YaManSmevz Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 On 1/28/2022 at 4:11 PM, rjkclarke said: I'll be honest, I didn't really think anyone would notice that I hadn't been posting. Ayo look over there!! *posts note* People notice your absence because you are a well-liked mafucka. ..wait, what? Who put that there?? Don't look at me man, I ain't seen shit! Quote The Yakuza games can be super absorbing if you let them, and unfortunately it looks like it's a trap that I fell into again this time. I haven't touched 0 since September, so I'm kinda hoping that happens to me. My dance with the Hitman trilogy is sadly coming to an end, maybe Yakuza can fill the void? Quote That's so true, I thought it'd maybe take ten more hours than the platinum would, not close to fifty more haha! Which reminds me - I either fail the backlog challenge miserably, invent a Carl pill so I can stay awake indefinitely (unfortunately my brains already done that for me, it just can't function like that ) or I start busting out those swaps pretty sharp-ish. Aww man! Yeah it's amazing how much time can evaporate thanks to completing some of these games. So much that you can do in games nowadays, but if you're the completionist type? It's as classic an example of 'blessing and a curse' as you could find! Quote A really bloody weird one..... So...... I don't ever think I've actually gone into the order on here, despite mentioning it plenty. So I'll do it now. The order I played them was this. Y1 (PS2)> Y2 (PS2)> Y5(PS3)> Y4 (PS3)> Y0(PS4)> Kiwami (PS4)> Y6 (PS4) > Kiwami 2 (PS4)> Y:Dead Souls (PS3)> Judgment (PS4) > Y3 (PS4) I darted all over the timeline really - Yakuza 5 was the one that made me really fall in love with the series again, that and the fact it was another white whale platinum for a while - which is why it will probably always be my favourite one. That's so interesting! Was there a long break where you fell out of following the series and that's why you went straight to 5? I like how it's all over the place, but given the years the games came out it makes sense in a roundabout way! Quote But playing 4 and 5 way before playing 3 was probably a big part of the reason 3 didn't quite resonate with me as much. Even if the Kiwamis blow me away as I suspect they might, I still may call it on the series after that based on what I've heard about 3 and 4. Quote That was a great moment - caught me off guard too - especially what Gren looked like, the dude that looked like a store brand version of John Leguizamo. Then you think about it for a moment, and then it all clicks that it's exactly why they're expected to use glamours. Toad and little TJ might look a bit freaky, but unless you're me they don't look immediately terrifying Hahahahaha he kinda did have a John Leguizamo look to him! Yeah definitely little TJ could use the glamor treatment, at least one that would change his little pipsqueak voice. Maybe a 70s Shaft-esque baritone would make him less unnerving? Quote Yep - I've got the PS3 version unfortunately - but I'm sure you and I can find something to buddy up with at some point in the future after we're done with RE5 though - if you and DrunkenEngineer end up going for The Last of Us I might be tempted to join in too. I owe it to myself to at least finish that game at some point I think - just to make sure I've not been horrifically misguided about dropping it completely all those years ago. That reminds me - I gotta get crackin on Res 5, I will need your assistance quite soon! I feel the same about GTA V. Maybe not all the online stuff, but in the very least I know I am capable of completing all the single player content. Quote Oh that sounds like a real arsepain - from what I remember of GTAV those stunt jumps were really finicky too - like they'd only register as complete if all four of your wheels hit the ground at the same time, and a specific spot. So I imagine having to do those from scratch might be a real pain! Oh yes.... There's an airport one in particular where you have to drive up the left edge of the ramp so that you twirl, and that's one of the ones I can't remember if I got or not! Just a big steamin pile of stinky, man. On 1/28/2022 at 5:21 PM, rjkclarke said: Classic Review Platinum #206 Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4) Excellent write-up! This reinforces my short-term gaming goals including only 0 and the kiwamis - I'm genuinely excited to get to these two games (especially after the writing clinic you just put on this one!) but as for the series beyond them, I can't say that fit into even my medium-term gaming goals. Especially when you say that this one directly addresses stuff touched on in 0! I think it's so dope that they worked on these games more or less concurrently with that one, so that 1 and 2's updates would include stuff to make 0 fit in a bit better. A very clever move! There's a lot of stuff you've got me looking forward to - the Clan Creator comes to mind, not just because the mini-game sounds great, but to hear you tell it I'll get flashbacks of my days following professional wrestling, which I'd never be mad at? Also I wouldn't worry about lengthiness in the write-ups, you've always had a knack for keeping your enthusiasm high and topics on point. They're always a joy to read through, I assure you! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 (edited) On 29/01/2022 at 6:23 AM, The_Kopite said: Firstly, it's nice to see you back posting here again! My wife has The Summoner somewhere, she always liked that game but I never got around to trying it but wow didn't realise about those load times! That's surprising news about the Commodore, though yeah sometimes retro games can be as expensive if not more than the console it was made for! Thanks man, it's nice to be back! Today is probably the first time I'll be properly active again. I'll try not to let a game distract me so much from posting next time! I'd love to be able to play Summoner 1 and 2 with trophies - If I started a petition though, I'd have to create about 300,000 alt accounts to even have a sniff of a chance of someone taking notice. Those games honestly have some of the most interesting lore written for video games, but they are unfortunately probably consigned to history now. That's the weird thing with retro games - especially when the games end up being more expensive than the actual console. On 29/01/2022 at 6:23 AM, The_Kopite said: Well from what I've seen and the time between your posts here, yes you were definitely engrossed in it. Glad it was positive overall ? What is the game you'd say you've been the most engrossed in btw? Just a little bit haha What game have I been the most engrossed in? That's a really good question actually - I'd never really thought about it too much. Here's a few off the top of my head. I'd say Yakuza 5 is a really good contender for that..... I was in a very dark place mentally when I played that, but it was an incredibly good form of escapism. That game literally took over my life, to a probably unhealthy amount. But that's exactly what I wanted, however unhealthy that probably was. I wanted anything that would distract me from the real world, so that did it's job a little too well. Skyrim might be another one too. I think I've said before how I prefer Oblivion, but Skyrim absolutely consumed so much of my time when I played that when it released. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is another one..... A little less depressing though. I remember just relentlessly playing it for a week whilst I was house-sitting for my brother - who forgot to show me how his cooker worked ..... So for the first couple of days before I figured out how it worked I was literally playing The Witcher all day living off of cheese sandwiches and coffee. I wrote a pretty good script that week too - which, I might actually be turning into a short film this year, fingers crossed. I didn't even finish it either, but it really got me hooked in. Final Fantasy X - One of my best friends and I started a playthrough on separate consoles over a summer about ten years ago now (probably longer) where we were both aiming to do everything (this was pre trophies, so must have been before I had a PS3) but that was a really engrossing time, he lived 2 doors down from me, so we would be round each others houses, watching each others progress, or just having a laugh, so wanting to keep up with him made that really engrossing. Even if I did actually call Tidus ROB (yes with capitals ) because I forgot I was naming my character not my profile. I should have known better as a FF fan haha How about you? I'm sure we've all got plenty of games that really got the hook into us. On 29/01/2022 at 6:23 AM, The_Kopite said: I never had a SNES so obviously never had a Super Game Boy, but yeah must have been really cool back in the day to be able to play Game Boy games on the TV. That would have taken Pokemon Blue to a whole new level for me! Dr Robotnik's MBM is fun definitely. Dr Mario too. That Super Game Boy was very cool, I reckon you would have loved it. The N64 kind of had one too - but I think it was a little more specific to Pokemon. You could play Pokemon Red and Blue through Pokemon Stadium, and unlock double and triple speed from what I remember. In fact I think one of my N64 Controllers has that little gadget with Pokemon Silver in it to this very day if I went and checked. I always thought Dr Mario was a little basic, as it only had the two colours instead of however many Puyo Puyo has - 4 I think? But it was an older game, so I can forgive it haha. On 29/01/2022 at 6:23 AM, The_Kopite said: Wel I'm almost done with Puyo Puyo Champions, got a few puyos to pop for 100,000 total trophy and then there's the Prismatic Popper 4 trophy. That is a tough one but I'll get it eventually. Sadly for the 100,000 total puyos popped trophy, I had to implement an AFK method as it is a massive grind. If I was writing a trophy guide for it, the grind tag for that trophy would be the first thing I'd do lol You're getting close then! That's awesome. Yeah I'm not a fan of when you basically have to AFK to reasonably get a trophy - that's when you know a grind has gotten a little too much. If you ever go for platinum in FFIX if you wanted you could do that 10,000 kills trophy AFK on the bit where you're escaping the forest at the start. You've just got to set auto battle on, I might have done that if I'd known about it. Sounds like you'll be done with it soon though, so that's good! On 29/01/2022 at 6:23 AM, The_Kopite said: Wow, well there you go then. Don't need to watch the ending anymore lol jokes That could be a new thing for you - summarise the ending to a game in one sentence. I mean you could not watch the ending - and you'd still have about as much of an idea of what the ending was as I do, and I've played and seen it It's very confusing, and very, very weird. Me summarising the ending of a game in one sentence would probably be a big ?for some people, it'd at least mean they wouldn't have to wade through quite so much of my rambling haha! On 29/01/2022 at 1:41 PM, Shrooba said: Well done on the Yakuza completions man! Going above and beyond the trophies is commendable indeed. There's always so many games to play, and more often then not I usually move on to the next, but there's always a game here and there that you absolutely love, and you're compelled to do everything there is no matter how insurmountable it may seem. I feel like this is what makes the essence of a game; to challenge you, to relax you, to destress you, to stress you... It's a whole mix of different things. There's people who play games for stories, for adventures, to excel and beat a hard goal-- when you set out to do everything however, then you're really getting everything there is to see and absorbing that all in. Thanks man! I tend to do the same a lot of the time in that I'll just move onto the next game and not really look back. As you say, some games, some series, just get you in the mood to want to see and do absolutely everything in, or overcome a personal challenge. Much like you did with CTR. I think Yakuza has been the most recent thing I'll go above and beyond for, that one I just decided to go all out, and have done with the previous installments too. Yakuza 3 particularly was the last game I had left with Kiryu as the protagonist - and as weird as it sounds, I wanted to savour every last thing there was to see and do - he's a character I've followed and been absolutely fascinated by for close to, if not fifteen years at this point. So even if the game didn't quite resonate with me, that satisfying journey towards full completion will be the thing that I remember the most from all of it, so I'm really glad I did it. You hit the nail on the head with the bit I put in bold - that was exactly what I wanted from the experience, and that was exactly what I got - so I'm pretty satisfied coming out the other side of that. On 29/01/2022 at 1:41 PM, Shrooba said: With the Yakuza series especially, there's a whole lot of that going on; there's story, there's challenge. It can destress you but also stress you, and you get the feel for all of that, and you really submerge yourself in the intricacies of the series when you get to engage with everything it has in store. I look to some trophy lists like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart where the plat doesn't require you to achieve full completion, but I wish games would push for that since it lets you experience everything. In your case though, you went beyond trophies. If anything, experiencing everything beyond the trophy list will allow you to get more in-depth with other Yakuza reviews too, which is good! ? Heck, you were even able to pick apart the slight differences of combat with the different game engines! That's a good description of the Yakuza series actually - there literally is something for everyone in there. If the gameplay doesn't quite appeal to you, then the story might, or the mini-games or any host of other thing that it has to offer. There's even a subsection of fans that really likes the hostess dating mini-game, why? Your guess is as good as mine, as that's the only thing I vehemently don't like in all of the games. That is quite sad about R&C Rift Apart..... The option is still there for people to do it though, I know some people aren't interested if trophies aren't a thing. That's another one where I'll almost certainly be going for the 100% completion even though trophies don't require it. It just seems odd to me, not to want to do that in an R&C title. Haha that's a fair point - I will be able to go more in-depth with the reviews (not sure I probably should for everyone's eyes sake) for this one for going above and beyond for trophies. It's really ironic with Yakuza 3 too, because it's the one I see people dog on for being quite hard, the platinum is way,way simpler than the 100% is. Quite ironic really. On 29/01/2022 at 11:12 PM, Copanele said: Dear god that was one hell of a read I had to actually sit down for this one, you outdid yourself with the Kiwami 2 review Cheers Dude! I got a bit carried away with the Kiwami 2 review - it's like my joint second favourite (tied with Yakuza 0)...... I really love that game, but some of the things with the Dragon Engine I just couldn't ignore. On 29/01/2022 at 11:12 PM, Copanele said: Honestly, Majima Saga is why I regard Kiwami 2 so high. I mean sure, Kiryu and the entire cast is cool but...Majima's Epilogue from Yakuza 0 ?. Majima is the best! I think it definitely elevates it a whole lot having the Majima Saga be a part of the game. To be honest I think the best part about it, is that it wasn't a paid DLC because let's be honest, most companies would put it in as a paid DLC - I'm not sure people would be quite so glowing about it, if they had to pay for it. Plus it has Kaoru Sayama in it, and that instantly elevates it...... Obviously ? On 29/01/2022 at 11:12 PM, Copanele said: Yep I have to agree here. Kaoru Sayama was one of my most favorite characters so far. Which makes me wonder - why didn't the devs/producers explore more in-depth their relationship in the next games? (Yakuza 3 beginning especially... ). Not sure what she does in Y4-5-6-7 yet, soooooo... I'll see (to avoid further spoilers ) I want to say she's my favourite female character across the entire series - but she doesn't really have a whole lot of competition in that regard. She's like top 5 for me in terms of characters that are any gender across the series though. Your guess is as good as mine for why they didn't explore their relationship more in the proceeding games - I'll keep my lips sealed on that one, but even as far as 3 goes it does feel like a wasted opportunity to dangle the carrot of her being involved, and then, well, she kind of isn't. On 29/01/2022 at 11:12 PM, Copanele said: So here's a thing, which Yakuza fans will disagree mostly. Ryuji Goda is an amazing villain and an antithesis to Kiryu, that much is certain. I absolutely loved duking it out with him, punch after punch (although let's be honest, I Tiger Dropped his ass big time). BUT he doesn't reach the highs of Yakuza 0. I don't know, I felt that Kuze and Awano had much more of a presence than Ryuji. Somehow they were more...imposing, more threatening, more Yakuza-ish. Maybe it's me, but I felt the looming threat was bigger from their side. That and maybe I had the feeling of "omg what will Kiryu do, he's only 20ish". In Kiwami 2 Kiryu is already a murder machine who beat waves after waves of yakuzas I wouldn't have expected anything less than you Tiger Dropping Ryuji's giant ass! It's just the right thing to do! I sure as hell did. In terms of being a villain - yeah, I do actually agree with you that Kuze and Awano are better - but I think Ryuji is a better character overall - or maybe it's all the stuff in Dead Souls that's clouding my opinion of him. I'm not quite sure. I think much like Kiryu, his motivations for joining the Yakuza aren't quite the same as what Kuze or Awano's were - what drives Ryuji is also entirely different to what drives them, Ryuji sort of longs for glory and recognition, whereas they want power and money, and will stop at practically nothing to get it. I think those aspects are a little more secondary to Ryuji, we can't know for sure, but that's my impression of it. To be honest - I think one of Ryuji's best moments also happens to be one of the things that ties his hands behind his back too. So to dance around spoilers a little bit for anyone that plans to play Kiwami 2. I'll just say the part where he does what he does, to the man in the castle with the Tigers for involving a child..... Hoperfully you know what I mean, that moment is great, but it also shows how close to Kiryu he aligns morally, he's just willing to go perhaps one or two steps further than him. But in a way that scene also harms him as a antagonist I think, as that's where you start to see a more human side to him, he almost becomes less dangerous from that point on. Like you said, Kuze and Awano have a ruthlessness, where I don't think they'd hesitate to end someone without thinking about it. As you said Kiryu has already become The Legend by that point, so you needed someone truly evil and imposing to really stand toe-to-toe with him. That's actually one of my main issues with Yakuza 6 funnily enough. But I'm keeping my mouth shut on that one. ? On 29/01/2022 at 11:12 PM, Copanele said: That's what I would like also she got the skill, sass and the combos. I know - and it just seems to write itself as a concept...... I know you and I aren't the only ones that like her as a character, so it's something they should at least consider, especially if we aren't getting any more Judgment installments with Yagami, because of the whole actor talent agency fiasco. I'd hate for the more action/brawler type gameplay part of the series to die because of that. I'm not saying turn based Yakuza will be bad, but as much as I can get on with turn based games - I firmly didn't ever want that from Yakuza, I've heard it's good, but I'll have to see for myself. They could just go in a different direction and do a story with her instead. I think people would like it. On 29/01/2022 at 11:12 PM, Copanele said: As fun as the Dragon Engine is, I think I prefer the original combat. Because, as you said, there is some weight behind Kiryu's punches. In Dragon Engine I felt I was poking the enemies (minus Tiger Drops, that is just as impactful). Spinning an enemy and hitting others with that enemy is fun, true, but nothing would replace the "oomph" of that combo where Kiryu just punches 3 times, slams the poor goon into the ground then grabs his neck and smashes his face in. However I heard that indeed Judgment has a way better Dragon Engine iteration. Can't wait to try that one! I'm glad you said that - because a lot of people seem to really love it - and I very much expected to be the minority, that can't really get on with the Dragon Engine in Kiryu based games. Fortunately you only have to play one more with Kiryu, but it's also the one that controls the worst, and you'll be as devastated as I was to find out how pitifully the small the damage is for a Tiger Drop. because as brutal as it sounds Yakuza 6 plays a little more like a tech demo for the Dragon Engine than it does a well crafted combat system. I love how weighty his strikes and kicks feel in that older engine - they just feel so much more satisfying I think. I love that smashing the face into the ground combo - my favourite is the one where you do a few punches, a knee or a kick I think straight into a powerbomb. I can't remember if it's a knee or a kick. Yakuza 3 doesn't really allow you to use those combo's as much what with all the blocking. Judgment feels like it was built with the Dragon Engine in mind - it fits Yagami down to an absolute tee, and running along walls and transitioning from grapples and kicks into crowd controls off of parkour strikes is a real thing of beauty. So the Dragon Engine certainly has come along way since then. I'd imagine Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star suffered a bit from strikes not quite feeling weighty enough, but that's only a guess obviously. On 29/01/2022 at 11:12 PM, Copanele said: There's so much more to mention about Kiwami 2, but I will stop here because I would just re-repeat your review Well done, this truly is a wonderful series, can't wait to see you write for Yakuza 3 . And yeah, a break is in order after that one. Thanks again dude! I'm in the process of writing Yakuza 3's review now - it's not going to be quite as overwhelmingly positive, but I did very much enjoy Yakuza 3, except doing EX HARD BATTING FOUR TIMES haha . I'm trying to focus on the things that are more specific to just that game, so it might be a little shorter than the two Kiwami ones, but you never can quite tell with these sorts of things haha. 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Ayo look over there!! *posts note* People notice your absence because you are a well-liked mafucka. ..wait, what? Who put that there?? Don't look at me man, I ain't seen shit! Haha.... Thanks man, I appreciate the kind words as always! Quote Even if the Kiwamis blow me away as I suspect they might, I still may call it on the series after that based on what I've heard about 3 and 4. I wouldn't exactly try and steer you away from doing that either - that'll be up to you when you get there. That wouldn't be the worst place to call time on the series if that's what you wanted, you would have three really good games at that point. Quote That reminds me - I gotta get crackin on Res 5, I will need your assistance quite soon! I feel the same about GTA V. Maybe not all the online stuff, but in the very least I know I am capable of completing all the single player content. We can do that soon! You might change your mind once you put all the effort into getting the single player done. You might at least feel a little more motivated knowing you could have a sweet platinum at the end of the whole thing - that GTAV one is a pretty rare one if you're particularly into rare platinums. Quote Oh yes.... There's an airport one in particular where you have to drive up the left edge of the ramp so that you twirl, and that's one of the ones I can't remember if I got or not! Just a big steamin pile of stinky, man. That sounds like an absolute nightmare, but I think I actually know the one that you mean - I did start to do some of those on the PS3 and I'd have no idea which ones I have and haven't done too. So I think I'd have to just do all of those again from scratch. Which I must admit isn't exactly filling me with happiness at the prospect of doing that if I'm honest. Quote That's so interesting! Was there a long break where you fell out of following the series and that's why you went straight to 5? I like how it's all over the place, but given the years the games came out it makes sense in a roundabout way! Yep - incredibly long break - I think something like close to ten years. By the time I got a PS3 I think Yakuza 4 had either come out already, or was about to come out - so I remember thinking there's no point jumping back in now, and then years and years later Yakuza 5 was offered free with PS+ and as I was pretty down in the dumps at the time (an understatement,) that happened to really scratch that escapism itch. The rest, as they say, is history, I haven't looked back since. Quote I haven't touched 0 since September, so I'm kinda hoping that happens to me. My dance with the Hitman trilogy is sadly coming to an end, maybe Yakuza can fill the void? If any Yakuza game is likely to really get its hooks into you then I expect it'd definitely be that one - I think it could fill that void, in a very different way obviously. Hitman is engaging in an entirely other way, but I hope 0 does get you invested, and I hope you return to Final Fantasy IX at some point too. Quote Aww man! Yeah it's amazing how much time can evaporate thanks to completing some of these games. So much that you can do in games nowadays, but if you're the completionist type? It's as classic an example of 'blessing and a curse' as you could find! It absolutely is yeah - I did really enjoy that whole week and a bit where there wasn't a single trophy on my mind, there was a weird inner peace that came along with knowing that I already had the platinum sewn up, and that that point I was purely playing the game just for enjoyment. I am usually doing that anyway, but sometimes you can't help but focus on specific trophies or certain hang ups like if you missed a collectible right? I feel like I'm going to do that with Hitman 3, I'll almost certainly use that as an excuse to try some of those weird and wonderful challenges that I never attempted in the original versions of Hitman 1 and 2. Quote Excellent write-up! This reinforces my short-term gaming goals including only 0 and the kiwamis - I'm genuinely excited to get to these two games (especially after the writing clinic you just put on this one!) but as for the series beyond them, I can't say that fit into even my medium-term gaming goals. Thanks man! That's really awesome to hear, it really is! I really hope you like them too, because they are such excellent games. So I absolutely hope you have a good time with them. I can totally see why the ones post Kiwami 2 might not be an immediate priority. You could always just take an incredibly long break from the series after Kiwami 2 and then if the mood takes you, take a crack at the other ones. When there's so many quality games to be found and played I totally get why you wouldn't rush to get to 3 and 4 particularly. Quote Especially when you say that this one directly addresses stuff touched on in 0! I think it's so dope that they worked on these games more or less concurrently with that one, so that 1 and 2's updates would include stuff to make 0 fit in a bit better. A very clever move! I love that aspect too - in fact I think it's my favourite thing about what Nagoshi (the series creator) did with his vision of having all of Kiryu's story playable on one console. He knew that was what he wanted - so he did practically everything in his power to make sure that the whole story feels as tightly connected as it possibly can, and I think about 95% of it does. The fact that certain substory chains now technically start in Yakuza 0 and essentially span twenty-eight years and only reach a conclusion in Yakuza 6 is a really cool way to bookend the series. You really don't see that happen often in video games. Quote There's a lot of stuff you've got me looking forward to - the Clan Creator comes to mind, not just because the mini-game sounds great, but to hear you tell it I'll get flashbacks of my days following professional wrestling, which I'd never be mad at? Also I wouldn't worry about lengthiness in the write-ups, you've always had a knack for keeping your enthusiasm high and topics on point. They're always a joy to read through, I assure you! Clan Creator is a pretty good time if you don't do the entire thing at once. It's its own little self contained mini story as well which is nice. Plus you get to throw down and have a fight with a couple of members of nWo Japan, so for someone who used to be into wrestling which I know you were - that should be an added bonus. Having watched the Royal Rumble with a couple of friends this weekend I'm seriously starting to question why I still am a wrestling fan haha ? They all look fairly close to their real life pro wrestling counterparts too. Especially Masahiro Chono, the guy on the far right. The Clan Creator in Yakuza 6 has a wrestling crossover too, which I thought was very cool. Pretty close to the real Chono I'd say! I was a bit more worried than usual about the Kiwami 2 review being long - I tried to be as concise as possible, but that game has a whole lot in it to cover, and I didn't really want to skimp too much on details. So I'm very glad you didn't find it an absolute bore Edited February 1, 2022 by rjkclarke 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenEngineer Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Glad to see you back! Understandable how you got so engrossed in Yakuza - I’ve thought at times about playing them, but know they are huge, huge, HUGE time commitments. Maybe not as gnarly as GTAV or RDR2, but getting pretty close. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted February 4, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 4, 2022 (edited) My Newest & Final Platinum With The Dragon of Dojima, Has Entered The Vault, It's Been a Wild Ride! Platinum #343 + 100% In-Game Completion Yakuza 3 (PS4) World's Greatest Dad Earn all other trophies in the game. A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 1 February 2022: 12:01:28PM Time Taken to Platinum : 1 month, 21 minutes, 5 seconds Platinum Rarity - 7.93% Trophy Number - #16,399 It’s been a long path, but Kiryu and I have finally reached the end of our road together. I guess that means addressing the elephant in the room? Hello Elephant, that’s a nice back tattoo you have of a Dragon. I joke, I joke (badly too, I know) – in all seriousness, why did I choose Yakuza 3 as the last game to play with Kiryu as the protagonist? That is a question that isn’t too simple to answer without some context, so I’d better give some for any that aren’t aware. It’s necessary context too, because it was a huge factor in why I approached this game the way that I did. You might have noticed the screenshot underneath the platinum image – which to me is better than having the platinum itself, in Yakuza 3 I decided to go beyond trophies and aim for full 100% in-game completion. I digress though; time to return to a little context. I’ll try and simplify it, just for ease, more than anything. After failing to finish Yakuza 2 on the PS2 (through no fault of my own, I ran into an infinite loading screen glitch,) I didn’t play another Yakuza game until Yakuza 5 on the PS3. This is, I think at least, the reason why I like Yakuza 5 so much, because it’s the game that made me fall in love with the series again. For that reason I ended up playing the series in a pretty strange order. It is an order which I think I’ll list though, because it really is quite strange when you see it written down in black and white. If you’re reading this in my checklist thread, then this game order probably isn’t new to you, but I’ll mention it again nevertheless. My order of play was this: “Y1 (PS2)> Y2 (PS2)> Y5 (PS3)> Y4 (PS3)> Y0 (PS4)> Kiwami (PS4)> Y6 (PS4) > Kiwami 2 (PS4)> Y: Dead Souls (PS3)> Judgment (PS4) > Y3 (PS4)” As you can see, I darted around the Yakuza timeline considerably. Is this the ideal way to play through the series? Almost certainly not, it does offer some fairly unique perspectives, but, outside of that unique wrinkle, I’d still always recommend people play them chronologically, now that the option is open to folks. Most of you are probably thinking why didn’t you save Yakuza 6 for last, you massive twit? Essentially, it was down to this, before the remastered PS4 versions had come out, finding a copy of Yakuza 3 for a decent price in the UK was pretty much a pipe dream more than a realistic prospect. So that’s exactly the only reason I skipped over Yakuza 3 until now. Here’s the thing, having already played Yakuza 6, and the emotional rollercoaster that it took me on. After a while I felt like I owed it to myself to finally play through Yakuza 3. I pretty much picked up the remastered collection when it was released, but it sat unopened until the very start of this year. When I finally decided – now was that time. I think I left it so long, partly because I’d gotten into the headspace that I didn’t quite want to say goodbye to Kiryu as a playable character just yet. I think I also thought – wrongly, it would turn out, that playing Yakuza 3 would override or erase the feelings I had going into Yakuza 6, as the true end of the road for him as a playable character. I can pleasantly say though – that it didn’t. Yakuza 6 still feels like the end of the road. All of those complex emotions I was feeling, I still feel, that is still the end. That was my own specific hang-up, and I hold my hands up to that. Now I see it like this – until I played Yakuza 3, Kiryu’s story as a playable protagonist was like a book that had unfortunately had an entire chapter ripped out, the only pages left were odd bits and pieces of information gleamed from playing later titles. Now that book feels complete, and I feel like I can safely put it down with a peaceful smile on my face. If you’ve read this far – thank you, first of all. Everything I just mentioned felt like it needed to be said just so that people can better understand some of my thoughts about this game. To be clear – this is a game I very much enjoyed, but I feel like a huge part of it, is what the entire experience meant for me as a whole, more than the game itself being of the highest quality, because to be perfectly honest, Yakuza 3 is not the brightest of lights in the entire series. It is one that’s definitely worth experiencing, but there’s certain issues it has that just can’t quite be ignored. I will try my utmost to keep everything from now on as relevant to just Yakuza 3 as possible, if you haven’t read any of my previous reviews on the Yakuza universe, they’re quite easy to find on the first post of my checklist thread, but I don’t want to get too caught up with repetition of aspects I’ve already covered in other reviews, so I’ll try and keep them to just this game. I won’t delve too much into the story outside of a few character specific things. However, in my review of Yakuza Kiwami 2, I briefly alluded to the fact that in the first few Yakuza games – Kazuma Kiryu and Michael Corleone share a few character similarities, at least on a base level, bear with me for a moment here. Yakuza 3 like The Godfather Part III is not a universally loved property (The Godfather Part III is a better film than anyone gives it credit for though, Pacino gives an incredibly strong performance). The ironic thing is – a famous line of Cornelone’s can also be applied to the plot in this game. “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” A huge part of the plot in Yakuza 3 is essentially a real estate war, as Kiryu tries to save the Orphanage that he’s now made his home, protect the lives of the children that live there, the life he’s built for himself and in the process invariably gets embroiled in more Yakuza drama with the Tojo Clan. Now – this might seem like a strange comparison here – hear me out though, Yakuza 3 falls into some of the same pitfalls and traps that Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 does. Both have abundantly got potential – unfortunately to varying degrees it is potential that isn’t quite realised. Not just the obvious “haha, you mean, third entry in a series” thing. Fundamentally they both suffer from some of the same glaring issues – an overabundance of villains, or should I say, well developed antagonists. Yakuza2/Yakuza Kiwami 2 admittedly isn’t just limited to just Ryuji Goda as an antagonist, he’s the main one, yes, but he isn’t the only one. That being said, he still feels like the most important one. Yakuza 3 on the other hand is packed to the rafters with antagonistic characters, some familiar, some not so familiar, the problem is next to none of them are developed in any kind of meaningful way. It’s just a vague bit of exposition here, or, a really uninspired flashback there, to try and give a little more substance to their actions, for me it wasn’t quite enough. Whilst I think it’s quite commendable that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio decided to try and keep you guessing throughout the story of Yakuza 3 on who exactly is pulling the strings, and which character exactly is the true mastermind behind everything. What you’re ultimately left with however, was for me at least, a pretty unsatisfying conclusion, that honestly had me sitting there thinking “was that it?” Therein lays the antagonist problem – having too many, and not nearly enough development for that greater number, really hampers the quality of the games story. The ultimate antagonist, unfortunately just felt completely lacking. But I’ll get into that more, shortly. Usually, I’d be one of the first people to praise certain story elements in a Yakuza game, but here I’d say it’s probably the weakest element of this entire game. There’s still plenty of positivity to be taken from it though. If you could capture a small portion of this games story in a vacuum and only that portion, it would contain some of the very best moments from the entire series. Chapter Seven where you do battle with an old friend, up to the end of Chapter Eleven and the events leading up to what takes place in the bull ring are some of the very best moments in the entire series. That scene in the bullring, Takaya Kuroda (Kiryu) take a bow sir, you absolutely broke my heart. It’s just a shame that the story had one more chapter afterwards that felt a little bit tacked on. I understand its purpose, but I remember sitting there thinking, really? This is who I’m having a shirtless fight against on top of a tall building? Okay game, if you say so. An interesting thing of note is that whilst Yakuza 3 is on an older engine. This is one of the first instances where the studio had a lot more options open to them regarding certain pieces of technology. Which meant that on a visual level, Yakuza 3 actually holds up incredibly well, even by 2022 standards, and that’s even taking the fact this version is a remaster out of the equation. Facial animations look incredibly detailed for a game that was released more than a decade ago. Whilst I can’t say this is a cinematography master class – it is very good, and there’s certain bits here and there that really do shine, have some excellent shot framing, and really wouldn’t look too out of place on film. The best thing of all though for me – was that the game actually managed to surprise me visually, something I really wasn’t expecting, more than a few times too. After playing almost every game in the series available to me that isn’t a Japanese exclusive (except Like a Dragon so far) I have admittedly gotten a little bit tired of Kamurocho, don’t get me wrong, I love that place, but I also feel as if I know it about as well as the city I live in, so when the series presents an entirely new location like Ryukyu I always get so excited at the prospect of having an entirely new location to explore to its fullest. I’d seen Ryukyu briefly in Yakuza 4, but you don’t get to explore it as extensively in that game as Yakuza 3. It’s smaller than Kamurocho, that’s undeniable, but it’s still a real treat to have something that feels pretty fresh and exciting to explore. They say a picture says a thousand words, but I did extensively take quite a few screenshots during my time with this game, so I might as well share some of them with you all. For all of the issues I have with some elements of this games story, it still carried a hell of a lot of emotional weight behind it for me. Venturing into the opening of the game, and seeing Kiryu and Haruka walk hand-in-hand through the Tenkaichi Gate for what felt like the final time (for me) absolutely hit me right in the feelings, like an unexpected knife out of nowhere. It’s small isolated moments like that, which absolutely remind me why I love this series so much. There’s a lot of attention across all of the games to really minute details, how those familiar geographic locations end up reminding you of previous events in the series. It isn’t the final time I took a screenshot around the Tenkaichi Gate either. As the lead in for the final Chapter, the scene with Kiryu and Haruka at the Tenkaichi Gate is absolutely fantastic. It is understated at its brilliant best. It’s small; it’s fairly simple and low key, but it means a lot, not just for me as a player and viewer, but for Kiryu contextually as a character. I’m not here to spoil a single thing about the plot, however, when this takes place, Kiryu is probably at his most vulnerable that he has ever been. He’s at his wits end, he basically thinks he’s probably marching towards his own death, and by taking Haruka with him to Kamurocho, yet still ensuring her safety, he allows himself one selfish act, one that he desperately, desperately needs. To see a character who can look like this.... Then, within an hour or so, look like this, it can throw you off your guard just a little bit. In the same way Frodo’s words to Sam of “I’m glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things” at the end of the film version of Return of the King never fails to strike an emotional chord with me, this felt like the Yakuza series equivalent of that. Those two might not be Father and Daughter biologically, but the bond those two share is pretty damn powerful, for as much as this game has a little bit of a villain problem, I'll forever appreciate how much depth and humanity this game bought to Kiryu as a character. Was the fact this was my swansong with Kiryu a big part of why that resonated with me more on an emotional level? Perhaps, but I’m glad it did. I mentioned a little further up how impressive the facial animations are, and I think this screenshot of the children desperately trying to protect their home, Kiryu’s orphanage, that is under threat, is a really fine example of this. The look of fear and dread on their faces, alongside Haruka’s brave determnination is – I think at least, a really good example of how impressive some of the games facial animations are, especially for a game originally released in 2009. Alright this one is purely for fun, and to lighten the mood Kiryu's face here makes me laugh to even think about. I got this screenshot completely by accident, I pressed the share button the moment I saw the haircut, which for some reason has always made me laugh. The fact it captured Kiryu looking either confused, or disgusted(you decide) was sort of the icing on the cake. Sorry I couldn’t resist at least one screenshot of him. I found that haircut so much funnier than it’s intended to be. On an auditory level Yakuza 3 is a little bit all over the place – it has some outright startlingly good instrumental pieces and some incredibly unusual combat specific pieces of music too. For as much as I criticised who the final boss encounter is with, the actual fight itself is brilliant – I’d be an absolute fool not to mention how good the piece of music that plays during the final boss fight is. I’ll leave a link to it here, for anyone that wants to give it a listen – it does give away who the fight is against, so you’ve been warned. It’s thematically almost perfect, it feels like it should be the culmination of something huge – Kiryu going into battle for what he feels will be the final time, screeching guitars never felt more appropriate as you kick, punch and parry your way to victory. I love the way there’s a certain audio cue during the fight itself, where the music slows to a deliberate crawl as you know the fights won, and it slowly reaches its conclusion, a small but excellent touch. I won’t dwell on voice acting too much – it’s almost a given that in the Yakuza series it is usually universally excellent. Takaya Kuroda did break my heart as Kiryu in the bullring scene though – some of the anguished cries that he gives are honestly quite harrowing, it’s not something you expect from a character like Kiryu, so I absolutely respect the fact the game explored his more vulnerable side here. Tatsuya Fujiwara is also a real standout as Rikiya, Fujiwara does a really good job of accentuating some of Rikiya’s more naive qualities, something a lesser actor might have gone completely overboard with. Any of you that have seen Battle Royale would probably recognise his voice at least, as he plays Shuya in that film. Like I did with the previous few Yakuza reviews I’ve written it’s probably easier to combine talking about gameplay with the trophies, and flit in-between those two things. This part will probably read a bit more like a journal of my experience, more than it might a detailed critique, so apologies if it does, it feels like the best way to approach it here. As I went for one hundred percent in-game completion in this game, there’s probably the odd thing that won’t be as relevant to the trophies, but I still feel as if they’re worth discussing at least a little bit. It’s fairly unusual in terms of a trophy list, as the trophies encourage you to do a lot of the available mini-games and side activities, but unless it’s required for the Mini-Game Master trophy you can usually just get away with doing the bare minimum if trophies are all you’re after. I ought to address the combat in this game too, I really enjoyed playing through a Yakuza game on this older game engine again, I must say. Anyone who’s read my Kiwami 2 review will probably be sick of me complaining about Kiryu on the Dragon Engine. I am too, so let us just move on from it. At least until I get around to reviewing Yakuza 6, then I might bring that up again. I’d be lying if I wasn’t glad that Kiryu’s punches felt like punches again, and his kicks felt like real weighty forceful kicks. Well – that would be the case if there wasn’t a mighty awful caveat to that in Yakuza 3. Yes, combat feels more satisfying in some areas, and then in others it makes you want to put your face into a pillow and scream. I always thought people were going overboard complaining about how often the enemy A.I blocks in this game, turns out, they were right. I heard someone once jokingly refer to this as Blockuza 3, and they aren’t actually far off. My advice is this, if any of you decide to play this. Play aggressive! Unlike in some of the other Yakuza titles there’s definitely something to be said about playing defensively, and parrying attacks more than perhaps you, yourself would attack. In Yakuza 3? Take the fight to them – what I mean is, start off a combo string that you know they’ll block, which is almost all of them actually. When they’ve blocked and you’ve finished attacking, this will usually prompt them to attack you, which gives you an opening to slip behind them and either combo them from behind, or put them down swiftly with a Tiger Drop or a Komaki Parry provided you’ve learnt it. The enemy A.I really doesn’t attack very often (even on higher difficulties,) so it’s easier to bait them into attacking than having to wait for it. Once you get past the incessant blocking, the combat itself is actually very satisfying – I’d actually argue, it’s even more fun when you’re trying to initiate every single Heat Action (special move/finisher) for the completion points for the full completion. There are some really interesting ones that are completely unique to this game, and some of its locations. For example there’s one that can only be triggered if you’re near the bridge overlooking a river in Ryukyu as Kiryu just picks the enemy up and throws them straight into the river. There’s also a really brutal looking one that’s exclusive to the Public Market in Ryukyu, in which Kiryu just throws an enemy face first down a flight of stairs, not only does it look brutal, this games immaculate sound design makes it sound immeasurably painful. To go alongside the usual raft of Substories (side quests) in Yakuza 3, of which I personally thought Yakuza 3 contained far too few meaningful ones. Yakuza 3 introduced Hitman Missions. More on that shortly, back to substories briefly though. To tell you the truth, 119 seems a little excessive when barely any of them amount to more than “go to a location, and then use a waddling fat man as a punching bag.” They aren’t all like this of course. The inclusion of substories that have cutscenes with voiced dialogue does do a good job of making them feel important. Yet, unfortunately, that also becomes a double-edged sword as it makes the others seem a lot less impactful or important, as a result of the voiced ones, feeling more significant. I must commend the inclusion of the Hitman missions though, these are awesome – a simple gameplay element in practice, but a really interesting one nevertheless. Not only do they serve as an interesting little side story – one that ties quite neatly into the plot of the original Yakuza too, they’re also some of the most fun I had during the entire game. You’re essentially tasked with fighting rogue Hitmen, to try and – well, for want of a better word, tame and eventually reform them. I know, strange concept, I was confused by it too. Strangeness aside – these are – for all intents and purposes – twenty extra boss fights. Boss fights with increasingly harder opponents the more Hitmen you subdue. I loved these, some of them require you to be quite knowledgeable of the combat system too, otherwise you’re probably a roasty, toasty Kiryu. They’re also some of the best sources of money in the game too, so they do serve a practical purpose. I had a look at the trophy guide before writing this just to see what the estimated time to platinum was. Apparently it’s one hundred hours. Which I’d say is probably on the higher end of the spectrum, and an eight out of ten difficulty. I had about seventy-seven hours clocked by the time I was very close to attaining the platinum. All I had left was doing the hostess substories (which were terrible by the way,) fighting Amon, and then clearing one last mini-game (which I could have done about thirty hours earlier if I’m being honest). All that would have taken another eight or so hours at a guess, so I would have clocked in at about eighty-five hours for the whole platinum. However, if you look at the screenshot at the top of this review, full completion took me about another thirty-five. So I can pretty comfortably say – even looking at it with cold hard facts, I absolutely got my money’s worth out of the experience. Do I agree with the difficulty? Perhaps, it’s hard to tell, difficulty is subjective, so you can never say for sure. I struggled at a lot of the chase sequences when others would probably breeze through them. This is one of the few times where playing the later games like Yakuza 4 and 5 first gave me a distinct advantage, I think. I wasn’t quite prepared for how much I wanted to use my controller as the world’s most expensive Frisbee on occasion though. There are very few instances of a Pool mini-game, in almost any game, being worse than in this game. This is a Pool game made by someone who’d only ever seen any form of Billiards for about five seconds before having their eyelids glued shut, then asked to make the game from memory. It’s overly sensitive, everything about it feels wrong, and the A.I would make Paul Newman in The Hustler look as capable a player, as someone’s one armed Grandmother. If you couldn’t tell I thought it was awful, am I a Pool purist? Maybe, but even without that, this mini-game is just terrible. Still, when tackling the EX Hard Batting though, that is undeniably hard, whatever trick you use (for an aiming reticule) for it, patience and perseverance is absolutely key, but even then, my nerves were jangling more than a Medieval jailers keys (one of these days I’ll write a review that doesn’t contain a vague analogy, but it is not this day). In all honesty though – the platinum itself almost seems like plain sailing compared to some of the requirements they ask of you with full completion. So, I was pretty vocal about how much EX Hard Batting frustrated me in the Batting Centre right? Well to create every single item in the game on the completion list – you have to basically replicate getting the mini-game completion for that part of the Mini-game Master trophy a further four times. You heard it right, all that effort for some lousy Chunks of Ash, sad times. There has been very few times where I’ve felt as crestfallen as I did when I learned that I needed to do that four more times. If it wasn’t the last thing I needed for the one hundred percent completion I might have just gone “You know what Kiryu, old buddy, old pal, you know the grand plan I had to end our time together in style? I’ve changed my mind.” The only logical next step for me would be that I run away screaming, leaving an rjcklarke shaped hole in the nearest wall. You know what else I wish I knew? When you load up Premium Adventure (post game) your difficulty is set to Normal mode by default. What did I do, like the world’s most enormous ninny? I did all of the Coliseum Completion points (fighting all seventy opponents) BEFORE finishing the story on Hard mode, when it turns out I didn’t even need to. To quote Maurice Moss, “Egg and my face, were in alignment.” So instead of struggling through days of trying to beat Vallery Garrett in Tag Team Tournament (he’s harder than any fight in the game except maybe Amon, yes, even harder than the final boss) I might have given myself a slightly easier time of it by attempting it in Premium Adventure. Ultimately, I don’t think