Support NeoGAF

[Y0ssarian]

Wait, I'm I going crazy? What happened to Rodya Raskolnikov? He was one of the more active users in this thread but I don't see him here....

I changed my username bud

 

[Y0ssarian]

I played through all 3 last year. My only issue is with the screen size though where you'll be forced to make blind jumps. Other than that, all 3 are great Sonic games. My main takeaway from Sonic Advance 2 though is that Techno Base is the worst Sonic 2D level in the series. It's ugly as hell visually and just really poorly designed.

How did you enjoy them all? Was there one you preferred over the others?

I will be playing all 3 as well. I kinda liked Techno Base. It was hard though, for me at least. My least favourite zone was the second one (the crater). Just less visually appealing to me. Man, using Cream made the game a lot easier

 

[InfiniteCombo]

I changed my username bud

D'oh! Should've put 2 and 2 together, serves me right for noticing during work hours.

No love for "PlayStation" in your new name?

 

[Y0ssarian]

No love for "PlayStation" in your new name?

No

 

[InfiniteCombo]

No

Maybe I'm misreading you (I hope), but... OK, "bud"

 

[Y0ssarian]

Maybe I'm misreading you (I hope), but... OK, "bud"

I think you are misreading me. I didn't mean anything malicious

 

[InfiniteCombo]

I think you are misreading me. I didn't mean anything malicious

My bad bro... FYI you're one of my favorite posters on this forum, so I found the terse responses out of character, and I got thrown off.

Again my apologies

 

[Y0ssarian]

My bad bro... FYI you're one of my favorite posters on this forum, so I found the terse responses out of character, and I got thrown off.

Again my apologies

I didn't mean anything by it. I should have elaborated why I didn't put Sony in the name. I've come to enjoy sega and nintendo the best, that's about it really. You're one of my favourite too. No need to apologize

 

[DelireMan7]

My challenge :
No 2022 games (or as low as possible). I can buy older games. If I buy a game, I play it immediately avoid growing my backlog.

Physical Backlog* :

• The Legend of Heroes : Trails in the Sky (PSP)
• Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
• Baldur's Gate : Siege of Dragonspear (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Throne of Bhaal (PS4)
• Zelda Ocarina of time (N64)
• Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
• Project X Zone (3DS) Ongoing !
• Brigandine : The legend of Runersia (Switch)
• The Mark of Kri (PS2)
• Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2 : Record Breaker (3DS)
• Demon's Souls (PS5) Done !
• Divinity : Original Sin (PS4/5)
• [2022] The legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess (Wii)
• [2022] Final Fantasy Tactics : The War of the Lions (PSP)

*doesn't include PSplus free games

I bought Final Fantasy Tactics ! I am thinking to dive in the strategy RPGs of my backlog but I set this weird rule that I should first play the classic of the genre that is Final Fantasy Tactics before playing any other Strategy RPG...

Games completed :

1. Demon's Souls (PS5) (Started the 13th of December , finished the 3rd of January, 25h20)
2. [Replay] Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice (PS5) (Started the 6th of January, finished the 1st of February, NG/NG+/NG++ done in 91h40)
3. [2022] Elden Ring (PS5) (Started the 25h of February, finished the 22nd of April, 190 hours)
4. [Replay] Elden Ring (PS5) (Started the 23rd of April, finished the 16th of May, 52 hours)

So my second run is over. Since time I just focus on one big quest and basically rush to the ending. I still did a bit of exploration here and there.
The replayability was a bit weird to me. As I explored "everything" on my first run, I didn't want to do it again this time. But as all gears/spells/etc... are scattered across the world in side dungeons or loot to find by exploring, I couldn't remember where are the stuff I wanted so I had to rely heavily on Wiki. Not a bad thing but it made this playthrough less "organic" and it's something I usually do in Souls after several playthroughs.

Still a very impressive game and I'll do other runs with more exploration this time.
I did a swordman with magic build (with all the spell blade sorcery and the Elden Ring version of the iconic Moonlight greatsword).

I didn't talk about the music after my previous run so here it is.
The OST is a bit underwhelming I would say. The ambient theme in the open world are pretty nice. But when it comes to boss music, it's nothing special in most of the case. Quite generic except few exceptions.

I will not spoil but one of the endgame boss is for me the best boss in the whole Soulsborne games. Such a pleasure to fight !
To counterbalance it, they putted the worst boss in the whole Soulsborne franchise as final boss... Such a painful and boring fight. First time I have zero pleasure fighting a boss.

And somehow this final boss is the embodiment of the new philosophy Elden Ring brought to Soulsborne games : Adaptability.
The game wants you to change your build to adapt to each situation or boss. This final boss, if you don't have a specific build is really painful.

It's not a bad philosophy but I prefer much more the old Dark Souls philosophy (which I call "Assume your choice") where you can't drastically change your build on the fly. But as the game is balanced around it, with any build you can beat it. Some part will be either a bit harder or easier but nothing too crazy like it can be in Elden Ring sometimes.

What to play next :

Still advancing by small bits in Project X Zone... Chapter 30 or 31 out of 40 I think.

As I said above, I wanted to jump into some Strategy RPG of my backlog but I first want to play Final Fantasy Tactics (Started 18th of May).

But I am also very eager to try others builds in Elden Ring so I can't really decide.

Zelda : Ocarina of Time is still an option as my N64 is just gathering dust at the moment. I could play it and then store the console properly.

Anyway we are going in vacation next week and I will not have much time to play during it so I think I might take a 2 weeks break of gaming to think about it

 

[SpiceRacz]

How did you enjoy them all? Was there one you preferred over the others?

