What Are You Playing?

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Gamehowitzer said:
I just wanted to share my thoughts on the final boss fight in BotW.
Every part of the fight was great. Until you defeat his first form. The thing that follows is underwhelming and with zelda screaming and telling you what to do(shoot any glowing points you see etc) It feels like they forgot that they were trying break their handholding habits. Either that or the final boss was rushed. It didn't seem very polished. I was just very underwhelmed when i finally did it. Like, "oh hey, for the final boss second form all you have to do is hit a stationary target hahah" It just kind of goes against everything they did up until that point.

I was telling Walter yesterday, and I'd told Griff before that I believe, that I found this fight very underwhelming. Not so much because it's easy but because it's so obviously an afterthought, something that was tacked on at the end so that there'd be a "classic" Link-on-horseback-shooting-arrows-of-light-at-megapig-Ganon. It reminded me of Twilight Princess' final fight, which had also felt tacked on to me at the time. There's zero reason for that fight, you just teleport there, Zelda (where is she this whole time?) sends you a bow through thin air, it's all super lazy. My take on this game was solidified early on and it hasn't changed: amazing game, great gameplay that will be talked about for years, but the game is held back by the surprisingly lackluster way they handled the narrative. You can have a hands-off game with almost no explicit narrative while still making a good and interesting story. But this wasn't the case here and that's really too bad.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I pretty much agree with everything you guys are saying.

To Wally's points, the game's biggest strength, the almost complete openness of it, both in plot and play world, becomes a weakness on the backend, but could have been mitigated in some clever ways (there's plenty of that in the mechanics throughout, such as the weapon degradation/availability that changes how you play versus almost any other game). I do admire their dedication to this idea though, and you can't argue with the result overall, but it feels like it could still be elevated/perfected. The other big complaint for me was that it's natural landscape is largely a surface world with little underground caves or dungeons save for the Shrines, but then they feel more like a departure from that world. IDK, it kind of checks that mark on paper, but more areas like Hyrule Castle would have been welcome. Overall, these nitpicks are a result of the game being such a transcendent gaming experience we wish it was absolutely perfect, but it's easily a top 5 Zelda (just outside LoZ, ALttP & OoT), which basically puts it in the pantheon of all games.

As for the final, final battle, it's perfunctory to the point of being almost completely ceremonial, like an interactive cutscene. Did anybody die on that one? I was ill-prepared and fucked up right and left and it just didn't seem to matter; even my horse getting caught under his legs didn't ruin my day. And it did feel like a fight from OoT/TP in style and form, "check out the scale of this 3D monster!" It was especially jarring after the completely different, from any Zelda boss I can recall, fight before it. That was clearly the real final boss, and it was pretty cool, especially the mechanic where it made your game progress matter.
Every Ganon-boss you didn't defeat will be waiting and you have to fight them consecutively before reaching Ganon, plus it's that much more life Ganon will have (if you fight him without freeing any Devine Beasts you have to fight 5 bosses in a row and the last one has double health =).
 
The Old Hunters for Bloodborne is so awesome that I'm playing it again on NG+3, it's so hard and good. Probably the best piece of game from FS and top 3 of my gaming expieriences. It was hard work for From Software to beat Artorias of the Abyss for Dark Souls, but this expansion is even more epic and definitely the largest one.

I'm also playing Persona 5. I'm 32 hours into game and I'm at third palace where I already stole a treasure. Palaces have various gameplay mechanics which I really like, it doesn't feel the same every time you go to new palace.
 
Horizon zero dawn completely surprised me. I'm only six hours in and can be confident in saying this might be the best open world game I've come across. Keep in mind robots aren't really my bag. For the few exclusives Sony has this one is going to the top. Also replaying Code Veronica on dreamcast. Not aging gracefully and my oh my has dialogue evolved. :isidro:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Salem said:
Also replaying Code Veronica on dreamcast. Not aging gracefully and my oh my has dialogue evolved. :isidro:

To be fair, the dialogue in that game was ALWAYS bad. :guts:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
N7Paladin said:
I've been playing the Necromancer beta lately in Diablo 3. He's kind of fun.

...

"This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the Dark Side of the Force."

