Messages

1

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

« on: July 07, 2017, 12:26:20 AM »

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia: Beaten the game. I've got to say that this is my favourite out of the handheld titles in the series. The difficulty is excellent, the areas are well designed and the Glyph system brings the best of both the Summon system from the Sorrow games and the Partner system from Portrait of Ruin. It has the experimental value of the Summon system and the flexibility and convenience of the Partner system. The main new gripe which I found with the game was the final boss. Dracula is easy to take down, mainly due to that Judgement Ring which is near his doorstep, and there's that point where you have to use all of your Dominus Glyphs in order to prevent him from killing you in one shot. Who can figure this out without a guide? The post-Symphony Castlevanias have had these moments where you need a guide in order to win, although at least this one only has it during the final boss. Although this still means that the idea is bad game design. Other than that though, this game is a real treat and I look forward to the idea of replaying it in the future. Granted Symphony is still my favourite, even though this game is a tight second in my eyes. I'm hoping Bloodstained could be the one to finally top Symphony; but I'll just have to wait and see.

Pokemon Y: I'm on that part of the binge where I need to take on the 3DS titles. I'm currently at Route 8. Because of the weird algorithm within the Pokemon fanbase, it's XY's turn to be the game which is hated. I personally believe that the game is fine. The trainer fights seem to fight back more, without the Exp. Share on of course, and the selection has a lot to choose from early on. Although I can understand some of the issues regarding the game's pacing. Parfum Palace really could have been cut. The area is just one big fetch-quest with a rather lame price; a firework display and a Snorlax which has to face a ton of Rock-types.

Current team:



Okami: Got this for my birthday. I've always been interested in the idea of playing this one. Thankfully I made some room in my backlog just to play it. I've just restored life into every tree within the Kamiki Village. This game is currently feeling like what every Zelda isn't for me; fun and fast paced. Amaterasu can do a proper run when travelling for a bit, the fighting doesn't feel like a dull mean to an end, and using a brush to cast spells is both a cute and awesome idea. The only drawback I have at the moment is that the game is picky in terms of the cutscenes which you can skip.

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Music Tournament / Re: Music Tournament of DOOM 2017- Round 1, Topic 5

« on: July 02, 2017, 01:29:33 AM »

Imperishable Night- Love-Colored Master Spark vs .hack//Link- Carl’s Theme: Both are solid, although I believe that the vocals used in the latter make the song very relaxing. Meaning it gets the point from me.
Final Fantasy XV- Veiled in Black vs Terranigma- The Way Home: I believe that Veiled in Black does a better job at being an energetic piece than The Way Home does at being a mood piece.
True Love- Ending Theme vs Dark Souls 2- Majula: True Love's ending theme doesn't do much for me. Majula does a good job both at being atmospheric and making me giggle due to a video on YouTube which used it.
Xenosaga Jenseits von Gut und Bose- Fatal Fight vs Berserk Millennium Empire Arc: Chapter of the Holy Demon War- Sign: Neither song really does it for me. The Berserk one takes less time to get going though.

Suikoden- Island Fortress vs Chrono Trigger- Battle with Magus: I think merely saying Battle with Magus ends the competition already. Island Fortress is short and rather generic. Battle with Magus was a masterpiece both in 1995 and 2017.
Suikoden II- The Chase vs Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire- Battle! Zinnia: Both songs are solid. Zinnia's battle theme is rather unconventional for Pokemon music, which is a plus, I'd like The Chase more if it got going quicker.
NieR- The Wretched Automatons vs Xenoblade Chronicles- You Will Know Our Names: I like the minimalistic approach going for the NieR song, even though You Will Know Our Name is one of my favourite songs from any game. Sadly, the latter is the one which wins for me.
Final Fantasy X-2 – 1000 Words Orchestral vs Disgaea: Hour of Darkness- Planet X: I'm not big on either, but Planet X isn't crappy karaoke.

3

Discussion / Re: RPG Ratings

« on: June 30, 2017, 08:06:14 PM »

I think a fair few users might need to give their ratings a new coat of paint.

That being said, I might need to put ratings on here soon. Although I haven't played as many RPGs as I would like to claim. My ratings list would look almost as naked as Brit's. The most I could do is cheat add some of the Castlevania; something which I don't feel like doing.

Speaking of ratings, I heard wind about a Non-RPG Ratings thread which existed once upon a time. Part of me wants to try and revive it.

