cr1s

Nuke 'em From Orbit Get to Wave 20 in an Invaders game. Shoutout to my good friend @olliebear66t for being a fantastic co-op partner, as usual. Thanks to silverpassenger for the help as well. Invaders is a co-op mode in StarBlood Arena that pits you and up to 3 other players against waves of enemies (a few regular types and a boss type) as you defend 3 bases from being destroyed. From what I've noticed, the only thing that seems to change is that damage received from enemies slowly increases with each wave. We were 3 players when attempting this trophy and it wasn't too bad as it only took us 5-6 tries. It's definitely easier with 4 players, but we felt we could make it with just the 3 of us, so we pushed on until we did. @olliebear66t and I devised a great strategy from an earlier run with the 2 of us (in which we only made it to Wave 13), which was to play on the Altar map and only defend one of the bases in a side area so as not to get surrounded or feel too overwhelmed by enemies. I would've uploaded my run, but for some reason the camera is off (i.e. it's not exactly the way I see it - it goes to the side a fair bit) in my recorded VR videos, so the gameplay isn't accurate and doesn't feel nice to watch.

Nice format for a checklist! And that's quite the backlog you have there. Mine is pretty much like that as well. Good luck with the both of them! I look forward to reading your thoughts on the games you'll play. Especially Danganronpa.

Today's weather:

#397 and Trophy #17,000 - Mass Effect: Andromeda Andromeda's Finest Collect all trophies. Difficulty: 3/10 Enjoyment: 7.5/10 My favorite video game series of all time is completed once again! First of all, the platinum difficulty is that low because I did the multiplayer route for the difficulty-related trophy, i.e. I skipped an Insanity run and went for the 5 Gold Extractions in multiplayer. That's obviously a lot easier, especially if you happen to be in a team of high-leveled players who end up doing most of the work. Yes, I did it the easy way. Shame on me and all that jazz. So, Mass Effect: Andromeda... The "odd one out" in the Mass Effect series, according to a lot of people. I went in with lower expectations this time (partially because of that), but all things considered, it was actually quite an enjoyable journey! Contrary to the Shepard Trilogy, Andromeda takes place in Andromeda (for real ). Andromeda tries to distance itself from the Shepard Trilogy, even when Shepard is still (briefly) mentioned, the events are loosely connected to the trilogy, and the game takes place in the same universe with most of the existing lore being incorporated into it. It's different in that it has a brand new story with a brand new cast of characters. The former is fairly decent, but leaves much to be desired. The latter is quite varied and includes most of the alien species. The game has so many humorous moments that it felt like I was playing Mass Effect 3's Citadel DLC at times. In addition to that, the conversations are usually entertaining, even if the dialogue is a bit weak here and there. Some of my favorite moments are those random conversations and friendly banters on the ship and between the two squadmates you take with you when landing on planets. Speaking of which, Drack is hands down my favorite squadmate. His snarky remarks never fail to crack me up and he's a badass who can and will casually rush towards enemies and mash that melee button like a boss (at least on Normal difficulty). The graphics and level of detail that went into the different worlds are absolutely amazing! Easily some of the best I've seen on PS4 so far. The scenery and environments are just breathtaking, and sometimes I can't help but stop for a bit and look at them because they're so beautiful and rich. If only I were playing it on a bigger TV (I have a 32" Sony Bravia in my small room) because damn, this game deserves it! Combat is more or less the same as previous installments' (even a bit better overall), so no complaints here. Exploration is greatly recommended, as the game is packed with side content, most of which is worth experiencing. The platinum trophy took me around 75 hours, and that's including about 12 hours for the few multiplayer trophies. I've completed all of the single-player trophies in 63 hours, and I was at 84% in-game completion when I did so. I went for most of the side content (some of which isn't even required for the platinum trophy) and didn't regret spending all of that additional time doing so. The story is rather short compared to the amount of content Andromeda has to offer, which is a real pity. There's always the sequel, though! Or not... The game has its fair share of problems, but they haven't hampered my enjoyment of the game too much. For one, it still has a lot of technical problems in both single player and multiplayer after all this time. Things like NPCs teleporting, enemies occasionally moonwalking, some animation glitches. Hell, my character even randomly repeated an exact line of dialogue she had said way earlier in the story! However, things like that don't matter too much to me in the grand scheme of things. They're still there, though, and the game could've used a few more months for the these issues to be ironed out. Would I still recommend this game? Yes. However, don't expect anything stellar like any of the previous games. If you lower your expectations then you will probably enjoy it for what it is. The good news is that you don't need to have played the Shepard Trilogy beforehand to fully understand the story of this game. However, I'd highly recommend doing so if you can find the time for it!

