Copanele's collection of trophies and experiences

[TehUberCheezCatz]

4 hours ago, Copanele said:

Now for Yakuza 4...I had a look at the trophies (no spoiler reading) and NO 100% MiNIGAME COMPLETION??Only substories and hostess related stuff? Is this true???

Because if that's the case, it might very well be the easiest Yakuza for me, telling it in advance! Or maybe there's a hidden substory that requires mastery of all minigames?

Anyway, I can't wait to see the polarizing story, I heard it goes so bonkers I would most definitely go "what were they smoking?".

no, you dont need to fill the completion list for anything, just the miscellaneous trophies for each individual game, the hostess shit is super boring though on both sides.

[Copanele]

33 minutes ago, Tsundokuist said:

Sorry to hijack your thread and go back to the KOF games but as you seem to love SNK fighters even more than I do I’m guessing you won’t mind this question…

 

Would you recommend those ACA games?

The trophy lists don’t look like they encourage you to actually play the games in the same way the Code Mystics etc releases do, also I’m wondering about the emulation. I bought the Orochi Saga in a sale but dropped/deleted it at 0% as it felt too laggy (which I really should have expected from a PS4 emulating a PS2 emulating a NeoGeo) do the ACA games play noticeably better and are they a good/worthwhile experience or should I just give the Orochi Saga (and that Fatal Fury Vol. 2 collection) a second chance?

No problem, anyone can ask about any of the games I have played

 

 I haven't seen any significant performance difference between ACA games and Orochi Saga tbh. They perform the same, the only difference being that Orochi Saga has completely different trophy requirements. 

Basically if you want to "one and done", pick up the ACA games. If you want the full collection, Orochi Saga is the way to go. ACA are juust abit closer to the original game performance wise from what I have heard, but I would still recommend Orochi Saga. 

 

Lag or no lag, Rugal is still a cheap bastard ?

10 minutes ago, TehUberCheezCatz said:

no, you dont need to fill the completion list for anything, just the miscellaneous trophies for each individual game, the hostess shit is super boring though on both sides.

Well that's good to know! Hostess part I expect to be mad boring, considering the slog that was hostess-ing in yakuza 3

 

[FrediPy_]

On 15/10/2021 at 9:23 AM, Copanele said:

THE MINIGAMES IN YAKUZA 3

Kiryu May Cry edition

I had such a good time reading this ? As someone who is currently working on 100%-ing Yakuza 0 I am really thankful that I don't need to beat everything on maximum difficulty and do all sorts of crazy stuff with the minigames. Mate, I would've lost my mind with those pool shots. Also… what the hell is that chasing minigame? I watched a couple of videos on youtube and it looks anything but fun, too sloppy. At least you didn't get to do more catfights.

 

I'm very thankful about the Yakuza games having so much stuff to do, I have spent a bunch of hours playing some of my fav minigames just because I enjoy playing them, but this is literally asking you to master most of them, not just being kinda good. Wow, no wonder why this is considered the hardest/grindiest/whateverest Yakuza plat out there, congrats!

[Deadly_Ha_Ha]

Dude, I watched that billiards video you embedded in the Yakuza 3 writeup and laughed out loud. All that set up, and the ball just absolutely deviated from the plan. What a nightmare

[Copanele]

4 hours ago, FrediPy_ said:

I had such a good time reading this  As someone who is currently working on 100%-ing Yakuza 0 I am really thankful that I don't need to beat everything on maximum difficulty and do all sorts of crazy stuff with the minigames. Mate, I would've lost my mind with those pool shots. Also… what the hell is that chasing minigame? I watched a couple of videos on youtube and it looks anything but fun, too sloppy. At least you didn't get to do more catfights.

 

I'm very thankful about the Yakuza games having so much stuff to do, I have spent a bunch of hours playing some of my fav minigames just because I enjoy playing them, but this is literally asking you to master most of them, not just being kinda good. Wow, no wonder why this is considered the hardest/grindiest/whateverest Yakuza plat out there, congrats!

Yeah if Yakuza 0 asked to do everything on max difficulty...damn. It would have been criminal. Y0 already asks too much  the great part is that in Y0 all minigames work (except that catfight garbage). But well, that's why Yakuza 0 is so great.

 

11 minutes ago, Deadly_Ha_Ha said:

Dude, I watched that billiards video you embedded in the Yakuza 3 writeup and laughed out loud. All that set up, and the ball just absolutely deviated from the plan. What a nightmare

I have another one, not as glorious mind you, but still kinda the same. Right at the last ball on Expert, planned the shot, mm by mm and...

this one hurt even more than the first video  

 

[PooPooBlast]

11 hours ago, Copanele said:

Now for Yakuza 4...I had a look at the trophies (no spoiler reading) and NO 100% MiNIGAME COMPLETION??Only substories and hostess related stuff? Is this true???

Yakuza 4 was my easiest plat for sure. 

 

No 100% completion is needed and they barely ask you to touch some of the minigames (with the exception of having to do the hostess crap which once again, it's back with vengeance!!) 

