What Are You Playing?

[Rhombaad]

The commercials for it were AWESOME. I don't even want to look them up because I'm sure they'd seem quaint and cheesy now but at the time they were most effective at making it seem like this amazing, otherworldly experience.

I watched them a few years ago, and they don't hold up that well in my opinion. I'd stay away if you want to maintain your memories of them.

I love the old console war propaganda mixed in there too, "Cartridges are for LOSERS!"

Part of me misses the console wars. Even today, when I see a Sega and Nintendo crossover, it feels weird to me.

I'm delighted to hear you like my proposition; I'll only require a "Created By" credit and a small, small percentage.

But of course.

I distinctly remember seeing a Junon Cannon billboard in Atlanta around 1998, and it was fucking surreal. For me, FF7 was just a cult kind of thing, and very special to me. Prior to its release, I can't remember ever being more invested in a single game. This hype was mostly because I was a huge fan of FF6 (still my favorite game), and the fact that Square was riding the crest of their career. Everything they sent stateside had been solid gold for years.

I had followed its release closer than any other game (to this day). In an age when game news sites didn't update every day, I would still check extremely frequently. Square would regularly release CG stills of environments, and also character info / designs in a trickle fashion up until the Japanese release (I remember Sephiroth was the last). I would print out pictures and tape them to my goddamned wall like some kind of serial killer. I ended up importing the game at the Japanese launch, and modifying my PS to play it — a hardwired solution, not the disc swap. I played through most of the game blind at first, and then with a guide. I also ended up memorizing a few kanji and hiragana/katakana just to navigate the menus and spells. But by the time the US version hit, and the FULL scope of the story had settled into my teenage brain, it really didn't live up to my expectations. What possibly could? I had ruined my experience with the game by treating it like it was supposed to be a transcendental experience.

That was my experience with Final Fantasy IX. I had a PS2 by then, so it was the first one I could play shortly after it came out. It's probably the best of the PSX Final Fantasy games, but at the time I felt it was over-hyped. I enjoyed it a lot more the second time around.

For anyone who lived through that time, this is an incredible article on the game's creation and the people and personalities behind it: https://www.polygon.com/a/final-fantasy-7

Thanks, Walter! I'll have to check it out. I didn't follow FF7's release as closely as you did, since I was an N64 kid at the time, but I remember the tremendous amount of advertisements in EGM and Game Pro.

[Griffith]

Oh man FF7. I spent a great many hours on my PSX playing around in that game, i played disc one to the end of hell because i never knew i was supposed to put in disc 2 after i exited midgar.
I was like 12 at the time i think, so you have to understand how stupid i felt, not to mention that at one point i basically grinded for the 1st boss till i could one hit it with limit because of the disc being scratched up from extended use, and its scope move would freeze everything, later on i even discovered i could put in the other disc DURING the fight sequence to unglitch enemy moves.
I also had to do this for specific cutscenes too, i had quite the extensive experience with that game

I don't know what version of the game you were playing, but as Walter noted Disc 1 lasts quite a bit past Midgar unless you meant something else, and that other disc-changing stuff sounds wild.

I distinctly remember seeing a Junon Cannon billboard in Atlanta around 1998, and it was fucking surreal. For me, FF7 was just a cult kind of thing, and very special to me. Prior to its release, I can't remember ever being more invested in a single game. This hype was mostly because I was a huge fan of FF6 (still my favorite game), and the fact that Square was riding the crest of their career. Everything they sent stateside had been solid gold for years.

I had followed its release closer than any other game (to this day). In an age when game news sites didn't update every day, I would still check extremely frequently. Square would regularly release CG stills of environments, and also character info / designs in a trickle fashion up until the Japanese release (I remember Sephiroth was the last). I would print out pictures and tape them to my goddamned wall like some kind of serial killer.

Game news SITES in 1996? You were ahead of the curve (or around the bend judging by some of this stuff =) my friend, because game news for me back then was Nintendo Power, 300 page Electronic Gaming Monthlys or maybe GamePro. I bet 200 pages were just game ads but that was a FEATURE! Good times.

Sweet mother of god:

https://retrocdn.net/Category:Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_scans

Actually, back then I was mainly using the Internet to mine precious new information about Dragon Ball Z, but I do recall downloading all the cool Ocarina of Time official art you could find back then, like those bitchen' Lizalfos images and Link looking like a totally sassy, pro-active paradigm with his bow and arrow. I was going to keep those downloads FOREVER!

I ended up importing the game at the Japanese launch, and modifying my PS to play it — a hardwired solution, not the disc swap. I played through most of the game blind at first, and then with a guide. I also ended up memorizing a few kanji and hiragana/katakana just to navigate the menus and spells. But by the time the US version hit, and the FULL scope of the story had settled into my teenage brain, it really didn't live up to my expectations. What possibly could? I had ruined my experience with the game by treating it like it was supposed to be a transcendental experience.

Damn, I know you've always regarded it with a tinge of cynicism or, like, skepticism, and though you've described your anticipation and disappointment coming off FF6 before I didn't realize the depth of the roots to your resentment of it. For me it was a simply transcendental experience! For you FF6 is FF7, and FF7 is what everything FF7-branded that came out after is to me. I'm sorry it went that way since the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, but clearly the seeds and the scaffolding of your Berserk fandom were laid, so I'm giving FF7 some credit for you there!


BTW, the translation of that game always seemed weird and off. Is it bad? Would it just be much better if it wasn't so culturally confusing or can it not be helped because it was trying to deal with things probably too complex for them to do well and translate in a game ostensibly for teens anyway? Square should have just remastered and re-translated it rather than doing this protracted and inevitability doomed remake. I think this thing's been in production longer than Battlecruiser 3000 or Duke Nukem Forever and it's a remake!

For anyone who lived through that time, this is an incredible article on the game's creation and the people and personalities behind it: https://www.polygon.com/a/final-fantasy-7

Looks cool, I'll have to give that a read when I'm not writing articles on the game, and Star Wars, myself.

Disc 1 ends much, much later than Midgar, after a certain character's death.

Dude, spoilers! (this was actually fucking spoiled for me by a friend simultaneously playing the game; though, maybe it spared me years of aggrandizing that character =)

I watched them a few years ago, and they don't hold up that well in my opinion. I'd stay away if you want to maintain your memories of them.

That's what I figured. I didn't get the full ad blitz Wally did in Atlanta because I hadn't moved to the BIG CITY yet, but the commercials were unlike anything I'd seen for a game at the time.

Part of me misses the console wars. Even today, when I see a Sega and Nintendo crossover, it feels weird to me.

Me too, yet I also find people that feel that strongly about their consoles today obnoxious. It's not the same as Nintendo/Sega!

https://www.somethingawful.com/hosted/firemancomics/consolewar.htm

[DirtiestM]

Playing Hollow Knight on switch, there is a character who is an obvious nod to Guts. He says, "Though my stature is small, I bear a dark soul and a tendency to go berserk in battle." and "You wouldn't have the guts to face me anyways." The game is a challenging metroidvania game with a pretty cool story.

[Aazealh]

Playing Hollow Knight on switch, there is a character who is an obvious nod to Guts. He says, "Though my stature is small, I bear a dark soul and a tendency to go berserk in battle." and "You wouldn't have the guts to face me anyways." The game is a challenging metroidvania game with a pretty cool story.

Worth noting is that the characters in this section were Kickstarter rewards and therefore the input of a fan and not the developers. Still cool though.

[Rhombaad]

BTW, the translation of that game always seemed weird and off. Is it bad?

It's not great, but it's better than the 16-bit RPGs on SNES with their short turnarounds and limited space for English letters. The PC version cleaned up some of the rougher areas, but it's still not perfect.

Me too, yet I also find people that feel that strongly about their consoles today obnoxious. It's not the same as Nintendo/Sega!

https://www.somethingawful.com/hosted/firemancomics/consolewar.htm

Oh, yeah. Nowadays, it's annoying if someone refuses to play one console or the other. Today, it's about the games, man!

[Griffith]

Finished that FF7 Oral History and it was very cool. Sakaguchi couldn't help but come off as somewhat of a tragic, Icarus-like figure for me as you see how all these other prominent people involved in FF7 went on to big things at Square or elsewhere, it made them, but he had to leave to do his own thing on a smaller scale because what made him and his style so great and effective no longer worked for him or his unique place in the company, or maybe any big company, and in fact it had become destructive in the form of The Spirits Within. The "King" exiled himself from the Kingdom he helped make an Empire.

Other than that, it was a lot of familiar information like Nintendo fucking up, but that all worked out for the best for Square and Final Fantasy because even if Nintendo had a CD machine to make the exact same game on, Square would have never gotten as good a deal or as much of a mass market push as they got with Sony. So, FF7 doesn't become like the Star Wars of video games at the time without everything coming together like it did into this perfect storm for FF7 to be THE GAME.

It's not great, but it's better than the 16-bit RPGs on SNES with their short turnarounds and limited space for English letters. The PC version cleaned up some of the rougher areas, but it's still not perfect.

Yeah, they addressed that a bit in there, how uncoordinated the localization efforts were at the time. Like it was just some technical IT department that the devs didn't pay much mind to, making for some awkward translations that don't necessarily translate well into the intended culture. On the other hand, it's also an interesting relic of those translations being more direct and less flowery despite the obvious fuck ups. They noted how they put real effort into making the FF8 translation come across to the target audience but I don't know that it necessarily made it better for me. I'd almost rather get something stilted where I can do the math to translate the feeling being expressed myself rather than read something that sounds like a bad night time soap opera.

Oh, yeah. Nowadays, it's annoying if someone refuses to play one console or the other. Today, it's about the games, man!

Yeah, I still have to hear friends debate the X-Box One or PS4. It's so obnoxious because clearly the PS4 is the WINNER and the 360 is a low selling provincial loser machine for losers! SAD!

[Gamehowitzer]

I don't know what version of the game you were playing, but as Walter noted Disc 1 lasts quite a bit past Midgar unless you meant something else, and that other disc-changing stuff sounds wild.

I don't know dude, all i know is that once i exited midgar, there was 1 place to go, and that was into the open world, so i walk away from the gate of midgar after climbing down this long cable from construction, i walk to the next area (noted by the red arrow ofc) the characters talk, a bunch of credits played, and stopped at a soft lock screen until i put in disc 2. I played this on the original ps1 so idk man, i still have the discs and the ps1, if needed i could always do another run through and show you guys. But that was where disc 1 ended for me. Edit: OK after poking around my old save files, you were right, I guess it was just another case of a glitched cut scene that I experienced. Edit2: I have no idea what I was referring to anymore. World map loaded up just fine after leaving midgar. Curse my memories. But it was like 9 years ago so what do you expect lol

So, when I played FF7 all those years ago, most of the cutscenes were completely nonfunctional on disc one. Well any of them after midgar. To my utter surprise, the Cosmo canyon cut scene explaining the life stream worked seamlessly. Really weird to be honest. Not to mention I tried various methods to try and fix things when I was younger. Embarrassing things like trying to use mental energy to make it run right. But regardless, really surprised at it. Now I just have to go back and actually beat Digimon world 3.

[Griffith]

Edit: OK after poking around my old save files, you were right, I guess it was just another case of a glitched cut scene that I experienced. Edit2: I have no idea what I was referring to anymore. World map loaded up just fine after leaving midgar. Curse my memories. But it was like 9 years ago so what do you expect lol

It was over 20 years ago for me.



Actually, that's not really true since I replayed Final Fantasy VII at least once after (saving every save location on a giant third party memory card so I could refer to any point in the game =), and made a few other aborted attempts; once I got as far as the Gold Saucer on my phone commuting on the bus. My last time playing it last was... this weekend! How could I not fire it up again after reading that engrossing oral history? I was struck by how much of a jump it was over FF6 and other such games of the time from a technical standpoint. Even some bullshit like when Jessie from AVALANCHE calls you over to check out the map on the train and the camera zooms in on the map monitor and shows you looking at it as well as the exterior of the train and the city as you discuss it; the game had fucking cinematic direction and the previous one was mostly side-scrolling sprites. That's a big jump, and feels way more like a modern game than a retro one, but occupies kind of a nostalgic middle ground. Like Mario 64 or OoT, this was one of the games that modernized classic games. Anyway, it was fun to play it for a bit with renewed appreciation, though I don't think I'll be going much farther.

What I am playing in earnest now is Hollow Knight, I managed to find what I was missing to move up vertical corridors and that opened up the map immensely, and I can even go through weak floors now too so I can re-explore all those areas that were previously inaccessible. I really appreciate the way the map indicates the areas you haven't fully explored yet by showing the absence of a wall or floor that means there's still a corridor to uncover. The game is just simple fun despite having plenty of mechanics to work with, and I think I completely changed my loadout from the last time I played to better compliment boss survival (that protective shell while you heal has to be the #1 optional power up and I wasn't even using it). I wish the Geo was more plentiful though, but then maybe I'm just spending it too fast (next up is getting the lantern so I can check all all the dark areas too).

I'm also still flirting with Bloodborne on BL4, I've beaten three bosses and started upgrading the axe just because its strong and I like it's moves (bet I'll regret that against the Shadows of Yharnam when my whip is useless, but maybe my axe won't be =).

Lastly, finally beat those special stages and got Super Sonic on my clear file in Sonic Mania; fun.


I forgot, I fired up Okami for the first time and was not pleased by the incessant talk sounds that went on for like 20 minutes. I might not have the patience for this type of game anymore, especially at this late juncture.

[N7Paladin]

Replaying the Mass Effect Trilogy for the umpteenth time and having a blast doing so. I'll definitely be skipping Andromeda after I finish ME3 though.

[Griffith]

Replaying the Mass Effect Trilogy for the umpteenth time and having a blast doing so. I'll definitely be skipping Andromeda after I finish ME3 though.

I wanted to replay the whole trilogy at one point but sabotaged my experience from the start over-worrying about making the perfect Shepard and doing the best playthrough (invariably I make the best character and complete the most on my initial blind playthroughs =). Also, do you still need to buy all the DLC individually with crazy expensive EA/Bioware points or some shit? I think I figured out that it'd still cost hundreds of dollars to do it all and it's a shame that shit never got appropriately reduced in price or bundled in a final edition of the games or trilogy. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. I still haven't done the Shadow Broker or Citadel DLCs because of that. I could just buy those two, but I'm so far removed from it and if they don't want me to ever be able to actually afford the whole experience, fuck 'em, I'll move on.


Still playing Hollow Knight and getting deeper into the gameplay and collectibles and the size of the game is actually wearing on me because I feel like I'm reaching the end game but after 20 some hours it's feeling like more of the same and like I just passed the point of diminishing returns on new and exciting depths and features. Still enjoying it, and maybe I'm just tired from the heat, but I'm not firing it up now excited about last night's unfinished business left to explore, but more like, "Ok, what's next, I'm tired of searching the same corridors, how do I reach the next boss on the map." It might just be time to stop taking it as it comes and smelling the roses and hunker down with the earnest intent to get it done.

[Aazealh]

Also, do you still need to buy all the DLC individually with crazy expensive EA/Bioware points or some shit? I think I figured out that it'd still cost hundreds of dollars to do it all and it's a shame that shit never got appropriately reduced in price or bundled in a final edition of games or trilogy. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. I still haven't done the Shadow Broker or Citadel DLCs because of that. I could just buy those two, but I'm so far removed from it and if they don't want me to ever be able to actually afford the whole experience, fuck 'em, I'll move on.

Buying the games and DLC is easy enough, but not exactly cheap. Here are the three links you need:

https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/mass-effect/mass-effect-trilogy
https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/mass-effect/mass-effect-2/addon/mass-effect-2-dlc-bundle
https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/mass-effect/mass-effect-3/addon/mass-effect-3-dlc-bundle

Still playing Hollow Knight and getting deeper into the gameplay and collectibles and the size of the game is actually wearing on me because I feel like I'm reaching the end game but after 20 some hours it's feeling like more of the same and like I just passed the point of diminishing returns on new and exciting depths and features. Still enjoying it, and maybe I'm just tired from the heat, but I'm not firing it up now excited about last night's unfinished business left to explore, but more like, "Ok, what's next, I'm tired of searching the same corridors, how to I reach the next boss on the map." It might just be time to stop taking it as it comes and smelling the roses and hunker down with the earnest intent to get it done.

Yeah. I finished it at what's probably 99.99% completion when it came out and it's a great game, but it doesn't reach the heights of those it looks up to.

[Griffith]

Buying the games and DLC is easy enough, but not exactly cheap. Here are the three links you need:

https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/mass-effect/mass-effect-trilogy
https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/mass-effect/mass-effect-2/addon/mass-effect-2-dlc-bundle
https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/mass-effect/mass-effect-3/addon/mass-effect-3-dlc-bundle

Ah, well better than it used to be, and I already own the games so I'll check if the bundles ever go on sale since. Somehow I can get the latest Dues Ex for like 90% less than now relatively ancient ME dlc; thanks EA.

Yeah. I finished it at what's probably 99.99% completion when it came out and it's a great game

I'm back at it exploring an area I found but passed on before. I have 700+ Essence and will get to 900 shortly, but I feel like the rewards are getting worse; it better give me something to bypass some obstructions next time. =) I'm also pissed I wasted a small key on the worthless surface guy that I could really use below now to enter a house (I kind of wondered if I'd regret it).

but it doesn't reach the heights of those it looks up to.

For fun name your faves (mine: SotN & Metroid... FUSION! Wally will be sickened =), and what'd you think of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (assuming you played it)?

[Aazealh]

For fun name your faves (mine: SotN & Metroid... FUSION! Wally will be sickened =)

Simon's Quest, obviously.

what'd you think of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (assuming you played it)?

It's neat, love the callbacks to classic CV. That being said I haven't had the courage to go through the NG+ for now. I have high hopes for the main game, whenever it'll drop.

[N7Paladin]

I wanted to replay the whole trilogy at one point but sabotaged my experience from the start over-worrying about making the perfect Shepard and doing the best playthrough (invariably I make the best character and complete the most on my initial blind playthroughs =). Also, do you still need to buy all the DLC individually with crazy expensive EA/Bioware points or some shit? I think I figured out that it'd still cost hundreds of dollars to do it all and it's a shame that shit never got appropriately reduced in price or bundled in a final edition of the games or trilogy. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. I still haven't done the Shadow Broker or Citadel DLCs because of that. I could just buy those two, but I'm so far removed from it and if they don't want me to ever be able to actually afford the whole experience, fuck 'em, I'll move on.

There's a complete DLC pack for ME2 and ME3 on Origin that go on sale pretty frequently. They're each $29.99 normally, but I've seen them for $10-15 every now and then. Each pack contains every single DLC for each game, including all the little minor ones like squadmate outfits and weapons packs.

https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/mass-effect/mass-effect-2/addon/mass-effect-2-dlc-bundle
https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/mass-effect/mass-effect-3/addon/mass-effect-3-dlc-bundle

Both the Shadow Broker and Citadel DLCs are quite enoyable. Mass Effect 3's DLCs really helped me from getting sick of the game due to the awful Cerberus plotline.

[Johnstantine]

Buying the games and DLC is easy enough, but not exactly cheap. Here are the three links you need:

Ugh, man, the sheer pricing for the DLC has been the major put-off for me playing these games.

[Griffith]

Simon's Quest, obviously.

Of course. But I was actually looking for a short list of what you consider the class of the genre. This may already be on the board, but it's an vague thing to search 18,000 posts for, especially of a man that hates the term "metroidvania," so maybe I shouldn't even be asking (we could go with the SotN team's original sexy description, "2D exploration action game" or "zeldavania," which is just Zelda II; its ultimate vindication =).

BTW, I'm close now with Hollow Knight, pretty sure I can engage the final boss now, or at least start the end-game in earnest, but it was a bit of slog there for a while. That's the flaw of these games in general though; two thirds of the way through the exploration element invariably stagnates and your ability to progress can hinge on spotting what you need to do next on like a single pixel (or a wall you randomly need to crouch next to =), or some combination of items/abilities, in a game world that's map is now as big as every screen from Zelda at that point. That just stops the momentum of the game dead while you search for the MacGuffin you don't even know you're looking for. Thank god for that old man in town. Anyway, now I'm back to stalling and tooling around not wanting it to end incomplete.

It's neat, love the callbacks to classic CV. That being said I haven't had the courage to go through the NG+ for now. I have high hopes for the main game, whenever it'll drop.

Looks very much if not exactly like classic CV, I actually like the look of it better than what I see of the main game.

Both the Shadow Broker and Citadel DLCs are quite enoyable. Mass Effect 3's DLCs really helped me from getting sick of the game due to the awful Cerberus plotline.

Yeah, those seem like the two "must play" story DLCs (and Leviathan looks good too), but do you mean ME2 for the Cerberus-centric plot or did you just hate that part of it in ME3 that much (I recall it being unmemorable but minimal)? I basically already wrote manifestos vigorously defending ME3, but ME2, despite maybe being the most well received in the series, is my least favorite, making my ranking 1, 3, 2. I wonder if that would change upon replaying and reconsidering them knowing the big picture.

Ugh, man, the sheer pricing for the DLC has been the major put-off for me playing these games.

You don't need them to enjoy the series, particularly ME1, which you can grab regularly for $5 and is totally worth it for the plot (it has a seminal gaming moment for me), though the graphics and gameplay are naturally a bit dated by this point, it's still the best game in the series and as far as pop sci-fi goes kind of supplanted Star Wars and Star Trek simultaneously for me the last decade. Pretty neat trick (and I never bought the two biggest DLC), too bad they couldn't keep it going with Andromeda.

They should just sell out the trilogy and bring back Shepard for "one last ride"... that may be another trilogy if it revives the franchise. =)

[N7Paladin]

I somehow missed Aazealh's post when I replied to yours, my bad. 

I agree with you on 1>3>2, but Cerberus just raised too many questions for me in 3. Where were they getting all these troops, mechs, supplies, ships, and intel? What was their goal with the Citadel coup? The coup was before TIM got the Prothean VI from Thessia so he wouldn't have known it was the Catalyst. Then there's Kai Leng... yeah. I had also suspected TIM was indoctrinated since the Mars mission when you find out their soldiers are.

That being said, I very much enjoy ME3 outside of these strange Cerberus shenanigans. There were great moments on Tuchanka and Rannoch that I had been waiting for. Omega, Leviathan, and the Citadel are probably my favorite DLCs in the series as well. I do prefer 3 over 2 for sure. ME2's best parts were the character missions.

I finished the trilogy last night and attempted an Andromeda play through... It lasted about 90 minutes before I was completely bored and uninterested.

[Griffith]

Kai Leng...

Ah, say no more. I forgot a lot of the Cerberus stuff from that game, and mainly remembered I liked the Illusive Man's conclusion.

That being said, I very much enjoy ME3 outside of these strange Cerberus shenanigans. There were great moments on Tuchanka and Rannoch that I had been waiting for. Omega, Leviathan, and the Citadel are probably my favorite DLCs in the series as well. I do prefer 3 over 2 for sure. ME2's best parts were the character missions.

There were so many of those I couldn't do them all, and after getting so caught up in the story of ME1 part two couldn't help but feel like a deferment or step backward, but I probably wasn't appreciating what WAS good about it because I was looking for something else. ME3 was that something, and though it certainly wasn't perfect in its payoff of ME1's potential, from the very beginning it didn't shy away from it.

I finished the trilogy last night and attempted an Andromeda play through... It lasted about 90 minutes before I was completely bored and uninterested.

As I documented here, my experience with Andromeda lasted about 90 seconds from the time I tried starting and restarting the game to the time I gave up and got my refund. Good work, EA.

[Rhombaad]

I'm taking a (possibly permanent) break from Phantasy Star III. I'm just bored with it. The story (what little there is so far) has been decent for a 1990 RPG, but the gameplay, graphics and overall quality of the game isn't great. I read several reviews before I started playing it, all of which described it as the black sheep of the Phantasy Star family, but I figured I'd play it for myself and see. I hate to say it, but all of them were pretty spot-on. Oh, well. I read through the rest of the plot and I'm comfortable with moving on to Phantasy Star IV, the gem of the series.

Right now, though, I'm playing Wing Commander. I played the crap out of this game when I was a kid, but I don't recall ever beating it or its first sequel. I'm almost through the first campaign, and I intend on playing the Secret Missions afterwards. I'm at work right now, but damn do I wish I was at home in a dogfight with the Kilrathi.

[Walter]

I'm taking a (possibly permanent) break from Phantasy Star III. I'm just bored with it. ... I'm comfortable with moving on to Phantasy Star IV, the gem of the series.

THANK GOD.  I was really worried about you headed down the PS3 path, and potentially missing out on PS4, which is still pretty great (I played through it on Virtual Console on Wii a few years ago).

[Griffith]

I put a few hours into Horizon: Zero Dawn yesterday and so far it's not blowing my skirt up. It looks absolutely gorgeous, but the faux primitive post-apocalyptic society with AI animals plot doesn't do much for me, kind of a SyFy movie story (when they start hunting the robot animals instead of the one's with meat I was incredulous =), and though it looks and acts largely like Tomb Raider or BotW, the controls and mechanics are a bit clunky like I find the Assassin's Creed games; overly complicated, and not as fluid as you'd expect (I don't even like the horse-riding because it treats the horse more like a car, which I guess makes as much sense as anything, but I haven't got used to "braking" instead of just pulling up). There's just too much going on in general (your screen is constantly covered in bullshit like you're inputting commands to the console or something, guess I could eliminate that) and I don't feel like I'm getting the full benefit of any of it. Also, it's way more a "talk to every NPC" RPG than action/adventure game, and I'm over that. The dialogue actually made me appreciate the relative lack of voice acting in BotW and Zelda in general because I just read the subs and skip ahead anyway (not that there's anything wrong with the voice acting, it's all on point, I just don't want to sit and listen for minutes on end). I'll see if things change as I get more into the combat, but so far even that's been pretty feast or famine and if I don't turn a corner soon I think I'm out on Zero Dawn.

I read several reviews before I started playing it, all of which described it as the black sheep of the Phantasy Star family, but I figured I'd play it for myself and see. I hate to say it, but all of them were pretty spot-on.

THANK GOD.  I was really worried about you headed down the PS3 path, and potentially missing out on PS4, which is still pretty great (I played through it on Virtual Console on Wii a few years ago).

Sometimes the consensus is the consensus because it's absolutely correct. Despite what some say, and that it's an enthusiasts journalism, I actually find gaming to be relatively easy to objectively judge in that if everyone thinks it's a fun example of whichever gaming form it is, it probably is and vice versa (and it's easy enough to separate mechanics, one's personal tastes, and more subjective aspects like story elements). Except Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Right now, though, I'm playing Wing Commander. I played the crap out of this game when I was a kid, but I don't recall ever beating it or its first sequel. I'm almost through the first campaign, and I intend on playing the Secret Missions afterwards. I'm at work right now, but damn do I wish I was at home in a dogfight with the Kilrathi.

This was/is my dad's favorite series, of which I've only really played Privateer all the way through. If I recall from his efforts to get all the medals etc, the final missions, particularly the WCI & II expansions, get pretty crazy, at least if you're going for perfection. Great games though, and way ahead of their time in many respects. Good luck, Blair.

[Rhombaad]

THANK GOD.  I was really worried about you headed down the PS3 path, and potentially missing out on PS4, which is still pretty great (I played through it on Virtual Console on Wii a few years ago).

Oh, I was never gonna miss out on PS4. It's the one I've been aiming for with this series. I'm glad I played PS1 and PS2, though. While primitive by today's standards, I thought they were fun and worth experiencing.

Sometimes the consensus is the consensus because it's absolutely correct. Despite what some say, and that it's an enthusiasts journalism, I actually find gaming to be relatively easy to objectively judge in that if everyone thinks it's a fun example of whichever gaming form it is, it probably is and vice versa (and it's easy enough to separate mechanics, one's personal tastes, and more subjective aspects like story elements). Except Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Yeah, so far the games I've played that are considered classics and some of the best of all time have been great. My current method is to add it to the list based on video game critic and journalist reviews, but I'm more than fine moving on if I'm not having fun, since that's the whole point. Plus, I've got way too many games on my list to sit with one that isn't fun to play.

This was/is my dad's favorite series, of which I've only really played Privateer all the way through. If I recall from his efforts to get all the medals etc, the final missions, particularly the WCI & II expansions, get pretty crazy, at least if you're going for perfection. Great games though, and way ahead of their time in many respects. Good luck, Blair.

Nice! I've enjoyed the ones I've played. I've heard the expansions get a little narly, and that they're a lot more difficult than the original campaigns. That being said, I'm not too worried about it. I'm not going for perfection; I'll be satisfied winning the campaigns, even if I don't get all the medals and kill all the Kilrathi aces.

[Griffith]

Yeah, so far the games I've played that are considered classics and some of the best of all time have been great. My current method is to add it to the list based on video game critic and journalist reviews, but I'm more than fine moving on if I'm not having fun, since that's the whole point. Plus, I've got way too many games on my list to sit with one that isn't fun to play.

Yeah, time has passed some of these games by, but that makes the genuinely timeless ones all the more impressive. Something I've been considering more when thinking about my favorite games in hindsight. On the other hand, sometimes the most ambitious ones of their time age worse because they were pushing boundaries that are taken for granted today, whereas a simple side-scroller can hold up forever.

Nice! I've enjoyed the ones I've played. I've heard the expansions get a little narly, and that they're a lot more difficult than the original campaigns. That being said, I'm not too worried about it. I'm not going for perfection; I'll be satisfied winning the campaigns, even if I don't get all the medals and kill all the Kilrathi aces.

Speaking of ambitious projects that went down historical dead ends, are you going to venture into the "Interactive Movie" that is Wing Commander III? I have a lot of fond memories of that game, but things got weird fast with WCIV, Prophecy and especially Privateer II featuring Clive Owen, John Hurt and Christopher fuckin' Walken among others! I wonder if there will come a day we return to FMV in games and suddenly all those weirdos from the 80s and 90s are considered essential forebears to a new age of interactive "scripted" entertainment. There's so many shows coming these days they'll need to invent new mediums to get them all produced; Netflix and play. =)


Oh, and I should mention that after all that frustration and reassessing my approach I've officially made up with Horizon: Zero Dawn and we spent hours together happily yesterday.

[Rhombaad]

Speaking of ambitious projects that went down historical dead ends, are you going to venture into the "Interactive Movie" that is Wing Commander III? I have a lot of fond memories of that game, but things got weird fast with WCIV, Prophecy and especially Privateer II featuring Clive Owen, John Hurt and Christopher fuckin' Walken among others! I wonder if there will come a day we return to FMV in games and suddenly all those weirdos from the 80s and 90s are considered essential forebears to a new age of interactive "scripted" entertainment. There's so many shows coming these days they'll need to invent new mediums to get them all produced; Netflix and play. =)

I plan on playing WCIII, WCIV and WC: Prophecy. It’ll be interesting to see how those games hold up. I have a feeling not as well as the first two games.

[Griffith]

I plan on playing WCIII, WCIV and WC: Prophecy. It’ll be interesting to see how those games hold up. I have a feeling not as well as the first two games.

As I said, Wing Commander III has a special place in my heart for essentially being the best Wing Commander movie there could be, and an interesting Movie/Game novelty concept (I don't have those feelings for those that followed =). Plus, they cast Mark "Luke Fuckin' Skywalker" Hamill as Blair, which makes it pretty unassailable (and Biff as Manic! Way better than Freddie Prinze Jr and Mattew Lillard). When you get there see if you can spot the ironic social commentary that was always confusing and probably hasn't aged well at all.