Vita's 7th anniversary event (event officially over)

[crimsonidol38]

Punch Line

 

Punch Line is ready to pop. Overall the VN was quite decent. The story had some enjoyable parts and the fan service came in the right doses, puzzle-sections are easy, and most trophies come naturally. I really liked the fact that the game features quite a bunch of scenes from the anime although I was a bit surprised that some sections towards the end had japanese subtitles (but the text was still understandable).

What I disliked was the fact that there were way too many chapters/"episodes" (22 in total) and barely any of them exceeded 30 minutes playtime and it felt a bit stupid that each chapter had the same intro and outro. But's that only a small flaw for a VN which surprised me in a positive way. Would definitely recommend it.  

[mecharobot]

I actually did get Punchline physical at release, but I'm not sure what I'll do with it.

 

By they way, what exactly constitutes as "ready to pop"? Is it just a personal estimate, since I'm now 1 trophy away from VD plat, but need ~90 stages worth of xp (changed my game plan since the amount is ridiculous) and if I plat Ys, I think there might be several trophies in boss rush in one go, which is at least partially skill based.

[crimsonidol38]

2 minutes ago, mecharobot said:

By they way, what exactly constitutes as "ready to pop"? Is it just a personal estimate, since I'm now 1 trophy away from VD plat, but need ~90 stages worth of xp (changed my game plan since the amount is ridiculous) and if I plat Ys, I think there might be several trophies in boss rush in one go, which is at least partially skill based.

 

Yes, it's just a personal estimate. Basically it's the point where you can say that you don't have much left to do and feel comfortable for doing the remainder a few weeks/months later without worrying about the difficulty or any specific gameplay-mechanics.

As an example when I chose Senran Kagura Bon Appetit for the 5th anniversary I played and finished ~195 songs (better be safe than sorry) and played the last few ones on the event day. For Punch Line I left the trophy for "listening" to each song for last. E.g. for VD you could consider it ready to pop when you are somewhere in the range of 4.9 million exp. For Ys you could either choose the boss rush or you might want to save the fight against the last story boss on nightmare difficulty for last. Compared to other bosses or games in the series Celceta and it's last boss are easily doable.

 

[Myu]

 

The Caligula Effect is ready to pop. I just need to get my MC to level 100. What a shitty grindfest this game is. I love the chara design, the story and the characters were interesting enough but the glitches, the lag, the gameplay problems, the annoying battle system makes it a nightmare to play.

I really hope they improve everything in PS4 Overdose because I do intend to buy it and give it the chance it deserves.

[crimsonidol38]

2 hours ago, Myu said:

The Caligula Effect is ready to pop.

Got the game added to your list. Sorry to hear that all those negative aspects spoiled the enjoyment. Hope the other games that are on your list will be more enjoyable, although I don't thank that Chaos;Child will be fun to read as you were already disappointed right from the start. 

[Evil_Joker88]

Assassin's Creed Chronicles is now ready to

All i have left to do is finish mission 7 of the Russia Episode with no killing (strangely it is a sniper heavy mission so it's a not fitting really but whatever )

 

Finished the ng+ hard playthrough two days ago but had to replay 3 missions (7, 1, 2) to unlock the never seen trophy Actually this episode felt the weirdest for me as they have some historical reference i knew and altered the Russian Revolution in early 1918 quite a bit to fit in their Assassin vs Templar world.... Gameplay wise the i liked that the two protagonists (Orelov and Anastacia) played a bit differntly (like the girl couldn't carry any person around which made some assassinations difficultier with no body left behind)...

 

Oh and @Crimson Idol pls add 2064 Read Only Memories to my list (japanese day), i unlocked 2 trophies after a few Min playtime already but i'll stop for a few days until i get my 10k milestone done i am currently in mission 18 of 20 in Trine 2 PS4 so it's clear i'm getting this soon

Edited October 22, 2018 by Evil_Joker88

[crimsonidol38]

5 minutes ago, Evil_Joker88 said:

Assassin's Creed Chronicles is now ready to

All i have left to do is finish mission 7 of the Russia Episode with no killing (strangely it is a sniper heavy mission so it's a not fitting really but whatever )

 

Finished the ng+ hard playthrough two days ago but had to replay 3 missions (7, 1, 2) to unlock the never seen trophy Actually this episode felt the weirdest for me as they have some historical reference i knew and altered the Russian Revolution in early 1918 quite a bit to fit in their Assassin vs Templar world.... Gameplay wise the i liked that the two protagonists (Orelov and Anastacia) played a bit differntly (like the girl couldn't carry any person around which made some assassinations difficultier with no body left behind)...

