RedShell

Ouch! Sorry for messing up at the start there, got seriously lost while riding Rathian. This hunt be brutal.

Sure.

Oh cool! Thanks for the tip. Yeah, it is great how it helps everyone else out as well. I remember an online hunt in MHW when a really good Hunting Horn player responded to my SOS, suddenly my character was on steroids and seemingly invincible too! Maybe I'll make more of an effort to learn it in Rise. I definitely get the feeling this version of MH could be the one where I end up using lots of different weapon types, rather than sticking to just 1 or 2 like I normally do. The Wirebug has made many of them so much more fun to use!

So I did a bit more experimenting with all of the different weapon types. I hunted Great Izuchi with every single weapon and each time tried to follow the exact same path to the monster (yeah... it obviously didn't always work out ) then I took note of the time it took to clear the quest, here are the results: Oh- and I didn't use any of the additional supplies (bombs, traps, etc.) or environmental buffs for any of these hunts, they were all done using only the main weapon. Well, dog and cat assistance too I guess, but that was out of my control. Hunting Horn - 02:58 (WTF!? ) Light Bowgun - 03:30 Dual Blades - 04:31 Hammer - 04:35 Switch Axe - 04:47 Sword & Shield - 04:56 Charge Blade - 05:06 Long Sword - 05:14 Heavy Bowgun - 05:22 Bow - 05:34 Gunlance - 05:39 Insect Glaive - 05:50 Lance - 06:19 Great Sword - 06:40 (seriously, how do you use this thing!? ) OK so first things first, either the Hunting Horn in this demo is a way better quality/rank weapon than all of the other types, or I'm somehow a Hunting Horn natural. Either way, that was a big surprise to see it make the very best time as I have minimal experience with it. Hammer in 4th is also quite surprising but the truth is that was just a terrible run where literally everything went wrong. It's a shame there isn't an arena style quest in the demo, as that would've made this process slightly more scientific but it's still a pretty good indicator as to what weapon types might be best suited for me in this particular version of MH. Might have to do another few hunts with the top performers, especially Hunting Horn, to see if that was just a fluke. Luckily I have several profiles on my Switch, so lots of attempts left with the demo.

I don’t get on with gyro controls unfortunately, but gave them a quick go in the demo anyway. They’re certainly responsive on the default setting, too responsive even! Feels very similar to Splatoon 2, so I imagine that if you liked gyro aiming in that game you’ll probably be right at home with it in Rise too.

So I was planning to switch from Hammer to Insect Glaive in MH Rise, but it looks like I might be switching again... to Light Bowgun! Yeah, have spent most of my time in the v.2 demo using that, and it’s been great. It’s probably the closest you can get (in terms of gameplay at least) to ranged Prowler, so it actually feels pretty familiar to me as well. And it’s the weapon type that I’ve done the best with against Magnamalo so far (i.e. survived the longest against it ) which is also a good sign. Only annoying thing about it is having to use the R button for Wirebug moves in combat, which is a bit confusing/clumsy compared to the other weapon types, but should be able to get used to that with enough practice. Anyway, whichever weapon type I finally decide on using, I’m looking forward to some online N-E hunts once the game releases!

Ah, I wondered what was going on there.

To be fair, they have quite a few of those too (Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Yakuza etc.) you've just played 'em all already.

Wow, they finally did it: I'm going to take the credit for this one: Nintendo, feel free to use some of my other suggestions, yeah.

Oh yeah, good point.

Yeah, the SOS Flares in MHW made the hub method of setting up online games pretty much pointless, so it's great to see it return in this version, albeit as the rather less exciting sounding "Join Requests". Anyway, I think it's going to be quite impossible for me to resist getting the game on Switch at this point. Damn, you Capcom!

I haven’t, no. Will keep that in mind for a rainy day then.

I used to think exactly the same thing, until I played Sea of Thieves! Their story clearly isn’t over yet, I reckon Rare could be very much on the road to recovery actually. Guess we’ll have a better idea once Everwild arrives, but something tells me that SoT marks the start of a comeback.

Ah, that bittersweet moment of seeing a character you really want getting added to Smash via... Mii costume. I remember it well with Goemon.

Never heard of Cold Iron Studios before, so just checked out their history. Turns out this is a debut title for them! Here's hoping it'll be good.

What's this? A Switch game to add to my gaming diary!? Looks like it, as the credits finally rolled on Ring Fit Adventure!: Yeah, I really should play this much more often. Anyway, it's a fantastic game and you can undoubtedly get a great workout from it too, in that sense I think it's actually much more effective than any of Nintendo's previous sports/fitness titles. The final battle was also brilliant, I was absolutely knackered towards the end of it and in considerable amounts of pain but just couldn't stop grinning. Think I was level 170-ish by the end, but there are some people on my friend list that are at over 300! They're obviously doing new game+. Hopefully I'll also be able to find the motivation to continue playing this for a while yet. Games completed in 2021: Tetris Effect: Connected (PC) Doom Eternal (PC) Dragon Quest XI (PC) The Medium (PC) Yakuza 3 Remastered (PC) UnderMine (PC) Ring Fit Adventure (Switch)

Not saying those that aren't initially digging the new direction are wrong to be annoyed about it, but I will say this... back when Yakuza 7 (aka Yakuza: Like a Dragon) was revealed to be a turn-based RPG instead of the usual real-time brawler, I was not exactly over the moon about it. Fast forward to having actually played it, and it was one of the most enjoyable games in the entire series! So yeah, it's best to just wait and see how things pans out, the final product could surprise you. Plus, everyone should be far more concerned about Game Freak getting it running above 15 fps at this point. Maybe they should give Panic Button a call.

Where is Pokémon Sleep, dammit!

Yeah... This is clearly way too ambitious for Game Freak, I can't see it turning out very well unfortunately. But you never know, they might finally figure out optimization at some point before this releases.

Wonder if cross-play will be a thing (probably not). Although even if it was, I imagine most people playing on Switch would be finished with the game by the time the PC version arrives. It's definitely an annoying situation though as I'm hyped for the game, but I'd much prefer to play it on PC.

Damn, really not sure if I should get this on Switch or wait for the PC version... Hmm...

Nope, after 4 I picked up Yakuza Dead Souls (now there's a game that could do with a remaster!) and then I think I went through in the order the games were released, so... Yakuza 5, 0, Kiwami, 6 and Kiwami 2. By that point the idea of returning to the PS3 to play Yakuza 3 wasn't very appealing so it was a case of wait for a Kiwami 3 (which obviously never happened) or skip it. Then of course the remastered collection became a thing, and with that now being on Game Pass I finally had the perfect opportunity to play it.

A few more completed games to add to my diary, starting with... The Medium. At first I was really enjoying this game, it felt like a modern day version of the classic Resident Evil titles, but as time went on it became less and less enjoyable. I was expecting them to do some cool stuff with the split-screen mechanic (where you control the same character across two unique versions of the environment in real-time) but unfortunately it never really happened, the majority of the puzzles involving the split-screen were in fact pretty disappointing. There was basically no action in the game either apart from some stealth sections, but these were often infuriating due to it not always being clear exactly how to avoid detection, and failure would usually result in having to go through unskippable cutscenes/dialogue again. So yeah, the game certainly had potential, but ultimately it was a bit meh. Next up I turned to something that I knew wouldn't let me down, Yakuza 3! I was very pleased to see the remastered collection arrive on Game Pass, because having started playing the Yakuza series with the 4th game back on PS+, I'd never gotten around to actually playing 3. The original release of Yakuza 4 had an extensive catch-up mode though, so I was aware of what went down in Yakuza 3, it made playing through it now a weirdly nostalgic yet fresh experience. I think the main thing that struck me is the pacing of it, it really does take ages to get going! Having said that, I quite liked all the early game stuff involving the orphanage, it was surprisingly chilled-out and helps to showcase just what a great character Kiryu is. Speaking of which... Anyway, it was great to finally experience the events of Yakuza 3 first-hand, and the remaster was very good indeed. The increased resolution and frame rate on PC is awesome, the only downside is the FMV scenes I guess (which are heavily compressed and really showing their age at this point) but other than that it was spot-on. I have since downloaded Yakuza 4. Not sure if I'll replay the entire thing (probably not) but I definitely want to at least check out Akiyama's chapter again, mainly for the parts with Hana. And last up is UnderMine. This is a game that I'd been playing on and off for a while now, gradually chipping away at it. I'm not a huge fan of the roguelike genre, but this one got me hooked with it's charming presentation and enjoyable gameplay. There are many nods to the Legend of Zelda series in there too which also helped. I think the reason it took me so long to finish is mainly because I wasn't very good at it but also that I'd only ever play it in short bursts as it's a great pick up and play game. Although it did get slightly annoying about halfway through, when the cost of upgrades increased dramatically but obtaining/keeping enough gold to purchase them was tricky. Made it much more of a grind than it needed to be really. But yeah, I got there in the end. The same cannot be said for Cyber Shadow, which some of you may have noticed is missing from the list below, despite me mentioning it earlier in this thread. The truth is (and as I expected) I just wasn't able to stick with it. I get that they were going for punishing difficulty akin to the 8-Bit era, but in my opinion they took it too far. Or perhaps I'm just too old for it now. Either way, I simply didn't have the patience for it so decided to call it quits. Games completed in 2021: Tetris Effect: Connected Doom Eternal Dragon Quest XI The Medium Yakuza 3 Remastered UnderMine

Really? Was just going through the old thread on here and most peeps loved it, myself included: I think it's just because there are (or at least were, with the original version) some very obvious issues regarding the motion controls, which led to the game receiving more negative feedback than usual for a Zelda title.

Yeah, I just can’t stand that. It’s the same story with Animal Crossing and Isabelle waffling on when you start the game. The worst thing is that in both of those cases I don’t think it’s even masking a loading break or anything, it’s purely there as part of the presentation. How the devs didn’t realise that kind of thing would become super repetitive and tiresome after many hours of playtime I’ll never know!