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

« on: June 30, 2017, 11:14:07 AM »

Pokemon Black 2: Beaten Iris. Yeah this game is still really good. One of my favourites in the series. It has a good selection and an interesting world to explore. There were three main issues which I had when going through the game. Those were the sewer area, no one likes sewers, the rather easy boss fights, and the rather long late-game. There are two visit to the Plasma Frigate, thankfully the visits to them are fun, and the rather lengthy Route 23 and Victory Road. Granted the Victory Road here is better than the one in DPP, but it definitely overstays its welcome.

Final team:


Jagens:


Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia: I'm at Castle Dracula and I've just beaten Blackmore. I didn't enjoy Blackmore all that much. His attacks are too fast and can easily wipe half of your health in one blow. You need to have fast reflexes in order to become savvy to his attacks and finally beat him. Other than that boss though, I'm really enjoying the challenge which is added to these fights; particularly when fighting two of the plot-important characters. Exploring the castle is also really fun, the area awards you for exploring detours and overcoming some the trickier parts, the regular opponents put up a good fight and that Wallman boss is a real treat. The method of defeating the boss is so unorthodox that it's rather charming, and I like the Glyph which you get afterwards. Walking through walls whilst still having control when within them is very satisfying, especially if you decide to backtrack to the Tymeo Mountains, or at least I think that was the area which I was thinking about. It goes to show that the castle compliments the earlier hallway-like areas rather nicely. I think I can safely say that I prefer this method of going through walls than that mist ability in SotN. Speaking of the earlier areas though, this game also reminds me of Metroid Fusion in a way. Both of them sometimes get heat for being "too linear", even though they're clearly going for an action-orientated approach; which they both do effectively for my money. I think I haven't done this game justice and I should probably have saved this arse kissing until I actually beat the game. Then again, maybe I'll find more drawbacks by that time.

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Music Tournament / Re: Music Tournament of DOOM 2017- Round 1, Topic 4

« on: June 26, 2017, 01:33:30 AM »

Darius Force- Super Nova ~Lame~ vs Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel- Exec_Flip_Arphage: Super Nova ~Lame~ took a bit of time to build up for me. I like how the backing singer is used in Exec_Flip_Arphage.
Crash Bandicoot 2: Rock It vs Chrono Trigger- Singing Mountain: Hey, a Chrono Trigger song which is mainly popular because of a "forbidden fruit" effect vs the best song in the Crash series. Easy winner.
Deemo- The Witch’s Invitation vs Demon’s Souls- Tower Knight: Of course a song with the name "Witch's Invitation" was going to have a fun melody. The instrumentation of Tower Knight isn't enough to back the chanting for me.
Raiden V- Crystal of Abyss vs Front Mission 4- Hostiles: Hostiles sounds rather generic in my opinion. Crystal of Abyss' choir and instrumentation go hand in hand in order to create a strong piece.

Koudelka- Waterfall vs Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation- Liberation of Gracemaria: Waterfall sounds elegant, Liberation of Gracemaria doesn't sound like it has much going for it. I'm guessing it works better in-game.
Super Smash Bros.- Pop Land Stage vs Shovel Knight- Strike the Earth! Plans of Passage: Memes aside, Pop Land isn't a bad song. It's just that Plans of Passage just sounds that good. I've never played the game but hearing this gives me high hopes for the rest of the OST.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn- Penitus vs Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War- The Unsung War: In terms of Ace Combat songs, this sounds more like it. Penitus is fine on its own merits though.
Dies irae ~Interview of Kaziklu Bey~- Methuselah vs Bayonetta- Red & Black: Both are fine, I just think Red & Black has a bit more going for it. It also takes quicker to get going.

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Music Tournament / Re: Music Tournament of DOOM 2017- Round 1, Topic 3

« on: June 18, 2017, 04:30:39 PM »

Dragon Quest III- Adventure vs Mega Man 2- Wily Stage 1+2 : Adventure sounds as stock of an overworld theme as you can get. Wily Stage 1+2 is a song which, in my opinion, deserves every bit of hype it gets. It's that good.
Castlevania: Harmony of Despair- Ryukotsuki vs Splatoon- Calamari Inkantation : I've got to admire the odd take they went with Inkantation.
Kidou Senshi Gundam F-91- Act 12 vs Bastion- The Mancer’s Dilemma : I like the piano piece in The Mancer's Dilemma.
Wild ARMs XF- Intrude Upon Happiness, Plunder the Future vs Pokémon Sun/Moon- Guardian Deities Battle: I like the Guardian Deity battle theme, even though I'm giving the point to the piece which is stronger both in terms of melody and instrumentation.

