The Gaming Diary: Chapter 3

[Disposed Hero]

Judgment - It's grown on me quite a bit since I first started it. I really like the story and characters, even if the story is a bit convoluted, even by Yakuza standards. I feel like combat is more button-mashy and has less depth than previous Yakuza games, but honestly I think I'm underutilizing certain mechanics that would probably make it more interesting. I really dislike the whole Keihin gang mechanic wherein every now and then you'll get a text from an NPC saying the Keihin gang is terrorizing the city, and you need to take down the leaders. This causes the number of enemies on the streets to increase dramatically, and it makes it difficult to get from Point A to Point B while avoiding enemies. Sort of reminds me of the Majima Everywhere mechanic in Yakuza Kiwami, which I also didn't like. Overall though, I'm still really enjoying the game.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Finished this over the weekend, and it holds up. Personally I think this is one of best games of its era, and was quite revolutionary in its own right with its combat system which many games have copied over the years, as well as the detective mode which I believe got its start here. Hunting down Riddler trophies was addicting, and I managed to find them all and have the Riddler apprehended, which is very satisfying after being taunted by him for the whole game.

Batman: Arkham City - Rolled straight into this after Asylum. I always remembered liking Asylum more than City, and so far that hasn't changed after all these years. As someone who generally likes to explore every nook and cranny and find all of the collectibles, the open-world environment becomes pretty overwhelming. I've played all of the Arkham games over the years, and Asylum is the only game where I've bothered to collect everything because it feels so much more manageable in that game. I feel like the mechanics are more polished and fleshed out in City, and I also like the side quests that allow you to interact with other villains who aren't involved in the main story.

Metroid: Fusion - Metroid is always a good time, but I like this game less than most of the others I've played. The exploration element which has always been such a big part of the series is sorely lacking here since you're constantly being told where to go, and I don't really care for the way the X enemies are portrayed.

Jeanne d'Arc - I was really enjoying this game for the short time I had been playing it, then I hit a battle where losing just one character is an automatic game over, which is especially tough when certain enemies are capable of one-shotting my units. Lame. I'll probably push through it and hope there isn't much more of this nonsense.

[bombatomba]

Finally beat Treasure Master for the RFG NES Challenge.  This is easiest the hardest NES game that I have been able to finish, and I have had to finish it twice, since the first time around I must have entered the stupid code for the last level wrong!  This essentially means I had to start again from the beginning, which was very heartbreaking.  Whatever, I am finally done.

Super Mario Land 2 for the C-Playthrough is also done, and man what a contrast to Treasure Master.  I decided to play it using the color "DX" mod and man was it wonderful.  Sadly I think I like it less, but I think it has something to do with my original (and only before now) playthrough being on the Super Game Boy, which runs a little bit faster than what I am playing now (a DX mod ROM playing original GB speed on an emulator).  It just doesn't feel...  right.  But, the game is just so charming and fun I don't care.

Next up for the RFG NES Challenge is Mendel Palace.  I don't think I've ever played it, but I did watch Arino (or Game Center CX) play though the JP original.  It looks fun.

I also started the Switch port of the first Phantasy Star.  I am playing the "Ages" mode in the game, which gives you extra money and XP for each enemy, but it does nothing for the general difficulty, and this game is hard!  We'll see how things go.

[GrayGhost81]

Jeanne d'Arc - I was really enjoying this game for the short time I had been playing it, then I hit a battle where losing just one character is an automatic game over, which is especially tough when certain enemies are capable of one-shotting my units. Lame. I'll probably push through it and hope there isn't much more of this nonsense.

Dude, nice! Push through those one death fail levels. Definitely worth it. You can grind on those optional free battle levels. There are certain ones at about the mid-game point that you can abuse and basically get all the characters to level 99.

[Disposed Hero]

Jeanne d'Arc - I was really enjoying this game for the short time I had been playing it, then I hit a battle where losing just one character is an automatic game over, which is especially tough when certain enemies are capable of one-shotting my units. Lame. I'll probably push through it and hope there isn't much more of this nonsense.

Dude, nice! Push through those one death fail levels. Definitely worth it. You can grind on those optional free battle levels. There are certain ones at about the mid-game point that you can abuse and basically get all the characters to level 99.

Yeah, I was hoping I wouldn't have to grind at all, but I've tried this battle several times and someone always gets KO'd, so I may just have to bite the bullet and do it. It's really killed any enthusiasm I had for this game, but I'm still hopeful I'll get back into it once this battle is over. Are there many of these types of levels in the game?

[bombatomba]

Second to last level in Mendel Palace for the NES Challenge.  Awesome game, and with a perfect level of challenge for me; not brutal enough that I just don't even want to play but just enough so that I can't just walk through it.  Great game, and one that I will be revisiting.

I've made steady progress in Phantasy Star, and while I do agree that the game was certainly ahead of it's time (in relation to the other big JRPGs of the day), it is still pretty primitive.  Still, the game is a lot of fun and it's got me excited to play other games in the series.

I am not sure why, but I have picked up Metroid Samus Returns on the 3DS again.  I stopped playing it months ago due to frustration (I think), but within five minutes of picking it up I was able to clear the area, and am now at Area 6.  Ton of fun, and I will be bummed when I finally finish it.

[Mr_Stubbes]

I finished Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and overall I was pleased with my time spent playing it and completing the game. I’m also working on Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. I’ve been having a lot of fun playing this as well. I decided to play it to get a feel for the series as we are playing the second game in the August’s community playthrough. I’m nearing the end of chapter 3, and I hope to finish the game soon in time of the play through.

[Link41]

Mario Kart 64 (N64) - So much Battle mode over the past few days. I now understand why one has kids, so one can play awesome multiplayer games from the past! lol

[RobotWillie]

Today in Final Fantasy II (Origins/Japanese FF2) I started out my save outside the Dreadnought after having collected the treasure from Floor 1 and the special sword from Floor 2. My party was wore down but good enough to make the long trek back to the nearest town with open shops (technically the town across the river is closer, but its overran by imperials and no shops are open). And then after resting and getting supplies the trek back beat us up a little but I managed to get through to the end of the Dreadnought without too much trouble, some scares health wise but nothing too big, can't remember having to load the memo file, maybe once, but I was strong enough to take on the monsters pretty easily by the last level.

And then fighting sea critters for the first time, got beat up by the serpent a bit and went to the Tropical Island on the detour to get some treasure there and get the party stronger still. There was much memo saving and loading here due to the Deadheads. But I had many easy encounters too with Wererats and Stunners, and the weaker version of the Deadheads. A long magic battle with like 7 Red Mousse and a quick one with mousse and Yellow Jelly getting some MP experience. Got all the treasure in the first two levels of that dungeon (including the Poison Scrolls and Blind Scrolls, so learned some new magic). Then sailed to the island Deist is on. Thats where I am, just landed there.

[bombatomba]

Finally finished Metroid - Samus Returns on the 3DS and it was awesome, and easily one of the top experiences on the platform for me, but I killed my hands doing it.  I think that if I could have changed movement to the d-pad it would have been better, but who knows.  If I plan on investing more into the platform I might get a grip for my 2DS XL (or just get a 2DS, which friends have told me is more comfy for larger-handed people).  So much fun with this game, and an easy recommendation for fans of the series.

Picked up Phantasy Star on the Switch again.  I think playing the Ages mode is really moving things along, as I really haven't had to grind for money or XP at all, which almost makes it feel like one of those "grind free" games like FFIX.  I wonder how long the game will be playing it this way?

[RobotWillie]

Today (well its 12:30 AM almost so yesterday) I continued from landing on the island the castle of Deist was on and did some random encounters on the island to earn a little more EXP. I didn't run into anything I couldn't handle and didn't run into any Hill Gigas. Then I did a short sail to Bafsk across from the island to rest and get some potions. Then I came back to Deist and went in the castle and talked to the people there and Wind Drake. I then preceded to the cavern to do the quest and earned a lot of EXP but also got beat up pretty good and had to use a lot of potions and healing magic. And also went the wrong way somehow. I chipped and fought my way through to Basement 5 and got the Knights Armor and Fire Bow and got heavy damage from the Revenants. And I would usually have to load the memo file when it is a run in with Hill Gigas. Although I had luck at least once when only one spawned. But the party was down to the last bits of health and magic and supplies and had got most of the loot so I used part of the last bit of magic to warp out and use a Cottage to prepare for the trek back in at full strength.