 

Congrats on the progress!

Seems like AC always has the most interesting gameplay when there's another character to play. And it's not always the easiest trophy one leaves for last but I guess this makes it the more interesting.

 

5 minutes ago, Evil_Joker88 said:

 

 

Oh and @Crimson Idol pls add 2064 Read Only Memories to my list (japanese day), i unlocked 2 trophies after a few Min playtime already but i'll stop for a few days until i get my 10k milestone done i am currently in mission 18 of 20 in Trine 2 PS4 so it's clear i'm getting this soon

 

Added it to your list. I'm also playing it right now (haven't synced it yet as I try to go for that Iron ROM trophy right from the start). I have mixed feelings about the game so far so I'm not sure if I will (re)add it to my list. And good luck with the remainder of Trine 2. Unlike the PS3-list it seems to be quite a challenge seeing that it's an UR.  

[DragonQuest238]

Okay, I'll join this event. I will probably do some ports of PS4/PS3 games as well as a couple of original properties exclusive to the Vita. If I made a list, I'm going to just put up a new list later so it's out of date.

[Evil_Joker88]

9 minutes ago, Crimson Idol said:

 And good luck with the remainder of Trine 2. Unlike the PS3-list it seems to be quite a challenge seeing that it's an UR.  

 

On PS3 you don't have to finish the game even once. All trophies are misc. On PS4 you have to complete all 13 base missions + 7 DLC missions on the highest difficulty (hard + hardcore)   And the reward for the difficult playthrough is Walk in the Park which it's not 

[crimsonidol38]

8 minutes ago, DragonQuest238 said:

Okay, I'll join this event. I will probably do some ports of PS4/PS3 games as well as a couple of original properties exclusive to the Vita. If I made a list, I'm going to just put up a new list later so it's out of date.

 

It's nice to see that you reconfirm your participation.

 

2 minutes ago, Evil_Joker88 said:

And the reward for the difficult playthrough is Walk in the Park which it's not 

 

At least it's a and not only a    

[DragonQuest238]

Okay, I didn't know if I had joined this event. Thanks for putting up that post, I forgot.

[Myu]

2 hours ago, Crimson Idol said:

Got the game added to your list. Sorry to hear that all those negative aspects spoiled the enjoyment. Hope the other games that are on your list will be more enjoyable, although I don't thank that Chaos;Child will be fun to read as you were already disappointed right from the start. 

 

Chaos Child needs to get off my backlog (even if I still think it's pretty mediocre). I need to add more enjoyable games on my list, Vita's birthday deserves better!

Could you move the Caligula Effect to the Western date? I want to keep games I played in Japanese for the Japanese birthday and all the others for the Western one. Thanks in advance!

 

I have the Japanese version of Conception II Children of the Seven Stars but I don't know if I'm capable of doing a whole dungeon crawler in Japanese... @Leon Castle @Izul since you are also planning on popping this plat for the big day, do you mind me asking for your help if I get lost?

[crimsonidol38]

9 hours ago, Myu said:

Could you move the Caligula Effect to the Western date? I want to keep games I played in Japanese for the Japanese birthday and all the others for the Western one. Thanks in advance!

 

Got it changed. And that's a neat idea actually. I wouldn't be able to pull this off as the only games with japanese languages I have are IA/VT, Taiko and Puyo Puyo Tetris.  I just try to get games based on their main audience. Weeb --> japanese birthday, Gaijin --> western birthday.

 

9 hours ago, Myu said:

I need to add more enjoyable games on my list, Vita's birthday deserves better!

 

I'm in the same position. I already ditched quite a bunch of games (and silently removed them from my list, 'cause I can ) as I don't feel like they would be appropriate for the event. E.g. I ditched Ray Gigant and platted it for another event as I felt it a bit too demotivating as it was way too easy. But after seeing that not every Dungeon-Crawler has such difficulty spikes as Demon Gaze I decided to purchase Mary Skelter as I heard it's rather decent too.

I also decided to ditch 2064: Read Only Memories after being ~4 hours into the game. Luckily I didn't sync it to the servers so I was able to do a factory reset and ditch it for good. I just hope that the game being on PS+ currently doesn't lower the sales price for the LRG-release too much. 

[DragonQuest238]

On 10/23/2018 at 2:38 AM, Crimson Idol said:

I ditched Ray Gigant and platted it for another event as I felt it a bit too demotivating as it was way too easy

Is it really super easy? I looked over the trophy guide on Playstationtrophies.org and was a bit confused by the guide. Then again, I am not used to any RPGs that ditch the standards of gaining EXP and gold.

 

On 10/23/2018 at 2:38 AM, Crimson Idol said:

I also decided to ditch 2064: Read Only Memories after being ~4 hours into the game. Luckily I didn't sync it to the servers so I was able to do a factory reset and ditch it for good.

Is it really bad?

[Myu]

1 minute ago, DragonQuest238 said:

Is it really super easy? I looked over the trophy guide on Playstationtrophies.org and was a bit confused by the guide. Then again, I am not used to any RPGs that ditch the standards of gaining EXP and gold.

 

Ray Gigant is easy and grind-free. I think it's a good dungeon-crawler for people who are not particularly into the genre but still want to try it. You don't even need a guide to get the plat (having the detailed maps of the last dungeon is still nice though). I really enjoyed it

[DragonQuest238]

Just now, Myu said:

 

Ray Gigant is easy and grind-free. I think it's a good dungeon-crawler for people who are not particularly into the genre but still want to try it. You don't even need a guide to get the plat (having the detailed maps of the last dungeon is still nice though). I really enjoyed it

Okay, I might look into that. I need more Vita platinums.

[crimsonidol38]

7 hours ago, DragonQuest238 said:

Is it really super easy? I looked over the trophy guide on Playstationtrophies.org and was a bit confused by the guide. Then again, I am not used to any RPGs that ditch the standards of gaining EXP and gold.

Myu already commented on this, but yes they game is quite easy as the character's are automatically healed after every battle (unless they die) and it barely requires any strategy as you can play it safe and take down nearly each enemy and boss with the same strategy. The only problem might be a trophy related to one rhythm-based ability (Slash Beat Mode) which seems to require a near Full Combo.

 

7 hours ago, DragonQuest238 said:

Is it really bad?

 

Let's just say that after reading VA11 HALL-A (which shares the same universe as 2064) and playing Detroit: Become Human I didn't really enjoy 2064's take on the story about interactions between humans and robots, and all the other cyberpunk elements. It didn't really catch my interest and I also disliked the rather clunky interactions with objects, which is rather annoying considering this is a hybrid between a point-and-click adventure and a visual novel. But as you take part in the next KYC you might want to pay attention to the impressions/reviews of @xFalionx and @Kassandra as it's part of their line-up. Those will surely help to get you an impression on whether you would enjoy the game or not.  

[xFalionx]

I kinda ended up getting Hotline Miami ready to pop instead of MotorStorm RC... This game is just way too addicting, makes me wish I had the sequel.

 

Let's see if I actually end up doing MotorStorm next. I might get sidetracked again with KYC coming up.

[DragonQuest238]

12 hours ago, Crimson Idol said:

Myu already commented on this, but yes they game is quite easy as the character's are automatically healed after every battle (unless they die) and it barely requires any strategy as you can play it safe and take down nearly each enemy and boss with the same strategy. The only problem might be a trophy related to one rhythm-based ability (Slash Beat Mode) which seems to require a near Full Combo.

Okay, I'll play Ray Gigant! *checks price* $30!!?!!? F'k this! Not paying the price of a Wizard101 mini bundle for a one-and-done!!! ?

Edited October 26, 2018 by DragonQuest238

[crimsonidol38]

1 hour ago, xFalionx said:

I kinda ended up getting Hotline Miami ready to pop instead of MotorStorm RC... This game is just way too addicting, makes me wish I had the sequel.

Congrats. Personally I really liked Hotline Miami when I played it back in 2014 (wow, has been quite a long time ago). I especially enjoyed my runs when the game decided to either play Knock Knock and Hydrogen. Such a killer track (scnr) which I even had as an alarm tone for several months.  Personally I didn't really enjoy the parts I played from the second game as there was way less freedom in which masks you are allowed to choose. 

 

1 hour ago, xFalionx said:

Let's see if I actually end up doing MotorStorm next. I might get sidetracked again with KYC coming up.

 

Hopefully you get sidetracked by KYC so others have a chance to catch up. ? 

[xFalionx]

6 minutes ago, Crimson Idol said:

Congrats. Personally I really liked Hotline Miami when I played it back in 2014 (wow, has been quite a long time ago). I especially enjoyed my runs when the game decided to either play Knock Knock and Hydrogen. Such a killer track (scnr) which I even had as an alarm tone for several months.  Personally I didn't really enjoy the parts I played from the second game as there was way less freedom in which masks you are allowed to choose. 

