Author Topic: The "what NON-Cave game(s) are you playing right now?" thread (Read 35632 times)

EOJ · « **Reply #60 on:** August 04, 2018, 06:32:40 AM »

I finished Ni no Kuni 2 a few weeks ago. Mostly played it with my son in short bursts over several weeks, he really loved it. I thought it was pretty fun too.

Now I'm trying to finish up Xenoblade 2, which I've been working on since December.

Almost there though (I think). Nearing the end of Chapter 9.

EOJ · « **Reply #61 on:** August 09, 2018, 11:32:40 PM »

Xenoblade 2 completed! Great JRPG, highly recommended. I finished it in about 55 hours spread over 9 months.

I have several other unplayed games on the shelf, not sure what to play next over the next several months in my dwindling free time. Perhaps Octopath Traveler on my Switch.

ookitarepanda · « **Reply #62 on:** August 10, 2018, 01:19:48 AM »

Please play Octopath. I loved the game a lot, and I still don't know a single other person who has seen a credit roll in that game. Most people just post articles about it and talk about how cool the sprites look. They do look cool, but holy crap that battle system is great and the classes are super fun to synergize.

Speaking of RPGs, did you ever play any of the Etrian Odyssey series?

EOJ · « **Reply #63 on:** August 10, 2018, 01:22:44 AM »

Re: Etrian Odyssey, I tried one or two on my Japanese 3DS but never finished them. Not a big fan of the manual mapping. I do enjoy a lot of DRPGs, though, and have finished many over the years.

Sounds like Octopath is a good one. I really loved Bravely Default, and I think this is by the same team? Not sure which character to start with. Perhaps Ophilia!

ookitarepanda · « **Reply #64 on:** August 10, 2018, 01:24:20 AM »

Etrian Untold 1 and 2, and then Etrian 4 and 5 on the 3DS all had some pretty awesome automapping options, if you're willing to give those another try.

EOJ · « **Reply #65 on:** August 10, 2018, 01:25:22 AM »

Automapping! Okay, I'll look into those some day, thanks. (My backlog is pretty large though.)

xxx128 · « **Reply #66 on:** September 24, 2018, 06:40:07 AM »

Aero Blasters - Mega Drive. Such an awesome little game.

ookitarepanda · « **Reply #67 on:** October 03, 2018, 07:00:03 PM »

The last several months have had me just balls deep in RPG after RPG. July was Octopath. August was Demon Gaze II, then Darkest Dungeon - both were on sale at Best Buy so I finally picked up both. I was so enthralled with Darkest Dungeon that I spent my first 10 hours of Dragon Quest XI wishing I was playing Darkest Dungeon instead.

Then DQ sucked me in and it was totally amazing... but then when I was done with it I went running back to Darkest Dungeon.

Just like a true eldritch horror, this game sucks me in with obsessiveness only to drive me completely insane. I love it.

EOJ · « **Reply #68 on:** October 03, 2018, 10:37:23 PM »

What did you think of Demon Gaze II? I really liked the first game, but I'm sort of burned out on first-person DRPGs and I have a few in my backlog I haven't even touched yet (Mary Skelter is one).

I've taken a break from Octopath to play through Captain Toad (Switch) with my son. It's a lot of fun!

I bought the (rather expensive digital) Japanese versions of DQXI on both PS4 and 3DS last year, played each for a few hours, and settled on the 3DS version, which I very much enjoyed playing to completion. I think I will wait for the Switch version to play through it again, I suspect it will have some bonus features or upgrades.

ookitarepanda · « **Reply #69 on:** October 04, 2018, 10:34:12 PM »

I played Mary Skelter briefly and did not enjoy it much. There's definitely a time and place for first person dungeon crawlers, so if you feel like you want a really good one, you would love Demon Gaze II. I think it was significantly better than the original. If you get the physical western release, it comes with all of the DLC. So you beat it, then there's post-game, but then there's post-game DLC, but then there's post-DLC post-game too. It's incredible.

EOJ · « **Reply #70 on:** October 04, 2018, 10:36:06 PM »

Thanks for the info! I bought Mary Skelter during a PSN sale for $3.99. So no big loss if I don't like it.

I will probably go with the Japanese release of DG2, if/when I play it, as I played through the first in Japanese and I like to keep things consistent.

ookitarepanda · « **Reply #71 on:** October 05, 2018, 07:31:55 AM »

They definitely streamlined some stuff for II. As an example, you don’t have to pay rent every single time you go back to your home base, which I thought was something that I enjoyed seeing the change. The PS4 western release also has a major money bug where you get insane amounts of money - the battle winning screen will say you got 42G or something but if you open your menu it could end up being 10,000G. Wasn’t an issue on the vita, but I also don’t think money really does that much for you that you could break the game. Except in the way post game stuff where you can buy stat uppers I guess.

