I’m playing Tales of Innocence R and Final Fantasy XIV. ToI is an OK Tales game. The story is dull, characters are forgettable and the battle system is standard Tales stuff.
What are y'all playing? ver 2.0
RpgN
#1003
5 months is a long time to get things done. I managed to complete some short GBA games on the DS lite. I’ve had different periods where I spent more time on certain games. Gaming has been mostly in short bursts except during the Weekend.
For a while it was just Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call. I made it so far by completing most songs on basic, expert and ultimate. And by completing, I mean critical all. I have 13 songs left (from the 232) on ultimate. I’ve kinda had enough with it and took a break about 2 months ago.
Afterwards I got Sonic Lost Worlds on the 3DS and was eager to give it a try. Especially since it was panned by critics and fans alike. I managed to complete the game within 8 hours. I don’t have issues with the game’s variety and motion controls (except for one). It was mostly a solid and decent game but I didn’t feel the need to collect all the secrets. Street pass integration is weak when compared to Sonic Generations on the 3DS and the whole collecting materials to use items feels like a failure to be honest. I never made use of them. It doesn’t feel like they are necessary. Collecting the materials feels very grindy. I’m still not sure whether to collect all the secrets and bother collecting the items. But for now, I’ve had my fill.
I then felt nostalgic for some GBA games for some odd reason. I decided to check out a second hand shop the had tons of GBA games between 3-8 euros. I bought Spyro Season of Fire, Spyro Adventure, Banjo Kazooie, Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell sequel, Dragon Ball Z the Legacy of Goku and Dragon Ball Z the Legacy of Goku II. I started with Dragon Ball Z the Legacy of Goku since it was known to be a short game (roughly 3 hours). It was a pretty fun game. It was worth 3 euros at least! It made me interested enough to get the sequel which is improved significantly from what I’ve read. The second GBA game I played and completed was Spyro the Season of Ice. This one I’ve had for a while and is considered part 1, while Season of Fire is considered part 2. Spyro Adventure came afterwards but is not a direct sequel. So it goes without saying that I had to start with Season of Ice. The game has some flaws that can affect the enjoyment slightly. But overall, it was quite fun. I’m looking forward to playing the improved sequels in the future. Fun fact, Spyro Season of Ice is my first completed Spyro game. I own the trilogy (ps1 games) on PSN but haven’t had the chance to play them. As a child, I only played the demos on the PS1.
After a while I bought Advance Wars 2, I actually never had plans to get or play this game but ended up getting it since it felt like it should be part of my awesome GBA collection. Expect a more detailed impression on the next reply.
Other games I continued playing with:
Infinite Undiscovery (I made it quite far but haven’t touched it in months)
Soul Sacrifice Delta (with a friend)
Splatoon Online (with a friend)
I will also talk about those games on the next reply. This is pretty much what I have been up to for the past 4-5 months.
RpgN
#1004
It’s time to talk about the games I’ve previously mentioned.
Advance Wars 2 (26/43 missions completed)
Infinite Undiscovery (about 75% through the the story mode)
Soul Sacrifice Delta
Splatoon Online
Advance Wars 2 always seemed like a an unnecessary sequel because it was very lacking of new gameplay elements. The graphical style and progression set-up also felt very similar to Advance Wars 1. I have avoided it for the longest time because of this. But I’ve always thought about it and considered getting it. That time came and I became weak for GBA games. I bought it and wanted to try it out straight away to confirm my opinion of the game. It was a slow start because there was a lot of tutorial that is practically the same as Advance Wars 1 and Dark Conflict. It didn’t take long before the gameplay ramped up. It is pretty much Advance Wars 1 but it feels very refined and is very fun to play. Maybe I’m less harsh on it since it has been a while that I played an Advance Wars game, but the subtle differences make it slightly better than part 1. You get to play with many different commanders, they all have their pros and cons and special abilities. I feel like there is more emphasis on the commanders, and they have been given more power to make the play style more unique. The story is also more engaging where different regions/countries work together to beat Black Hole army. It suddenly dawned on me that I will complete a total of 3 of the 4 Advance Wars games once I’m done with Advance Wars 2. That’s pretty crazy because I always considered myself to be more of a Fire Emblem fan with its more RPG gameplay and style. I only completed Fire Emblem (GBA) and Fire Emblem the Sacred Stones.
It has been ages since I played Infinite Undiscovery. It might have been at least 3 months. This has nothing to do with my enjoyment of the game. I just couldn’t give it the full attention while working full time. I used be very critical of the game. This changed with my last few sessions. I really ended up liking it and getting into it. It’s very odd how my perception of this game changed but it happened quickly. It all started after the death of a certain character/the hero who commanded the party members/ then the main playable character disguising as him after his death. The tone of the story changed after that. The characters that I had the most issues with gradually changed and stopped being annoying. The girl is still a bit annoying, but she is being kept quiet by others more often. Tons of new characters were also added and it made experimenting more exciting. I also got more involved with the synthesizing and the battle system. I started making more use of the connect abilities during battles. I hope to play more of this soon.
There isn’t much to say about Soul Sacrifice Delta that I haven’t mentioned before. It’s an amazing game with tons of content and different ways of playing it. I played this game mainly online with my friend, but I started getting into it and started playing more often on my own too. This is a big achievement considering that I already completed Soul Sacrifice. I’m replaying story missions but I don’t mind because of how refreshing the game feels with the new gameplay additions and there are tons of new missions as well.
So…that leaves Splatoon online mode. You guys probably remember my more negative impressions of the single player mode. I just didn’t see the appeal and all the praise the game has received. I was pretty much dragged kicking and screaming to play the game online with my friend. When I first started, I couldn’t see what made it so addictive. 2 months have passed playing once a week online, and I have become a believer. The game is different when you play online. It’s tons of fun. It’s really hard to explain what makes it so unique but it really is. There aren’t many games like it. Although I am not fan of all the ranked modes. I rather play unranked or on splatoon fest for the most part. Also, the game can become very frustrating when most of the players are from Japan. These guys are crazy good to the point that they can get the enjoyment out of the game.
RpgN
#1006
I’m trying 
Are you still playing the game?
New Game
Kameo Elements of Power (Xbox 360)
It’s been a while since I played a proper console game. I’m still not ready to continue with Infinite Undiscovery. And so it was time to pick up the next Xbox 360 game. I didn’t know what to expect of Kameo. I didn’t read or watch much about it. My feelings are very mixed after playing it for roughly 3-4 days. I’m also already halfway through.
Positives:
- The gameplay is pretty fun and interesting. It’s an action adventure game where you get to control a woman who has the power to transform into different monsters. Each monster controls differently and is needed to solve puzzles besides fighting monsters who are weak to certain attacks. The mix of puzzling, using the right monster and experimenting gives a satisfying feeling.
- There is a lot of exploring and finding hidden collectibles. The abilities that monsters have are essential to exploring. Rare is quite good at this.
- There is a simple upgrade system where you feed your monsters with what looks like to be strawberries. This allows the monsters to learn new moves or current moves becoming more powerful.
- The presentation can be quite pleasing at times. The graphics of the environments can look gorgeous with the vibrant colours. Some music can also be quite memorable.
Negatives
- My biggest problem is the game’s camera. For some reason it’s put too close behind the playable character. You can’t zoom out or change the perspective. This isn’t only unpleasant, it also causes me to feel quite dizzy whenever I play the game.
- The game feels messy and unpolished at times. You have music from a previous video still playing in a new area. You have some weird glitches or bugs.
- While the game has gorgeous environments, the characters look ugly on the other hand.
- Sometimes it seems as if though Rare has taken certain sounds or animation from previous games. I recognize some of the sounds from Banjo games 0_0
The negatives are severe enough to make me consider quit playing it. I keep asking myself why I’m playing this. Aside from the awesome gameplay, there isn’t anything special about this game. It feels similar to other Rare games that I played: Star fox Adventures, Banjo Tooie and Banjo Kazooie. It’s good that it’s a short game. That’s one of the reasons why I’m still playing. I might as well finish it.
DG_Nick
#1007
Your post made me think about playing it again. It’s been awhile and I’m a bit curious how skilled the playerbase has grown in my absence.
RpgN
#1008
I don’t know what you experienced before you left, but it’s usually the Japanese players who are around and kicking ass. On a whole, it seems that there are mostly strong players left with high levels.You still see new players here and there though. I’m currently level 14.
Currently Playing
Advance Wars 2 (29/34 or 29/32 missions completed)
Kameo Elements of Power (70%)
I think that there might be certain hidden missions with Advance Wars 2. There are 4 different continents/countries and there is 1 hidden mission in each one of them. They are unlocked on certain missions. It seems that I missed 2. So far there doesn’t seem to be a way to replay older missions and unlock the missions that you have missed. I’m still having tons of fun with the game. It seems that I’m performing better with Advance Wars 2 than previous Advance Wars games that I have played. I have achieved 21 S, 7 A and 1 B with less effort. There still are about 3 or 5 missions left though.
Playing less of Kameo is working out better for me. By that, I mean playing between 45 minutes and an 1 hour and 15 minutes on each sitting. It’s helping out with my dizziness and it’s making me appreciate the positives more. Let me repeat by saying that the gameplay can be a lot of fun. When taking negatives and positives into account, I think that the positives have finally won out to make me continue playing the game. There are 3 main areas left. But, I can’t help but think of why I am playing Kameo.
This is something that I have been thinking about in general. There are games that are objectively playable and fun, but do I have to play them? Kameo is one of the games I wouldn’t have hesitated on getting in the past if I had the chance (it was gifted to me), but if it was today, I probably wouldn’t have bought it. There is a need to play certain games, this need belongs to the past. I wonder if I will lose the need to play other games on my backlog. This is making me reconsider my purchasing habits more. That’s why I’m trying to avoid the PS4 and use logic more often.
archnemesis
#1009
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is really good. Also, it’s pretty with great image quality.
archnemesis
#1010
Imagine Persona with the skill system from Final Fantasy IX. Weaknesses (banes) from Fire Emblem are also in.
John
#1011
Playing Dark Chronicle! Doesn’t run very well on the PS4 strangely enough. ~25fps, which can be a bummer because the controls are already very strict and deliberate.
MidnightTrain
#1012
Oh boy, you’re in for a treat, my friend. You’re about to enjoy one of the greatest games of all time
MidnightTrain
#1014
Respekt for calling it"Dark Chronicle" and not Dark Cloud 2.
You playing the JPN version?
Leo
#1021
I’m at level 7, and on Team Hydra. I’ve collected 30 pokemon. Oh, I’m rolling deep, bro. I’m visiting places I normally wouldn’t ever step foot in to reach a gym or pokespot.