Copanele's collection of trophies and experiences

[Copanele]

 No. 230 - Hades (PS5)

 

Platinum Name - God of Blood 

Hardest Trophy - Skelly's Last Lamentations  finish a Heat 16 run

Difficulty - 4/10

 

For me the best part of buying the PS5 is not only the new exclusives (which is...uh...Demon Souls yes, that's  why I got the console definitely), but actually stacking the games that I love  

Now now, I don't mean every stack that I had before, but only the games that I truly and deeply enjoyed, games like Hades here.

Because let's be honest, there's always a good time to play even more Hades. I shared my initial thoughts about this game here, so I won't repeat myself with all the fancy sentences, but to keep it short and simple: game is fucking fantastic and I love it. Now, replaying it I was worried that the RNG won't be on my side, but to my pleasant surprise, every NPC and event popped even earlier than the first time around. 

 

As for the experience, it was still the same, even if I knew how everything would unfold already. Every dialogue, every voice, every nod to Greek tales, everything was still as great as the first time around. Dionysus was still the best god out there, the bow was still murdering shit, buying rugs would piss Hades to no end and I loved every single bit of it. Supergiant games really struck gold with Hades and I can't wait to see what they will do with Hades 2.

 

So...yeah. Still an amazing game that I would always recommend. Elysium still kinda sucks though  

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------

Now, the PS5 stack writing will be shorter than usual, because I don't feel like repeating myself, I usually do not change my opinions about a game that I've completed once.

That being said, these are the games I plan on replaying, no particular order(which means full platinum/DLC replay, no autopopping because we ain't about that thing here  ):

 

1. Guilty Gear Strive
2. Nioh 1+2 ( I disliked Nioh 2 main campaign, will be fun to see how I will deal with it)
3. King of Fighters 15
4. ELDEN RING because my god I'd stack that on PS3 if it was available

And I promise I will play Astro's Playroom at some point in time  

[FreshFromThaDeli]

Guilty Gear Strive and KoF XV deserve to be stacked! ?

[zizimonster]

11 hours ago, Copanele said:

 

1. Guilty Gear Strive
2. Nioh 1+2 ( I disliked Nioh 2 main campaign, will be fun to see how I will deal with it)
3. King of Fighters 15
4. ELDEN RING because my god I'd stack that on PS3 if it was available

I adore people who stack trophy lists! ?

 

...but wer iz DNF Duel?

[Copanele]

1 minute ago, zizimonster said:

I adore people who stack trophy lists! 

 

...but wer iz DNF Duel?

DNF Duel was not as fun as I expected, so I think I will skip it for now

...of course, if I get some Fighting Game withdrawal, I might stack it too, but for now I don't plan on approaching the game again  

[maxfighter23___]

@Copanele is there a platinum guide for hades did you play it with a guide ore without it ?

[Copanele]

14 minutes ago, maxfighter23___ said:

@Copanele is there a platinum guide for hades did you play it with a guide ore without it ?

Yeah there you have it : https://psnprofiles.com/guide/13057-hades-trophy-guide

 

I didn't  use the guide, I just played and stuff popped as I went by. I did check some of the trophies on the list but I didn't really need a guide for them.

[maxfighter23___]

1 minute ago, Copanele said:

Yeah there you have it : https://psnprofiles.com/guide/13057-hades-trophy-guide

 

I didn't  use the guide, I just played and stuff popped as I went by. I did check some of the trophies on the list but I didn't really need a guide for them.

alright thanks i found some games today for ps3 hitman absolution tekken 6 and prince of persia the forgotton sands 

[Copanele]

SPECIAL COMPLETION

DEMON'S SOULS SL1 RUN

 

By far one of the best parts of finally playing a remake of Demon's Souls on PS5 is that I can FINALLY record some damn footage. 

As some of you may know, I am in love with Fromsoftware's "Souls" games, aka Demon's Souls, Dark Souls series, Bloodborne and Elden Ring. So much so that I too decided to embrace the famous "Soul Level 1" runs. A SL1 run simply asks you to finish the game by beating all the bosses without levelling once. 

 

I completed this challenge for all the games above HOWEVER I could not record my Demon's Souls boss fights, the game being on PS3. All I had was a crappy picture taken with a crappy phone, said picture being lost in the annals of history.

With the marvels of technology5+ now, I could finally record some SL1 dumbassery in the lands of Boletaria without resorting to a recording tool like Elgato.

 

Compared to the other runs, Demon's Souls is trivial at SL1. So much so, that it took me roughly 1 day to finish the run (compared to Elden Ring that took me several weeks and almost a psychiatry visit). There's only a few items you can collect, the entire world is weak to magic (minus one pesky boss) and the presence of White World Tendecy makes the enemy encounters easier. Of course, dying in human form will throw the world back to Black, meaning more difficult enemies. I took the easy way out and played the entire game in soul form.

 

I started as a Royalty class since it's the only class that starts the game at level 1. As for equipment, there's the basic stuff that will carry you throughout the entire game:

• Rapier - your starting weapon and quite the decent damage dealer for the first map. I recommend upgrading it as much as you can, but don't go out of your way to max it, it's good as a spare weapon
• Catalyst + Soul arrow - your starting magic, fires a magical arrow. Pretty useless at LVL 1, but it's a safe ranged tool.
• Crescent Falchion - the hidden superweapon from world 4-1, this stupid sword inflicts both physical and magic damage. Hint : 99.9% of the enemies are weak to magic. Grab this bad boy and make sure you upgrade it to max. Lizards from world 4 will drop all you need. So get this weapon, upgrade this weapon, make love with this weapon (actually don't)
• Short Bow + fire arrows - your ranged option, especially useful for World 5-1 to kill those annoying goblins that can stunlock you. Not a critical weapon to have, although I do recommend it. It's better to stab enemies from a distance after all

There's only one merchant that is important in this run - Graverobber Blige, that you find trapped in a basement in 4-1. After releasing him, he will move to the beginning of 4-2, selling you healing grass, fire arrows, the short bow and most important the oh so needed moonstone shard.

 

The nice part about this game is that after you complete world 1-1 (mandatory world) you can tackle the game in any order you want. I went for 1-1, then 4-1 for that crescent falchion, got some items then went for 2-1 to upgrade my falchion at blacksmith Ed. After that the game was free real estate.

 

The only danger of this game is being ganked by enemies. If you are careless or rush, you will quickly be swarmed and turned into kebab, especially at SL1. The bosses were mostly pushovers (this really was the first Souls like). However, there were 3 bosses that actually tested me in this game, by being above average in term of difficulty and robbing me of a death or two.:

 

No.3 Flamelurker

 

The Premise - This is one of the first tough bosses that players would encounter, at the bottom of world 2-2. After going either through worm infested caves OR droppign down on narrow scaffoldings, you fight this behemoth of a fire demon. Unlike the other almost stationary bosses, this one is really nimble, really strong and really really pissed. He loves leaping around, slamming his hands into the ground and creating Area of Effect fire explosions. Suffice to say, a point blank explosion would one shot me at SL1.

 

The Strategy - Surprisingly enough...the best strategy I found was to roll backwards, then rush and hack away. For some reason Flamelurker is staggered by the Crescent Falchion + He is super weak to magic, so as long as I wasn't caught up in a random explosion, Flamelurker would fall like a sack of potatoes. He did kill me a couple of times though, mainly because the arena is weird enough that you can get trapped in various parts of the environment.

 

The Video:

 

 

 

No. 2 - Maneaters

 

The Premise - Maneaters are a duo of Gargoyles whose main target is to take a bite out of you. You start fighting against one Maneater, who will assault you with a barrage of charges, sound attacks, snake venom and....flying? After his health drops under a certain threshold (probably 30%) a second Maneater appears, significantly increasing the difficulty of the fight. You are fighting on a narrow platform so you can get kicked off it at any time. Also the maneaters have a stupid tendency to fly away and glide into the background, returning whenever they feel like.

 

The Strategy - One maneater is easy enough to deal with, problem is when both of them are hunting you. To separate them, I used a fire bowl in the middle of the platform and ran around it in hopes that one Maneater's AI would break. I was in luck, one Maneater decided he doesn't want to fight anymore and then I managed to dispatch the other in peace.

A bow with fire arrows also help in order to stop them from hovering across the arena.

 

The Video

 

 

No. 1 - False King Allant

 

The Premise - This Michael Jackson looking asshole was the ONLY enemy in the entire game who shrugged off my magic attack. For this guy I had to drop my Crescent Falchion and actually grab my Rapier +9 , sprinked with some Turpentine. Even so, False King absolutely MURDERED me 4 or 5 tries, him easily zapping across the arena and inflicting serious magic damage. He is the only boss I reverted to human form in order to get as much health as possible, since he would easily one shot me with any attack that landed. He had one particular nasty attack where he zapped from an idle position and pimp smacked me. Had no way to predict that attack so I prayed I would not die.

 

The Strategy - Allant has only 2 consistent openings at SL1 - when he does his AoE attack and when he raises his sword and charges at you. What I did was reposition myself behind him, stab him once or twice then roll back like mad before he could turn and smack me. It took a few tries but in the end he went down. He really was the true challenge of this run.

 

The Video

 

 

 

Final Notes - I am really glad that I had the occasion to return to this game. Demon's Souls is truly a classic and I had to pay my respects by finishing the SL1 once more  

Umbasa!

 

If you wish to check my playlists, you can see them here:

 

Demon's Souls SL1 Run

Dark Souls SL1 Run

Dark Souls 2 Fist Only SL1 Run

Dark Souls 3 SL1 Run

Bloodborne BL4 Run

Bloodborne Gun Only Run

Elden Ring RL1 Run

 

[Copanele]

Warning - the following post might have Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West spoilers

Will try my best to avoid them, but just in case I let any spoiler slip...you've been warned  

 

 No. 231 - Horizon Forbidden West

+💯 completed

 

Platinum Name - All trophies obtained 

Hardest Trophy - Completed Ultra Hard  DLC Trophy, complete NG or NG+ on Ultra Hard difficulty

Difficulty - 3/10 if you consider the DLC, 2.5/10 otherwise

 

Writing a successful sequel to a brand new IP feels more and more difficult, from what I feel lately. Some franchises nail it perfectly, best example being God of War, with the 2018 soft reboot and the amazing 2022 Ragnarok, that managed to actually give way more depth and complexity to the already interesting story.

Other sequels, however, manage the actually difficult task to both remain stale AND completely crap on previously established characters and stories, in an effort to be as "safe" as possible. Such is the case with Horizon Forbidden West here, a game that managed to somehow disappoint me in such a manner that I legit feel like I don't want to touch any triple A open world game any time soon. Yes, sounds edgy, but my god did this game ruin my mood for videogaming  

(It was quickly revived by a quick Diablo 2 session, no worries nobody is getting rid of me that easily.)

 

I actually enjoyed the first game, Horizon Zero Dawn. Loved the premise, liked the personality of Aloy (a tribal outcast who discovers the advanced technology of her precursors and tries to figure out what led to the death of  their civilization) and especially enjoyed the simple yet satisfying combat of shooting laser raptors. Sure, it wasn't a groundbreaking game but it kept my interest long enough. so I was looking forward to the sequel. Waited to get a PS5 (PS4 version doesn't have the DLC) and once I did, I fired up the game. I wish I hadn't.

 

First, the premise: After the events of Horizon Zero Dawn, our main protagonist Aloy tries to find a solution to cure the Earth, which is being plagued by ravaging storms and dying nature. To fix this, she needs to find what is called a "Gaia module", and for that she has to travel further to the "Forbidden West", an unforgiving place filled with scary jungles, merciless deserts, angry tribes and robots. A fuckton of robots, of all shapes and sizes. Together with that, a new unexpected threat from the Old World appears, which puts even more pressure on the already burdened Aloy.

 

I will try my best to structure and explain what made me dislike this sequel so much in comparison. I had to suffer through 3 playthroughs and I pushed myself to complete most of the sidequests, errands and collectibles, just to have a full overview of this game. It did not help.

First, to start with the things that FW nails:

 

Graphics - This game still looks damn good

 

One thing I won't criticize about this game are the graphics. Yep, this game looks good. From the first time you discover the world of Forbidden West, you can see that all the manpower went into making this game look as good as possible. The mountains, the desert, the jungle, even the exotic island, everything looks high quality and high-resolution. I'd say that it looks even better than God of War Ragnarok (and miles better than Elden Ring, let's be honest), as a 2022 game should look like.

And if you manage to turn off all the shitty indicators that plague the modern Open World games....even better. You do have a photo mode too (I was too neanderthal to figure it out, so I leave that forbidden art to other people)

 

That also applies to the robots' models - they are as detailed as ever. The thunderjaw and stormbird remain as imposing as ever, that much hasn't changed.

 

Unfortunately...that's pretty much all I can say. Graphics, while important, are not the primary focus when I am looking into a game's quality. 

Moving on, to the next best thing...sort of.

 

Combat and gameplay - Just as good as the first one...and that is kind of an issue

 

If you liked the combat of the first Horizon, chances are you'd enjoy this one too, nothing has really changed in that aspect. You scan the big mechanical reptile with your Detective Mode--Focus gizmo, check its weak points, plan your way of attacking and go wild. You do have various ways of approaching encounters: you can go full stealth mode and apply critical attacks to enemies, you can go fully ranged with an array of bows, slings and exploding spears (the recommended path), you can become a crazy guerilla warfare resistance fighter and plant bombs and traps everywhere or you can simply turn the machines against each other and let them go wild while you chill in bushes.

 

OR you can go full melee with your spear...although why would you do that I have no idea. Melee combat is still absolute dog shit in this game, despite of the new combos and mechanics added in the mix. Yes, you do have spear combos for both single and multiple enemies, but if by some chance you are stuck in melee combat, there's only one combo to use : R1 R1 R2. This combo stunlocks any human enemy in the game no matter if it's a grunt or a boss. Not sure why they even bothered at this point.

 

While the mechanical enemies are a treat to fight...the human enemies are just as stupid as in the first game. They are "hruaaaa die barbarian" while you headshot them. Don't even bother thinking how to approach the humans, headshot them. If you see a human, line up your shot, press the Concentration Mode button that slows down time and headshot the fuckers.

 

Outside of combat, the game also has a more than generous chunk of platforming....which is an odd mix, to be honest. Platforming in Horizon Forbidden West is like a combination between Assassin's Creed 2 (Aloy can only climb by grabbing the "highlighted" items) and Assassin's Creed Origins (Aloy can grab almost everything). It's a very weird combination because while Aloy can normally climb most of the stuff in the world, when it comes to puzzle rooms she magically loses her abilities. It's such a weird way to approach this, especially when items that you would normally reach outside of a puzzle box (Aloy can legit reach the ledge), now they are unreachable because...devs didn't want to think a puzzle room through?

Also the way of solving puzzles and platforming sequences is very rigid - you have one way of solving this and one way only. The actual challenge is to see how you can "break" the game mechanics, in order to solve the puzzle in the most unconventional mode possible. For instance, in one room the game insisted that I should drain the water so I can grab a stupid box. I managed to somehow clip through a balcony and pull the box towards me, in order to do a weird hiccup jump and grab a ledge. The game didn't like that, Aloy's lines of dialogue got jumbled, she started spouting hints like crazy while I already solved the puzzle.

 

Speaking of hints, Aloy has the awful "player is a dumb monkey" syndrome, giving you a hint the moment you enter a room. 

I HATE THIS GODDAMN "MECHANIC" SO MUCH! What the hell is wrong with the developers that implement this crappy ass way of serving me the solution instantly, as if I couldn't see the big ass blue rectangle that I have to blow up. Yes, I know that the game has to cater to a more "casual" audience, that is in just for the story, but maaan ,at least add a fucking "NO HINTS" toggle in the menu for those who actually want to SOLVE A PUZZLE! Like, if the devs could add so many accessibility options, why not add an option for me too? What if I like a challenge and like to solve the puzzles on my own? 

And it's not like the puzzles are hard even - you have the damn Focus that lights everything like a Christmas tree, I don't need Aloy to mutter to herself like a schizophrenic "oooh I need to grab that box that will get me to the ledge and then see the exploding wall" THE MOMENT I ENTER THE ROOM!

Get your shit together devs! This should be a game for EVERYONE. I feel excluded as fuck ?

 

There are some new mechanics added - like a glider (Aloy doesn't have to worry for gravity anymore) and the ability to mount flying robots, but this is not nearly enough to make me feel that the game is an "improvement" over the first one. Basically, it's more of the same.

 

Characters and Story - Horizon Forbidden Fun

 

Dear god...where do I even start here? How do I write about this in a civilized manner?

The best way to describe the story of HFW is fanfiction. It's like the directors took the story of Horizon Zero Dawn, gave it to a bunch of 35 year olds that never wrote a story in their lives and went "ok, I want a sequel to this, Aloy has to always be the best, get some tribal inspiration from National Geographic and follow this checklist that tells you what kids these days love in a story. Get to it".

 

The main problem here is Aloy herself. In the first game she was a Nora outcast who trained her butt off and had the basic knowledge of the Old Ones (the previous world that was wiped out by killer machines). Aloy's characteristics were that she could adapt despite being seen as an unwanted element of the world. The game had tribal elements and seeing Aloy trying to circumvent all the prejudices and stuff that you would find in a prehistoric world was quite engaging.

In this game however, Aloy turns into a full blown Mary Sue, where the entire world revolves around her. No challenge is too great, no robot is too big, no explosion is too...explosion-y and no NPC is too powerful to stand against her. There were only a few instances where Aloy was in legit danger, just to be saved by a Deus Ex Machina asspull out of nowhere. It's one of the worst ways to write a story in my opinion. I would have been ok with it if Aloy was built to be some crazy combat nutbag with hidden genes (like Nero in DMC5), but no, Aloy is just a tribeswoman who has a fancy bow. It's one thing to survive wounds and falls and another to survive a point blank explosion without having a scratch.

 

The Aloy Jesus syndrome is so bad that it actually affects her companions - everyone in this world is reduced to the state of jobber, including her former companions. Erend, the vanguard from the first game and the dude with the most glorious mutton chops in the entire tribe is reduced to a bumbling idiot who acts as a comedic relief, just to show how much smarter Aloy is compared to him. Varl, Aloy's first actual friend, feels like the "token" black character who is there to remind you that "HEY Aloy is from my tribe", but has the same function as mule, carrying shit around and being overall useless. You also meet some forgettable NPCs from the first game, like Petra the blacksmith whose only characteristic is to drink and complain and Talanah...a huntress...something something from the first game, forgot about her, who has a long ass "find my boyfriend" questline.

 

There are a few NPCs that are genuinely written awesome, almost by a mistake. The Tenakth tribe chief Hekarro is an actual imposing leader and you can see how he could manage to unite unruly tribes. His trusty right hand man Kotallo is also written in a compelling way, to a point where I almost wanted to play as him instead of Aloy. This impression doesn't last because Hekarro and Kotallo are both forcefully dumbed down in an unnatural way, just to show up how much better Aloy is than them.

 

It's even more hilarious when you consider the fact the theme of the game is Aloy learning to rely on others. Yet all she does is acting as a know-it-all and the others being just some dumb chimpanzees, to the point where I feel that the NPCs have a better time hanging out with each other than with Aloy. You do gather a sort-of-team in a secret base and you can observe the interactions between them. The interactions between Erend, Varl, Kotallo and Zo (a local tribeswoman singer) are genuinely fun to follow, but the moment Aloy joins in, the dialogues feel forced and generic to a fault.

 

The dialogue...oh the dialogue between the characters...who wrote this shit? It's the most generic AI generated script existent. Holy crap, the jokes, the remarks, the replies, it's like half of the NPCs are held at gunpoint and are forced to recite the lines. My least favorite NPCs are the "boomer" sisters, one of them keeps adding "boom" and "ba-boom" after every sentence and has a hard-on for explosives. I get the idea, I get her character but my god it got tiresome after 10 seconds.

 

Another thing that pissed me off was how utterly stupid the sidequests and the world building is. Let's take for instance the first city of Chainscrape, a town held "hostage" by an opportunistic land baron, who refuses to let anyone work until some unrealistic demands are being met. Whoever does not agree with his views in that town is being dealt with in a mafia-like environment.

And yet, when Aloy shows up...that guy gets surprisingly pacifist. He mumbles that "people won't work until Aloy deals with the local dinosaur problem" and after she does he....just....releases the city and allows them to work? What? No threats, no hidden assassins, not even a bunch of thugs for Aloy to rough up? Nothing?

Add in some "I live here too lug nut" from Petra (oh my god SHUT THE FUCK UP PETRA) and you get a comedic moment where the evil man gets put in his place from beautiful and perfect Aloy.

 

Basically, Aloy is the embodiment of this meme.

 

 

THE SOLE EXCEPTION - SYLENS. Thank God they kept Sylens and made him just as badass as he was in the first game. Sylens is the only character that is well written, despite not appearing that often, and even when Aloy somehow "shows him what's what with her superior intellect", Sylens manages to be one step ahead. What a fantastic character, voiced by the late Lance Reddick. I am truly sorry that only now I notice how great this man was as an actor and voice actor.

 

The only character who manages to kick Aloy down from her pedestal

 

 

The story of the game...is adequate let's say. It fully deals with issues from the Old World and, while not as compelling as Zero Dawn, it works just well enough to barely keep it together. There is one huge highlight in the "City of Thebes", that solves a mystery from the first game, but I feel that together with that mystery, all interest that I had for this franchise's story vanished completely.

Also the incoming threat for Horizon 3 is straight up stupid as hell, it made me laugh for a good 10 minutes. 

 

Horizon Forbidden West - Burning Shores DLC

More like Burning Snores

 

Oh, the controversial DLC, the one that got the gaming industry riled up and the one that caused various review bombs. Dear god the war was unbearable (basically an idiot group fought with another idiot group).

To get to the point, the big deal about this DLC is Aloy finding a "soulmate" in the forms of Seyka, another huntress who reached the islands of "Burning shores" with her tribe. You can imagine why people fought over this big plot point and how it all went down, like come on, whoever was on this site at least heard once about the whole Last of Us debacle  you know how people are when they get "passionate". I mean, the mods had to delete a ton of posts because of "heated" opinions about a virtual character's sexual orientation.

 

To get to the point, I am in a third camp - I believe that the relationship between these two is written by a teenage girl. Aka "who the hell wrote this boring ass shit?"

To explain: Seyka is a brave trigger-happy impossible to reign "i know better" kind of character who only knows how to yell commands and offer snide remarks about...anything. All around her are idiots, only she knows the true answer to everything, bitch you better not stand in my way or so help me god I will fill you with arrows. She comes from a straight up communist tribe (secret police, information control, the empire holds the power), she breaks all the rules that would warrant her 4 executions and 3 life sentences, yet she is magically forgiven due to "circumstances".

And then she meets Aloy. An outcast that "knows better", impossible to reign and knows only how to yell commands -- you get the point. They've known each other for a grand total of 4 main missions (around 2 days) and take down a huge boss together.

And they expect me to think that Aloy cares about this nasty ass woman. 

Aloy who insisted to be alone for 2 damn games and had more emotional connection with her Sunwing mount than with people who actually tried to save her life (Erend, Varl, Zo etc).

 

To be perfectly clear, I am ok with any type of relationship in videogames as long as it's written in a decent manner. If they wanted me to care about Seyka as a character, one lazy assed DLC is not nearly enough to convince me. Give that character the spotlight, make me interact with her more, give me more missions and context, not the kind of "love at first sight" sparkles.
In truth, you DO have the option to refuse the "advances" - and to be honest, those 2 options make more sense for Aloy's character. 

 

Oh and...that's all about the DLC. The rest is just more worthless fluff, like searching for Dinosaur figurines or flying through checkpoints. At least the villain was a hilarious moustache twirling monster that was full blown evil and the final boss was a spectacle (which ironically turned Aloy into even more of a Terminator kind of character). Also the ending will directly tie-in with the upcoming Horizon 3, again bless Sylens for being a 10/10 character.

 

Conclusion: If you liked the first game and skip cutscenes on a regular basis, you might actually enjoy this game. Heck, I actually liked my NG+ and NG+ on Ultra Hard mode run, because I skipped all the unnecessary shit and went straight into "Terminator Aloy" mode. However, I personally cannot recommend this game - It's just a bloated experience that barely brings anything new to the table and focuses more on wasting your time with meaningless dialogue and shallow characters.

At this point, the only way Horizon will get rememberd is "that game that is an opener for another ground-breaking open world game". Guerilla Games really have to get their shit together if they want Horizon 3 to be any competent and not be just "another open world with mechazords"

 

P.S. There are several NPCs and points that I haven't mentioned, like Beta, Alva, Ted Faro etc. I avoided this because for some reason the spoiler tags on this site still work when they feel like. So I thought it's best if I skipped those spoilery parts altogether.

 

THE GOOD:

• Game looks good
• Shooting dinosaurs is still fun
• Desert region and San Francisco region are actually fun to explore
• Hekarro and Kotallo are the only NPCs that are fun to interact with
• Sylens is still the GOAT

THE BAD:

• ALOY CAN DO NO WRONG
• NPCs are forcefully dumbed down to make Aloy shine even more
• ALOY SHUT THE FUCK UP I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW A DOOR WORKS BY MYSELF
• The dialogue is brain rot levels of stupid
• Story goes mumbo jumbo fast
• Melee combat is still something to be ignored in this game
• Turning Erend into a bumbling idiot kinda pisses me off
• It really doesn't bring anything new and wow compared to Horizon Zero Dawn
• The entire DLC is largely pointless, except for the epilogue
• Seyka is just as annoying and as awful as Aloy.

 

 

Recommendation 1 - Elden Ring  What were the publishers thinking by releasing Horizon Forbidden West right before THIS GAME? Probably the worst trade-off every, because Elden Ring rightfully deserved it's GOTY spot and just eclipsed this snooze of a game even more.

Recommendation 2 - God of War Ragnarok  Horizon Forbidden West just made me realize how much better the GoW Ragnarok story is. A well written protagonist, way better plot, ACTUAL CHARACTERS (bless Odin) and no snooze involved. Also actual melee combat.

Edited November 19, 2023 by Copanele

[maxfighter23___]

congrats with your completion @Copanele 

[jonesey46]

23 hours ago, Copanele said:

THE BAD:

• ALOY CAN DO NO WRONG
• NPCs are forcefully dumbed down to make Aloy shine even more
• ALOY SHUT THE FUCK UP I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW A DOOR WORKS BY MYSELF
• The dialogue is brain rot levels of stupid
• Story goes mumbo jumbo fast
• Melee combat is still something to be ignored in this game
• Turning Erend into a bumbling idiot kinda pisses me off
• It really doesn't bring anything new and wow compared to Horizon Zero Dawn

 

THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING SENSE

 

Seriously, I played this game near release and could not understand the buzz around it. Like you, I really enjoyed Zero Dawn, this game bored me to tears.

 

Unfortunately, I still have the NG+ stuff and the DLC to do and I'm not exactly looking forward to it, although I hope a return visit might improve my perception of the game.

 

How did you go about tackling the NG+ and DLC stuff? How many playthroughs altogether and what difficulty/what did you focus on with each playthrough? Thanks.

[Copanele]

6 minutes ago, jonesey46 said:

 

THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING SENSE

 

Seriously, I played this game near release and could not understand the buzz around it. Like you, I really enjoyed Zero Dawn, this game bored me to tears.

 

What makes me abit sad is how "safe and risk-free" this game feels. Getting all the mechanics from other games, going with a classic plot point and OH GOD SO MUCH CRAFTING...yeah, it really wasn't what I expected  

6 minutes ago, jonesey46 said:

Unfortunately, I still have the NG+ stuff and the DLC to do and I'm not exactly looking forward to it, although I hope a return visit might improve my perception of the game.

 

How did you go about tackling the NG+ and DLC stuff? How many playthroughs altogether and what difficulty/what did you focus on with each playthrough? Thanks.

Ok so I fear that the extra content won't improve your perception over the game, you'll still do the same busywork + the DLC which I REALLY found boring as sin (seriously, don't buy that shit full priced, wait for a discount).

Now, the way I tackled this game wasn't the most efficient. I went for three playthroughs, specifically because I wanted to see all the stuff that this game has to offer (so I won't get the "hurr durr you played only 1/3 of the game, the best shit is in Sidequest 14 section 3" kind of comments). This is how I approached it:

• First playthrough - Normal Mode, playing the story and completing whatever I felt like. I played this one like I would go for platinum only, or rather playing it like I would not care about trophies. See the story, have some challenges, discover mechanics (and discover that Hunter Bows are the best shit in the game )
• Second playthrough - NG+ on Story Mode - aim was to get the stupid medals for this trophy. If you do all the sidequests and errands, you get all the available rewards by the time you reach the middle of the game. Max out the health, hunter arrows and spike throwing pouches. As for weapons, despite me levelling a whole bunch of them, all you'll really need maxed out is Death Seeker's Shadow hunter bow and Skykiller Spike Thrower with explosive spikes. Make sure you have a bow that inflicts either poison or plasma for the other encounters, although you won't really need to max them out. Oh yeah, also upgrade Nora Thunder Warrior armor and add some plasma defense weaves, because that's the only thing that will really damage you in Ultra Hard.
• Third playthrough - NG+ on Ultra Hard - this shit will be way easier than your Zero Dawn Ultra Hard run, because my god are most enemies weak to Electric (Death Seeker Bow inflicts that). The only challenge might be the final boss, throw plasma and then spike it out. You should have more than enough resources from your second playthrough, provided that you collect everything.

Of course, you can go in any other order (play the DLC on your regular playthrough then do the medals + NG+ run on Ultra Hard), but if you want the least amount of headaches...I'd suggest this route  

[jonesey46]

Oh, I will be waiting for a deep sale before buying that DLC, don't you worry. I am pleased its £15.99 full price though. Lots of DLC expansions releasing at the near £30 mark these days

 

2 hours ago, Copanele said:

If you do all the sidequests and errands, you get all the available rewards by the time you reach the middle of the game.

I was under the impression it actually took more than one playthrough to get all the medals?

Edited June 23, 2023 by jonesey46

[Copanele]

12 minutes ago, jonesey46 said:

I was under the impression it actually took more than one playthrough to get all the medals?

Well the medals drop only in NG+ so you do need that extra playthrough...however if you are really insistent you can do it all in one NG+ playthrough on Ultra Hard, you have more than enough medals by the end of that

[Copanele]

 No. 232 - The Rumble Fish 2

 

Platinum Name: The Rumble Fish 2

Hardest Trophy: The Fastest FishBeat the Trial mode in under 10 minutes - you actually need to get a DLC character if you wish to not lose your marbles with this one

Difficulty: 5/10

 

I've never ever heard of this game...franchise...what even this is. I have seen some announcements but the price was too high for me to invest into it, so I waited for a discount. 

And now, since the game is discounted...yeah, still too expensive for what it had to offer  

 

The Rumble Fish 2 (what a weird name) is an odd 2D fighting game that was available only in arcades (or PS2? I could never tell, there's barely any info about it). Important part, it was re-released for Playstation 4 and Playstation 5. Moreover, if you bought the physical version, you also received The Rumble Fish 1, which is the only way to acquire that game for the console. Again, very weird approach, but ok.

The game itself is a 2D fighter with an interesting graphic choice that reminds me of the old Flash games

 

The combat reminds me of the old SNK King of Fighters games - You have only 4 buttons and you can chain weak attacks into strong attack and cancel them into more intricate combos. An odd difference is the presence of 2 super bars: Offensive bar (used to do high damage inflicting super moves) and a Defensive bar (used to get you out of trouble or punish aggressive opponents).

Another interesting mechanic is the clothes damage. If you inflict enough damage to a character, their clothes get torn off. It gives no advantage, just a bit of "eye candy" whenever you fight characters like Garnet or Sheryl.

Garnet will need a new set of clothes for the next match

 

The platinum is actually rather challenging. Even on Beginner difficulty, the AI can go apeshit randomly. Which can be a problem, since you have to finish the Arcade mode with all characters and some of them are absolutely useless. The biggest challenges are the Time Trial and Survival Mode, which are made trivial if you purchase the DLC character Greed. Which brings us to the main problem and hint that this game is not really worth it: why does a rerelease of an Arcade game has DLC characters?

 

Honestly, this game is not worth it. It's a barebones fighting game at a stupid price which brings absolutely nothing new to the table, despite being originally released in 2022. It has no tutorial (all the controls are being taught to you via loading screen), the characters are not really memorable unless they bounce around, the music is...there and the combat feels unsatisfying because of the weird graphics. And honestly, the feeling that I had when playing this game was "wait, I have seen this before". The KoF cancels, the Street Fighter super inputs, even the Guilty Gear/Blazblue halfcircles. The 2 meter bars are unique enough...but other games did the same with one meter bar. Even the clothes breaking effect was done before with Art of Fighting.

 

So...yeah, better skip this game. Even writing about it was a problem  

 

THE GOOD:

• combat is snappy enough
• clothes breaking mechanics

THE BAD:

• too expensive for what it offers
• everything was done better by other fighting games
• paid DLC characters

 

Recommendation - Chaos Code New Signs of Catastrophe  This game is pretty much the opposite of Rumble Fish. It has its own identity and it really feels like an unique fun game. You can do some mad shit in this game  

 

 

 

💯 No. 58&59 - Arcade Archives - Savage Reign/Kizuna Encounter

 

 

Just a quick Arcade Archive gaming with 2 old obscure SNK titles. I played them initially under Fu'un Super Combo collection.

Impressions remain the same - Savage Reign kinda sucks, Kizuna Encounter is way better, list was mad easy compared to the collection.

That's all folks ?

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[Puppeter04]

Indeed, 30-35€ new here, quite expensive for what it offers. Dunno about you but I prefer to drive 15min, go to my local arcade place and smash buttons with a 3€ beer in hand (quite expensive for a beer too? but you can play games for free at least)

 

As far as I know, the OG version is on PS2, and the main difference between 1 and 2 is that Hazama and Sheryl were only PS2 characters on TFR1 so nothing of them for the specifically Arcadie lovers, and I think they even release a Dreamcast version! There're still fighting games out for you? What would you do when the supplies end? well, MK1 is on the way tho. Day 1? And have you played Melty Blood already? Dont remember and I tend to know which games ppl I interact with have played, its not creepy, its called having good memory?. Or kinda good at least lol.

 

Btw, and as a side note, maybe, probably, AC Valhalla will be started on June 10th. I'll let you know when I finish in September 2040. HAHAHA

[Copanele]

10 minutes ago, Puppeter04 said:

Indeed, 30-35€ new here, quite expensive for what it offers. Dunno about you but I prefer to drive 15min, go to my local arcade place and smash buttons with a 3€ beer in hand (quite expensive for a beer too but you can play games for free at least)

Right now I am writing to you via online parchment from the Middle Ages aka sadly we don't have arcades here  or at least in my place. I would wish to smash buttons, but sadly I am limited by the technology of my time.

Which means some lazy ass internet cafe with Counter Strike 1.6 ?

Definitely would recommend going to the Arcades over playing this game

 

10 minutes ago, Puppeter04 said:

As far as I know, the OG version is on PS2, and the main difference between 1 and 2 is that Hazama and Sheryl were only PS2 characters on TFR1 so nothing of them for the specifically Arcadie lovers, and I think they even release a Dreamcast version!

Hotdamn you sure know way more than me about this game  For me it was a "this game is expensive and soounds stupid"

10 minutes ago, Puppeter04 said:

There're still fighting games out for you? What would you do when the supplies end? well, MK1 is on the way tho. Day 1?

OKKK SO, big reply here ? here's what I have in plan with the supplies that I have:

FIGHTING GAMES THAT I PLAN ON COMPLETING:

• Capcom Fighting Collection
• Guilty Gear Strive PS5
• KoF15 PS5
• Street Fighter 6 PS5 (whenever they patch that dumb shit tournament mode)
• Street Fighter 6 PS4 (because hey why not I got 2 consoles, stacking them beautiful games)
• Guilty Gear NA stack (retro baby)
• An assortment of Arcade Archives games - aiming for all the Fatal Fury ones, (will take around 2 hours in total, I know)
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - pray for my PS3
• Soul Calibur 6
• Them's Fighting Herds PS5
• Them's Fighting Herds PS4 (so I won't be tempted by the evilness of autopopping, will do those in reverse)
• Tekken 8 (whenever it will be released)
• KoF13 Ultimate Match (whenever it will be released)
• MK1 - more on that soon
• Some other random games that I need a Japanese account for (Aquapazza, Dengeki Bunko whatever)
• Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2+ (yes yes they don't count as fighting games who cares let me slap Naruto's stupid face around)
• My Hero One's Justice 2 (yes yes it doesn't count as fighting game who cares let me slap Bakugo's stupid face around)
• Demon Slayer (it has a manbearpig in it!)
• other arena fighters that I don't remember at the moment

 

FIGHTING GAMES THAT I MAYBE WILL PLAY IDK DEPENDS HOW DESPERATE I AM

• Ultra Street Fighter 4 PS3 - the grinding is why I don't want to bother with this shit
• Injustice PS3 - horrible, HORRIBLE game

FIGHTING GAMES THAT I STILL DREAM ABOUT COMPLETING ONE DAY IDK I AM NOT STRONG ENOUGH

• Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai

 

Soooo I still have a good influx of fighting games out there + Koihime will carry me until the end of my gaming career. That game is evil.

 

AS FOR MK1.... no, won't be day 1.

I might break some hearts here, but honestly MK is among my least favorite fighting game franchises out there ?I simply do not resonate with any characters, I don't care about the silly story and those "stanky leg" animations make me laugh every time. From what I've seen on streams...nah I don't want to play no MK1 any time soon.

Will still play it, but when it's discounted.

10 minutes ago, Puppeter04 said:

And have you played Melty Blood already? Dont remember and I tend to know which games ppl I interact with have played, its not creepy, its called having good memory. Or kinda good at least lol.

 

But of course! Here is it!:

https://psnprofiles.com/trophies/14132-melty-blood-type-lumina/Copanele

And here's my post about it! (Neco Arc best character 5ever)

10 minutes ago, Puppeter04 said:

Btw, and as a side note, maybe, probably, AC Valhalla will be started on June 10th. I'll let you know when I finish in September 2040. HAHAHA

May the winds of Odin guide your boat the same way it guided mine

 

 

I shall pray for your soul once you get into the DLCs ??

 

[YaManSmevz]

8 hours ago, Copanele said:

 No. 232 - The Rumble Fish 2

 

Probably not original, but it's something I haven't seen before - the cast of characters is your standard sea of abs and breasts til you get to the top left and it's this random creepy uncle (who's definitely been fired from a few Santa jobs). So I guess it could get points for that?

 

Also maybe the next time my wife bumps into me I'll dramatically rip my shirt off and make that Garnet face, and she'll just be overcome with lust and overpower me and I'll silently mouth thank you Rumble Fish.

 

We can dream.

 

Where was I? Oh yeah, great write-up as always dude?

[Puppeter04]

4 hours ago, Copanele said:

Hotdamn you sure know way more than me about this game  For me it was a "this game is expensive and soounds stupid"

My mom used to say: "If you knew half of the knowledge you have in videogames you don't even own... you'd be top1 in everything!"  and here I am, a person who's afraid of failure and mediocrity ?

 

4 hours ago, Copanele said:

let me slap Bakugo's stupid face around)

YESSSSSSSSSSSS, I cant stand him, still don't know why every girl out there is crazy about him... issues ppl have I guess, I just can't, give me Todoroki, I want the shy one, or if Dabi if I have to choose a problematic one

 

But yes sir, quite a list. I'll be doing some of those too, mostly PS3 ones, so pray for mine too. 

4 hours ago, Copanele said:

Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai

Do you want me to give you my therapist number? I think she can help you. Oh my Lord !!!!!! as a reminder:

4 hours ago, Copanele said:

May the winds of Odin guide your boat the same way it guided mine

That made my day HAHAHAHA what a way to... to something. 

[Copanele]

4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

 

Probably not original, but it's something I haven't seen before - the cast of characters is your standard sea of abs and breasts til you get to the top left and it's this random creepy uncle (who's definitely been fired from a few Santa jobs). So I guess it could get points for that?

 

Sadly no. The odd ass creepy uncle has been present in many fighting games before ?

Example 1 - Chung Paifu from Savage Reign (one of the arcade archives game)

 

4 hours ago, YaManSmevz said:

Also maybe the next time my wife bumps into me I'll dramatically rip my shirt off and make that Garnet face, and she'll just be overcome with lust and overpower me and I'll silently mouth thank you Rumble Fish.

 

We can dream.

 

Where was I? Oh yeah, great write-up as always dude

We should all thank Rumble Fish for teaching us various ...martial arts...moves ?

... ah yes, thanks my man ?

 

3 hours ago, Puppeter04 said:

That made my day HAHAHAHA what a way to... to something. 

That moment when you impress your viking raid with your boat parking skills

 

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A small Diablo 2 update ....and a bit of a brag. Can I brag? Just this once  

So, the premise: Me, a glorious, God-fearing and demon smiting Paladin , level 90 hardcore because we ain't no heathens here. I am Deus Vult-ing Hell Andariel, hoping for some good items to allow me to efficiently grind until level 99 - you know, a Shako Harlequin Crest, some Jah runes, an Arach Mesh, the classic endgame nukes.

 

Well...My Lord and Savior Sauron listened to my pleas (and my nasty teleportation noises) and blessed me with the One Ring

 

I shall now proceed to be smug about it for the rest of the day and smack Baal right in the hell-nads with it ?

[YaManSmevz]

11 minutes ago, Copanele said:

 

Sadly no. The odd ass creepy uncle has been present in many fighting games before 

Example 1 - Chung Paifu from Savage Reign (one of the arcade archives game)

 

 

Ohh nooooo!! Once again I have underestimated fighting games?

 

Not gonna lie, I'm kinda diggin the dweeb presentation, especially with Uncle Creepy over there. He looks like he's about to bust out some corny 90s sitcom "I'M CHUNG PAIFU AND I'M HERE TO SAY" type rap. Real talk, there's a whole world I'm missing out on?

 

11 minutes ago, Copanele said:

A small Diablo 2 update ....and a bit of a brag. Can I brag? Just this once  

So, the premise: Me, a glorious, God-fearing and demon smiting Paladin , level 90 hardcore because we ain't no heathens here. I am Deus Vult-ing Hell Andariel, hoping for some good items to allow me to efficiently grind until level 99 - you know, a Shako Harlequin Crest, some Jah runes, an Arach Mesh, the classic endgame nukes.

 

You can brag sir, in fact I insist! My paralyzing fear of all those leveling up requirements has still outweighed my nostalgia for Diablo 2, but I'll be here on the sidelines hypin you up!

[FreshFromThaDeli]

Great updates. I just bought The Rumble Fish Physical Collector's edition. Never heard of these games until I read your posts. My wallet hurts but well worth it. 

[Copanele]

24 minutes ago, FreshFromThaDeli said:

Great updates. I just bought The Rumble Fish Physical Collector's edition. Never heard of these games until I read your posts. My wallet hurts but well worth it. 

May you enjoy them more than I did ?yep they really are pricey!

[Copanele]

 No. 233 - Guilty Gear Strive (PS5)

 

Platinum Name - STRIVE 

Hardest Trophy - Messiah Will Not Come 

Difficulty - 3/10 (because I knew what to expect at this point)

 

I already talked about this game in this post, so I won't re-discuss how much I enjoyed this game. Game was mad fun before, it's still fun now.

With all that, I will have to say that I am a tad worried about the future of this franchise.

 

Guilty Gear was always a zany fighting game with bullshit mechanics, fire and sparks everywhere and a general feel of "HEAVY METAL", basically a game that Jack Black would love  Sure, it wasn't an easy or popular game, but its charm was the whole "disregard brain, go apeshit" with Sol. And in a way, Strive is the same, or at least the original release. It really lost a lot of combo mechanics, sure, but the fact that you have that stupid C O U N T E R Vine boom sound and the impact of punches...yes, it does feel like Guilty Gear alright. 

However, for me, the troubles began to appear for me in 2 specific instances: Testament's DLC release and DNF Duel. Two randomly unrelated events.

 

1. Testament DLC release - Testament is a character that appeared since the very first Guilty Gear game in 1998. This character was an absolute monster of a character in the old games, a trapper/zoner who absolutely could bamboozle your ass from across the screen. Testament COULD be countered, but you had to be extra cool. 

Obviously, seeing this character back, I got mad excited. Testament got an outfit upgrade which I was ok with and...a gameplay modification.

Testament now is the embodiment of a wet noodle. All that this character does is spamming some crows and a wet fart with the scythe.

Where's my mad edgy guy who was going bonkers with the trees and traps and scythes and dragon heads? Now it's just a flamboyant character who sips teas and gets murdered by half-decent Sol players. 

And from that point...the DLCs were kinda eh. Bridget is still a piece of shit I don't care what anyone says. Sin was only fun for a short while in XRd, in this game Sin is a bootleg version of Ky. Bedman? is...Bedman but with a girl. Asuka looks like a 500IQ character but it's too little too late while again, why bother with that character when you can simply use Potemkin.

Basically - I don't like the oversimplification of previously badass characters.

 

2. DNF Duel - an interesting game made after a mobile game. And once again, Arcsys shows their talent - sick artstyle, animations, soundtrack, whatever you wish.

But my god is the game forgettable and braindead. Accent on braindead. Everyone can do some flashy ass shit at a press of a button, which gets this problem:

This trend starts to slowly plague Guilty Gear Strive too. Or better yet - I don't like the oversimplification of previously cool mechanics.

 

And then...there's Daisuke's Vision (the creative director). All he goes on and on is about how "the number of players were dwindling, he has to make it easier for players, to appeal to a broader audience, games are too tough". I will summon @FreshFromThaDeli here who perfectly said : "I stopped playing this game because the Ranked and lobbies are dogshit"

Basically this nutbag of a director keeps "reinventing some poop wheel" and does everything except tackle the real issue - WE CAN'T EFFICIENTLY PLAY WITH OTHERS ONLINE!

I shouldn't need to go through 5 fire hoops and a Walmart just to play my friends online.

How can they not simply inspire from Street Fighter? How can Street Fighter 6 get it right yet again? Screw all the fluff, just make the idiots connect as fast as possible, there's punches to be thrown and thighs to be jiggled!

 

 

So yeah...you'll have to excuse me for this random old man rant  this post is more focused on the fighting game playerbase that kinda understand what I mean. I absolutely love Guilty Gear, it's my favorite fighting game series of all time, but for Christ sake stop modifying shit that WORKS while ignoring shit that IS BROKEN! Get good gameplay, stop murdering previously cool characters, FIX THE DAMN ONLINE and stop being ashamed of your own series. Shit's good, we love it, we just want to be able to play.

Heck, Guilty Gear 5 should copy everything from Street Fighter 6 because at this point that game is unironically probably the best fighting game ever made.

That's why I am abit worried about the next entry in the franchise ?

 

I still recommend Guilty Gear Strive - it's a fun game!

 

 

[Yuber6969]

Congrats! Having only played the game recently, I didn't know that they had changed the gameplay since the original release, and from what you say - in a bad way. I can't comment on the DLC characters since I didn't buy them, but I do feel like Strive's gameplay was way more simplistic than Xrd's. I'm surprised Strive didn't get autocombos though.

 

It's off-putting to find out that the game got dumbed down since release. I did thoroughly enjoy it though.