Cassylvania's Miserable Little Pile of Platinums

[Ocean_CJ]

On 2/20/2021 at 1:52 PM, Cassylvania said:

Have a "Cry some more" stick!

 

*sigh*

 

Thanks for the Red Alert Warning. Guess I am boycotting this game.

 

Shame as I like the main characters here than in DQH1. I played the first few battles on DQH2 and I think it was cool when characters like Torneko, Maribel and Ruff(RUFF? Seriously? Yes, I played Dragon Warrior 7 and liked Gabo as the name better than RUFF ) were cool intros. I think if I want to play Heroes I'll do it on the Switch when they bring out the collection and do it for funsies. *sigh*

 

I don't know why Square-Enix did this to the sequel. I think they are spammers. I mean, FFXIV will not let me win a Need Roulette for Sophic Lancer(the bird mount you get for clearing the Goddess Extreme trial) - someone else wins the roulette and gets this whistle for the mount. And I can't find anyone to partner up with.

 

But hey, I platinumed a Persona game! Okay, it was Persona 5 Royal, which is the easiest Persona to platinum, but I am working on Persona 4 Golden, just need 55 more Risette lines and two late-game trophies but I am done. *SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH*

 

Also, don't platinum DQXI, platinum DQXIS - it's the Persona 5 Royal version of DQXI. And you get all the trophies in 2D mode, which is cool because I like 2D mode better. Call me a nostalgic buffo.

On 2/27/2021 at 10:09 PM, Cassylvania said:

Everything it does, outside the plot of each episode, is very limited. Phoenix and his friends have only about four cycles of animation they go through, the sounds get very repetitive, and the few elements of gameplay that are here...are actually kinda annoying. Like, why is there no way to speed up the cursor when performing an investigation?

 

You do recall that these games were created for the Nintendo DS and 3DS, correct? Those handhelds had very limited technology and the games were made to fit them. Taking a 30FPS game and putting it in an 1080FPS world doesn't work, no matter how hard you HD the graphics.

 

These games are 100% ports and therefore they suffer due to not utilizing the PS4's capabilities. So yes, everything is rather restricted - Phoenix Wright is past his prime.

 

Not like I care. I don't like the games because they are boring courtroom dramas with point and click puzzles and visual novel elements in them.

[Cassylvania]

On 2/28/2021 at 3:39 PM, Darling Baphomet said:

Yeah, that's basically what I did when I played them as a kid. The games definitely show their age considering they're probably well over ten years old now. They were fun when I played them on the DS, but even then they had GBA graphics compared to the modern games, namely Apollo Justice. I hope we get the sequels on PS4 because I've played the first three to death. The Edgeworth investigation games were pretty fun too.

 

Oh, I didn't even know there were more games in the series. Yeah, I'd check them out if they were ever ported to the PS4/PS5.

 

9 hours ago, Ocean_CJ said:

Also, don't platinum DQXI, platinum DQXIS - it's the Persona 5 Royal version of DQXI. And you get all the trophies in 2D mode, which is cool because I like 2D mode better. Call me a nostalgic buffo.

 

Hm... I think I platinumed DQXI, but I wouldn't mind playing the S version at some point. If I ever run out of games to play, I think I'll go back and work on some stacks of the games I liked the most. Maybe even the original Persona 5...

 

Anybody tried out Strikers yet?

 

But yeah, DQH2 is a terrible grind and honestly not even worth playing for the ~30 hour story. It may be the worst experience I've had on the PS4.

 

Anyway, the theme of the year so far seems to be attack of the clones because I've started yet another Souls-like: The Surge. I guess it's made by the same people who brought us Lords of the Harkyn. Seems OK so far. I'm not super into the robotic theme, but it seems more polished than the one I just got finished playing.

 

Also, I started Saints Row 3 Remastered. That one's not nearly as polished I as I would've liked. Textures and lighting seem off, and I've encountered several problems with endless loading screens. But it feels good to play a game where I can just be an asshole and get away with it for once. Sometimes we all need a little SR3 in our lives.

 

To make matters worse, I think I just spent over $100 on recent sales. I don't know why I'm still trying to find a PS5. It's not like I don't have enough PS4 games to keep me occupied for the next eighteen years.

 

EDIT: Oh, forgot to mention my main reason for making this post! I FINALLY got the stupid Maestro trophy in KH:BBS. Turns out it was a lot easier without a metronome in my head.

Edited March 4, 2021 by Cassylvania

[Darling Baphomet]

25 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Oh, I didn't even know there were more games in the series. Yeah, I'd check them out if they were ever ported to the PS4/PS5.

 

Yep, IIRC there were two Apollo Justice games and three(?) Miles Edgeworth investigation games, which implemented top down gameplay. Some of them never got ported due to poor sales though.

 

26 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Also, I started Saints Row 3 Remastered. That one's not nearly as polished I as I would've liked. Textures and lighting seem off, and I've encountered several problems with endless loading screens. But it feels good to play a game where I can just be an asshole and get away with it for once. Sometimes we all need a little SR3 in our lives.

 

To make matters worse, I think I just spent over $100 on recent sales. I don't know why I'm still trying to find a PS5. It's not like I don't have enough PS4 games to keep me occupied for the next eighteen years.

 

Saints Row 3 was fun - the last time I played it was as a kid and kid me was bad at finishing games. I miss the chaos of Saints Row. I've heard rumors that they're going to reboot the series for 5 and have it continue from 3, which would be disappointing since I do like some of the character building we got in 4 and Gat Out of Hell. But yeah, 3 is definitely a PS3 game, even if it's a fairly pretty one.

 

And god, I feel that, I spent like 300$ between mid-December and February due to post-breakup binge spending and I dunno how the hell I'm going to clear all these games. Hopefully this backlog event helps, but damn. And I just had to buy Hyper Light Drifter / Night in the Woods since (IIRC) it's the first time either of them have gone on sale, and they're decent ones too - unlike Trailmakers, whose first ever sale is... 25% off.

[Together_Comic]

3 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

To make matters worse, I think I just spent over $100 on recent sales. I don't know why I'm still trying to find a PS5. It's not like I don't have enough PS4 games to keep me occupied for the next eighteen years.

 

Did you pick up anything particularly interesting?  You seem to have a good eye for indi titles.

 

2 hours ago, Darling Baphomet said:

And god, I feel that, I spent like 300$ between mid-December and February due to post-breakup binge spending and I dunno how the hell I'm going to clear all these games. Hopefully this backlog event helps, but damn. And I just had to buy Hyper Light Drifter / Night in the Woods since (IIRC) it's the first time either of them have gone on sale, and they're decent ones too - unlike Trailmakers, whose first ever sale is... 25% off.

 

I'm also guilty.  I think its really easy to just click the add to cart button on stuff that looks interesting when it goes on sell.  I know I picked up Hyper Light Drifter as well.  I haven't heard anyone say a negative word about it, and from what I can tell from an hour or so with the game I am going to agree.  What is Night in the Woods? 

 

~TC

[Darling Baphomet]

6 minutes ago, Together_Comic said:

I'm also guilty.  I think its really easy to just click the add to cart button on stuff that looks interesting when it goes on sell.  I know I picked up Hyper Light Drifter as well.  I haven't heard anyone say a negative word about it, and from what I can tell from an hour or so with the game I am going to agree.  What is Night in the Woods? 

 

~TC

 

Yeah, Hyper Light Drifter is a classic from what I've heard, IIRC it was one of the first indie games with no dialogue - kinda a trend I don't like; it's a neat gimmick in one or two games but can definitely get overused.

 

Night in the woods is an indie game that's pretty universally well liked from 2017, I have yet to play it but it seems like one of those dialogue driven 2D story games (similar to Oxenfree, or at least the first half hour that I played of it, maybe?), except with a bunch of cartoon animals as characters. The biggest influence was my ex absolutely loved it so it's been sitting on my wishlist ever since.

 

At least now that I've picked those two up I can give my wallet a rest for a bit - although a friend's been bugging me to get the We Were Here games which are still pretty expensive for the length.

[Cassylvania]

23 minutes ago, Together_Comic said:

Did you pick up anything particularly interesting?  You seem to have a good eye for indi titles.

 

I got One Step From Eden, Outer Wilds, Risk of Rain 2, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Shadow Tactics: Blade of the Shogun, Spiritfarer, Stranded Deep, and Untitled Goose Game. Wasn't a huge fan of the indie sale. It's hard to separate the good titles from shovelware.

 

Obviously, if you guys see anything I might like that goes on sale, let me know.

 

36 minutes ago, Darling Baphomet said:

Yeah, Hyper Light Drifter is a classic from what I've heard, IIRC it was one of the first indie games with no dialogue - kinda a trend I don't like; it's a neat gimmick in one or two games but can definitely get overused.

 

Night in the woods is an indie game that's pretty universally well liked from 2017, I have yet to play it but it seems like one of those dialogue driven 2D story games (similar to Oxenfree, or at least the first half hour that I played of it, maybe?), except with a bunch of cartoon animals as characters. The biggest influence was my ex absolutely loved it so it's been sitting on my wishlist ever since.

 

Hm... Those look pretty good too.

 

I just bought them.

 

Thanks. Thanks for that.

 

I'll never finish my backlog. ?

[Darling Baphomet]

Just now, Cassylvania said:

I got One Step From Eden, Outer Wilds, Risk of Rain 2, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Shadow Tactics: Blade of the Shogun, Spiritfarer, Stranded Deep, and Untitled Goose Game. Wasn't a huge fan of the indie sale. It's hard to separate the good titles from shovelware.

 

Sayonara Wild Hearts is an incredible game! Really a good metaphor for like the process of getting through grief (particularly breakups) and was very insightful for me when I played through it recently. Also currently working on Outer Wilds which is absolutely a gem - one piece of advice, don't look at the trophy guide for a while; there's nothing missable, anyway.

 

2 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Hm... Those look pretty good too.

 

I just bought them.

 

Thanks. Thanks for that.

 

I'll never finish my backlog.

 

My 10,348 unearned trophies sympathize with you, lol. A backlog event I signed up for just started, and I'm hoping it'll give me the motivation to clear out all the games I bought in the last few months. We'll see; I've got quite a bit on my plate.

[Ocean_CJ]

11 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Maybe even the original Persona 5...

Good luck on that.

 

I have been thinking about that, but to be honest, Royal spoiled me.

 

I don't know about Strikers. I know they say it's a spiritual sequel to Persona 5 but I don't really know if I can do musou again.

[realm722]

22 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I got One Step From Eden, Outer Wilds, Risk of Rain 2, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Shadow Tactics: Blade of the Shogun, Spiritfarer, Stranded Deep, and Untitled Goose Game. Wasn't a huge fan of the indie sale. It's hard to separate the good titles from shovelware.

 

Woohoo! You picked up two phenomenal games in my mind. Risk of Rain 2 is fantastic and I can't believe how well they did getting a 3D version of the chaotic 2D original. Nearly entered the elusive 9.0 ranking for me - but I think you'll notice that unlike a game like Slay the Spire for example, ROR2 while difficult won't demand utter mastery from you for as badly as you'll want to keep playing it. You'll have an awesome time with it! and Sayonara Wild Hearts is a masterpiece. Even if the story does nothing for you, the music and the rhythmic replayable levels(for such a short platinum) will likely leave it as one of your favorite games of the year. It finished as my 5th favorite game of the year in 2019(behind Persona 5, Stardew Valley, Banner Saga 2, and Slay the Spire)

 

I'm also envious on the Spiritfarer pick-up! I'm waiting till it goes down to $15 and also want to play Jotun first as it's the original game by the first developer but I've heard nothing but wonderful things. Hope you enjoy it!

[Cassylvania]

22 hours ago, Darling Baphomet said:

My 10,348 unearned trophies sympathize with you, lol. A backlog event I signed up for just started, and I'm hoping it'll give me the motivation to clear out all the games I bought in the last few months. We'll see; I've got quite a bit on my plate.

 

Over 10k unearned trophies is an impressive feat. Where do you even begin with something like that? I feel like I'd start with the shortest games, but maybe the better approach is to start with the good ones.

 

Or you could have fun and use a randomizer to pick a game for you.

 

28 minutes ago, realm722 said:

 

Woohoo! You picked up two phenomenal games in my mind. Risk of Rain 2 is fantastic and I can't believe how well they did getting a 3D version of the chaotic 2D original. Nearly entered the elusive 9.0 ranking for me - but I think you'll notice that unlike a game like Slay the Spire for example, ROR2 while difficult won't demand utter mastery from you for as badly as you'll want to keep playing it. You'll have an awesome time with it! and Sayonara Wild Hearts is a masterpiece. Even if the story does nothing for you, the music and the rhythmic replayable levels(for such a short platinum) will likely leave it as one of your favorite games of the year. It finished as my 5th favorite game of the year in 2019(behind Persona 5, Stardew Valley, Banner Saga 2, and Slay the Spire)

 

I'm also envious on the Spiritfarer pick-up! I'm waiting till it goes down to $15 and also want to play Jotun first as it's the original game by the first developer but I've heard nothing but wonderful things. Hope you enjoy it!

 

Your review is the reason I picked up Sayonara. I probably would've dismissed it as seizure-inducing neon vomit otherwise.

 

ROR2...well, I need to play the original first, but I heard it was really good.

 

Spiritfarer was my big one. Almost started it today, but I realized it's probably similar to Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin and I really need to get back into that game. It's not like me to start something new and then let it sit for four months. (In Sakuna's defense, my only reason for doing that was because I was having a miserable time with the other games I was playing and I didn't want it to damper my experience with what I imagine is a quality RPG/farming experience.)

 

Jotun is on my wish list too. Somebody here suggested it once. I occasionally look to see if it's on sale, but it's never found a way into my cart.

 

Anyway... Despite all my efforts, it seems I have still an excessive amount of active games right now. Let's check in on our progress for each:

• Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. So, like... I don't really know what I'm supposed to do. The game just randomly gives me cutscenes and new quests from time to time, but I get my ass kicked by enemies if I try to venture into any of the new areas I unlocked. I feel like I'm missing some sort of major element to the game. Probably shouldn't have taken that four month sabbatical, huh?
• Saints Row: The Third Remastered. Would be pretty funny to get all the trophies in the game before the one for playing for 30 hours, right? Let's try it. (No, I don't care about the cutscenes. I already platinumed this before!)
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. OK, I got an EXP Walker on Critical Aqua, so she's just running in circles to level up. I should be able to move onto Critical Ventus once he beats the MFer. No comment about Terra. I know what awaits me.
• The Surge. Dying in one hit to trash mobs.
• Children of Morta. Dying in one hit to trash mobs.
• Phantom Doctrine. Dying in...wait, no. Just sneaking past everything. Will the game get harder? We'll see.
• Ys Origins. More like No Origins, am I right?

This is how we'll do it until we get to a more manageable number of games.

 

[Darling Baphomet]

1 minute ago, Cassylvania said:

Over 10k unearned trophies is an impressive feat. Where do you even begin with something like that? I feel like I'd start with the shortest games, but maybe the better approach is to start with the good ones.

 

Or you could have fun and use a randomizer to pick a game for you.

 

I've never been too completion focused, luckily, and I have a few unobtainable / ridiculously hard trophies that would prevent me from achieving 100% nonetheless, but I would eventually like to get into the 50% or somesuch range. I'm pretty sure my percentage is better than it was a year or two ago, though, so that's something. I've written up a huge backlog that I'll hopefully eventually get to, but as is I just kinda go where the ADHD takes me. But my ability to play games tends to lag behind my ability to buy games, so I doubt I'll ever completely get rid of it.

 

3 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Saints Row: The Third Remastered. Would be pretty funny to get all the trophies in the game before the one for playing for 30 hours, right? Let's try it. (No, I don't care about the cutscenes. I already platinumed this before!)

 

Shouldn't be too hard to get it, I got that trophy well before I was done with the game, although I sat through all the cutscenes. If you're doing the DLC as well it should be absolutely no problem. 

[Arcesius]

3 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

ROR2...well, I need to play the original first, but I heard it was really good.

 

You really do not.. I mean, it's just a roguelike shooter with no real story, and you can pick up the second and better game without playing the pixelated 2D original. I just completed RoR2 myself this week and it was really enjoyable. It can be a really tough game if you want to play on the highest difficulties, but it is a very easy and short platinum. 

 

We attempted the 20 stage run first in a 4 player party with me hosting (original PS4) and the game crashed after 13 stages... so we had someone with a PS5 host instead (the game became still very, VERY laggy towards the end). If you do this alone or with one other person, you should be fine though. 

 

 

Quote

Jotun is on my wish list too. Somebody here suggested it once. I occasionally look to see if it's on sale, but it's never found a way into my cart.

 

I might have suggested that one  I still recommend it, but be warned that despite it looking cute and all, it would probably be one of the harder games on your list. 

 

 

Quote

• The Surge. Dying in one hit to trash mobs.

 

Just use the Spitfire Rod V2.0 or any other Staff weapon and spam the jump attack. Easy game. ?

 

In all seriousness though... The balance in The Surge is a bit off. There are almost no bosses and those you find are pushovers, but regular enemies can hit extremely hard. They actually listened to feedback for The Surge 2 and added more bosses. But they also tuned the difficulty down a bit too much in my opinion... 

Edited March 5, 2021 by Arcesius

[Together_Comic]

10 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

It's not like me to start something new and then let it sit for four months.

 

Still better than me.  I've had The Last of Us and Mass Effect Andromeda sitting with the multiplayer done for multiple years at this point. ??

 

~TC 

[Grotz99]

13 hours ago, Darling Baphomet said:

But my ability to play games tends to lag behind my ability to buy games, so I doubt I'll ever completely get rid of it.

Story of my life right here. Started AC Odyssey last month which I've had on my shelf staring at me for 2 years, bought the DLC on sale last year. Now realizing why it is a 150+ hour game that I got myself into. Decided to pick up Demon's Souls for PS5 and jumped right into that as well (as there are like 10 games in shrink wrap just begging to be played and who knows how many digital games)...so much for playing the PS3 version...but it's so purty.

 

3 hours ago, Together_Comic said:

 

Still better than me.  I've had The Last of Us and Mass Effect Andromeda sitting with the multiplayer done for multiple years at this point. 

 

~TC 

You finished the MP grind in TLOU and haven't played the story yet? I recommend that goes up your list.

[Cassylvania]

 

17 hours ago, Darling Baphomet said:

I've never been too completion focused, luckily, and I have a few unobtainable / ridiculously hard trophies that would prevent me from achieving 100% nonetheless, but I would eventually like to get into the 50% or somesuch range. I'm pretty sure my percentage is better than it was a year or two ago, though, so that's something. I've written up a huge backlog that I'll hopefully eventually get to, but as is I just kinda go where the ADHD takes me. But my ability to play games tends to lag behind my ability to buy games, so I doubt I'll ever completely get rid of it.

 

50% is a manageable goal, I think. I mean, I'd do the math, but...it's math. I assume if you just work on unearned trophies, you'll be there in no time!

 

With a backlog that big, pretty much any game you play on the list would feel like a mostly new experience, right?

 

14 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Just use the Spitfire Rod V2.0 or any other Staff weapon and spam the jump attack. Easy game. 

 

Oh, I should've known we were playing by Lords of the Fallen rules.

 

Well, Two Point Hospital just dropped a steaming pile of paid DLC on my doorstep. Looks great next to the one from House Flipper. I'm so glad these sim games could come together to ensure I never finish anything from now on.

 

$20, qué loco... I've had copays less than that.

Edited March 5, 2021 by Cassylvania

[Darling Baphomet]

55 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

50% is a manageable goal, I think. I mean, I'd do the math, but...it's math. I assume if you just work on unearned trophies, you'll be there in no time!

 

With a backlog that big, pretty much any game you play on the list would feel like a mostly new experience, right?

 

It'd probably come down to around 2k-2.5k trophies to get me there (I'm not sure if trophy type plays into completion percentage?), so anywhere from 50-100 games platinumed from zero percent; probably a 2022 achievement if it ever gets achieved at all.

 

And more or less, although I do have a penchant for starting games and never finishing them, so it's pretty much 50/50 between games that I got halfway through then never finished and games that I didn't start / only played an hour of.

[Together_Comic]

9 hours ago, Grotz99 said:

You finished the MP grind in TLOU and haven't played the story yet? I recommend that goes up your list.

 

My current plan was to play it in between finishing super meat boy and Tetris Effect... but given the glacial pace at which I finish games, It could still be awhile ?

[Cassylvania]

On 3/5/2021 at 6:23 PM, Darling Baphomet said:

And more or less, although I do have a penchant for starting games and never finishing them, so it's pretty much 50/50 between games that I got halfway through then never finished and games that I didn't start / only played an hour of.

 

Honestly, if it wasn't for trophies, I probably wouldn't bother finishing a lot of the games I've started. Sometimes I'll play something new for a couple hours, no trophies will pop, and I'll go, "Eh, maybe later..." before deleting it from my hard drive. (That's my excuse for Far Cry 4.)

 

Actually, I was thinking about that the other day. How many games have I played longer than I would've if trophies didn't exist? And the answer might be... All of them. I don't know if that's good or bad.

 

This is a good example of a game that I would've played very differently if not for trophies.

 

Platinum #244 - God of War III Remastered

 

I deviated from the suggested path of playing these games by skipping Ghost of Sparta and Ascension. Maybe we'll get to them. I don't know. I just don't feel the God of War games have such an engrossing and complex storyline that I need to play every game in the series to truly understand Kratos' character. He can be described in a couple of words -- both of which require therapy. I'm actually surprised these games were as successful as they were because he is probably the second most unlikable protagonist I've ever played in a video game. (Bubsy is first. Bubsy will always be first.)

 

Speaking of unlikable protagonists, you know who Kratos reminds me of? The new Lara Croft. Yeah, there's a comparison that hasn't been made before, but think about it. They're both flat, one-dimensional savages who are driven solely by selfish desires, a very questionable sense of morality, and a holier-than-thou attitude despite constantly disappointing the people closest to them. When I look at a picture of Kratos next to one of Lara Croft, the only difference I see is boobs. I don't know if that speaks better for Kratos or Lara, but at least Kratos has the decency to not pretend he's innocent.

 

I say this mostly because the reboot or the rebirth or the reimagining or whatever you want to call it of Kratos in 2018 was spectacular. I assumed they took a fleshed out character and made him better, but they took a lump of dry hamburger meat and made him human. If anything, this game has made me appreciate GoW4 all the more.

 

But...there isn't much to say here. It's a button masher. I chose to do a single playthrough on Titan difficulty, which wasn't too bad. The challenges were much easier than the first game, from what I remember. And I'm glad there was no speedrun trophy. I always go into these games thinking it will be a short platinum, and I usually find my thumbs bleeding by the end. I don't really feel this was a three-day platinum, despite what my profile says.

 

I am excited for Ragnorok, though. I think it's so cool they found a way to move to Kratos to a different world and fill it with gods that he hasn't killed yet...even if a lot of those gods have direct counterparts in Greek mythology. I just like how that option was even there. Most writers would have to start from scratch or reboot the series from an earlier entry, like I guess what might be happening with Saints Row 5. At some point, every Kratos is going to jump the shark. It's neat that this Kratos had an easy out.

 

If you're wondering why I even started this game, despite already having seven active games... I've lost all control over my life.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Cassylvania

[realm722]

2 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Actually, I was thinking about that the other day. How many games have I played longer than I would've if trophies didn't exist? And the answer might be... All of them. I don't know if that's good or bad.

 

So I've kinda wondered this myself at times... I used to be a sports gamer. From the start of the Xbox 360 era - 2017 of the Playstation 4 era. I did not care about achievements or trophies at all - and mostly my games would consist of the Franchise modes of FIFA's, Madden's, NBA2k's, etc... with the odd occasional great game in Viva Piñata or Minecraft that I would invest 100's of hours into. 

 

But ever since I made the true proper switch to "variety" gaming in 2018, along with trophy hunting... I... don't know how I would play games if I had 0 incentives in trophies. Like, I'd probably 100% play them all the way through at least on a 1st playthrough unless I was hating it. But what about games that require new game+? OR specifically hard challenge modes? I probably would never even touch that stuff with a 10-foot pole if I didn't have to. I'd probably have dwelled more time on games with replayability (ROR2, Slay the Spire, Stardew Valley, etc...) but I also think I would have not had the joy of conquering tall challenges without that added push of wanting a platinum (Unravel Two speedruns, Furi highest difficulty, all of the Banner Saga 2 DLC). 

 

I don't think it's a black or white "good or bad" to play with trophies in mind. I think there are games you will undoubtedly hate more because of them, but also probably experiences that maybe you would have dropped out of, but trophies kept you playing, and you found enjoyment later(this happened to me with DQB2 and Transistor). In the end, as long as you're not playing through an endless slog of games you don't care solely for that "ping" when a trophy pops - I think you're doing okay. I think of trophies as a railroad for a train. Once I'm getting on, I'm not getting off until the end - and while that may seem stringent to others, it does give games a guideline and final destination rather than aimlessly wandering like other players who will play only 20% through a bunch of games but never finish them. 

Edited March 10, 2021 by realm722

[Copanele]

4 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I deviated from the suggested path of playing these games by skipping Ghost of Sparta and Ascension. Maybe we'll get to them. I don't know. I just don't feel the God of War games have such an engrossing and complex storyline that I need to play every game in the series to truly understand Kratos' character. He can be described in a couple of words -- both of which require therapy. I'm actually surprised these games were as successful as they were because he is probably the second most unlikable protagonist I've ever played in a video game. (Bubsy is first. Bubsy will always be first.)

* insert THANK YOU gif * I never thought there's another person who thinks the same about that bald oaf! While the gameplay is fun and the idea of going Fist of the North Star in Greek Mythology is enticing, I couldn't stand Kratos personally. I guess you aren't supposed to anyway, but still he's a maniac. Reason why I liked God of War Ascension more than the rest and why I couldn't really stand God of War 3 is because Kratos is more insufferable the more you go down the timeline. He's like the Postal dude set in Ancient Greece going "muh revenge" and killing everything because he feels like it. At least the fights are flashy as hell.

 

And yeah that's why God of War 2018 is so great, because indeed they took...that...Hellenic Duke Nukem or whatever and turned him into an ACTUAL CHARACTER while constantly reminding you that he used to be a friggin monster that destroyed a civilization. I hope they don't mess him up in Ragnarok and focus more on the Boi's development.

[AJ_Radio]

The moment Kratos gouged out Poseidon's eyes at the beginning of God of War III and dumped him into the water, you knew the tone the game had set.

 

I don't think anybody praised the story of Kratos in the game, because it was just a mess of killing off each notable Greek god one by one until it came to a fierce battle with Zeus. This is definitely a game you do not want to give to little kids or people easily provoked by violence, even if it is entirely fantasy. God of War III was a low point in the series in terms of story, Sony Santa Monica built up an interesting story with Kratos in the original God of War, then was completely thrown to the wayside.

 

I will hope that Ragnorok will explain the gap between the end of God of War III and the beginning of God of War 2018. Kratos had a wife who was deceased and the main goal of the story was to spread her ashes.

 

8 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

If you're wondering why I even started this game, despite already having seven active games... I've lost all control over my life.

 

If you're referring to the pandemic out there I share your feelings. We recently started getting vaccines but it's too unsafe to be going around walking freely until it finally dies down.

 

I just want to go back to a normal life.

[Together_Comic]

14 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Speaking of unlikable protagonists, you know who Kratos reminds me of? The new Lara Croft. Yeah, there's a comparison that hasn't been made before, but think about it. They're both flat, one-dimensional savages who are driven solely by selfish desires, a very questionable sense of morality, and a holier-than-thou attitude despite constantly disappointing the people closest to them. When I look at a picture of Kratos next to one of Lara Croft, the only difference I see is boobs. I don't know if that speaks better for Kratos or Lara, but at least Kratos has the decency to not pretend he's innocent.

 

I say this mostly because the reboot or the rebirth or the reimagining or whatever you want to call it of Kratos in 2018 was spectacular. I assumed they took a fleshed out character and made him better, but they took a lump of dry hamburger meat and made him human. If anything, this game has made me appreciate GoW4 all the more.

 

 

I've only played Ascension as part of my "get all of the online done for all the PS3 games you intend to play" segment of 2019 and I did basically yatta yatta the story, but I don't remember Kratos being that bad.  An anti-hero at best, for sure, but I didn't get what you did.  That being said, I haven't played nearly as many of the games as you have, so I think you may have moved the rest of the God of War franchise down my list a bit if it is that bad ??

Edited March 10, 2021 by Together_Comic

[Grotz99]

18 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Actually, I was thinking about that the other day. How many games have I played longer than I would've if trophies didn't exist? And the answer might be... All of them. I don't know if that's good or bad.

That is what happened to my profile, before I started caring more about trophies. It's not like I didn't ignore them since they were introduced, just didn't really track my stats for them until I came to this site and saw my completion percentage around 36%. I actually platinumed games I liked playing, while others were story and done or 1 hour and noped. Now, due mostly to my backlog, I've been selective on games I buy and check the trophy difficulty and time to completion before buying, something I never used to do. As for playing games passed getting all the trophies or revisiting them, not so much. I played FF7 3 times, FF Tactics 4 times and FF9 3 times back on PS1, where there was no trophies or updates or DLC. Now I don't think there is a game I've completed that I will play again outside MP type stuff.

 

There are exceptions I make to this for some games I really want to play, but at least will try for the platinum, but not mad to leave it behind if it is super time consuming. Yakuza games are an example of this for me.

 

16 hours ago, realm722 said:

But ever since I made the true proper switch to "variety" gaming in 2018, along with trophy hunting... I... don't know how I would play games if I had 0 incentives in trophies. Like, I'd probably 100% play them all the way through at least on a 1st playthrough unless I was hating it. But what about games that require new game+? OR specifically hard challenge modes? I probably would never even touch that stuff with a 10-foot pole if I didn't have to. I'd probably have dwelled more time on games with replayability (ROR2, Slay the Spire, Stardew Valley, etc...) but I also think I would have not had the joy of conquering tall challenges without that added push of wanting a platinum (Unravel Two speedruns, Furi highest difficulty, all of the Banner Saga 2 DLC). 

I still play my Switch and Nintendo refuses to add any achievement system, but I will say it's harder to bring myself to play the games over PS4/5. I only get Switch exclusive titles for that reason though. Although there is nothing from playing the harder challenges, I still try to complete all of the games on there to the fullest, just very slowly.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Grotz99

[Cassylvania]

On 3/9/2021 at 10:00 PM, realm722 said:

I don't think it's a black or white "good or bad" to play with trophies in mind. I think there are games you will undoubtedly hate more because of them, but also probably experiences that maybe you would have dropped out of, but trophies kept you playing, and you found enjoyment later(this happened to me with DQB2 and Transistor). In the end, as long as you're not playing through an endless slog of games you don't care solely for that "ping" when a trophy pops - I think you're doing okay. I think of trophies as a railroad for a train. Once I'm getting on, I'm not getting off until the end - and while that may seem stringent to others, it does give games a guideline and final destination rather than aimlessly wandering like other players who will play only 20% through a bunch of games but never finish them. 

