Madbuk's List of Unfinished Games

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #381 - TY the Tasmanian Tiger

There are a lot of games on PS2 that I wish had trophies. And over the years, more and more of them got ports, remasters, remakes, etc. which introduced trophies to them. TY is part of that long line of PS2 games I was hoping I'd see trophies for one of these days, and it has finally happened. And honestly, considering the drastically reduced size/budget of the studio and the fact I never see anyone talk about the series at all, it always felt like one of the most unlikely ones to ever get a re-release, so this was a very welcome surprise.

 

I played this game a lot in my childhood, although there was always one barrier that prevented me from 100% - portraits. These collectibles were hidden in transparent boxes that were very hard to spot throughout the game. You get a device later that emits a noise when you're close to one, so they're really not much of a problem, the issue comes in when you're only missing a couple. Because back on PS2, there was no individual level tracking for these collectibles. If you missed one, have fun exploring every corner of every single level again, perhaps multiple times. The biggest improvement of this remaster for me is absolutely the fact that these collectibles are now tracked on a level by level basis. The updated graphics are nice too (though the CGI cutscenes don't look remastered at all), but this one little change finally made it actually fun to get every single thing and 100% the game for the first time. Beforehand I had only ever gotten every other collectible instead and ignored the portraits (multiple times.)

 

It has held up better than I expected. Is it oustanding, revolutionary, or one of the best in the genre? No, not really. It doesn't do anything to set itself apart from the many 3D platformers we got back in this era of gaming imo, and that's completely okay, because what it does, it does well enough to be a fun time, and that's enough for me to be able to say I enjoyed my time with it. I don't need every game I play to be a groundbreaking experience.

 

I hope to see TY 2 and 3 ported over to PS4 some day as well, we never got 3 over here in the UK so that'll be brand new to me, although tbh I never really liked 2 quite as much as 1. It's fine, but I didn't like the drastic changes to the formula it made, which is why I'm very interested in the idea of revisiting it all these years later. It's a shame this didn't get a physical release, I hope that doesn't hinder their potential sales too much, but they launched it at a completely reasonable digital price so I'm grateful for that. This was a joy to relive and the list of PS2 games I want to see ported continues to decline (honestly all that's left at this point are TY 2 and 3, LEGO Batman 1, Indiana Jones 1, Burnout 3, Burnout Dominator, Harry Potter 1-3 + Quidditch World Cup, and Legend of Spyro) which is great to see. I can absolutely recommend this to 3D platforming fans if you don't go in expecting something incredible.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Resident Evil [+6] {+10%}

 

Retail

Grand Theft Auto V [+1] {+3%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Need for Speed Payback [+1] {+1%}

NEW GAME: TY the Tasmanian Tiger [+38] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted Games

NEW GAME: Chaos;Child [34] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Trackmania Turbo [49] {PS+}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #382 - Resident Evil

I've been interested in getting into the RE franchise for a while. It's such a big, and popular, franchise in a genre I've never really touched before, and I figured if I could get into it, that opens up a world of possibilities for other games I could try out too (RE itself already has 9 numbered games, and a whole load of spin offs) but I was always too busy with other games to really give up some time to try it out. Recently however, I made a deal with someone that I would play (and plat) Resident Evil, and they would play Chaos;Child if I succeeded. This finally gave me an excuse to dive in and try out this series that I had been interested in for a while.

 

Overall my feelings are a little mixed. On one hand I like the atmosphere of it and the setting, a mansion full of puzzles to solve and death traps to avoid and secrets to find etc. It reminded me a lot of the Croft Manor level in Tomb Raider: Anniversary, which I loved. On the other hand, the limited saving system makes death traps feel tedious, the limited inventory makes exploration and item-based puzzle solving a bit tedious as well if you're nowhere near an item box, and the zombies also get in the way of the puzzle solving fun as they wait around every corner (during the first part of the game, at least.)

 

Those factors really hindered my enjoyment for a while. Eventually I got tired of dying over and over again and just began to follow a guide so I could minimize backtracking, and thus minimize my encounters with zombies. And honestly I enjoyed it far more that way, so I don't feel too bad about it. Once I learned how to dodge zombies and to avoid killing them, so they don't come back as crimson heads, it also became a lot more fun as well. The later parts of the game where zombies don't really spawn and instead you get different enemies like the hunters are way easier to dodge which meant I always felt relieved after leaving the mansion for the first time, because that's when it becomes substantially easier.

 

I enjoyed this enough to continue playing the series. I had already bought Resident Evil 0, and I bought 2 as well after getting this plat since it was on sale, but I'm not in any hurry to get to them. I'll probably have a couple of months between now and RE0 (which I'll do before 2) because I need a bit of a break lol, some of those playthroughs like the knife only + no saving run and the invisible enemies run and the real survival run were kinda stressful.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Resident Evil [+39] {+90%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #383 - Grand Theft Auto V

It has been a while since I have finished a game that I have disliked as much as this one. Everything about it is insultingly bad, from the generic storytelling, to the bland 1 dimensional characters that don't go through any kind of arc or development with arguably the exception of Michael, to the awful controls, to the repetitive mission design, to the tedious open world traversal, to the boring side missions, to the boring side activities... nothing about this was fun. And don't even get me started on the awful online mode either.

 

So why did I push through this trash and finish it despite disliking it so much? Well, like my last plat (Resident Evil), this was part of a deal (with a different person this time.) I finish this, and they play Sonic Unleashed. On top of that it has been sitting on my list unfinished for over 6 years and I just wanted it finished up and off my mind (and off my unfinished shelf) so I can promptly forget I ever played it and go on with my life. I decided to play this alongside Chaos;Child because that game is actually good, and a nice break from the tedium of this game, and I'm very glad I made that decision. I could write (multiple) paragraphs on each of the points I listed above but I just won't bother (unless someone actually asks me to lol.) This game isn't worth my time going into detail about, all you need to know is it's one of the worst games I've played in a very long time.  

Spoiler

Retail

Grand Theft Auto V [+16] {35%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Chaos;Child [+11] {+16%}

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Horizon Chase Turbo [38] {PS+}

NEW GAME: Resident Evil 2 [45] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Table Top Racing: World Tour [37] {PS+}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #384 - Chaos;Child

I originally played this game early last year (which surprises me - feels like it was way sooner than that), and back then I enjoyed it, but not as much as Steins;Gate, and felt it outlived its welcome a little by the end. But I have been waiting for months now for Robotics;Notes Dual Pack to release, and we're still not even close (October), so I was getting impatient for my dose of Science Adventure and decided I'd just stack C;C since it went on sale and I'm tired of waiting for R;N.

 

Replaying this has given me a newfound appreciation of the entire cast. Mio is no longer best girl for me, there is plenty of competition. It's also not as long as I had remember (Sony's end of year stats said I played this for 100+ hours last time which is absurd), although that may have been because I was playing GTAV (yikes) alongside it. The story for this is great, all the characters are great, and it was a nice time revisiting it. I really hope we get Chaos;Head too someday, and now we're less than 2 months away from Robotics;Notes so I just need to hold out a little more. I've heard R;N is the Science Adventure branch that connects everything together so I'm hoping for some more information on some of the plot points presented in this. It definitely feels like this game was setting up something big for the future of the series.

Spoiler

Digital {Excluidng PS+}

Chaos;Child [+23] {+84%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #385 - Table Top Racing: World Tour

This was a game that I've considered starting a couple of times but never got around to because there were always other games I wanted to play more instead. Recently though a friend wanted someone to boost the wins with, and I took that opportunity as a sign that it was finally time to start playing it. I enjoyed my time with this a lot, more than I was expecting to honestly. It was a little too easy for the most part but sometimes it's nice to relax with a game that doesn't really challenge you and just lets you breeze through. The exceptions to that are some of the DLC events, but even they were definitely more than manageable. I heard there was a patch that made this game harder - I dread to think how boring it must've been pre-patch. Must've been a joke.

 

I wish the drifting wasn't locked behind certain wheels, but also the drift in this seems to slow you down considerably so maybe it's a good thing I never had access to it (I only ever used Boing and Centurion wheels.) Turning corners in certain cars can be a bit cumbersome but you get used to it, and it definitely improves when you get faster cars later in the game. Elimination, Drift and Hot Lap events were my favourite, the regular combat races started to get a bit samey and repetitive. I did like the collectible coin pick ups honestly - it's weird to have collectibles in a circuit based racing game, but they offered actual rewards and were fun to collect.

