What Games are you playing 2016?

[dunie]

Niu, has there been a recent game you actually enjoyed?

Not defending anything in general, but most of what I read, is you bashing everything you've played.

Yes, there are things I enjoyed. For example: Persona 5, which I have been praising a couple of pages back.
And then the new SaGa that's coming out this month, which I'll praise as the best thing ever regardless of its quality.

I also am among the few who appreciated SRWMD.

Niu, I did not know you were a SaGa fan. My god, I did not know the DL had another SaGa fan ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! YAAAAAAAAAY.

Anyway.

I see you guys progressing with the story. Damn. I'll do just that.

[NotMiki]

I think people haven't been talking a lot about SaGa because it's been so long since there was much to talk about.

[LordDirtyBrit]

Speaking of which. What's the DL' opinion on the games sound track?
It has a very strong OST, but I often heard little discussion about it.

For which Xenoblade game? The original game has my favourite soundtrack in any game. Engage the Enemy and the Title Theme are among my favourites in any game I've played. With Xenoblade X however, asides from one or two songs, the soundtrack is much weaker for me. I'm aware XBX uses a different style though so maybe I'm just not the right audience. Different style or not though, both variants of NLA can die.

[Meeplelard]

XBCX has some songs that work fantastically in context, but lose a lot out.  Uncontrollable, the boss theme, stands out in this regard.  Like it captures the moment amazingly, but outside of the opening parts, it doesn't do much stand alone.  Contrast to "You WIll Know Our Names", the first game's equivalent, which is great both in-game and stand-alone.

It's a lot like FF12 in that regard; the music is good atmospherically and fits well in the game itself, but removed from the context, there isn't much to it. 


I do appreciate that they did break away from standards and used a different style of music overall, and mostly kept to it.

[LordDirtyBrit]

XBCX has some songs that work fantastically in context, but lose a lot out.  Uncontrollable, the boss theme, stands out in this regard.  Like it captures the moment amazingly, but outside of the opening parts, it doesn't do much stand alone.  Contrast to "You WIll Know Our Names", the first game's equivalent, which is great both in-game and stand-alone.

That's the thing with video game music for me, it has to be great both in-game and as a stand-alone track. You Will Know Our Names, The One Who Gets in Our Way and Mechanical Rhythm do this perfectly for me. The only battle theme in XBCX that I can listen to on repeat is the that Skell Battle Theme (No.EX01 as it is known in the OST).

Another factor that's weaker in XBCX for me is the cast. Elma and Lin are the main ones that stand out for me. You know things are meh when the mute protagonist is actually one of the highlights.

[Fenrir]

I love SaGa, especially Unlimited of all things.
Solo Yattaf in RS3 was some of the most fun I had with a solo poaythrough

Let it Die: This is kinda trashy F2P Souls like with roguelike elements and some SMT influence, plus nonsense for teens, made by Grasshopper on the PS4. So far I'm liking it way too much.

I am loving waking up wearing only underwear in industrial dungeons, equipping a dingy raincoat found lying around, catching big ass frogs and eating them to survive, throwing mushrooms at things,  equipping an iron and beating an enemy with it because there is nothing else. Iron as in: the tool you use to iron clothes.

 This really feels like a PS2 mid tier game and that's kind of a fresh air, since midtier games have all but disappeared recently. I'm a bit wary because it's F2P but you cannot even buy anything yet

I like how when you save the game you get out of the game and end up talking to your friends (including death)


Mirror edge catalyst: open world Mirror's Edge was a mistake
I bet that if EA gets its hands on the Tetris license, it will make it open world

[NotMiki]

This really feels like a PS2 mid tier game and that's kind of a fresh air, since midtier games have all but disappeared recently.

So basically it hits all the notes of Baroque.  Catnip for the Fenrirs.  Hooray for janky, stylish, moderately deranged dungeon crawlers!

[jsh357]

Still downloading that day 1 patch for FF15... lol

I started playing Bravely Second on the side. The game is mostly fine so far, but geez, talk about a silly script. It seems like an odd choice to try and make the cast of this game into a bunch of memesters, but they went there.

[Grefter]

the first game's boss fight was against a white mage called Holly Whyte.  Dumb jokes is in the core design.

[Captain K]

I bet that if EA gets its hands on the Tetris license, it will make it open world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58LXv8jQe8U
================
I like the SaGa Gameboy games, particularly SaGa 2.  Does that count?

[Niu]

I think people haven't been talking a lot about SaGa because it's been so long since there was much to talk about.

It is because Square Enix is composed of heretics who drove our lord and master Kawazu into the corner while two other SaGa core staffs left the company.

Speaking of which, Koizumi is making another spiritual SaGa game after Legend of Legacy. This time he is collaborating the old Suikoden director that Konami drove away.

[Cmdr_King]

Pokémon Moon-  Fin

I don't think I developed quite the irrational fondness for this one as for X/Y, but I think that's down to liking the traditional structure and the sheer variety of pokemon you could get in Kalos.  Gen 7 has some pretty great quirks- in particular these characters are complete dorks and it's pretty great.  Team Skull fits right in there, it's a pity they don't get to do more in a way.  And the back and forth structure between totally-not-gym-leaders and the Totem fights is something I can appreciate in a "well they wanted to change things without altering the core gameplay" but the constant feeling that the game was taking me by surprise with typings and the like was kinda off.  Also as the game went on the Totem fights just utterly fell apart in terms of being a meaningful barometer of strength, which is a bit out of place with them taking the spots of half the gyms.

They are totally trying to sell you on a Trainer/Lillie pairing.  The trainer's vacant smile undercuts some 30% of all scenes in the game because of this.  And all the other ones but it doesn't matter nearly as much there; the other characters are goobers, so the scene is already silly.  Hau in particular should get a mention here, he's the best.

8/10 stuff I think?  Seems right.

Primarina (really, female name for a pokemon that's 85% male?)- Spend a long time just kinda warming a bench eating passive EXP in the middle.  Not really bad in that time, just has some weird move lag since it's so lopsided in favor of SAtk.  And then it gets a unique Z Move upon final evo (a few levels earlier than the norm, 34 vs 36) and all is well.  Except of course that happened around the time I started finding cool stuff I wanted to use.  Not much of a slugger but good at what it needed to be.

Snorlax- Crazy good early and part of the reason Primarina took a seat rather than trying to overlevel harder.  Also gets a unique Z move in the mid-30s (if it's the giveaway munchlax anyways), which boils down to "Trade a use of Giga Impact for a version of Giga Impact that doesn't have a lag turn".  Yes please.

Mudsdale- Stamina is really good on paper, in practice most enemies have mixed offense in this game so you don't get to use it TOO much against Kahunas and the like.  Movepool is a bit monochrome... but it also STARTS with Bulldoze and gets EQ at a reasonable level.  Despite coming up short in the very end just due to not having too many opportunities to really shine it feels like the strongest Alolan pokemon on paper, and is caught really damn early to boot.

Haunter (Retired)- Never really came into its own, I think I mostly raised it to haunter just in case the game asked for some nonsense pokedex counts later on.

Umbreon (Retired)- Big help for a dungeon or so after it evolved, then I found some cool stuff...

Mimikyu- So cool.  Needs like 5 levels before it can do anything (you don't get good physical TMs it can learn so you need L37 to nab Shadow Claw), but adequate damage in good types and Disguise is just so handy.

Skarmory- Never really used it before.  For some damn reason it learns a bunch of Special flying moves and it can't learn Acrobat so it's stuck with like Sky Drop on that end, and Steel... is a better attacking type now at least (Alola has a fairly healthy Fairy population), but still not great.

Exeggcutor (Retired)- Tried using this, turns out it doesn't have the right movepool to cover the holes I had.  Weird.

Lunala- Didn't see too many fights, and kept getting kinda OHKOed due to entry hazards rendering its ability moot, but hey that's my fault.

[Niu]

XBCX has some songs that work fantastically in context, but lose a lot out.  Uncontrollable, the boss theme, stands out in this regard.  Like it captures the moment amazingly, but outside of the opening parts, it doesn't do much stand alone.  Contrast to "You WIll Know Our Names", the first game's equivalent, which is great both in-game and stand-alone.

That's the thing with video game music for me, it has to be great both in-game and as a stand-alone track. You Will Know Our Names, The One Who Gets in Our Way and Mechanical Rhythm do this perfectly for me. The only battle theme in XBCX that I can listen to on repeat is the that Skell Battle Theme (No.EX01 as it is known in the OST).

Another factor that's weaker in XBCX for me is the cast. Elma and Lin are the main ones that stand out for me. You know things are meh when the mute protagonist is actually one of the highlights.

Hard to imagine I am seeing these comments. Consider Xenoblade X is very strong in melody when it comes to music, and I know DL has this melody is the best attitude.
Especially so for battle themes. From Uncontrollable to z29ba2t0t1l301e17 to Wir fliegen to In the Forest to The key we've lost to aBOreSSs, they are all songs with strong impression (even they are all in styles recycled to hell by Sawano himself).

[DjinnAndTonic]

My god, I did not know the DL had another SaGa fan ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! YAAAAAAAAAY.

I think there's a few of us! I know Elfboy ended up liking SaGa Frontier quite a bit. I recall Meeple did too. I know Magic swears by SaGa Frontier 2. And Snow loves Romancing SaGa 3. Captain K mentioned he's a fan of SaGa 2/FFL2. I love all of these things~ And The Last Remnant. Basically every SaGa game but Unlimited because that game is too broken even for me to find its good points.

[Lord Ephraim]

This site has more SaGa fans than most English sites period.  I think it was one of two series I've never heard of prior (the other being Brigandine).  I travelled 25 miles to pick up a copy of SaGa Frontier because of how everyone here praised it.

I'm also the biggest hater of the games.  Legend of Legacy was the worst game I played in 2015, and I've played THREE Idea Factory games.

FF15:

I think my biggest complaint so far is that I can't trash the car.  I wanted to go into an important cutscene with a banged up car that looks like it can explode any second.  It's ruining my open world experience!  Joking aside, it's alright.  There was some strange bug or something that prevented me from escaping from a dungeon and I was completely lost for an hour.  I didn't know there was a level 52 ghost Auron lurking down there that kept oneshoting my party even though the rest of the monsters are level 7 goblins.

I'm also quite worried about Prompto taking ass shots of the rest of the guys constantly during battle.  You know I never really notice him doing damage unless I use one of his techs.  Is there no AI tactical settings in the game?

[Scar]

Ff15 beaten.

Could have been better. End game felt rushed.

I'd give it a 6.5 or 7/10. Though they did announce they are going to patch the game and add missing content. That could help with the score.

Anyways, I'm going to gun for a platinum trophy while I wait.

[dunie]

:*3 plot to draw SaGa fans out of hiding successful. Though, I am jealous you had a community for it, I joined DL late.

Prompto becomes useful, Eph, don't worry. Or, I guess I mean hopefully you see him do something worthy? He is good at night.

[Niu]

Prompto's performance in battle is completely secondary.

His primary use is to photograph all the silly posses, or the nice asses.

[LordDirtyBrit]

Final Fantasy X: Fought every opponent in the Area Conquest. I'm now catching monsters needed for the Species Conquest. I've also got Ultima on Yuna and Lulu now. Pity it won't be too much help as I'll primarily be fighting single target opponents.

Pokemon Moon: Caught Lunala. After facing Team Skull at Po Town, the story has become a lot more dramatic and the difficulty has become much higher. The trainers at Poni Island had Pokemon at the same levels as mine, a situation I've never faced outside of the Elite Four, and Motherbeast Lusamine's Clefable was a nightmare spamming Cosmic Power and Moonlight. Even the Totem Kommo-o was difficult despite the 4x weakness to Mimikyu. Despite the game's mute protagonist, I've enjoyed the narrative and cast quite a bit. Lillie has solid character development and Hau and Gladion are a huge cut above the rivals in previous games. Guzma and Team Skull in general are fun characters and actually have realistic motivations that you can get behind despite their antagonist status, and Lusamine's attitude towards her children makes her a hateable prick which allows fighting her to be all the more satisfying.

The team so far is what you see on my current signature and I'll write up my thoughts on them once I've defeated the champion.

[MasterLemon]

Pokemon Sun: Caught the Solgaleo advertised to me on the box, and its levels are far higher than the rest of my party. I'll use it as a panic button when the Elite 4 gets too tough. I can't complain about the moveset which it has by default though, this thing is going to be such an evil tank. Solgaleo aside, the game definitely wasn't holding back after got a full team of six and decided to turn off the Exp. Share now that I didn't have any Pokedex pages to fill on the bench. Guzma suddenly became tricky on the third match with him, the Totem Mimikyu was an annoyance even while I had the Exp. Share on, and Poni Island was on a completely different league from the rest of the islands. Pokemon were suddenly at the same levels as mine, WILD Pokemon were giving me a run for my money, and the Island's Kahuna was tricky due to how much of a tank the Mudsdale was, not so nice when the opponent is using one. To start Araquanid was my MVP, even though now Mimikyu has claimed that position. Cheesing opponents with Swords Dance behind a disguise is what I like to seem; it helps how it's coupled with an excellent typing. It's still my only member which has been able to get to its 50s in terms of levels.

Oh, did I mention that this game had the best plot. You actually care about the rivals, unlike the ones in Gen 5 where you can just recreate the experience by going on to TV Tropes. Lillie is the best NPC since N: she has a well done arc which isn't shoved into your face, and I particularly found that scene when she and the player are sheltered from the rain in Exeggutor Island to be very touching. It's a shame that the player has that same unhinged face throughout the scene. This is why I don't like mutes. The ones which are just bland special snowflakes like most Pokemon protagonists, Crono, and most Links. The main ones which I like are ones which are humorous/more expressive like Mario and Wind Waker Link. Characters like Samus benefit from being in a mute environment and having a sense of mystery surrounding her, and Cross is just an average grunt in Elma's team.

Team so far:

[Fenrir]

Romancing SaGa 2:
Remembered I bought this for 17€ and tried it again. Controls on iOs still blow but whatever. I consider this to be HARD MODE.

This game is totally awesome and maybe the best SaGa. Daamn I love it.
This is very much like Romancing 3 except :
- a bit more linear. No "here are 30 cities good luck lol" this time
- you have a big castle and control generations of king
- Chests don't have 20g but like 200000 g because you have your fucking castle to expand
It's a bit weird to beat up a goblin king and then see a black screen and have the game go "152 years later" (no joke) and then you get to pick a new king and new allies because the ones you controlled 20 seconds ago are all dead.
A bit weird and completely awesome
This also happens after any party wipe so I'll try to play without any resets.
Things get vaguely passed on to other generations but since this is SaGa you have no idea what, really
At the beginning the game is also "swords swords swords: the game" everybody in your castle but two people are specialized in swords. Jesus.

So far I really like magic and really dislike bows. My regular team is Arngrim / fire mage / wind mage / monk dude / prince, prince being a versatile sword + light magic user. I love the default light spell, which is MT very weak light damage+ blind.

[NotMiki]

I bought it on iOS but I just couldn't deal with the touch controls, so I'm still waiting on the more-or-less confirmed vita port.  Waste of money, but at least it's for a good cause.

[Fenrir]

Agreed.
I chose to bear with the controls because unlike the eventual Vita port I can play it at work. Big advantage

And yeah, I like Let it die and Baroque for much of the same reasons. Baroque is worse though, largely because the protagonist has more clothes on by default

[Niu]

Fenrir, let me know when you tackle the Canal Fortress Gate head on and died a terrible death.
Let me know when you completely screws up on the Cumberland route and fails to conquer the said region.
Let me know you lock your self into the game worst dungeon route when you do the Amazon arc.
Let me know when you got your self into the land ship naked.
Let me know when you believe the strongest hat is indeed the strongest hat.

Anyway... what I am trying to say is, RS2 is a heartlessly malicious game where you can trap yourself into terrible scenarios again and again again! ENJOY!

[Grefter]

You just described the Fenrirest game.