What Are You Playing?

I just finished EarthBound and I have one complaint: it wasn’t long enough. I’m joking of course, but that’s how much I enjoyed that game; I wish it had gone on for another 40 hours. It’s such a shame so few people played it when it first came out. They missed out on a true gem. It’s definitely in my top 10.

I remember when this game first came out as a kid. Thanks to gaming magazines etc I usually kept up with most of everything that was coming out. But I had no idea what the hell this game was really. I rented games in a really small town way up north and it had a really big box. Big box obviously meant cool game.

Big box DID mean cool game though. Except I had no idea what the hell I was doing and my cousin had to take over and figured out how to level up etc. Once I understood how it worked the game took over my life. I became obsessed with it and I must have played it 20+ times. Game seriously changed my life and eventually led me to other RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 3 (6) etc. It's what made me fall in love with storytelling, character and world building.

Hell, I can probably thank Earthbound for leading me indirectly to my love for things like Berserk. So fuck ya Earthbound. Even nearly 25 years later I still get that wonky ass music stuck in my head in my head. Hell, even right now for example.

As for me, I'm nearly done with Dark Souls 2. Still a love-hate relationship with it. Feels like half the time it goes out of its way to be more annoying than challenging. But it has so many damn cool moments with its atmosphere and scenery that I forgive it until the next moment it thinks mobbing me with 10 monsters at once with 80 statues spitting petrify bullshit at me is clever.

I finished the Sunken King DLC and it was pretty cool mostly. It's also the first time in the entire series I put away my trusty bandits knife (which I've beaten repeatedly all of Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1 and 3 with) because my DPS was so unrealistic against some bosses that I just fully upgraded a Gyrm Axe and mysteriously it became easy mode. That Queen Elana bitch summoned Veldt and it was impossible with a bandit's knife. Gyrm Axe? Turned me into fuck you mode and annihilated him in like 5 hits. Never once in the other games did I feel like something wasn't reasonably doable with my precious knife. Makes me sad yo.

Also finished off, minus one area Old Iron King. This DLC was kinda awesome. I loved the creepy queen things whispering things. It reminded me of the ghosts in Fatal Frame (especially the last boss of 3). The DLC felt slightly tedious but it was one of the more fun and less bullshit areas of the game. Fume Knight was a fantastic boss too. He felt like an Abyss Watcher, The Nameless King and Gwyn all wrapped up into a steel bastard. He was rough, but felt fair. Very satisfying to kill when I got the dodging down.

Anyways, fuck this game, I love it but I can't wait to be done with it.

While I'm at it and I remember, a very special fuck you to Shrine of Amana. Those sexy druid voices are meaningless against my rage towards that place.
 
I've been playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 since it came out on PC this month. It's pretty cool. But I didn't play it much because I'm approaching the end of my semester and getting bombarded with homework.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Finally finished God of War, which I dropped like a bad mythology course as soon as Sekiro came out, and it turns out I was only about an hour away from the ending! So, that was nice once I got used to the, fortunately forgiving, controls and combat again. After Sekiro it's nice having multi-phase boss fights that checkpoint you between phases, actually making the fight easier than a single bout. =)

Anyway, as I suspected, it was unfortunately keeping it's Thor and Odin powder dry for the sequels and I had to make due with his lamer brothers, cousins, sons or whatever other underwhelming characters it started with. They also didn't really pay off the intrigue with your son, or father in Hel (To Be Continued...). I guess you can get away with holding back the stuff with the best potential when you're a big AAA franchise that's going to sell and earn plaudits anyway, but I'm not very impressed with the best story they could do with one hand tied behind their back (it wasn't exactly brilliant anyway). It was slick, polished, cinematic and reliably enjoyable overall, but in a sea of modern slick, polished, cinematic and reliably enjoyable gaming experiences I never really got what was special about it.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Anyway, as I suspected, it was unfortunately keeping it's Thor and Odin powder dry for the sequels and I had to make due with his lamer brothers, cousins, sons or whatever other underwhelming characters it started with.

Haha, I liked Baldur well enough honestly, but yeah I wish we'd gotten something, anything beyond that... Actually, if you haven't uninstalled the game yet, do go back to your house with the kid to take a rest. There's a little cutscene there that's worth seeing.

They also didn't really pay off the intrigue with your son, or father in Hel (To Be Continued...).

There's going to be more Atreus stuff in the sequel(s) but I don't really expect there to be more about Zeus. Was just a reference to GoW 3 and to be honest I wasn't a big fan of that storyline at all to begin with...
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Haha, I liked Baldur well enough honestly, but yeah I wish we'd gotten something, anything beyond that... Actually, if you haven't uninstalled the game yet, do go back to your house with the kid to take a rest. There's a little cutscene there that's worth seeing.

I saw it actually; $60 came down from the sky in bolt of lighting and said, "You will pay!!!!" Baldur was cool actually, and I didn't mind the loser gods either, but I was hoping they were just the introduction but it was ultimately just so small and narrowly-focused. This game had the same half-dozen characters, enemies and bosses from the first hour recycled throughout. Ok, they have a master plan for a trilogy, but how about you give me all the Norse stuff you can fit in this game and then come up with something new and cool to top it in the next one instead of giving me more of the same; but, next time Thor is the big bad, then Odin himself, etc etc. I just thought they could have done a lot more with the setup right here but instead they're getting more mileage out of it (it's not like the plot is so grand it has to be properly spaced out; Thor could have just shown up and started wrecking shit any time). Maybe I'm being unfair, but to me it would be like if you didn't fight Gwyn at the end of Dark Souls, and presumably had to wait for a planned third game (do like those and save the repetitiveness for the sequels =). We'll see, maybe they'll ultimately create a more balanced sprawling masterpiece of a trilogy this way, but I'm skeptical.

There's going to be more Atreus stuff in the sequel(s) but I don't really expect there to be more about Zeus. Was just a reference to GoW 3 and to be honest I wasn't a big fan of that storyline at all to begin with...

Yeah, I figured not once it was clear they weren't going to put every god and mythology possible into a giant battle royal by the end! I was thinking BIG. =)
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I saw it actually; $60 came down from the sky in bolt of lighting and said, "You will pay!!!!" Baldur was cool actually, and I didn't mind the loser gods either, but I was hoping they were just the introduction but it was ultimately just so small and narrowly-focused. This game had the same half-dozen characters, enemies and bosses from the first hour recycled throughout. Ok, they have a master plan for a trilogy, but how about you give me all the Norse stuff you can fit in this game and then come up with something new and cool to top it in the next one instead of giving me more of the same; but, next time Thor is the big bad, then Odin himself, etc etc. I just thought they could have done a lot more with the setup right here but instead they're getting more mileage out of it (it's not like the plot is so grand it has to be properly spaced out; Thor could have just shown up and started wrecking shit any time). Maybe I'm being unfair, but to me it would be like if you didn't fight Gwyn at the end of Dark Souls, and presumably had to wait for a planned third game (do like those and save the repetitiveness for the sequels =). We'll see, maybe they'll ultimately create a more balanced sprawling masterpiece of a trilogy this way, but I'm skeptical.

Yeah it becomes clear too quickly that they're spacing it out for a trilogy, and it's just too transparent. I think having some other gods intervene (besides Baldy and the doofus bros) would have gone a long way towards spicing it up. Even if it wasn't a direct confrontation and more of a threatening talk or something. Instead it comes across as lazy/cheap, like they didn't bother designing those major characters.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Yeah it becomes clear too quickly that they're spacing it out for a trilogy, and it's just too transparent. I think having some other gods intervene (besides Baldy and the doofus bros) would have gone a long way towards spicing it up. Even if it wasn't a direct confrontation and more of a threatening talk or something. Instead it comes across as lazy/cheap, like they didn't bother designing those major characters.

Yeah, Thor was basically a silhouette of a fat dude in a hoodie with a sledgehammer (maybe he's like a construction worker to go along with Baldur's beach bum =). I imagine we'll have to hammer, forgive the pun, all the same points again with how Kratos is supposedly an old loser that can't stand up to them ("OMG, HOW is standing up to us!?") and the kid's not-so-SECRET POWERS will keep emerging when necessary! It's basically the Saiyan and Namek plots from Dragon Ball Z with Kratos as Goku, Atreus as Gohan, and the nasty Norse gods as the Saiyans/Frieza's men.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
I beat MMX2 and Marathon over the Memorial Day weekend. Both games were great. MMX2 was just as good as the first game in the series and Marathon was a neat little indie FPS. I feel bad for Bungie, because System Shock beat them by just a couple of months, and both games deal with rampant AIs.

Next up is Star Wars: Dark Forces!
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
MMX2 was just as good as the first game in the series

I think I might need to acknowledge your Mega Man expertise as beyond mine because I don't even recall how far I really got into the X series, just that that's where I started to check out. I'm more of a classic Mega Man guy; have done all the NES, SNES, GB, and modern titles, but when you get into X and Zero I've really only tried them more than played them through. Have you done MM7-11 yet?

Next up is Star Wars: Dark Forces!

Not just a great Doom clone, but a great Star Wars game because it really captures the feel and atmosphere like only the pre-Prequels EU could.


So, I'm kind of stumped on a game to play right now. I beat Dad of War and don't plan to fuck with it anymore, I only have Owl (Father) NG+ to play in Sekiro and that's not even fun anymore, so... any suggestions? I still have The Last of Us and Uncharted 4 in the queue if anyone wants to convince me again but I'm not burning with desire to play either of those right now so is there anything hotter out?

So far my game of the year is RE2make and that's kind of sad considering how many problems I had with it, but damn was it good at what it did, which was being thrilling as Hell.
 
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my game of the year is RE2make and that's kind of sad considering how many problems I had with it, but damn was it good at what it did, which was being thrilling as Hell.
I second this. Leon A on Hardcore was one of the best gaming experiences of this year. I just started the Claire campaign so I think I'll get back to that.
Also, how did you manage to beat Sekiro? I just gave up on it since it was so much harder than Dark Souls.
Well for recommendations, have you considered going retro? Earthbound's on my list so it'd be nice to hear someone else's opinion on it.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I second this. Leon A on Hardcore was one of the best gaming experiences of this year. I just started the Claire campaign so I think I'll get back to that.

Yeah, I completed Leon A Standard, abandoned Claire B (or 2nd run) Standard, completed Claire A Hardcore and Leon B Hardcore (which besides the starting point is almost identical to his A, they fucked this up). Hardcore was awesome, and not ridiculously hard either. They made normal too easy where you can get tagged like 6 times before going down, and on hardcore it's 2 or 3 at most if it's a grazing strike. That's just what it should have been. Anyway, this game gave me NIGHT TERRORS where I was acting out in my sleep and literally jumping out of bed! GOTY. :guts:

Also, how did you manage to beat Sekiro? I just gave up on it since it was so much harder than Dark Souls.

By following the iron code of the shinobi and CHEESING or CHEATING at every opportunity! :rakshas: Basically, you can just run around most bosses and wait for them to do the one move that leaves them safely open to attack if need be, then repeat ad nausea (how I beat Guardian Ape so quickly), but this can also be harder or take longer than just gitting gud or trying to just R1 or L1 spam them to death. If that or straight up fighting them didn't work for me I was not above looking up their weaknesses, and there's usually one built in by design if not an exploit, on google or youtube because I just didn't enjoy the game enough to really lose myself in it for hundreds of hours like DSIII or Bloodborne. In Bloodborne I was even up to figuring out the guys in the crippling cursed dungeons where you have half life/defense and shit. Anyway, even more than Souls, all's fair in Sekiro as far as I'm concerned. You're no knight or samurai; the shinobi cheeser does whatever he can to win!

Well for recommendations, have you considered going retro? Earthbound's on my list so it'd be nice to hear someone else's opinion on it.

EarthBound is one of my all-time favorites (I even printed and bindered the script as a youth =)! I sold my original big box copy for mucho ebay bucks a couple years ago since it's on my Wii U anyway and I'm not that into collecting as I used to be (and was never into display).
 
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Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
I think I might need to acknowledge your Mega Man expertise as beyond mine because I don't even recall how far I really got into the X series, just that that's where I started to check out. I'm more of a classic Mega Man guy; have done all the NES, SNES, GB, and modern titles, but when you get into X and Zero I've really only tried them more than played them through. Have you done MM7-11 yet?

Not yet, but they're on the list, so I'll get to all of them sooner or later.

I don't think I have all the X games on my list. At some point, their reviews started going downhill, so I'm not going to bother with those games.

Not just a great Doom clone, but a great Star Wars game because it really captures the feel and atmosphere like only the pre-Prequels EU could.

I couldn't agree more. I loved every minute of it, but man that last level was tough. Tons of fun, though.

Next up is Chrono Trigger! I started playing the DS version of it earlier this week, and I'm loving every minute of it so far. I played it a bunch in the 90s on an emulator, but I never ended up finishing it. It's a fantastic game. One of the best ever, for sure.

Well for recommendations, have you considered going retro? Earthbound's on my list so it'd be nice to hear someone else's opinion on it.

I just played EarthBound. It's great. One of the best gaming experiences I've ever had.
 
Just finished all 3 souls games and bb co-op with my gf. That was a fun ride, though bb was less exciting than the last time I played it. (Which wasn't very exciting imo)

I'm in a state of what now? I still haven't finished re2s remake. I was enjoyjng that quite a bit. May have to replay some of my favorites from this gen.

Griffith, uncharted 4 has a good story. The gameplay will most likely feel dated, but for some reason I enjoyed it over the others.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Not yet, but they're on the list, so I'll get to all of them sooner or later.

If quality is more important than order I'd recommend 9 as the only must play. Then 10, 11, 7, MM&B, and 8, which is the real black sheep imo. I mean, you can skip the others really, especially the last two, unless you want to experience every style of "classic" Mega Man. 7, MM&B, and 8 have always been off to me. 11 is at least an interesting modern approximation, but not critical.

I don't think I have all the X games on my list.

You're starting to sound like Arya Stark with that list. You're going to be a real game Historian. You should compile you posts in this thread into a giant review sheet if you haven't already.

Next up is Chrono Trigger! I started playing the DS version of it earlier this week, and I'm loving every minute of it so far. I played it a bunch in the 90s on an emulator, but I never ended up finishing it. It's a fantastic game. One of the best ever, for sure.

I played this game so much, not even in its time, getting every ending, that I don't know if I can ever replay it again.

I just played EarthBound. It's great. One of the best gaming experiences I've ever had.
I think his only positive review, also discovering this transcendent experience. This was another one I didn't play when it first came out. I had to have a friend buy it and mail it to me from Georgia, pre-Internet.

Just finished all 3 souls games and bb co-op with my gf. That was a fun ride, though bb was less exciting than the last time I played it. (Which wasn't very exciting imo)

Exciting would be like my definition of BB, though it wasn't as thrilling as say, gitting gud at Dark Souls, because of my proficiency after the trilogy (but good God that world, lore, and combat). Demon's Souls areas hold up amazingly well; Boletaria Palace can be the most daunting area in the whole series. I kind of want to do BB and Sekiro style builds in Dark Souls III, AKA SoulsBourne The Game. =)

Griffith, uncharted 4 has a good story. The gameplay will most likely feel dated, but for some reason I enjoyed it over the others.

Well, there's one for Uncharted 4, which is on my mind because I'm sure it'll at least be a good time, and I enjoy the new Tomb Raider games allegedly based on these. My only concern is they might have spoiled me for the original.
 
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Fancypantaloons

Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas.
I started playing Mordhau some days ago, it's exactly my cup of tea. I played Mount&Blade: Warband many years and some years of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, so I'm in the place-to-be. I used to play For Honor too but didn't enjoy it as much, but it's a great game, at least now that all old problems are fixed.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
If quality is more important than order I'd recommend 9 as the only must play. Then 10, 11, 7, MM&B, and 8, which is the real black sheep imo. I mean, you can skip the others really, especially the last two, unless you want to experience every style of "classic" Mega Man. 7, MM&B, and 8 have always been off to me. 11 is at least an interesting modern approximation, but not critical.

Order is more important than quality for me at the moment, but I appreciate your feedback on those games. I'll take it into consideration.

You're starting to sound like Arya Stark with that list. You're going to be a real game Historian. You should compile you posts in this thread into a giant review sheet if you haven't already.

Thanks for the reminder! Walter suggested last year that I document my experience in the form of longer articles, and I meant to do that when I finished the 8-bit era. I'll get to work on an article about my experiences with the 8-bit era games I've played and post it in a separate thread when I'm finished.

I played this game so much, not even in its time, getting every ending, that I don't know if I can ever replay it again.

I feel the same way about Final Fantasy VII.

I think his only positive review, also discovering this transcendent experience. This was another one I didn't play when it first came out. I had to have a friend buy it and mail it to me from Georgia, pre-Internet.

Nice! I love the AVGN, and I appreciated him taking some time to review a game that didn't give him PTSD. That poor bastard.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
So far my game of the year is RE2make and that's kind of sad considering how many problems I had with it, but damn was it good at what it did, which was being thrilling as Hell.

Well you can rejoice, From Software's new game has had a leak ahead of E3. It's called Elden Ring and is confirmed to be a co-creation with George R.R. Martin. With any luck it'll be out this year (no way that'll happen lol).
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I feel the same way about Final Fantasy VII.

So do I. :ganishka: I've started it up a few times, was impressed, but couldn't get past disc 1 on my best effort since the 90's. Maybe that'll make the remake more refreshing if it ever comes out. The idea of buying and receiving it in installments or whatever doesn't exactly get me enthused though.

Nice! I love the AVGN, and I appreciated him taking some time to review a game that didn't give him PTSD. That poor bastard.

Back when he had AVGN and his awesome Monster Madness retrospectives going full swing, among other reviews and video series, I used to consider him the hardest working man on the Internet, long before the term "content creator" was even a thing. This particular segment and his reaction still speaks to me:


Well you can rejoice, From Software's new game has had a leak ahead of E3. It's called Elden Ring and is confirmed to be a co-creation with George R.R. Martin. With any luck it'll be out this year (no way that'll happen lol).

Still in development, it'll be out as soon as Martin's finished writing it. :carcus:
 
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Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
So do I. :ganishka: I've started it up a few times, was impressed, but couldn't get past disc 1 on my best effort since the 90's. Maybe that'll make the remake more refreshing if it ever comes out. The idea of buy and receiving it in installments or whatever doesn't exactly get me enthused though.

Me, either. My money's still on it never coming out, or turning into a Duke Nukem Forever sort of thing. Oh, well. Whatever keeps Testsuya Nomura away from their other games.

Back when he had AVGN and his awesome Monster Madness retrospectives going full swing, among other reviews and video series, I used to consider him the hardest working man on the Internet, long before the term "content creator" was even a thing. This particular segment and his reaction still speaks to me:


Haha, I love that one. My personal favorite is his TMNT review. It gets me every time.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Me, either. My money's still on it never coming out, or turning into a Duke Nukem Forever sort of thing. Oh, well. Whatever keeps Testsuya Nomura away from their other games.

Heh heh, yeah it hasn't been an exciting development; they should have brought in Mistwalker as a co-developer to put Sakaguchi's name on it if nothing else. It's already a Duke Nukem Forever sort of thing if you count that dumb PS3 tech deno trailer from 14 years ago that eventually foreced them into finally doing it for real (they clearly knew it was a bad idea). I think it'll come out, but if it's a cut bait asset cram like DNF in multiple installments, it's definitely gonna suck. The best case scenario at this point is this year's RE2 remake, which, while clearly having some issues and rough edges from it's mysteriously protracted development, had such a a compelling core and enough effectively executed ideas it didn't matter.

Haha, I love that one. My personal favorite is his TMNT review. It gets me every time.

His Spider-Man and Ghostbusters reviews are like that for me, I still use the phrase, "sucks like a ghost vacuum" to myself. All of season 2 is great when he really hit his stride and the ambition and production values went way up.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member

This is, without embellishment, the realization of a childhood dream for me, and it's available right now. Having Seiken Densetsu 3 officially translated AND on Switch? And it's already out? Guys, I'm fucking floored. See you in a few weeks.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler

This is, without embellishment, the realization of a childhood dream for me, and it's available right now. Having Seiken Densetsu 3 officially translated AND on Switch? And it's already out? Guys, I'm fucking floored. See you in a few weeks.

That’s great news!
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
This is, without embellishment, the realization of a childhood dream for me, and it's available right now. Having Seiken Densetsu 3 officially translated AND on Switch? And it's already out? Guys, I'm fucking floored. See you in a few weeks.

Same. Been wishing for this for 25 years basically.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
That's awesome, I'm happy for you guys. Though I don't share your passion for the series I did appreciate Secret of Mana on your recommendations and even played some Seiken Densetsu 3 (maybe I should grab a Switch now: the final countdown date is whenever BotW II comes out anyway =). I love when game dreams come true, and now they just need to translate and release Mother 3 (or Hell, tweak the damn good community translation)!
 
When I saw the news yesterday, I immediately pre-ordered the boxed version of Collection of Mana. :guts:
I remember back in the days when I was looking at Seiken Densetsu 3 reviews in magazines and telling myself: "Too bad... it will only be released in Japan".
I did bought an SFC copy many many years ago but now, years later we can finally appreciate it fully translated.
One of my game dreams would be playing to Bahamut Lagoon with an official translation, this game is a gem.
 
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