 

In terms of plat difficulty, my opinion is as followed:

 

3 (tied with Judgment) > 0 > 1 > FoTNS > 7 > 2 > Dead souls > 5 > 6 > 4. 

 

As for Lost Judgment, I havent beaten the game yet to tell you but I'd probably lump it around Yakuza 2. 

[Copanele]

1 minute ago, PooPooBlast said:

Yakuza 4 was my easiest plat for sure. 

 

No 100% completion is needed and they barely ask you to touch some of the minigames (with the exception of having to do the hostess crap which once again, it's back with vengeance!!) 

 

In terms of plat difficulty, my opinion is as followed:

 

3 (tied with Judgment) > 0 > 1 > FoTNS > 7 > 2 > Dead souls > 5 > 6 > 4. 

 

As for Lost Judgment, I havent beaten the game yet to tell you but I'd probably lump it around Yakuza 2. 

Pfff so I have to worry only for Puyo Puyo unlimited from this point onwards  NICE!

Bless you for this info, Grand Master of the poopoo clan! All the Kiryu games that I have left are right at the bottom difficulty wise.

 

Although....3 playthroughs in Y4...poor Golden Gun will be abused to death.

[PooPooBlast]

1 minute ago, Copanele said:

Pfff so I have to worry only for Puyo Puyo unlimited from this point onwards  NICE!

Bless you for this info, Grand Master of the poopoo clan! All the Kiryu games that I have left are right at the bottom difficulty wise.

Poopooblast, patriarch of the Blast family, a shitstain subsidiary.

 

But make no mistake though, there are a couple of annoyances here an there with the games I mentioned but they're absolutely not to the level of the ones you played already. And 5 in particular is the longest game of them all (you have 5 characters, 5 cities!) but I differentiated between difficultly and length here. 

Quote

Although....3 playthroughs in Y4...poor Golden Gun will be abused to death.

And I've got bad news for you buddy . The golden gun doesn't unlock unless you clear all the completion items for the minigames (which aren't needed for the plat). You're better off fighting them like normal. It's pretty dumb how the difficulties don't stack :/... 

[Thedah]

Reading through this thread has given me motivation to finally get back to playing the Yakuza games. I'm glad we got a bunch of them for free through PS+. I'm finally going to start the journey of trying to platinum every game now by starting with Yakuza 0 this week!

 

I started with Yakuza 3 and I'm glad that the general consensus its the hardest one though. I remember having to bust out a ruler to put on my screen to play billiards. I got the platinum for it back in 2015 and that burned me out of playing Yakuza for 6 years now lol. Going to have to learn how to play Mahjong though since the PS3 version of Yakuza 3 didn't have it.

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by Thedah

[Copanele]

10 minutes ago, PooPooBlast said:

And I've got bad news for you buddy . The golden gun doesn't unlock unless you clear all the completion items for the minigames (which aren't needed for the plat). You're better off fighting them like normal. It's pretty dumb how the difficulties don't stack :/... 

Tbh, I do kinda expect Yakuza 4 to disappoint....but....

 

 

2 minutes ago, Thedah said:

Reading through this thread has given me motivation to finally get back to playing the Yakuza games. I'm glad we got a bunch of them for free through PS+. I'm finally going to start the journey of trying to platinum every game now by starting with Yakuza 0 this week!

 

I'm glad that the general consensus is that Yakuza 3 is the hardest one though. I remember having to bust out a ruler to put on my screen to play billiards. I got the platinum for it back in 2015 and that burned me out of playing Yakuza for 6 years now lol. Going to have to learn how to play Mahjong though since the PS3 version of Yakuza 3 didn't have it.

 

As long as I motivate people to enjoy these games (and hate me for getting wrecked in batting minigame) I am good  glad you got motivated!

[rjkclarke]

12 hours ago, Copanele said:

Hah heyo there, expected your reply I wanted to reply to your thread too (Cat quest ) but...uhm...The Surge caught me up this weekend I missed most updates.

 

So yeah, Yakuza 3 isn't as scary as I expected. If I were to start my Yakuza journey with this one...woo boy yeah it would have been a mess. But given the past experience (especially with Y0), Yakuza 3 wasn't nearly as crappy. So go for it, let me know what you think and most importantly do record how many tries it takes you to get the Break Ace trophy

 

I understand that Kiwami 1 is a remake from the first Yakuza and well they wanted to stay true to the original (which was experimental, so I won't fault them). But like they could have done small improvements - for instance, in Majima Everywhere, I would have loved that Majima had his style themes from Yakuza 0, those were so fire! Like when he pops from the trash can and you hear that vibe music, to go "oh shit it's Breaker Majima, time to throw down". I don't know, Kiwami could have been SO much better (but still a great game).

But I have to thank Yakuza 0 for enjoying Kiwami. Without Yakuza 0...I wouldn't have praised Kiwami as much. I don't know how I would have enjoyed the game without Majima and Nishiki's backgrounds.

 

Fist of the North Star...I liked that game because I like Kenshiro and seeing him do dumb shit with the most serious face ever cracked me up non-stop. Yes there is that Y0 Hostess minigame BUT it drags on abit too much. You have to get a certain amount of money in that minigame only and my god it takes too long.

