Aiha's Gallery of Leaves

[Honor_Hand]

Awesome work, Aiha! Happy to see you conquering not only another rhythm game but one of the teal-tailed goddess herself. And an extremely tough one to complete, too, judging by rarity.

 

Pretty cool that this game allows you to unlock songs, modules, and all manner of extra trinkets from the previous game in the series after hooking up with a PSP title. For the average consumer, I am sure that's a great way to get a lot of bang for your buck if you own the other games in the series. But from a trophy hunter's perspective, I can see all those extra hoops you have to go through to complete the game to be more on the tedious side. Regardless, I still think it's cool that you can get so much extra content for a game you love if you're loyal to it. I can't really think of any other game on PSN that offers such extra content after pairing it up with a handheld version.

 

As for the rhythm game shenanigans, I gotta admit, much like when Yuber reads one of my racing write-ups, much of this went over my head, lol. All I got is that the game is tough. Perhaps not the most difficult in the whole franchise, but still high up there. That and that you also have to go through a lot of songs to complete the whole thing.

 

Best of luck on your Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Extend undertaking once you jump into that one! =D 

 

On 24/6/2023 at 5:19 PM, AihaLoveleaf said:

Thank you, Honor!  Huge bummer that PSNP destroyed the old reply like that. The sooner this Cloudflare crap comes to an end, the better. We aren't robots; just our catgirl maids.

 

Damn right! xxD

 

Quote

I'd love to see somebody else in the group play through Gravity Rush, and hopefully experience its greatness.  There's a part of the game in particular that I'm interested in seeing your reaction to, but I'll leave that for you to discover in your eventual playthrough. 

 

Now you got me all curious about trying out the game sooner.

 

[Yuber6969]

Big congrats on this one, especially how quickly you got it done! This is my first time seeing that part of Intense Voice outside of a gif or the Diva X medley. Holy shit that is ridiculously fast. I'm dreading having to do that at some point. Combo challenge PTSD lol.

 

Also, I watched your video of The Christmas Song and am legitimately horrified to have to do that one-handed.

Edited July 2, 2023 by Yuber6969
Typo

[AihaLoveleaf]

On 7/1/2023 at 11:09 AM, Honor_Hand said:

Awesome work, Aiha! Happy to see you conquering not only another rhythm game but one of the teal-tailed goddess herself. And an extremely tough one to complete, too, judging by rarity.

 

Pretty cool that this game allows you to unlock songs, modules, and all manner of extra trinkets from the previous game in the series after hooking up with a PSP title. For the average consumer, I am sure that's a great way to get a lot of bang for your buck if you own the other games in the series. But from a trophy hunter's perspective, I can see all those extra hoops you have to go through to complete the game to be more on the tedious side. Regardless, I still think it's cool that you can get so much extra content for a game you love if you're loyal to it. I can't really think of any other game on PSN that offers such extra content after pairing it up with a handheld version.

 

As for the rhythm game shenanigans, I gotta admit, much like when Yuber reads one of my racing write-ups, much of this went over my head, lol. All I got is that the game is tough. Perhaps not the most difficult in the whole franchise, but still high up there. That and that you also have to go through a lot of songs to complete the whole thing.

 

Best of luck on your Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Extend undertaking once you jump into that one! =D 

Thank you, Honor. ? It is interesting how challenging the list is, despite being one of the easier Diva games overall if you ignore the trophies. Maybe once this is all done with, I'll do a difficulty ranking of some sort.

 

Regardless of the tedium though, it is good that the past game's content was included. Dreamy Theater 2nd has improved controls over the first one, which also makes this the definitive way to play all the songs of the first game as well. Casual players could technically skip Dreamy Theater 1, while the trophy hunters may still be interested for completion's sake. 

 

I feel you when it comes to the technical stuff.  Glad I was at least able to get across what the game was about before getting lost in the details; that was my goal with the write-up.

 

On 7/1/2023 at 11:51 PM, Yuber6969 said:

Big congrats on this one, especially how quickly you got it done! This is my first time seeing that part of Intense Voice outside of a gif or the Diva X medley. Holy shit that is ridiculously fast. I'm dreading having to do that at some point. Combo challenge PTSD lol.

 

Also, I watched your video of The Christmas Song and am legitimately horrified to have to do that one-handed.

Thanks man. ? Working up to Intense Voice will be a journey, but we're lucky to have so many resources available in 2023 to build up the skill. You've got this.

 

And yeah—that was exactly my reaction after suffering through The Christmas Song. I definitely went into it a little cockier than I should have, and got humbled real quick before sitting down to study the piano solo, lol. My view on the DT1 100% went from "Eh, baby stuff" to "You guys with the 100% have my respect" real quick when I realized I'm going to have to come back to the two boss songs with one hand.

[Cave Johnson]

On 6/30/2023 at 1:14 AM, AihaLoveleaf said:

✅ 100% #18
初音ミク -PROJECT DIVA- ドリーミーシアター 2ND (0.91%)
Hatsune Miku -PROJECT DIVA- Dreamy Theater 2nd
Completion Time: 3 days, 6 hours (Play Time: 44 Hours)

 

After browsing the "Members I Follow" tab for the first time in a while, I was surprised to see this (and that I missed it previously). Aside from the obvious amount of skill involved, I'm mostly impressed by the dedication it would take to finish this in three days. In my case, I slowly worked through perfecting the songlist on lower difficulties throughout the course of several months because I got bored easily (I also quit halfway through the songlist on extreme for no real reason, but that's not what this is about). Anyway, I'm really behind on this thread and this site in general, but I'd like to change that hopefully soon. I see that you're playing Musynx right now, and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on it after you finish it.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Cave Johnson
typo

[AihaLoveleaf]

13 hours ago, Cave Johnson said:

After browsing the "Members I Follow" tab for the first time in a while, I was surprised to see this (and that I missed it previously). Aside from the obvious amount of skill involved, I'm mostly impressed by the dedication it would take to finish this in three days. In my case, I slowly worked through perfecting the songlist on lower difficulties throughout the course of several months because I got bored easily (I also quit halfway through the songlist on extreme for no real reason, but that's not what this is about). Anyway, I'm really behind on this thread and this site in general, but I'd like to change that hopefully soon. I see that you're playing Musynx right now, and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on it after you finish it.

Hey, Cave! It's been a while. Great to see you back on the forum.  

 

Due to how much of the game you can get away with playing before any trophies actually pop, Dreamy Theater 2nd was closer to a 5-6 day completion. Regardless, all of the most tedious content was handled in that three day span, including those Easy and Normal charts. As you've mentioned, it got boring pretty quickly, but when I saw I was on track for a decent leaderboard spot, that was all of the motivation I needed!

 

I'd love to see you come back to Diva eventually. The series is a pretty lonely section of the hobby nowadays; all made worse by the fact that I wasn't on here when major releases actually were being talked about on the forum.  It'd certainly be fun to read any future updates to the Dreamy Theater diary you started a while back. I'm also hoping that I get to hear a big Diva victory story from Solid eventually. I won't disturb him with a tag, but I can see how hard he's been working, and I'm rooting for him.

 

As for me, eventually completing Diva Extend is a given, but I'm also gearing up for another Diva-related project. My AniList profile and its recent activity will probably make it apparent what's in the works.

 

There'll be a post for Musynx for sure. 6K mode is rightfully kicking this 2-4 button caveman's butt—but more importantly, my eyes are being opened to an entire Chinese section of the otaku hobby, and it's really cool. I will fully nerd out over the experience as soon as it's finished.  

Edited August 25, 2023 by AihaLoveleaf
typo sweep

[Cave Johnson]

On 8/25/2023 at 9:42 AM, AihaLoveleaf said:

Hey, Cave! It's been a while. Great to see you back on the forum.  

 

Due to how much of the game you can get away with playing before any trophies actually pop, Dreamy Theater 2nd was closer to a 5-6 day completion. Regardless, all of the most tedious content was handled in that three day span, including those Easy and Normal charts. As you've mentioned, it got boring pretty quickly, but when I saw I was on track for a decent leaderboard spot, that was all of the motivation I needed!

 

I'd love to see you come back to Diva eventually. The series is a pretty lonely section of the hobby nowadays; all made worse by the fact that I wasn't on here when major releases actually were being talked about on the forum.  It'd certainly be fun to read any future updates to the Dreamy Theater diary you started a while back. I'm also hoping that I get to hear a big Diva victory story from Solid eventually. I won't disturb him with a tag, but I can see how hard he's been working, and I'm rooting for him.

 

As for me, eventually completing Diva Extend is a given, but I'm also gearing up for another Diva-related project. My AniList profile and its recent activity will probably make it apparent what's in the works.

 

There'll be a post for Musynx for sure. 6K mode is rightfully kicking this 2-4 button caveman's butt—but more importantly, my eyes are being opened to an entire Chinese section of the otaku hobby, and it's really cool. I will fully nerd out over the experience as soon as it's finished.  

 

I didn't think of that, though I should've known since I used the exact same tactic to get a platinum time of under 4 hours for the PS3 version of Project Diva F. Regardless, I don't think anything could've motivated me to finish the easier charts in Dreamy Theater 2nd as quick as you did. 

 

It will happen eventually, it's just hard to say when with how my mind works. Sometimes I can focus on one game, other times I can't; I don't really get it either. When I go to an arcade for example, I usually switch between four or five rhythm games (depending on what they have).

