Golem25's Trinket Cave

[Golem25]

Kiryu's Bust welcomes you!

 

 

About the wackjob curating this thread

 

I don't fancy myself a 'trophy hunter' and probably would never use that term to describe myself, but I do fit the bill; I mean, I love collecting them and have a healthy 56 Plats - not bad for a guy who has never owned a PS4 (borrowing a console twice for just a handful of games) and is particularly picky. I am proud of my list, which for 80 percent reflects me as a person with the other 20% being free PS Plus games. I never play games purely for the Trophies, but I do admit that they have often given me the final push I needed to pick up a cheap game. Still, I pride myself on not having Ratalaika-esque titles in my collection; the closest I've gotten to those is Termination Salvation (the OG meme).

 

I would never consider myself to be an expert at video games, but I do have some accomplishments I am exceedingly proud of; Platinum in WipEout 2048, 100% in Dishonored, the sub 1 percent rarity ModNation Racers: Road Trip Platinum, and the gorgeous bust from Yakuza 3 that opened this thread. Together, they hopefully provide you a snapshot of my dedication and craft.

 

Preferences & Priorities

 

The Vita is my favourite PS platform, and I will forever be salty that it did not see more success. A fantastic piece of tech and distinctly superior to the 3DS, Sony's lack of support and third parties similarly abandoning it killed the Vita, but I will never not love my little handheld. After having gone through the process of adding to and finishing up my Vita library in 2020 and early 2021 as I moved abroad and lost access to my PS3, I now own a Playstation 5 after having skipped out on the 4. This gives me access to not one but two generations of games that will constitute most of my new unlocks going forward.

 

Yakuza - Ryu Ga Gotoku for friends - is by far my favourite series on the PS family of consoles, and I am proud to own almost all the titles in the series that were released in the West (missing a PS2 copy of the original). That's right, I have Kiwami, the CE of 6, Kiwami 2, HD Remasters, and LAD all sitting in factory sealing waiting for me to finish up Yakuza 0. I am proud to own the Plats for Dead Souls, 4, and 5, and even the original PS3 version of 3, which I unlocked eleven years to the day and even minute after I started it up as my first ever title in the series.

 

Completion is a big deal to me and I am proud to be sitting at just over 92%; I will never reach 100 due to server shutdowns and being a scrub but I have begrudgingly accepted this - now, I'm just happy to just get as high as I possibly can. Additionally, I put a lot of stock in the 'Average rarity' statistic, which is calculated across all your Trophies and offers a good (if imperfect) indicator of how skill-based one's collection is. I am in the 35% range currently and hope to reach 34 one day.

 

Finally, my love for the Vita saw me pursue a place in the top 100 Vita players in my country (or, well, the country of my account anyway). I reached as high as 86th on April 29th 2021, but due to people spamming 10 minute Platinums, this is not a position I will hold onto or even better. Just as well, as getting to this point without trash games is a momentous achievement.

 

 

So, without further ado, let's have a look at my humble little collection;

 

Platinum History

 

Platinum Trophies 1 through 10

Spoiler

1. Borderlands

This was probably the first Platinum for many, many people - back when Plats were still new and often rather hard. I did enjoy Borderlands very much and got a few DLC packs, but never bothered to finish the final one I got (Clap Trap Revolution). In hindsight, I feel kind of bad for giving Gearbox and Randy money given their behaviour in subsequent years. Went back for the 100% in 2020.

 

2. Just Cause 2

By far my favourite game on the PS3 until I was introduced to the Yakuza series a week after getting my Platinum in Panau. I will still defend JC2 to the death, it is an amazing game and holds up remarkably well (runs on any old toaster PC). Avalanche Studios outsourced the development of JC3 and JC4 to a newly-founded studio of the same name in New York, and the series promptly turned to liquid shit. A shame, because to me, JC2 remains one of the greats - unparalleled freedom.

 

3. The Godfather II

This game gets a lot of slack for being bad, but I loved it - and I've never even seen the movies! Loved the empire building aspect and the various locales, really enjoyable and a rather easy Platinum.

 

4. Mafia II

Good game, good story - preciously little to do though, a very empty open world and clearly unfinished. The Czech devs were shut down by 2K and Mafia III was subsequently butchered by some losers in California; a real shame because I would have loved to see 2K Czech do a third installment. Finished the DLC in 2020, including the infamous Ultra Rare Explorer for driving 1000 miles for no reason.

 

5. Yakuza 4

The one, the only, the best; Yakuza, my favourite series. I fell in love from the first minutes of Yakuza 3 and never looked back. I'd rank 4 below most of the other games in the series (just one city for the first time since the original, with only small new areas tacked on), but it's still a 9 out of 10 for me anyway - the series is that good. Reasonably rare Plat and I don't understand why; Yakuza 4 isn't hard, just a little time-consuming.

 

6. Assassin's Creed II

I hate Ubisoft, I hate this garbage series; my brother loves these awful titles however and put II, Brotherhood, Revelations, and Black Flag on my profile but didn't have the decency to get them anywhere near completion. For Ass Creed II he did get close however, because it's an easy and unimaginative Platinum. I tried to finish the collectibles, but had to lie down after two hours of play; first and last time ever that a video game made me physically sick. I gave my dipshit brother a guide to finish it, and fear the day I start up Ass Creed Liberation to complete my Vita collection (Liberation was no big deal, and in 2020 I finished the other three AssCreeds my brother dumped on my profile).

 

7. L.A. Noire

A bit more cerebral than what you'd normally expect from Rockstar, but a great story and game regardless. Does suffer a little from Mafia II syndrome in not having much to do after you finish the story, just some film cans to collect. Good DLC too, which should have been in the base game. Looking forward to redoing it in the Remaster.

 

8. inFamous 2

inFamous is notoriously absent from my collection because I got stuck with the awful shards, but I found inFamous 2 to be even more enjoyable than the first and, crucially, a lot kinder in terms of its Platinum. Great game, excellent story - well worth picking up even a decade or so after its release. EDIT; 15/09/2020; bruh, I did it, I Platted the original!

 

9. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Fun anecdote; I paid 100 Euros for the numbered collector's edition, only for the website I got it from to send me two rather than just one (only got charged for the single copy too). So, I have an Adam Jensen action figure on my shelf next to a factory-sealed black box. Amazing game, a true return to form for the franchise, and still very much worth playing. Amazing Platinum too, quite challenging but loads of fun all the way through. Enjoy it with a lemon-lime soda if you want.

 

10. Terminator Salvation

The OG meme Platinum, Terminator Salvation is a cheaply-made and glitchy piece of garbage - but it did enjoy a cult status which led me to seek out a copy. It's actually quite hard on the toughest difficulty, but nothing anyone with two thumbs can't handle. I don't regret playing it, as to me this game is legendary albeit for the wrong reasons. Was my quickest Plat at 5 hours and 12 minutes (including a break for dinner) until Hitman GO came along.

 

 

Platinum Trophies 11 through 20

Spoiler

11. Madden NFL 11

I'm unusual in that I am European and enjoy American football, and figured I'd give the one with Drew Brees on the cover a go. A rare but surprisingly easy Plat to me, just mess around with some sliders. If I'm not mistaken, it is still attainable today due to having no online Trophies, which is rare for a game in this series. I picked up Madden NFL 13 for the Vita almost a decade down the line to experience the joy of virtual football once more.

 

12. Killzone 3

I'm proud to have KZ3 100% completed and loved the series, being introduced to it by Killzone 2. 3, however, is a step back in terms of narrative and multiplayer, but still quite enjoyable. Servers are closed so don't bother picking this one up as the Trophy list is heavy on MP requirements.

 

13. Saints Row: The Third

I needed my GTA itch scratched and decided to give Saint's Row a try despite disliking the series on the face of it. The Third did not disprove me, and in hindsight I should have saved my money (resold it to recoup most of my costs). Not worth the time or effort - went back for the 100% in 2020.

 

14. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD (PS3)

Never did try the original release and its visual style didn't speak to me, but figured I'd give it a try and bought it on release day. An excellent bounty-hunting TPS, I enjoyed the story and would recommend it. Platinum is easy enough, although getting 20,000 moolah for one specific Trophy was a bother. Repeated my efforts in 2020 for the Vita version

 

15. Yakuza: Dead Souls

Did I mention I love Yakuza? Dead Souls was admittedly rough around the edges but, in my opinion, unfairly maligned. It sold terribly and almost cost us the remainder of the series coming to the West, but I adored it. A different take on Kamurocho, playing as Majima, and lots of zombie fun. Endless Subterranea got a bit stale towards the end but this is still a Plat I enjoyed my time with. Definitely recommend it to anyone, but with a disclaimer that this is not a buttery-smooth TPS, gameplay- and control-wise. Seeing more and more of Kamurocho get blocked off by walls did give me a real sense of dread, excellent work by the devs. My most wanted remaster, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

 

16. Uncharted: Golden Abyss

I love my Vita and Golden Abyss was my first Plat on it; also my first Uncharted game. A great effort by Bend Studios, I loved the collectibles and the story was quite alright. It really was a full-fledged console title on the go, and it still holds up. Get yourself a Vita and go play this!

 

17. Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL

Bought this at full price, Platinumed it, and sold it to recoup some of my money. Combining Smash Bros with all the Cartoon Network characters from my youth seemed like a good idea but the game was too cheaply-made to really wow me. Worth a try for five or so bucks though.

 

18. Gravity Rush

I think this was the first game I actually bought for Vita (F1 and Golden Abyss came with my Vita, which I bought second-hand), and I loved it. Unique gameplay and visual style with a nice story - made good use of the Vita's various endemic functions. Another full-fledged console title on the go, but with a big helping of DLC; I only recently bought and finished the last of it. Worth picking up alongside a used Vita.

 

19. Metal Gear Solid 3; Snake Eater HD

Best MGS to me, and another big title on the Vita - what more can I say? It's MGS 3! Nice Trophy list, and worth picking up - wish MGS 2's Trophies were as easy! Surprised the Platinum rarity is below 10 percent, because this was an easy ride. Overall, a must-play title and probably the best in the series.

 

20. The Darkness II

Recommended by a friend, so figured I'd pick it up. It was already down to fourty or so Euros by then, and got another price drop right after I bought it. Good story though, worth seeking out and playing. Such a shame a third game has yet to be made.

 

Platinum Trophies 21 through 30

 

Spoiler

21. Sleeping Dogs

I loved this game, crossing GTA with an Asian setting; the story, the gameplay, the Trophies, everything just clicked to me. The load of DLC did bother me though, never did buy it, but looking forward to redoing it all in the Remaster. I really feel bad for the devs, closing down after shipping such a belter. Sleeping Dogs 2; Awakened Canines would have been amazing. Went back for the 100% in 2020.

 

22. Motorstorm: Apocalypse

The first game I got off PS Plus, racing games aren't exactly my thing but I enjoyed Motorstorm Apocalypse - a novel take on a, to me, stale genre. Story was a bit wonky though. Multiplayer is now closed I believe, so give it a miss if you haven't played it already. Surprised that this Plat is between 5 and 6 percent of rarity, because this was an easy title to me.

 

23. Dishonored

Got this new, and resold it after getting the Platinum. Kind of overrated, didn't like the aesthetics too much and certainly hated the direction they took the story in for Dishonored 2 (Outsider especially got butchered there). Some hair-pulling Trophies like doing a no-kill run, which was great fun in Deus Ex but a bother here. Wouldn't recommend. Got the incredibly rare 100% (only 0.25% of users have it) in 2020, which involved some insanely hard trial challenges.

 

24. F1 Race Stars

Thanks PS Plus; I love Formula 1, a.k.a. 20 cars do 60 laps in a row without passing one another and at the end Mercedes wins, but would not have gotten this out of my own volition if I found it in stores. It's a Mario Kart clone, competent at that, but does nothing new. Big helping of DLC trophies for this one, which I did not bother to get. If you enjoy kart racers, take it for a spin. Bought and finished the DLC for 100% in 2020.

 

25. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (Vita)

After Cartoon Network Punch-Time Explosion XL I was looking forward to another Smash clone with an overly long title. PASBR gave me what I wanted and was much better than its cartoony cousin, even if some decisions like the special finishing moves were a little underbaked. Crossplay means that you'll see the PS3 version later on in my collection. Got the only DLC Trophy in 2020.

 

26. WipEout 2048

Another PS Plus freebie, and my proudest Platinum; again, I don't know why, because I found beating Zico and getting to Mach 1.5 in this game to be a breeze compared to the rear-end-penetration-without-lube-or-consent monster that is WipEout HD. I am really sad and mad that Studio Liverpool was closed after shipping this game, because WipEout is a brilliant series and deserved to continue on PS4 (Omega Collection is not the continuation I wanted to see). Servers closed for 2048, meaning the Plat has been unattainable for a while, but I got it and I am so happy with it. Seriously good game on top of it all too, if the servers were still up I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. In fact, I recommend getting a physical copy and playing it on an alt account.

 

27. Hitman: Absolution

PS Plus freebie, but I did get deep into the series with Hitman 2016 on PC, so I was happy to have played Absolution. Not to say that it's a good game, deary me; the story is absolute shite and the levels way too linear. The studio head at IOI at the time had a boner for grindhouse and forced it upon this game, leading to a real train wreck. It's a miracle it sold as much as it did, and it's not worth revisiting nowadays.

 

28. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (PS3)

Same as Vita version, just less easy to bring with you. Okay game, nice to get two lists for your 60 bucks. Note that I did not autopop these, I just played through the game again. PASBR remains the only title I have a stack of (EDIT; until Platinum #63 came along). Got the only DLC Trophy in 2020.

 

29. The Walking Dead

Either a PS Plus freebie or dead cheap, because I wouldn't otherwise play a Telltale game. Don't care about the Walking Dead media franchise, don't care about this style of game. Story is overrated, characters are dull, and the illusion of choice is but a thin layer of veneer. To me, anyway. Completed the 400 Days expansion in 2020 for 100%.

 

30. Virtue's Last Reward

PS Plus freebie, I don't care for puzzle games so this didn't impress me. Story wasn't my cup of tea either, so I was happy to run through this one with a guide.

 

Platinum Trophies 31 through 40

 

Spoiler

31. Grand Theft Auto V

I loved GTA growing up, but V never really impressed me beyond its map - which quickly lost its novelty too. Very proud to have gotten this Platinum, but not a title I would return to. The PS2-era GTA games will always remain top dog and I look forward to playing III, VC, and SA via the remasters. One of my long-held wishes is for LCS and VCS to get Trophy support, along with Chinatown Wars. I would have loved them on Vita, but if they ever do happen, it will be on PS5 or beyond.

 

32. Spec Ops: The Line

PS Plus freebie, standard TPS, but with a meta story. Never really wowed me but competent enough to have gotten some enjoyment out of it. Setting was interesting though.

 

33. LEGO Lord of the Rings

PS Plus freebie, hadn't seen the movies (only saw them at the arse end of 2019) but enjoyed this game even if it was an upscaled 3DS title. Rough around the edges but very entertaining all the same. Surprised to see its Plat hover around 29% rarity, because there's no excuse for not Platting any of the LEGO Vita titles. This game also inspired me to buy the physical 'Council of Elrond' set with an otherwise useless toy store gift card.

 

34. GRID 2

PS Plus freebie, some of the Trophy names and descriptions aged like milk in the sun on this one, but it was great seeing a dev turn to a Trophy site for advice. As mentioned, I don't like racing games as a genre and didn't enjoy GRID 2 much, but am surprised to see its Plat at 3.8 percent rarity; this game is not hard at all. Probably all the PS Plus folks picking it up and dropping it that messed up the percentage.

 

35. Metro: Last Light

PS Plus freebie, never played 2033 before booting this one up. Loved how idiosyncratic and unapologetically Eastern European it is though, with Ukrainians helming development. A good game with a great setting, worth seeking out in its PS3 guise or via the Redux version. Plat sits at 4.22 percent, which should be higher but again, it's a PS Plus game.

 

36. MotoGP 13

PS Plus freebie, had never seen a MotoGP race in my life but loved this game. Was brilliant seeing real life tracks other than the classics and Tilke-designed garbage used in modern Formula 1. Laguna Seca and Aragon especially were a joy like no other. Very easy Platinum too, and worth picking up seeing as I believe the online to still be up and running at the time of writing. Might require boosting, though.

 

37. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

PS Plus freebie, first Sly game I played. Was fine, fairly standard, not too memorable outside of the locales, particularly enjoyed the Japanese world and the snow-covered prehistoric stage. Wouldn't go out of my way to play it though.

 

38. Killzone: Mercenary

I love Killzone (2) and I love the Vita, so this was my dream game; you still don't get to play as the Helghast in the story (COME ON) but Guerilla Cambridge did throw us a bone and let us fight on their side for a little while. A great campaign and great multiplayer (which is high praise coming from me), I loved the card deck collectible system and the way in which the game added to the series' lore. Seeing new locales on Helghan was a treat as well. The online is still active I believe (and has bots), so seek this game out if you can; another high quality game on Vita that could pass for a PS3 title, like Gravity Rush and Golden Abyss. What did Guerilla Cambridge get for its efforts? A 'closing down' sign smacked on their heads by Sony, like Studio Liverpool received previously. Criminal to dissolve the studio instead of letting them make a sequel.

 

39. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

PS Plus freebie, upscaled 3DS game - has Batman though, so that's cool. LEGO Vita games are always pretty easy to Plat and this one was no exception, enjoyed it during a hot summer watching the Tour de France.

 

40. Killzone

Took my sweet time with this Remaster, paused my playthrough for months on end; not surprising as it's not the most gripping of games. In fact, it's a surprise that Sony not only let Guerilla make a sequel, but also that Guerilla then knocked Killzone 2 out of the park because the original title - ooft, not that great. Rico is awful in this game, just like how he was in 2 and 3.

 

Platinum Trophies 41 through 50

 

Spoiler

41. FIFA 13 (Vita)

EA launched FIFA Football on the Vita's release day and never fixed a broken Trophy, making the Plat unattainable. That game was given a small visual and roster update and was resold as FIFA 13, with the Trophy glitchy but ultimately fixed. I bought this used, as I do with all my EA games (not counting PS Plus titles). Actually a really nifty game and good to have on you while travelling, but it is the epitome of its publisher's greed. Awful online Trophies, and with the servers now closed, the Plat is unattainable.

 

42. Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed

The most embarrassing game I've ever bought in a brick and mortar store; can still remember it clear as day. Excellent and underrated game though, enjoyable throughout with a nice rendition of Akihabara (but then I'm a sucker for Japan, see my obsession with Yakuza) and an easy Plat. Seek out a copy and give it a try.

 

43. Need For Speed: Most Wanted

This was given away (FOR FREE!) by EA (A FREE GAME FROM EA! WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO?!), which set off every single alarm bell I could think of - but I still downloaded it anyway. This game just adds to the pile of evidence that you can have full console games on Vita, and I actually enjoyed it even with some glitchy fence collectibles (and again, racing is not my thing). Worth picking up a used copy of.

 

44. Resistance: Burning Skies

Need For Speed on Vita was great; Resistance was shite. Made by some no-names, this game features a very short and uninspired campaign, and fails to add anything to the Resistance mythos. Very disappointing, and I either got this game on the cheap or from PS Plus. Worth a few bucks for the easy Plat, but not something to enjoy.

 

45. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

I played DR2 before this, which wasn't a good idea; overall I definitely prefer the second game even despite the *ending spoiler never mind*; both games are worth picking up though, but neither compelled me to give DR3 a try.

 

46. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

See my note on the original DR; I started and finished 2 before the original, but Platted it after Platting the first - rather bizarre, I admit. Mahiru is a cutie, A CUTIE.

 

47. Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus

Tiddies, tiddies, tiddies, and otherwise a non-descript Musou. Had fun with it, though. Suppose sometimes, games are all about lowering your expectations; think it will be a fun challenge to Platinum all SK games that came to the West, so will be pursuing that once I get a PS5. Yozakura is a cutie, A CUTIE.

 

48. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered

I loved Golden Abyss on Vita but could never be bothered with its console cousins; the series looked just a bit too generic for me. Cue a summer with time on my hands and a gf with a PS4, and I figured I'd get a cheap copy of the Remastered trilogy. This original installment is decent enough, although it clearly did not have much thought put into it in terms of the Crushing difficulty level. Can't imagine how bad Brutal will be.

 

49. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered

A definite improvement over the original, I can understand why this one is so well-loved. Enjoyed the snowier levels and the story, but overall I never am able to say much about the Uncharted games. Worth playing and Platting though.

 

50. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Remastered

Dammit, now I have to find something to say about Drake's Deception. Same thing applies as with the others, it's a fine game - the campaign is maybe not quite as good as U2 but still perfectly enjoyable. Was a perfect send-off for the series too, so I don't understand why 4 exists. Oh well. One day I should pay pennies for the trilogy again (I resold it to make some money back) and try to get the DLC trophies.

 

Platinum Trophies 51 through 60

 

Spoiler

51. Lara Croft GO

The summer of 2019 gave returned to me my old Trophy-collecting habits, and Lara Croft GO and Hitman Go were priced at just over a Euro each. Quick and super easy, Lara Croft was okay but not amazing - probably because I don't like her series much.

 

52. Hitman GO: Definitive Edition

It's a miracle that I like Hitman as much as I do considering I started with Absolution, and I loved GO. The puzzle genre is such a good fit for the series, but not a good fit for me, so I grabbed a guide to see how quick I could speedrun it. At 3 hours and 6 minutes, it dethroned Terminator Salvation as my fastest Plat. Definitely worth buying.

 

53. Yakuza 5

I love Yakuza; you know it, I know it, Sega probably knows it considering how much money they've made off of me. For years I waited and finally the game came west, but life got in the way and it took well over three years for me to Plat it, not in the least part because this is a massive game and I like to take my time with each installment in the series. Five Japanese cities crammed into one package, with amazing sidestories and minigames. Initial.D taxi-driving, hunting in snowy mountains, idol dance battles, I loved every single second of it. Can't wait to get to the remaster once I finish 0, Kiwami, 6, Kiwami 2, Judgment, and Like A Dragon, and then 3 HD and 4 HD. So, ETA for the Y5 remaster Plat is somewhere around 2073, give or take a decade.

