Copanele's collection of trophies and experiences

[Copanele]

53 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

As I told you over on Discord, man, superb work on completing the BlazBlue series. That's one of my goals right there. A goal I'll get to finish at some point but a goal no less, lol. Should try GG in there as well because that series is sweet as well but I want to focus on the BB world first before moving over to that one. These games were truly one-of-a-kind for their time and I love how both BB & GG pretty much embody the spirit of outlandish fighting games that actually kick ass with solid mechanics that Darkstalkers pretty much had back in its day. I mean, they all have bountiful female characters one can't help but salivate over as well. ;D

I really am sad that I finished this series, if I think about it Blazblue really influenced a lot of stuff (including that particular Discord server ?)

You really should return to them whenever you have the chance, not only you have the Shaolin Monk level of mental fortitude...you also have what to admire :> :> :> 

 

53 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

Anyways, quite a trip you had. Especially since you started playing them in reverse order. One has to start from top to bottom but you went the other way around, my man, driving on the wrong side of the freeway, lol. But you still got to experience the whole series and kick ass it while doing so, and that's what matters in the end. No matter if the game was hard or easy, new or old, you succeeded at going through the whole thing. Great work! ^^

 

Now, all that's left is... finding a Vita and conquering the world of portable BlazBlue as well. \8D/ You know you want to. =P

I would gladly get a Vita...if it was easy to find...and easy to modify...and cheap...and actually no I won't bother  had enough Blazbluing on main consoles, no need for the pocket edition (can't admire Makoto's...level 3 charges....as well on a Vita)

[Copanele]

MIRROR'S EDGE (accomplishment)

Access all areas - unlock all Time Trial stretches

Baby steps - attain 20 stars in time trials

 

From the genre that I am best at, let's jump (heh) to the genre where I am the most useless - platforming.

So currently on my profile there's 2 games that I have no chance of platinum, despite those platinums being fully obtainable - Catherine, which you definitely know as my archnemesis in gaming form, a game so reviled not even a Blazblue Makoto could save it, and Mirror's Edge, one of the better games that EA released a while back.

 

While Catherine can't be completed because the utter sight of it gives me 3 kinds of diseases, Mirror's Edge has a different issue...it's a platformer. And if there's something that I am incompetent at, it's goddamn platformers...and no matter how much I try, my brain-eye-hand coordination does NOT work when it comes to these types of games.

But at least I try to clean up as much as I can.

 

So for Mirror's Edge, had only these 2 trophies in mind : unlock every single map trial and collect 20 stars. To unlock every map trial, you need to get the minimum requirement in certain maps, which is 1 star. 3 stars is for the fastest of the fastest, 2 stars is for  "decent job" and 1 star is barely passable. I felt quite confident that I can accomplish 2 or even 3 stars on some maps. What's more, I do have the Pure Time Trials DLC so come on...how hard can it be?

 

2 hours of Mirror's Edge was me doing this: 

 

THIS GAME IS HELL! If you jump even ONE STEP in the wrong direction, your main protagonist Faith will go WHEEEE off the building. Angle the wallrun in a wrong way? Faith will either grab the wall (how????) or hop like a frog and wall splat, forcing me to restart because I missed a ton of precious moments. The especially egregious moments were when I had to jump on those launching pads, Faith would simply vault them. 

WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU VAULT THE SHIT MADE ESPECIALLY FOR JUMPING?

It doesn't help that Faith herself controls like a certain grass muncher who tends to sit in shadows of certain colossus(es...colossi? whatever it's Agro). Yes, the controls aren't that great either, and for a game which demands peak precision, this was a true ordeal.

 

I think it took me a grand total of 3-4 hours to get...hum....20 stars and unlock all chapters. In only one chapter, Edge, I managed to get a whopping 2 stars, but not after messing the final jump a grand total of 9 times. It's considered one of the easiest maps in the entire game, which does not help at all ?

And of course, not mentioning my inability to follow instructions - youtube video says right? yep you bet imma go left. It's like I am purposefully hit in the head when it comes to these games ? 

 

 

To add insult to injury? The trophy for 20 stars is called Baby Steps...after all this struggle, I am but an infant in terms of trials ?

 

But...unlike C*therine...I don't hate Mirror's Edge. Sure, I could never platinum this damn thing, but it's an enjoyable game nonetheless. 

Will definitely give this game a go in the future, but I really need a relaxing break after (only) two trophies.

One thing is for sure, I will never approach a platformer in my life  I have learned my lesson, sometimes it's best to just let go. Jumping ain't for everybody  

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[Slava]

But.. but... It doesn't sound like you're bad at the game. 3-4 hours to unlock everything is fine, I think ?.

 

The first time I played it on PC, I don't think I even unlocked all time trials. On PS3, I don't remember how much time it took, because I was switching between the story and the trials. But it was probably comparable to your numbers. And I wouldn't say I suck at jumping games ?. Well, I haven't played many first-person ones, but still.

 

8 hours ago, Copanele said:

If you jump even ONE STEP in the wrong direction, your main protagonist Faith will go WHEEEE off the building. Angle the wallrun in a wrong way? Faith will either grab the wall (how????) or hop like a frog and wall splat, forcing me to restart because I missed a ton of precious moments. The especially egregious moments were when I had to jump on those launching pads, Faith would simply vault them. 

WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU VAULT THE SHIT MADE ESPECIALLY FOR JUMPING?

 

? Oh yes. Dude, I hated that some of the walls, like metal panels or something, were grabbable (is that a word?) where you had to wallrun. And it's more frustrating and also funny when you want her to just fall down and respawn, but she grabs some freaking metal pipe on the way down ?. And yeah, same with the steps for launching and her jumping over.

 

I don't dislike the control scheme nor the way Faith moves. But some things like action detection could've been more tweaked, I guess. Some moves do depend on the angle of your camera, and screw you over because of it. You only realise your angle was slightly off when this happens, even if it didn't feel wrong.

 

9 hours ago, Copanele said:

Will definitely give this game a go in the future, but I really need a relaxing break after (only) two trophies.

One thing is for sure, I will never approach a platformer in my life  I have learned my lesson, sometimes it's best to just let go. Jumping ain't for everybody  

 

I wonder about the difference for you between platformer challenges and fighting challenges. There were challenges in fighting games where you had to restart dozens of times, right? But you didn't feel like you were failing. Is it a matter of being used to one genre more that makes the same thing feel different? Or maybe enjoyment matters too. Anyway, is it a fair comparison? Sorry if this was asked before ?.

 

If I may to go a bit off topic, I've been playing Crash Bandicoot 3 recently, the original version. Got 105% completion already, now I'm trying to get as many platinum relics in time trials as possible. Bruh. If the remastered version had a trophy for all platinum times, it would've had an ultra rare plat, easily. The list as it is now, is actually very good ?.

[Maahniac]

Your writing is so damn entertaining (as always!) Copanele! I've had my own share of tears and frustration with Mirror's Edge. Not so much the Platinum itself, but those DLC trophies you mention, which were just evil.

Congrats on your 200th Platinum btw! I'm slowly getting there myself.

[Copanele]

35 minutes ago, Slava said:

But.. but... It doesn't sound like you're bad at the game. 3-4 hours to unlock everything is fine, I think .

 

The first time I played it on PC, I don't think I even unlocked all time trials. On PS3, I don't remember how much time it took, because I was switching between the story and the trials. But it was probably comparable to your numbers. And I wouldn't say I suck at jumping games . Well, I haven't played many first-person ones, but still.

Yes it does look like a classic "practice until your thumbs bleed" case ... but it really feels that there's no progress really  

35 minutes ago, Slava said:

 

Oh yes. Dude, I hated that some of the walls, like metal panels or something, were grabbable (is that a word?) where you had to wallrun. And it's more frustrating and also funny when you want her to just fall down and respawn, but she grabs some freaking metal pipe on the way down . And yeah, same with the steps for launching and her jumping over.

 

I don't dislike the control scheme nor the way Faith moves. But some things like action detection could've been more tweaked, I guess. Some moves do depend on the angle of your camera, and screw you over because of it. You only realise your angle was slightly off when this happens, even if it didn't feel wrong.

Yeah that's my issue, and the same problem that I had with Crash Bandicoot. This game especially demands peak perfection in terms of jumping, vaulting, grabbing etc. But...I expected to have a 100% responsive control scheme also. 

Why ask me to do millisecond level of wall tricks if Faith can just randomly slip and break her neck ?  it pisses me off!

35 minutes ago, Slava said:

 

I wonder about the difference for you between platformer challenges and fighting challenges. There were challenges in fighting games where you had to restart dozens of times, right? But you didn't feel like you were failing. Is it a matter of being used to one genre more that makes the same thing feel different? Or maybe enjoyment matters too. Anyway, is it a fair comparison? Sorry if this was asked before .

 

At this point, I simply think it's my brain that refuses to acknowledge spacing  For instance, in fighting games, even if you need to do frame perfect stuff, you still are on a safe 2D plane. You move forward or backwards (and to the side when it comes to Tekken like games). It makes more sense.

When it comes to jumping...yeah I can't figure out how to plan my jumps, plan a route, everything. 

 

And probably it's a matter of preference also. I am probably the only person on the site that dislikes Super Mario ? (but strangely enough I enjoy Sonic).

35 minutes ago, Slava said:

If I may to go a bit off topic, I've been playing Crash Bandicoot 3 recently, the original version. Got 105% completion already, now I'm trying to get as many platinum relics in time trials as possible. Bruh. If the remastered version had a trophy for all platinum times, it would've had an ultra rare plat, easily. The list as it is now, is actually very good .

Hah best of luck there! For me Crash Bandicoot the first permanently drove me away from that series. I had too many awful moments with that game to even dare attempt the sequels, no matter how good they are.

 

30 minutes ago, Maahniac said:

Your writing is so damn entertaining (as always!) Copanele! I've had my own share of tears and frustration with Mirror's Edge. Not so much the Platinum itself, but those DLC trophies you mention, which were just evil.

Congrats on your 200th Platinum btw! I'm slowly getting there myself.

Big thanks! Yeah I do remember you having a headache with the Pure Time Trial DLC. I tried to play those maps and I think I lost an eye due to the mad colors  

[Slava]

1 hour ago, Copanele said:

At this point, I simply think it's my brain that refuses to acknowledge spacing  For instance, in fighting games, even if you need to do frame perfect stuff, you still are on a safe 2D plane. You move forward or backwards (and to the side when it comes to Tekken like games). It makes more sense.

When it comes to jumping...yeah I can't figure out how to plan my jumps, plan a route, everything. 

 

And probably it's a matter of preference also. I am probably the only person on the site that dislikes Super Mario  (but strangely enough I enjoy Sonic).

 

I think I understand it better now. So this is why you're more inclined to retry a fighting game challenge.

 

Now that I think of it, it reminds me of this feeling. It's sort of a feeling when you're more comfortable with something and you can picture the correct outcome, so it feels more within reach. And it's less frustrating to retry many times because of that.

 

1 hour ago, Copanele said:

For me Crash Bandicoot the first permanently drove me away from that series. I had too many awful moments with that game

 

Yeah I remember all the curses targeted at the crazy orange weasel ?.

 

1 hour ago, Copanele said:

but it really feels that there's no progress really

 

You have 20 stars now, so you're over halfway to the 35 star trophy, I think this is good progress ?.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Slava

[Copanele]

5 hours ago, Slava said:

You have 20 stars now, so you're over halfway to the 35 star trophy, I think this is good progress .

My absolute curse with this game is that I legit ignore the idea of Platinum - my aim is that dreaded Pure Time Trial DLC.

If that DLC was unobtainable, too bad ~ but it ISN'T , and it's BRUTAL! And can't help but think in advance...and while thinking in advance my Faith trips on another set of stairs, making me get 1 star out of 3

 

 

(not gonna lie, maybe I should complain less and train more~ but where's the fun in that? ?)

 

On another note, I started an interesting little game called King of Seas. Quite a fun pirate simulator game with procedurally generated map, nothing fancy but it will have to do, until God of War Rangnarok gets released

 

[Honor_Hand]

On 31/10/2022 at 6:19 PM, Copanele said:

What's more, I do have the Pure Time Trials DLC so come on...how hard can it be?

 

2 hours of Mirror's Edge was me doing this: 

 

This made me chuckle big time, lmao. xxD

I mean, let's look at the positives. At least you don't hate the game as much as, say, Catherine or Lords of Shadow. So I think there's hope for you to finish Mirror's Edge in the end. I know, however, that it will take lots of cursing, teeth-grinding, and controller-slamming moments. It's a tough game made tougher by the fact the controls aren't as precise as they should be. I had a great time when I played and platinum'ed Mirror's Edge all those years ago but if there's something I never forget about the game is how the controls weren't always that responsive. This then led to so untimely deads or moments of Faith wasting her fucking time like a dumb-dumb after becoming stuck with whatever on-screen (sometimes off-screen) object. It was infuriating for sure. ^^;;

 

Now, don't give up just yet. Come back to it when you have a chance and take a couple of steps every now and then. You'll find yourself making progress before you notice. I myself have to come back to this one to finish those DLC trophies before January next year, so maybe we can discuss and exchange strategies there. =D Also, feel free to download my ghost data if you want to rage at me. xxD

 

[FreshFromThaDeli]

I went back to Mirror's Edge last year to clean up the Pure time trials and I almost wanted to pull my hair out at Actino Rise. The whole DLC barring a few exceptions was very difficult. It can be done though!

[Vergil]

Lmao at the gifs

[Slava]

2 minutes ago, FreshFromThaDeli said:

I almost wanted to pull my hair out at Actino Rise

 

Oh god. That map. It was one of the stages I haven't 3-starred. I still wanna try to complete everything someday, but maps like Actino and Actino Rise still intimidate me.

[AihaLoveleaf]

On 10/30/2022 at 1:08 PM, Copanele said:

Suffice to say, this mode was truly fun and permanently cemented Tager as one of the greatest grapplers in fighting games. 

Now this is an achievement - not just finishing with Tager, but playing in the worst way possible: via streaming with lag. Make room for the king.

 

 

On 10/31/2022 at 5:19 PM, Copanele said:

So for Mirror's Edge, had only these 2 trophies in mind : unlock every single map trial and collect 20 stars. To unlock every map trial, you need to get the minimum requirement in certain maps, which is 1 star. 3 stars is for the fastest of the fastest, 2 stars is for  "decent job" and 1 star is barely passable. I felt quite confident that I can accomplish 2 or even 3 stars on some maps. What's more, I do have the Pure Time Trials DLC so come on...how hard can it be?

Those GIFs were goddamned hilarious, lol. If just unlocking everything was already this intense, then the 3 stars are going to be an adventure. Going to see if there's room for me to play this month, or even next month - partially because January has me a little spooked (despite being a singleplayer game), and mostly so you aren't suffering on your own. It'll be Lords of *Beeping* Shadow all over again.

[Copanele]

10 hours ago, AihaLoveleaf said:

Now this is an achievement - not just finishing with Tager, but playing in the worst way possible: via streaming with lag. Make room for the king.

 

 

OH MAN I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT I PLAYED VIA LAGGY STREAMING!

 

So, quick review, for those who think game streaming is the future - nah it won't be, at least not this time. I had peak wired internet connection and streaming quality got so bad that I lost in Score Attack mode due to lag. 10/10 experience.

 

But at least now I got my newest favorite Makoto picture  

 

10 hours ago, AihaLoveleaf said:

Those GIFs were goddamned hilarious, lol. If just unlocking everything was already this intense, then the 3 stars are going to be an adventure. Going to see if there's room for me to play this month, or even next month - partially because January has me a little spooked (despite being a singleplayer game), and mostly so you aren't suffering on your own. It'll be Lords of *Beeping* Shadow all over again.

Here's an odd thing about Mirror's Edge...I kinda want to return and try some more runs  attempt at least 2 stars on some courses. Which is more to say than Lols of Shadow, may that game forever be buried. So after I am done with the game I am currently playing, I think I will actually practice a bit more.

I think you will somehow enjoy Mirror's Edge. It has its mad headache moments BUUUUT once you repeat each track (100-200-300 times....i hope) you do get better. I think. I hope.

I am not very confident ok? ?

[maxfighter23___]

same here i have been practicing a year for to get better at gaming and it finally paid off but sad i lost every gamesaves for my games and those games you played  @Copanele how where they 

[Copanele]

17 hours ago, sword-blaster45 said:

same here i have been practicing a year for to get better at gaming and it finally paid off but sad i lost every gamesaves for my games and those games you played  @Copanele how where they 

Hummm...some were good...some were decent...some were bad  

Really that's the best answer I can give lol! I did grade each and every game as I completed them (more or less)

[maxfighter23___]

5 minutes ago, Copanele said:

Hummm...some were good...some were decent...some were bad  

Really that's the best answer I can give lol! I did grade each and every game as I completed them (more or less)

have fun with your games not all games are good some of them are bad

[MissShake]

On 7/29/2019 at 5:41 AM, Copanele said:

Games that I will never platinum:

2. Overwatch - too troublesome to play, plus it really got boring. Can't be bothered to get all those stupid trophies.

 

?

[Copanele]

5 hours ago, MissShake said:

 

Overwatch??? What Overwatch? All I have is Overwatch 2 on my trophy list 

 

What can I say...I was a younger, more naive Copanele in 2019 ? wasn't hit by the prospects of boosting, "Nerf This" gang and hundreds of days stuck in the quarantine ?

(Wish I was as determined for Mirror's Edge/ C*therine...)

Edited November 8, 2022 by Copanele

[MissShake]

1 hour ago, Copanele said:

Overwatch??? What Overwatch? All I have is Overwatch 2 on my trophy list 

 

What can I say...I was a younger, more naive Copanele in 2019  wasn't hit by the prospects of boosting, "Nerf This" gang and hundreds of days stuck in the quarantine 

(Wish I was as determined for Mirror's Edge/ C*therine...)

 

Someday you'll get the Catherine plat... Someday... When you're stuck inside again... And then you'll start dreaming of blocks lol.

[Copanele]

 No. 201 - King of Seas

 

Platinum Name - King of Kings 

Hardest Trophy - King of Seas  complete the game in King of Seas difficulty

Difficulty - 6/10

 

It's been a long time since I played a proper Pirate game. Not to be confused with Pirated game, this is one of the genres that I sadly abandoned together with strategy games when I transitioned from PC gaming to Playstation. I do have quite some experience with this type of games (Port Royale 3, Tortuga Pirates of the New World, Sid Meyer's Pirates!, Assassin's Creed Black Flag to some extent), so when I saw King of Seas I actually got happy to return to the classic world of plundering, sailing and rum.

 

But before I start, what is a Pirate game? In my humble opinion, a Pirate game must have these important elements:

• Sailing in the Caribbean/Caribbean-like setting - well duh, you can't be a pirate if you don't have a ship to sail with
• Naval combat - it's probably the bread and butter of every Pirate game. Cannonballs, chain cannonballs, ramming, swivel shots, boarding... that kind of stuff. Pew pew on the seas.
• Shanties/Pirate songs - naval combat is insufficient if you don't have some sick accordion tunes in the background or some reimagining of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme blasting in the speakers while you are blasting the Spanish Galleons. 
• The Jolly Roger - cliche? perhaps. But a Pirate needs to show that he is a Pirate
• Rum - as a bargaining chip, as a morale improvement, the thing that sends Edward Kenway in random parts of the map...Rum or death!
• Voodoo, superstitions, black magic - supernatural to spice things up.
• (optional) trading - not sure why would anyone go for the boring trading of goods when you can simply trade cannons for a free British vessel, but hey, this is also a bonus for those who want to make love(with capitalism) and not war.

After playing King of Seas, I can safely say that it does fulfill the aforementioned conditions, now let's see how well it is actually done.

 

The game starts by asking you to pick a character between Luky (brother) and Marylou (sister). Since Luky looked like he fell into the finest batch of grog available, I went with Marylou. 

Sorry Luky, but your sister looks like she can hold her liquor better

 

You are directly thrown into one hell of an exposition. The World Government has been at war with the pirates for centuries, until finally the World Government prevailed. Every World Government leader is dubbed "King of Seas" and had complete sovereign over the seas for over 800 years, while pirates went into hiding (strong One Piece vibes right here). Luky and Marylou are the twin siblings whose parent is none other than the King of Seas.

While you were in training as an upcoming admiral (learning how to steer the ship and whatnot), the King is murdered, you are suddenly branded as a traitor and your ship is sunk. Thankfully the pirates who were not actually extinct save your drowning ass in the nick of time and are kind enough to help you figure out who murdered the good ol' king...as long as you get rid of the World Government on the side. So, being set in charge with the lamest boat on the seven seas, your adventure begins.

 

The world of King of Seas is rather unique, your adventure happening on a 7x7 grid map which is procedurally generated. This means that no two adventures are the same, the islands are shuffled between themselves each time you press a New Game. The only constant is the King of Seas Fort which is always in the middle of the map. Therefore, the game strongly encourages exploration (while perhaps putting a dent in the completion speed of the platinum achievers).

At first the entire map is hidden, however every section of the map has a cartographer outpost, who is kind enough to sell you a map of the area.

 

One of the possible layouts of the in-game map

 

• The moment you start the game as a pirate, you are thrown into naval combat and are taught the main mechanics of sea warfare. The combat might feel clunky at first, especially since your ship is ill-equipped for such daunting tasks. You steer your ship via the left stick, fire left and right cannons with L2/R2 and adjust the sailing speed with L1/R1. Later on, you'll also be able to equip various abilities to enhance your combat prowess and with the money collected from various encounters you will be able to buy better ships and become a force to be reckoned with.

Sadly you cannot capture enemy vessels, which I feel it's a massive oversight from the developers' part. It would have been mad fun to conquer and store various ships Grand Theft Auto Sailing style and have an actual Armada to follow you.

 

Unfortunately zooming is not an option, so you will have to sometimes squint at the screen in order to find your ship

 

Your ship has 3 main stats - Hull (Red), Sails (Blue) and Crew (Yellow) . Sails determines how fast you will move on the sea, Crew enables the number of cannons used in the combat (no pirates = you can fire at most 2 cannons per side) and the Hull life is basically your ship life. Out of all 3 honestly the only stat that you should keep an eye on is Hull, because if it reaches 0 then it's game over. Same goes for the enemy, never bother trying to destroy the enemy's sails or kill its crew, just use heavy cannons to sink that excuse of a boat as fast as possible. Each time you do an action (sink ships, collect loot, save stranded sailors, search for treasure) you will get a certain amount of XP. Levelling up will give you a skill point, to be allocated in a RPG-esque skill tree that will enhance your abilities and stats.

Every respectable pirate invests into voodoo abilities

Now that we covered the boring part of the game, it's time for the fun section - how to make cash money and become the richest pirate of the seven x seven seas? 

You have 2 options here:

• Trading - buy products at a low price and sell them high, which results into low income, shame upon family,  game quitting and playing an actual economy sim
• Plundering - another type of trade. You trade violence in exchange of the unfortunate soul's possessions.

Now that it's clear which option we shall pick, it's time to see the competition. You have the World Government ships, they have the ugly Grey/Blue color and will attack you on sight, you have the Free Merchants Guild ships in green who are mostly neutral and the final factions, Pirates with black. They won't attack you if you fire on them, but they will judge you and you will receive no items/exp if you sink a pirate ship. In the beginning, it's best to steer clear of the Blue ships while aiming to sink the Green ships that are the same or lower level than yours. 

 

Sinking these ships can reward you with a small amount of gold, various items (medicine, rum, candy etc) to be sold in ports and most important equipment for your ship. Equipping your ship with newest trend on the sea is a must in order to survive, you can upgrade a lot of parts, starting from the quarter deck, cannons, cannon balls, sails, crew and so on. I wholeheartedly recommend focusing on items that inflict fire damage, because that particular element will melt the enemies like no tomorrow.

 

Probably the best part of the whole naval warfare are the abilities - 4 special skills that can be allocated to each of the buttons square, triangle, circle and x. These abilities make the difference between riches and swimming with the fishes. You have the classic Greek fire and Fire barrels, more esoteric abilities like turning your ship into a ghost or summoning illusions to confuse the enemies. weather bending abilities like Maelstrom or Seagull shield and the best ability of them all, peeing on the cannons in order to remove the cannon cooldown for a set amount of time. This is probably the best ability in the game, turning your 16th century ship into a 21st century battle cruiser who can lay waste to even the most fearsome of forts.

The Navy will shake in their boots once you hit them with a level 50 Blue Pee on Cannons

 

I wish to bring a special mention to the AI of this game - it is RUTHLESS, but in a good way. If you don't steer your ship properly, you have high chances to get sunk in seconds. AI doesn't cheat, however it really knows how to exploit your weaknesses, especially if you are ill-equipped. It's really recommended to adopt the hit-and-run tactic when facing them at first and even complete running away if possible, an ashamed pirate is also a living pirate. However, with all the big brain, the AI is notoriously stupid when it comes to navigating through small islands, so use that in your advantage.

 

Platinum-wise - game is not really difficult, however it being procedurally generated, it can be a slog to complete. You have the classic conquer the map, sink x amounts of ships, complete x amount of quests etc. An egregious trophy is fishing for every single unique fish, which is a massive headache because some fishes just won't spawn no matter what. And since it's a procedurally generated map...no Internet hints as to where you can find the fishes that you are missing. So...cross your fingers and hope you can catch that stupid Blue Marlin before your console overheats.

The hardest difficulty of the game is King of Seas which is basically Permadeath mode. Thankfully if you die you can quit the app and reload the game like nothing happened, however on this difficulty the game does get a bit cheap. You might "randomly" be attacked by 4 navy ships at once with no means of escaping. However it's not as awful as you'd expect, sooo one playthrough would be more than enough in order to do everything that is required in this game.

 

As for downsides....I'd say the game is abit light in terms of true Piracy. Trading is utterly pointless, you can't capture other ships and Fire Damage outclasses any kind of other damages. Besides that, it's an "acquired taste" kind of game, it will definitely not appeal to everyone.

However for those who still might be curious, I definitely recommend getting this game at a discount. It's solid fun (and Ultra Rare 😆 ) and sinking ships will never not be fun.

 

THE GOOD:

• Has a lot of charm
• Yarrrr!
• Abilities are actually satisfying to use
• Solid world building
• Procedurally generated map means you will always be surprised

THE BAD:

• Doesn't offer as much as the superior Port Royale series
• The procedurally generated map can be a headache platinum-wise
• You can't capture ships! Why can't you capture ships?
• The only bar that you will care is the Hull(Red)bar
• Not a game for everyone

 

Recommendation - Assassin's Creed Black Flag  Probably your best option if you wish to feel like a true pirate. It has the best parts of both Assassins and Pirates world. Plus you don't actually need to know the background story for this one, you can enjoy it as a standalone game!

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[DrBloodmoney]

That one seems pretty cool!

 

A little more cartoony that I was picturing when we talked about it - and I like the art-style quite a bit actually, and seems variable enough!

 

this:

 

30 minutes ago, Copanele said:

• Trading - buy products at a low price and sell them high, which results into low income, shame upon family,  game quitting and playing an actual economy sim
• Plundering - another type of trade. You trade violence in exchange of the unfortunate soul's possessions.

 

really made me laugh too ?

 

top notch as ever, man! ?

 

 

[Platinum_Vice]

11 hours ago, Copanele said:

and the best ability of them all, peeing on the cannons

 

Sold! ? Say no more.

 

 

Is it kid-friendly (can I play it with my kids watching?) and how long does it take to plat?

 

[YaManSmevz]

Not the Blue Pee!!

 

Seriously though that sounds dope. I actually had to think about when I last played something about pirates, and Donkey Kong Country 2 may be the most recent? I'ma have to peep this one!

 

P.S. Every time I see Catherine for dirt cheap in a sale I consider it for a second and then Kratochu pops up in my head and I'm like "yeah I'd probably hate this too, nevermind."

[Copanele]

13 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

That one seems pretty cool!

 

A little more cartoony that I was picturing when we talked about it - and I like the art-style quite a bit actually, and seems variable enough!

Yup it is pretty cartoony but that adds to the charm in my opinion. Actually in terms of pirate games i think only AC Black Flag is the gritty serious one.

 

2 hours ago, Platinum_Vice said:

 

Sold!  Say no more.

 

 

Is it kid-friendly (can I play it with my kids watching?) and how long does it take to plat?

 

Ohhh it's super kid friendly ? artstyle helps a lot in that regard.

As for platinum time...hmmm that is a tricky one...i would say 30-40 hours due to the RNG. However I suck at estimating the time to plat a game so it might take less (or more )

 

55 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

Not the Blue Pee!!

 

Seriously though that sounds dope. I actually had to think about when I last played something about pirates, and Donkey Kong Country 2 may be the most recent I'ma have to peep this one!

 

P.S. Every time I see Catherine for dirt cheap in a sale I consider it for a second and then Kratochu pops up in my head and I'm like "yeah I'd probably hate this too, nevermind."

I always had fun with a Pirate game wish Sea of Thieves came on PS as well.

I know Ubisoft is developing Skull & Bones, however that game is stuck in development hell from what I heard. Probably silly Ubi can't figure out how to climb a ship on a tower in order to sync the map or something. 

 

Goddamnit Catherine...always haunting me with your crappy boxes. Ngl, if any of you would play Catherine, you would probably love it ? it's how it goes in this part of town lol!

[Copanele]

 

 

 No. 202 - God of War Ragnarok

 

 

Platinum Name - The Bear and the Wolf 

Hardest Trophy - The True Queen  Battle Gna

Difficulty - 5.5/10 (Give me Balance difficulty)

 

God of War Ragnarok was my second most anticipated game of this year after Elden Ring. Being truly impressed by the 2018 soft-reboot which brings Kratos in the Norse mythology (and makes him a father once more, hopefully with better success than his Greek escapades). GoW2018 was a sublime game, which humanized Kratos and introduced us to Atreus, his wow-i-am-a-god son. What sold me on the previous game was the interaction between these characters and mostly Kratos' struggle to leave his past behind.

My initial post about this game can be found on the main page of the trophy checklist, platinum 19 (wasn't as experienced with Trophy checklisting back then  )

 

Since I liked the game so much, I couldn't wait to see the follow-up God of War Ragnarok. I got the game day one, installed Spoiler Protection 2.0 extension for Chrome so I won't get spoiled by anything story wise and started the game with all-high expectations. My wife was also waiting for this game, since she was interested in the story, so obviously we got super ready for this game from day 1.

What I got however was a decent game that did 2 steps forward and 3 steps back, which ultimately kinda soured my experience. It suffered from the same issue that plagued some other games that I've played - it would have been such an amazing game if not for the "God of War" title.... Looking at you DmC Devil May Cry

But let's begin, let me show you why I had issues with this game and what the game did right.

 

Even the most hating hater from Hatersville has to admit that this game looks gorgeous. Even on an original PS4, this game feels and runs incredible. Kratos has never looked better, every particle, every hair from his beard reacts to the wind, every texture is masterfully added in this game. Right from the beginning when Atreus pets his wolves, the game makes you want to pet the good boys too. This game truly made me say YES, it's finally 2022, this FEELS like the future.

However with all this graphics...I have to say that I don't remember too much about the music in the game. I usually associate the graphics and spectacle with the soundtrack but my god I have no idea what this game had for a soundtrack. Forget the classic old GoW Tunes, it is kinda weak in comparison to GoW2018. 

I'll have a listen to the youtube playlist but man I have no idea what they were singing there.

 

There's no denying that this game looks absolutely stunning. I can't even imagine how well it looks on a PS5

 

Music might not have been that memorable, but the voice acting...oh lord the voice acting is phenomenal. Christopher Judge nails it (again) as Kratos, Sunny Suljic is phenomenal as teenager Atreus and Ryan Hurst absolutely kills it as Thor. But perhaps my favorite out of them all is Richard Schiff as Odin. I honestly could not believe how well was Odin portrayed in this game  he truly was the unexpected lvl 100 mafia boss that could intimidate you via words only.

 

And this stellar performance leads me to the best part of the game - Characters and character interaction. Kratos seems to have come to terms with his past and now he looks forward to the future. The character interaction dialogues were definitely written by a person who LOVED the past games, because in Ragnarok Kratos is definitely more chatty about his Greek life compared to GoW2018. This makes both the side characters and us as a viewers understand what Kratos went through, a thing that was sorely missing from the past iterations of God of War. Can't believe I say this, but this time Kratos actually feels like a complex character.

Obviously I won't go into more details because of spoilers.

 

But if the characters were stellar...the story was a bit of a hit and miss. To be clear, for me even if the characters are amazing it doesn't mean the story itself is good. And again, to keep it completely spoiler free, it starts with a true bang and...it kinda ends in a whimper  

I wouldn't say that the story is bad, it's just the pacing feels off. Moreover, GOW2018 felt focused and with one sole purpose, while this game has a lot of threads and only 2 or 3 of them are solved by the end. Story felt abit messy at times and the ending felt rushed to a point where it kinda broke the immersion. I really was looking forward to finishing the main story just so I can go back to sidequesting and having fun banters with Mimir and companions  

 

Also a very particular issue , which I will put in a spoiler tab * DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE STORY *

Spoiler

I had a particular issue with Odin's part in the story. When he was first introduced we were presented a shifty old man that could hide some crazy powers, reason why even Thor fears him.

Well...nope, his only power is that he is a manipulative bastard. Even his boss fight made me go...wait, that's it? HE was the big bad dude that ruined all these realms? 

Problem is, he is the KING of the gods, like Zeus was. I know the direction of the game is very different but...he really didn't give me the fearsome leader impression, as many others depicted him. Just a crazy old man with a sharp stick who wants to discover the secrets of the universe.

And Odin himself made so many mistakes in his grand plan that he should be grateful Kratos and Atreus were artificially dumbed down in order to not see his "schemes". 

 

Now that I am done with the all the stuff, let me explain my true issue with this game:

 

GOD OF RHEUMATISM RAGNAROK - A GAMEPLAY EXPERIENCE

 

Note - I played the entire game on Give me Balance (Normal) difficulty.

I think the biggest issue with Ragnarok is the name - GOD OF WAR. That sole name already puts immense pressure on the game itself and raises the expectations.

Old GoW games weren't that deep story wise, but my god the gameplay was an absolute spectacle. You had every mechanic that made an action hack&slash FUN - fast combos, dodges, attack cancels.quick parries, the games were crazy fun. Pressing buttons was fun. Sure, Kratos wasn't as technical like Dante from Devil May Cry, but the action was guaranteed.

 

God of War 2018 toned down the gameplay abit, since the series were story driven now. RPG elements were introduced and now Kratos wielded a new weapon - Leviathan Axe, which was slower than the Blades but way more powerful with each hit. The game took its time but by the end you could go absolutely bonkers with weapons and abilities. With the proper build you could return to the days of old and you could briefly feel like a true God of War. 

 

My point is  - past games managed to make you really feel like a god - this is where Ragnarok utterly fails.

 

Kratos hasn't really changed from the previous game, however his enemies suffered a massive upgrade, and not necessarily in a good way. The enemies are varied now (thank the Gods) but this means they also move faster and manage to get behind you in seconds. In a game where you have a 3rd person camera which spins slowly, this is a guarantee for free hits.

Now let's say this isn't a problem. The true problem is when the enemies do not respect the rules of the games.

 

Problem 1 - Runic attacks. When you use an AoE Runic attack (like an axe frost explosion), enemies should be briefly staggered. It even is written in the description. EXCEPT IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE? These runic attacks are inconsistent at best and infuriating at worst. Sure, they do a ton of damage with the right build, but sometimes the enemies will just ignore your TOTALLY STUNNABLE attack and slap you over your eyes. It's even worse with bosses.

 

Problem 2 - The builds are stupid. In GoW2018 the builds were fun. You could mix and mash all kinds of stuff, you could become a rage generating monster, even Thanos with his Skittles of power. Tinkering with builds was fun in the previous game. In this game? everything is boring as hell. You either go full strength and become a glass cannon or go full defense and hope you take the enemies' life down before they take yours.

 

Problem 3 - Bosses. Bosses are wayyyyy more diverse in this game (not just Troll reskins). However, only one Boss fight is truly epic and that is Thor. The rest are either messy or straight up bonkers in a bad way. I had a fight with a certain Light Elf boss that was completely broken - that boss interrupted my shield riposte, dodging attacks would just result in you dodging into the next attack, blocking is a no go...I honestly beat that boss via sheer luck and Runic attack spams.

 

Problem 4 - That fucking Blue circle OH MY GOD SOMEBODY REMOVE THAT SHIT FROM THE GAME. At certain points in the fight, the enemies and bosses charge up an attack, shown by a blue circle. What you have to do is shield bash (L1, L1) in order to interrupt that charged attack. The problem? Bosses flying away from you then doing an AoE Blue Circle attack. You have no way to reach that boss and slam its face with your shield in time and that attack is unblockable so...you eat that attack and pray that you don't die.

 

Problem 5 and the most important one  - YOU ARE NOT THE GOD OF WAR ANYMORE. You know how I feel with Kratos? Like the Chosen Undead from Dark Souls. Every single pathetic Draugr can end your life or stagger you in 2-3 flails. I haven't felt like an actual warrior at all in this game, every gameplay encounter was more like "ugh I sure hope my Runic attack charges up in time so I can end this shit already". Honestly this part legit ruined my mood in the game. Even if you become good (which I did in the end), it feels like you just did "acceptable" damage. 

Basically no matter what you do, you feel like some "above average warrior" , not the FORMER GOD OF WAR WHO RUINED THE ENTIRE GREEK PANTHEON WITH HIS OWN BARE HANDS.

 

Problem 6 - Rage of Sparta is useless. Aka this shit (spoiler, since it features a story related item):

Spoiler

 

 

 

At the end...I don't know what to feel about the game. My story lover side absolutely enjoyed the characters and their interactions, heck even the story! But the gameplay side of me really loathed this game, it definitely felt like the least polished God of War game out there. What's the point of hyping Kratos on and on, when he can't even rip a draugr apart?

In the end...I do recommend this game, it;s one of the best Sony exclusive triple A games ever made...but unless you are mad hooked on the story, do wait for a slight discount  

 

Suffice to say, this game won't be my GOTY 2022.

 

THE GOOD:

• Yep, this game looks like a 2022 game
• character interaction is amazing
• Finally we got some references to good ol' Greece
• "the fuck's an olive?"
• Diverse bosses
• A fitting conclusion to the Norse (and Kratos) saga

THE BAD:

• "the fuck's a God of War?"
• Tyr
• story has some weird hiccups and the ending felt off
• the bosses do not care about the game's rules
• Kratos' camera can't keep up with the enemies
• my could could the NPCs shut the fuck up while I AM TRYING TO SOLVE THIS PUZZLE BY MYSELF THANK YOU?

 

Recommendation - God of War Collection  if you haven't, play Kratos' original games. I think it's the best way to experience the transition from "Press Circle to make the cherub statue pee" in God of War 2 to the serious BOI moments in God of War 2018+. Also that sweet sweet combat