 

Yeah, the OST of Hotline Miami is pretty amazing. They do have a point when they tell you to wear headphones while playing.  I also really love the frantic but tactical gameplay and how death doesn't feel punishing in this game. The short stages and instant respawn times remind me a little of Super Meat Boy, which is one of the few games that did everything right in that regard.

 

I don't think I'd really mind less freedom in terms of masks as I usually just slap on the combo mask until I've got an A+ and after that point maybe the mask that lets you run faster or the one that lets you start with a knife, so I'm not really using that many masks anyways. But I still think it's always a poor decision to limit freedom of choice in games. 

 

6 minutes ago, Crimson Idol said:

Hopefully you get sidetracked by KYC so others have a chance to catch up.  

 

We'll see but I'm at least 80% sure there's gonna be at least one person with too much time on their hands that ends up easily taking the lead during the last month or two. That's just how the internet works.  

 

[xFalionx]

I just got my MotorStorm RC PS3 plat and that also means that I can get my Vita plat at a moments notice, thus my cheesy cross save plat is ready to pop.  That was actually way less work than I thought it would be. For the most part it wasn't all that hard to get enough improvements on my times but I did end up having to revisit some of those drifting levels in the end to get my 9 last overall seconds down to 0.

 

This also means I'll most likely be taking a little gaming break until the start of KYC as I've only got a couple huge RPGs left and I don't want to start any of those only to abandon them for a whole month at the start of November.

[crimsonidol38]

1 hour ago, xFalionx said:

I just got my MotorStorm RC PS3 plat and that also means that I can get my Vita plat at a moments notice, thus my cheesy cross save plat is ready to pop.  That was actually way less work than I thought it would be. For the most part it wasn't all that hard to get enough improvements on my times but I did end up having to revisit some of those drifting levels in the end to get my 9 last overall seconds down to 0.

 

Congrats on getting that plat prepared, too. Drifting levels are my personal bane in racing games. IIRC there's no racing game where I really enjoyed the drifting and sadly drifting is a quite common discipline in racing games.  

 

[xFalionx]

1 minute ago, Crimson Idol said:

Congrats on getting that plat prepared, too. Drifting levels are my personal bane in racing games. IIRC there's no racing game where I really enjoyed the drifting and sadly drifting is a quite common discipline in racing games.  

Thanks.  

For me it completely depends on the game. I'm usually fine with very arcade-like drifting like Mario Kart but I tend to dislike drifting in more realistic games as it's less of a fun thing to do and more of a very risky but skillful thing to save some time. I was pretty indifferent about the drifting in the drifting levels of MotorStorm RC as they provided special cars that made drifting pretty easy. It's still an entirely different skill to master than regular driving. I also hate it when racing games force you to drift or perform tricks by making it the main goal of a stage unless the developers go a little easy on the difficulty.

[crimsonidol38]

On a personal note. There's another game ready to pop (for the western birthday:

Timespinner

 

The best way to describe Timespinner is to say that it's a Metroidvania to the core. Unlike many other games that are said to be part of this genre Timespinner focuses on the core mechanics by only giving you vague hints on your next goal and you as the player have to find the possible location and the way towards it. There's barely any guidance so it feels quite rewarding if you finally found the one passage you are now able to access thanks to one gimmick you received recently. As you may guess from the game's name Timespinner features some kind of time travel-mechanic where you can move between a past and a present world and similar to the Prince of Persia-games you are also able to stop the time for a short period to solve some platforming sections (or evade enemy attacks).

The core-gameplay is quite fun and rewarding but the game has two flaws IMO:

- Way too many power-ups. Similar to e.g. the different beams in a Metroid the game's main character (whose name I somehow forgot) has the possibility to find and equip so-called orbs that act as the main way to attack enemies. There are orbs that act like swords, and hammers, or orbs that use the power of fire, ice, light, and dark magic and then there's way too many other orbs. According to a list there's at least 15 of them and about two third of them never had to be used. And then there's the so-called familiars which act as support characters and fly around you like little satellites all the time. There's six of them and besides the first one I never had to use any other as they are useless anyway.

- The story is rather shallow and even if it's good that the game also adds LBGTQ-characters it felt way too forced in some points and unfitting. But I don't want to open a can of worms so I will just say that I didn't like this game's take on that part of society.

 

Nonetheless it was an enjoyable game. Maybe not worth the price point of 20€/$20 . And even if the Vita-version has a few framerate issues here and there (and some quite long loading times) it's still a decent port. Maybe I will start the PS4-stack anytime soon as the game's Cross-Buy with platform-specific lists.

Edited October 27, 2018 by Crimson Idol
typos