Weekly Update #24 (January 7-13): Hello and welcome to another Weekly Update! The search for an escape route hasn't returned anything yet, as the first island was entirely combed and found to be devoid of any means of escape. Yes, "first island", because there are more islands in here. That said, they seem to be currently inaccessible. I wonder why... All in due time! You know what they say: "patience is a virtue"! Whoa! Don't tell me you pop up out of the blue like @Monokuma? Does it run in the family or something? "Family"? What are you talking about? Don't link me to that monster! ;w; Anyway, it seems like this island isn't dangerous, so at least there's that. Many locations were also found, including a farm. That farm was weird in that there were no cows inside. But Usami swooped in and saved the day because- Yeah, about that... What kind of analogy was that? That's even weirder than a farm with no cows! A-wa-wa! I was just trying to lighten the mood! ;w; Moving on... Several questions remain: Where exactly are we? Why were we brought here? Why can't we leave? However, the answers to these questions remain shrouded in mystery. I know, I know... All shall be revealed in due time! Where exactly have I heard that before, I wonder? *cough* @Monokuma *cough* Eeek! Are you sick? Unacceptable! You should be treated immediately! Usami, I'm fine! You don't need to worry about me! I just don't want anything to happen to you! ;w; Seriously, I'm fine. I was just faking it... Never mind that, you wouldn't understand anyway. But yeah, that's pretty much what happened during the past week on Jabberwock Island! Or is it Islands? Set of Islands? Islandception? Ahhh, who cares? Let's just move on already! Overview: That was quite an eventful week, as my favorite video game series of all time is completed once again! But why should the excitement stop here? Remembering that I bought a VR 6 months ago, I take advantage of the fact that @Monokuma isn't here to go back to one of his games! Oh, how I would've loved to see the look on his face. It would've probably been something like this: Oh, wait... That's not even the only Monokuma Game I went back to! Progress Update: My journey through Mass Effect: Andromeda comes to an end as I got its platinum on Friday! Thoughts on the game and its trophies coming soon (I swear! ). In the meantime, I'll just share the following advice: Watch out for Gravity Wells. They may leave (un)desirable side effects after use. Don't believe me? I have some visual proof for you. That was a severe frame rate drop, in case that wasn't obvious. Speaking of Andromeda - Completed the following series: Mass Effect! Still speaking of Andromeda - Added a new milestone: 17,000th Trophy - Mass Effect: Andromeda ! All in all, I enjoyed it and am glad it ended up being a milestone. Went back to The King of Fighters XIII on Tuesday and BattleFantasia on Wednesday and got a few more trophies from those games. Went back to StarBlood Arena on Saturday. Hey @Monokuma, watch as I go back to each and every one of your games. I got a good chunk of the trophies already. Many of the trophies are fairly quick to get, but some (like playing 25 ranked matches with each character) will take some time. In any case, I'll keep going back to these games for sure. Added the following games to my backlog: Muv-Luv, Muv-Luv Alternative, Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds, Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk, and Muramasa Rebirth: Complete Collection. If that isn't enough of an incentive to focus on my Vita backlog, I don't know what is. Plans For Next Week: Play some more StarBlood Arena Go back to Max Payne 3 and start working on the single player Play a Vita game, most likely one of the VNs I've recently gotten. That's it for this Weekly Update! Thanks for tuning in, and I'll see you next week! Now that it's over, it's time to explore the second island and see what it has in store!

From the January Sale on the EU PlayStation Store: More VNs! I can finally get into Muv-Luv, Hakuoki, and Psychedelica now! I also got this game: I've always been interested in Muramasa Rebirth, but never spotted the Complete Collection on sale. Now that I did, I had to get it! With all of the Vita games I've recently gotten along with the ones that are already in my backlog, my Vita will be used more often for sure!