 

From what I can tell it has to be Miracle Girls Festival. For some reason I thought you already played it, but looking at your profile I see that's not the case.

 

6K was easy for me only because I had just come from playing a lot of DJMax at the time. Speaking of which, there's also an entire Korean section of the hobby to learn about through DJMax, and I can only imagine how much more there is beyond that. 

[AihaLoveleaf]

100% #19
Hatsune Miku VR: Future Live (1.74%)
Completion Time: 1 week, 4 days

 

 

Here at the Gallery of Leaves™, we're dedicated to navigating the niche and mapping it out for the rest. Eventually, new hardware is necessary to keep the journey fresh and bring new games to talk about. Recently, I took the plunge and ordered myself the second generation of the PSVR1—that's one niche. The idea is to eventually buy and play every obscure, weeby and otaku-centric game on the platform—there's the other niche. A niche within a niche, that'll end well, right? Today brings us discussion of my first VR completion, but I already have four more games in the backlog - and a wishlist in the double digits of VR games to buy and justify this crazy purchase of last-gen hardware slowly trending towards obsoletion.

 

Sega's Hatsune Miku VR: Future Live for the PlayStation 4 is an interesting package. Firstly—it's "free to play"; that's a splendid way to rope in a ripe count of unsuspecting suckers mostly unaware that the game requires both PSVR and DLC! Secondly—there's no base game; the list is completely blank. That's right, Future Live is a trophy list made up entirely of DLC packages. It's a rarity that's happened before, but if I haven't seen it then it's new to me! Besides the obvious PSVR, you'll also need a PS4 Camera and one Move controller (PS3 works too!) if you're hoping to get the 100%.

 

 

Future Live isn't so much a game as it is an experience. There is interactivity, and you've got a lot of arm waving to do in the hours ahead to unlock all those modules (costumes) and trophies, but it's simply a bit of gamification to a glorified VR concert viewer. Assuming you bought the Season Pass, the game puts you front-seat in one of three stages, up close and personal with the Vocaloids. The song selection spans curated highlights of the Project Diva series from Diva 1st to Diva X, with each one mixed to sound just like a real live performance. For fans of Miku and Project Diva in general: it's awesome—at least before the all-too-familiar trophy tedium sets in, of course. Future Live is an immersive experience; for the twenty minutes it takes to complete a stage, it feels like I'm really at a live show, resonating with the hype of the crowd as my fist clenching the Move controller pumps involuntarily to the music.

 

Contrary to the rarity, the trophy list is elementary. Enjoying the show, and waggling your Move controller when the game tells you to will get you to the end of the list. Your biggest challenge will be staying patient; each stage (basically, each DLC package) requires you to attend ten concerts each, and at roughly 20 minutes per show, you're looking at about two hours per stage. After viewing your first two performances in each stage, you've seen everything it has to offer, meaning you've got eight performances in each stage ahead of you afterwards where you're basically going through the motions to unlock modules and satisfy the play requirement. Grinding the extra concerts isn't the most unengaging thing I've done this year for trophies (Hyperdevotion Noire's Lily Rank grind takes that cake), but hey—tedium is tedium. 

 

 

As for recommendations: Hatsune Miku VR: Future Live is strictly fans-only. Additionally, the Season Pass is only worth it if you buy it on sale; there aren't enough songs in the total package to justify the cost if you compare it to concerts available on Blu-Ray like Magical Mirai. Not everybody is going to be down for a virtual concert with limited interactivity - but if you know you're in the target audience for this game, then it's worth it, even with the tedium of the trophy list later on. Also, Future Live didn't give me motion sickness. That's a plus, right? This could be your game if you're looking to take your VR journey on slow footing. Either way, I'm looking forward to meeting Miku in the virtual space again for the much more interactive (and much more hardcore) Hatsune Miku VR. See you then.

 

 

100% #20
Hawken (0.74%)
Completion Time: 2 hours, 9 minutes

 

 

It's not easy to talk about a game when all your time with it was spent boosting trophies, and little-to-none of it spent actually experiencing the game the way it was meant to be played. The last sentence alone tells you everything you need to know about Hawken's trophy experience: you round up a group, boost trophies for an hour or two, and be on your merry way with a new 100%.

 

 

Anyway, shoutout to both @Yuber6969 and @Copanele for boosting Hawken with me. It was shortly after Yuber finished the game that I learned what was needed to quickly boost the 100%: that being the Reaper mech and the EMP Mk III. If you want to be in and out of Hawken quickly, you could simply buy the necessary parts with PSN funds. If you're the dedicated free-to-play type, unwavered by the temptation of microtransactions, you could certainly spend several hours grinding out credits in matches as well.

If you and your group have a couple of weeks to wait, you can do what I did—rack up free login rewards on the daily counter, free of any actual effort. Besides saving money and play time, this has a nice upside of keeping you at 0%, so you can always delete the list if plans change later on. By the way, it costs around 9,563 HC (the free blue credits) to buy necessary parts for the 100% if you're going this route.

 

 

Hawken is a first-person mech shooter set on a destitute, dystopian colony planet whose survivors are locked into battle for resources. 505 Games handled publishing duties here, a publisher whose output includes Armored Core: Formula Front and Armored Core: Nine Breaker. Perhaps this makes them the second best publisher for Hawken after Namco? You tell me.

 

The majority of Hawken's trophies reward you for either racking up kills quickly, or getting kills in a certain way. Sometimes it's you that needs to be killed for the trophy to pop. Triple Kill requires you to get three kills within ten seconds, meaning you better bring a group of four to Hawken if you don't want to gamble on killing randoms. Miscellaneous trophies like destroying an overheating mech, or defeating an opponent by hopping on them—like the goomba they are for agreeing to boost Hawken with you—are generally easier to set up, as long as there aren't randoms invading your lobby.

 

Speaking of randoms—that's the hardest part of the trophy experience overall. Hawken isn't exactly party central in 2023, but there are enough heads bobbing in and out of the waters to potentially disrupt a session and extend it further than it would have been otherwise. Most of my boost with the boys was playing Tom & Jerry with the randoms, scurrying away every time they show up to the most Asian and European servers possible, hoping to catch a break. This bought us a match or two if we were lucky, before those all-too-familiar names showed up in the lobby again to queue up. If you get annoyed enough though, just do what we did and gang up on the random instead! 

 

 

None of Hawken's trophy list features any true difficulty, as long as you're boosting. Setting up certain trophies can be annoying, and you could potentially have points to grind if you're coming to the game with zero, but if you show up prepared then you'll be in and out before you know it. Gather up those credits, gather up a crew of boosters, and get yourself some rare trophies—if you care to. Otherwise, Hawken has the makings of a great game for those actually playing it, but for the rest of us it's not too much more than a boost session to pad out your list in a forum event.

 

Platinum #61
Monster Monpiece (10.70%)
Completion Time: 2 weeks, 1 day

 

 

So, back to the fun stuff—the Gallery of Leaves™ sees itself the addition of another new toy: a PlayStation TV! For those out of the know: the PSTV is Sony's consolized solution for Vita gaming released during its era. Disappointingly, not all games work, but it's still totally worth it for the games that do work; especially those 100 hour JRPGs, intense rhythm games, and hand-busting fighters. I'm also digging the fact that I can finally do video capture of some Vita games. I'll take what I can get!

 

Monster Monpiece, developed by Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory for the PlayStation Vita, was chosen on a bit of a whim. It was brought to my attention a little while ago by @Sergen that my account was sitting at 0.68 trophies per day for longer than what could be considered tolerable. The challenge was presented to me recently to play something befitting the crossing of the line into noice trophies per day (or, 0.69). Out of the numerous options in the running (okay, realistically it was either this or Dungeon Travelers 2), Monster Monpiece is a game I've been putting off since a buddy introduced me to it in 2021 - so I hobbled on over to the PSN store, with nine dollars and change in hand, to make myself a socially acceptable purchase for a socially acceptable cause.

 

 

So, Monster Monpiece—it's pretty lewd. I appreciate that developers like Compile Heart and Tamsoft were around in the early 2010s to meet the swelling market demand for what players really wanted out of their new touch-screen gaming devices: to poke and rub anime girls. It worked out on the Nintendo DS, after all! Key promotional feature in this game is "First Crush Rub" - a way to progress your army of monster girls to the next phase by touching and rubbing your Vita in ways that would likely get you pulled over for questioning if you were to do it in public. Despite a few cards not making it to the localized version (NSFW warning, of course), there's still plenty left over to feed the eye and the imagination.

 

Monster Monpiece is a turn-based card battling RPG that quickly grew on me with its simple but addicting format. You take the role of May, a young girl and monster girl tamer from Kunaguva, who is allowed a deck of up to 40 cards to load up with cards for battle. Monster types are simple enough: you have melee users, archers, buffers and healers. Those types come in a variety of colors and species, but all perform their roles the same way in combat. It's in this simplicity where you find the game's charm. Once placed, monsters will advance towards the enemy headquarters at a rate of one grid per turn, until their turn comes to strike the opposing base. Once a headquarters takes enough hits, the game is set. Monsters following behind allies are capable of assisting in various ways, making your deck strategy one to put thought into. Do you go with healers behind your melee damage dealers? Maybe buffers instead for the raw offensive output? Or perhaps you triple down on the idea and let archers follow behind for the extra punch when attacking. Once you find what gets your neurons firing off, it's tough to put the game down.

