Author Topic: The Backlog, 2020 edition  (Read 8313 times)

vladgd

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The Backlog, 2020 edition
« on: January 08, 2020, 11:48:45 PM »
1. Dragon Warrior 2 (gbc)



Remember that time back in April where I beat Dragon Warrior, well there was two games on this gbc cart, and that meant only 1 of the two were completed. Can't have that now can we, new year, new list.

Not a bad game, but also from what im reading, one of the least enjoyed dragon quest games. Most of my enjoyment comes from seeing it as a history piece more than anything, the game was made in 87 after all(year older than me!). Have an actual party unlike the first game, but levels are permanently off throughout the entire game, the princess for example was almost 10 levels lower than the main character by endgame. Albeit I think they knew this and while levels were off, they felt more or less balanced with eachother.

I ain't gonna nitpick the game to death, it is pretty flawed, but taking it for what it is, a very very old jrpg, it's worth checking out. If you had to play one out of the two though, i'd recommend the first one. It may not be as flashy or have much substance to it, but it's simple, short, and not too hard, easy to blow through in a few sessions. 2 on the other hand requires quite a lot of grinding to get through, and probably a few various maps and guides just to make heads or tales of where to go.

Since I do want to beat...all...of the dragon quest games, this was necessary in order to unlock the privlidge of playing the game I've been wanting to play since damn near middle school, dragon warrior 3 on the gbc. I finally aquired a copy used game hunting a few months ago, and now that I beat 2, 3 is on the table...for another time...have another game in mind for the next romp.

Hopefully I can finish #2 before the end of the month, as it marks warcraft 3 reforged, one of the best games ever, and one...I haven't beat!

Before I end this post, I was playing around with the idea of having a "bounty" list or a "priority games" list, backlogged games that I've put a little too much time and or thought into over the years that just gotta get completed. Not sure I want to bloat this thread with MODERATE SIZED LIST OF VIDYA every other post, or just have a link somewhere where I can keep track of it. Since I have no plan, I'll just list a few off the top of my head, shrink the text to keep it clean, and add to it as more games come to mind while thinking of a better way to place/format it. And the list doesn't really have an effect on what I'll do next, since that's just 100% based on what I want to play at that particular time, more of a goal with no time limit.

-final fantasy x-2
-zelda majoras mask
-tomba!
-banjo tooie
-metal gear solid 5
-brave fencer musashi
-star fox adventures


Another year another list, hello 2020!
 

vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2020, 11:52:11 AM »
2. Nier Automata

Heard nothing but good things, two friends called it their goty of said year, I really like bayonetta and it's from the same people with similar looking combat, really wanted to play the game...

Didn't like it at all, couldn't make it to 6 hours played without throwing in the towel. Besides the interesting story/characters, I think the game is outright bad, and I can't understand how it's so critically praised. I may slog through it in the future, because I really do WANT to like the game, but it's just too damn tedious/boring to play. More annoyed I wasted $30 on the game than anything.

2. Dragon Quest Builders 2



I'm not a minecraft guy, I'm not one that plays those endless building games that don't end, but while this game can be that, for the most part, it isn't.

It's a game with a beginning, and an end(with a postgame where you can endless build with objectives and whatnot if you so choose), with a story and characters, it's a legit dragon quest spinoff game.

Funny I just beat Dragon Quest 2, and come into this because it may not say, but this game is a psuedo sequel to that game. Many many MANY references to dq2, like the main antagonist to random items, characters, the bullshit hard cave at the end of dq2 being described as "it may be called this, but most people just call it hell".

It's really damn good and I couldn't put it down till I seen credits. If mass effect andromeda is game pacing gone wrong, this game always keeps you engaged with something to do for the entire length of the game, of which it is pretty long.

I ain't doing postgame endless building since I aint into that, but I had a blast playing through the story from start to finish.

vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2020, 12:18:03 AM »
3. SteamWorld Dig



Umm, I really didn't expect to post so soon...

This game has been something I wanted to play for a while. I think I tried it out last year on pc? But I really couldnt into keyboard controls, and I couldn't get a pad working, so I gave up.

Then I picked it up on a switch sale recently for super cheap, and now that I finished builders, decided to give it a romp...under 5 hours later, I beat it. Short game.

I had been thinking of a game called miner dig deep, which this game is kinda similar too, albeit with actual combat and more "metroidey" vibes. But it's a fun little game that doesn't overstay it's welcome, although the last level is a bit tedious, overall it's a good time. Might snag the sequel when the Easter sales hit.

Spectere

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2020, 07:09:21 AM »
2. Nier Automata

Heard nothing but good things, two friends called it their goty of said year, I really like bayonetta and it's from the same people with similar looking combat, really wanted to play the game...

Didn't like it at all, couldn't make it to 6 hours played without throwing in the towel. Besides the interesting story/characters, I think the game is outright bad, and I can't understand how it's so critically praised.