I will be playing all 3 as well. I kinda liked Techno Base. It was hard though, for me at least. My least favourite zone was the second one (the crater). Just less visually appealing to me. Man, using Cream made the game a lot easier

I would rank them 1 > 3 > 2

I think 1 has the most consistent level design and boss fights. 2 is faster, but I think the level design is worse. I remember dying quite a bit more in that one. I'm not a fan of the boss fights in 2 either. 3 feels closer to 1 than 2, but not as good.

As far as Sonic games go, they're all really fun and carry the spirit & feel of classic Sonic. These should have been the proper sequels to the mainline series.

 

[IchibanKasuga21]

Not. I have nothing to play. I need new games.

 

[Y0ssarian]

I would rank them 1 > 3 > 2

I think 1 has the most consistent level design and boss fights. 2 is faster, but I think the level design is worse. I remember dying quite a bit more in that one. I'm not a fan of the boss fights in 2 either. 3 feels closer to 1 than 2, but not as good.

As far as Sonic games go, they're all really fun and carry the spirit & feel of classic Sonic. These should have been the proper sequels to the mainline series.

Neat. Sounds like Advance 1 is the best. I'm playing Sonic Colors (DS) at the moment. When I'm done with that I'll move onto Sonic Advance 3. I don't have Advance 1 yet. Cheers

 

[DelireMan7]

So I am weak... I received yesterday my copy of Final Fantasy Tactics : War of the Lions for PSP. I wanted to wait after my holidays to start it. BUT I looked the manual (I love having manual) and it's wonderful. It explains the settings, the character background. Lot of details on the different mechanics and at the there is a lot of pages about the different classes and their abilities...

So I decided to start the game. What a change from Project X Zone where strategy doesn't matter. Here it's quite challenging. I won the first story battle but not easily. Then I lose the first random encounter... xD
You have to think carefully about your action and this is what I want from a Strategy RPG. The job system looks really deep and complex. Can't wait to play more.
Also love the world, setting and characters so far.

Small con is that you can't stop playing during a battle. You have to complete it to be able to save and stop the game. Or maybe I miss it. I wish there was this "temporary save" (makes you quit the game and when you come back automatically delete the save to avoid save scamming) during battles that some Strategy RPG have.

 

[DelireMan7]

Final Fantasy Tactics is so great !

I had a hard time the first couple of hours. It was so punishing. I was feeling so dumb xD

Then after careful thinking about gears, party composition, jobs combination, abilities to get, in battle strategy... it's way better.
I really feel rewarded by the game for thinking carefully before and during battles.

Experimenting with jobs and abilities is really cool.

Love the game so far. Story is also a strong point so far. I love the medieval political plot it has.

 

[Y0ssarian]

Final Fantasy Tactics is so great !

I had a hard time the first couple of hours. It was so punishing. I was feeling so dumb xD

Then after careful thinking about gears, party composition, jobs combination, abilities to get, in battle strategy... it's way better.
I really feel rewarded by the game for thinking carefully before and during battles.

Experimenting with jobs and abilities is really cool.

Love the game so far. Story is also a strong point so far. I love the medieval political plot it has.

I still have this game and my PSP. Might be the best game on the system. You might wanna try Tactics Ogre Let us Cling Together and Jeanne d'Arc as well.

I just finished Sonic Colors (DS). It was enjoyable in small doses. I did not enjoy it as much as Sonic Advance 2 though. I preferred both the zones and artwork in that game. Colors was still decent though and worth playing. I think the water zone was my favourite, which is a new first for me in a 2D platformer. Good soundtrack and easy bosses. I'm not a huge fan of Wisp powers though.

 

[DelireMan7]

I still have this game and my PSP. Might be the best game on the system. You might wanna try Tactics Ogre Let us Cling Together and Jeanne d'Arc as well.

These 2 are on my list of "must play". Alongside Yggdra Union.

 

[Bakkus]

Not playing as much anymore as I did during the pandemic for obvious reasons, but I still got some of it in me. I finished the original Doom a little while ago earlier in the thread an hour ago I finished it's sequel: Doom II: Hell on Earth. It was certainly a mixed bag. Very good fundamentals like it's predecessor, fast paced and such. Still really fun to shoot and kill these demons, but man are some of the levels a pain to traverse. So many freaking portals, hidden passages, and so many enemy traps, and some of the new enemies are horrendous. Especially those Arch-vile creatures. I have no idea how you were supposed to dodge their almost insta kill attacks. Felt very RNG when I tried to run away from it. Every problem I had with the first game felt diled up in this, and even though they're both really short games, I had to take several breaks due to how repetitive they are. Ok, I want to end on a more positive note; The super shotgun is amazing. Fantastic inclusion to this sequel!

 

[VidKid369]

Just beat Breath of Fire III. (PS1 version)

I was just gonna collect all the Dragon Genes and just stop right there and call it 100% completed but I did some other stuff too as well. I mastered all the Masters. And I beat the Berserkr and ArchMage in the Container Yard at the end.

Totally fun RPG. Really captured my childhood in a nutshell. Would recommend to anyone wanting a throwback. Dunno if I'll continue with Breath of Fire 4 or play something else. ponders..

 

[SpiceRacz]

Knocked Half Life 2 off my list. I did not enjoy it as much as I expected. The game drags in spots, especially the last few areas. Ravenholm was really the highlight for me though. That section feels more like a horror fps. I wish there was more of that style/tone and less of what we got in the last half of the game. Also, the vehicle controls killed some of the fun for me. The loose controls make maneuvering through tight spots or making jumps frustrating as hell. These sections are pretty long too or at least they felt like it. I didn't really care for the guns in this game either. I mostly found myself using the shotgun and the gravity gun. Barely touched the revolver or the machine guns. Wasn't really invested in the story either. I think I expected too much out of this game and set myself up for disappointment. It feels outdated in a way that I can't forgive or look past. I'm not totally sure why as I enjoy older FPS games like Unreal, Doom, Heretic, etc. It has me questioning whether or not I should play the original Half Life next.

