Messages

46

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: September 27, 2022, 04:01:54 PM »

18. The DioField Chronicle



I seen this game, noticed it has a very dumb name kinda ignored it. Seen it again, seen it wasn't turn based...was gonna ignore it again. However I noticed it released the following day, so I looked it up a bit, and seen the combat is kinda interesting despite being "real time" so I impulse bought it.

I guess I'll start with the cons.

Story is kinda...all over the place? I don't think it knows what it wants to do, however the main character acting the way he do makes sense at the very end of the game nearing/after credits territory. Still not very likable, but it is what it is. Not all the characters are bad, but the more prominent ones aren't too likable.

Music/graphics are fine. Not gonna blow your socks off, but not bad, perfectly serviceable.

Gameplay tho...that's where this game goes from "meh" to "try the demo" because I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's like real time, but you can stop time to give commands, so think star wars KOTOR or dragon age, or balders gate, that kinda feel...but kinda more "rts" in feel somehow. Hard to describe, it's a tactical rpg, but feels like an rts in terms of how units move...but also after you get used to it, works really well on a controller. Flanking is a pretty huge part of the game, so positioning is important, and just feels fun to play.

If you can figure out that the main characters first skill is kind of just the way to go, and build your party around abusing that, the game isn't really too hard. That said, if you just "A move into dudes" you're gonna die, because with my party setup, only my knight lady could take hits (and she could take hits so well...I really only needed to spend healing on...not her, mostly ever, despite her taking 90% of the attacks), and the rest of the party felt pretty glass. So do use positioning and skills to keep enemies at bay. Easy it may be, faceroll it may not be. Originally the totally optional side objective of most missions is "complete in under x minutes" bothered me, but...after I got used to executing my way of playing the game, it was only a problem the one mission I didn't have access to the main character...and you can replay that mission at the mission replay thing, with the main character to get that side objective complete, so no problems.

Didn't need to grind at all, game gives you all the exp/money you need to get what you want. You may want to grind money to get certain things earlier, and that's fine, and the game lets you, but it isn't needed at all. I only really grinded to get the "character reach level 50" trophy, because...it was all that was left of getting a platinum trophy on the game, so 20 minutes later, easy plat. I didn't go out of my way to plat the game, it's just not a very hard game to achieve that, so why not spend the extra 20 minutes.

People call the game short, I plat the game in ~26 hours. If that's too short for you to warrant spending $60 on a game, that's on you. It's not a AAA game, but as a "AA" game, there was plenty enough for me to enjoy for my money. I am not a demo guy anymore, if I want something, I just buy it. However Square is doing a great job with demos keeping your save if you decide to buy the game and resume where the demo ended, so anyone on the fence should try that out. I had a pretty good time, but YMMV.

47

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: September 20, 2022, 10:06:58 PM »

17. Merchant of the Skies



This was one of those "browse the switch store page, looks interesting, wishlist and forget about it" games, till I impulse bought it on ps5 for some reason. I have not heard about this game, I have not seen this game, I only stumbled upon it looking around the store.

This game is really cool. I couldn't stop playing it until I completed the game. In essence it's a trading game with your little sky boat, and you get money trading stuff as you do. With money you can upgrade your ship, buy islands with resources to kit them out to provide for you, you always have to refuel/pay upkeep, any island resources need crew to harvest, etc.

It's just an addictive little gameplay loop that slowly gets bigger until you have islands/resources all over the map. You can even have a caravan setup to buy other ships to automatically deliver from one island to another. It's a bit rough around the edges, not all of the systems work seamlessly, but aside from some nitpicks, I only put the game down after I finished the game...good 10-12 hours of fun packed in here.

It's a cute game, doesn't require a huge amount of mental investment, for $15, easy to recommend.

Short games are great, you can play them, enjoy them, then you're done and you can play something else.

48

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: September 19, 2022, 05:43:59 PM »

16. We <3 Katamari



I had finished like 2/3 of this game back in 2020, but never finished it because...2020...so with the ps2 hooked up, and my fancy brooks wing commander what allows me to use damn near any controller I want on ps2, polished this game up.

I was a big fan of the original, this game is the first sequel.

Gonna say, it's still katamari which is good, but they go a bit too hard on levels that aren't "get really big and roll up the universe" which you kinda do roll up the solar system which is cool...but most of the levels are objective based. The really annoying ones are "roll up a bunch of a certain kind of thing, then roll up the quest giver before time runs out", there isn't a map, and when you have 45 seconds left controlling a giant unwieldable ball of stuff without direction, kind of annoying to fail and have to re try.