 

 

Story mode is similar to other Compile Heart RPGs; you're set on a rather linear world map where you advance through sets of nodes that trigger battles, treasures or story events as you make your way through towns conspicuously named after Japanese cities (Tokio, Ki Outo, and so on). There are nine chapters in total covering May's story of saving the world from "Lost"—a group of humans and monster girls that have gone corrupt. Personalities are cute and endearing, and humor is rich; my favorite being all the smack talk from opponents right before battle. Chapters are mostly short and sweet, but watch out for Chapter 8, which is unfortunately a bit of a slog to get through due to being artificially padded out for content.

 

 

Oh, and there's an online grind too. Shoutout again to @Yuber6969 for joining me for a boost session. Winning multiplayer battles in Monster Monpiece overflows your coffers with enough gold and resources to leave you highly overpowered before you've even hit the trail in Chapter 1. The sooner you can do the online, the better. Online basically requires trading 100 wins each, and takes about an hour per person. You can do it online (which is a ghost town in 2023) or in ad-hoc, which is nice because the platinum will never truly be unobtainable.

 

 

And once you've gotten through all nine chapters, and the couple of hours of online grind, it's time to face... the grind. To sum it up: you've got to molest monster girls 300 times via "First Crush Rub", and build up a gallery of 500 unique cards. If you're playing on PSTV, this will be around the time you want to jump back over to handheld, given how much easier it's going to be to bang out all the necessary poking and rubbing by hand. 

 

Monster Monpiece isn't a terribly long game, and even the grind isn't all that long compared to bigger offenders like Hyperdevotion Noire (I just keep coming back to that godawful grind), but you should still be wary of anomalies that could add to your playtime. Crashes are rare, but they do happen—and it just so happened to cost me an hour of progress; that one hurt. I also may be the first player in the universe to have both grind trophies slightly glitch on me and not pop in time. There's no counter for successful rubs, but I could tell I was definitely way past 300 when Ladykiller finally popped. Similarly, the trophy for 500 unique cards didn't actually pop until I was at 522 cards in the gallery. It's hard to pinpoint what could have caused me problems: maybe it was switching from PSTV to handheld? Maybe it was the crash the night before? Everybody that's ever picked up Monster Monpiece has been fine, and you problem will be too, but you should probably ready yourself in advance for any freak occurrences.

 

 

For the not-trophy hunters out there, Monster Monpiece is a catchy little card battler that I would easily recommend to others, even with all the fanservice. I'd even buy copies for a few of my game-playing family members if it was available on the Switch (winks and nudges go out to Compile Heart!). For the trophy-minded, it's still a good time for the most part, as long as you've got a buddy for the online, and a stomach for the grind.

 

Platinum #62
Musynx (11.91%)
Completion Time: 2 weeks, 2 days

 

 

The Gallery sees itself the addition of one more new toy...

 

Image credit: tokaku

 

The K28 keyboard by GAMO2. This miniature keyboard controller is natively compatible with PS3, PS4 and Switch—covering all of my consoles in active use. At its current price of $149, it's considerably more expensive than a gaming keyboard, but it being small enough to not be cumbersome and plug-n-play with PS3/4 with no extra dongles was enough to get a sale out of me. 

 

Musynx is the kind of game that really benefits from a keyboard. With notes falling towards a horizontal judgement line, I find it way easier when my fingers line up nicely in a straight line as opposed curves that the DualShock layout creates. Obviously, having two entire hands available for play instead of just two thumbs is great too.

I'm excited for the different types of games this keyboard will open up for me. So many games—including Musynx—have been on the backlog for years with the excuse "Yeah, I'll totally play that after I buy a keyboard!". Rhythm games, puzzle games, fighting games, arcade games, and anything else that can benefit from the speed and precision of a keyboard's pure digital finesse finally arrives to the table. I'll do my best to make you aware of any games completed with the K28—especially the difficult ones.

 

 

Musynx—known as Musync in Asia—is a rhythm game developed by I-Inferno and published by PM Studios for the PlayStation 4 in 2018. Musynx is a pure gameplay experience, if there ever was one. Without so much as a tutorial, you're dropped right into the selection wheel, with the entire 100+ song tracklist ready to play. Not that you'll need much of a tutorial though; gameplay is very straightforward and familiar to veterans of similar games like Beatmania and DJMax. 

 

Presentation is, simply, cuteness overload. From catgirls, to schoolgirls, to rainbows, stars, and sushi—there's moe all over the place, imported straight from creative minds in China to the home console. Stages are hosted on a variety of backdrops as you progress through the song list: from the sunshine (literally) smiling down on you as you trek the rainbow road, to beautiful sunset vistas, to a bustling Japanese restaurant. I can't deny the talent involved in making the game look as pretty as it is - against my inner (and outer) sweatlord's desperate pleas for the far more readable Classic Interface to come to the PS4 version.

 

 

There's a nice variety in Musynx's selection. There isn't quite "a little bit of everything", but there's enough that most will find something to like. Chinese pop and EDM make up the bulk of the song list, with a bit of Japanese pop and a few flavors of rock, among other things. Some players with eastern rhythm game experience will likely recognize a name or two, including Lunatic Sounds of BMS fame. I was especially pleased to find one of my favorite rhythm game composers, M2U, on the song list.

 

Personally, the most interesting part of Musynx by far was its cultural experience. My otaku hobbies were sorely lacking Chinese representation, until now. The majority of Chinese language music in Musynx features Chinese Vocaloids and SynthV singers. With my "level" of Chinese only feebly supported by my Japanese reading ability, sourcing every virtual singer in the game would have been difficult, but the game at least makes it easy enough to discover a label where some of the most interesting are grouped together: Quadimension.

 

 

Among this label's virtual talents, 星尘 (Stardust) was destined to become my favorite. Stardust (a Vocaloid known as Xingchen in Chinese) is unique enough a character that calling her Chinese Miku would be doing her a disservice, but she did come very close to debuting with an eerily similar design (plus a couple of extra twintails). Plenty of her songs are hosted on her official English YouTube channel, along with the rest of Quadimension's virtual singers. Thanks to Musynx, Stardust has charmed her way into my current rotation, with catchy numbers like the electro-pop earworm that is Twinkle Star giving me a much needed boost during working hours.

 

Musynx's trophy difficulty is dependent on your experience in the genre. Audio Player—awarded for achieving 122% Sync Rate—is the game's most difficult trophy, and has been a sticking point for some players. The trophy isn't that difficult compared to tougher trophies you've already achieved in other games, but you may find yourself grinding your chosen song for a while, depending on your skill level. I found that keyboard made accuracy easy enough that I not only got 122% sync naturally, but several times over during my Musynx journey. Your mileage will vary, though.

 

 

 

Other than Audio Player, you've got a lot of game time ahead of you for Played Everything!—a trophy for playing all songs on all difficulties, in both four button and six button modes. This is where you get to experience Musynx's high level of game difficulty compared to its trophy difficulty. As a former Stepmania player, 4K (four button) mode came pretty easily, but 6K (six button) mode was a cripplingly difficult experience. Learning what my six fingers should be doing with a given input in a flurry of incoming notes can be likened to learning to walk for the second time. Regardless, I'm grateful for the experience—even full combos on easy 6K charts gave me a rush, and I need all the practice I can get if I'm to take on DJMax Respect someday!

 

Musynx is easy to recommend to most people reading this. It's cute, it's moe, it's pure gameplay-focused challenge that will tickle your brain and your ear. If you find it at the right price: get to clicking those notes, and poking those catgirls.

 

 

[Copanele]

Man, that beautiful Hawken time with the lads revealed some stuff:

• I am the father of all cheapskates as long as I can get something for free (bless the daily rewards 😌)
• In robot wars, no super master Gundam can stand against 3 guys who spam cannons nonstop.
• The best satisfaction is when you get a trophy legit by randomly throwing an EMP mine in a group of angry guys clanking at each other.
• Holy crap this is the second mecha game I've played, am I getting automated here? 😂

Awesome writeup as usual  we do need to grab those mahjong manuals one day!

[GravityQueeen]

Awesome reviews, Aiha! I'm always finding out interesting games here and having a blast with your writings. 

[ProfSeajay7]

Check out my checklist, which I have linked below. I would like your feedback on the idea.

 

Professor Seajay's Make It Platinum Rain Checklist

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention this, but the Pokemon company is doing a collab with your favorite vocaloid for Project Voltage.

 

"This collaboration is between Pokémon and Hatsune Miku and features collaborations between Pokémon and Hatsune Miku for both artwork, as well as music and songs. From September 4th 2023, each day special artwork was released based on the idea of "What if Hatsune Miku was a ___-type Pokémon trainer?", covering all 18 types of Pokémon and drawn by 6 different artists."

 

https://www.serebii.net/music/projectvoltage/

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by ProfSeajay7

[AihaLoveleaf]

On 9/11/2023 at 9:00 AM, Copanele said:

• I am the father of all cheapskates as long as I can get something for free (bless the daily rewards 😌)

I feel you. That $10 we saved bought us another game—another DLC, even! The slow F2P crawl is the way to go, in my opinion.