Curious, as I actually enjoyed N:A's gameplay. The combat certainly wasn't as intricate as Bayonetta but it felt solid enough.

What issues did you have with it?
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vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2020, 11:40:59 PM »
A few things. Feel free to step in if im taking something minor as a dealbreaker.

"this game contains NO AUTOSAVES THIS IS A FEATURE!"

yeah just fuck that in a game where enemies can one shot me. It isn't cute, I don't care if it's tied in to the story, it's horseshit. It's 2020, I don't like redoing shit because of a cheap death. I'm sure defenders of the game wanna know "where are you getting one shot? I NEVER HAD THAT ISSUE" well, i do, and various enemies in the sidequests are outright deadly, what's it those axe guys one shot me. I understand dodging and whatnot, but I make a mistake here and there, and going back to my last manual save, it's shitty, it feels shitty, and It makes me want to play something else, So I did.

The "open world" lacks direction, feels empty, I feel obligated to do the sidequests so I'm not underleveled (and in the short time I played, I was underleveled after doing a main quest or two), but they're not fun at all to play. I would have more fun if the open world didn't exist, and it played in a series of levels.

Main thing, I want to beat the game and move on, but this is a game where you gotta beat it THREE FUCKIN TIMES.

yeah, that's a big fat no, and disrespectful to the players time honestly. I wouldn't have quit if I knew I could get to the end and be done with it, but not only does getting to the end only get me 1/3 of the way there, I won't be playing 2b which was a real factor in my purchase because...yknow...look at her...shut up I do what I want, I WANTED TO PLAY AS HOT ROBO WAIFU WHOM IVE SEEN ALL THE ARTS AND COSPLAYS FOR IM AN ADULT I MAKE MY OWN CHOICES

Mostly feeling frustrated, confused, and bored at the same time, with the knowledge I need to beat the game 3 times, and 2 of those times I'm not even the character I bought the game to play as...it was too much for me. AND AND AND AND I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THE GAME, it's not like I went into the game like whatever, I wanted to like it, so when I was disappointed, it hit harder than if I didn't really care in the first place.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2020, 11:50:59 PM by vladgd »

Spectere

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2020, 10:37:03 AM »
Yeah, I'm not sure anything I say will change your mind. It kind of sounds like the core mechanics and questing system just rub you the wrong way.

I'm admittedly kind of in the "I NEVER HAD THAT ISSUE" camp, but I can see how that would be an issue in some of those early parts. You're pretty weak at that point and the game doesn't have any qualms about telling you that.

Some of the sidequests are pretty ass. I generally just picked and chose which ones to do based on how much I connected with the characters that were involved and exactly what you had to do. I'd say I did maybe 60-70% of them.

Parts of the open-ish world get more interesting as time goes on, but I'd say they could have easily halved the size of certain parts and ended up getting the same effect. The city felt alright to me, probably because it was clearly one of the main focal points, but the large desert area just felt like a large expanse of nothingness.

You only actually have to beat the game twice, and the story gets expanded when you run through it with 9S. His hacking attack is also OP as shit, which makes things move along much faster. Definitely not ideal, and I wish they would have implemented it in a different way, but it only took me about half the time to get through it.

After that second playthrough, shit seriously goes down. The third playthrough is absolutely nothing like the first two, and that's when the game really gets serious. You do have to get three endings during the third loop, but the path splits so close to the end that you only have to replay the last little bit.

I know this won't fix all of your gripes, but have you tried turning the difficulty down to easy? The decreased damage and the ability to use auto chips should allow you to focus more on the story rather than grinding through the game and dealing with the combat.
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Bobbias

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2020, 06:47:22 PM »
I can understand a lot of the frustration. I've had a few quick deaths from enemies who were stronger than I expected but overall once I got a feel for the combat it took a lot for something to kill me. That said some enemies can be a fucking SLOG.

I agree the desert is dumb. And I personally dont enjoy the hacking minigame, which kinda sucks because of how OP it is. Haven't finished the 9s playthrough but I really liked the game.

And the music might be the best vgm I've heard from a game this... I guess last decade now.
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vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2020, 10:39:34 PM »
I think I'll just stick er on easy and "play for the story" because the game itself just ain't fun to me...kinda like the first nier that nobody played. Got bogged down in boring sidequests and dropped off. Not going to be something I focus on, but I'll try picking at it a few hours at a time. Just met A2, however not far at all that is.

For things I actually want to play, im torn between a lot. SMT digital devil saga, SMT devil survivor, starfox adventures, mario rabbids, (warcraft 3 is out in a few days dropping everything for that), more dragon quest stuff. IUNNO MEIGN.