And...that's one issue with FotNS: grinding in that game is tedious. You do have the city, yes, but you also have to explore a vast wasteland with your buggy car and grinding in that shit is...awful to say the least. So, while the action and QTEs and Kenshiro and the bosses are top quality, be prepared for one hell of a grind.

Also Dr Ken minigame is the most brutal rhythm game from the entire series. It's the equivalent of not missing a note in every Karaoke song BUT the keys appear randomly on the screen instead of lining up. That will take quite some time and it was a platinum blocker for me at a point

 

Now for Yakuza 4...I had a look at the trophies (no spoiler reading) and NO 100% MiNIGAME COMPLETION??Only substories and hostess related stuff? Is this true???

Because if that's the case, it might very well be the easiest Yakuza for me, telling it in advance! Or maybe there's a hidden substory that requires mastery of all minigames?

Anyway, I can't wait to see the polarizing story, I heard it goes so bonkers I would most definitely go "what were they smoking?".

Fun times ahead

 

Haha - no need to worry, you know I get it, sometimes a game just grabs you for a bit right?

 

I'm pretty proficient at Pool games - and in actual real world Pool there's a semi reliable trick to make the 9 off the break, if you use a cut break..... Unfortunately, Yakuza's Pool plays more like a swimming Pool, than the Billiards version ?......  So I expect if I tried that it almost certainly wouldn't work anyway - so maybe a recording will be necessary, just for fun.

 

Kiwami 1 is a really interesting one - because as a remake it pretty much does its job perfectly. Having played the PS2 one first all those years ago, it honestly just made me feel like I was playing that, but just with graphical improvements and more mini-games peppered in. That's also kind of one of its negatives too - that is true isn't it, Majima doesn't;'t really fight with any of his 0 styles when you encounter him in Kiwami, you just get the music, I'd sort of forgotten that one.

 

I already liked Fist of the North Star as well - in fact Lost Paradise won't even be my first Fist of the North Star platinum - should be my third really, but Fist of the North Star 2 *cough* Dynasty Warriors *cough* is a bit too pricey for me to want to drop for that game right now, almost to the point where it might make my wallet become sentient sprout arms and tiger drop me for even entertaining the thought. But Lost Paradise - grindiness aside I'm kind of looking forward to, that Dr Ken minigame scares me though - because I am terrible at rhythm games, I'll push through and do it though, however long it takes. Everyone seem to struggle with Haruka's  rotation pool request in Kiwami 1, but I was sat there for ages trying to nail down the request for a 95 rating for Otometal (which is thankfully quite a good song,) I just majorly sucked at it..... ....

 

Yeah you're pretty much fine for Yakuza 4, it's definitely going to be the easiest one you've done, the hostessing is super boring, not going to lie, I remember just muting the music, and listening to podcasts through that.  Make sure to do Dead Souls after, you know for chronology's sake..... ? (it references Tanimura, so it has to be set after 4, in whatever weird alt-universe it is set in).  I'll be honest and say that of the mainline games Yakuza 4 is probably one of the ones I like the least - although I still love it obviously, just a little less than others. It'll scratch your Majima itch a bit too, as you're going to get some more backstory nuggets that add some more depth to him.

Going from one protagonist to four is quite an ambitious leap. Yet there's still so much I do love about that one - it introduced Akiyama and Saejima, the latter of which is one of my favourite characters across the whole series. Tanimura is actually pretty decent too, and I'm a little bummed out that you're stuck with the character redesign that you got for him in the remastered version, I much prefer the original, but I get why it had to change.

 

46 minutes ago, PooPooBlast said:

3 (tied with Judgment) > 0 > 1 > FoTNS > 7 > 2 > Dead souls > 5 > 6 > 4. 

 

Interesting!

 

I'm surprised you put 4 as easier than 6.... Was it the Puyo Puyo that put Judgment on the same level as 3 for you? Or is it the fact there's no real way to reduce damage, so on Legend difficulty, Yagami gets pretty pasted on the regular in a couple of hits.. Puyo though,  I didn't really have too much of  a problem with that (still a bit,) it was still a bit awkward, but I went out of my way to get the 100% completion in Yakuza 6, so I was already fairly well versed in Puyo Puyo going into Judgment so it didn't quite plague me so much.

 

I thought for sure Yakuza 6 would be top of everyone's easiest list. I think even with going outside of the trophies for 100% completion, I clocked in at around 65 hours I think. I'm sure most of that time was trying to get a specific cat to spawn that I could feed too.. ?

 

Although here's where we differ, I'd bump 5 up a bit higher on my own difficulty scale - just because as I mentioned, I suck at rhythm games, and Taiko Drum Master in Yakuza 5 decided to torture me for a good couple of days because I sucked so bad at it! .... Oh and Academic Baseball, that also made me want to use my controller as the worlds most expensive Frisbee for a little while too. ?...

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by rjkclarke

[PooPooBlast]

1 hour ago, rjkclarke said:

Interesting!

