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Post by alexmate on Nov 21, 2019 17:16:59 GMT -5
Joe & Mac Returns - Arcade (1994) 1st playthrough, time taken: 1 hour 30seconds (timer)
Good sequel. Action packed and good fun. Maybe a bit sexist in places, other than that a solid action platformer.
Rating: 7
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Post by alexmate on Nov 22, 2019 17:00:06 GMT -5
Spider-Man: The Video Game (1991) Arcade - Time taken: 54 minutes (timer)
Actually quite a fair game, only time it really enemy spammed was on the last two levels. A far fairer game than say Double Dragon. As per Sega Sound FX are punchy (pun intended) and the music is well composed, but forgettable, IMO B-Grade. Graphics are amazing for 1991, looks like a comic book. Unfortunately, I don't enjoy this as much as games like Streets of Rage and The Simpsons.
Rating: 7
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Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Nov 23, 2019 10:45:39 GMT -5
Giving too many candies can hypothetically make them miss out on EVs since they are no longer gained once they hit level 100. Realistically, it isn't much of an issue since EV yield tops out at 3 anyway so you could candy a fresh Pokémon up to level 99 and grind low level Pokémon until you get the values you want without hitting max level. You don't even have to put that much effort into EVs anymore I think. And you can still technically get EVs to add at level 100 I believe. You can send Pokémon off to EV train, essentially, and they'll just gain the EVs. Do that a couple times and you got that all taken care of. That also means you don't have to bother seeking out specific mons to kill. Natures can be changed via mints, and IVs can be maxed out with Hyper Training. That also doesn't really leave a lot of reason to spend too much on breeding, from what I can tell. Only egg moves and Hidden Power are things that still need to be bred I think. Then again, I'm no expert on this at all. But I am interested in trying to get some good mons, since it's easier than ever to do, and it's clear the game is more built around the post-game battling than the main story.
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Post by ResidentTsundere on Nov 24, 2019 3:09:40 GMT -5
I beat Strider (2014) on the Xbox 360. First-time playthrough, it took 6:59:59, heh.
For me, the game is a seven out of ten. It has some excellent parts, but some annoying parts. I also fell prey to some irritating glitches a couple of times; the first time, I got stuck in the level geometry and had to find a way out (unintentional speedrun strats?), and the second time, I got stuck on an elevator that just kept going up without spawning the last few enemies I needed to kill to move on to the next part. When I reloaded, I didn't fall prey to the glitch, but I lost at least 15 minutes of progress due to checkpoint placement. The game was slightly disappointing. My favorite parts were backtracking to get more powerups.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 24, 2019 7:32:28 GMT -5
Giving too many candies can hypothetically make them miss out on EVs since they are no longer gained once they hit level 100. Realistically, it isn't much of an issue since EV yield tops out at 3 anyway so you could candy a fresh Pokémon up to level 99 and grind low level Pokémon until you get the values you want without hitting max level. You don't even have to put that much effort into EVs anymore I think. And you can still technically get EVs to add at level 100 I believe. You can send Pokémon off to EV train, essentially, and they'll just gain the EVs. Do that a couple times and you got that all taken care of. That also means you don't have to bother seeking out specific mons to kill. Natures can be changed via mints, and IVs can be maxed out with Hyper Training. That also doesn't really leave a lot of reason to spend too much on breeding, from what I can tell. Only egg moves and Hidden Power are things that still need to be bred I think. Then again, I'm no expert on this at all. But I am interested in trying to get some good mons, since it's easier than ever to do, and it's clear the game is more built around the post-game battling than the main story. I thought that was the case but didn't see anything confirming it, but after looking again it seems like it's only Gen. I and II that have the level 100 limit.
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Post by alexmate on Nov 24, 2019 13:42:48 GMT -5
Cyber-lip (Arcade - Time Taken 45 minutes) Final playthrough took 45 minutes. Game plays like a cross between Contra and Robocop. Nice graphics and animation. Game is a bit dull and lacks personality though.
Rating: 7
The Simpsons (Arcade Time Taken: 48 minutes) Arguably Konami's finest beat em up and apart from the last two levels well balanced in terms of difficulty. I'm a huge Simpsons fan and loved seeing the early characters like three eyed fish, Marvin Monroe, the bear.
Rating: 8
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Post by dsparil on Nov 25, 2019 10:14:00 GMT -5
Pokémon Sword (First Time, Switch)
Pretty good overall, but the story is beyond flimsy. I like a lot of the new Pokémon designs and there's some new and unique evolution methods. Farfetch'd finally got its day with a very useful evolution. The Wild Area is nice for a while, but I ended up not visiting it much after about midway through. It does seem like the only place to get some Pokémon though. Gigantamaxing is pure gimmick. It does feel like an attempt to bring Mega Evolutions to every Pokémon, but it just ends up making it a visual flourish and little else. There technically isn't a Victory Road and Elite 4, but you get equivalents that are close enough.
