Cassylvania's Miserable Little Pile of Platinums

[Together_Comic]

 

5 hours ago, Arcesius said:

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. 

 

Interesting Video.

 

Im pretty guilty of similar.  I will very rarely, if ever go back an play a game after I finish the platinum.  The only game that I have gone back to in recent memory is pokemon sword and that isn't because I intrinsically love the base game, it's mostly because I enjoy the occasional competitive tournament which requires quite a few hours to get prepared for.  

 

I think the main issue, at least for me, is the amount of games that I have access to now as an adult is so much larger than the games that I had access to as a kid.  Right now there are at minimum 20 games sitting downloaded on my console and at least 4 or 5 more that I have purchased and have not been played.  That's probably double the total amount of games that I had altogether when I was growing up with games.  So now when I finish a game, I just move onto the next one.  There are endless possibilities and I have come to rely on trophies to keep me invested in a game for long enough to really experience what it has to offer, rather than letting my attention span wander from game to game. I've also been guilty of trophy hunting the fun out of games, playing long past the point of interest just for the sake of completion percentage. At the same time, I've not enjoyed a game and had it saved by the trophies. But, long ago I was basically waiting until a birthday or Christmas or until I saved up money 5 dollars at a time to buy a new game, so naturally I would play the one's that I had into the ground, even if they were bad, because what else did you have to do. It is an interesting dynamic.  

 

.  

[Grotz99]

15 hours ago, Arcesius said:

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. 

This video really shined a light on the fact that I have never been a score based gamer. It has always been about accomplishing enough to progress to the next section of the game. I don't mind more difficulty, but playing a game to get a top score was never a goal for me. My friends were never like let's see who can get a higher score in Super Mario 3D world X-X. Destroying friends(hips) in MP games is something I did and still do though.

 

That last part of the video really stood out to me. It is much nicer to get unexpected surprise rewards rather than having a goal you know to strive for from the start. I use to only look at hidden trophies after I beaten the game to see what I missed and if I happened to get them during the first play through, it was a nice surprise. Sometimes I would go out of the way to do something unnecessary just to see if it would pop something or what would happen. If it wasn't for the growing mountain of games and less time to play things, I would probably still play that way.

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

15 hours ago, Arcesius said:

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. 

 

I'm a victim of this as well. I used to play some games religiously, some I did a play through annually, etc. That has stopped for the most part. Are trophies to blame? Partly. But another thing that I think is a big upside to it...I've played WAY more games than I would have if I just played the select few I'd grab while I was sinking another 100 hours into something I've already sunk 1000 hours into. I've played so many more games of different genres, and some games that if you would've told me way back then that I'd play it and enjoy it, I'd laugh.

 

Has trophy hunting made it a bit harder to play anything outside of the PS ecosystem? Yeah, it has. But I feel like with the vast amounts of games I play now I'm definitely getting my money's worth for my consoles and games, and experiencing so many great stories. And hell, at rhe end of the day, maybe get some shiny plats to show off. But for what? Well..to just talk about them. It's just a conversation piece for me, to talk about similar things with other like minded people who game or enjoy doing these digital challenges. 

[Cassylvania]

Good video and thoughts, guys. Just proof that different doesn't necessarily mean worse. It's very possible the smaller selection of games back in the day contributed to how many hours we poured into each of them. Had to make our own fun, you know? (You also had asshole devs making games like The Lion King that were nearly impossible to beat, so 90% of your time was spent on the first level.)

 

Well, Two Point Hospital just dropped three new DLC packs on us and -- you guessed it -- it comes with broken trophies. I should just expect this by now. You can take your $20 overpriced mo...calm down, Cass. Calm down. Remember your breathing exercises.

 

*deep breath*

 

Man, so I've been watching old Johnny Bravo cartoons and the show really tanks in the fourth season. Usually I wonder why a good show gets cancelled, but that was like watching a train wreck.

 

Weekly update time!

• Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. Finally got back into this. Got to the top of the volcano. Think I understand how the leveling system works. It's probably best to grow rice for a couple of years until I reach level 30... The combat is harder than you'd expect.
• Saints Row: The Third Remastered. The race is on! 17 hours into the game. 30/80 trophies. I don't think I can get the rest in under 13 hours, but it'll be fun to try.
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. I never have to play as blue-haired girl again. I finished Ven's reports, so it's just Critical Ven and Everything Terra (mostly MFer + Critical) to go.
• The Surge. I tried again, guys. That second area is just too big. I know there are shortcuts somehow because I see locked doors, but that's the problem. They're LOCKED.
• Children of Morta. Kevin is surprisingly not a waste of space. Could've fooled me.
• Phantom Doctrine. I turned it on for like three seconds the other day and realized I forgot how to play. The issue is I'm worried about missable trophies and unnecessary extra playthroughs.
• Ys Origins. Yeah, right.
• Untitled Goose Game. HONK. HONK HONK.

Over/under on me starting another game before finishing any of these?

Edited March 14, 2021 by Cassylvania

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

2 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Good video and thoughts, guys. Just proof that different doesn't necessarily mean worse. It's very possible the smaller selection of games back in the day contributed to how many hours we poured into each of them. Had to make our own fun, you know? (You also had asshole devs making games like The Lion King that were nearly impossible to beat, so 90% of your time was spent on the first level.)

 

Well, Two Point Hospital just dropped three new DLC packs on us and -- you guessed it -- it comes with broken trophies. I should just expect this by now. You can take your $20 overpriced mo...calm down, Cass. Calm down. Remember your breathing exercises.

 

*deep breath*

 

Man, so I've been watching old Johnny Bravo cartoons and the show really tanks in the fourth season. Usually I wonder why a good show gets cancelled, but that was like watching a train wreck.

 

Weekly update time!

• Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. Finally got back into this. Got to the top of the volcano. Think I understand how the leveling system works. It's probably best to grow rice for a couple of years until I reach level 30... The combat is harder than you'd expect.
• Saints Row: The Third Remastered. The race is on! 17 hours into the game. 30/80 trophies. I don't think I can get the rest in under 13 hours, but it'll be fun to try.
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. I never have to play as blue-haired girl again. I finished Ven's reports, so it's just Critical Ven and Everything Terra (mostly MFer + Critical) to go.
• The Surge. I tried again, guys. That second area is just too big. I know there are shortcuts somehow because I see locked doors, but that's the problem. They're LOCKED.
• Children of Morta. Kevin is surprisingly not a waste of space. Could've fooled me.
• Phantom Doctrine. I turned it on for like three seconds the other day and realized I forgot how to play. The issue is I'm worried about missable trophies and unnecessary extra playthroughs.
• Ys Origins. Yeah, right.
• Untitled Goose Game. HONK. HONK HONK.

Over/under on me starting another game before finishing any of these?

ugh i felt the same with Ys Origin, but if i end up doing Ys VIII im going to feel guilty if i dont do origins to wrap up the Ys plats

[Together_Comic]

20 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

• Untitled Goose Game. HONK. HONK HONK.

Over/under on me starting another game before finishing any of these?

 

I'll take the under at 1.5 games.  I think you'll finish goose game easily before you start 2 new games. at 0.5 games that's a bit closer.  I still think you could finish goose game easily in about an hour, the question is will you..  I think I'd still take the under.

[Eagle]

Jeez. I got a bit lost on AC: Revelations after not playing for 3 weeks because I had to move... imagine if I was playing 8 games at once, LOL.  It's sad that Indivisible has screwed you out of your 100% completion, but it's impressive that you managed to get to 250 or so games without that happening, nonetheless. 

 

Good luck with your remaining games! I would guess under, since you're really close to finishing Untitled Goose Game anyway.

Edited July 4, 2021 by Eagle

[Cassylvania]

13 hours ago, BRKs_Eagle said:

Jeez. I got a bit lost on AC: Revelations after not playing for 3 weeks because I had to move, imagine if I was playing 8 games at once, LOL.  It's sad that Indivisible has screwed you out of your 100% completion, but it's impressive that you managed to get to 250-or-so games without that happening, nonetheless. 

 

I always thought it'd be Cities: Skylines that would do me in. Who would've thought it'd be an innocent-looking RPG/action platformer? But my fight with Ajna is far from over...

 

And yeah... You guys had a pretty easy time with that one. Probably helped that I got it down to a single trophy yesterday.

 

Platinum #245 - Untitled Goose Game

 

For those of you wondering if this is a meme game or a legitimately good game, it's probably the latter. I think what I like most about this game (besides the simplistic art style and piano music, which syncs to your actions) is the ability to be an asshole without doing any real damage to anyone. I have fun in games like Saints Row and, to a lesser degree, GTA, but I don't get a high from murdering or rampages. I'm not a psychopath. I just like to make everybody's life a little bit worse. There's some cartoon violence here, sure, but it's nothing like you would see in the older Tom & Jerry cartoons (you know, the good ones). I'd say the worst you do is someone is make him hammer his thumb or fall down. That's the basis of slapstick comedy.

 

Not a long game. Not a lot of content either. I'd say maybe good for one or two sittings, and probably better with friends. Definitely good for streaming. I'd say do everything without a guide first, but there are some tricky sections. The hardest part is clearing each area in under the required amount of time. You only have six or seven minutes and there is definitely some luck involved. You may need the NPCs to stand in certain places or prioritize one action over another. The Back Gardens, in particular, gave me trouble because I needed two NPCs to take certain actions in coordination with each other. I think the trick is to tackle the hardest or longest task first so that you aren't wasting too much time if you mess up. It's easy enough to reset and get a better start.

 

I'd like to point out that geese are probably the meanest creature on this planet and I'd sooner wrestle a grizzly bear than get close to one. But it's nice to see them presented in a good light.

 

Still not falling for it.

Edited March 16, 2021 by Cassylvania

[AJ_Radio]

On 3/10/2021 at 7:34 PM, Cassylvania said:

 

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.

 

We were just kids back then so we had to make due with what we had. Me and a friend poured countless hours in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Trying to get a certain fish in that fishing minigame was a real exercise in frustration. Spent who knows how long in that Water Temple trying to figure out a block puzzle. Then when I got to Shadow Link.... yeah. Let's just say I raged and threw my controller a lot.

 

I collected every single star in Super Mario 64 (there was also 120 stars) and seeing Yoshi after everything was said and done. Me and a friend had just 6 - 7 N64 games between us. We never thought as kids back then we'd have access to thousands of games as we do today.

 

And somehow, I'm a lot more bored. It's pretty common for me nowadays to try out a game on Steam that was offered for dirt cheap, play for a few hours, then drop it, never to pick it up again.

 

What I experienced as a kid, the kids of today will never be able to witness. But that's the thing, a new generation rolls around and technology in many aspects changes how our childhood will turn out.

[Cassylvania]

On 3/15/2021 at 11:52 PM, AJ_Radio said:

And somehow, I'm a lot more bored. It's pretty common for me nowadays to try out a game on Steam that was offered for dirt cheap, play for a few hours, then drop it, never to pick it up again.

 

I notice the same thing with movies. In the early days of Netflix (you know, when they actually had a decent selection), I got burned out on good movies pretty quickly. Music too. When songs were harder to obtain, I seemed to enjoy them a lot more than the current days of Spotify and Amazon Music, when anything you want is at your fingertips. There's definitely something to be said about enjoying something when that's all that you have.

 

Anyway, it's story time again...

 

Two little bitches were huddled together in the forest.

 

"I'm scared, Hugo," said the bigger of the two bitches. "Hold me tighter."

 

But those would be the last words out of the lips of Ventus, for the figure he was holding was not Hugo at all, but the dark knight who had been hunting him for weeks.

 

"I-impossible!" Ventus screamed.

 

OK. He got one more word out before his head was separated from his body.

 

Platinum #246 - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

 

I was arrogant going into this series. As someone who never grew up with the KH games (but obviously watched a lot of Disney and played a little FF), I had always heard the plot was confusing, but I just assumed that was because its target demographic was children. Surely I, who wrote my senior thesis on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, could comprehend a story about a spiky-haired boy and his adventures with Goofy and Donald Duck.

Five games into the series and I'm completely lost. I don't know who these people are. From what I can tell, Ventus is sorta Sora (which is what I already thought Roxas was), Terra is Anakin Skywalker, and Aqua is female Sonic the Hedgehog. This entire story feels like bad fan fiction. I know BBS is generally regarded as one of the better games in the series, but I'm sorry, guys -- the charm of the first game is gone. I've liked each entry progressively less than the one before. (Though the gameplay in KH2 was a big improvement on KH1, even if I liked KH1 more.)

 

I guess the gameplay isn't bad here. It's intuitive enough. I never used the shortcut system, but I played most of the game on Normal difficulty. I only switched to Critical for the last trophy, and I abused EXP Walker for all three playthroughs. Really didn't feel like making the game harder on myself. I'd say most of the boss battles were fair. Mysterious Figure was obviously stupid. I don't know why they needed to give him combos, when a single hit will bring you to 1 HP. Kinda annoying sitting there for several seconds while a group of clones gang bang you. I wonder if you could beat him without abusing the game's mechanics... I mean, clearly you need Second Chance and Once More. At least with Terra. I probably got luckier than most because it only took me a few tries on him, but Ice Cream Beat made up for it.

 

If you weren't here for my condition a few months ago, I had pulsatile tinnitus, which was causing me to hear my pulse in my head. It was driving me crazy. I've gotten that a few times before, but it's never lasted for weeks. I even had to go see an ENT and get a CT scan. I only point that out because it made trying to keep a rhythm even harder than it would normally be for me. But once it went away (on its own, thankfully), I knocked out that trophy in a couple of sittings. Everything else was just busywork. And there was a lot of busywork. Six playthroughs is probably excessive. I'd argue so are three. There really isn't a lot here that makes me say, "Yeah, that was an improvement on the earlier games," and I really didn't find myself caring about any of these characters. But I did enjoy kicking the shit out of Peter Pan. Probably my least favorite Disney character.

 

I'm watching Re:Coded as I write this. It makes as much sense as the rest of these games.

 

I guess the question is whether I want to jump right into DDD or take another long break from the series. I had a lot more motivation when KH3 hype was real and I wasn't aware of how bad it would end up being. Have I told you guys about my idea for Disney Souls? I think I did...

 

My thoughts are beginning to wander. I think I need to wrap this up.

 

GIANT ELSA.

[AJ_Radio]

20 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

 

I notice the same thing with movies. In the early days of Netflix (you know, when they actually had a decent selection), I got burned out on good movies pretty quickly. Music too. When songs were harder to obtain, I seemed to enjoy them a lot more than the current days of Spotify and Amazon Music, when anything you want is at your fingertips. There's definitely something to be said about enjoying something when that's all that you have.

Great job on Kingdom Hearts. Anyway....

 

I have to agree. I remember eagerly anticipating and impatiently waiting for the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. If you ask me they are some of the best fantasy movies ever made. 
 

Now, comparing Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter is basically comparing apples to oranges. Very subjective. The first few movies were to me, some of the first where I felt like my generation played a big part. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint all did their part in acting. Was refreshing to see some longtime actors ala Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, and Maggie Smith. Old and new talent combined to make a great set of movies. And before we could sit and pick out any movie, stuff like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl with Johnny Depp was something to look forward to. 
 

Nowadays I find myself scouring thru the Netflix library and finding little of interest. Many movies have a sort of political agenda and some obsession that rubs me the wrong way. Video games that are AAA quality are beginning to go in this direction. Multi million dollar superhero movies that fancy themselves more on CGI than acting. They bore me to death. 
 

Music has also suffered. The music that Gen Z listens to has some of the worst conceived piece of trash I’ve had the misfortune of listening to. No creativity. No imagination. All corporate filth, just like today’s movies.

[Baker]

49 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

 

I notice the same thing with movies. In the early days of Netflix (you know, when they actually had a decent selection), I got burned out on good movies pretty quickly. Music too. When songs were harder to obtain, I seemed to enjoy them a lot more than the current days of Spotify and Amazon Music, when anything you want is at your fingertips. There's definitely something to be said about enjoying something when that's all that you have.

 

Anyway, it's story time again...

 

Two little bitches were huddled together in the forest.

 

"I'm scared, Hugo," said the bigger of the two bitches. "Hold me tighter."

 

But those would be the last words out of the lips of Ventus, for the figure he was holding was not Hugo at all, but the dark knight who had been hunting him for weeks.

 

"I-impossible!" Ventus screamed.

 

OK. He got one more word out before his head was separated from his body.

 

Platinum #246 - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

 

I was arrogant going into this series. As someone who never grew up with the KH games (but obviously watched a lot of Disney and played a little FF), I had always heard the plot was confusing, but I just assumed that was because its target demographic was children. Surely I, who wrote my senior thesis on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, could comprehend a story about a spiky-haired boy and his adventures with Goofy and Donald Duck.

Five games into the series and I'm completely lost. I don't know who these people are. From what I can tell, Ventus is sorta Sora (which is what I already thought Roxas was), Terra is Anakin Skywalker, and Aqua is female Sonic the Hedgehog. This entire story feels like bad fan fiction. I know BBS is generally regarded as one of the better games in the series, but I'm sorry, guys -- the charm of the first game is gone. I've liked each entry progressively less than the one before. (Though the gameplay in KH2 was a big improvement on KH1, even if I liked KH1 more.)

 

I guess the gameplay isn't bad here. It's intuitive enough. I never used the shortcut system, but I played most of the game on Normal difficulty. I only switched to Critical for the last trophy, and I abused EXP Walker for all three playthroughs. Really didn't feel like making the game harder on myself. I'd say most of the boss battles were fair. Mysterious Figure was obviously stupid. I don't know why they needed to give him combos, when a single hit will bring you to 1 HP. Kinda annoying sitting there for several seconds while a group of clones gang bang you. I wonder if you could beat him without abusing the game's mechanics... I mean, clearly you need Second Chance and Once More. At least with Terra. I probably got luckier than most because it only took me a few tries on him, but Ice Cream Beat made up for it.

 

If you weren't here for my condition a few months ago, I had pulsatile tinnitus, which was causing me to hear my pulse in my head. It was driving me crazy. I've gotten that a few times before, but it's never lasted for weeks. I even had to go see an ENT and get a CT scan. I only point that out because it made trying to keep a rhythm even harder than it would normally be for me. But once it went away (on its own, thankfully), I knocked out that trophy in a couple of sittings. Everything else was just busywork. And there was a lot of busywork. Six playthroughs is probably excessive. I'd argue so are three. There really isn't a lot here that makes me say, "Yeah, that was an improvement on the earlier games," and I really didn't find myself caring about any of these characters. But I did enjoy kicking the shit out of Peter Pan. Probably my least favorite Disney character.

 

I'm watching Re:Coded as I write this. It makes as much sense as the rest of these games.

 

I guess the question is whether I want to jump right into DDD or take another long break from the series. I had a lot more motivation when KH3 hype was real and I wasn't aware of how bad it would end up being. Have I told you guys about my idea for Disney Souls? I think I did...

 

My thoughts are beginning to wander. I think I need to wrap this up.

 

GIANT ELSA.

That was a fun read ?. 
 

BBS is my favorite KH game, even though I also don’t have a clue anymore what the hell is going on with the story. It has the best battle system of all KH games imo. DDD is a good game too.

 

One thing caught my eye though. You can just switch to Critical at the end of the game and get the trophy!? 
 

This post put me in the mood again to play some KH myself, so I’m going to finish this franchise once and for all. Hopefully. Back to KH III to play that overpriced DLC.

[Cassylvania]

16 minutes ago, Baker said:

One thing caught my eye though. You can just switch to Critical at the end of the game and get the trophy!? 

 

This post put me in the mood again to play some KH myself, so I’m going to finish this franchise once and for all. Hopefully. Back to KH III to play that overpriced DLC.

 

I should've clarified. You can't switch to Critical mid-game. But the Critical playthroughs were fairly easy because you just have to get to Radiant Garden, find an Abounding Crystal, and meld it with an Aero and Blizzard to create EXP Walker. Then rubber band your analog sticks and walk away for a few days.

 

I just found that easier than doing everything else on Critical. Not sure how much of a difference it really made, though. I chose to do the harder but shorter path for KH2 and enjoyed that game a lot more.

 

You can suffer through KH3. I'm going to take the Ys O plunge and see if we can figure out how to get around those crashes...

Edited March 18, 2021 by Cassylvania

[Baker]

Just now, Cassylvania said:

 

You can suffer through KH3. I'm going to take the Ys O plunge and see if we can figure out how to get around those crashes...

KH III isn’t as bad as its reputation. I liked it. Now playing though the entire game again but with many negative boosters equipped at the same time is just terrible.

 

Good luck with Ys! Curious to follow your progress. I haven’t played it for a couple of months. Last time I ran through Boss Rush on Easy, and ofcourse no crashes at all. I really think I must beat all bosses without dying to stand a chance. But that’s so difficult and takes so much practice. Maybe I’ll give it a few attempts again too.

[Together_Comic]

16 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I was arrogant going into this series. As someone who never grew up with the KH games (but obviously watched a lot of Disney and played a little FF), I had always heard the plot was confusing, but I just assumed that was because its target demographic was children. Surely I, who wrote my senior thesis on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, could comprehend a story about a spiky-haired boy and his adventures with Goofy and Donald Duck. 

 

Five games into the series and I'm completely lost. I don't know who these people are. From what I can tell, Ventus is sorta Sora (which is what I already thought Roxas was), Terra is Anakin Skywalker, and Aqua is female Sonic the Hedgehog. This entire story feels like bad fan fiction. I know BBS is generally regarded as one of the better games in the series, but I'm sorry, guys -- the charm of the first game is gone. I've liked each entry progressively less than the one before. (Though the gameplay in KH2 was a big improvement on KH1, even if I liked KH1 more.)

 

16 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I'm watching Re:Coded as I write this. It makes as much sense as the rest of these games.

I guess the question is whether I want to jump right into DDD or take another long break from the series. I had a lot more motivation when KH3 hype was real and I wasn't aware of how bad it would end up being.

To quote someone else "How can anyone get all of this memorized".  These games are more stream of conscious than Fawkner in As I Lay Dying. ? It feels like the writers just did whatever the heck they wanted.  Not that I didn't enjoy the games growing up but the plot is, in fact, a mess. I don't think that it helps that the games aren't necessarily sequential with a lot of prequals and retroactive interludes but what can you do... lol.  As to your point about liking each entry less than the one before I definitely feel you.  I don't think the series ever really capture's the magic that was the first KH game.  

 

DDD is in my opinion the worst game in the series, but it isn't unplayable bad.. so take that for what you will. KH3 on the other hand I think gets more flack than it deserves.  It isn't the decade long in the making blockbuster end that everyone wanted it to be, but it certainly isn't bad.  It, however, does complicate the plot even more than it unravels it ?

 

 

15 hours ago, Baker said:

KH III isn’t as bad as its reputation. I liked it. Now playing though the entire game again but with many negative boosters equipped at the same time is just terrible.

 

I agree with this take.  I don't even mind that its tough, the PRO code merits just limit you to much for the game to be any fun.  It takes all of your options in combat and just removes them and then makes it so bosses take a million years since you're basically doing chip damage the whole time.  Just not a very well thought out system.  I still cant get the motivation to grind enough STR and MAG ups to do the data fights lol. 

[Grotz99]

17 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

 

Platinum #246 - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

 

Five games into the series and I'm completely lost.

Nice job on this one, it's the next on my list for KH games and just looks like such a grind, even though it is regarded as one of the better ones. Maybe if you don't play it for the platinum, it might make for it being better? (but that isn't why we are here...)

[Baker]

1 hour ago, Together_Comic said:

 

I agree with this take.  I don't even mind that its tough, the PRO code merits just limit you to much for the game to be any fun.  It takes all of your options in combat and just removes them and then makes it so bosses take a million years since you're basically doing chip damage the whole time.  Just not a very well thought out system.  I still cant get the motivation to grind enough STR and MAG ups to do the data fights lol. 

Well... I just played through the Re Mind story DLC and this is the biggest cash grab in DLC history. How the hell do they dare to charge €30 for this shit. You just play through the end of the main story again! With probably some extra story but I couldn’t care less so I skipped all cutscenes.

 

Currently working through the data battles and it’s easy, easier than KH2, but with the Pro Codes active I can see this being pretty hard. Luckily I don’t mind a bit of mindless grinding in JRPGs so I’ll be doing just that when going for Risk Taker.

 

But really, €30! Absolutely ridiculous!

[Together_Comic]

45 minutes ago, Baker said:

Well... I just played through the Re Mind story DLC and this is the biggest cash grab in DLC history. How the hell do they dare to charge €30 for this shit. You just play through the end of the main story again! With probably some extra story but I couldn’t care less so I skipped all cutscenes.

 

Currently working through the data battles and it’s easy, easier than KH2, but with the Pro Codes active I can see this being pretty hard. Luckily I don’t mind a bit of mindless grinding in JRPGs so I’ll be doing just that when going for Risk Taker.

 

But really, €30! Absolutely ridiculous!

 

Yeah the 30 Price tag is a bit ridiculous for what you get.  All of it really should have been in the main game IMO especially the data battles and the "secret boss".  The Merit Codes should have been a free update imo, similar to critical and at the end all you get is that little piece where it plays the end of the game again.  I definitely get it on that front.  

[Briste]

5 hours ago, Baker said:

Well... I just played through the Re Mind story DLC and this is the biggest cash grab in DLC history. How the hell do they dare to charge €30 for this shit. You just play through the end of the main story again! With probably some extra story but I couldn’t care less so I skipped all cutscenes.

 

 

4 hours ago, Together_Comic said:

Yeah the 30 Price tag is a bit ridiculous for what you get.  All of it really should have been in the main game IMO especially the data battles and the "secret boss".  The Merit Codes should have been a free update imo, similar to critical and at the end all you get is that little piece where it plays the end of the game again.  I definitely get it on that front.  

The price tag is the only reason I haven't played it yet. I'm not paying $30 for that. It was on my wishlist since it came out (before PS got rid of them ><) and the cheapest I saw it was like $23.50 or something....which is still insane for a DLC. I checked again the other day and it was still $30. At some point I'll end up biting the bullet and overpaying just to get it to 100%. 

 

I also agree that the game wasn't as bad as everyone said....the combat and stuff were familiar and fun still....but I do agree with the critics that the story mostly felt like a waste of time until the end. You spend several games gaining the 'abilities' needed to defeat the bad guy and then in KH3 it was 'oh no, you lost the ability you needed....here spend 40 hours going to these places to get it back.' It was pretty lazy writing and felt a lot like running on a treadmill, which I found to be disappointing. 

 

I thought DDD was ok....the Pokemon aspect of it seemed a little out of place, but it was somewhat new and it felt good to play the familiar heroes again. For me, I'd say it goes KH2 > BBS > KH1 > DDD > KH3 > 0.2 > Re: CoM. 0.2 would be a little higher if the trophy list wasn't so bad....I really hate no damage boss fights lol

[Baker]

32 minutes ago, Briste said:

 

The price tag is the only reason I haven't played it yet. I'm not paying $30 for that. It was on my wishlist since it came out (before PS got rid of them ><) and the cheapest I saw it was like $23.50 or something....which is still insane for a DLC. I checked again the other day and it was still $30. At some point I'll end up biting the bullet and overpaying just to get it to 100%. 

 

Yeah. I’ve been waiting for a definitive price drop to no avail. But every time it went on sale it was always €22.50 I think. Until the last sale where it was €20 so I just grabbed it. I could have bought Trails of Cold Steel II for that price but settled for this because I also wanted the 100%.

 

Anyway, now that I’ve finished all the DLC, apart from the Codes trophies, I’m even more baffled about the price. It took me 3 hours to play through everything. I did skip all cutscenes though so knowing KH games you could probably double that.

 

EZ Merits will take about an hour to do and the PRO code trophy... That’s going to take at least 40 hours or something. Not looking forward to that one.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Baker

[Cassylvania]

You guys are making me very glad about my decision to wait on DDD. I don't think I'm in any rush to get to KH3. Unlike GoW, though, I do feel like I'll someday get to it. I don't want to feel like I'm obligated to finish every series I start. Like, we all know I'm not playing the other Resident Evil games.

 

That's why I like these one-off games. Let's add another to the pile.