Overall it was a good time, but having completed the original like 4-5 times on ps2, and again on the remaster I got on switch...I don't think I'll be revisiting this one. Not bad, just why bother when the original exists. There's plenty of stuff to do, I feel like this game has a lot more overall content and variety than the first game, so if it's your cup of tea, give it a shot. I personally wouldn't take it over the original.

49

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: September 15, 2022, 09:07:28 PM »

15. Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2



So uhh after that last game I had a mini rant on "the old games were better rabble rabble rabble!". So, I got the ps2 setup to play some Katamari!...then I booted this game up to see where I left off back in 2020. Had a really hard time putting this sucker down I'll tell you hwhat!

First some cons.

The music in the first game is leagues better than this one, this game goes back to a stereotypical anime soundtrack or something. There are some good tracks, but most of em are just outright inferior to the first game. Worst of all when I do want to listen to the great soundtrack of the first game, it's usually bundled in with the second game, so I gotta spend some extra time digging around for those good tracks.

This is a game where you have a party of 3, and more than 3 characters to use. Pretty normal RPG faire, but uhh, you should know to ignore Roland, and Argilla, use Gale and Ciello. Roland and Argilla go bye bye for roughly 1/3 or more of the game and only come back at the very end. Also the main character...goes away...then comes back, then goes away...so looking up what to do so you don't waste precious money and time on skills that'll go to waste will be important. Not a huge deal since I play most games with online resources to avoid bad things happening, but for someone playing it blind, feels like the illusion of choice with a big fuck you for not having the answers before you play.

The story starts off kinda terrible, didn't make any sense to me how in the first game you are a bunch of AI in a simulation only to be brought into the real world at the start of this game. Ontop of that you run into a character Roland who's a normal human, and after all this hubub on DEMONS SCAREY EAT PEOPLE NOMNOM, he just casually "turns into a demon" nonchalantly. None of it really made sense in the first game, but due to the setting I didn't mind, this game you're in the real world and that shit just don't fly anymore.

Then I get to the end of the game, and it made me realize even beating the first part, I had no idea what was going on. Most of the questions I had, and problems I had in the beginning were answered near the end of the game. Certain characters that had ZERO likable features in the first game ended up being outright heroic. These games should be treated as one game, and it was my bad for judging it before actually completing it. They do a good job wrapping things up at the end...and speaking of the end, everything goes crazy...like, you aren't even in reality anymore, it do a good job of just "feeling cool", not sure of a more elegant way to describe it without spoiling it. Final dungeon was long, kinda annoying, but as far as smt is concerned it wasn't too bad, and it visually looked great.

I completed this game in 37 hours, the first game I grinded wayyyy too much and put in 50. I decided I didn't want to do that in this game, also there is no comfortable grinding spots in this title so after I got the essential skills I wanted I booked it towards the end. This game difficulty curve I feels the opposite of the first one, starts out easier (not easy, easier), and by the end I don't feel half as overpowered as in the first game. Final boss put me through more stress than I would prefer, having 5 forms, and every time it was it's turn, it got 5 actions...every...single...turn...it did take me a second try and I won by the skin of my teeth.

Issues with soul hackers 2 combat, compared to say this game. This game has random battles, and a lot of them, that game does not and you can avoid most fights. On paper that game would be more pleasant to play, but when you enter a combat...it's just slow. This game say you do an action, the character does the animation, JUST BEFORE THEY FINISH even before your cursor changes to the next character you can move the cursor to the command you know you're going to use out of muscle memory, it just feels snappy. Plus this game uses the "press turn" system used in a lot of modern megaten games, and while I applaud soul hackers 2 for doing something different...I like my physical unga builds, and that game doesn't allow it. Physical doesn't even hit weaknesses, and only gets a free turn when you crit, however you can pass turns in pressturn games, which lets you say go twice with one character. Less freedom to do what you please in soul hackers 2, feels more stiff, and clunky. Not hating on that game, but playing this one right after it as a comparison point, this 20 year old game still holds up to the best of em today.

Ending the tl;dr as I have said enough. I still prefer the music/atmosphere/skill tree of the first game, but I do really like the character development and how the story wrapped up in the second game. I recommend this to any jrpg fan, but do not play one game without having the intent to play both IN ORDER. It is a two part experience, they are not stand alone like say a witcher or a mass effect could be.



