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Post by Tross on Jun 25, 2024 3:23:37 GMT -5
I'm working my way through chapter 13 of Rebirth, a.k.a. the Temple of the Ancients. The level is significantly different from the original, which I think is for the best; the original relied on the player stumbling upon the correct path by luck, whereas in Rebirth you have the men in black robes pointing the way if you pay attention to them. Beyond that, the temple is made up of a series of different trials and puzzles after the labyrinthine portion of the temple ends. I've probably spent close to five hours inside the temple so far, so it's hard telling how much is left. Meanwhile, my mind is swimming in what may or may not happen before the end of the game. There is evidence to support several different outcomes, and I think the haunting music that plays in the temple (especially when the player is in control of Cloud) reflects this. A very unnerving rendition of the Forgotten Capitol theme from the original game drones all the while despite the fact that we are not in the Forgotten Capitol as of this moment. However, we all know what happens at the Forgotten Capitol in the original game, and I think this is Rebirth's way of acknowledging what's on the player's mind as that scene draws ever closer. I'm at a point where I am all but certain that Rebirth is this year's game of the year, and I'm inclined to call it one of the best games of all time. I've had games surpass my expectations before, but I've never had them shattered quite like this. It expands on the original in all the ways it should and adds so much more to the lore, world building, and character development. What's more is it managed to take an objectively great game like Remake and somehow make it look bad by comparison. Part 3 will certainly have a lot to live up to, but I have full faith it will be at least as good. Good to know you give it a thumbs up. I'm stubbornly waiting for all three games to be collected together in some kind of bundle or box set, but I'm certainly looking forward to playing them one day. I've finally gotten around to finishing Chapter 3 of Alan Wake. I'm definitely finding the gameplay loop of exploration and combat to be on the tedious side, and it definitely overstays its welcome, in spite of the game trying to shake things up with new challenges to face. I think I still recommend this game in spite of everything, but I have to be in the right mood for it. I've also been playing a bunch of smaller, retro games on my handheld, though very little of note. I have made some slight progress in the first Breath of Fire, but it is definitely a SNES JRPG, with all the tedium that comes with such games from that era. I'm currently spending more time adding games than actually playing much. SEGA Saturn is proving to be a real pain, mostly because those ROMs take forever to download for some reason. Seriously, I could download quite a few PS1 games in the time it takes to download one Saturn game. I probably won't do a ton of Saturn for that reason. Oh well, I'm mostly doing it for the novelty, and I can now check that off my list of systems to emulate.
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Post by OttselHero on Jun 28, 2024 19:25:33 GMT -5
I finished Rebirth. It was a roller coaster of an ending, to say the least. I'm really looking forward to part 3, and they say it may not take as long to make. It's estimated to come out in 2027 if there's no DLC for Rebirth, otherwise it might be out in 2028.
I intend to go back and mop up some of Rebirth's trophies, but in the interest of letting the ending sink in first, I started playing Guardians of the Galaxy (Square Enix). I haven't played a ton yet, but it easily captures the spirit of the films even though they clearly didn't have the rights to them. Naturally the music is great; I think the films mostly incorporate '70s music but the game is brimming with that and '80s music as well. There is a jukebox on the ship with a ton of music to choose from.
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Post by Tross on Jul 6, 2024 19:56:07 GMT -5
I just took up playing through Doki Doki Literature Club on PC, when I'm not absorbed with my emulation device or playing Alan Wake. Not sure why it took me this long to get to it, but I have now. I heard the free version is best to start with, and Plus is good if I want more content later, so I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I'm enjoying it so far, in any case, and have decided to focus on Yuri's route the first time around. I'm not far enough in to have encountered the apparent dark twist, so I'll have to keep at it.
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Post by Tross on Jul 12, 2024 1:07:00 GMT -5
Yeah...now that I know the twist with Doki Doki Literature Club, I'm not sure I recommend it. It's alright, though kind of a mixed bag. Maybe I'll go back to Alan Wake one of these days.
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Post by OttselHero on Jul 12, 2024 14:32:19 GMT -5
I have heard about the twist in Doki Koki Literature Club, and yeah...definitely not on my list to play.
Guardians of the Galaxy is pretty fun so far. I'm on chapter 7 (not sure out of how many). It hasn't been terribly challenging despite the fact that I am playing on hard mode. There was one higher difficulty setting I could have chosen from, and I'm starting to think I would have fared just fine if I had selected it. Still, it doesn't ruin my enjoyment of the game, plus I'm sure it will become more challenging as I progress. I enjoy hearing the characters' banter between combat sequences; it feels authentic to the films.
