The Books of Gaming (by starcrunch061)

[starcrunch061]

Oh look! Another trophy/game checklist! But this one is different! Really! 

 

No, not really. Same stuff, different gamer. I had a great plat list a couple of years back, but it didn't move very well when the site was changed. I'm going to be more modest with this one. Just some stuff on games I've played, or am playing. Trophies are involved as well. Because of course they are.

 

Oh yeah - introductions. I'm starcrunch061. I've been trophy hunting since early on (2009?). I've been gaming since earlier on (1979?). The notes here will mostly be about PS3/PS4/PS5 games, but will also include reviews/notes on classic games that I love and am currently playing (either on my old Wii, my PS1/PS2, or in some collection of earlier titles. The notes will be humorous, epic, and generally the works of a master writer, gamer and baiter. 

 

Enjoy!

[starcrunch061]

All right. Now let's open the books! I begin with:

 

BOOK 1: NIOH

 

 

What a strange title this has been for me. I started Nioh almost immediately after it became available on PS+...and quit it almost as quickly. I don't know; it just didn't click with me. But recently, I've been interested in both Souls and Sengoku, so I decided to re-start it. And...I love it!

 

So what is Nioh? Well, it follows the exploits of William Adams. You might remember William Adams (or at least his depiction in Shogun as John Blackthorne) as one of, if not the, first Western samurai. He was an advisor to Ieyasu himself. But did you also know that...he fought a shitload of ogres, cyclops, and other demons? Well, Nioh tells this untold story.

 

The game unfolds as a series of missions, some of which drive the main storyline, and others which are considered sum-missions. Missions offer various rewards in the form of cold hard cash (whatever it's called) as well as Amrita. Amrita is a mystical stone which is at the heart of the overall game. It also serves as leveling currency...kind of like Dark Souls and the like. Leveling is done at shrines using Amrita to develop various aspects of your character...kind of like Dark Souls. If you go to a shrine, many of the enemies you have defeated will respawn...kind of like Dark Souls. Of course, you can risk not respawning enemies, but if you die in the field, you stand to lose all of your current Amrita...kind of like Dark Souls. Well, you get the picture. One thing I don't understand, though: in Dark Souls, there was some argle-bargle about being reincarnated as a Hollow. In this game, you just get reincarnated for...mystical Japanese reasons. I felt this was kind of lazy overall.

 

So, let's talk about a few differences to Dark Souls. First, as mentioned before, the game progresses via missions. Each missions feels Souls-y in its aspect, but the progression definitely feels different, particularly if you get locked down in a difficult mission (which, thankfully, has not happened to me). Missions have level recommendations attached to them, and they feel pretty realistic. I have done no grinding whatsoever, using only the Amrita obtained from enemies on the natural course of the game, and I have pretty much been at or near the recommended level for every mission in the game, which is...pretty incredible, actually.

 

Armor and weapons don't follow the standard Souls formula at all. Rather, you get equipment via various drops from enemies and dead bodies, as well as rewards from missions. The level of this armor progresses as the level of the mission progresses. I think this formula is weak overall. I never have bad armor, but armor feels pretty ordinary as a whole. I have heard that this aspect of the game becomes crucial during higher difficulty levels, but it kind of sucks at the lowest level. Also, I'm playing blind here, and only just learned (after about 25 hours of play) that armor has stat requirements. I don't exactly know what they do, but I know they do something now.

 

While the loot system is lame, the weapons and armor in Nioh are to die for. Cosmetically, they look great. Practically, they do different things. Weapons fight quite differently. Yes - there are only a few classes of them, but the differences are stark. I've decided to be the ninja executioner, using a giant axe in stealth mode. It's utterly ridiculous...but seems to work very well for me. I wear light armor to be light on my feet, and rely on my dodging prowess, which isn't great, but has been good enough so far. There are also various stances you can use. High stance is slower, but more powerful. Low stance is (very) weak, but agile. Mid stance...straddles the two, but does favor blocking. I use the mid stance, despite never blocking, because it seems to give a decent power return for weapon speed. 

 

Bosses in Nioh are...INCREDIBLE. The bosses here are incredibly imaginative. Some are also cheap as hell, but they are imaginative. You might find yourself fighting a lightning monkey lion, before fighting a human later. One boss was a giant slime that sank my ship, but was no match for my axe! The hardest fight I've suffered through was someone called Yuki-Onna. She's fast as hell, and has what might be the cheapest projectile attack I've ever seen. I only beat her because she decided not to use it one time (I could not dodge it for the life of me). The latest boss is a giant ninja frog who smokes a pipe:

 

 

Can there possibly be anything more cool than that?

 

Sometimes, the axe ninja isn't the best way to go. But I don't care, because dude, IT'S AN AXE NINJA. Given the other ninjas I've encountered, I think William is the only axe ninja in Japan.