Plus Kazuma Kaneko's art is fantastic. JRPG where "you are the demons, and you EAT PEOPLE!", I like it!

*edit*

It just hit me that the cover art for the game is 100% spoilers not even trying to hide anything. I guess if you play the first game, just uhh, don't look at the box art for the second game?

50

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: September 07, 2022, 01:33:00 PM »

14. Soul Hackers 2



New megaten comes out, I play it.

Game is in the "Devil Summoner" universe, not persona, not mainline smt. Still has demons, fusing, same in universe spells and such. The game "feel" is that of a spinoff series while being rooted in megaten, as it should be, they did a good job there.

Graphics look really nice in 4k on my ps5 on this tv, smooth framerate. Really good music, not quite up to the standard of other games in the megaten umbrella, but good regardless.

Characters are really good. The main character...isn't a silent protagonist...I think all of the other megaten games I have played (p4, p5, dds1, nocturne, 4, 4a, strange journey, 5) all have silent protags. This one the main character has a real personality with really good voice acting, probably my highlight of the whole game.

Story can get kind of "anime cliche" at times which I ain't too into, but as a whole it works. The world is pretty cool, not post apocalyptic like an smt, not "cute school children being friends" like persona. Got this "cyberpunk" future aesthetic, and gets a bit more megaten crazy near the end of the game. It works. Music tracks like this really fit in with the aesthetic.

Combat...is where this game would go from a 8/10 to a 6/10 for me though...

It isn't a pressturn system like megaten games from nocturne-current, or the "one more" system used in p3-5. You strike weaknesses and gain "stacks", at the end of the turn you do damage based on how high the stack gets. I am all for trying something different, and this system works for the most part. Feels like you rely on magic more in this game because not a whole lot of enemies are weak to gun/melee, however I feel more enemies are weak to gun/melee in this game to compensate for that. It does a good job for the most part because you'll make certain tactical choices based on what you have. Maybe strike an enemy who's weak to ice, to gain stack to kill that weakened enemy who is weak to an element you don't have equipped.

That isn't really my main issue with the combat and why I rate this game lower than I would like. It's just really...really...slow. Just the process of entering a battle and doing a move takes more time than it really needs to, they could speed up animations or something just to keep it flowing. It's fine for the first 10 or so hours, but I was pretty over it half way through the game. I don't like saying it, but I was honestly bored for 50% of my playthrough...and this is mostly because of how much of a slog the combat is. The combat isn't "bad" and it does some cool things I wish for them to keep experimenting with, but they gotta find some way to get you to chew through combats quicker, or have less combats in general or something.

This is a cool game, and getting a second megaten game within 10 months is great, but I can't recommend this title unless you are a big fan of anything megaten.

*edit*

Ohh, the biggest sin, I forgot. The ending. You can get locked out of the good ending based on not balancing the points you accumulate for your 3 party members throughout the entire game. Not knowing that getting 6 points for character A and B screws over maxing out character C, when if you put those points towards character C you would have the amount to also get A and B done. This forces you to play NG+ which gives you bonus points, and...that sucks. The moment I realized I am 6 points short, and no way to get them, I ignored all other side content and bee lined the game because what's the point. Just a feel bad moment that made me want to get the game over with, see the "bittersweet" ending and feel a bit less about the game than I otherwise would have.

Getting a good ending should be "hey you did the extra curricular side stuff you didn't have to do, you got the whatevers you need to get the good ending".

Not "ehh you didn't follow a guide and picked 2 wrong choices out of 30, so I hope you enjoy doing it again on NG+!"

LAME

*edit*

Thinking about smtv, and this game, what makes a (in my opinion) "proper" smt experience, is buffs. What makes these games...say, "lesser" than the others is the buffs have been reduced. High mana cost + set amount of turns before they expire. I mean I guess in other games the mana cost was high, but and even higher considering you could stack buffs 4 times AND LASTED UNTIL THE ENEMY REMOVED THEM...but they were really really good, like "use buffs in random battles" good. Obviously buffs are worth using in a lot of jrpgs, these games included, but being more "modern" companies like to balance things out a bit more...which kinda just makes things bland...