On 9/11/2023 at 9:00 AM, Copanele said:

• In robot wars, no super master Gundam can stand against 3 guys who spam cannons nonstop.

I still think about that random dude and wonder how he felt when three players suddenly ganged up on him instead of each other. 

On 9/11/2023 at 9:00 AM, Copanele said:

• The best satisfaction is when you get a trophy legit by randomly throwing an EMP mine in a group of angry guys clanking at each other.

It really was every man for himself once those invaders plunged us into chaos, lol. I'm not sure how many trophies I popped unintentionally during the free-for-all moments, but scoring the EMP kill is definitely something.

On 9/11/2023 at 9:00 AM, Copanele said:

• Holy crap this is the second mecha game I've played, am I getting automated here? 😂

First you pick up the controller for a cheeky mech game or two, and next thing you know you're [SPOILERS REDACTED] and going by the name Raven.

On 9/11/2023 at 9:00 AM, Copanele said:

Awesome writeup as usual  we do need to grab those mahjong manuals one day!

Thank you, mister. We'll definitely have to take the plunge into no gaijin's land that is native Japanese mahjong gaming. It'll be hellish for me as a beginner, but those are just the kind of things you have to do to tell a good story!

 

On 9/11/2023 at 9:08 AM, GravityQueeen said:

Awesome reviews, Aiha! I'm always finding out interesting games here and having a blast with your writings. 

Thank you so much, GravityQueeen! I'm joyed to see you; your kind words motivate me to keep documenting the journey.  

 

I love seeing that you recently finished Mighty Switch Force! Collection, by the way. I remember seeing your name in the recent players list back when I was still playing, so it's nice that you've gotten around to finishing up. I'm praying for that collection to make it to Plus Extra someday, so that others can experience the magic that WayForward, Kaufman and Nieborg so masterfully crafted.

On 9/11/2023 at 2:14 PM, ProfSeajay7 said:

Check out my checklist, which I have linked below. I would like your feedback on the idea.

Not a bad idea to multitask and capitalize on the forum event while getting the most out of it in other ways. Interested to hear how that FF14 trial run goes for you later.

On 9/11/2023 at 2:14 PM, ProfSeajay7 said:

This collaboration is between Pokémon and Hatsune Miku and features collaborations between Pokémon and Hatsune Miku

Thank you for reminding me about this; it's been a busy month and I almost forgot about the collab. 

 

I love the artwork posted so far. My favorites at the moment are the grass and water Mikus. They're just so cute:

 

I'm definitely going to have to check out those Miku songs coming out next week too. I wonder if they'll be produced by composers of the game's soundtracks, or by known Vocaloid producers. It will be interesting to see.

 

Speaking of Pokémon, it's about time for me to get cracking on that Mewtwo raid before the expiration date.

[ProfSeajay7]

11 hours ago, AihaLoveleaf said:

I love the artwork posted so far. My favorites at the moment are the grass and water Mikus.

I like the Rock Miku, Electric Miku and the Psychic Miku, personally.

 

 

Ugh, sorry, I couldn't find a smaller image for Rock Miku.

 

Let me know if you are planning on doing the Teal Mask DLC.

Edited September 13, 2023 by ProfSeajay7

[AihaLoveleaf]

1 hour ago, ProfSeajay7 said:

Ugh, sorry, I couldn't find a smaller image for Rock Miku.

 

Rock Miku looks great. I don't think she was uploaded when I checked last night, but I'm a fan of that design.

 

1 hour ago, ProfSeajay7 said:

Let me know if you are planning on doing the Teal Mask DLC.

I'm still a bit undecided about the DLC at the moment. I'll have to see if there is any limited time FOMO content like the raids, or massive QOL updates before I plop down the cash.

 

Nice to see I could catch an old favorite Pokémon of mine, though:

[ProfSeajay7]

On 9/13/2023 at 11:32 AM, AihaLoveleaf said:

I'm still a bit undecided about the DLC at the moment. I'll have to see if there is any limited time FOMO content like the raids, or massive QOL updates before I plop down the cash.

Nah, you just buy the expansion pass and you get everything and if you are worried about FOMO, don't be. The only FOMO are Tera Raids including the 7-star raids and I never bother with those. Only got two 7-star raids cleared and I never used the Level 100 Pokemon they give you. Not even going for the Mewtwo as that's worse than Alphascape 4.0 Savage.😛 

 

You also get the Indigo Disk when it comes out in Winter for free.

 

If you don't mind evolving a Munchlax, you can get a Shiny Munchlax if you do the berry race mini-game in Kitikami and get a super-high score, though the race can be stressful as you have to pop balloons, dump berries into bins and scare off Greedents and Skwovets before they eat the berries. Then you can get a Shiny Snorlax.

[Yuber6969]

Late here (busy week), but congrats on all the completions!

 

VR Miku sounds disappointing as hell, but as a Miku fan, I'll get it in the unlikely event that I get PSVR.

 

Those Hawken sweatlords were something lol. I swear that one guy was following us.

 

I haven't touched Monpiece since our boost, and likely won't for a while as XCOM and Neptunia 2 still need to be finished. But I'm happy to read that I can basically coast through the game now, and I'm always down for ecchi shit lol.

 

Finally, Musynx is the one I'm most excited for. Considering it's my best genre, I'm always looking for a challenge. More importantly, I always walk away from a rhythm game with at least a couple of new songs in my playlist. You introduced the fun and somewhat challenging Bakamatsu Rock to me, so I have high hopes for this too.

[Honor_Hand]

Hey, Aiha! Late here. Even later Yuber above me. xxD

 

I finally got the time to go through your most recent update to this thread and man, what an interesting bunch of titles you got here.

 

It looks like that VR Miku experience you had there was not the one you were hoping for. The game itself is quite an unusual package. Not only it is a "free to play" title that requires PSVR but then its entire trophy list is made up entirely of DLC trophies? That's just wild. Certainly, a game aimed at the most devoted Miku fans who are willing to endlessly cheer her up on this one.

 

Regarding Hawken, as I've commented on other threads, I am glad you and the boys got the chance to experience this one. Racking up those free login rewards was the most sensible approach to getting this one done, especially since it doesn't really take too much time to accrue the required credits to buy the mechs you need. Other than that, I agree that Hawken does have the makings of a solid mech-combat game. It's a shame that the trophy list, for better or worse, doesn't allow players to tap much into this potential.

 

Happy to hear that you were able to get a PS Vita TV added to the family! I actually picked mine up yesterday, so I'll be looking forward to enjoying some Vita games on the big screen once I have it completely set up here.

 

Monster Monpiece is peak card-battling greatness. A more than socially acceptable purchase for a totally socially acceptable cause. Besides the sexy-as-hell monster chicks in it, I'd say its simplicity is one of its most enticing aspects. It may not sound that great on paper, but once you try that delicate balance the game has for its battles, it works exceedingly well to get all those neurons firing. It's the kind of TCG combat mechanics that are fun and always draw you in for more.

 

Those glitches you encountered during your playthrough, though, were really unfortunate. But yeah, you may be one of the few persons who has gotten to experience those. The game isn't known to be glitchy, so it was rare that you had those instances happen to you. I recently started my second playthrough of MonMon through its JP stack. I am going to be playing this one mainly on my PS TV, so if I encounter any issues, I'll be sure to let you know.

 

As for Musynx, what can I say? Catgirls, schoolgirls, rainbows, stars, sushi — it has the makings of one hell of a game. The catgirl aspect and the NekoPara songs are more than enough to pull me in. Its trophy list, although slightly grindy, doesn't look particularly difficult, so I am sure it'll provide one heck of a time once I decide to play it. Already have it on PS4, so it's only a matter of when I'll go for it.

 

As always, excellent write-up. Very informative and a joy to read all the way through. I'll look forward to any future game completions from you. ;D

 

[AihaLoveleaf]

On 9/16/2023 at 3:59 AM, Yuber6969 said:

Late here (busy week), but congrats on all the completions!

 

VR Miku sounds disappointing as hell, but as a Miku fan, I'll get it in the unlikely event that I get PSVR.

Thanks Yuber! If you dig live concerts, you'll probably at least enjoy the first couple of performances of each stage while it's all still new. After that, you may start getting bored though.  PS App says I spent 13 hours, and there may have been some idling in there, so it could be worse.

 

On 9/16/2023 at 3:59 AM, Yuber6969 said:

Those Hawken sweatlords were something lol. I swear that one guy was following us.

It really did feel like it, especially when he followed us into PVE, lmao. How he found us there I will never know.

 

On 9/16/2023 at 3:59 AM, Yuber6969 said:

I haven't touched Monpiece since our boost, and likely won't for a while as XCOM and Neptunia 2 still need to be finished. But I'm happy to read that I can basically coast through the game now, and I'm always down for ecchi shit lol.

Monmon is great for those working hours too, since it's not the kind of game where you need to be glued to the guide. But yeah, I'm more interested in your Re;Birth2 experience now that you're getting back to it.  

 

On 9/16/2023 at 3:59 AM, Yuber6969 said:

Finally, Musynx is the one I'm most excited for. Considering it's my best genre, I'm always looking for a challenge. More importantly, I always walk away from a rhythm game with at least a couple of new songs in my playlist. You introduced the fun and somewhat challenging Bakamatsu Rock to me, so I have high hopes for this too.

