What Games Are You Playing 2013?

[Fenrir]

Thanks a lot all!
I'm unfortunately already near the end of the challenge and have no idea what I could do next.


I'm glad Gref. You're trying Devil Survivor 2 for the Ayn Rand vs Karl Marx fight? Don't expect this to not be anime as fuck.


Djinn: I seriously just read all of it. I guess "in a SaGa game" is where numbers go after their death, if they have sinned.

Few things:

- Gengis Khan is a viking now?
Squaresoft

- You wrote Great Whell instead of Great Wheel

- "SPD: Determines turn order, involved in accuracy/evasion, involved in damage for certain skills. Decreased by a hidden Weight stat on equipment."
I had understood that the blue bar under the equipment screen is the speed of the character so it's not really hidden? (The green bar being overall defense and red... overall offense?)

- Does the basic spear attack really use the axe formula or is it a mistake?

- "DETERMINING STARTING STATS PER CHARACTER
Joining WP = HighestWpnLV*15 + (Sum of all other WpnLvs)
Joining JP = HighestMagLV*15 + (Sum of all other MagLvs)"
I think that's *3 instead of 15. And it's rounded up to 5 if magic level is 1.

- Herman's growths: Awesome

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Time to answer a few questions:

- For speed, the alterations brought by armor are visualized, albeit obtusely. The weight of -weapons-? Entirely unaccounted for in that. :sagamechanicstransparency:

- I -do- believe spears use the axe formula for basic attacks - it sounds sensical, at least, and the guide -does- indicate it's the case. Also explains why Sharl's damage with basic physicals sans Silver Hand is even worse than Str alone would point out.

- And... huh, that actually sounds right for joining formula. *15 would mean Bai Mei Niang ramming the JP cap on join all the way to Sunday and that's clearly not what happens.

I'll do another read through the newest version of the BMG to spot more thingies and clean out some stuff.

[Yoshiken]

Started trying to speedrun glitchless Pokemon Blue a few weeks back. I'm through about 15 attempts, most of which I've reset in the first 20 minutes. Twice, I've got to the Elite Four... and lost. One was because of a lack of PP restoration (missed the Elixir in Silph Co.) and the other was having the wrong moveset - I had Mega Kick instead of Ice Beam. Fuck Alakazam and Gyarados, those things are evil. I reaaally want to find a route that skips Mega Kick, it seems so very sub-optimal.

[Shale]

2nd OG: Stage 35. Ibis gets Maneuver GRaMXs! Again! For reals this time though! And man, this routesplit is too damn long. I have basically forgotten what the space team even looks like.

[Random Consonant]

Hey at least you're almost done with it.

The 2nd Super Robot Wars Original Generation EPISODE 3 THE GAIA SAVIOR (Feeding People These Pears) - Finished Stage 58.  Comparatively minor villains died, maybe they'll stay dead, though given the present track record of people not dying when killed in this series I'm sure we'll get to look forward to Professor Asschin McFuntimes With Nanites *again*.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

No Niu? =(

[Random Consonant]

Maximum :eldy: hasn't happened yet!  I'm sure it will though.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Thanks a lot all!
I'm unfortunately already near the end of the challenge and have no idea what I could do next.

Monica mage solo. You know the yearning in your heart.

Did you finish that non-challenge playthrough? Also, using not spears. Big Wheel was CHEATING

[Grefter]

Something as simple as a Great Greed replay (SSCC obviously) would suffice.

P4:G - Done Secret Lab.  Not sure how I feel about Naoto's handling of Transgender.  Like it is fairly soft and light honestly.  I don't think it is necessarily badly done so much as it gives a possible nice easy out to both her own problem and Kanji's sexuality as well (OH IT WAS OKAY GUYS THE DUDE HE LIKED WAS A GIRL AFTER ALL).  See how it plays out I guess.  It might just be me expecting them to push envelopes and they might not in the end.

Still more uh sensitive take on both issues than Makoto of Enchanted Arms (who is STILL FABULOUS even if he is Stereotypes the Character), so I don't have much room to complain.

[Meeplelard]

Bayonetta Hard Mode: This game deserves better than me starting Hard Mode only NOW!

Finished the Prologue.  Ok, I can deal with the elemental dog things in the first area; cruel as that is, that's about what I'd expect truth be told.

Having to deal with them again, infinitely spawning, right after for the Torture Attack Tutorial (WHY IS THAT STILL HERE?!), though?  That's just wrong and unfun!

THANKFULLY, I seem to recall that's the last time Bayonetta does this outside of Alfenheims, so it'll probably be more typical "enemies kill you, have fun" style pain from here on in.

