Dcubed Posted March 27 Posted March 27 KBB is great! Very fun little score attack game (and a game that clearly laid the groundwork for Kirby & The Forgotten Land). Would love a sequel!
nekunando Posted March 29 Posted March 29 I've taken care of a couple more missions since taking this picture last night so I'd assume I'll be close to finishing it by the end of the week! I'm glad I waited until I was in the mood for it rather than just playing it for the sake of it on another occasion 🙂 I do find myself travelling directly to waypoints and skipping to destination whenever possible as there's no desire to spend 10 minutes riding across the country just to reach the next bit of gameplay. The dialogue is generally well done but I don't necessarily need to hear all the chatter between locations 😅 Like I say in the post above, I'd consider Red Dead Redemption 2 if it ever comes to a Nintendo platform. The thing is, I own it on PS4 so could easily just play it there if I really wanted to! My experience kinda makes me wonder if I need to give LA Noire another try, though it never drops below the £22.49 sale price every few weeks.
Hero-of-Time Posted March 29 Posted March 29 This was released last year but the game recently got an update that gave it trophies, which meant to had to be played. 😛 The last time I played this was back on the 360. I had a great time on it back then but sadly that hasn't been the case here. I enjoy the early Lego games due to their lack of open world stuff but this was still a slog to get 100%. You have to playthrough the Story mode, then through Freeplay mode, then through Super Story mode (six levels back to back x 3 times) and finally the Blue Minikit hunt. You are essentially going though each of the levels 4 times. It's very tedious. With this being one of the first licensed Lego games they still hadn't got the balance right with the stud multipliers. It takes an insane amount to buy the first couple, by which time you have pretty much finished the game. This means you have to essentially farm studs at the end of the game, instead of doing it as you play through the levels. One thing I was happy not to see return from the 360 version was the achievement for completing the Battle of Endor without the Falcon being destroyed once. This took me so long to do and so was thrilled that they left it out of this version. Yeah, not as good as I remember it being but I do love the Platinum trophy image. 2
Glen-i Posted March 29 Posted March 29 (edited) @Jonnas, @Nolan, the two of you are on notice... If I don't like these games, I'm siccing that Koraidon on you. You'll never be able to enjoy a sandwich ever again. Edited March 29 by Glen-i 1 2
Nolan Posted March 30 Posted March 30 @Glen-i Worth it even if you don’t enjoy the game (I think at least the story you shall). I am actually unbelievably happy someone is playing it after my random gushing about the game. For so long I had no one to talk to about it until I gifted it to my nephew on Steam after forcibly having him try the game on my steamdeck. I literally put in the gift message I was guilting him into playing lol. I really like the damn game. And the music (like a ton, like listen to it out of game). Hope you enjoy the game and also start harping on people to play a criminally overlooked game 2 1
Glen-i Posted March 30 Posted March 30 (edited) 1 hour ago, Nolan said: I am actually unbelievably happy someone is playing it after my random gushing about the game. For so long I had no one to talk to about it until I gifted it to my nephew on Steam after forcibly having him try the game on my steamdeck. I literally put in the gift message I was guilting him into playing lol. It's the second main reason I like these Gaming Diary threads. There's been more then a few games I've only tried because someone here sold me with a glowing post about it. The stars just happened to align, both of those games are now on sale on the eShop, and I had left over funds there from Christmas. But yeah, Cuphead, Gravity Circuit, and Suikoden are all examples of games I've discovered and enjoyed because of someone here randomly gushing about them. Still finishing up Suikoden II, so won't be jumping into these straight away. But I'll be sure to give you a heads up once I do. Edited March 30 by Glen-i 4
Jonnas Posted March 31 Posted March 31 On 3/30/2025 at 7:56 AM, Glen-i said: It's the second main reason I like these Gaming Diary threads. There's been more then a few games I've only tried because someone here sold me with a glowing post about it. The stars just happened to align, both of those games are now on sale on the eShop, and I had left over funds there from Christmas. But yeah, Cuphead, Gravity Circuit, and Suikoden are all examples of games I've discovered and enjoyed because of someone here randomly gushing about them. Still finishing up Suikoden II, so won't be jumping into these straight away. But I'll be sure to give you a heads up once I do. True that. The posts from this thread have a way of sticking in our minds. I swear, I still remember your old SMT IV post every time I look at my pledge. Thanks, Isabeau. On 3/29/2025 at 3:50 PM, Glen-i said: If I don't like these games, I'm siccing that Koraidon on you. You'll never be able to enjoy a sandwich ever again. I have enjoyed every sandwich I've eaten ever since you made this post. 3