 

54. Senran Kagura Bon Appetit! (Hanzo x Crimson Squad)

This was on sale and I wanted Trophies and Tiddies, so why not, right? Started to really sweat my decision when I got to trying the 'Finally' Trophy, which forces you to master a song on Normal. Once I got past that with moist palms (not like that!), it was an easy ride to the finish. Now onwards to Estival Versus (GET! Found at #61 further down the list) - and PBS/Burst Renewal once I get a new console for those.

 

55. Tearaway

Charming game that you could tell was a labour of love by its devs, released well into the Vita's final death throes, but it never made me feel like I enjoyed it. My playthrough coincided with having a bit of my shock in my life - which turned out to be a good thing in the end - which caused a long delay in finishing it up. So long, in fact, that Tearaway became my first Plat of the new decade. Definitely pick this game up if you have a Vita, I guarantee you'll enjoy it even if I didn't.

 

56. FIFA 15 (Vita)

Remember FIFA 13 higher up on this list? Yeah, EA repackaged it as FIFA 14 with a roster update and charged 40 quid for it, and then repackaged it again with a further roster update as FIFA 15 - again to the tune of 40 quid. Thankfully, 15 is the only one of the four Vita FIFA titles without online play, meaning it is now the only of the quartet to still have an attainable Plat. A must-have for every Vita owner because it is a technically competent game, just intensely greedy and scummy. Buy it used, please.

 

57. LEGO Legends of Chima (formerly with the tagline 'Laval's Journey')

Upscaled 3DS game themed around an in-house range of LEGO building sets with animal tribes battling eachother for unobtainium, and one of three LEGO titles exclusive to Sony's latest handheld. Has a bizarrely amazing score that is so epic and sweeping, it's almost awkward in combination with the cartoony gameplay. As Vita LEGO titles use bite-sized levels compared to their console cousins, this was an easy and fun little romp.

 

58. Persona 4: Dancing All Night

I do really enjoy rhythm games despite being absolutely terrible at them; up until getting SK Bon Appetit I'd only enjoyed them as side activities in games like Yakuza and Sleeping Dogs, but then I found a physical copy of P4DAN for cheap and figured I'd give the genre another go. Had some real nerves thinking I'd never get the Platinum when I realized I needed to clear a few songs on the unfair HARD difficulty, but found a way to reliably cheese them. Overall, really enjoyable and worth picking up - a well-made game for an underappreciated handheld.

 

59. Assassin's Creed III Liberation

Oh dear, oh dear; I was crazy enough to start another AssCreed - inspired by the dearth of games on the Vita, finding a cheap copy locally, and the looming prospect of societal lockdown. Thankfully, I did not regret trying it; even though I find this series ridiculously bland (offensively bland, almost), Liberation was a quick and easy romp through a good open world (for Vita standards) that was only slightly marred by one or two ill-thought out Trophies. I think this is a better game than AssCreed II, surprisingly.

 

60. Forma.8

Forma.8 was cheap, Forma.8 had a quick and easy Platinum, Forma.8 had a nice and low completion percentage. And since it is playable on Vita, that's all I needed to pull the trigger. I was served a Metroidvania wherein you play as a little floating surveillance drone mapping out a hostile planet after crash landing, with plenty of collectibles to be gotten and alien lifeforms to be overcome. A typical indie title that succeeds at what it sets out to do, but due to my apathy for the genre I did not really enjoy slogging through it. All the same, this title did bring my completion percentage down and rounds out my sixth batch of ten Platinums. Now for number 61, which I suspect I will enjoy even less.....

 

Platinum Trophies 61 through 70

 

Spoiler

61. Corpse Party: Blood Drive (European Version)

I don't like horror and I really don't like gore, but this game was suprisingly light on it (even if the intro image was a cute anime girl getting vore'd). So much for the good news, because CPBD feels like a very bad visual novel with low budget gameplay slapped on that really doesn't need to be there. Frustating and badly thought through mechanics everywhere, and only a few tiny, recycled levels. Very, very poor game, but a relatively straight-forward Platinum and a relatively low overall completion percentage - which I really understand, because this game isn't great.

 

62. Senran Kagura Estival Versus

Almost a year after Platting Bon Appetit and a meaty 4-and-a-half years after Platting Shinovi Versus, I finally cracked open the copy of Estival Versus I had bought just before the societal lockdown and got to work on hacking and slashing my way through another story mode and 20+ Shinobi Girls Heart missions. I think the game is an improvement over SKSV with very light additions to gameplay (wall-running) and a few new girls added (the delightful Mikagura sisters), and the journey to the Plat was terrifically easy and quick. So much so that I actually used the SGH Trophies to fill out my 'Trophies by time' stat; with a few alarms set in the dead of night, I popped Trophies in the 2 AM, 3 AM, 4 AM, and 5 AM slots for the first time ever to the point where each hour of the day now has a visible bar. Ironic that the final non-Plat Trophy I achieved in this game was 'Your OCD is showing'. You know me too well, game.

 

63. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD (Vita)

The PS3 version of Stranger's Wrath HD was my 14th Platinum, so to revisit it via the Vita version and Platinum it all over again (game doesn't support crossplay autopop) is a trip down memory lane - and one which has given me a newfound appreciation for this underappreciated game. Seriously, there is so much to love about this title, from the mix of 1st and 3rd person to the 'live' ammo to the worldbuilding. What an amazing game, and I feel privileged to have been able to double up on its Trophy list on the go - the Vita version runs perfectly and isn't hampered by any of the usual touch screen nonsense.

 

64. √Letter (European Version) (Vita)

√Letter, the game famous for having a stack of ten (!!!) across five regions and two platforms. This is your typical visual novel with branching paths and multiple endings, and has a reading time between eight to twelve hours. Because VN's aren't the most challenging titles out there, I figured I'd make things interesting and speedrun the game, which landed me in the top three on the leaderboard with a near-perfect run. The game is set in the beautiful city of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture in Japan, and great care has been taken to lovingly recreate many of its scenic vistas and local businesses. Definitely worth a play, even if this game will butcher your average rarity percentage!

 

65. Persona 4 Golden (North American Version)

The community recommended me to try Persona 4 Golden, and I was hooked from the start; the killer app the Vita needed, were it not for the fact that Sony's horrendous decisions re. memory cards and support had already killed this handheld. Dumped by your parents at your uncle's home in the Japanese countryside, you make friends and go through a murder mystery as a mute hero (although you do get to give some written inputs here and there). An excellent, excellent RPG that is very accessible for newcomers to the genre like me, a lovingly-crafted clique of heroes, and a story that twists and turns all the way to the finish. Hardcore Risette Fan be damned, this was a thoroughly enjoyable experience which I enjoyed from the first time booting P4G up right through to the popping of the Platinum via the newly-added quiz mode.

 

66. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Perhaps one of the most relieving pops on my list, this was the second game to be put on my profile by my younger brother - almost a decade before I managed to Platinum it. A nightmarish slog from start to finish, there was not a single second of enjoyment in this hopelessly uninspired title. A map that was initially 86'ed from AssCreed II's development but didn't seem to have been playtested, a story that spins the wheels, and horrendous multiplayer requirements - abandon all hope ye who enter the domain of this Ubisoft stinker. Trophies like AEOTM, Download Complete, and the DLC-bound 'il Principe' still give people nightmares to this very day, but thanks to a good boosting squad and lots of perseverance, I managed to get through it all relatively unscathed.

 

67. Assassin's Creed Revelations

The third game slapped onto my defenseless profile, this title was less painful than Brotherhood due to a much better (but still turgid) map and much kinder multiplayer requirements. The protagonist is an old man now, and you really feel bad for this guy being put through the wringer for a third game for the purpose of milking more money from the people who kept buying AssCreed titles in the late 00's/early 10's. Then again, Ezio has never been likable to me - perhaps one of the most overrated characters in gaming - so fuck him anyway. On the gameplay front, gimmicks like bomb crafting and the much-hated den defence were added to keep up the appearance of this being a worthwhile standalone title - but the fact that both these bits of functionality and the only good addition - the hookblade - were removed for Assassin's Creed III shows that Ubisoft was never interested in improving its mediocre offerings.

 

68. Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag

With Ezio finally left behind, and my younger brother thankfully skipping AC III, I was now tasked with mopping up Trophies in the Caribbean as a pirate. Another hopeless multiplayer mode (which went down almost right after I got my final online Trophy) and lots of cleaning up to do in the singleplayer. The map was a vast improvement over Rome and Constantinople though; I enjoyed some of the lush beaches Black Flag had to offer. Still, I would never, ever have played this had it not been shoved onto my profile against my will.

 

69. inFamous

Eleven years, three months, and sixteen days; that's how long it took me to finish inFamous from the day after I bought it all the way into 2020. Graduated high school, got two university degrees, and moved abroad twice in the interim. inFamous is indubitably inferior to its successor, inFamous 2 (Plat #8), with some painful Trophies due to insufficiently developed tracking mechanics (Blast Shards, anyone?), but I was surprised by just how well this game had stood the test of time; even now, inFamous is worth playing and Platting, even if the moral choices are insultingly straightforward and Empire City is coated in 50,000 shades of grey (with other colours barely present).

 

70. LittleBigPlanet

One out of two games I got bundled in with my PS3 in November '08; LittleBigPlanet failed to entice me to venture beyond it's first handful of levels back in the day, and remained a wholly unconvincing title upon my return nearly twelve years later. However, with some boosting help from the community, I could quickly knock out the level-creation and multiplayer Trophies before slogging my way through the story to actually finish it and survive all levels without dying even once. Getting all prize bubbles was easy, some fine folks had handily created some levels that just automatically unlocked all of them. Glad to never return to this game once I finish the DLC.

 

Platinum Trophies 71 through 80

Spoiler

71. Vanquish

Hot damn, this is right up there in terms of difficulty with Yakuza 5 and WipEout 2048! Vanquish is an excellent third person shooter from 2010, developed by Platinum Games and directed by Shinji Mikami, and is notorious for its incredibly difficult 'Tactical Challenges' mode. Six battles against waves of unforgiving enemies, with the final Challenge filtering out countless players that were hopeful of unlocking the Platinum Trophy. I was one of those thousands of people, but no longer! Over ten years since starting Vanquish on release day, that coveted Ultra Rare Plat is mine! And the game still holds up too, well worth a play (although perhaps best on a dummy account where you don't have to worry about Platting it)!

 

72. Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (European Version)

This is one of two games that I failed to Platinum not because of the challenges involved or online shutdowns, but because of pure boredom. Pro Evo is a series of football simulators that is considered inferior to the more popular FIFA, but I'd say its gameplay is right on par with its competitor. That is to say, both have the depth of a puddle. When I got this game with PS Plus in May 2014, I quickly gave up thanks to the grinding required, but managed to breeze through relatively quickly when I picked it back up in 2020. The game can still be Platted today because it was the only title in the series not to have online Trophies involved, but be ready for a real bore if you decide to try it for yourself.

 

73. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

I had to resub to PS Plus for a month to get access to Pro Evo Soccer 2014, and discovered that I had gotten LEGO Harry Potter for the Vita as part of the IGC way back when. Knowing that I would not be renewing my one month subscription, I figured it'd be best to fly through it ASAP to avoid having to buy a physical copy down the line. The game is absolutely fine, just another LEGO Vita title (basically an upscaled 3DS game) and was over relatively quickly, taking me about 12 hours across three days to get it done. It includes a duelling mode not seen in the other games, which has more than a few Trophies tied into it and provided a welcome distraction to the puzzle-based levels that make up the story.

 

74. LEGO Jurassic World

This is quite possibly the best LEGO game I have played on the Vita so far, which is largely down to having the best source material; three nostalgic movies of varying quality plus the unnecessary fourth all contained within one package with a delightful hub world and quick but enjoyable levels (including on rails segments - a personal favourite of mine). The voiced cutscenes of the console versions are borrowed but other than that the game is largely designed with the Vita/3DS in mind and performs really rather well - definitely a title I'd recommend if you're looking to try out a LEGO title on the go.

 

75. Dead Rising 2

I wanted a tough and memorable game for my 75th Plat milestone, and Dead Rising 2 certainly fit the bill; the first game in the series to hit the Playstation family of consoles after the initial XBOX-exclusivity of the original Dead Rising. You play a guy who looks like Clint Eastwood as he runs around a discount version of Las Vegas absolutely rife with zombies, battling against time and psychopathic survivors to clear your name. Some of the Trophies in this game were quite grueling, including a redux of the famed Zombie Genocider, but with a bit of dedication I pulled it off. The game has a handful of online Trophies, which upon release almost a decade ago were actually a lot of fun to unlock. The game is not without faults though, so as we head into the 2020's I can't fully recommend it to new players.

 

76. Steins;Gate (European version) (Vita)

I read this game at my own pace on a dummy account and went for a speedrun attempt, but sadly couldn't manage it in one go - that's mostly down to me trying to do it after midnight to pad my Statistics page. There is very little I can say about the story without spoiling it, but if you love sci-fi and are just a little open-minded, there will be a lot for you to love in this iconic visual novel. The art is really lovely too, apart from two specific charaters (of which one typically takes up half the screen whenever he appears). Background art is inferior to √Letter (#64).

 

77. New Little King's Story

Bizarrely, a re-imagined Wii game developed by Konami and licensed from Marvelous AQL that was released exclusively for the Playstation Vita - not something you hear every day. This game has been delisted from PSN for years now but I lucked into a physical copy, giving me access to this quirky yet endearing story about a young king having to rebuild his country and save seven princesses following a crushing defeat at the hands of a demon. Gameplay is best described as Pikmin with a different coat of paint, except this time you exploit and ruthlessly doom actual people rather than cartoon creatures. A bit like real life monarchies, then. A glitched counter forced me to go through an almost full second playthrough, but New Little King's Story never dragged. Enjoyed this game while watching the 2021 World Championship Bowls.

 

78. Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas

Some say Oceanhorn's Zelda inspiration is strong, others remark that it is basically a copy+paste of Wind Waker. No matter which side of the fence you are on, Oceanhorn was a truly enjoyable little gem that came out of left field for me, but commanded attention from the first time I booted it until the delicious ding of the Platinum. A beautiful oceanic world with dungeons, monsters, and plenty of puzzles to solve. Also available on PS4 if you feel like stacking.

 

79. Adventures of Mana

A 1:1 remake of a Game Boy title first released in 1991; what could possibly go wrong? Very little, apart from a hardlock that ended up costing me about five hours of time in lost progress and replaying to get to where I was. This is the most faithful remake I have ever seen; only the graphics got spruced up, but the world itself as well as the gameplay is much like how it was when this title first released as Final Fantasy Adventure in Japan before I was born. The game includes Moogles and Chocobos, so I suppose this is the first FF title to sneak its way into my collection? A five hour grind preceded the Platinum unlocking, and like New Little King's Story, this game was enjoyed alongside the 2021 World Championship Bowls. Come on Gregos! Go Mark Dawes!

 

80. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril

Another LEGO game, this time with a Marvel coating - not the Cinematic Universe version, mind you. 45 Levels with five challenges each, with a playthrough of each only taking a few minutes. The intrusive touchscreen controls - common across all TT Fusion games - were infuriating but overall I had a decent time with this one. Not quite as good as Jurassic World mind, which included a nice little hub that is dearly missed in Universe in Peril.

 

 

Platinum Trophies 81 through 90

Spoiler

81. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate

The Batman Arkham style of gameplay meets a Metroidvania approach to a handheld title; what could go wrong? A fair bit, actually, as Arkham Origins Blackgate (what a mouthful) suffers from its developers' dogged insistence on making players backtrack. While this is part and parcel of a Metroidvania game, Blackgate's drab environments and the most confusing map I have ever seen in a game make this quite the slog - especially when factoring in the fact that you need to complete the game three times to get all the collectibles for the Platinum - with one playthrough in particular requiring careful navigation to correctly line up the three bosses. Still a good bit of fun, this game, but your patience might be worn very, very thin.

 

82. Madden NFL 13

The most fun I've had on the Vita since Persona 4 Golden, Madden NFL 13 manages to squeeze to squeeze the larger-than-life sport of American football onto a handheld device. It also sold so poorly that EA never bothered to bring out Madden 14 for the platform. While gameplay is about as barebones as it is on console, every element of Madden is here with quick play, Franchise mode, Be a Superstar, and so on. The Trophy requirements were varied and challenging enough, although you might want to consider investing some time in adjusting the sliders. This is one game I will never sell; it is delisted from the European PSN store but will provide me with hours of fun for years to come.

 

83. Farming Simulator

Right, this game; one of only two Platinum Trophies I ever gave up on out of sheer, unadulterated boredom (the other being #72 Pro Evo Soccer 2014). A port of the already threadbare Android version of the game, Farming Simulator gives you a slew of grindy Trophies to collect - the worst of which forces you to accumulate 10 millions Farm currency in your bank account. And yes, it has to be there as spent money does not count towards the goal. With an optimized route through the game this is, at best, a 37 hour long slog although it took me about ten hours longer due to just being awful at farming. Game is now delisted from PSN, perhaps for the best.

 

84. F1 2011

My first ever Vita game, which I got alongside the console (bought both secondhand from the same guy in my hometown) - and one that I never managed to Platinum due to some mildly challenging objectives in the Challenge and Time Trial modes. The latter I might not even have passed were it not for an out-of-bounds glitch that lets you scum your way past two of the harder times in the game. I loved replaying it though, it's such a blast from the past with classic teams like Lotus and Hispania and long-forgotten tracks such as Yeongam, a personal favourite of mine.

 

85. Spy Hunter

A reboot of a classic Midway arcade game by TT Fusion, the same guys who made all the Vita LEGO games; this one took me by surprise, frankly. While routes you drive in the game are recycled more than once, the core gameplay is actually a lot of fun. Quite a bit of time will go into completing challenges, betraying a similar design philosophy to that espoused by the LEGO games, but it was never a massive problem for me. Story was quite threadbare with the two most heavily featured characters not even having voice actors, but overall I thought this was a charming little game. Cheap copies are floating around the web as we speak, so consider picking one up.

 

86. Gal*Gun Double Peace

This is exactly the kind of quirky Japanese game I love, and coincidentally the sort of thing Sony's new content policy preys upon; thankfully a physical copy ensures that I will forever be able to play it. This is a reasonably short rail shooter wherein you are besieged by schoolgirls who have fallen in love with you, set at a relatively non-descript Japanese high school. Go down one of a handful of routes and find true love before sunset, or end up lonely for the rest of your life. The Platinum experience wasn't that great with how heavy it was on the most boring kinds of collectibles, but I still very much enjoyed my romp through its levels as rail shooters really speak to me as relaxing gameplay experiences.

 

87. LEGO Movie: The Video Game

Yes, another LEGO title on the Vita but can you really blame me for playing these when this was pretty much the only series to regularly release games on the go? The LEGO Movie employs the same challenge-based approach as Marvel Super Heroes (#80) did but does not require 100% completion - just that you do all of the horrific timed- and multi-challenges and collect all the various trinkets hidden throughout its 45 levels. Quite enjoyed it apart from a huge sense of worry over a notable glitched Trophy which, after a minor scare because of a missed requirement, popped without problems at the end of the day. This is likely the last LEGO Vita title I will add to the collection, unless I cave and get Batman 3 at some point.

 

88. ModNation Racers; Road Trip

I can still remember the moment I got this game clear as day; I was worried about how attainable the Platinum would be and egged myself on to dedicate myself to unlocking it. I beat the singleplayer and the multiplayer grind, but the two ad hoc Trophies included eluded me for almost nine years due to the Vita flopping so badly that I never, ever met even a single person who owned it. In the end, I bought a second Vita and a second copy of the game in a slight panic-induced move over the news that Sony was scuppering the online store and Messages functionality - which is required for the multiplayer modes of some games. This is my rarest Trophy (and the first in my collection to be sub 1 percent on PSNP), but I sadly remember very little of my time playing the game back in 2012.

 

89. Yakuza 3

The OG; my first ever Yakuza game, and the single-hardest Platinum in the entire series owing to its brutal minigame requirements and the often-times brutal combat. 3 is a contentious title for its dedication to slice-of-life content and often glacial pace, but its Okinawa setting stole my heart from the get-go. Rose-tinted glasses, perhaps, but I consider 3 on par with the other numbered titles and have happily returned to it every few years to relive the rollercoaster narrative and take in the sights of Kamurocho and Ryukyu. My love for this game specifically and the series in general is so great that I conspired to have the Platinum be my 5000th Trophy milestone while also attempting to pop it exactly eleven years after I earned the first Bronze. I missed the mark by seven seconds, but I am proud nonetheless. A game for the ages.

 

90. VA-11 Hall-A

Disappointing visual novel that drew me in through its beautiful aesthetic but ended up being a total disappointment through awful dialogue and performance issues. Yes, performance issues in a game like this, go figure. Definitely the most challenging VN I have played due to the inclusion of a bullet hell minigame required for the Platinum, which handily bumps this from a 1/10 to a 3/10 in terms of difficulty. While the added gimmick of mixing drinks as part of the main gameplay is good fun, the single-most important aspect of the genre - the dialogue and story - lets VA-11 Hall-A down badly. What a shame, to use the words of an icon of dystopian fiction.

 

 

Platinum Trophies 91 through 100

Spoiler

91. No Man's Sky (PS4)

The game that crashed and burned so spectacularly upon release in 2016 has been revamped into an absolute must-play come 2021 through continuous updates from developer Hello Games. Although limited by its genre - survival games are pretty tiresome never-ending hunts for resources and procedural generation means that things can feel a little lifeless sometimes - No Man's Sky was a blast to play through from start to finish, with a grindy Trophy list offset by all the wonderful sights of the Euclid Galaxy. The game's old reputation still haunts it to a degree, but I can find very little fault with it now that countless free expansions have been bolted on, so please do consider giving the game a try.

