Regaining Passion in an Age of Easy Trophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello everyone!

 

I've been trophy-hunting on two different accounts (both of which have 100 or more platinum trophies) over the past 9 years, yet it's been a while since I've last derived satisfaction or enjoyment from the activity. Over time, my passion for trophies would devolve into taking shortcuts and opting for the path of least resistance. I would follow meticulous guides which would allow me to get the plat in the least amount of time possible. Leisure would devolve into pure OCD, entertainment into a second job. Well, I've decided to say - enough is enough. Given how meaningless leaderboards have become over time, and how many individuals decided to stack hundreds of completely meaningless platinum trophies, it is time to start a fresh and new project. A project which is designed to challenge yours truly through his obsession. 

 

16 rules of the project: 

 

1) The focus will be on difficulty and the challenge that trophies should bring (there will be a few  "easier" games like visual novels appearing on my future list, but purely because of my love for the genre): most games that are considered to be easy or moderately difficult will have an additional "difficulty marker" added to them (e.g. games that do not have a difficulty-related trophy will be played on normal / hard / very hard instead of easy mode - e.g. games like God of War, Persona 5, Ghost of Tsushima etc. will most likely be played on hard instead of easy).

2) No autopops - if I want two identical trophy lists on separate platforms, I'll have to earn them both. No freebies! 

3) No cheesing or making things easier for the sake of completing the game without effort (e.g. Dark Souls Remastered and its Dark Bead spam strategy, Returnal and save scumming, Jak and Daxter debug mode or egg duplication glitch, Hollow Knight boss glitch etc.). It's fine to look for useful strategies to beat bosses or difficult areas in the case of being completely stuck, but nothing that makes the game braindead or significantly easier.

4) Using text guides is okay, as long as their main goal is to point out missable trophies and collectibles. The challenge is supposed to be fun and challenging, not masochistic or excessively frustrating!). 

5) No glitches (e.g. Bioshock survivor difficulty glitch, Uncharted remaster weapon glitch used for Brutal mode), unless there is absolutely no other possible way of completing the trophy, which technically shouldn't happen barring extreme exceptions (e.g. Rayman Legends on the Vita, whose leaderboards are notoriously hacked. The only way to get a particular trophy is to hope for a favorable map, which happens every couple of months!) 

6) No full game video walkthroughs (no handholding, once again)!

7) Collectible and general trophy guides are obviously fine! 

8) Online trophy boosting is also fine, unless the game has a very active online community and the trophies are achievable solo, in which case I'll go for it alone! I will probably ask the potential lurkers of this thread to help me out, if they're willing to do so! 

9) It goes without saying that Ratalaika / 5 minute plats are NOT allowed! An easy game is acceptable only in the case of it being a genuinely great title (for example, The Walking Dead by Telltale or Chaos;Child, among others) 

10) No game-facilitating DLC like Dead Space 2's bonus nodes or RE2's rocket launcher unlock! 

11) The project will utilize three different platforms - PS5 (PS4 games are included), PS Vita and PS3 (at least until we get a Vita 2 or a PS6 ? ). I've got a huge list of potential titles, but I'm more than willing to accept game suggestions! I'm not sure I'm going to tackle <.5% platinums right off the bat, but I'm planning on completing a big number of games that are considered conventionally hard through "legitimate" means, so my own skill and resilience (e.g. all Soulsborne games, most if not all Ninja Gaiden titles, all DMC games, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Binding of Isaac, Wolfenstein II and many, many more!). Games like Super Meat Boy may come down the line if the project is going to feel legitimately fun! 

12) No hard games for the sake of being hard, the title needs to be hard *and* fun! 

13) This is supposed to be my "trophy detox", as funny as it sounds. I've been placing too much emphasis on "big number go up", leaderboards and making it as
easy as possible, so this is a clean break! I want to stick to trophy hunting because it's fun, but not for the sake of numbers, but skill, patience and entertainment. 

14) This is supposed to be a 95%+ trophy completion profile, so I will go for 100% in most games barring a few exceptions (e.g. completely dead online mode or glitched trophies). On the other hand, I'm not going to skip any game solely for the purpose of having a higher completion percentage. 

15) Story-driven games (like David Cage's titles) will be completed once with complete and utter disregard for trophies, once that is done I'll shift my focus towards platting the game as planned. 

16) A game that has multiple endings has to be completed multiple times barring very rare exceptions (e.g. Bloodborne has 3 endings, so I'm planning to complete it three times - no save scumming as a rule - there may be an exception in the future concerning an extremely long title so that I wouldn't have to play a game for another 100 hours + for a single trophy).

 

The first game I've elected to platinum is:

 

 

The remake of Crash Bandicoot on PS5 (technically PS4):    

 

It's not the hardest game in the world, but it is challenging enough to be a great start! It's also one of my favorite games of all time, so I'd like to start the journey on a high note, with a stunning and somewhat difficult title! 

 

The special stipulation in this case will be the following: get 27 gold relics, instead of the obligatory 26 for the platinum. The Stormy Ascent DLC allows you to skip one of the levels, but I'm not going to do it! 

 

In the meantime, I'm also going to be working on :

 

 

Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the Vita:    

 

 

Unfortunately, there will be no special stipulation for this title, as in this case it's going to be impossible to do anything the platinum doesn't require the player to do. 

 

 

This is because I do not own many physical Vita games as of now, and all of the digital ones are on my old accounts. I promise I will pull off a more challenging platinum trophy next! 

 

 

I will be making an update every week!

 

I will also be writing reviews of every game I complete!

 

 

Platinum trophies (#1-10):

 

 

#1 - Crash Bandicoot  - 100% (Game + DLC, all 27 relics) 

 

#2 - Uncharted: Golden Abyss

 

#3 - Bloodborne + The Old Hunters DLC - 3 playthroughs for 3 endings

 

#4 - Spec Ops: The Line

 

#5 - Remember Me (no DLC allowed)

 

#6 - Assassin's Creed: Origins (100%, Hard Mode only)

 

#7 - Control (PS5) - no Assist Mode, 100% 

 

#8 - Ys: Memories of Celceta (PS Vita) - first playthrough on Hard 

 

#9 - Mirror's Edge (100% achieved)

#10 - Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD (Proud run under 15 hours)

 

Platinum trophies (#11-20):

 

Spoiler

#11 - Darksiders: Warmastered Edition

 

#12 - inFAMOUS 

 

#13 - The Last of Us Remastered + DLC 

 

#14 - Death End Re;Quest

 

#15 - Puppeteer

 

#16 - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard + DLC 

 

#17 - Wolfenstein: The New Order

#18 - Rayman Legends

 

 

Game schedule: 

 

 

PS4 / PS5

 

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS5)

Stray (PS5)

Spider-Man + DLC (Hard Mode)

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Yakuza 0 

PS3:
 

Final Fantasy XIII

God of War: Ascension

Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut

The Darkness II

Demon's Souls

PS Vita:
 

Persona 4 Golden (first playthrough on Hard)

God of War HD (first playthrough on Hard)

 

Currently playing:

 

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS5)

Final Fantasy XIII

Persona 4 Golden (first playthrough on Hard)

 

 

List of updates: 

 

#1 - Announcement: a number of games will be chosen by the community

#2 - Crash Bandicoot Platinum Trophy (#1) + poll results

#3 - Bloodborne First Impressions - Work in Progress: Bloodborne, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Spec Ops: The Line

#4 - Short Vita-related update, Platinum #2 - Uncharted: Golden Abyss

#5 - Bloodborne Update #2, screenshots

#6 - Platinum #3 (Bloodborne) review, plans for the week

#7 - Platinum #4 (Spec Ops: The Line) + review. AC: Origins first impressions. Vita poll results. New PS3 poll.