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Post by Tross on Jul 14, 2024 3:35:44 GMT -5
I have heard about the twist in Doki Koki Literature Club, and yeah...definitely not on my list to play. Guardians of the Galaxy is pretty fun so far. I'm on chapter 7 (not sure out of how many). It hasn't been terribly challenging despite the fact that I am playing on hard mode. There was one higher difficulty setting I could have chosen from, and I'm starting to think I would have fared just fine if I had selected it. Still, it doesn't ruin my enjoyment of the game, plus I'm sure it will become more challenging as I progress. I enjoy hearing the characters' banter between combat sequences; it feels authentic to the films. I do enjoy a good dark twist, even if the first twist does hit a bit too close to home, but I do not recommend such a story to everyone. The twist that somewhat killed it for me though is what came after. It's not wholly unoriginal, but it's also not the first time such a thing has been attempted in fiction, or in videogames. The way to progress past that point is kind of interesting, even if it does require a guide to figure out, and there does seem to be a lot of dialogue in place in case the player just sits on that part and doesn't progress, so props to the devs for that. Still...it kind of cheapens the whole dark twist for me, and the game ends very shortly after that, plus I'm just not sure the resolution is that satisfying. If it was a proper length bishoujo game where the arcs for the characters felt complete, I probably would have been more ok with it. As it stands, at least it's finished, unlike Panzer Madels, which cuts off just as the story is getting good. Also, it helps that the version of Doki Doki Literature Club I have is free (I think), which makes it a lot easier to recommend than if it cost money. Eh...I'd call this one a mixed bag. I'm probably not going to spring for Doki Doki Literature Club Plus, unless it were to go on sale for really cheap. I did get back to Alan Wake and finished Chapter 4. I think Chapter 5 is the last one, and the story really seems to be wrapping up. It sounds like an odd criticism, but I don't think Alan Wake would be considered a good writer if he were a real person. His prose just feels like it's trying to be deeper than it actually is. That might be intentional on the part of the game's writers though. Regardless, I am definitely absorbed in the narrative again, so I doubt I'll wait as long to continue with it, repetitive gameplay loop aside.
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Post by OttselHero on Jul 27, 2024 13:55:24 GMT -5
I'm on chapter 14 of Guardians. I'm pleasantly surprised at how long the game has been so far, and I think I have at least a few more chapters to go. Though I think I screwed myself out of the platinum for this playthrough; apparently using chapter select after finishing the game doesn't allow you to carry over collectibles and other progress, so there are one or two trophies that may require a second full playthrough. I'll save that for another time. I don't regret how I've played it though because following a guide would have spoiled the exploration aspect of the game.
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Post by Tross on Jul 29, 2024 4:54:28 GMT -5
I'm getting very close to finishing Alan Wake. I'm in the final stretch now. It's just a matter of making the time. I've been quite busy as of late, and it has been a pretty full week. With any luck I'll end up finishing it this week.
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Post by OttselHero on Aug 10, 2024 11:38:18 GMT -5
I finished Guardians of the Galaxy and ended up getting the platinum after all. I only needed to replay the first third of the story on New Game+, which I decided was worth taking the extra time to round up enough of the collectibles I had missed (there is a trophy that only requires the player to have 65% of all collectibles and I had around half).
Next on the docket is trophy cleanup for Astro's Playroom, which a friend says shouldn't take long at all. After that, I'll spend more time with Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth until my physical copy of Tomb Raider: Remastered arrives (a part of me would prefer to play Ratchet and Clank 3 first, but I think my Tomb Raider itch is greater at the moment).
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Post by Tross on Aug 12, 2024 1:49:03 GMT -5
I was unfortunately in a car accident, and my left pinkie finger got fractured at the knuckle joint, presumably by the airbag, so I have to wear a splint on my hand, which has discouraged me from doing much gaming lately, but I guess I'll see how things go.
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Post by OttselHero on Aug 24, 2024 17:00:05 GMT -5
I was unfortunately in a car accident, and my left pinkie finger got fractured at the knuckle joint, presumably by the airbag, so I have to wear a splint on my hand, which has discouraged me from doing much gaming lately, but I guess I'll see how things go. I'm so sorry to hear about the crash; that sounds terrifying. How are you feeling? Is everyone all right?
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Post by Tross on Sept 17, 2024 1:35:33 GMT -5
I was unfortunately in a car accident, and my left pinkie finger got fractured at the knuckle joint, presumably by the airbag, so I have to wear a splint on my hand, which has discouraged me from doing much gaming lately, but I guess I'll see how things go. I'm so sorry to hear about the crash; that sounds terrifying. How are you feeling? Is everyone all right? Yes, only the other driver and I were involved in the crash, and the other driver appeared uninjured. I have since gotten my splint off and have much more use of my left hand now, although I do think I need to go to physio to get its full strength back. I am now a few episodes into the first Ace Attorney Investigations game in the latest collection. I intend to play through both games in this duology. It's certainly an interesting spinoff of the mainline games, but most of the gameplay is the same, with the caveat that cases don't end up in the courtroom. However, there is still witness examination and presenting of evidence, so it's not that far removed from the normal fare, other than starring Edgeworth.
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