Vanguard Bandits- Dingdingding vs Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies- Megalith ~Agnus Dei~ : The Latin opening gives Agnus Dei the edge. It sounds like a very majestic piece.
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean- Survival From the Force vs Bloodborne- Gehrman, the First Hunter : Gehrman sounds like it has more going for it. Survival From the Force sounds like Sakuraba music by the numbers; meaning it's just going to be very peppy.
Lunar Silver Star Story Complete- Go Go Go vs Tales of Xillia 2- If It’s For You ~Song 4 u~: Neither did anything for me. Although I found my toes tapping to If It's For You for a bit.
Final Fantasy VII- Anxious Heart vs Kingdom Hearts- It Began with a Letter: Anxious Heart played in some memorable scenes from FF7. I wasn't fond of the instrumentation of It Began with a Letter; it sounded like it was trying too hard to be both cute and sad. 

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

« on: June 16, 2017, 11:51:46 AM »

Pokemon Black: Beaten Ghetsis and N. N wasn't all that though considering how his Zekrom is predictable, and Reshiram could easily beat anything which wasn't the two fossil Pokemon he had. Ghetsis put up more of a fight though. Ghetsis is one of my favourite fights in the series; along with Cynthia, Red, and the Champion of SM.

Final team:



Jagens:



Used against N and Ghetsis:



Pokemon Black 2: This game feels like a logical step up from BW in most aspects. The selection is twice the size now, meaning there is more to choose from and the encounter rate is lower. I've just beaten Burgh in the game, that place where the Harlequin trainer class has that weird encounter theme. The main issues I have with the game right now are the forced tutorials and the dip in quality which the story has taken. Granted the plot is still better than the previous Pokemon games, even though Team Plasma are less interesting here. I like the idea of them being reduced to petty thugs, even though their motivations become more grandiose and dull later on. Also, your rival Hugh has a character motive which is so generic that it gets to the point of making most of his dialogue cringeworthy.

Current team:



Street Fighter 2: Turbo: Been playing this game with Brit in order to broaden my interest in the fighting game genre, fun stuff. It's a good starting point for fighting games. The game has a fast running speed and the mechanics are simple enough to get into; although they're difficult to master. Out of the 12 characters, my mains were Guile, Chun-Li and Ryu. The ones I didn't enjoy as much were Balrog and Vega. I like it when my characters can take a fair few hits, not just 2.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia: Just got to the Kalidus Channel. Currently this game is very promising. I like the variety in the areas which you explore, and the Glyph system is fun to experiment with. In fact, I think it has the potential of being better than the Soul system from Aria of Sorrow if my views on it don't change as the game progresses. I've only fought one boss so far, even though it seems more experimental than previous fights in the series; this is by no means a bad thing. The main issue I have right now is the Ruvas Forest area. There isn't much to it asides a straight line, and they felt the need to add “Metroids” into the game. At least in the Metroid series you're given the utilities to attack upwards when you first encounter the titular species; Shanoa has no such privileges until you get the Glyph which allows her to throw axes.

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Music Tournament / Re: Music Tournament of DOOM 2017- Round 1, topic 2

« on: June 11, 2017, 05:47:02 PM »

Mega Man 2- Metal Man vs Ys: The Oath in Felghana- The Strongest Foe: Both are fine, but I prefer Metal Man.
Final Fantasy Tactics- Antipyretic vs NieR- Shadowlord : I like the choir in Shadowlord, but I prefer the instrumentation of Antipyretic.
Super Smash Bros. Melee- Menu 2 vs Rosenkreuzstilette- Luftfest Sleipnir: Both are full of energy, but Luftfest Sleipnir has more going for it in my opinion.
Within a Deep Forest- Adventures vs Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria- How Wicked Ruler: The former sounds rather minimalistic, though I believe that the latter has stronger instrumentation.

Love Live School Idol Festival- Watashitachi wa Mirai no Hana vs Fire Emblem Fates- The End of All: I believe that the latter is a stronger piece. I can't say I'm big on the style of the former.
The Legend of Zelda- Overworld vs Secret of Evermore- Hall of Collosia, Chamber 1: The latter isn't bad, it just has to compete with the Zelda theme. It would definitely win if it had to compete with a more generic piece from the series like Dragon Roost Island.
Atelier Violet- Izareya vs Legend of Legacy- Twin Dimension Battle: Is it just me or does Izareya sound rather haunting? I like it for that though.
Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals- For the Savior vs Golden Sun: The Lost Age- The Doom Dragon: Curse of the Sinistrals is quite the toe-tapper, Doom Dragon feels rather generic for final boss standards.

