Weekly Roundup

[fake]

What is your thoughts on XVI? I am playing it now and really enjoying Clive's adventure. It almost doesn't feel like a FF game since you are only controlling 1 character.

I haven't played it yet, but it feels like they're cashing in on the Game of Thrones craze 10 years too late. Also, I'm pretty sad that FF is just another action RPG now. But TBF, I haven't played XV or XVI; maybe I'll like them. I just hope they continue to make non-mainline FF games that are turn-based / more traditional.

 

[Lastblade]

I haven't played it yet, but it feels like they're cashing in on the Game of Thrones craze 10 years too late. Also, I'm pretty sad that FF is just another action RPG now. But TBF, I haven't played XV or XVI; maybe I'll like them. I just hope they continue to make non-mainline FF games that are turn-based / more traditional.

Right, it is more action oriented but it is still not a full fledge action game as the dodge/block mechanics have a big window.

 

[RBjakeSpecial]

Dreamcast: Go the GDEMU mod and have been playing Ferrari

Right, it is more action oriented but it is still not a full fledge action game as the dodge/block mechanics have a big window.

I got to the end of the game.. maybe the last 10% or so and just put it down hard. I need to pick it up again, but something about it just feels a little empty. I think the gameplay loops just isn't that satisfying... or maybe it's the ebb and flow of battle.

been playing a lot of games lately...

Dreamcast: Bit the bullet and bought a GDEMU system and now thinking about getting the nice HDMI mod. I've bee playing it on my PVM monitor and so far everything looks great. Ferrari F355 Challenge and the Capcom fighters are all wonderful - and I didn't know that *every* Atomiswave game works on it. Lots to play and get into - definitely enjoying my time with it.

Playstation: SvC Chaos online (tons of people on there), Guilty Gear Strive... trying to get farther in all of my RPGs... FF7 remakes

 

[ggallegos1]

What is your thoughts on XVI? I am playing it now and really enjoying Clive's adventure. It almost doesn't feel like a FF game since you are only controlling 1 character.

I enjoyed it a lot, though I also went in with the mindset that it would be its own independent experience and not based on previous FF gameplay styles.we enjoyed the story a lot, though once you get your preferred skills the combat can get repetitive. Id argue that it's the same for traditional FF, as only a few boss gimmicks make you restrategize.

 

[Average Joe]

Some Third Strike on Fightcade.

I keep saying I'll get better at Fighter's, but I always end up slacking off.

 

[LoneSage]

Konami Krazy Racers - blast from the past, haven't played this in years. The menu interface, which is needlessly some kind of early 2000 web browser, is a neat time capsule. It's great Konami released this in America even though half the references in this game must have been lost on 99% of people who got this game. Yeah, we know Goemon and Dracula (who unfortunately has a nearly unrecognizable design in this game), but no way anyone in 2001 knew who the penguin was or the octopus. Seeing Gray Fox in some cute chibi form is still hilarious considering how tragic the character is. My only complaint is I wish there were more stages, but what we got was nice. As a side note, reading reviews from gaming mags in 2001 saying 'this game is good fun but wait a few months to buy GBA Mario Kart instead' is kind of infuriating and a reminder that 'video game journalism' was bullshit.

Gunstar Super Heroes - I remember being disappointed so hard with this game when it came out. It's still not as good as the first but I don't hate it like I used to. I had also completely forgotten this was a co-production with Sega and not entirely made by Treasure, so now the references to some Sega games like Flicky and Thunder Blade make sense. The graphics hold up really, really well and it's easily one of the best looking games on the GBA. But there's something just missing that 'it' factor. The game is practically a remake of the original and it doesn't do anything better than the original, aside from the graphics. Still, I had a good time with it, and unlocking more of the story on the harder difficulty levels was a good idea for replayability.