Not playing as much anymore as I did during the pandemic for obvious reasons, but I still got some of it in me. I finished the original Doom a little while ago earlier in the thread an hour ago I finished it's sequel: Doom II: Hell on Earth. It was certainly a mixed bag. Very good fundamentals like it's predecessor, fast paced and such. Still really fun to shoot and kill these demons, but man are some of the levels a pain to traverse. So many freaking portals, hidden passages, and so many enemy traps, and some of the new enemies are horrendous. Especially those Arch-vile creatures. I have no idea how you were supposed to dodge their almost insta kill attacks. Felt very RNG when I tried to run away from it. Every problem I had with the first game felt diled up in this, and even though they're both really short games, I had to take several breaks due to how repetitive they are. Ok, I want to end on a more positive note; The super shotgun is amazing. Fantastic inclusion to this sequel!

Doom 2 feels like they got overambitious with the level design. Some levels are an over-complicated mess and flat out not fun. I've never gotten lost in an FPS like with that game. Have you played Doom 64 or do you have plans to?

 

[Bakkus]

Doom 2 feels like they got overambitious with the level design. Some levels are an over-complicated mess and flat out not fun. I've never gotten lost in an FPS like with that game. Have you played Doom 64 or do you have plans to?

No plans in the near future. I watched this review again just now and it seems like you can't even save scum which was crucial for me to get enjoyment out of the first two games. Unless you can in the remastered HD version?

 

[SpiceRacz]

No plans in the near future. I watched this review again just now and it seems like you can't even save scum which was crucial for me to get enjoyment out of the first two games. Unless you can in the remastered HD version?

Pretty sure you can in this new version.

Edit: Just confirmed you can.

 

[Bakkus]

Pretty sure you can in this new version.

Edit: Just confirmed you can.

Nice. I might give it a try sooner or later. But I still haven't played the two reboot games. So I wanna do that first.

 

[Y0ssarian]

No plans in the near future. I watched this review again just now and it seems like you can't even save scum which was crucial for me to get enjoyment out of the first two games. Unless you can in the remastered HD version?

No real need to save scum in Doom 64. The levels are like 5-10 minutes long. However, you can save anywhere in the remaster

 

[Y0ssarian]

Knocked Half Life 2 off my list. I did not enjoy it as much as I expected. The game drags in spots, especially the last few areas. Ravenholm was really the highlight for me though. That section feels more like a horror fps. I wish there was more of that style/tone and less of what we got in the last half of the game. Also, the vehicle controls killed some of the fun for me. The loose controls make maneuvering through tight spots or making jumps frustrating as hell. These sections are pretty long too or at least they felt like it. I didn't really care for the guns in this game either. I mostly found myself using the shotgun and the gravity gun. Barely touched the revolver or the machine guns. Wasn't really invested in the story either. I think I expected too much out of this game and set myself up for disappointment. It feels outdated in a way that I can't forgive or look past. I'm not totally sure why as I enjoy older FPS games like Unreal, Doom, Heretic, etc. It has me questioning whether or not I should play the original Half Life.

Did you play the Episodes as well or just Half Life 2 by itself? I'm playing Half Life 2 Episode One right now. I'm on the last chapter. I think it holds up reasonably well, but I preferred Half Life 2 to Episode One. I really like shooters from the mid-2000s, prior to Call of Duty 4 MW

 

[SpiceRacz]

Did you play the Episodes as well or just Half Life 2 by itself? I'm playing Half Life 2 Episode One right now. I'm on the last chapter. I think it holds up reasonably well, but I preferred Half Life 2 to Episode One. I really like shooters from the mid-2000s, prior to Call of Duty 4 MW

Just HL2. I have the episodes as well and I'll probably play them eventually. I've got my eye on No One Lives Forever and Return to Castle Wolfenstein next.

 

[Y0ssarian]

Just HL2. I have the episodes as well and I'll probably play them eventually. I've got my eye on No One Lives Forever and Return to Castle Wolfenstein next.

RTCW is based

 

[Y0ssarian]

I finished Panzer Dragoon Orta and Half Life 2 Episode One.

Panzer Dragoon was so fucking good. It's kind of funny to me that I'm playing these OG Xbox games on Series X and they turn out to be the best games I played this year (the other is Otogi 1). Man the music is so good and the gameplay holds up. I played the Panzer Dragoon Remake last year and Orta is so much better because your dragoon can change forms and it adds an extra layer of strategy to the game.

Half Life 2 Episode One was a good shooter. I think it spends too much time with the gravity gun in chapter 1 & 2 before you get to actually shooting anything. The last few chapters made up for it though, and the sections in City 17 and before the train were good. Apparently Episode Two is much better.

I just wanted to say, I'm one warning away from a ban, so if the worst happens, just know I did actually take this thread seriously (as opposed to the main board) and I apologize to InfiniteCombo for that time I was rude. You are one of my favourite posters, switching to PC from ps4 was based, and you got me to go back to the Yakuza series (3). And This is the best thread on the forum.

 

[Bakkus]

I finished Castlevania: Rondo of Blood 100% a few days ago on the PS4 through the collection also including Symphony (which I've already played). Great game. Really hard at times when playing as Richter, but the game is actually a bit on the easy side when playing as Maria. So naturally, I just played as Richter with the exception of when I wanted to breeze through a few levels because I didn't know what I was missing to get to 100% completion. This game surprised me because to begin with, I was a bit iffy on it, but once I learned the mechanics and how to work around the limited mobility in movement and combat and how to use the items you get to great effect (especially the godlike axe weapon as well as the cross for some boss battles), it became a great experience. This is the first "Classicvania" I've ever played, which is why it took me time to adapt. I also wish I could have played this on a CRT, but the scanline smoother which was included in this collection does a lot of good on an LCD TV.

