Author Topic: Games you're playing: The 2009 edition. (Read 692171 times)

Meeplelard · « **Reply #3925 on:** August 07, 2009, 03:46:01 AM »

Quote from: Rob the Stampede on August 07, 2009, 03:35:50 AM

Castlevania 4 was brutal. Just no holds barred brutal.

An CV1 and CV3 weren't?

Anthony Edward Stark · « **Reply #3926 on:** August 07, 2009, 03:51:55 AM »

They had ludicrously difficult bosses, but nothing stands up overall to CV4.

superaielman · « **Reply #3927 on:** August 07, 2009, 03:52:35 AM »

CV4 was far easier than 1 and 3. It was generally tough but not really ball breakingly hard like the earlier games.The grim reaper in 3 alone is just unfair.

Niu · « **Reply #3928 on:** August 07, 2009, 04:05:36 AM »

ToVS: Requires kernel v.5.55

FUCK YOU Namco, I don't want to upgrade.......

Now, should I continue Blazing Souls or move onto Blood of Bahamut?

Shale · « **Reply #3929 on:** August 07, 2009, 04:06:29 AM »

VPDS: Finished C3! First fight was a joke. The ruins were okay, but only because of the Realmstalker - the vampires mostly hit Rosea with 3HKO Dark Saviors from behind a wall, while the Stalker was an archer who could OHKO with any one of its attacks. Fortunately, Awakening + Guard Reinforce made it pretty survivable, which let me blitz. Took a couple of resets to get it right, but that was all me screwing up.

The ending fights were the big challenge - the first had two Realmstalkers, both starting close to the party's starting point and mixed in with the other enemies pretty well, which makes for a ton of raids if you don't play your cards right. It took a bunch of resets before I realized that (A) I could take out the first one without Awakening or burning Union Plumes if I buffed enough (it was the fistfighter, whoever he is, and couldn't counterattack on diagonals) and (B) if I turtled in the southwest corner of the map the Huegoe clone would take forever and a day to reach me, letting me mop up the other enemies before he arrived to set off mass gang rape. With that in mind, the battle got a lot more manageable. Still had a ton of resets, including one for the stupidest reason ever - I was so focused on healing and buffing to fight Huegoe, I forgot to make sure somebody would be able to set off the attack. Yeaaaaaaah.

Then, chain fight! On to Liese and the boss battle. Which amounted to blitzing her as fast as humanly possible, because she arrives at the same time as the Stalker and like hell I'm fighting them both. Had one reset when I ran out of Union Plumes just short of killing her (and also forgot to bring any Holy Waters, which meant dying and reviving was the only way to cure Curse), but the next attempt went smoothly. Left one Daemon and the Realmstalker alive.

On to C4A!

Hunter Sopko · « **Reply #3930 on:** August 07, 2009, 04:20:53 AM »

Quote from: Niu on August 07, 2009, 04:05:36 AM

ToVS: Requires kernel v.5.55

FUCK YOU Namco, I don't want to upgrade.......

Now, should I continue Blazing Souls or move onto Blood of Bahamut?

Blazing Souls, duh.

Jo'ou Ranbu · « **Reply #3931 on:** August 07, 2009, 04:32:55 AM »

VPDS - Wylfred, you worthless bastard.

Magic Fanatic · « **Reply #3932 on:** August 07, 2009, 05:24:17 AM »

FFIX - I think the game's going to weep for a disc or two, what with me getting over 10000 Choco Hot & Cold points before Cleyra. I just don't know whether I want a few Robe of Lords first or Protect Rings too.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - This game is beautiful. Game, you have my current addiction.

SnowFire · « **Reply #3933 on:** August 07, 2009, 06:20:24 AM »

I find that old-skool Castlevania gameplay is more interesting if you can't whip in all diretions. A case of less-is-more. This may be the fault of emulation, but Super Castlevania also has *awful* play control, which is just not fun in an action game. Dracula X was far smoother. Much better graphics as well.

Castlevania III is brutal and unfair, and your options are rather limited (the whole semi-realistic "once you're in the air you can't screw with your jump" thing also in Dracula X), buuut the play control is still basically there. Makes me far more willing to bite the bullet and keep at it. (Definitely glad I played this on a real NES, too, wouldn't relish using a keyboard for it.)

Of course, Castlevania is weird for me as I never bothered playing really any of it until college and Symphony of the Night (well, I played a bit of loaned Castlevania II, I suppose, but never came close to beating it), so there's no misty lens of nostalgia.

Scar · « **Reply #3934 on:** August 07, 2009, 09:58:04 AM »

Like Ike can solo the entire game.

