Your 2020 Gaming Diary

[Ronnie]

100%'d RiME last night. Ignore everything I said about performance issues, whilst still not great the game does improve a lot after the first chapter. Anyway, fantastic game. I'd almost go as far as saying better than Journey. An underrated gem, and a surprisingly touching story.

[Londragon]

[Lee Plays] TOKI (Part 3). The one where the final stage totally owns me.

[Aperson]

The "Your 2020 Gaming Dairy" thread seems to flow pretty well with Youtube Let's Plays lol.

 

I guess it makese sense, they are the game's we're playing after all

 

Here's the new episode of Prime 3 Corruption where Hyper Mode changes forever...

 

 

[Londragon]

Fourth and final Part of TOKI.  This time I take my sweet revenge on Stage 6 and pleasure in the fall of Vookimedlo.

 

[Aperson]

Oh boy, this episode was an absolute pain to put together... there were a few technical issues with it that prevented me from getting things sorted sooner but eventually I managed to come up with a nifty solution...

Also it's time for the best song in this game:

 

That title works surprisingly well...

 

Meanwhile I've stalled a bit on Xenoblade Future Connected as I need to grind a bit more to be able to survive a certain cave. I was stuck on the boss beforehand for quite some time. I think I will need to grind to Level 74 for a bit or something.

[Glen-i]

2 hours ago, GenericAperson said:

Meanwhile I've stalled a bit on Xenoblade Future Connected as I need to grind a bit more to be able to survive a certain cave. I was stuck on the boss beforehand for quite some time. I think I will need to grind to Level 74 for a bit or something.

Are you utilising Expert Mode? Lowering your level raises the EXP you get from enemies. Dropping your level  and fighting enemies near the last area can make things go a lot quicker.

Level 78 should be the minimum you aim for before doing that particular cave I think you may be alluding to.

[nekunando]

 

[Dcubed]

I like Flingsmash...

Sure, it's not the greatest game ever made, but it's a decently fun little romp with a genuinely novel play mechanic.

Just gotta make sure that you don't jerk back before you swing.  The main reason why people have trouble with the controls in this game is because people jerk back too hard when they're winding up for a swing (making the game detect their wind up as an actual swing and the character ends up going backwards as a result).  There's nothing wrong with the game's controls, it's purely player error.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Dcubed

[Aperson]

21 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Are you utilising Expert Mode? Lowering your level raises the EXP you get from enemies. Dropping your level  and fighting enemies near the last area can make things go a lot quicker.

Level 78 should be the minimum you aim for before doing that particular cave I think you may be alluding to.

I think you're talking about a different cave. I was struggling to get past some Level 72 Spiders lol.

 

Past that point now so all I have to do is the final boss. Along with trying to get all the Ponspectors, I have about 9 of them now but one of the quest monsters has a Level 77 monster right next to it. Because of course it does...

 

Prime 3 LP recording is continuing meanwhile and I think I've got a handle on how to avoid recording corrupted files. Here's Part 10 where one upgrade leads to another, one we're going to need for the mission...

 

 

Estimate that it will be Part 13 by the time I finish Bryyo.

[Jonnas]

So, after a bunch of busy weeks, I should probably make a massive update with my latest few games:

Infliction: Extended Cut

Wholesome game

Released a few weeks ago, Infliction is a short Horror game. If you click that picture to examine it (much like in the game itself), you will be taken to the review I wrote for the site.

So please, click that handsome lady.

Bravely Default

Bradley Renault

A few months ago I posted the following question:

On 19/01/2020 at 11:25 PM, Jonnas said:

I'm going to do something unconventional here. I don't know which game from my physical backlog should I start with (I know it should be an RPG), so I'm going to ask you guys in this thread if you can help me choose:

• Should I ring a bell when you're in the dark, and play Tales of Vesperia? All of this Smash newcomer hype makes me think of Lloyd Irving, and it's kinda making me itch to play some Tales;
• Should I go to class when they ring a bell and play Fire Emblem: Three Houses? I started it, but ended up dropping it due to unexpected circumstances. Also, Smash fans keep talking about it for some reason I totally know about;
• Should I play as a bloke called Ringabel in Bravely Default? I keep wanting to start it, but other big games get in the way.