Spectere

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #8 on: January 26, 2020, 12:05:05 PM »
And the music might be the best vgm I've heard from a game this... I guess last decade now.

yussssss. I honestly can't get over how good the soundtrack is. Weight of the World (The End of Yorha) brings me close to tearing up every time I listen to it.

kinda like the first nier that nobody played

I ended up drunk buying Nier Gestalt for the Xbox 360 at one point. I'm going to have to play it one of these days.

starfox adventures

It's been a while since I played it (read: I was in high school) but I remember actually enjoying this for the most part. I wouldn't say it was GOTY material, but with the way some fans reacted to it you'd think it was worse than Big Rigs.

I hate that "it's different so it sucks" mentality. It's fine to be skeptical, but c'mon now.
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vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2020, 08:12:21 PM »
It's been a while since I played it (read: I was in high school) but I remember actually enjoying this for the most part. I wouldn't say it was GOTY material, but with the way some fans reacted to it you'd think it was worse than Big Rigs.

I hate that "it's different so it sucks" mentality. It's fine to be skeptical, but c'mon now.

I wouldn't entirely agree. If it was a bad starfox game, sure, I agree. But it's not a bad starfox game, it's a solid zelda game. So if you're a starfox fan, jonsing for a new starfox game, and you receive a zelda game, regardless how good, you're probably going to be disappointed. Starfox Adventures, ignoring the title, is NOT a starfox game, it's a zelda game with a starfox skin, and a decent one at that. Not a game I would recommend for a starfox fan, who may not enjoy zelda games. Not it sucks for being different, it sucks because its straight up not a starfox game.

I have this very same opinion of banjo kazooie nuts and bolts. It's one of my favorite platformer series (I enjoy it over mario), and when the new one was announced for 360 I was hype...till I found out it was a lego car maker game with every single mission being timed and an overworld that didn't really have anything in it.

The game itself could be a goty quality game, but it wasn't a banjo game, and for a fan who waited over a decade for some new banjo...yknow It could be the best game ever and I'd still hate it. Because I do hate it.


Spectere

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2020, 03:22:10 PM »
Sure, but scoring a good Zelda game with a Star Fox theme a 1/10 and screaming about it being the worst game ever is doing everyone a disservice, and disappointments like that can typically be avoided by checking the back of the box or reading/watching preview coverage. I mean, I don't recall seeing anyone trash Monster Hunter Stories because it's a JRPG.

And just to make things clear, I'm not talking about people just being disappointed. I get it. It's the first Star Fox game on the GameCube and it's nothing like Star Fox or Star Fox 64. I'm talking about people being so angry that Nintendo/Rare dared develop a spinoff title that they'd review bomb it and bash anyone who did happen to like it. I remember that sort of thing being rampant when that game came out despite it being a solid game in its own right.
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vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #11 on: March 09, 2020, 07:42:19 PM »
Sure it's immature, but like if you finally get a sequel in a beloved franchise you've been waiting forever to get, only to have it not be what you want...it's justified to be pissed and act like a little baby imo. The banjo kazooie "dlc character for smash" to me felt like nintendo came to my house, shit on my floor, and spit on my face. I get it, we're not getting another banjo game, but at least keep em dead ffs, stop teasing.

Anyways, why im here because I stopped playing wow for a second or two and sunk 50 hours into game #4

4. Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga



After being disappointed by strange journey (gameplay wise, universe was cool af), smt4, and 4a, I can say this game is awesome. It is a spinoff game, and thus the gimmick with this one is there really isn't one. Take the smt formula of 1mc, and 3 demons, which recruitment and fusion and stuff takes place. Replace it with a more standard 3 man party, no demons (BECAUSE YOU ARE THE DEMONS DUN DUN DNNNNNN), a psuedo sphere grid style skill system (with standard leveling and stats ontop of that), and purgatory as the setting, and you got a pretty cool ass game. Difficulty starts off hard, and the game can just shin megami tensei kill you before you have the opportunity to take an action...but near the later half of the game as you attain abilities that are broke as all shit, you kinda feel like your cheating. Like hear this, all of my  party is immune to physical attacks, ALL elemental magic, ailments, and instant death abilities...so unless it's an almighty based attack, I ain't taking no damage, and they're losing pressturns. Now that takes a shitton of grinding...mightof put 15 hours of my 50 hour playthrough just grinding money to get everything, but that isn't mandatory, and I just wanted the broke shit, and it's there. But I beat all of the optional bosses sans the ng+ only demifiend (whom I hear is hard as fuck regardless of being immune to everything sans almighty, level 99, 99 in all stats, 999 health and mana....so I might just pass).

Great gameplay, kinda meh story (but thats kinda all megaten, i think setting > story in these games), really interesting setting/tone, good shit.

Now since this is a duology, of dds 1, AND dds 2, AND I happen to have a physical copy of both sitting on my mantle...the question is to boot that up, or play something else and save it for another month.

