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1

Discussion / Re: 2020 games in review

« on: January 02, 2021, 02:11:18 AM »

Not too much time for gaming this year. I hope to revisit the stuff I didn't finish, and there is so much I still want to play but might never get around to.



4. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

This game seems good, but will probably end up being my least favorite Souls game. It's a lot more demanding than the others as an action title, and I wasn't able to progress too far in it. I respect it for being different, and whenever I have more free time to dedicate to getting good at a game I might give it another shot.

3. Trials of Mana

I've seen mostly universal praise for this remake, and while I liked some things about it, I still prefer playing the original. ToM feels like every other action RPG now and has a bit too much micro management going on for my taste. The original had a lot of problems, but I'm not really satisfied with a game that feels so stilted and derivative being the "improvement." Questionable changes to character models and such too. Maybe I'm being overly negative. I did like the addition of jumping and added exploration in the game. It's also nice that it tells you what different classes will do in advance.

I'm very happy the game finally got an official release here, all told.

2. Night of Full Moon

A fun roguelike deckbuilding game with cute graphics. I only played the first major "dlc" pack (the whole game is DLC). Haven't tried Slay the Spire yet, but this is supposedly derived from it. The game doesn't break any new ground, but is a great time waster on the phone when you only have minimal time for games. Each class has different types of cards it specializes in, and this is really cool until you realize the standard "thin down and draw deck" strategy is better than actually using most cards in the game. It ranges from too easy to unfair without much inbetween. Usually, the only reason I met any challenges in the game was bad luck with abilities early on. If it sounds like I'm being negative, that's because most of the pleasure in this game was mindlessly clicking cards and sometimes finding completely broken combos. I can't really describe that in a way that sells the game. Sill, I'd recommend it. I was playing the game for most of the year on and off.

1. Final Fantasy VII Remake

I didn't anticipate this actually being good, but I'm overjoyed that it is. There are hundreds of reviews saying literally everything I could say about it already, including Tim Rogers' 3+ hour opus. Needless to say, I'm super excited for Part 2. It's great that we have a "remake" but the original still gets to stand alone as its own unique thing. As someone who has lost a lot of faith in Square-Enix lately, I'm even looking forward to FFXVI after this one.

The soundtrack is also album of the year!



.... Yeah, that's it. Not in-depth, I know. It's getting harder and harder for me to think about games with any kind of analytical hat these days.

2

Discussion / Re: 2019 games in review

« on: January 01, 2020, 03:13:46 AM »

Yeah I barely played anything. Let's get on with it.

3. Wargroove
I honestly would not fault Intelligent Systems if they wanted to sue over this game. With that said, I'm glad somebody took matters into their own hands and made a new Advance Wars for us. I didn't really have the time or concentration to complete the game, but it's impressively made and has some cool additions to the core gameplay of AW. Fog of War maps suck and are what ultimately made me stop playing. They are the water levels of strategy games, only worse.

I know i'm complaining, but Wargroove is really fun and you should try it if you like this genre or used to play lots of Advance Wars. You'll enjoy it.

2. Dragon Quest XI
Nothing too unexpected for a Dragon Quest game here, though the plot has more twists and turns than usual. It might be the best written game in the series, in fact. I really liked the main cast, and the world was fun to explore. It's interesting how well roaming monsters have integrated into Dragon Quest despite its reputation for sticking to JRPG standards. DQXI is a great game because it gives you so much freedom as to how you want to play. You can stay underleveled and enjoy the struggle, steamroll everything, try weird builds, self-restrict stuff... the team clearly wanted everyone to be able to play Dragon Quest however they wanted. My one main criticism there is that the game is far too easy until Act 3, where it spikes quite unfairly. This invalidates a lot of the choices you are given, at least to an extent.

Visually, the game is incredible; one of the best cartoony anime games out there. Musically, it's one of Sugiyama's worst, though not without some nice songs here and there. Mostly, the ones you hear all the time are for some reason the runts of the litter.

It's really good and you should play it!

1. Fire Emblem 4: Genealogy of the Holy War
Well, dang. This is my new favorite Fire Emblem title. The fun part is that it such a heavily flawed game in so many respects. Yet, it succeeds at something no other game in the franchise has: it actually feels like you're commanding a large army in a large-scale conflict spanning generations. It's pretty impressive how much gameplay-story integration is on display considering this came out in 1996.

The main problem with this game is that it's tedious beyond belief. You'll spend hours in battle preps and arenas, turns take ages, enemy phases are slow, and every map took me about a week to finish in real time since I could only play about a turn per session. I'm telling you that against all odds, I think that made the game better in some ways. You should play FE4 if you want to truly get immersed in the grand scale of fantasy combat the series centers on. Don't expect any of the nice features from later titles. It don't play that way.

Oh yeah, and I loved getting to play as my army's kids in the second half of the game. That was just an incredible, bold idea. Well played, Kaga. Sorry you had to plagiarize your own series after they kicked you out and all. You've earned my respect!


---

Since I didn't play much this year, here's my quick-like Games of the Decade list:

This was a decade of massive changes for me. When I looked back at everything, I was surprised at how I found myself ordering these, but I guess I have to be honest. There are so many titles I still want to play and in fact may never get to, and some I frankly missed the hype train on. Going to limit myself to 50 words per game! I realize that 29 is a weird amount of games, but this is how things turned out and it's how I'm gonna leave it.

29. Mario Kart 8
This is a Mario Kart game

28. Kirby's Return to Dreamland
Multiplayer Kirby is fun, enough said. It's the kind of thing you can play with someone of any skill level and enjoy.

27. Shin Megami Tensei IV
The first dungeon is incredibly memorable, and the atmosphere of ruined Tokyo as well. I remember really enjoying this game, but it hasn't stuck in my mind as much as Nocturne or Strange Journey.

26. Dangan-Ronpa
I'm not as crazy about this as some people, but I do think it's a good title in the Escape Room genre. Very silly and fun (maybe too much sometimes)

25. Radiant Historia
Unique, compelling little RPG. Lacking a bit in a wow factor that has me remembering it overly fondly years later, but it's one of the better takes on time travel out there in a game of this type.