I guess writing a post for every platinum is out of the question these days. Huge update incoming as there's quite a bit of catching up to do! I'll leave my latest platinum (Mass Effect: Andromeda) for another post, as I'm still gathering my thoughts on it. #390 - Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee HD (Vita) Platamire Munch Unlock all other Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee HD trophies. Difficulty: 3/10 Enjoyment: 7/10 Munch's Oddysee is the second and latest main game in what is supposed to be a quintology (which, if we're lucky, will be completed by 2050 ). Initially released in 2001, Munch's Oddysee follows Munch (no shit! ) and the series' mascot Abe. Our two heroes are sent on a quest to rescue their respective species (Gabbit and Mudokon) from extinction and get the last can of "Gabbiar" (caviar) in the process. A pretty amusing story, and the Oddworld humor and charm are there and as good as ever. Essentially a puzzle platformer, Munch's Oddysee is the first game in the series to make the switch to 3D, whereas the previous games (at the time) were in 2D. You get to control both Munch and Abe (separately) throughout the story while solving puzzles and defeating the various enemies you encounter on your way. The puzzles are fairly easy and don't require much thought to solve. The game is divided into 23 to 25 levels (depending on your Quarma level) of different lengths (between ~ 5 and 30 minutes, depending on each level). While the main goal is simply to make it to the end of each level, the ending you get depends on whether you save or kill the Fuzzles, Scrubs, and Egg Crates that are scattered throughout the game. Each playable character has distinct characteristics that make him more efficient during a peculiar situation. For example, Abe is faster than Munch but cannot swim, and the opposite applies to Munch (although he can use a wheelchair that makes him travel faster). You will come across vending machines that provide you with "refreshingly twisted" drinks that give you new or enhanced abilities for a limited time (free of charge ), such as faster movement, higher jumping, and zapping enemies. Abe can also possess enemies using SpooceShrubs, which are also used to open doors. Oh, and he can fart too. That's pretty much the gist of it. Simple enough, but it works. Unfortunately, Munch's Oddysee is marred by technical issues on both PS3 and Vita, but those issues seem to be worse in the Vita version. The game would often freeze for a second and occasionally lock up my Vita when using vending machines, thus requiring me to force restart my Vita. It didn't happen too much, but when it did, it was kinda annoying, especially if that meant losing a good chunk of progress. At least the game auto-saves after every level, so there's that. The controls and camera aren't intuitive (well, it is an old game...), but I got used to them quickly. The platinum trophy requires you to do at least 2 playthroughs: one for Angelic Quarma (best ending), and one for Black Quarma (worst ending). That said, it will most likely take more playthroughs due to an awfully glitched trophy ("I Regrow Nothing"). For reference, I got that trophy on my first attempt in the PS3 version, but it took me 3 attempts until I got it in the Vita version. It even took someone on PST.org a dozen playthroughs (literally) before they finally got it. So yeah, I guess it somewhat depends on your luck. Besides that, it's your typical platinum trophy: miscellaneous trophies, a few trophies that require you to play the game in a certain way, etc. Nothing difficult or (too) time-consuming. Another amusing and fun game in the Oddworld series... when it runs well. I hope they'll actually finish SoulStorm this year as I can't wait to play some more Oddworld. #391 - Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (NA) Hong Kong Legend Earn all the Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition trophies to unlock this platinum trophy. Difficulty: 3/10 Enjoyment: 8/10 Sleeping Dogs is an open-world game that takes place in Hong Kong and has you control Wei Shen, an officer of the law who ends up playing both sides of it. It was initially scheduled to be released as the third game in the True Crime series, but Activision cancelled it at the very last minute and sold its publishing rights to Square Enix, who revamped it and released it as the game we all know today. And what do you know, Activision eventually abandoned the True Crime franchise. Thank goodness Square Enix salvaged this game because such a great game wouldn't have deserved to end up in that predicament. It might look like a generic GTA clone, but there's more to it than meets the eye. Sleeping Dogs has its own flair and charm. From the enjoyable combat to the engaging story to the fun side content, it all meshes well together to make for a great game. If you're a fan of open-world games and/or are looking to experience an engaging story, make sure you play this one! #392 - Wolfenstein: The New Order (GER) Wolfenstein master Collect all trophies Difficulty: 4/10 Enjoyment: 8/10 #393 - Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (GER) The Old Blood master Collect all trophies Difficulty: 4/10 Enjoyment: 8/10 Wolfenstein... enough said. But seriously, what more can be said? The gameplay is a lot of fun and there are some awesome combat sections. The story in each game is pretty decent as well. Highly recommended to any FPS fan. The German versions are entirely in German, but you don't need any knowledge of the German language to play them. If you've already played them in your native language and ever get the urge to play them again, just go for them and enjoy that awesome gameplay all over again! You can easily get them from the German PlayStation Store, and I assume it'd be cheaper than finding a physical copy. #394 - Danganronpa 1+2 Reload (PS4) Despair's Last Reward Earned every other trophy in the game Difficulty: 2.5/10 Enjoyment: 8.5/10 Danganronpa 1+2 Reload is a bundle that features the first two Danganronpa games. In other words... double the Despair! These games are part of the Hope's Peak story arc. In each game, a group of 15 "Ultimate" students is trapped in a school and forced to participate in a killing game. Basically, a murder happens in each chapter, and after a thorough investigation, the remaining students will have to participate in a Class Trial to determine the blackened based on a majority vote. If that vote is correct, then only the blackened will be executed, otherwise everyone except for the blackened will be executed. The executions can be gruesome and are always catered to the blackened's personality. Whoever is still alive at the end will get to "graduate", meaning they will go back to the outside world. Each chapter is divided into Daily Life, in which you explore the school, spend time with your classmates, and advance the story, and Deadly Life, in which you investigate the murder that took place at the end of Daily Life and gather clues related to it. The chapter culminates in a Class Trial, in which you must determine the blackened's identity. The cast of characters is diverse, and each character has their own distinct personality. Most of them initially come off as likeable, but even the few who don't aren't too bad. The soundtrack is quite immersive and great at getting you into the game even more. The gameplay mostly consists of interacting with classmates. In addition, you also explore the school and go through the Class Trial, the latter of which is an all-out debate war, with emphasis on refuting or consenting other characters' arguments. There are also some minigames that you will go through during Class Trials, but they aren't worth mentioning. The platinum is really easy, although it takes a small bit of effort due to School / Island Mode and Magical Miracle Girl Monomi. Those are side minigames that are separate from the main story and take a light-hearted approach to Danganronpa. Besides that, it's quite a typical platinum. Both games are part of the trophy list, and both feature some very similar trophies: completing the game, filling every character's Report Card, getting all endings in School / Island Mode, a few trophies related to Class Trials, etc. Despair Simulator Danganronpa is one of my favorite Visual Novel series of all time, and this is a great bundle for anyone who's looking to get into it and doesn't happen to have a Vita. If you have a Vita then you should obviously play the games there first! #395 - Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (PS4) Pragmatism's Last Reward Earned every other trophy in the game. Difficulty: 3/10 Enjoyment: 7/10 Not much I can say about this one. Ultra Despair Girls is a third-person shooter spin-off game in the Danganronpa series that takes place in-between the first two games. Despite that, it's recommended to play it after finishing both games because of some spoilers. This game features a "kids vs adults" story that started off as dull but grew on me a bit as it progressed. The gameplay is fairly enjoyable. There are many types of Monokumas you will encounter throughout your journey in Towa City, each having their own distinct features: regular Monokumas simply rush at you and try to melee you to death, Siren Monokumas call for reinforcements, Bomber Monokumas shoot at you with grenades, etc. etc. Each chapter also features a boss fight at the end. That's one part of the gameplay. The other part consists of solving puzzles included in Arcade Machines, whose objective is to kill or sneak past an entire group of Monokumas to reach the exit of the room ahead. The game still features some Visual Novel elements, albeit to a lesser extent compared to the main games. I think the anime cutscenes are pretty awesome, though! The platinum trophy is quite straightforward: story-related trophies, collectible trophies, miscellaneous trophies, and some grinding. Although the game has 3 difficulty levels, there are no difficulty-related trophies. However, playing on a higher difficulty lessens some of the grind later on, and the highest difficulty isn't even that bad. So yeah, this game is a bit of a mixed bag for me, but it leans more towards being a good game, thankfully. I'd still recommend playing it, but what I wouldn't recommend is going in with high expectations. #396 - Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (NA) Harmony's Last Reward Acquire all trophies. Difficulty: 4/10 Enjoyment: 9/10 Since I've already reviewed this game, I'll just leave this here: I've rated the difficulty slightly lower this time as this is my second time going for the platinum, so it felt easier: I got "Monolithic Achievement" within an hour and a half of first attempting it this time, whereas it took me 8 hours the first time "No Stopping This Outlaw" only took me a few tries to get this time, whereas it took me a couple of hours the first time I was more prepared to tackle Despair Dungeon this time since I had taken notes of what worked (and what didn't) the first time And there we go. The journey to my 400th platinum continues! No, I don't know what it'll be.

Cryptographer Complete 20 Remnant puzzles in a single playthrough. Gotta love Alien Sudoku.

Weekly Update #23 (January 2-6): Hello and welcome to a brand new Weekly Update! It's been quite a while since the last one, but as I've mentioned before, I'm very excited to be back and doing them again! As some of you know, @Monokuma is currently out of commission due to as-yet-unknown reasons. Who knows what exactly is going on? Maybe he's secretly plotting something like the mischievous bear he is, or maybe he's gone haywire. Your guess is as good as mine. In the meantime, however, Usami seems to be set on replacing him. Isn't that right, Usami? ... Usami? USAMI? Will you stop that? You're making me dizzy! I feel like... I'm going to... Oh, no! I'm sorry about that! You see, I was just practicing for my magic trick! Magic trick? What are you on about? And how is doing that practicing for a magic trick? O_O I knew you would be interested in seeing it! Alright, here we go! 3... 2... 1... No, I never said I- What- *rubs eyes* What sorcery is this? Where are we? It's not sorcery, it's magic! And I've taken all of us to Jabberwock Island! Well, sorcery is a form of- Wait, Jabberwock Island? Where in the world is that? I've never heard of such a place before. Now, now! You don't need to worry about that! All of your troubles are now over! Enjoy the rest of your lives on this beautiful island! And before you think about it, there's absolutely no way to escape, so don't even bother trying to do so! Wow, okay... That's a lot of information to process at once... But all of that can wait! I have a Weekly Update to do, so let's get on with it! Jabberwock Island... The rest of my life... No way to escape... *unintelligible mumbling* ... Maybe I should explore this island later on. Overview: This week marked my comeback to trophy hunting after a small hiatus! I continued from where I left off, and let's see... I didn't successfully complete Despair-A-Ton #1 after all. Oh, well. @Monokuma won for once... and he's not even here to bask in all that glory! That said, there was also something else @Monokuma made me do. If he thought Despair-A-Ton #1 would make me forget about that, he's simply WRONG! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you... the results of @Monokuma's second Seasonal Challenge! And now, let's check out what happened this week! While he's not showing himself here, I did see him there... Him and his "cute little cubs"! Wait, what is this I don't even- However, the Despair thankfully came to an end, and I returned to Andromeda to continue my long journey there. Or not... Progress Update: My second Danganronpa marathon came to an end after I got the platinum in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (NA) on Saturday! Thoughts on the game and its trophies here: I went back to Mass Effect: Andromeda on Sunday and got a few more trophies in it. I've reached 100% viability on the last discoverable planet and also finished my 20th Remnant puzzle. I'm now at 60% in-game completion and will focus more on the main story now that I have most of the side content (so far) completed. I can't wait to get back to it as it's been a while since I progressed the main story. 😅 Plans For Next Week: Mass Effect: Andromeda Go back to StarBlood Arena once and for all! Or will I? That's it for this Weekly Update! If you'll excuse me, I'm going to explore this island because I'm sure there's a way to escape somewhere... See you next Sunday, everyone!

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (NA) Harmony's Last Reward Acquire all trophies.

And that's Despair Dungeon completed for the second time!

Here we go again!

The First of Many Defeat the first boss of Despair Dungeon: Monokuma's Test. Quite an appropriate one.