Puyo was definitely the platinum obstacle for me! That's why I put it up there. The final boss on legend difficulty was pretty challenging too. Unlike Kiryu, Yagami can't tank that many hits unfortunately. To be frank, without puyo the difficulty in judgment drops aaalll the way down to the likes of kiwami 2 (at least imo!)

 

As for 4 and 6, honestly those two are interchangeable for me. Both require minimal effort that ranking either or as the easiest Yakuza game is valid.

[Copanele]

Well, got a new one completed and sadly this ain't Yakuza. In fact it's @PooPooBlast's nemesis 

 

 No. 157 - The Surge

+💯 % completed

Platinum Name: The Surge 

Hardest Trophy: Episodic (DLC) - finish every episode in The Good The Bad and the Augmented

Difficulty: 4/10 - mainly because I got lost easily

Personal impression: 7.8/10

 

This game is one of the few "Souls-likes" games that finally got the idea of the Dark Souls formula...in decent proportions. Thank god, I really couldn't stomach another shameless clone.

 

After the "experience" that was Lords of the Fallen - a game I still struggle to forget and forgive - studio Deck 13 didn't give up, tried again and created The Surge, a "Souls" inspired action RPG set in a dystopian future where the Earth is going to heck and people get themselves into metallic exoskeletons in order to perform better. 

You play as Warren, a disabled guy in a wheelchair who is promised an exosuit and a place to work at the world's greatest company Creo, a global corporation who tries to fix the dying world. Warren goes through the gates, applies for his dream job (your pick) and gets to the implant room to get sedated and mounted into the exo-suit. Except that something goes wrong, he doesn't get sedated and faints from the pain, only to wake up in a wasteland full of crazed people who want to eat him alive. Warren tries now to find out what the hell happened and why is everyone trying to suddenly kill him.

 

The story, while predictable, it does its job and actually kept me interested through a majority of the game. Despite looking as bland as a slice of white bread, Warren is...actually a decent protagonist! He is simply happy that he can walk and is eager to help anyone in need, further proven by the DLC where you find bits and pieces about his past. The characters aren't bad either, the most memorable being Don Hackett, the company's spokesperson and the most accurate representation of a PR in videogames (jesus he reminded me so much of the PR guy of the company I work at, it got actually scary) and Irina Beckett, this "Solaire" of the game. Not even close to the jolly sunbro, but her sidequest was pretty decent in its own right. And as for Don...I actually wanted to find more of his interviews that you can watch on large TV screens scattered across the levels, just to see how even he gradually stops believing in the company's lies and attempts to cover various stuff. Well done Don Hackett, you shall be missed.

 

The biggest improvement of this game over Lords of the Fallen is the combat, oh glory to the combat! Gone are the days where you tumbled like a fool to dodge an incoming hammer. Deck13 managed to develop actually functional combat and gameplay. Warren is more agile, being able to sidestep, run, jump and slide around effortlessly. The jump mechanic dare I say it's actually better than Dark Souls and Bloodborne and about on par with Sekiro  I don't know why, but jumping and especially jumping over obstacles to traverse a level quicker felt so satisfying. 

What is new and unique to this game is how the loot "system" works. Warren gets his gear the most straightforward way possible - by ripping it off the enemies. When you focus on an enemy with R3, you can actually select which body part you wish to attack: Head, Arms, Legs or Body. After you inflict enough damage, you receive a prompt. By holding down square, you insta-kill the enemy and have a chance to obtain his sweet sweet gear for yourself. This is your main way of grinding for gear and materials and I have to say...even after hacking around 1000 enemies, it still didn't get old. I don't know, it felt satisfying to see an awesome leg armor, target it and go "gimme that bling" on the poor sap who had the misfortune of meeting you.

 

Levelling up in the game is the perfect example that Deck13 learned their lesson by deciding to make a simple yet solid concept. Your in-game currency are scraps (the equivalent of souls) and with these scraps you can do 2 things - use as a currency for armor/weapon upgrades and upgrade your Power Core. Your Power Core is your central energy source, upgrading it increases the consumption slots and implant slot numbers.

And here we get to the part that I loved in a little game called NieR Automata: Implants. These little gizmos are the actual levelling system of the game. You find them everywhere and you put them in your Power Core in order to unlock various abilities: healing, stamina, energy and so on. You can equip a max of 8 implants at first, but by progressing you can unlock special exo suits that increase the number of implants you can wear. These implants consume core power however, so you have to mix and manage the implants so you can get an optimal build that will help you survive the harsh world.

I loved the implants. I spent so much time messing around with them, trying to find the most optimal build, then lite grinding just so I can get one more Core Power level up so I can shove in an upgraded version of the implant...I don't now why, this is such a simple concept and yet it was so satisfying.

 

And this is where I have to stop with the praises. Because, while The Surge is not a bad game, it isn't really comparable with a Souls game for me. These are the reason.

 

Level Design in this game is a pain in the ass. Since it's an industrial setting, expect to see a lot of machines, tubes, sparks, steam and whatnot. The 2nd and the 3rd stage confused me so much and they were so huge I actually got frustrated at some point after revisiting the same corridor a 4th time when the actual way was a narrow pathway hidden behind more tubes. The only remotely interesting level was probably the CREO Executive level where the scenery changed, but that was soon cancelled by the final level Nucleus which was one of the laziest levels for me. What's the purpose of having such a flashy launchpad if all the game did was sending me through the sewers AGAIN!

