Tanonero's quest to maintaining a completionist profile

[MidnightDragon]

1 minute ago, tanonero said:

Thanks. What made you stop pursuing the 100%?

Lack of patience really. Nothing I have undone is unobtainable, so I could go back to it if I wanted.

[PHIL_DADDY1]

Good luck on this feat! Respect!

[tanonero]

#206/206

 

 

 

Final Fantasy VIII

 

Perhaps because I somehow skipped the Final Fantasy games from the PlayStation 1 Golden Age, I never developed that affection for the franchise that most gamers my age have. However, I've been wanting to give this franchise a proper chance for a while. After a quick look at my library, I chose to play FFVIII as a representative of that Golden Age and as a follow-up to the only other Final Fantasy game I've played, VII Remake, while also scratching my current itch for retrogaming. Although the tone of the story and character interactions didn't always align with my taste, I found the game charming overall, especially with its fantastic pre-rendered backgrounds. Gameplay-wise, the Junction system seemed convoluted at first, but after getting familiar with it, it became almost enjoyable. On the other hand, spreading Triple Triad's rules to different regions proved to be more complicated than I'd hoped for, and I ended up spending more time than I'd like to admit trying unsuccessfully to manipulate these rules. The bottom line is that I plan to complete more Final Fantasy games in the future.

Edited March 27 by tanonero

[Vern3r0z]

nice to see someone who follows the same rules as i do

[tanonero]

#207/207

 

      

 

Gotham Knights + Heroic Assault + The KELVIN Incident

 

I am not entirely sure about what pushed me to play this, perhaps the lukewarm reception that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League received, which made me realise that we might have to wait until Insomniac's Wolverine or Arkane Lyon's Blade for a great superhero game. Overall, I think this game received more hate than it deserved, possibly because people were expecting, perhaps rightfully so, a new Arkham game. In fact, Gotham Knights' capital sin is having an atmosphere, a combat system, a story, and a gameplay that fall short of the Arkham games. Additionally, the game introduced a numbers-heavy loot system and online coop elements that moved away even more from the Arkham formula. Despite this, I fairly enjoyed the content and the gameplay. I believe that the key to enjoyment is to view it, on its own merit, as a standalone passable superhero game, rather than comparing it to idealised expectations. I liked the concept of the patrolling nights and, especially, the lore, but the game doesn't particularly excel in any area. The two DLCs added an enjoyable challenge, encouraging me to master the combat, despite the repetitive and lacklustre environments and objectives.

Edited March 27 by tanonero

[tanonero]

#208/208

 

     

 

Rally Cross

 

It's always fun to play these PlayStation 1 Classics with Trophy support. This was the first time I played Rally Cross, and I started to enjoy it only after I got used to the clunky control and physics. The Rewind feature saved me from more than a headache, and I can see this game being a source of great frustration without it.

Edited March 27 by tanonero

[tanonero]

#209/209

 

     

 

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

 

Had my eyes on this since the PS showcase. It draws some mechanics from various well-established franchises, such as Uncharted for its yellow painting-led one-button climbing and Horizon for its stamina-free dodge, which are delivered in a safe package. Importantly, don't be fooled by its family-friendly art style or its dreamy score; this game is tough as nails, but in a fun way, rewarding both skill and quick thinking, at least in a normal difficulty playthrough. In the NG+ Master Difficulty playthrough, things take a turn for the worse, and the game can become quite frustrating, with the protagonist feeling significantly underpowered. Alongside the rewarding combat, the sound design is also particularly commendable, but there also are some questionable design choices, such as the use of the game currency that is only used for minor cosmetic changes. By the end of the game, I found myself with over 3000 of these Crystal, unsure of what to do with them.

 

#210/210 and #211/211

 

      

 

Jet Moto and Jet Moto 2

 

Another two from the Premium catalogue. I seem to have a thing for old arcade-style racing games recently. These fit that bill perfectly. I enjoyed their arcade feeling, epitomised by the concept of all-terrain hoverbikes and the magnetic grapple feature for quick turning, which seems particularly innovative. There's a nice mix of tracks, environments, and characters, and great soundtracks. Both games were quick and easy to plat.

Edited April 1 by tanonero

[tanonero]

#212/212

 

      

 

Trine: Enchanted Edition

 

Another one from the Trine series. This game was bound to be played at some point as I and the wifey look regularly for couch co-op games to play together. Playing games out of release order sometimes prevents an appreciation of the evolution of the design and mechanics in different franchise iterations. For this reason, Trine: Enchanted Edition felt like a step back from Trine 4, especially in terms of puzzle design. Puzzles feel less sophisticated and give the impression of being solvable by pure luck and exploiting tactics, rather than requiring some thinking and precise deployment of each character's main ability. Still, the game remains a fun couch co-op experience, especially in this market lacking enticing exemplars. On a positive note, there's a fairly difficult trophy to spice things up ("Better Than Developers!").

[tanonero]

#213/213

 

      

 

A Plague Tale: Requiem

 

I fairly enjoyed the first game, A Plague Tale: Innocence, for its visual design and story, but at the time I also hoped for a more diverse and deep combat system in a possible sequel. Well, A Plague Tale: Requiem surpasses its predecessor not only in terms of combat but in any aspect and to a remarkable extent. The combat system is more refined, finally enabling stealth kills, which were sorely missed in the first game, and implemented in much larger "arenas". Skills progression is based on playstyle, but it's rather convoluted in its implementation, namely, on the number of kills in each encounter, which requires the players to consult a guide to see how many enemies to kill in each encounter to max out everything. The more power of the PS5 also means many many more rats, which in this game reach grotesque amounts. On a more negative point, navigation in open spaces can be quite confusing and in the first few chapters, I find myself stuck at a checkpoint with no option to proceed (that I could see). Based on rumours and the post-credit scene, it seems that a third iteration of A Plague Tale might happen, so I'm looking forward to that.

[tanonero]

#214/214

 

       

 

Returnal + Ascension

 

I've debated for a long time whether to play this game, afraid that I wouldn't like the roguelike style. While roguelike still has a long way to go before becoming my favourite genre, as I am fond of permanent character development and builds, this game is nothing short of phenomenal and is easily one of the best first-party games available on PS5.

 

The game looks and runs fantastically, and particular praise should go to the excellent sound design. Returnal can also be notoriously challenging, where mistakes are heavily punished and good runs can be quickly ruined by even minor missteps. Luckily, the suspend feature that was retroactively added, together with the almost non-existent loading times, makes everything more manageable.

 

The completionist side, however, can be extremely tedious, with heavy RNG elements involved and repeated runs for collectables that contradict the way the game was intended to be played.

 

The Ascension DLC makes for a great opportunity to get more of the fantastic gameplay in a more arcade and fast-paced setting.