Glen-i Posted Tuesday at 04:39 PM Posted Tuesday at 04:39 PM 17 hours ago, Jonnas said: I have enjoyed every sandwich I've eaten ever since you made this post. That's because I haven't started it yet. So my like of it is still "To be determined". Continue to enjoy your sandwiches... for now. 2
WackerJr Posted Tuesday at 06:03 PM Posted Tuesday at 06:03 PM I’m so confused by the sandwich talk… 😂 Storyteller (Mobile) I found this to be a charming little puzzler that feels a good fit in mobile (the caveat being the need for a Netflix account), but sadly stops just as it starts finding its stride. If you don’t know it, you’re tasked with filling in pages of a storybook by creating short ‘story mountains’ to correctly represent the story given by the brief title of the page. Each page has between 3 and 8 blank panels. You’re given a selection of 2-3 different scenes (e.g., “Wedding”, “Death”, “Cliff”, “Kidnap”) that you can drag into the blank panels and add to them a few characters from a small selection. The order of scenes and characters dictates how they react, and most pages were about figuring out how to create the right motives. For instance, the “Kidnap” scene has a cage and lever, so adding one character by the lever and another in the cage naturally causes one to become the ‘villain’ and raise the cage trapping the other. To rescue them you’d add the same panel again, but include your ‘hero’, who will now lower the cage, causing both characters to also be angry at the ‘villain’. The story may end there if the title just wanted you to show a rescue, but if the page hinted that you needed a story focused on revenge then adding an “Execution” panel would give a darkly different ending! Of course you could skip the rescue and simply add the “Throne” scene to see the ‘villain’ smugly get the crown instead! The stories are mostly familiar tales, with scenarios based on the likes of Snow White, Shakespeare and Adam & Eve. This helped with identifying what I needed to do (the Evil Queen, or “Witch” in this case, was naturally intent on ridding herself of Snow White “Snowy”). It had plenty of chucklesome moments, often seeing characters react to situations even if they weren’t the right answer, and the game rewards you for doing this by having an achievement system for creating those moments, although there’s no other reward other than sniggering at the various predicaments you’ve created. The whole thing is very short, I finished the main game within a couple of hours. Sometimes the solutions weren’t obvious, but I found it easy enough to ‘trial & error’ my way through the limited number of possible combinations. There is some short post-game content, plus finding all the stamps/ achievements took another couple of hours, mainly because the game doesn’t tell you what levels the non-solution scenarios are found in. (Spoiler of an early-game solution) Spoiler It was a little repetitive by its nature, but each puzzle being so short meant I could spend a few minutes here and there at a time, and I enjoyed the whole concept. It’s just a shame that there are only a few puzzles more than 6 panels long and it abruptly stops just as it gets more challenging. I hope that they expand on it in future, as I was rather charmed by it. Here’s my 70 seconds-long video review: https://youtu.be/3fnqBEKeC5Q?si=_uTFY-SHZy7EwKF2 1 2
Glen-i Posted Wednesday at 11:40 AM Posted Wednesday at 11:40 AM 17 hours ago, WackerJr said: I’m so confused by the sandwich talk… 😂 The question is rhetorical. You don't get to have the sandwich. 2
Glen-i Posted Friday at 10:13 AM Posted Friday at 10:13 AM Rift of the NecroDancer is a rhythm game developed by Brace Yourself Games. It originally came out on PC in Feburary, but then got a Switch port a month later, which I played. It's a sequel of sorts to the Rhythm/Roguelike mash-up, Crypt of the NecroDancer, but without the Roguelike stuff. Cadence is going on yet another attempt to reach the depths of the Crypt, when she finds a purple slime, not the colour you see there normally. Upon whacking it with her trusty shovel, it opens up a rift that transports her to a strange world. One that is completely like modern life. But there are more rifts opening up, and hordes of monsters are spilling through. It's up to Cadence, with her new previously-a-shovel guitar to use sick beats to drive them back and find a way back to her own world. The majority of this game plays similarly to Guitar Hero, but with better music. And also instead of notes, you have to hit enemies. That's the main difference. Enemies don't just move towards you in a straight pattern, they each have a different way of moving. Slimes move 1 space per beat and don't deviate, so they're the easiest to deal with. However, bats need to be hit twice, and after the first hit, they shift to the lane they're looking at. And they only get more complex from there, especially when floor traps start coming into play. The challenge comes from learning the enemy patterns and reacting to them accordingly. This is a lot harder then it sounds! Almost every song has a Shopkeeper variant, BTW. Which is just wonderful! There's also some alternative styles of Rhythm games, such as some minigames that heavily resemble Rhythm Paradise, and Boss Battles, which draw inspiration from Punch-Out of all things. There is a decent amount to do here for the price. There's even a mode that randomises the enemy layout. The music is excellent, well, it bloody well should be, being a rhythm game. But if