darksnowman

Saw the option but steered clear as I was by no means feeling an expert.

Yeah, when you go to a new area you reap a decent amount of exp to help with boosting up to the next level cap. After that, it's back to a drip feed. It was only right at the end I stopped doing quests. For the duration, I'd surrendered myself to doing as many as I came across. It was plenty of busy work and if you're at a level cap, the exp rewards don't make a dent. I would have done more with the Colony 6 restoration project if it was integrated with the map like other quests. Yesterday in fact I was checking through the menus for a run button. I also kept thinking vehicles would be useful. There are vehicles in the game, it's a real pity you never get any of them. If having an airship equivalent for full-map traversal wasn't feasible, you could still have a speedboat in your home area, a motorbike in the Gaur Plains, one of those flying things for use around the Aeryth Sea, etc ctc. I was determined to get through 1+2 (and the bonus content) in time for 3. How naive I was. On the Wii and this time around, it had its hooks in me from the word go but lost me as the hours ticked by. On the plus side, I didn't put it to bed on the Wii which is now done. I'll have to check into 2 now to see what the differences are.

The demo has made me want Chrono Trigger and Earthbound done in this style (with voice acting).

Went back and saw it out. I think Xenoblade's a great game and deserves all the acclaim it gets. The scale of the locations, the look, the music. Top-notch. Especially when you keep in mind it's a Wii game with a fresh lick of paint. For me though? It took somewhere approaching 90 hours and imo, this game (or probably any single-player game) in no way justifies this. The level capping wasn't a feature I thought brought any good to the game. Almost 90 hours and I finished with levels in the 70s. That's less than a level per hour and I was battling and questing for exp like billy-o. This game just does not reward the time you put into it, and properly hamstrings you with the level capping for each new section. And this is a game that would have you believe it's lean and streamlined--fast travel, you can change the time whenever you want, quests complete as you go, you get exp for quests and exploration. Imagine what it'd be like without these timesavers. I think it was the boss at the top of Algnaritha where I gave in and dropped it to casual. No regrets. Doubt I would have been able to push through otherwise. As I said in previous posts, my level was always on par with general enemies and bosses.... and would have been ahead if the game allowed. All the way up through the final areas I had no problem with normal baddies--I switched off casual again when I wasn't struggling against a boss--but it got to be like every other boss I came up against was wiping the floor with me. I just kept the tri-attack bar on standby for reviving during battle (since there are no items) and tried to finish fights as quickly as possible before I'd used it up. Worked no problem in battles against e.g. the generator, the telepathias, I was defeating behemoths for fun. Did not work well against Yarlbroath and others. Even in the finale, I'd no problem with the spirit gauntlet, then had difficulties with the final encounter. It was hot and cold, and other than when it was spike damage, I didn't understand what the game expected from me. Three things I would have changed: 1) remove or raise the level caps and 2) add items like Xeno potions and phoenix down variants. I have to think they looked at this and opted against it as they thought they'd crafted a game that works as-is. Sadly for me, when push came to shove, I had no answers. 3) There's got to be a way to make it half the length without compromising the sense of scale. Onwards to Future Perfect then... hope it's as short as it's meant to be.

Almost any other time of the day but why'd you have to post this in the morning. I've near choked on my coffee here. Amazing. Dying. If H-o-T goes quiet this weekend, best leave him to it.

Finished. This is a really good game. Charm galore. It seems like they poured plenty of work into it--from getting the paper and origami aesthetic right (Nintendo excels at this kind of thing, don't they?), to each new area/ chapter being distinct from the last in both looks and how the objectives play out, and of course, the dialogue's brimming with comedy and feeling... and I won't even start on the music. So good. The ending was lovely too. For a second I thought it was going to be "and may none of this have ever happened" yet it resolved in a different way that was touching and heartfelt and surprisingly understated. Really good game. But not great. Like most, I think it needed levelling. Or maybe just no field battles? It's like the game doesn't know what it wants to be. If they're adamant about keeping levelling out of it, perhaps it would have been enough then for just the bosses and mini-bosses to be ring battles. I started out with the best of intentions but normal battles ended up sapping my will to go on. People say the patterns are easy to spot after a while. I just paid the Toads to line it up when I couldn't be bothered. It wasn't very riveting. Boss battles don't get a total pass either as I thought they outstayed their welcome by a turn or so. Might not sound like much, but once you trial and error it to figure out what to do, you're ready for a speedy victory once you understand it. Thing is, even when you've figured it out you still have to set things up by hitting an ON switch or getting to a chest or some kind of prep with the boss to set up the turn in which you'll go for the massive damage dealing attack. When I knew what to do, I just wanted it to be a case of wham, bam, thank you ma'am and move on. Another thing that got to me was the OHKOs in the latter stages--both in boss fights and on the map. Out of nowhere, from full health, I kept seeing the game over screen. Brutal. It didn't seem in keeping with the rest of the game. So for everything it does so well, there are aspects like these that hold TOK back from greatness, imo. Hopefully the next one has the x-factor lacking here. Here's a tune anyway.

What am I doing. I can't even pretend I'm shocked. At least you did the right thing and joined in for Kirby and the Forgotten Lands. Loving the midyear charts. I've been having a pretty decent year on the gaming front. Here're some highlights: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore The Last Campfire Hotshot Racing Inside Limbo FAR Lone Sails Bastion Gris Kirby and the Forgotten Land Axiom Verge 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Child of Light Valiant Hearts Resident Evil 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is my GotY so far. It's gonna take something special to displace it. Could end up being a dingdong battle between it and Persona 5 Royal come the years end. Looking forward to seeing how Splatoon 3 turns out as well.

Was just about to say as they mention it on the Treehouse. Looking forward to giving it a go. Save data transferring over is a real boon with RPG demos.

Treehouse! Looks super.

Been wanting to take that prequel to Persona 5 Strikers for a spin! Any news/ confirmation on physical release? I take nothing for granted anymore.

P3P, P4G and P5R. Looks like the long game I've been playing is going to pay off after all these years. I'll take all three, thanks! Nier is supposed to be good, isn't it? Might have to look into it. Gonna need more info on DQ Treasures too.

Shin-chan is stinkin. This can be its only saving grace.

Nice to see you're keeping Onatopp of things. Remember when DK mode was all the rage? ISS 64 and/or 98 had a big head mode cheat. Get them on the N64 NSO Konami! Symphony of the Night would be good too. Getting that out of the way so we can focus on the incoming Rabbids platformer and Splinter Cell trilogy.

I'll take em! The hope that would give for Etrian Odyssey would be unbearable. Mate if I see a Pierce Brosnan or Natalya amiibo I will hunt you down.

Only a matter of time until Summer Games Done Fast falls prey to Summer Games Done Fest.

So this time tomorrow it'll all be over, eh. Think I'll have a look at what Persona spin-offs remain to make sure my expectations are in check.

Have to admit, I always thought this spoiler was a lie or at least something of a reach but I've picked things back up in the purple streamer area and now just reached the three trials and what can I say, I'm coming around to your way of thinking.

Haha, I particularly enjoyed the Nenji bit during the credits.

Checking this list and my appetite is far from whet: https://www.nintendo.com/third-party-partners/ Haha, I'm good with whatever. More power to them for doing something different to their usual June routine. With Red Dead Redemptsh apparently fair game, what about the table tennis game or Body Harvest? Would be nice to see some more stuff coming from S-E. I could whip up a list that they won't adhere to. I've regretted some Nintendo purchases on Switch which is a weird one for me. The Switch tax on third-party games is rotten--even when something's on sale, it's already been going for pennies elsewhere. I'm happy for Nintendo to do whatever works for them but it looks like that means they're going to be playing it safe until profits nosedive.

Glad to see Crisis Core make its way to a Nintendo console at last. I expected it to get the 3DS treatment but Switch will do nicely enough. Looking forward to it. Provided the trail hasn't gone too cold, I wouldn't mind getting back to FF VII on Switch and finishing that file off before CC comes around. Last thing I remember is stopping off to (unnecessarily) level up. Can't remember what point that was at.

Valiant Hearts was good puzzling from start to finish with cool musical action sections peppered in here and there (thankfully those car bits had good checkpointing! ). Character diaries and information about WW1 being readable in the menu made it all the more impactful to go through. Even in victory, the ending was hard-hitting. Good stuff and a nice double-pack. Would like to see more of these smaller games from big companies.

+ I've a sudden urge to fire up Asphalt 9.

Said to myself I'd get the next Fire Emblem--I expected them to be churned out faster--so it could well be this one so bring it or get Three Houses back in stock.

Did you see them at any of the German dates? #wotp