I did like the playstyle of debuffing the opponent like crazy, buffing myself like crazy, and going for one mega attack every 3 or so turns. It just feels like that style of play isn't really the best route in these two most recent entries. I mean, smtv you kinda do it, but...don't quite feel the same. I could even play this way in dragon quest 11 with Erik's busted ass, odd how they would discourage that playstyle.

I could be talking out my ass, but trying to understand why I think the combat in soul hackers 2 is bland compared to a nocturne or a digital devil saga, or even a dragon quest 11.

51

Gaming / Re: Monster Hunter

« on: July 27, 2022, 11:26:59 PM »

Gonna double post because last post is ttooooo loonlong.

102 hours played, MR102 (weird coincidence), Scorned Magnamalo defeated "cough" even though I carted twice due to being new to no shield on the bowgun"cough", and uhh...waiting for content updates now?

This stat doesn't count story/single player stuff, else it would look even more lopsided towards lance.



TL;DR only playing switch axe because it fit into my "don't wanna cart" set. I initially liked the weapon, but having played it more, not a big fan. It's ok, but kind of annoying to play. Good range, but not very sticky when a monster moves. Monster always seem to run away when you're powered up, kind of frustrating.

HBG playing exclusively spread so far, essentially melee with laughable gunner defense. Tried shield like in world, but feels really unreliable even with guard/guard up maxed. Throw a power barrel on there, and try to play the weapon the correct way, very scarey being immobile, with gunner defense, and in melee range...but the damage is really really juicy and it's a lot of fun. Feels rewarding to play due to lack of mobility, but with the wirebug dash, the greatsword tackle (just give HBG a greatsword move, alright), and it's REAAAAAAALY long roll made even longer with evade extender 2, it's playable. Do intend to check out how pierce plays, and maybe some more niche setups. My gun has cluster bombs which are really fun when a monster is pinned down, curious if there's a gun that can get more juice out of em. Playing lance, then going to gun, it's like playing a different game, something that monster hunter did and does very well.

I like this game, and it shines when you got a few bros to play with, which I happened to have for roughly 20% of my playtime. I'm done, but I'm not done because there's still more guns to try, and sets to make. Next weapon I want to try is savage axe charge blade, seems quite nice this iteration.

52

Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Excessive Rage

« on: July 20, 2022, 10:08:48 AM »

First world problems.
 
My phone updated to Android 12, and took away everything I have been used to. I don't want to re learn how to use my phone, how is this a good user experience?

EVEN THE CLOCK ON MY MAIN SCREEN IS CUT OFF, do they even test these releases?

53

Gaming / Re: Monster Hunter

« on: July 09, 2022, 11:21:39 PM »

So my other habitat on the internet apparently moved to PC...whether I play with them at all before they chew through the content is beyond me, but I got the game on pc with sunbeak.

-Runs at 4k/whatever fps it's at it looks good to me, quite well, since it's a switch game ported over.
-Game doesn't look visually as good at world, but yknow, it is what it is.
-I got 2 ps5 controllers, so I can use one for pc games and the other for the ps5. The game supports xbox/ps4/ps5/switch/and some other xbox button icons for the UI, very nice.
-the defender weapon is kinda like an mmorpg "exp boost" to get you to the expansion earlier, it's basically a weapon tree that costs almost nothing to upgrade that's better than...everything...in low rank, and high rank...so just use that and bee line the main game because the garbage of a higher rank >>>> the best of the rank below it.
-took me about 15 hours to rush through low rank/high rank in hub(playing with randos the entire time), doing so got me to start sunbreak stuff
-I think the movement in this game was made better than base rise? I feel like goddamn spiderman sometimes, I feel the wall climbing isn't really limited anymore, so you can just go till your stamina runs out...then you jump off wirebug back (the time you're jumping you restore some stamina), and run up the rest of the wall. FEELS REAL GOOD, the movement in this game is scrumptious.

I am not that far into actual sunbreak stuff due to, not playing videogames 24/7 and seeing sunlight sometimes. But I can indeed say uhh...I'm playing the game on pc and it runs fine? Game ain't going anywhere so if you need some idiot who still after all this time isn't that good at monster hunter to get you through some lower rank monsters, I AM THAT GUY.

Unrelated note but related to the thread subject, thinking about playing monster hunter freedom unite on an emulator...I hear those things can do like online play now a days...would be cool to find some interested parties to play old hard as fuck monster hunter, maybe see if I could even play such a thing after being spoiled with how free rise is.

*edit*

~30 hours in, taking away from my DNF Duel time (really good new fighting game) pretty hard.

