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CAVE-STG
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#1
I finished Echoes of Wisdom the other day. Not sure how long it took me, but somewhere between 15-20 hours. I enjoyed the echo system and the puzzles. The game got progressively easier as I went through, and the last boss was a walk in the park. So, it's sort of disappointing in that regard. Still a fun game, but it felt too short and a bit "unfinished" in the second half. Maybe they rushed this one out the door? I give it a 7/10 overall. I think it would have been more fun and challenging if they did not have the smoothie system, or limited you to keeping one in stock instead of 20 (you can have up to four fairies in stock, after all). Even so, I didn't have to use a single smoothie, potion, or fairy on the last boss.
#2
I've been playing a lot of Dracula X on the SNES (PS4/Switch port by M2) this month, trying to 1CC it. So far I can get to Stage 6 on one credit. I love the challenge and length of this game, feels like a proper arcade game as you can beat it in about 35min. The different routes are fun too, and the graphics and music are wonderful. I really like the challenging Dracula fight as well. I know I'm in the minority on this, but this is my favorite Castlevania game ever. (Super Castlevania IV is in second place for me). SOTN is really good too, but, like the DS games, that's a "one and done" game for me, whereas I get a lot of replay value out of the shorter, traditional 'vanias. I do have Rondo of Blood as well and have played that a bit, but I honestly really prefer Dracula X on the SNES.
In other news, I got Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom on the Switch and have been playing that over the weekend. Wasn't sure I would like it, and it was iffy at first, but once you get the hang of the echo system it's really quite an enjoyable puzzle/adventure game. I've beaten the first four dungeons so I guess I'm nearing the halfway point? Framerate is unlocked and choppy, like the Link's Awakening remake. Doesn't bother me that much, but if you're after a smooth 60fps experience you might want to wait to play it on the Switch 2.
In other news, I got Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom on the Switch and have been playing that over the weekend. Wasn't sure I would like it, and it was iffy at first, but once you get the hang of the echo system it's really quite an enjoyable puzzle/adventure game. I've beaten the first four dungeons so I guess I'm nearing the halfway point? Framerate is unlocked and choppy, like the Link's Awakening remake. Doesn't bother me that much, but if you're after a smooth 60fps experience you might want to wait to play it on the Switch 2.
#3
I was quickly sidetracked by the Castlevania Dominus Collection that released the same day as Emio. Picked it up on the Switch. I just finished up Order of Ecclesia, which took me about 7 hours. I really liked the exploration, graphics, music, and overall gameplay, but the glyph system felt bloated (I never used a lot of them) and the boss fights were balanced terribly. Just ridiculous damage sponges that took like 5 minutes to beat by repeating the same patterns over and over (and over). Much more annoying than fun/challenging, IMO. I also wish they had life bars like in the old Vanias. Anyway, I had never played any of these DS Vanias so it was cool to finally play through one. I do wish M2 included some filter/scanline options on these games, it's quite odd that they didn't. The Haunted Castle Revisited game included in this package does have that, though.
EDIT: Just finished Portrait of Ruin in the Dominus Collection, which was pretty fun and took me about 7 hours. Boss fights are better balanced here, and the two-character switching system was cool, but I enjoyed the exploration more in Ecclesia.
EDIT: Just finished Portrait of Ruin in the Dominus Collection, which was pretty fun and took me about 7 hours. Boss fights are better balanced here, and the two-character switching system was cool, but I enjoyed the exploration more in Ecclesia.
#4
I finished Triangle Strategy. Took me about 23 hours. I liked the different paths you can take in the story. It's a pretty good SRPG overall, but not among the greats.
I got my copy of Emio: The Smiling Man in the mail today, so I'll start on that tonight! I'll play this one in Japanese, since I played the first two games that way.
I got my copy of Emio: The Smiling Man in the mail today, so I'll start on that tonight! I'll play this one in Japanese, since I played the first two games that way.
#5
Okay, I finished Chained Echoes and it took me 25 hours. Really enjoyed this one. Felt like an epic SNES/Sega CD JRPG!
Continuing on through my backlog, I'll probably pick up Triangle Strategy (Switch) again and try and complete it. I played about 7 hours of it and dropped about a year ago.
After that, Emio: The Smiling Man (Famicom Detective Club) (Switch) is released next week. I loved the first two games and I played a bit of the demo and it's awesome. Really looking forward to it.
Continuing on through my backlog, I'll probably pick up Triangle Strategy (Switch) again and try and complete it. I played about 7 hours of it and dropped about a year ago.
After that, Emio: The Smiling Man (Famicom Detective Club) (Switch) is released next week. I loved the first two games and I played a bit of the demo and it's awesome. Really looking forward to it.
#6
I played through Cosmic Star Heroine (Switch) last week. Took me about 7 hours. Nice, fun, short RPG. I bought this like 5 years ago but for some reason never played it until now.
In the mood for more of the same and wanting to keep clearing out my backlog, I started Chained Echoes (Switch). About 5 hours in and I'm really enjoying it. It's pretty impressive the game was made by one person!
In the mood for more of the same and wanting to keep clearing out my backlog, I started Chained Echoes (Switch). About 5 hours in and I'm really enjoying it. It's pretty impressive the game was made by one person!
#7
I finished up Star Ocean Second Story R (PS5). Pretty fun game, took me about 25 hours. I played the Rena route. I think the systems are too complex for their own good (so many things to "level up" and customize), but it's cool that you can play through it multiple times and recruit different party members each time. I don't think I'm going to play it again though. 
I was hyped about the upcoming Visions of Mana but then I played the PS5 demo the other day and now I'm not very hyped anymore. Not a fan of the battle system, characters, voice acting, and other aspects. Bummer.
I was hyped about the upcoming Visions of Mana but then I played the PS5 demo the other day and now I'm not very hyped anymore. Not a fan of the battle system, characters, voice acting, and other aspects. Bummer.
#8
Doesn't look like there's a way to reset all member passwords in SMF, so I will just have to play Whac-A-Mole with hacked/spammer accounts as they pop up. Hopefully it won't be a big problem. Only one so far. So far no scams here, just porn spam, so probably unrelated to the arcade gaming forum hacks.
#9
There may be more. There's been a user data leak somewhere and idle accounts on a couple of (arcade) gaming forums were hijacked. Scams were attempted on Arcade Projects. Cools did a forced reset of all passwords on AO. Might want to consider that.
#10
Watch out for spambots taking over old/inactive accounts, and change your passwords. Just had to ban MarkMSX's account because some spambot was using it to post porn links here.