 

There's a lot to like about this game, and I look forward to platting it. Will I 100% it? Almost certainly not - I think that requires 3 more playthroughs, with lots of looking online. I'll only look online for the location of Kodama (and maybe to find the names of enemies I've encountered; prior to writing this, the Yuki-Onna was called "Frozen Butterfly Lady"). But I absolutely recommend this game. If you were like me and gave up on it early, think about giving it another shot. If you still don't like it, drop it like a hot potato, but you might find that there's more here than meets the initial eye.

[Grotz99]

1 hour ago, starcrunch061 said:

All right. Now let's open the books! I begin with:

 

BOOK 1: NIOH

 

This has been on my list for a while. Are you doing these as a preview with first impressions, then doing another post after you beat it/platinum it? I've been thinking about doing my thoughts about games after beating them then after platinumming them to see if my impressions changed. 

 

Also welcome, I always enjoy reading other's thoughts and journeys for completing games.

[kingofbattle8174]

I look forward to reading more of these. I also tried Nioh when it went on PS plus and I only made it to the first boss. I may have to give it another chance though. 

[AJ_Radio]

So you finally went and made a thread of your own @starcrunch061. Good job.

 

You are definitely one of the older members of this website. I consider myself to be around the middle, not old, but not overly young either. That's what's good about this website, it brings trophy hunters of all types and ages.

 

A little surprising though, that someone your age is actually into the modern games. There are some older folks in their late 40s that I know that had to quit because of family, while a couple of them mostly play retro games.

[NOWITSREYNTIME17]

32 minutes ago, Spaz said:

So you finally went and made a thread of your own @starcrunch061. Good job.

 

You are definitely one of the older members of this website. I consider myself to be around the middle, not old, but not overly young either. That's what's good about this website, it brings trophy hunters of all types and ages.

 

A little surprising though, that someone your age is actually into the modern games. There are some older folks in their late 40s that I know that had to quit because of family, while a couple of them mostly play retro games.

look up Food4Dogs on Youtube

[Arcesius]

13 hours ago, starcrunch061 said:

BOOK 1: NIOH

 

 

 

Hey there! Nice idea you had for your checklist, looking forward to reading your reviews and thoughs on your games!

 

Also, great choice of game ? I love Nioh, it just tickles all the right places for me. Getting the 100% can be pretty time-consuming, but it definitely is worth it. If you enjoy the game, then you might actually like playing through Way of the Demon (NG++). It is a completely different game on that difficulty, and in my opinion it is only there where it becomes clear how deep the combat AND the gear system really is. Synergies become extremely important. 

 

But that's a discussion for another time.. Just saying that I would recommend trying NG++ out. I had the most fun on that difficulty. 

 

As for the post above... In comparison to Dark Souls, blocking in this game is actually rather important. You can try to dodge everything, but blocking has it's own advantages (for example, it drain's your opponent's Ki). 

 

Also, Giant Toad is a fantastic boss   

[starcrunch061]

9 hours ago, Spaz said:

A little surprising though, that someone your age is actually into the modern games. There are some older folks in their late 40s that I know that had to quit because of family, while a couple of them mostly play retro games.

 

I'm a gamer at heart. I love retro games, but it wouldn't be enough to keep me involved if that was all I played. 

 

And at the risk of sounding completely whipped, my wife tolerates my hobby because I still do interact with kids and family and generally keep up my part of the house. I'm lucky that my job affords me as much time as it does.

 

7 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Hey there! Nice idea you had for your checklist, looking forward to reading your reviews and thoughs on your games!

 

Also, great choice of game  I love Nioh, it just tickles all the right places for me. Getting the 100% can be pretty time-consuming, but it definitely is worth it. If you enjoy the game, then you might actually like playing through Way of the Demon (NG++). It is a completely different game on that difficulty, and in my opinion it is only there where it becomes clear how deep the combat AND the gear system really is. Synergies become extremely important. 

 

But that's a discussion for another time.. Just saying that I would recommend trying NG++ out. I had the most fun on that difficulty. 

 

As for the post above... In comparison to Dark Souls, blocking in this game is actually rather important. You can try to dodge everything, but blocking has it's own advantages (for example, it drain's your opponent's Ki). 

 

Also, Giant Toad is a fantastic boss   

 

I'll definitely try NG+, and maybe NG++. But alas - trophies do have a hold on me, and while I really like Nioh, it's stingy with trophies (which is never good for a long, long trophy streak). I never have any luck blocking bosses, and I don't really need to block small fry. I do block with revenants, though.

[starcrunch061]

ADDENDUM TO BOOK I:

 

• Nioh really gets the little things right. Did I really fight Benkei on Gojo Bridge? Yes I did. I only wish he joined me in my campaign against the yokai.
• I can't believe I neglected to mention the guardian spirits in the original book. They are one of the great differences between Nioh and Dark Souls, and deserve immense praise. There are a lot of them, and they really do different things for you. I've only recently discovered the excellent passives which are bestowed upon you from each Guardian Spirit (assuming you've leveled your own spirit stat).
• Less exciting is the online clan battles. Why is everyone in the Ishida clan? Basically, if your team gets paired up with them, you'll get rewards. If not, you won't. Oh well - they're not that great of rewards anyway.
• There is also a PvP mode in Nioh. I have not yet explored this, as I'm not a PvP player.

In any case, that will close the book on Nioh. Again, give it a go, even if you put it down before. You might be surprised at the depth here.

 

Book II is coming soon. A complete change of pace with some...controversy? Well, you won't know until you read it!

[starcrunch061]

So, having finally platted Nioh, it's time to write:

BOOK II: BUDGET GAMES

 

Yep. We've all played them. You know the ones. That huge amount of $4.99-$9.99 titles that we've seen surge over the past couple of years. Ratalaika Games has made a business model off of publishing them. Sometimes You has done the same. These titles probably bring more scorn from the trophy community than anything else. 

 

But here's the thing: a lot of them are good. Fun games! Yes, they are short, and yes, most probably shouldn't carry a platinum trophy, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't take a punt on some of these titles. For this reason, I'm going to post a few here that I think you should give a whirl. I've played all of them myself, and platted most of them (though not all).

 

1) Blasting Agent

 

 

Blasting Agent was my cherry-pop Ratalaika title. And it's fun. It's a retro-inspired platform shooter where you'll die every 5 seconds, but given the generous checkpoint system, will plat in about a day's play. It has multiple character skins, two difficulties, nice control, big bosses, a great soundtrack, and a trophy list that requires you to find these things. No, there is no trophy for beating all the levels without dying; you would be a god if you did that, and the plat would definitely be UR. But it's worth your time, despite its Ratalaika heritage, and if you like retro games, you do yourself a disservice if you don't play. Plus, like all the old Rat games, you get the Vita and PS4 version for in the deal!

 

2) Where Are My Friends

 

 

And here is the other side of the coin. "Where Are My Friends" is a Sometimes You title that mixes multiple genres into a single title. You have mario-style platforming, dungeon-crawl platforming, and even point-and-click. The game works pretty well, and has some trippy visual effects in some levels. It has a pretty good narrative, told without words, but told well, and even multiple endings. But here's the thing: the trophies are killer. KILLER. How killer? Only one person has the plat across both the EU and NA versions (although, according to PSN, it's about at 50% rarity - good job, Sony!).  I use this game as an example of why Ratalaika doesn't make harder trophy lists. Maybe people bought it (obviously, there are a bunch of cheaters for the plat), but going by the numbers here, it's a pretty small set, particularly when compared to other Sometimes You games like Swordbreaker and Alteric.

 

3) Xenon Valkyrie

 

 

Xenon Valkyrie and Riddled Corpses are among the most fun games I've played on the system. I've posted Xenon Valkyrie here, but really, either game is great. I picked this up for $1.99 at a sale (it lists at $9.99, just falling into the scope of this book), and for that price, I got both the PS4 and Vita version, and man, was it a blast. Good amount of difficulty, nice control, nice character progression, and a great soundtrack. Knowing what I know now, present starcrunch061 would have no problem telling past starcrunch061 to pay full price for this title. It's quite good.

 

 

 

Again, I know how people feel about many Rat titles, and it's probably justified. After all, I picked out one Rat title among the many I've played. I would probably include only 2 or 3 more to any "games worth playing" list. And there is a lot of junk that has been published by Ratalaika solely to carry a platinum trophy. But I can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

 

I just picked up two more budget titles yesterday (Xeodrifter and Gonner, both for $0.99). I look forward to playing them both (particularly Xeodrifter, though Gonner has a great art style). I'll add to this book when I have done so. Until next time...GAME ON!

[AJ_Radio]

Meh. The stuff Ratalaika publishes feels like a direct rip off of old Super Mario, Legend of Zelda and Metroid games. 
 

I understand the nostalgia train is huge now, especially with the bullshit that has happened these past couple years. But only a select few titles like Axiom Verge and Shovel Knight have managed to recapture the nostalgia while still providing awesome gameplay and implementing new elements to attract a younger generation of gamers. Much of what I just see is just a lazy attempt to recapture that old 1980s/1990s feel. 
 

A good majority of us are well in our 30s and 40s, and these games directly target the generation of kids who grew up on Contra and Super Metroid respectively on the NES and SNES. 
 

Honestly though, Jack n Jill DX looks like a combination of Super Mario Bros and Kirby’s Adventure, without the good gameplay and obviously far easier. Even 36 Fragments of Midnight looks like it borrowed heavily from Super Meat Boy, but without the difficulty. 
 

There’s something to be said when most trophy hunters buy these Ratalaika games solely for easy platinums, instead of the aesthetics and gameplay. They won’t even consider them if they offered a challenge, considering that most of them were probably too young to remember the 8-bit/16-bit era.