede on Apr 18, 2019 9:54:14 GMT
Last night, I finished R-Type Tactics on the PSP. It sure got tricky towards the end, where the enemy was getting the drop on me with warp ships and sacrificing its own units to kill mine. I played that not too long after release and remember liking it. I think I beat it but don't 100% remember for sure. I recently saw that there is a fan translation for 2, might give that a try. There's a fan translation for it now? Oh yes! Time to hit the eBay page and.......... $207.72?! |
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centipede
Off-Brand Transformable Robot
It was just one soy latte, I swear!
Posts: 2,809
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Post by centipede on Apr 18, 2019 9:58:17 GMT
I beat the last boss in Torchlight with my alchemist. Now, I have the post-game quest and two other professions to beat the boss with. After my victory, I discovered the game has a 'Retirement' option for your character, where it deletes your character but enables you to leave an item of his for a successor in TL2. But the thing is, TL2 is not coming to the 360, ever  |
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dschult3
Off-Brand Transformable Robot
The true heir to the Monado.
Posts: 2,887 
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Post by dschult3 on Apr 20, 2019 12:55:36 GMT
After playing every weekend for the last month or so, I beat Valkyria Chronicles with ~50 hours of gameplay. I have mixed feelings about the game, but in the end, I came to like it. The animation is different, and I found that refreshing. I liked the story, and the music was fitting for the genre. It took me a while to like it though, because I had to learn how to play the game with Sega's rules for the game. Early on, I thought with real combat in mind. I would send my tank forward, draw the attention of the attackers, and then sweep through with my ground troops. A scout would then shoot a crouching shock trooper in the head from less than an inch a way FIVE TIMES, and the bastard would get up and lay me to waste. It was infuriating, since that is grunt strategy 101.
However, once I figured out Sega's "rules" for the game, I came to realize that the game was a bit too easy. Tanks have a weak spot, and as long as your aim is OK, you can destroy them in one hit. I don't understand why armor for that weak spot wasn't used like General Jaeger's tank in the end of the game. I also found that the classes and orders are mostly there for show. I aced most levels by rushing in a lancer from behind (there is always a back alley or something) tanks, and then I used up most of my turns on scouts to take the flag. In the end of the game, I would tag a shock trooper with me to use a flame thrower to take out the enemy who were crouching behind sandbags. It would take me 2-3 turns to beat a level, when I was given 20 turns! I stopped using my tanks altogether, unless I needed to use a smoke screen. This saddened me, because I thought this would be an excellent tank tactic game.
Now I don't want to sound like I'm complaining too much, because I really did like this game. The characters were good, and there were some surprises within the story. (I do my best to figure out things on my own without using the internet. I didn't look up a thing for this game.) It was fun to see how fast I could beat a level, even though it took out the reality of combat. I liked the upgrading system for both the weapons and the classes. Some levels were just "meh" at best, but when strategy was really necessary, this game was phenomenal. The chapter in the trenches, and the retaking of the citadel (inside and out) took me hours to figure out, and those two chapters are what the game should have been about completely. All 5 classes were necessary, and you couldn't just bum rush the flag with your scouts. I really enjoyed the hell out of those levels.
Now, I know there is an extra hard mode in new game plus, but I think I'm done with this for a while. I enjoyed it, and I have Valkyria Chronicles 4 to play. I also want to play Y's VIII first, so then I'll get back into the world of Europa (probably in the summer sometime). Since this game is an 11 year old game, I'm going to give it a solid 8. If the game came out today, I would give it less than a 7.5. (I'm interested in seeing what IV has done.) Once the game gave me a true strategic challenge, it really made up for the flaws. I found myself thinking about the game a lot, and that is an earmark for a classic.
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scipioafricanus
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Sega Does What Nintendon't... except the 32X
Posts: 3,614
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Post by scipioafricanus on Apr 20, 2019 14:14:02 GMT
After playing every weekend for the last month or so, I beat Valkyria Chronicles with ~50 hours of gameplay. I have mixed feelings about the game, but in the end, I came to like it. The animation is different, and I found that refreshing. I liked the story, and the music was fitting for the genre. It took me a while to like it though, because I had to learn how to play the game with Sega's rules for the game. Early on, I thought with real combat in mind. I would send my tank forward, draw the attention of the attackers, and then sweep through with my ground troops. A scout would then shoot a crouching shock trooper in the head from less than an inch a way FIVE TIMES, and the bastard would get up and lay me to waste. It was infuriating, since that is grunt strategy 101.
However, once I figured out Sega's "rules" for the game, I came to realize that the game was a bit too easy. Tanks have a weak spot, and as long as your aim is OK, you can destroy them in one hit. I don't understand why armor for that weak spot wasn't used like General Jaeger's tank in the end of the game. I also found that the classes and orders are mostly there for show. I aced most levels by rushing in a lancer from behind (there is always a back alley or something) tanks, and then I used up most of my turns on scouts to take the flag. In the end of the game, I would tag a shock trooper with me to use a flame thrower to take out the enemy who were crouching behind sandbags. It would take me 2-3 turns to beat a level, when I was given 20 turns! I stopped using my tanks altogether, unless I needed to use a smoke screen. This saddened me, because I thought this would be an excellent tank tactic game.
Now I don't want to sound like I'm complaining too much, because I really did like this game. The characters were good, and there were some surprises within the story. (I do my best to figure out things on my own without using the internet. I didn't look up a thing for this game.) It was fun to see how fast I could beat a level, even though it took out the reality of combat. I liked the upgrading system for both the weapons and the classes. Some levels were just "meh" at best, but when strategy was really necessary, this game was phenomenal. The chapter in the trenches, and the retaking of the citadel (inside and out) took me hours to figure out, and those two chapters are what the game should have been about completely. All 5 classes were necessary, and you couldn't just bum rush the flag with your scouts. I really enjoyed the hell out of those levels.
Now, I know there is an extra hard mode in new game plus, but I think I'm done with this for a while. I enjoyed it, and I have Valkyria Chronicles 4 to play. I also want to play Y's VIII first, so then I'll get back into the world of Europa (probably in the summer sometime). Since this game is an 11 year old game, I'm going to give it a solid 8. If the game came out today, I would give it less than a 7.5. (I'm interested in seeing what IV has done.) Once the game gave me a true strategic challenge, it really made up for the flaws. I found myself thinking about the game a lot, and that is an earmark for a classic.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Apr 27, 2019 16:16:59 GMT
Finished up Marvel's Spider-man on the PS4. I really enjoyed this one from start to finish, and ended up picking up all the DLC as well. Didn't even really use the fast travel system very often, as swinging around the city was too fun.
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stratogustav on Apr 27, 2019 16:40:13 GMT
Finished up Marvel's Spider-man on the PS4. I really enjoyed this one from start to finish, and ended up picking up all the DLC as well. Didn't even really use the fast travel system very often, as swinging around the city was too fun. Some parts of that game always reminded me of Sonic since they presented it. The game looks really good. The studio clearly did a great job with the IP, which is a surprise for something licensed. |
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Post by Imperial Khador on Apr 28, 2019 3:51:42 GMT
Just finished up the Genroku Legends DLC chapters of Muramasa Rebirth on the Vita. I had bought the first two chapters when they were on sale years ago, but then once the last two were out, only the 4-pack was ever on sale, and never discounted enough to justify having to re-buy two of the four chapters. But, it was on sale for $2.99 CAN for the Golden Week sale on PSN, and I snapped it up.
The Genroku chapters are all entertaining, short tales (my play times on each varied between 90 minutes and 4.5 hours) with enjoyable characters. Once the main story is finished, you're able to go to all the areas of the main game, and fight the bosses originally from Momohime and Kisuke's stories. Overall, it was really fun to dip my toes back into Muramasa Rebirth.
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stratogustav on Apr 28, 2019 10:46:33 GMT
I wish Muramasa Rebirth was ported to the PS3, that's one cool Vita exclusive.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Apr 28, 2019 18:50:51 GMT
I think it came out at a time when Vita exclusives were definitely being pushed. If the Wikipedia article can be believed, it also had to do with the developers believing the game would look great on the Mark 1 Vita's OLED screen...and it definitely does, but it also looks great on my LED televisision. It would be nice if it got a treatment similar to Odin Sphere and a nice quality re-release some time.
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Post by Imperial Khador on May 13, 2019 1:47:37 GMT
Finished up Final Fantasy IX. First time, I've played through it in many years and I have to say....it remains my least favourite of the three PS1 entries. I like Zidane, Garnet and Vivi's story arcs, and to a lesser degree Freya's, but I don't like Amarant or Quina at all, and I find Steiner grating throughout most of the game.
Still, an excellent score though, and some nice story beats. It just might be another 20 years before I feel like playing this one again.
Edit: Was just thinking that some of what might put me off in the background is there are a lot of anthropomorphized animals in the game. Not just Freya's race, which are sort of rat-people, but at least have a country/history that's explored. Just random dog, hippo, etc people running around Alexandria and Lindblum with no explanation. Always something I find a bit off-putting in a game.
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fsfsxii
Space Striker
What to believe...
Posts: 916
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Post by fsfsxii on May 13, 2019 21:42:24 GMT
I'm at the final stretch of KH Birth By Sleep
Started playing the series exactly 1 years ago and its becoming one of my favs.
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Post by Imperial Khador on May 20, 2019 4:59:42 GMT
Finished up Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC finally on PC.
It feels like a long time, as I'd been playing it in small doses for a while, but final in-game clock was around 55 hours.
I've said it before, but I get why many who have played this series hold it in such high regard. I remember the earlier Suikoden games, up to III, where there was an interesting overarching plot going on, characters continuing between games, a lot of great world lore, etc. This feels like a much more realized version of that. Story elements are introduced in this game that I understand are still paying off late in the Trails of Cold Steel games.
These games were Windows/PSP releases in the 2005/2006 era originally, so they were never going to be the most visually stunning games. But the developers brought a rich narrative, interesting characters and a ton of world lore that really feels like it rewards those who stay to the end. The localization script is fantastic, as well, and these games were well worth waiting all the time it took to get an English release.
There are some negatives. As I posted before, I think the difficulty on this and its predecessor is a bit wonky, and makes parts of the game pretty frustrating, but in the long run, I don't think I'll really remember it.
I think I'll likely take a break before tackling the third Trails in the Sky game, which I understand is more of a side story, but I'll definitely be looking forward to returning to this world.
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Post by Imperial Khador on May 29, 2019 21:22:39 GMT
Finished Castlevania 1 on the Castlevania Anniversary collection...
Well sort of. As I've said before, with a lot of NES collections, I tend to finish things with extensive use of save-states. I've never been very good at the older Castlevania games though, so it was fun to play through.
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stratogustav on May 29, 2019 22:42:01 GMT
Finished Castlevania 1 on the Castlevania Anniversary collection... Well sort of. As I've said before, with a lot of NES collections, I tend to finish things with extensive use of save-states. I've never been very good at the older Castlevania games though, so it was fun to play through. It's OK to use save states. I use save states at beginning of each level in Vs. Super Mario Bros.. I just limit myself to not more than that, I can still enjoy the game. |
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 3, 2019 5:10:03 GMT
Finished Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Finished with Sypha as a companion. Probably not going to do again with Alucard or Grant for a while at least. Again, save states used extensively because I am terrible at classic Castlevania  |
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