you're at all familiar with the music style in Crypt, you should know what to expect. The visuals are really great too, very bouncy. If you like rhythm games, get this game. It's already a contender for GotY for me. Eh, I prefer the first game's box Suikoden II is the sequel to Suikoden (I know, I was shocked too). It's a turn-based RPG developed by Konami that originally released on the PlayStation in 2000. Apart from a PC release in China 3 years later, and a Japan-only PSP version, there has been no other re-releases. Until the HD Remaster that recently released on all modern platforms. I played that version, on the Switch. This game takes place 3 years after the first Suikoden. The game follows Riou, a member of the Youth Brigade in the Highland Army. Treachery is afoot, as said Youth Brigade is effectively wiped out by the same army they're part of. You see, certain people are looking to use that to spark a war between Highland and the neighbouring City States of Jowston. Riou and his best friend, Jowy, escape the self-inflicted massacre, and find themselves the newest owners of the Bright Shield Rune, and the Black Sword Rune, two halves of one of the 27 True Runes. This leads them on a journey to find the current 108 Stars of Destiny to help them stop Highland from spreading warfare across the continent. The plot is noticably more complex then the first game. It's quite impressive for the era it's from. I've seen more complex plots in RPG's, and I did see some of the twists coming, but it was still very enjoyable. Bugger! I left the GBA at home... The game plays pretty much the same as the first game. What the sequel does is make that gameplay far more streamlined and less clunky. The dungeons are a load more interesting, the economy doesn't force you to rely on exploiting a gambling minigame to make money (Good thing too, they nerfed the payouts there), and the Rune system is a lot more flexible and fun to experiment with. It all makes for a vastly better RPG. One of the things that are immediately obvious after playing the first game, is the increase in production values. Whether that comes to an increase in budget or having the experience of making an RPG in the bag is something I can't determine, but I'd bet it's both. Characters have actual idle animations in fights, there are far fewer palette swap party members, more intricate attack animations, and throughout the game, they are far more lively. The spritework is some of the best I've seen from a PS1 game. The HD remaster maintains those lovely sprites, and the redone backgrounds look great. Again, not on the levels of stuff like Octopath Traveler, but absolutely rock solid. Not to mention, the wide range of minigames you can play, there are even parts where you're dropped into a Fire Emblem-esque Strategy RPG battle. It's all very varied. The whack-a-mole game can go screw itself, though. And here I thought Yoshi's Final Smash was a Melee reference... I cracked up when that above image first happened, it was in the penultimate dungeon, and it caught me completely off guard! It still falls victim to PS1 RPG trappings, you're gonna need a guide if you plan on recruiting the 108 Stars of Destiny and seeing the best ending. And while the inventory system is far easier to manage then the first game, there's still room for improvement there. It's a product of it's time, so you're gonna have to go into this with that in mind. But all in all, this is one of the finest RPG's the PS1 has to offer. It is trivially easy to see why this became such a cult classic. The battle system is excellent, the music is wonderful, the characters are fun, and the plot is intriguing, and quite unique for a game released on the cusp of the millenium. Loved every second! @Julius is totally right. Suikoden II is a must play for any turn-based RPG fan. Anyway, enough about that. TREMBLE IN FEAR, @Jonnas, YOUR SANDWICH ARMAGEDDON IS NIGH! Freedom Planet 2 is a 2D Platformer developed by GalaxyTrail that released on the PC in 2022, before getting console ports in 2024. I played the Switch version. Lilac (Who still looks nothing like a dragon) gets her house completely totalled by a rampaging robot! I'm gonna assume insurance is not a thing on her home planet of Avalice, because she decides to exact extreme and harsh justice upon it in retribution. Lilac, along with her friends, Carol the cat, and Milla the dog, alongside new playable character, Neera the panda, soon find that nefarious robots are running havoc all over the planet. Which doesn't bode well, because the villain of the first game, Lord Brevon, got away at the end of that game. So Lilac and friends go to investigate. Is Brevon to blame? Or is something else lurking out-of-sight? And will Jonnas enjoy bread encased meals ever again? Before I get started, I want to remind you of my less-then-stellar time with the original Freedom Planet. It's why I didn't buy this game at launch. To put it shortly, the game had promising movement to it, and the levels were fun, but it was let down by the numerous boss battles that constantly spiked the difficulty to absurd levels. It was very cheap, and kinda ruined the game for me. Now, it has been almost 9 years since I played the original game, but I think I enjoyed the plot in this one more. It still has that Saturday Morning Cartoon vibe to it, but it does it very well, and I did get some legit laughs out of it. It's helped by the exemplary