EOJ · « **Reply #72 on:** November 23, 2018, 10:34:31 PM »

I've started on Tokyo Xanadu on my Vita. Really liking it so far. I have the EX+ PS4 version too but I prefer playing JRPGs on portables.

EOJ · « **Reply #73 on:** December 22, 2018, 12:33:08 AM »

Still working my way through Tokyo Xanadu, but I've started Sega Ages Phantasy Star on my Switch today and I've gotten hooked on Ages mode with the automapping. What a game! To think it is about 30 years old...

I have Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Switch) on the way, but that won't arrive until the 27th. I really liked the demo and I played through the first game on my Vita, which was fun but had some issues (many of which have been fixed in the sequel).

EOJ · « **Reply #74 on:** December 25, 2018, 03:55:21 PM »

I finished Phantasy Star. Nice to finally play through that one.

I don't think I would have bothered without the automap, though.

Just starting out on DQB2, which fortunately arrived early on Christmas Eve.

EOJ · « **Reply #75 on:** January 12, 2019, 08:20:21 PM »

I put DQB2 on hold for now. Just starting the last chapter of Tokyo Xanadu, and also playing New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe on my Switch.

EOJ · « **Reply #76 on:** January 30, 2019, 10:51:52 PM »

I finished up Tokyo Xanadu Vita and New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe last week. TX was pretty average. But NSMBUD was quite fun (I still like NSMB2 3DS better, though).

Next I'm moving on to God Wars The Complete Legend (Switch), which so far is quite good.

ookitarepanda · « **Reply #77 on:** February 18, 2019, 03:27:22 PM »

Sorry I completely fell off the face of the earth. Haven't been updating my spreadsheet either, mostly thanks to life commitments but also in big part due to Enter the Gungeon, Resident Evil 2, and Etrian Odyssey Nexus. I still have big stack of games to play from around the holidays. It's great but I also feel like I haven't done anything productive for a couple months...

EOJ · « **Reply #78 on:** February 18, 2019, 03:51:22 PM »

Nice to have you back!

Back on topic, I gave up on God Wars about halfway through. It just got a bit too repetitious, the inventory management/method of equipping is terrible (and annoying), and the story is rather bland. I'd rather re-play Stella Glow on my 3DS!

EOJ · « **Reply #79 on:** September 22, 2019, 12:21:13 AM »

Time for a thread daifukkatsu!

I recently finished Fire Emblem Three Houses on my Switch. Good game, but I skipped all the "relationship" stuff (I find this stuff extraordinarily boring in any game, tbh) and just blazed through to the end. Cleared it in under 30 hours.

Now I'm playing the Link's Awakening remake on Switch and really loving it (my son loves it too)! Almost finished. Only bummer is the weird framerate that stutters every 5 seconds or so. It goes from 60 to 30, or somewhere in between. I'm surprised they released it in such a state.

EOJ · « **Reply #80 on:** May 24, 2020, 01:27:25 AM »

I'm mainly playing the Langrisser I & II remake on the Switch. Working my way through I with the original character graphics option and I'm loving it! Easily the nicest surprise of the year for me thus far, as I wasn't expecting to like it this much.

I've also been playing through Dragon Quest VII on my Japanese 3DS. I played about 27 hours of this five years ago, abandoned it (and lost my save). Starting fresh, I want to finish it this time, and I'm enjoying it a lot more than the first time. About 10 hours in.

ookitarepanda · « **Reply #81 on:** May 24, 2020, 10:29:19 AM »

Quote from: EOJ on May 24, 2020, 01:27:25 AM

About 10 hours in.

So you got to the first battle?

jk, I finished that one pretty recently too and had fun making my party of Champions and Druid and Hero. Beating up God is amusing. Still, some of the stuff in that game just moves very slow - I can see why people dropped off of it on the PS1 version.

EOJ · « **Reply #82 on:** December 29, 2020, 07:38:32 PM »

I'm currently splitting my time between Sakura Wars (PS4), Brandish (PSP, on my Vita), and Star Ocean First Departure R (on my Switch lite). Really enjoying all three games. Brandish is particularly awesome. I'm nearly finished with Sakura Wars, and the next game in my PS4 queue is 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

And no, I haven't finished DQ7 on my 3DS yet!

Planning to get back to that soon.

EOJ · « **Reply #83 on:** January 08, 2021, 12:47:25 AM »

I finished Sakura Wars PS4. I think it's a good game, with some of the most beautiful graphics I've ever seen, but it's diminished by a rather cliched, tropey story and quite shallow gameplay. As a Sakura Taisen fan who played through and loved ST 1-4, I really hope they go back to an SRPG for the next game. This brain-dead button-masher action stuff isn't much fun, and there's no real challenge (at least not in this game). At least Koi Koi is fun!

I played about 3 hours of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, but I think that's enough for me. Looks great, but the story isn't pulling me in and the "strategy" parts are rather dull.

On to Metal Max Xeno! I played an hour a few weeks ago and loved it. It's low-budget, but it has a charm and uniqueness to it, and none of the usual same-old, same-old that infects so many games these days. It reminds me in some ways of Tengai Makyou Ziria for the X360, which is still one of my all-time favorite JRPGs, and, IMO, one of the best games on the X360.

EOJ · « **Reply #84 on:** July 17, 2021, 12:20:56 AM »

I've been playing some RPG/Adventure games on my Switch recently. I completed Oceanhorn 2, which was a lot of fun. The story is nonsensical and it ends too soon with too many loose ends, but the gameplay and exploration are superb. I was a big fan of the first game, and the Finns did not disappoint me in the sequel. Good job, Finland!

Now I'm playing Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition. About 8 hours in (in Chapter 6) and it's an interesting story but the battle system is pretty mediocre. There's just this inherent sloppy/janky feel to it. I completed XB2 awhile back and that battle system wasn't too great either. The games are still appealing to me due to their 'grand adventure' vibe, which I've enjoyed since I played through Grandia on the Saturn in 1998.

Still need to complete Famicom Detective Club (both games) and I just got Skyward Sword HD in the mail so that's up next. I played a few minutes of the latter but already I frowned when I discovered you have to hold L to use the right stick to control the camera (of course, I won't use crappy motion controls to play through the game, which is why I skipped it on the Wii). Maybe I'll get used to it.

EOJ · « **Reply #85 on:** July 31, 2021, 08:50:28 PM »

I finished Xenoblade Chronicles DE the other day. Took me 35 hours. Overall I enjoyed it. The story is great, the JP voice acting is great, the music and graphics are really good, and it is a fun world to explore. I still don't really like the battle system, and I skipped all of the sidequests except those that unlock as you just go about killing enemies in the field. Way too much fluff and filler in the game, but thankfully you can just skip most of it.

Now I'm focusing on Skyward Sword HD. A couple hours in. So far, I'm pretty impressed by this game.

_rm_ · « **Reply #86 on:** August 02, 2021, 03:59:25 AM »

Quote from: EOJ on July 31, 2021, 08:50:28 PM

Now I'm focusing on Skyward Sword HD. A couple hours in. So far, I'm pretty impressed by this game.

I absolutely loved this game and contrary to the majority of people who played the original version on the Wii, i had no motion sensor problems. In fact (although i understand the purists) i think this is what made this game stood apart.

Besides, you will find some very clever dungeons and good storytelling.

A must play game!!!

EOJ · « **Reply #87 on:** August 02, 2021, 08:30:24 PM »

I played a few more hours of Skyward Sword HD and I may just quit and move on to another game.

The button controls are really annoying, they are sucking the joy out of the experience. Instead of getting use to it, my anger at using the right stick to swing the sword and having to hold L to move the camera around just increases with every hour. I finished the first dungeon but most of the time I was fighting the controls rather than the enemies. I might try motion controls before I quit for good. I've heard they were better on the Wii than with the joycons, so I don't have much hope for enjoying them.

Such a shame as I really like everything else about the game (well, except the stamina meter, which is also annoying). Just gimmicky Nintendo controls (yes, even the button controls in this game are gimmicky!) ruining the experience for me.

_rm_ · « **Reply #88 on:** August 03, 2021, 03:28:15 AM »

Really sad to hear that. I might add that the original game (Wii version) brought back the game enjoyment i hadn't feel in many many years. It's a game that i will remember in years to come.

EOJ · « **Reply #89 on:** August 06, 2021, 11:01:04 PM »

Quote from: _rm_ on August 03, 2021, 03:28:15 AM

Really sad to hear that. I might add that the original game (Wii version) brought back the game enjoyment i hadn't feel in many many years. It's a game that i will remember in years to come.

I sold the game yesterday and I don't regret it. It's just not for me. Not the first time Nintendo's control schemes have ruined a game for me. If they made the button controls such that A is a horizontal sword strike, X is a diagonal strike and Y is a vertical strike, with the R stick for the camera and hold L to use the R stick for more specialized sword strikes, it would have been perfect. Or at least give the player the OPTION to configure the controls this way! Oh well.