Just hit MR5, I "think" the main sunbreak story ends at the end of MR6? then it does that thing it seems to do where the rank unlocks to infinity, and you get incremental stuff at 10, 20,...90, 100, then it stops but you can go to 999. So I am relatively far as the story goes. Mostly bee lining the story, because the farther I get the better gear I get, the easier going back to do the other missions will be. Also having an unlocked rank means going back to do said missions will passively increase that.

The new town is good, compact, but everything is in the right spot. Feels like they really put time into making a small concentrated hub town where everything you need is quick and easy to reach. There was no issues with the old town, and on pc, you can just warp there in under 5 seconds to hit up anything you need, but it's good they are keeping consistent.

New switch skills/wirebugs. Hearing you can have different loadouts that you can swap between on the fly didn't seem something I'd use much. Well, I still don't, but I do sometimes, so it's a fine enough addition. Lance has a new "switch skill" for it's forward + horizontal poke attack which is a shield bash thing. Doesn't look very flashy, but you can do it after anything, and you can do it in any direction, and it's a shield bash, so...it blocks stuff.

ITS REALLY GOOD. You're attacking and need to reposition mid combo? Shield bash in that direction and keep the damage coming. You're attacking and need to reposition mid combo while a monster is about to hit you? Shield bash in that direction and keep the damage coming, it's a shield, and you just go through attacks as if they never happened. When I am able to play lance properly, I take monster attacks, say "not tonight dear" and keep the flow going.

Switching loadouts comes handy because the move that it replaces is like a charging guard thing, which is nice for approaching monsters. However, out of that, you can enter a jump, and from said jump a triple air poke thing, which can be canceled into a backhop, into the charge guard jump tripple poke thing. It's good damage that doesn't use up a ton of sharpness, so it's worth swapping to on downed monsters.

It also feels like you have a lot more skills in general to play with on armor/decorations, so if you want to run more defense to not cart, while also having some damage skills, you totally can.

Having more fun with this than I expected probably going to keep Lance only until I finish the story beat which unlocks MR rank, then maybe try a few other weapons I have had my eye on.

Only problems I have with the game is it's a time where none of my friends are playing. Not a graphics whore at all, but looking back at how good World looked, it is a pretty significant step back in the visuals department. And you can change the town BGM to other stuff in game, which is a neat feature, but the god tier town music from World unfortunately ain't an option. Pretty nitpicky stuff, and stepping down graphically to release on the switch, when nobody has a ps5 right now, was a good compromise imo.

*edit*

So, I finished MR5, and the urgent quest to take you into MR6 is the "final boss" so think xenojiva from world where you do that, the main story is done, credits, and your rank unlocks.

The "final boss" of sunbreak I enjoyed a bit more than base rise. I don't want to speak too soon maybe I'll change my tune when I play more, but out of world, rise, and sunbreak, I think the final boss of sunbreak is the most enjoyable out of the 3. I did cart once in a "if you aren't ready for it you just die" situation, more of a knowledge check death, so nothing too cheap. The last boss of base rise is really annoying and I strongly dislike doing it, and at the end of rise, before content updates, the meta was farm that boss over and over and over for parts to melt down into talismans...and you can see I liked that less than the endgame to world, before content updates. 80-90 hours compared to the 200 I put in world...yeah...

However I got to catch up doing every quest in base rise, since im not on my switch file, and all the quests I didn't do in sunbreak having just bee lined the story. There's also single player "follower" quests, where you do a single player hunt with various town NPC's. I haven't done any of these yet, but I do know a set of armor is locked behind one of these, so it's a cool addition.

Probably going to figure out what I want my lance set to be and farm for that, then look at trying a new weapon. I know I like hammer, I still want to understand sword and shield, switch axe was fun in base rise, I hear things about insect glaive kinsect heal shenanigans, shield + spread HBG is fun, there's a lot to play with.

I guess now the game starts and we'll see how long I play. I think part of the reason I put so much time into world was the small 3ish week window I was playing with irl friends most every day, and I lack that now, so staying power may not be as much. We'll see, pretty happy with my purchase so far, even though I had to buy the damn game again and zoom through to the end again.

*edit*

Just hit me, rise/sunbreak is a bit easier than World, which was a challenging game on its own right, but a lot easier than old monster hunter. I am saying that because fuck Teostra.

I don't think I need to elaborate.

Fuck Teostra.