 

I think that's true. I was gaming very differently in the 90's and early 2000's, but I wouldn't necessarily say it was better or worse. Even back then, I wanted to challenge myself. I didn't do anything as crazy as, say, a Nuzlocke run in Pokemon (mainly because that wasn't even a thing back then), but I was always looking for new ways to play my favorite games. I'd come up with my own challenge runs or things that would make me proud, even if nobody was there to witness it (like getting all 120 stars in Super Mario Galaxy in a single weekend). I'd play games on the hardest difficulty, but often because I'd be playing those games to death. I guess that's what happens when you only have a few games to choose from until the next Christmas rolls around.

 

I do think I force myself to do things in games now that I normally wouldn't, but it's mostly been a positive experience. I just sometimes wonder if I'd be happier just playing a game through once before moving onto something else. It'd sure make it easier to get through my backlog.

 

21 hours ago, Copanele said:

And yeah that's why God of War 2018 is so great, because indeed they took...that...Hellenic Duke Nukem or whatever and turned him into an ACTUAL CHARACTER while constantly reminding you that he used to be a friggin monster that destroyed a civilization. I hope they don't mess him up in Ragnarok and focus more on the Boi's development.

 

I have faith. My only concern is I thought the same thing for Lara Croft in the reboot. I loved what they did with her character in the 2013 game. It was a little unrealistic how quickly she turned into a monster, but at least she had a personality that wasn't generic female protagonist. I had really high hopes for the other games in the series.

 

As far as I'm concerned, the sequels should've been called Fall of the Tomb Raider Part I and II.

 

With Kratos, they have an entire redemption arc that they could tap into. (And potentially a spin-off starring Boi.) It'd be really hard to screw that up.

 

I'm going to bookmark this post...

 

11 hours ago, Together_Comic said:

I've only played Ascension as part of my "get all of the online done for all the PS3 games you intend to play" segment of 2019 and I did basically yatta yatta the story, but I don't remember Kratos being that bad.  An anti-hero at best, for sure, but I didn't get what you did.  That being said, I haven't played nearly as many of the games as you have, so I think you may have moved the rest of the God of War franchise down my list a bit if it is that bad 

 

I mostly didn't have anything else to talk about in that review, as GoW3 felt the same as the first two games. Story-wise, I still think GoW1 was the best game in the trilogy (as Kratos was -- fittingly, I guess -- the most human), but GoW2 had some good moments. I just don't know if there was anything to really like in GoW3, outside of the epic fights.

 

I'd say just play the 2018 game. It's one of the best AAA games out there.

 

8 hours ago, Grotz99 said:

I still play my Switch and Nintendo refuses to add any achievement system, but I will say it's harder to bring myself to play the games over PS4/5. I only get Switch exclusive titles for that reason though. Although there is nothing from playing the harder challenges, I still try to complete all of the games on there to the fullest, just very slowly.

 

The lack of an achievement system on the Switch has really lessened my enjoyment with Breath of the Wild, Animal Crossing, Pokemon Sword and Shield, and Smash Ultimate. I know some people use the console as a break from the stress of trophy hunting, but I find myself getting really bored without an actual objective in those games. I feel like I only really have fun when I'm playing with other people. Maybe that's just what Nintendo games are best for. Getting your family to hate you even more on the holidays.

 

Maybe I'd be more social without trophies in my life.

 

Food for thought anyway.

[Arcesius]

I'm usually not one to spam other threads with videos made by other people, but I think the entire debate about "rewards" (i.e. Trophies) vs. enjoyment is really interesting. I watched the following video a while back and I really think it is worth watching: 

 

 

It talks about rewards in general, but also touches upon the subject of trophies / achievements. 

 

 

Personally, I have to admit that I'm very quick to delete a game from my PS4 as soon as it is at 100%, and I sometimes hate that it has come that far. I used to replay games I loved, there was no better feeling to start over at lv. 1 in some Final Fantasy after having beaten the game for the x'th time. 

 

Not anymore... Though there have been exceptions. I played Trials Fusion for quite a while after getting 100%. I played a lot of random matches in Vermintide 2 that were not tied to trophy progression. But finding examples is very hard nowadays. With access to so many games instantly, it is difficult to stick to one single game for longer than "necessary". The problem is, a trophy list meanwhile dictates what "necessary" means.

 

Ugh.