2017 Platinum Race: Shana vs Dragon vs J2V89 vs Prinny

[J2V89]

#146: Nier: Automata

 

 

Rarity: 34.61% Uncommon

 

A very good RPG game that I enjoyed. One of the good games out this year. 

 

[Dragon-Archon]

7 minutes ago, J2V89 said:

A very good RPG game that I enjoyed. One of the good games out this year. 

Nice, sounds like I should try this game too.

[J2V89]

18 minutes ago, Dragon-Archon said:

Nice, sounds like I should try this game too.

You will enjoy it since you do like RPG's. Very impressed with the gameplay. 

[Satoshi Ookami]

4 hours ago, Dragon-Archon said:

Nice, sounds like I should try this game too.

#FORTHEBUTT

[Dragon-Archon]

 #164: Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana

2.27% UR and I'm the 4th person in the world to plat this game  (according to PSNP's stats).

 

I had so much fun with this game, it completely exceeded my expectations. The story is amazing with unexpected twists here and there, it's really well-written. The characters are interesting, locations are nice, artwork is beautiful, and the soundtrack is top notch. The guide should be finished today or tomorrow at the latest.

 

These are some of the tracks I liked a lot:

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Shana Alter]

Being too unwell to do an August update we get a special August/September update which I hope is the only double...

Anyway with these 2 months it looks like some decent progress was made by some while others were a bit slow either resting up or working on something that wasn't the quickest game for points but let's see what each have achieved so far.

 

Kochiya Shana:

 - 

 

Dragon-Archon:

 - 

 

J2V89:

 - 

 

Wdjat Prinny Doods:

 - 

 

Earning a few URs, earning a lot of easys or just getting back into earning trophies the effects on the scores are rather interesting with with J2V having a seemingly comfortable lead, Shana and Prinny fighting for 2nd/3rd and Dragon in last but not necessarily out of the race surprisingly:

1. J2V89 - 2862.44
2. Wdjat Prinny Doods - 2,195.41
3. Kochiya Shana - 1,999.28
4. Dragon Archon - 1,265.08

 

 

The current rarest and most common platinums at current go to:

• RAREST: J2V with Mortal Kombat at 0.64%
• Most COMMON: Shana with グリザイアの果実スピンアウト！？ アイドル魔法少女ちるちる☆みちる at 97.64%

 

Games Played So Far:

Kochiya Shana:

Spoiler

• Senran Kagura ESTIVAL VERSUS
• クドわふたー CONVERTED EDITION
• グリザイアの果実 -LE FRUIT DE LA GRISAIA-
• グリザイアの迷宮-LE LABYRINTHE DE LA GRISAIA-
• グリザイアの楽園 -LE EDEN DE LA GRISAIA-
• グリザイアの果実スピンアウト！？ アイドル魔法少女ちるちる☆みちる
• AIR
• 蒼の彼方のフォーリズム
• 冴えない彼女の育てかた～BLESSING FLOWERS～
• FATE/STAY NIGHT [REALTA NUA]
• FATE/HOLLOW ATARAXIA
• NITROPLUS BLASTERZ: HEROINE'S INFINITE DUEL
• SOULCALIBUR V
• ぬらりひょんの孫
• ファントムブレイカー:エクストラ
• BLAZBLUE: CONTINUUM SHIFT EXTEND
• UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH EXE:LATE
• DENGEKI BUNKO: FIGHTING CLIMAX
• AQUAPAZZA: AQUAPLUS DREAM MATCH
• DEAD OR ALIVE 5: LAST ROUND
• DENGEKI BUNKO: FIGHTING CLIMAX IGNITION
• 東方紅舞闘V
• FATE/EXTELLA: THE UMBRAL STAR
• STEINS;GATE
• うみねこのなく頃に ～魔女と推理の輪舞曲～
• BLAZBLUE: CHRONOPHANTASMA
• SENRAN KAGURA SHINOVI VERSUS
• タイムリープ
• DISORDER 6
• WHITE ALBUM 2 幸せの向こう側
• STEINS;GATE 比翼恋理のだーりん
• STEINS;GATE 線形拘束のフェノグラム
• STEINS;GATE 0
• ATELIER SOPHIE: THE ALCHEMIST OF THE MYSTERIOUS BOOK
• GUILTY GEAR XRD -SIGN-
• 涼宮ハルヒの追想
• NIGHTS OF AZURE
• この大空に、翼をひろげて CRUISE SIGN
• ハーレム天国だと思ったらヤンデレ地獄だった。
• JUSTY×NASTY ～魔王はじめました～
• ひまわり-PEBBLE IN THE SKY-
• GOD EATER RESURRECTION
• UTAWARERUMONO: MASK OF DECEPTION
• ラブライブ！ SCHOOL IDOL PARADISE VOL.1 PRINTEMPS
• ひぐらしのなく頃に粋
• TOHEART2 DX PLUS
• 爽海バッカニアーズ！
• ラブライブ！ SCHOOL IDOL PARADISE VOL.2 BIBI
• 俺たちに翼はない
• ROZEN MAIDEN: WECHSELN SIE WELT AB
• L@VE ONCE: MERMAID'S TEARS
• 這いよれ！ニャル子さん
• 向日葵の教会と長い夏休み -EXTRA VACATION-
• CHAOS;HEAD NOAH
• MUV-LUV ALTERNATIVE: TOTAL ECLIPSE
• SENRAN KAGURA: PEACH BEACH SPLASH
• BULLET GIRLS
• バレットガールズ２
• CHAOS;HEAD らぶCHU☆CHU!
• CHAOS;CHILD
• CHAOS;CHILD らぶCHU☆CHU!!
• IS＜インフィニット・ストラトス＞2 イグニッション・ハーツ
• IS＜インフィニット・ストラトス＞2 ラブ アンド パージ
• TOUHOU GENSO RONDO
• TEKKEN 7
• CRASH BANDICOOT
• 東方蒼神縁起V
• PERSONA 4 ARENA ULTIMAX
• PERSONA 4: THE ULTIMATE IN MAYONAKA ARENA
• DISGAEA D2
• DISGAEA 4: A PROMISE UNFORGOTTEN
• アイドルマスター ワンフォーオール
• GOD EATER RESURRECTION
• DIGIMON WORLD: NEXT ORDER
• ACCEL WORLD VS. SWORD ART ONLINE: MILLENNIUM TWILIGHT
• CLANNAD
• BLAZBLUE: CENTRALFICTION
• IA/VT COLORFUL
• WARRIORS ALL-STARS
• SWORD ART ONLINE: LOST SONG
• NARUTO: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM
• アイドルマスター プラチナスターズ
• PERSONA 4 DANCING ALL NIGHT
• DRIVE GIRLS
• FREEDOM WARS
• GOD EATER 2
• ガンガンピクシーズ
• REWRITE HARVEST FESTA!
• NEW GAME! THE CHALLENGE STAGE!
• SWORD ART ONLINE RE: HOLLOW FRAGMENT
• ソードアート・オンライン ―ホロウ・フラグメント―
• TOLOVEる ダークネス トゥループリンセス
• BLAZBLUE
• AGAREST: GENERATIONS OF WAR ZERO
• AGAREST: GENERATION OF WAR 2
• CROSS EDGE
• DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE
• ATTACK ON TITAN: WINGS OF FREEDOM
• DRAGON QUEST HEROES: THE WORLD TREE'S WOE AND THE BLIGHT BELOW
• 花咲ワークスプリング！
• CRASH BANDICOOT: WARPED
• GAL*GUN DOUBLE PEACE
• GUILTY GEAR XRD: REVELATOR
• GUNDAM BREAKER 3
• MEGATAGMENSION BLANC + NEPTUNE VS ZOMBIES
• HYPERDIMENSION NEPTUNIA U: ACTION UNLEASHED
• VALKYRIA REVOLUTION
• PLASTIC MEMORIES
• YS VIII: LACRIMOSA OF DANA
• ガールズ＆パンツァー 戦車道、極めます！

 

Dragon-Archon:

Spoiler

• Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1
• Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3 V Generation
• Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
• Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix
• WipEout HD
• Severed
• Super Time Force Ultra
• Persona 5
• Valkyrie Drive -BHIKKHUNI-
• ODIN SPHERE LEIFTHRASIR
• SWORD ART ONLINE: LOST SONG
• CODE: REALIZE ~GUARDIAN OF REBIRTH~
• GOD EATER RESURRECTION
• BROKEN AGE
• FLAME OVER
• KILLZONE: MERCENARY
• ATELIER SOPHIE: THE ALCHEMIST OF THE MYSTERIOUS BOOK
• MURAMASA REBIRTH
• YS VIII: LACRIMOSA OF DANA

 

J2V89:

Spoiler

• Mortal Kombat X
• Mortal Kombat
• Titanfall 2
• Blur
• Day of the Tentacle Remastered
• Minecraft(PS3)
• Need For Speed: Most Wanted(PS3)
• WWe Smackdown VS RAW 2010
• BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
• Severed
• Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland
• inFAMOUS: Second Son
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Remastered
• South Park: The Stick of Truth
• SOULCALIBUR V
• Yakuza 0
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
• Disney Infinity 3.0
• Nioh
• Gravity Rush
• DiRT 3
• Bulletstorm
• Horizon Zero Dawn
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Final Fantasy XV
• NieR: Automata
• The Last of Us
• Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
• Danganronpa: Goodbye Despair
• ModNation Racers
• Tearaway Unfolded
• Vanquish
• Ratchet & Clank(PS4)
• Persona 5
• Project CARS
• Battlefield Bad Company
• ODIN SPHERE LEIFTHRASIR
• RED FACTION
• CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW
• THE TALOS PRINCIPLE
• BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2
• MAX PAYNE 3
• RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER
• BATTLEFIELD 3
• TOMB RAIDER: DEFINITIVE EDITION
• BATTLEFIELD 1
• TRACKMANIA TURBO
• LARA CROFT GO
• CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE REMASTERED
• SLY COOPER AND THE THIEVIUS RACCOONUS
• BLAZBLUE: CHRONOPHANTASMA
• BLAZBLUE: CHRONOPHANTASMA EXTEND
• FINAL FANTASY XII: THE ZODIAC AGE
• RED FACTION: GUERRILLA
• BLAZBLUE: CENTRALFICTION
• WARHAWK
• GRAND THEFT AUTO IV
• METAL SLUG ANTHOLOGY
• PRINCE OF PERSIA
• GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS
• TRANSISTOR
• CALL OF DUTY CLASSIC
• UNDERTALE
• UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF'S END
• SLY 2: BAND OF THIEVES
• THE MARK OF KRI
• YAKUZA 0
• INDIGO PROPHECY
• JAK AND DAXTER: THE PRECURSOR LEGACY
• UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY
• YAKUZA KIWAMI
• CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II
• DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS

 

Wdjat Prinny Doods:

Spoiler

• Enter the Gungeon
• LittleBigPlanet
• Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-
• Disgaea 5
• Unravel
• Stories: The Path of Destinies
• Downwell
• Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax
• Gravity Rush 2
• Shadow Complex Remastered
• World of Final Fantasy
• Ys Origin
• Horizon Zero Dawn
• Metal Slug Anthology
• Velocibox
• Hyper Light Drifter
• Dangerous Golf
• Exist Archive
• Persona 5
• PaRappa the Rapper 2
• Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
• Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair
• THE LEGEND OF HEROES: TRAILS OF COLD STEEL
• UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH EXE:LATE
• GHOST BLADE HD
• BEARS CAN'T DRIFT!?
• WHEELS OF AURELIA
• UNDER DEFEAT HD: DELUXE EDITION
• SEVERED
• SLAIN: BACK FROM HELL
• THE DEADLY TOWER OF MONSTERS
• GAME OF THRONES
• STAR OCEAN: TILL THE END OF TIME
• SHADOW WARRIOR 2
• SKULLGIRLS 2ND ENCORE
• BLAZBLUE: CHRONOPHANTASMA
• WIPEOUT OMEGA COLLECTION
• SLAIN: BACK FROM HELL
• ZOMBIE VIKINGS
• NEX MACHINA
• NAUGHTY BEAR
• CRASH BANDICOOT
• GRAND KINGDOM
• CRASH BANDICOOT: WARPED
• CRASH BANDICOOT 2: CORTEX STRIKES BACK
• MAGICKA 2
• LOOT RASCALS
• TALES OF ZESTIRIA
• FINAL FANTASY XII: THE ZODIAC AGE
• ASSAULT SUIT LEYNOS
• MADDEN NFL 13
• DARKEST DUNGEON
• PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2
• BLAZBLUE
• MATTERFALL
• UNDERTALE
• EVERYBODY'S GOLF
• LIFE IS STRANGE
• YS VIII: LACRIMOSA OF DANA
• GRIM FANDANGO REMASTERED

 

 

With the August/September progress we have Shana and Prinny close especially after what they did during the THTL getting a close 2nd place spot with no help from @Kent10201 at all both carried the team or at least that is what is being spread around. Dragon was no slouch either clearing God Eater, Muramasa as well as made great progress on Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana but for what everybody achieved J2V wanted to defend his 1st place standing playing games like Undetale, Uncharted but yet he could not turn a blind eye to 2B for some reason although we all think we know why.

 

Each participant is doing well so far and it could still be anybody's win though J2V does have a nice lead at current anything could happen as Dragon has proved by clawing his way back to a decent score and proving he isn't out yet.

Edited October 7, 2017 by Shana Alter

[Kent10201]

25 minutes ago, Shana Alter said:

With the August/September progress we have Shana and Prinny close especially after what they did during the THTL getting a close 2nd place spot with no help from @Kent10201 at all both carried the team or at least that is what is being spread around. Dragon was no slouch either clearing God Eater, Muramasa as well as made great progress on Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana but for what everybody achieved J2V wanted to defend his 1st place standing playing games like Undetale, Uncharted but yet he could not turn a blind eye to 2B for some reason although we all think we know why.

The scores say otherwise 

Edited October 7, 2017 by Kent10201

[Dragon-Archon]

The Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana guide has been published, so that's another 500 points for me  .

 

Only ~1,600 points between me and J2V, I totally got this. All I got to do is stay focused on .... oh that's right, there's still that Muramasa DLC I wanted to play.

[J2V89]

#147: Need For Speed: Rivals (PS3)

 

Rarity: 9.28% Very Rare

 

Game was good but not as great as how Hot Pursuit & Most Wanted was. That Grand Tour race is a long 10-12 min race I had to do twice just complete the speed lists in order to rank up to racer rank 60. Game frozed on me twice while doing the speed lists and it can be buggy at times. 

[J2V89]

#148: Soulcalibur V 

 

Rarity: 2.94% Ultra Rare

 

This game is my least favorite in the series but it was still good. I didn't like the story as much, and many old favorite characters were not in this game. Took about 50 hours plus to plat because of the level 99 & 87,600 total distance in battle grind. 

[J2V89]

#149: Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

 

Rarity: 36.04% Uncommon

 

I had played VLR on the Vita a long time ago, but never got to play 999. After finally playing 999, I now got to play all the games in the series. Never used the text skip for both games and it is very easy. Think I'm done escaping doors. 

 

#150: Grand Theft Auto IV

 

Rarity: 1.16% Ultra Rare

 

I reached my goal of getting to my #150th plat and picked this game for it. All online trophies were done long ago which were long and difficult to do. Getting AWP, Wanted & Fly The Co-Op trophies were a pain. Most of the time spent in this game is the MP. The SP does require the 100% completion in order to plat it which is long. Didn't like killing all 200 flying pigeons sense it was annoying. Proud of this plat. 

 

[Dragon-Archon]

 #165: Senran Kagura Estival Versus

34.82% Uncommon

 

The sequel to SK Shinovi Versus, the story is much better compared to SV, because it's one story instead of 4 stories events happen differently based on which school is selected. The story is about how all the groups are transported to another world by Asuka's grandma Sayuri and there they must train hard to become better shinobi in order to prepare for the arrival of a yoma that awakens once every 1,000 years. The Shinobi Girl's Heart stories are funny too and some continue from those in Shinovi Versus. Homura is still my favourite character. Miyabi, Yumi, and Asuka got some pretty OP ultimate moves. One thing I didn't like was how locking on didn't guarantee a character would attack towards the locked-on target, which is especially frustrating with slow characters like Yozakura.

[Dragon-Archon]

 #166 and  #8,000: Valkyrie Drive Bhikkhuni

5.19% Very Rare

 

Another series from the creator of Senran Kagura. It's easy to see the similarities in characters and controls. The story is interesting and while the game is entertaining, it also has its flaws. There are only 7 playable characters and most range from great to likable, with the exception of Mana and Manpukumaru. Mana is a backstabbing bitch who only looks out for her own interests and Manpukumaru is annoying and also reminded me a lot of Hibari from Senran Kagura, which is an instant dislike. Some of the controls are a bit buggy, most notable is the Phantom Delude, where players dash towards a target, then dodge right before an enemy attack hits. The idea behind this move is great, but the move hardly ever works and the timing seems way off. And worst of all: there's a challenge that requires 2 successful consecutive Phantom Deludes. There's also an extremely pointless exp grind. To put things into comparison: completing story mode, survival mode, and challenge mode yields about 1.5 million exp. So that means another 3.5 million needs to be grinded. Also all characters can be fully maxed out with 1.9 million exp. If there's ever a sequel, I hope these flaws are fixed.