Where this game really drops the ball is the story. There's barely any! You get some major set up right at the beginning, a few more small scenes towards the beginning and then absolutely nothing until the end. There's stuff going on in the background, but you're literally told not to worry about it at one point. Easily the weakest in entire series. It feels like a way to shoehorn in cover legendaries and very little else. The three rival trainers get more emphasis and even they feel very underdeveloped as characters. I think it says something when the new series seems to pretty much ignores all the characters from the game unlike the Sun/Moon one. Maybe the very worst thing is that there's both Fairy and Dragon gyms but zero reference to the classic legend of St. George fighting a dragon!
I guess this is kinda negative, but I like the series overall. Gameplay is solid as usual and it is fun seeing all the new designs since very little was previewed. It's just not going to change your mind if you don't like the core gameplay. That's all you get here.
I finished in 25:38 with Sirfetch'd, Ribombee, Orbeetle, Cinderace, Drakapult and Corviknight. I think a level 26 Cutiefly was the last addition I made.
Rating: 8
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Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Nov 25, 2019 11:01:00 GMT -5
I thought that was the case but didn't see anything confirming it, but after looking again it seems like it's only Gen. I and II that have the level 100 limit. The way it currently works is very counter-intuitive to me. I believe you just get the EVs instantly, so you can go up in stats without leveling. I was gonna mess around with it a bit, but my Switch is getting repaired.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 25, 2019 11:56:27 GMT -5
I thought that was the case but didn't see anything confirming it, but after looking again it seems like it's only Gen. I and II that have the level 100 limit. The way it currently works is very counter-intuitive to me. I believe you just get the EVs instantly, so you can go up in stats without leveling. I was gonna mess around with it a bit, but my Switch is getting repaired. Yeah, it is pretty confusing. Makes me wonder what the level up screen is even showing. I think it changed in Gen. V to get applied immediately. Gen. III and IV let you stick a Pokémon in a Box and take it out again to get the stat gains without a level up. Gen. I and II might actually be this way too, but some pages on Bulbapedia say that it does work but others say it doesn't so who knows? Edit: Arg, it just seems safest to assume that before Gen. V Pokémon can't gain EVs at level 100. It might actually be Gen. III and IV that don't let L100 Pokémon gain EVs through battle but can from Vitamins. This is all very confusing.
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Post by lurker on Nov 25, 2019 12:48:18 GMT -5
Pokémon Sword (First Time, Switch) Pretty good overall, but the story is beyond flimsy. I like a lot of the new Pokémon designs and there's some new and unique evolution methods. Farfetch'd finally got its day with a very useful evolution. The Wild Area is nice for a while, but I ended up not visiting it much after about midway through. It does seem like the only place to get some Pokémon though. Gigantamaxing is pure gimmick. It does feel like an attempt to bring Mega Evolutions to every Pokémon, but it just ends up making it a visual flourish and little else. There technically isn't a Victory Road and Elite 4, but you get equivalents that are close enough. Where this game really drops the ball is the story. There's barely any! You get some major set up right at the beginning, a few more small scenes towards the beginning and then absolutely nothing until the end. There's stuff going on in the background, but you're literally told not to worry about it at one point. Easily the weakest in entire series. It feels like a way to shoehorn in cover legendaries and very little else. The three rival trainers get more emphasis and even they feel very underdeveloped as characters. I think it says something when the new series seems to pretty much ignores all the characters from the game unlike the Sun/Moon one. Maybe the very worst thing is that there's both Fairy and Dragon gyms but zero reference to the classic legend of St. George fighting a dragon! I guess this is kinda negative, but I like the series overall. Gameplay is solid as usual and it is fun seeing all the new designs since very little was previewed. It's just not going to change your mind if you don't like the core gameplay. That's all you get here. I finished in 25:38 with Sirfetch'd, Ribombee, Orbeetle, Cinderace, Drakapult and Corviknight. I think a level 26 Cutiefly was the last addition I made. Rating: 8 I kinda see Gigantamaxing as a combo of Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves. Didn't Diamond/Pearl have issues with being watered down in translation? As for "Maybe the very worst thing is that there's both Fairy and Dragon gyms but zero reference to the classic legend of St. George fighting a dragon!", maybe they didn't want to be too on the nose.
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Post by dsparil on Nov 25, 2019 13:20:38 GMT -5
The difference with Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing and ME and Z-Moves is that it's so much more restricted. If it's an element in a trainer battle, you have to use it or you will very likely lose, and it's always going to be on the opponent's last Pokémon. I don't think they're available in normal online battles at all either. That was makes it seem like a visual gimmick. Online raid battles are a little different since the opportunity to do so rotates, but in an offline one, you can right away and might as well.
I don't see the translation as being an issue with the story. There's less of it in general.
It might a little on the nose to include it, but it's a little weird to have both types of gyms and not even bring up any kind of Fairy versus Dragon stuff in any way, shape or form. Fairy was created specifically to counter Dragon! It would be an interesting and natural way to contrast the standard depiction of Fairy trainers.
Edit: I feel like this came off argumentative which I didn't mean to do.
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Post by zerker on Nov 25, 2019 16:44:52 GMT -5
I forgot to post one: The Messenger (PS4; first time).
Best side-scrolling Ninja action platformer. 10/10 I believe my save clock was about 10 hours. Onto the free DLC (which won't qualify per the rules, but that's fine).
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Post by JoeQ on Nov 27, 2019 17:21:22 GMT -5
Shining in the Darkness (PS4 / Mega Drive) - First playthrough, Time: , but a lot Played on PS4 as part of the Sega Mega Drive Classics collection. A simple and a bit archaic first person dungeon crawler. Despite some irritations (mostly the high and inconsistent encounter rate) and way too easy first half it was enjoyable enough. A good dungeon crawler for newcomers to the genre, since it has simple mechanics and is not very punishing even if you die. Rating: 3/5Alphabet Challenge: ABCDE--H--K-MNOP-RST-----Z
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Post by dsparil on Nov 29, 2019 10:12:21 GMT -5
Ys Seven (macOS via WINE, First Time)
In playing VIII first out of all the Ys games this year, what strikes me the most about Seven is how close VIII sticks to its template despite coming out seven years later. The lack of a jump is a pretty big difference though. As the site's article mentions, this does have the effect of flattening out the dungeons, but there's still some verticality and the dodge kinda works like a jump at times. Crafting is generally not too time consuming as you almost always have enough materials without grinding. The main exception is getting the best weapons at the very end which is super tedious and I only did enough for two out of five. Story-wise, it's enough to get the job done at the beginning and doesn't really get interesting until the second half. The dungeons are okay and usually have some kind of gimmick to makes them a little more unique.
I do have some miscellaneous problems with the game. Specific to the PC port is the way that the interface only displays gamepad buttons as "help" inside of menus. It made certain aspects completely inscrutable, and certain tutorial screens are actually wrong when using the keyboard as they only referred to gamepad controls and the keyboard works differently. Not a significant issue, but it feels a little sloppy. MoC does give an option to show keyboard controls instead. It would have been nice to see that patched in. A much bigger problem is the fact that the party AI is dumb as rocks and constantly gets confused. The AI setting in the menu (same target/different target/weakest target) don't seem to actually do anything. What balances this out (somewhat cheaply) is that AI partners seem to be totally immune to environmental hazards and seem to take less damage for some reason. It almost seems like enemies will prioritize the player, but I'm not sure exactly what's going on. Having different types of damage is much more tedious in this game than in VIII due to the AI issues.
I finished in 17:08:52 according to the timer which I know is off.
Rating: 8
Memories of Celceta doesn't seem to run in WINE at all—the launcher works but there seems to be a DirectX 11 issue—so I guess I'm done unless I can find an unused license for Windows and install in a VM. I've tried three different systems (my officially "vintage" MacBook, a newer MacBook Pro and a recent Linux running workstation for comparison), and it doesn't work on any of them and all with the same error. It's a little ironic that it'd probably still run well enough on my laptop if not for the DX11 problem.
Ranking:
I'm not really sure on rankings apart from having VIII, I+II and OiF as the top 3. I gave an 8 to everything except VIII (10), OiF(9) and II(9). VIII is my favorite in pretty much every single way. It feels a little unfair to even compare it to others in that it's the only one that an "epic" in both scope and length. You can literally play through the first six games (I/II/III/MotS/DoY/V) in the time it takes to finish it! I+II are still fun today without taking historical consideration in account. OiF is a great remake that still keeps some of the spirit of the original. I'm less clear on the rest aside from thinking MotS is a little better than DoY excluding presentation.
VIII I+II OiF
VI Seven IV: MotS IV: DoY Origins V III (but still fun)
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Post by JoeQ on Nov 29, 2019 10:49:38 GMT -5
Onwards to Ys IX!
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