What Are You Currently Playing?

Your general gaming entertainment thread.
From Mario to Sonic, Zelda to Final Fantasy. Talk about it here.
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Shinto-Cetra
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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Shinto-Cetra »

VidKid369 wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 1:53 pm
Shinto-Cetra wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 2:20 pm
VidKid369 wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 8:29 am Ok. So I've just finished LUNAR 2 again. It took like 3 months this time cause I had been posting about it with a friend of mine kinda like a dual-play playthrough with two people. I just finished last night, and boy, did it feel really good to get another notch in on LUNAR 2. It still feels good playing it to this day. I just felt so relaxed afterwards it's nice just thinking I have something I can go-to like a hobby or just a favorite thing just cause I think about all the temptations we have today in this world and I could be doing much worse things than playing games.
Oh nice! I must have missed this in Discord lol. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I'm still replaying Lunar: TSS, I think I'll play Lunar 2 (PS1) afterwards.
Yeah, I was posting about it like everyday I don't know how you missed it. Or did you just mean about the part about me finishing it?

I'm shocked (clutches pearls) that you're gonna re-play LUNAR 2: EBC I thought you don't really replay your RPGs?
Yeah, specifically the fact of you finishing it is what I missed. I will replay games but not often. The last time I replayed FF6 and Lunar TSS at the same time I got kinda burned out by the end. I'm still replaying Lunar TSS, but it's more of a "when I feel like it" activity, since I already know the story and most of the dialogue. I'm planning to eventually replay Lunar 2 (probably PS1), FF6, and Chrono Trigger (SNES, both), but this could be years down the road.

Since my last post, I've been having issues with Suikoden V, mainly how all the optional (and many of the mandatory characters) stop having new dialogue post-recruitment, or rarely have new dialogue, plus I somehow lost a very important item to recruit a character and have no idea where it went. So that's on hiatus for now. I finished Aegean Kai no Shizuku, "Droplets of the Aegean Sea" for PC-98, which recently got a fan-translation (I'm am still working on Dragon Knight 4's fan-translation mentioned earlier in this thread btw, it will take time though.) Anyway, Aegean was like a weird but good 2D MYST-clone with 80's anime-style Greek goddesses. It's puzzles are easier than MYST, which was a plus for me. More on Aegean (including it's terrible-looking 3D Windows port) can be found here: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/aegean ... obscurity/ . I've been crazy busy so I've had no time for Ace Attorney 4 on 3DS, but I'll get to it eventually.

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Imperial Knight »

I'm now about 50 hours into Dragon Quest VII and I'm still having a great time with it. It's definitely still a slow burn as I said in my first post, but there's still always a sense of forward momentum as the overarching story gradually takes shape from what initially seems to be a disconnected series of problems faced by individual islands. The individual stories are some of the strongest in a series known for its vignettes, and seeing these stories grow increasingly interconnected is quite compelling. In story terms I think I still prefer DQ5 for its deeply personal tale, but DQ7 is up there with the best the series has to offer.

A lot of the complaints I've heard about the game haven't really materialized for me. For instance, I'd heard that the game was full of backtracking but I've found that, with a few exceptions, when you revisit an island  in the present there's something new and interesting for you to do. Rather than just feeling repetitive you get to see the consequences of your actions  in the past.

As for what complaints I do have, I still don't like the way visible encounters have been shoehorned into the remake. Don't get me wrong, I like visible encounters when done well, but in certain dungeons it feels like I get into unavoidable battles every few steps due to the cramped quarters. Also while the vocations are a lot of fun to play with, it definitely leads to some bloat and balance issues, which is a typical issue I have with job systems.

I won't pass judgment on the game overall until I finish, but it's definitely shaping up to be in my personal upper tier of Dragon Quest entries.

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by VidKid369 »

Shinto-Cetra wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 9:05 pm Yeah, specifically the fact of you finishing it is what I missed. I will replay games but not often. The last time I replayed FF6 and Lunar TSS at the same time I got kinda burned out by the end. I'm still replaying Lunar TSS, but it's more of a "when I feel like it" activity, since I already know the story and most of the dialogue. I'm planning to eventually replay Lunar 2 (probably PS1), FF6, and Chrono Trigger (SNES, both), but this could be years down the road.
Oh, yeah. When I moved to the Philippines my newest console was just my PS3 so I made it a priority to finish all of my annoying PS1-RPG titles I never beat as a teen. And I wrapped up some of my stragglers RPGs on SNES. So I was re-playing a good group of RPGs too. Or what-seemed-like a re-play cause I hadn't beaten it yet.

Maybe just play them individually and not at the same time?

Yeah TSS is the only game I've ever emulated cause I like it a lot and I already have the Sega CD (broken) and game. So I feel like I paid for it, though the console is hard for me to find a replacement.

It always feels good to get another-notch in on LUNAR or any of your favorite RPGs. Yeah, FFVI I go back to a lot. Mm-hmm my friend and I are planning to re-play Chrono Trigger (online) soon.

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Sonic# »

I was diverted from my Lunar 2 Eternal Blue playthrough. I do plan to return, but the semester got busy and my sit-down focused gaming time virtually evaporated. Most of my playtime has been portable lately, excepting Like a Dragon Ishin a couple of months ago.

I just beat Final Fantasy IV (Pixel Remaster). These remasters are excellent, as they obviously look better and give just enough rebalancing tools to cut down the grind if you like. (I mostly kept gold and XP at 1x, but it's nice to be able to set it between 0x and 4x and to turn encounters off once in a while.) Incidentally  the game also involves going to the moon.

I've tried playing Fire Emblem Engage, and I may continue, but I hit a point around chapter 15 where it felt like I was mostly managing the party in Somniel (the game's "hub") rather than actually doing battles or advancing the story. I had an entire session just getting myself from the post-battle of one chapter to the pre-battle of another. I needed a break, so I went back to Triangle Strategy for a second playthrough. I'm not sure I have the words for why I prefer Triangle Strategy, but having the space between battles mainly filled by story is a part of it.
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"Than seyde Merlion, "Whethir lyke ye bettir the swerde othir the scawberde?" "I lyke bettir the swerde," seyde Arthure. "Ye ar the more unwyse, for the scawberde ys worth ten of the swerde; for whyles ye have the scawberde uppon you, ye shall lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded. Therefore kepe well the scawberde allweyes with you." --- Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory

"Just as you touch the energy of every life form you meet, so, too, will will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential, and you will never win. " --- The Old Man at the End of Time

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by ShugoHanasaki »

Star Ocean 6 The Divine Hope
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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Kizyr »

Decided to get Last of Us Part II so that I could make sure to play it before anyone watching the series spoils things (although I'm sure it's good I haven't watched the TV series, but I'll talk with my sister about it). I'm in the middle of it now. Overall I am enjoying it -- I never buy all the "it ruins the series!" complaints since I always find those to be gross exaggerations -- but there are definitely more aspects that bother me about the sequel than the prequel. I enjoy playing as Ellie a lot more (even though I relate both to Joel and Ellie a lot), and there are some really interesting narrative choices made in the game's structure (keeping it vague to avoid spoilers).

After this, not sure what's next. Maybe I'll finally go through one of the older games I got recently, or FFX finally, or if I get a PS5 then it's time for replaying Horizon: Forbidden West plus the Burning Shores expansion.
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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Sonic# »

I've been switching between Yakuza 4 and Etrian Odyssey III.

Yakuza 4 is the first Yakuza game I've played that switches between multiple characters, in this case four of them. I just finished the second of four, and both characters so far have had interesting flaws. Akiyama is a charismatic slacker who lends money after giving them moral tests, but he seems to be in a state of arrested emotional development regarding both romance (with Lily) and his codependency on his office assistant, Hana. Meanwhile, Saejima is an infamous murderer who holds regret for his legendary 12-man hit job, but who may have also been misled about what he was doing or why. He gets an opportunity to escape prison and try to figure out what the heck happened 25 years ago.

I find it sometimes challenging to play through these stories. Reading or watching them wouldn't be an issue for me, but playing the role adds tension between how I would act and how they act. Kazuma Kiryu (the main series protagonist) has a moral straightforwardness and stoicism that makes it easier to play or roleplay him. Akiyama and Saejima provide more nuanced, grey perspectives on the world; they are no heroes, and they certainly don't want to be one. I'm sure I'm in for some surprises.

Etrian Odyssey III is part of the new collection that just came out. I'd never played a game in the series, but I've long flirted with dungeon crawlers, starting with the long-ago shareware game Moria: The Depths of Dejenol. I find them fun as an artifact of pure gameplay: your goal is to get to the end. Your tools are five characters with classes that you pick, the items you find, and the shops you frequent. You keep your own map and notes in-game. Every level has a distinct puzzle or mechanic to it that rewards paying attention to the environment. FOEs are high-risk encounters, very difficult monsters that usually can't be defeated the first time you see them in a level, who often gate off parts of a level but provide rewards if you defeat them. I like the push and pull of resource management and the feeling when a big risk pays off.
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"Than seyde Merlion, "Whethir lyke ye bettir the swerde othir the scawberde?" "I lyke bettir the swerde," seyde Arthure. "Ye ar the more unwyse, for the scawberde ys worth ten of the swerde; for whyles ye have the scawberde uppon you, ye shall lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded. Therefore kepe well the scawberde allweyes with you." --- Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory

"Just as you touch the energy of every life form you meet, so, too, will will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential, and you will never win. " --- The Old Man at the End of Time

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by WD RPG WD »

I found Saejima to be too stoic and 1 dimensional, at first. He then became my favorite character in the franchise. I won't explain why for spoiler reasons. Not everyone has to be larger than life.