Edited November 5, 2017 by Dragon-Archon

[Dragon-Archon]

 #167: Lone Survivor

4.95% Ultra Rare

 

Could it be, 3 posts in a row without J2V popping a plat  !? Anyway, this is one of the games I never expected to play. It's not really my genre, but someone had been bugging me about how great this game is for a while now. So I made a deal: he would play Persona 4 Golden and I'd play this ... truth be told I never expected him to accept  . The game isn't as terrible as I expected, but it also wasn't even close to the supposedly hidden gem I kept hearing about. The protagonist is seemingly the only survivor in a world where a zombie outbreak occurred. To deal with these walking dead, the Lone Survivor (who is called You) has to stay sane. That turns out to be a bigger chore, as simply drinking 2 cups of coffee or playing a video game twice per day negatively affects the mental health. You also suffers from hallucinations and amnesia. Besides that, there's the usual scavenging for food, supplies, looking for other survivors, and trying to figure out what happened. The story is ... well, pretty much non-existent. Things are implied and that's basically it. It's up to the player to make something of that. There are bosses ... sort of and these are dealt with by running away. 

[J2V89]

#151: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

 

Rarity: 14.64% Rare

 

This game is really good even with it's first person view and gameplay. It kinda reminded me of the condemned game I played long ago where you can block melee attacks and attack back. I can see why they tried this new direction since 4-6 went with it's more action based gameplay.

 

 

[Dragon-Archon]

 #168: Persona 5

9.92% Very Rare

 

Popped another x2 game and almost got 4 posts in a row.

 

After completing this game, I still can't decide if I like this one more or Persona 4 Golden. P5 has more gameplay elements and I like how Palaces aren't randomly generated dungeons. The story is amazing and there's lots of optional things to do. The final boss fight was also good. I like how enemies are Personas and it's possible to obtain them through negotiations. Unlocking perks when leveling up Confidant ranks was also a nice addition. Hearing 250 unique lines from Futaba was also a lot easier to do compared to the P4G counterpart. However, this game also has its flaws. The story feels a bit rushed around the 5th Palace and Haru is added very suddenly even though she goes to the same school as the protagonist. She appears in a cutscene early in the game, but doesn't say anything. Her story arc also feels a bit forced and could've been fleshed out a lot more. Luckily, the other characters are a lot better. Besides that, I didn't like going through Mementos, as it's a randomly generated dungeon where the aesthetics of the floors only change when entering a new path. Getting to the end was a boring thing to do. Something that also annoyed me a lot was being told to go to sleep, which means no free time. This happens way too much and it's because the developers removed a palace from the game. Some of my favourite Personas are Horus, Seth, Kohryu, and Lucifer. My top 3 favourite Palaces are definitely the pyramid, castle, and casino. The ending was good and I'm looking forward to Persona 5 Dancing Star Night.

Edited November 7, 2017 by Dragon-Archon

[Dragon-Archon]

 #169: Dungeon Punks

3.22% Ultra Rare

 

A freebie from PS+ that piqued my interest because the gameplay looks similar to Dragon's Crown. The game has 6 classes to play as. There's the knight and dwarf, but the next 4 are pretty unique: a were-witch (werewolf with witch powers), drakken (bipedal lizard), djinn (also known as a genie), and hierophant (who looks like Anubis from Ancient Egypt's pantheon). I like how it's possible to switch between them at any time, though 3 are unlocked after beating the 4th level. My favourite class was the hierophant. The dwarf, hierophant, and djinn also had useful skills. The story is about the classes making a delivery to the King and Queen, only to find out they're under attack. They rush to save them and one thing leads to another, so they're dragged into it. The story has a lot of humour, that alone is a good enough reason to play this. I liked how each level had a different setting and tried to add something unique, such as the crows in level 4 or the spikes in level 9. Beating the game unlocks NG+, which is a lot more challenging, as enemies are stronger, react faster, inflict status ailments more often, and the shop stops selling equipment after reaching lvl 29. That means new equipment must be farmed by replaying chapters over and over again. That makes NG+ way too grindy, as the dropped equipment is completely random. If NG+ wasn't so grindy, this game would've been a hidden gem. The trophy for unlocking all rank 1 skills is bugged and it didn't pop when meeting the requirements, so I had to start a new save file and do that again.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Dragon-Archon

[J2V89]

#152: Sly 2: Band Of Thieves (Vita)

 

Rarity: 51.09% Common

 

Playing this on the Vita is still great. 

 

#153: Battlefield 1

 

Rarity: 10.06% Rare

 

Very impressed with this game in a World War 1 setting. 

[Dragon-Archon]

 #170: Ray Gigant

22.52% Uncommon

 

Another dungeon-crawling RPG from Experience Inc. This game has its good points and flaws. The game is about giant creatures called Gigants invading Earth. Conventional weapons are useless against them and only people who wield the power of Yorigamis can defeat them by creating a symbiotic bond with them. Yorigamis consume energy from their host and in return give incredible power. The story is divided into 4 arcs where the playable characters also change. It's ok with some moments where things become interesting, but it's also predictable. It also failed to explain a few things, for example: how a certain character from arc 2 ends up in arc 3. Something that also annoyed me where terrible translations from time to time. The opening definitely got my attention, a giant dragon that resembles a red Shenlong from Dragonball Z lays waste to Tokyo. Most of the gameplay consists of going into dungeons to track down a mini-boss, defeat it, and bring back the marker they carry. Afterwards, that marker is placed in a special area to summon a Type-I Gigant, which are the giant bosses. All the bosses in the first 17 chapters are unique, though chapter 18 and 19 recycles them and also the mini-bosses for story reasons. I didn't care much about the characters and Ichiya is very annoying. The Evolve system was something I liked a lot. This is used to level up characters by spending upgrade resources. There's no exp or money and new equipment is also obtained by leveling up the item tree. Resources are obtained after fights and also found as treasures in dungeons. There is a level cap, so it's not possible to overlevel, but this is removed later in the game. Fights are also no longer random, which speeds up dungeon exploration a lot. During combat each party member can do up to 5 moves per turn and these consume AP, which is shared between the entire party. Therefore, it's necessary to consider enemy types and elemental weaknesses. Later in the game Parasitism mode becomes available which depletes health instead of AP. Health is fully restored after a fight (unless a character dies), so this is a good way to end fights quickly, as it removes the need to restore AP. Besides that, there's an ultimate move Slash Beat Mode, which is a rhythm mini-game. This can quickly make short work of bosses, but it takes a while to recharge. I'm really hoping the Evolve system will return in other games from Experience Inc. IMO this game is overall better than Operation Abyss, but not even close to Demon Gaze.

[Dragon-Archon]

 #171: Zero Time Dilemma

74.07% Common

 

The sequel to Virtue's Last Reward and this game did not disappoint. It's the third game, but it happens before VLR for story reasons. In this game 9 people are trapped in an underground shelter and forced to play a decision game. They can only escape after at least 6 people have died. I had a bit of knowledge about certain events as some things were spoiled. but it was still a great story with lots of twists. I liked most characters, except Eric. The stories of Phi, Sigma, and Diana were nicely done too. One of the endings set things up nicely for VLR. Almost all the puzzles were fun to solve, except the transporter room, that one was just needlessly annoying. Zero's identity felt incredibly forced as he was never mentioned before even though he was supposedly there all the time. I'd hoped the true ending would give more closure. All in all a good sequel, now I just need to play the first game.

[J2V89]

#154: Sly 3 (Vita)

 

Rarity: 37.23% Uncommon 

 

The challenges for this game can be annoying at times, but everything else is not too bad. 

 

 

#155: Tekken 7

 

Rarity: 36.96% Uncommon

 

Like the new characters and nice to see Akuma in this. Very fun game. 

 

 

[Dragon-Archon]

 #172: Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair

18.69% Rare

 

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this game, it has good and bad things. Like the first game, the story in the sequel is excellent. A new class from Hope's Peak Academy is going on a trip to Jabberwock Island. Once there, Monokuma takes over, takes them hostage, and starts another killing game. The objective is to kill another student and get away with it in order to escape. The player will need to investigate these murders, find clues, and determine who did it during class trials. If the murderer manages to get away with it, everyone else is killed. In case the murderer is discovered, they are the ones that will be killed. There are a few new mini-games during the class trials and I wasn't a fan of Logic Dive and Rebuttal. The new characters are great and some have very interesting background stories. The ones I liked most are Ibuki, Chiaki, Nagito, and Fuyuhiko. The murder cases are all great and have nice twists. The third case is by far my favourite one and I actually managed to deduce the killer's identity before the trial when investigating for clues. The final class trial dragged on way too long due to the long conversations between the arguments. Taking care of pets was a huge chore as pets are raised when walking. They gain 1 exp for every step, which makes it necessary to ignore the quick-travel system and walk everywhere. Running is also out of the question, as the protagonist needs less steps to go somewhere when running. 

 

Besides the story mode there's also Island Mode and the Monomi mini-game. Island Mode is exactly the same as School Mode from the first game and just as boring. It took 4 playthroughs to fill every characters' report cards and obtain their endings. Each playthrough lasted about 2 hours. The Monomi mini-game is even worse: there are 6 levels where Monomi fights Monobeasts from the story. Completing each level once is ok and I would've been fine with that. However, there's a trophy to obtain all 60 items. All of them are random drops and it's possible to get the same item multiple times. It took about 8 hours to get all 60 of them, which was a completely unnecessary grind. It's like the developers added these modes just to annoy players as both of them are terrible and reduced my enjoyment of this game entirely.

[Dragon-Archon]

 #173: The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel

10.73% Rare

 

Where to begin? I'd heard a lot about this series, but never got around to playing it. Bought this game about a year ago during a sale and it's been in the backlog ever since. That was a grave mistake, for me this game is a sleeper hit. After starting the game, I could not put it away. Even made it into the top 50 fastest achievers. The story is great, characters are diverse, the combat and quartz system is nicely done, and it has some great soundtracks (To Become the Foundation of an Era is by far my favourite). My favourite characters are Laura, Fie, Jusis, Crow, Emma, Towa, and Sara. Some characters were annoying at first, but luckily there's lots of character development. The story centers around Rean Schwarzer who enrolled at Thors Military Academy. He's placed in the newly formed Class VII, which has students from both nobility and common people. That's an entirely new concept as social standing is very important in the game's universe. In the empire are two major factions: the Noble alliance and Reformists. The Noble Alliance is led by the Four Great Houses and wants to return things to how they used to be when the nobility was in charge of everything. Most of them look down on common people and believe they're entitled to everything. The Reformists want equality for common people and want to diminish the nobility's control as much as possible. The Chancellor is the leader of this faction and he's been working on strengthening and expanding the empire by annexing smaller states. So far the Emperor has been able to keep both factions in check. 

 

Over the course of the game Class VII goes on field studies to learn more about the Empire and its underlying problems, while also trying to work out the issues between classmates. But behind the scenes things are unfolding and Class VII is dragged into major events. Each area feels different and the developers did a good job with this. The combat system is pretty in-depth. There are different kind of regular attacks (slash, pierce, thrust, and strike), which makes it possible to stagger enemies. That in turn leads to Link attacks if a link is formed between party members. These bonds can improved and that unlocks more perks. Later in the game Rush and Burst link attacks are unlocked. Besides that, each character has an ultimate move and their magic attacks can be customized at will with quartz and master quartz. These items add stat boosts, new magic attacks, support moves, add status ailments to attacks, or other passive effects. Master quartz can be levelled up for improved perks.

 

There are a lot of missable collectibles in this game and Hasegawa's excellent Overall Walkthrough was invaluable to platting this game. The game ends with a cliffhanger, which is very nicely done. That definitely made me want to get the sequel immediately to find out what happens next.

 

Best OST in the game:

Spoiler

 

 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Dragon-Archon

[J2V89]

#156: Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch

 

Rarity: 9.42% Very Rare

 

Took me 96 hours to plat this. The longest part was the 250 familiars & making the 120 items.   

[J2V89]

#157: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice 

 

Rarity: 34.07% Uncommon

 

#158: RiME

 

Rarity: 34.43% Uncommon

 

#159: Jak 2

 

Rarity: 27.48% Uncommon

 

#160: Jak 3

 

Rarity: 33.39% Uncommon

 

Ending the year off having reached my goal of 50 plats for the year.