*edit*

I didn't expect to buy this expansion, let alone put in "cough" 70 hours so far "cough".

Kinda didn't like iceborne from what I played, clutch claw tenderizing spots just meant they increased health on all monsters by a flat percentage, not really fun.

Out of my 200+ hunts, I only have one hunt with hammer, and one with sns, so I can't comment on really how not lance feels, but lance feels good. I think they just did some flat damage increases, because looking at what other weapons do, damage wise, I don't feel too under-powered in the damage department anymore. Sure greatsword can do 1500 in one hit, and my average hit is anywhere between 60-110, but "dps" wise, it feels pretty fair to me. Shield bash feels better than the parry in most situations, so you kind of just ignore what the monster is doing to attack more.

Playing a lot of the "follower quests" which are the single player component. They are pretty cool from a fluff perspective, and the AI of the followers are pretty good. I was combat carving a tail, the monster was about to divebomb me, and the follower flashed it out of the air. They also use endemic life, traps, the lance follower uses the endemic life that "draws aggro" towards her, it's all really cool. They also can go missing for a second or two, come back riding another monster to help with a knockdown. There seems to be a lot of these quests, and you can unlock weapons/armor/misc stuff through them. Do all the missions for one follower and it seems like they become pickable on the follower "surveys", which I haven't played, but I assume they are like follower missions in which you pick whichever followers you've unlocked. So if you wanted even MORE single player only stuff, it's easily 20...with surveys probably well over 30-40+ hours for this TOTALLY OPTIONAL part of the game alone.

I do think I am starting to feel some hunting fatigue playing so much in so little time, but at the very least this feels like a complete product, and the base game while robust, was an unfinished game at launch.

Still think I overall enjoyed mh world more, could have been the time I played it, maybe I am more sensitive to graphics/music than I want to admit, but world had some magic to it that I think only world could have. Rise is the second of the "modern" monster hunters, so I guess it would make sense that you can't capture lightning in a bottle twice, even if it is better in 8 areas out of 10. Not a knock on the game, it is made by a different team, on an under-powered platform, but world man...that game might crack top 10 all time favorites for me.

54

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: June 23, 2022, 08:54:44 PM »

13. Shantae and the Seven Sirens



Yeah...umm, I beat all the Shantae games in a week...more or less. Uhh...I really can't beleive I did this, but the more I played, I kinda just kept having fun, so I seen no reason to stop.

This game is the most ITS A FREKAN METROIDVANIA of all of em. It has a real map this time...pirates curse did too, but this one takes the cake. Fantastic 2d art, pretty varied and good music, transformations feel more "metroidey" this time round. Pretty traditional game for it's genre, only in Shantae form. All the stuff about art/story applies here, very much has it's own identity. I would go out of my way to call this one my favorite out of the 5, not just because it's the most recent, because my second favorite is probably Pirates Curse, but more in that I really enjoy a good metroid or castlevania, and this scratches all the itches for me. Would I say it's better than a metroid dread, or even a bloodstained? No...but yknow, for what it is, it's still a very fun game, and a very good time.

None of these games are very long, and most of them aren't that hard, so it isn't really out of the question to binge these, so I did, and here I am talking about it. Now that I have caught up on this series I have always known about but never played, I do look forward to the next one whenever that comes out. Do you enjoy various levels of metroidvania, with a cute cast of characters in a silly not so serious adventure? Give these a shot.

55

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: June 23, 2022, 08:45:06 PM »

12. Shantae Half Genie Hero



I said I bought all...ALL of the games didn't I? I didn't expect to play..all...of...them...

So this is the 4th Shantae game, and it's got a few differences between the rest of em. First is the art is no longer pixel art, it's like HD animated 2d stuff with 3d backgrounds. The art is REALLY REALLY good, really big fan of all of the art in this game.

Biggest change however is it's not really a "metroidvania" style game...but also has those elements...

This game is like 6...not super long? Levels, like iunno og snes level based action game levels like a castlevania 4 or a contra or whatever, but with shantae gameplay. Though these levels have a lot of "metroidvania" stuff in them, like the first time you go through level 1 you don't have the upgrades to get all the stuff, so you'll have to re play the level again later with the correct upgrade to get the collectables. It's very different, you got a hub town which is the same as in the rest of the games, and you just go to level select from there and mostly replay levels to find all the hidden stuff.