 

[HellioN]

Konami Krazy Racers - blast from the past, haven't played this in years. The menu interface, which is needlessly some kind of early 2000 web browser, is a neat time capsule. It's great Konami released this in America even though half the references in this game must have been lost on 99% of people who got this game. Yeah, we know Goemon and Dracula (who unfortunately has a nearly unrecognizable design in this game), but no way anyone in 2001 knew who the penguin was or the octopus. Seeing Gray Fox in some cute chibi form is still hilarious considering how tragic the character is. My only complaint is I wish there were more stages, but what we got was nice. As a side note, reading reviews from gaming mags in 2001 saying 'this game is good fun but wait a few months to buy GBA Mario Kart instead' is kind of infuriating and a reminder that 'video game journalism' was bullshit.

Gunstar Super Heroes - I remember being disappointed so hard with this game when it came out. It's still not as good as the first but I don't hate it like I used to. I had also completely forgotten this was a co-production with Sega and not entirely made by Treasure, so now the references to some Sega games like Flicky and Thunder Blade make sense. The graphics hold up really, really well and it's easily one of the best looking games on the GBA. But there's something just missing that 'it' factor. The game is practically a remake of the original and it doesn't do anything better than the original, aside from the graphics. Still, I had a good time with it, and unlocking more of the story on the harder difficulty levels was a good idea for replayability.

I had Gunstar Super Heroes.
It was sweet, sure whish I knew what happened to it.

 

[Ralfakick]

8/25

PS4

I got Ketsui Deathtiny after putting off getting that for a long time, and I’ve been playing that a half an hour every day.

KOF 2002 UM Just ran through that

Besides that Tetris 99 on Switch for the new skin.

 

[LoneSage]

Bucky O'Hare - NES. I got this 20 years ago for a couple dollars (how much a cart worth now? don't tell me) and loved it but never beat it. Finally did so last night and am glad to see it remains one of the best on NES. Really solid, pixel perfect platforming, very challenging but with unlimited continues and generous checkpoints it is doable. It is such a shame no one paid attention to this in 1992.

As the credits scrolled I realized this is a proto-Treasure game the same way Nausicaa is a proto-Ghibli movie; many who worked on this, most notably the director Masato Maegawa, would go on to form Treasure the next year. Makes you wonder if making such an awesome game on such a lame IP is what made Masato snap.

Side note, I have zero memory of the Bucky franchise as a child. Did anyone watch the cartoon？

 

[terry.330]

I never watched the cartoon but I remember seeing the action figures for Bucky O'Hare and of course played the NES game.

Played a couple of EXA games at mmsadda's. Mostly Batsugun and I gotta say this is a really nice release with tons of modes and options. I really hope it gets ported someday.

 

[prof]

I have come across vhs tapes and action figures at 2nd hand shops over the years, so it was popular enough for that. I don't recall seeing the IP in the early 90s though.

Anyway, solid game. Lot of variety in the gameplay and levels, and it takes a while to play through. I'd rank it in the top quarter of the Nes library.

 

[Raph4]

Atomic Heart (PC Steam)
Great game if you have liked Bioshock & Portal + Half-life

 

[ggallegos1]

PS5
Ghosts of Tsushima - finished Act 1. The open world is great, wife and I enjoy exploring and being rewarded for it with items and equipment. Combat is meh, like a faster Assassin's Creed but the cinematic one on one fights can be tense. Overall enjoying this a lot.

Xbox Series X
Yakuza Like a Dragon - this has been on and off for months, but slowly getting more momentum. On Chapter 7, I enjoy it a lot but damn those cutscenes are often and long.

 

[BeefJerky]

Triangle Strategy

Nice little strategy RPG. It's not the OG Final Fantasy Tactics but scratches that itch in a way Fire Emblem never could for me. Decently challenging if you set the difficulty to hard. New Game+ makes going through the different story paths a little more bearable.