Hey I finally beat something! YAY!

vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #12 on: April 04, 2020, 10:50:06 PM »
So I quit stopped playing WoW because with finite time, and a billion games I wanna play, multiplayer games just gotta go. Great time with it, might be back to dabble, but I am behind schedule. Almost an entire month since the last post, no can do!

5. Advance Wars Days of Ruin



I ended up picking dual strike and days of ruin on the same day while used game shopping. Decided upon the one I wanted to play the least out of the two first, for the "newest" game in the series, graphically, I think its the worst looking advance wars game. The music is also super edgy guitar stuff for the most part, and....I ain't a fan...

AND they nerfed the commanders to shit, no more is the armywide passive effects, now all units across the board are the same. You have to put a commander into a unit, and it has a small radius of which units in that radius gain the passive effect, and if that unit lives long enough you can use your commander power thing.

Music, graphics, gameplay mechanics, and setting, just no, no, no, no, and no.

Then "cough" well I played the game "cough"

It ain't advance wars 2, but it's pretty damn good. I thought the bike infantry would be overpowered as shit, because why build a regular one if you can have one on a bike that goes twice as far? But they follow the same rules as any other vehicle. So roads? GREAT! mountains? NO BUENO! The naval game was overhauled so it feels a bit more balanced/interesting. The new units added a subtle but positive feel to the gameplay, in advance wars 2 if your opponent had a neotank, you basically just let it murder your units unless you have some artillery or something. In days of ruin, they have an "anti tank" unit, which does just that, but it ain't broke because infantry and indirects can counter it. Only hole in the game is there's 3 tiers of tank, tank, md tank, and wartank. In the first 2 games, I made a lot of use out of both the tank and the md tank, and for whatever reason in this game...I may not have made even one single tank or md tank after I got access to the wartank. If I'm fighting infantry, I make an anti air to kill it. If I am fighting tanks, I have a combo of one anti tank guarding rockets/artillery. If I just need raw meat for the grinder, I just make 20,000,000 mech infantry. Maybe they'll be more useful in the optional maps (of which there are many), but with how I play the game, never found a use for normal tanks unless they were a predeployed unit.

Pretty challenging game overall, gets pretty nasty near the end...."cough" FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK "cough", but when actually winning a mission where they give you two stones and a leaf to fight the entire united states armed forces, it feels good.

Damn shame they killed off the series, having beaten 3/4 of them, it's threatening to surpass xcom for being my favorite turn based strategy series...

RECOMMENDING THIS ONE, but if you have a choice, play the first two first.

vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #13 on: May 01, 2020, 09:09:08 PM »
Barely churning out one a month, man does life pass by fast.

6. XCOM Chimera Squad



Not going to sugar coat it, this game would be a good deal at $60. It would be a great deal at $40. I PAYED $10, and had a fantastic 28 hours playing through this game. If you like xcom, and you aren't a bitch elitist snob (as most of the internet bitching about this game for the fact of it's a spinoff and not a main series game), you will have a lot of fun playing this game. I can't even believe they launched this game on sale for $10, since the normal price is ONLY $20. I can't even sympathise to the hordes of complainers, it's a legit fun, good, faithful, fairly meaty xcom spinoff game.

PLAY IT!

NEXT!

vladgd

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Re: The Backlog, 2020 edition
« Reply #14 on: May 06, 2020, 08:52:01 PM »


Brainstorming what to play next, may have to translate this to get past my kindergarten quality handwriting.

All games minus front mission 3, and resident evil 3, I have played to a minor or major extent in the past.

-Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga 2
-Brave Fencer Musashi
-Resident evil...0,1,2,3,4
-Advance Wars Dual Strike
-Mario + Rabids
-Metroid Prime 2
-Death Stranding
-Warcraft 3
-Splinter Cell
-Silent hill 3 (and 1 and 2 I guess)
-Dark cloud 2
-Metal gear solid 5
-Front mission 3
-Fear Effect 2
-Armored Cor4e
-Tomba!

Think I'll figure out a place to deposit games on the "to do" list, and also I got a fuck it I quit list which I started at the bottom...

Abandoned games, not worth my time
-Final Fantasy X-2
-Nier Automata
-Final Fantasy 2

Probably a good idea to have somewhere to keep track of shit I want to finish, as well as games I tried but ultimately aren't worth my time to finish. Can't enjoy everything.

Currently inbetween games, and I can easily make that list over 100 games long, but keeping to things on my mind, it's good enough for now. Dark Souls III is another game, but for example, I know I aint ready right now to boot it up, play it, and beat it, even though I loved the first one, finished it, and HAVE A COPY OF III IN SHRINK WRAP ON A SHELF IN MY HOUSE, currently do not want to invest energy into playing that game. Hard part about starting a new game is being in the right mood for the right game, and sometimes I'll go weeks without playing anything.