voice acting, and it not taking itself quite as seriously as the first outing. Seriously, that game had some proper tone whiplash issues. The sequel handles it a lot better. It still has it's serious moments, but it's not nearly as jarring. My stomach hurt a bit after that from laughing too hard. Also, shout out to the guy who voiced Serpentine, that is a guy who is having fun with his role. I never got sick of his manic laugh. Much like the first Freedom Planet, this game is heavily inspired by the Mega Drive Sonic games. I played as Lilac, who fills the "Speed" character slot, much like Sonic. Unlike Sonic, she isn't eclipsed by everyone else because she has actual options to reach high places, whether that be her floaty Dragon Cyclone, or Dragon Boost, which sends her hurtling forward or diagonally at ridiculously high speed. One thing that I prefer to Sonic games is that the majority of enemies don't actually hurt you if you merely touch them, you have to actually be hit by an attack to take damage, so no careening into unavoidable damage just because you want to go fast. There's also effectively no instant death traps, at least I never fell into any in my playthrough. But these are all things I praised the original game for, let's talk about the bosses. Taken on their own, I'd say they're about as difficult as the first game. And yet, that's not dreadful. You see, there are two key changes with this game that make boss fights far more reasonable. The first is the equippable charms, and potions. Throughout the game, you can find and purchase a variety of these, and you can use them to modify the difficulty. For example, the two I used the most was one that added a damage over time effect to my attacks, and one that lenghtened the invincibilty you get whenever you take damage. Potions work in a similar way except you can stack a single one up to 5 times for a more potent effect, or mix and match for multiple, but less potent effects. This allows you to modulate the difficulty to your liking. However, if you use a charm that makes the game easier, you get less currency and a lower rank at the end of levels. On the flipside, using no charm, or even using one that makes the game harder will get you a better rank. Potions can be used without hurting your rank, BTW. So use them however you like. Trippy... This is such an elegant way of keeping bosses difficult, but removing the frustration the original game had. The sequel doesn't lower the skill ceiling, but it does lower the skill floor, making it far more accessible. And that's not even all, because there's also a new "Guard" ability. It effectively acts like the air dodge from Smash Bros, except you can also use it on the ground. This means that even if you find yourself in a situation where you can't get away from an attack, you can use that to go through it. Assuming you time it right. And that's not to mention that the game gives you a visual warning if there's an attack coming from off-screen, so no cheap shots as well. The visuals are interesting, most of the characters have had their designs changed, and it's a lot nicer looking, and far more consistent. I remember Jonnas mentioning that a fan did all of the character redesigns, as well as any new ones, for this game for free, and I think he did a fantastic job, even if the dragons still look nothing like dragons. It really helps give this game an identity seperate from it's Sonic fangame roots. And the excellent sprite work really helps to sell that even more. The music feels more professional as well, just higher quality all around, and quite catchy to boot. Volume balancing for voices is a lot better too, I didn't have to strain to hear any characters this time. As you can probably tell, I'm not actually done yet, still stuff for me to collect. Not to mention that there are three other characters to play as. I'll be working on getting all the things now, but I'll save the other characters for the future. So yes, Jonnas, this sequel fixes all my issues I had with the first game, and I'm very glad you made me aware of that. This is a game that any old-school Sonic fan should play, and you can eat your sandwiches in peace. That said, you're right. Only one reptile character. Worst game ever. Spoiler Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Omori Pokémon Scarlet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Albus Mode) Wario Land 4 (Hard Mode) Suikoden HD Remaster Rift of the NecroDancer Suikoden II HD Remaster Freedom Planet 2 3 1 1
Jonnas Posted Friday at 11:24 PM Posted Friday at 11:24 PM 12 hours ago, Glen-i said: So yes, Jonnas, this sequel fixes all my issues I had with the first game, and I'm very glad you made me aware of that. Thank you for airing those issues in the first place. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known to address them when writing my review. Hopefully Freedom Planet 3 will have more than one reptile. 13 hours ago, Glen-i said: My stomach hurt a bit after that from laughing too hard. Don't skip any cutscenes when you play through Carol's campaign. 13 hours ago, Glen-i said: And will Jonnas enjoy bread encased meals ever again? I brought TWO sandwiches to lunch today. I enjoyed every bite. 1
Glen-i Posted Friday at 11:41 PM Posted Friday at 11:41 PM 6 minutes ago, Jonnas said: Don't skip any cutscenes when you play through Carol's campaign. Oh, I don't plan on skipping anything, the game makes it very clear that the other three characters are off-screen, doing stuff that you can't see. I would be very dissappointed if the cutscenes didn't depict that when you choose one of them. 1
BowserBasher Posted 17 hours ago Posted 17 hours ago I remember the first Oxenfree, I remember enjoying the premise and the slight spookiness. I can't remember too much about the story but I feel that this is similar, but different. I still can't tell if they are related in a case of being part of the same story though. Anyway. these games, if you want to use game, I think an interactive story is more in line with how these games play. The premise of this one is that you wake up in a small seaside dock area and are not sure what happened. Well that's how I saw it. You start to take control and can move around but it shows pretty quickly that something is not right as you start getting weird time jumps, and you're back where you were. each time this happens you get a little bit further in and you start to get pieces of what's happening. You then get to a point where these stop and you can go on about the main story a little easier. These jumps are a reoccurring part of the game along with another jumping/being dragged through this portal and seeing spooky beings. So most of the game takes place in a small island where you see a portal appear in the sky over a far off island. You'll be able to move around and one of the first things you get is a walkie talkie and this is your main means to talk to others. You do eventually meet a few others in the game and interactions are done in a certain way. So, most of the time when you are in a conversation, you will have three options for a reply (occasionally 2) it may not seem like this do much in terms of how the story goes, it feels like each one will get you to the same outcome and move the game alone the same way. But it seems the they do actually have a bearing on the very final moments of the game. There is even a moment at the very end where it does seem that you can pick how it will end. During the final scene of the game as you are looking at the box of items, on looking at a few of them, the game will bring up a pie chart and tell you the percentage of players that did a certain thing or made certain things happen. So without spoilers, something like "you and 25% of others players befriended so and so". Others show that there certainly is something in the answers that you can give, will change these % and effect the outcome. So it's a nice touch and incentive to go do things again (well if you can remember what you chose in the first play through so that you don't do them again). The game has some really nice visuals at certain points and it really is nice to stop and admire them. And in its simple design, it fits the narrative very well. There are a few puzzles to solve, none too taxing, and there really does only seem to be one route through the game so you can't really get lost. There seemed to be a few side quests to be done and the game does have point of no return moment. I don't think I scratched the surface of any side missions so another reason to go back again. It doesn't fee like along game and you could probably do this in a few sittings, but to really get the story I do think you need to explore thoroughly and talk to everyone and look at everything. It's an enjoyable game if you like this thing. I think I preferred the first as I was getting a bit of "hurry up and do something" vibes when the game was crawling at points. 7/10 Updated pledge list. I think I'm going to go with P.N. 03 next off my list. Will be trying to get through a few of these before Switch 2 comes out. 2 1
Hero-of-Time Posted 17 hours ago Posted 17 hours ago I feel @BowserBasher is gonna be the one to finish all of his pledges first. 3
Hero-of-Time Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago Played through this today. Picked it up on sale as I missed it back when it was part of PS+. It was a nice, chilled out experience. Kinda reminded me a little of A Short Hike. It was great to have the DLC as part of the package as well. Apparently the base game was updated with the extra level and it was just given away for free. It's amazing that Indie developers do this quite often and yet the big publishers charge for such things. 3 1
Happenstance Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago I played through A Short Hike the other week and enjoyed it so maybe I'll take a look. 1
Hero-of-Time Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago 2 minutes ago, Happenstance said: I played through A Short Hike the other week and enjoyed it so maybe I'll take a look. I love that game. Bought it on both the Switch and PS4 because I enjoyed it so much. It's one of my favourite indie games. 1
Happenstance Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago 1 minute ago, Hero-of-Time said: I love that game. Bought it on both the Switch and PS4 because I enjoyed it so much. It's one of my favourite indie games. Yeah I really enjoyed it. Played it through on Steam Deck and it was just a nice relaxing game to play.
BowserBasher Posted 12 hours ago Posted 12 hours ago 4 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said: I feel @BowserBasher is gonna be the one to finish all of his pledges first. I worry Banjo-Tooie will be the roadblock. I too loved A Short Hike. Such a lovely game. 1
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