#8 - Platinum #5 (Remember Me) + PS3 poll results

#9 - Platinum #6 (AC: Origins) + final review

#10 - Ys: Memories of Celceta first impressions

#11 - Mirror's Edge review, small update

#12 - Platinum #7 (Control) - short review

#13 - Platinum #8, #9 (Ys: Memories of Celceta, Mirror's Edge) - reviews

#14 - Mirror's Edge 100% 

#15 - Platinum #10 - (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD) + review; polls

#16 - Poll results + future plans

#17 - Platinum #11 (Darksiders Warmastered Edition) + Rayman Legends campaign

#18 - Platinum #12 (inFAMOUS) + Rayman Legends single player completed. Start of the online grind.

#19 - Short update and small schedule change

#20 - TLOU Online completed, minor update

#21 - Platinum #13 - The Last of Us Remastered

#22 - Quick update and progress recap

#23 - Platinum #14 - Death End Re;Quest

#24 - Platinum #15 - Puppeteer + PS3 poll

#25 - Platinum #16 - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

#26 - RE7 100% Completion + PS3 poll results

#27 - Platinum #17 - Wolfenstein: The New Order + PS4 / PS5 game selection after Crash 4

#28 - General Update

 

 

Game ratings (out of 10):

 

Spoiler

#18 - Rayman Legends - 9.5 

#13 - The Last of Us Remastered - 9.25

#1 - Crash Bandicoot - 9.25 

#9 - Mirror's Edge - 9

#4 - Spec Ops: The Line - 8.75

#3 - Bloodborne - 8.5 

#8 - Ys: Memories of Celceta - 8.5

#17 - Wolfenstein: The New Order - 8.5

#7 - Control - 8.25

#2 - Uncharted: Golden Abyss - 8.25

#16 - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - 8 (8.25 - Base Game rating)

#15 - Puppeteer - 8

#11 - Darksiders - 8

#10 - Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD - 7.75

#12 - inFAMOUS - 7.5

#6 - Assassin's Creed: Origins - 7.25

#14 - Death End Re;Quest - 7

#5 - Remember Me - 6.5

 

Personal Platinum / 100% difficulty ratings (out of 10)

 

Spoiler

#9 - Mirror's Edge - 6 (7.5 with DLC)

#3 - Bloodborne - 6 (6.5 with DLC)

#4 - Spec Ops: The Line - 5.5

#13 - The Last of Us Remastered - 5

#16 - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - 4.5 (6 with DLC)

#10 - Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD - 4.5

#1 - Crash Bandicoot - 4 (5 with DLC) 

#17 - Wolfenstein: The New Order - 4

#18 - Rayman Legends - 4

#8 - Ys: Memories of Celceta - 3.5

#2 - Uncharted: Golden Abyss - 3.5

#12 - inFAMOUS - 3.5

#15 - Puppeteer - 3.5

#14 - Death End Re;Quest - 3

#11 - Darksiders - 3

#5 - Remember Me - 3

#6 - Assassin's Creed: Origins: 2 

#7 - Control: 2 

 

 

Current polls:

 

None

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys, I hope you're having a wonderful day. ?

 

I'm writing this short update to introduce a new element of the project: I'm going to let you take part in my next selection of games! 

 

I've always struggled with backlogs and choosing which game to explore next, thus I'll defer part of my judgment to those who are interested in my little adventure! 

 

Exactly 50% of the games I'll be playing will be chosen by the community (and in the case of the Vita - all of them, at least for now!) 

 

Every once in a while, I'll be publishing polls including a shortlist of titles (from 2 to 6, depending on the console), and the top scorers will land on my "priority queue"! 

 

The games which were not selected will be rotated in and out every poll - some of them will be coming back sooner (or even in the next poll), others - later. 

 

I don't expect more than a couple of votes, so a single vote will most likely sway the results. 

 

Here are the polls: 

 

 

PS5 / PS4 (top 2 in priority queue): 

 

https://strawpoll.com/polls/GJn4GNwvQyz

 

 

PS3 (top game in priority queue): 

 

https://strawpoll.com/polls/DwyoqRvQXgA

 

 

PS Vita (the winner will be my next game):

 

https://strawpoll.com/polls/kjn1j5kQ0gQ

 

 

I will take note of the results in my Sunday update.

 

 

Thank you very much and see you soon!

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by HardModeTrophies
Clarity

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys, welcome back! 

 

This is going to be a big update, so bear with me! 

 

First and foremost, l wanted to thank all of those who voted in the polls, I really appreciate your votes! 

 

As for the results: 

 

PS5 / PS4:

 

Bloodborne: 2 votes

AC Origins: 2 votes

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix: 2 votes 

-----------------------------------

Judgment: 0 votes

Atelier Ryza: 0 votes

DMC 1 HD: 0 votes

 

 

PS3:

 

Spec Ops: The Line: 3 votes 

------------------------------------

Demon's Souls: 2 votes

NieR: 1 vote

FF XIII: 0 votes

 

 

PS Vita: 

 

Ys: Memories of Celceta: 5 votes
---------------------------------------
CoD: Black Ops Declassified: 1 vote

 

 

Since the PS4 vote is a three-way tie, I will add all three games into my queue. In the next poll, I'll enable multiple-choice voting to prevent this from happening in the future.

 

You can find my updated game schedule in the OP. I'm going to decide on what the other games are by the end of next week to keep you guys up to date. 

 

 

As for the rest, we're already off to a good start, because I've managed to earn my first Platinum Trophy within four days of starting the account! 