The challenge is certainly there! The trophy list isn't all that difficult, but Hard mode charts will be a great exercise for you. By the time you finish the 6K charts, you'll have an idea of whether you eventually want to play DJMax Respect.

 

I took quite a few songs from the game to add to the listening rotation; likely something catches on for you as well.

 

On 9/16/2023 at 10:24 AM, Honor_Hand said:

Hey, Aiha! Late here. Even later Yuber above me. xxD

 

I finally got the time to go through your most recent update to this thread and man, what an interesting bunch of titles you got here.

 

It looks like that VR Miku experience you had there was not the one you were hoping for. The game itself is quite an unusual package. Not only it is a "free to play" title that requires PSVR but then its entire trophy list is made up entirely of DLC trophies? That's just wild. Certainly, a game aimed at the most devoted Miku fans who are willing to endlessly cheer her up on this one.

Hey Honor!  Never too late around these parts; that's the beauty of forum versus status.

 

I think one of the better fixes for Future Live would have been to add a few more songs to each stage. If they're going to make players do each stage ten times, then it'd at least keep the experience fresh for a bit longer. Fortunately it's only a little tedious; it's a far cry from Idolmaster Viewing Revolution's 100 concert requirement!

 

On 9/16/2023 at 10:24 AM, Honor_Hand said:

Regarding Hawken, as I've commented on other threads, I am glad you and the boys got the chance to experience this one. Racking up those free login rewards was the most sensible approach to getting this one done, especially since it doesn't really take too much time to accrue the required credits to buy the mechs you need. Other than that, I agree that Hawken does have the makings of a solid mech-combat game. It's a shame that the trophy list, for better or worse, doesn't allow players to tap much into this potential.

Hawken could have been an improved trophy experience if they tapped more into the PVE side of the game, I'd say. Maybe flesh out the requirements, maybe add a plat (yeah right, lol), and it could have been something engaging for the mech boys out there.

 

On 9/16/2023 at 10:24 AM, Honor_Hand said:

Monster Monpiece is peak card-battling greatness. A more than socially acceptable purchase for a totally socially acceptable cause. Besides the sexy-as-hell monster chicks in it, I'd say its simplicity is one of its most enticing aspects. It may not sound that great on paper, but once you try that delicate balance the game has for its battles, it works exceedingly well to get all those neurons firing. It's the kind of TCG combat mechanics that are fun and always draw you in for more.

 

Those glitches you encountered during your playthrough, though, were really unfortunate. But yeah, you may be one of the few persons who has gotten to experience those. The game isn't known to be glitchy, so it was rare that you had those instances happen to you. I recently started my second playthrough of MonMon through its JP stack. I am going to be playing this one mainly on my PS TV, so if I encounter any issues, I'll be sure to let you know.

Genkai Tokki seemingly moved on from the format from Moe Chronicle onwards, but I wouldn't mind playing a similar card battler in the future. After all, everybody loves stacking up a collection of waifu cards when it doesn't put you in the poor house IRL.

 

Hopefully I experienced the bad luck so that Yuber doesn't have to.  Others should at least learn from my misfortune and save often when it's time to grind, just in case.

 

On 9/16/2023 at 10:24 AM, Honor_Hand said:

As for Musynx, what can I say? Catgirls, schoolgirls, rainbows, stars, sushi — it has the makings of one hell of a game. The catgirl aspect and the NekoPara songs are more than enough to pull me in. Its trophy list, although slightly grindy, doesn't look particularly difficult, so I am sure it'll provide one heck of a time once I decide to play it. Already have it on PS4, so it's only a matter of when I'll go for it.

I'm interested to hear about your impression of Musynx's presentation later, and of course those Chinese Vocaloids. I'll need to get myself a Stardust for the bookshelf one of these days when I have a spare couple of hundred dollars to burn:

 

Picture Sauce

 

On 9/16/2023 at 10:24 AM, Honor_Hand said:

As always, excellent write-up. Very informative and a joy to read all the way through. I'll look forward to any future game completions from you. ;D

Thank you kindly, sir.  There's a recent game in particular on your profile that I'd love to hear your full impressions of later on, so I'll be eagerly looking forward to that!

[AihaLoveleaf]

Platinum #63
Dante's Inferno (18.89%/0.91%)
Completion Time: 1 week, 1 day

 

 

December 8th. You've got from now to then to complete the Trials of St. Lucia. After that, EA shutters the online servers for PS3, 360 and the PSP. Did you know Dante's Inferno was even available on the PlayStation Portable? Don't go rushing to the PSP store though, because there's reportedly been no DLC released for that version of the game. More importantly, 100% is forever locked away at the end of the year, though the platinum will remain obtainable. If you haven't started yet, there's plenty of time left. Despite the hype St. Lucia's trials may have gotten over the years, the learning curve is relatively minimal; even those with busy schedules will likely see the end within a few days.

 

Dante's Inferno is a classic case of "easy plat, tough 100%". On day one of my adventure, @Deadly_Ha_Ha and I plunged headfirst into the fabled co-op trials, hopeful that we'd begin gaining momentum immediately. Our best efforts over the next few hours got us through... a bronze and a half, roughly. Our progress coming to a stubborn halt on a "Marked for Death" stage full of gluttons and babies was enough for us to call it a night, at which point a mixture of dread and regret set in as we begin to cope with the idea that we may have just begun a game that would call for weeks—possibly months—of diligent practice to become the 2.5D action gaming guru that these trials were so clearly calling for.

 

 

Obviously, that wasn't the case. It turns out Dante's Inferno isn't the summit of challenge in hack-and-slash gameplay that some have hyped it up to be; it's more like a fierce gauntlet of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" matches carried out over several trials. Every enemy has its own prime way of being dealt with, and once you've committed the methods to memory, mountains become anthills and roadblocks become speedbumps. In 2021, a wonderfully practical Community Trials Guide was published, presenting some of the easiest ways to advance through EA's co-op and solo trials. After discovering this guide, Deadly and I set a couple of days aside to go through all of the solo trials, which is when all of the previously insurmountable walls set around us finally collapsed, leaving us with a challenge that was surprisingly approachable.

 

It would have been peachy if our troubles ended there, but you've heard the horror stories by now—Dante's Inferno is sizzling with spicy PS3 jank. You never know when your game will seize up, leaving you no choice but to restart. You never know when EA's servers will unceremoniously eject you with no regard to your level of progress in a trial. You never know when your co-op buddy will be—randomly, and at no fault of either player—deducted a life at the beginning of a wave, as if the game decided we needed the additional hardship to legitimize the experience. While we weren't burdened with such terrible luck as to suffer a disconnection deep into an hour long trial, it has happened to others, it could have happened to us, and it could happen to you. 

 

Despite EA's best efforts to handicap this determined duo of shutdown FOMO pursuit, we eventually reached the end of Dante's online—we eventually got... in the Trial. With the both of us having gone from inexperienced to adept in 15 short hours of online play, I walked away feeling content that we made the journey ourselves, without having to flag down an old pro and inconvenience them. With that, the 100% was in the bag, and all that remained was the single player content.

 

 

Which brings me to the Dark Forest—a self-contained DLC episode detailing events shortly before the introduction of the game. Seemed like a better place to start than any, considering I wanted every bit of DLC out of the way as soon as possible. The Dark Forest itself is a puzzle-heavy dungeon seeing Dante through a series of puzzles that seem confusing as first, but are—as you'd guess from the trophy rarities—quite simple once you've gained your bearings. The entire level takes around 15 minutes to complete, and doesn't pose much of a challenge when played on the easiest difficulty. A trophy is given for escaping the Dark Forest, and another for succeeding without getting lost. Like a proper doofus, I did, of course, get lost, meaning I had to navigate the forest twice—but hey, 30 minutes to finish the DLC isn't too bad.

 

And then it was time for my victory lap: the campaign playthrough. The base game's requirements need about a playthrough and a half to completely fulfill, a one or two day project for most. After being subject to EA's ultimate circle of hell, the internet, I was thrilled to tune the settings to its lowest difficulty and start coasting through. Dante's Inferno is loosely (and I do mean loosely) based on Inferno, Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Dante, guided by the spirit of the poet Virgil, descends the rungs of hell to free his wife Beatrice from the clutches of Lucifer. This AAA trip to the underworld treats you to all things grotesque and titillating, taking full liberty given by its M rating to decorate the screen with bare breasts, hulking gluttons that barely contain their bodily fluids, and even the occasional meat pipe—hey, it's equal opportunity fanservice in this one! Considering its release date, production value is solid; one of my favorite behind-the-scenes secrets being the use of an actual toddler to do the motion capture for the hundreds of pesky babies you have to punish absolve!

 

 

Dante's Inferno leaves room for a sequel, but there's enough resolution in its ending that I would be okay with the game being left where it is, in all of its glory as a product of its time. The online seems impossible at first, but that air of doubt is quickly cleared after coming to grips with the game's mechanics. Single player is as simple as you'd expect given the platinum's rarity. If you're paired up with a determined co-op partner, it's a better time than any to get in the Trial. Those who appreciate the likes of God of War and Lords of Shadow (lol) should give the trials a run before December. Those generally not impressed with this section of the action genre can safely follow their instincts, as Dante's Inferno probably won't be the game that converts you.

