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Yesterday, I got to Chapter 8, replayed Episode Gladiolus, and beat it, and got the rest of the Royal Arms on Lucis. For Costlemark, I didn't want to waste my time on it due to how diffficult it was to get through it's hordes of Daemons and Jabbawak, I used the Magitek Exosuits at some point in it, and eventually switched to Easy Mode when the suits were nearly out of power. I switched it back to Normal Mode after I got the Sword of The Tall, and leveled up from 38 to 51 at Galdin Quay's hotel. Now, next up is the FFXIV collab and Chapter 9 and onward.
I've been playing a couple of old games on Switch.
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition - I can't believe I've ignored this series for as long as I have. I've looked at it before and thought I would enjoy it as it's basically a mix of Zelda and Prince of Persia (also reminds me of Legacy of Kain fairy often) but I never knew I would get into it as much as I am right now. I seriously like this game and the Switch port seems pretty solid.
Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD - I played this game 3 or 4 times back on the PS2. I picked up the PS3 HD release but sadly never got around to touching it. The Switch version caught my attention, however. Being able to play this hybrid was too tempting. There's also the fact that I love the Pro Controller. Going from the PS2 version to this is a shocking difference. From what I've seen, it looks pretty much identical to the PS4 version. It's a shame they didn't make use of the HD rumble or add anything other than touchscreen healing between battles, but it's fine.
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition - I can't believe I've ignored this series for as long as I have. I've looked at it before and thought I would enjoy it as it's basically a mix of Zelda and Prince of Persia (also reminds me of Legacy of Kain fairy often) but I never knew I would get into it as much as I am right now. I seriously like this game and the Switch port seems pretty solid.
Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD - I played this game 3 or 4 times back on the PS2. I picked up the PS3 HD release but sadly never got around to touching it. The Switch version caught my attention, however. Being able to play this hybrid was too tempting. There's also the fact that I love the Pro Controller. Going from the PS2 version to this is a shocking difference. From what I've seen, it looks pretty much identical to the PS4 version. It's a shame they didn't make use of the HD rumble or add anything other than touchscreen healing between battles, but it's fine.
Finished the FFVIII remaster. Some thoughts:
- I cannot stress enough that the 3x speed option and the ability to turn off random battles immeasurably improved the experience.
- Without random encounters, it forced me to use Triple Triad (the best minigame in the entire FF series) and Card Mod to get the appropriate magic to junction.
- The new character models, for my money, looked great and sharp. It's a shame the backgrounds weren't (or more appropriately, couldn't) be updated as well.
- When I actually had to draw magic from enemies (mostly bosses), it was far, far less of a chore with the speed enhancements. The game is still stupidly easy to break.
- The Random rule is manageable if you mod every card except the GF and character ones. Same/Plus can die in a fire.
SPOILER
- The menus seem to run at a lower framerate than the rest of the game. 3X speed fixed that.
- Interestingly enough, getting through the gameplay more efficiently allowed me more time to concentrate on the actual story. It's better than I initially gave it credit for 20 years ago(!). Nothing's changed - some of the plot points (especially THAT one) are still bizarre to this day, and the scenario hung more lanterns than 19-century London. I think it's more the translation -- grammatically proficient but but wildly inconsistent -- that holds this game back in my personal FF pantheon. I don't blame the localization team. We've all heard stories about the lack of support and access they had. Squall is far more relatable when you realize he was supposed to be awkward and scared, and not an emo jerk.
So if you liked FFVIII, this is well worth the $20 to experience it again. If you didn't, this is the version to give it another chance.
- I cannot stress enough that the 3x speed option and the ability to turn off random battles immeasurably improved the experience.
- Without random encounters, it forced me to use Triple Triad (the best minigame in the entire FF series) and Card Mod to get the appropriate magic to junction.
- The new character models, for my money, looked great and sharp. It's a shame the backgrounds weren't (or more appropriately, couldn't) be updated as well.
- When I actually had to draw magic from enemies (mostly bosses), it was far, far less of a chore with the speed enhancements. The game is still stupidly easy to break.
- The Random rule is manageable if you mod every card except the GF and character ones. Same/Plus can die in a fire.
SPOILER
- The menus seem to run at a lower framerate than the rest of the game. 3X speed fixed that.
- Interestingly enough, getting through the gameplay more efficiently allowed me more time to concentrate on the actual story. It's better than I initially gave it credit for 20 years ago(!). Nothing's changed - some of the plot points (especially THAT one) are still bizarre to this day, and the scenario hung more lanterns than 19-century London. I think it's more the translation -- grammatically proficient but but wildly inconsistent -- that holds this game back in my personal FF pantheon. I don't blame the localization team. We've all heard stories about the lack of support and access they had. Squall is far more relatable when you realize he was supposed to be awkward and scared, and not an emo jerk.
So if you liked FFVIII, this is well worth the $20 to experience it again. If you didn't, this is the version to give it another chance.
Likes:
Storm
Just got the Link's Awakening remake. It's as charming as it was when I first played it in 1993. The game is a near 1:1 remake of the original, which -- unlike Adventures of Mana -- is a good thing; the game world didn't need fixing. Of course, there are QoL improvements you would expect for a 2019 game. The only quibble I have is the need to equip Roc's Feather to jump; a minor complaint in a wonderful game.
It brings back memories of trying to see the Game Boy screen late night in the back seat of my parents' car.
EDIT: Finished it, with my daughter and youngest son watching me. It's much easier than the original -- simply given the QoL improvements. The map feature trivializes infamous sticking points in the original, like Eagle's Tower. The only trouble I had was a bit of JoyCon drift with the paver puzzles in Turtle Rock. All in all, this 15-hour game was much more fun and rewarding compared to my experiences with DQ11 and XC2.
It brings back memories of trying to see the Game Boy screen late night in the back seat of my parents' car.
EDIT: Finished it, with my daughter and youngest son watching me. It's much easier than the original -- simply given the QoL improvements. The map feature trivializes infamous sticking points in the original, like Eagle's Tower. The only trouble I had was a bit of JoyCon drift with the paver puzzles in Turtle Rock. All in all, this 15-hour game was much more fun and rewarding compared to my experiences with DQ11 and XC2.
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Finished Uncharted 4.
Playing Uncharted 4 was an exercise in how repetitive & formulaic one can be (did you like the first game? hope you do because, we are doing that again for the third time but prettier) while still being an enjoyable experience (sharper character writing, polished gunplay,pretty enviroments and more open level design) hardcore fans will surely take more enjoyment than I did.
Unchated 4 feels like a game running on fumes, as the forth entry it doesn't offer anything new outside of refined & polished mechaniques and better writing, nearly every moment feels like being there done there, which also makes the game feel like dragging on for far too long (the game around 6 hours longer than its predecesors didn't help). The most enjoyable part ofthe game for me was whenever there was some downtime in-between the action sequences and set pieces, and after indulgent U2 and U3 set pieces, it was a nice change of paces that they dial down to something close to U1 (with the only sequence resembling the later two games being the Madagascar chase sequence).
It's a fine, if unimpressive, conclusion to Nathan Drake's story.
6/10
I would hardly call it one of PS4 best exclusive or one of the best games of 2016.
Playing Uncharted 4 was an exercise in how repetitive & formulaic one can be (did you like the first game? hope you do because, we are doing that again for the third time but prettier) while still being an enjoyable experience (sharper character writing, polished gunplay,pretty enviroments and more open level design) hardcore fans will surely take more enjoyment than I did.
Unchated 4 feels like a game running on fumes, as the forth entry it doesn't offer anything new outside of refined & polished mechaniques and better writing, nearly every moment feels like being there done there, which also makes the game feel like dragging on for far too long (the game around 6 hours longer than its predecesors didn't help). The most enjoyable part ofthe game for me was whenever there was some downtime in-between the action sequences and set pieces, and after indulgent U2 and U3 set pieces, it was a nice change of paces that they dial down to something close to U1 (with the only sequence resembling the later two games being the Madagascar chase sequence).
It's a fine, if unimpressive, conclusion to Nathan Drake's story.
6/10
I would hardly call it one of PS4 best exclusive or one of the best games of 2016.
Just tried out the Trials of Mana remake demo. Being a long-time player of the original Seiken Densetsu 3, I think this is going in the "buy" column. The maps and towns I played seems like a direct 1:1 mapping to the SFC original. This includes the character openings - they are almost a shot-for-shot 3D remake, albeit with voice acting (which seems passable).
The biggest change is the combat system. Players of the original will no doubt remember the game ended up being a battle of attrition. There was very little in the way of ARPG skill in dodging or avoiding enemy attacks. This is not the case here; you can avoid (so far) everything. This is only the beginning of the game, so it skews on the easy side (hit twice, dodge, and hit again == no damage sustained), but it'll be interesting to see how this maps to later areas and some of the more notorious bosses.
Early impressions are positive. Looking forward to this one.
The biggest change is the combat system. Players of the original will no doubt remember the game ended up being a battle of attrition. There was very little in the way of ARPG skill in dodging or avoiding enemy attacks. This is not the case here; you can avoid (so far) everything. This is only the beginning of the game, so it skews on the easy side (hit twice, dodge, and hit again == no damage sustained), but it'll be interesting to see how this maps to later areas and some of the more notorious bosses.
Early impressions are positive. Looking forward to this one.
Likes:
Storm
Finished two playthroughs of Trials of Mana. Overall, I'd put this one at a solid 8/10.
- The skill point system made things interesting. You actually had to plan how you wanted your characters to evolve, even beyond the class changes. For instance, if you wanted fire magic for Angela, you have to dip into Strength. I think the team did a pretty decent job in making it that the skill system was useful, but not gating to the overall experience.
- Similarly, the abilities the characters can equip were nice augments, but only in the late/post game did they ever get to the point of "broken."
- The difficulty of the game trends on the easy side -- the game just throws levels at you. Fights are plentiful but quick -- rarely did I miss getting the < 30s EXP bonus. Fortunately, the battle system keeps up. The game REALLY wants you to use combos (all combos are the same inputs), as the later enemies can be damage sponges if you just spam a weak attack. Less successful are the aerial attacks; the camera and lock-on --- like all recent SE games -- are more like suggestions.
- There are, though, some rather high difficulty spikes. I'd say that after the first class change
- The game runs very smoothly with few in the way of frame drops, even on the Switch version.
- Voice acting is -- passable. The translation itself is good, but you have to keep in mind this is a 1-1 remake of an old SFC title. Don't expect writing the caliber of FF7R and FFXV.
- Expect a 20-25 hour game, even with seed grinding. My main playthrough was Riesz's/Hawkeye's path -- finished the game at level 79.
- NG+ is a joke. The game will give you an ability that triples your XP. Without grinding I took a whole new party from level 1 to level 93 by the time I was at the final boss. It's a good way to experience the other character paths if that's all you're interested in. The second playthrough was Duran and Angela. Can't say I was especially fulfilled in any meaningful way, but it certainly was quick (~8hrs)
- The skill point system made things interesting. You actually had to plan how you wanted your characters to evolve, even beyond the class changes. For instance, if you wanted fire magic for Angela, you have to dip into Strength. I think the team did a pretty decent job in making it that the skill system was useful, but not gating to the overall experience.
- Similarly, the abilities the characters can equip were nice augments, but only in the late/post game did they ever get to the point of "broken."
- The difficulty of the game trends on the easy side -- the game just throws levels at you. Fights are plentiful but quick -- rarely did I miss getting the < 30s EXP bonus. Fortunately, the battle system keeps up. The game REALLY wants you to use combos (all combos are the same inputs), as the later enemies can be damage sponges if you just spam a weak attack. Less successful are the aerial attacks; the camera and lock-on --- like all recent SE games -- are more like suggestions.
- There are, though, some rather high difficulty spikes. I'd say that after the first class change
the two hardest boss fights in the game come back-to-back.
- Voice acting is -- passable. The translation itself is good, but you have to keep in mind this is a 1-1 remake of an old SFC title. Don't expect writing the caliber of FF7R and FFXV.
- Expect a 20-25 hour game, even with seed grinding. My main playthrough was Riesz's/Hawkeye's path -- finished the game at level 79.
- NG+ is a joke. The game will give you an ability that triples your XP. Without grinding I took a whole new party from level 1 to level 93 by the time I was at the final boss. It's a good way to experience the other character paths if that's all you're interested in. The second playthrough was Duran and Angela. Can't say I was especially fulfilled in any meaningful way, but it certainly was quick (~8hrs)
Likes:
Storm
ARK Survival Evolved. I just got to the Aberration map and it is kicking my ass.
Otherwise, the PSN weeb sale they had going stole $76.00 from my wallet and I bought FF VII, VIII, IX, X/X-2, and XII. I felt the need to feel some nostalgia this fall/winter...and to remember that Square at one point made complete whole games with decent characters at one point that weren't bogged down by production issues and directorial nonsense.
Otherwise, the PSN weeb sale they had going stole $76.00 from my wallet and I bought FF VII, VIII, IX, X/X-2, and XII. I felt the need to feel some nostalgia this fall/winter...and to remember that Square at one point made complete whole games with decent characters at one point that weren't bogged down by production issues and directorial nonsense.
Lately I've been playing a lot of Celeste (2018) a quite challenging platform game, haven't had such a good time with this type of game in a while.
Likes:
Nova and Storm
I recently downloaded Alice in Wonderland on the xbox horror version and to be honest I expected something better. I realize that the game is quite old and I just remember it somehow better than it turned out to be in the present. The biggest disadvantage when it comes to the overall aspect is the control, but nothing can replace the "wasd" haha
Likes:
Storm
I'm also now on the last stretch of GTA5 (I'm on what I'm pretty sure will be the last heist) and am on the fourth dungeon in Wind Waker HD. Busy times...! get-vidmate.com instasave.onl
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Likes:
Storm
Not sure it counts entirely as a game, but recently I've spent some little time with the demo of Balan Wonderworld. Surprisingly engaging and enjoyable, and I wanted to play more worlds. Also, I'm quite sure it's based on an earlier build, and several aspects related to replaying are locked off in the demo.
Likes:
Storm