I mind – I had a strange inner peace during my attempt to beat all the Coliseum opponents. At that point, I basically knew the platinum was in sight – yet spending almost a week doing all of the other gameplay elements required for one hundred percent was really cathartic. It allowed almost laser pointed focus. It was almost Zen like at times, where trophies weren’t even remotely in my mind, all I was focusing on was the game, sadly the more I got absorbed with everything I was doing, the more it dawned on me that the end was rapidly approaching, and eventually it did. Upon finally reaching that one hundred percent completion, it wasn’t the sad feeling I envisioned, it was of a quiet reflection that pretty much everything I had set out to do, had felt like it had been worthwhile. At that point, all that was left was one final playthrough on Legend difficulty. To take it back to trophies for a moment, and send this review home – most games made by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio contain a trophy for finishing the story, usually titled Thank You. Honestly, I feel like I should be the one thanking them, for the hours and hours of laughter, tears (so many of those,) and joy that this series has given me over the years. I feel like I’m in a very strange position here – Yakuza 3 is very far away from being my favourite game in the series – or, even if we’re speaking objectively, one of the best in the series. However, I will always look back on this incredibly fondly for being my final adventure with Kiryu, one that I saw out on my own terms, in the best way I thought possible. Do I recommend this one? I obviously love this series, so, yes I do – but I also have to be honest here. From Yakuza 3 onwards the series does go in a slightly more experimental direction, a lot of those things, I personally like, and some I don’t. So from here on out, it does get somewhat tougher to recommend them, but if you’re playing them chronologically then by this point your eyes are almost fully open to what the series is. Obviously I don’t think I’d quite recommend this for a first entry in the series, but as a last one? Sure, why not, it hasn’t done me any harm. Indecisive I know, but if I didn’t at least think a lot of this game, and the series as a whole I wouldn’t have written so extensively about it, and will continue to, when I end up writing reviews of Yakuza 4, 5 and 6 in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There we are then, the end of the line as far as titles where Kiryu is playable. I will miss you, you fiercely layered fascinating character, you. I know I could stack the console specific games if I really wanted to, but I don't feel the need, I can and will revisit these games for a long time to come. I love this series so much - more than half of it is probably down to how much I love Japanese film-making. Not every single one of them contains the most original story you could ever find, but there will almost always be a way in which each game finds a way to shine in its own unique way, and I will always appreciate that. This review is a little meandering, I grant you, and does read a bit like a stream of consciousness at times - but I felt like it needed to, I do have conflicting feelings about this game, but the overwhelming feeling is a positive one, and I hope that does come across in the review. It's been a blast writing these Yakuza reviews since the start of the year, bu they're incredibly intensive as far as time goes, so I think I'll leave off covering any others for at least a while, don't all celebrate at once haha. I'll just cover some of the things I've played that don't require as much detail as I think this series does, to really give an idea of it's true scope. Also thanks so much @DrunkenEngineer, I appreciate that man! it's good to be back! Sorry you've probably got to scroll down quite a way to actually read this part, I should have replied to you sooner - they are huge, huge time commitments, but I definitely recommend people play at least one of these at some point if they can, but as time is so precious I can certainly see why it's off-putting. When I got back into the series with Yakuza 5 it was because I wanted it to take up loads of my time, as a distraction. I think that clocked in at about 225 hours, if not more when you factor in how much time I lost to having to reload an earlier save from a really nasty glitch. So that one at least might get close to GTAV and RDR2 - but those games seem to be an absolutely enormous time sink! Edited February 12, 2022 by rjkclarke 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 OH YES THE YAKUZA 3 REVIEW! This one I can safely read Big congrats man, have to say you were a crazy lad for going 100% in this game. You really did a monster achievement since some minigames and collectibles...god damn! Now let's get to quoting that monster text, because there's some goodies out there! 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Whilst I think it’s quite commendable that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio decided to try and keep you guessing throughout the story of Yakuza 3 on who exactly is pulling the strings, and which character exactly is the true mastermind behind everything. What you’re ultimately left with however, was for me at least, a pretty unsatisfying conclusion, that honestly had me sitting there thinking “was that it?” Therein lays the antagonist problem – having too many, and not nearly enough development for that greater number, really hampers the quality of the games story. The ultimate antagonist, unfortunately just felt completely lacking. But I’ll get into that more, shortly. Usually, I’d be one of the first people to praise certain story elements in a Yakuza game, but here I’d say it’s probably the weakest element of this entire game. There’s still plenty of positivity to be taken from it though. If you could capture a small portion of this games story in a vacuum and only that portion, it would contain some of the very best moments from the entire series. Chapter Seven where you do battle with an old friend, up to the end of Chapter Eleven and the events leading up to what takes place in the bull ring are some of the very best moments in the entire series. That scene in the bullring, Takaya Kuroda (Kiryu) take a bow sir, you absolutely broke my heart. It’s just a shame that the story had one more chapter afterwards that felt a little bit tacked on. I understand its purpose, but I remember sitting there thinking, really? This is who I’m having a shirtless fight against on top of a tall building? Okay game, if you say so. With this I agree. I also thought the story dragged on abit too long when it comes to villains (NOT Kiryu's development, that you also mentioned below). Final fight, as good as it was....it was against some impactless dude after beating other impactless dudes. But hey at least we know that Kiryu has "BEAUTIFUL EYES" and there will be a BURAKU MONDEI. I will never not laugh at the Engrish in these games 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: An interesting thing of note is that whilst Yakuza 3 is on an older engine. This is one of the first instances where the studio had a lot more options open to them regarding certain pieces of technology. Which meant that on a visual level, Yakuza 3 actually holds up incredibly well, even by 2022 standards, and that’s even taking the fact this version is a remaster out of the equation. Facial animations look incredibly detailed for a game that was released more than a decade ago. Whilst I can’t say this is a cinematography master class – it is very good, and there’s certain bits here and there that really do shine, have some excellent shot framing, and really wouldn’t look too out of place on film. The best thing of all though for me – was that the game actually managed to surprise me visually, something I really wasn’t expecting, more than a few times too. After playing almost every game in the series available to me that isn’t a Japanese exclusive (except Like a Dragon so far) I have admittedly gotten a little bit tired of Kamurocho, don’t get me wrong, I love that place, but I also feel as if I know it about as well as the city I live in, so when the series presents an entirely new location like Ryukyu I always get so excited at the prospect of having an entirely new location to explore to its fullest. I’d seen Ryukyu briefly in Yakuza 4, but you don’t get to explore it as extensively in that game as Yakuza 3. It’s smaller than Kamurocho, that’s undeniable, but it’s still a real treat to have something that feels pretty fresh and exciting to explore. THIS. Goddamn THIS! First time I started Yakuza 3, I was warned "be careful, it's not like Kiwami 2, it's an old game". Mechanically wise yes, but MAN DID I LOVE THE VISUALS OF RYUKYU. As I mentioned in my post, it felt like the seaside town from my own country. A rather chill town, with a "tourists only" space aka the market, people just chilling and vibing. I love Kamurocho but Ryukyu just hit differently. Also Dad Kiryu teaching kids how to wrestle on the sandy beaches...this game really was something else. If I were to bash Yakuza 3, surely it would not be because of the graphics. It has that old "finesse" charm. You get the idea 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: As the lead in for the final Chapter, the scene with Kiryu and Haruka at the Tenkaichi Gate is absolutely fantastic. It is understated at its brilliant best. It’s small; it’s fairly simple and low key, but it means a lot, not just for me as a player and viewer, but for Kiryu contextually as a character. Also not to spoil any plot points, but at this very moment I was decided that yes, Kiryu surpassed Majima as my favorite Yakuza character. I saw now why people absolutely adore the mad man. If we ignore the main villains doing villainous things, the plot of Yakuza 3 was actually good 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I’d be lying if I wasn’t glad that Kiryu’s punches felt like punches again, and his kicks felt like real weighty forceful kicks. Well – that would be the case if there wasn’t a mighty awful caveat to that in Yakuza 3. Yes, combat feels more satisfying in some areas, and then in others it makes you want to put your face into a pillow and scream. I always thought people were going overboard complaining about how often the enemy A.I blocks in this game, turns out, they were right. I heard someone once jokingly refer to this as Blockuza 3, and they aren’t actually far off. My advice is this, if any of you decide to play this. Play aggressive! Unlike in some of the other Yakuza titles there’s definitely something to be said about playing defensively, and parrying attacks more than perhaps you, yourself would attack. In Yakuza 3? Take the fight to them – what I mean is, start off a combo string that you know they’ll block, which is almost all of them actually. When they’ve blocked and you’ve finished attacking, this will usually prompt them to attack you, which gives you an opening to slip behind them and either combo them from behind, or put them down swiftly with a Tiger Drop or a Komaki Parry provided you’ve learnt it. The enemy A.I really doesn’t attack very often (even on higher difficulties,) so it’s easier to bait them into attacking than having to wait for it. Once you get past the incessant blocking, the combat itself is actually very satisfying – I’d actually argue, it’s even more fun when you’re trying to initiate every single Heat Action (special move/finisher) for the completion points for the full completion. There are some really interesting ones that are completely unique to this game, and some of its locations. For example there’s one that can only be triggered if you’re near the bridge overlooking a river in Ryukyu as Kiryu just picks the enemy up and throws them straight into the river. There’s also a really brutal looking one that’s exclusive to the Public Market in Ryukyu, in which Kiryu just throws an enemy face first down a flight of stairs, not only does it look brutal, this games immaculate sound design makes it sound immeasurably painful. That...was truly the case for me. In m first fight fight with best boy Rikiya (not a spoiler, whoever played Yakuza by this point knows that Kiryu's way to make best friends is by punching them), I actually felt angry. MOTHERFUCKER BLOCKED EVERYTHING and punched the living hell out of me. I haven't felt such frustration since I fought Amon in Fist of the North Star. So yes, Blockuza is an apt name and it's utterly infuriating... ...until you unlock Komaki Parry. Honestly I barely used Tiger Drop here. All I needed was Komaki Parry. Once I parried the fools, I managed to unlock all the beautiful "bound" system where you juggle the enemies, kick them then heat action them mid-air. It was a carnival of SMOKING SEXY STYLE combat that you can find only in Devil May Cry BUT YOU NEED THAT STUPID KOMAKI PARRY FIRST. So yeah...combat is kinda lame in this game, not gonna lie. Interesting enough, final boss felt like the final boss in Yakuza 0 though. Had to use all my knowledge to take him down and it was super satisfying. 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Boss fights with increasingly harder opponents the more Hitmen you subdue. I loved these, some of them require you to be quite knowledgeable of the combat system too, otherwise you’re probably a roasty, toasty Kiryu. They’re also some of the best sources of money in the game too, so they do serve a practical purpose. Oh yes, especially the second to last hitman and the final hitman fight not gonna lie, I went pew pew myself too. 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: -- The actual impressive 100% achievement thing -- This right here shows that you truly are in love with the series. No sane man would attempt 100% that absurd ass list unless they truly have a thing for the series. Congratulations, my deepest respect and admiration and I hope you are still sane after the batting minigame Not even gonna mention pool since I think you already have enough war flashbacks there. Glad you finally managed to cross this Lost Kiryu Chapter off your list mate It was a great read, super enjoyable, makes me want to start Yakuza 4 right away (which I can't yet sadly, due to matters regarding the Soul). Looking forward to your next non-yakuza review (you need a break ) ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Platinum #343 + 100% In-Game Completion Yakuza 3 (PS4) He's done it again, folks! Excellent work, homie. Not that I'm surprised of course, you always comin through with that primo shit? 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I am quite familiar with the satisfaction of this type of screen thanks to my obsessive completion of the GTA PS2 trilogy. Congrats, dude!! You deserve it. That is quite a feat, and I hope you gave yourself a good long while to relish the accomplishment. 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: It’s been a long path, but Kiryu and I have finally reached the end of our road together. 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Yakuza 3 like The Godfather Part III is not a universally loved property (The Godfather Part III is a better film than anyone gives it credit for though, Pacino gives an incredibly strong performance). Accurate - that scream of his at the end alone is utterly haunting. He absolutely nailed the image of an aging man coming to terms with the awful things he'd done in his life. Agreed that the film is absolutely better than people give it credit for, but it has the unfortunate task of following two masterpieces, and commits the sin of being only good. I'm sorry though, this is about Yakuza! Putting my Kiryu hat back on? 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: That's what I looked like when you showed me that screen shot of the bowl headed kid. To think he has to walk around looking like that... it's just not fair, dammit. 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Was the fact this was my swansong with Kiryu a big part of why that resonated with me more on an emotional level? Perhaps, but I’m glad it did. I gotta say, I really like how you set yourself up here. It seems like a lot of happy accidents led you to a very emotional finale with this series, and I love it. And feel privileged for having been along for the ride! 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Awww, lookit that tubby kid in the back. He's like "Yeah! Without this orphanage, nobody's gonna feed my fat ass!" 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Do I recommend this one? I obviously love this series, so, yes I do – but I also have to be honest here. From Yakuza 3 onwards the series does go in a slightly more experimental direction, a lot of those things, I personally like, and some I don’t. So from here on out, it does get somewhat tougher to recommend them, but if you’re playing them chronologically then by this point your eyes are almost fully open to what the series is. While I still feel ill take a break after 0-2, you've definitely made me think about keeping 3 and beyond in mind. I've loved reading your Yakuza reviews dude, you have such a passion for them and it really comes through in your writing, I can't stress enough what high quality reads these are. And that's as someone who's barely dipped their toes in the Yakuza pool! As always, great job! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baker Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 On 31-12-2021 at 4:00 PM, rjkclarke said: If you go with Pure Pool though, it does have a few online trophies, which I believe are still attainable, I'm not 100% sure but I think they are. If you need help with some of those I can probably give you a hand with them. I bought Pure Pool. ? The online still works so I tried to self boost with my secondary account but that doesn’t work unfortunately. So does your offer of helping still stand? I think all online trophies and requirements can be done in a few hours. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) On 04/02/2022 at 9:30 AM, Copanele said: OH YES THE YAKUZA 3 REVIEW! This one I can safely read Big congrats man, have to say you were a crazy lad for going 100% in this game. You really did a monster achievement since some minigames and collectibles...god damn! Now let's get to quoting that monster text, because there's some goodies out there! Sorry for the two days late reply man! I totally got hooked playing Medievil, which I'm hoping to finish up later on! Cheers by the way, it was definitely something going for that 100%, but I'm really glad that I did. Time to reply to your my replies to my monster text haha. You know - in all honesty, that was meant to be a shorter review, and then somehow I ended up going a little bit overboard. On 04/02/2022 at 9:30 AM, Copanele said: With this I agree. I also thought the story dragged on abit too long when it comes to villains (NOT Kiryu's development, that you also mentioned below). Final fight, as good as it was....it was against some impactless dude after beating other impactless dudes. But hey at least we know that Kiryu has "BEAUTIFUL EYES" and there will be a BURAKU MONDEI. I will never not laugh at the Engrish in these games It does, doesn't it. Whilst I can definitely get on board with quite a few of the criticisms some people have with this game - the villains being as lacklustre as they were, was probably the biggest issue that I had with it overall. That unfortunately isn't the last time that happens in the series - where they just throw an absolute lorry full of really bland villains at you, and then the final one makes you think ........ Him? Alright fine time to take my shirt off and Tiger Drop his pathetic behind then. Did you find all of the English in Yakuza 3 as jarring as I did? Especially in the fight with - let's just call him "The Man in Black" in the Hospital Room near the end, it's so strange. that BEAUTIFUL EYES thing was a pretty odd thing to say as well ? On 04/02/2022 at 9:30 AM, Copanele said: THIS. Goddamn THIS! First time I started Yakuza 3, I was warned "be careful, it's not like Kiwami 2, it's an old game". Mechanically wise yes, but MAN DID I LOVE THE VISUALS OF RYUKYU. As I mentioned in my post, it felt like the seaside town from my own country. A rather chill town, with a "tourists only" space aka the market, people just chilling and vibing. I love Kamurocho but Ryukyu just hit differently. Also Dad Kiryu teaching kids how to wrestle on the sandy beaches...this game really was something else. If I were to bash Yakuza 3, surely it would not be because of the graphics. It has that old "finesse" charm. You get the idea Absolutely man! I'm really glad Ryukyu resonated with you in the way that it did for you, too. Knowing that, I think you'll at least enjoy the fact that Yakuza 5 has at least 5 or 6 unique locations, that don't necessarily feel like Ryukyu, but they all have their own distinct feeling to them. Nope, I can't really fault it for it's graphics either, I looked at a little comparison just to see what the PS3 version looked like, and that looks good too, I just never expected it to look AS good as it does. Some Remasters of games from that around that time really do show how much of a leap there has been graphically in the last ten years, but Yakuza 3 holds up really well. Good for Kiryu teaching the kids wrestling - otherwise we wouldn't have got the fat kid flying through the air screaming TAICHIIIIIII KICK, Then falling on his fat behind, really cracked me up that bit for some reason. On 04/02/2022 at 9:30 AM, Copanele said: Also not to spoil any plot points, but at this very moment I was decided that yes, Kiryu surpassed Majima as my favorite Yakuza character. I saw now why people absolutely adore the mad man. If we ignore the main villains doing villainous things, the plot of Yakuza 3 was actually good I can see why that would be the case actually - Yakuza 3 is sort of the turning point for him I think - where he becomes more human and relatable, I'd played the games after this, so I'd seen him like that already - but oh man, to see what got him to that place, is both amazing and makes my heart hurt to think about. Majima is still a very close second though, and Yakuza 4, might very much make you flip-flop back and have Majima be your favourite character again. I agree actually - if you take the bad villains aside, and they are bad - the plot of Yakuza 3 is actually quite good. I'll always kind of just favour the positives anyway when it comes to a game like this, because usually that's the thing you look back on with the most fondness anyway isn't it. On 04/02/2022 at 9:30 AM, Copanele said: That...was truly the case for me. In m first fight fight with best boy Rikiya (not a spoiler, whoever played Yakuza by this point knows that Kiryu's way to make best friends is by punching them), I actually felt angry. MOTHERFUCKER BLOCKED EVERYTHING and punched the living hell out of me. I haven't felt such frustration since I fought Amon in Fist of the North Star. So yes, Blockuza is an apt name and it's utterly infuriating... ...until you unlock Komaki Parry. Honestly I barely used Tiger Drop here. All I needed was Komaki Parry. Once I parried the fools, I managed to unlock all the beautiful "bound" system where you juggle the enemies, kick them then heat action them mid-air. It was a carnival of SMOKING SEXY STYLE combat that you can find only in Devil May Cry BUT YOU NEED THAT STUPID KOMAKI PARRY FIRST. So yeah...combat is kinda lame in this game, not gonna lie. Interesting enough, final boss felt like the final boss in Yakuza 0 though. Had to use all my knowledge to take him down and it was super satisfying. Rikiya isn't a cakewalk to be fair - he gave me a good whooping the first time I fought him for exactly the same reasons. Also at that point you've got practically no decent skills, and your rush combo's move about as fast as a snail stuck in a puddle of treacle. Is Amon a bitch in Fist of the North Star? That might make sense. He was a real pain in the backside in Judgment too. Plus I was stubborn and wanted to Tiger Drop him, which probably wasn't a good idea as there isn't any armour or accessories in that game to make you take less damage, so he did a bit of a number on me The bound system is one of the things I like most about the games on that older engine - it's really, really awesome. Dude.... If you enjoy that, then you're going to absolutely love playing as Akiyama, when you get to 4 and 5 I think - once he's levelled up a bit, almost his entire fighting style is based around kicking enemies into the air, then air juggling with combo's and there's even a heat action where you can kick a midair opponent into three other dudes too. He's really fun to play as. I think by the end of my playthrough I was still favouring the Tiger Drop - but that's only because I'd spent so long in the Colosseum, that by that point I'd pretty much learnt the read for almost every attack in the game, to be able to parry - so I preferred it just for the bigger pure damage output....... ...... Except the final boss, although I can definitely see the Yakuza 0 comparison too! He's really hard to read. Depending on what type of state he's in. If he goes Orange Heat, then you're fine you can just Komaki Parry him when he goes all Kenshiro on you and tries to punch you about 30 times in a minute. If he goes Purple though? RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN ? On 04/02/2022 at 9:30 AM, Copanele said: Oh yes, especially the second to last hitman and the final hitman fight not gonna lie, I went pew pew myself too. You know what I found most frustrating about that? The fact you have to fight that fella with a knife two or three times at least - then one of the times you also have to fight him against someone with a gun..... Sorry, sorry 2 GUNS! Did that Knife guy like attacking? Hell No, just skid around the combat arena dodging attacks that I haven't made yet haha. I swear I stood there pressing the taunt button most of the time just getting heat built up so I could slam him with the Komaki Roll through Heat Action, as he just didn't ever want to attack. On 04/02/2022 at 9:30 AM, Copanele said: This right here shows that you truly are in love with the series. No sane man would attempt 100% that absurd ass list unless they truly have a thing for the series. Congratulations, my deepest respect and admiration and I hope you are still sane after the batting minigame Not even gonna mention pool since I think you already have enough war flashbacks there. Glad you finally managed to cross this Lost Kiryu Chapter off your list mate It was a great read, super enjoyable, makes me want to start Yakuza 4 right away (which I can't yet sadly, due to matters regarding the Soul). Looking forward to your next non-yakuza review (you need a break ) ! Thank you so much dude - I'm just about sane after the batting mini-game, I only once or twice have woken up in a cold sweat with a 160KMPH Curve Ball flying towards my face ? I'm glad to finally have it crossed off the list too - and I'll be honest, I probably would have put it off that much longer if I hadn't seen that you had so much fun playing it yourself. So THANK YOU, for being a huge part of the reason why I got to experience that lost chapter that little bit sooner. Glad you enjoyed the read too, I kind of just made peace with the fact a lot of people would probably not read it, it's long, but there was so much that I just needed to say, so I'm glad I got a chance to. My next non-yakuza review should be tonight - or I guess like very early in the morning tomorrow, depending on when I finish editing . I've gotta get Dangerous Driving reviewed then I'm not sure what I'm going to tackle next week as far as those Classic Reviews go. @DrBloodmoney might have at least some clue after a little Artifex Mundi discussion we had last week. I still got a lot of those requests you threw my way, so one of those at least. Maybe Jedi Outcast? But yeah, hopefully not anything painfully long that will make peoples eyed bleed. On 04/02/2022 at 3:30 PM, YaManSmevz said: He's done it again, folks! Excellent work, homie. Not that I'm surprised of course, you always comin through with that primo shit Cheers man! Although sometimes I wish I didn't feel so strongly about certain games, means I ultimately get a little carried away when writing the reviews. But hey, if you enjoyed it, that's awesome I really appreciate that. On 04/02/2022 at 3:30 PM, YaManSmevz said: I am quite familiar with the satisfaction of this type of screen thanks to my obsessive completion of the GTA PS2 trilogy. Congrats, dude!! You deserve it. That is quite a feat, and I hope you gave yourself a good long while to relish the accomplishment. You absolutely are! That Hundo you've gotten in San Andreas is no mean feat man, and once you have a nice little stat screen to look at that tangibly tells you all of the cool things you've managed to do, it really makes it that much more satisfying I think. On 04/02/2022 at 3:30 PM, YaManSmevz said: Accurate - that scream of his at the end alone is utterly haunting. He absolutely nailed the image of an aging man coming to terms with the awful things he'd done in his life. Agreed that the film is absolutely better than people give it credit for, but it has the unfortunate task of following two masterpieces, and commits the sin of being only good. I'm sorry though, this is about Yakuza! Putting my Kiryu hat back on I had to cut that bit down - because I went on a little tangent writing about why the hell people should give Godfather III more credit than it gets. Then...... Well, then I realised I was writing a Yakuza review and not a Godfather one haha. That is one of the last truly great performances that Pacino has given I think, he has done plenty of good ones since, but that and Heat are definitely some of the best I think he gave in the 90's that's for sure. Yep, that scream - is yeah, you said it best, HAUNTING. Ahem..... Erm, Yakuza? ?... Too easy to go off on a Godfather tangent haha! On 04/02/2022 at 3:30 PM, YaManSmevz said: That's what I looked like when you showed me that screen shot of the bowl headed kid. To think he has to walk around looking like that... it's just not fair, dammit. I know so many unfortunate friends that had that haircut too, which is I think part of what made me crack up practically every time I saw it. I escaped that haircut, but I have an equally bad haircut that has plagued my family for generations ?? So, you know how Chimpanzee's fur forms a sort of hairline, near their face? Like this..... Well it isn't quite a bowl - but my Mum used to cut my hair, and my brothers (who's 16 years older than me for context to show it wasn't just a 90's thing haha) to a point where it didn't look too dissimilar to this fella, but without the big side bits. Unfortunately there's also a picture in my Nan's house where my Uncle has the exact same haircut, so it seems like it's some sort of unofficial thing that male members of our family have to endure. So I really shouldn't laugh at the poor bowl-headed kid, however much I want to! Haha! On 04/02/2022 at 3:30 PM, YaManSmevz said: I gotta say, I really like how you set yourself up here. It seems like a lot of happy accidents led you to a very emotional finale with this series, and I love it. And feel privileged for having been along for the ride! It's pretty odd how things like that just sort of fall into place sometimes isn't it? As you say, it was a happy accident, but yeah, it was emotional to say the least. Not sad emotional though, emotional in a good way. The kind you want. I'm glad that you and everyone else have been along for the ride too, that just makes it all the more special! On 04/02/2022 at 3:30 PM, YaManSmevz said: Awww, lookit that tubby kid in the back. He's like "Yeah! Without this orphanage, nobody's gonna feed my fat ass!" That fat kid is hilarious! That's about the size I was at his age (like 12, or 13) except I had that chimps haircut too It's really funny you specifically said "nobody's gonna feed my fat ass!" - because there's literally part of the story that happens as a result of him eating too much, which is hilarious when you think about it. He does live near a beach - maybe he was just frightened because he'd left a hamper full of Hoagies near the beach - and he's worried that someone might accidentally kick sand into them. Nobody likes sand in their sandwiches. On 04/02/2022 at 3:30 PM, YaManSmevz said: While I still feel ill take a break after 0-2, you've definitely made me think about keeping 3 and beyond in mind. I've loved reading your Yakuza reviews dude, you have such a passion for them and it really comes through in your writing, I can't stress enough what high quality reads these are. And that's as someone who's barely dipped their toes in the Yakuza pool! As always, great job! Thank you so much man! That really does mean an awful lot - because I'm asking a lot of people to even read them, as all four Yakuza Universe reviews I've written so far are obnoxiously long. I totally get why people would skip over reading them. So the fact you've enjoyed them as much as you have is wonderful to hear! I guess, see how you feel once you've done 0-2. You can always come back to them after a long time - like I said I took a break of about ten years, came back and loved the series even more than I did when first playing it all those years ago. The good thing is, there are an absolute gold-mine of awesome games out there, so we'll all probably be able to find something awesome to play regardless, even if you do call it at Kiwami 2. On 04/02/2022 at 4:31 PM, Baker said: I bought Pure Pool. The online still works so I tried to self boost with my secondary account but that doesn’t work unfortunately. So does your offer of helping still stand? I think all online trophies and requirements can be done in a few hours. OOOOOOOOOOH! Awesome! Didn't expect to hear that - I hope you have a good time with that. It's incredibly frustrating in places down to the ludicrous A.I but as far as mechanically sound Pool games go, Pure Pool is a pretty good name for it. Yes absolutely man! My offer is still on the table to give you a hand. I'll shoot you a friend request later on or something and then we can figure something out. I don't remember the online taking long at all, be even quicker as its only one of us that only needs to win the matches. Edited February 8, 2022 by rjkclarke 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baker Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: OOOOOOOOOOH! Awesome! Didn't expect to hear that - I hope you have a good time with that. It's incredibly frustrating in places down to the ludicrous A.I but as far as mechanically sound Pool games go, Pure Pool is a pretty good name for it. Yes absolutely man! My offer is still on the table to give you a hand. I'll shoot you a friend request later on or something and then we can figure something out. I don't remember the online taking long at all, be even quicker as its only one of us that only needs to win the matches. Well you need 100 online wins for an accolade. That’s the part that takes a while. Easily boosted by a boosting partner just potting the black ball in 8 ball. But I got @Mori to join me for this game. Hopefully. ? So no help needed for now. And I’ll be gone for a couple of weeks anyway. Thanks though. Edited February 6, 2022 by Baker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Sorry for the two days late reply man! I totally got hooked playing Medievil, which I'm hoping to finish up later on! You like it?? I'm so pleased to hear that! ...read that. See that? I need to think of a better way to say that... 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Cheers man! Although sometimes I wish I didn't feel so strongly about certain games, means I ultimately get a little carried away when writing the reviews. But hey, if you enjoyed it, that's awesome I really appreciate that. Sorry, let me humbly suggest a few corrections here: It's a great thing that I feel so strongly about certain games, means I ultimately have so many awesome things to talk about when writing the reviews. But hey, if you enjoyed it, that's awesome I really appreciate that, because I thoroughly enjoyed my experience both playing and writing about them. Just a thought! Run that up to your boss and see if they approve, yeah? 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: You absolutely are! That Hundo you've gotten in San Andreas is no mean feat man, and once you have a nice little stat screen to look at that tangibly tells you all of the cool things you've managed to do, it really makes it that much more satisfying I think. Agreed! You suggested going for the hundo on the PS4, which... I've been considering! Obviously the lion's share of work is finished, and I can never get enough of that game, so why not? Once I finish the challenge this month, I'll be re-prioritizing a lot, and that may find itself in there! 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: I had to cut that bit down - because I went on a little tangent writing about why the hell people should give Godfather III more credit than it gets. Then...... Well, then I realised I was writing a Yakuza review and not a Godfather one haha. That is one of the last truly great performances that Pacino has given I think, he has done plenty of good ones since, but that and Heat are definitely some of the best I think he gave in the 90's that's for sure. Yep, that scream - is yeah, you said it best, HAUNTING. Ahem..... Erm, Yakuza? ... Too easy to go off on a Godfather tangent haha! Aw man, Heat. Quick switch-up, but that and Casino released within a freakin month of one another... De Niro was such a beast in his prime. And a staggeringly long prime it was!! And agreed - the trio of Godfather III, Scent of a Woman, and Heat were kind of the tail end of his peak. Not that he wasn't still an excellent actor after that of course (Any Given Sunday and Insomnia come to mind as late career high points) but yeah, he quietly switched difficulty from Legend to Normal after that. Yakuza segue complete! 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: I know so many unfortunate friends that had that haircut too, which is I think part of what made me crack up practically every time I saw it. I escaped that haircut, but I have an equally bad haircut that has plagued my family for generations So, you know how Chimpanzee's fur forms a sort of hairline, near their face? Like this..... Well it isn't quite a bowl - but my Mum used to cut my hair, and my brothers (who's 16 years older than me for context to show it wasn't just a 90's thing haha) to a point where it didn't look too dissimilar to this fella, but without the big side bits. Unfortunately there's also a picture in my Nan's house where my Uncle has the exact same haircut, so it seems like it's some sort of unofficial thing that male members of our family have to endure. So I really shouldn't laugh at the poor bowl-headed kid, however much I want to! Haha! That's horrible! Yeahmann, if I grew up with haircuts like that, the second I was old enough to peace out I'd be growing that shit out with the quickness! Genererations of bowl cuts man, that's a trip. I do hope this is where the cycle ends for your family! Maybe that's why you're comfortable making fun - you lived it, so you've been there and probably spent plenty of time making fun of your own damn self over it. The argument could be made that you've earned it! 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: It's pretty odd how things like that just sort of fall into place sometimes isn't it? As you say, it was a happy accident, but yeah, it was emotional to say the least. Not sad emotional though, emotional in a good way. The kind you want. I'm glad that you and everyone else have been along for the ride too, that just makes it all the more special! I totally get what you mean, and I'm really happy you got a proper farewell with this series that you love so much. Only media can give us experiences like that, and the more interactive, the more affecting they seem to be! 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: That fat kid is hilarious! That's about the size I was at his age (like 12, or 13) except I had that chimps haircut too Ayyyyy poor lil Clarke Jr.!! 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: It's really funny you specifically said "nobody's gonna feed my fat ass!" - because there's literally part of the story that happens as a result of him eating too much, which is hilarious when you think about it. Hah! That's great. This reminded me of a Beavis and Butthead bit which I'll now paraphrase because it's just too fitting. Rjkclarke: There's literally part of the story that happens as a result of him eating too much. Butthead: I'll bet. Beavis: Yeah. He's fat. 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: He does live near a beach - maybe he was just frightened because he'd left a hamper full of Hoagies near the beach - and he's worried that someone might accidentally kick sand into them. Nobody likes sand in their sandwiches. He's never gonna be a Sumo with that kind of pickiness. You wanna be a fatty, you put in the work. I don't care how much sand is in those sandwiches, you be a good little porky and eat. those. sandwiches. 16 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Thank you so much man! That really does mean an awful lot - because I'm asking a lot of people to even read them, as all four Yakuza Universe reviews I've written so far are obnoxiously long. I totally get why people would skip over reading them. So the fact you've enjoyed them as much as you have is wonderful to hear! Most definitely dude! There is a lot of content but it's all very engrossing - high quality, well written stuff in an abundance is just more good stuff to read! What's important is that you're putting out stuff that means a lot to you, that you put a lot of work into, and lots of peeps are getting enjoyment out of it and showin some love. And now the floor is open to talk about all kinds of stuff, be it Yakuza, other games, movies, or fat kids! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 4 hours ago, Baker said: Well you need 100 online wins for an accolade. That’s the part that takes a while. Easily boosted by a boosting partner just potting the black ball in 8 ball. But I got @Mori to join me for this game. Hopefully. So no help needed for now. And I’ll be gone for a couple of weeks anyway. Thanks though. Yep - that's how I got that accolade, only took about an hour or two from what I remember. So that should be a fairly pain free part of the game for you. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner when you dropped the comment the other day..... My offer still stands though.... If you need a hand with it, I'll just politely sit on the subs bench and see if I get called into bat...... cue? I don't know..... You get my drift ? 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: You like it?? I'm so pleased to hear that! ...read that. See that? I need to think of a better way to say that... I do actually - I really like it. Thank you for being the catalyst that got me excited to play it. like Copanele did with Yakuza 3, I don't know how long I would have kept putting it off for otherwise. The game is surprisingly short though - but that's not always a bad thing. I only have to do a few miscellaneous trophies and all the lost souls and then I'm completely done with the game, but I've really enjoyed it. Quite looking forward to writing the review of that one! Oh yeah, I totally get what you mean with that whole, hear,read, see thing - go with whatever feels comfortable for you. I can never decide on that one myself, I think I've used combinations of those three all over the place haha 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: It's a great thing that I feel so strongly about certain games, means I ultimately have so many awesome things to talk about when writing the reviews. But hey, if you enjoyed it, that's awesome I really appreciate that, because I thoroughly enjoyed my experience both playing and writing about them. Just a thought! Run that up to your boss and see if they approve, yeah? I.........I mean,he liked those amendments and gives them a big thumbs up! ? I do thoroughly enjoy writing about them - just sometimes I wish I had a Carl pill so I could find a few more hours in the days to fit a few more in here and there! 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Agreed! You suggested going for the hundo on the PS4, which... I've been considering! Obviously the lion's share of work is finished, and I can never get enough of that game, so why not? Once I finish the challenge this month, I'll be re-prioritizing a lot, and that may find itself in there! Absolutely dude! I definitely think it's something you'd probably have a good time with..... I found having something to focus on that solely wasn't just trophy related was incredibly refreshing - I'd bet good money, I'm not the only one who'd love to see that get documented in your awesome thread too. You never know, it might make me want to do the same, as I've always wanted to get the 100% in San Andreas. In a way that's the only thing that the definitive edition of San Andreas has over the OG version - is that the trophy list in the new one asks for 100%, because as daunting as it is, I'd love to be able to say I've done it. 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Aw man, Heat. Quick switch-up, but that and Casino released within a freakin month of one another... De Niro was such a beast in his prime. And a staggeringly long prime it was!! And agreed - the trio of Godfather III, Scent of a Woman, and Heat were kind of the tail end of his peak. Not that he wasn't still an excellent actor after that of course (Any Given Sunday and Insomnia come to mind as late career high points) but yeah, he quietly switched difficulty from Legend to Normal after that. Yakuza segue complete! I never knew Heat and Casino were released so close together! What a mammoth few months for quality Cinema..... Two films that are close to if not 3 hours long, yet neither of them ever feel that length. Yes..... That was an astoundinly long prime of De Niro's I almost think he did Rocky and Bulwinkle and then it all went downhill from there. My brother would say Meet the Parents, but I personally think De Niro is still very funny in that. He did deadpan humour really well - that whole "I have nipples Greg, could you milk me?" thing. Is a line that my Dad still quotes at me on a fairly regular basis.... I tried to think of a Yakuza segue but..... you win with yours, I forget sometimes I just love talking about movies too much 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: That's horrible! Yeahmann, if I grew up with haircuts like that, the second I was old enough to peace out I'd be growing that shit out with the quickness! Genererations of bowl cuts man, that's a trip. I do hope this is where the cycle ends for your family! Maybe that's why you're comfortable making fun - you lived it, so you've been there and probably spent plenty of time making fun of your own damn self over it. The argument could be made that you've earned it! Well I certainly wouldn't be wishing that haircut on any of my potential children...... Whoever my future wife turns out to be though, who knows she might see the photo's in my Grandparents house or my Mums house, and think yeah..... that doesn't look too bad, my kids can rock that style too, whether those kids are male or female. I did feel pretty cruel making fun of the bowl-headed kid when I found out he's only meant to be like 8 or 9in the game - he looks like he's much older, so when I found out he wasn't I was like..... "Well, I'm a real asshat huh" then I saw his haircut again, and my immediate reaction was to try not to laugh.... What an unfortunate cycle eh.... 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: He's never gonna be a Sumo with that kind of pickiness. You wanna be a fatty, you put in the work. I don't care how much sand is in those sandwiches, you be a good little porky and eat. those. sandwiches. He really should have teamed up with Thurman Merman...... They could have been like the best Sumo Tag Team of all time. If you've never seen Bad Santa....Then, that is an unconventional Christmas movie I think most people should have a look at if they get a chance. 4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Most definitely dude! There is a lot of content but it's all very engrossing - high quality, well written stuff in an abundance is just more good stuff to read! What's important is that you're putting out stuff that means a lot to you, that you put a lot of work into, and lots of peeps are getting enjoyment out of it and showin some love. And now the floor is open to talk about all kinds of stuff, be it Yakuza, other games, movies, or fat kids! Thanks again man! Hearing... Reading,,,, Seeeing? (see what I did ?) all of that is so nice of you to say, and it makes it feel even more worthwhile! Trust me on that one. I approve of all of the discussions about Yakuza, other games, movies, even fat kids.....Whatever form it takes. Although maybe less of the fat kids, just so I don't start having some war like flashbacks of when I was one, a big fat kid with a chimp haircut 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copanele Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Thank you so much dude - I'm just about sane after the batting mini-game, I only once or twice have woken up in a cold sweat with a 160KMPH Curve Ball flying towards my face I'm glad to finally have it crossed off the list too - and I'll be honest, I probably would have put it off that much longer if I hadn't seen that you had so much fun playing it yourself. So THANK YOU, for being a huge part of the reason why I got to experience that lost chapter that little bit sooner. Glad you enjoyed the read too, I kind of just made peace with the fact not a lot of people would probably not read it, it's long, but there was so much that I just needed to say, so I'm glad I got a chance to. Hah, happy to have been the motivation behind Yakuza 3. I'll gladly take responsibility for your Batting PTSD ? at least you got them all done now 10 hours ago, rjkclarke said: My next non-yakuza review should be tonight - or I guess like very early in the morning tomorrow, depending on when I finish editing . I've gotta get Dangerous Driving reviewed then I'm not sure what I'm going to tackle next week as far as those Classic Reviews go. @DrBloodmoney might have at least some clue after a little Artifex Mundi discussion we had last week. I still got a lot of those requests you threw my way, so one of those at least. Maybe Jedi Outcast? But yeah, hopefully not anything painfully long that will make peoples eyed bleed. Jedi Outcast should be a quick one (best star wars combat yet, crappy PS4 port). You can even do a 2in1 and include Jedi Academy since that's a direct sequel and it's pretty much the same thing + some extra sweet lightsabers Lol I just did a mini review to your future review ? If you wanna make people's eyes bleed round 60 (and make me happy cause god damn I love reading your stuff and drinking coffee :> I am nothing if not self centered ) you could always go for Dragon's Dogma . But you might have to dig for the sacred texts for that game, since you completed it AGES ago and...boy is there a lot to say about that game. And that's the main game only, not mentioning the Bitterblack Isle DLC. Damn...now remembering Dragon's Dogma, I stacked that game on PS4 as well. What was I thinking ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted February 8, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 8, 2022 Classic Review Platinum #267 Dangerous Driving (PS4) Good Clean Fun Platinum Trophy A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 28 June 2020 1:43:20 AM Time Taken to Platinum : 1 month, 1 day, 14 hours Platinum Rarity - 11.58% Trophy Number - #13,283 I’ll just pick up where I left off with Danger Zone and Danger Zone 2. This is – in my opinion at least, where former Criterion developers Three Fields Entertainment always wanted to be heading towards. Danger Zone 1 & 2 were testing the waters – this, narks their eventual move back towards where many of the original Burnout development team that now make up Three Fields started, and that is – ladies and gentleman, racing! That also happens to be where this review starts to get a little tricky. So I’ll just make this clear now – I mainly enjoyed my time with this game – however, there is a pretty massive caveat to that though. There is a pretty huge laundry list of problems that Dangerous Driving has that you can’t quite gloss over and ignore, unfortunately. With that in mind – I feel like it would be wrong of me to brush over any of this, on the off-chance anyone did end up playing this as a result of this review – I want you to go in fully with your eyes open. It’s the best way to play this game – and if you know what you’re in for going into it, you’re likely to be a little more forgiving of some of its more glaring faults and issues. Let us get some of the easier things out of the way first shall we? So I guess that means tackling what visual and audio elements that Dangerous Driving has to offer. Visually at least – for a fairly low budget title (which this is) Dangerous Driving looks far better than I ever expected it to. Full disclosure, I didn’t expect this to look bad, just not quite as good as it does. I think a fair comparison point would be games like Onrush and, this one might seem strange – but Need for Speed: Rivals. The latter makes sense when you think about it – Need for Speed: Rivals was developed by Criterion too, and that game is very strong in its visual department. To be perfectly honest, in a game like this I think what you’re looking for visually is interesting track design and appealing looking vehicles for the most part. Dangerous Driving contains both of the above, but also contains a really disorientating blur effect when driving at extreme speeds. I almost never get motion sickness when I play games (excluding my limited experiences with VR). Unfortunately I did get that a few times whilst playing Dangerous Driving – I’m not saying that you might, but it could happen, so I thought it was at the very least worth mentioning. The use of dynamic camera cuts when getting Takedowns is incredibly satisfying however. If you’ve played any of the Burnout entries post Burnout 2 – then you’ll almost certainly know what to expect, and it will absolutely deliver exactly what you want there, and with excellent aplomb too. One of the strongest areas of Dangerous Driving is actually on an auditory level. It contains incredibly visceral sound design and a really smooth attention to detail with foley work that sounds as brutal and gruesome on occasion, as the various crashes and Takedowns look on a visual level, it’s an element of the game that marries together incredibly well. Dangerous Driving has one official piece of music on the soundtrack – yes, you heard me right. Just one, a song called Rebel Tattoo, by Toni Halliday. Now you’ve read that, I bet you’re thinking, “Has he had a knock on the head? He usually likes variety in his soundtracks.” Don’t fear dear reader, I haven’t tripped over and fallen face first onto a spike and given myself a lobotomy by mistake. One of the best things about Dangerous Driving is that YOU, yes, you! You choose whatever soundtrack you want to drive to. In a genius move by Three Fields, due to budget constraints – instead of having a dedicated collection of licensed music to make up an official soundtrack, Three Fields decided to integrate Spotify into the game so you can essentially listen to your own saved playlists. This is something which really helps tailor the experience fairly uniquely to each individual gamer that plays it. It’s one of the strongest features of the game –why exactly that is, will probably become clearer further into the review. A good gauge of whether or not you’ll get on with this game is if you ask yourselves some of the following questions. Are you a fan of Burnout? Do you yearn for a modern title that is absolutely in the same vein as games like Burnout 3: Takedown and Burnout: Revenge? Do you like Racing games that offer a fairly different gameplay wrinkle that isn’t just lace first and win? Do you like fast and frenetic gameplay? If you fall into at least a few of those categories, then I feel I can almost certainly guarantee that you’d have at least quite a fun time with Dangerous Driving. On a fundamental gameplay level – Dangerous Driving is about as close as we’re ever likely to get to a remastered Burnout 3: Takedown. Takedowns feel incredibly satisfying to pull off, as does drifting and just driving in general. Don’t be dissuaded by the fact I compared it to a remaster of a game almost two decades old. I don’t mean that it feels old. I just mean, that it feels just like that very specific, Burnout feeling, but transposed directly into the shell of a modern game. Admittedly that is an element that will either appeal to you – or it won’t. Dangerous Driving’s strengths it can also be argued – are also some of its weaknesses. It’s an element that slightly frustrates me, as nothing Dangerous Driving is doing is particularly new, or fresh, and I wish it was. Even in comparison to the series this is a spiritual successor to, it really isn’t reinventing the wheel or doing anything particularly new, something I really think it could have done. You have: Races, Road Rages (Getting as many Takedowns as possible,) Pursuits (Police Chases) Shakedowns (Hot Laps,) Eliminators, Face Offs (One Vs One) and Survival (An Outrun-esque game mode where you have to drive for as long a distance as possible without crashing). Survival is the event that probably feels the freshest and least familiar to play, so that was a particularly interesting element to explore. It falls into a slightly unusual place where the target audience for this game is absolutely people who’ve had previous experience with the Burnout series. Yet it also features so many gameplay and event types that have been done in other games too, so ultimately, it’s going to be even harder to attract people who don’t already have a vested interest in what exactly this is. Here’s where selling the game to people becomes a little trickier. If you aren’t familiar with rubber banding in racing games, then I’ll briefly, and probably badly explain it like this. It’s the practice of the other racers A.I – either catching up to you, or slowing down considerably to allow you a chance to catch up. That can be a good aspect of a game in some places. Is that the case in Dangerous Driving? Absolutely not! I do not say this lightly; this game has some of the most egregious and infuriating A.I rubber banding that I have ever encountered. To put into perspective you can be leading the pack during a race, and the game will periodically tell you how far behind second place are. Here is the thing, I distinctly remember the A.I being at least ten or fifteen seconds behind me, to then almost instantaneously, (in less than ten seconds believe me) see them speeding past me into the lead. Unless that car had a miniaturised version of The Flash powering its engine, that is ultimately unforgiveable, especially when later races and events can be between five and ten minutes long. This leads me onto another major issue. Wreckage, so much built up wreckage – oh deary me, this is another thing that just seems like a colossal oversight. Long races ultimately mean more driving time, fine in principle, yes? That’s usually the case; Dangerous Driving however, has a really strange mechanic where even in races with re-spawning cars in them, if they crash or you perform a Takedown on them, that specific car shell will stay on the track indefinitely. In essence this means that longer events like the late game races and Eliminator events end up becoming a minefield of wrecked cars where at times you’re spending as much time avoiding crashed cars as you are focusing on maintaining a lead. When you combine this with the at times infuriating rubber banding, this becomes an issue that’s impossible to overlook. I’m not done yet – there’s one more glaring issue – one that is directly linked to the trophies. I’d argue about ninety-five percent of Dangerous Driving’s trophies are very enjoyable. Your standard fare of Win X amount of Events, Get Gold in X type of event. I’m sure you know what to expect there. Unfortunately, as is the case with some games, two or three specific trophies are nothing short of obnoxious. The first, asks you to drive one thousand miles in one vehicle. The other tasks you with driving one hundred miles in every vehicle. The sad reality is, the game just doesn’t contain anywhere close to enough content to even get close to that. You’ll spend upwards of ten or twelve hours at least just for these trophies alone. It’s something that really hampers the experience too. I’m glad that the trophy guide on the site makes people patently aware of this issue too. This is where the Spotify integration becomes an absolute positive, it really helps to cut down the monotonous nature of those trophies, being able to listen to whatever you want, at your own pace, for that, I am truly glad. Do I recommend Dangerous Driving? It’s a cautious yes I think. Just be aware of all of the issues that plague it when going in. I’ve tried to be as clear and concise with the amount of issues that this game has, and give people the chance to go into this with their eyes fully open on what kind of things to expect. I can’t sugar-coat the flaws, they exist. Let’s just put it like this – I really enjoyed playing through the various events, and the game itself is incredibly satisfying to play, but the grind towards the platinum does hamper things somewhat, it’s something that Dangerous Driving and Stories: The Path of Destinies strangely have in common.I think Dangerous Driving shows enough promise that I want to play the second game - which is apparently going to be open world - I do worry they've bitten off a bit more than they can chew with that, but I'll remain optimistic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a certain strange irony to the fact that I wrote a review of Dangerous Driving only a day or so apart from actually starting to learn to drive. Better late than never I guess though. Dangerous driving is right too, what with almost everything about driving a real world car being completely alien to me at the moment, I definitely didn't almost crash into a brick wall, or drive through a pair of open gates into an industrial estate SPOILERS..... I DID ...... ...... Oops........ I probably spooked my poor Dad a little bit when those open gates were approaching. 23 hours ago, Copanele said: Hah, happy to have been the motivation behind Yakuza 3. I'll gladly take responsibility for your Batting PTSD at least you got them all done now Hopefully there's no batting in Like a Dragon, but I bet there is..... At least the batting on the Dragon Engine is a little better than the one on those older games. Be thankful for small mercies I guess haha! 23 hours ago, Copanele said: Jedi Outcast should be a quick one (best star wars combat yet, crappy PS4 port). You can even do a 2in1 and include Jedi Academy since that's a direct sequel and it's pretty much the same thing + some extra sweet lightsabers Lol I just did a mini review to your future review If you wanna make people's eyes bleed round 60 (and make me happy cause god damn I love reading your stuff and drinking coffee :> I am nothing if not self centered ) you could always go for Dragon's Dogma . But you might have to dig for the sacred texts for that game, since you completed it AGES ago and...boy is there a lot to say about that game. And that's the main game only, not mentioning the Bitterblack Isle DLC. Damn...now remembering Dragon's Dogma, I stacked that game on PS4 as well. What was I thinking I think I'll almost certainly do Jedi Outcast this week - I won't do Jedi Academy though..... That post will go too long otherwise. I have more to say about Jedi Academy than I do about Outcast - even though I think Outcast is actually the better game. So I'll do those in separate posts. I'll take note of your mini review as well ? sums those games up pretty well. Dragons Dogma is another one of those that will take a while to actually put together. Gotta do it at some point though, so that's a good idea, and you did request it after all ? Yeah, good point actually I think it's probably getting close to ten years since I played Dragons Dogma. I really liked that game though - so that's another one that will almost certainly go fairly long, just because it's brimming with interesting things to talk about. You bet I'm gonna mention the Bitterblack Isle DLC too. Even though it has no trophies. It's so damn good that you just can't not mention it. I can see why you would stack it for the PS4 - if I ever took up stacking games that one would be one I'd definitely strongly consider that's for sure! On 06/02/2022 at 9:40 PM, YaManSmevz said: I totally get what you mean, and I'm really happy you got a proper farewell with this series that you love so much. Only media can give us experiences like that, and the more interactive, the more affecting they seem to be! Sorry to re-animate the Yakuza review corpse at this point - but I meant to reply to this when I replied last time, and for some reason I forgot. I'm glad I got to have gotten a farewell like that too. I really am. You're so right too! Media absolutely is one of the only things that can make us feel that specific way - it's weird to feel that attached at times, to characters you know don't exist - yet the fact that you directly control them kind of makes those experiences so much more engaging and affecting sometimes. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 Nice work m'dude - I appreciate the insight on this one! Certainly sounds like DD is a game you need to be willing to cut some slack if you want to have fun with the good stuff - the rubber banding especially sounds infuriating! I do think that's a good point about... 20 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: It falls into a slightly unusual place where the target audience for this game is absolutely people who’ve had previous experience with the Burnout series. Yet it also features so many gameplay and event types that have been done in other games too, so ultimately, it’s going to be even harder to attract people who don’t already have a vested interest in what exactly this is. ...that is a bit of a minefield, I suppose, when doing a lower budget love letter to what was a high-budget game of the past - you are pulling modes and ideas that people what to see again, but since you're doing it on a budget, you are going to have trouble meeting the level of the original (and people's memories of the level of the original, which is often quite a bit better than the reality of it!) In some ways, it's sort of walking into an ambush - you are deliberately reminding people of the thing they love, and so setting up the exact comparison that is potentially going to make your new entry feel lesser. I have to admit though... despite the numerous problems you outline, the combination of these two aspects: 17 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: One of the best things about Dangerous Driving is that YOU, yes, you! You choose whatever soundtrack you want to drive to. In a genius move by Three Fields, due to budget constraints – instead of having a dedicated collection of licensed music to make up an official soundtrack, Three Fields decided to integrate Spotify into the game so you can essentially listen to your own saved playlists. This is something which really helps tailor the experience fairly uniquely to each individual gamer that plays it. It’s one of the strongest features of the game –why exactly that is, will probably become clearer further into the review. 17 minutes ago, rjkclarke said: Wreckage, so much built up wreckage – oh deary me, this is another thing that just seems like a colossal oversight. Long races ultimately mean more driving time, fine in principle, yes? That’s usually the case; Dangerous Driving however, has a really strange mechanic where even in races with re-spawning cars in them, if they crash or you perform a Takedown on them, that specific car shell will stay on the track indefinitely. In essence this means that longer events like the late game races and Eliminator events end up becoming a minefield of wrecked cars where at times you’re spending as much time avoiding crashed cars as you are focusing on maintaining a lead. ...does just make me want to set up my own spotify playlist for comedy effect! I cannot deny there is some appeal to the idea of furiously trying to win a race, while navigating my way through a scrap-heap of broken bumpers and chassis, with this playing in the background... ? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 (edited) On 2/1/2022 at 8:45 PM, rjkclarke said: Thanks man, it's nice to be back! Today is probably the first time I'll be properly active again. I'll try not to let a game distract me so much from posting next time! I'd love to be able to play Summoner 1 and 2 with trophies - If I started a petition though, I'd have to create about 300,000 alt accounts to even have a sniff of a chance of someone taking notice. Those games honestly have some of the most interesting lore written for video games, but they are unfortunately probably consigned to history now. That's the weird thing with retro games - especially when the games end up being more expensive than the actual console. Sorry for slow reply, busy busy busy lol It's all good! It's always really cool when you can get fully engrosed in a game like that! Didn't realise there was a 2nd Summoner game, thought it was a stand alone. Haha you can use your free time now to get on creating those alt accounts lol On 2/1/2022 at 8:45 PM, rjkclarke said: I'd say Yakuza 5 is a really good contender for that..... I was in a very dark place mentally when I played that, but it was an incredibly good form of escapism. That game literally took over my life, to a probably unhealthy amount. But that's exactly what I wanted, however unhealthy that probably was. I wanted anything that would distract me from the real world, so that did it's job a little too well. Skyrim might be another one too. I think I've said before how I prefer Oblivion, but Skyrim absolutely consumed so much of my time when I played that when it released. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is another one..... A little less depressing though. I remember just relentlessly playing it for a week whilst I was house-sitting for my brother - who forgot to show me how his cooker worked ..... So for the first couple of days before I figured out how it worked I was literally playing The Witcher all day living off of cheese sandwiches and coffee. I wrote a pretty good script that week too - which, I might actually be turning into a short film this year, fingers crossed. I didn't even finish it either, but it really got me hooked in. Final Fantasy X - One of my best friends and I started a playthrough on separate consoles over a summer about ten years ago now (probably longer) where we were both aiming to do everything (this was pre trophies, so must have been before I had a PS3) but that was a really engrossing time, he lived 2 doors down from me, so we would be round each others houses, watching each others progress, or just having a laugh, so wanting to keep up with him made that really engrossing. Even if I did actually call Tidus ROB (yes with capitals ) because I forgot I was naming my character not my profile. I should have known better as a FF fan haha How about you? I'm sure we've all got plenty of games that really got the hook into us. Well I've heard good things about Yakuza 5, but seems like it served a different purpose for you which well hopefully those times are behind you now and you came through it. Yes Oblivion you mentioned so not surprising Skyrim is one. What are you going to do about the 6th Elder Scrolls? Likely to be Microsoft exclusive. Also did you play the Online game? Figured could be right up your alley. Cheese Sandwiches I can do, Coffee is a no from me lol perfect stuff though to just eat whilst not having to stop gaming though haha Witcher 3 seems like that type of game for sure as we have discussed before. Ah, Final Fantasy X. What a wonderful game. Wife just finished it recently (the story which is more than enough for her) and she really enjoyed it. Haha ROB, awesome mistake there lol sounds like you and your friend really shared a great experience with it. I've had that type of experience with mates with Pokemon games back in the day. As for me, well certainly lots of Final Fantasy games over the years. KOTOR 1 and 2 stand out for me though to be fair. Can't remember if I've told you this before, but I bought an OG Xbox and walked it all the way home from GAME (pretty far) with KOTOR in there and played that game till the early hours every night. Was brill. Had a similar experience with Mass Effect on PC as first one didn't get released then on PS. Then played 2 and went through it all again on PS3 for that sweet plat! On 2/1/2022 at 8:45 PM, rjkclarke said: That Super Game Boy was very cool, I reckon you would have loved it. The N64 kind of had one too - but I think it was a little more specific to Pokemon. You could play Pokemon Red and Blue through Pokemon Stadium, and unlock double and triple speed from what I remember. In fact I think one of my N64 Controllers has that little gadget with Pokemon Silver in it to this very day if I went and checked. I always thought Dr Mario was a little basic, as it only had the two colours instead of however many Puyo Puyo has - 4 I think? But it was an older game, so I can forgive it haha. Wow really? You could play Pokemon Blue through the N64? Man I would have lapped that up! You've got some sweet merch man, that N64 Controller sounds very cool! Dr. Mario was basic yes, but I was happy playing it back in the day. Columns was another I enjoyed on the Mega Drive. Sometimes I can get into puzzle games, but it's rare really. On 2/1/2022 at 8:45 PM, rjkclarke said: You're getting close then! That's awesome. Yeah I'm not a fan of when you basically have to AFK to reasonably get a trophy - that's when you know a grind has gotten a little too much. If you ever go for platinum in FFIX if you wanted you could do that 10,000 kills trophy AFK on the bit where you're escaping the forest at the start. You've just got to set auto battle on, I might have done that if I'd known about it. Sounds like you'll be done with it soon though, so that's good! Yeah I got the platinum for that same day after getting play for RE7! That Madhouse difficulty drove me up the walls at parts! lol bloody glad I don't have to bother with some of those boss battles ever again lol Totally hear you, AFK is such a meh thing to have to do for a trophy but there you go. There's an option to auto battle in FFIX? I'm gonna have to look into that. On 2/1/2022 at 8:45 PM, rjkclarke said: I mean you could not watch the ending - and you'd still have about as much of an idea of what the ending was as I do, and I've played and seen it It's very confusing, and very, very weird. Me summarising the ending of a game in one sentence would probably be a big for some people, it'd at least mean they wouldn't have to wade through quite so much of my rambling haha! Yes, well yeah sounds probs correct lol No no, it was just a joke. Lots of people really appreciate your insightful analysis and discussion about the games you review. Look at all the responses you get.? Edit - Oh, you might notice my 2nd EHQ Seal on my sig. Super chuffed to get another one! Edited February 8, 2022 by The_Kopite Updated information 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 18 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: Nice work m'dude - I appreciate the insight on this one! Certainly sounds like DD is a game you need to be willing to cut some slack if you want to have fun with the good stuff - the rubber banding especially sounds infuriating! I do think that's a good point about... Cheers Doc! I meant to reply to this when I first read it, but I ended up not being anywhere near my PC for pretty much most of the day. Hence why I'm doing it now. That's exactly it yeah, you need to be willing and aware - of some of its pitfalls to really get the best out of it I think. The rubber banding is very stupid, and seems like a really huge oversight, I don't remember the older Burnout titles suffering from that particularly. 18 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: ...that is a bit of a minefield, I suppose, when doing a lower budget love letter to what was a high-budget game of the past - you are pulling modes and ideas that people what to see again, but since you're doing it on a budget, you are going to have trouble meeting the level of the original (and people's memories of the level of the original, which is often quite a bit better than the reality of it!) In some ways, it's sort of walking into an ambush - you are deliberately reminding people of the thing they love, and so setting up the exact comparison that is potentially going to make your new entry feel lesser. I have to admit though... despite the numerous problems you outline, the combination of these two aspects: In some areas it really does live up to the memories of those older titles. But sometimes cashing in on peoples love for something you've already succeeded at in the past, just isn't enough, and I think that is part of the problem. A lot of people are clamouring for a new Burnout game..... Yet what they got with Dangerous Driving was essentially - an old Burnout game with a different name.... I don't know, I think they really handcuffed themselves creatively by doing this game a specific way. The bit I put in bold, is exactly the problem that I'm worried most about for Dangerous Driving 2....... With the plan being to go open world, the only natural comparison is going to be Burnout Paradise - a game which is arguably more beloved than any other Burnout title. It wasn't really my thing when I played it on the 360, but I'm going to play the PS4 version fairly soon because I'm almost certain I was wrong about it. What I'm not wrong about - is how much people love Burnout Paradise. Making an open world game with a fraction of the budget they would have had available to them when they were working for Criterion just seems like they're setting themselves up for a fall. I hope I'm wrong, but people will - fairly or unfairly, compare it to that previous game, and that is an incredibly lofty measuring stick, So unless they do something very unique, I'm not sure it's going to go the way they think. 18 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: ...does just make me want to set up my own spotify playlist for comedy effect! I cannot deny there is some appeal to the idea of furiously trying to win a race, while navigating my way through a scrap-heap of broken bumpers and chassis, with this playing in the background... That does conjure a pretty hilarious image! I must admit that's way funnier than what I was reminded of when I played bits of Dangerous Driving Have you ever seen the film Crash?....... No - not the mid 2000's Oscar bait film of the same name.... The one David Cronenberg made in the 90's.... Where a lot of the characters get off to seeing car crashes. There was quite a few times where my brain would absent mindedly drift off into a weird train of thought. As I used to think if they played this game - they'd just look like a room full of Randy Marshes..... Marsh'?........Marshesesesesses (Gollum strikes again) sat around his computer that he's, erm, painted white......... Whichever one. Yeah, you know the picture, I was going to post it, but practically everyone knows the one I mean I expect ?..... Clearly my choice of Spotify playlist wasn't good enough! ? 7 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Sorry for slow reply, busy busy busy lol It's all good! It's always really cool when you can get fully engrosed in a game like that! Didn't realise there was a 2nd Summoner game, thought it was a stand alone. Haha you can use your free time now to get on creating those alt accounts lol No worries man! Rather you were busy than anything we ought to be worrying about health-wise. Yep there's two Summoner games, and the second one actually plays a lot more like it's own unique thing. Whereas the first was a bit of a Baldurs Gate clone to be perfectly honest, but still good in its own way. I'll skip out on making those alt accounts though - tempting as it is. Too many more constructive things to do with any free time that I get ? 7 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Well I've heard good things about Yakuza 5, but seems like it served a different purpose for you which well hopefully those times are behind you now and you came through it. Yes Oblivion you mentioned so not surprising Skyrim is one. What are you going to do about the 6th Elder Scrolls? Likely to be Microsoft exclusive. Also did you play the Online game? Figured could be right up your alley. I'm certainly in a better headspace than I was - but as is often the case, those nagging thoughts and demons do still make their way to the surface on occasion..... It's just one of those things. I think Yakuza 5 ultimately meant that playing pretty much all but one or two of the others up until now has meant it's probably stolen about 1000 hours of my life. I can't be angry about it though...... You can sum up my feelings on Yakuza taking that time perfectly with this Simpsons clip....... On Elder Scrolls 6 though...... I don't know, I doubt I'd buy a whole new console just to play it - if the KOTOR remake was Microsoft exclusive then maybe. But no, ES6, I'm pretty indifferent to the idea of at the moment. It probably won't be out until I look like Hans Moleman anyway, so no need to worry about it for now ? Elder Scrolls Online I've skipped for the same reasons that you and I have both skipped out on FFXIV..... Lack of time and on my part a bit of a lack of interest in MMO's too. 7 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Cheese Sandwiches I can do, Coffee is a no from me lol perfect stuff though to just eat whilst not having to stop gaming though haha Witcher 3 seems like that type of game for sure as we have discussed before. Ah, Final Fantasy X. What a wonderful game. Wife just finished it recently (the story which is more than enough for her) and she really enjoyed it. Haha ROB, awesome mistake there lol sounds like you and your friend really shared a great experience with it. I've had that type of experience with mates with Pokemon games back in the day. Are you not a Coffee lover? Witcher 3 is definitely engrossing. I can definitely think of other games that have really absorbed my time, but the ones I brought up are probably the most recent examples I'd say. He never let's me forget that stupid faux pas with calling Tidus ROB either..... Even to this day on messages he'll sometimes start with just that in full caps. Yep I've had similar with Pokemon too, especially when they owned a different cartridge to you.... It did mean that if you had the different one you could both get files with all three starter Poke's on.... Even if it was fairly laborious, but it was still cool to be able to do it. 8 hours ago, The_Kopite said: As for me, well certainly lots of Final Fantasy games over the years. KOTOR 1 and 2 stand out for me though to be fair. Can't remember if I've told you this before, but I bought an OG Xbox and walked it all the way home from GAME (pretty far) with KOTOR in there and played that game till the early hours every night. Was brill. Had a similar experience with Mass Effect on PC as first one didn't get released then on PS. Then played 2 and went through it all again on PS3 for that sweet plat! Those are definitely very understandable - a lot of the ones you mentioned got their hooks into me pretty deeply when I first started playing them too. I know exactly what you mean about KOTOR 1 and 2..... More specifically 1 for me. 2 just had too many sections I didn't find enjoyable to replay. Having that terrible opening on the mining planetoid thing didn't really help there. With KOTOR 1 I literally remember setting my alarm for about 3AM for ages just so that I could get up really early and get a few extra hours of game time in before I had to go to school. I just could not get enough of that game. That is a pretty mean feat lugging that original Xbox all the way home. Those things were so heavy. I'm pretty sure there was a warning on the box not to have them in a high place, because they'd physically do you a lot of harm if they fell on you. 8 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Wow really? You could play Pokemon Blue through the N64? Man I would have lapped that up! You've got some sweet merch man, that N64 Controller sounds very cool! Yep, it's a really cool feature I think..... I was trying to remember what it was called. But I had to resort to Dr Google..... It was called a transfer pak..... Your guess is as good as mine as to why it wasn't a pack.... But yeah, had a Gameboy Colour game slot in it.... Just snapped into the back of the controller. Then in Pokemon Stadium you could play the original 3 Pokemon titles on an in-game Gameboy Emulator on a TV, so yeah I reckon you would have loved it! .... .....I'm Sure you could play Silver and Gold in Pokemon Stadium 2 though. My copy of Silver is sat in my N64 Controller, and I don't see why it'd be in there otherwise. I've either got sweet mech - or I have slight hoarding tendencies and an unwillingness to get rid of things.... One of those two things haha ? 8 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Yeah I got the platinum for that same day after getting play for RE7! That Madhouse difficulty drove me up the walls at parts! lol bloody glad I don't have to bother with some of those boss battles ever again lol Totally hear you, AFK is such a meh thing to have to do for a trophy but there you go. There's an option to auto battle in FFIX? I'm gonna have to look into that. Congrats on getting those awesome platinum's! I really ought to pick up Puyo Puyo Champions, I think I'd enjoy that. Glad you finally put RE7 to bed. I think the Jack fight in the boathouse was the part that drove me a bit nuts in places. I hope you set fire to Marguerittes "Hanging Garden" ...... Now I feel gross for having to think of that again. It was news to me too that there was an auto battle feature in FFIX - but there is. So long as you're in a battle you can hold down R2 and the game will just auto battle for you, and you just have to hold it down again to toggle it on or off. So in that bit at the end of the forest at the start of FFIX - you can turn auto battle on - and the booster thing that keeps you at full health. Then when you exit a battle, you get put into another if you don't move (I think that's right). There's another area that works later in the game just after you get out of the cage with Steiner and Marcus. I kind of wish I'd known about that before, I'd already done it. But you live and learn and all that haha! 8 hours ago, The_Kopite said: No no, it was just a joke. Lots of people really appreciate your insightful analysis and discussion about the games you review. Look at all the responses you get. Edit - Oh, you might notice my 2nd EHQ Seal on my sig. Super chuffed to get another one! Edited 7 hours ago by The_Kopite Thanks man.... I appreciate that haha! That's awesome man! Congratulations on another EHQ Seal... I suspect that won't be the last one either, but you absolutely deserve it for going above and beyond in those guides. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Yep there's two Summoner games, and the second one actually plays a lot more like it's own unique thing. Whereas the first was a bit of a Baldurs Gate clone to be perfectly honest, but still good in its own way. I'll skip out on making those alt accounts though - tempting as it is. Too many more constructive things to do with any free time that I get That's really interesting/ I've never seen it. Was it released on PS2 as well? Haha yes plenty of quality games to play and reviews to do for you! 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: On Elder Scrolls 6 though...... I don't know, I doubt I'd buy a whole new console just to play it - if the KOTOR remake was Microsoft exclusive then maybe. But no, ES6, I'm pretty indifferent to the idea of at the moment. It probably won't be out until I look like Hans Moleman anyway, so no need to worry about it for now Elder Scrolls Online I've skipped for the same reasons that you and I have both skipped out on FFXIV..... Lack of time and on my part a bit of a lack of interest in MMO's too. Wow 1000 hours on Yakuza, that's a hell of a milestone that's for sure. Haha love the Hans Moleman comment lol yes it seems it's like GTA 6, Star Citizen etc, games that take an absolutely ridiculous time to create. Ah, fair enough. I thought that might be the case. Did you look at the trophy guide for FFXIV? My god 999 hours lol that would be my only game for years and years to get that lol 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Are you not a Coffee lover? Witcher 3 is definitely engrossing. I can definitely think of other games that have really absorbed my time, but the ones I brought up are probably the most recent examples I'd say. He never let's me forget that stupid faux pas with calling Tidus ROB either..... Even to this day on messages he'll sometimes start with just that in full caps. Yep I've had similar with Pokemon too, especially when they owned a different cartridge to you.... It did mean that if you had the different one you could both get files with all three starter Poke's on.... Even if it was fairly laborious, but it was still cool to be able to do it. Nope, can't stand the stuff. Never liked it lol have to be in the world's minority there. Haha that's a good friend that. Gentle ribbing. Yeah absolutely, it was really cool to do that. Having the OG Pokemon's and using the Link Cable to trade with your friends, that was cool back in the day. 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Those are definitely very understandable - a lot of the ones you mentioned got their hooks into me pretty deeply when I first started playing them too. I know exactly what you mean about KOTOR 1 and 2..... More specifically 1 for me. 2 just had too many sections I didn't find enjoyable to replay. Having that terrible opening on the mining planetoid thing didn't really help there. With KOTOR 1 I literally remember setting my alarm for about 3AM for ages just so that I could get up really early and get a few extra hours of game time in before I had to go to school. I just could not get enough of that game. That is a pretty mean feat lugging that original Xbox all the way home. Those things were so heavy. I'm pretty sure there was a warning on the box not to have them in a high place, because they'd physically do you a lot of harm if they fell on you. Oh yeah KOTOR 1 was definitely better than 2 but 2 was too harshly viewed I feel. It was Obsidian who did the sequel instead of Bioware wasn't it? KOTOR 1 was just an absolute blast to play through. Was one of those games that you just wished by the end that you could experience a new again and again. Haha yeah it was pretty hard, the GAME bag around it was pretty gone by the time I'd got it home lol it was worth it though. 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Just snapped into the back of the controller. Then in Pokemon Stadium you could play the original 3 Pokemon titles on an in-game Gameboy Emulator on a TV, so yeah I reckon you would have loved it! .... .....I'm Sure you could play Silver and Gold in Pokemon Stadium 2 though. My copy of Silver is sat in my N64 Controller, and I don't see why it'd be in there otherwise. I've either got sweet mech - or I have slight hoarding tendencies and an unwillingness to get rid of things.... One of those two things haha O yeah now you mention it, the name Transfer Pak rings a bell. That would have been awesome. Classic Pokemon on a TV! Well I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say sweet merch lol 4 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Congrats on getting those awesome platinum's! I really ought to pick up Puyo Puyo Champions, I think I'd enjoy that. Glad you finally put RE7 to bed. I think the Jack fight in the boathouse was the part that drove me a bit nuts in places. I hope you set fire to Marguerittes "Hanging Garden" ...... Now I feel gross for having to think of that again. It was news to me too that there was an auto battle feature in FFIX - but there is. So long as you're in a battle you can hold down R2 and the game will just auto battle for you, and you just have to hold it down again to toggle it on or off. So in that bit at the end of the forest at the start of FFIX - you can turn auto battle on - and the booster thing that keeps you at full health. Then when you exit a battle, you get put into another if you don't move (I think that's right). There's another area that works later in the game just after you get out of the cage with Steiner and Marcus. I kind of wish I'd known about that before, I'd already done it. But you live and learn and all that haha! Yes I think you'd enjoy it too. There are online trophies which might take a bit to knock off, but overall think you'd give it a pretty decent review in the future! OMG that Jack Boathouse battle, the amount of times I had to retry that! The ending part where he just smacks you into the water over and over and Ethan dies! OMG, Ethan just became a useless (word that rhymes with bat) lol christ that was annoying. Yes I did set fire to Marguerites Garden btw haha had to after your suggestion. Right I need to try and remember this auto battle feature. Thanks for the heads up! Do you need to put on an elastic band to hold R2 down? 5 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Thanks man.... I appreciate that haha! That's awesome man! Congratulations on another EHQ Seal... I suspect that won't be the last one either, but you absolutely deserve it for going above and beyond in those guides. You're very welcome! Cheers, appreciate it! Hoping to add another one this year, we will see how it goes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 1 hour ago, The_Kopite said: That's really interesting/ I've never seen it. Was it released on PS2 as well? Haha yes plenty of quality games to play and reviews to do for you! It was on PS2 as well yeah - and Gamecube too actually. You know how RE4 got ported to PS2 with some enhancements, Summoner 2 got the same thing but it was PS2>Gamecube instead. I wish I'd picked that up for Gamecube, I bet that is obnoxiously expensive now. Indeed! Which reminds me I've gotta post up my review of Medievil in a bit. I'll go do that after this. Relive some PS1 goodness with trophies! 1 hour ago, The_Kopite said: Wow 1000 hours on Yakuza, that's a hell of a milestone that's for sure. Haha love the Hans Moleman comment lol yes it seems it's like GTA 6, Star Citizen etc, games that take an absolutely ridiculous time to create. Ah, fair enough. I thought that might be the case. Did you look at the trophy guide for FFXIV? My god 999 hours lol that would be my only game for years and years to get that lol It's got to be close to 1000 hours I've spent across all of the Yakuza games now.... The 5th one was pushing close to 250 alone. We'll all look like Hans Moleman by the time Rockstar and Bethesda stop making versions of Skyrim and GTAV though Yeah 999 is a bit off-putting isn't it...... I'll just play that game vicariously through one of my best friends - he plays it loads, so he always fills me in on what's going on in it, he almost got me playing it when they had a crossover event with NieR very recently, but I fought the urge, tough as it was. Something hilarious happened to him in that game which I'll share with you if he'll let me, I'll ask him about it later haha! 1 hour ago, The_Kopite said: Nope, can't stand the stuff. Never liked it lol have to be in the world's minority there. Haha that's a good friend that. Gentle ribbing. Yeah absolutely, it was really cool to do that. Having the OG Pokemon's and using the Link Cable to trade with your friends, that was cool back in the day. Not necessarily, I always flit between coffee and green tea these days - but not mixed together...... Obviously A ribbing that I absolutely deserved! I still never completed the Pokedex though ?...... Even though me and my friends played that game religiously I don't think any of us ever managed to get any of the full Pokedex in any of them. 1 hour ago, The_Kopite said: Oh yeah KOTOR 1 was definitely better than 2 but 2 was too harshly viewed I feel. It was Obsidian who did the sequel instead of Bioware wasn't it? KOTOR 1 was just an absolute blast to play through. Was one of those games that you just wished by the end that you could experience a new again and again. Haha yeah it was pretty hard, the GAME bag around it was pretty gone by the time I'd got it home lol it was worth it though. Oh yeah definitely, 2 does get an unfair appraisal. It's unfinished sure, but I think it's got better characters mostly than KOTOR 1 had. Except Bastilla - I'll fight people who rag on her. I'll dress up as one of those weird Rakutan folk who built the Star Forge and do it as well if need be You should have gone down to GAME with one of those Papooses that people carry Babies around in, just taken your Xbox home in that - might have gotten some odd looks, but y'know sacrifices must be made for KOTOR's safe journey home! ? 2 hours ago, The_Kopite said: OMG that Jack Boathouse battle, the amount of times I had to retry that! The ending part where he just smacks you into the water over and over and Ethan dies! OMG, Ethan just became a useless (word that rhymes with bat) lol christ that was annoying. Yes I did set fire to Marguerites Garden btw haha had to after your suggestion. It's a really annoying fight - even if you've got the really good Shotgun (The Double Barrell 2 shot one) and a lot of enhanced ammo for the pistols he's still a massive pain in the arse. It's pretty tough to use the circular saw on him in that fight too if you were using that for Madhouse. He is a useless word that rhymes with bat! Weirdly a bit at the end had me keep failing at too, with the old lady. I remember getting really frustrated at a bit where she goes "WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE ME" to which I remember out loud saying "because you're a frustrating irritating old CUUUUUUUUUU........ " You can use your imagination to fill in the rest I'm sure ? Was this you after your little playtime with Marguerite? 2 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Right I need to try and remember this auto battle feature. Thanks for the heads up! Do you need to put on an elastic band to hold R2 down? No need for a rubber band, which makes it even more awesome. Just plug your controller in and press R2 once, leave it on for as long as needed. Thankfully Auto Battle is a toggle feature so you just press it the one time to turn it off or on again. I really wish I'd known about it before I spent what felt like an eternity running around Gizmalukes Grotto! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rjkclarke Posted February 9, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 9, 2022 (edited) A New Medievil Flavoured Platinum is Entering the Vault Platinum #344 MediEvil (PS4) Savior of Gallowmere Unlock all trophies. A Few Trophy Stats Platinum Earned - 8 February 2022 : 1:05:30 PM Time Taken to Platinum : 3 days, 18 hours, 4 minutes Platinum Rarity - 37.90% Trophy Number - #16,438 It has only taken me close to twenty-four years, but I’ve finally gotten around to playing through the original Medievil, despite having quite extensively played Medievil 2 in the past.That’s right, it seems my unfortunate penchant for playing games in an erratic order has followed me around for more of my gaming life than perhaps I like to admit. Which means – you guessed it, or didn’t – that this review has to come with another one of those big tubby context warnings that I have to slap on every now and then. Whilst I’ve seen playthroughs of the original Medievil, playing this is my only direct exposure to the game, so for the most part I won’t be comparing the two all that much. Without further ado then – time to kick open the crypt doors and unpack Medievil’s second remake, this time for the PS4.No, you didn’t read that wrong, this was already remade for the PSP, there are two Medievil remakes; can I have a Blood Omen or a Soul Reaver remake please? At this point I’d take either. This is one of the few titles where you can very easily summarise its opening plot premise without having to worry about delving into spoilers. You take the role of Undead Hero (or Buffoon it might turn out) of Gallowmere, Sir Daniel Fortesque, as you hack and slash your way through the evil undead horde of disgraced evil sorcerer Zarok. There’s a little more going on than that, but I’ll leave the rest to anyone that is yet to experience the game. Medievil – it must be said, is very much a thing of its time. This is something the remake doesn’t seek to change, and nor do I think should it have done. It absolutely feels like a game from the era it comes from, in almost every single way, plot, design, characterisation, and gameplay. From what I recall of seeing bits and pieces of the original, the remake has just made a few quality of life improvements here and there and a few slightly new additions – it’s something I really loved about this version – it is an unashamed love letter to the original. Medievil’s plot is fairly thin on the ground, it must be said – but that’s not a bad thing, that doesn’t make the characters or the events any less important, in a way it just highlights some of the other areas where the game really shines. A game doesn’t always need a deep plot or characters if it can be engaging for you in other areas. There’s a fairly endearing quality to Daniel Fortesque as a character, this game plays a lot of aspects deliberately for laughs (and gets them more often than not). Daniel is seen by everyone that knows the truth of how he met his fate, as a complete joke – they talk about him as if he isn’t there, and seem to think he’s a laughing stock, as he constantly replies with retorts of “I’ll show you” or “watch it you!” through his jawless grunts (In the PS1 original the actor recorded his lines with a bucket on his head apparently). That’s about all you get from him as a character, and you know what? That’s all he needs to be, you don’t hear people complaining about Crash Bandicoot being a bad character because he’s predominately silent. If I’m being perfectly honest, I expected to see and hear far more of Zarok than I did in this game – but I think it’s more of a case that – I wanted it, more than the game needed it. For a little context for those that aren’t aware, Zarok is played by one of my favourite actors Paul Darrow, so I always assumed he’d be in the game quite a lot. In a way he is, Zarok is presented as an ever present threat throughout the entire game, yet not really directly seen all that much until the end. That aspect does work surprisingly well though. As this is the plot of a PS1 game that was, even its day, quite short. This element was never going to be the biggest talking point. Even the main gameplay elements at play, hack-and-slash combat, light puzzle elements and platforming are all fairly basic. All of the frustrations that can and will present themselves in a PS1 title are present here, little to no checkpoints, cumbersome and usually imprecise platforming. In a way, I thought that made the way you start to feel increasingly more powerful as the game progresses even more satisfying though. Those things can be frustrating, sure, but it is at least faithful to what the game originally was, based off impressions that a few friends have told me, that played the original. There is admittedly very little depth, to the combat – it just amounts to swing your sword around wildly, like the worlds skinniest helicopter and block occasionally. There are several ranged weapons – which all basically do the same thing, but the more rudimentary gameplay elements do exactly what they need to, they keep the pace fast and frenetic. When you marry that with some of the aspects I’m about to bring up, that recipe does make for an incredibly enjoyable experience. One of the many real standout features I’d say is the artistic design. It just works on so many levels. Medievil looks fantastic – does it lose some of its lustre in the remake? Perhaps a little, and it’s actually an incredibly small, but possibly valid criticism. That’s only down to the specifics of the aesthetic. Medievil’s visual design reminded me stylistically of the collaborations between Tim Burton and Henry Selick, specifically The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. The PS4 version of Medievil, very much still retains that style, I just think it’s a little over-finessed and clean-looking on the PS4 version. The more jagged edges, and pointed and abrasive unrefined look of those PS1 era graphics really enhance the specific design choices. Ultimately the overall design remains incredible, especially when it comes to the variety on show practically across the whole game. As with a lot of video games released around the time period Medievil originally was – it contains smaller discrete levels, as opposed to what we’ve become more accustomed to lately. Yet there are also some fairly light Metroidvania elements at play here too. Some areas require items from later areas to progress, which adds another element to the game, a slight, and to me, surprising, non linearity. After the first few levels, you’re able to pick several different routes to progress through, before having to come back to later levels with discovered items. An aspect of this I really enjoyed was that all of these areas made logical sense from a progression standpoint, each area usually felt like the natural progression of the last. This is – without a shadow of a doubt – one of my favourite aspects of Medievil, its unique and excellent level design. The game has over twenty unique levels, and unique just feels like the only correct word to use here. Some of these levels make incredible use of level design, and I’d love to talk about all of them, and I probably could, but I don’t want to get too self indulgent. The Sleeping Village is one I particularly enjoyed, it’s very small, yet designed exceptionally well when attempting to gain the one hundred percent in the level. My personal favourite though? Easily, it’s The Asylum Grounds, for more than one reason, but mainly the fact that it’s a set of rather enjoyable riddles interspersed with some light combat, I thought this level in particular really showcased how well all of Medievil’s core components synergise so well with each other. Medievil contains some staggeringly good audio, however. My comparison to collaborations from Burton and Selick also extend to Medievil’s music. If someone played me a few pieces of isolated music from this and told me Danny Elfman had composed some of it, I don’t think I’d question it. It’s never overbearing, yet it almost always seems to tonally fit whatever situation you happen to be in during the game. Then there’s the voice acting – this game has the uncompressed audio from the original Medievil, something which makes a whole lot of difference actually as far as crisp and clear audio goes, at least it did for me. Am I a little sour that Tom Baker has been replaced in the opening? Only now that I know it was him that did it, one more female voice in a game with so few can only be a good thing though, so ultimately the change is probably a good one. Alright, Daniel Fortesque, has a muffled voice, end section right? WRONG! Paul Darrow might not appear too much in the game, but what little he does, is, as I’d expect from him, marvellous. My favourite voice acting from Paul Darrow in Medievil is actually not as Zarok, but his other role as Jack of the Green – the master of riddles in The Asylum Grounds. You could tell he was having so much fun with that character; it’s very much in his wheelhouse. For anyone wondering, this is also fairly close to his normal speaking voice. I can just imagine him cracking this exact crooked smile, which he’d use occasionally in Blakes 7 after delivering some of the more smug lines, that Jack of the Green dishes out. His portrayal of Jack of the Green put one of those huge Joker-esque smiles across my face, too. What kind of time are you looking at for the platinum? I wouldn’t say more than about fifteen hours. The game asks you to pretty much do everything there is to do in the game, collect all chalices, plenty of miscellaneous trophies, some quite inventive and funny ones too – an aspect that I really liked. A nice little bonus is that if you didn’t pursue trophies, you might never unlock one of this game’s best features. A by-product of going for one of the trophies, is that you also unlock the PS1 version of Medievil, yes, all of it! A lovely feature, meaning you can now, on replays, essentially choose which version you’d like to play. I almost wish there’d been a trophy for playing through that version too. If not that, then its own little dedicated DLC list like the original Alice got in Alice: Madness Returns. This is an incredibly easy one to recommend – one of my friends said it best when he saw me playing it on PSN, that this is just one of those incredibly chilled out, yet enjoyable platinum’s, and he’s so right. I am proof that you can still enjoy this game, even if you’ve never played the original. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I had a hell of a lot of fun with this game, far more than I think I expected to..... You've got to love when games like this can surprise you from time to time. I would have liked this in 1998 too, but hey, it took me a while, but I got there eventually. Hearing Paul Darrow do something I'd never heard was a real treat too. One of the many, many things that I love about film - and I guess this applies to TV and voice overs, video games, music, you name it really is their ability to allow actors and actresses and performers to live on in some way long after they're gone. It's not a sad thing, it's a beautiful thing, so I'm glad people who never saw Paul Darrow in anything live action, through his involvement in this game would have, and still might bring a lot of enjoyment for people. I've got to give a little shout out to @YaManSmevz for being one of the reasons I got to this game far sooner than I probably would have done otherwise..... After hearing how much you'd enjoyed this, I thought I'd better bump it up the list. I'm very glad that I did. Edited February 12, 2022 by rjkclarke 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 First of all: On 2/7/2022 at 11:46 PM, rjkclarke said: Platinum #267 Dangerous Driving (PS4) 11 hours ago, rjkclarke said: Platinum #344 MediEvil (PS4) Mah man is on a roll! And secondly: On 2/8/2022 at 0:13 AM, DrBloodmoney said: ??? Quote Yes..... That was an astoundinly long prime of De Niro's I almost think he did Rocky and Bulwinkle and then it all went downhill from there. My brother would say Meet the Parents, but I personally think De Niro is still very funny in that. He did deadpan humour really well - that whole "I have nipples Greg, could you milk me?" thing. Is a line that my Dad still quotes at me on a fairly regular basis.... I'm sure I even wanted to like Meet the Parents for whatever reason, but De Niro in particular won me over. On the topic of De Niro's prime, I was talking with a regular about performances of his a few days ago (see the reach your Godfather III comments have?? Wield that power wisely, my son) and I mentioned that his performance in Cape Fear was a grower for me, that I don't think I got it immediately - to which the regular replied "Really? Part of what made his performance so great is that the original was trash!" Is the original Cape Fear bad? I've never seen it, but now I'm curious! Quote I tried to think of a Yakuza segue but..... you win with yours, I forget sometimes I just love talking about movies too much As you should! Quote Well I certainly wouldn't be wishing that haircut on any of my potential children...... Whoever my future wife turns out to be though, who knows she might see the photo's in my Grandparents house or my Mums house, and think yeah..... that doesn't look too bad, my kids can rock that style too, whether those kids are male or female. That, my friend, would be a red flag if I've ever seen one! Quote I did feel pretty cruel making fun of the bowl-headed kid when I found out he's only meant to be like 8 or 9in the game - he looks like he's much older, so when I found out he wasn't I was like..... "Well, I'm a real asshat huh" then I saw his haircut again, and my immediate reaction was to try not to laugh.... What an unfortunate cycle eh.... Did you ever see that skit with the talk show host who can't stop laughing at the guest with the high pitched voice? I'm strongly reminded of this? Quote He really should have teamed up with Thurman Merman...... They could have been like the best Sumo Tag Team of all time. If you've never seen Bad Santa....Then, that is an unconventional Christmas movie I think most people should have a look at if they get a chance. Another movie I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did! On 2/7/2022 at 11:46 PM, rjkclarke said: Dangerous Driving has one official piece of music on the soundtrack – yes, you heard me right. Just one, a song called Rebel Tattoo, by Toni Halliday. Now you’ve read that, I bet you’re thinking, “Has he had a knock on the head? He usually likes variety in his soundtracks.” Don’t fear dear reader, I haven’t tripped over and fallen face first onto a spike and given myself a lobotomy by mistake. One of the best things about Dangerous Driving is that YOU, yes, you! You choose whatever soundtrack you want to drive to. In a genius move by Three Fields, due to budget constraints – instead of having a dedicated collection of licensed music to make up an official soundtrack, Three Fields decided to integrate Spotify into the game so you can essentially listen to your own saved playlists. This is something which really helps tailor the experience fairly uniquely to each individual gamer that plays it. It’s one of the strongest features of the game –why exactly that is, will probably become clearer further into the review. Ah, the crush I had on Toni Halliday way back when... I loved me some Curve... and probably still would, upon re-visit! I'm still waiting for a modern racing game to grab me by whatever region I'd find the most convincing in the moment and show me what I've been missing... but from your review, it seems I can cross this one out. However! This soundtrack concept is brilliant, and I wish it was more common - I remember loving the Smackdown games, but the Xbox WWE games permitted you to upload your own music and use it for entrances, and that had me Kermit green with envy. Quote Sorry to re-animate the Yakuza review corpse at this point - but I meant to reply to this when I replied last time, and for some reason I forgot. I'm glad I got to have gotten a farewell like that too. I really am. You're so right too! Media absolutely is one of the only things that can make us feel that specific way - it's weird to feel that attached at times, to characters you know don't exist - yet the fact that you directly control them kind of makes those experiences so much more engaging and affecting sometimes. Please don't be! I'm roughly a week behind on comments at all times it seems, so it was actually quite helpful! True, they don't exist, but there's a reason you feel bad about laughing at that fat kid's hair! Something about the concept of inserting ourselves into these stories makes it feel like these are our friends, our enemies, our good times and bad, etcetera. When games started broadening their narrative scope, like the first Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid, it gave me this indescribable joy to feel like I was in a horror or action or whatever movie, like this form of media I'd grown up with had graduated or something. TLDR: I totally get you! And now onto your fantastic Medievil review... I really need to keep up on the threads, I feel like I'm taking up quite a bit of real estate with these replies! As you pointed out, its overall aesthetic is a huge part of its appeal. I love not only the visuals and the music themselves, but how perfectly they intertwine. They really nailed that charming, macabre-lite vibe - it's super Burton/Elfman-esque without being super derivative or anything, it feels very much like its own thing. Good call on Selick, that's one I didn't really think of before, but I can very much see it! Also if the included PS1 version had a trophy or two for completing it, I'd be down? 11 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I've got to give a little shout out to @YaManSmevz for being one of the reasons I got to this game far sooner than I probably would have done otherwise..... After hearing how much you'd enjoyed this, I thought I'd better bump it up the list. I'm very glad that I did. I'm so glad you had a good time with this game. The only thing is that I've been putting off reviewing this one for some time, and I would've been better off if I knew I didn't have to follow your fine write-up here? As always, great work man! And before I take up any more space, I'll be on my way! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) On 09/02/2022 at 11:14 PM, YaManSmevz said: Mah man is on a roll! Thanks dude! I'm worried I'm going to slow up again if I stop, so better chain myself to the wall near my PC and just keep writing, although I've got another one to put out tomorrow, and hopefully another on Sunday. That way I'd have stuck to my three Classic Reviews in a week too. That I was aiming for, but hadn't managed yet! On 09/02/2022 at 11:14 PM, YaManSmevz said: I'm sure I even wanted to like Meet the Parents for whatever reason, but De Niro in particular won me over. On the topic of De Niro's prime, I was talking with a regular about performances of his a few days ago (see the reach your Godfather III comments have?? Wield that power wisely, my son) and I mentioned that his performance in Cape Fear was a grower for me, that I don't think I got it immediately - to which the regular replied "Really? Part of what made his performance so great is that the original was trash!" Is the original Cape Fear bad? I've never seen it, but now I'm curious! That's awesome, to think that thousands of miles away you end up discussing something as an indirect result of this! I absolutely love that. That's a tough question on Cape Fear. I think the original Cape Fear is very good - but, and it's a big one - you really need to view it in the context of when it was made. For a film released in the early 60's a lot of the content in the original Cape Fear would have been incredibly controversial and edgy for when it released. If your regular saw the remake before seeing the original then I can understand why he'd prefer the remake. I do think the remake is a slightly better film too, to be fair, tighter script, very pacey and it's shot incredibly well too. Plus that De Niro performance is one of the very best of his whole career in my eyes. It's Scorsese, so....... duh I guess but I'd never call the original bad. Robert Mitchum is incredibly good as Max Cady in that version, as is Gregory Peck as the protagonist, but I think De Niro just does it that little bit better - because he really, REALLY makes your skin crawl in that movie. I don't want to say Mitchum is derivative in that version, he's not, but he's played that Max Cady-esque character so well before in The Night of the Hunter. If you've ever seen the film The Night of the Hunter then you'll probably know what I mean, and if you haven't then that film is one I'd recommend to almost anyone. That film might be 67 years old, but there are parts of that film that are so unnerving and chilling, and use dramatic irony to a terribly effective level. I think it's criminal that because of some fairly lukewarm box office success, that Charles Laughton never got to make another film, because he was one hell of a capable film-maker, his one film in The Night of the Hunter is better than some film-makers entire body of work combined..... ....... I digress again, erm long story short I guess, yes I think the original Cape Fear is pretty good, It just hasn't aged all too well. The Cape Fear remake, when viewed in 2022, is still quite shocking and unsettling in a few areas, whereas the original probably seems a bit tame in comparison. I haven't seen the original for about ten years, but that's how I think I'd feel about it. Maybe I ought to give it another watch. On 09/02/2022 at 11:14 PM, YaManSmevz said: Did you ever see that skit with the talk show host who can't stop laughing at the guest with the high pitched voice? I'm strongly reminded of this Yes!!!!! That is beyond accurate too, that is exactly how it was for me! Oh my god! I had forgotten about that clip....... I don't know how either, because I literally howled with laughter the first time I saw that, and many times since. It's the way that further in he's fighting so hard to keep the smile off his face, and then just eventually crumbles. On 09/02/2022 at 11:14 PM, YaManSmevz said: Another movie I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did! It's a shame the sequel to Bad Santa wasn't quite up to snuff, because I had high hopes for it, and then I remember just thinking, in the end, did we really even need this film? I literally found out the other day there was a sequel to How High, another film that really took me surprise with how much I loved it. But Method Man and Redman aren't in that one, so it can get in the bin. There's just always going to be a litany of unnecessary sequels right? On 09/02/2022 at 11:14 PM, YaManSmevz said: Ah, the crush I had on Toni Halliday way back when... I loved me some Curve... and probably still would, upon re-visit! I'm still waiting for a modern racing game to grab me by whatever region I'd find the most convincing in the moment and show me what I've been missing... but from your review, it seems I can cross this one out. However! This soundtrack concept is brilliant, and I wish it was more common - I remember loving the Smackdown games, but the Xbox WWE games permitted you to upload your own music and use it for entrances, and that had me Kermit green with envy. You're only human man! Can't blame you for nopeing out on Dangerous Driving - I'd rather that than you have a miserable time with it, because it's one of those games where you can see the potential, but the game just gets in the way of itself It's funny I ended up reviewing Dangerous Driving just before starting Wreckfest, because that game does almost everything Dangerous Driving did wrong, right. It's surprising actually. Like, Wreckfest still has the thing where the destroyed cars stay on the track, but it actually MAKES SENSE, and feeds into the gameplay. Don't be too envious of those Xbox WWE games, because they mostly sucked..... You literally listed their best feature. The fact that you could use custom soundtracks. I remember being a little nerd and making a wrestler that looked like the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) from Doctor Who and having him come down to the ring with the Doctor Who theme tune. But it also meant you could basically create any character from any era of wrestling and use that specific theme music. That really did add quite a lot to a game that was less than stellar as far as its gameplay went. On 09/02/2022 at 11:14 PM, YaManSmevz said: Please don't be! I'm roughly a week behind on comments at all times it seems, so it was actually quite helpful! True, they don't exist, but there's a reason you feel bad about laughing at that fat kid's hair! Something about the concept of inserting ourselves into these stories makes it feel like these are our friends, our enemies, our good times and bad, etcetera. When games started broadening their narrative scope, like the first Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid, it gave me this indescribable joy to feel like I was in a horror or action or whatever movie, like this form of media I'd grown up with had graduated or something. TLDR: I totally get you! So am I actually! In quite a few threads I'm hoping to get on top of that a bit over the weekend though. Again, yeah I know exactly what you mean, too. Metal Gear is a great example too It's a weird feeling - I remember being absolutely devastated when I was younger and I found out I'd gotten the bad ending to the original Metal Gear Solid.... The one where Meryl dies I feel fine saying that because it's the non canon ending anyway. But I really loved Meryl as a character and when you just see her lying there dead, I just felt so responsible, and so guilty. I think that was one of the first times I was aware of how much we can sometimes insert ourselves into the games that we play. I love that feeling too, and it's one that I don't think you really get from any other form of media. On 09/02/2022 at 11:14 PM, YaManSmevz said: And now onto your fantastic Medievil review... I really need to keep up on the threads, I feel like I'm taking up quite a bit of real estate with these replies! As you pointed out, its overall aesthetic is a huge part of its appeal. I love not only the visuals and the music themselves, but how perfectly they intertwine. They really nailed that charming, macabre-lite vibe - it's super Burton/Elfman-esque without being super derivative or anything, it feels very much like its own thing. Good call on Selick, that's one I didn't really think of before, but I can very much see it! Also if the included PS1 version had a trophy or two for completing it, I'd be down Don't feel like that! I'm always up for a good discussion, whatever form that takes.... So don't sweat it man! Thanks again for the kind words, I appreciate them as always. Yep you hit the nail on the head there, everything about the music and the visuals, they just, well, to not to be too obvious - they just WORK. Macabre-lite is a perfect description actually, make sure you use that in your review of it! Like.... honestly, that couldn't be more of a perfect description.... It's just enough to look charming, but also keep the tone exactly what it should be, but also not make it inherently creepy. They found that balance so well in MediEvil. On 09/02/2022 at 11:14 PM, YaManSmevz said: I'm so glad you had a good time with this game. The only thing is that I've been putting off reviewing this one for some time, and I would've been better off if I knew I didn't have to follow your fine write-up here As always, great work man! And before I take up any more space, I'll be on my way! That works both ways man! I now feel like I've got to put off writing one of Murdered: Soul Suspect off for a little bit too, because of your awesome review of it. I'd worry right now they'd read quite similarly. I'll get into that a little more when I drop a comment on your thread, but sounds like you and I had a fairly similar takeaway from that game. Edited February 12, 2022 by rjkclarke 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaManSmevz Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 8 hours ago, rjkclarke said: I'm worried I'm going to slow up again if I stop, so better chain myself to the wall near my PC and just keep writing, although I've got another one to put out tomorrow, and hopefully another on Sunday. That way I'd have stuck to my three Classic Reviews in a week too. That I was aiming for, but hadn't managed yet! I believe in you man, you got this! It seems like when the inspiration is there, it's best to just run with it while you have it. The creative muse is a very mercurial creature! Quote I think the original Cape Fear is very good - but, and it's a big one - you really need to view it in the context of when it was made. For a film released in the early 60's a lot of the content in the original Cape Fear would have been incredibly controversial and edgy for when it released. That's an interesting thing that always has to be taken into account when watching older movies, particularly when it's something that has been done many times since. They tend to move a bit more slowly and tread difficult territory a bit more lightly, simply because they didn't have the benefit of precedence. With many exceptions of course - off the top of my head, All Quiet on the Western Front and M were absolutely brutal, and those were from like 1930! Like how you mentioned Night of the Hunter too... I'll have to check that one out! Quote If your regular saw the remake before seeing the original then I can understand why he'd prefer the remake. I do think the remake is a slightly better film too to be fair, tighter script, very pacey and it's shot incredibly well too. Plus that De Niro performance is one of the very best of his whole career in my eyes. It's Scorsese, so....... duh I guess but I'd never call the original bad. Robert Mitchum is incredibly good as Max Cady in that version, as is Gregory Peck as the protagonist, but I think De Niro just does it that little bit better - because he really, REALLY makes your skin crawl in that movie. I remembered Gregory Peck was in that, and it's most definitely rose colored glasses but I just hate to think of him being in too many stinkers! Robert Mitchum, on the other hand, I don't think I'm familiar with, so you've given me some homework! It was kind of designed that way, but De Niro absolutely stole the show - in a lesser actor's hands, that movie could've been pretty dull. Every time you see him on screen you're just like uuaaaaauugggghhhhh.... all the greater accomplishment, as he was still quite handsome at the time! Quote Oh my god! I had forgotten about that clip....... I don't know how either, because I literally howled with laughter the first time I saw that, and many times since. It's the way that further in he's fighting so hard to keep the smile off his face, and then just eventually crumbles. Oh man, you and me both. When I first saw that, I didn't know that it was a joke, so for the first minute or so I felt very much like the host himself? Quote It's a shame the sequel to Bad Santa wasn't quite up to snuff, because I had high hopes for it, and then I remember just thinking, in the end, did we really even need this film? I literally found out the other day there was a sequel to How High, another film that really took me surprise with how much I loved it. But Method Man and Redman aren't in that one, so it can get in the bin. There's just always going to be a litany of unnecessary sequels right? Ahhh, How High! I love that movie - even dressed as a nun in sunglasses for Halloween one year because of it! I heard about the sequel, but just kinda pretended I didn't. Meth and Red themselves even tried to capitalize on that lightning in a bottle with the TV show - it was cool, I liked it and all, but it's one of those things where you know deep down what you'd really rather be watching, y'know? Even more so with the Bad Santa revisit - some things definitely only need to be done once! Quote It's funny I ended up reviewing Dangerous Driving just before starting Wreckfest, because that game does almost everything Dangerous Driving did wrong, right. It's surprising actually. Like, Wreckfest still has the thing where the destroyed cars stay on the track, but it actually MAKES SENSE, and feeds into the gameplay. I saw you were playing that, and couldn't help wondering if you'd put yourself onto a bit of a racing kick! I've never been much for racing games, in fact that aspect is usually among my least favorite in open world games, but I just get the feeling that there's gotta be at least one or two that I'd really enjoy. Quote Don't be too envious of those Xbox WWE games, because they mostly sucked..... You literally listed their best feature. The fact that you could use custom soundtracks. I remember being a little nerd and making a wrestler that looked like the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) from Doctor Who and having him come down to the ring with the Doctor Who theme tune. But it also meant you could basically create any character from any era of wrestling and use that specific theme music. That really did add quite a lot to a game that was less than stellar as far as its gameplay went. That shit's still so cool to me, even if the rest of the game was hot garbage! I cannot complain, though... I'll never forget when I first played Just Bring, how it was overall pretty underwhelming, but the entrances alone blew my mind. It makes me a little better to know that it's all I missed out on though! Quote Again, yeah I know exactly what you mean, too. Metal Gear is a great example too It's a weird feeling - I remember being absolutely devastated when I was younger and I found out I'd gotten the bad ending to the original Metal Gear Solid.... The one where Meryl dies I feel fine saying that because it's the non canon ending anyway. But I really loved Meryl as a character and when you just see her lying their dead, I just felt so responsible, and so guilty. I think that was one of the first times I was aware of how much we can sometimes insert ourselves into the games that we play. That's a great example - because if she doesn't make it, it kinda is your fault? I made it through the torture sequence to keep her alive for the first playthrough (took a few tries, as I recall!) but in the second one when I deliberately tapped out, and then later saw her dead, as you said I just felt so guilty! I was like "you you saved her last time, also SHE'S NOT REAL" but couldn't help feeling "yeah but I killed her man???" Crazy to think a mere decade before, all that we had to watch die were goombas and moblins! Quote Yep you hit the nail on the head there, everything about the music and the visuals, they just, well, to not to be too obvious - they just WORK. Macabre-lite is a perfect description actually, make sure you use that in your review of it! Like.... honestly, that couldn't be more of a perfect description.... It's just enough to look charming, but also keep the tone exactly what it should be, but also not make it inherently creepy. They found that balance so well in MediEvil. Thanks man! You described the vibe very well in your review too, I didn't mention this but I particularly enjoyed when you talked about the comic relief like Fortesque's bumbling nature and grumbling incoherent responses. That was a huge part of the charm for me too, moments like his hilariously indignant "I'll show you!" It sounds like someone angrily brushing their teeth in a cavern? also that's dope about the bucket, I didn't know that! Quote That works both ways man! I now feel like I've got to put off writing one of Murdered: Soul Suspect off for a little bit too, because of your awesome review of it. I'd worry right now they'd read quite similarly. I'll get into that a little more when I drop a comment on your thread, but sounds like you and I had a fairly similar takeaway from that game. Why thank you, sir! And thanks for the rec as well. I enjoyed that game very much for what it was - it's unfortunate that it's good enough to enter the higher tiers of quality, but also be judged as such! Not entirely unlike Vampyr - it's good, but the pieces were there for it to be great, and as a result it gets judged a tad more harshly than it otherwise might, if that makes sense! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBloodmoney Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) You know - I had written a whole thing about how awesome your Medievil review was, and how you'd finally done it - actually made me start second-guessing myself with your enthusiasm.... (I have to admit, I bounced off Medievil hard back upon original release... in a rather Crash Bandicoot-like way)... but you're infectious review was killing it! What happened to that post then, you ask? ... well, it turns out that if your kid pours a glass of water into your toaster downstairs, the circuit-breaker trips, and you lose everything you spent ages writing. (Yes, you read that right. Little dude is a goddamned liability - if he lived in a less electrically safety-regulated country, he's probably be crispy bacon at this point.) Just thought I'd quickly post to say - it was a great read - and almost got me turned around... ...but also: 16 hours ago, rjkclarke said: That's a tough question on Cape Fear. I think the original Cape Fear is very good - but, and it's a big one - you really need to view it in the context of when it was made. For a film released in the early 60's a lot of the content in the original Cape Fear would have been incredibly controversial and edgy for when it released. If your regular saw the remake before seeing the original then I can understand why he'd prefer the remake. I do think the remake is a slightly better film too, to be fair, tighter script, very pacey and it's shot incredibly well too. Plus that De Niro performance is one of the very best of his whole career in my eyes. It's Scorsese, so....... duh I guess but I'd never call the original bad. Robert Mitchum is incredibly good as Max Cady in that version, as is Gregory Peck as the protagonist, but I think De Niro just does it that little bit better - because he really, REALLY makes your skin crawl in that movie. I don't want to say Mitchum is derivative in that version, he's not, but he's played that Max Cady-esque character so well before in The Night of the Hunter. If you've ever seen the film The Night of the Hunter then you'll probably know what I mean, and if you haven't then that film is one I'd recommend to almost anyone. That film might be 67 years old, but there are parts of that film that are so unnerving and chilling, and use dramatic irony to a terribly effective level. I think it's criminal that because of some fairly lukewarm box office success, that Charles Laughton never got to make another film, because he was one hell of a capable film-maker, his one film in The Night of the Hunter is better than some film-makers entire body of work combined..... ....... I digress again, erm long story short I guess, yes I think the original Cape Fear is pretty good, It just hasn't aged all too well. The Cape Fear remake, when viewed in 2022, is still quite shocking and unsettling in a few areas, whereas the original probably seems a bit tame in comparison. I haven't seen the original for about ten years, but that's how I think I'd feel about it. Maybe I ought to give it another watch. YES! Man, when @YaManSmevz asked about Cape Fear, I was almost gonna jump in, but I knew I could rely on you to say basically what I'd say - and this is verbatim! Absolutely Night of The Hunter is the better flick out of the old ones - and Scorsese's remake is the best version of Cape Fear. Man, DeNiro is ELECTRIC in that movie! There's stuff that would never have worked in the old version, that is just ?? in the remake - the scene in the high school theatre between DeNiro and Juliette Lewis is something to behold - it is so threatening and uncomfortable and scary, without ever even a hint of explicit violence - just that malevolent performance, and her scarily naive one. Edited February 12, 2022 by DrBloodmoney 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kopite Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 On 2/9/2022 at 10:36 AM, rjkclarke said: It was on PS2 as well yeah - and Gamecube too actually. You know how RE4 got ported to PS2 with some enhancements, Summoner 2 got the same thing but it was PS2>Gamecube instead. I wish I'd picked that up for Gamecube, I bet that is obnoxiously expensive now. Indeed! Which reminds me I've gotta post up my review of Medievil in a bit. I'll go do that after this. Relive some PS1 goodness with trophies! Ah right cool! Yeah I always thought it was weird that Capcom and Nintendo agreed that 3 game deal for the RE titles at the time. Who was buying a Gamecube back then for RE games? If it's called Summoner A Goddess Reborn then ebay has it for around 50 quid. Ha hey, it'll be up before I've replied to you. Always cool when that happens haha On 2/9/2022 at 10:36 AM, rjkclarke said: It's got to be close to 1000 hours I've spent across all of the Yakuza games now.... The 5th one was pushing close to 250 alone. We'll all look like Hans Moleman by the time Rockstar and Bethesda stop making versions of Skyrim and GTAV though Yeah 999 is a bit off-putting isn't it...... I'll just play that game vicariously through one of my best friends - he plays it loads, so he always fills me in on what's going on in it, he almost got me playing it when they had a crossover event with NieR very recently, but I fought the urge, tough as it was. Something hilarious happened to him in that game which I'll share with you if he'll let me, I'll ask him about it later haha! Wow 1000 hours! That's over 41 days! That's a hell of a commitment, but for a franchise you clearly like and respect, why not? lol Hahah yes, I'm going that way already lol I don't even want either of those games either haha Yes sadly 999 hours is very off putting. If I was a teenager with no responsibilities and life was easy then yeah sure why not play it and go for it?! Ah sweet, gotta hear about this hilarious moment now! (if your friend is alright with you telling it) On 2/9/2022 at 10:36 AM, rjkclarke said: Not necessarily, I always flit between coffee and green tea these days - but not mixed together...... Obviously A ribbing that I absolutely deserved! I still never completed the Pokedex though ...... Even though me and my friends played that game religiously I don't think any of us ever managed to get any of the full Pokedex in any of them. Coffee and Green Tea mixed......there's a viral challenge for the masses! Filling out the Pokedex for any of them was pretty tough I found. On 2/9/2022 at 10:36 AM, rjkclarke said: Oh yeah definitely, 2 does get an unfair appraisal. It's unfinished sure, but I think it's got better characters mostly than KOTOR 1 had. Except Bastilla - I'll fight people who rag on her. I'll dress up as one of those weird Rakutan folk who built the Star Forge and do it as well if need be You should have gone down to GAME with one of those Papooses that people carry Babies around in, just taken your Xbox home in that - might have gotten some odd looks, but y'know sacrifices must be made for KOTOR's safe journey home! Haha that'd be an image! Yeah it had it;s fault definitely but it was unfairly judged and rated. It's very hard to follow up on a real standout game. Many games in franchises have had that problem. God I never liked those things! Barely used them with my kids, just the whole concept is odd. To be fair though, having an OG Xbox stuck to my chest ;like that, could have been Xboximus Prime haha On 2/9/2022 at 10:36 AM, rjkclarke said: It's a really annoying fight - even if you've got the really good Shotgun (The Double Barrell 2 shot one) and a lot of enhanced ammo for the pistols he's still a massive pain in the arse. It's pretty tough to use the circular saw on him in that fight too if you were using that for Madhouse. He is a useless word that rhymes with bat! Weirdly a bit at the end had me keep failing at too, with the old lady. I remember getting really frustrated at a bit where she goes "WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE ME" to which I remember out loud saying "because you're a frustrating irritating old CUUUUUUUUUU........ " You can use your imagination to fill in the rest I'm sure Was this you after your little playtime with Marguerite? Yeah I just used everything I had against Jack including the Circular Saw. The amount of times I heard Ethan's death scream eeeesshh. Was sweet relief when I finally got through that! lol Haha great Simpsons reference there. Yes that was pretty much me, with a few shots from the powerful handgun to boot. Failed every time. Had to use the Circular Saw on the stairs trick instead tbh to get through that battle! On 2/9/2022 at 10:36 AM, rjkclarke said: No need for a rubber band, which makes it even more awesome. Just plug your controller in and press R2 once, leave it on for as long as needed. Thankfully Auto Battle is a toggle feature so you just press it the one time to turn it off or on again. I really wish I'd known about it before I spent what felt like an eternity running around Gizmalukes Grotto! Awesome! I definitely need to remember that! That'll take a lot of stress away from that platinum, whenever I got for it. As you'll see from my trophy list, playing games at the moment hasn't been a thing lol have been working on a guide though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjkclarke Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 16 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I believe in you man, you got this! It seems like when the inspiration is there, it's best to just run with it while you have it. The creative muse is a very mercurial creature! Thanks for the belief.....but I've already fallen at the first hurdle there....but I don't feel bad about it. It was a choice of,push myself to spend a good chunk of yesterday afternoon writing a review.... Or hang out with my nephew who has just had Covid (he's fine thankfully, but it did hit him pretty hard). So he's had to isolate for a while, and he's been a bit lonely and stir crazy, so I thought I'd rather spend the afternoon watching a film and having a laugh with him. So one less review, but I don't actually mind. I could push myself to slot another one in today, but I've got to write one for Wreckfest now as well. You're absolutely right, you've just got to maximise it all the time you're feeling the urge to get writing. 16 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: That's an interesting thing that always has to be taken into account when watching older movies, particularly when it's something that has been done many times since. They tend to move a bit more slowly and tread difficult territory a bit more lightly, simply because they didn't have the benefit of precedence. With many exceptions of course - off the top of my head, All Quiet on the Western Front and M were absolutely brutal, and those were from like 1930! Like how you mentioned Night of the Hunter too... I'll have to check that one out! That's one of the potential upsides to a remake, you bring up, there, the pacing and tip-toeing around heavier subjects a bit - remakes do have that ability to build upon some of the potential that the originals had, that they might not have quite been able to realise for one reason or another. Even if more often than not, remakes just don't quite manage that. Those are two incredibly good examples of that actually. I don't know if it's on every version of the Blu Ray for M, but the one I have has an English language dub where pretty much everyone is dubbed. Peter Lorre still did the English lines in that version, and that loses so much impact just by having the language be tweaked slightly - so much so that it really surprised me. If you watch that scene at the end where he's trying to justify his actions, they read very differently depending on the version of the film you watch it in. Absolutely check out Night of the Hunter if you get a chance man, it's brilliant, it's fairly short for a feature, so it won't eat up too much of your time either...... It has Doc's seal of approval too! 16 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Robert Mitchum, on the other hand, I don't think I'm familiar with, so you've given me some homework! It was kind of designed that way, but De Niro absolutely stole the show - in a lesser actor's hands, that movie could've been pretty dull. Every time you see him on screen you're just like uuaaaaauugggghhhhh.... all the greater accomplishment, as he was still quite handsome at the time! Robert Mitchum was a great actor..... Maybe don't dig too deep into the guys personal life, and the sort of things that he used to say and think.... He was a fairly notorious prankster too, so it's a little tough to tell if some of the things he said in interviews he actually meant. As an actor though he was great....Plenty of good films of his I could probably recommend. He made a curious little film in the mid 70's called The Yakuza which is an interesting watch. It's got a little Scorsese connection too as it was written by Paul Schrader the dude that wrote Taxi Driver and a couple of his other movies. Sometimes those brilliant performances like De Niro's in Cape Fear can overshadow the whole film, I think for as much as I like it, Matthew McConaughey's performance in Killer Joe is a bit like that. In Cape Fear's case, thankfully the film itself and the other cast are incredibly good in it too. I really ought to give it a rewatch soon after all this talk about it. 16 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Ahhh, How High! I love that movie - even dressed as a nun in sunglasses for Halloween one year because of it! I heard about the sequel, but just kinda pretended I didn't. Meth and Red themselves even tried to capitalize on that lightning in a bottle with the TV show - it was cool, I liked it and all, but it's one of those things where you know deep down what you'd really rather be watching, y'know? Even more so with the Bad Santa revisit - some things definitely only need to be done once! That's awesome that you dressed like that for Halloween.. That must have deservedly got a heck of a lot of laughs I absolutely love that film - there's a few bits that one of my friends and I still quote pretty regularly to this day, and it's such an innocuous part of the film. When the coach pulls them to one side and just goes "Hey, erm......nice one on the Dickbuttkisss" He and I are probably far too white to quote some of the other parts though without it seeming in poor taste, love that film though! Better to pretend How High 2 didn't happen. Looks like that's how Method Man and Redman look at it. I never knew they had their own TV Show though - that's pretty interesting. The worst part about the Bad Santa sequel is that there was potential there for a sequel, and a good one too. They just really shouldn't have gone in the direction that they did with it. It sort of undermines the original films message a little bit. Plus that kid isn't in it all too much, but when he is, he's still hilarious and he and Billy Bob Still have that hilarious dynamic between them. 17 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: I saw you were playing that, and couldn't help wondering if you'd put yourself onto a bit of a racing kick! I've never been much for racing games, in fact that aspect is usually among my least favorite in open world games, but I just get the feeling that there's gotta be at least one or two that I'd really enjoy. I quite like racing games - I'd play more of them I think, but I have to be really in the mood for them. I was with Wreckfest, so I thought why not pop it on and give it a blast. I was actually really surprised by exactly how it played, and the fact that it's far more complex than it appears to be on the surface....But I'll erm.... save that for a review haha ? I expect there's probably a few racers out there that you'd get a kick out of - as you say, it's finding the right one. I know Kopite had fun with Horizon: Chase Turbo recently. Which is like a modern spin on Outrun, but as a racer. I might have to check that one out myself at some point. 17 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: That shit's still so cool to me, even if the rest of the game was hot garbage! I cannot complain, though... I'll never forget when I first played Just Bring, how it was overall pretty underwhelming, but the entrances alone blew my mind. It makes me a little better to know that it's all I missed out on though! Just Bring It is really weird..... Everything about it just seemed a little..... I don't want to say rushed, but it just feels a bit lacking. The entrances were great though I agree - especially coming off those first 2 Smackdowns where you had the wrestler just walking across the wrestlers entrance video and music..... Just sort of takes you out of the moment a bit, so that step up in Just Brint It was awesome..... Then they just improved on that tenfold with Shut Your Mouth, which I think turns 20 this year, but still plays so well, back when I had my PS2 set up still I used to fire that one up fairly regularly. 17 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: That's a great example - because if she doesn't make it, it kinda is your fault I made it through the torture sequence to keep her alive for the first playthrough (took a few tries, as I recall!) but in the second one when I deliberately tapped out, and then later saw her dead, as you said I just felt so guilty! I was like "you you saved her last time, also SHE'S NOT REAL" but couldn't help feeling "yeah but I killed her man" Crazy to think a mere decade before, all that we had to watch die were goombas and moblins! At least they didn't give you a traditional choice...... Like, save him or her...... Because let's face it, if you had the choice of saving a hot pixelated Redhead..... Or..... saving a scientist that uses his pants as a toilet, cowering in a cupboard..... How many people are actually going to bother saving Otacon? I like the fact that the ending you get t is a more organic result of you screwing something up during the game..... My little nine year old fingers just couldn't tap very fast back then.I remember asking my Dad to do that torture sequence for me, because he could just press them so much faster than I could. 17 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Thanks man! You described the vibe very well in your review too, I didn't mention this but I particularly enjoyed when you talked about the comic relief like Fortesque's bumbling nature and grumbling incoherent responses. That was a huge part of the charm for me too, moments like his hilariously indignant "I'll show you!" It sounds like someone angrily brushing their teeth in a cavern also that's dope about the bucket, I didn't know that! Thank you too ? I thought the fact the little wall gargoyles refer to Dan is "it" whilst he's just standing there looking gormless was really hilarious too. I think it's one of the reasons Jack of the Green cracked me up so much apart from the obvious Paul Darrow thing, but it's how disappointed he sounds to have been bested by Dan..... Like when you do the bit with the grass Elephant.... And he's all "All right, I made that one easy on purpose, it was OBVIOUSLY an Elephant" or words to that effect. I hope that's what the Director used for Dan's voice actor..... We want you to sound like "someone angrily brushing their teeth in a cavern" Got it! Thanks chaps that's a wrap...... Pub then? 17 hours ago, YaManSmevz said: Why thank you, sir! And thanks for the rec as well. I enjoyed that game very much for what it was - it's unfortunate that it's good enough to enter the higher tiers of quality, but also be judged as such! Not entirely unlike Vampyr - it's good, but the pieces were there for it to be great, and as a result it gets judged a tad more harshly than it otherwise might, if that makes sense! Absolutely! Although Vampyr I think squanders its own potential a little more I think. I feel like they should have either cut combat out of it entirely, or made it quite a bit different, just to avoid the obvious Bloodborne comparisons. 16 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: You know - I had written a whole thing about how awesome your Medievil review was, and how you'd finally done it - actually made me start second-guessing myself with your enthusiasm.... (I have to admit, I bounced off Medievil hard back upon original release... in a rather Crash Bandicoot-like way)... but you're infectious review was killing it! What happened to that post then, you ask? ... well, it turns out that if your kid pours a glass of water into your toaster downstairs, the circuit-breaker trips, and you lose everything you spent ages writing. (Yes, you read that right. Little dude is a goddamned liability - if he lived in a less electrically safety-regulated country, he's probably be crispy bacon at this point.) Just thought I'd quickly post to say - it was a great read - and almost got me turned around... Ahh really? That's awesome man..... Well, the part about you possibly being a bit more open to giving MediEvil a go at some point. Not the part about your Youngling pouring a glass of water into the toaster..... That's a little scarier. Kids will be kids I guess...... I mean I'm not one to talk, I literally burned myself on a soldering iron about 6 or 7 times when I was younger, up to an age where I really should have known better. I think I was like 8 or 9 the last time I'm guessing ultimately..... You didn't get turned around on MediEvil...... I can say that it doesn't really play like the original. I did fire up the original that you unlock in the remake. And the old one is pretty tough to handle in 2022. It's got a pretty abysmal camera system like a lot of games from that time, and something just feels outright janky with it. The remake just improves on all of those elements, and makes it so things like camera issues aren't even something you really notice, as yo can pretty much control it with the right thumbstick like you can with a lot of games. If you ever get PSNow though I think it's on there, so you could play it without necessarily buying it yourself, if ever you felt more inclined. 16 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said: YES! Man, when @YaManSmevz asked about Cape Fear, I was almost gonna jump in, but I knew I could rely on you to say basically what I'd say - and this is verbatim! Absolutely Night of The Hunter is the better flick out of the old ones - and Scorsese's remake is the best version of Cape Fear. Man, DeNiro is ELECTRIC in that movie! There's stuff that would never have worked in the old version, that is just in the remake - the scene in the high school theatre between DeNiro and Juliette Lewis is something to behold - it is so threatening and uncomfortable and scary, without ever even a hint of explicit violence - just that malevolent performance, and her scarily naive one. I did kind of think you'd jump in on that one before I did, as I was nowhere near my PC when I saw that, and it'd probably quicker to reply via Pigeon mail than trust that my phone wouldn't crash when writing a reply ?..... ..... Trust me to bite on something slightly film related and reel off a load of things..... I just can't help myself sometimes ? Elecrtic is right! De Niro Absolutely lights up the screen in that film. You are so right about that scene in the school with Juliette Lewis in the remake version.... There's no way that would have flown in the original. Ironically you could have probably have just gotten away with it, but it would have been shot entirely differently. I really dig the scene in the Cinema too...... where Cady is just obnoxiously laughing, knowing full well, exactly what he's doing..... Just to infuriate one person...... Well, that and a whole bunch of others..... Be easier to list the ones we didn't like with this film, right? 5 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Ah right cool! Yeah I always thought it was weird that Capcom and Nintendo agreed that 3 game deal for the RE titles at the time. Who was buying a Gamecube back then for RE games? If it's called Summoner A Goddess Reborn then ebay has it for around 50 quid. Ha hey, it'll be up before I've replied to you. Always cool when that happens haha It does seem like the Gamecube isn't quite the best fit for the Resident Evil franchise to exclusively be on for a period, I must say. Yep that's the one Summoner A Goddess Reborn...... Ouch man it's £50...... I'm going to have to swerve that one. Guess I should have bought it all those years ago when I saw it for about £12, but I didn't want to because I already had the PS2 version...... I'd love to know if actually does play better than the original Summoner 2 though. 5 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Wow 1000 hours! That's over 41 days! That's a hell of a commitment, but for a franchise you clearly like and respect, why not? lol Hahah yes, I'm going that way already lol I don't even want either of those games either haha Yes sadly 999 hours is very off putting. If I was a teenager with no responsibilities and life was easy then yeah sure why not play it and go for it?! Ah sweet, gotta hear about this hilarious moment now! (if your friend is alright with you telling it) I was about to say that you and I have probably played the Final Fantasy games for roughly that amount of time too. I think even if I was a teenager with no responsibilities then I still would swerve away from Final Fantasy XIV....... But that's mainly because MMO's just aren't really my jam. Even to this day I struggle to play one type of game for too long. Which is why I still constantly flit between genres on the regular. Nosgoth almost got me.... The one set in Legacy of Kains universe..... Then Triad Wars (the one set in Sleeping Dogs universe) almost did too. But I just couldn't bring myself to play something that long, not even in a franchise I really love...... Watch me eat my words when I get my 100% trophies in Warframe back, and show a screenshot of how many hours I've sunk into that game I guess 5 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Haha that'd be an image! Yeah it had it;s fault definitely but it was unfairly judged and rated. It's very hard to follow up on a real standout game. Many games in franchises have had that problem. To be fair though, having an OG Xbox stuck to my chest ;like that, could have been Xboximus Prime haha I think Obsidian did a pretty good job with KOTOR 2..... With the amount I know that Aspyr loves Star Wars from playing the other ports they've put out, I think the KOTOR remake is in fairly safe hand. I hope I'm not proven wrong there. I certainly think Obsidian made the better of the two Fallout 3 era games with New Vegas..... Well it is, so long as you don't play it on a PlayStation anyway! Haha! The Kopite Megazord? Koptimus Prime...... Too early in the day for puns ? 5 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Yeah I just used everything I had against Jack including the Circular Saw. The amount of times I heard Ethan's death scream eeeesshh. Was sweet relief when I finally got through that! That sounds like me against Marguerite on Ethan Must Die mode..... You get the scream..... Then you hear someone sing "Go tell Aunt Rhody" and you really do get sick of that after a while, however much I might like that game mode. 5 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Haha great Simpsons reference there. Yes that was pretty much me, with a few shots from the powerful handgun to boot. Failed every time. Had to use the Circular Saw on the stairs trick instead tbh to get through that battle! I didn't even know that was a thing.... That's really cool. I always struggled to get one of the weakpoints that Jack has...... It was usually the one of the ones that you can only get when he's above you and you're below, I just always had a problem with him not going in the right spot before he battered me to depth with his spindly, limbs? Yeah, lets call them that! 5 hours ago, The_Kopite said: Awesome! I definitely need to remember that! That'll take a lot of stress away from that platinum, whenever I got for it. As you'll see from my trophy list, playing games at the moment hasn't been a thing lol have been working on a guide though. Yep if it can save anyone some of the hassle of that 10,000 kills trophy I'm really glad. I'm sure you'll find some time to get some gaming in soon...... ..... I'm also pretty Interested to see what guide you're working on as well. You go hard on those, so that is probably eating up a fair bit of your time. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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