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

« on: June 07, 2017, 02:51:13 PM »

Pokemon Black: Got to Mistralton City.

Current team:


Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty: Beaten the game. Damn is it leaps and bounds ahead of the first game. The stealth is more interesting, the bosses are much better, even though the final boss is way too ambitious with its swordplay, and the story really appealed to me as an IT student looking at the digital age. I can't delve too much into the story without reducing the size of the text, even though I found myself at the edge of my seat whenever there was a major plot twist. The cast is pretty solid, I especially liked what they did with Raiden, Otacon, and Solidus. Then again I liked the cast of the first game as well. The main issues which I had with the plot were with some of the villains, particularly Vamp, and Rose. Vamp is that anime villain who they like to ninja into the plot whenever they feel like showing off something that looks cool, and Rose is a rather dull love interest who has some very stock dialogue. Being dull is a major issue here as it causes you to become apathetic about the plot twist that she was sent to spy on Raiden's life.

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

« on: June 06, 2017, 05:58:21 PM »

Heroes of the Storm- Dva Music vs Dark Souls- Nameless Song - I like the choir of Nameless Song but the rest is apathy inducing.
BlazBlue Central Fiction- HAKAISHIN vs Persona 5- Life Will Change - I dislike the lyrics for Life Will Change more than I dislike the long build up for HAKAISHIN.
Granblue Fantasy- New World Order vs Tokyo 7th Sisters- Twilight - The opening instrumentals for the former are pretty neat.
XCom 2- Spark Operational vs Chrono Trigger- Corridors of Time - Spark Operational vs one of the most over loved gaming songs. I'm going to hum the latter quicker than I will the former.

Final Fantasy XV- Reel Rumble vs God Hand- God Hand - I've never played FFXV, but I hear the song makes fishing pretty intensive.
Undertale- Death by Glamour vs Chrono Cross- Fate, God of Destiny - Death by Glamour is badass, Fate, God of Destiny is just okay.
Tokyo 7th Sisters- Hello… my friend vs Dark Souls 2- Old Dragonslayer - Both are apathy inducing. I think I'll go with the latter as I find the vocals in Hello... my friend to be intrusive.
Trails of Cold Steel II- Phantasmal Blaze vs Spyro: Year of the Dragon- Harbor Speedway - Phantasmal Blaze is fine, but I'm giving the point to Harbor Speedway due to fanboy reasons.

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

« on: June 01, 2017, 11:56:34 AM »

As usual, 1000 years in the making.

Pokemon HeartGold: Beaten Red. This game didn't outstay its welcome like Platinum did surprisingly. I wonder if my stay with the game would have been longer if I decided to do them Gym Leader rematches? You know, that wild goose chase to get every Gym Leader's phone number. Other than that though, the superbosses weren't up to much; especially how  they were swiftly beaten by Lugia and that Mewtwo which you can nab at Cerulean Cave, and fling Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam to. It was going to be either that or grinding. You know, everyone's favourite past-time.

Final party:


Jagens:


Superboss nukes:


On a side note....

When you need to create a sprite design in 5 minutes.

Final Fantasy V: Beaten that game as well. Holy shit it was good! The only real slumps the game hit were late World 1, going around the world to look at meteors, the higher floors of Exdeath's Castle, dude I just want to get to a Save Point, and that stint where Lenna is MIA in early World 3. Other than that, this game was really damn fun; way better than I remember it. There were plenty of areas in World 3 which each provided you a new toy for you to fit into your arsenal, which used to be such a crawl for me during my first playthrough. Although as good as my characters were on Neo Exdeath, Dragon Power + Zeninage = 9999 damage, they couldn't hold a candle against Omega and could barely beat Shinryu; I never even used the Ragnarok on Neo Exdeath. So I know who I'm not fighting in future runs.