[VySaika]

Fenrir, would you mind linking to wherever you got the english patch for RS3? I may give it a shot, especially if I can bug Snow/Djinn for gameplay tips on IRC~

[Fenrir]

http://www.romhacking.net/ is the best source for translation patches I've seen overall. I use it all the time.
I used Manasword's translation: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/416/ It's not really... good or anything, but it's the best one available. (and it was made in 2000)


Snow: I didn't use Big Wheel that much actually, Double Dragon replaced it.
Monica magic solo: NO

I'd gladly play the japanese RS3 hack floating around (with bosses from most SaGa games) but it only works with Snes9X and I can't stand Snes 9x.


Badass as hell bosses this time





What happens if you stack defense against physical bosses on Yattaf though?



2 damage. Yes.




OMG



Seriously can anyone explain what's happening here

Thanks for that battle Gwayne. This really helped.
Gwayne I have some good news and bad news. The good news: You're still going to help me beat demons! The bad news: You're going to help me beat demons as a corpse I'll cut up to build a hideous weapon made from your scales.



PS: Eat a dragon inferno



Yattaf had to kill an innocent poet to get back to this dragon, too. Really. She just lost 70 karma points.
(Karma is a hidden stat that can go up or down for every major choice you make. The only effect it has is changing the type of fruit your character eats during the ending)
(I was kidding about karma but seriously this game has the equally dumb greed system. Each character starts with a particular hidden greed counter, and it can go up when you make a greedy choice like selling pets instead of giving them to their owner. If the counter is too high, one hippy won't give you an early game sidequest. That's all the hidden greed stat does)



Remember the Magma Slimes (?) from Riki's playthrough in SaGa Frontier? That's this skeleton, in RS3. He multihits for 1 LP damage each time. I don't think Riki could do his battle alone, but this guy? He dies in three hits.



These dancers spammed Charm but it never really worked. Yattaf yuri is officially non-canon.



Yattaf realizes elephants are just like everybody else. They even use tiny chairs for humans.




The ultimate fire magic is coming... I can feel it... Trivializing every boss from then on...



Since this is a solo game, Yattaf does her best to get every damn item that can be forged by Nora. That means farming hydras for materials and getting the Hidora Armor. (which pretty much nulls fire damage)
These Meteor frags in the earth dungeon got her the Kris Knife too, for near status immunity.
+ the royal ring for ID protection
+ good defense
Sorry Aunas. Your 300 damage counter is still badass.




Forneus, Cheap Bastard
This playthrough I've run up to Forneus then had to backtrack 6 times, just because I kept losing. 6 times. This might as well be the final boss.
Like the Water Dragon, Forneus regens 999 HPs when the background has a "water" tendency. (casting water spells shifts the battlefield towards that, it's similar to Chrono Cross) Yattaf still has Fire Wall to cancel that, but it has nearly no effect on the battlefield compared to Forneus' spells if I don't use it all the time.
Forneus also has the most max Hp of any boss to date.
Yattaf could resist for a lot of turns with this and only this setup:
Fort
E. Martial
Kris Knife
Royal Ring
Strategy was: Illusion Sun, Reviver, Fire Wall until the field is fiery (this lets her buy some time until Forneus casts enough spells to regen) then go Psycho Cyan on him with Triple Thrust.
But Yattaf straight up didn't have enough juice to win this battle. She ran away -again- from the dungeon to train on Asuras and get various ultimate techniques. Then ran all the way back to Forneus. Those ultimate techniques ended up completely useless. Fortunately the 20 max TPs won on the trip there allowed Yattaf to beat Forneus with the good old Triple Thrust strategy anyway.


I believe there's only Maximum, Yami and whatever that thing in the ancient ruins is, before the endgame.

[Grefter]

OMG



Seriously can anyone explain what's happening here

A horned dragon lady became a horny middle aged woman dragon lady.

[Nitori]

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare: this is the best fire emblem game

[Grefter]

P4:G - Cut scene where party form a band a week before an event to play something.  Chie says "What is something that looks easy" after turning down singing chorus for herself and Yukiko.  Chie plays trumpet and Yukiko gets saxophone.

This is the point where everyone that ever played a wind instrument at school palms all of the face.

Edit - And then one day after practice they put in some singing and then are all like "Oh wow now it sounds like real music."
FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK YYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[Shale]

2nd OG: Gantetsu Banchou G-BANKURAN. SRW featuring a Cromartie High character. Some things are so unthinkably brilliant that you don't realize how empty your life was without them until they arrive.

Edit: And now I've noticed that it's a resupply unit, which makes it crystal clear: this is the OG Boss Borot. Best game ever? Best game ever.

[Hunter Sopko]

P4:G - Cut scene where party form a band a week before an event to play something.  Chie says "What is something that looks easy" after turning down singing chorus for herself and Yukiko.  Chie plays trumpet and Yukiko gets saxophone.