 

92. No Man's Sky (PS5)

I've played cross-buy games with autopop before, but never used the feature up until now; due to the game's Trophy list consisting of mindless grinding for 99% of the time, I decided to get over my sense of pride and just autopop all but one of the Trophies before the Plat - just to ensure this wouldn't be my new fastest Platinum with a time of one whole second. The PS5 version is noticably better than the PS4 SKU in terms of graphics and loading times, so if you have to pick between the two without your budget being a point of concern, then do please get the next gen version!

 

93. Battlefield V

I never buy EA games new, but when they show up on PS Plus I might sometimes give them a try; so too did I sample Battlefield V, which coupled the one of the worst FPS campaigns I have ever played with an alright multiplayer mode. Highlights were the hours spent grinding points on the mode Outpost towardss the Platinum, while I will likely never forget my joy as I unlocked the hardest Trophy included, 'Death From Above', through regular gameplay - something which is considered rather tricky. Had my fair share of hilarious glitches, including an enemy falling in a river that triggered two demolition targets to explode on their own, but all in all a game that would never be worth paying for.

 

94. Just Cause 4

Just Cause 2 (Plat #2) was one of my favourite games of the PS3. Just Cause 3 was one of my most hated games of the PS4 (although I played it on PC). Just Cause 4 is.... very middle of the road. The gameplay loop of grappling, parachuting, wingsuiting, and so on is just fantastic and the sandbox you are given to do it in proved to be quite the step up from the drab world of JC3, but the ineptitude of the New York-based devs (who crucially did not develop JC2) shines through in too many facets of the game to consider it a masterpiece. The tacked-on DLC is awful, and the game sold so poorly that JC5 will likely never see the light of day. I hope the devs are ashamed of themselves for their shoddy work, because their ineptitude with adding the DLC also meant that I missed out on a top 5 finish in terms of quickest Plat achievers.

 

95. Call of Juarez: The Cartel

Techland is the little Polish studio that could. Could what? Could make a hilariously bad entry in their Western FPS series Call of Juarez, except this one is set in modern times and sees you playing three law enforcement agents. Lots of interesting ideas and gameplay mechanics in this one, bogged down by hilariously racist, misogynist, and just plain bad writing. Has a fair few glitches, including one that lets you be invincible for 95 percent of the campaign, and forced co-op that - due to being p2p - is still available to this very day. The developers are so ashamed of this game, they delisted it from every digital storefront and refuse to mention it.

 

96. Plague Inc: Evolved

A lovely little strategy game that originated on PC but found its way onto the Playstation ecosystem via a rather suspect port; there are serious issues with saving in this game, which ruined my enjoyment and my shot at a top 10 listing in terms of quickest achievers. Gameplay itself is infectious fun but a lot of the Trophies are quite RNG-heavy and DLC scenarios are, for some reason, required for the Platinum. They are also some of the hardest challenges in the game, which is quite unfair on those of us who picked this title up later into its lifespan. Given the heinously bad save system, I recommend you skip out on the PS4 version and play this game on PC instead.

 

97. Persona 5

What can I say about this game? A wonderful time from start to finish, albeit not quite as good as Persona 4 Golden. Still an absolutely brilliant story with some truly wonderful characters. The expanded degree of exploration over its predecessor is welcomed with open arms, but I did prefer the setting, story, and characters of 4. And the music. Definitely the music. Oh man, the music in P4G is so good! Oh man, and now most of the P5 blurb is about P4G. Can you tell I really like that game? But yeah, if you have yet to play Persona 5, do it now now now!

 

98. Tropico 5

Terrifically enjoyable take on the city builder genre set in the Caribbean that has you fill the shoes of a stereotypical banana republic dictator as you develop as set of colonial islands into modern economic powerhouses. A barebones story is accompanied by a more free-form sandbox mode, with the overall result being hours upon hours of engaging gameplay. I got the Complete Collection on disc, which meant that all DLC (including the two Trophy-sporting expansions) was included for even more fun. The controls were buttery smooth on a gamepad, which really surprised me - definitely recommend picking this one up.

 

99. Until Dawn

Interactive horror game that limits player involvement to walking down linear corridors, QTE's, and making the odd binary choice in a story revolving a group of teenage friends stranded on a snowy mountain while a murderous maniac looms in the shadows. Played this as part of the PS Plus Collection on PS5, and it honestly was quite good for that pricepoint. Just 19 Trophies including a Platinum, and I only needed about 10 hours to get through it all. Enjoyable experience and worth playing when you get Sony's next gen console (it's a PS4 game, but only free for PS5-owning Plus subscribers).

 

100. Yakuza 0

The amazing prequel to the long-running Yakuza series that quickly cemented itself as one of, if not the, best entries. Set in the late 80's at the height of Japan's economic bubble, younger versions of Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima eke out a living for themselves in Kamurocho and Sotenbori as the scheming by their superiors leads to bloodshed over a small but significant plot of land in Tokyo. A tough and long (150+ hours) Platinum, but one that felt enjoyable and rewarding every step of the way. Years after its release, Yakuza 0 remains a must-play game that represents a perfect place to start for people new to the series. A very proud #100 Platinum milestone for me.

 

 

Platinum Trophies 101 through 110

 

Spoiler

101. Yakuza Kiwami

A much-needed remake of the original Yakuza, released in 2005 and rebuilt from the ground up to modern standards. I loved going to back to where it all started, even if some of the game design and the disjointedness of the cutscenes betrayed the inner workings of this game being a wee bit dated. Tough and time-consuming Platinum to boot, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Except my time spent with the Climax Battles. Those were awful as per usual.

 

102. Hitman 3 (PS4)

I 100-percented the first two Hitman games (or seasons) on Steam and did it all over again on Playstation, but Hitman 3 debuted on consoles for me - and I was quite disappointed. The first two were absolutely outstanding, rife with content and endless hours of fun, but the third and final installment of the trilogy just let me down badly. The story was pretty awful, a fair few of the maps didn't really resonate with me, and it felt like corners had been cut by the developers once they secured the rights to the James Bond IP for their next game. Not the end to the World of Assassination I was hoping for - and they never did manage to top Hokkaido.

 

103. Hitman 3 (PS5)

I will give thanks to Thee

O Lord, among the people

For thy name be cross-platform auto-pop

 

104. American Fugitive (NA)

A wonderful little title by indie developers Fallen Tree Games that puts you in the shoes of an escaped convict trying to clear his name after having been jailed for the murder of his father. An isometric action-adventure title set in a sleepy American town, this was just such a lovely experience for a very, very generous pricetag. Run, drive, and shoot your way to freedom while burglarizing the entire neighbourhood along the way! Highly recommended, especially as only a few people have actually played this games.

 

105. Beat Cop (NA)

A rather interesting and engaging retro-themed adventure game that sees you patrol a street in New York as a cop, helping and protecting the locals across the span of three weeks as you try to unravel the mystery that led to your demotion from detective to simple beat cop. A little crass at times and perhaps a tad repetitive, I still had great fun with this one and heartily recommend it - goes on sale for just two bucks every so often, which makes it worth even more of a look.

 

106. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

The unfairly maligned final chapter in the saga of Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza 6 takes the series to new heights with PS4-exclusive development, a brand new map to enjoy in Hiroshima prefecture, and a plot that doesn't descened into madness quite as far as some of its predecessors did, but still has plenty of twists and turns. Enjoyed every single second of the game, as I always do with Yakuza, but I was disappointed with how short and easy the Platinum was; no 100% requirement, just tick off 100 completion items and you're done! And no Climax Battles! Thank God!

 

107. Overcooked! All You Can Eat

Another PS Plus game, and one of the few good titles in what was a dire stretch for Sony's subscription service. A bundling of the two Overcooked! games alongside a smattering of DLC, this was a pretty fun if rather repetitive experience and one I was happy to Platinum after having to go through a boost session involving three others for a handful of forced four player co-op Trophies. Thankfully, the forced two player Trophies could be done with just a single controller, but it was still a bit of a stain on what was otherwise a very enjoyable game.

 

108. Madden NFL 18

A third Madden Plat for my collection, and the second in a single calendar year following #82 Madden NFL 13 back in February. This was the first PS4 title in the series I played, and I finished it feeling a little underwhelmed. Clearly very little work had been done to improve the game between the releases of 13 and 18, and there were plenty of glitches to find and feel exasperated over. Clearly the move to the Frostbite engine also didn't work out, as I saw more canned animations than I could shake a fist at. Definitely excusable on the Vita in 2012, but not so much on the PS4 in 2017. EA's stranglehold on the NFL license continues to do a disservice to fans of the sport.

 

109. Madden NFL 19

Same as Madden NFL 18, but with an increasingly erratic and naughty man on the cover and a more enjoyable story mode.

 

110. Madden NFL 19

Same as Madden NFL 18, but with a non-GOAT quarterback on the cover and no real story mode to speak off. You can still fritter away your bank account on microtransactions though!

 

Platinum Trophies 111 through 120

 

Spoiler

111. Far Cry 2

The Platinum Trophy that, likely, will forever be my rarest - the infamous Far Cry 2, with its ridiculous singleplayer collectibles and its even worse online grind that requires close to ten thousand kills with weapons that actually break from use on servers that are increasingly unstable. I first played this all the way back in 2008, so to finally get the Plat almost fourteen years later was, to put it succintly, quite the experience. Especially seeing as I bought two extra PS3s to self-boost the online portion with.

 

112. Grand Theft Auto III

The seminal open world title from 2001 that put the genre on the map once and for all as it dragged players through a gritty and grimey Liberty City on PS2 before being ported (without any kind of tweaks or improvements apart from a Trophy list) to the PS4. GTA is certainly showing its age in the way of controls and mission design (as well as the lack of a pause screen map) but it is still worth checking out if only to see a true landmark in gaming history for yourself.

 

113. Grand Theft Auto IV

Where III marked the start of open world dominance, GTA IV brought it into the era of HD with one of the most critically acclaimed storylines and sandboxes ever. A new, more realistic take on Liberty City with unparalleled physics. A long Trophy list that requires you to aggressively pursue 100% completion is included, but the real pain here is hidden away online where, once again, I self-boosted my way through some ridiculous requirements. Two DLC add-ons bring the total number of Trophies to 66, with The Ballad of Gay Tony providing the biggest challenge as you are forced to 100% its mission challenges.

 

114. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Everything GTA III did, Vice City did better. A beautiful sandbox map based on 1980's Miami, Florida complete with era-appropriate music, a rags-to-riches storyline, and more side-content than you could shake a fist at upon release in 2002. Another loveless port that deserved more attention, Vice City still holds up nearly two decades after release and is simply a joy to play even with some camera issues that persist from III and a few glitches here and there. One particularly poorly thought-out Trophy spoils some of the fun as it requires you to exploit one of the game's challenges before leaving your controller rubber-banded for hours, but other than that it's a very enjoyable jaunt to the finish line. Especially when Crockett's theme comes on the radio.

 

115. Subnautica

I'm not the biggest fan of survival/crafting games, but Subnautica grabbed my interest way back when it was in Early Access on Steam after which I poured a fair few hours into it. To avoid duplication of work for the Trophies on Playstation, I have to admit to using the dev menu to pop this platform's list.

 

116. F1 2010

Another one of my decade-long clean-up efforts, spanning 11 years and 5 months from the moment I started it back in 2010. The world has moved on but going back to this title has provided a pleasant window into a now far-flung past. The physics aren't great and the presentation - while good at the time - feels outdated but the racing is still pretty good. The online grind, however, very much is not so it was a Godsend to have multiple PS3s available for self-boosting purpose. At the time of unlocking it, the Platinum was tied for my tenth-rarest Trophy.

 

117. Wreckfest [PS5]

A game that was free with PS Plus in May 2021 and had sat in my backlog for a while. I was initially looking forward to this, but came away quite disappointed as the game felt more like a tech demo than an actual fully fleshed out title. Sure, it's not an AAA title or anything, but I expected something more from it than just solid driving mechanics and destruction physics. Tracks felt uninspired, and the 'career' mode was incredibly bare bones. Did not enjoy this one at all.

 

118. Madden NFL 21 [PS4]

Another Madden Plat after I found a cheap copy of the game to replace the bought-and-returned copy I used to get access to the PS5 version prior to Madden 22's release (EA offered dual entitlement on '21 but only up until '22's release). Glitchier than ever, but otherwise just the same game with a slightly better 'story' mode tacked on compared to the underwhelming QB1 mode from Madden 20. Glad to say that the Triple Crown Trophy, which was a pain in the previous three games in the series (Plats 108, 109, 110), is now gone and replaced with the much less annoying Unblockable. No more Madden Ultimate Team Trophies either!

 

119. Madden NFL 21 [PS5]

The slightly-upgraded PS5 version of Madden 21, which was quickly completed thanks to auto-pop on the Face of the Franchise Trophies. Had a glitch trying to get them to load in, but very happy to say that I managed in the end. Incredibly quick Platinum if you rely on a PS4 save and have good fortune when going after some of the glitchier Trophies.

 

120. The Sims 4

I can be quite succint about this one; The Sims 4 allows you to more or less download other people's save files (an intended and encouraged part of the game), and with a thorough video guide available on Youtube, this was essentially a two hour Platinum that required very little effort or thought. Got it for free with PS Plus in February 2020, happy to have it off the backlog and on my Trophy log now.

 

Platinum Trophies 121 through 130

 

Spoiler

121. Everybody's Gone To The Rapture

Walking sim which I was looking to buy but thankfully played 'for free' with PS Now. Absolutely dreadful slog, walking through a pretty but dull map picking up uninteresting bits of plot across a five or six hour Platinum experience. Would absolutely not recommend to anyone.

 

122. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The cheap PS2 port of the classic 2004 game, now with Trophies and without the 'Definitive' treatment. Had a great time revisiting one of the best maps in open world gaming, and found the game as a whole held up remarkably well. Unfortunately, Rockstar pulled it from the PS Store and given that a physical edition was never produced, this one is now out of reach for most Trophy hunters.

 

123. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl [PS4]

It's Smash Bros, but with a much lower budget and Nickelodeon characters instead of Nintendo's line-up. Overall a really competent game that was put together well despite very obvious budgetary constraint, and as it was free with PS Plus in June 2022, I was more than happy to give it a go. Have to say, the roster really focuses on classic characters which might go unrecognized by younger audiences.

 

124. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl [EU] [PS5]

Same as #123 except this is the PS5 list, with both having been available on PS Plus. Thank you kindly for that, as it made for two quick and worthwhile Plats instead of just the one!

 

125. Judgment [PS5]

Yakuza in all but name, but that's hardly a bad thing when Yakuza games are the very best experiences you could have on any game platform. Now with a detective spin, albeit one that is shoe-horned in a bit too hard with a lot of awfully boring tailing sequences. The new cast is a breath of fresh air nonetheless, and the plot quite good if a bit overdramatic as always. The game also looks absolutely gorgeous, and is perhaps the first true next gen experience I've had - funny, considering I've had my PS5 for over a year now.

 

126. Metro 2033 Redux

Metro Last Light was my 35th Plat, and now, 90 Plats later, the 'original' Metro game is my 126th - how time flies. An excellent experience which sees you trek through mutant-infested metro tunnels below the surface of Moscow after a nuclear war rendered the surface inhospitable. Gas mask filters to collect and replace, visors to wipe, pneumatic weapons to pump, and military grade bullets that are used as currency but can also be loaded into your weapon for extra damage output over standard rounds. For such a bleak setting, this really is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

 

127. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan

This was another monthly game taken from PS Plus, even though it was available to Plus Extra subscribers (including myself) from the moment the added tiers were introduced. Couple of teens on a diving trip run into pirates and a ghost ship, that's pretty spooky. Same developer and mechanics as Platinum #99, although this one was a little frustrating due to its glacial pace and forced additional playthroughs.

 

128. Syphon Filter [PS5]

The most-hyped title from PS Plus' new Premium tier, Syphon Filter is a much-loved third person shooter originally released for the original Playstation, and now ported over with Trophies and save states to justify Premium's pricetag. A very interesting experience, going back to such an old game, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed despite your player character running around the map like a drunken sailor - the controls really needed more work on the port, even if they might not have been touched to preserve the original. Once the Plat I unlocked, I started looking forward to the second game joining Plus in September '22.

 

129. Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell

This one's cheeky; it was on Playstation Now for ages, taken off when it merged into Playstation Plus to form its Premium tier, and then re-added a month in under the guise of being a new addition to the service despite Now subscribers having had access to it for ages previously. I did not enjoy Saints Row The Third and I did not really enjoy Gat Out of Hell that much either - on part with Grand Theft Auto, these games really are not. You're in Hell, fighting Satan and grinding enemy mobs for stupid challenge requirements, wow, fun Plat! Loads of collectibles as well just to add more padding to an experience that should only have taken about ten hours if it wasn't for how much low effort content was chucked in on top of the barebones story. Should have been a cheap DLC, not standalone.

 

130. LEGO DC Super Villains (European version)

I've Platted plenty of LEGO games on the Vita, but never on a Playstation home console. As such, DC Supdr Villains was a bit of a first for me. Having played the first three LEGO Star Wars games, it was clear that the LEGO formula had not evolved - at all - in the fourteen or so years since the first one came out, but DC SUper Villains packed in enough content to make it worthwhile. Lots of collectibles really extended the play time, but there was enough charm to keep me more or less entertained throughout. This one was a 'free' monthly PS Plus game, and I bought the season pass on the cheap for a whole boatload of DLC Trophies.

 

Platinum Trophies 131 through 140

Spoiler

131. Tour de France 2021 [PS5]

I love cycling and I love watching the Tour de France each year, so after having considered trying one of these games for many years, I finally dove into the 2021 version through its inclusion in the Playstation Plus Extra tier. What I got was a simulator that failed to really capture the spirit of the sport, but had enough in the way of window dressing (official riders, jerseys, stages) to keep my interest throughout. Lots of people started but never finished this game, making its Trophies a lot rarer than they should be.

 

132. Zombi

A port of a WiiU exclusive game of all things, Zombi is an imperfect budget title that does not respect your time at all by forcing you to collect three difficulty-specific Trophies that do not stack, forcing you into three playthroughs where two would have been much fairer. Plenty of glitches and cheaps deaths dot the average playthrough, making its permadeath Survival mode a real nightmare to complete if you don't regularly back up your save to USB or the cloud - after all, every time you die, the game wipes your save file!

 

133. Shadow of the Colossus

Every once in a while, a game will come along that blows your socks off; Shadow of the Colossus was that game for me. A remake of the PS2 classic, I thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to finish - everything about it was as close to perfect as I could ask for, and I strongly encourage anyone reading this to give it a go as soon as they can. It's exclusive to Playstation consoles, and honestly, it may well be the best exclusive Sony has up its sleeves even if it does not hold mass market appeal.

 

134. The Last Guardian

Made by the same team that made the original Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian is a game I desperately wanted to like but ultimately couldn't muster much love for; its best parts are overshadowed by frustrating game design and needlessly involved and unintuitive Trophies that force you to replay this short game one too many times. Still worth experiencing I suppose, now that I look back at it with the benefit of hindsight, but definitely not a Platinum you want to be chasing.

 

135. Yakuza: Like A Dragon [PS5]

Clearly I can't go more than ten games without going back to a Yakuza game - my Judgment Plat was #125, Like A Dragon is #135. The first full turn-based RPG in the series, LAD retained all the charm of the older titles despite a new gameplay loop and a new protagonist to go along with it, and introduced the series' biggest sandbox yet. I did have a few small gripes with the overall experience, but ultimately, this is a worthy entry in the series and I can't wait to see what they do for the next Like A Dragon game (yes, we're calling it that now).

 

136. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: The Definitive Edition [PS4]

I played the PS2 classics version earlier in the year so to return to Vice City this soon was perhaps a surprise, but actually really enjoyable despite retracing my steps one by one throughout the entire game. However, the enjoyment was marred by what could have been; this is a cheap, sleazy remaster of an incredible open world title, and the few improvements made are paltry excuses added only to justify the pricetag on the box. Graphics have been overhauled too, but every character looks like they're made of gummy now, and it just really ruined the immersion from time to time.

 

137. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: The Definitive Edition [PS5]

Because I am completely insane, I played the PS4 and PS5 stacks of Vice City side-by-side, unlocking a Trophy on PS4 and then switching over to PS5 to unlock it there. The stacks are identical, but it was an interesting experience for sure - doing everything twice (or, really, for a third time this year) wasn't all that bad considering how strong this game is despite its age and how rewarding the Platinum journey is. Highly recommend you play it yourself, although I wish you still had the option to buy the PS2 classics version with Trophies rather than having to revert to the original versions on PS2 and PC to get rid of the Definitive Edition's 'improvements'.

 

138. Gal*Gunvolt Burst

Three IPs are tossed in a blender to create this side-scrolling Megaman-esque game which was a fun enough romp to keep my attention for the full Platinum journey, including three full playthroughs and plenty of clean-up. A nice little diversion after playing Vice City twice, although frustrating at times with having to grind quite a bit to make the Hard Mode run doable.

 

139. Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories

A game so quirky, it could only have been developed by a Japanese studio; in the sweltering heat of summer, you ride a bus into the city only to be met by a massive earthquake. Crawling out of the upsided bus into ruined urban environments plagued by aftershock, you get to meet and interact with the locals while seeking to make your escape back home. You can tell it was made on a shoe-string budget, but not to the degree where it will keep you from having fun with this one.

 

140. Axiom Verge 2 [PS4]

Axiom Verge 2 wasn't a game I had been planning on playing, but when it popped up as a part of PS Plus Essential's game selection for January, I decided to dip my toe into the PS4 stack. Due to how it played, I very quickly decided I'd play the PS5 stack right off the back of unlocking the PS4 Plat. It's a tidy little Metroidvania, although I'm struggling to say whether I prefer this one over Forma.8 (Plat #60) - the story isn't really my cup of tea, but the gorgeous art and biomes do wonders to keep a player engaged.