Bartz: Mime with Summon, Time, and White

Lenna: Freelancer with Rapid Fire/Zeninage and Two-Handed/Mix

Krile: Mime with Summon, Time, and Black/Mix

Faris: Freelancer with Throw/Zeninage and Blue (who could Dual-Wield)

Metal Gear Solid 2: Finished that fight with the Harrier and leant the obvious truth that Pliskin is in fact Snake. That boss fight was pretty fun if a little too generous on the rations. Then again, that harrier does fling missiles like nothing else, and it runs circles around the Fatman fight in terms of design. I didn't mind the idea of the Fatman fight, but it felt rather luck-based to me. You gotta love that final cheap trick he pulls off on you though. Outside of bosses though, the stealth is still as fun as it was during the tanker chapter, and it tries to hide the backtracking which you have to do in each strut by making you go into different floors which have a different dynamic going for them. I know some people didn't like Raiden when the game first came out and they were thrown off by the change which was never told to them, but I honestly think he works better as the player than Snake did during the first MGS. Mainly because Raiden being a rookie means that it's more understandable for him to constantly ask questions during the infodumps, even if they're mistaking “nodes” for “nerds”, whereas we were meant to buy Snake as experienced in the first one even though he does parrot exposition comparable to the main protagonist of the game which I discussed above.

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

« on: May 23, 2017, 06:52:34 PM »

Entries ho!

1) Xenoblade Chronicles: Mechanical Rhythm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGw5kwHl_LU

2) Final Fantasy VI: Searching for Friends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnvZ6Dqv7Ws

3) Final Fantasy X: Someday the dream will end
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRCjjiTR7I

4) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Dracula's Castle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh1qqLbuBww

5) Mega Man 2: Metal Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9I9zRyRyh0

6) Mega Man X: Storm Eagle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht7YJptvt_w

7) Shadow of the Colossus: Revived Power
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVNcmGjNW6c

8) Spyro: Year of the Dragon: Harbour Speedway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1KbCnhhQYs

9) Pokemon Sun/Moon: League Title Defence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTOdIPQk7Ig

10) Final Fantasy IX: Dark Messenger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBNBwZe6GTI

11) Undertale: Death by Glamour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHL_Bk60F_4

12) Chrono Trigger: Zeal Palace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swsswovrlgw

13) Super Metroid: Theme of Samus Aran, Galactic Warrior
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lTWCkF8B3o

14) Super Mario Galaxy: Egg Planet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy8Sn6DHIi0

15) Xenoblade Chronicles: The One Who Gets in Our Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xl3LF5A2lk

Don't worry, I'm not going to be an annoyance and share joke versions by GilvaSunner.

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

« on: May 20, 2017, 10:20:51 AM »

With Pokemon SM's narrative there were two evil teams where one's motives were small-potatoes and the other's motives were more grandiose. Meaning it kinda makes both camps happy (the former is brought up more amongst the fanbase). And you raise a good point about people using plots to compare Pokemon games. You could count the above average plots in the series on one hand and still have room to spare. Pokemon plots pale very strongly in comparison to other RPGs. I've seen people say Colosseum is a high point in the series due to how it has one of the deeper plots. For me, the game was so dull that it was one of two Pokemon games which I couldn't finish, along with Pokemon Ranger.

Also, I'm pretty sure that people hate on Squall because Spoony told them to. I've never played VIII and I only know bits and pieces of its plot, but I should probably go into this one with an open mind; especially when looking at how they do Squall as a character.

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

« on: May 18, 2017, 11:55:12 AM »

Final Fantasy III: Game beaten. I liked this version of the game way better than the DS version, and I find the original take on the job system to be an interesting one. Even though it still has two major issues. Your bag space can run dry very quickly even with Fat Chocobo to try and solve things. It's particularly annoying when you have to empty your character's equipment before they change classes. The other major issue is that the final dungeon is comparable to Chapter 12 of Xenoblade Chronicles X in terms of poor design. It's a point of no return, and some of the opponents are too gruelling for a single sitting. The final boss in particular only has one command but your chances of survival depend on luck, you're screwed if she strikes first with Flare Wave if you're already on low health. It must have been difficult for Japanese players having to go all the way back out of Sylx Tower to save, then go back through again just to do the Dark World. Funny since the rest of the game is fine and isn't as grind-heavy as other people will tell you.

Final Fantasy V: Yeah, I'm on a job class binge right now. I just cleared the Barrier Tower and gotten control of the submarine. I played this game before and I didn't think much of it due to the fact that I was relying heavily on a guide written by Djibriel, that guy from GameFAQs who thinks he's a real comedian. Even though looking back and having a better idea on how to use the job classes, I'm really enjoying this one and I'm appreciating it as an evolution of what FFIII brought to the table.