It is pretty fun, but at a point the backtracking is a majority of the game, and does get old after a while. Game isn't super long, so it isn't a huge deal, but could get annoying. Core game is fun, and there's a ton of extra modes, like a ton of unique ways to play the game, so there's no shortage of things to do if the main game isn't enough for you. Would recommend, still quite fun, but art aside, I think this one takes a step back from the last entry.

56

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: June 23, 2022, 08:36:15 PM »

11. Shantae and the Pirates Curse



This is rare, very rare for me. I am playing yet another game in the same series, in this case the third of five Shantae games. Of any to play in order I believe Riskys Revenge leads into Pirates Curse which is a direct sequel, besides that, you can play the other games in any order far as I am aware. So if you intend to play this game, it is recommended to play Riskys Revenge first...it's ~5 hours long, so not a big time investment.

So the first game was hard mostly because it was unfair, the second game was more or less fairly easy, this one starts off kinda hard, but overall isn't too bad. It does have some "kaizo mario" moments, but those aren't the majority of the game, no where near metroid dread levels of difficulty, but has some challenge. Speaking of metroid, this game I feel is more metroid than the past 2. It's structure is a bit different, you have different islands you visit, each island is like iunno, a brinstar from a norfair if we're speaking metroid. Due to story reasons you also don't have genie transformations in this game, so it's more "metroid" feeling in the upgrades in that this game feels like it has more traditional "metroid" style upgrades, like there's metroid style dash boots in this game.

Probably got the best story out of the bunch, very tongue in cheek, starting to see running gags, has some disgaea feels. It's light, cute, mostly fun. You don't play the game for story, but it's there, and worth not skipping. I kinda like that every game starts out in the same town, and the outskirts is the same...but since they are different games, they are different. In this game the town does change as you progress, and it's a cool touch.

This is the game where I am starting to feel what makes Shantae different from the games it would be compared to. I would go as far as to say if you've been looking at the series, maybe give one of these a shot...you'll see why more in the next post...

57

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: June 19, 2022, 01:24:24 PM »

10. Shantae: Risky's Revenge



Pretty easy to chew through these when they're under 6 hours long.

This one is a bit more polished than the original, feels a bit shorter more compact because I think it was originally a DSi title. Controls feel better, enemies a lot less "bullet spongey", the original game I'd run past most everything because short range main attack and too many attacks to kill regular enemies. This game feels a bit more balanced, more save points, less frustrating to play.

Still has the same charm the original had, with really good pixel art at that. Biggest problem is while the game isn't huge, and it "technically" has a map, it's not a good one, and, cmon a real map would be great. Still, I got this on sale for like $5, and I'd say it was well spent. Fun little snack of a game.

58

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: June 17, 2022, 09:26:19 PM »

9. Shantae



So...there was a sale for all the Shantae games...so...I...bought all of them.

Knowing nothing other than the first game on the gbc was a cult classic, released too late for the gbc after the gba was out. Years later they made a sequel, then another...now there's like 5 or something.

Either way, cute character + metroid? vibes, I'll give it a shot.

For an older game it's a bit rough around the edges, save points aren't very common, no save points at all in dunegons, instant kill megaman style spikes are pretty common, and enemies can spawn on you doing damage with no way to avoid it. That said, it's got Metroid 2 vibes of it's in that proto "metroidvania" feel, where it's like an old platformer in a non linear world...and no...map. I used a guide and after the second dungeon I resorted to the ingame savestate feature the switch port has. If savestates are the difference between playing the game to the end, and not, I guess it's an evil I'll dip my toes into. It isn't the hardest game ever, but the instant kill spikes and unfair lack of save points would make it more frustrating than fun in my opinion.

With that out of the way, it's a pretty damn charming game. I do see where the overall positive reception of the game comes from. It plays well for the most part, and oozes charm. It was a good enough time where I may be posting here with a sequel in the not so distant future.

59

Gaming / Re: 2022 The Backloggening

« on: May 30, 2022, 10:52:33 PM »

So...physical ps4 copy, put in ps5, insert a $10 bill to make it into the updated "directors cut" version, could import old save...decide to play around on a new file and see the changes...fifty...five hours later...

I can't stop playing. This game is my minecraft or simcity or whatever, it somehow fills that "build stuff but make actual progress through a game" vibe that those other games don't do. It's such a unique game, I've heard people citing that it evokes the feeling of factorio, I've told people it's like euro truck simulator mixed with simcity with a dash of metal gear, it's just so weird. The GAME both is NOTHING like the first 3-10 hours tries to tell you it is, while being exactly what people say it is. You are a delivery man, you deliver stuff...that's 95% the game, yet...the way it's executed makes it hard to put down.