 

Platinum #247 - Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

 

Have you ever wondered "What if Marenian Tavern Story but good?" Of course not, because you've never even heard of Marenian Tavern Story, despite me having played it and written a review on it a few months ago.

 

Marian's Travesty Tale was unique because, despite being an otherwise traditional JRPG, you did not gain experience or level up from killing monsters. Instead, the only way to level up was by eating food, which you had to cook from ingredients you would gather in the field. Well, so much for being unique because Sakuna does that too. (I guess you could argue so do the Atelier games, but the ones I've played have a separate leveling system for battling and alchemy.) Anyway, Sakuna is the first to do it right, so let's break it down because this is clearly a game I'm going to recommend.

 

First, as with the other games mentioned, there are two "parts" to Sakuna's gameplay: the farming part, which is done at your home base (in a 3D environment), and the battling part, which is done out in the field (in a 2D environment). Time passes naturally. There are ways to speed it up, but the overall pacing is very laidback. There are four seasons, each season has three days, and you have an unlimited amount of time to get everything done. There are deadlines of when you can complete certain farming tasks (for example, you can't wait until winter to harvest), but the game will automatically complete the task for you if you're about to miss a deadline. The game just won't do a very good job at it. It's a system I appreciate because it's there as a fallback but not a good enough excuse to be lazy.

 

If you can't tell by the title, you farm rice. And only rice. (Technically, you farm ruin too, but we'll get to the battling system later.) To my knowledge, it's the only farming game I've ever played that centers around a single crop. You would think that would make the game feel very limited, but it actually has the opposite effect because the developers put a lot of time into making the experience feel truly authentic. You want to know what the game suggests using as a guide? Japan's Ministry of Agriculture website. How awesome is that?

 

Probably not so awesome if you can't read Japanese. But don't worry. You get in-game tutorials and Sakuna and her friends will give you hints from time to time. I'm not sure there's a "right" way to farm anyway. Everything from how far apart you plant the seeds to the depth of water in your field will impact your yield, but more doesn't necessarily equate to better. Smaller yields can lead to better stat growths. Because just like Marian, your level is based entirely around the product you make. But not the stuff you put in your mouth. It's what comes out the other end.

 

That's right, guys -- just like the plot of Suicide Squad, this entire game is based around shit. Don't make the same mistake I did when I first started playing. You want shit. The first thing you should do every day is get a big ol' bucket of human refuse from the outhouse, drop it in the bin next to your field, and fill it with as much stuff as you can. That's what's going to make Sakuna stronger. Your rice should be thick and sticky and tasty. And that's not just because I wanted to set up for a dirty joke. That's because each attribute of rice is directly correlated to one of your stats (e.g. hardness with vitality, taste with HP, aroma with magic, and so on). So, if you want your Sakuna to be a magic user, that rice better smell good. If you want her to last a few rounds against the surprisingly tough enemies in this game, you'll need to bump up the taste. She doesn't have to eat it, but it has to be in the shit. Her power is drawn from the fertilizer.

 

But you can't just add anything you want. Adding shit to shit can produce shit that you'll need to balance out with other shit. For example, you can add clay or rock to increase the hardness of your shit, that also makes your shit more toxic. To counteract this, you'll need some spring water to make your shit more consistent. And if you're in a pinch or can't be bothered, you can always send out your friends to gather for you. Just keep in mind that a lot of ingredients spoil after a few days. Best send them out all the time just to be safe.

 

Throughout the game, Sakuna will gain tools and upgrades that make farming easier, but I don't know if it makes it better. I never used salt water for sorting seeds, and I didn't like the higher tiers of planting. (The controls for planting seeds are a bit of a pain, by the way. Don't get OCD about it.) I gotta say, though. It's commendable how much effort went into the controls for 3D Sakuna, since you only use her at the farm. The rest of the game is a 2D platformer/sidescroller, which is where you'll spend the vast majority of your time. Gathering resources and killing monsters is essential to unlocking new areas and ultimately completing the main story, which is pretty good. I won't go into it here for spoiler reasons, but just know that Sakuna is a bratty alcoholic goddess (yes, those three words belong together) and the game is Japanese and the rest will fall in place. (Also, it gets weird near the end, but overall I liked the story. There are a lot of cutscenes and opportunities to learn more about your friends, who are all at least interesting. Voice acting is better than I would have guessed, but I wouldn't blame you for playing in Japanese. Tauemon's English VA does not match his appearance at all.)

 

Combat is OK. You get a strong and light attack (separate weapons), up to four skills that you can set to the directional pad, and this really cool raiment/scarf/grappling hook that you can use to traverse the environment and maneuver around enemies. For skills, I liked Rising Carp, Iaido, and Swallow Slice. The latter is pretty much necessary for reaching certain areas. But you get over a dozen of these, so you might find better ones. I think you just learn them from farming a lot.

 

There isn't a ton of variety of enemies in this game. They reuse assets a lot. For example, stronger enemies come out at night, but they're just glowing red versions of the daytime monsters. And you can bet your asset that you'll be fighting each boss multiple times. That's not even a spoiler. I think it's just expected with games like this. But it's OK because you'll get to see how easy those bosses can be when you're sufficiently leveled up (and how quickly they'll wreck you if you're not properly equipped). 

 

Trophy-wise...you know what? Here's a game that respects your time. From what I can tell, none of the trophies are missable, most will come naturally, and even the ones that seem excessive (such as reaching level 50) don't actually require you to do that much work. Like the level one. Yeah, 50 might seem like a lot, but then you realize the max level in the game is 99 and all your stats can be raised to 9999. There's no reason to have a trophy for getting that high, so there isn't one. Isn't that nice? (That said, I wrote most of this review before getting Sakuna the Efflorescent and Pioneer, which are major time-wasters. Particularly the first one, which is 2 hours of spamming Rising Carp. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd rewrite this paragraph, but I think you can work around this by simply chipping away at these trophies while you play through the game. You won't unlock the aphid invasion until late in the game, but the exploration objectives are something you should be completing anyway.)

 

Probably the trophy that gave me the most trouble was Aromatic, which requires an above-standard aroma when harvesting. The other above-standard trophies came naturally to me, even though I've heard of other people struggling with those and not aroma. Maybe my method of rice farming is not conducive to good-smelling rice. Maybe my shit doesn't smell as nice as I tell everybody. Maybe I should come up with a new icebreaker.

 

The point here, guys, is this is one of the better games I've played in a while. Certainly better than the last two. I know you look at that ~3 month gap between when I first started playing and when I finally picked it up again and think maybe something was going on there, but that was nothing against Sakuna. I just didn't want my enjoyment of the game to be tainted by the likes of Birth by Sleep and DQH2.

 

I'm usually hesitant to recommend farming games because I realize it's niche and I spent the better part of my life thinking I was the only person playing stuff like Harvest Moon, but Sakuna does it in such a unique and interesting way that I that I think anybody who likes RPGs or action platformers should give it a chance. I preordered it last year for $29.99 (one of only two 2020 preorders) and I can say it was definitely worth that. The biggest problem will be finding a guide if you need one, but this is the kind of game where it's OK to experiment. It's nice to know those still exist.

 

By the way, the graphics are fuckin' beautiful.

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by Cassylvania

[AJ_Radio]

Not my cup of tea to be honest.

Sakuna looks great and all, but I cannot get into that style of game and visual appeal no matter how hard I try, so I gave up. 
 

It’s the same with me on Ni No Kuni and Japanese VNs, can’t get into them. Maybe one day I’ll try something different and play something like Sakuna. But for now, I’ll play other stuff. 
 

Only stuff I’m any interested in that can compare with this is Kingdom Hearts, and standardized traditional JRPGs like Secret of Mana. Mostly due to the fact that I played a lot of Kingdom Hearts on the PS2, so while it’s been forever since I have touched that franchise, it probably wouldn’t take me long to get used to it, even with the newer, more modern games. 
 

Shadow of the Colossus on the PS4 looks really tempting as well. Going to wait until I reduce my backlog by 20 games before I’ll consider buying it. Of course there’s PS Now which will let me choose many different PS4 games, but I’m not willing to pay for a subscription I’m not going to use much. 

Edited March 25, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[realm722]

3 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

The point here, guys, is this is one of the better games I've played in a while. Certainly better than the last two. I know you look at that ~3 month gap between when I first started playing and when I finally picked it up again and think maybe something was going on there, but that was nothing against Sakuna. I just didn't want my enjoyment of the game to be tainted by the likes of Birth by Sleep and DQH2.

 

Hahahah I felt like you were reading my mind when you wrote this. I had noticed you started the games ago ago(by your standards) and just sorta dropped it. But I'm very happy to hear you gave it such a glowing recommendation - and it was no fault of it's own that it got shelved for a bit. I'm currently going through the exact same thing with CrossCode and have a lot of positive things to say about it - plus I've heard others such as DQB2 and Transistor that for whatever reason I just dropped for awhile, came back, and loved. The only thing holding me back was what I thought was a lengthy completion time... but then I checked the 100% list and a lot of people have it completed in 3-4 days which means it should be no biggie. It hasn't gone on sale once yet but I'll def add it to my wishlist and if it hits that $15 sweet spot I'll prolly scoop it up - so thanks for yet another game you've placed on my radar.

[emmajessica12]

8 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

You guys are making me very glad about my decision to wait on DDD. I don't think I'm in any rush to get to KH3. Unlike GoW, though, I do feel like I'll someday get to it. I don't want to feel like I'm obligated to finish every series I start. Like, we all know I'm not playing the other Resident Evil games.

 

That's why I like these one-off games. Let's add another to the pile.

 

Platinum #247 - Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

 

Have you ever wondered "What if Marenian Tavern Story but good?" Of course not, because you've never even heard of Marenian Tavern Story, despite me having played it and written a review on it a few months ago.

 

Marian's Travesty Tale was unique because, despite being an otherwise traditional JRPG, you did not gain experience or level up from killing monsters. Instead, the only way to level up was by eating food, which you had to cook from ingredients you would gather in the field. Well, so much for being unique because Sakuna does that too. (I guess you could argue so do the Atelier games, but the ones I've played have a separate leveling system for battling and alchemy.) Anyway, Sakuna is the first to do it right, so let's break it down because this is clearly a game I'm going to recommend.

 

First, as with the other games mentioned, there are two "parts" to Sakuna's gameplay: the farming part, which is done at your home base (in a 3D environment), and the battling part, which is done out in the field (in a 2D environment). Time passes naturally. There are ways to speed it up, but the overall pacing is very laidback. There are four seasons, each season has three days, and you have an unlimited amount of time to get everything done. There are deadlines of when you can complete certain farming tasks (for example, you can't wait until winter to harvest), but the game will automatically complete the task for you if you're about to miss a deadline. The game just won't do a very good job at it. It's a system I appreciate because it's there as a fallback but not a good enough excuse to be lazy.

 

If you can't tell by the title, you farm rice. And only rice. (Technically, you farm ruin too, but we'll get to the battling system later.) To my knowledge, it's the only farming game I've ever played that centers around a single crop. You would think that would make the game feel very limited, but it actually has the opposite effect because the developers put a lot of time into making the experience feel truly authentic. You want to know what the game suggests using as a guide? Japan's Ministry of Agriculture website. How awesome is that?