Honestly traversing these levels was just boring and annoying at some point, especially since other than the enemies, you don't really have environmental hazards therefor it's hard to find solid landmarks.

 

Bosses, again, were boring. I haven't found any challenging boss, heck the last level's new enemy is more terrifying than any boss around. You got bipedal robot, saucer robot, big annoying robot, armored robot etc. The only boss that I fondly remember is the first boss, and only because I stole his weapon which carried me the entire game without me finding any reason to switch it.

 

And speaking of weapons - the game is easy. Ok it's not THAT easy, but it's still a leisure stroll through a deserted land. And that's not the enemies' fault, oh they are vicious and they can rip you apart if you aren't paying attention.

The problem is the weapons themselves! As mentioned, I used only one weapon from the first boss in the game and never felt the urge to change it. But I believe that any weapon you would use would easily demolish the game. And you don't even need to learn any intricate combos! You can't figure out how to defeat the enemies? Try this combo! Run by holding down X and attack while running with R1, Warren will do a slide like in Vanquish and do some absurd amounts of damage to the poor sucker. Really, half of my encounters and even the final boss I defeated with just slide R1. 

Actually...I don't think I will count this as a problem. The slide is sick and you feel like a badass

 

And it's just the overall feeling of the game that's not clicking ultimately. In the end, while you're the dude that goes against the corporation, the story starts meh, gets strong then falls apart at the end. Not gonna spoil anything, but it's like the story writers tried to write 5 different narrative pieces that never managed to merge properly.

 

Luckily, the mood improved big time with the DLCs which were a huge step forward in quality.

 

A Walk in the Park is the first DLC of the game and it sends you to the Creo Amusement Park. The idea of a post-apocalyptic park filled with deadly automatons is always a BIG YES in my book and boy did this DLC deliver. I honestly can't find a single fault to this DLC, the enemies are both unique and dangerous, the NPC helper is actually feeling like a supportive buddy buddy, the level traversal is FINALLY good in this one (you can even ride a rollercoaster!) and the overall theme is hilarious and mad at the same time. 

Probably the only downside is that the final boss is not really that great story wise, however he puts up a considerable fight and has a way more varied moveset compared to the slogs in the main game.

So yeah, big thumbs up for this one.

 

The Good, The Bad and The Augmented is a Western themed gauntlet DLC where you have to traverse 9 different episodes, each with their unique twists and culminating with a faceoff at the end of each chapter, all while a voice with a thick texan accent accompanies you everywhere. This DLC is not as great as the first, but still it provided me quite a bit of fun, especially since you can add modifiers on runs up to a maximum of 4, Modifiers making the episodes harder but the rewards are also juicier.

What's best about this DLC is that it acts as a hub connecting all the levels in the main game, which I found invaluable for backtracking. 

So that + the wackiness makes for a pretty decent DLC.

 

So...that's the Surge! A decent game who tried quite a few unique and good idea while stumbling in other places. Probably they didn't have time to improve themselves.

Eh I will find out in The Surge 2. Whenever I start playing it.

 

THE GOOD:

- combat and limb removal is catchy

- solid levelling system

- Don Hackett almost convinced ME that Creo is a good and honest company

- DLCs are solid choices

 

THE BAD:

- bland level detail and environments

- weak ass bosses

- constant feel of being too overpowered

 

Recommendation: Dark Souls Remastered  - like duh, if you liked this one, better go for the original inspiration no?

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[Yuber6969]

Congrats on The Surge! I never heard of this one before you played it, but it sounds fun. Too bad the story is bland because I love sci-fi.

[Copanele]

6 hours ago, yuber1234 said:

Congrats on The Surge! I never heard of this one before you played it, but it sounds fun. Too bad the story is bland because I love sci-fi.

Thanks! Problem about the story is that it gets actually decent and abit creepy, just...to drop flat at the end. I don't know I expected more ?

[Arcesius]

Nice review, man! You sure blasted through this one!   

 

The good news is that The Surge 2 keeps pretty much everything that you liked about the first game, but adds more stuff that makes combat even more fun (directional blocking -> parry... ooooh yuuuurrrr), and the DLC in that game is as ridiculous as A Walk in the Park... A colorful, artificial city on a giant ship, with AI controlling everything. It's really good! The game also has way more bosses than 4 ? And they don't all look the same, imagine that! 

 

The bad news is that the level design is still subpar. There are zip-lines that allow you to traverse certain areas faster on your second visit, and the areas are varied in that they are not all sewers, but the levels are pretty linear and so exploration still isn't super fun. 

 

Now, I agree with you on the positives about The Surge... Implants are great (The Surge and Nier: Automata both came out in Q1 of 2017 so can't really say that they copied the system..? With the Exoskeleton, implants are somewhat of an obvious idea), and the weapon variety is also large enough that everyone will find something suitable. I would argue that the game is made super easy not only because of the weapons themselves, but because of the combination of weapon and attack options. With your weapon, the running attack seemed to be busted. I used the Spitfire Rod V2.0 from the second boss and... the dodge-attack just killed everything in one hit (high damage + inflict burning). So yeah, I'm sure every single weapon has some sort of busted combo that will demolish everything ?

[Copanele]

6 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

The good news is that The Surge 2 keeps pretty much everything that you liked about the first game, but adds more stuff that makes combat even more fun (directional blocking -> parry... ooooh yuuuurrrr), and the DLC in that game is as ridiculous as A Walk in the Park... A colorful, artificial city on a giant ship, with AI controlling everything. It's really good! The game also has way more bosses than 4  And they don't all look the same, imagine that! 

 

You know, I actually start to like Deck13! They improve their stuff with every released game. Like " oh ,let's make a game that doesn't suck balls and focus on DLC" and thus, The Surge appeared. Next "people actually love boss fights, how did we not figure that out yet !!! " and The Surge 2 did that. Maybe in the next game they will do an actually interesting level design  

They have a knack for the thematic levels from what I see, since LotF DLC was interesting from a conceptual standpoint and the DLC levels from The Surge were GOOD, so...maybe they will improve upon that.

 

9 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Now, I agree with you on the positives about The Surge... Implants are great (The Surge and Nier: Automata both came out in Q1 of 2017 so can't really say that they copied the system..? With the Exoskeleton, implants are somewhat of an obvious idea), and the weapon variety is also large enough that everyone will find something suitable. I would argue that the game is made super easy not only because of the weapons themselves, but because of the combination of weapon and attack options. With your weapon, the running attack seemed to be busted. I used the Spitfire Rod V2.0 from the second boss and... the dodge-attack just killed everything in one hit (high damage + inflict burning). So yeah, I'm sure every single weapon has some sort of busted combo that will demolish everything 

Yep, that's correct! I messed around with the Firebug Throttle V2.0, some twin rigged claws that did rings of fire and my god I was a spinning nuke. I returned to the single rigged weapons because the "haha bonk the computer" playstyle worked the best for me, but yeah, weapons were mad fun. Combat was good. 

However you said Surge 2 is even easier if I recall...oh boy  

[Copanele]

Oh, almost forgot to add in my post (i was dead tired when I wrote it), my ranking of the Souls series so far INCLUDING Souls-likes. I will rank them ONLY from personal preference, not difficulty or anything.

 

Lords of the Fallen <<<<< Nioh 2 < The Surge < Death's Gambit < Nioh 1 < Demon's Souls < Salt & Sanctuary < Sekiro < Bloodborne < Dark Souls II < Dark Souls III < Dark Souls 

 

Obviously this ranking is subjective :> I know I know, some games are way greater quality wise than DS1 but that's the one I'd replay if you asked me which game I would like to platinum again  

Games left to play, from the top of my head: The Surge 2, Code Vein, Mortal Shell, Sinner Sacrifice From Redemption, Ender Lilies and the upcoming Salt & Sacrifice (CAN"T WAIT)

 

I hope I didn't forget any of those. Won't play Remnant because I think that's co-op focused? Anyway if anyone knows if I missed a "Souls like" game, let me know!

[Arcesius]

18 minutes ago, Copanele said:

Oh, almost forgot to add in my post (i was dead tired when I wrote it), my ranking of the Souls series so far INCLUDING Souls-likes. I will rank them ONLY from personal preference, not difficulty or anything.

 

Lords of the Fallen <<<<< Nioh 2 < The Surge < Death's Gambit < Nioh 1 < Demon's Souls < Salt & Sanctuary < Sekiro < Bloodborne < Dark Souls II < Dark Souls III < Dark Souls 

 

Obviously this ranking is subjective :> I know I know, some games are way greater quality wise than DS1 but that's the one I'd replay if you asked me which game I would like to platinum again  

 

I won't post my ranking because I don't want people to get mad at me ?? Just to say... It would look WAY different, except the game on the very left ?

 

 

Quote

I hope I didn't forget any of those. Won't play Remnant because I think that's co-op focused? Anyway if anyone knows if I missed a "Souls like" game, let me know!

 

Remnant can be played entirely solo, but it's not a souls-like.. I still don't know why the hell people keep calling it one ?

 

You missed Immortal: Unchained, but last I heard it had been delisted? Not sure... And Ashen  Those are the two I can think off from the top of my head. 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Arcesius

[Copanele]

3 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

 

I won't post my ranking because I don't want people to get mad at me  Just to say... It would look WAY different, except the game on the very left 

Aw come on, true Souls enjoyers know that every rank is the correct one (but mine is more correct lmao)...except the game on the very left! If that one moves to the right by even ONE position, a player is entitled to get mad ?

Truly an undefeatable logic right there!

 

3 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Remnant can be played entirely solo, but it's not a souls-like.. I still don't know why the hell people keep calling it one 

 

You missed Immortal: Unchained, but last I heard it had been delisted? Not sure... And Ashen  Those are the two I can think off from the top of my head. 

OK YEAH I don't know, many people call it a "Souls- like" ...I think i have fallen in the trap of " this game is the Dark Souls of shooters" or some shit  ok whew, thanks for confirming it to me, because it didn't look like a Souls game but again, did not check further

 

IMMORTAL UNCHAINED! THANK YOU I knew I forgot one! As for Ashen...I know this is a PS+ game, but never checked it really. Good to know! Will write them on my list.

Btw...which game had the "no death run" DLC? I can't seem to find it.

[DrBloodmoney]

30 minutes ago, Copanele said:

Oh, almost forgot to add in my post (i was dead tired when I wrote it), my ranking of the Souls series so far INCLUDING Souls-likes. I will rank them ONLY from personal preference, not difficulty or anything.

 

Lords of the Fallen <<<<< Nioh 2 < The Surge < Death's Gambit < Nioh 1 < Demon's Souls < Salt & Sanctuary < Sekiro < Bloodborne < Dark Souls II < Dark Souls III < Dark Souls 

 

Obviously this ranking is subjective :> I know I know, some games are way greater quality wise than DS1 but that's the one I'd replay if you asked me which game I would like to platinum again  

Games left to play, from the top of my head: The Surge 2, Code Vein, Mortal Shell, Sinner Sacrifice From Redemption, Ender Lilies and the upcoming Salt & Sacrifice (CAN"T WAIT)

 

I hope I didn't forget any of those. Won't play Remnant because I think that's co-op focused? Anyway if anyone knows if I missed a "Souls like" game, let me know!

 

Well, most of my ranking is a matter of public scientific record ?, and yours is obvious ridiculous, as Best Souls is not on the far right... but I think that just means your ADP stat is simply too low to realise your folly!

 

.... I guess if you are looking for a semi-souls-like to fill out the EXTREME left had side of that list, and make Lords of the Fallen look downright sexy by comparison, I suggest a little Star-Wars flavoured turdlet.... ?

 

I've also heard rumblings that Hellpoint is a sort of a Souls-lite? Though I've yet to sample it myself, so that might be scurrilous rumour!

 

EDIT - I'll also point out - I'll be genuinely shocked if Mortal Shell doesn't end up out-lefthandsiding LotF. Maybe that dlc will help it - but it would have to be something else...

 

Also - people often mention Blasphemous as a Souls-like?

Edited October 21, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[Copanele]

1 minute ago, DrBloodmoney said:

 

Well, most of my ranking is a matter of public scientific record , and yours is obvious ridiculous, as Best Souls is not on the far right... but I think that just means your ADP stat is simply too low to realise your folly!

What can I say, unlike real life, I love rolling whenever I want to ? 

(I love comparing scientific notes ) 

 

39 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

... I guess if you are looking for a semi-souls-like to fill out the EXTREME left had side of that list, and make Lords of the Fallen look downright sexy by comparison, I suggest a little Star-Wars flavoured turdlet.... 

 

I've also heard rumblings that Hellpoint is a sort of a Souls-lite? Though I've yet to sample it myself, so that might be scurrilous rumour!

 

Oh baby...I'd play Jedi Fallen order just to join in your rant, because my god it was delightful to read the hate around that game. Unfortunately for me...there it goes on my list. Souls like, has to be played  

As for Hellpoint... HMMMM I know it was highlighted a LONG while ago, but I actually forgot about it (I think I first saw it on SunlightBlade's channel, for who knows of him). Ok, sure, on the list it goes!

 

Salt & Sacrifice

Ender Lilies

The Surge 2
Code Vein
Mortal Shell
Sinner Sacrifice From Redemption
Immortal: Unchained
Ashen
Jedi Fallen Order
Hellpoint

[PooPooBlast]

16 hours ago, Copanele said:

Well, got a new one completed and sadly this ain't Yakuza. In fact it's @PooPooBlast's nemesis 

Bro, all souls games are my nemesis(es??)

 

But congrats! Glad to see you liked it. Maybe one day I'll muster the courage and try to complete the game... (Probably not)

[AJ_Radio]

Not surprised to see you listed Lords of the Fallen at rock bottom. It looks good, but that's about it. I hear you can cheese most of the game, as the builds are poorly executed and the gameplay is pretty hit or miss.

[Copanele]

💯 No. 42: Castlevania Anniversary Collection

Hardest trophy: Heir of the Belmont Clan - complete all games

Difficulty: 2/10 - you have save states

Personal impression: 7.5/10

 

As lord @PooPooBlast kindly mentioned (you got me good there ) it's a wonder why I haven't played these games yet, especially since I am a resident of the country of Dracula. Not near the area of legend, but I visited the place anyway, better late than never!

 

But first, just a little geography and history. Despite Dracula/Vlad Tepes's legend sends him to Transylvania, but in reality he never had to do anything with that area, other than some political alliances. I crafted a very detailed map that shows where Vlad Tepes actually ruled.

 

 

 

Pretty close, but no he's not from there. Transylvania does sound more romantic than "Romanian Country" though. Also his castle is dope

 

BUT ANYWAY BACK TO THE GAMES! So Castlevania is surely one of the most known franchises in videogames ever. You (usually) play as a Belmont, a member of a family known for hunting monsters, vampires being their speciality. Some sort of witchers, if you will. The aim of all the games is simple - ready your whip, battle through the hordes of minions, find Dracula, kill Dracula, enjoy the fireworks. Straight to the point.