:farnese:

Salem said:
Horizon zero dawn completely surprised me. I'm only six hours in and can be confident in saying this might be the best open world game I've come across. Keep in mind robots aren't really my bag. For the few exclusives Sony has this one is going to the top.

I don't know, at this point it so happens their exclusives are the only ones I would really want to play, this one included (plus The Last Guardian, Bloodborne, Nioh off the top of my head). I can't think of anything on X-Box I care about, and BOTW/future Zeldas are the only Nintendo exclusives that even appear on my radar. A transcendent Mario game can change that of course, but if it's New Mario Bros Ad Nauseam (even in 3D) forget it.

Salem said:
Also replaying Code Veronica on dreamcast. Not aging gracefully and my oh my has dialogue evolved. :isidro:
Walter said:
To be fair, the dialogue in that game was ALWAYS bad. :guts:

Yeah, Jesus, how's the preening, cross-dressing brother that laughs like Hall & Oates from Yacht Rock aged? :carcus:

Coincidentally, I fired up REmake HD last night, which led to me showing my wife videos of the joyously awful opening and voice acting throughout the original game. Now that's only gotten BETTER with age! :ganishka:
 
Lmao, true true. I just didn't have my inner critic back then. That Feldman sound alike is truly cringe worthy.

Bloodborne, Nioh, uncharted 4 also great. Let's not forget lords of the fallen. :ganishka: Zelda is one I want to dive into. Even if Ninetendo doesn't offer a few exclusives any time soon I could just get a switch for my daughter.... :slan:
 
Been playing Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir. I played the original about eight years ago on the PS2, and while it had some decent ideas, its combat mechanics were pretty cumbersome, the whole thing was grossly repetitive in how you kept on running through the same levels and fighting the same bosses over and over again, and it ran on far longer than it had any right to. This new version is...still repetitive and could have benefited from some serious pruning, but the combat is a hell of a lot better now, and feels more like a 2D Devil May Cry, which can make up for some of its deficits. And it's goddamn gorgeous in HD.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Recently beat the first Nier after having it sitting around for years and then Nier Automata the sequel. Really enjoyed both a ton, especially the music. The way Nier blended gameplay mechanics/genres was cool but clunky at times and Nier:A greatly improved on that, thanks to Platinum developing the combat this time around, but was a bit too easy. Overall though they're both really worth playing and probably some of my favorites of their respective console generations.

Also started Persona 5 and just beat the first dungeon. The UI is so perfect, one of the coolest I've seen in any game and I love all the little extra mechanics they added to dungeon crawling. It makes things a lot less tedious than P3/4 and is a great step forward for the series(as it should be almost a decade after Persona 4).

I have tons of stuff on the backburner and that I need to start. Breath of the Wild(really want to get into this but Persona 5 is already a 100+ hour game so fuck), Yakuza 0, Dark Souls 3 DLC, Bloodborne, Final Fantasy XV, and FFXIV's new expansion is coming soon. Not to mention I wanna play Nioh, and The Last Guardian, which I was about to receive as a gift from my family before somebody robbed my old house and stole my gift cards/valuable gifts leaving me only with new slippers for xmas from my family. :judo:

The past few months have left me with way too much to play, which is a blessing and a curse.
 
Dar Klink said:
Recently beat the first Nier after having it sitting around for years and then Nier Automata the sequel. Really enjoyed both a ton, especially the music. The way Nier blended gameplay mechanics/genres was cool but clunky at times and Nier:A greatly improved on that, thanks to Platinum developing the combat this time around, but was a bit too easy. Overall though they're both really worth playing and probably some of my favorites of their respective console generations.

Now, by "beat," do you mean that you played through them once, or through all the requisite times needed to see all the endings? Because from what I understand (I haven't played either, though I do plan to pick up Automata, so correct me if I'm wrong), in order to get the full experience, you have to replay them multiple times. Something in the story changes each time, as does the ending, and the first Nier in particular is rather infamous for what its "final" ending does.

And sorry to hear you got robbed.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Dar Klink said:
Not to mention I wanna play Nioh, and The Last Guardian, which I was about to receive as a gift from my family before somebody robbed my old house and stole my gift cards/valuable gifts leaving me only with new slippers for xmas from my family. :judo:

Damn, that's a low blow! :sad:
 
Cyrus Jong said:
Now, by "beat," do you mean that you played through them once, or through all the requisite times needed to see all the endings? Because from what I understand (I haven't played either, though I do plan to pick up Automata, so correct me if I'm wrong), in order to get the full experience, you have to replay them multiple times. Something in the story changes each time, as does the ending, and the first Nier in particular is rather infamous for what its "final" ending does.

That's it. In both games you have to completed the story many times to get every endings. For example: finishing route A (your first playthrough) unlock route B and etc...
There are 5 real endings (on the total of 26 endings, each letter of the alphabet) in Nier: Automata. The last one can make you experience the same thing as in the last ending of the first Nier if you are not cautious... but at least you can avoid it this time.
Both are beautiful and unique games in many ways.
I really like the Nier series, but I have to admit that I prefer the Drag-on Dragoon/Drakengard one (I hope they are working on a new one).
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
DarKlink, welcome back!

Anyone who enjoyed Rogue Legacy, or even SotN, should check out Dead Cells on Steam. It's something of a combination of those games with Dark Souls.
 
I went back and beat DS3, and now im playing through ng+. Im at the cathedral where the deacon of the deep is and working my way there. i just need the dolly so i can go to irithyll.
 
Got a few of the Necromancer sets completed in the beta. I like the character, he has a lot of skills from Diablo 2 like Summon Skeletons (duh), Skeletal Mage, Golem, Bone Spear, and Corpse Explosion. I've probably got 35-40 hours on the character now, it's made D3 a bit refreshing.
 
N7Paladin said:
Got a few of the Necromancer sets completed in the beta. I like the character, he has a lot of skills from Diablo 2 like Summon Skeletons (duh), Skeletal Mage, Golem, Bone Spear, and Corpse Explosion. I've probably got 35-40 hours on the character now, it's made D3 a bit refreshing.

I'm sincerely surprised they added the Necro to the game. When they revealed the Witch Doctor as D3's pet mage and said they might add the Necro at a later date I figured it'd never happen.

I never played D3 so let me ask you something. Is D3's Necro better than the Witch Doctor?
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Cyrus Jong said:
Now, by "beat," do you mean that you played through them once, or through all the requisite times needed to see all the endings? Because from what I understand (I haven't played either, though I do plan to pick up Automata, so correct me if I'm wrong), in order to get the full experience, you have to replay them multiple times. Something in the story changes each time, as does the ending, and the first Nier in particular is rather infamous for what its "final" ending does.

And sorry to hear you got robbed.

Yeah, I got all (main) endings in both. A-D on Nier and A-E on Automata.
Bye bye Nier save data ;_;.
Dunno if I'll work through all 21 other joke ones for sure, maybe some day if I'm bored.

Also if anything everybody should experience the soundtracks for both games, they're spectacular.

Aazealh said:
Damn, that's a low blow! :sad:

Yeah... overall I'm glad all my important stuff was already in LA at that time so my game consoles, other games, TV, computer, etc were safe.

Walter said:
DarKlink, welcome back!

Shoot, I read the forum so often I forgot I haven't posted in a while :schnoz:
 
Skeleton said:
I'm sincerely surprised they added the Necro to the game. When they revealed the Witch Doctor as D3's pet mage and said they might add the Necro at a later date I figured it'd never happen.

I never played D3 so let me ask you something. Is D3's Necro better than the Witch Doctor?

As a former WD player, yes, I find the Necro to be a bit better mainly due to having the ability to order your pets to attack a specific target. I find him to be more enjoyable to play overall as well.

Diablo 2 Necro still reigns supreme though. :void:
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Still playing Dragon Quest VI, but I'm getting a little bored with it, so I started playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in order to take a break from the DQ series for a bit. I'm only a few minutes in, though. :serpico:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Alien: Isolation - Because it's probably better than any of the Alien movies released in the last 25 years? I don't know though because I just reached the station; haven't seen any alien(s) yet. Lovely recreation of the original's world though.

Johnstantine said:
Working my way through Dark Souls 3. I love how challenging this series is!

Oooh, where you at?
 
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