 

Probably not so awesome if you can't read Japanese. But don't worry. You get in-game tutorials and Sakuna and her friends will give you hints from time to time. I'm not sure there's a "right" way to farm anyway. Everything from how far apart you plant the seeds to the depth of water in your field will impact your yield, but more doesn't necessarily equate to better. Smaller yields can lead to better stat growths. Because just like Marian, your level is based entirely around the product you make. But not the stuff you put in your mouth. It's what comes out the other end.

 

That's right, guys -- just like the plot of Suicide Squad, this entire game is based around shit. Don't make the same mistake I did when I first started playing. You want shit. The first thing you should do every day is get a big ol' bucket of human refuse from the outhouse, drop it in the bin next to your field, and fill it with as much stuff as you can. That's what's going to make Sakuna stronger. Your rice should be thick and sticky and tasty. And that's not just because I wanted to set up for a dirty joke. That's because each attribute of rice is directly correlated to one of your stats (e.g. hardness with vitality, taste with HP, aroma with magic, and so on). So, if you want your Sakuna to be a magic user, that rice better smell good. If you want her to last a few rounds against the surprisingly tough enemies in this game, you'll need to bump up the taste. She doesn't have to eat it, but it has to be in the shit. Her power is drawn from the fertilizer.

 

But you can't just add anything you want. Adding shit to shit can produce shit that you'll need to balance out with other shit. For example, you can add clay or rock to increase the hardness of your shit, that also makes your shit more toxic. To counteract this, you'll need some spring water to make your shit more consistent. And if you're in a pinch or can't be bothered, you can always send out your friends to gather for you. Just keep in mind that a lot of ingredients spoil after a few days. Best send them out all the time just to be safe.

 

Throughout the game, Sakuna will gain tools and upgrades that make farming easier, but I don't know if it makes it better. I never used salt water for sorting seeds, and I didn't like the higher tiers of planting. (The controls for planting seeds are a bit of a pain, by the way. Don't get OCD about it.) I gotta say, though. It's commendable how much effort went into the controls for 3D Sakuna, since you only use her at the farm. The rest of the game is a 2D platformer/sidescroller, which is where you'll spend the vast majority of your time. Gathering resources and killing monsters is essential to unlocking new areas and ultimately completing the main story, which is pretty good. I won't go into it here for spoiler reasons, but just know that Sakuna is a bratty alcoholic goddess (yes, those three words belong together) and the game is Japanese and the rest will fall in place. (Also, it gets weird near the end, but overall I liked the story. There are a lot of cutscenes and opportunities to learn more about your friends, who are all at least interesting. Voice acting is better than I would have guessed, but I wouldn't blame you for playing in Japanese. Tauemon's English VA does not match his appearance at all.)

 

Combat is OK. You get a strong and light attack (separate weapons), up to four skills that you can set to the directional pad, and this really cool raiment/scarf/grappling hook that you can use to traverse the environment and maneuver around enemies. For skills, I liked Rising Carp, Iaido, and Swallow Slice. The latter is pretty much necessary for reaching certain areas. But you get over a dozen of these, so you might find better ones. I think you just learn them from farming a lot.

 

There isn't a ton of variety of enemies in this game. They reuse assets a lot. For example, stronger enemies come out at night, but they're just glowing red versions of the daytime monsters. And you can bet your asset that you'll be fighting each boss multiple times. That's not even a spoiler. I think it's just expected with games like this. But it's OK because you'll get to see how easy those bosses can be when you're sufficiently leveled up (and how quickly they'll wreck you if you're not properly equipped). 

 

Trophy-wise...you know what? Here's a game that respects your time. From what I can tell, none of the trophies are missable, most will come naturally, and even the ones that seem excessive (such as reaching level 50) don't actually require you to do that much work. Like the level one. Yeah, 50 might seem like a lot, but then you realize the max level in the game is 99 and all your stats can be raised to 9999. There's no reason to have a trophy for getting that high, so there isn't one. Isn't that nice? (That said, I wrote most of this review before getting Sakuna the Efflorescent and Pioneer, which are major time-wasters. Particularly the first one, which is 2 hours of spamming Rising Carp. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd rewrite this paragraph, but I think you can work around this by simply chipping away at these trophies while you play through the game. You won't unlock the aphid invasion until late in the game, but the exploration objectives are something you should be completing anyway.)

 

Probably the trophy that gave me the most trouble was Aromatic, which requires an above-standard aroma when harvesting. The other above-standard trophies came naturally to me, even though I've heard of other people struggling with those and not aroma. Maybe my method of rice farming is not conducive to good-smelling rice. Maybe my shit doesn't smell as nice as I tell everybody. Maybe I should come up with a new icebreaker.

 

The point here, guys, is this is one of the better games I've played in a while. Certainly better than the last two. I know you look at that ~3 month gap between when I first started playing and when I finally picked it up again and think maybe something was going on there, but that was nothing against Sakuna. I just didn't want my enjoyment of the game to be tainted by the likes of Birth by Sleep and DQH2.

 

I'm usually hesitant to recommend farming games because I realize it's niche and I spent the better part of my life thinking I was the only person playing stuff like Harvest Moon, but Sakuna does it in such a unique and interesting way that I that I think anybody who likes RPGs or action platformers should give it a chance. I preordered it last year for $29.99 (one of only two 2020 preorders) and I can say it was definitely worth that. The biggest problem will be finding a guide if you need one, but this is the kind of game where it's OK to experiment. It's nice to know those still exist.

 

By the way, the graphics are fuckin' beautiful.

 

I started playing this game at the beginning of the month and thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. I got slightly bored with the combat and decided to have a break from it. I tend it pick it once a week and play a little of it and I agree with what you have said. Seeing you get the platinum has re-inspired me to pick it up more.

[DarkSamurai69]

That was a great read of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. Can't wait to try it out since it has been on my radar ever since it was announced. I enjoy your reviews/discussion about games and look forward to more.