24. Super Mario Maker
It does what it says, and I had no complaints. Fun times here.

23. Pokemon Black & White
The best Pokemon has been so far, in my opinion. Forcing the player to start from square one instead of relying on what they were used to was genius. The game also plays smoother than most other games in the series. Story is a swing and a miss but at least they tried.

22. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
It's the best one since Melee. Oops, Melee is still better.

21. Bravely Default
One of the better traditional RPGs of the decade, even if it goes completely insane lategame. The updated job system is great, and REVO's soundtrack is amazing.

22. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
The best Final Fantasy game of the decade. (lol) I know it's just a dumb rhythm game, but man, I probably played it way more than I should have. Super fun to just pick up and groove to FF tunes with.

21. Nier: Automata
Taro aims big and mostly succeeds here, at least in terms of narrative and presentation. The gameplay itself is essentially garbage, but it's worth slogging through to enjoy where Taro takes you. I don't think the game is for the faint of heart.

20. The Walking Dead
I fell out of love with this after the sequels, but after watching someone else play and respond to it, I remembered just how effective the original was! For sure, TellTale never recaptured the lightning in a bottle on this one. Gripping and harrowing to play.

19. Dark Souls 3
There was still a little fuel in the DS fire at this point. DS3 has some memorable bosses and it's darn pretty, but something is definitely missing compared to the heyday of the series. Nonetheless, it has great gameplay and plenty of replay value.

18. Xenoblade Chronicles
Massive, lovingly made, with amazing music for the most part. It's for sure overlong, but well worth experiencing for any RPG fan. I don't think I could ever 100% it.

17. AM2R
The best Metroid game of the decade!

16. Zero Escape II: Virtue's Last Reward
This game will break your brain with its revelations. It tells a completely convoluted story quite well, and is probably the best game in the series objectively speaking. (I may prefer the first a little)

15. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
About as good as we can expect from a follow up to one of the greatest games ever made. I enjoyed all the changes made to the Zelda formula here and thought the dungeons were very well-designed.

14. South Park: The Stick of Truth
You have to be a fan of SP, but if you are, there's nothing quite like this. Amazingly spot on, and the combat is fun as well.

13. HuniePop
After a certain point you get addicted to the actual gameplay. This game proves dating sims still have something to them despite basically not changing since the 90s. It's also so tongue in cheek you can't help laughing along with it.

12. Dragon Quest XI
I can respect a lot of fans thinking this is the best DQ, even if I don't feel that way. The first two Acts are excellent, and the third feels unneeded. The out of combat stuff is a ton of fun, for sure, and I liked the characters a lot.

11. Dragon's Dogma
It's sprawling, fun, and will make you laugh, intentionally or no. Totally unbalanced yet somehow redeemable and exciting.

10. Katawa Shoujo
A game that really shouldn't be this memorable and shouldn't have hit me as hard as it did. Probably one of the best games about romance ever made, not that there is a ton of competition.

9. Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Path
One of the best AA games! A great character study of Miles Edgeworth. If I have any criticisms, it's a bit slow and repetitive, but I think it's worth putting up with that to play the most tightly constructed narrative in the series.

8. Nier
While it's definitely not a perfect game, it changed the way I think about storytelling in games and gameplay-story integration. Nier truly solidified Taro as an auteur game designer as well. The OST is my album of the decade, incidentally.

7. Persona 5
This game really makes you angry about the injustices young people face all over the world, and it actually manages to feel like a story set in the present day without it being gimmicky. Better than P4? Up to you, I guess.

6. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Takumi probably isn't topping this. A truly creative mystery and puzzle game that manages to tell a great story while also popping like a Saturday morning cartoon.

5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
I think people will come around on it. Amazing stealth gameplay with lots of different ways to approach things, and a fascinating story about myth and identity in the current era.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Solves the problem of open world games being too complicated by being a Zelda game at its core. It finally delivers on the promise of the original Zelda as well.

3. Dark Souls
I know everyone is going to list this, and I'm just going with the crowd, but I truly think Miyazaki-san monumentally changed the way everyone sees games, and more importantly made something that is truly fun to play at the same time.

2. Bloodborne
You know a game is amazing when your fear of blood doesn't even prevent you from enjoying it. I wish I could have played it a hundred more times, and I would have if it had come out when I was younger.

1. Undertale
Every indie game developer wishes they could have come up with something as clever and beautiful as this. It makes me look back with some regret, but also happiness that somebody pulled off the dream!

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General Chat / Re: It returns! Random questions with Super in 2019.

« on: February 01, 2019, 01:33:37 AM »

1. A law that raised the smoking and vaping age to 21.
No. Based on my experience with this age group, there is no point whatsoever. They are just going to do it.

2. A law that banned home schooling and restricted private schooling.
No way

3. A law that jailed parents who avoided/refused vaccinating their children without medical need (IE children with autoimmune disorders)
In my heart, yes, but I think ultimately no.

4. Term limits on congress? Something along the lines of two terms for the senate, six terms for the house.
Abstain

5. A law that restricts the ability of non US citizens from buying real estate?
Against.

Wheel of morality:


6. Would you have any objection to working for a company that did things you found to be morally abhorrant? IE tobacco company, a weapons maker, oil company, a payday lender etc.
I would, and did once. Never again...

7. Have political or moral disagreements damaged relationships with your family and friends in the past few years? If so, how much?
I removed a bunch of people from Facebook, but to be honest I wasn't hanging with them anyway

Travel:


8. What's the last vacation you had? Did you enjoy it?
I went to Ireland for a wedding. It was boring because I spent the whole time watching my son while they prepped.


9.  When you travel, do you prefer to fly, drive, or go by some other means?
Fly

                                                                               

Home

10. Does where you live have a homeless problem? Do you ever give money to the homeless?
Yes, big homeless problem here. I will give them my leftovers, but never cash.

11. Do you have a strong opinion on gentrification?
Against all odds, I feel like it actually does improve areas of done in the right spots. Maybe it's just psychological.

12. Could you live without a car/rides from family? Would you want to move to an area where you could give up your car if so?
Nope, not in South Carolina and with a child. I prefer having my car, I hate taking public transportation.