 

 

✔100% #21
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (1.96%)
Completion Time: 3 days, 1 hour

 

 

Take The House of the Dead and set it in the Wild West. Take the beloved arcade shooter, pluck it from its smooth mechanical railings and strap it with rugged leather boots. Take the decrepit hordes of undead and replace them with gangs of rude, crude outlaws. When my good pal @Copanele introduced us to Techland's Wild West FPS Call of Juarez: Gunslinger by way of his finely comprehensive overview last year was the moment the game was set on my radar. With the game's delisting on North American storefronts several years ago, you'll have to borrow the game or whip out your UK account if this old gem tickles your fancy.

 

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is the fourth game and spinoff entry in the series, following up the critical flop that was The Cartel by returning to its roots of the late 1800s American west. This budget title gave the first-person shooter category a welcome breath of fresh air, dispensing with stale, gritty realism in favor of good old arcade fun. Every outlaw brought to peace by your trusty revolver kicks off a combo, paying out a ton of score against the seemingly endless bands of outlaws and natives in your way. More combo also means more XP, which you can then spend in a branching tree of perks that make the game that much more approachable with each new unlock.

 

 

Story mode tells an alternate history of the old west as experienced by fictional bounty hunter Silas Greaves. Plot and lore are fleshed out over a series of comic-like cutscenes as well as dialogue between Silas and a group of saloon patrons that plays out over the course of gameplay. You'll even see the story adjusted on the fly as corrections to Silas's tale are dealt by patrons, resulting in noticeable changes to the environment and flow of gameplay. Levels play out through mostly linear areas with Silas battling it out with armies of Indians and bandits, building up to the big climax at the end of each stage with a boss fight or a good old-fashioned duel. Gunslinger's story is to be praised for its simultaneously engaging and educational (taken with boulders of salt, no doubt) take on the history of the Wild West.

 

 

Arcade mode is where the formalities of the modern AAA experience are completely done away with in favor of pure gameplay and pure challenge. Set in a number of unique levels borrowing fractions of the areas used in the campaign, arcade mode challenges you to rack up as much score as possible in its limited number of opponents, making high combo counts mandatory as you hone your skills for those coveted three-star ratings. Gunslinger is at its most challenging and most fun in this mode, with each map taking me anywhere from one to three hours of practice, depending on the level of difficulty. Rather than following guide recommendations like a good boy, I found that investing in the Gunslinger build like the good Mr. @Copanele got me through the thick of this section with the build's access to easily refillable Concentration—or the game's version of "bullet time."

 

 

 

Besides arcade mode, there's a bit of a grind in story mode for you to do, along with a Hard mode playthrough to complete. I thought to do Hard mode first, as I thought it would save me time, but given that I needed two full playthroughs to grind the entire skill tree anyway, you'd probably spare yourself a bit of frustration by doing a run of easy mode first.

Gunslinger is easily recommended to anybody reading this right now. If you have access to it, play it. It's addicting, mindless arcade joy, and its short length combined with the challenge of the trophy list give the game just enough time to tingle the meaty mass inside your cranial socket, without overstaying its welcome. 

 

 

Platinum #64
Brink • JP (13.27%)
Completion Time: 3 days, 1 hour

 

 

If this appearance of the Japanese version of Brink feels weird, random—possibly out-of-place—then you're right, because playing it is not a choice I would have made on my own.

This team-based multiplayer shooter published by Bethesda for the PlayStation 3 reportedly tanked critically and financially. Brink's release isn't one that I was following back in its day, but the idea I gather is that it built big hype and failed to meet expectations when it finally came to retail. While most of my time with Brink was admittedly... not great, I can see the unique ideas developer Splash Damage aimed to bring to the table with this title, and I imagine there may have been fun to be had back when Brink still had a community around it. I guarantee you none of that fun was being had in the Japanese version though, due to a number of unique annoyances exclusive to its release.

 

A while back I was reached out to by @EqualityEarth with the idea to tackle the Japanese stack of this very not-Japanese AAA shooter that I've yet to even play in English. His reasons for doing the stack are his business, but prices online were reasonable enough that I ordered the game and hopped to it following the conclusion of my Gunslinger playthrough.

 

My clearly annoyed character that just wants this to end.

 

Brink's trophy list is largely made up of weird—but mostly troubling—miscellaneous trophies that are ultimately a bit too arduous a task to take on singlehandedly. Brink's trophies are easier the more people you have available, and ideally you'd have a group of three or four, but in a ghost town of a foreign multiplayer server where English speakers rarely set foot, you'll just have to take what you can get. Campaign mode requires a playthrough either in Hard mode or online co-op. The collective cranial light bulbs of the AI this game supplies you with would fail to even illuminate the closet storing the MacBook Pro this regional variant was likely compiled with, so if you have the option to do campaign with a friend—take it.

 

The most difficult misc. trophy requiring a fair amount of luck and coordination.

 

Sadly, I can't tell you much about the game's story. Cutscenes were almost entirely skipped out of respect for my boosting partner's time, and it would have been too great a bother without a proper Japanese subtitle track following along the dialogue anyhow. Speaking of which: the game has a bit of English, but not enough to matter; you're ideally going to want to be able to read Japanese if it's your first rodeo with the game. It's not quite simple Japanese you'll be dealing with, but the game's primary objectives often task you to (修理) repair something, (制圧) gain control of it, or (防御) defend it—if not blow the objective to smithereens entirely.

 

RIP to these two clowns that were this close to finishing the stage.

 

And that brings us to Brink's unique brand of jank seemingly exclusive to its region. Before I got involved with this title, @Yuber6969 and @EqualityEarth both did a playthrough of the global stack, had no problems, and reportedly had fun, even! Not the case here, though. That too-familiar anxiety of loading screens turning into soft-locks is all too real here. Disconnections can and will happen, with no regard to your progress in your latest campaign mission. If all of that wasn't enough—I even lost my save file to corruption at the end of day 2! Thank every god above that I had cloud saves turned on, or I would have lost hours of progress in a game that was already grating my patience. Make those save backups people, please!

 

Obviously I'm not recommending Brink to anybody in this thread. At least if you're going to play it, go for the English version of the game, which is reportedly less buggy. Truthfully, I don't see much to gain out of the experience besides its trophies, which means you should almost certainly pass on both versions of Brink and play the previously-reviewed Gunslinger instead. You'll thank me later—or right now, perhaps.

 

That triple trophy pop, though.

 

Platinum #65
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation (20.99%)
Completion Time: 3 weeks, 4 days

 

 

Nine games into the series, Neptunia has become my gaming comfort food. I go into each new game knowing how to optimize my playthrough, I go in knowing what the trophy list will entail without even looking, and—in the case of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3, a Vita "remake" of Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory for the PS3—I go in knowing what will happen in the story, for the most part. Such familiarity makes it easy to slide right into this next entry, and even easier to focus on blissfully enjoying the experience, along with any new additions to this updated Vita port. Speaking of enjoyment: thank God for that PSTV I acquired a while ago, because with 151 hours on the clock (largely spent on non-trophy content) at the end of my playthrough, my hands sure are grateful being spared the torture that would otherwise have been inflicted had I played on the handheld.

 

 

Beginning with a mandatory New Game playthrough, I aim to clear two of Re;Birth3's three endings carried over from Victory straight away. Since Victory (and subsequently Re;Birth3) was the first in the series to serve up a fleshed-out postgame following the True Ending, it only makes sense to save the best for last. Re;Birth3's story is almost exactly the same as the PS3 original it's based on, barring a few changes. Most notably, a new prologue is seamlessly woven into Victory's introduction, grabbing the attention of old players with something different from the same old they've already experienced. Additionally, there's an exclusive chapter added to the post-game with a high level boss fight (and a trophy) at the end. Besides that, interactions with the Makers (AKA humans) have been altered to reflect the updated timeline of the Re;Birth series—something you'll understand if you've experienced the PS3 trilogy beforehand.

 

 

Re;Birth3's gameplay is the most refined in the series up to this point, and it was during my initial playthrough that I was pleasantly introduced to all of its lovely new additions. No longer are you required to bust your thumb spamming for hidden items in dungeons; transparent cubes resembling a certain asset from a certain game about a certain plumber take their place, with fatter loot tables to boot! Gathering material items to craft plans in the Remake System has been trivially simplified with one of the greatest quality of life additions that I've witnessed in a JRPG sequel: a built-in wiki of item and monster locations. Need to know where to encounter an Obese Dogoo for a piping hot slice of Prime Cut Dogoo to craft your next plan? Just hit and keep the actual wiki tabs on your desktop to a minimum. It's a beautiful thing.

 

 

Missables present in Victory have mostly been phased out of Re;Birth3, leaving the endings themselves as the only true missables that require a new playthrough to claim. Setting aside the quiz minigame (with no trophies attached) that spans every chapter in the game, you could safely play through the game blindly until Chapter 5 where your first branching points appear, if you'd prefer to shield your innocent eyes from as many spoilers as possible (as you should).