This is the point where everyone that ever played a wind instrument at school palms all of the face.

Edit - And then one day after practice they put in some singing and then are all like "Oh wow now it sounds like real music."
FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK YYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Yeaaaaah. That scene is the new absolute low point of the game. It's new, corny, and utterly pointless and boring.

[Random Consonant]

The 2nd Super Robot Wars Original Generation EPISODE 3 THE GAIA SAVIOR (More Villians With Bad Table Manners) - Things happened.  Things involving crossgates, vomitting, and maximum :eldy:.  Then a douchebag in a white suit showed up with a couple of wizards, which is probably the most normal thing to have occured in this span of time.

[Sierra]

Knytt Underground: Nifflas games, on my PSN? It could be more likely than you think! Was poking around on PSN a couple days ago for avatars and wound up with this instead. Quite a pleasant surprise.

It is pretty much what you'd expect from a Nifflas game, which is to say: beautiful aesthetics, excellent ambient soundtrack, and plenty to explore. The world map is huge (30x50? 1500 rooms. The automapper lends somewhat the feel of a Metroidvania to the proceedings), and though admittedly plenty of the rooms are just places you dash through in between more important locations, even the filler rooms are pretty. While obviously aiming to pick up from Knytt itself, the game is also a stealth sequel to Within a Deep Forest and fuses the mechanics of each (you alternate between modes by hitting a button on the controller, and you will have to cycle back and forth with some rapidity for the meaner physics puzzles). I only have two notable gripes: ricocheting off of diagonal surfaces (often a requirement for the trickier rooms) is unpredictable and difficult to control; the NPC companions have a tendency to start talking out of the blue at times when I'm hitting the jump button, which results in some occasional missed dialogue. Former is mitigated by the extremely minor penalty for death, at least.

Game is absolutely loaded with secrets--among them, apparently, a more genuine ending (the one I got, while satisfying in some of its dialogue, also included an intrusion from Word of God basically admitting This Is Not a True Ending)--so I'm not quite done yet. Somewhat surprised at the M rating, but I guess that's what happens when one of your traveling companions is a foulmouthed lesbian fairy that threatens to stab people in their sleep. Also: "No matter what, never trust the Internet." Sage advice.

If you liked previous Nifflas games, you should be playing this right now. Or if you just like good games. Or if you're just not a bad person.

[Niu]

*Look at Fenrir's equip for fighting Forneus.
No wonder.... but this has to be blamed on SaGa transparent states....

The 2nd Super Robot Wars Original Generation EPISODE 3 THE GAIA SAVIOR (More Villians With Bad Table Manners) - Things happened.  Things involving crossgates, vomitting, and maximum :eldy:.  Then a douchebag in a white suit showed up with a couple of wizards, which is probably the most normal thing to have occured in this span of time.

Dr. Mitte showed up with her precious baby and that's all you say?

[Shale]

2nd OG: Oh god school plot it's everywhere get it off me

[AndrewRogue]

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition - Finally getting around to this.

Improvements are fairly noticable from the get go (yay BG2 engine). Playing a CG Swashbuckler.

New opening cinematic could use a tweak or two, but everyone whining about it is silly cakes. Option for the ultra doofy original would have been nice I guess, but so it goes.

New VA sets are solid. Portraits are out of place but look great.

You can tell when new recordings for voice clips are being used, but it isn't too bad. New stuff sounds very in-line with everything else.

Neera is pretty rawk so far.

Low level DnD PCs suck so fucking bad.

[Fenrir]

What do you mean Niu?


I was pretty sure I was going to use roughly the same equipment and strategy against every boss from now on: Illusion Sun to evade a few attacks, Reviver for a Reraise effect (this is the only healing I use), then Dragon Inferno/Triple Thrust until the enemy's dead. Reviver and Dragon Inferno being broken enough that I shouldn't have much problem.

I was completely wrong, the endgame is going to be the worst part.



Fuck youuuuu

[Random Consonant]

Dr. Mitte showed up with her precious baby and that's all you say?

Sometimes a fake emoticon says enough.

The 2nd Super Robot Wars Original Generation EPISODE 3 THE GAIA SAVIOR (Using Endbosses As Tennis Balls) - And so fell Evil Ultraman, unable to deal Attack Again abuse.

Anyways uh ability slot system needs to be less kludgy but otherwise 10/10 would trainwreck again.

[Scar]

Disgaea 4

I WILL make it to the Land of Carnage dag nabbit! Something has always come along (like the upcoming FE 3DS game!) to distract me from ever reaching this gawd forsaken place in the previous Disgaea titles. I will make it there for the first time this time! I hope! I have everything I need except some of the maps and the gawd damn Meokin Pirates to show up. IT WILL HAPPEN!