 

Platinum Trophies 141 through 150

Spoiler

141. Axiom Verge 2 [PS5]

Essentially the same game but now with the benefit of the DualSense's features being used to good effect - this makes the PS5 stack obviously superior to its PS4 counterpart.

 

142. Jett: The Far Shore [PS4]

An exercise in frustration more than anything else, Jett squandered a supremely interesting concept and gameplay niche (isometric exploration) on poor mechanics and one of the worst batches of DLC I've played in a long time. Really wanted to like it, but ultimately came out of the experience frustrated more than anything else.

 

143. Jett: The Far Shore [PS5]

Surprisingly the worse version of Jett due to severe technical issues, including a bug that forced a full restart of the playthrough about 66% of the way in. Expect to fall through the game world a couple of times. DualSense is well-utilized but that's about it.

 

144. Battlefield 2042 [PS4, NA]

My first ever triple stack, kindly made available to me through PS Plus Essential (albeit at the cost of an extra one month subscription for my American dummy account to access the NA PS4 stack). Failed military shooter that was universally panned by players upon launch, but seems to have been polished up quite decently in the year and a half since. Nothing especially noteworthy here, but does provide dumb mindless fun and a really rather easy list outside of two grindy and one luck/difficulty-based Trophy associated with a dead battle royale-inspired mode.

 

145. Battlefield 2042 [PS4, EU]

Same as above, a mixture of cross-popped Trophies and a handful of annoying trinkets that need to be re-done.

 

146. Battlefield 2042 [PS5]

Same as above, except a fair bit more difficult as the game mode featuring the hardest Trophy in the game now has higher minimum and maximum player counts, meaning that matches are harder to find and have more players gunning for you.

 

147. Madden NFL 22 [PS4]

If you want to know how to bug a Trophy list despite copy+pasting it almost verbatim from last year's game, ask EA Sports and Tiburon. A very, very easy list made needlessly difficult by having to manipulate the game in ways to unlock a slew of bugged Trophies. No chances of these ever getting fixed, but not to worry, in a few years EA will close the servers and ensure the Platinum becomes truly unobtainable.

 

148. Madden NFL 22 [PS5]

Same list as the PS4 stack with the addition of three pretty awful Trophies for next gen-only features, two of which are bugged to make sure they are in line with the other Trophies. It's a disgrace, really, because these new features would work just as easily on PS4 as they do on PS5 - they aren't processor or graphics intensive at all, one of them boils down to a simple menu choice even. EA is clearly doing its best to try and force people to start buying the more expensive PS5 version of Madden each year.

 

149. LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Thoroughly unenjoyable LEGO game that was hampered by the poor source material it tied itself to, leading to short, uninspired levels and a load of half-baked side content to make up for a lack of heft where it matters. I left this on the shelf for a decade, not keen to clean it up, but eventually managed to get over myself and go for it. Only had a few bits and bobs to cover, which made the ordeal quick and simple, as these games tend to be. Ultimately, I just used this one as a crutch to set up my 150th Platinum milestone....

 

150. Yakuza Kiwami 2

Another Yakuza game being picked for a milestone? Say it ain't so! Kiwami 2 is a powered-up, extreme remake of 2006's Yakuza 2, which was for the longest time regarded as the best game in the series. It was great getting to enjoy the Sotenbori map again after previously visiting in Yakuza 5, Yakuza 0, and Yakuza LAD (briefly, there is very little Osaka-based content in that game), and while the story does have its issues, even today I can see why many fans of the series are still so infatuated with Yakuza 2. This was the final numbered entry in the series I didn't have the Plat for up until this point.

 

 

Platinum Trophies 151 through 160

Spoiler

151. Riders Republic [PS4]

A Ubisoft game I actually enjoyed? I couldn't remember the last time this happened, but I genuinely did have a ball with this title across both the PS4 and PS5 stacks as its list asked you to ski, snowboard, bike, and glide your way to a relatively involved - but rarely challenging - Platinum. A massive open world, countless events and collectibles, but very few Trophies that were tied to stellar performances. Rather, this was mostly a partial checklist; get X of Y, with the value of X being far lower than the available number of Y. Participate in events rather than win them. Hardly a challenge, but it sure made for a much more laid-back and experience. And with this game being the unholy trifecta of an online sports game available with Plus, its Trophy list is exceedingly rare too!

 

152. Riders Republic [PS5]

Same as above. The PS4 and PS5 versions auto-pop both ways as long as you re-do the requirement or otherwise hit the Trophy trigger once more. Collectible-based Trophies, for instance, will pop if you simply grab one more of the collectible type it needs.

 

153. Endling

A game I played largely as a distraction from the horrors of real life, and really didn't enjoy as a result. Good, emotional fun for an afternoon, I guess, but I definitely didn't have the right mindset to be able to appreciate it at the time.

 

154. Ratchet & Clank [Vita]

The first title in one of Playstation's longest-running franchises, but not a very good game at all when played in 2023; archaic mechanics and somewhat poor level design detract from the fun, which is then fully spoiled by the godawful controls for the hoverboard races in this poor, cheaply-made port of the PS3 remaster.

 

155. Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando [Vita]

A breath of fresh air compared to the first R&C game - mostly, anyway. Better weapon wheel, better level design, better weapons, but still a port that gets in your way - this time on the spaceship races, plus constant crashes when switching levels. Insomniac was clearly hitting their stride here though.

 

156. Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal [Vita]

In my opinion the best of the trilogy, with the developers now really nailing a lot of the mechanics and introducing a (sparsely-populated) hub level to break up the planet-to-planet odyssey the story sends you on. No hoverboards or spaceships to kill the buzz, and even the long grind required for the Platinum is made bearable by how good the game is. If you can play only one game out of the R&C trilogy, this should be the one.

 

157. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan [PS5]

A stack of Platinum #127, including another forced co-op run and lots of repeated playthroughs to account for all the permutations and collectables throughout the story. Still a decent romp, although not as straightforward a Plat as later games in the series....

 

158. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope [PS4]

.... such as Little Hope! Stack 1 of 2, this time with no forced online co-op playthrough, making this a much nicer experience. The story is less interesting in most areas than Man of Medan, and the blatant reuse of face models is irksome. Good time otherwise.

 

159. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope [PS5]

Stack 2 of 2, and done rather quickly if you keep your PS4 saves tidy (in other words, make saves just before scenes with Trophy triggers so you can quickly re-do them) - one full playthrough needed for the collectables.

 

160. The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes [PS4]

And here's another Dark Pictures game! House of Ashes is the best in the series for me, and I had great fun with the setting - no spoilers, you're much better off playing this yourself. The reuse of face models is even worse here as I've now seen some faces for the third game in a row. Was there really no budget to get new actors scanned in? Still, I heartily recommend this one!

 

 

Platinum Trophies 161 through 170

Spoiler

161. The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes [PS5]

Stack 2 of 2 - again, saving at the right time on the PS4 version makes your life a lot easier here outside of one full playthrough being required for the collectables. What can I say, House of Ashes is a load of fun so playing through it again wasn't a huge issue for me.

 

162. Ghostwire: Tokyo

Spooky fun in a very, very nicely crafted digital version of Tokyo. Collectable-overload slightly sours the experience as does an ill-informed DLC being required for the 100%, and the game is pretty low on content, but it's a rather unique experience. Supernatural Yakuza FPS with light horror elements, very interesting mix of ideas.

 

163. Lost Judgment [PS4]

Fantastic game, and arguably better than the original Judgment - certainly a much beefier, longer experience. I have the same complaint here as I did for Yakuza: Like A Dragon in that the Yokohama map is simply too large for its own good - it feels flat and dead at times in ways Kamurocho never did across the billion games that featured it. Terrific story, absolutely fantastic villain, and oodles of side-content. The OST also kicks major ass to the point where you can argue it might be the best in the series (if you count Judgment / Yakuza / LAD all as one franchise). A must-play.

 

164. Lost Judgment [PS5]

An auto-pop enriched stack, for which I sat down with a self-written roadmap and a set of strategic PS4 save files in hand. 38 Minutes and 42 seconds later, and I was the PSNP world record holder for being the quickest to achieve 100%. I still am at the time of writing, but you may check the 100% club to see if that's still the case at the time of you reading this.

 

165. Saints Row [PS4]

Reboot of the 'classic' open world crime franchise that managed to boot both the IP and its developers into a shallow grave. Free with PS Plus within a year of its initial release, this one checks all the boxes; poor characters, shallow gameplay, missing features from previous entries, and absolutely dreadful DLC - the second pack is one of the worst I had played in absolute ages. Because this is a poor game on PS Plus Essential, the Trophy list is much rarer on average than it needs to be.

 

166. Saints Row [PS5]

Yeah, I'm so stupid I played Saints Row to completion twice. No cross-progression or auto-pop whatsoever, this is a full start-to-finish Platinum.

 

167. LEGO 2K Drive [PS4]

Cute and quirky racing game with some fun mechanics and driving physics, absolutely ruined by completely unnecessary live service elements, a wildly exploitative in-game shop, and an absolutely dreadful third biome to race around in - poorly designed and a nightmare to traverse. An Ultra Rare Plat, though, because much in the same way as Saints Row, LEGO 2K Drive seemingly underperformed commercially, came to PS Plus Essential, and was dropped very quickly by most players. The insult cherry on top of the injury cake? A grindy Trophy that requires you to rubberband your controller for 30ish hours. There's a good game underneath it all, somewhere, somehow, but you have to wade through a lot of garbage to find it.

 

168. LEGO 2K Drive [PS5]

There is quite a bit of cross-progression between stacks for this game, so quite a bit of this list is auto-popped. However, a developer oversight still forces you to replay most of the story for one of the collectable-based Trophies.

 

169. Tchia [PS4]

Lovely indie game set on a set of islands based on New Caledonia. Most of your time in the game will be spent exploring and gathering hundreds of collectibles - way more than the game really needs, and which account for the vast majority of the time you will spend on working towards the Platinum Trophy. Game could do with a better minimap, and has some traversal mechanics that are an acquired taste at best, but overall this is a really, really charming game and I do recommend it without much reservation. Was included with PS Plus Extra, but has now left the service.

 

170. Tchia [PS5]

There is no cross-progression between the PS4 and PS5 stacks, so I played through the entire game (and gathered all the collectibles) again. Wasn't that much of a slog, really, as by now I had gotten really, really good at Tchia's novel method of quickly traversing its world.

 

 

 

Original version of the OP (replaced April 29th 2021)

Spoiler

Suppose this might be a fun little exercise; the last couple of Platinums I achieved I posted about in the 'Last Plat' thread, but those posts were so large that they are probably better suited for this part of the board.

 

About myself

 

I don't fancy myself a 'trophy hunter' and probably would never use that term to describe myself, but I do fit the bill; I mean, I love collecting them and have a healthy 56 Plats - not bad for a guy who has never owned a PS4 (borrowing the consoles of my ex-gf and brother for just a handful of games) and is particularly picky. I am proud of my list, which for 80 percent reflects me as a person with the other 20% being free PS Plus games. I never play games purely for the Trophies, but I do admit that they have often given me the final push I needed to pick up a cheap game. Still, I pride myself on not having Ratalaika-esque titles in my collection; the closest I've gotten to those are Termination Salvation and Hitman and Lara Croft GO, but then the latter two are really good games.

 

Favourites

 

The Vita is my favourite PS platform, and I will forever be salty that it did not see more success. A fantastic piece of tech and wildly superior to the 3DS, Sony's lack of support and third parties similarly abandoning it killed the Vita, but I will never not love my little handheld. Currently I am in the process of adding to and finishing up my Vita library as I've moved abroad and don't have access to my PS3. Expect some LEGO games plus some weeb trash that I've previously missed to be added soon.

 

Yakuza is by far my favourite series on the PS family of consoles, and I am proud to own almost all the titles in the series that were released in the West (missing a PS2 copy of the original). That's right, I have Kiwami, the CE of 6, Kiwami 2, and the HD Remasters all sitting in factory sealing waiting for me to get a PS5 and finish up Yakuza 0. I am proud to own the Plats for Dead Souls, 4, and 5, and one day I will get 3 finished. One day.....

 

As I do not own a PS4, I am waiting for the backwards compatible PS5 to catch up on stuff I played on PC or missed out on this generation - as such, any titles added to this collection prior to the PS5's launch will be Vita games.

 

Completion is a big deal to me and I am proud to be sitting at just over 81%; I will never reach 100 due to server shutdowns and my brother having put Ass Creed titles (which I absolutely loathe) on my profile, but that's alright - I'm happy to just get as high as I possibly can. That's why I am really hoping Sony figures out how to get the PS3-Cell-based games to work on PS5 (slim chance from a technical perspective) so it can be my one-stop platform for my unfinished PS3 games, the PS4 games I missed out on, and future PS5 games.

 

Edited March 19 by Golem25

[cryax]

Really cool list man nice to see some really tough platinums in the especially Wipeout ? Keep on with the good work playing games that you enjoy and not just for trophies. Have you ever put any thought into playing any of the other borderlands games though? Some of them are really cool and if you liked the first the newer instalments are a lot better.

[Fish613]

You sound a lot like me when it comes to obtaining trophies. And nice trophy average (37.62%) too btw (which, to me, is the most important stat on this site).

 

Don't count on the PS5 being backwards compatible (for physical discs anyway). The most we'll probably get is being able to play PS1 and PS2 games on it. Sony makes way too much money re-selling ported games in the digital store (ported, not even remasters). You can, however, probably count on many PS4 games being available on PS5 through the playstation store, but you'll have to re-buy them (or just buy them if you never bought them in the first place). They might let people download PS4 games they already bought digitally on PS4, but only if it's a port and not an upgraded version.

[Golem25]

Update #1

 

Platinum #57 - LEGO Legends of Chima

 

Triple CHI Legend - Collect all Trophies

Enjoyment; 7/10

Difficulty; 2/10

Hype for my next LEGO game; 10/10

 

A Vita game I picked up straight after finishing up FIFA 15, to play and Plat while on the road (I travel quite a bit for work with plenty of nights in hotels). For the 6 quid I paid for it in a second hand games store, I got 33 Trophies including 6 Golds and 5 Silvers. The Plat has a rarity of just under 50% and the average completion percentage sits at 62% so getting this game did tank the Trophy average across my profile a little.

 

As with all LEGO games on Vita, this is but an upscaled port of the 3DS version. Usually these games also have a counterpart on consoles - LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Lord of the Rings, and so on - but Legends of Chima is one of three titles that is exclusive to 3DS and Vita (the others being two Ninjago games). Based on an original theme of building sets by LEGO, Chima follows the exploits of a bunch of assorted animals in a world where tribes comprising of different species fight to control a load of unobtainium that gives them semi-magical powers. Levels are bite-sized and perfect for on the go, and the light puzzle elements contained within are easily overcome.

 

One thing that amazed me was the score; here you have a cartoonish children's game with horribly awful voice acting you expect from low-budget Saturday morning cartoons, yet the soundtrack is done by a full orchestra and is rousing and epic - to the point where it puts the score in a lot of AAA games on consoles to shame. Very bizarre and akward when combined with the cartoony nature of the game, but otherwise a treat for the ears.

 

I enjoyed my time with and in Chima, even if the backtracking got a little stale after a while; as anyone who has played a LEGO game knows, you have to go back to levels to access hidden areas that you can only access with special types of charcters you unlock later on in the story. The developers seemed to struggle for inspiration for the Trophy list as quite a few Bronzes are a little strange (don't touch the controls for 45 seconds, solve puzzle X with character Y) and some of the Golds are downright offensively easy (jump five times in a row, pick up 20K studs as character Z which takes half a level at most). In terms of gameplay, the main gimmick of this title is using the unobtainium - called CHI - to power up from time to time to perform special actions. The balance of CHI pickups is a bit wonky, so it was often an annoyance having to scrounge some up before being allowed to progress. Another complaint I have is the fact that the final levels is a reskin of the first, even down to the Trophy icons for Spiral Mountain and Wolf Camp being repainted and slightly repositioned.

 

Overall though, I really enjoyed my time and fully recommend Chima to anyone who has a Vita and doesn't mind having some easy Trophies on their profile (the only Trophy that might take you a retry is for the shooting gallery, but I got it on my first attempt). My final completion time was 8 hours and 30 minutes in a mostly blind playthrough, so if you're not as incompetent as I am you'll easily get this Platinum knocked out in even less time.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

On 25/02/2020 at 10:59 PM, cryax said:

Really cool list man nice to see some really tough platinums in the especially Wipeout  Keep on with the good work playing games that you enjoy and not just for trophies. Have you ever put any thought into playing any of the other borderlands games though? Some of them are really cool and if you liked the first the newer instalments are a lot better.

Muy grazi, thank you. I feel Trophies are a reflection of myself rather than a collection for the sake of collection, so I am proud of my little list even if it is more humble than I would like. I actually played Borderlands 2 on PC and thought it was horrible - the writing was atrocious - and I'd hate to give Gearbox any money, so the chances of me continuing the series on PS are slim. I did consider the Pre-Sequel once upon a time, but it never came to pass. Just as well, I though the original was good but it didn't blow me away.

 

On 25/02/2020 at 11:20 PM, Fish613 said:

You sound a lot like me when it comes to obtaining trophies. And nice trophy average (37.62%) too btw (which, to me, is the most important stat on this site).

 

Don't count on the PS5 being backwards compatible (for physical discs anyway). The most we'll probably get is being able to play PS1 and PS2 games on it. Sony makes way too much money re-selling ported games in the digital store (ported, not even remasters). You can, however, probably count on many PS4 games being available on PS5 through the playstation store, but you'll have to re-buy them (or just buy them if you never bought them in the first place). They might let people download PS4 games they already bought digitally on PS4, but only if it's a port and not an upgraded version.

Thank you, I am very proud of the average - and I agree, it is one of if not the most relevant stat being tracked. More so than Platinums and total numbers of Trophies nowadays when you take into account that Ratalaika games and region stacks exist. It's a shame playing Chima bumped me up to 37.84, with the next few games I have lined up being easy as well, but if I can keep it under 40 (or, ideally, 39) I will be happy.

 

The PS5 remains a mystery for now, and I do hope your expectations won't turn out to be on the money. If Sony is too greedy, I may simply get myself a cheap PS4 instead and let the new generation pass me by like the current one did.

Edited February 29, 2020 by Golem25

[Golem25]

Update 2

 

Platinum #58 - Persona 4: Dancing All Night

 

Dancing All Night - Obtained all trophies

 

 

Enjoyment; 8/10 (hampered by worry)

Difficulty; 3/10

Trophy tiles; 7/10 (I love how stylish they are even though they reuse assets)

Increase in interest in the Persona series; 5/10

 

It should come as no surprise that I am a massive weeb but, tying that into my complete inexperience with RPG, I suppose people would expect me to have never tried a Persona game despite the lot of them being highly rated and seemingly being straight up my alley in terms of setting (real life Japan, love it). Well, I broke my duck with Persona 4: Dancing All Night, which I found a cheap physical copy of last week. I got it alongside the Special Edition of √Letter, but since my previous Plat (LEGO Chima for Vita) was rather easy I figured I'd tackle the more challenging of my two new games first.

 

Confession; I force-skipped all the dialogue in the story, as well as the animated cutscenes, because there's no point for me. This is a fanservice game, and I've never played P4, so why would I bother, right? I just dove in head first and got treated to some excellent, excellent songs and an interesting take on the rhythm genre. Have to say though, missing the context of the overall franchise and the story in this game, I really had to question why dancing of all things is keeping demons in a parallel dimension at bay. Bizarre stuff. Still, it was gameplay and music first for me, and I really loved both.

 

However, once I had mopped up the campaign and half of the miscellaneous Trophies, I wanted to turn my attention to the remaining Bond Fever Trophies, namely The Junes Special first and Senpai, You're So Cool! second. These are the rarest Trophies in the game although not overtly uncommon at 48% percent on PSNP, but I soon found out why; for both, you had to clear songs on the ridiculous HARD difficulty. I couldn't believe the Trophy Guide rated this game a 3/10 in terms of difficulty, yet HARD mode was completely kicking my ass. I was on the verge of giving up on the Platinum, especially since a solution wasn't forthcoming from my searches online.

 

Untill I, thankfully, found a way to cheese HARD - with a tip hidden deep in years old forum posts. Turned out you could turn on all your bonus abilities and a load of difficulty multipliers, and just mash buttons throughout the entire song. It'd give you a terrible score, but this method does ensure your Spirit Gauge maxes out - which is the only thing that counts for clearing or failing a song. With this method in hand, both Trophies were a complete breeze.

 

If I had to do these songs via the legit way, this game would be an 8/10 for me, but thanks to the exploit it can rest on a 3/10 rating instead - the only Trophies that pose some challenge are Perfectionist and Born Entertainer, both of which are still relatively simple on the excellent 'specialist' track. The other Trophies are all straightforward and can be easily achieved through regular play and some quick grinding. I think my own playtime topped out at about 15 hours and 40 minutes, and that's with suboptimal play paths and grinding.

 

Where to go from here? Well, I'd love to give the Dancing games for Persona 3 and Persona 5 a try, but neither were released physically in the West - so I will have to wait for a rare PSN sale on both. Such a shit move by Atlus to keep them digital-only, even if both released in the waning days of the Vita. However, the real question I should pose now is should I give Persona 4 Golden a go? I'm starting to warm up to the idea of trying it, but I'm a complete RPG noob so I'm really keen to know if it's an easy enough game and Platinum for newcomers?

 

As for my continued Trophy hunting, √Letter is up next (which I hope to enjoy without skipping dialogue) and after that, Senran Kagura Estival Versus!

Edited July 5, 2020 by Golem25

[Golem25]

Update 3

 

Platinum #59 - Assassin's Creed III Liberation

 

Platinum Trophy - Collect all other 44 Trophies for this Trophy

121,166 owners - 10,018 Platinum achievers for a percentage of 8.27% (average completion 26%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 6/10

Difficulty; 2/10

Trophy tiles; 2/10 (reused icon assets and many dull, one-word Trophy names)

Did this game change my opinion about the AssCreed series?; No

 

It wasn't too long ago that, on this very site, I admitted that having to play Ubisoft-made open world games is my personal definition of Hell; they are vapid, uninspired, and tedious slogs through environments that are varying degrees of brown and grey with very little in the way of meaningful content, and coast by on the franchise name and the occasional historical celebrity cameo (OMFG DA VINCI, ITS DA VINCI, I RECOGNIZE DA VINCI *chugs soy*). I never understood why these games sold as much as they did - in fact, I don't understand why anyone even gave AssCreed II, a severely overrated game imho, a chance after the drab original. Of course, the answer is Ubi's marketing department doing its job.

 

So, lo and behold, not too long after that post of mine (which sent at least one fellow forum member into a tizzy), I decide to self-flagellate by getting AssCreed III Liberation for my dear Vita. It's common knowledge by now that I adore Sony's handheld, and wish it had met a different fate - better first and third party support would have been a nice start. Liberation was Ubi's flagship title for the fledgling Vita, launching in conjunction with 'regular' AssCreed III (which I've never played, but I hear it was a disappointment) with some interactivity (shared story elements and some items); releasing in 2012, it seemingly shifted abysmally few units, because Ubi all but gave up on the Vita straight away - a true sequel was never made, although the throwaway Chronicles games did make their way onto the handheld. I platinumed Liberation across a month and a half, but could have finished a lot earlier; instead, I held off on the final bronze Trophy (Disguised - an easy one) and Plat because they didn't fit with my schedule of getting exactly 65 Trophies each month (I get OCD about the strangest things). I had gotten to my April quota already by the time these two Trophies were left, hence why I unlocked them when May rolled around.

 

Liberation tells an uninteresting story, stuck together with bubblegum and ducttape, about a biracial lady fighting for some holier-than-thou order (I never understood why the Assassins are seen as the good guys, to be honest) in New Orleans a few hundred years in the past - of course this would come with a stupid, hamfisted handling of racism like only inept video game writers could come up with. Besides a brownish rendition of New Orleans in that period, with a fort, a harbour, a cathedral, and a posh mansion on the edge of town, players also visit the Bayou (a festering swamp with some ruins, a shanty town, and a fort) and a laughably tiny area set in Mexico around a dig site. None of these areas inspire, and the Bayou especially can be frustrating to traverse given its, ahum, bog-standard (hah!) nature. However, once you get the tree running down pat, it's not much of an issue anymore.

 

As for the Trophies, we can agree that sloth was Ubisoft Sofia's biggest sin here; incredibly poor Trophy names like 'Sequence X' (for ever chapter completed), 'Diarist', 'Climber', 'Survivor', and so on, and reused Trophy icons across the board (the sequences all have the same icon with a different number attached, collection-related Trophies have the same icons, and so on). The most boring and frustrating of the Trophies are as follows;

 

- Climber (bronze); Climb 8848 metres. Even with extra play, you can only expect to be just over half of the way to that number, which whoever was in charge of the Trophy obviously picked only because it's Mt. Everest's height. Unfortunately, this concept was divorced from the actual length of the game - I doubt anyone playtested it and warned the others that this number wasn't fitting - meaning that most everyone has rubber banded their Vita to get this Trophy unlocked. I know I have, the first time I've ever done so for a game on my Vita; it sat on my nightstand for a couple of hours with the protagonist attempting to run up a wall by the market that was too high for her to get over, adding 1.5 metres to my tally for each attempt.

- Tree Ninja (bronze); Complete 15 Air Assassinations from trees. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, only certain types of trees and certain assassinations count - way to go, Ubisoft, you lazy morons. Players were left to figure out on their own what does and does not count, and the consensus is that you need to kill guards from an upright, non-broken tree, and one by one at that (double assassinations, for some reason, do not count).

- Thief (silver); Pickpocket 5000 currency, which would be easy enough in any other AssCreed game, but becomes infuriating in Liberation. As is endemic in early Vita games, the handheld's superfluous hardware features are sloppily worked into gameplay where using the regular buttons would have been much more intuitive. The cameras frustrate players when having to inspect documents, but using the rear touchpad to pickpocket takes the cake; the game fails to explain the mechanics, and the process is nasty and twitchy, with you having to slowly swipe in circles. Thankfully, you only need to bribe and pickpocket two magistrates to get 90% of that 5000 done, but there is an actual collectible (not tied to a Trophy) that requires you to swipe a bunch of dumb dolls from Houngans; there's quite a few of them, and emptying their pockets is a struggle every single time.

 

Finally, a word on the multiplayer; fans of the series were hoping to see the lame PvP modes from Brotherhood and Revelations return - and indeed they did in the 'regular' AssCreed III - but for the Vita-exclusive Liberation (mind, it got ported to PS3 and PS4 years after the fact), Ubi couldn't be bothered - players are treated to a bizarre resource management game that would have failed even Facebook's lax quality standards if it had been released on that platform. Players have to grind for hours through mindless button mashing, but it thankfully isn't too bad. Upside of this 'multiplayer' mode is that it doesn't take up much server space and can only be done on its own, hence why Ubi hasn't axed it yet and Trophy hunters can happily waste just a few hours grinding without having to rely on others for boosting.

 

I've been harsh, but I have to say, I do think this is a good Vita game - the open world impresses from a technical perspective even if there's fuck all to do in terms of engaging and entertaining content. The framework of the game is really solid, it's simply that Ubisoft filled it with the same drab, tasteless drivel that is rife in all their other games. Not a surprise, but disappointing all the same. The Vita, as always, deserved better, but in the end this is a game with a high enough production value to stand out from the crowd. Definitely worth a purchase if you have a Vita (I got my copy of the game for ten quid), and if you're a dedicated hunter, this is one of the quicker AssCreed Platinums on PS3 and PS4, so do consider picking the game up on those platforms if you've a Trophy itch to scratch but can't stand this dull series for more than an hour or two at a time.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Golem25

[Copanele]

14 minutes ago, Golem25 said:

* quoting the massacre of that "game" *

Nicely  said  I played this atrocity on PS4 (not owning a Vita) and I am glad they removed the stupid multiplayer...if this garbage had it on PS4 I would have rated it -1/10

Well AC2 appeared a thousand years ago and ...it was something else (before the age of microtransactions, collectibles, side-events for 100% synchronization and all that shit with trophies). It was fun, aged abit poorly, but it's way more preferable compared to what Ubisoft releases lately. 

 

Anyway good review, made me laugh! Best alligator assassination sequences also, only in this game .

[Golem25]

2 hours ago, Copanele said:

Nicely  said  I played this atrocity on PS4 (not owning a Vita) and I am glad they removed the stupid multiplayer...if this garbage had it on PS4 I would have rated it -1/10

Well AC2 appeared a thousand years ago and ...it was something else (before the age of microtransactions, collectibles, side-events for 100% synchronization and all that shit with trophies). It was fun, aged abit poorly, but it's way more preferable compared to what Ubisoft releases lately. 

 

Anyway good review, made me laugh! Best alligator assassination sequences also, only in this game .

Thank you, thank you (and a third thank you for checking out the thread!). I appreciate that few people would agree with me on my rather.... radical dislike of the AssCreed franchise. I think I will definitely play the PS4 version of Liberation at some point in the distant future, it's easy, quick, and has a good completion percentage (albeit higher than the Vita version). Also comes with that bizarre 'Julias Caesar' Platinum Trophy title - maybe one day I'll try Rogue Remastered too, I see you have it and the thought of actually playing as Templars is starting to sound good with how annoying I find the Assassins. Seriously need to get a console and try and clean up online in Brotherhood, Revelations, and Black Flag (that's gonna be so painful.....).

 

General thread roadmap thoughts

 

For now, I will continue work on Persona 4 Golden, I'm thinking of having either the Fishing, Quiz, or Margaret Trophy as my next level milestone. Will have to start and weave some Forma.8 Trophies in to get there, still 520 points to go. However, I don't want to Platinum P4G yet, I love it so much, I want it as my hundredth Platinum (or as a similar milestone); I'll probably leave one Bronze Trophy for cleanup for when the time is ripe. I've also the 65 Trophies a month OCD thing to contend with still.... a bit of quick math tells me that 4 (current Trophy tally for May) + 10 (leftover Persona 4 Golden minus one Bronze and Plat) + 30 (Forma.8, a quick but rare Plat) leaves me at 44 Trophies, so I will need to bust open one of the following for the remaining 21 Trophies;

• √Letter (27 Trophies)

• Corpse Party Blood Drive (38, and yuck, not looking forward to that)

• World of Final Fantasy (49)

• Senran Kagura Estival Versus (50)

Looking at those numbers and knowing I want to have a comfy month in June with the full list for SK, I will probably have to bite the bullet and run through Corpse Party (38 minus 21 leaves 17 Trophies for June, so I could get all but one Bronze and the Plat to reach 65 alongside SK) - I don't like horror at all, but wanted to give this cheap copy I found a try. Definitely need to find and buy Gal Gun too, been wanting to play that for a while now but never did get it on Steam.

[AJ_Radio]

If you think the older - middle aged Assassins Creed games are bad, stay the fuck away from Assassins Creed III, Unity, Syndicate and especially Origins and Odyssey. Your life will be a living hell.

[Berendsapje]

On 7/3/2020 at 11:19 AM, Golem25 said:

 

Where to go from here? Well, I'd love to give the Dancing games for Persona 3 and Persona 5 a try, but neither were released physically in the West - so I will have to wait for a rare PSN sale on both. Such a shit move by Atlus to keep them digital-only, even if both released in the waning days of the Vita. However, the real question I should pose now is should I give Persona 4 Golden a go? I'm starting to warm up to the idea of trying it, but I'm a complete RPG noob so I'm really keen to know if it's an easy enough game and Platinum for newcomers?

I wouldn't really worry about that. You can play the game on Safety difficulty, which means you can't get game overs. The game itself is pretty easy, although there are some rather annoying trophies, such as Card Collecter, Hardcore Risette fan and Legend of Inaba. There are guides for that though. You will need to play the game twice (at least), but the game is incredible. In fact, I saw some list of best Vita games, and Persona 4 Golden was 2nd (this list came out in 2019). It's a console game on the go, and obviously, no online trophies needed. A must have for Someone who likes Japanese Culture, although the setting (Inaba) is fictional. There's no need to play the previous ones too, and they don't have trophies to begin with. But seriously, use a guide on this.

 

PS: I was laughing my ass off at your description. Well done!

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Berendsapje

[Grotz99]

First of all, there are a lot of Pokemon in this thread. Second, I have to agree with Spaz, the AC games have started to just become period collectathan pieces. I still like the original AC2 trilogy, especially if you ignore the trophies (I know, crazy to think about in this forum). The MP is just boring after the first few matches and the collectables just aren't fun and get worse the further in the series you go. They also got rid of the underlying story that takes place in the present day.

[Golem25]

Update 4

 

Platinum #60 - Forma.8

 

formed Adventurer -  Unlock all other trophies

33,511 Owners - 4,323 Achievers for a percentage of 12.90 (average completion; 19%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 5/10

Difficulty; 2/10

Trophies; 7/10 (some nice artwork, well thought out names and descriptions)

Has this changed my mind about indies in general?; No

 

Hi everyone, welcome back and, once again, thank you for checking out my little thread. I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to have a look and read about my latest exploits. Which, this time, are centered around an indie Metroidvania title that is crossplatform between PS4 and PS Vita and was a PS Plus freebie in December 2017. I was not a subscriber at the time, but bought this game in a recent PSN sale for, I think, 3 Euros. Forma.8 is made by MixedBag, the mad lads responsible for the infamously hard Futuridium. As per usual, I played this game on Vita.

 

Why did I buy Forma.8? Well, it ticked all the boxes I needed it to; cheap, playable on Vita, semi-competently made (from the outside looking in, anyway), Platinum is achieveable, and there's a nice completion average of 19%. Looking through the guides, I learnt that Forma.8 wasn't very challenging at all and could be 100%ed in as little as two hours. With a guide for the collectibles and no previous experience of the game, getting it in a weekend was deemed achievable.

 

Now, I suppose this game once again reminded me that while I should definitely let Trophies inform my purchasing and playing decisions - I've found many great gems due to my hunting, Persona 4 Golden is the latest and greatest game I discovered thanks to that - I really, really must make sure that a game appeals to me as a video game enthusiast outside of just Trophies. Because if it doesn't, or it isn't as expertly crafted as P4G is, I will be at risk of having a bad time with a genre I don't care about and a game I have no real motivation for beyond adding some trinkets to the cave. Forma.8 has proven to be such a game, and my hours with it (between 4 and 6, I reckon) were not miserable, but not very enjoyable either.

 

True to indie style, when you don't have budget to tell a flashy store, you instead opt for minimalism; in the opening cutscene a spaceship arrives in orbit over a planet, launching a number of drones called Forma (plural?). You play as one such drone but veer off course and crash land, losing your upgrades amidst a hostile environment full of alien lifeforms that are intent on tearing your circuit board out. Sound familiar? Basically Metroid except you are a floating drone, meaning that you don't have to contend with typical platforming grievances such as gravity whilst you hunt for secrets and your missing powerups.

 

There is very little music in the game, with the developers instead opting to let ambient sounds and the audio generated by you and your foes build the atmosphere for you. This is effective, set against bleak backgrounds across a few different biomes (most of which involve ruins), but similarly your movement speed is, at most, a crawl to let you take in your surroundings; this obviously frustrates gameplay. Going anywhere in Forma.8 takes ages, and even once you get your boost upgrade it's still a laborous process. Only right at the end of the game do you get a double boost, exactly five minutes before the credits roll.

 

I followed the amazing 100% run video on Youtube as a guide as it covered all but two Trophies (and I realized too late I missed one, forcing me to backtrack a good while), which was a massive help. Even if playing this way ruins the whole concept of a Metroidvania, backtracking, finding secrets, and the like, it did mean that I comfortably acquired all the collectibles in the most efficient way possible. This kept my time with the game as short as possible, which I'm happy for as I'd hate to play this game for fun - it's definitely not my idea of relaxing and winding down, that's for sure.

 

Beyond this genre and game just not being for me, I found a few more faults; the game is a clear port hastily slapped together for the Vita, as I had a few glitches. The worst was beating an enemy suddenly causing the framerate to go to single digits and staying there for the rest of the level. I swear it did not go above 3 during that time, making that level - an escort mission of sorts - much less enjoyable than it would have been otherwise. Outside of technical considerations, I also have to question this game going a bit....uh, eccentric towards the end. It's the same thing I saw with Thomas was Alone, Metrico, and, especially, Proteus; when you don't have the budget to tell a story, you just make it as 'out there' as possible and call it a day. This was jarring compared to the rest of the game, but I will admit that the actual ending during the credits was a great fit for the game and genre, even if the last few areas suffered from that indie pretentiousness. I'm doing a bad job explaining it, I admit, but then I don't want to spoil it in case you want to give Forma.8 a try.

 

And on that note, should you? I bet you're considering it; cheap, quick and easy enough to Platinum, completion rate is good too. At the risk of recommending you a bad time, I'd say this game is worth a look, especially if you like Metroidvanias. Heck, it's a must buy in that case. But for the average Trophy hunter, I think you could do a lot worse than Forma.8. At the very least, there's definitely more honour in this Platinum than any Rata game you can pick up at close to the same price point. With the guide in hand and a few hours to burn, these 30 Trophies (with a hefty helping of Gold) can easily be added to your tally - and because it used to be a PS Plus game, this game has so many owners that the low completion percentage will remain intact for a long, long time; perfect for bringing yours down. I went from 37.94 to 37.83 (albeit there is one rare Persona 4 Golden Trophy that added to that).

 

Do let me know what you all think, I'm curious as always to hear your thoughts.

 

[Golem25]

Update 5

 

Platinum #61 - Corpse Party: Blood Drive (EU Version)

 

Finality - Obtained all other trophies.

1,559 Owners - 284 Achievers for a percentage of 18.22% (average completion; 29.15%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 5/10

Difficulty; 2/10

Trophies; 3/10 (four different bits of artwork, but some interesting names)

Appetite for more horror games; 0/10

 

Well, here we are again; another Platinum earned early in the month due to my OCD with collecting 65 Trophies - no more, no less - per month. Four months and running now, I will likely carry it for another two (June and July) before dropping it because - ideally - I will have access to my old PS3 from August onwards, allowing me to focus on cleaning out my time-consuming backlog. I need to get online done for the stupid Asscreed games my younger brother dropped on my list way back when, I don't trust Ubisoft to keep the servers up and running for much longer.

 

But that's not the point of this post; no, we are looking at a new Plat, for a physical game I found used for 18 GBP just prior to societal lockdown. It worried me, because I hate horror and gore and this looked to contain both, but it was a good price, a relatively easy Plat according to the guide, and had an attractive average completion percentage (29.15%). Couple that with the Vita's miserably small library, and I had to bite - even if I completely disregarded my tastes and sensibilities by doing so. This is similar to AssCreed Liberation and Forma.8, which I normally would not have played either.

 

Corpse Party: Blood Drive is the third main installment (from what I can tell) in the slightly niche but cult series of the same name which has spawned media outside of just games. The first two titles garnered a devout following on the PSP, and to round out the trilogy, the developers plopped out Blood Drive on the Vita in 2014, with Western releases following in 2015. I believe the game wasn't received that well, both in terms of story and gameplay, but I cannot comment on the former as I skipped through all of it to the best of my abilities. For one, because the writing standard didn't seem particularly high (excellent localization though), and for two, because I can't deal with all the grisly stuff in this game.

 

I don't like horror. Maybe it's too cerebral for me, but I just don't like it. Not in games, not in movies, not in any way, shape, or form. Same for gore, I assume it's because your IQ needs to be > 9000, and mine is only 1.48% of that minimum threshold. As Vita owners know, the games on the system show a static intro image when you boot them up - and for this game it was a cute anime girl getting gobbled up by fleshy monsters. Bad, bad start, huh?

 

Well, much to my delight, things didn't get much worse after that! Sure, the odd decapitation and such, an eye being yanked out of someone's skull, but nothing that was so graphic as to make me recoil. I suppose it helped that the game is presented via almost-chibi character models and standard CGI art; the former you can't take seriously and the latter was obviously done on a budget and did not reflect the gore seen in the gameplay and text. So, at least that part of the game wasn't painful.

 

The, ahum, gameplay, however, was. Corpse Party should have been a standard VN from the start, but for some ungodly reason some really low-budget exploration is forced upon the player here. You navigate the premises of a spooky school throughout ten chapters, but the place only has about a dozen classrooms and maybe 6 or so hallways - lots and lots of recycling going on. In fact, the only areas I don't recall being revisited at least once were two sections found in chapters 9 and 10. Making matters worse is the braindead set of enemies the game tosses at you, although there's really only two types of spirit that end up chasing you. However, these are presistent little buggers whom I doubt have been playtested, because they are incredibly un-fun and grating rather than spooky. The same goes for your terribly low stamina; run for five meters and your character starts wobbling before stopping to catch their breath. I can't help but think that design decision was made to pad the game, because there is quite a bit of backtracking to be done, which becomes very cumbersome indeed when you've got the speed of a salted snail. Some light puzzling is involved as well, but doesn't ever amount to more than finding a plank and putting it over a gap in the floor to proceed.

 

Trophy-wise, I had a look at the guides on this site and PSTrophies, but my real salvation was hosted on DieHardGamer where one fine gentleman had written out a full step-by-step walkthrough that took into account all the collectibles. Hallelujah! Seriously, that saved me so much time, frustration, and having to think for myself. Sure, the directions are a bit unclear from time to time, but with guide in hand you can really fly through the game. Or, well, the Trophies anyway.

 

38 of the little blighters, and I'm sad to say that, while the naming conventions are cute with lots of amusingly pretentions one word names ('Omen', 'Purity', 'Obliteration'), there are only four Tropy tiles in the game - one for each type of Trophy - of which three are simply recolours. The final tile, for the Platinum, is just a screenshot of one of the key items in the game; not cool, brah. It's an interesting list though as quite a few are dedicated to unlocking extra chapters (VN-style only, thank God) rather than completing levels, while a fair few more relate to the collectibles; voice files, enyclopedia entries, CGI, messages from the voice actors (including Ikue Ohtani, voice of Pikachu), and, crucially, corpse tags. These tags are found on dead bodies strewn throughout the school, and can be picked up by examing the departed; some of them require quite a bit of backtracking and guesswork (without a guide) to find, but overall none of them are really too bad (mind, one of them is glitched, but this can easily be avoided). They certainly are the most challenging part of the game, and collecting them all is properly rewarded with a fine Gold Trophy ('Release').

 

Other than that, only two further Trophies stand out; 'Purity' and 'Obliteration'. Silver and Gold respectively, these have to do with the talisman items in chapter 9. If you find a talisman and encounter a hostile spirit, coming into close proximity will see your character automatically use it to destroy the assailant. For 'Purity', you have to find and/or use none of them throughout chapter 9, whilst for 'Obliteration', you have to find all of them and kill all of the spirits wandering around the level. Neither are particularly hard to do, but do require you to play through the level twice - quite a bother considering that 9 is the most annoying part of the game, with some swinging blades impeding your progress. Once I cleared it though, I kept hammering the R button as I had throughout the whole game to skip through dialogue as quickly as possible and scoop up this Platinum.

 

Am I happy I picked this game up and played it? In hindsight, yes; the horror element was quite subdued (I was worried about how bad it could get) and the journey to the Platinum relatively hassle-free. Would I recommend it to you though? Probably not, because it's just not fun and only worth your time for an okay-ish Platinum Trophy rather than the game itself. Still, if you catch yourself with nothing to play on the road, this might be worth a look if you think you can stomach it; guide in hand you'll zip through.

 

General Roadmap comments

 

I was disappointed to note that despite the low overall completion, adding this list to my collection only dropped my own average rarity from 37.82 to 37.77 (completion percentage now sits on a tidy 82.38 percent). Comes with having so many games on the list now, I guess - but it frustrates me that I'm still well above the 37.62 I was at when starting this thread; LEGO Chima and Persona 4 Dancing All Night really did a number on that, as did Persona 4 Golden (NA), I think.

 

The worst is yet to come as I will turn to Senran Kagura Estival Versus next; I am super exited to play it, finally game I am actually interested in (following three Plats for games I normally couldn't care less about), but its average rarity will set me back further once more. However, because of how I have planned out my Trophies, getting all 50 including the Plat this month will get me right to 65 Trophies gained for June - continuing the streak. For July, I am planning on Oddword Stranger's Wrath HD for Vita (I bought the PS3 version on release, and I think I got the Vita version via PS Plus, so will have to sub again) and finally starting √Letter. It's anybody's guess what will happen from August 1st onward, but I hope it does involve getting the old Asscreed stuff out of the way ASAP.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Golem25

[Golem25]

Update 6

 

Platinum #62 - Senran Kagura Estival Versus (Vita)

 

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Obtained all trophies.

15,059 Owners - 4,977 Achievers for a percentage of 33.05% (average completion; 53.71%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 8/10

Difficulty; 2/10

Trophies; 8/10 (Terrific names, terrific tiles - but recycled from artwork rather than bespoke hence -2)

Appetite for more big shinobi diddies; 10/10

 

Ah, Senran Kagura; I know you well, you know me well. What a delight to return to the series.

 

I mean, I will readily admit; these games aren't the most impressive out there in terms of gameplay, graphics, and so on. You can tell these were made on a small budget with plenty of limitations as a result. But hot damn have they been made with love and passion, you can feel it every step of the way. The levels may be small and relatively bare, assets may be recycled here and there, and the narrative relies on cheap dialogue pop-ups, but you can tell that the devs love what they do - and as a result, I as a player can't help but share in that passion with them.

 

Senran Kagura Estival Versus - much like its mainline predecessor Shinovi Versus - is an action-oriented beat 'em up game with a hack-and-slash gameplay loop that is really quite standard and nothing to write home about. Despite this, the series has attracted a devout following in the West which can be almost wholly ascribed to the series' characters; twenty plus female shinobi with very, very easy-to-tear clothes. If that wasn't enough to pique your interest, these women all cater to certain, shall we say, preferences that players might have when it comes to the opposite sex. Or to put it more plainly, boobs and butts.

 

Now, there is no actual 18+ content; plenty of flashes of light to obscure any body parts deemed too naughty for the early 10's era of Playstation games, but nothing that goes beyond ecchi. And tht's fine really, because if you want more there are thousands of places where you can find what you seek. Senran Kagura games are fun, light-hearted romps with a lovable cast of characters that have been meticulously crafted from personality to design and elevate the somewhat uninspiring gameplay they are matched with. This evaluation is backed up by the fact that two succesful spin-offs made their way to PS platforms, the rhythm-style Bon Appetit and the Splatoon-esque Peach Beach Splash.

 

Estival Versus' story mode is called the True Shinobi Girls' Code (listed under Kagura Millenium Festival in-game) and begins with the sister of two characters returning from the dead, and really doesn't make a lot of sense; that's okay, because it's only there to string you along from one action setpiece to the next. Across 8 days (each with a silver Trophy for completing it), you unravel the mystery and give the girls a happy end (not the naughty kind!). Additionally, each girl has her own mini campaign called Shinobi Girl's Heart wherein the player must make his way through five levels with at least one boss in each to unlock a CG at the end. The narrative in SGH is typically completely inane and adds very little to each girl's lore (one very poignant example was Hikage's campaign, which was simply her attempting to find a place to sleep), but I appreciate the developers' intentions of going down a light-hearted route with these stories.

 

A multiplayer mode is also present but has no Trophies so I obviously didn't bother (BECAUSE. I. HATE. MULTIPLAYER.) as well as the Dressing Room, a series staple wherein you can dress the girls up (or down) in whatever clothing you want and have them pose. Very ecchi stuff, but not why I play the game, so I just flicked through each of the poses with my main squeeze Yozakura to unlock Supermodel. The game can be played on Easy without Trophies being affected, and really poses no trouble in terms of difficulty besides a slightly steep spike on the final level of the True Shinobi Girls' Code; this is very easily negated by simply levelling up the shinobi (not named due to spoilers) you play the level as by replaying some previous levels. With the stat increases you gain from this, that difficulty spike very quickly becomes but a tiny bump in the road. Arguably the hardes/tmost annoying Trophy in the game is Your OCD Is Showing, which requires you to unlock all the CG, audio, items, and cutscenes in the game AND buy them in the store. The cutscenes, which involve a whole slew of creative finishes hidden around the levels, are especially cumbersome to find, and you will have to grind one of the story mode's levels a fair few times to accumulate enough Zeni (the game's currency) to buy the whole lot. Still, nothing that warrants more than a 2/10 in terms of difficulty.

 

Am I happy I bought this game? Yes, because while the game and series is rather middle-of-the-road from a technical perspective, the soul poured into each title by its creators plus the fantastic line-up of playable characters (each with their own playstyle and moveset, for better or worse) makes each and every Senran Kagura a delightful romp through beeg diddy land. I heartily recommend Estival Versus (and the other games) to anyone who has even a slight interest or simply owns a Vita, and look forward to performing a clean sweep of the franchise by getting Peach Beach Splash and RE:newal Burst on PS4 when I finally get that console/a PS5.

 

 

 

 

Statistics update;

 

I've become very aware of my average rarity percentage since returning to playing Playstation titles, and as a result I've tried to play games with a low completion percentage to bring that number down where possible. Unfortunately, due the slim library of the Vita, I've had to play a few titles that pulled my average rarity in the wrong direction, and SKEV is no exception; before starting the game my average sat at 37.76% whereas I am now sitting at 37.92%. I think I will be happy with anything under 38 flat for now, but it is worrying; back when I started this thread I was sitting pretty at 37.62.

 

The other stat I really care about is my completion percentage, and I am happy to say that adding SKEV's 50 Trophies to my collection has bumped it in the right direction; I sat on 82.38% and finish on 82.55%. This shows that while I've played over a hundred games now, to varying levels of completion, new titles being added and Platted still has a significant impact.

 

Finally, while enjoying my run through SKEV, I started to become annoyed with my 'Trophies by time' stat. I had already been labouring to get more Trophies late at night to bump up my numbers in those timeslots, but then I realized that due to the nature of the Shinobi Girl's Heart missions (five per girl for a Bronze Trophy, but you can play four in a row and leave the fifth for whenever you want the pop), it'd be rather easy to line 'em up and knock 'em down, so to speak. With that in mind, I completed the first four missions of every single girl, and left the final levels for nights where my girlfriend was on shift as doctor; that way, I could set an alarm as early as I wanted and pop a bunch of bronzes in quick succession, losing out on a minimal amount of sleep.

 

While I appreciate that this has made my list look somewhat suspicious with how close Trophies pop together, it is in fact easy to do legitimately (as any owner of the game will tell you); I still made sure to record a video of my completion of four missions per girl as proof of running a fair and honest pop-Trophies-quick scheme, which may come in handy if some git ever tries to smack me with a flag (likely given how belligerent I can be on these boards). As a result of my setting up the SGH campaigns just right, I've managed to now have visible bar charts for every single hour of the day on my stats page (with 6 being the minimum needed for it to show).

 

Big, big shoutout to my final burst of Trophies, which I got today by setting an alarm at 4:22 AM. I knew I needed to pop 6 SGH Trophies before 5:00 AM sharp, or else the bar wouldn't show. After popping the first (I Rest My Case, my first ever Trophy popped between 4 and 5), I realized I had not given myself enough time to comfortably go through them all, which resulted in me really needing to haul ass lest I'd have to set another alarm and leave a Trophy (and really, waking up so early for just a few Trophies isn't actually all that much fun). I really thought I wasn't going to make it, but thanks to a wee bit of luck (downing Ryona's boss before she could perform her Shinobi Transformation) I managed to squeeze through with 7 seconds to spare. Literally. Seven seconds. Imu was the last of the six I needed to pop, and as you can tell from the timestamp for Top-Heavyweight Champion, it dinged at 4:59:53 AM. The next time my pea brain decides it wants early morning Trophies, I am waking up earlier to give me a larger margin of error.

 

I did mention earlier in the thread that Yozakura is my main Shinobi squeeze, so I made sure to pop her Trophy Table Manners as my first ever in the 5 AM timeslot. Then I just cleaned up Yomi's SGH (I've warmed up to her, both in this game and thanks to her song being the only way I could ever pop Finally! in Bon Appetit), which gave me Private Lives for clearing all of the girls' mini-narratives, bought all the items for Your OCD Is Showing, and flicked through the poses with Yozakura for Supermodel. Right after, I got the *ding* for How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Which, in my case, really should have been called 'How I am a retard and kept setting alarms in the dead of night to satisfy my stupid Trophy habits'.

 

Oh, and finally, a word about my leaderboard rankings; I am now ranked 102,631th in the world and 1,485th in my home country (which I have thankfully managed to escape, although it seems a case of 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'). When it comes to just Vita games, I am ranked 136th nationally, of which I am very proud. My goal going forward will be to break into the top 100,000 worldwide (should be easy) and maybe, just maybe, crack the top 1,000 nationally. Super turbo mega hyper ultra stretch goal is cracking the top 100 nationally for Vita, but that will probably a pipe dream as I really have gone through most of the worthwhile games in its library now and refuse to dip into Ratalaika garbage (although more LEGO games are on the table). I am looking at a 8,190 point deficit to the #100 spot, a quarter of which will be overturned in July but that's outwith the current occupant and everyone between us and behind me not gaining more points. And to think I have to manage it by playing games that I both enjoy and won't kill my average rarity (which is an increasingly small pool of titles).

 

 

Roadmap update;

 

Anyone who has read my drivel recently will know that I somehow contrived myself into wanting to pop exactly 65 Trophies - no more, no fewer - per month; that streak has now been succesfully continued for a fifth month, which pleases me immensely because it gives a nice plateau in my Monthly Activity. However, that streak will end after July, I suspect. I have √Letter (EU Vita version) ready to go and will resubscribe to PS Plus for a month, which will either give me access to Oddworld Stranger's Wrath (Vita version) or force me to buy that game (I was a PS Plus member when it was in the free monthly offerings, but I don't know if I grabbed it due to having already played the PS3 version, for which I appear in the First 50 Achievers list for a fair few Trophies). Those titles together have exactly 65 Trophies, which will give me my July fix, but personal changes are coming up that make August look suspect at best.

 

For one, I am moving house because the girlfriend is moving hospitals (her bonesaw will now see use in East Anglia); new environment with lots to do and set up, so my time will be limited. Additionally, I have family coming over from my home country to help out - and they will take my old PS3 with my backlog with them. Red Dead Redemption, LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Far Cry 2, to name but a few which will be supplemented by me buying used copies of AssCreeds Brotherhood, Revelations, and Black Flag. All of these games barring Motorstorm have servers that will no doubt close one day, and I am desperate to get them done and off my list (in the case of the AssCreed games, which my brother put on my profile, I think I will actually snap the discs in half as a form of catharsis if I manage to finish them). Because this backlog work will be time-consuming and has to be done as quickly as possible (again, I need to pre-empt server closures), I think I will step away from my 65-a-month-habit and just go with whatever number it ends up being each individual month. Honestly, I don't care if it's just ten Trophies or so a month, as long as I get the MP in the Asscreed titles done.

 

Once the PS5 launches, I will make a decision whether to purchase it or get a (used) PS4; this is going to depend on backwards compatibility and price, although less so on the latter as I am fortunate to have a job that pays ridiculous sums of money (I'm still a cheapskate, I will walk three miles further on a grocery trip if it means my 16 pints of milk are 50 cents cheaper). I expect the floodgates to open at that point, because a PS4/5 will enable me to restart Yakuza 0 and burn through a full generation of games that are now dirt cheap in used game stores.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Golem25

[Heather342]

This is such a detailed thread ? and nice to see someone appreciate the Vita for something other than stacking cheap 20 minute plats. I only recently picked up a Vita, mainly so I could play Persona 4, and it is such a fantastic console. I too am sad that it didn't get the success it deserves. If you're looking for some more Vita games, you should check out Adventures of Mana. I completed this last weekend and it was a fun little game. Secret of Mana is also on my 'to play' list. I also got World of Final Fantasy recently too. I saw a game called Oceanhorn that looks like a decent game, might be worth checking out ?

[Golem25]

4 hours ago, Heather342 said:

This is such a detailed thread and nice to see someone appreciate the Vita for something other than stacking cheap 20 minute plats. I only recently picked up a Vita, mainly so I could play Persona 4, and it is such a fantastic console. I too am sad that it didn't get the success it deserves. If you're looking for some more Vita games, you should check out Adventures of Mana. I completed this last weekend and it was a fun little game. Secret of Mana is also on my 'to play' list. I also got World of Final Fantasy recently too. I saw a game called Oceanhorn that looks like a decent game, might be worth checking out

 

Thank you Heather, such encouraging words - I am proud of my Vita and of all the games I've played on it! I hope some of what I've written may help inspire you to create a thread of your own (I've been impressed by your list, including all 215 HITMAN(2) Trophies - I've got the same set, only on Steam as I've yet to upgrade to PS4). These threads are really quite cathartic and a good way of keeping track of one's progress and experiences, and that recommendation goes for everyone; give writing a checklist a try!

 

I am really grateful for the tips, I had never heard of AoM or Oceanhorn before, but I sure am glad I did now because both look like fine titles to play while on my travels the rest of the year; both have gone onto my PSPrices mailing list. If I can repay those tips in kind, always pop into any CEX you see, I've gotten loads of good, cheap physical copies there..... including your third recommendation, which is still in my travel bag! I have been putting WoF off for a while now to be fair. Picked it up at the CEX in Reading (or it might have been Nottingham) for just 18 GBP. Do let me know how the Platinum journey goes for you, and keep on truckin' on Persona 4 Golden!

 

 

Once I finish work today, I'll boot up my Vita to get to work on my July batch of Trophies!

Edited July 1, 2020 by Golem25

[Golem25]

Update 7

 

Platinum #63 - Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD (Vita Version)

 

Shiny Moolah - Get all other Trophies.

46,700 Owners - 2,136 Achievers for a percentage of 4.57% (average completion; 12.25%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 9/10

Difficulty; 4/10

Trophies; 7/10 (Good names, tiles mostly recycled from game art - some fun challenges involved)

Appetite for more bounty hunting; 10/10

 

On January 3rd 2012, I platted Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD on the Playstation 3. I had never played a game in the series before, but this one struck a chord with me in the run up to its rerelease to the point where I got it on the day and even managed to get into the top 50 of first achievers for a handful of its Trophies (notably Farmer Harmer at #27). I loved the game from start to finish.

 

Fast forward 3,108 days (or 444 weeks, or 102 months - whichever you prefer) and I Platted the game's Vita version after setting my alarm clock for 4:30 in the morning so I could further balance my Trophies By Time statistic. Another 37 Trophies in the bag, another Plat on the list, and a few steps up the ladder towards my goals (top 100,000 players worldwide, top 1000 domestic overall, and top 100 domestic for Vita).

 

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath was originally released on January 25th 2005 for the original XBox, developed by Oddworld Inhabitants - the fellas behind the previous games in the series with the studio headed by series creator Lorne Lanning - and published by the muppets at EA. The game won a boatload of awards and received heaps of critical praise, but its sales figures were a complete disappointment; because the game was only released on Xbox (the devs couldn't handle concurrent development for the PS2 and GameCube while EA's internal devs couldn't get a port to work) and EA requires its products to be available on all SKUs in order for it to receive marketing support, Stranger's Wrath received little to no advertisement as the world was getting ready to abandon the sixth generation of consoles. The game needed to sell 1.6 million copies to break even, but only mustered 600,000 as a result of EA's negligence in marketing. The developers closed their doors in April 2005, but Lanning has since refounded the studio which is currently hard at work on preparing Oddworld Soulstorm for release.

 

The game is a mix of 3rd and 1st person action, with players being able to switch between perspectives with the click of a button (or in the Vita's case, double-tapping the front touch screen). In third person, the titular player character of Stranger, a bounty hunter of enigmatic origin whose species is unrecognized by the other races in the game's setting of Western Mudos, has increased mobility by being able to sprint on all fours and jump much higher and farther. He also has expanded melee options in 3rd person, but these are nowhere near as deadly as the crossbow he whips out in first person; using an ingenious system of literally live ammo, Stranger can scavenge small creatures that appear throughout the world to use as ammunition. Bolamite spiders to wrap up bounties, Stingbees to act as a powerful machine gun, Chippunks that screech and lure enemies to their position, Stunkz that paralyze foes with their gas, Zappflies that power generators and decrease the stamina of foes they hit, and a fair few more critters that all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

 

Because Stranger's crossbow is double-barrel, he can load and fire two types of critter at the same time (one with the L and one with the R shoulder buttons) and change them out on the fly (with down on the d-pad). Lord knows the player needs to be able to do this, because the game is about hunting bounties, who are worth more alive than dead. As such, after fighting through gauntlets of mooks (who themselves can be bountied too) the player is faced with the main bounty in a boss arena; good ammo management and strategy is needed to bag a given bandit alive. The game presents you with eleven bounties to collect from the bounty store, and that only takes you halfway through the game up to the point where the stories starts twisting and turning.

 

It's a brilliant ride, a wild one throughout, and it's actually incredible to note that this game originally came out in 2005, because the depth of the gameplay and richness of the world honestly wouldn't look out of place had the game been released much later. The HD remake on PS3 and Vita looks and runs brilliantly with updated textures, and just makes it such a pleasure to play. You get the long list of bounties that lead you through three nicely detailed towns, a massive plot twist halfway through and one at the very end, neither of which you may see coming, and while you're pushing on through the story you can buy better upgrades, including a faster recharge rate on stamina, stronger ammo, enhancements to your reload speed, and a brass knuckle or two.

 

In short, if you have a PS3 or Vita, buy and play this game. Especially on Vita, which does not have the widest of libraries - this is such a fantastic game, it's a must-play on the handheld and definitely the best game to have featured in the updates in this thread so far. It's ony 13 quid or so, you have no excuse, and on Vita it even features two ultra rare Trophies! Score! I do believe there's also a slightly more expensive double pack that nets you both the PS3 and Vita version.

 

'But' I hear you ask 'the PS3 version doesn't have ultra rare Trophies?'! And I'd say you are correct, for the PS3 version has a much higher completion average - the Platinum sits at 7.23% rarity right now compared to the Vita's 4.57%. This is the result of what I call the Plus effect; the Vita version, but crucially not the PS3 version, was given away with PS Plus at some point, which typically creates an influx of normies and Trophy Hunters who do not have the vested interest in the game that a regular buyer would have. As such, the tempation/urge to Plat the game is lower, and this is reflected in the disparity in rarity (hah, that rhymes) between the two versions. Works to my advantage though, as I love me some rare Trophies.

 

As far as the list goes, it's quite good; sure, a lot of the Trophies are purportedly unmissable (but somehow the second story-related Bronze didn't pop for me, necessitating me to replay for a bit and having my list look out of sync) and a lot of the tiles are recycled from promotional material, but there are a few Trophies in there that betray the devs' creativity. The aforementioned Farmer Harmer has you go out of your way to actually kill one of the Clakkerz, the civilian chicken race, whilst two Trophies tie into hidden one-off collectibles. Another, Go with the Flo. . . requires you to find a little easter egg. Finally, the only collectible you have to worry about throughout the game is a set of ten barrels for Free The Meat, which is glitched in a good way as it pops for most people after the ninth (the barrels' contents are also a great throwback to previous Oddworld games, although I've admittedly never played any of them). The most imaginative Trophy though, and the one that makes this a 1.5 playthrough Platinum, is Mo Moolah; Stranger's main motivation in the first half of the game is to accumulate 20,000 of the in-universe currency Moolah, and this Trophy requires you to have that amount on your person once you leave the third town. Because the game is quite difficult - and arguably unbalanced - on the Hard difficulty (required for Sekto Suicide), you will have a terrible time bringing in the mooks and bosses alive, which is pretty much necessary to get to 20,000 Moolah. Additionally, you will definitely need a lot of the upgrades the shops sell, which of course you can't buy if you want to go for the 20,000 - if you still decide to proceed with it on Hard, you make the second half of the game pretty much impossible for yourself. Instead, I recommend doing your first playthrough on Hard, then cleaning up Mo Moolah on Easy in the second playthrough, which only has to go as far as halfway through the story anyway.

 

Because the Hard difficulty is a bit bonkers, you might not enjoy the Platinum quite as much as you would had it been possible on just Normal difficulty, but it is what it is. Even with the lack of balance thrown in, this was still a solid 9 out of 10 for me. Seriously, if you have a Vita, go buy this game. Right now. It's against my own interests to tell you to do so, considering that I'd love the completion percentage to remain as low as possible, but this is such a criminally underrated game that I just have to recommend it. I'd love to see a sequel but know that it will never happen, so instead I will keep my eye on Soulstorm to see if it has a reference to Stranger.

 

 

Roadmap update;

 

I keep telling myself that July will be the last month of me adhering to my insane 65-Trophies-per-Month OCD, so now that Stranger's Wrath has netted me 37, I need 28 more. I've put it off long enough now, so it's time to fire up √Letter (EU Vita version) and collect its Platinum to push me to 64. Hopefully I will get that out of the way ASAP, so that I may go back to Persona 4 Golden and grind out Card Collector for my 65th and final Trophy. I will get my PS3 back on August 1st when I move house to East Anglia, which means that all my free time will be dedicated to getting the PS3 AssCreed titles my younger brother put on my profile out of the way - I will probably never forgive myself if I don't have their awful online Trophies before the servers go down, and on that note the awful AssCreed Brotherhood and its Abstergo Employee of the Month worry me most. I did check CEX and saw the game sells for like 50 cents, so at least I won't have to break the bank; I am seriously considering cutting the disc up and burning the case once I finish each title - although I will probably do the right thing and just donate them to a charity shop.

 

In terms of statistics, adding and Platting Stranger's Wrath to the collection has brought my average percentage down from 37.92 to 37.70, although most of those gains will now be lost when I add √Letter - it is a visual novel after all. I will have to rely on my clean-up of various PS3 games in my backlog to undo the damage I am about to wreak, but with Madden NFL 13 and Octodad Dadliest Catch recently acquired for Vita (30.22% and 22.51% respectively), I should get back on the right track. I also saw cheap copies of LEGO Marvel Superheroes Universe in Peril at my for-now-local CEX, so will grab one of those for further on-the-road play. Unusually for a Vita LEGO title, that game's average rarity is only slightly above my current tally, so it's impact will be negligible.

 

Any other remarks? Hmmm.... oh, right, BUY ODDWORLD: STRANGER'S WRATH HD!

Edited September 15, 2020 by Golem25

[Golem25]

Update 8

 

Platinum #64 - √Letter (EU) (Vita version)

 

 √Letter - You got all the trophies!

1,869 Owners - 1,055 Achievers for a percentage of 56.45% (average completion; 62.66%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 7/10

Difficulty; 1/10

Trophies; 5/10 (Nice tiles, generic names, all but one story-related)

Increase in desire to visit Japan; 100%

 

√Letter! Here we are! The game that is a pain to write about because holding Alt and keying in 251 on my laptop doesn't actually make the '√' appear, so I will just Ctrl+V my way through! Besides being inconvenient to type out, √Letter is somewhat infamous among Trophy Hunters for having a 10 game (!!!) stack! That's right, move over Ratalaika, there's a new stacking sherriff in town and their name is *checks notes* Kadogawa Games. Make no mistake though, this is, for once, not predatory behaviour that targets Trophy hunters with a bizarrely easy list that doesn't even require you to complete the game; instead, it's really just your typical visual novel with a fitting Trophy list - one that requires you to see all endings, collect all items, and even complete one (very annoying) side quest. The ridiculous stack seems to have been born from localization decisions re. language; the game was released in Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Hong Kong), British English, and American English, hence being a quintuple stack, which was then multiplied by virtue of the game releasing on both PS4 and PS Vita. That latter platform is, of course, where I played it.

 

Still though, just because Kadogawa Games wasn't purposefully out to milk Trophy hunters doesn't mean that you're in for a long and arduous challenge. Definitely not hard, and, uh, in terms of length.....

 

 

Yeah, I decided to speedrun it, guide in hand, to see if I could crack the top time of 3 hours and 21 minutes. I managed a pretty much perfect run, which makes me wonder why there are two quicker times (perhaps done on PSTV, which might have improved loading times?) Still proud though, as it was a fun little challenge to set myself and I'm quite proud to appear on another leaderboard, especially in such a high position!

 

Obviously, speedrunning a VN (which involves a lot of force-skipping dialogue) is hardly the ideal way to play it, so I've spent some more time with the game since Platting it to get a good feel for it. And honestly, I do quite like it! √Letter opens with the unseen, faceless protagonist finding a letter from his old penpal, sent 15 years prior but unopened since. Tearing open the envelop, he finds a confession of a murder. His old stack of letters in hands, the protag jets off to the city of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture in the west of Japan to find his old penpal, a girl by the name of Aya Fumino, and uncover the truth behind the confession.

 

That's all I will say in terms of outright spoilers (and the above is really only the first five minutes of the game). Besides being a mystery game, this VN also satisfies the 'virtual tourism' niche; Kadogawa Games' President Yoshimi Yasuda was born and raised in Matsue, and it really shines through as the developers worked with Matsue's tourism board and many local businesses to pretty much transplant the city into the game! Each location you visit, and there's a fair few of them, is based on a real life location to the point where, with a bit of googling, you'll see that the game's CGs closely mirror the streetview you'll get on Google maps. This does lead to a bit of self-indulgence, as the city's art gallery and the admittedly iconic Matsue Castle are shoved down your throat hard. It bloody well works though, I'd love to visit this place some day; the same itch that the Yakuza games scratch for me (the whole replicating Japanese locales faithfully in a game) is being tenderly attended to here by √Letter albeit less handily so - this is a VN after all, rather than a 3D sandbox.

 

If it's all the same to you, though, I will heartily recommend √Letter; not because of the Trophies, which are really quite simple, but because it tells an interesting story across it's eight to twelve hour readtime and five endings (including a Golden ending) set in a beautiful location that really pops in the way it's presented - you can tell the devs loved this game. The artwork by Minoboshi Tarou (who also took charge of LoveR Kiss（ラヴアールキス), note the similarity in art) is somewhat hit and miss - the girls all look terrific but quite a few of the male models are.... off - but still manages to elevate the story, especially when some of Matsue's scenic views are involved.

 

So yes, get √Letter if you can; the game works really well on Vita but is also available on PS4 - and with five regions to choose from for each platform, this is a game you can definitely have multiple lists stacked for (no cross-buy or cross-save available though). Biggest pains in the butt Trophy-wise were replaying the entirety of chapters eight and nine four times for the additional endings, as well as the Shimanekko sidequest ( Found SHIMANEKKO!).

 

 

Roadmap & Statistics update;

 

The bad news is that adding a game with such a high completion percentage has wrecked my average rarity; Stranger's Wrath had me down to 82.73%, but following √Letter now I'm at 82.88% - I think going and staying below 37.50 will be my goal for the foreseeable future. The good news is that by adding √Letter to my portfolio, my completion percentage went up from 82.73% to 82.88%, meaning that for the first time ever 83% is in striking distance for me. Adding the game's ten Bronzes, ten Silvers, six Golds, and single Platinum also gave me a handy boost up the leaderboards that helped me reach one of my targets and close in on the others. After Platting it, I now sit at

 

•  99,665th in the world overall (target; top 100,000 - SMASHED)
• 1,433rd domestically overall (up by 36, target; top 1,000)
• 127th for Vita domestically ( up by 4, target; top 100)

Cracking the top 1,000 domestically will be the hardest of the lot - the further you climb, the greater the distance in points between spots on the board - but I am confident I can break into the domestic Vita top 100 some time soon. The current 100th ranked player, Massive53, sits on 46,665 points - I currently sit on 40,395, which has me shy of my goal by 6,270 points. I'm super proud of that, because where everyone around me on that leaderboard has used Ratalaika games to get to where they are, I have none. In fact, √Letter is the only game on my Vita list that you could consider to be of braindead difficulty (but it is a proud and earnest game unlike some of the Rata stuff). I have Madden NFL 13, Octodad Dadliest Catch, and my latest addition, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril, ready to further close that gap up. Those three together represent 2,625 points, and I have another 225 coming from Persona 4 Golden.

 

Speaking of P4G, I added one Trophy from its list to my collection this month - the annoyingly grindy Card Collector - to satisfy my 65-Trophies-per-month-OCD. Oddworld Stranger's Wrath HD had 37 Trophies and √Letter had 27, so naturally I was one short, which P4G handily filled. Now, initially I was planning on making P4G a Platinum milestone, but I've decided to play it differently; I'll be popping the Plat as my 4,000th Trophy (fitting, right?) which will come before long as I currently sit on 3,958. So, the goal currently is to pop 39 Trophies in other games, then pop the remaining Silver and Bronze in P4G as my 3,998th and 3,999th to unlock the Platinum.

 

With that in mind, I think it's time to more or less relinquish the 65 Trophies a month target. It's made for an amazing plateau on my Stats page, but it's becoming a bit of a burden. Some months it's really easy to hit 65 and other months it's quite hard, all dependent on my available time and the difficulty and availability of games for the Vita. The 65 limit also hampers my progress; I've gotten my share for July, so now I'm unable to pop anything else for the rest of the month. Crucially, per August 1st I will also take possession of my old PS3 once more, which means that I will be focusing on clean-up duties for my backlog (which will be rather time-consuming with little pay-off in terms of quantity). I've previously shared my trepidation regarding having to do the multiplayer in the three AssCreed games on the list (Brotherhood is especially daunting), but I've also some better games to look forward to. Platinums I'm going to try and pop starting August 1st include;

 

• inFamous (Hard playthrough, shards, and general cleanup)
• LittleBigPlanet (prize bubbles, online, and general cleanup)
• Vanquish (tactical challenges, wish me luck)
• Yakuza 3 (Legend, challenges, all substories, Minigame Master - wish me A LOT of luck)
• LEGO Star Wars III (clean up)
• Dead Rising 2 (genocider Trophies and online co-op, oh God)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (just a grind)
• F1 2010 (too difficult for me and a huge grind)
• Red Dead Redemption (some online Trophies)
• GTA IV (online Trophies, oh lord)
• Far Cry 2 (probably the worst Trophy experience on the list, a lot to do for that game including the notorious online)

 

Additional cleanup is required for games of which the Plat is now unobtainable to me;

• Resistance 2 (general cleanup)
• Motorstorm Pacific Rift (a lot of cleanup)
• FIFA 09 (general cleanup)
• WipEout HD (oh lord, the difficulty)

 

And, of course, there's a fair bit of DLC to be bought and finished, mostly for PS Plus games that I will have to rebuy (but due to their age, that'll be a single Pound per title via CEX I imagine);

 

• F1 Race Stars (three tracks, five Trophies each - looking forward to them)
• Mafia II (delisted DLC, so lord knows how I will get them)
• Saints Row The Third (ugh, getting that game was a mistake)
• AssCreed Brotherhood (free DLC from Malaysian store)
• AssCreed Revelations (free DLC from Malaysian store)
• AssCreed IV Black Flag (I HATE ASSCREED)
• Sleeping Dogs (will also get the definitive edition for PS4 eventually; might even get both EU and NA)
• Dishonored (might have also been a mistake, wasn't that good a game)
• The Walking Dead (oh God, hope it ain't delisted)
• Metro; Last Light (will be cool)
• Grid 2 (uh-oh, there's some online involved)

 

So yeah, expensive times ahead. I will likely be working on the PS3 and PS Vita in tandem, although I think the AssCreed Trophies have to be prioritized - I really, really, really need those online Trophies out of the way ASAP. I'm expecting at least two Plats in August, one of them being Persona 4 Golden, so don't expect this thread to be abandoned any time soon. Especially because, once I make a good, fat dent in that PS3 list, I will be getting a PS4 or PS5 (depending on backwards compatibility - I need it to play every single PS4 game I've been eyeing up, no exceptions).

Edited September 29, 2020 by Golem25

[Golem25]

Update 9

 

Platinum #65 - Persona 4 Golden (NA)

 

Golden Completed - Earn all trophies

89,541 Owners - 5,730 Achievers for a percentage of 6.40% (average completion; 37.00%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 10/10

Difficulty; 4/10

Trophies; 8/10 (Varied list, good names, Trophy tiles look nice but are basically screenshots)

Quality of PSNP community recommendations; 5/5

 

Well, here we are. Five months on from finishing Persona 4 Dancing All Night (Update #2) and just under five on from starting up Persona 4 Golden, I have Platted what many consider the Vita's flagship title and its singlemost coveted exclusive - at least it was until the surprise release of the game on Steam. Did it live up to the hype? Is it one of the best games on the platform? I'd answer both of those questions with a wholehearted 'yes'!

 

Persona 4 Golden is an updated and expanded rerelease of Shin Megami Tensei Persona 4, with this Vita game being the first title in the series to drop the SMT monniker. It s a JRPG, the first on my list and the first I've ever played outwith the Pokemon series, that sees you take the role of a mute protagonist with a customizable name. Your parents have gone abroad and you are going to spend a year in the boonies at your only relatives, uncle Dojima and his daughter Nanako, who live in the rural town of Inaba. You attend school, make friends, and when dead bodies start appearing on television masts, you and your gang of friends tumble through a TV where it is up to you to solve the mystery behind the murders.

 

P4G's content divides nicely between JRPG dungeon crawling and visual novel-esque interactions with the people around you; your power in the dungeons is increased through the strengthening of so-called Social Links between you and the townspeople, which means that both types of gameplay are nicely integrated. Inaba is a segmented sandbox with a few relatively linear hubs (a main street, the school, a city square, a floodplain, and so on) where you can do some shopping and pick up the smallest of sidequests inbetween your hunting bouts in the dungeons.

 

The story has plenty of twists and turns and shines through its characters and their design; you have some amazing female companions (Yukiko, Chie, Rise), a great male companion (Kanji), and an obnoxious asshole (Yosuke - jury's out on Teddie), and plenty of side characters including the shy girl in music class, who was my first romance partner. Because of course there is romance, and you can be a total manslut and date all the girls at the same time because why not?

 

Trophy-wise, this is a good, varied list that invites you to explore most of the game without becoming too obnoxious; sure, there is a challenging Trophy that demands you max all the Social Links available to you (Legend of Inaba), but you aren't required to work through all the menial sidequests that usually boil down to fetching a certain item from a dungeon. You can play through the entire game on Very Easy and still get the Plat, but I personally played on Easy; for one, because I'm a JRPG noob but not completely braindead, and for two, because the single-worst Trophy in the game is slightly more doable on Easy compared to Very Easy.

 

Hardcore Risette Fan; you know a Trophy is going to be a pain when there are numerous dedicated guides and spreadsheets for it. This lowly Bronze asks you to hear 250 unique lines spoken by the game's navigator, Rise, during your adventures in the dungeons. However, the lines are triggered by specific contexts, and don't always pop up when you want them to - and on top of that, the game does not track which ones you've previously heard! So, off Golem went, spreadsheet in hand, diligently checking off line after line after line. Only when I got to around 267 confirmed lines did HRF pop for me (I didn't even notice the pop, so I went on for 15 extra minutes before incredulously checking my Trophy collection and noting it had unlocked). I did it on my first playthrough, which left me to do a nice second run on Very Easy to sweep up the remaining Trophies (the aforementioned all Social Links one, as well as the second run-only One Who Has Proven Their Power - which I planned and popped as a level milestone).

 

I enjoyed my time with the game throughout; this is a finely crafted narrative that oozes personality through its writing and design (especially on the characters), and is a true example of how amazing Japanese games can be. I genuinely felt sad at the ending, a feeling which the epilogue didn't completely alleviate. But I am at peace, because it has been an incredible, lovely ride, and a completely enjoyable 100+ hours. The 250 lines Trophy was the only thing that slightly spoiled my enjoyment, but by no means did it ever come close to ruining things; a nuisance more than anything else, swiftly forgiven and forgotten once the Trophy popped. This is also the first time I've given a 10/10 for enjoyment; of course it's not perfect, but this is as close to 100% fun for the full runtime of the game as you could ever get. Spoilers for the end and epilogue;

 

Spoiler

I wish Yu/you/the hero got to stay in Inaba, rather than return to the city. As someone who has had to say a fair few goodbyes in his time, this really resonated with me. The fact that in the epilogue Yu only comes back for a visit is just a painful reminder that things will never again be like they were during his year attending Yasogami.

 

I enjoyed Persona 4 Golden so much that I would Platinum it all over again, and that is exactly what I will do; Atlus, for some reason, was kind enough to give us a EU and US stack! I had found and bought the game for a low, low 20 GBP on Facebook marketplace, and assumed it was a EU copy. After all, I am in Britain right now. This pleased me, as the EU completion percentage (33.52%) is much lower than that of the US version (37.00%). The game arrived, I popped it into my trusty Vita, played and popped the first Trophy (The Other Self), synced my list, and lo and behold, it showed up as NA! Big surprise, I immediately checked the case and it was indeed, somehow, a US copy. Rather unexpected but a huge delight, because I realized something; while this wouldn't be as great for my average rarity as a EU copy, having a US copy in the EU is quite a rare occurrence indeed. It will be easy-peasy to find a EU copy, much more so than a US copy (which I clearly lucked into), so soon I will be able to get started on a second Platinum journey! What's not to love?

 

Anyhow, statistics and game regions aside; if you have a Vita, you MUST play Persona 4 Golden. It is, indeed, one of the best games on this underrated handheld, and the community was completely correct in recommending it to me. I should be, and indeed am, ashamed that I waited almost a decade to play it, but I am ever so glad that I did! The game is forgiving to newcomers to the franchise (you'll only fail to appreciate some cameos from Persona 3 characters) and the genre, so there is absolutely zero reason not to play and Platinum it. Seriously, go out and grab it now. This is hands down the best game featured in these updates so far. I will forever hold onto my US copy and probably the EU copy as well once I get it - that's how much I've enjoyed it. Heck, I'll go one better still; I liked it so much, I planned and popped the Platinum (Solid Gold) as my 4,000th Trophy! How's that for a milestone, huh?! Woke up at 3 AM to beat the Reaper and win the quiz, which I left for last as I love quizzes, so that these three Trophies add to my 'Trophies by time' bar.

 

Ironically though, I have little to no interest in Persona 5. Why bother when it's not with the same gang in Inaba, right? This is going to be another case of 'the first game you played in the series is the best' for me, I reckon.

 

Roadmap & Statistics update;

 

In the previous update I mentioned that my PS3 would join me on the British Isles per August 1st, and it has indeed arrived. I have been moaning for ages now that I want to get the Assassin's Creed games my brother needlessly dropped on my list cleaned up, and I am expecting to write another update tomorrow to add Brotherhood to the list; if all has gone right, I have fixed the glitched single player Trophies via a complete wipe and reinstall. I've also managed to already clean up the multiplayer and the DLC, with the former being slightly less painful than I anticipated - mostly down to the excellen boosting group I was a part of. Before adding those final high percentage Trophies (and the Ultra rare Plat for Brotherhood), I am sitting on an impressive average rarity percentage.

 

It also looks like my completely pointless '65-Trophies-per-month-streak' is going to continue; I was worried July would be the last month given the time investment required for Brotherhood, but I have aready popped 42 Trophies this month so far. I am diving into the second big MP grind of the month with Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, but I should be able to add enough other random Trophies to the collection through the rest of August to reach 65. This whole 65 Trophy quota really is restrictive, but I love that increasingly elongated plateau that is forming on my stats page. Perhaps September will see it end then, although I again have more than enough Trophies to clean up to once again get to 65. I will also have to do some extra planning, as my level up to 23 is fast approaching. I've got my eye on Yakuza 3's Substory Completionist as the milestone to signal my love for the series in general, and Yakuza 3 and substories specifically. I've got one very tough golf-related substory and maybe one or two others left to complete before facing Amon - so wish me luck! Alternatively, I might go for Minigame Master, but that will be even tougher.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Golem25

[Heather342]

Congratulations on your Persona platinum ? I'm still working on mine, and I am also lining it up to be my 2,000th trophy milestone. Currently trying to catch the sea guardian, but I absolutely hate fishing minigames lol!

I would recommend you play Persona 5 though, I have it on my to play list, and I watched my husband play and plat it a few years ago. It is such a good game, stylish AF and the music is incredible. Generally the gameplay mechanics are the same, and the original P5 has a very similar trophy list to P4G. Don't let the fact that it's a different set of characters put you off. If you enjoyed P4G then you would like P5 ?

[Golem25]

Update 10

 

Platinum #66 - Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

 

Julius Caesar - Earn all trophies

579,865 Owners - 22,263 Achievers for a percentage of 3.84% (average completion; 45.56%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 1/10

Difficulty; 6/10

Trophies; 1/10 (numerous glitched Trophies, soulless tiles, terrible B/S/G balance)

Sense of relief after finishing it; 10/10

 

They say a donkey doesn't stub its hoofs on the same rock twice, but I'm not donkey; I'm an utter imbecile.

 

On the 22nd of April 2011, my younger brother (13 at the time) added Assassin's Creed II to my profile, without asking whether I'd be okay with it. I wasn't, I berated him for it, and I had to go through cleaning up that game's Trophies once he had gotten his cheap thrills from the story and left the collectibles untouched. I got vertigo so badly from playing - the first and last time I've ever gotten that from a video game - that I had to coerce him into finishing the Feathers for me.

 

That was the first stub.

Once II was Platted, I wasn't quite as angry anymore; as you know, all's well that ends well. And then, on November 11th 2011, my younger brother again went behind my back and added Brotherhood to my profile. And I was pissed to high heavens. Because not only did this mean another torturous trawl through an AssCreed game for cleanup, I would now also have to contend with multiplayer and DLC.

 

That was the second stub.

 

My brother only got 23 out of the base 51 Trophies that November and then promptly stopped caring about the game he bought and he so badly wanted to play. With all hope of him cleaning up his own mess, I booted Brotherhood up in May 2012 to clean up some of the easier Trophies but couldn't bring myself to do more than get the easier singleplayer ones - especially once I realized that two story-related Trophies (the imaginatively titled Boom! and Kaboom!) and one general gameplay Trophy (Home Improvement) had glitched on me - as Brotherhood is known to do. I shelved the game, leaving it to my future self to one day return and get this awful game done and dusted.

 

You will read more about the third stub in the next update, and about the fourth in the update after that. Sit tight!

 

As the years passed, I graduated high school, went to university, lived abroad, graduated cum laude, then graduated from my Master's degree, and moved abroad again. But all the while, Brotherhood sat in the back of my mind, niggling and slowly but surely increasing my worries; Brotherhood's multiplayer was infamous for being terrible with a huge grind and a difficult Trophy involved, while I had to maneuver past the glitches and contend with DLC that forced you to 100% synchronize every main piece of content in the game. Once I got back into Trohpy hunting in early 2020, albeit only on Vita due to my PS3 not having moved with me as I emigrated, I strengthened my resolve and promised myself I would return to Brotherhood as soon as I got hold of my PS3 again, to finally put the game that had been living rent-free in my head to bed.

