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What are you playing?
Topic Started: Feb 20 2011, 11:04 PM (24,734 Views)
Romanticide
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Started Persona Q.

It plays like a streamlined Etrian Odyssey. The class system from EO doesn't seem to be present in this game. Having sub-Personae is about as close as you get to a class system, the difference being you can fuse your own Personae and thus you have more flexibility than you would have in EO.

Only finished the first dungeon, but going from floor 2 to 3 was a wake-up call. Enemies on the first two floors are pretty easy, but then you start running into enemies that can do 60+ damage with a regular hit when your characters might have 80-90 HP. There's a giant ass beetle that gets two moves per turn and hits really hard fuck it with a cactus. It's a somewhat regular encounter too. Still haven't attempted to fight a FOE because I am not suicidal. The boss was decently difficult too, summoning minions after about each 1/4th of health you took off her life meter. Floor 3 is also somewhat confusing, more so than the first dungeon or two of EO4 ever were. So, yeah, this isn't easy just because they slapped Persona 3/4 stuff into an Etrian Odyssey game.

There are some nice improvements though. The sub-Persona idea allows you to actually use magic in every battle without much worry, because you'll generally have 10+ SP to start a battle with. All-out attacks are still very useful but getting one isn't the "I win" button it was in P3/4. Having an ability that allows you to choose a character to move first is legit as fuck. Labyrinth exits/save points right before the dungeon's boss are the best thing ever.

I'm not sure that I like a party of 16 characters without the ability for everyone to gain at least half experience. In theory, having everyone available is pretty cool. In practice, you're probably going to pick your favorite 5-8 characters (or your protagonist's cast, I guess) and focus on them over everyone else because clinic costs go up per visit. Money for the inn stopped being a problem after the first dungeon of EO4 though, and I hope that holds true here.

Story is meh so far, but I haven't gotten far enough for it to develop much. Characters seem to be one-trick ponies (Rei likes food, Teddie chases girls, Chie likes meat, etc) but whatever; this game was made under the assumption that most people who bought it would have played Persona 3 and/or 4.

Artstyle and music are pretty ballin' tho, but I expect this of a Persona title so yeah. The main battle theme is really catchy, and the first boss theme was good too. The first dungeon is Alice in Wonderland-themed, and while I didn't expect another Alice: Madness Returns, it looks pretty damn good. The in-battle animations/illustrations of Personae are amongst my favorite in the series, but that might be because P3/4/many SMT games never really excelled at in-battle presentation.
Edited by Romanticide, Jan 3 2015, 04:26 AM.
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Romanticide
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Inaba Pride Exhibit Night 4 can fuck itself. With all the cocks. All the living, dead, and future cocks.

tl;dr: It's a huge floor, and the whole thing is part of a fucking puzzle. It wouldn't be so bad if it were an easy puzzle to figure out, but it's... not really that easy. It's probably the single hardest puzzle thus far in the game. Doesn't help that the enemies are a pain in the ass, but at this point I always have at least one of Naoto/Ken/Koromaru for their OP instant death spell(s).

One dungeon left until completion, finally.


In other news, AGDQ was hype. Idk I just haven't gotten around to making an actual post about it, but some highlights:

[utube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViwDUiCzPVU[/utube]

[utube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8GlqtSJxmk[/utube]

[utube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gn4ud3IhG0[/utube]

There were a lot of good runs, but I find it hard to link anything over an hour here. Ain't nobody got the time for that. I loved the Yoshi's Island, DKC:TF, Super Mario Sunshine, Morrowind, Super Metroid, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, amongst too many other runs to list. I didn't miss many runs I was interested in. Portal 1/2, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Kingdom Hearts 2 are all that come to mind.

But... yeah, there are a bunch of games I want to play after watching dem runs, like Fire Emblem (7), Descent 2/3, Zelda: The Minish Cap, SMG2 (thank you based Ninty for week 1 sales), Super Mario Sunshine, and probably some others idk.

I think Transistor is going to be first because I can't just let that gift sit unplayed much longer. Plus then I can watch the speedrun and not spoil myself. >.>
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Romanticide
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Finished Persona Q. Idk what else to say that I haven't said, really. I wish there were more labyrinths, I guess. Five isn't really a lot, even if they are rather big and intricate. Even so, the five in the game *still* made this game as long as P3/4, so it's pretty good value if you're into dungeon crawlers, or specifically Etrian Odyssey. It's easier to recommend to EO fans than Persona fans because EO focuses far less on story and characterization than Persona does, and it's basically another entry in the EO series.

Played Transistor because I got it as a gift. It'd be disrespectful to let a gift sit unplayed, so yeah. Sense of obligation aside, it was totally worth it. Transistor is shorter than Bastion, but that makes it feel like a more focused experience even if the ending was pretty rushed. Other than that, Transistor did pretty much everything Bastion did, but far better. The artstyle and music were incredible, and the hybrid of strategy RPG/action game was really fun. Kind of reminded me of Valkyria Chronicles but with the ability to make it turn-based with the press of a button. Lovely game and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Finished FE7, at long last. I had reached chapter 26x or some shit like that, but I dropped it for... something. Idk. I'm not really a fan of emulating older systems on PC; it just feels weird. But put it on VC or something and I'll snap it up. Anyway, it's typical FE. My biggest gripe would be that it was a pretty easy Fire Emblem game. 9, 10, and 13 were all harder FEs than this. Might be on the same level of difficulty as 11 idk. But yeah, enjoyed it and all. The coolest thing about GBA games on Wii U is that I can go lay down and play them instead of being tethered to my second monitor.


Next games:
Saints Row IV. Picked up Gat Out of Hell for $5. Surprised Gamestop honored that deal, but I guess their logic is they'll take a small bath on the PC version of this relatively minor release in the hopes of fostering goodwill. Other than that, I'm just in the mood for something gloriously stupid.
Pokemon Omega Ruby. Obviously. Haven't had the chance to buy it for various reasons, but I should next month.
Probably more Skyrim. I still have a lot to do with the character I made and that's something I can do whenever I'm in the mood for that.
Edited by Romanticide, Jan 26 2015, 06:32 AM.
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CALJR_8760
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Been playing Super Mario Galaxy. When I originally owned a Wii I rented the game and paired through several of the galaxy, but this is the first time I've truly played it. At first I was trying to get every single star in each system, but I've learned that some of the trickster stars can be really hard and some of the bonus stars require quite a bit of looking without help online. So at this point I'm mainly just worried about getting all the main stars in each system. I've gotten like a third of the stars so far and I just started the bedroom.

The level design is absolutely amazing. Probably the greatest level design I've ever seen in a game before. The game is an absolute blast and I can really get sucked into out, more so than I have gotten sucked into a game since probably Portal 2. My only issue is that the controls get be difficult at times, anytime I have to point the remote at least. It's probably mainly because of how far away I'm sitting, but it's just as difficult if I sit closer and sit on the floor. I think it often makes the games more difficult than it would be otherwise, but it only happens every so often since so few levels strongly rely on them.
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Outlaw454
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I dug Skyrim back out, but, due to a lack of a non-potato pc, I am stuck on the PS3 version which is still buggy as fuck. Upside, taxes are right around the corner, and a pc should be in my future.
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Romanticide
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*nudge*

Bought the first episode of Life is Strange earlier. $5 every six weeks is perfectly doable, even if I save $5 in the long run by just purchasing the entire game beforehand. Whatever.

I feel something is a bit... off... about the voice acting. It's not bad voice acting by any means, but many of the lines are lacking a certain something. Lines that are supposed to sound angry, sad, or what have you sometimes fall flat because they sound off-kilter. I don't know how else I can say it because it's something you have to hear in context to really feel. A long enough segment of gameplay on YouTube would suffice. Other than that, most of the dialogue is at least somewhat faithful to how teens actually talk. Most of it. Something like "that was an epic win!" is cringe-worthy even on the internet, let alone in real life.

Not really a fan of the indie soundtrack. The songs aren't bad, but the obvious indie game does not have to fall out of the hipster tree and hit every branch on the way down. I'd have appreciated a punk song given the obvious punk influence, along with maybe something else that doesn't fit the general "indie sound", as ambiguous as that is these days. Max is more than the "waif hipster bullshit", as one character puts it, but nooooooo, they really do make her seem like a hipster, and the music choices are a big reason why. This said, 10/10 for Amanda Palmer's "In My Mind", whenever we get to it. (It's licensed, but it wasn't in Episode 1.)

The story seems interesting so far, but it's too early to judge. The first third of the episode is pretty slow, but after that it does pick up a bit. The relationship between Max and Chloe rings pretty true to me, though that might be because like Max, I'm not exactly good at the whole "communicate with friends" thing. I found myself liking and relating to Max a lot throughout this episode. The supporting characters haven't been developed much yet (have to establish the story/world, after all), but I hope at least some of them subvert their obvious archetypes.

The reverse time mechanic is pretty interesting. It's a nice way to let you see all the options in a dialogue tree and then commit to one after you've thought it through. As far as puzzles go, I haven't encountered anything particularly creative yet, though you can use it to cover up your snooping/help others out/access things you otherwise wouldn't be able to. People will still be like "lol walking simulator" if they don't like it, but this is gameplay and that says more about them than Life is Strange.

Graphics are whatever. The artstyle isn't bad but I'd hardly say it's exceptional. It works, I guess? Still, you're not going to confuse this for Dontnod's last effort, Remember Me.

Comparisons to Gone Home are almost unavoidable for a few reasons: the punk influence, teenage girls as main characters, "walking simulators", etc. I'll just say this is the more fully-realized and polished game, but Dontnod had more resources than Fullbright. Squeenix publishing will do that for you.

After the credits, you can see the percentage of players who chose to perform certain actions, which is a nice touch. Reminds me of Catherine's questions about relationships/love in general. More games need more of this IMO because it's interesting, though you should be able to opt out if you wish.

All things considered, this was a good start and I'm looking forward to future episodes. Dat episode 2(?) teaser after the credits bah gawd.
Edited by Romanticide, Feb 28 2015, 05:49 AM.
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Snowman
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Just finished XIII-2. I definitely thought the gameplay was better than XIII's, but yeah, the story was kinda bleh. The story felt kinda aimless until they just decided to repeat "I WILL FREE YEUL BY DESTROYING EXISTENCE" over and over. Anyway, I enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to playing Lightning Returns whenever the PC port comes out (spring, I think?).

In the meantime... I should probably start Persona 3 Portable so I can figure out what all the fuss is about before P5 comes out.
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Romanticide
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Diving back into FFX. I suppose I might as well finally wipe this one off the old list, never mind I made it to the timed Sin fight before the game derped on me. That's a masterpiece of trolling; I had like two hours left. After that I might as well do X-2, though I'm actually looking forward to that one since I hear it's underrated. But the FF fanbase is the FF fanbase; you couldn't get more than like five fans to agree on anything.

Surprised at the sheer number of downloads I have on PS3. I have things like Xillia 2, the Raidou Kuzunoha games, Legend of Dragoon, Time and Eternity (lawl), FFVI/VIII... For the most part these are things I want to play. Maybe I'll pick RDR back up sometime; one of the biggest reasons I stopped playing that was my X button died on my first controller, and it probably doesn't help L1 is dead on both of my other controllers. (press X to pay respects) Couldn't really get into it, but I didn't hate it either and it's probably a slow burner.
Edited by Romanticide, Mar 4 2015, 11:20 AM.
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Romanticide
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Finished FFX.

I figure I've put 80 hours into two files now, so it's not bad, but it's still my least favorite Final Fantasy title. The biggest flaws for me are that the story was pretty lame, the world was uninteresting and was a hallway before XIII made that a meme, and the characters might as well be planks of wood. Well, outside of mai waifu Rikku, but even she's a fairly standard example of her archetype. I put a premium on decent characters and worlds in a JRPG, so... Yeah.

Even so, I don't hate the characters as much as I did the first time around, which I guess is progress. Wakka was still... Wakka, but he wasn't as zealous about religion as I remembered him being. Outside of that he's pretty chill. Tidus always came across to me like someone who talked big and never backed his words up, but this time I felt that was more a cover for how scared he was. He felt he was alone in an alien world and later on he was scared to lose the girl he loved. Don't mind Auron but Kratos Aurion is still the best stoic. I still don't know if I like Yuna or not. She never really *did* anything that made her stand out to me. The others... Meh.

Being able to switch between characters at will is great, and since you'll get the same amount of AP per character no matter how many fight, it's essential. That said, it probably makes encounters longer and that time adds up over a 40 hour JRPG, so maybe stick to the ones you actually use. The sphere grid is practically the predecessor to XII's License System, and I feel that was done better. You just have more control, even if everyone does eventually turn out the same in the version we got. (This is not true of IZJS.)

This game has some of the best boss fights in the series (Spectral Keeper, Yunalesca, etc), and they're probably why I find this game is playable. Most of the bosses from Mt. Gagazet on have an interesting gimmick that requires a bit more than grinding/pressing X to win. Regular encounters get more challenging on and after Mt. Gagazet too. Before that point this is one of the easier FF titles IMO.

Don't think I'll ever do the post-game content. Seems like a gigantic grind. This is true of post-game content in most JRPGs and it's why I rarely do it.
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Volt
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Keep Moving Forward

Oh my god Teddie is the most annoying character ever.
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Romanticide
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I guess you could say he's un-bear-a-

*shot*

I don't find him super annoying in Persona 4; he has his moments. But Persona Q? Holy shit he's a one track character. Score score score .*stab*
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DucksFAN93
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That is literally the worst/funniest pun I have heard in forever.

Also, just stared Tales of Xillia 2. The first arte you get in the game is Azure Edge... Same one Yuri gets in Vesperia. So original lol.
Edited by DucksFAN93, Mar 24 2015, 02:48 AM.
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Romanticide
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Hell yeah. I think I'ma play FFX-2 and then Xillia 2. Or, X-2 and X-2. Idk when I'll get to each of those though.

Have my two Life is Strange files set up for episode 2, which should hopefully drop as an individual download... Any moment now? It's midnight here. Maybe the store page will update with that tomorrow, which would suck but I guess I could live with it. I know it's cheaper just to buy all the episodes at once, but I generally find a per month/episode/whatever plan more convenient. *shrug*
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DucksFAN93
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So far Xillia 2 is good, but Ludger has no voice over except grunts which is killing me. I guess you only can unlock is full voice over in new game plus via the grade shop. What a bunch of steaming hot balls.
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Romanticide
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What the fuck? Why would I buy that before I buy things like 2/10x Exp and all the other goodies that are in a Tales Grade shop? It usually takes like 3 playthroughs to get all the good stuff, unless you're playing DotNW, which gives out Grade like candy. Blah that is garbage.
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