On the specifics of the Directors Cut itself, worth paying full price if you already beat the game? No. It's mostly the same game, but most of the additions are very welcome additions. Performance on ps4 was great, but ps5 comes with the better load times, and the dual sense specific features (mic, haptics, triggers) all really add to the immersion. Sam takes a step with his left foot, the left part of the controller will make a vibration, walking in snow makes audio of the sound it makes when you walk in snow, the triggers help you feel the weight sam has to carry, really adds that little "extra" helping of immersion.

Not to do a second review of the game, but spending a bunch of time on the original game on ps4, beating it. Going back to the game to put in another 15 hours postgame. Getting this updated version (again only $10 on my end), and putting 55 + hours into a new file...

This game is NOT for everyone, but I think it got shat on a bit too hard by even content creators I tend to respect which is always sad. I think a lot of people try to bee line the story ignoring building stuff...it's a way to play the game, but it is the wrong way to play the game. I think that's part of why the game got some flak, people ignoring 60% of the game mechanics. Or crazy people who want to play offline for the "pure" experience, that is also the wrong way to play. The entire game, the themes, the whole "keep on keepin on", the fact the character is called sam porter BRIDGES, you are supposed to connect with others. It's dark souls styled, but if I had a nickle for every time there was a rope on the right ledge when I didn't have one, or a motorcycle in the middle of the ass end of nowhere, or a bridge across that one spot, all by other players of this game, I'd have paid this game off already. It's literally a game entirely 100% about connecting with other people(the "exp" system is "Likes"  ffs), and to ignore that is silly.

Either way I'm basically a fanboy now. I got my hat. Keep on keepin on. I literally got Elden Ring on ps5, and I took out the disc to play Death Stranding again for 55 hours, that game only got 30 minutes of my time so far...

Norman Reedus accidentally admitted to working on a sequel...



Well that was Kojima's response, we getting a sequel baby. Day one purchase whenever that sucker hits shelves.

*edit*

Beat it a second time, may do a few other things, but I think im more or less done. Not a perfect game, chapter 13 is a whole nother load of up it's ass, just lemme skip please! But besides that, might be a top 20 game of all time for me. Easily one of the best games I have played in the past 5 years. I do not replay games lightly, and I especially do not replay LONG (50+ hour long) games lightly. I'm glad original AAA titles can still exist.

*edit*

66 hours played, all contacts 5 starred. Not going for platinum, to me that's basically doing 100%. I am satisfied.

60

Computing / Re: The Keeb Thread

« on: May 26, 2022, 11:37:08 PM »

I love trying out new switches, but I hate swapping them, haha. Definitely invest in a good switch puller if you're going to do that. The weird, stiff metal ring ones are kinda awkward (and if you slip, the hooks at the end are very good at slicing through skin. Don't ask how I know).

I could see a 60% keyboard easy to replace switches in being a good testbench for switches. I wouldn't want to daily drive anything smaller than a TKL but as a testbench type of thing...im interested in searching for one.

I think it would be fun to have a platform to try switches, even something really small like buying in batches of 10. In all honesty it's more of a "toy", I don't need another expensive "hobby" right now tbh...

Cool for the people who are into it, but some people just want a nice "premium" keyboard without any of the bullshit. Which there seems to be plenty of options now a days, so, something for everyone. My analogue is knives, so when someone asks me about wanting a pocket knife, I need to ask a few questions. Not everybody needs or WANTS a $200+ pocket knife, and I think that's the same thing for anything really. I mostly blame youtube, because that's where I look for things, and people who make their living off one SPECIFIC thing, gotta go hard on that one thing, and I think it unintentionally breeds elitism. This is for a lot of things, not just keyboards, but specifically what I encountered on the youtube/reddit in my search for a keyboard. Again this is in my other interests, like beer, knives, warhammer, bikes, everything. Just makes it a little harder as a consumer.

/softrant?

Curious, do you just go ham and make 100 keyboards to try new switches? Or do you buy small batches of 10 and plug em in somewhere before you take a bigger plunge? I really don't know how people can know so much about switches without having a proper typing experience with them. Like with liquor, you can try 2oz at a bar or something, switches...iunno.