My biggest complaint is the amount of cutscenes for the story. Squeenix could've easily put more battles in to drive the story instead of the cutscenes. Some parts of the story are great. Some real Game of Thrones shit. That said, it realllllly drags in places and even on my first playthrough I ended up skipping a lot of the story bits so I could get back to fighting. It's short enough if you skip the cutscenes you can get from start to finish in about 10-12 hours which is nice for picking up and playing a few hours at a time.

I've done three of the four endings and so far only one of them felt satisfying, the other two were "lol gay". Hopefully this fourth secret/true ending is worthwhile.

 

[terry.330]

PS5
Ghosts of Tsushima - finished Act 1. The open world is great, wife and I enjoy exploring and being rewarded for it with items and equipment. Combat is meh, like a faster Assassin's Creed but the cinematic one on one fights can be tense. Overall enjoying this a lot.

Fantastic game, the overall package is really nice. It's the kind of AAA game that should be used as an example.

 

[Taiso]

Triangle Strategy

Nice little strategy RPG. It's not the OG Final Fantasy Tactics but scratches that itch in a way Fire Emblem never could for me. Decently challenging if you set the difficulty to hard. New Game+ makes going through the different story paths a little more bearable.

My biggest complaint is the amount of cutscenes for the story. Squeenix could've easily put more battles in to drive the story instead of the cutscenes. Some parts of the story are great. Some real Game of Thrones shit. That said, it realllllly drags in places and even on my first playthrough I ended up skipping a lot of the story bits so I could get back to fighting. It's short enough if you skip the cutscenes you can get from start to finish in about 10-12 hours which is nice for picking up and playing a few hours at a time.

I've done three of the four endings and so far only one of them felt satisfying, the other two were "lol gay". Hopefully this fourth secret/true ending is worthwhile.

The 'Golden Ending'/secret ending is, by far, the best ending.

Fantastic game. Loved it. Yes, the cutscenes were a bit laborious after a while but overall it's a great follow up to Octopath Traveller. I'd happily take another game like this. I haven't played The Diofield Chronicle yet so that might scratch the itch.

 

[wataru330]

Side note, I have zero memory of the Bucky franchise as a child. Did anyone watch the cartoon？

The comic ruled!

 

[Average Joe]

Switch: Finished a run of Borderlands 1 (GOTY Edition) a couple weeks back and it is still fun even if a bit pointless to play due to the sequel just way better overall.

3DS: Dicked around with DBZ Extreme Butoden a bit. Plays a lot like those older DBZ Fighters on the SNES, but just with some more modern polish. It's solid, but nothing crazy. Worth playing if you're a DBZ fan and want something to kill time.

Arcade: A little bit of Muchi Muchi Pork. I was working on scoring on this and will probably get back to it soon, just had a busy few weeks.

 

[RBjakeSpecial]

PC:
Wizardry Remake (2023): just completed this using the modern settings. It was still plenty difficult and fun. I’m still finding myself going back for the loot grind and getting 100% of the maps. It will be nice to have around when I want to try it with the original settings - I compared it with an Apple II emu and it’s really spot on.

Wizardry Labyrinth of Lost Souls: Much easier anime version of Wizardry on Steam. I’ve been trying to find the rom of the sequel as well. I’m about 40 hours into this and find it a good on the go RPG with my rog ally.

Bloodstained: I keep trying to get into this game (4 hours in) but can’t. Not sure what the hold up is - is it worth it?

Doom II Sigil: it’s hard!

 

[HellioN]

Bucky O'Hare - NES. I got this 20 years ago for a couple dollars (how much a cart worth now? don't tell me) and loved it but never beat it. Finally did so last night and am glad to see it remains one of the best on NES. Really solid, pixel perfect platforming, very challenging but with unlimited continues and generous checkpoints it is doable. It is such a shame no one paid attention to this in 1992.

As the credits scrolled I realized this is a proto-Treasure game the same way Nausicaa is a proto-Ghibli movie; many who worked on this, most notably the director Masato Maegawa, would go on to form Treasure the next year. Makes you wonder if making such an awesome game on such a lame IP is what made Masato snap.

Side note, I have zero memory of the Bucky franchise as a child. Did anyone watch the cartoon？

I remember disregarding Bucky O'Hare as an inferior wannabe TMNT.
Maybe I missed out, too late to care now.

 

[Taiso]

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II

It's basically Gears of War with regenerating shields instead of cover mechanics steeped in the 40k lore. It's a lot of fun and well made for what it is. Campaign is co-op or solo. Multiplayer is co-op and head to head. 3 man squads. Good times.

 

[BeefJerky]

The 'Golden Ending'/secret ending is, by far, the best ending.

Fantastic game. Loved it. Yes, the cutscenes were a bit laborious after a while but overall it's a great follow up to Octopath Traveller. I'd happily take another game like this. I haven't played The Diofield Chronicle yet so that might scratch the itch.

Finished it up over teh weekend (with all 108 Steam achievements unlocked oof). Golden ending was pretty good. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the extra battles. I still like "Benedict's plan" ending the best. Not the worst possible fate for Norzelia, just dark as fuck which I loved. What really pissed me off were Roland's and Frederica's paths because they were bad endings parading as happy endings and especially Frederica's was cliched as all fuck.

I got started on Octopath Traveller a few years ago and just kinda stopped playing after about 10 hours. Not sure why, but I keep meaning to go back and revisit it since Octopath 2 came out somewhat recently. I agree with you though, love the pixel style RPGs Squeenix has been throwing out lately.

 

[wataru330]

I remember disregarding Bucky O'Hare as an inferior wannabe TMNT.
Maybe I missed out, too late to care now.

Mirage Studios launched in March ‘84.

Bucky’s 1st appearance was May ‘84.

With print shop lead times being what they were, Bucky beat TMNT to newsstands in some markets.

Both comics are no Howard the Duck.

 

[Taiso]

Playing Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II is getting me more interested in learning about 40K lore. I've already read up on the different Space Marine chapters, how they were formed, the primarchs, the primaris, the firstborn, the emperor, the Archenemy, the Tyranids and Gene Stealers, the Codex Astartes and the Codex Imperium.

The idea of a half dead emperor rotting away on his throne and needing to consume 10,000 souls every so often to stay in that state is fascinating. Lotta metanarrative in there.

The concept of the Death Watch is also very interesting. They're basically the Night's Watch in 40K.

My nephew said he doesn't like the lore of 40K because it's grimdark and he doesn't like the idea that good can't triumph over evil in fantasy. But he's gay so who cares what he thinks?

I'll probably read up on the Necrons next. I'm just sort of consuming lore through various wikis as I'm encountering these things in the game. Need to read up on Orks, too.

 

[Lagduf]

Playing Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II is getting me more interested in learning about 40K lore. I've already read up on the different Space Marine chapters, how they were formed, the primarchs, the primaris, the firstborn, the emperor, the Archenemy, the Tyranids and Gene Stealers, the Codex Astartes and the Codex Imperium.

The idea of a half dead emperor rotting away on his throne and needing to consume 10,000 souls every so often to stay in that state is fascinating. Lotta metanarrative in there.

The concept of the Death Watch is also very interesting. They're basically the Night's Watch in 40K.

My nephew said he doesn't like the lore of 40K because it's grimdark and he doesn't like the idea that good can't triumph over evil in fantasy. But he's gay so who cares what he thinks?

I'll probably read up on the Necrons next. I'm just sort of consuming lore through various wikis as I'm encountering these things in the game. Need to read up on Orks, too.

If you want to go off the deep end there are hundreds of 40K books. Some better than others.

Because of how many there are not all of them are always available in print, however, a good many of the books are available in audiobook format.

Also lol @ your nephew wanting to be the good guy. I’m sure you love him but he sounds like a heretic.

The first three books in the Horus Heresy Series might be worth a read to see how the whole past 10,000 years in the imperium came to be (or rather, started at least…)