Topic: Games you've recently beat

@KilloWertz Azure has one scene of the whole ‘haha sexual assault’ variant with the same character as in Cold Steel 3 but personally I didn’t find it quite as disturbing perhaps due to the lack of detail in the graphics. The harem elements are less in your face but then I went with the hinted canon romance so I’m not sure if it changes on that front. Most importantly, there’s a genuinely good story amongst all that and it makes it a lot easier to overlook other stuff. I’d probably notice more that was a bit iffy on a replay because I was more engrossed in the story and could skip over the crap in favour of the good stuff.

@nessisonett Thanks. I'll just stick to my plan then and play the Crossbell trilogy at some point then. Given everything that comes out and an obvious backlog, I doubt I ever would have been able to get around the the Cold Steel games anyways, especially since I would much prefer to play the other Ys games that are available on PS4 (and eventually PS5 with IX) after loving Ys VIII.

Beat Metroid Prime Remastered. Such a great game, with the remaster hitting that perfect mark of looking as good as a modern game. Still hate the final boss though.

@nessisonett Hopefully the high level of technical quality in MPR bodes well for MP4. Clearly they can maintain 60fps and still make the game look nice on the hardware.

@Ralizah It might just be the fidelity of the screen hiding imperfections but I honestly couldn’t notice many differences at all between handheld and docked mode. Nintendo are just wizards when it comes to utilising their own hardware, I’ve played too many third-party games that look as if they’ve got Vaseline smeared across them.

@nessisonett I've been pretty happy with how most of my Switch games look, but I'm also sticking mostly to exclusives and smaller third party games and play primarily on the tablet. I thought the OLED model's larger screen would make games look blurrier, but that really hasn't been the case to date.

Probably also helps that I don't have a next-gen console to compare it with.

Metroid Prime Remastered (Switch)

Mission Accepted

• My first time playing a Prime game, it successfully transitions the formula into the 3rd dimension. The biggest difference between it and the 2D entries is that while those have been evolving to be more quick & action-y, this has a more deliberate, almost puzzle like feel (heck, there's a big plant boss early on that feels very much "traditional 3D Zelda" in it's approach).
• One of these changes is that instead of beam upgrades "stacking" on top of each other making you progressively more powerful, here they are separate equips. While newer beams are generally more efficient at taking out early/mid game enemies than what came before (helping with backtracking), late game areas tend to be populated with foes weak to a specific one, requiring you to switch things up encounter to encounter.
• Another addition that's possible due to the first person perspective is the addition of visor upgrades. While you start out with the standard "battle visor" (your basic view) & "scan visor" (lets you collect data on enemy types & the environment), as you get further in you'll obtain the "thermal visor" (see in the dark & more easily track cloaked enemies) & "x-ray visor" (lets you see what can't otherwise be seen, usually environmental elements like secret paths). These really play into the more deliberate pace of the game.
  
  
• One area where the game really uses the extra dimension to it's advantage is the morph ball sections. These are much more involved than anything you'll see in the 2D games, and I'll admit my jaw kinda dropped a few times, like the section that opens up right before a late game beam upgrade.
  
• I also liked the fact that most of the upgrades seemed to be behind puzzles that were more deliberately built into the environment, rather than just behind a random destructible wall (even though there is some of that). Usually you can tantalizingly see an upgrade, or at least tell there's an environmental puzzle that's clearly hiding something, and it's just up to you to figure out how to obtain it.
• If I had to nitpick, there would be a few changes I'd make to the map. Firstly, I'd have any upgrades that you've scanned be marked on the map until you collect them. Secondly, have some sort of general indicator if a room has an upgrade you haven't collected, even if you haven't scanned it (this can be more vague, not giving away precise location). The 2D games already do the latter, marking the map with a dot if there's an upgrade in the general area.
• Pretty gorgeous game too, I think I'm just going to let these following screenshots do the talking.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with it, even if I got lost a time or two. I think I prefer the more action-y direction the 2D games are starting to take, but I can only imagine how seminal this must have felt back in the day, given that they nailed the 3D transition the first time out, & with really only Super Metroid beforehand being a good example of the franchise. Glad I finally got to experience it.

Mission Complete.

Beat AM2R for the first time, pretty good for a fan thing. Just as good as Samus Returns in all honesty. Only issue for me is the absolutely horrible hitboxes on the Metroids. Considering it’s a Metroid genocide simulator, that’s a big part of the game. Still decent.

I really need to play some short games. The games I have beaten so far in 2023 are:

01 Bloodborne + Old Hunters (40 hours or whatever)
02 The Innsmouth Case (rubbish and short visual novel, 5 hours)
03 Ten Dates (reviewed, short movie game, 2 hours or so)
04 Wild Hearts (45 hours)
05 Like A Dragon Ishin (100% for the Platinum, 150 hours)
06 The Witcher 3 + both DLCs (130 hours)
edit: 6 1/2 - I forgot about Fatal Frame whatever it was I reviewed. That was like 15 hours or something.
07 Persona 5 Royal (Platinum, 180 hours)
08 Persona 4 Golden (92 hours)
09 Elden Ring (new game plus, nearly all bosses and caves and everything, 100 hours)

Just beat Advance Wars (the first one) via the Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp remake last night. I say "beat" and not "complete" because there's a bunch of stuff left to do just in that campaign, let alone the sequel, or all the war room stuff.

For the most part, I'm pretty happy with WayForward's update of this game. It's snappy, the writing (while similar) is even funnier in spots, it looks beautiful on the OLED (especially CO power activation animations and cutscenes), and they made a few smart QoL changes that make the game that much easier to play.

@nessisonett AM2R is seriously impressive. Really wish the dev would have gone the Axiom Verge route and just made something Metroid-esque, instead of a literal fan remake that they can't monetize or officially release anywhere.

Last of Us 2. I think the game was basically the game I expected the first Last of Us game to be, which is not to say little. I think the game improves on the original in basically every way. It feels like a much better and more ambitious game in every way compared to the first game in the series. I think it was a delightful experience to say the least. I think its one of the more well made games I have played.

@Ralizah You know, a lot of it did remind me of Axiom Verge, especially the tilesets as you get deeper into the planet. I get that they’re just updates of the Metroid 2 tiles but there’s a sorta ethereal quality to them, much like the bubbly weird textures in a lot of Axiom Verge.

Nice to hear that Advance Wars is worth it as well, my younger brother’s saving up for it just now as he’s played Dual Strike about 12 times but never played the first two. Worryingly, he’s also younger than Dual Strike.

@nessisonett It'll especially be worth it to someone who hasn't played the games before. The online multiplayer implementation sucks (needless to say, this won't be replacing Advance Wars By Web), but that's my only major complaint about it. Some people don't like the plastic-y aesthetic units have on the maps, but I'm pretty sure that was an intentional part of the board game aesthetic WF was going for.

One change I really like is that the game doesn't lock you onto routes as you play through the game, instead giving you a choice at any point in the campaign where the route would have different levels in the original. And after you beat the game the first time, it just unlocks those alternate levels for you.

Additionally, unlocking additional COs outside of the campaign has been streamlined: they become available in the store after their respective arcs in the campaign, and you use your in-game coins/winnings from battles to unlock them.

I'm sure some people will say this reduces replayability, but I don't want to have to play through the game countless times just to unlock everything. It's not like the game doesn't already have levels ranks/hard mode/extra levels/an unlockable super hard level + a ton of war room maps that become available in the in-game store anyway.

It also has a turn rewind feature. At first I was afraid they meant some sort of Divine Pulse/Mila's Turnwheel BS, but no, it only allows you to rewind to the beginning of the current turn you're in, so it's useful if you move a unit to the wrong place or something.

The remixed music is awesome as well.

Unless you've just played these campaigns to death (I've only played the first one two times over the years, and never touched the sequel), this feels like a fairly essential purchase for the system if you're an AW fan.

Just finished Ratchet: Gladiator HD on PS3. The gameplay is really fun, as you'd expect from this franchise. Problem is though that the missions become very monotonous during the second half as the objectives stay the same. Even though the game is only 7-8 hours long, it honestly goes on for too long.

I'm just glad that I finished it. I've had it in my backlog for almost 10 years and it was one of the few remaining games in this series that I still hadn't played yet.

@LtSarge I had that game on PS2 and absolutely loved it at the time. It was also the only Ratchet and Clank game I played until the PS4 remake/reimagining thing 😂

Yeah our last talk about LoD and the fact you still haven't given DOSII a whirl yet made me blurt that out instead ha ha! 😅

Kingdom Hearts is... It's a trip that I wouldn't recommend going on as that seems to be never ending too. It is easily available all on PS4 at least... But the plot is absolute codswallop from my understanding at this point. I've only played 1 & 2 was needlessly confused by the end of the second game

I've only played the second Metro & part of the 3rd but I do recall enjoying them both (I got distracted by other games in regards to Exodus and never went back drspite intending to) and they aren't the most lengthy games or too much of an investment.

Devil May Cry though? That's a series you could get into. Devil May Cry 1 only took me 3 hours and 30 minutes to beat the first game when I replayed it and my review on it is right 》here《 Sol if you fancy a look

Though you could skip 1 & 2 really and just play 3, 4 & 5. 1 is real barebones for story. Just introducing Dante really and Trish (who doesn't get much screentime after this entry).

2 is... Something. It had a very bad development cycle and whilst it has the reputation of being a "bad" game it's more dull then anything.

3 however is considered the best of the series by most and is a prequel to 1 & 2 that develops the backstory og Dante and his twin brother Virgil, sets things up for the remaining games and gives them their current Voice Actors too.

4 introduces Nero with the game being a bit mixed due to capcom management shenanigans.

5 obviously being the latest one that I don't know a whole lot about beyond the new character V and Nero returning alongside Dante.

Just don't play that failed reboot "DMC: Devil May Cry" by Ninja Theory til after the rest if you end up enjoying them. Completely different tone and style and... I don't even wanna think about it myself. 😂

Devil May Cry can be a bit of a challenging series of course so... Might take a bit longer for you to get used to it but I think you could beat all of 'em before getting through a single Trails game

As for Legend Of Dragoon?... I kinda got distracted. I beat the first disc just fine and then... Completely left it by the wayside

It's not like I wasn't enjoying it or anything. I think it's partially beacuse I'd played it to about halfway through disc 2 last year but then stopped once PS Plus Premium and PS1 Classics were announced, waiting for TLoD to come to PS4.

I didn't think it'd take so long and even then this opening act was pretty familiar to me already.

I then ended up getting sucked into a TV show (which posted about in the dedicated thread) and also my daughter pestered me to try out one of the games she'd bought and the allure of things unknown tempted me away. I'll get back to it at some point I swear!

... You sure you aren't talking about Cold Steel there? Sounds familiar in Cold Steel 1 being an especially slow burner til the end where it all kicks off and then 2 -no joke- has part of the main questline being that you need to go the hidden four temples of the elements (Gee so original) and features them Oroborus bad guys

Not to mention the tropey character writing.

... Not that tropes are a bad thing. They just they need to be used well inconjunction with other flourishes to make a character unique.

I still have my copy of Trails 1 and booted it up, playing through the prologue and... I'd be lying if I said there wasn't something there that can be endearing about Falcom's characters. Just a shame some characters are like 90% trope for their personality.

Agreed.

The Ys games are so underappreciated, man. They manage to have a consistent world across the entire series would requiring players to play each entry in order. While the stories aren't amazing, they're also devoid of all the problematic sexual assault and homophobia so far that seems to pass for characterization in the Trails series. The absolute worst thing I've seen in the four games I've played to date is the main character stumbling in on someone naked and getting smacked, and that scene is over and done with pretty much immediately. The games also don't bore you with hours and hours of needless dialogue, preferring to get you back into the action ASAP.

Yeah the whole Laxia thing that Killowertz was on about in Ys VIII. I gotcha. Good to know.

Shame I got a bit tired of the gameplay or I'd probably be keeping my eye on YS at least but... Yeah I definitely don't think I can carry on with Steel. Especially as all the sexual assault is being commited by women/lesbians and... Yeah that makes me especially uncomfortable for obvious reasons.

... Oh and sorry for the very late replies. I've been rather busy the past week or so. Some of us teachers were on strike yesterday over here and... Yeah. Just a little hectic! Didn't mean to leave you waiting so long Ral and Sol!

Beat Cold Steel 3 and… quite enjoyed it in all? Yep, the same incredible lows are still there with bloody McBurn and some truly dreadful harassment written off as jokey joke jokes. It’s probably Stockholm syndrome or I’ve been desensitised to the crap stuff and can focus on the actual good parts. But then a lot of the issues of the first two games are actually kinda better. Rean is somewhat interesting in this game, although it does feel like he would be a better character if he was moved into a more supporting role and Juna became the main protagonist. Plus, bizarrely, pointless Gaius has a storyline!!! I mean sure, it’s teased for ages before actually talking about it just before the final dungeon but he has something to do! In many ways, it’s Cold Steel 1 but better paced, with each chapter following the same structure but much more in depth.

In terms of the new cast, the smaller size means they all get a chance to shine and actually interact with each other. That was one of the main issues with the first set of kids, they only interacted with Rean and barely talked to each other. This game has actual interactions between characters which might seem like a tiny ask but is a big step for Cold Steel. The old cast do get their time in the spotlight but the focus is mostly on the new lot which I think was a good idea. The returning cast members from the previous arcs were probably the highlight though, they kinda stand out amongst the less interesting Cold Steel extended cast. Just wish they would completely stop with the Agate x Tita crap though, that’s literally kiddy fiddling and at least Agate looks visibly traumatised whenever it’s brought up.

The final chapter was insane. Like I’m convinced that they’ll completely balls it up in the 4th game but regardless, that was a great ending. Probably doing heavy lifting with my positive feelings towards the game but yeah, maybe this is the one good game in the subseries.

@HallowMoonshadow No problem - thanks for the detailed reply! And wow, I really enjoyed that DMC1 review! How did I miss that back in 2021? I must have been in a stupor from the world unraveling from COVID or something. But it does sound like a decent game, for an old PS2 game.

And it completely understand the, how did you say… “the allure of things unknown tempting me away”. I love that and I’m going to shamelessly steal that phrase. Regardless, I suspect you’ll get back around to Legend of Dragoon at some point. Maybe before I get around to Divinity Original Sin 2.

It actually gives me a mini panic attack to see how my time seems to continue to shrink while my backlog grows. 😅 Perhaps I’m finally starting to act like an adult.

Nah.

No! No don't do this to me ness! I can't go back! You can't spring out that Gaius actually has a point to him now!

... I did enjoy Cold Steel 1 compared to 2... 👀

I'm honestly trying very hard not to sound interested... But it's not really working. That's kind of annoying to hear to be honest that the cast feels much better developed this time around.

I'll be amazed to hear if they don't. And if it does fire off perfectly on all cylinders... I begrudgingly might have to poke my head back in the series...

You're very welcome @Th3solution and I'm glad you enjoyed reading the review no matter when you finally did!

I did enjoy writing that and it was fun re-reading it myself. There's a lot in the index/directory that I've missed out on. RR529 does have a review up on the second game too if you're interested? (I haven't got around to re-playing it since the PS2 era yet).

I did spruce my review up a little yesterday too. I've heard a few things about DMC 1 and could've added a bit more to the historical side of it too as apparently the game Onimusha (A Samurai era resident evil like game also by Capcom and in development at the same time) had a hand in the "Stylish Action" combat of DMC as it had a bug that made it so you could juggle enemies in the air.

Though the development for DMC2 is wild when you actually hear about it and you'd be amazed they got anything out the door!

Ha! Steal the phrase all you like Sol

And ugh! I feel your pain Sol! I'm sure your spare time'll ease up soon!

@HallowMoonshadow Hahaha, honestly I’d say get out while you can, it’s probably not as good as I’m saying and it might just be sheer madness on my front 😂