I won't divide my attention between them, but I can only do one. Which one do you recommend, wise people of N-Europe?

Fire Emblem won the recommendation, but that game is also super long. I've been playing it, but savouring it very slowly.

Meanwhile, a demo for Bravely Default II was released, and I played it, and I quite liked what I saw. So I also ended up starting the first game, and playing it all the way through, sidequests and all (for a long time too, according to the in-game clock. More than 100 hours? Dang). Now, this shouldn't be news. I was posting my impressions in the BD thread for a good while now, so feel free to check them in case you want my general reactions to it. I'm here to do a mini-review.

First things first, this game takes heavy inspiration from Final Fantasy V. This means a fairly standard adventure with a team of four, where the real appeal is in the versatile and extensive job system. I quite liked FFV's job system and lighthearted story, so I was in the right mindset.

I can say that the job system lives up to FFV and then some. Seems everybody was doing something distinct with their respective parties, and everybody was having fun and finding success with different team compositions. I probably spent a third of my time playing this just messing around the menus and fine-tuning my characters' equipment, skills, and jobs. There was always something new to try, new setups that revealed something new, always a combo to do. At one point, a party member went from healer to my biggest damage dealer (with just one simple trick), and that little moment just encapsulates what I like about this system. Really rewards your decisions and your creativity.

The overworld exploration is not as impressive. Towns are pretty basic, so's the world map, and the game doesn't reward exploration much. In fact, the map always marks your next objective (read: the place where the next plot cutscene will happen) and your optional quests (the important ones, at least). Puts a damper in finding these at my own pace, or getting lost, or getting surprised by a boss. Makes the whole game feel too rigid, and that's not what an adventure should feel like.

Dungeons are simply dreadful, being just a collection of corridors with predictable designs (the only interesting part are the hazards, which force you to either be careful, or waste a skill slot). My hopes were up when a dungeon actually asked me to do some thinking when turning specific switches, but that dungeon really was the only one with anything resembling an interesting puzzle or gimmick.

The music is out of this world. I knew going in that Revo/Linked Horizon (of "Attack on Titan openings" fame) were responsible for the soundtrack, but dear lord, so good! Main theme, town themes, battle themes... It's all excellent! The individual tracks, the cameos and callbacks, the progression... Heck, the music in the world map takes into account the day&night cycle, and that's why the music changes when you pause there (but not in towns). I think it's fair to say the music and its respective use are sublime, and polished beyond belief.

The art style is alright. The pre-rendered backgrounds look really good, and the character designs are quite competent (designed by Akihiko Yoshida, of FF Tactics and Nier Automata fame). Yoshida's art style was well replicated in-game, including his love for thighs- I mean, his colourful and dynamic costumes that invariably highlight women's legs- I mean, his storybook style with soft faces, thin arms, and strong, juicy flanks- Look, the man likes thighs, ok?

More to the point, the various job costumes look really good for the most part. They're original, mostly distinct from Final Fantasy, they look apropriate, and I only wish they looked more unique per character (for example, in FFV, the berserker costume could look like a barbarian or a kitty onesie, depending on who was wearing it. Here, there's a male and a female variant, and that's it).

But it's time we talked story... It's a fairly standard trip to save the world, but it gets very complicated in the end, maybe more than it should. There's an in-game encyclopedia called "D's Diary" that hints at some of these twists, and gives a lot of lore to... everything, from the cities, to the characters, to the items and equipment you pick up along the way (there's an entire long-lost country that's never mentioned in-game, but comes up frequently in these item descriptions). To be honest, I loved the diary, I love looking into the nitty-gritty like this, especially when the game allows me to do it at my own pace (and is optional, to boot). My main issue is that the plot is super linear, and reading D's Diary doesn't really influence anything you can do (the info there gets brought up when the game wants to, and is superfluous otherwise). More could've been done.