 

These games were notorious for their difficulty. Luckily, this collection introduced save states which saved my sanity, because holy shit if I were to do these games legit I would have lost my minds. There's so many bullshit moments in these games it's unreal (they definitely were created to eat coins from clueless kids) so yeah, for the best experience, save states are a given. With save states I was able to enjoy the killer music and the old but gold craftsmanship of these games. Because yes, I can guarantee, some of these games do deserve their fame and legacy. Especially since some of the songs are indeed glorious. For me it's a shock that Konami used to do this kind of quality games

 

The collection has 8 games and some of them can be traversed with passwords that will send you at the end of the game. I played most of them legit, only skipped the ones that I truly had no interest in.

 

I started my adventure with the first Castlevania. I admit, I was abit suspicious and wondered if I will actually enjoy these games, especially since the controls were tanky. One level later...yep I love this game. Had tons of fun, laughed at every missed platformer (yes I still suck at them), cursed the Medusa Heads, defeated the very first iteration of Dracula, good times. Bonus points for this awesome soundtrack!

 

And then...Castlevania II Simon's Quest happened. What a terrible night for a curse...that was fitting because this game sucked. I tried playing it legit, got terribly lost, enjoyed "Bloody Tears" only to realize that the song's name is intended for us, gave up and used passwords. Even with the passwords that gave me all the items, I STILL had to check a youtube video to know where tf am I supposed to go. This game is a convoluted mess and skipping it is actually a recommendation. Easily the worst in the collection.

 

Luckily Castlevania III saved it by being probably the best Castlevania in the collection (on par with Super Castlevania IV). Here you play as TREVOR BELMONT and you can see instantly that yes, this is the game that inspired Netflix Castlevania. You got multiple paths to choose from when tackling the game, you can recruit companions (Sypha, Alucard and Grant), you got one solid Dracula at the end...this game was chef's kiss, especially compared to Castlevania II. Wonderful, wonderful experience!

 

However it's Super Castlevania IV that sold it to me. Imagine that this game is like the upgrade from the first Mario Bros to the Mario where you switch into a raccoon or use a leaf to glide or stuff... the improvements and mechanical upgrades are astounding. Now you can use your whip to hit in 8 directions, holding down the button makes you flail the whip around (perfect for an actual shield, enemies hitting your whip die), better level design and challenges (and medusa heads), stronger bosses. This one is my favorite, it won me over.

 

Since I had the time of my life, I said ok let's try the GBA games, I have a feeling that they kinda suck. They...were good, but not great. First GBA game was alright, had no passwords to skip through it, but 4 levels made it pretty short. This is by far the hardest of the bunch, good luck finishing this game without save states. It requires pixel perfect precision and knowing which enemies you will face beforehand. It's a very unforgiving game. Sadly I did not enjoy it enough so I skipped the second GBA game via passwords.

 

Castlevania Bloodlines is an interesting one, since it's set centuries apart with Belmont/Alucard heirs. The game is non-canon from what I've heard, but it's still mad fun. It has the most complex level design of them all, especially the final level where you have multiple planes and inverted controls even. It was a good game.

 

Final one was Kid Dracula. Uhhh...it kinda sucked for me. I don't know why this game was added in the collection but whatever. It was cute for one level then I quickly got bored and skipped via passwords. Maybe the game has its charm, idk, I just felt it wasn't for me. Still better than Castlevania II.

 

So...yep, this is the collection. I don't know what else to say about these games, they are pretty well known to not enter in great detail about them. Other than some duds (Castlevania II, GBA, Kid Dracula), you are promised a good time.

Now if you'll excuse me, I just purchased the Lords of Shadow DLCs. I want to go with those Castlevania games, can't leave @AihaLoveleaf to have all the fun there

And I promise, I will play Rondo of Blood&Symphony of the Night in the nearby future. I just need the correct Castlevania mood for them

 

THE GOOD:

- truly a classic in terms of old games

- music is a banger

- save states actually improve the experience

- Castlevania III and Super Castlevania IV are probably the best out there

- you'll feel like a 1400 Romanian peasant chasing away ghouls

 

THE BAD:

- fkin medusa heads JESUS

- Castlevania II is ass

- GBA games and Kid Dracula are meh

 

Recommendation: Castlevania the Netflix series - a rare instance where a Netflix production is close to a 10/10, watch this even if you don't like Castlevania. The writing, the cast, everything is amazing about this show. Also Isaac is the best character ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 10/29/2021 at 9:11 AM, AJ_Radio said:

Not surprised to see you listed Lords of the Fallen at rock bottom. It looks good, but that's about it. I hear you can cheese most of the game, as the builds are poorly executed and the gameplay is pretty hit or miss.

Ah, now I see the reply yes, Lords of the Fallen is kinda miss AND miss. You can cheese with all builds and the DLC is horrendous.

I pretty much recommend skipping the game altogether.

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele