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Post by kaoru on Dec 16, 2015 14:01:27 GMT -5
HighAce Attorney: Phoenix Wright - Trials & Tribulations I replayed all the Ace Attorney (main) games this year, and this one still stands tall as the best of them all. Final Fantasy V Not the first time playing this one either, but the first time doing it for the Four Job Fiesta. I went through it three times during that event, is how much fun I had with it. Panzer Dragoon Saga Played this one for the first time and it might be the best 32bit RPG ever made, even over Suikoden II. Ultima IV Damn this is probalby still one of the most interesting and unique RPGs ever made, and one that works instead of deviating into unique-but-shit a la Kawazu's oeuvre. For Frog the Bell Tolls This is basically a cuter Link's Awakening, a.k.a the only good Zelda game, but with a player character that's allowed to have character. Drill Dozer Probably the most fun game Nintendo ever released, and the one with the coolest main character in any of their games. Game Dev Tycoon This game manages to absorb me in regular intervalls in a way only Sims 3 ever did. Cities: Skylines I love city building. But I hate when it becomes too "real", too micro-managy, which is why I'm one of the few people liking Sim City 3000 over SC4. Skylines is a good modern Sim City, but also fairly lenient on you being able to easily build a beautiful city without the trappings of it having to be that realistic to work. So all up my alley. AverageAce Attorney: Phoenix Wright - Dual Destinies I enjoyed this one, sure, but somehow I felt like Ace Attorney never got its goove quite back after the first trilogy, and this one showed it was not just for a lack of Phoenix Wright in them. Spore I got really addicted to this for a bit, while at the same time being also quite let down on how short it falls of what it could and should have been. Wizardry Empire It's a Japanese Wizardry that is not Tales of the Forgotten Land, so pretty blah. Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes Speaking of blah, this one is a super boring RPG for sure, which makes it probably still one of the better Dragon Slayers sadly. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Even more stupid and nonsensical than the first XIII, but actually kinda fun to play whenever it lets you. Super Mario RPG I don't understand the love, it was qurky, but also kinda boring. Life is Strange Another one that fell very short of what it could have been. The thing that I'm not a teenager, so I'm kind of disliking everyone in this game instead of identifying with them, did not help. But it did have it moments. LowRomancia: Dragon Slayer Jr. This game is just bullshit put into code. Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe So is this one. DemiKids Oh god, the worst monster collecting game ever. I also don't quite understand who thought that in this type of subgenre it would be a good idea to still use the monsters-don't-level rule. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Mystic Quest Legend, Final Fantasy II, VIII and XIII can stop fighting over who's the worst Final Fantasy ever released, because The After Years clearly belongs on that questionable throne. Endless Ocean: Blue World [...] 9/10 experiences for me easily. I love you so much right now <3
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Post by Exhuminator on Dec 16, 2015 15:10:34 GMT -5
PopoloCrois -- one of my favorite series EVER I've been happier working on Return to PopoloCrois than I've ever been working on anything else before Dude. I'd buy a port of this in English any day: img.gamefaqs.net/box/7/9/0/36790_front.jpgI'd put it in my pants and walk around with it nestling my naughty bits.
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Post by wyrdwad on Dec 16, 2015 18:17:44 GMT -5
Awww. That's actually one of the MSX games I've been playing, and I'm kind of blown away by it, myself -- it's way ahead of its time for 1989, with a lot of really cool ideas (like enemies chasing you down when you run away from them) and some pretty daring plot beats as well. I guess it hasn't aged super-well, but if you play it in the context of when it was created, it's kind of an outstanding game. I mean, this was a contemporary to the very first games in the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series, and it's head and shoulders above both of them in just about every regard. ...But you also put Super Mario RPG in the average category, so I think we just have very different tastes. I wish that were a slightly better game, honestly. Story-wise, it's outstanding, and it offers great character development to the main cast (though next to no character development to the new mercenary characters, sadly). Music-wise, it's good too, and it has some of the biggest and most amazing towns in the entire series (seriously, Tonkuu is the series highlight when it comes to towns, and Gabath isn't far behind). But its battle system is really, really monotonous, and its randomized dungeons are pretty much THE example of why I don't like randomized dungeons in RPGs -- they have no personality or logic to them, and instead are just really repetitive and dull. There's enough good in it that I would still recommend it to series fans who can read Japanese, but I reviewed it on GameFAQs a long time ago and gave it a 7/10 rating, and I stand by that. It's an ambitious game, and was obviously designed with a lot of love, but it didn't quite live up to its potential. The two numbered PopoloCrois Monogatari games that came before and after it are much better titles in every regard. Here's my review, if you're interested: www.gamefaqs.com/ps/574765-poporogue/reviews/133874-Tom
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Post by toadofsky on Dec 16, 2015 20:01:34 GMT -5
HIGHS Xenoblade 3D: it's been a very long time since I played through a JRPG, and I felt like I picked a good one to play through. The story made twists and turns that while so,e where expected, others at the end sure threw me for a loop. While I had high and low moments, I certainly loved playing through it. I regret trading it in towards the Chronicles X, I was really thinking of going further in new game plus.
New 3DS: I feel a new renaissance in playing this thing. It's a bit faster and I love the extra controls on it. With NX around the corner I'm leery of buying too much digital.
Splatoon: I'm averse to getting into too much online multiplayer especially a shooter. Frustration really kicks in for me, and man did this game make me enjoy online multiplayer. No regrets buying this game.
Captain Toad: a nice simple game that was fun to go through. I want a REAL captain toad amiibo dang it!
King Quest (2015 part 1): great voice cast and better animation than tell tale games. A great story thus far that I'm looking forward to future episodes.
Kirbys Adventure 3D Classics: Thus has been in my to do list for some time and I'm glad I finished it finally.
ATTACK OF THE FRIDAY MONSTERS: Surprised how compelling a game of walking around a small Japanese town could be, and an easy Rock Paper Scissors card battle system to boot.
OctoDad: Lots of laughter was had with this game in my house.
LOWS:
Armikrog: As was stated by OP, obtuse repetitive puzzles. A great looking presentation marred by buggyness and I doubt it'll ever go to Wii U or PS4 like they stated they would.
Mario Golf World Tour: Much like Power Tennis, the game feels lacking. I might get the extra courses. I just hate that to get the other courses I have to place first in every tournament even the beginning. And walking around the castle feels tedious.
Chibi Robo Zip Lash: The presentation feels off, and just didn't click with me.
Tri Force Heroes: I have unreliable Internet, thus I couldn't really get into this game even at the behest of my friends.
PS Vita: Traded mine in, as I couldn't find anything to really play on it anymore.
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Threads
Full Member
the disco before the breakdown
Posts: 122
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Post by Threads on Dec 16, 2015 20:53:16 GMT -5
Didn't play very many 2015 releases so this will be a mixed bag of stuff from various time periods.
Highs:
Life is Strange - Easily one of, if not my favorite episodic releases so far. I don't see that changing any time soon unless Telltale decides to upgrade their engine (it's been long overdue for what feels like ages already.)
Resident Evil HD/Remaster - The remake of Resident Evil has been one of my absolute favorite games since release. The console availability has always been a bit of a downfall but that was fixed this year with ports to PC and such. Glad to say it still holds up very well.
Until Dawn - As a fan of horror as a genre this was just made for me it feels like. The cast was pretty likable and this was relatively tense throughout. I look forward to whatever comes next from these devs.
Tomb Raider series expansion packs (particularly The Lost Artifact) - I finally got around to getting the Tomb Raider expansion packs working with my Steam copies of the first 3 games. They were all worth playing, especially the second and third. A bit bittersweet to reach the end of Tomb Raider content made by Core finally.
Grim Fandango Remastered - Really late to the party with this one as well. What a joy to play through from beginning to end. Easily a top 5 adventure game for me.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - What a pleasant surprise this was. As someone who really disliked XIII and was indifferent to XIII-2 I didn't see myself liking this one at all. The changes in gameplay and such really helped here.
Metro 2033 Redux - One of the best horror titles I've played in years. I wish I got around to this one sooner when I owned it on 360 but better late than never. Last Light was kind of a let down after for me unfortunately.
Average:
Persona 4: Dancing All Night - This was a fun rhythm game but I'm honestly just sick of the Persona 4 cast. Things might have been more enjoyable if it was similar to Arena and had a mixture of 3/4, or they could even include things from *gasp* the other Persona titles. I haven't played Persona 1/2 yet but I feel bad for the hardcore fans as they seem to be ignored/brushed aside constantly.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - I don't know how they messed up the combat so bad going from 2 to this. The enemies not reacting to bullets at all, some encounter design, and the aiming itself being a mess (even with the patch) really hurt things overall. I've read that they kind of fixed the aiming in the PS4 remaster so I might get to that one day, it won't fix any of my other issues unfortunately.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - As with the original, I really enjoyed the story but some things were definitely worse this time around. Most of the "improved" mini-games were either not better or worse to do which made the court sessions a chore. Also wasn't a fan of how they seemed to crank up the fan service-y moments up to 11 this time around.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - A huge improvement over the first Revelations. It was cool to see Claire again and in a smaller scale RE game on top of things. I'll always prefer Mercs to Raid mode so there wasn't a lot of replay value for me there.
Lows:
Animal Crossing in 2015 (HHA/AF) - Everything with Animal Crossing was really disappointing for me this year. The worst was what felt like a huge bait and switch with the e3 debut for Amiibo Festival looking like a typical AC title at the very start. HHA is a decent concept but as a full retail title it really isn't cutting it for me.
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation - Yikes. I don't think I've played any AAA title on the Vita that hasn't been anything more than average at best. In the case of this one it was more on the disastrous end. I don't have a huge amount of experience with the Assassin's Creed series but I'm pretty sure all the other titles I've played were much better than this.
Sly 2 - Revisited this one fairly recently on my Vita. It didn't hold up so well. The game felt way too long and the hub worlds felt like they were designed strictly with Sly in mind. This wouldn't be a big deal but starting with 2 in the series you start to play as other characters a lot more and it becomes a chore to even get to mission markers each time. I'm glad that they seemed to put more thought into navigation in 4 (possibly 3 but I haven't played that on in years) at least.
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Post by Exhuminator on Dec 17, 2015 8:25:22 GMT -5
I have a soft spot for roguelikes (or rather BeneathAppleManorlikes), so I'd probably be okay with the bland dungeons. But I appreciate your advice on the game and I will read that review. Do you know if it is true that PoPoLoCrois for PSP had a lot of its content cut out for the USA release?
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Post by benoit489 on Dec 17, 2015 10:59:23 GMT -5
Highs:
The Last of Us - Almost halfway through the game currently and I'm enjoying it. Ammo is scarce enough that I have to really think about how I'm going to make it through a situation. Only thing that bugs me is that friendly NPCs can run into enemies without repercussion, but it beats having to babysit them all the time.
Shovel Knight - Had fun dishing out Shovel Justice on my Vita.
Killzone: Mercenary - Had ear surgery around the time I got this game. Had to spend long nights on the couch trying to fall asleep despite the throbbing and aching. Mercenary helped me get through it with some great multiplayer. If I had trouble sleeping, I'd just play this until I got tired again.
Lows:
Citizens of Earth - This could have been a high, if not for all the glitches. The final boss didn't even display properly on the Vita screen. Looked like it was covered in Vaseline and then wrapped in Saran wrap.
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation - Don't like being forced into 3 different personas. Frame rate is terrible and combat suffers from it due to inaccurate inputs. Music also falls flat.
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Post by mrnash on Dec 17, 2015 12:21:59 GMT -5
Highs: - Romancing Saga - Dynasty Warriors 8 - Age of Decadence - Serpent in the Staglands - Pillars of Eternity - Skyrim (It was a replay, but still amazing) - Hand of Fate
Average: - Project X Zone - Final Fantasy XIV
Low: - Didn't really have any
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Post by wyrdwad on Dec 17, 2015 14:19:24 GMT -5
I have a soft spot for roguelikes (or rather BeneathAppleManorlikes), so I'd probably be okay with the bland dungeons. But I appreciate your advice on the game and I will read that review. Do you know if it is true that PoPoLoCrois for PSP had a lot of its content cut out for the USA release? Not for the U.S. release, but for all releases -- the PSP game was advertised as a compilation of 1996's PopoloCrois Monogatari and 2000's PopoloCrois Monogatari II + extra content, but what we got was like a Cliff's Notes version of those two games... and not a particularly well-compiled one. At least three whole dungeons are missing from Popolo 1, several other dungeons were stripped of battles or shortened, whole story scenes are missing or changed (and replaced with filler material designed to tie together the loose ends this caused), the battle system was gutted, and the soundtrack was significantly reduced in scope. Popolo 2 fared a *little* better, in that only a small handful of story scenes were cut from it, but all the voice-acting was removed from non-movie scenes, all the movie scenes were redone (and are nowhere near as good as they were in the PS1 version, with one scene in particular actually being changed entirely), and the ending vocal theme was removed (which is also the case for Popolo 1 -- there are no vocal themes at all in the PSP version, making it literally the only Popolo title not to feature one). Oh, and PoPoRogue wasn't even acknowledged at all beyond having some of its mercenary characters used as summons, despite the original game being released in 1998, smack dab in the middle of the two titles the PSP game covers. The new content in the PSP game is pretty good, but it's not enough to make up for all that's been lost -- and again, that's not stuff omitted from the U.S. release, that's stuff omitted from *all* PSP releases, including the original Japanese. That's why I always tell people that if they don't know Popolo, the PSP game is probably fine... but it's a very poor substitute for the Japanese PS1 games, all of which are significantly better experiences. -Tom
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Post by Exhuminator on Dec 17, 2015 16:37:29 GMT -5
Thank you Tom for the clarification and concise detail. I really appreciate that. It's a damn shame the PSP version was reduced to such a state.
Also, I read through your other reviews at GameFAQs, and your Okage review convinced me to buy a copy today.
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Post by wyrdwad on Dec 17, 2015 18:27:06 GMT -5
Thank you Tom for the clarification and concise detail. I really appreciate that. It's a damn shame the PSP version was reduced to such a state. Also, I read through your other reviews at GameFAQs, and your Okage review convinced me to buy a copy today. Oh, yeah, Okage: Shadow King is legit awesome. You won't be disappointed! Glad I could help. -Tom
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Post by mrsuzuki on Dec 17, 2015 22:24:13 GMT -5
Note: All games are their Japanese versions that I'm commenting on.
Highs: Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) - I just about wrapped up this game, but wow, what an experience. Gameplay definitely has its weird quirks, and the AI is easily exploitable, but I got used to it. Each battle was unique and made me think. Great characters, beautiful soundtrack, and just great all-around fun.
Persona 4 The Golden (Vita) - Made me appreciate the game, the characters, everything all the more. And, while I believe a lot of people didn't like her in the West, I loved Marie as a new addition. Maybe I just like tsundere goth girls.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night (Vita) - With a soundtrack restricted to P4, I had my doubts at first, but there's significant variety, and I enjoyed the choreography, which all matched the respective characters' personalities. Rhythm timing and button presses are intuitive and match the dances really well, too. Only minus was the story, but that's not what I bought the game for, so whatevs.
Megaman 9 (PSN): I've wanted to play this for a long time, and boy was it just as great as I imagined. Excellent level designs, love the challenging difficulty.
Megaman 10 (PSN): Admittedly the gameplay wasn't as great as 9, but definitely still enjoyable. And holy crap the music is amazing! Doing less with the musical callbacks that 9 did, I felt that 10 went for a more dramatic and dynamic soundtrack. Farewell to Ballade and Cybersheep's Dream are insanely good.
Average: Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS) - Despite being a fan of the series and being excited for the sequel, I was a bit disappointed in this one, but perhaps that's because I was expecting more after Nocturne. Not a bad game, but the characters were annoying and art/design choices bothered me. Gameplay was OK, but with some really annoying oversights (not being able to avoid weak enemy ambushes).
Lost Heroes (3DS) - Not bad, but not great dungeon RPG featuring famous characters from Japanese tokusatsu and Gundam. A lot of these tokusatsu games that I've played end up being kusoge, but this one was surprisingly held together pretty well, without really doing anything new, lodging it firmly in average territory. Incidentally, it has a surprisingly dark atmosphere for a game based on shows marketed for children.
Tokimeki Memorial 2 (PSN) - I heard it surpassed 1 in quality, and was slightly disappointed. Not bad, but the romance development was lacking and the music was quite dull compared to 1.
Amagami Ebikore plus (Vita) - Unique dating sim/visual novel where you choose your daily schedule within a little-over-a-month time period (doesn't mean much in the end, though, since you'll just choose to hang with your chosen girl throughout that playthrough). Immature protagonist and unrealistic dialogue held back what would otherwise be an interesting game.
Growlanser (PSP) - Good, if many times frustrating, unique battles, with a storyline and world that didn't really pull me in. I really wanted to punch Tipi.
IA/VT (Vita) - Vocaloid Rhythm game. Trying it after P4:DAN, the timing and rhythms didn't feel as smooth, but serviceable if I want a change, I guess.
Low: Luminous Arc: Infinity (Vita) - Really typical Japanese SRPG with cliched characters. There was no strategy at all, all battles had exactly the same winning conditions, and the story got unnecessarily wordy towards the end. Only good point for me was the art for the female characters (i.e. swimsuits).
So overall, a pretty good year, with some good discoveries, revisiting older series, and not too many lows.
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Post by Purple Moss on Dec 19, 2015 12:35:41 GMT -5
I thought I had played more games this year. Here are some of mine: HIGH- Brandish 2 (SNES): Excellent game. Like I said before: Dark Souls '93. Combat is fun and fluid. Unfair at times, though. Also the portraits are gorgeous. - Dishonored: I used to think stealth games were frustrating, but this one provided a smooth experience. The Blink power is very cool, and it's the core of this game, but it kinda sucks that some of the other powers are useless. Eventually I beat it thrice (in Very Hard, and once in Hard, but it's not too hard) and also got all non-DLC achievements. Yay! AVERAGE- Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai: I've known this game for two years now... and I only beat it two months ago! I stopped playing it for no reason at all, and one day decided to pick it up again. I like the very open and varied world, but there were a few times when I spent a lot of time wondering where to go next. At least the game provides ways to easily navigate it, otherwise there would be a lot of walking. The story has that particular element of JRPGs: Magic and science. It's good but not particulary special, besides the varied cast and cool bosses. There are also many secrets, and I'm sure I missed a few, but one run is enough, I say. Unless there's a NG+ mode...? - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance: An introduction to TRPGs. It's easy to learn and easy to play. However, it gets very monotonous later on. You're battling against the same guys in the same maps. Regardless of that I still plan to finish all quests. All 300. Hm... - Driveclub: Tight racing. Needs more tracks, though, but still manages to keep each event fresh. Multiplayer is fun but some people can be so dirty. - Terra Battle (Android, F2P): Its gameplay is fun but it was getting way too grindy in later stages. They were long and had little variation between them, and the 'story' bit was just a few lines of "Watch out! Behind us!". The grinding could have been worse (luckily I had acquired two very strong units) but I eventually quit. Regardless of that, the music is great and the character art and aesthetics are unique. LOW- The PS service in my country still sucks. Xbox Live wins in that regard: fair prices in my local currency! Merry Christmas!
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Post by Digitalnametag on Dec 19, 2015 21:50:53 GMT -5
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance: An introduction to TRPGs. It's easy to learn and easy to play. However, it gets very monotonous later on. You're battling against the same guys in the same maps. Regardless of that I still plan to finish all quests. All 300. Hm... Might check a guide for that. There is a bug in the game that can lock you out of some quests permanently. Forget what the sequence is exactly but it happened to me years ago when the game was first released. Nothing like being stuck at 290ish completed quests. And the list. High Persona Q - One of the few pure dungeon crawlers I've actually beaten. Seeing the cast of my two favorite games again was awesome. The game does run a little long and the random encounters can mostly be cheesed with the instant death spells but I still really enjoyed it.
Lost Dimension - Surprisingly fun Valkyria Chronicles styled SRPG with a traitor mechanic. You start with 12 members but eventually whittle it down to 6. Pick wrong and the traitor(s) turn against you in the last fight! A short yet fun budget title.
Tales of Zestria - I'm a sucker for Tales games. Fun battle system and fun character interaction. Story is fairly typical stuff yet I cannot get enough of these games. Hopefully Besaria is even better.
Stella Glow - Pretty much Luminous Arc 4. Solid SRPG/Visual Novel hybrid with good music, fun battles, and a decent if typical story.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon - Why do I enjoy the Etrian crossover games more than the mainline ones? Fun mystery dungeon spin-off with 4 person parties and leveling like in the EO games.
P4 Dance - Played this well beyond getting the Platinum. Story mode is meh. Spent a lot of time replaying my favorite songs and working my way up to the highest difficulty. Have 30 hours on the game just from picking it up and playing every now and then. A much better game than I expected.
Atelier Shallie - My love for Gust games should be well known by this point. Excellent soundtrack (which I bought) and the most freedom yet in the PS3 games. Time limit? Not here.
Average Tales of Hearts R - It was alright. Suffered from some localization issues. Battle system didn't do anything really interesting like Zestria does. Still fun to play and I would buy the other R games if they release them here.
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold - Fun but really really long. 50 hours in and I gave up. Story wasn't strong enough for me to trudge through 15 more floors.
Majora's Mask 3DS - I can see why people like this one but I still prefer Ocarina of Time. And the swimming is so bad. Very pretty update though.
Shovel Knight - Was fun. Little on the easy side perhaps.
Low
Releasing my most anticipated games all at the end of the year. What gives? Stella Glow, Tales of Zestria, Trails SC, Trails of Cold Steel, Xenoblade X, and Disgaea 5 all in the last couple months! Gimme a break! Where was this stuff during the summer?
The ever growing backlog. Getting a raise and promotion this year allowed me to purchase most everything I ever wanted. Outside of a few odds and ends my PS3, PS2, PS1, DS, PSP, and Wii collections are complete. And I buy everything modern I want as it is released. Unfortunately this means everything keeps piling up. But at least it won't pile up much more seeing as I have most everything I want.
Batman Arkham Knight - A decent game but I really expected more after City. Disappointing boss fights, way too much Batmobile, and a story twist anyone remotely familiar with comic books saw coming from a mile away all make this the worst of the four Arkham games. Never thought I would say that I liked Origins better than a Rocksteady made game...
Little Battlers Experience - Level 5 makes some appealing looking games. That I get bored of after 10 hours or so. Ni No Kuni, Fantasy Life, Inazuma Eleven. LBX looked awesome. Customizing robots is cool. There is just little incentive to do it throughout the game. Sticking with one simple strategy throughout the game works well so why customize? The sub-quests are boring and the story is for a younger crowd. 15 years ago I would've loved this game. I'm worried Yo-Kai Watch will be the same way.
Criminal Girls - I have a penchant for terrible games. I own a lot of NIS games in particular. This is easily the worst game I have ever played and beaten. And I really can't tell you why I did.
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Post by Sac (a.k.a Icaras) on Dec 20, 2015 0:54:28 GMT -5
The high for me would be Final Fantasy XIV Heavensward, the story has been excellent, and I've enjoyed the new classes (Well, I dunno about the new healer, I've yet to really try it, but Machinist has become my main class, and I quite enjoy Dark Knight)
the low for me would be the reveal that World of Waracraft is going to have such a massive content cap between the last raid/major patch and the next expansion. As interesting as WoW: Legion looks, the gap we're facing is just too much time to stay subbed doing the same thing over and over, and I've done the legendary ring for my main and gotten him as geared as I can (Considering I don't pug and thus have no interest in going beyond LFR level).
Removing currency and purchasable gear as such a massive mistake (And funnily enough is a major reason why FF14 is so much more fun now, for me anyway)
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