Current job classes:
Bartz: White Mage with Summon (Yuna anyone?)
Lenna: Ranger with Counter
Galuf: Time Mage with Black Magic
Faris: Ninja with Blue Magic

Pokemon Platinum: Good grief this game didn't want to end. Too my surprise the post-game was the more tame part, and that had Stark Mountain under its belt. Platinum's end game has that crushing sea route before Victory Road, and then there's Victory Road itself. That dungeon is a God damn marathon which will have you lucky that your Pokemon have moves with two digit PP. Not to mention it requires every HM in the book, expect Fly and Cut. Even Defog is needed during the post-game portions of Victory Road. Yeah, this game hasn't aged as well as I remember. It's the Pokemon series' Final Fantasy IX; only with less callbacks to older games and no princesses in orange jumpsuits. But I'll give special mention to Empoleon for being badass during my run of the game.

Final team:

Jagens:

Post-game:


Pokemon HeartGold: I've currently beaten Morty and explored certain areas with Surf. Areas like Union Cave and Route 34 have trainers which have surprisingly high levels.

Current team:

Jagens:


Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty: Playing this after LordDirtyBrit started raving about how was a gift from the Gods or something. I've just beaten Olga and already I'm noticing improvements from the first game. Crawling doesn't feel as tight, the AI is more cunning, and the one boss I've fought currently is more interesting than “wait for an opening to perform 60s Batman stunts” battles in the first game. No, Psycho Mantis isn't an interesting fight anymore. Everyone and their mother knows how to beat it. Also, listening to Otacon fail at giving proverbs never leaves me without a big stupid grin on my face.

There, here's my life's work!

15

General Chat / Re: Gooooooooood Morning 2017 Edition! No Political Commentary Here!

« on: May 05, 2017, 09:05:21 AM »

I'm sorry to hear that Meeple. Losing your pet is a very heartbreaking experience; especially if you knew them for a long time.

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

« on: April 20, 2017, 02:27:35 PM »

Final Fantasy III: Beaten Titan and gotten the Warlock, Summoner, and Shaman jobs. I've made two of my party members M. Knights (now I've gotten past the city which provides equipment for them), one of them a Summoner, and one of them a Shaman. Making half of my party physical attackers and the other half mages should make the shift to the Eureka classes easier.

Pokemon FireRed: Beaten the second Pokemon League challenge. Another issue which I forgotten I had with the game was how you had to get 60 kinds on your Pokedex in order to do the post-game. This probably isn't an issue for people who complete the Pokedex anyway, but it's a minor inconvenience for someone who is just binging on the games without 100%ing them. Otherwise, like RSE, I feel like this one has aged rather well.

The final team:


Jagens:


Nuked the second Pokemon League challenge:


Pokemon Platinum: I don't have much of a choice but to play this version for the binge. Diamond and Pearl feel too much like betas for me to come back to them. I've just gotten to Hearthome City, the place with the square which brought back the most over loved aspect in a Pokemon game. I remember really liking this one when I was younger, but I'm having a lot of problems with it looking back. The game's world is uninteresting, and it bombards you with dialogue until you beat the first badge. It's even worse with Platinum where you have Looker, the annoying cop who reminds of the Doctor from Doctor Who; a show which I have next to no love for. What I will say about the game though is that it has the best boss draw at this point. I liked RSE's boss fights but the ones here felt like the next logical step forward in terms of what they could make the AI do.

The current team:


Jagens:


Shadow of the Colossus: Beaten it and still shaken by the game's ballsy ending. I watched Zero Punctuation's review of the game afterwards and Yahtzee pretty much nailed both the positive and negative aspects which I had with the game. The smaller colossi fights stick out like sore thumbs in comparison to the others which I had little to no problems with. The other minor gripes which I had were the frame rate, although I hear it was improved with the PS3 compilation of both it and Ico, and Agro's finicky moments, even then I still preferred his top speed over that feeble cattle which is Epona. Other than those minor niggles though, I felt that this was an exceptional title which runs circles over any Zelda game, even my beloved ALTTP. 

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

« on: April 07, 2017, 11:18:27 AM »

Shadow of the Colossus: I promised that I would get round to this one and I'm not one to break a promise. I've currently beaten Kuromori; meaning you could argue that I'm already halfway through the game. I'm actually really enjoying this one despite not being big on 3D action adventure games (I'm looking at you 3D Zelda). I really like how each fight with a colossus is handled. They don't all feel like the same thing as each other; each have their own unique stadium and their own platforming puzzle. My favourite of the colossi in terms of a good fight is currently Avion; nothing is more frantic than trying to stab the wings whilst keeping in a position where the wind won't blow you away. The only colossus which I didn't beat on my first try was Kuromori, mainly because I wasn't quick enough when getting away from his breath. Also, Revived Power is an excellent piece of music.