 

On August 1st, I got the PS3 back. I moved into a new home, albeit without internet, and popped in a freshly-bought used copy of Brotherhood (50 GBP cents, thanks CEX!). As I didn't have internet yet, I plugged away at 100% synchronization and then, once I got my connection, I went online for multiplayer. I had set up boosting sessions and, through my mixing with folk on PSNP, picked up the scent of a boosting Discord that had recently been set up. I took charge of the Brotherhood channel, organized a group of hopeful boosters, and in just a single weekend, I grinded my way from level 16 (where my brother had left off) to level 50. And I stuck around to help the others get there as well, to the point where I'm now a mod on the Discord.

 

Let me preface my thoughts about Brotherhood by saying that I have never liked Assassin's Creed; in fact, I hated it from the very first game, with its dull visuals, repetitive gameplay, and inane bullshit modern day plot and idiotic struggle between imaginary cults in the past. Assassin's Creed II was lauded as one of the best game of the generation when it released, but I found it equally trite; a protagonist that appeals to the sensibilities of 12 year olds, open world maps that are empty wastelands where meaningful content is few and far between, a story that spins the wheels, and gameplay that looks good but is as deep as a puddle.

 

Brotherhood was essentially the leftovers of II's development repurposed into a standalone game in just twelve months, then shipped out with bolted on multiplayer. A momentous achievement for Ubisoft in terms of wringing as much money out of these scraps as possible, but hardly something to celebrate for me as a player. The game has just one main map, Rome, which manages to be worse than the various ones in II and clearly shows why it was left on the cutting room floor; an empty countryside and a frustratingly-difficult-to-navigate city. The story goes nowhere and ends on a dumb cliffhangers. Gameplay has not been improved at all, with just a few bells and whistles added such as being able to call minions; essentially a press-to-win button that makes the game's combat even more trivial.

 

And multiplayer? Flawed from the start; Assassin's Creed never needed multiplayer, but Ubisoft just had to try it. The modes are uninspired, the gameplay as flat and uninspired as in singleplayer, and Ubi couldn't work out how to get a stable server running; from day one, people had issues connecting and Ubi's shambolic handling of updates (as Animus Updates) just made things much harder. Amidst all this, players were asked to tackle two horrendous (and now infamous Trophies); Download Complete to get to level 50 (the highest in the game) and Abstergo Employee of the Month, which requires them to achieve each gameplay bonus at least once, including the notorious Extreme Variety wherein players need to trigger 15 out of 27 bonuses in one match.

 

With good boosting, the process of finishing multiplayer proved to be just as painful but not quite as protracted as I had expected. Still, I didn't enjoy a single second of the many hours I spent on Brotherhood, both in 2012 and in 2020. But when Julius Caesar popped, I did feel a sense of relief like none other. It was done. No more worrying about the servers closing down or having to coordinate boosting sessions; I could put Brotherhood on the shelf again, but this time, forever. And I even got two new Ultra Rares (AEOTM and the Plat) for my troubles. Just a shame that AEOTM and Download Complete are only Bronze and Silver respectively despite being the worst Trophies in the game; this has been forced due to the series' obsession with having all the sequence-related Trophies by Silver, meaning that there is no space left over multiple Golds.

 

Would I recommend Assassin's Creed Brotherhood? No, not in a million years. A game flawed in concept and execution, this title is essentially sawdust that has been glued together and shoved out the door for full retail price. There is nothing of value here, nothing to be enjoyed. It was already a mockery of good game design in 2011 when it came out, and has aged like milk since. I feel nothing but contempt for Ubisoft and the developers, and can only revel in the fact that I bought the game used and got the DLC for free via the Hong Kong trick; I had paid Ubisoft nothing for the privilege of wading through this putrid swamp to atone for the sins of my brother. At least it didn't make me lose my sense of humour; to celebrate my cleaning efforts, I left Spring Cleaning as the final Trophy before Plat.

 

 

Roadmap & Statistics update;

 

Good news all around. Thanks to the used copies of Brotherhood, Revelations, and Black Flag as well as the Hong Kong and Turkey PSN tricks, I have been able to make great strides in cleaning up rare Trophies; I am now on the verge of going under 700 unearned Trophies while my average rarity is now at 37.53; my goal of sub 37.50 is within reach. My tally of Ultra Rares is now at 81 and I sit at a cool 300 Very Rares at the moment - pending some of them moving up or down in rarity due to other players unlocking these Trophies.

 

I had also set some leaderboard goals; getting in the top 100,000 wordwide, the top 1,000 domestically, and the top 100 domestically for Vita specifically. Because I'm still on my silly OCD 65-Trophies-per-month quota, I can only do so much per month. When I hit my limit in July, I had broken into the top 100,000 (99,665th) but quickly fell out again as the month progressed; the 65 I've now gotten in August have got me back to where I want to be. Let's have a look;

 

•  99,379th in the world overall (target; top 100,000 - SMASHED again)
• 1,428rd domestically overall (up by 5 from the end of July, target; top 1,000)
• 129th for Vita domestically (down by 2, target; top 100)

 

What with my PS3 cleanup, my standing in the first and second categories will keep improving - but I am deathly worried about the Vita, which is actually the most dear to my heart. I have Madden NFL 2013 and LEGO Marvel Superheroes Universe in Peril ready to go, but they don't fit into my dumb 65-Trophies-per-month schedule when I still have so much to do on PS3. All of September will be taken up by finishing the final two AssCreed games, online Trophies for F1 Race Stars' DLC, and ten DLC Trophies for Saint's Row The Third, and with my new goal being to reach 499 unearned Trophies overall, I will need to dedicate October, November, and the start of December to get there before I can think about the Vita again.

 

A quick calculation; I am 204 Trophies from getting to 499, which at 65 Trophies per month means that I will need three full months plus 8 in December to get there. 499 Is just the first goal though, as I really want to push my unearneds down so far that in the future I can start any regular game without going over 500 again - so I need to get around 449ish. Upside is that my current Trophy pool is 4,725 - if I stay on track, once I reach 472 unearneds I will be over 90% overall completion. I could relinquish the 65 rule, but then I have such a good streak going with it right now that I'm still not convinced I should drop it in favour of quickly going through everything - especially when that might burn out my own passion for tidying up my profile.

 

As for the roadmap, AssCreed Revelations and Black Flag (52 Trophies left) will be completed in Spetember, as will three F1 Race Stars online DLC Trophies and the Genki DLC for Saint's Row The Third (ten Trophies) - for a total of 65. I will have to skip out one of the Genki Trophies though, as my level 23 milestone is coming up and I have been grinding out substories and minigames in Yakuza 3 to have either of those Trophies serve as my level up.

 

I've also bought a used copy of Metro Last Light as I want to clean up some of the DLC there despite the risks, while all the other games mentioned in my previous updates are available for cleaning too. I've been itching to try Vanquish again as I really loved that game back in the day, so trying the Tactical Challenges is a likely candidate for October, as is inFamous and the remainder of the Saint's Row and F1 Race Stars Trophies. We'll see where we go from here, but just going by the fact that I'm already talking about October, you can tell that there is plenty of work left for me to do! Now back to the Yakuza grind with me, thank you all for reading!

 

On 19/08/2020 at 9:42 AM, Heather342 said:

Congratulations on your Persona platinum I'm still working on mine, and I am also lining it up to be my 2,000th trophy milestone. Currently trying to catch the sea guardian, but I absolutely hate fishing minigames lol!

I would recommend you play Persona 5 though, I have it on my to play list, and I watched my husband play and plat it a few years ago. It is such a good game, stylish AF and the music is incredible. Generally the gameplay mechanics are the same, and the original P5 has a very similar trophy list to P4G. Don't let the fact that it's a different set of characters put you off. If you enjoyed P4G then you would like P5

 

Thank you! I know you'll get there too before long, the game just really pulls you in and demands you to finish it - at least that's how I felt! Can't help but applaud the idea to have the Plat as one of your milestones, if only it could have been for 4,000 as it has been for me. I might maybe (big maybe) try P5 or P5R down the line, but one of the things holding me back is that, indeed, it's on PS3/PS4 rather than Vita - and I just seem to enjoy games so much more on a handheld. Thinking about it, if I go for it, then probably the original over Royal, because it sounds more challenging and has a Hardcore Risette Fan redux Trophy in the form of Futaba!

Edited September 15, 2020 by Golem25

[Heather342]

I did manage to get that fishing trophy in the end, but it absolutely wrecks my thumbs playing it on the Vita d-pad haha! I am closing in on the end game of my second playthrough, leaving the battle against Margaret as the penultimate trophy. 

I have just under 100 trophies to go until the milestone, so I need to get back to working on God of War and also AC Brotherhood (PS4 edition) before I bag that plat for Persona 4 ?

Also, while looking for games to play on the Vita, I saw Disgaea 3 and Disgaea 4 as a double pack in the Vita store for £30. Looks good, I may pick it up in the near future. Not sure if you've already played these ?

[Golem25]

Roadmap update;

The 65-Trophies-a-month streak is dead. Given that I had reached that amount for August, I figured I'd use my downtime to clean up some non-AssCreed games on my backlog. Considered getting the Ranger mode DLC for Metro Last Light, but that game's DLC is so notoriously glitchy, I decided against it. Instead, I've been plugging away at Yakuza 3.

 

I've made progress on Minigame Master, Substory Completionist (finally tracked down that one golfing substory that kept eluding me), and was working on the Ultimate Skill challenges when I made a mistake. Team - Round 5 stumped me back in the day and after a few hours, I managed to actually beat it despite my braindead AI partner being no help at all. I moved on to grind out the final category, Ultimate, and managed to clear the first four. Here's the thing though; I had assumed the Trophy is earned by beating all rounds, but actually, it pops when you've played all the rounds. Something told me I should leave the final match, vs. Rikiya in Ryukyu, for September, but my curiosity got the better of me as I wanted to know if it was going to be even worse than Team - Round 5 and Ultimate - Round 2. I slapped Rikiya a bit, realized it probably wouldn't be too bad, and quit out to the main menu.... where Ultimate Challenger then popped. The 66th Trophy in August, where since February I had consistently gotten 65 per month.

 

My heart sank, I considered deleting my user to wipe it clean - but decided against it. I have too many save games in my backlog that are copy-protected and would vanish, so I admitted defeat and synced my list. I'm actually regretting it now - the streak is gone - but relieved as well as this might let me be less neurotic going forward.

 

Never have I been this frustrated by actually unlocking a Trophy ? Now to decide whether I will ignore this blip and go back to 65 a month, or actually finally get past this nonsense OCD and just get as many Trophies as I want/can. Thanks Yakuza 3, I think!

 

On 24/08/2020 at 11:22 AM, Heather342 said:

I did manage to get that fishing trophy in the end, but it absolutely wrecks my thumbs playing it on the Vita d-pad haha! I am closing in on the end game of my second playthrough, leaving the battle against Margaret as the penultimate trophy. 

I have just under 100 trophies to go until the milestone, so I need to get back to working on God of War and also AC Brotherhood (PS4 edition) before I bag that plat for Persona 4

Also, while looking for games to play on the Vita, I saw Disgaea 3 and Disgaea 4 as a double pack in the Vita store for £30. Looks good, I may pick it up in the near future. Not sure if you've already played these

 

I actually like fishing, secretly! It's just that in Persona 4, it's quite poor compared to other games like, well, like Yakuza! If it's still in P5, I hope they added a bit more interactivity to it, honestly.

 

If you're doing God of War on Vita, be careful of the glitches - I hear they're pretty nasty! I've never played Disgaea myself, but as it seems that I will return to Vita sooner rather than later, I should look into those titles - imagine it'll be 30 Euro in my store, which honestly isn't too bad for two looooooong games.

Edited August 25, 2020 by Golem25

[Golem25]

Update 11

 

Platinum #67 - Assassin's Creed Revelations (+DLC)

 

The Conqueror - Get Every Trophy

453,411 Owners - 39,480 Achievers for a percentage of 8.71% (average completion; 30.52%)

 

 

Enjoyment; 1/10

Difficulty; 3/10

Trophies; 2/10 (soulless tiles that are worse than ACB, terrible B/S/G balance, but thankfully no glitches)

Sense of relief after finishing it; 10/10

 

As I remarked in the previous update, I am dumber than a donkey; I stubbed my proverbial hoof once by letting my younger brother put AssCreed II on my profile. I then stubbed my hoof a second time (at this point a donkey would have learned to be more careful already) by having him put Brotherhood on my profile. Today, you will learn of the third stub, and in the next update, of the fourth and final stub.

 

The third stub went by the name of Assassin's Creed Revelations, and as you can tell by the fact there is another update in this thread, I have another AssCreed Platinum in the bag! Following the completion of the first (and hardest) step in my quest to 100% the three unfinished AssCreed games my younger brother put on my profile way back when, I'm relieved to note that I now have also finished the second leg of the journey by bagging Revelations' Platinum Trophy. With all DLC finished in August, that means this game can now be permanently shelved (= disc is getting sold and never rebought).

 

Revelations is the third installment in the 'Ezio Trilogy' albeit the fifth mainline title of the series - which by the release of this game had already been bogged down with further titles on PSP and mobile. Set in Istanbul and Cappadocia in 1511, an aging Italian man that has been roped into a comprehensively meaningless struggle between two ancient death cults travels across the Mediterranean to Turkey where he will.... do a thing, I guess?

 

I mean, I didn't catch much of the narrative; this game was an exercise in cleaning up after my asshole younger brother, who started the game on May 21st 2012 to play through the story and dropped it the moment he finished the final sequence. Seriously! When I went back into his save file for the first time, he had gotten perhaps a minute into the unskippable credits (which then lasted for another twelve or so minutes); he never bothered to go past it! He had only unlocked 11 out 70 total Trophies during his romp through the game, consisting of the 9 main sequence Trophies as well as the unmissable 'train an Assassin recruit to Master rank' Trophy (My Protégé) and the Bronze for 50 hidden blade kills (Overkiller). The good news in this scenario was that I didn't need to play through the full story, but rather, only through those missions that he had failed to 100% sync of which there were quite a few still. However, because he did do well at both the start and the finish of the narrative, I missed key bits of the plot. Not that I care, because the series' trademark stupid bullshit concerning the assassins and templars is completely uninteresting to me - as is the bizarre 'present day' storyline.

 

So that was the good news; the bad news was the fact that he had left 59 Trophies (39 base game, 20 DLC) for me to go through, of which 20 concerned the Multiplayer and the rest being singleplayer. As I had my concerns about the continued operation of the servers, I laboured to finish all the Multiplayer requirements in August alongside the bizarre 'Lost Archive' singleplayer DLC, leaving the rest for September as part of my habit of getting exactly 65 Trophies each calendar month. Because I accidentally popped 66 in August, I will probably free myself of this restriction and move to burn through my backlog as much as possible in the coming weeks.

 

Compared to the hellish slog that was Brotherhood, Revelations' multiplayer was mercifully quick; you only had to get to level 20 (instead of 50 as was the case in ACB) and I knocked out most in just a single afternoon of boosting. The infamous AEOTM of Brotherhood was gone too, although one DLC Trophy asked you to get 10 bonuses in one round (The Spice of Life) rather than 15 as AEOTM demanded. I had some great chaps for boosting, and my thanks go to all of them in making sure we efficiently crossed these Trophies off our lists. Also, big ups to the Hong Kong PSN store, which has the Brotherhood and Revelations DLC listed for free - meaning that I only spent 75 cents on a used copy of the base game and not a single cent more on my way to 100%!

 

The singleplayer I picked up once September rolled around, which presented me with a lot of random Trophies to clean up. Kill X guards in Y manner, pick up X number of Y items, play around with the bomb gimmick functionality that was added to this rehash of a game to pretend it was fresh and new compared to Brotherhood (with bombs swiftly dropped for AssCreed III), do some challenges, and so on. Most of the random stuff was taken care of quickly (I mean, I started on September 1st and popped the Plat two days later), although the biggest pain was definitely Fond Memories which is the usual 'get 100 percent in all story missions' Trophy. Much less of a pain than its cousin il Principe was in Brotherhood, I can tell you that much - although I'm still not looking forward to the final installment in this trilogy - By The Book in Black Flag.

 

As I did with some other Platinums recently, I set my alarm clock in the middle of the night to pop the final Trophies - which I had all set up to be quickly unlocked in a row. I do this to embellish the 'Trophies by Time' graph on my stats page as I want to have visible bars for each hour of the day. Waking at 3:20 AM this morning, I popped two Trophies before 4 AM, and then the final five between 4 and 5 AM. I also ejected the disc in between to clinch a famous Yakuza 3 Trophy for my level up milestone - I'm level 23 now!

 

Would I recommend you buy and start Revelations if you haven't already in 2020? Absolutely not. No way. It is better than Brotherhood for sure - you can tell this map wasn't a half-assed leftover from an earlier game's development and Ubisoft finally managed to add a somewhat decent feature to the gameplay loop (the useful hookblade which makes traversing the map slightly easier - and to my knowledge never returned in later games) - but the gameplay is just too shallow to really appease anyone. I don't think this game would have been of an acceptable standard to discerning players when it released in 2011, let alone almost a decade later! At least the multiplayer is quite active still, you can get random matches going with a bunch of no-life-losers who still play this game and have 50 prestige levels, but I really suggest you steer clear of Revelations - and all other AssCreed titles for that matter. There simply isn't anything enjoyable to be found here, just the same puddle-deep fights, half-baked stealth mechanics and dreadfully dull tailing missions, and a trite storyline that was dragged out and spun the wheels for a second game in a row.

 

Oh, and one final note; this game has 22 Silver Trophies! What the Hell, man?

 

Roadmap & Statistics update;

 

To be fair, I have diluted some of my stats; I spoiled the 65-a-month-streak with an unexpected Yakuza pop, and I've mixed another Yakuza Trophy alongside some F1 Race Stars DLC, AssCreed Brotherhood, and AssCreed Black Flag into my cleaning of Revelations. This means I don't have a clear 'clean' view of how the 59 Revelations Trophies have affected my average rarity. I can say, however, that I am now sitting pretty at a rarity percentage of 37.37! Not bad at all, considering I was at 37.82% at the end of July. Between the three AssCreeds, two Yakuza Trophies, and some F1 Race Stars DLC, I've dropped that stat by almost half a percent - which is massive considering it is calculated across 4000 Trophies!

 

In terms of my leaderboard goals, we're looking at the current standings;

•  98,536th in the world overall (up from 99,379 - target; top 100,000)
• 1,405th domestically overall (up from 1,428, target; top 1,000)
• 131th for Vita domestically (down from 129, target; top 100)

It looks like I will finally stay within the top 100,000 worldwide, after having fallen out of it twice due to my monthly quota, and it is good to see that I've moved up a little domestically. However, I'm starting to think that top 1,000 in that regard is not entirely realistic. I might have to update that accordingly at some point - perhaps top 1,250 is a better target. The single most important goal for me, however, is top 100 domestically for Vita and I keep falling down the rankings in that regard - obviously because I am cleaning up on PS3. I'm 8025 Trophy points (about 7 full Platinums) behind the #100 ranked guy, so I will need to buy more games besides Madden NFL 13 and LEGO Marvel Superheroes Universe In Peril, which I currently have ready to go. I've seen Ridge Racer in a local shop and will have a look at how tough the Platinum is, while I should also gather some more LEGO games (which I consider a cut above Ratalaika titles) and grab some of the suggestions made by Heather earlier in this thread. It's gonna be tough considering that every above me in the ranking heavily relies on Rata titles, but I want to be in that top echelon for my dear handheld, even if it's only for a week or so before another hunter pops 30 Rata Plats to coast right past me.

 

But with that being said, it will be a while before I start up the Vita again, because I'm setting a new target;

 

• 448 Unearned Trophies

 

Huh? Why such a random number? Why Unearned Trophies? Well, because I want to clean my backlog on PS3 before moving on to PS4/PS5, and because the number being so high frustrates me. Right now I am sitting on 663 which sounds pretty rough, but there are a lot of relatively easy (DLC) Trophies on my list which can be quickly knocked off. Between Black Flag, Saints Row The Third, two Yakuza 3 Trophies, and the remainder of F1 Race Stars, I should be able to reach 601 before the start of the month. Having gone through my lists earlier today, I've made a pessimistic estimate of 202 further Trophies that I consider achievable with some effort across 22 games. If I can knock out 153 out of those 202, I will reach 449 - perfect! And that's counting outside two final Yakuza 3 Trophies, which I am saving for the evening of my birthday in April next year; I've reached the final boss on Extra Hard, and if I beat him around 8 PM local time on my bday, it will have been exactly 11 years since I first started the game/series.

 

But still, why 448? Because most 'full' games contain 51 Trophies, and I want to get to a point where, when I boot up a new game, my Unearned tally will never go above 500 again! Does that sound random and meaningless? Probably, but I think it's a good challenge for me. For reference, I sat at 767 Unearneds back at the end of July for a completion percentage of 82.88. If I get to 448 without adding new titles to my profile, I will sit at a completion percentage of 90.51%.

 

What does that mean? Lots of work for me, obviously! I've been using the Turkey Trick to buy cheap DLC and have gotten Saints Row The Third GOTY (with DLC included on disc - a trick I want to repeat for Dishonored and Borderlands) to give me a head start, and am confident I can get quite far along to my goals before the end of the year. At which point I can finally, finally, go back to my well-loved Vita and get myself a PS4/PS5.  I will also have to buy and trade in a second Vita some time soon to get the final four Modnation Racers Road Trip Trophies, which will net me my rarest ever Platinum.

Edited September 15, 2020 by Golem25

[Raveniteh]

Which Yakuza 3 version are you playing? PS3 or PS4? One way or another congratulations on Ultimate Challenger, those trophies are no easy feat at all. I remember struggling with it for several hours as well.