Meeplelard · « **Reply #3935 on:** August 07, 2009, 01:44:53 PM »

Quote from: SnowFire on August 07, 2009, 06:20:24 AM

I find that old-skool Castlevania gameplay is more interesting if you can't whip in all diretions. A case of less-is-more. This may be the fault of emulation, but Super Castlevania also has *awful* play control, which is just not fun in an action game. Dracula X was far smoother. Much better graphics as well.

Castlevania III is brutal and unfair, and your options are rather limited (the whole semi-realistic "once you're in the air you can't screw with your jump" thing also in Dracula X), buuut the play control is still basically there. Makes me far more willing to bite the bullet and keep at it. (Definitely glad I played this on a real NES, too, wouldn't relish using a keyboard for it.)

Of course, Castlevania is weird for me as I never bothered playing really any of it until college and Symphony of the Night (well, I played a bit of loaned Castlevania II, I suppose, but never came close to beating it), so there's no misty lens of nostalgia.

Definitely the emulator. Super Castlevania is a lot easier to control on the actual console, and definitely played better than the earlier games. It was superior to the earlier ones in all ways, really.

Shale · « **Reply #3936 on:** August 07, 2009, 04:08:34 PM »

VPDS: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.

First fight of C4: Joke, even compared to other first fights (sin penalties don't carry over between chapters, so Realmstalkers never appear in the first battle of one). Second fight: Almost as much of a joke, but takes forever due to immense amounts of walking to get to Valmur (who's dying when the battle ends, so why do I lose if something kills him?). Gwendal's stalker is a piece of cake since there are no other boss-class enemies I might want to use Vali's Awakening on.

Third fight: Two Realmstalkers start in striking distance. One is a lancer (3 range, 1000 attack power...yeah), one is a mage. They kill me before I can blink. Back to start!

Dark Holy Elf · « **Reply #3937 on:** August 07, 2009, 05:02:09 PM »

Save Valmur fight has to be one of the most annoying in the game so far. Took me something like 20 turns, and it's a joke, and the victory condition is made really stupid by the subsequent scene. There's no excuse for any of that.

Currently a few battles into C5 of A route myself.

Shale · « **Reply #3938 on:** August 07, 2009, 05:05:50 PM »

The worst part is that I liked the post-battle scene. It was good. It works with the development they're setting up for Wyl. It's just a kick in the nuts to what I just did in gameplay.

Dark Holy Elf · « **Reply #3939 on:** August 07, 2009, 05:08:48 PM »

Yeah, agreed.

Fudozukushi · « **Reply #3940 on:** August 07, 2009, 06:02:34 PM »

WoW: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Jo'ou Ranbu · « **Reply #3941 on:** August 07, 2009, 06:10:25 PM »

Quote from: Dark Holy Elf on August 07, 2009, 05:02:09 PM

Save Valmur fight has to be one of the most annoying in the game so far. Took me something like 20 turns, and it's a joke, and the victory condition is made really stupid by the subsequent scene. There's no excuse for any of that.

That sounds suspiciously like the Reinhilde battle.

VPDS - C2, took Gwendal route. NG+ and planning to C route = shenanigans.

Random Consonant · « **Reply #3942 on:** August 07, 2009, 06:12:15 PM »

CotP - C6 A Route.

Ooookay, mobbing the boss without Paralysis Checks is NOT happening. Also, Pale Flames are why mages are restricted to one attack.

Edit: And beaten. Aside from the whole "counterattack everyone and paralyze them" thing, final boss was not that difficult. Ending was okay, I guess, but didn't leave as much as an impact as B route's did, though A route did a better job of setting things up as opposed to B route's "hurr let's do random things until Lenneth shows up hurr," so it balances out in A route's favor. Opinion of the game has gone down a bit, but again, going to wait until finishing all the routes before possibly ranting about it.

Anthony Edward Stark · « **Reply #3943 on:** August 07, 2009, 08:19:56 PM »

Quote from: Meeplelard on August 07, 2009, 01:44:53 PM

Quote from: SnowFire on August 07, 2009, 06:20:24 AM
I find that old-skool Castlevania gameplay is more interesting if you can't whip in all diretions. A case of less-is-more. This may be the fault of emulation, but Super Castlevania also has *awful* play control, which is just not fun in an action game. Dracula X was far smoother. Much better graphics as well.

Castlevania III is brutal and unfair, and your options are rather limited (the whole semi-realistic "once you're in the air you can't screw with your jump" thing also in Dracula X), buuut the play control is still basically there. Makes me far more willing to bite the bullet and keep at it. (Definitely glad I played this on a real NES, too, wouldn't relish using a keyboard for it.)

Of course, Castlevania is weird for me as I never bothered playing really any of it until college and Symphony of the Night (well, I played a bit of loaned Castlevania II, I suppose, but never came close to beating it), so there's no misty lens of nostalgia.

Definitely the emulator. Super Castlevania is a lot easier to control on the actual console, and definitely played better than the earlier games. It was superior to the earlier ones in all ways, really.

Well, it was a remake of the first game, I would expect it to be better than CV1.

Shale · « **Reply #3944 on:** August 08, 2009, 03:30:53 AM »

VPDS: FINALLY beat C4. Redoing the rescue fight took for-fucking-ever, and then I only survived the Realmstalkers in the boss fight by the skin of my teeth, but survive 'em I did. Even when one of them lived through a four-part combo with 100 hit points. The other guy didn't get that luxury.

C5 has been easy picking so far. Rolled through the first fight, had to revive cheese a bit against the White Dragon at Windergard but it wasn't threatening other than that. Third fight was a joke. Picked up Transpose there, which could be crucial for the final if I can't pick up Stalk anywhere. One more fight and then we start the last chain!

Jo'ou Ranbu · « **Reply #3945 on:** August 08, 2009, 12:11:44 PM »

VPDS - C3, Route B. Route C will happen next chapter, and if I was less stupid, I wouldn't have Plumed Lockswell. Not that it -matters- because NG+, but it's still annoying because two mages would be complete overkill lollerskates the minute that second Caduceus kicked. Oh well, Lieselotte VA~ and lollerskates hell can always wait until A route.

Clear Tranquil · « **Reply #3946 on:** August 08, 2009, 01:35:40 PM »

Hmmm ... back home to PS2 today yay. Moar P4. I found out about the alternative endings though. I think I'll go for the bad ending because I am a massive emotional sap like that. There is no doubt that it will make me cry.

Jo'ou Ranbu · « **Reply #3947 on:** August 08, 2009, 01:37:17 PM »

Just see the bad endings, reset and see the better endings afterwards. Good ending has enough sap to make an army of CKs happy as well, so I'm sure you'd appreciate it.

Shale · « **Reply #3948 on:** August 08, 2009, 02:32:22 PM »

VPDS: Finished. I will now mock forever anybody who says the A ending is impossible, or even particularly difficult, on a first run.

C5 was mostly a breeze. Easy stalkers coming in ones without support, for the most part. The exception was battle 6, which had two of them backed up by Noble Vampires. I hate Noble Vampires. So much. There really wasn't much strategy to the way I finished it - just tons of revive cheese and slugging it out with the bastards. Final fight was compartmentalized enough to be simple, and the boss went down in a three-person combo (with Vali's helping out).

C6, now. Pale Flames weren't as invincible as previously believed, although I definitely needed Sap Guard if I wanted to do more than scratch them. As long as they weren't gang-attacking I could generally survive their combos at full health, and menu spells are always wimpy, so I was able to get close enough to use some offense. They can also be hit by Restrict Motion, which was a lifesaver. Beating them was slow going, but after taking out the first one (and thus putting an end to their three-part combos of doom) it wasn't really in doubt.

Then came the final fight. First off SPOILER PC is totally fucking awesome. Beat Gwendal in every stat ever, has an awesome weapon perfectly suited to the last boss, etc. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was designed as a crutch for people who didn't get enough Sin gear to stand up against Garm. But that's crazy talk.

Anyway, the strategy against Garm was simple. Hang back outside her range, buff, hit her with a three-person combo, watch as she massacred the attackers with her MT doom counter, revive, repeat until she gets close to her Heal range, four-person uberblitz. The first part went smoothly, but I may have jumped the gun on the second, launching the final attack when she was at 26,000 HP. Wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't killed Wyl on the approach, meaning I had to revive and re-buff him right beore attacking and didn't have a spare action for Vali's Awakening. (In hindsight, I should have used Vali's instead of Might Reinforce. Durrrr.) Got a three-SC chain in, the last of which was Grim Vengeance, which killed on the final hit. YES.

So, that's that. Gameplaywise a solid, if inconsistent, challenge with C5 as the definite low point for enemy competence. Storywise....well, I don't know about the B and C endings, for obvious reasons, but I rather liked the flow of the A path. It's nice to see a main who starts out like Wyl does learn that yes, people die for shitty reasons a lot, and if that bothers you it's better to try and help them than piss and moan about how unfair life is.

Tentatively a 6 or 7 after that run. I'll probably do a replay sometime, or download a save and skip to the SG.

Jo'ou Ranbu · « **Reply #3949 on:** August 08, 2009, 02:42:09 PM »

You probably won't get as much from the other paths as you got from A path (Elfboy and I already dropped some anvils on how B route plot is like a connect-the-dots puzzle, and you've seen how elaborate VPDS writing is overall), and gameplay-wise, if you managed the A route with no cheese with relatively little fuss, I can't help but think everything else would be a flaming pile of lollerskates. I'd skip straight to the Seraphic Gate myself (-I- would do that, but I'm not much of a fan of downloaded saves and I like meself some snarking rights).

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Author Topic: Games you're playing: The 2009 edition. (Read 692171 times)