I also want to highlight a great underrated track from this game. We all know Bloodlines and Bloody Tears and the likes, but this is even better in my opinion. Just pure greatness

 

[SpiceRacz]

I finished Castlevania: Rondo of Blood 100% a few days ago on the PS4 through. Great game. Really hard at times when playing as Richter, but the game is actually a bit on the easy side when playing as Maria. So naturally, I just played as Richter with the exception of when I wanted to breeze through a few levels because I didn't know what I was missing to get to 100% completion. This game surprised me because to begin with, I was a bit iffy on it, but once I learned the mechanics and how to work around the limited mobility in movement and combat, it became a great experience. This is the first "Classicvania" I've ever played, which is why it took me time to adapt. I also wish I could have played this on a CRT, but the scanline smoother which was included in this collection does a lot of good on an LCD TV.

I also want to highlight a great underrated track from this game. We all know Bloodlines and Bloody Tears and the likes, but this is even better. Just pure greatness

If that's your first traditional Castlevania game, you need to play Castlevania 4 next. Equally impressive game that outdoes Rondo in some ways. Both are GOATS in the action-platformer genre.

 

[Bakkus]

If that's your first traditional Castlevania game, you need to play Castlevania 4 next. Equally impressive game that outdoes Rondo in some ways. Both are GOATS in the action-platformer genre.

It's in my backlog. I see it's short and easy for Castlevania standards, so I might do it over the summer.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

So I was supposed to have moved on to Dark Souls. I did for like 15 minutes, but then...

So I had previously unlocked Jeanne as a playable character in Bayonetta. I was doing really well with Bayo until I realized I was kind of breezing through the chapters.

"Let me try Jeanne for a few rounds," I said. "Should be quick," I said. Hours later....

I got Pure Platinum ("perfect") trophies for all Chapters on Normal with Jeanne, which itself is a huge achievement and one of the gaming feats I'm most proud of in my 30+ year history of playing video games.

I started a Pure Platinum run on Hard as well (see the ones for Chapters P-5 in the pic) when I realized I probably should move on to other games in my backlog, because otherwise I'm gonna be playing this one game forever. (The other Chapters on Hard have shitty rankings because I purposely did a speedrun to get an extra item I needed to Pure Platinum the final boss on Normal.)

I have to say, getting good at these kinds of games is very satisfying, and I can't remember the last game I got this good at. Because I found out that playing with Jeanne on Hard is the hardest the game gets:

1. Unlike Bayo, Jeanne doesn't have "Witch Time" achieved by a regular dodge. Jeanne can only ever trigger Witch Time from [practically] frame-perfect maneuvers, which against certain enemies is really hard to do. I've somehow gotten the hang of been able to get Jeanne's witch time against all types of enemies, except Joy.
2. Hard has the same enemy layout as Non-Stop Infinite Climax (NSIC) -- aka, really, really tough enemy layouts. But since the game is Bayo-centric, the developers lowered the combo counter requirements to achieve Pure Platinum on NSIC -- which makes sense since Bayo herself has no access to Witch Time at all on NSIC difficulty.
3. So combining the above two, you get Jeanne (who practically has no easily accessible Witch Time) but on Hard Mode the combo counter requirements are really high. (And of course, I only talk about combo requirements, since the other two factors -- time and life -- are not relevant. For a Pure Platinum ranking, you have to beat the level quickly, and without getting hit, ever). So it's really tough in general, but even more so:
   1. There are special levels called "Alfheims" which with Jeanne are an absolute nightmare. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I may have raged once or twice at just how insane the whole thing was.
   2. There is an enemy type called "Joy" -- they're the super-slutty female enemies, and because their attacks are unpredictable, random, long-range, and many of them super-twitchy, it's almost impossible to not get hit. Many of the encounters involving Joys are against THREE of them.

So anyway, Normal difficulty with Jeanne is already really hard; Hard difficulty is just insanity. But for every chapter, I was able to figure out a strategy and beat it with a perfect ranking. And I did it practically on my own -- not that there are really any Jeanne guides out there anyway.

This is not something I say for many games of this kind; but for this particular game, I definitely feel like I've mastered it. It's rewarding as hell.

But now it's time to move on in the backlog. Later bitches.

 

[DelireMan7]

My challenge :
No 2022 games (or as low as possible). I can buy older games. If I buy a game, I play it immediately avoid growing my backlog.

Physical Backlog* :

• The Legend of Heroes : Trails in the Sky (PSP)
• Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
• Baldur's Gate : Siege of Dragonspear (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Throne of Bhaal (PS4)
• Zelda Ocarina of time (N64)
• Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
• Project X Zone (3DS) Ongoing !
• Brigandine : The legend of Runersia (Switch)
• The Mark of Kri (PS2)
• Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2 : Record Breaker (3DS)
• Demon's Souls (PS5) Done !
• Divinity : Original Sin (PS4/5)
• [2022] The legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess (Wii)
• [2022] Final Fantasy Tactics : The War of the Lions (PSP) Done !

*doesn't include PSplus free games

Games completed :

1. Demon's Souls (PS5) (Started the 13th of December , finished the 3rd of January, 25h20)
2. [Replay] Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice (PS5) (Started the 6th of January, finished the 1st of February, NG/NG+/NG++ done in 91h40)
3. [2022] Elden Ring (PS5) (Started the 25h of February, finished the 22nd of April, 190 hours)
4. [Replay] Elden Ring (PS5) (Started the 23rd of April, finished the 16th of May, 52 hours)
5. [2022] Final Fantasy Tactics : the War of the Lions (PSP) (Started the 18th of May, finished the 4th of June, 51 hours)

What a amazing classic !

25 years old and this game is still relevant today !

The art design and graphics (pixel art) are so stunning. I am in love with the whole esthetic of the game.
Medieval fantasy world with a kind of old english for text. It's so sweet even if a bit tricky sometimes for a non native speaker like me.

I will not go too much on the story to avoid spoilers but the base is a medieval political plot. A lot of different players : family house, templar, church, dukes, ...
Honestly, I didn't follow 100% the story due to the english being sometimes tricky and the portable format sometimes made me played small chunk where my attention was not really there.
I got majority of it but didn't get some details.

Battles are very strategic and enjoyable for the most part. Some boss battles are too unfair for me and led to lot of frustration. And some it was just relying on nuking the boss as fast as possible because it was not possible deal with all the powerful enemies in the fight.
You have to take elevation and terrain into consideration. Lots of spells and abilities have charge time and so you have to plan or place them well on the battlefield, because by the time they are launch, the enemies might have moved or heal themselves... This goes for your characters as well and you can take advantage of that.
Positioning is also important as you have less chance to hit (or get hit) if you attack an unit from the front instead of the side or back.

Then the true hero of the game : the Job system.
Basically any unit can switch job anytime. In battle they gain XP (for unit level) and Job points (JP) that allow to learn abilities of your choice in this job and also level up this job. Levelling up job allow to unlock new job.
Most unit start with 2 jobs : Squire and Chemist. If you reach lvl 2 Squire you unlock the Knight job. If leveling up Knight, you unlock Archer etc... The Chemist job will unlock the magic Jobs.
Then later some job will required different level in several jobs to unlock them.

Abilities are classified in 4 categories :

• Active : your main battle actions
• Reactive : chance to trigger automatically when meeting the condition (like counter an enemy if receiving a physical attack)
• Support : various passive abilities from Increase physical power or Allowing equipping some gear in any job (each job has some restriction of weapons and type of armor)
• Movement : various passive related to movement (more range, healing when moving, ignore terrain elevation....)

Each unit has 2 slots of Active abilities (one being locked into your current job) and 1 slot in each of the other 3 categories. Then you can put whatever abilities you have unlocked with this unit in these slots.
So you can customized your units at will. Would like a white mage with sword ? Go Knight and unlock the "Equip sword" support ability and go back to White mage. Want more healing on your Ninja ? Go Monk to unlock the movement ability "Lifefont" (heal each time you move) and switch back to Ninja and equip it in your movement slot.

So you often switch job to unlock the abilities you want. Also Party composition play a role since you also gain Job point for job that your teammates currently use.

The gear (weapons, shield, armor and head pieces, 1 accessory) is also playing a big part in the customization.

The Job system alone offers a huge replayability. I already have some job combination I want to test on my next run. Because yes I will for sure replay this game regularly in the coming years.
Then there is also some secrets linked to side content to unlock that I just touched the surface.

I can now say by experience, that Final Fantasy Tactics is a cult classic and deserves its reputation.


What to play next :

Well Project X Zone is still there but after Final Fantasy Tactics, it will be hard to go back it. This game can't be call Strategy RPG xD. I'll leave it on my list but might drop it at one point.

I already restarted a run of Elden Ring... (I knew this year would not be prolific for backlog clearing with this game coming out). I want test a Strengh build revolving around Roar abilities, axes and a weapon of a certain endgame boss (best of the serie for me). I also want to do some lore digging on some characters and event. Plan to take a lot of note on the way

 

[InfiniteCombo]

My challenge :
No 2022 games (or as low as possible). I can buy older games. If I buy a game, I play it immediately avoid growing my backlog.

Physical Backlog* :

• The Legend of Heroes : Trails in the Sky (PSP)
• Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
• Baldur's Gate : Siege of Dragonspear (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn (PS4)
• Baldur's Gate 2 : Throne of Bhaal (PS4)
• Zelda Ocarina of time (N64)
• Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
• Project X Zone (3DS) Ongoing !
• Brigandine : The legend of Runersia (Switch)
• The Mark of Kri (PS2)
• Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2 : Record Breaker (3DS)
• Demon's Souls (PS5) Done !
• Divinity : Original Sin (PS4/5)
• [2021] The legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess (Wii)
• [2021] Final Fantasy Tactics : The War of the Lions (PSP) Done !

*doesn't include PSplus free games

I bought Final Fantasy Tactics ! I am thinking to dive in the strategy RPGs of my backlog but I set this weird rule that I should first play the classic of the genre that is Final Fantasy Tactics before playing any other Strategy RPG...

Games completed :

1. Demon's Souls (PS5) (Started the 13th of December , finished the 3rd of January, 25h20)
2. [Replay] Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice (PS5) (Started the 6th of January, finished the 1st of February, NG/NG+/NG++ done in 91h40)
3. [2021] Elden Ring (PS5) (Started the 25h of February, finished the 22nd of April, 190 hours)
4. [Replay] Elden Ring (PS5) (Started the 23rd of April, finished the 16th of May, 52 hours)
5. [2021] Final Fantasy Tactics : the War of Lions (PSP) (Started the 18th of May, finished the 4th of June, 51 hours)

What a amazing classic !

25 years old and this game is still relevant today !

The art design and graphics (pixel art) are so stunning. I am in love with the whole esthetic of the game.
Medieval fantasy world with a kind of old english for text. It's so sweet even if a bit tricky sometimes for a non native speaker like me.

I will not go too much on the story to avoid spoilers but the base is a medieval political plot. A lot of different players : family house, templar, church, dukes, ...
Honestly, I didn't follow 100% the story due to the english being sometimes tricky and the portable format sometimes made me played small chunk where my attention was not really there.
I got majority of it but didn't get some details.

Battles are very strategic and enjoyable for the most part. Some boss battles are too unfair for me and led to lot of frustration. And some it was just relying on nuking the boss as fast as possible because it was not possible deal with all the powerful enemies in the fight.
You have to take elevation and terrain into consideration. Lots of spells and abilities have charge time and so you have to plan or place them well on the battlefield, because by the time they are launch, the enemies might have moved or heal themselves... This goes for your characters as well and you can take advantage of that.
Positioning is also important as you have less chance to hit (or get hit) if you attack an unit from the front instead of the side or back.

Then the true hero of the game : the Job system.
Basically any unit can switch job anytime. In battle they gain XP (for unit level) and Job points (JP) that allow to learn abilities of your choice in this job and also level up this job. Levelling up job allow to unlock new job.
Most unit start with 2 jobs : Squire and Chemist. If you reach lvl 2 Squire you unlock the Knight job. If leveling up Knight, you unlock Archer etc... The Chemist job will unlock the magic Jobs.
Then later some job will required different level in several jobs to unlock them.

Abilities are classified in 4 categories :

• Active : your main battle actions
• Reactive : chance to trigger automatically when meeting the condition (like counter an enemy if receiving a physical attack)
• Support : various passive abilities from Increase physical power or Allowing equipping some gear in any job (each job has some restriction of weapons and type of armor)
• Movement : various passive related to movement (more range, healing when moving, ignore terrain elevation....)

Each unit has 2 slots of Active abilities (one being locked into your current job) and 1 slot in each of the other 3 categories. Then you can put whatever abilities you have unlocked with this unit in these slots.
So you can customized your units at will. Would like a white mage with sword ? Go Knight and unlock the "Equip sword" support ability and go back to White mage. Want more healing on your Ninja ? Go Monk to unlock the movement ability "Lifefont" (heal each time you move) and switch back to Ninja and equip it in your movement slot.

So you often switch job to unlock the abilities you want. Also Party composition play a role since you also gain Job point for job that your teammates currently use.

The gear (weapons, shield, armor and head pieces, 1 accessory) is also playing a big part in the customization.

The Job system alone offers a huge replayability. I already have some job combination I want to test on my next run. Because yes I will for sure replay this game regularly in the coming years.
Then there is also some secrets linked to side content to unlock that I just touched the surface.

I can now say by experience, that Final Fantasy Tactics is a cult classic and deserves its reputation.


What to play next :

Well Project X Zone is still there but after Final Fantasy Tactics, it will be hard to go back it. This game can't be call Strategy RPG xD. I'll leave it on my list but might drop it at one point.

I already restarted a run of Elden Ring... (I knew this year would not be prolific for backlog clearing with this game coming out). I want test a Strengh build revolving around Roar abilities, axes and a weapon of a certain endgame boss (best of the serie for me). I also want to do some lore digging on some characters and event. Plan to take a lot of note on the way

Wow, great writeup!

What jobs did you end up with in your unit by the time you beat the game?

Were the boss fights just hard, or were they also unfair?

Glad you enjoyed the game!

 

[DelireMan7]

Wow, great writeup!

What jobs did you end up with in your unit by the time you beat the game?

Were the boss fights just hard, or were they also unfair?

Glad you enjoyed the game!

The main character was a Monk/Geomancer. (Monk is OP xD really high damage and lot of utility skills : healing, revive, clear debuff)

Then a white mage/time mage for support.

A dragoon (spear unit with Jump command, good damage and tanky) with the Items command from chemist for emergency healing or revive. Also the Dragonheart reactive skill is pretty handy (cast reraise when HP loss)

A chemist/monk. Chemist can Throw Items to heal or revive. They can also equip guns. With Regenerate reactive skill from White Mage.

I ended up including a story character which have special job (he was holy knight I think). Pretty strong and help me on the end game.

I gave too many of them the lifefont move ability from Monk. Healing after move is pretty great.

Also from Monk "Critical : recover HP" as a reactive skill allows to recover full HP of entering critical state. Also "Arcane defense" support skill from White mage helped for survivability against magic.



Some boss battle where hard and unfair. Not my cup of tea to be honest. But for the most part it was fine.

Another small complaint is that sometimes you need to do a first try (and loose) to have a chance. At the beginning of battle you have to place your units on a bland grid. But it doesn't show you elevation or some obstacle (and of course the enemy placement). But in some battle if you place an unit at specific place, it will be directly in range of enemy Archers for example and will die immediately. So you have to retry and do a better placement. Also in some story battles there is some stuff happening at the beginning that can f*** you up if you don't know it in advance.

 

[jufonuk]

Oops a few good ones on sale in the eshop for

 

[SpiceRacz]

Finished Arkham Asylum. 84% complete with all Riddler trophies, character bios, etc.. This game really captures the feeling of being Batman in a way other games haven't. Gliding around the map and grapple hooking to ledges feels so good. All of the gadgets feel useful. The combat is simple, yet satisfying. Every punch, kick, throw, has a weight and impact to it. Batman just feels strong as fuck in this game. Most importantly though, Arkham Asylum nails the look and tone of the actual comics more than any other Batman game I can remember. I didn't really care that much about the story, but it's not bad by any means. It was sort of boilerplate Batman. Still, this doesn't feel like a cheap tie-in for a movie or cartoon. They even got the voice actors from the 90s animated series.

There are technical limitations though that stand out and remind you this is a game from 2009. The hub and other areas are small and feel linear. They get some mileage out of it by requiring some backtracking, especially if you want all the collectibles. The animations and graphics look dated, even in the updated HD version. Still, none of this ever takes you out of the experience because everything else is so well done. My guess is the devs were trying to make a more focused, tighter experience instead of a bloated, technical mess of a game. It benefits from this more than hinders it. What your left with is the best game in the franchise and probably the best comic game ever made imo.

I heard the sequels improve on this one and I'm looking forward to finding out for myself.

 

[DelireMan7]

Finished Arkham Asylum. 84% complete with all Riddler trophies, character bios, etc.. This game really captures the feeling of being Batman in a way other games haven't. Gliding around the map and grapple hooking to ledges feels so good. All of the gadgets feel useful. The combat is simple, yet satisfying. Every punch, kick, throw, has a weight and impact to it. Batman just feels strong as fuck in this game. Most importantly though, Arkham Asylum nails the look and tone of the actual comics more than any other Batman game I can remember. I didn't really care that much about the story, but it's not bad by any means. It was sort of boilerplate Batman. Still, this doesn't feel like a cheap tie-in for a movie or cartoon. They even got the voice actors from the 90s animated series.

There are technical limitations though that stand out and remind you this is a game from 2009. The hub and other areas are small and feel linear. They get some mileage out of it by requiring some backtracking, especially if you want all the collectibles. The animations and graphics look dated, even in the updated HD version. Still, none of this ever takes you out of the experience because everything else is so well done. My guess is the devs were trying to make a more focused, tighter experience instead of a bloated, technical mess of a game. It benefits from this more than hinders it. What your left with is the best game in the franchise and probably the best comic game ever made imo.

I heard the sequels improve on this one and I'm looking forward to finding out for myself.

I played the Arkham Trilogy 3 years ago. I really enjoy them a lot. For me Asylum is the best of the three.
As you said the aesthetic is top notch in this one. It's a welcome focused experience on Batman. I think it's rather an unpopular opinion but I also think it has the best combat of the series. You need really precise timing and input if you want big combos. The sequels made it more forgiving on this side.

City and Knight are also amazing game. I personally prefer Knight between these 2 despite all its flaws.

Anyway this trilogy is an outstanding tribute to the dark knight.
It reminds me I should play Origins at one point.

 

[SpiceRacz]

I played the Arkham Trilogy 3 years ago. I really enjoy them a lot. For me Asylum is the best of the three.
As you said the aesthetic is top notch in this one. It's a welcome focused experience on Batman. I think it's rather an unpopular opinion but I also think it has the best combat of the series. You need really precise timing and input if you want big combos. The sequels made it more forgiving on this side.

City and Knight are also amazing game. I personally prefer Knight between these 2 despite all its flaws.

Anyway this trilogy is an outstanding tribute to the dark knight.
It reminds me I should play Origins at one point.

Yea the combat requires really precise timing, particularly with the counters. I thought my button inputs were delayed, but I realized pretty quick it was more user-error than the game itself.

I remember reading years back about how down people were on Origins. I was talking to my friend about the Arkham games the other day and he's insistent that Origins is superb and has the best story in the series. He said it reminded of him The Long Halloween. That's high praise.

 

[LegionX]

Time for my next highly delayed batch of completed games! These were done in April

10. Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People (PC)

This is one of the early episodic Telltale point and click adventure games (before Walking Dead when they were actual original style adventure games). I was completely unaware of the source material of this game, being an early online flash based thing (along with some written material I think, I'm not 100% certain). It's a comedy based adventure game, with some interesting ideas and different things to do in the individual episodes. I play these games sporadically between other games, so it took about 6 months to get through all the episodes with gaps between each one. All up.. it's a decent adventure game, I imagine if anybody WAS knowledgeable with the source material it would hit harder though.

I wonder if this has ever been done before.. and perhaps it's a test to see if anybody bothers to read any of this.. but I happen to have a spare Steam code for this from an old Humble Bundle years ago.. so if anybody wants to try it out for theirselves, either respond in here or message me, first to request it can have it

11. Vector HD (Playstation Mini, Played on Vita)

Committing to the whole backlog thing, I went back to the start of my Playstation Plus games (I've been subscribed literally since the first month), and I have to say... people that complain about the service these days wouldn't have liked it back then! You used to generally get one small non-retail PS3 title, 2 Playstation Minis (small games that worked on PS3, PSP, and later on the Vita), and one Playstation 1 classic.... Vector HD was a very graphically simple tower defence game, to the point it was actually a free flash game on PC... but I decided I've enjoyed some TD games in the past, so why not! Turns out this game was very challenging! Each map took a long time to play through, and even the very first, easiest map took me about 8 attempts over multiple hours to beat.... I ended up slowly working through the levels, sometimes having to research strategies online to train myself to be good enough to beat them, and it was still a challenge! However, slowly I got through them, until I hit the Expert levels, those were just far too tough for me.. and I couldn't even find anything online for them or youtube videos etc showing anybody actually beat them.. so that was enough for me

12. Echoes (Playstation Mini, Played on Vita)

This was was a MUCH shorter experience... This is a simple maybe hour long game (to beat if you don't care about score for each level) where, to try to explain it, you are trying to touch/collect some orbs and as you do so, the next one appears for you to get, but each time you move along "Echoes" of your movement spawn as enemies, and you need to avoid them while hitting the orbs... It's on a 2D plane and generally being played over some hand drawn art. It's not very memorable, thus I had to think a bit on the mechanics to even write this up, but, it was enjoyable enough as a very short experience... I had no interest at all in improving my score/times though, once through each mission was enough for me

 

[InfiniteCombo]

I've had a lot of gaming accomplishments over the years. But... getting Pure Platinum rank across the board with Jeanne on Hard Mode (in my humble but very educated opinion, the hardest way to play the first Bayonetta, for reasons I already explained in a previous post) might be in the top 5 of my gaming achievements.

I have certainly mastered this game. If the game had better camera (which remains its only major issue), it would be practically flawless; as it is, it has entered into the Top 10 of my favorites of all time.

 

[DelireMan7]

I've had a lot of gaming accomplishments over the years. But... getting Pure Platinum rank across the board with Jeanne on Hard Mode (in my humble but very educated opinion, the hardest way to play the first Bayonetta, for reasons I already explained in a previous post) might be in the top 5 of my gaming achievements.

I have certainly mastered this game. If the game had better camera (which remains its only major issue), it would be practically flawless; as it is, it has entered into the Top 10 of my favorites of all time.

Damn all your post makes me want to try this game. I loved DMC 1 and 3. I haven't touch much the recent entry.

I couldn't stand the character of Bayonnetta so I didn't touch these games.

I should give it a try I guess

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Damn all your post makes me want to try this game. I loved DMC 1 and 3. I haven't touch much the recent entry.

I couldn't stand the character of Bayonnetta so I didn't touch these games.

I should give it a try I guess

Yeah, I know I've been talking about Bayonetta a lot. That game has consumed (pretty much monopolized) my video game playtime for the past month, month and a half or so.

My very first exposure to "character action" games was Devil May Cry 4. I played it back on PS3 -- I had a good time, and I liked the game quite a bit, but I played it all sorts of "wrong." Although of course I beat it and had no problems with the enemies and what not, I kept getting high (but mostly OK) rankings. I didn't bother to understand the "style" system of the game, at least at the time, and just sort of brute-forced my way through.

The main grading in Bayonetta is not about style -- it's first and foremost about keeping your combo counter going, and with as much of a multiplier as possible. Now, as you get better, your combos WILL look stylish as hell, just because it's fun using the various weapons Bayonetta has at her disposal.

My love for the game comes from the variety of weapons, the amazing defensive options, the advanced techniques ("Dodge Offset" which apparently I've read has become a bit of a staple in other Platinum games) and the massive reward that comes from getting good. The game also has great enemy and boss design.

Yeah, ignore the characters, practically all of them are dumb. Bayonetta's concept, behavior, and design look like they came from some teenager's wet dream. I like the characters myself just because of how ridiculous and over the top they are, and you don't often find such outlandish characters in video games these days.

The story is pretty nonsensical, too, so if you play games primarily for a deep, engaging story, this is not it.

 

[Aurelius]

I just finished Valkyria Chonicles 4 on Switch. I had to push myself past the opening chapters because it’s so similar to the first game. But after that it really opens up with some large scale en challenging battles. The story was also better and more moving than I expected.

 

[Bakkus]

Finished Psychonauts last night. It started off pretty good and had amazing voice acting all the way through, but the later levels were pretty frustrating and overall I feel like the game hasn't aged all that well, the platforming is serviceable at best, the combat and boss battles feels pretty barebones. It has a lot of creativity going for it with a lot of ultra nerdy references which definitely went over my head, but as an overall game it's just ok imo. Still want to play the sequel as that one looks much better from videos I've seen of it.

 

[LegionX]

Finished Psychonauts last night. It started off pretty good and had amazing voice acting all the way through, but the later levels were pretty frustrating and overall I feel like the game hasn't aged all that well, the platforming is serviceable at best, the combat and boss battles feels pretty barebones. It has a lot of creativity going for it with a lot of ultra nerdy references which definitely went over my head, but as an overall game it's just ok imo. Still want to play the sequel as that one looks much better from videos I've seen of it.

Out of curiosity, what version did you play? I know that the PC release on Steam (and no doubt Gamepass now) was actually updated and had changes to the difficulty etc to some of the later levels (meat circus mostly) whereas most of the Console versions were left untouched. I played through it on PC personally and found it not too bad to complete, but I agree the combat was never really great.. I just loved how varied and inventive the game was

 

[Bakkus]

Out of curiosity, what version did you play? I know that the PC release on Steam (and no doubt Gamepass now) was actually updated and had changes to the difficulty etc to some of the later levels (meat circus mostly) whereas most of the Console versions were left untouched. I played through it on PC personally and found it not too bad to complete, but I agree the combat was never really great.. I just loved how varied and inventive the game was

I played the Steam version. I knew of the infamous Meat Circus level beforehand due to it always showing up in 'worst levels in good games' type of lists. But to be honest, I thought the levels beforehand were way more frustrating due to their longer length. The Spanish level is insanely annoying due to the Bull which always runs you over forcing you to restart the corridor, aswell as the fact that you have to money grind a lot to aford those paintings. The milkman level is really clever, but at the same time it gave me a headache. You also have to get the invisibility badge before entering which I didn't know as I did not revisit the professor. Funnily enough, my biggest problem with the game was at the end when you gotta get that turtle out of the glass bowl. You have to be like pixel precise otherwise you have to retry. Took me like 50 attempts...

 

[InfiniteCombo]

It had been a while since I played a game that was this incredibly satisfying. But I am now moving on.

Not many games I ever played felt this good to completely and thoroughly master. I guess growing up playing practically only fighting games meant that I could have the understanding and reaction times necessary to master this game. I'm not one to have regrets in life, but I do wish I found "character action" games earlier. I guess in a way I did with Devil May Cry 4, but I was experimenting and didn't take it "seriously" at the time. When I do get around to it again (I rebought it on PC), I wonder how I'll approach it differently now that I've finished Bayonetta.

Pure Platinum trophies across the board. One of my best gaming achievements ever.

Bayonetta:

Jeanne:

 

[LegionX]

After this love affair with the first game, will you be moving on to the Nintendo exclusive sequel? Or does the fact it's only on WiiU or Switch put you off?

 

[VidKid369]

Just beat Breath of Fire IV. (PS1) 38:54. God,—it sure does feel nice to beat this as it’s been in my collection with me forever lol. Overall it was a pretty nice game the sprites were classic.

Next I’m thinking about: BoF: Dragon Quarter (obvs), Suikoden V or cont with Growlanser III.

 

[SpiceRacz]

Finished Aggelos on Xbox. I had it on my Steam wishlist for years. It's a Zelda 2/Wonder Boy style metroidvania game. A more modern comp would be Monster Boy and Infernax. If you're into that style of game, this is for you. The sprite work ain't too shabby either.

Currently playing Hades. I've probably put in about 6 hours. The combat is superb. Better than Bastion even. I've stuck mostly to the spear so far since the range turns it into an easy mode. The gameplay loop has it's hooks in me hard. Definitely has that "one more run" quality to it. No idea how long it will take, but I have the urge to unlock everything.