 

Re;Birth2's most difficult requirement—Stella's Dungeon—makes its return in Re;Birth3, but don't let that scare you off, because the time investment necessary is drastically reduced compared to before. Gone are the hours spent crawling through each dungeon in this little roguelike simulator only to be met with the crushing depression of failure as you re-evaluate your little lady's gear before sending her back out to her next venture of uncertainty; dungeons are now cleared in minutes, so long as you have the $1 Histy's Emergency Aid Pack DLC installed. Stella's quality of life improvements are happily welcome, and turn the formerly tedious slog into a fast and fun diversion that quickly crams your inventory full of useful knickknacks that open up new plans in the Remake System.

 

 

By the time True Ending is cleared and you're sitting cozy in Re;Birth3's postgame, all that should be left is the all-too-familiar grind for Lily Ranks and 100,000,000 (yes, million) Credits. This can become boring if you let it, but I'd recommend using the time efficiently to build up your team for the game's optional post-game story content—originally introduced as DLC for Victory on the PS3. Getting a level 999 party is far easier on the Vita than it ever was on the PS3, which made it easy to experience the bits of DLC story I unfortunately had to skip when playing the original. Whichever way you go, Re;Birth2's greatest addition, Symbol Attack Gains, makes its return, and similarly cuts away tens of hours of tedium as you strengthen those cute bonds between your cute girls.

 

 

If you're already two games deep into the Re;Birth trilogy, Re;Birth3 should naturally be your next step. With the foundation laid out in the games before it, the third entry in the series sets its efforts on rapidly expanding what you know about the game's universe, and is best gone into knowing as little as possible beforehand. Even if you've already played Victory, the bonus content gives you something new to enjoy, and the largely improved gameplay makes for your coziest time yet as you re-experience Victory's story.

 

 

Platinum #66
Giraffe and Annika (10.17%)
Completion Time: 2 days, 2 hours

 

 

Underrated, underplayed, and underappreciated are the primary descriptors of Atelier Mimina's rhythm-adventure Giraffe and Annika, unleashed upon the West in 2020 to mixed reception at best, and scathing critical review at worst. The result was a hesitant market of intrigued players that ultimately avoided the game entirely, despite it putting its best paw forward with an adorable art style invoking Studio Ghibli and promises of the even more adorable catgirl Annika that would accompany you on your journey.

 

 

Giraffe and Annika's distinct assortment of gameplay mechanics draw inspiration from many sources, and similarities made to other games vary depending on your personal experience. Certainly, its primary storytelling device employing lively semi-animated comic panels liken part of the experience to Gravity Rush—to its gain, undoubtedly. Boss encounters play out as multi-phased rhythm arcade stages that resemble—oddly enough—Senran Kagura: Bon Appetit, among others in the genre. Three-dimensional world and dungeon exploration calls to a number of 32/64-bit era titles, including Brave Fencer Musashi—an overlooked Square classic with a matching time mechanic that similarly influences Annika's world of Spica and its events.

 

The story begins with young Felycan protagonist Annika coming to on the island of Spica with no recollection of what got her there to begin with. A strange boy in blue that goes by the name Giraffe makes her acquaintance early in the journey, becoming Annika's most valued partner as they scour the island's dungeons for the star fragments needed to recover her lost memories. Enemies and obstacles obstruct your path towards collectibles, items and bosses, but Annika herself is incapable of combat. The game's insistence on a pacifist approach necessitates stealthy and defensive maneuverability to avoid danger entirely.

 

 

Each of Spica's five dungeons feature a rhythm-game boss encounter with fairly traditional mechanics. A note highway links Annika and the boss, with three lanes—two active, with an extra in the middle to separate them—for notes (referred to as Rhythmo Balls and Rhythmo Streams) to travel. Lane movement is handled manually with the d-pad or analog, and all notes are executed with a single button. Rhythmic complexity comes from notes charted in ways requiring Annika to weave between all three lanes, while additional difficulty is introduced by way of traps and projectiles sent in your direction amidst incoming notes. Notes executed successfully deal damage to the boss, while missed notes—as well as traps that impact Annika—deal damage to you instead.

 

 

The game's trophy list sports a fair number of missables—most of them manageable as long as you mind the 'point(s) of no return', but the conversations with each save point are easily missed if you aren't looking out for the extra lines of dialogue some of them receive as the story progresses. Making up for the stress of missables however is a highly satisfying rhythm game portion of the list requiring full combos and S Ranks on every song on every difficulty—including Hard mode. Despite the platinum's call for rhythmic consistency in maintaining both combo and accuracy, Gir-Ann's gameplay is relatively simplified due to single-button controls and is still approachable for the dedicated novice. Ranking it compared to games of similar difficulty, I'd pin it somewhere between IA/VT Colorful and Bakumatsu Rock in trophy difficulty (but not game difficulty; the aforementioned are infinitely more challenging otherwise). You've also got a speedrun ahead of you with 4.5 hours on the clock, which could be combined with your initial playthrough—potentially at the cost of soiling your first impressions—but is usually best done as a quick second run using your gained knowledge. My "speed" run wrapped up in just under three hours, leaving plenty of room for wiggle.

 

Giraffe and Annika's rhythm gameplay is simple but engaging, and its story a tender one, filling that health bar of yours with warm feels as Annika's tale reaches its peak and the curtains around her pull back to reveal the answers to Spica's deepest mysteries. Despite all of its signs of being an apparent early project of the development team, the passion behind the game bleeds through in its colorful cast of characters and beautifully crafted artwork, and will be a game I think about long after returning it to its corner of the shelf. At an owner count of 423 in late October 2023, Giraffe and Annika is a woefully underplayed title, and I can only hope it may eventually find its way to a wider audience—whether through Plus Extra or other means.

 

 

[Copanele]

Quote

Dante's Inferno is a classic case of "easy plat, tough 100%".

I think that someone at EA is now confused, asking himself "why the hell are there so many players all of a sudden? Why do we even have this game on anymore??"

Really, the only things I remember about this game are: The DLC (the only challenging and dare I say fun? part of the game), that weird Cleopatra fight and, the cross shotgun and...Satan's dong...Other than that, I barely remember what happened in the game, it was this unremarkable 😔

Quote

Those who appreciate the likes of God of War and Lords of Shadow (lol) should give the trials a run before December. 

Lol indeed. At least I remember LoS more (for the wrong reasons XD )

 

Quote

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (1.96%)
Completion Time: 3 days, 1 hour

Ah what a game this was 😌so, so glad that you enjoyed it, it's a damn shame that the game is delisted now, because honestly more should try this one. How come there's so few first person westerns around here??

 

Also one day, maybe, MAYBE they will remake, remaster, heck even port the original Call of Juarez. Playing as an old gunslinger pastor, gun in one hand and Bible in the other? That's a crazy good western!

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 hours ago, AihaLoveleaf said:

Platinum #65
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation (20.99%)
Completion Time: 3 weeks, 4 days

 

Also I really have to play that Neptunia series one day...

9 hours ago, AihaLoveleaf said:

 

...for the references, obviously 😏

[AihaLoveleaf]

On 10/28/2023 at 3:43 PM, Copanele said:

I think that someone at EA is now confused, asking himself "why the hell are there so many players all of a sudden? Why do we even have this game on anymore??"

Really, the only things I remember about this game are: The DLC (the only challenging and dare I say fun? part of the game), that weird Cleopatra fight and, the cross shotgun and...Satan's dong...Other than that, I barely remember what happened in the game, it was this unremarkable 😔

For better or worse, the DLC certainly was the most engaging part of Dante's Inferno, with the peak of that engagement achieved when the game janks out and loses you a life—or the entire run.  In many ways, the hardest part of the game has to be EA's bullshit rather than the monsters themselves.

 

I'm likely to forget a lot of the single-player experience in time as well. Maybe I could have made it a little more memorable by cranking up the difficulty, but ain't nobody got time for that, man!

 

On 10/28/2023 at 3:43 PM, Copanele said:

Ah what a game this was 😌so, so glad that you enjoyed it, it's a damn shame that the game is delisted now, because honestly more should try this one. How come there's so few first person westerns around here??

 

Also one day, maybe, MAYBE they will remake, remaster, heck even port the original Call of Juarez. Playing as an old gunslinger pastor, gun in one hand and Bible in the other? That's a crazy good western!

My conspiracy theory is that Ubisoft just didn't want people to know that they used to publish good games, so Gunslinger had to go. Anyways, it will definitely be one I have to come back for someday on PC or Switch; the experience would benefit a lot from (hopefully) more accurate controls.

 

That badass old-west pastor sounds like a character I could really get into. I'm all for a port of that, minus the hundred extra DLC trophies Ubi love so dearly these days. 

 

On 10/28/2023 at 3:43 PM, Copanele said:

Also I really have to play that Neptunia series one day...

On 10/28/2023 at 6:03 AM, AihaLoveleaf said:

 

Expand  

...for the references, obviously 😏

It's just our luck that the one—possibly two—Neptunia game(s) I would send your way both happen to be on the Vita. Maybe someday when you finally get one for those long trips. 

[CelestialRequiem]

🦒

[Yuber6969]

Congrats!

 

I initially had some interest in Dante's Inferno but didn't have the time for it. After reading your review, I'm glad I stayed away. Not really a fan of having to change my gameplay style for every single encounter.

 

Didn't really know anything about Call of Juarez before this, but that YouTube video looked hard. I could literally feel your stress during a couple of those near-death moments.

 

Sorry you had a bad time with Brink. I feel responsible since I told you that it was a good game lol. The JP version sounds so much worse. Like you said, we had no issues with the NA version.

 

I'm really liking what I read about Re;Birth 3. Seems to have fixed every issue I had with Re;Birth 2, which I enjoyed. The built-in wiki and the changes to Stella's Dungeon make me want to get to the game faster. Might even make it my next plat milestone. Any DLC aside from what you mentioned that I should be mindful of?

 

I had zero interest in that Giraffe game before you mentioned the challenge of FCing all songs on every difficulty. I'll wishlist it. How big are the non-rhythm sections of the game? I'm pretty sure I won't like them, but would be willing to suck it up if they aren't terribly long.

[AihaLoveleaf]

19 hours ago, CelestialRequiem said:

🦒

 

9 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

I initially had some interest in Dante's Inferno but didn't have the time for it. After reading your review, I'm glad I stayed away. Not really a fan of having to change my gameplay style for every single encounter.

You're right to trust your gut with Dante's Inferno. If you feel like the game would stress you out, then you might be right. Not a fun feeling to have in early November. Certainly was a bummer how much more difficult the trials became if you wanted to play the game "your way" though. 😓

 

10 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

Didn't really know anything about Call of Juarez before this, but that YouTube video looked hard. I could literally feel your stress during a couple of those near-death moments.

Didn't think about it like that before, but you may be right  It does get pretty hectic when the visuals start getting cluttered while trying to keep up with reloads and the combo timer. I would have benefitted from better internalizing the combo timer length, but I guess I was just too eager to get in there and get some three star ratings. While Gunslinger can be brutal (the video linked is probably the hardest arcade level), it's at least a pretty short game overall.

 

10 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

Sorry you had a bad time with Brink. I feel responsible since I told you that it was a good game lol. The JP version sounds so much worse. Like you said, we had no issues with the NA version.

I feel like Brink had a valuable lesson to teach me, and that's to not play any more of Bethesda's catalog on the PS3. A lot of their games on the legacy platform are reportedly horrid jank and now I know exactly why to stay away. At least most people won't be drawn to the Japanese version of the game without good reason.

 

10 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

I'm really liking what I read about Re;Birth 3. Seems to have fixed every issue I had with Re;Birth 2, which I enjoyed. The built-in wiki and the changes to Stella's Dungeon make me want to get to the game faster. Might even make it my next plat milestone. Any DLC aside from what you mentioned that I should be mindful of?

The Emergency Aid pack is actually the only paid DLC in the game; everything else is free. Do grab the free DLC items though, because they all help a lot. You gain several party members, unlock useful Scouts for Stella's Dungeon and gain access to the full level cap of 999 free of charge.

 

10 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

I had zero interest in that Giraffe game before you mentioned the challenge of FCing all songs on every difficulty. I'll wishlist it. How big are the non-rhythm sections of the game? I'm pretty sure I won't like them, but would be willing to suck it up if they aren't terribly long.

The story mode is pretty short: at a relaxed pace to take in the story, a first playthrough for most should be around five-ish hours. Maybe add a couple of hours more to account for collectibles and such. The speedrun took me three hours, but there's a glitch that actual speedrunners use to clear the game in under an hour if you really want to be done with the Speedster trophy ASAP, which is detailed in the trophy guide. The guide estimate of 10h will probably be about right for most players, and even at my slow pace I only spent 18 hours in total.

[Honor_Hand]

Hey there, Aiha! Awesome writing here. Really enjoyed my morning here reading on your gaming progress. Needless to say, you've been all over the place as far as the kind of gaming adventures you've been having.

 

Dante's Inferno looks hella solid if I might say. I don't see myself going out of my way to find a co-op partner for doing those annoying DLC trials before the game's servers close, but knowing the platinum will still be obtainable after that is enough to make me consider trying it out. Even if it's loosely based on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, having the opportunity to make a trip through hell with the visual imagery I remember seeing from game trailers back then should still make for a good time. It doesn't help that it reminds me plenty of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, too, which I happened to enjoy plenty back then. It's a solid game, you know. =P Yeah, Dante here may have plenty of that certified PS3 jank, but it should still prove to be a good time. Provided I only go for the platinum, of course.

 

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. Now, I am not a fan of games set in the Wild West. Something about that particular setting tends to bore me for whatever reasons, but damn, this title in particular looks like a thoroughly entertaining on-rails shooter. Too bad about the pains of obtaining it nowadays, though.

 

That Brink JP entry in your write-up reminds me of those times we end up drawn into other's platinum pursuits for all the wrong reasons, lmao. xxD

 

Safe to say that you had a blast revisiting Neptunia 3 through the enhanced Vita remake. This is a series I've yet to tackle with more dedication, seeing as I only have two games under my belt, one of them being a spin-off, but reading your thoughts on the ones you've tackled always sells me in, haha. I am sure this VIta TV I got not too long ago will prove an excellent option to tackle these games. I will, of course, need to resume with Re;Birth 2. And after that, follow with the much-acclaimed Re;Birth 3 here.

 

Finally, Giraffe and Annika... Man, talk about a super cute catgirl right there. I already have access to this one, so only time will tell when I will jump into it. One thing is for certain, though, after reading your impression here, I am sure I am all set to have a wonderful time with Annika uncovering the secrets of Spica. I am glad I got the chance to read your assessment of the rhythm portions of the game, too. It gives me all the confidence I need to know I won't be struggling with those parts once I get to them. As for everything else, well, you know me, any game that stars a catgirl in the main role is a MUST-PLAY in my book. =D

[AihaLoveleaf]

On 11/6/2023 at 10:22 AM, Honor_Hand said:

Hey there, Aiha! Awesome writing here. Really enjoyed my morning here reading on your gaming progress. Needless to say, you've been all over the place as far as the kind of gaming adventures you've been having.

 

Dante's Inferno looks hella solid if I might say. I don't see myself going out of my way to find a co-op partner for doing those annoying DLC trials before the game's servers close, but knowing the platinum will still be obtainable after that is enough to make me consider trying it out. Even if it's loosely based on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, having the opportunity to make a trip through hell with the visual imagery I remember seeing from game trailers back then should still make for a good time. It doesn't help that it reminds me plenty of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, too, which I happened to enjoy plenty back then. It's a solid game, you know. =P Yeah, Dante here may have plenty of that certified PS3 jank, but it should still prove to be a good time. Provided I only go for the platinum, of course.

Thank you, Honor! I always appreciate it.  

 

Fortunately, the jank in Dante's Inferno is almost entirely limited to the online trials, so anybody sticking to single-player will never see it. Seeing as the Dracolich doesn't make an appearance, I am obligated to give the edge to it over Lords of Shadow. Thems the rules, sadly. 

 

On 11/6/2023 at 10:22 AM, Honor_Hand said:

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. Now, I am not a fan of games set in the Wild West. Something about that particular setting tends to bore me for whatever reasons, but damn, this title in particular looks like a thoroughly entertaining on-rails shooter. Too bad about the pains of obtaining it nowadays, though.

Luckily, Gunslinger is anything but boring! I think it'll suit your tastes for arcade gameplay nicely. 😌 While technically not a rail shooter, it impressively emulates the experience within the boundaries of the FPS genre. Obtaining the game is a pain nowadays, but hopefully you find a way to buy or borrow it while it's still around (which I expect to be a long while).

 

On 11/6/2023 at 10:22 AM, Honor_Hand said:

That Brink JP entry in your write-up reminds me of those times we end up drawn into other's platinum pursuits for all the wrong reasons, lmao. xxD

I was roped right in like the clueless cattle I was. 🐄 No ill feelings on my part; the boosting went smoothly and the socializing was peachy, but between Brink and Rogue Warrior I am definitely becoming more selective moving forward.  

 

On 11/6/2023 at 10:22 AM, Honor_Hand said:

Safe to say that you had a blast revisiting Neptunia 3 through the enhanced Vita remake. This is a series I've yet to tackle with more dedication, seeing as I only have two games under my belt, one of them being a spin-off, but reading your thoughts on the ones you've tackled always sells me in, haha. I am sure this VIta TV I got not too long ago will prove an excellent option to tackle these games. I will, of course, need to resume with Re;Birth 2. And after that, follow with the much-acclaimed Re;Birth 3 here.

Looking forward to you and Yuber catching up so that we can all share in the Neps in a spoiler-free setting. I'm certainly feeling the fire lit under me with the announcement of the next main title in the works. Lucky for us that every Vita entry after Re;Birth1 is PSTV compatible, so finishing off that part of the series will be nice and cozy.

 

On 11/6/2023 at 10:22 AM, Honor_Hand said:

Finally, Giraffe and Annika... Man, talk about a super cute catgirl right there. I already have access to this one, so only time will tell when I will jump into it. One thing is for certain, though, after reading your impression here, I am sure I am all set to have a wonderful time with Annika uncovering the secrets of Spica. I am glad I got the chance to read your assessment of the rhythm portions of the game, too. It gives me all the confidence I need to know I won't be struggling with those parts once I get to them. As for everything else, well, you know me, any game that stars a catgirl in the main role is a MUST-PLAY in my book. =D

Giraffe and Annika is definitely all you! 🐈 Ancient Felician texts state that if the game contains catgirl representation, then it must similarly be represented on Honor's profile. It's certainly safe enough to say that Annika's rhythm challenge has nothing on the brutality inflicted upon those who survived Neon Drive.