A common criticism of BD is that the pace slows down to a crawl near the end. I think it's more complicated than that, because the sequence of events during that part is actually fairly quick and straightforward (and there are QoL features, like turning off random encounters, that make it even more trivial), just a bit repetitive. The real issue is that the game throws a bunch of new sidequests and boss battles at you, and not only does the plot nudges you to do them, it tells you they're temporary. In reality, they're actually mostly useless and unfulfilling (only the ones that pop up near the end are worth doing), which leads to the massive downtime players experience. The story here is also longer than it needs to be, and the way you unlock the true ending is bizarre.

On the other hand, the light-hearted moments are pretty good, but the serious moments are undermined by the chibified models, and some of the late game events. But the optional quests are cool, and have that episodic nature you want in an adventure. But the main quest suffers as a result, because it's not as good (they could've mixed the sidequests into the main plot, not sure why they wanted everything so rigidly structured and separate). There are some strong themes and elements to the lore and writing, but they're not consistent throughout the game.

BD's writing and plot are just very inconsistent, like it was written by too many cooks (ironically not a job in this game). The characters are endearing at least, but paying attention to the whole picture feels like a schizophrenic endeavour.

Job System.....5/5
Exploration.....1/5
Music..............6/5
Story...............2/5
Thighs............4/5

After Braggedly Defacing this game, I can say it's a strong move in the right direction when it comes to traditional JRPGs. It's a game of very high heights and very low nadirs, but I'm confident future games in the series can only get better. I won't pick up Bravely Second just yet, but I eagerly await Bravely Default II.

After this massive game, I needed something smaller. Good thing too, since my busy few weeks started around that time, so small games suit me just fine. MyNintendo had my back with a discount on...

Super Mario Land 2

Did we really need that subtitle?

Fun fact: I lost my original cartridge two decades ago, and never dared to play it since (not even on an emulator). Until now.

It's still the game I remembered, with creative enemies and levels that easily surpass what we've seen from the plumber since. Ever seen that shark with boxing gloves in a recent Mario game? Didn't think so. Wario also debuted in this game, and "a new villain" is also something that modern outings lack.

It does feel slower than what I remembered, and it's hard to say if this is my memory playing tricks on me, or just the 3DS d-pad being less precise.

...I'm also just now noticing that this game is about Mario wanting his Mario Castle, located in Mario Land, which contains a Mario Zone, literally a giant Mario-shaped fortress. This is where he lives? I think Mario is a narcissist - or at least he was, before kicking the Alleyway brick-breaking habit - which could have some intriguing lore implications. There's also the fact that the level closest to the Big Mario's crotch is...

Creativity........5/5
Level Design..4/5
Spin Jump......5/5
Length...........2/5

...full of balls, and that's just a smidge uncomfortable. Oh, right. This is a pretty cool game that holds up.

Pokémon Puzzle Challenge

Shoulda been called "Panel de Pokémon"

Another MyNintendo discount, now this is one I never played back in the day. So I tried it and...

...not a fan. Sorry. I thought this would be like Puyo Puyo, but no. Can't wrap my head around the all-horizontal swapping, can't see the combos before they happen, had a lot of difficulty with puzzle mode.

I appreciate the Gold&Silver aesthetic, complete with cool remixes (using the GBC soundchip, no less), so it's a shame I didn't like it more. I beat the Line Clear mode and the Gym mode (up to Karen, didn't face Lance), and I was done with it.

Gameplay...2/5
Music..........4/5
Variety........3/5

With this game, I learned I don't like Panel de Pon. I gave it a chance, but it's not for me. For those who do like it, I'm sure Pokémon Puzzle Challenge is a solid puzzle game with plenty of fun modes.

  My 2020 log (Hide contents)

Played/Beat/Completed:

-Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (2018) Completed (January 13th)

-Mr.Driller: Drill Spirits (2004) Beat (January 30th)

-Dragon Ball Fighterz (2018) Beat (February 22nd)

-Advance Wars: Dark Conflict (2008) Completed (February 25th)

-Capcom Beat'em Up Bundle (2018) No Goal (March 13th)

-Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2008) Completed (March 23rd)

-Kirby's Pinball Land (1993) Completed (March 28th)

-Pikuniku (2019) Beat (March 31st)

-Ori and the Blind Forest (2015) Completed (April 18th)

-Atomicrops (2020) Beat (May 24th)

-Infliction: Extended Cut (2020) Beat (June 28th)

-Bravely Default (2013) Beat (June 28th)

-Super Mario Land 2 (1992) Completed (July 13th)

-Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (2000) Beat (July 19th)

 

Currently Playing:

-Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)

 

[Londragon]

A little 16-Player (2 of us, 14 CPU) 3-Stock Tourney we did this weekend.  Just to show my inadequacies compared to my son.

 

[Londragon]

Pushing the missions along a bit further in Borderlands: GOTY Edition (Part 5).

 

And if anyone is interested in seeing what Friday the 13th: The Game is like. This video pretty much encompasses the basics of how to be a survivor. Weapons, traps, locking doors, dying, whoops.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Londragon

[Aperson]

On 7/20/2020 at 2:40 AM, Londragon said:

A little 16-Player (2 of us, 14 CPU) 3-Stock Tourney we did this weekend.  Just to show my inadequacies compared to my son.

 

Well, you know what they say, the sooner you are introduced to video games in life the quicker it becomes to adapt  Especially in the modern age.

 

Then again, Cloud is a pretty good character so maybe that's why

 

Anyway, after a day's break the Prime 3 LP returns with a boss battle.

 

 

We also finally get to work on destroying the generators and really making progress into our mission to save planet Bryyo. The second generator will be destroyed next episode and then we take care of the entire planet's Phazon problem. Simples.

[Scratch]

Since I finished everything in the Isle of Armor (well, except completing all the different kinds of Restricted Battles), I've been playing the recently dropped Halo 3 for PC on Legendary. So glad it's finally on PC. xD

I've also started a YouTube Walkthrough of it, if anyone would like to check it out! I'm also at an amazingly high 27 subscribers right now xD, so if anyone can help me get to 30 (nice round number) i'd be greatly appreciated!

Edited July 23, 2020 by Sckewi
Re-uploaded video - updated URL

[Nicktendo]

22 minutes ago, Sckewi said:

Since I finished everything in the Isle of Armor (well, except completing all the different kinds of Restricted Battles), I've been playing the recently dropped Halo 3 for PC on Legendary. So glad it's finally on PC. xD

I've also started a YouTube Walkthrough of it, if anyone would like to check it out! I'm also at an amazingly high 27 subscribers right now xD, so if anyone can help me get to 30 (nice round number) i'd be greatly appreciated!

Yeah so I really suck at Halo 

This is great, thanks for sharing. When I eventually get around to playing Halo 3, this will come in handy. 

[Aperson]

23 hours ago, Sckewi said:

Since I finished everything in the Isle of Armor (well, except completing all the different kinds of Restricted Battles), I've been playing the recently dropped Halo 3 for PC on Legendary. So glad it's finally on PC. xD

I've also started a YouTube Walkthrough of it, if anyone would like to check it out! I'm also at an amazingly high 27 subscribers right now xD, so if anyone can help me get to 30 (nice round number) i'd be greatly appreciated!

This thread should be renamed to "Your 2020 Gaming Diary and Youtube Let's Plays" lol.

 

Also, Metroid Prime 3 and Halo 3 playthroughs on Youtube channels on here, it's like 2007 all over again. All we need now is for someone to do Bioshock and Modern Warfare and the late 2007 shooter lineup is complete!

 

Speaking of shooters from 2007, here's the most annoying part of Prime 3 in my opinion.

 

 

I never managed to beat this part on Hypermode, it was SO hard. Then the boss after this one is the hardest in the game. This is a real difficulty spike in Prime 3.

 

Btw, any way I can find somewhere else to share this LP? Been working on it quite a bit but it seems like I'm not doing a very good job of spreading it's awareness. Might try and find some Nintendo Discords out there.

Edited July 22, 2020 by GenericAperson

[Scratch]

It's sure tough finding places to advertise. Even the main reddit group for let's plays doesn't allow advertising let's plays! What's that all about lol. xD

I've had a little bit of luck posting on a few let's play groups on Facebook, and when I did my old Crash playthrough I posted on a few Crash groups.

Hope that's of some help.  I've also subscribed to your channel, I look forward to seeing more of your videos!

[Londragon]

[Lee Plays] What Remains of Edith Finch (Part 2)

Old Nintendo Gamer presses on through the house, Edie’s Room, Calvin’s Room, and finally Barbara’s Room.

 

Got my first Copyright Claim on this video.  About 17 minutes in there's a 30 second snippet from John Carpernter's Halloween.  John wants all the money from this video because of it, greedy bastard, plus that equates to zero.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Londragon

[Scratch]

Hmmm interesting and unique game, I'd not heard of it until now. Anyways great video! I've liked and subscribed to your channel too.  

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Sckewi

[drahkon]

Started playing Final Fantasy VIII.

Funny how I remember almost nothing. Then again, the last time I played it was probably more than 15 years ago and I never finished the game.

The draw/junction/GF/card system is pretty much perfect for me. I'm gonna break the shit out of this one

[Aperson]

17 hours ago, Londragon said:

 

Got my first Copyright Claim on this video.  About 17 minutes in there's a 30 second snippet from John Carpernter's Halloween.  John wants all the money from this video because of it, greedy bastard, plus that equates to zero.

Ouch. That's really annoying especially in games where said music was allowed to feature in such a game.

17 hours ago, Sckewi said:

It's sure tough finding places to advertise. Even the main reddit group for let's plays doesn't allow advertising let's plays! What's that all about lol. xD

Lol, typical Reddit.

[Nicktendo]

Finished Halo: Reach this evening.

Having only finished the first one almost 20 years ago, I loved this game. Gone are the endless corridors and repeated levels (except for one section) and there are a couple of really cool surprises mid-game that I really wasn't expecting! A much tighter experience than the original with more of an emphasis on certain set pieces rather than just wave after wave of the same enemies. Each level throws something new at you and the added abilities, while I'm not a fan in multiplayer, really add something to the campaign and allow you to change tactics on the fly. The sense of scale is just as grand as the original, and even though you don't play as the Master Chief, I thought this prequel added something to the overall story of the first. 

Obviously I haven't paid any attention to Halo in the past 10+ years so had no idea what to expect with this game. I went in completely blind and had an excellent time with it. Around 10 hours to finish the campaign, which I think was the perfect length. I'm already close to the end of the original as I've been playing both these games simultaneously, but I'm looking forward to the other games after this one. I've only ever done the first level or two from the second and third and this one really picked up around the 3-4 hour mark, so hoping the others do too. I remember being fairly disappointed by the early campaigns in both back in the day. 

[Glen-i]

Yes, we got 13 hearts and the Giant's Wallet before getting Saria's Song...

Last week, @Dcubed and I finished a playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Except it was a randomiser, which more than complicated matters.
For those of you who aren't aware, the Ocarina of Time randomiser takes every item and puts them in random places throughout the game, including chests and cutscenes that get you items (For example, leaving Kokiri Forest counts as getting an item, because that's how you normally get the Fairy Ocarina). What this results in is a desparate scavenger hunt throughout all of Hyrule, hoping that you find the right item to be able to enter a new area or dungeon and find more items in an attempt to finish the 5 dungeons that have medallions (Also randomised) in them so you can enter Ganon's Castle and reach the credits.

Because you don't know where anything is, doing the most simple of tasks becomes a herculean effort. It's not just the important items that get randomised, all the crappy items you don't really need are out there as well. Opening a chest hoping for something useful only to get another 5 rupees is heartbreaking in a hilarious sort of way.

The great thing about this is how customisable it is. Some of the options @Dcubed set were:

• Keysanity - Every Small Key in the game is put in a random place, even outside of the dungeon it is used in.
• Shopsanity - Every shop has 4 items from the chest pool. This includes items like the Megaton Hammer or Lens of Truth, better hope you find those wallets fast.
• Business Scrub Madness - Every Business Scrub has an item from the item pool that they sell for 10 rupees. It's a mystery until you buy it.
• Random Songs - Every Ocarina song consists of random note layouts, warp songs are more complicated than the first 6.
• Master Quest Mystery - Each dungeon has a 50% chance of being the more difficult Master Quest version.

That's great and all, but we STILL HAVEN'T GOT THE KOKIRI SWORD!

As you can imagine, this is nothing short of hilarity! We went through almost the entire game without finding the Kokiri Sword. That meant we couldn't even get into the Deku Tree! Just to hammer the point home, the last 2 dungeons we did were the Deku Tree and Jabu's Jabu's Belly. Jabu had the Light Medallion, which was the last one we needed and we went into Ganon's Castle, desperately hoping that the Golden Gauntlets were there so we could finish it.
No dice there, until I suddenly remembered about the hidden Lens of Truth room in the main room in Ganon's Castle. It had 4 business scrubs! You've never seen anyone so happy to find business scrubs, and through sheer luck, one of them sold us the Golden Gauntlets, which let us finish the game. (We already had the Light Arrows, naturally before we even had a Bow)

Other highlights involved us going through most of the Master Quest Water Temple (Without Iron Boots, we were desperate), only to find that we needed Din's Fire... That's half an hour we're never getting back.
Finding a room with 7 chests, getting 3 Pieces of Heart and a Heart Container, and then moaning about it because it's not what we wanted.
Finishing the child section of the Spirit Temple with no sword, I beat the Iron Knuckle by chucking 18 bombs at it. The chest at the end just had a single Deku Stick...
Trying to navigate the Bottom of the Well with no Lens of Truth is not fun. That dungeon already sucks without that nonsense complicating matters.
Finishing the timed section of the adult trading quest without Epona by copious usage of walking backwards.

You would not believe how much this item blockaded us throughout the playthrough.

Did you know that if you don't move King Zora when you're a kid, he won't have moved even if you become an adult? We couldn't get into the Ice Cavern for ages! We actually had to buy Blue Fire! Who does that!? 

There were a few times where we had to resort to a guide to help progress. My memory for games is good, but even I can't remember where all those random grottos are.
But anyway, this is a great randomiser to help spice up your Ocarina of Time playthrough. Especially the random Ice Traps that shout "YOU ARE A FOOL!"
Random Songs was probably a mistake though...

Also, this edit is really funny.

Edited July 24, 2020 by Glen-i

[Londragon]

[Lee Plays] What Remains of Edith Finch (Part 3)

 

Old Nintendo Gamer explores some more. The basement comes into consideration, and it leads to outside the house and the graveyard.

 

[Dcubed]

@Glen-i I was just amazed that we actually got something that wasn’t complete garbage when we finished the trading quest! (We got the Silver Gauntlets; which we REALLY needed at the time!).

Beating Dodongo’s Cavern as Adult Link was a good laugh as well (ironically we couldn’t do much else after we found the Ocarina of Time!).  Oh, and don’t forget how we cheesed the second Dampe race as well! (The Pause Timer Trick, look it up!); too bad we only got 5 rupees for our trouble 

BTW, special shout out to the wonderful little feature that the Randomiser pulls in from OoT3D... the ability to quick swap boots using the d-pad! A godsend to be sure! (As is the permanent mapping of the Ocarina to D-pad Down; very much appreciated!  )