13. Do you live close to where you grew up? If not, do you want to move back home?
Yes

14. Are you currently a homeowner? If not, do you plan on buying a home in the forseeable future?
Yep, and buying another house in the next few years.

Entertainment:

15. What book/game/TV show/movie are you excited for next?
Really hard to say because I basically never have energy to play games anymore and was never big on tv or film.

16. Do you watch TV? Do you watch any video streamers?
No, but I do watch lots of YouTube. I follow competitive Melee.

17. Do you play any board or card games? If so, what is your favorite?
I am a top Dominion player. Bug me on Discord if you want to play.


Long term:

18. Look at back at your life 10 years and 5 years ago. Are you where you expected to be?
Not even close

19. Do you worry about retirement/career stuff long term much? Are you happy with where you are in this regard?
I worry a lot. I have no retirement and no prospects of getting any for years. Grad school life whooo

20. What is one thing currently about you that would surprise the 18 year old version of yourself?
I have a kid

4

Discussion / Re: 2018 games in review

« on: January 01, 2019, 03:58:25 AM »

Listen, I'm old. I could die at any moment. This was easily my worst year ever as far as finishing games goes. My Dominion ranking also tanked, and I wasn't even able to compete in the big tournament this time. Taking care of a one year old, teaching four classes, and gaming: pick 1.5. You can't do much more. Still, I tried. I "finished" 5 games this year. I'm maybe 1/20 of the way through Dragon Quest XI and have had it since release day. I don't anticipate finishing it in 2019 either, sadly. I'm also playing Fire Emblem IV on my phone, which has been enjoyable. I'm telling you all this in case any of my opinions on these games seem outlandish. This is the state I'm in. Have pity on my soul.

5. Doki Doki Literature Club
I imagine if anyone really cared about my opinions on games, I would get some flack for this, but I just wasn't fazed by or impressed by this game at all. Maybe it's because I have seen the Shyamalan twist thing done so many times in recent games, or maybe this game actually did it as poorly as I suspect. Yeah, sorry if it's a spoiler to you that this game has a twist to it. It starts out as a generic dating sim with some hints that weird stuff is going on, then at some point weird things happen, and then honestly the rest of the game lost my interest. The dating sim portion of the game is the longest part, and it's extremely vapid and tired by design, but being by design doesn't excuse just how vapid it is. I didn't care about any character in this game. Didn't even take any glee in it when bad stuff started happening to them. If you want to play a better game in this vein and haven't played them already, try Undertale, Ghost Trick, 999, or Nier! I loved those games a lot, and they tickle the same buttons this one was attempting to. I'm probably less impressed with DDLC because games like those exist already. I can understand somebody who isn't normally exposed to postmodernist elements in games being impressed by this.

4. Dragon Quest Monsters
So, I tried for a while to get the 3DS remake with fan translation working and eventually had to give up on it; I ended up playing the original version instead. It's perhaps unfair to judge this game on the terms I'm going to, as I have to imagine the remake is more palatable. Conceptually, I'm very enamored with this game--it's monster collection with Dragon Quest gameplay, and seems to have much more depth than the Pokemon titles released around the same time. I liked the breeding system as well, and I think if I had played the game to completion, I might have really enjoyed it. It was also cool hearing all the world map themes from DQ I-VI in Game Boy sound format. The problem with this game is a simple design choice that made it nearly impossible for me to enjoy playing, and in retrospect, this is really funny. The developers placed "auto-battle" as the default battle option and made it so you have to go down two options to select attacks. Perhaps I'm fickle, but I really hate letting an AI control fights for me in a game like this. This problem is compounded by the controls being a bit finicky; I was consistently accidentally hitting the auto-battle command even when I didn't want to, which led to death in several boss fights. I had to start save stating every turn to try and avoid this. Eventually, I got sick of fighting the controls and quit playing. Stuff like this shows how important remapping is for games; I actually think Pokemon RBY is superior to this game almost strictly because you can move menu options around in battle. Not everyone plays games the same way, and it adds a lot of accessibility when you allow some control customization for players. If I can ever get the remake working on my PC, I will give it a go again some time. (Okay, that's idealistic)

3. Deltarune (demo)
It's more Undertale, and I'm not complaining. Come for the jokes, stay for the feels. I am less sold on the characters this time around, but to be fair, this is only the first chapter, and I am nonetheless intrigued about where it's going. Many questions filled my head when I finished this thing, and I think it will be a fantastic game when/if Fox finishes it. I have mixed feelings on the upgraded battle system. I want to see what gets done with it, and having multiple party members definitely opens the door for interesting new types of fights, but it also means more clicking through menus and downtime. We'll have to see. Either way, I totally think it's worth doing, and this is easily one of my most anticipated games for the future.

2. Nier: Automata
It was pretty good, but I must say I enjoyed the first game more despite popular consensus. If I had to put a finger on why, it was the cast. Weiss and Kaine added so much needed humor and pathos; the pods in Automata didn't accomplish the same for me. 9S was a cute character, but I never felt any attachment to 2B or A2, and enjoyed Pascal more than any of the main cast. I appreciate this game's ruminations on the meaning of existence (to be or not to be; cliche, but a clever reference. 9S being a reference to Sonnet 9 and A2 to Julius Caesar was also neat), particularly in a post-humanity context, but it's the kind of stuff that was more interesting to think about and read comments about after playing than it was to experience in-game. I do applaud Yoko Taro for attempting a game with this crazy of a concept and actually succeeding for the most part, but I don't think I would want to play or read another story with an all-android cast after this. I guess I might consider that praise for the game in some sense.

As for gameplay, the combat wasn't any better than OG Nier's (not that it was impressive or anything). Mostly it just involved mashing buttons. Using magic in Nier was more satisfying than anything in Automata. You don't get anything as cool as the Dark Hand spell in that game. After a while I turned on the option to let the game play itself because I was bored. Souls has really killed most other action games for me. There's nothing compelling about this type of gameplay to me anymore. I found myself rushing through the actual game to get to the next story scene.

Oh, and the soundtrack, while quite good, also didn't quite measure up to the original. Not that I'm complaining; it's still great stuff. I particularly liked the arcadey versions of songs that happened during hacking segments.

I am happy that this game got so much critical recognition, regardless of my feelings. Yoko Taro deserved to have some victories.

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
This sure is Super Smash Bros. Better than Melee? Ehhh... we'll see, but I don't think so. I think it's the best one since Melee, though. Honestly, the best thing about it is that it's finally on a system that makes it possible to play when you'd like to. You can take the Switch anywhere and easily let friends join in or play it while waiting on your Frappucino. Too bad I have to hide the thing from my son...
(Incidentally, as of this posting, I still haven't unlocked all the characters. haha)

5

Discussion / Re: 2017 games in review

« on: January 02, 2018, 01:53:43 AM »

With the birth of my first child in June, grad school ramping up to its finale, and teaching a course, I got far fewer games finished this year than I normally would have played, but I still played some good ones and am looking forward to things I missed at some point in the future (particularly Nier: Automata). Currently, I'm playing through Dragon Quest Monsters, which is fun but antiquated.

Shoutouts to Dragon Quest VII and VIII, which took up a lot of my game time in 2016 and 2017, but were not strictly-speaking new games to me. I preferred the original DQVII and liked the 3DS port of VIII more than the original. Both are amazing games worth playing for anyone.

8. Night in the Woods
This game seems to have touched a lot of people, but I felt very indifferent after finishing it. It's nihilistic at its core, which is cool I guess, but I felt the game was attempting to build to some point and never got there. The final act of the story was also rushed and felt out of place. Visual design was nice, but I just wasn't feeling it. Wins the award for least likeable main character of any game I played this year!

7. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
I was in no hurry to play this, and to be honest, I never actually did. I just watched a streamer's run. Playing games is hard with a baby around, okay? Anyway, I think this was actually an improvement over the second Walking Dead game; it didn't rely much on the past games for investment in characters and had a more interesting take on the settlement scenario. Still, I never got attached to the characters like I did in season 1. I think S1 was lightning in a bottle. There was a lot of blatant deus ex machina going on this time around, particularly near the end, when a character named Jesus literally shows up at the last minute and saves everyone. I guffawed.

6. Environmental Station Alpha
A pretty nice Metroid clone; good atmosphere and some interesting level design. I didn't care for the bosses and felt like the controls took a bit too much getting used to, but I can't say the game faltered all that much either in execution. It was fun, but I didn't leave it wowed or anything. Recommended if you need more Metroid clones in your life.

5. Bravely Second: End Layer
If I was scoring this entirely on creativity, I'd rank it more highly. I thought it was really cool that the developers came up with so many interesting new classes in what is essentially a tried and true JRPG. Unfortunately, the game itself doesn't feel balanced for all the different stuff it gives you, so I didn't feel challenged or invested like I did in the original Bravely Default. The script is hot garbage and it has one of the worst original soundtracks I've heard in an RPG. Everything else is pretty good. Despite bad writing, I liked the characters, particularly the two new main ones. It has all the bells and whistles that made BD's gameplay feel tight. It's a fun sequel, but nothing really special. Hopefully they get a solid team for the third game.

4. Final Fantasy XII (IZJS edition)
After all these years, I finally beat FFXII! Now I've finished all the mainline Final Fantasy games and can properly complain about this one. The thing is, I'm too tired to do that, and part of the reason is that this game was just so exasperating to play. It never ends, the combat ceases being interesting halfway through, and the plot just never picks up or gets exciting. The best parts of the game were the world design touches, which were admittedly well-handled, though it's a shame the first third of the game is spent in deserts without much variation. That was half the reason I got bored the first three times I tried to play through this. I'd say overall it's better than the first two Final Fantasy games, but that's about it. I'll tie it with FFXV as third-worst.

My opinion is that this game is virtually unplayable without the features added in IZJS (or The Zodiac Age). It's an insanely slow game, so having a built-in fast forward button was a godsend. Long load times, lots of waiting for the ATB/charge times to fill up so the AI can attack for you, and a walking speed that is just glacial all add up. I'd say roughly 30 of the hours I spent (out of 60 or so) were probably waiting for things to happen during combat, and I seriously doubt I'm exaggerating. I am not sure how so many people find this fun and think it's the best Final Fantasy game. I don't care if it makes me a dodo; I prefer the simpler combat in the earlier games and even the horribly broken battles of FFXV to this.

On a positive note, again IZJS related, the class system makes the game a lot more fun. For one, it offers a built-in challenge variant for people who want that. For another, it helps people who get overwhelmed with gigantic skill trees make decisions on how to build their characters. The game is strictly better for new players with this stuff. Too bad you'll still spend hours waiting on Cure spells to charge up no matter how you play!

3. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
Somehow, the only new tabletop game I played all year. It's fun, but feels a little scripted. It's a cooperative deckbuilder, sort of like Ascension (better than Ascension) but nowhere near as good as Dominion. The cooperative elements are lacking a bit, as there's no real reason to have hidden information or try and finagle a strategy among players. You could just as easily play the game solitaire as all four heroes and have a good time, i think.

I've seen criticisms of the theme, but I felt like it was very strong myself. The mechanics fit well with Harry Potter, and aside from impossible canon scenarios, you do kind of feel like you're fighting the Death Eaters. It was cool that the four playable characters develop their own skillsets over seven years. I also greatly enjoyed the Dice elements that get added starting in Year 4. A nice mixture of randomness with strategic decision making.

Overall, the game is very light, but it is actually quite challenging to win in the later years. I think it suits its audience well. Most are probably not hardcore gamers, but even they should be able to walk into victory with good enough draws. Cool game to play with other HP fans.

2. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 5
Just to be brief, P5 is P4 but mostly better in every way. (Aside from the core cast, which I felt was stronger in P4) Atlus truly did go out of their way to make the Persona experience as fine-tuned as possible. I'm not sure they can really improve on their formula anymore, and I hope they do something different if they continue with this series. While I loved this game, it honestly doesn't stand out much since it's just so similar to the previous game. 100% worth playing for any RPG fan ever, but nothing bold or innovative to see here.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Man, Nintendo did it. They got me to fully enjoy an open world game. This game sucked me in and didn't let me go for God knows how many hours. Sure, it's heavily flawed. Sure, it's a major departure for Zelda (not actually a bad thing). Sure, I'll probably never play it again since I found everything in it. None of that takes away from the sheer experience this game offers; with the sparse amount of risks Nintendo has taken with their core franchises recently, I'm shocked this got greenlit and produced. I don't even understand how a game makes holding up to climb mountains over and over such a fulfilling thing. Even the combat, while not great, is a major step up for the series. There are countless things I could praise about this, but I'd be here all day and I have to wake up in a few hours probably. All I can really say is that you should play this game and it will be totally worth it! Videos don't do it justice. Writing about it doesn't either. BOTW is a potential game-changer for the medium; I guess time will tell how that goes.

6

Discussion / Re: Discord

« on: October 15, 2017, 12:35:40 AM »

I have personally found Discord nothing but user-friendly and mostly superior to IRC (aside from IRC being more lightweight, which is a nice advantage, mind). The Android app is good, but does have a couple of minor bugs I've noticed.

Still, if it's not something the majority of the community wants, well, there's a good reason not to move over.

7

Discussion / Re: Discord

« on: October 10, 2017, 06:47:20 PM »

Discord servers are ridiculously easy to set up if you want to give it a trial run.

8

General Chat / Re: Random poll: Fall 2017

« on: September 13, 2017, 07:53:50 PM »

1. Summer's just about over. What was your highlight? Your lowlight?
The birth of my son was basically the entire summer, highs and lows associated. It's been an amazing three months, but with a dash of depression mixed in at times.

2. What is your favorite place in the world? Your least favorite?
I love beaches and wish I could go more often. Probably Amelia Island. My least favorite place... the DMV or any similar organization where you have to wait forever on a dumb formality. Ugh.

4. Are you happy with your job? If not, are you looking for a new job?
First year teaching college freshmen; it's been fun, but stressful when combined with graduate studies. I'll be looking for a job to do with this degree soon.

5. What's the next book/movie/TV show you are looking forward to?
Looking forward to Stranger Things season 2, Star Wars 8, and not much else at the moment. I've been out of the loop, granted.

6. Final Fantasy Tactics came out 20 years ago. Did you play it when it first came out?
I played it a year later and was completely obsessed for several years. I can't even play it anymore because I burned out so hard, but make no mistake, I love the game, flaws and all.

7. The holidays are coming up soon. Anything special planned for them?
Figuring out how they're different with a baby around, that's a new special thing. Hoping people come to me instead of me having to travel.

8. Do you have any trips planned? If so, where are you going?
Nope.

9. What was the last video game you played?
Hm. I finished Persona 5 right before my son was born, which was great. Tried to finish Environmental Station Alpha, but got tired of it. Other than that, I'm just replaying really simple games since I can't really focus on anything right now.

10. Do you have a smartphone? If you do, do you use it all the time?
Yep. It's a must on campus for various reasons, and quite useful in various home contexts too.

11. What's your dream car?
One that never breaks

12. Do you have a favorite Halloween candy? Least favorite?
Reese's master race. Cups, Sticks, you name it. I'm not a fan of sour candies, though I loved them as a kid.

13: Pumpkin spice: A good or bad thing?
I have never tried it and don't want to because I hate pumpkin. (I also don't ever visit coffee shops; I prefer tea, and it has to be decent to high quality)

9

Tournaments / Re: Pizza Power tourney: Round 1, pool 2

« on: August 08, 2017, 03:07:13 AM »

Mushrooms (standard) or Sundried tomatoes, though I don't like either as the only topping
Sausage, green pepper, and onion or Meatballs
Steak and onions or Ricotta cheese + fresh garlic, both of them are about equal to me
Beef, onions, or green peppers or Pineapple, now we're playing with power

10

Music Tournament / Re: Music Tournament of DOOM 2017- Round 1, Topic 9

« on: August 01, 2017, 12:29:07 AM »

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon- Gotta Stay Fly vs  Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru- The Prince’s Adventure
Shockingly fun.  Really has the Link's Awakening vibes, checking the Wikipedia page.

For anyone who hasn't checked that game out, there is a full translation of the ROM available. The English title is "For the Frog the Bell Tolls." Link's Awakening featured a character (Richard) from the game and also used his theme song. If you remember, LA had references to a lot of different Nintendo titles and that was one of them.

I highly recommend the game, though it is understandably dated. It's a fun platformer/puzzle/adventure game hybrid featuring animal transformations as the main mechanic.

11

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: July 30, 2017, 01:34:48 AM »

For me, FFT SCCs were like this: (I realize it's highly subjective)

Most fun: Monk, Time Mage, Oracle
Monk is harder than you'd think due to having no hat slot, but its skillset leads to some interesting puzzles. Time Mage and Oracle are both broken and fun to exploit battles with.

Pretty fun: Archer, Geomancer, Ninja
Archer is interesting primarily because it's unlikely you used them much in a vanilla playthrough and they have some unique properties. It's a fairly tough challenge, though. Geomancer is cool in general, but most battles go about the same. Ninja is fun just punching dudes from invisibilty with.

Okay: Wizard, Priest
See Elfboy on Wizard; it can't be stated enough that MEvd makes the challenge a serious pain later on. Priest is kind of fun because it's a non-combat job that gets some cool options, but many battles are tedious.

Boring: Squire, Chemist, Lancer, Summoner, Bard, Dancer, Calculator (Crystal)
Lancer/Chemist/Summoner are too easy. Chemist and Calc take insane amounts of grinding for one reason or another. Bard is interesting but everything takes forever. Dancer is either one-dimensional or stupid hard depending on the battle. Squire is pretty tedious until you get to Chapter 4, then it gets kind of fun.

Kill it with fire: Knight, Thief, Mediator, Samurai, Mime
Knights are sooo slow and rely on breaks that have low% chance of hitting. Thief is straight up awful until Chantage is available, but ugh (Stealing is also a low% chance and required in a lot of battles). Mediator is interesting but really not built for this; if you want to go Mediator I would do the Mediator/4 Monsters challenge. Mime depends entirely on chance and can only attack physically anyway. Samurai has a horrible Chapter 1 and then you either need to rely on savescumming or prepare to spend ages grinding for money to spend on replacement Katanas.

12

Tournaments / Re: Pizza Power tourney: Eliminations pool 2

« on: July 24, 2017, 06:48:07 AM »

White pears or Sausage, green pepper, and onion or Black olives
Ham or Meatballs or Cheeseless hawaiian
Steak and onions or Goat cheese or Pineapple
Fresh goat cheese + fig or White fish or Mushrooms (standard) - My wife loves this stuff. It just feels wrong to me every time.

13

Tournaments / Re: Pizza Power tourney; Eliminations pool 1

« on: July 18, 2017, 01:31:55 PM »

Canadian bacon or Green peppers or Batter fried eggplant
Beef, onions, and green peppers or Sausage (good Italian sausage, not chain stuff) or Pepperoni
Pepperoni and mushrooms or Sundried tomatoes or Chicken and onions
White pizza with pesto, shrimp, and tomatoes or Ricotta cheese + fresh garlic or Margherita (mozzerella, basil, and tomato)

Four unshakable classics here. I should remark my absolute favorite pizza is Pepperoni + Green Peppers.

Edit: fixed because I didn't read the OP. The hardest vote for me was the last one. All 3 are good options.

14

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: July 13, 2017, 09:05:02 AM »

The FF12 remake looks dope.
Good grphx + job system + no more shitty spell queue + fast forward button.
Might spend too much time on it. I want to do all the challenges!

For the first playthrough I'm torn between just one class per character or a Time Battlemage SCC. I'm probably going with the later ?

If it's the same as izjs you can't change classes anyway. It works more like FF1.

15

Tournaments / Re: Music Tournament of DOOM 2017- Round 1, Topic 1

« on: June 06, 2017, 12:55:11 AM »

Heroes of the Storm- Dva Music vs Dark Souls- Nameless Song - One of Sakuraba's best pieces easily. It's quite haunting and highly fitting for the ending of Dark Souls. The other track is pretty good, though not a style I'm fond of (trying to avoid this criticism). I can't say what it does for the game, but it's up against an incredible track so I feel pretty comfortable with this choice. 
BlazBlue Central Fiction- HAKAISHIN vs Persona 5- Life Will Change - I haven't played any BlazBlue games at all, but I do really like the song here. It reminds me a little of Uematsu's more epic tracks. Guitars remind me of Sabbath a little, and I love the flute part that comes in around 4:20. Now, I've actually played P5, and I while I like this track, I have to say I prefer the instrumental variation that plays after Calling Cards in the game. The singer ain't working for me. So I'm giving this one to the first song.
Granblue Fantasy- New World Order vs Tokyo 7th Sisters- Twilight  - Don't know either game. First track sounds like something out of Bravely Default; I was quite surprised to see this was an Uematsu track. The second song isn't bad, but I can't help comparing it to Snow Halation, which I've heard a zillion times over the past year thanks to memes. I dunno, I think I prefer the first a little.
XCom 2- Spark Operational vs Chrono Trigger- Corridors of Time - I guess it doesn't help that I don't know the Xcom games. The Xcom song reminds me of the background music in Metal Gear Solid; the melody doesn't strike me. Probably fits the scene it's in. On the other side, we have one of my favorite songs from Chrono Trigger, a song which still amazes me by sounding so alien and atmospheric with a Super Famicom soundfont.

Final Fantasy XV- Reel Rumble vs God Hand- God Hand - I don't know God Hand. The song made me laugh, but I don't think I'd listen to it on purpose. The FFXV song makes me fondly remember one of the only fun experiences in that game.
Undertale- Death by Glamour vs Chrono Cross- Fate, God of Destiny  - Two really fantastic songs from two of my favorite soundtracks. It really comes down to how much I love Mettaton in the end here.
Tokyo 7th Sisters- Hello… my friend vs Dark Souls 2- Old Dragonslayer - I will gladly take heartwarming jpop over Sakuraba autopiloting.
Trails of Cold Steel II- Phantasmal Blaze vs Spyro: Year of the Dragon- Harbor Speedway - Don't know either game. The production/sound quality does the Spyro song no favors, but even aside from that, this feels like a stomp to me. The Trails song really gets you pumped.

16

Tournaments / Re: Tourney of Random Events 2017- Noms?

« on: May 26, 2017, 02:22:30 PM »

Tellah (ff4)
Kaiji (Kaiji)
John Locke, on-island (Lost)
Groot (guardians of the galaxy)
Hisoka (Hunter x Hunter)
JigglyPuff (pokemon anime)
Chewbacca (star wars)
Undyne (undertale)
Dexter (Dexter's lab)
Don Quixote

17

Music Tournament / Re: Music Tournament of DOOM- 2017 Edition

« on: May 24, 2017, 01:46:45 PM »

For the record, as much as I love Gilvasunner, he made searching for these vids very difficult.

1. Suikoden - Island Fortress - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bJ8eeJsajo

2. Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru - The Prince's Adventure - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5lL9_jGX78

3. Chrono Cross - Gale - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuG4Mst-DS8 Kappa

4. Dragon Quest III - Adventure - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Vhk9_Jlzg

5. Super Mario World - Castle Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPqxXdzcNL0

6. Kirby's Dream Land - Bubbly Clouds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em1Ux35lxLc

7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Song of Healing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDX4ZwUeOok

8. Demon's Souls - Tower Knight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIW7Ho4xMa4

9. Super Mario RPG - The Road is Full of Dangers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RufrkrK37Kg

10. Metroid Fusion - Serris X Boss Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jVPwHqXz8A

11. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - Yoshi's Island (World 6) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCnRzWKPYg8

12. Super Smash Bros - Super Smash Bros OST - Pop Land Stage - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5TINBUsnp0

13. Super Mario Kart - Donut Plains - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB3QinXuaXI

14. True Love - Ending Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ-7p0mPz6w

15. Super Smash Bros Melee - Menu 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD33HjaO4iA

18

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: May 18, 2017, 08:28:49 PM »

Where does Job level factor in in OG FF3's damage formula?

You gain new multipliers for both physical and magical hits after accruing x number of Skill points in the class. It's similar to the way gaining levels in FF1 could increase your Agility (or whatever it was) which led to extra hits after every 8 or so points. (Edit: I'm not entirely sure about this bit on status magic. It seems to be the case, but there's no way I'm confirming it) This is also relevant to status magic, just like in FF2. The chance to hit is essentially based on a number of 'attempts' (hits) that increases with each multiplier. As such, for instance, Toad and Mini are great instant death spells in FF3 (not as obscene as in FF2) if you have a high Skill mage, but if you weren't focusing on using them the entire game, you might never find this out. Another wrinkle is that your mages need to use Magic to actually gain a good amount of Skill growth, but smart players are likely to conserve MP and not gain nearly enough Skill. The late-game classes have higher multiplier by default, so Sage and White Wizard are essentially superior to White Mage by default etc, and the difference is made even bigger by the average player not having high Skill in their classes before the change. However, for the longest stretch of the game, including difficult dungeons like the Cave of Darkness where instant death spells are extremely useful, it's critical to have higher Skill levels on your mages if you want magic to be worth anything. Another example is the fight with Salamander at the Fire Crystal. This tends to be a hard fight for new players, but players who have gotten a decent skill level for their mages breeze through it since their Cure2 and Ice3 spells will be so much better. (I didn't know any of this until I watched HCBailly's LP, and I confirmed it in a mechanics FAQ later on IIRC)


Citation (Ctrl F for Skill): https://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563415-final-fantasy-iii/faqs/29389
5.1) ATTACK MULTIPLIER
5.1.1) BLACK MAGIC ATTACK MULTIPLIER
Note that Black Magic also includes the Terrain command from the Geomancer.

A.M. = (Intellect/16) + (Level/16) + (Skill/32) + 1



In short, this quirk of the battle system is why I stated that I think having Skill levels be tied to jobs is a negative in this game; it discourages experimenting with jobs since your competency in battle depends on sticking with something. This hurts physical classes too, though not as much since they keep getting new weapons to offset the loss in hits. Some classes have better inherent hit rates too (I don't even know why, guessing it has to do with higher base stats or hidden values), like Mystic Knight, so switching over to them and getting immediate results makes it seem like the problem I'm describing isn't that big of a deal, but it's present for much of the game. I would have preferred that hits be tied strictly to Level like they were in FF1, but I don't blame the developers for thinking this was a good idea; it seems natural on paper. In FF5, yes, you get passive benefits for mastering jobs or equipping other abilities, but the raw stat change from switching jobs is the same no matter what your job level, so you can easily change paths any time you want. I think that's a much less tedious, more fun system for this type of game, and hey, Square's developers realized that too.

Re: FF9 discussion,
I personally love Zidane, forced Terra sequences or no. He's one of the high points of FF9 in my book. A much more likeable protagonist than the leads before him. I agree that the lag makes 9 a real slog to replay, though. If it didn't have such slow battles I would rank it much more highly than I do.

19

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: May 18, 2017, 05:00:55 PM »

I also prefer how FFV is built around experimenting with the jobs to deal with different areas and bosses, as opposed to FFIII which is based around keeping to a job for as long as possible.

Interesting; with the original FF3 I don't think I agree with this? FF3DS yeah sure, you want lots of JLs. In the original FF3, though, jobs are gonna go obsolete eventually regardless but are often very spiky in terms of performance, so it really rewards using certain jobs in certain areas, as well as certain brute-force things like a Scholar for Hein or Dragoons for Garuda.

Semi-tangential rant....

The caveat to the jobs having 'spiky performance' is that you actually do need to level up classes in FF3 NES for them to be useful in the long term, especially mages; you can't afford to have them changing jobs much. Magic has the same hit system as physical attacks (unshown) so, for instance, Black Mages will be considerably more useful if you stick with them and raise Skill a lot, which means you either need to level up outside the main story or just focus on one job. I remember being seriously underwhelmed by magic my first time through the game, but once I understood that there were multipliers that changed; unfortunately, it makes the class system far less engaging than it could have been. I actually think having a Skill level system in this game was a mistake from a design perspective.

The problem is that, once you understand the game mechanics, the best way to handle FF3 is to choose classes to stick with for the bulk of the game (Knight, Karateka, Black Mage, White Mage) and only swap them for specific areas that require another class or for their eventual replacements that you don't get for very long. So in the end, it's actually more like FF1 than FF5 unless you want to spend a serious amount of time with weak characters. Like MasterLemon, I appreciate that FF3 has a unique take on class systems that was a product of it being an innovative system, and it's one of the reasons I prefer the original (helped considerably by FF3 DS not having an ability system), but I've definitely become more critical of it over time and vastly prefer FF5. Would be cool to see one more mainline Final Fantasy game try the job system again and incorporate improvements from FFT, FFX-2, Bravely Default, etc. Perhaps I should be careful what I wish for...

20

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: May 17, 2017, 01:26:35 AM »

Difficulty complaints on the podcast were very very much about New Game +, but I also don't know their threshold for JRPG difficulty.  Other genres well documented, clear fans of the genre but have grown out of them, and they haven't really covered a ball buster of a JRPG on the show.  So *shrug*.  You also decide to solo games first play through Fen.  You have a knack for them.

I also played Crimson Shroud. Liked it a lot less than Fenrir, and I still don't think it's worth the cost, though the idea was cute. It's got a neat aesthetic and an interesting story presentation, but like Fenrir says, you can pretty much ignore most of the skill development in the game, which makes the seemingly-complex aspects of the game feel very underdeveloped. (I seem to recall this being a problem in TO for PSP as well) As an example, if I remember right the game gives you a metric ton of equipment that wards off various kinds of magic, but the enemy variety in the game is so low that you would never have any reason to equip any of it. I will say that rolling dice for attacks was satisfying somehow, even though they were virtual.

Difficulty-wise, I seem to recall it being very easy, but I didn't play it on NG+ so maybe it's tougher. I have listened to enough WOFF and BonfiresideChat to know the casters are... I hesitate to say bad, but not great... at games, but for all I know I found gear they didn't or something.

21

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: May 05, 2017, 11:22:07 AM »

Finished Bravely Second. I guess overall I was unimpressed with it, though it did do many things right.

Liked the two new main characters a lot, but didn't care for the plot or the general tone of the game. I'm okay with a game being goofy, but this one just wouldn't stop. I started skipping cutscenes in sidequests about halfway in. The soundtrack was probably my biggest disappointment, but let's be fair, it had big shoes to fill. Every time I thought I liked a song, I realized it was a song from the original. The new job classes were all refreshing and innovative, which surprised me. Some of them felt a little too gimmicky to be useful, though, or like I would have had to specifically build a party from the start expecting to use them. Still, the game at least provides plenty of classes from the original so you can fall back on familiar options. That said, I don't think the game provided enough interesting bosses to really test the skills learned. I felt like I just powered through things and didn't need to experiment much. That's really the only knock I can give the gameplay, as it was otherwise very satisfying.

Like BD, I really enjoyed all the quality of life features in the game. Instant random encounter % switches, turn macros, pig warping, and what have you. All that stuff matters. The game ends suggesting a third one is coming, and if I have the time I might get it, but hopefully whoever is writing the script can balance the goofy with the serious a little better (I thought the first game struck a nice balance).

I guess either a 6/10 or 7/10 from me. if I was looking purely at gameplay, it'd be more like a 8.5.

Final team was:
Yew - Summoner with Spellcraft and Exorcism, but he was a Sorcerer/Red Mage most of the game. Was incredibly potent for the entire game. Killing enemy groups quickly is very important here. Excorcist is a great new class; the concept of undoing turns is simple but very useful. Played with many Undo BP setups to get 4 turn strings of attacks from my other characters. It seems like people on the internet don't like the Summoner in these games, but I found it to be pretty powerful myself.

Edea - Sniper/Ranger. I changed her class a lot and didn't really settle on a specific role, but she ended up with pretty good damage in the end. The sniper is a cool class that sort-of specialized in breaking through defenses (like Default).

Magnolia - Ninja with Quad Wield and attack buffing (from Charioteer). Also had Astromancer's ability to buff other stats. I was unimpressed with Charioteer as a class, but man, it learns some great secondaries. Buffing felt a little weak in this game unless you spent tons of BP stacking it, but I got some good results at the end of the game. This character tore through stuff at endgame.

Tiz - He was basically a Bishop the entire game with a bunch of different secondary classes for support. Bishop is ridiculously good; it's basically a White Mage that heals based on percentages instead of a Magic stat. Probably could have optimized by using it on a fighting class or something that could benefit from this more.

Currently playing Night in the Woods. It's cute.

22

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: April 20, 2017, 04:03:38 PM »

Beat breath of the wild not long ago, all shrines found. Man, what an incredible game. Getting p5 for my birthday next month, working until then.

23

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: March 12, 2017, 01:04:34 AM »

Oh, it's a huge shift from the OoT formula. The very basics of combat are similar and there are setpiece puzzles. Where you find those puzzles, what the dungeons are like, the overworld, the progression of stats and skills, advancing the story....all overhauled.

The combat isn't just "waiting for openings" right?

Believe it or not, it has a dark souls style parry system, and since you have to use a variety of weapons with different moves, it stays fairly fresh. I wouldn't say it's the best combat ever, but it's significantly improved from past Zelda titles. The main focus of the game is exploration.

Well that solves any of my woes. I remember people making SotC comparisons when BotW was first announced during E3 2016. If anyone here has played both games, would it be fair to say that they're similar?

I had to climb on one boss (which I encountered while walking around) in order to find its weak point and beat it. That felt very SotC. I would say there are a lot of similarities between the games, but BOTW has a much better camera. It has the same feeling of wandering post-apocalyptic land until you encounter something. One of my only real complaints is that Stamina is so limited, which makes running a chore sometimes comapred to SotC.

24

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: March 10, 2017, 09:17:22 PM »

Oh, it's a huge shift from the OoT formula. The very basics of combat are similar and there are setpiece puzzles. Where you find those puzzles, what the dungeons are like, the overworld, the progression of stats and skills, advancing the story....all overhauled.

The combat isn't just "waiting for openings" right?

Believe it or not, it has a dark souls style parry system, and since you have to use a variety of weapons with different moves, it stays fairly fresh. I wouldn't say it's the best combat ever, but it's significantly improved from past Zelda titles. The main focus of the game is exploration.

25

General Chat / Re: What Games are you Playing 2017?

« on: March 07, 2017, 02:44:42 PM »

Breath of the Wild is what I thought Wind Waker was going to be. I am both pleased and surprised Nintendo actually made this game; it has just the right amount of tutorial but otherwise leaves the task of figuring out what to do up to the player

From my understanding, Aonuma wanted to make a Breath of the Wild Style Zelda that completely shakes up the formula and goes back to it's roots for a while but things kept getting in the way.  I know Skyward Sword, mid-development, he was talked into making it more conventional because "it's the 20th Anniversary game, give the fans what they want!" or some shenanigans like that.  Also Miyamoto allegedly was dicking with the game behind his back, because he wasn't happy with Aonuma or some shit, and Aonuma had to constantly fix it, but that could just be an urban legend (though based on what I've heard about modern Miyamoto, this would not shock me if this was true.)

Link Between Worlds was one such example of Aonuma basically doing a smaller scale testing ground.  The development process there was they started making an LttP remake, then mid-development went "hey, let's make it a sequel, just use the already existing assets, and take advantage of familiarity to allow for something original."  By keeping it to the LtttP style, world map, etc., it allowed for a smoother transition into the unconventional aspects, while not feeling completely foreign, and given how well received LBW was, despite being a smaller scale Zelda game, I'd say they succeeded.  BotW strikes me as the result of them thinking "Well we did this successfully playing it safe, so let's take the next step!

I'll might actually play it eventually but only once my brother finishes it...3 years from now because he's going to 100% it -_-

That is one pet peeve that does bug me! One save file??? Come on! I guess they want to sell more systems, but this one seems particularly egregious to me for some reason.