The second time through of course was much easier as I had got a lot stronger and had nice equipment, some I shouldn't really have yet since I ventured into a hard as hell area you shouldn't have even really gone in yet. But the Fire Bow helped decimate the Hill Gigas and Revenants and helped power through to get the rest of the treasure and get to the spring and boss. But despite the better equipment the Gigas and Revenants still laid a beating and the Chimera bosses would get to fight us with little magic and about 75% health. The white mage only had 1 MP left and I needed it for the warp out, there was no choice in that matter I was going to be too weak to go through any more of the dungeon. The first spawn gave me three Chimera and I got slaughtered. But spawn two gave me two and with the help of the Ancient Swords curse and the Fire Bow and whatnot, I slayed one and then the other. No one had over 100 health. It was like 75ish at the highest and 21 the lowest.

So I did the last task and warped the hell out of Dodge. And the trek back to the castle involved much saving too. Being so weak even the lower mostly enemies outside could still easily kill me. So at least once or twice I had to load because of them killing off too much of the party I just said screw that I will load, I need all 4 members to fight the way back to the boat much less castle. So I talked to the people in the castle and walked to the boat.

And thankfully the sea critters didn't give too much hassle and I was home free to only have the weakling Goblins near Bafsk to fight. And the stay at the Inn was expensive at 525 Gil or something. Then off to Altair and the surprise boss which required one do over and even the successful fight netted a member down. And thats where I stopped for now. A very hard fought but fun day of monster slaying.

[Mr_Stubbes]

I got a little further in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. I just finished the third case and am starting on chapter 4. I hope to play even more this weekend and hopefully finish it as well.

[Disposed Hero]

Batman: Arkham City - Blew through this pretty quickly. I was a little put off by the open-world environment, but once I adjusted to it, I couldn't put the game down. I used to think that Asylum was my favorite of the series, but now I think I like City slightly more. They're both awesome games.

Judgment - Took a little bit of a break from this to play Batman, but I'm still chipping away at this one. I think I'm roughly two-thirds through the main story. My thoughts are pretty much the same as last time.

Metroid: Fusion - Still chipping away at this, but I'm not really feeling this one, so it's been slow going. I think I'm about halfway through it and just reached some spider boss.

Jeanne d'Arc - I decided to just bite the bullet and play a random battle to grind some levels, and fortunately it was all I needed to get past the battle where I was stuck. I saved in the middle of the next battle where it looks like an interesting character will be joining my ranks soon.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - I played the original GBA Fire Emblem back in the day and loved it, and played through a portion of Path of Radiance on GameCube, and that's pretty much my experience with the Fire Emblem series. I decided to pick up Three Houses and finally get back to this series. I'm about 2-3 hours into it and have only fought the tutorial battle so far. There's a lot of stuff going on between battles that slows down the pace and reminds me quite a bit of something like Persona or Trails of Cold Steel, and I'm not sure if I like it yet or not. I still need to put some more time into this one.

[bombatomba]

Metroid: Fusion - Still chipping away at this, but I'm not really feeling this one, so it's been slow going. I think I'm about halfway through it and just reached some spider boss.

I feel you, as I absolutely loved this game when it first came out, but I tried replaying it a few years ago and only nostalgia greeted me.  Bummer really.  I might just play it again anyway, considering I'm kind of in the mood for a Metroid-vania game

[Disposed Hero]

Metroid: Fusion - Still chipping away at this, but I'm not really feeling this one, so it's been slow going. I think I'm about halfway through it and just reached some spider boss.

I feel you, as I absolutely loved this game when it first came out, but I tried replaying it a few years ago and only nostalgia greeted me.  Bummer really.  I might just play it again anyway, considering I'm kind of in the mood for a Metroid-vania game

It's funny, but I played it back in the day as well and really enjoyed it, but now I'm just not feeling it. As I stated in an earlier post, I don't really dig the more linear nature of the game, and overall the game just doesn't feel as good as Super Metroid.

[bombatomba]

...overall the game just doesn't feel as good as Super Metroid.

Agreed.  Picked it up again and within an hour put it back down.

On another note Phantasy Star on the Switch is in the bag.  Not a long game (especially played in AGES mode) but still fun.  I wonder though, how much this game appeals to those that don't have nostalgia.  Personally I never played it before, and even as I had some fun with it I def didn't enjoy it as much as I did Final Fantasy on the NES.  Hmm.  May be the part of a future writeup.

I picked up Octopath Travelor from the library today.  I really don't know anything about it, save it has eight characters, but I really dig the graphics.  Let's see if that is enough to carry the game (hopefully there will be more to it).