I'm finishing up Suikoden V, this week. That will be the end of the series for me. I've beaten the previous 4 main entries, over the last 2 years.
I should be ready for the return of the Suikoden team by fall when they release Eiyuden Chronicle.

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by VidKid369 »

So I beat a few games since my last post:
-obvs DQXI
-Final Fantasy 7 Remake

I didn't really do the post-game for DQ but I might go back to it. I really enjoyed FF I'm doing all the trophies rn and Hard mode. It's really fun.

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by ShugoHanasaki »

Star Ocean 6 is on Pause. I'm playing Trails Into Reverie (^.^)
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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Sonic# »

Currently I'm playing Baldur's Gate 3. I'm in the second act (I think of 3). I am trying to go without a guide, so I'm aware that I'm missing a lot of stuff (plot, quests, areas), but I'm also pleased with how much I'm getting. I've solved a few environmental puzzles all by myself. Missing skill checks (esp. Persuade) and seeing the consequences is almost as fun as succeeding on checks.

I'm playing a halfling cleric of Mystra whose intellectual curiosity sometimes gets ahead of her scruples. Amusingly, some of the cutscenes have odd camera angles because the camera tries to adjust to her height, leading to doors being in the way of talking characters and nonsense like that.
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"Than seyde Merlion, "Whethir lyke ye bettir the swerde othir the scawberde?" "I lyke bettir the swerde," seyde Arthure. "Ye ar the more unwyse, for the scawberde ys worth ten of the swerde; for whyles ye have the scawberde uppon you, ye shall lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded. Therefore kepe well the scawberde allweyes with you." --- Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory

"Just as you touch the energy of every life form you meet, so, too, will will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential, and you will never win. " --- The Old Man at the End of Time

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Imperial Knight »

Baldur's Gate 3 is next on my list once the Mac version is out and I finally finish Dragon Quest VII. I'm getting close to the end at this point  (I've awakened the Fire and Earth Spirits and am working on the Wind Spirit now). I'm pretty slow at getting through games in general and DQ7 is a big one for sure. I'm still having a lot of fun with it but would probably place it a notch below the best DQ games.

I don't have a lot of experience with D&D or Western RPGs but BG3 looks incredible and feels like a good place for me to dive in.

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by VidKid369 »

Dragon Warrior VII was such a terrific ride for me on PS1. I'll never forget that experience. Loved.

Well I was playtesting a bunch of random RPGs and I found myself back on Final Fantasy Tactics. To be honest, I keep having this sorta euphoric fantasy-daydream sleep prophecy about it all the time and I don't know why so I'm gonna try to figure it out? I remember Zelda was a prophet that had mysterious dreams and the people of Enhasa said follow your sleep dreams. So I think I'm on this way to figuring it all out.? I'm not really interested in playing anything else right now at the moment until I do this quest-mission of mine. I'll report to you guys later my findings.

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Omegazero108 »

For me bouncing between Mobile and Console would be...

(Mobile)
Epic Seven
Last Cloudia

(Console)
Armored Core 6
Yomawari: Lost in the Dark (Getting back to where I was as i'd been streaming the game)
Sonic Frontiers

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by VidKid369 »

Still working on fft. (Like a ninja moving its foot the sound it makes) If you wanna write it.

I'm taking a break from my RPG guru thing and I'm playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Maybe I'll just wark! on my RPG Cookbook. I got Candy from Secret of Mana chocolate, jam is just 'candy' I guess and it helps me perk up when I fil' sleepy. They have apples in that one tree in Potos and running water. I chop down trees that don't bear fruit on my farm. Breath of Fire is just Ungi1 or like fish. I remember that. Starro 2 has a lot of food items. I should just continue Rena.

I noticed something about the board I hit back to the main group logout and it won't forward disappears

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Kizyr »

Well I've been getting some older games to go through lately: Castlevania (NES), SimCity (SNES), Rescue Rangers (NES), etc.

But I think it's finally time to go through Celeste as it's been on my list for ages.

Also, Venba and Thirsty Suitors are out and I haven't yet had time to play either, really looking forward to digging into them.
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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Sonic# »

I've been casually playing Baten Kaitos while traveling. It's an interesting game that feels like it has a lot of secrets going over my head. I definitely see the background connections to Chrono Cross, and I like the NPC writing especially. The only thing I have against the game is the main cast; I don't like or hate them.

I've also been playing through Judgment. It has my favorite version of Kamurocho since Kiwami. I like the small-scale friend-making quests as well as all the side quests and minigames. I can actually do semi-competent Riichi Mahjong. It's the hardest game I've mastered since learning Contract Bridge.

Finally, in multiplayer, I'm part of a group playing Lethal Company. It's fun to go into bases trying to scavenge. Some missions go off cleanly. Others involve monsters in the dark. Good fun.
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"Than seyde Merlion, "Whethir lyke ye bettir the swerde othir the scawberde?" "I lyke bettir the swerde," seyde Arthure. "Ye ar the more unwyse, for the scawberde ys worth ten of the swerde; for whyles ye have the scawberde uppon you, ye shall lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded. Therefore kepe well the scawberde allweyes with you." --- Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory

"Just as you touch the energy of every life form you meet, so, too, will will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential, and you will never win. " --- The Old Man at the End of Time

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by VidKid369 »

Hello. I am playing Yakuza 0 right now. I get annoyed when dudes platinum super hard games like this with such ease so I'm gonna try it myself. I'm on NG+ and I'm going through it super slowly trying to do all the substories. Tbh, I just wanna get to Ch. 5&7 and do the telephone/cabaret club which I just ignored at first. I think I'm doing well though. I'm about to beat Majima's Chapter 4.

I'm messin' arnd. wit Secret of Mana (PS4) I recently beat the SNES game so it's still kinda fresh in my mind so I know what to do. I wanna be all like omgz originalz 4 lyfes but I'm a ham and like showing-off my trophies. I've always wanted recognition for all the little thing you have to do in games so there's that. Yeah

Revelations Series Persona I'm stuck at the Karma Palace but I'm just playing Poker - Big and small cause it's a stress-reliever

Star Ocean The Second Story I'm trying to get the Bandit's Glove so I can pickpocket Mischief. It's so much fun

I'm playing some other on the side like SotC, Phantasy Star II (SEGA Genesis Classics Collection PS4), Thousand Arms which's really hard and just generally muss arnd with fft.

Hey, I'm really curious how you guys feel about Phantasy Star and Shining Force? I recently got SEGA Genesis Classics and it comes w/like 50 games those 2 included and like Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Beyond Oasis, Sonic, ToeJam & Earl,... Et cetra. This's probably the generation of RPGs I missed out on growing up cause I was more inclined to SNES. Are they worth reviewing? I fired up PSII and it's uh interesting. I've heard some good stuff about Shining Force but it could have been III though and that one's not included Wasn't it Rune Lai that was really into Phantasy Star?

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by Sonic# »

Yeah, Rune Lai was really into Phantasy Star. I'm into it too, but not to that level.

Collectively, the Phantasy Star games are old RPGs, and they haven't been updated the way the old Final Fantasy games have in the Pixel Remasters. Phantasy Star II came out originally in 1989. It's grindy! The game expects you to explore and return to town. It expects you to have to double back sometimes using an escapipe and telepipe (or Hinas and Ryuka techs) when in dungeons. It expects you to keep updating equipment with each trip back to town. As a player, I would have maps up whenever you're going through dungeons, just to minimize the grind, and maybe even a full guide. (I also wouldn't be shy about using the Rewind and Fast Forward features at times to save some time.) If you can get through that, the story is sparse, but it's pretty good, and it has a couple of my favorite moments in JRPGs. Won't list them now, but others can guess.

As for the other games,

- Phantasy Star III has a rougher reputation, but if you can play through II, you can probably do III.
- If you play one Phantasy Star game, play IV. It's okay to play IV after II, since III occurs in a different place.
- Shining Force is a really good classic SRPG. If you start playing it, just know that the game is hard at first. You will have characters fainting from hits, and that's okay. You can redo battles to get more experience.
- Golden Axe is a fun beat-em-up. I always preferred Golden Axe II, which I can run through almost without thinking. I suggest starting on easy with max health and getting used to the combat and the quirks of each enemy.

Really I'd encourage you to play each non-RPG for at least 15 minutes, get a feel for it, and then stay with the games you like more.
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"Than seyde Merlion, "Whethir lyke ye bettir the swerde othir the scawberde?" "I lyke bettir the swerde," seyde Arthure. "Ye ar the more unwyse, for the scawberde ys worth ten of the swerde; for whyles ye have the scawberde uppon you, ye shall lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded. Therefore kepe well the scawberde allweyes with you." --- Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory

"Just as you touch the energy of every life form you meet, so, too, will will their energy strengthen you. Fail to live up to your potential, and you will never win. " --- The Old Man at the End of Time

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Re: What Are You Currently Playing?

Post by MaroonChan »

Grandia II

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