 

I'm glad I finally got around to this all these years after originally getting it from PS+, thanks to Cobby for giving me the excuse to jump into it.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

Table Top Racing: World Tour [+37] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #386 - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

My new trophy checklist is still under (very slow) construction, so I suppose until that's done, I'll just continue posting here. I loved this game - the characters were all interesting (apart from Fie, who's rather boring, but I hear she improves later in the series), their character arcs and development were well done and engaging, and I just really liked the general pacing and variety the game offered. Every month you get to go to a new location, with a different set of characters each time, which allows you to get to know each character well without having all 9 main characters together and battling for the spotlight. Visiting new locations also helped to set up the world and establish the political factions, and I looked forward to seeing where each chapter was set.

 

I predicted the big reveal at the end fairly early, unfortunately. I already had suspicions, but then I saw a Youtube thumbnail which didn't outright spoil anything, but it added up with my suspicions and made me think it even more likely to be the case. Despite the fairly predictable finale however, it was still enjoyable to watch play out and has me eager to jump into the second game at some point in the future (I need to actually buy it first, though...) and it's rather exciting that there are 3 whole games after this in this specific story arc to look forward to. I hear the pacing and general structure is vastly different, which is a bit sad, but it makes sense. I just hope it doesn't diminish my enjoyment and we still get the same amount of location variety that was on offer here.

 

The combat was okay, although honestly I played it on easy because I wasn't here for the combat, much like Persona, I was just here to enjoy the story and characters. The movement system felt a little odd because enemies could move the same amount as you can, so it's not like you can run away from incoming attacks. I suppose it's so that you can move a character into range of an attack to try and draw the enemy's attention away from a more vulnerable character instead? I never had to really play around with it though because crafts, s-crafts and basic attacks were enough on easy and nightmare NG+.

Spoiler

Digital {Excluding PS+}

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel [+51] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

NEW GAME: Pic-a-Pix Classic [+7] {+27%}

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls [36] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony [41] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Pic-a-Pix Classic 2 [19] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Pic-a-Pix Color 2 [23] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Pic-a-Pix Pieces 2 [25] {Digital}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #387 - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

I was originally intending to play this much later than I did, but after the cliffhanger Cold Steel 1 left me on I went and bought the second game the day after lol. Overall, I enjoyed this game a lot (as expected, considering how much I liked the first one) but overall I do think Cold Steel 1 has a slight edge over it. It's very close though. Part of the problem is that there was very little that was actually new in this game - it's much like Tales of Xillia 2 in that regard. There's one new town (and two field areas connected to it), a new hub area, and... other than some story-related dungeons I think that's the extent of new locations that this had? So for the most part you were just revisiting the exact same areas you had been in the previous game. It's not a huge deal honestly but I would've liked some new locations to explore. Maybe in Cold Steel III - surely they're not just going to recycle the exact same locations for 4 games? (Although, I suppose Yakuza does that and gets away with it.)

 

This had a much better ending than the first game did. It still has some dumb JRPG nonsense that feels shoehorned in, but I've come to expect that from this genre by this point. At least there was an actual ending to this one though - in Cold Steel 1, the ending felt like it was cut short. You're watching a scene and then suddenly the credits roll, and it doesn't feel like the scene even ended. I'm much more content leaving this here and waiting on a price drop for 3, because I actually feel satisfied with it.

Spoiler

Retail

NEW GAME: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II [+51] {+100%} (COMPLETE!) 

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Pic-a-Pix Classic [+4] {+17%}

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: The Last Guardian [24] {Digital}

 

Edited September 13, 2020 by madbuk

[madbuk]

 

Progress Update: #388 - LEGO Movie 2: The Videogame

I intended to skip this game entirely when it was first revealed, as the changes to the standard LEGO formula didn't look like something I'd enjoy, and I thought it'd be a one-off experiment before returning to the traditional level-based games that came before it. Unfortunately, LEGO Star Wars seems to be copying this template, based on what little we've been told about the gameplay of it, so I figured I should at least give it a try and see whether I'm done with this franchise for good or whether it's something I will actually enjoy.

 

I'm pleased to say that I did enjoy this, way more than I expected. It's extremely basic, there are no puzzles for collectibles (or even progression) like there used to be in previous games, you simply fulfill quests for people in each hub world, and collect the rest bricks within them by flying around and looking at your map. There's no challenge to it but it was strangely engaging anyway. The bosses were pretty good (although again, extremely easy), but perhaps a little longer than they needed to be. As someone who hasn't seen the movie, this seemed very light on actual plot so maybe they just expect you to know what's going on.

 

Overall I prefer the traditional formula used in almost every other game, but... I can accept this if this is what the franchise is going to become from now on. It's still decent enough.

Spoiler

PS Now

NEW GAME: Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

NEW GAME: Sonic the Fighters [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

NEW GAME: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

LEGO Movie 2: The Videogame [+51] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #389 - Pic-a-Pix Classic

This was much harder than I was originally anticipating it to be. I play picross on mobile quite a bit, but I've never gotten as consistently stuck as I was in this one. Honestly I don't think these puzzles were very fun - so many of them were just filled with 1 block long lines, so you had entire rows of 1s and 2s (but not enough to be certain where they're placed.) Usually in picross you at least get some kind of large starting point, like a 10 row, or a 7 8 row, etc. Not in this one though. And even once you've found the start, you eventually just get swamped by 1s again and have to spend forever finding a next move. It's just tedious. None of the puzzles were as lengthy as the ones in Block-a-Pix, the larger ones ranged from about 30-50 minutes here instead of 1h+, but in Block-a-Pix at least I felt like I was making some progress.

 

I still have Classic 2, Colors 2 and Pieces 2 to do, and this has kind of put me off Classic 2... I trust Color/Pieces to be fun though, because the puzzles in those are generally pretty enjoyable.

Spoiler

Retail

Darksiders Genesis [+1] {+1%}

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Pic-a-Pix Classic [+13] {+56%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #390 - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Going into this, I must confess I already knew everything about the plot. Years ago, I watched the opening of the game to see if it might be something I would enjoy, and then I got hooked and just couldn't stop myself watching more. The same unfortunately applies to Danganronpa 2, and to a much lesser extent (I just vaguely know key details) V3 and UDG as well. One thing I didnt know much about going into this were all the individual character stories during free time events or anything about school mode, so I was hoping those would make it worth my time to play the game anyway. That, and also I've stacked VNs in the past and enjoyed them almost as much (Steins;Gate, Chaos;Child) as the first time, and re-read books a lot too, so I thought that'd apply here as well.

 

Monokuma is a great antagonist and mascot character, and the rest of the cast is probably my favourite in Danganronpa (though tbf I only know the basics of the V3 cast), because unlike 2 they feel grounded and realistic, and the school setting is better than the island in 2 imo. Maybe V3 will top this when I actually play it, but from the stuff I already know about it I expect it to be my least favourite. UDG I have no idea about. But between 1 and 2, this is the clear winner for me.

 

I'm glad to say I did enjoy my time with this despite knowing the entire plot. It certainly lacked all the tension, but that's fine. The free time events and school mode weren't anywhere near as interesting as I had hoped, and I hope that's something that 2 improves upon. I won't be jumping into 2 immediately, but I do own all 4 games so I'll get to the rest eventually.

Spoiler

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc [+38] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time [30] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Tokyo Xanadu eX+ [55] {Digital}

 

[Grotz99]

41 minutes ago, madbuk said:

Progress Update: #390 - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Since finishing Phoenix Wright recently, I've been itching for another VN game and ended up getting Danganronpa 1-2 Reload and 3. Sounds like everyone enjoys these games and I'm looking forward to starting 1 this week probably. Where does this sit in the series or is it a stand alone?

Edited September 28, 2020 by Grotz99

[madbuk]

11 minutes ago, Grotz99 said:

Since finishing Phoenix Wright recently, I've been itching for another VN game and ended up getting Danganronpa 1-2 Reload and 3. Sounds like everyone enjoys these games and I'm looking forward to starting 1 this week probably. Where does this sit in the series or is it a stand alone?

This is the first game. Canonically the order is Trigger Happy Havoc -> Ultra Despair Girls -> 2 Goodbye Despair -> V3, but I strongly suggest release order instead and playing UDG after 2 instead, because UDG spoils 2 (if you bother playing that one at all)

 

Hope you enjoy, I love the concept of the series and they're pretty engaging stories.

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #391 - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

I am very, very happy with the way this game turned out. Ever since its announcement I had been saying I wanted it to be challenging, at least to the degree of Crash 1 although preferably harder, with less of the gimmicks that invaded 2 and 3 (like intentionally dying to unlock bonus levels, having to do completely unindicated no box runs of levels, vehicles, etc.) and just a heavy focus on core platforming. And, for the most part, that is exactly what this is. Sure, it has gimmicks too, like the new mask powers and characters, but with the exception maybe of Dingo who was just really slow and boring, all of the new mechanics only served to enhance the platforming, instead of driving it away like Crash 3 did. And in terms of challenge, it ended up being even harder than Crash 1, and the plat required platinum relics on top of the already increased challenge, and I'm happy about that.

 

I spent over 100 hours on this. My save file time was 109 hours at the end - and I'm pretty sure that that excludes idle time, because the bot I use to track playtime has me at 160 hours instead. Considering the previous games (excluding CTR) are all 1-2 day plats, this is an insane (or rather, n.sane) amount of content on offer. Unfortunately there's a lot of prejudice towards the platforming genre, so this game scored worse than it should've and also sold less because people instinctively decide platformers are never worth full price. So I'm concerned there may never be a Crash 5, despite this being a stellar release. But ah well, at least Crash can go out on a (very) high note now instead of leaving it with Mind Over Mutant as their final impression. If we do ever get a Crash 5, I pray they don't listen to the people whining about difficulty. The difficulty is what made this game so amazing and I'd hate to go back to the absolute slog that 2 was by making it too easy again.

Spoiler

PS+ Titles

NEW GAME: Type:Rider [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Retail

NEW GAME: Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time [+52] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Pic-a-Pix Color 2 [+8] {+32%}

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Costume Quest [17] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Sonic CD [12] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 [12] {Digital}

 

 

[AJ_Radio]

I can't afford to pay for a $60 game myself, so Crash 4 will have to wait.

 

So essentially, it's still a tough game, just not as tough as Super Meat Boy and Trackmania Turbo.

[realm722]

On 10/14/2020 at 9:48 AM, madbuk said:

I spent over 100 hours on this. My save file time was 109 hours at the end - and I'm pretty sure that that excludes idle time, because the bot I use to track playtime has me at 160 hours instead. Considering the previous games (excluding CTR) are all 1-2 day plats, this is an insane (or rather, n.sane) amount of content on offer. Unfortunately there's a lot of prejudice towards the platforming genre, so this game scored worse than it should've and also sold less because people instinctively decide platformers are never worth full price. So I'm concerned there may never be a Crash 5, despite this being a stellar release. But ah well, at least Crash can go out on a (very) high note now instead of leaving it with Mind Over Mutant as their final impression. If we do ever get a Crash 5, I pray they don't listen to the people whining about difficulty. The difficulty is what made this game so amazing and I'd hate to go back to the absolute slog that 2 was by making it too easy again.

 

You get a ridiculous amount of respect from me for this platinum man... to be the 42nd achiever of the platinum given the popularity of this game is absolutely bonkers to me. The Crash games have never really fit my style so I've never dabbled in them - but after reading through the experiences of the sheer amount of difficulty and content poured over into this game, and how beloved it seems to be by diehard Crash fans, I think that Toys for Bob deserves a standing ovation for what they've created. I just glanced at this level from the r/Crashbandicoot subreddit and couldn't believe what it demanded of players. Congrats on the platinum and the fact is one of your Top 5 rarest ever(sitting in at 0.89% at the moment) is another huge accomplishment! 

[madbuk]

17 hours ago, Spaz said:

I can't afford to pay for a $60 game myself, so Crash 4 will have to wait.

 

So essentially, it's still a tough game, just not as tough as Super Meat Boy and Trackmania Turbo.

I've never played those two so I can't compare (I do want to play Trackmania some day, though), but people with the SMB and the Crash 4 plat have said that if you can do one you can do the other, so I just assumed they were about the same?

 

1 minute ago, realm722 said:

 

You get a ridiculous amount of respect from me for this platinum man... to be the 42nd achiever of the platinum given the popularity of this game is absolutely bonkers to me. The Crash games have never really fit my style so I've never dabbled in them - but after reading through the experiences of the sheer amount of difficulty and content poured over into this game, and how beloved it seems to be by diehard Crash fans, I think that Toys for Bob deserves a standing ovation for what they've created. I just glanced at this level from the r/Crashbandicoot subreddit and couldn't believe what it demanded of players. Congrats on the platinum and the fact is one of your Top 5 rarest ever(sitting in at 0.89% at the moment) is another huge accomplishment! 

Thanks. I did get it a day early (physical is amazing), so I got a bit of a headstart, but yeah I never expected to be in the top 50 lol. Toys For Bob absolutely deserve a lot of praise for what they've done with this game, it's outstanding. And that level you linked might actually be my favourite, the way it transitions between masks in the final section is just so smooth and satisfying. Makes me wish they had played around with quick mask swapping more often instead of saving it for the final two levels. I can't imagine it staying in my rarest plats for very long, but it's nice to have another <1%, I should enjoy it while it lasts lol.

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #392 - Robotics;Notes Elite

I have been excited for this game ever since the localization was first announced. It originally released in 2012 in Japan, so I had given up hope a localization would ever happen... and yet here it is. People who had already played the Japanese version had said it's the weakest main entry in the Science Adventure series, and unfortunately, I have to agree. It's not bad, in fact none of the Science Adventure games have been - not even the Steins;Gate dating sim spin-off, much to my surprise - but it just takes forever for anything to actually happen. For a large part of the game, if you have no interest in any of the characters, this'll probably bore you immensely.

 

That said, it does occasionally tie itself into the other Science Adventure games (specifically Chaos;Head and, to a lesser degree, Steins;Gate, since those were the only two previous releases at this point) and I was always invested in that part of the plot, and it's what excited me most about this, because according to Japanese players, the Robotics;Notes branch is essentially the one that glues everything together. And I can see that - maybe not to the degree that was hyped up (although maybe DaSH, the sequel, deserves that hype), but enough to be very engaging as a prior fan. The major drawback to this is that Chaos;Head was never actually brought west, so I could see references to events that happened in C;H throughout this, and it starts to become quite plot relevant, but I had to rely solely on what Chaos;Child - the sequel to C;H that was localized - taught me to understand what was going on. Less than ideal, but I got the gist of it. It also somewhat spoils some of Chaos;Head from what I can tell, but it's all vague enough that I can go back to C;H later if it's ever localized (please) and still essentially go into it blind.

 

I'm interested to see what DaSH has in store (speaking of which, I'm pleasantly surprised they sold Elite and DaSH as a bundle instead of asking $60 for both individually), but I probably won't be jumping into it right away. It's nice to know I have some new Science Adventure content waiting for me when I'm ready though. Hopefully we'll see some news soon about future games (such as Anonymous;Code, or the updated version of Occultic;Nine, or Steins;Gate 0 Elite) since there's a stream on the 25th of this month, but since it's a Japanese stream I'm not expecting a localization announcement anytime soon. I just hope Chaos;Head NoaH is next, since it's the only main game missing now unless you count Occultic;Nine, though... I'd accept any of the others spin-offs too.

Spoiler

Retail

NEW GAME: Robotics;Notes Elite [+50] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered [51] {PS+}

NEW GAME: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered [51] {PS+}

NEW GAME: Resident Evil 4 [12] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Resident Evil 5 [71] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Resident Evil 6 [71] {Digital}

NEW GAME: Robotics;Notes DaSH [32] {Retail}

NEW GAME: Vampyr [29] {PS+}

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by madbuk

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #393 - Pic-a-Pix Color 2

Going back to the coloured Pic-a-Pix games after doing Classic was a good time. Unlike Classic where you're stuck with a lot of lines filled with 1s, this game actually gives you good starting points and the puzzles flow well. Sometimes you have to spend a while looking for the next move (which is good - would be boring and way too easy otherwise), but it's nowhere near as frequent or tedious as it was in Classic. Was a good refresher of why I actually like these games. Other than that... it's a Picross game. Not much else to say lol.

Spoiler

Digital {Excluding PS+}

Pic-a-Pix Color 2 [+15] {+68%} (COMPLETE!)

Resident Evil 0 [+40] {+80%}

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Sayonara Wild Hearts [25] {Digital}

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #394 - Resident Evil 0

I had heard some very mixed things about this game when I first bought it. Some people said it was one of the weakest RE games available, others said it was almost on par with REmake. Having played it myself now, I can say I much prefer REmake. Some parts of this were just straight up worse - I hate the new inventory system where you drop things instead of using item boxes, because it results in so much backtracking unless you're playing very optimally. The single player co-op element this game had where you swap between characters was also rather tedious more than enjoyable because it just meant you had two inventories to manage and two characters to take care of. I much preferred the split campaigns Jill/Chris had in REmake.

 

Some of the environments in this, mainly the train, were also pretty annoying to navigate. Unlike REmake which gave you room to evade enemies, in this you have to actually kill them to get past in certain areas. Which is fine, I guess, but I enjoyed the evasion in REmake more. One thing I do really like about this game is that there are no crimson heads, so you aren't actually punished for killing. The only downside is all the ammo you use up doing so.

 

Some of the bosses were pretty bad - the bat comes to mind, where if you can't stunlock it to death, it spawns a bunch of smaller bats that then compete for your auto aim attention and interrupt your attacks. And you can't move while aiming, so you can't avoid these interruption attacks. One of the bosses towards the end was bad too, you're in a very narrow corridor and its hitbox is pretty large, so good luck dodging all its attacks.

 

Despite my grievances with this... I do think overall I enjoyed it. Just nowhere near as much as REmake. I'm definitely done with fixed camera angles now though, sorry Code Veronica, but I'll be skipping you. RE2 remake is next up, and I can't wait for more freedom in terms of movement/aiming/camera. I won't be playing it anytime soon though.

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Resident Evil 0 [+8] {+20%} (COMPLETE!)

 

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #395 - Tokyo Xanadu eX+

After playing Ys: Memories of Celceta and Trails of Cold Steel 1 & 2, I was informed that this game exists, which combines my favourite element of Ys (the combat) with the Trails of format. And that sounded like a perfect match to me, because I'm not a fan of the combat of Trails but really enjoy everything else about it. Now that I've played it I can agree that that is exactly what it is, and for the most part it's very enjoyable.

 

However, it does outstay its welcome. This eX+ version features extra side stories after every chapter and an extra after story after the original game finishes. These all felt rather pointless and made the game feel a bit bloated. If anything I wish they had taken the after story content and put it in a sequel so that it could have actually had proper development because it felt very rushed here. The game also sets up for a sequel but it has been 3 years and nothing has been announced (or hinted at afaik) which is a bit of a shame. Padding aside, the story is nothing special but it's serviceable with a decent cast of characters. Despite the story feeling badly paced, I do like how they spaced out the acquisitions of new party members. They never felt like they were introduced too late but also it didn't rush to give you them all at the start either.

 

This was a nice way to pass the time until I'm able to play Ys VIII on PS5 - I've decided not to play it on PS4 anymore because it turns the console into a jet engine - but overall I think I prefer Trails and Ys to it. It has the best elements of both franchises but fails to surpass them.

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Costume Quest [+17] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

Tokyo Xanadu eX+ [+55] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Celeste [31] {Digital}

NEW GAME: King's Quest [53] {Digital}

 

[Grotz99]

38 minutes ago, madbuk said:

Progress Update: #395 - Tokyo Xanadu eX+

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Digital {Excluding PS+}

Costume Quest [+17] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 [+12] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

Tokyo Xanadu eX+ [+55] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)

 

Unstarted

NEW GAME: Celeste [31] {Digital}

NEW GAME: King's Quest [53] {Digital}

 

I have had this game on my backlog list for a while and was curious how grindy/time consuming it might be, the guide on here says 70 hours which doesn't actually seem too bad for a RPG to platinum with NG+. I usually try to get at least 1 RPG in per year and this year I chose to work on KH2 and FF7R (obviously), I might throw this in the queue for next year. The platinum trophy image is pretty damn awesome.

[madbuk]

36 minutes ago, Grotz99 said:

I have had this game on my backlog list for a while and was curious how grindy/time consuming it might be, the guide on here says 70 hours which doesn't actually seem too bad for a RPG to platinum with NG+. I usually try to get at least 1 RPG in per year and this year I chose to work on KH2 and FF7R (obviously), I might throw this in the queue for next year. The platinum trophy image is pretty damn awesome.

I wouldn't really call it grindy at all, never had to go out of my way to farm anything as long as you follow the great guide on Steam. I did find the hardest difficulty pretty tough though (especially since I combined it with infinity mode, which adds 60 levels to every enemy.) I think my time ended up being a little over 100 hours, but I was listening to all the voice acting (speaking of which, it's a shame there's no dub) and spent a lot of time idling on the pause menu because I was on Discord instead lol.

[kingofbattle8174]

40 minutes ago, Grotz99 said:

I have had this game on my backlog list for a while and was curious how grindy/time consuming it might be, the guide on here says 70 hours which doesn't actually seem too bad for a RPG to platinum with NG+. I usually try to get at least 1 RPG in per year and this year I chose to work on KH2 and FF7R (obviously), I might throw this in the queue for next year. The platinum trophy image is pretty damn awesome.

 

2 minutes ago, madbuk said:

I wouldn't really call it grindy at all, never had to go out of my way to farm anything as long as you follow the great guide on Steam. I did find the hardest difficulty pretty tough though (especially since I combined it with infinity mode, which adds 60 levels to every enemy.) I think my time ended up being a little over 100 hours, but I was listening to all the voice acting (speaking of which, it's a shame there's no dub) and spent a lot of time idling on the pause menu because I was on Discord instead lol.

 

For me doing the Vita version  it took me like 120 Hrs. Then again I did it in three playthroughs instead of two. In the second go around I focused on everything else but Infinity and nightmare difficulty. Doing this way I was pretty much maxed out by the time the third go around began and had a way easier time. Only one dungeon gave me trouble torwards the end and it was a platforming section with some electrical hazards, not the actual enemies that were giving me grief. I loved this game though as I said in my review the characters and story reminded me of Bleach without actually calling it the franchise name. 

[Grotz99]

44 minutes ago, kingofbattle8174 said:

I loved this game though as I said in my review the characters and story reminded me of Bleach without actually calling it the franchise name. 

This is enough to persuade me to play it this next year.

[madbuk]

Progress Update: #396 - Celeste

What a phenomenal game this was. Easily my favourite 2D platformer, and up there with What Remains of Edith Finch, Sayonara Wild Hearts and Velocity 2X for favourite indie. Everything about it is just done perfectly. The story is good, the music is good, the pixel art is stellar, and most importantly the gameplay is just incredible. It's frequently introducing new mechanics, all of which work extremely well and shake up the gameplay enough to keep it interesting for its entire playtime (plat took roughly 25 hours, with no assists turned on, and also 5720 deaths) and only one of the mechanics I wasn't a fan of - the escort one, but that only appears once in the entire game which I am very glad about lol.

 

One other thing I'll criticize - and basically the only other thing I can even think of to criticize - is how the game frequently locks you out of alternate pathways if you go down the "correct" path, which means you miss out on collectibles and have to replay. This happens constantly throughout the whole game if you play it blind like I did. However, the game has a chapter select that lets you start from specific points in a level and even shows which collectible you missed in which subchapter so it's easy to go back and explore to try and find them all.

 

I still have one more chapter to play - Farewell - but I'll save it for another day. This game might be a masterpiece but I've been eagerly waiting for Melody of Memory for months so I'll at least play that first. At the time of posting this Celeste is on sale and I can absolutely recommend it. It blew me away.

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Celeste [+31] {+100%} (COMPLETE!)