Pokemon Colosseum: GameCube games now seem to cost silly money, meaning I decided to play the game through other means. However, little did I know that these other means costed the data on my GameCube memory card. Meaning I'm not going to be playing this one anytime soon. Good thing too since I really wasn't enjoying this one. The battles are extremely slow, do we really need to see every individual movement a Zigzagoon makes? The AI is also really retarded, that Misdreavus meme can't have come out of nowhere. My favourite moment with the AI was when Golem and Camerupt kept spamming Earthquake to wipe out their own party, even the Entei. Yeah, this Pokemon game is kinda bad; the original Diamond and Pearl compares favourably to it even in terms of speed.

Pokemon FireRed: I usually play LeafGreen for muh Starmie, but this binge is an attempt for me to  give other versions a try. This meant that FireRed was the one which I picked; although I'm not using any version exclusives in my final party, so the difference will only be what I find in the wild and Charizard appearing on the title screen instead of Venusaur. My friends on Twitter aren't all that fond of this game; they go as far as to say that it's one of the weaker entries in the series. I personally disagree. FRLG manages to improve on most of RBY's problems; even the early-game selection has a bit more variety this time around. The main drawbacks which I have with the game are the bosses are more simplistic than RSE and you can't access some of the Pokemon which got evolutions in GSC, I want my Crobat dammit! I also don't understand the raging hate for the soundtrack. It's as though RBY had a good soundtrack to begin with. The main songs I believe are worse than RBY are the battle themes outside of the one that plays against Gym Leaders, I strangely have a soft spot for that version of the song. In terms of position I've currently got as far as the S.S. Anne. I would've gotten further into the game if I wasn't searching for that annoying electric rat.   

The current team:

18

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

« on: March 31, 2017, 10:54:19 AM »

Final Fantasy VII: I discussed how I was replaying this one a month back. I ended up beating it a few days ago with little effort. It's a shame One Winged Angel is an excellent song so you want the fight to last longer. But nope, it was a Comet2 from Cloud, a Mug from Tifa, and a 2x Cut from Yuffie. I also liked to use Cait Sith as my 3rd party member for boss fights; he's a fat mage with a Limit which you can easily rig to get Mog Dance. I never did the superbosses or the Battle Square since I already did them in my 1st run of the game.

Final Fantasy III (NES): I decided to come back to this one 3 years after giving up on the DS version. I've just beaten Medusa and I'm currently rather enjoying it. It's interesting to see the Job Class System in its earliest form and working your characters around the rules it has. Funnily enough, the main area which I've currently had trouble with was the Cave of the Seal; even then it did an effective job at reminding me that the opponents were undead and I should deal with them accordingly (fire Cures with my Red Mage). I decided to name the characters after buddies on my Twitter because why not?

Pokemon Silver: Beaten Red, who was joke even with a party in their early 50s. It makes you wish that his party actually had good movesets. I've seen people complain about the Snorlax, even though it can be hilariously beaten by a Misdreavus. I decided to add in the Level 70 Ho-Oh for the post-game because why not? I ditched Meganium for it because Lugia was beginning to do the tank job better.

The final team:



Jagens:



Special mention:



Pokemon Sapphire: Sapphire was the only one of the Hoenn games which I hadn't played. During the days when the remakes were announced, I used to think that the 3rd Generation was an easy target due to the amount of H2O in the late-game. While I still think that these routes are rather dull and lack challenge, I believe that this one has aged very well. I also really like the gyms here, except the last three. Roxanne and Wattson take advantage of their team's durability and constantly try to lower your speed, Brawly has a Makuhita set which attempts to make it an evil tank, Flannery seems to have a weather approach going on, and Norman makes you change your strategy around his Slaking.

The final team:



Jagens:



Nuked the ship and the last Trick House challenge:

19

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

« on: March 28, 2017, 10:34:08 AM »

The game's title even has DS as an acronym. I would complain about this more but the SNES and N64 had a similar treatment.

Yeah, you pretty much summed up my problems with the touch controls in DoS. It gets to a point where it seems as though the game got the 3D Zelda treatment, a pre-existing title with a gimmick which doesn't bring anything new to the table. I thought these Castlevania titles were above this type of game design. I'd be lying if I said that I enjoyed CotM and HoD but they at least try new ideas.

20

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

« on: March 27, 2017, 10:45:53 AM »

Like half the reviews couldn't shut up about the seals back in the day.  You're not alone; some people really, really hated those seals!  (I obviously didn't, but everybody acknowledges there was a backlash - there was a reason why the Stylus mechanics were a bit different in PoR / OoE.)