 

 

#1 - Crash Bandicoot (PS4) 
 

 

 

Here is my difficulty rating of the game:

 

Platinum Difficulty (for platforming casuals): 7/10 (8/10 with Stormy Ascent) 

Platinum Difficulty (for platforming veterans): 4/10 (5/10 with Stormy Ascent) 

 

My short review: 

 

 

Game rating: 9.25/10 

Pros: 

 + Very faithful rendition of the original
+ Great challenge, especially for newcomers or people who had never played the original titles
+ Fun gameplay, this is the third time I've played the remake and I've always felt entertained 
+ Despite the high difficulty rating for newcomers, this is a platinum that anyone should be able to get, as long as you put in the work and practice; it may feel frustrating at times, but it's hardly ever unfair or cheap, the learning curve is steep but steady 
+ Even though I don't really care about graphics all that much, the game is visually gorgeous
+ It's hard to put this point into words for a person that has never played the game himself / herself, but the flow of the game is amazing, and you really come
to appreciate that once you power through the time trials. The levels were designed with great care, precision and perfection are rewarded, playing through a level without making a single mistake feels like poetry in motion (this is not an exaggeration) 

Cons: 

 - Sometimes the mechanical aspect of the gameplay may feel slightly janky (e.g. using ropes to get the relic in The High Road is a hit or miss mechanic, although necessary to obtain a Gold Relic) 
- The level design can feel a bit monotonous and repetitive at times, some of them are way too similar to one another; the hog levels are a welcome break 

 

 

My next PS5 / PS4 title is going to be a game which is supposedly one of the greatest titles of the last generation, and a very welcome challenge as well: 

 

 

Bloodborne with the Old Hunters DLC  
 

 

 

I'm actually extremely excited for this one, as I haven't played this game yet. The only Soulsborne title I've ever tried was the original Dark Souls (and I barely even really played it in the first place), so this one is going to be a doozy! My first real Souls-like experience! 

 

In this case, the special stipulation is that since the game has three different endings, instead of save scumming I will have to complete NG+2 to obtain the platinum. 

 

I do think this one is going to provide me with some good ass-kicking, especially given the alleged difficulty of the DLC.

 

I'm actually thinking about starting an imgur album to insert a couple of screenshots from each and every game I will have platted - let me know what you think.

 

I'm more than happy to hear feedback and suggestions from you guys, so please feel free to express your thoughts.

 

Thank you very much and see you next week! 

 

In the meantime I'll be working on Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Bloodborne - I can't wait to share my impressions with you! 

Edited December 3, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys, welcome back! 

 

Today's update is going to be posted earlier than usual.

 

First and foremost, I'd like to thank you for your messages and feedback - I really appreciate all of it. 

 

Secondly, let's get to the meat and potatoes - in this case, the games I've played. 

 

I have to tell you that I've enjoyed the past week so much - barring a few select moments, this is the most fun I've had gaming in at least two years. While trophies are great, they're not the be-all and end-all, and it shows.

 

Right now I'm working on three games - Bloodborne, Uncharted: Golden Abyss and... 

 

 

Spec Ops: The Line  

 

The latter two are titles I'd already played (and platted) before. The reviews and impressions will be coming as soon as I'm done with the games - I imagine it's going to be either in the next update, or in two weeks at the latest. 

 

As for Bloodborne... It's been a ride for sure. This is my first real Soulsborne experience, and I've got lots of thoughts to share. Since I've been writing them while playing, they're going to be unfiltered, raw and perhaps incoherent. But here you go: 

 

 

> great environment, Yharnam as a city is amazing, I know it's a meme word but the first half of the game oozes soul
> the Forbidden Woods area SUCKS, I really hated it
> fun combat, I've played very, very little Soulsborne but the fact that aggression is actually rewarded feels awesome
> first half of the game felt quite easy? i've had an easy time with the bosses so far - I died more times to normal enemies than bosses, and that's mostly due to my own greed and trying to 1v2, 1v3, 1v4. In terms of the first half of the game: Gascoigne, Witches, Rom, Shadows and Amelia were killed on my first try, died to Cleric Beast once (but that's because I went in with like 5 blood vials at level 10 with 0 upgrades), the only problematic boss was BSB but that's because of me being a bit of a coward and summoning Alfred, who ended up hurting more than helping - without Alfred, I killed it on my second try 
> I think the previous point is because of my playstyle, I tend to be very aggro in most games so I imagine other Souls games are going to give me more trouble than BB, this is probably a perfect match for the way I play which is why I'm finding BB easier than I imagined
> the plot is a bit confusing, you kind of know what's going on but not really - this is somewhat good I think
> few NPCs to interact with, it can go both ways, the world feels dead - but imho that's intentional
> the game is not that confusing, I only googled where to go next once, so far it feels pretty straightforward and linear 
> excited for the second half of the game and the DLC, feeling great about my Plat prospects without using glitches or exploits 
> trying not to skip any areas, but from what I've gathered online I must have missed a number of NPCs and dialogue options, I marked down Eileen and her badge as a missable but I think I've already advanced the game state too far, will have to pay attention in NG+ 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Yahar'Gul was tough, man - perma-respawning enemies, confusing area design. After dying like 5-6 times to those three guys in the cathedral (?) I just ended up sprinting from the mid-area bonfire all the way to the boss. The One Reborn wasn't exactly super easy to me at the beginning, I got one-shot  3 times in a row, but after going upstairs and killing those witches I managed to defeat him rather easily at level 50 - apparently I was massively underleveled? The electric boss was a cakewalk but allegedly I was massively overleveled at that point 
> I proceeded to google area recommended levels and found out there's a lot of content I've missed, so I decided not to proceed with the story as of now and go back to areas I hadn't found - I must admit, it would have taken me ages to get to the Lecture Building or the Cainhurst castle
> Cainhurst area - great design, I loved it. I beat Martyr on my third try, but I could have played it a lot better, I was kind of upset at myself despite winning the fight, it wasn't really that pretty to watch but I did it, I guess? From what I've seen online, people recommend tackling him at around level 75, I killed him at level 61 
> I feel like there's so much more depth to the combat, even though I'm not having a hard time so far I know I could be playing 50 times better 
> played through the first two chalice dungeons, I skipped them completely before Saturday and they were easy (apparently they were supposed to be, they're gonna
get harder) but the design is boring as fuck, I've got to admit
> the difficulty level of the game seems to be a tiny bit overhyped at this point in time (maybe it'll get harder) - I'm not overleveled or anything, but I didn't encounter a single boss that made me struggle that much - apparently Soulsborne games are supposed to make me feel a controller-smashing type of rage,
but I haven't really felt that as of now. Some of them you can legit button-mash to victory with a couple of dodges / parries inbetween, without struggling that much

> if I were to rank areas in terms of how much I liked them (SO FAR): 

Central Yharnam > the entire Cathedral-adjacent area > Cainhurst > Old Yharnam > Hemwick > Tomb of Oedon > Lecture Building 1F >>>>> Byrgenwerth >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Yahar'Gul >>>>>>>>> (...) >>>>>>>>>>>> Forbidden Woods 

Keep in mind I'm not done with the game yet

 

 

Provisional game rating: 9/10 

+ fun combat with great depth
+ great area design in most places
+ music 
+ atmosphere 

- there were areas that I really didn't like at all, like Forbidden Woods and Yahar'Gul 
 

 

My final review is going to be much more elaborate, cohesive and well written - but I'm going to continue posting similar raw thoughts for at least one game a week. 

 

I've also updated my game schedule accordingly. 

 

The selected PS5 / PS4 titles are Control and Darksiders Remastered.

 

The selected PS3 title is Remember Me.

 

Finally, there are two more things I'd like to share with you. 

 

First of all, I'm going to be thinking about ways to upgrade the visuals of this thread. I'm open to many kinds of suggestions, but it will most likely include more banners, images and visual content to break up walls of text. This will take a while though, most likely weeks or months. 

 

Secondly, there's going to be a clearer direction in terms of future game choice. The PS5 / PS4 and PS3 polls are going to be including mostly difficult and / or long and / or demanding titles (at least 5 out of 6 and 3 out of 4, respectively). This is going to be set up to prevent me from dodging hard games, like I did with my last account. My own selection of games is going to be mixed: some of them will be easier, others harder, or in the middle. 

 

I guess that's going to be it for now. I may decide to make updates more frequently than once a week, but we'll see about that. 

 

Thank you very much, and see you soon! 

Edited December 3, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[Kefka1986]

What a great idea for this profile! I see you completed Crash 1 and you are on your way to complete two other games I played too (bloodborne and Uncharted). They are all great games and very rewarding to play (sometimes they are hard but they are usually not unfair, the times that you die is because of you).

 

Btw, Crash 1 is the hardest of the original trilogy, but if you want to have a greater challenge, I strongly recommend crash 4. Stormy ascent is a walk in the park on a sunny Sunday compared to some of the levels of that game, but it's incredible fun to plan!

Edited November 27, 2022 by Kefka1986

[HardModeTrophies]

7 hours ago, Kefka1986 said:

What a great idea for this profile! I see you completed Crash 1 and you are on your way to complete two other games I played too (bloodborne and Uncharted). They are all great games and very rewarding to play (sometimes they are hard but they are usually not unfair, the times that you die is because of you).

 

Btw, Crash 1 is the hardest of the original trilogy, but if you want to have a greater challenge, I strongly recommend crash 4. Stormy ascent is a walk in the park on a sunny Sunday compared to some of the levels of that game, but it's incredible fun to plan!

 

Hey, thank you so much! I really appreciate it. 

 

As for Crash 4, I thought I'd save it for last once I'll have managed to complete the trilogy, but now that you mention it, I'm going to include it in my next poll. It'd be a great challenge, I reckon.

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys, welcome back once again!

 

This is going to be a two-part update: the first (Vita-focused) part is coming today, with a follow-up tomorrow. 

 

I've just earned my second platinum: 

 

Spoiler

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

 

Here is my brief review of the game: 

 

Spoiler

Game rating: 8.25 / 10 

 

Pros: 

 

> the graphics are pretty impressive for a 2012 handheld game

> some of the characters are pretty memorable (namely Chase and Dante, Guerro is a stock-standard villain) 

> the portable aspect of the game was taken into consideration (short chapters, the game is great for 20-30 minute sessions) 

> the gameplay is actually pretty crisp, not really far behind from the other Uncharted games 

 

Cons: 

 

> the story is somewhat bland and forgettable 

> the Vita-exclusive features get annoying very quickly

> way too many collectibles (this is a trophyhunter-only gripe) 

> the title is a bit too easy, even on Crushing 

 

Platinum difficulty rating: 3.5 / 10

 

As for the second part of the update - since I'm done with Uncharted and moving onto Ys: Memories of Celceta sometime next week, I'll be publishing polls to have you guys choose my next Vita games! 

 

This time, there will be two different polls: one of them is going to be containing difficult and long games, the other one is supposed to give me a bit of a break afterwards, thus the titles will be slightly less challenging.

 

Here are the polls:

 

Choose my next PS Vita game - Part 1: https://strawpoll.com/polls/05Zd1oQpVy6

 

Choose my next PS Vita game - Part 2: https://strawpoll.com/polls/GeZAN3eWPyV

 

The polls will be open until next week's update.

 

I will be coming back tomorrow with a short Bloodborne-related update. Thank you very much and see you around! 

 

Edited December 11, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys - as I promised yesterday, I'm coming back with a Bloodborne update today.

 

As you can probably tell from my trophy list, I've already completed the game, the DLC and the Chalice Dungeons. I'm halfway through NG+ (I've just beaten Rom), and I believe I'll be platting the game sometime next week, probably Wednesday - what is left is for me to complete NG+ and an NG++ speedrun. 

 

I'm going to follow up with my full review and thoughts mid-week, but I can already tease what I'm going to write - from my point of view, Bloodborne is generally speaking a good game, but my opinion of it has dropped down a notch over the past week or so. I downgraded my rating from a 9 to an 8.5 because of it, and I'll be elaborating on that as soon as I get the Platinum Trophy.

 

I kept track of how many times I died to each and every Bloodborne boss:

 

Spoiler

Base Game:

Cleric Beast: 1
Father Gascoigne: 0
Blood-Starved Beast: 7 
Vicar Amelia: 0 
Witches of Hemwick: 0 
Shadows of Yharnam: 0 
Rom: 0 
The One Reborn: 6 
Darkbeast Paarl: 0 
Martyr Logarius: 3 
Amygdala: 0 (but barely)
Celestial Emissary: 0 
Ebrietas: 0 (but barely)
Micolash: 4
Mergo's Wet Nurse: 0 
Gherman: 0
Moon Presence: 0 

-----------------------------------

DLC:
Ludwig: 5
Living Failures: 0
Maria: 7
Orphan of Kos: around 15 
Laurence: 2

-----------------------------------

Notable Chalice bosses:

Watchdog of the Old Lords: 1 

Keeper of the Old Lords: 2 

Headless Bloodletting Beast: 2 

Defiled Amygdala: 8

Yharnam: 1 

 

I'm also going to be introducing a new element to the thread: highlights through screenshots of every title I play! I hope you guys enjoy them.

 

Crash Bandicoot + Uncharted: 

 

Spoiler

Crash Bandicoot Platinum

 

 

 

All 27 Relics

 

 

Uncharted: Golden Abyss (unfortunately, I failed the proper screenshot) 

 

 

 

 

Bloodborne, part 1 - best moments and fights: 

 

Spoiler

Father Gascoigne - apparently he is the first noob-filter of the game. Great fight.

 

 

BSB - my first real struggle with the game.

 

 

The One Reborn - frustrating area, bad boss. Apparently it's easy, but I struggled a fair bit.

 

 

Amygdala - first-timed her, but it was close.

 

 

Logarius - even closer than Amygdala. 

 

 

Bloodborne, part 2 - best moments and fights: 

 

Spoiler

Ludwig - fantastic music. The second phase was tough.

 

 

Maria - skillcheck boss. Tough, but fair. 

 

 

Orphan of Kos - best fight in the game, not even close. The only boss who really made me sweat. My heart was pounding once I got him to 20% HP. 

 

 

Laurence - Amelia reskin. Not that hard imho. 

 

 

Chalice Dungeon Amygdala - at first she felt unfair and impossible, but once I took a second to understand her patterns and I opted to adopt a different strategy (hit her 2-3 times - run - hit her again - run etc., on top of staying still during her jumps) I defeated her while barely using any blood vials. 

 

 

Gehrman - manageable. The second phase felt slightly overtuned. 

 

 

Moon Presence - disappointing "secret final boss". 

 

 

Once again, I encourage you to take part in my PS Vita polls: 

 

Choose my next PS Vita game - Part 1: https://strawpoll.com/polls/05Zd1oQpVy6

 

Choose my next PS Vita game - Part 2: https://strawpoll.com/polls/GeZAN3eWPyV

 

That is going to be it for today. Thank you so much and see you next week!

Edited December 4, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys - third update in three days! 

 

I found myself having much more free time on my hands than I initially planned, so I managed to obtain my third Platinum trophy... 

 

Spoiler

#3 - Bloodborne + The Old Hunters DLC 

 

 

A couple of screenshots to wrap it up... 

 

Spoiler

NG+ Gehrman fight - definitely a bit tougher than NG 

 

 

A decapitation to end my journey with this game in NG++...

 

 

BING

 

 

My final review of the game: 

 

Spoiler

Final rating: 8.5 / 10

 

Given how universally beloved this title is, I feel a tiny bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the game is still great and I would definitely recommend playing it! 
On top of that, I would go for the plat a second time in case of a PS5 remaster (albeit with a different weapon / playstyle), but considering the rave reviews and how much love the game has gotten for the past 7 years... I expected just a little bit more. 

 

Pros: 

> the first 8-10 hours of the game are among the best gaming experiences I've ever had (from the first Hunter's Dream visit up until Vicar Amelia, everything is perfect)
> the DLC 
> some really great boss fights (Kos, Ludwig, Maria, Gascoigne, Martyr Logarius, BSB)
> cosmic horror aesthetics were nailed perfectly, especially in Central Yharnam, Old Yharnam, the Castle of Cainhurst and the some of the DLC areas
> the weapon system, being able to shift to a different stance mid-combo adds a lot of variety to the combat
> the lore and the story are pretty good, even though I had to do some extra research after completing the game for the first time, the world-building element is fine
> the level of detail and care that went into the game is noticeable (small elements like Insight changing the way enemies behave, the environment in general)
> besides Micolash in NG+ / NG++, the game never feels unfair or too difficult, in fact given the reputation Soulsborne titles possess in the community the experience was slightly easier than I imagined

 

Cons:

> blood vial farming breaks the flow of the game in case of a death at a boss fight, instead of running it back you need to spend time farming, not great game design
> some really underwhelming bosses as well, too many gimmicks (Rom, Micolash, Celestial Emissary, Living Failures, The One Reborn) or just flat out trivial fights 
> the mid-game is a large dip in quality, the Forbidden Woods - Byrgenwyrth - Yahar'Gul sequence is just flat out bad
> the Chalice Dungeons were extremely underwhelming, a waste of resources which could have gone towards adding more content into the main game
> the dungeons and open-world areas start to feel repetitive after a while, especially towards the end of the game or in NG+, besides The Fishing Hamlet, the Living Nightmare and the Castle of Cainhurst every area feels similar to one another

 

Platinum difficulty rating: 6/10 (6.5 with The Old Hunters DLC)

 

This is definitely going to be my last update until Sunday.

 

Plans for this week: 

 

I just started AC Origins - first thoughts coming Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the title has difficulty settings, immediately jumped onto Hard Mode.

The same applies to Ys: Memories of Celceta, although my first impressions will likely come not this week, but the next. Hard Mode as well. 

Planning on wrapping up Spec Ops by Sunday as well, haven't touched my PS3 in a couple of days + review coming up.

A new PS3 poll will be coming this week: 6 games on the shortlist - all of them belong to the difficult and / or long category. Multiple-choice voting, top 2 in priority queue.

Every once in a while, the thread will feature a thematic / franchise poll - once I feel like there are too many games of one genre / franchise in my backlog to clear, I will make a survey which exclusively contains games from that genre / franchise to let you guys choose what I should be tackling next.

 

For the last time, I'm shilling my Vita polls - closing on Sunday: 

 

Choose my next PS Vita game - Part 1: https://strawpoll.com/polls/05Zd1oQpVy6

 

Choose my next PS Vita game - Part 2: https://strawpoll.com/polls/GeZAN3eWPyV

 

I wish you a great week and see you on Sunday!

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys, welcome back!

 

I think I should be making updates a bit more often, as every week I've got so much to add...

 

First and foremost, I managed to earn my fourth Platinum:

 

Spoiler

#4 - Spec Ops: The Line

 

Review of the game: 

 

Spoiler

Game rating: 8.75 / 10 

 

Pros: 

> unique story, one-of-a-kind in gaming, let alone a third-person shooter

> memorable characters (it is rare that I remember the names of most side characters once I finish a title, but Lugo and Adams stuck in my mind for years - I'd already completed the game back in 2015) 

> the characters actually adapt to given moments in the story, there is some really great character development (Walker becomes clearly more vicious and traumatized past a certain point, which adds to the atmosphere)

> voice acting

> FUBAR is a fair challenge, a bit cheap at times but it pushes you to learn the game and explore your limits

> the music and the various environments of the game add to the immersion factor 

 

Cons: 

 

> the gameplay feels outdated at times, its clunkiness fucked me over more than once 

> the multiplayer exists (complete waste of resources, I tried it out once back in 2015 and it was enough) 

> the teammates can be a total liability on FUBAR

 

Platinum difficulty rating: 5.5 / 10 (8 for someone with little to no experience with third-person shooters)

 

I also managed to put in about 12-13 hours into Assassin's Creed: Origins, and here are my unfiltered first impressions and thoughts: 

 

Spoiler

Background: I last played an AC game around 2 years ago, I played the entire series up to Syndicate (excluding Rogue). I plan on replaying them all down the line.

 

> Ancient Egypt looks stunning, I haven't explored all of it yet (as I should be around halfway through the story at this point, given the fact I'm around level 23 as I'm writing this), but the landscapes are gorgeous (although the level of detail is not that high in many places). Apparently the game runs at 1620p on PS5, but 60fps is definitely a noticeable graphical upgrade over Bloodborne 

> unfortunately, the game is disgustingly bloated in terms of content. The fact that I have to play side quests to progress the story due to the leveling system simply sucks. The quests are mostly trash and they can be reduced to a very simple diagram: 

 

Grab the quest = > go to point A = > kill the guards / grab an item = > go to point B = > kill more guards / grab another item = > go back to the original NPC

 

> The main story itself is pretty decent. Nothing extraordinary, I played dozens of games with a better one, but it's more than passable... But the sidequest system
completely breaks the game in terms of pacing. And it's not like most of them really add anything, there were three or four interesting ones, but the rest are copy / paste.
I even started skipping some of the cutscenes because they're just mind-numbingly boring. 

> Bayek is a good and likeable protagonist. His motivations are a cliche, but I've truly enjoyed playing as him so far. Less so than Ezio, but more than any other AC protagonist.
I feel like he gets bossed around by Aya though, which is not ideal given the fact that he's supposed to be the main character. But perhaps that's just my impression for now. 

> Why do they even bother with the present time storyline after Desmond's death? Even though Layla appeared on my screen for less than half an hour in total, it's total filler content. Meh. 

> I'm not sure if I like the new RPG leveling system. I don't feel that it fits an AC game. It's not bad per se, but was it really necessary? 

> Honestly, this game doesn't feel like Assassin's Creed. Is it just me? As I said previously, I'm halfway through the game and so far there's been absolutely nothing about 
Assassins, Templars, order, freedom or anything of the sorts. Perhaps there's a reason, we'll see. 

> The combat is okay, but nothing special. You can still abuse parry against most enemies. Hard mode is not really challenging. I didn't get stuck even once. 

 

Provisional rating: 7.25 / 10 

 

It's not a bad game, but there are so many apparent flaws that it's just impossible to ignore them. I hope I get to change my mind once I wrap up the story, side content
and the 2 pieces of DLC later this month. The good parts of the game are the world and the way it was build / designed, Bayek and some of the story elements.
The rest is either mediocre or straight-up uninspired garbage.

 

Now, onto the PS Vita poll results: 

 

Poll 1: 

 

Spoiler

Persona 4: Golden - 4 votes

 

Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus - 3 votes

 

Soul Sacrifice Delta - 1 vote

 

Muramasa Rebirth + DLC - 1 vote

 

Poll 2: 

 

Spoiler

God of War HD - 3 votes

 

Guacamelee + DLC - 2 votes

 

Tearaway - 1 vote

 

Limbo - 1 vote

 

THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED! The schedule will be adjusted shortly.

 

Some screenshots, as promised... 

 

Spoiler

Spec Ops: The Line Platinum

 

 

How beautiful is this game? If not for the uninspired filler content and complete bloat, it could have been something special...

 

 

 

 

Now, onto the next PS3 poll!

 

Top 2 in priority queue. You can pick 2 out of 6 suggested titles. Voting closes on Wednesday.

 

Vote here! 

 

In case you've got any feedback (positive or negative), please let me know. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Thank you so much and see you next week! 

Edited December 11, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys, welcome back! 

 

This week's update is going to appear earlier than usual, I will be making another mid-week one. 

 

First of all, let's get to the results of the poll: 

 

Spoiler

Mirror's Edge + DLC: 4 votes

Puppeteer: 4 votes

Metal Gear Rising + DLC: 2 votes

Vanquish: 2 votes

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow + DLC: 2 votes

Drakengard 3 + DLC: 2 votes

 

The PS3 schedule will be adjusted shortly. The other two titles I chose to play next are Final Fantasy XIII and inFAMOUS. 

 

Secondly, here's my fifth platinum:

 

Spoiler

#5 - Remember Me (no DLC allowed)

 

A quick review: 

 

Spoiler

Game rating: 6.5 / 10 

 

Pros: 

 

> a lot of interesting ideas (the premise of the plot, Pressens, Memory Remixes) 

> the Cyberpunk aesthetic is executed pretty well

 

Cons:

 

> the interesting ideas mentioned prior are just that, concepts - which clearly feel unfinished. The combat is rather shallow (fixed combos you can't deviate from) and it acts like a worse Batman clone, the plot becomes extremely predictable down the line, the Remixes are few and far between. 

> the villains and bosses are charisma vacuums and Nilin herself is rather... boring? 

> the platforming parts were mediocre 

 

Platinum difficulty rating: 3 / 10

 

A quick photo: 

 

Spoiler

 

I will be making a short mid-week update to share my first Ys: Memories of Celceta impressions. 

 

Until then, take care! 

 

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello all, and welcome back!

 

As I promised, here's the mid-week update!

 

First of all, the Ys impressions post will be delayed until later this week (most likely Sunday), as I managed to get my 6th Platinum trophy (and 6th 100%)... 

Spoiler

#6 - Assassin's Creed: Origins (100%, Hard Mode only)

 

My final review: 

Spoiler

Final mark: 7.25 / 10 (unchanged)

 

Pros: 

> incredible graphics and world-building - especially in the Pharaoh DLC, the technical aspect of the game is definitely its strongest point

> Bayek is a very likeable protagonist 

> strong immersion factor

 

Cons:

> the bloat (endless repetitive sidequests, copy-paste side activities most of which are required for the platinum)

> way too easy, even on Hard Mode 

> the leveling system artificially stunts game progress and exacerbates the bloating issue - to move the main plot forward, you need to complete a number of boring side quests, which completely breaks the pacing of the game

 

Neither a pro nor a con: 

> the plot is passable, nothing special but not that bad either 

> the DLC, they're just an extension of the main game. They don't really add anything new, it's mostly more of the same - besides the Curse of the Pharaoh areas, which are noticeably more interesting than anything in the base title. 

 

Platinum difficulty: 2 / 10 - and that is on Hard Mode. On Easy Mode, I imagine it'd be a 1 / 10. Zero challenge whatsoever. 

 

Update schedule:

 

Sunday: Ys impressions

Next mid-week update: Mirror's Edge impressions

Next Sunday: Control impressions

 

This is going to be it for now. Thank you so much and see you soon! 

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys, welcome back! 

 

Dropping by pretty quick to wish all of you Merry Christmas, along with an extremely quick Ys: Memories of Celceta first impressions update! 

 

Spoiler

Provisional rating: 8.75 / 10 

 

> captivating plot, I'm liking it a lot so far
> remarkably memorable teammates, although most of them are JRPG / anime cliches, the way they interact clicks very well 
> the combat is pretty decent, all 6 playable characters feel different in their own small ways 
> the music is good but not outstanding
> personally speaking, one element of the game I've greatly enjoyed is that it's not terribly long for a JRPG, I'm 19 hours in and it seems like I'm approaching the ending sequence.
I do enjoy JRPG as a genre, but it's refreshing to have to play one which doesn't drag on and on for way too long with its main plot and side quests
> it's not all sunshine and rainbows though, the title does have a couple of negative aspects to it: some of the mechanics are clunky and frustrating, like having to swap relics so often, not being able to swap teammates before a boss fight which can be a handicap to one's tactics and strategy, a weird difficulty curve where some encounters are trivial and others - randomly frustrating and cheap (I'm playing on Hard, and while the game is not that difficult, it's inconsistent in that aspect) 
> a lot of missable trophies, I already missed one which I'll have to obtain in NG+ 

 

Keeping it short this time around - see you around next week! 

Edited January 6, 2023 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello guys, great to be back! 

 

As you may be able to tell, I've made great progress over the past week or so in both Control and Mirror's Edge - to the point where I'm all but done with the base games. 

 

I'm currently busy with Control's DLC (one trophy away from the plat) and Mirror's Edge Time Trials. 

 

Since I basically completed Mirror's Edge, here's my review of the game, instead of my usual first impressions:

 

Spoiler

Rating: 9 / 10 

 

> from a technical standpoint, outstanding for a 2009 game 
> well-executed and original idea for a game, one-of-a-kind title
> high skill ceiling game, it's possible to simply beat the story even as a casual player but there's plenty of skill expression 
> the gameplay disincentivizes combat, which fits the theme of the game perfectly
> replayability value beyond another playthrough on a higher difficulty (time trials and speedruns)

 

> the story is uninteresting and bland
> some of the episodes feel copypasted in terms of the environment, it's pretty transparent once you go through the game on Hard (which requires a second run) 

 

No difficulty rating for now, since I'm not done yet with the Time Trials nor with the DLC. I'm going to be able to tell you more once I'll have wrapped up all of the content. 

 

As for my current plans, I'll be focusing mainly on Control for the next few days, so that I can post a full review with 100% of the trophies achieved by Sunday. I'd like to move onto Kingdom Hearts Final Mix before platting Mirror's Edge.

 

See you on Sunday, guys. Stay safe and Happy New Year, have fun!  

Edited December 30, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[Weskerfan75]

Hey dude congratulations on the progress and I wanna say this is super inspiring. I wanted to ask, any tips for the Mirror's Edge time trials? I've been trying them since 2015 on and off and  can't even finish the second one and watching someone blaze through them inspires me to give them a shot again. If there are any multiplayer games we share I can lend you a hand with them should you attempt them in the future!

 

Keep up the great work!

[HardModeTrophies]

1 hour ago, Weskerfan75 said:

Hey dude congratulations on the progress and I wanna say this is super inspiring. I wanted to ask, any tips for the Mirror's Edge time trials? I've been trying them since 2015 on and off and  can't even finish the second one and watching someone blaze through them inspires me to give them a shot again. If there are any multiplayer games we share I can lend you a hand with them should you attempt them in the future!

 

Keep up the great work!

 

Hey man, thank you so much, I really appreciate it! ?

 

I only completed three time trials so far, so I can't really give you that many tips and trucks as of now, but I noticed you didn't complete any of the chapter speedruns.

 

My recommendation would be to watch a couple of Youtube tutorials before attempting a run. Follow the video and pause in case you forget where to go. 

 

I actually found most speedruns rather simple, as there is a rather ample margin of error in a number of chapters. You can even die once or twice while still making the cut in many cases.

 

I found this guy's speedrun tutorials to be extremely handy:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XthQFxshkBE (Chapter 1) 

 

The only exception would be Chapter 9 - that one is rather tight, and you can't afford to mess up more than once. It's also extremely easy to get yourself killed in the final sequence (the generator room). It took me around 2 hours to finally complete it in time. 

 

If you're not feeling confident, I would suggest starting with the easier speedruns first... 

 

My personal difficulty rating would be the following:

 

Easy runs: Chapters 1, 3, 6 (+ Prologue)

Medium difficulty: Chapters 2, 4, 5, 8

Hard ones: Chapters 6, 9 

 

Good luck man, you can definitely do it as long as you practice a little bit  ?

 

And as for the multiplayer trophies - thanks for the offer! I don't really have anything MP-heavy lined up, but I could definitely use some help in the future! I've actually been thinking about starting the Tomb Raider reboot sometime in the first half of 2023, and I might need a bit of assistance with the game's multiplayer. 

Edited December 29, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[VenlafaxineHead]

I would like you to platinum both Attacking Zegeta & Attacking Zegeta 2.

 

You would be a modern-day gaming legend. 

[HardModeTrophies]

1 hour ago, VenlafaxineHead said:

I would like you to platinum both Attacking Zegeta & Attacking Zegeta 2.

 

You would be a modern-day gaming legend. 

 

I had no idea what it was - I just checked both of them and... yeah. Probably not happening. I'd be glad to plat Super Meat Boy at some point instead ?

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello all, this update is coming sooner than I expected, since I'm done with Control at this point. 

 

Platinum #7: 

Spoiler

Control (PS5) - no Assist Mode, 100% 

 

Here is my short review: 

Spoiler

Final score: 8.25 / 10 

 

Pros: 

 

> just like Mirror's Edge, this is a rather unique experience, in a good way
> the game doesn't take itself too seriously (the Swift Platform sequence, or the Maze) and it's self-aware in a way that is not corny or cringe 
> a very welcome deviation from the typical AAA script was the fact that I had to pay attention to the environment to know where to go next, but not to an excessively
frustrating point
> both pieces of DLC are worth playing! 

 

Cons: 

 

> again, a bit too easy. I never really struggled in the slightest, and the fact that there is an Assist mode which could make the Platinum even more trivial 
than it already is... extremely unfortunate. 
> the gameplay felt innovative at first, but around halfway through it started becoming a bit stale and repetitive,  which is probably a side effect of the game itself being too easy

 

Mixed: 

 

> the plot is... a clusterfuck, but not necessarily in a bad way. Plenty of possible scenarios for the sequel. I like the fact that I wasn't handheld for the entirety of the experience, but they could have made a number of plot points a bit easier to discern, I guess? 
> Jesse is a mixed bag as a protagonist: rather relatable, but also a bit of a pushover

 

Difficulty rating: 2 / 10. It'd have been a 1 / 10 with Assist Mode. 

 

Great proof of concept, enjoyed playing it. Looking forward to the sequel.

 

Screenshots: 

Spoiler

Platinum Trophy

 

 

100% - fun fact, the vending machine trophy actually glitched on me the first time around. 

 

 

Will I plat the PS4 version? Yes. Definitely. I'll gladly go back to play this one again in the future, but definitely not in 2023. The experience was definitely entertaining enough
for me to double-dip. Of course, I will not auto-pop anything. Not that I could anyway. I intentionally played the PS5 version first to prevent the possibility of auto-popping from happening. I think I'd like to try Alan Wake out before re-platting this one as well, given the AWE DLC.

 

Now - onto Kingdom Hearts Final Mix! 

 

I modified my additional challenge ever so slightly. Instead of getting the 100% on Final Mix, I opted to go for the Speedster and Proud Mode trophies in one playthrough, on top of going for the Unchanging Armor and no continue trophies right off the bat - on Beginner. 

The game already has a maximum difficulty-related trophy, so I thought I'd be best to do something slightly different. 

 

See you next week! 

Edited December 30, 2022 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello everyone, welcome back!   

 

Big update - two new Platinums:

 

Platinum #8 -

Spoiler

Ys: Memories of Celceta (PS Vita) - first playthrough on Hard

 

Platinum #9 - 

Spoiler

Mirror's Edge 

 

Note that I'm not done with the game just yet - I'm currently at 51 stars. Aiming for 100%! 

 

Short reviews: 

Spoiler

Ys: Memories of Celceta: 8.5 / 10 

 

Pros: 

 

> the worldbuilding element of the game

> memorable characters and party members 

> combat diversity, all 6 party members differ from one another 

> the first 80% of the plot is captivating 

> this is a personal one - the fact that the game didn't flood me with useless tasks and sidequests unlike AC Origins - the pacing was good 

 

Cons: 

 

> cliche ending

> difficulty: Hard is a bit too easy, Nightmare on NG+ is a joke, Nightmare on NG would be borderline unplayable; lack of balance as a whole. 

> lack of replay value, NG+ was a slog 

 

Mixed: 

 

> the technical aspect of the title in general: the music is okay but not great, the graphical aspect is fine for a Vita game, albeit with occasional FPS drops and hiccups

 

Spoiler

Mirror's Edge: 9 / 10 

 

Pros: 

 

> from a technical standpoint, outstanding for a 2009 game 
> well-executed and original idea for a game, one-of-a-kind title
> high skill ceiling game, it's possible to simply beat the story even as a casual player but there's plenty of skill expression 
> the gameplay disincentivizes combat, which fits the theme of the game perfectly
> replay value beyond another playthrough on a higher difficulty (time trials and speedruns)

 

Cons: 

 

> the story is uninteresting and bland
> some of the episodes feel copypasted in terms of the environment, it's pretty transparent once you go through the game on Hard (which requires a second run) 

 

 

Difficulty ratings: 

 

Ys: Memories of Celceta - 3.5 / 10. Could be reduced to a 2.5 / 10 should you choose to play on Easy. 

 

Mirror's Edge - 6 / 10. Mostly elevated by the Chapter 9 speedrun. With the amount of tutorials available online, getting to 50 stars (especially with the DLC) and obtaining the Speedrun trophies should not be an excessively arduous task.

 

The Mirror's Edge 100% rating is still pending. 

 

 

Screenshots - nothing special this time around:

Spoiler

Ys Hard mode playthrough - final stats 

 

Ys final playtime 

 

Ys Platinum

 

Mirror's Edge Platinum 

 

That's all for today, see you soon! 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Hello all, welcome back! 

 

Quick update: I achieved 100% completion in Mirror's Edge last week!

 

Spoiler

90 stars! 

 

100% completion is a significant bump in difficulty compared with the base game Platinum.

 

I would most likely give it a 7.5 / 10 rating (6 / 10 for the Plat). It's definitely doable, but not a walk in the park. The trophy allows for some leeway (you only have to obtain 90 stars out of the possible 99), but some of the trials are absolutely brutal. 

 

I'll be moving onto inFAMOUS next week! 

 

In the meantime, I'm working mostly on Kingdom Hearts. I believe to be somewhat close to getting the Platinum - Proud run + minor trophies in the main run. I really want to be done with the game quickly, because to be frank, I'm not really enjoying it. This has always been my approach - I tend to rush through a Plat I'm not really enjoying to be done with it as soon as humanly possible. 

 

I achieved the Speedrun trophy in my original run by accident - I found myself at the last checkpoint 12 hours into the game, and I didn't see a reason to run around with my initial set for 3-4 additional hours for no reason at all.

 

The original challenge still stands - I will be running through Proud in less than 15 hours (or even 10, if possible).

 

I'll be dropping the review next week to elaborate on that sentiment of mine a bit further. 

 

I will also be publishing new polls to decide what my next PS4 / PS5 games are going to be: that's going to happen next week. I'm still thinking about the format, I'll let you know soon.

 

My Persona 4 Golden Hard Mode run is also underway, albeit moving forward rather slowly due to my heightened focus on Kingdom Hearts.

 

That's it for now, see you around! 

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by HardModeTrophies

[HardModeTrophies]

Welcome back once more! 

 

Here I am to report the following: mission accomplished! 

 

Platinum #10:

Spoiler

#10 - Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD (Proud run under 15 hours)

 

My short review: 

Spoiler

Personal rating: 7.75 / 10 (original rating after 100% run: 7 / 10)

 

Pros:

 

> the atmosphere is unique, some of the moments (e.g. the Heartless Sora sequence, or Riku coming back to help us) and worlds are truly memorable 
> the premise and the concept (Disney x FF crossover) are exciting 
> the voice acting is really top-notch in most cases
> I know it's an unusual point to raise, but the cover art for this title is an S+. hats off to Nomura. It's an astonishingly good piece of art. 
> towards the end of the Proud run, I started feeling... nostalgic, of sorts? I'm going to miss the general vibe of the world of KH1 

Cons:

 

> the game is extremely dispersive to the point of pointless frustration, the event triggers are absolutely ridiculous at times (the first visit to Traverse Town and the entire Deep Jungle world are probably the worst offenders)
> everything involving the gummi ships is boring and uninispiring 
> the combat is really one-dimensional and kind of janky, it gets rather boring even on Proud (but I can forgive that, given the release date) 

 

Mixed:

 

> the worlds are hit or miss, some are great (Hollow Bastion, Traverse Town, Halloween Town), some are awful (Deep Jungle, Wonderland), some are okay (Neverland, Agrabah)
> the plot...? It's extremely basic, but not necessarily bad. Good enough to drive the plot forward, but not exactly deep or exceptional.

Apparently the series goes on to become a complete clusterfuck later on, we'll see. 

The game showed a lot of promise and apparently plenty of the aforementioned issues are solved in KH2, but had the Disney worlds and characters not been there, the game would have been memoryholed quickly.

Will I abandon KH? Absolutely not. I want to experience this series further, but the first entry was a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps it's because of the fact I've never been into Disney all that much. Or did I set my expectations way too high for a 20-year-old game? Who knows.

 

Platinum difficulty rating: 4.5 / 10. The guide was way off, both in terms of game length and difficulty. I managed to get everything in around 50-55 hours, instead of 130 (!). 

In terms of the difficulty level of the platinum, there were a couple of challenging moments and boss fights, but nothing that couldn't be overcome with a bit of practice.

 

A bunch of screenshots:

Spoiler

Final Proud checkpoint - just over 10 hours. Unfortunately the game didn't provide me with a precise counter after the credits, but I must have managed to complete everything in around 11 hours total.

 

100% run - 35 hours, 42 minutes total. 

 

Platinum - 55 deaths in total on Proud, fewer than 35 potions used.

 

Darksiders and inFAMOUS are next in line, along with Persona 4 Golden.

 

And now... let's update our PS5 / PS4 schedule, shall we? 

 

The games I've personally elected to play are Rayman Legends (long-term Platinum project) and Wolfenstein: The New Order (first FPS game on my list).

 

Now, the choice is yours!

 

I'm publishing two polls to allow you guys to choose what I'm going to play next. 

 

The first one is a Resident Evil-themed poll: choose my next (and first, at least on this account) RE: https://strawpoll.com/polls/QrgebakWrZp

 

The second one is a more general one - four possible choices, one winner: https://strawpoll.com/polls/w4nWrjM35yA

 

Thank you so much for your attention, looking forward to seeing your votes!

Edited January 16, 2023 by HardModeTrophies

[Duke_Ryle]

You are an inspiration.  Keep up the good work.  

[HardModeTrophies]

19 hours ago, Duke_Ryle said:

You are an inspiration.  Keep up the good work.  

 

Hey, I really appreciate that ? I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!

[Taruta13]

Hey, just wanted to congrat you on the plat for Kingdom Hearts Final Mix! (Was this game done in Spanish, because it's odd seeing Donald and Goofy's foreign names?) I intend to get that plat myself in the future, planning to do a Disneyworld vacation around platinuming at least one Kingdom Hearts games, just to put myself in the Disney experience. (An expensive experience, lolz, have to save up my money for a few months. )