If you ask LordDirtyBrit, he'll tell you that I can't shut up about the seals to this day.

21

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

« on: March 26, 2017, 10:21:43 PM »

The problem with Sandy Grave is how most of the enemies there don't take much damage to Jonathon's whip. Meaning it's kinda geared towards Charlotte. I never said that the rest of the game did this, but yeah I personally prefer maining Jonathon. Mainly because he has a more interesting weapon draw; the AI is more than capable of handling Charlotte.

I will agree that the description for the Gold and Silver rings are really stupid. "Clock Tower" will indicate that the titular area is the next port of cool. But nope, it turns out to be the area in the Marble Gallery where you first met Maria. I like SOTN a lot but this one part doesn't deserve the rose-tinted spectacles treatment.

Also, "DoS seals whiner"? I prefer the term constructive criticism! 

22

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

« on: March 25, 2017, 10:50:26 AM »

I've dabbled on the Richter and Maria mode for a bit, bad habit with NG+ Castlevania, at least they're nice and quiet when they change who the leader is.

23

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

« on: March 24, 2017, 10:55:32 PM »

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin: Finished the game. This title is pretty damn good and a huge step-up from Dawn of Sorrow. I was very fond of the duo system and how the game gave both characters new equips at similar times. It gives you a chance to experiment with these new items with the characters to see which one you prefer at that point. I also liked how this is one of the first titles to actually feel difficult. The NES titles aren't well designed when being hard, ditto for Bloodlines, IV was mainly difficult near the end, SOTN doesn't put up a challenge, COTM is hard due to dodgy design choices, HOD is pathetic, going after all the summons made me overleveled in AOS, and DOS used the Magical Seals as a way of pretending to be difficult. This game makes you think carefully about your equipment, items, and money without feeling forced. The bosses always pack a punch and the game is nice enough to always provide a save point before each fight, unlike something such as Metroid Prime 2 where you lose half an hour of game progress when you lose a fight, my favourite boss fight was the Dracula and Death fight. I don't need to explain why this fight is so good.

The main issues I have with the game are how the Sandy Grave forces you to use Jonathon, the way how you get the good ending, quests, and some of the designs for the later parts. The game doesn't give you a clear indication of where you get that one spell for Charlotte to use, and even then it has a long wind-up time during the one fight where you use it. Meaning you'll be getting bombarded by Loretta and Stella's attacks half of the time. SOTN at least gave you some kind of clue as to where to go to get the glasses from Maria, and you just needed to attack a floating orb to save Richter. I liked the idea of quests for the most part, even though they become reliant of random drops during the later half, and by then you'd be better off with you got whilst exploring anyway. I could imagine this being an excellent concept if given some fine tuning. My problem with the later half of the game is rather minor; the areas mainly seem like rehashes of the some portraits you entered earlier on, e.g. 13th Street was very similar to Forgotten City. Even though SOTN did something similar so why am I even talking?

Overall, this game is a solid A-rank game which makes for the disappointment which was Dawn of Sorrow. Though I don't believe this title is quite as good as the likes of SOTN or AOS in terms of exploration and the customisation options available to you.

24

General Chat / Re: Movies

« on: March 22, 2017, 11:41:36 AM »

I'm currently rewatching Drive. A film I was required to watch during my media class. I remember really liking the film when I first watched it and I still really like it now. The action scenes are well shot and don't conform to the low hanging fruits, such as shaky cam and long shots. The acting is also very good, particularly from Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks. Ryan Gosling is able to convey the tranquil fury of the driver effectively, and Albert Brooks' charisma allows him to steal the show in any scene he's in.

Oh yeah, did I mention the soundtrack in this film was Godlike?

25

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

« on: March 21, 2017, 01:08:44 AM »

Pokemon Red: I ended up finishing the Red part of the binge very easily. I had to catch Mewtwo because tradition, and I also had to fight MissingNo because tradition. Jolteon ended up being my MVP for the Elite 4 because it had both Thunderbolt and Pin Missile to take care of Lorelei's team, and 5 members of Blue's team (who I named Brit for this run).

The final team:


Jagens:


Pokemon Silver: The one out of the GSC trio I decided to play. I did Gold as a Nuzlocke challenge and I do Crystal most of the time anyway, because Suicune is just too damn awesome. I've currently got to Blackthorn and just caught Lugia, I decided to wait until I got to Blackthorn because that's when they started selling Ultra Balls.

The current team:


Jagens: