Gaming Resolutions for 2021: Results Show!

[starburst]

Turn on my Nintendo Switch at least ten times this year. 😬
Seriously, I cannot remember the last time that I played it. It was months ago; the operating system is still at version 7 or so. I download games that I say that I want to try, but I never really play them.

The PS Vita does not fare much better. And while the New 3DS gets a little more love, it may remain stored in its case for weeks.
A sad story indeed for my consoles. 😅

Edited April 26, 2021 by starburst

[eclipse]

On 4/25/2021 at 11:36 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Thank you for being understanding. I will do my best to post strategically, so as to avoid any incidental violations.

Also, I assume that acronym is for "The World Ends With You"? How are you liking it? That's a game I've not played myself, but I've heard good things if it.

Yep, it's The World Ends With You.  It apparently releases in late July, and my gaming schedule's rather full between then and now (finishing a LP of SRW T, finishing FF8, dealing with Mercenaries Saga, all three installments, etc.).

[Yexin]

definitely i want to get Bravely Default 2, NEO TWEWY and NieR:Replicant: these are the games i'm most interested in ATM

as for games i already got but still haven't touched, there are Persona 5 Royal and Persona 3 FES, but i'll most likely play them after the Fromsoftware games i've been playing lately

Edited April 28, 2021 by Yexin

[vanguard333]

My current progress: I have yet to finish playing a single game on my list. 

I almost finished Ys VIII, but recent events in my life (a combination of University and moving) have made it that I currently don't have time to play the games. Plus, near the end, I felt oddly burned out, which I found rather weird because I had been largely enjoying the story and gameplay and I was in the last chapter of the game, when everything's ramping up, most of the game's mysteries have been revealed, and it's time to confront the main villain. Perhaps it was the fact that, even though I was this close to the end and I had explored every part of the island and found every castaway, the game was like, "Okay, here's the last round of side objectives" and I was just thinking, "Wouldn't it have made more sense to give me these before this moment, so as not to feel like I'm putting off the main story?" Something I had been really liking about the game was the way in which I never lost immersion when doing side content as it was all just something that the characters would be willing to do at those points in the story, and that illusion came down right at the end there when the main story's screaming "Urgent! Urgent!" and the side content is saying, "Feel free to take your time."

Making things worse for my resolution would be that I bought another game to add to the list: Monster Hunter Rise. It's my first time playing a Monster Hunter game and I bought it because, after playing multiple story-driven JRPGs with combat that was serviceable not not much worth thinking about (Ys VIII, Bravely Default 2 demo, Dragon Quest 11 demo), I needed to play something that offered more with its gameplay and with a story that, while still there to some extent, took a bit of a back seat. Plus, I had never played Monster Hunter before and this game looked really interesting as well as a good game with which to start playing the series. I have to say, so far, I am not disappointed: the combat's fun and has a lot to it, there's a real learning curve, and it has been pretty good so far at giving me everything I've needed to know without any handholding, so it's pretty beginner-friendly in that regard. 

I've also been looking at maybe getting something like Persona 5 Royal (because it's been recommended to me a lot) after completing a few of the games on the list, and hopefully Monster Hunter Rise will have fed my hunger for a good-in-its-own-rights gameplay experience enough that I can go back to something more focused on the story.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I mentioned being in a metal gear mood the past month and I played through Peacewalker and the original MSX game for the first time. I also played MGS5 Ground Zeroes in order to earn some unlockables for Phantom Pain, which I would like to try again at finishing. One of my goals is to go back to games played years in the past and 100% them, so I did just that with MGS1. That's an easy pick, considering all I had to do for the game's unlockables is play the game again on the same file for the bad ending and then go through the VR missions which didn't take long. I also picked out Call of duty 2, which only asks for a playthrough on the hardest difficulty in order to earn that sweet sweet gamerscore. Since the title starts with the letter C, it also fits the challenge of completing one game each for the letters B A C K L O G. With it done I just have L, O, and G remaining. I suppose I could count The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask as L games, but Nintendo has always had the "The" in front, so I won't. L and O don't have many tantalizing targets, but G has plenty I'd consider playing right about now. Gabriel Knight, Gex, Golden Sun DS, Gears of War, grand theft auto.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 4/25/2021 at 8:37 PM, starburst said:

Turn on my Nintendo Switch at least ten times this year. 😬
Seriously, I cannot remember the last time that I played it. It was months ago; the operating system is still at version 7 or so. I download games that I say that I want to try, but I never really play them.

The PS Vita does not fare much better. And while the New 3DS gets a little more love, it may remain stored in its case for weeks.
A sad story indeed for my consoles. 😅

Oof. No time to play any of your consoles? Sounds like you have... a life. And I'm afraid to say, it's a terminal condition.

On 4/28/2021 at 12:17 AM, eclipse said:

Yep, it's The World Ends With You.  It apparently releases in late July, and my gaming schedule's rather full between then and now (finishing a LP of SRW T, finishing FF8, dealing with Mercenaries Saga, all three installments, etc.).

Yeah I suck with acronyms. Still, nice that you have stuff to do. Final Fantasy is one of those series permanently housed my "ought to play them at some point" pile. Never heard of Mercenaries Saga, but it looks kinda like Fire Emblem (or even moreso, like the Project Triangle Strategy Demo).

On 4/28/2021 at 4:18 AM, Yexin said:

definitely i want to get Bravely Default 2, NEO TWEWY and NieR:Replicant: these are the games i'm most interested in ATM

as for games i already got but still haven't touched, there are Persona 5 Royal and Persona 3 FES, but i'll most likely play them after the Fromsoftware games i've been playing lately

I only have Nentendo systems for modern games, so I'll get Persona 5... never, it's looking like. Anyway, I'm irrationally miffed at Bravely Default 2 for calling itself that. "Bravely Default 2" already happened, it was called Bravely Second. Call your new game (which looks great btw) something else, dammit!

On 4/28/2021 at 9:30 AM, vanguard333 said:

Making things worse for my resolution would be that I bought another game to add to the list: Monster Hunter Rise. It's my first time playing a Monster Hunter game and I bought it because, after playing multiple story-driven JRPGs with combat that was serviceable not not much worth thinking about (Ys VIII, Bravely Default 2 demo, Dragon Quest 11 demo), I needed to play something that offered more with its gameplay and with a story that, while still there to some extent, took a bit of a back seat. Plus, I had never played Monster Hunter before and this game looked really interesting as well as a good game with which to start playing the series. I have to say, so far, I am not disappointed: the combat's fun and has a lot to it, there's a real learning curve, and it has been pretty good so far at giving me everything I've needed to know without any handholding, so it's pretty beginner-friendly in that regard. 

A lot of my friends have turned to Monster Hunter Rise, but I've resisted the siren's song thus far. It looks like an awesome game, but maybe too good? Like, it'll distract me from my other plans and goals. Of course, maybe my plans including a fifth playthrough of Three Houses reveal something broken at my very core, haha.

On 4/28/2021 at 9:30 AM, vanguard333 said:

Something I had been really liking about the game was the way in which I never lost immersion when doing side content as it was all just something that the characters would be willing to do at those points in the story, and that illusion came down right at the end there when the main story's screaming "Urgent! Urgent!" and the side content is saying, "Feel free to take your time."

I feel like this happens a lot in games where you can't save after beating the main boss (i.e. Awakening, or most Zelda games). Like, you're supposed to beat this big bad threat! ...But you never get to experience the impact of doing so, so why not go on another sidequest or two?

On 5/9/2021 at 5:49 PM, Glennstavos said:

I mentioned being in a metal gear mood the past month and I played through Peacewalker and the original MSX game for the first time. I also played MGS5 Ground Zeroes in order to earn some unlockables for Phantom Pain, which I would like to try again at finishing. One of my goals is to go back to games played years in the past and 100% them, so I did just that with MGS1. That's an easy pick, considering all I had to do for the game's unlockables is play the game again on the same file for the bad ending and then go through the VR missions which didn't take long. I also picked out Call of duty 2, which only asks for a playthrough on the hardest difficulty in order to earn that sweet sweet gamerscore. Since the title starts with the letter C, it also fits the challenge of completing one game each for the letters B A C K L O G. With it done I just have L, O, and G remaining. I suppose I could count The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask as L games, but Nintendo has always had the "The" in front, so I won't. L and O don't have many tantalizing targets, but G has plenty I'd consider playing right about now. Gabriel Knight, Gex, Golden Sun DS, Gears of War, grand theft auto.

Personally, I'd count Legend of Zelda - I don't usually leading articles when sorting items alphabetically, for instance. But that's a matter of taste. As for the "G"s, I remember "Gex: Enter the Gecko" being among my favorite PS1 titles growing up. And Golden Sun has always interested me, just never to the point of doing anything about it.

Still, 100%ing old games is a really neat idea! I've revisited games in the past, but I don't believe I've done so systematically before. Right now, I'm kind of meandering toward a 100% of Celeste, for instance. But some of the challenges that it would require are nigh-inconceivable, so I'm not confident I'll ever get there, really.

And now, time to talk about my progress towqrd my goals! ...Which are listed on the previous page. Preventing me from reviewing and quoting them while writing this comment. I'll have to come back to this, then.

suffering_from_success.jpg

[Yexin]

5 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Anyway, I'm irrationally miffed at Bravely Default 2 for calling itself that. "Bravely Default 2" already happened, it was called Bravely Second. Call your new game (which looks great btw) something else, dammit!

i kinda agree, but i accept it since they're just doing what the FF series has been doing since ages: Final Fantasy II isn't a sequel to FFI, for example

i'd have loved to see a sequel to Bravely Second though, and i seriously can't get why the japanese audience disliked it so much to the point Square Enix was forced to throw that plotline in the trash can and make a completely unrelated Bravely game

anyway, i'm adding Xenogears, Tactics Ogre and FF Tactics to my 2021 Gaming Resolutions

[eclipse]

14 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Yeah I suck with acronyms. Still, nice that you have stuff to do. Final Fantasy is one of those series permanently housed my "ought to play them at some point" pile. Never heard of Mercenaries Saga, but it looks kinda like Fire Emblem (or even moreso, like the Project Triangle Strategy Demo).

Mercenaries Saga is basically Final Fantasy Tactics boiled down into bite-sized pieces.  Everything is simpler, from the story to the characters to the mechanics.  You'll have to take some time to play a free map or five (think random monster battles in FE8), because the game's story levels assume that you do, and scale accordingly.

[vanguard333]

14 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

A lot of my friends have turned to Monster Hunter Rise, but I've resisted the siren's song thus far. It looks like an awesome game, but maybe too good? Like, it'll distract me from my other plans and goals. Of course, maybe my plans including a fifth playthrough of Three Houses reveal something broken at my very core, haha.

It is a very good game. It probably could be very distracting; there's a lot to learn, especially depending on which weapon type you choose to use (I went for sword-&-shield since that one's supposed to be the one that's easiest for beginners) and you'll probably find that you'll have to take your time diving into the game's mechanics and such.

That said, if you don't want it to distract you from your other plans and goals, this game can accommodate that: almost every quest is "hunt this monster, and you have 50 minutes to do so" and that time limit is only not generous when you're still getting used to everything and if you try to do too much at once. You could just do one or two quests per day and then go back to other things on your list; that's even how I initially played this game before the move.

One quick bit of advice: while this game provides far more useful information to the player than previous games in the series (or so I'm told; this is my first time playing a Monster Hunter game), it doesn't have everything; if you're new to the series, I would recommend watching some useful beginner's guide videos online, such as those on the YouTube Channel Arekkz Gaming since its videos have a lot of good advice and useful information.

 

15 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I feel like this happens a lot in games where you can't save after beating the main boss (i.e. Awakening, or most Zelda games). Like, you're supposed to beat this big bad threat! …But you never get to experience the impact of doing so, so why not go on another sidequest or two?

True; I'm just saying that it was especially jarring with this game because the game up until near the end had actually done such a very job maintaining immersion and pacing; I never felt like I was putting off the main story when doing side content before then. Those games are less jarring because disconnect happens even earlier. With Awakening for example, you can do a number of paralogue missions and fights against risen in between chapters 9 and 10, even though the plot of chapter 10 is the characters trying to get out of Plegia. There's no illusion that you the player have the same goals as the characters you're commanding. With Zelda games... you can do all the side content whenever you want just as long as you have the needed items; how early the urgency/immersion takes the hit (or even if it ever does) really depends on the player in many ways.

Also, I should probably point out that, while the game was at the point where everything was ramping up, it was not at the time just before the main boss; it was at the moment where the main boss and its goals for humanity have been revealed and are going into effect. Basically, everything's become urgent, but the heroes are at the point where they're trying to figure out how to beat the main boss, rather than at the point where they're confronting the main boss. There were still one or two main story missions left before actually confronting the main boss. Does that make sense? It's really hard to explain without spoilers.

I suppose another reason I felt burned out is that I know Ys VIII has a terrible post-final boss plot twist that's so bad that it makes the final plot twist of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 look good by comparison; what's with these story-driven JRPGs and tacking on needless plot twists at the very end when the game has already had more than enough plot twists?

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 1/1/2021 at 9:46 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

2. Over the last year-and-a-half, I put an absurd amount of time (nearly 600 hours) into Fire Emblem: Three Houses, completing all four routes and the DLC. But my experience isn't yet complete, so I'd like to go back and play through Three Houses on Maddening NG, probably on the Golden Deer route.

This one is in progress! I'm currently on chapter 8 of Golden Deer Maddening NG. I've picked up Sylvain and Ingrid from out-of-house, as well as Constance and Balthus. Also planning to get Linhardt and Ferdinand, for their paralogues. And I'd like to make Shamir and Alois do some work.

Thus far, there have been a few challenges, but no actual Game Overs since chapter 1. Maddening NG is tougher than Maddening NG+, no question, but I haven't yet found the difficulty overwhelming. It's forced me to play some maps differently - Lorenz's paralogue put me on the defensive, rather than cutting straight for Acheron, and I missed out on the Advanced Seal. Overall, though, it hasn't felt as cruel or unfair as I had feared. We'll see if any upcoming chapters change this impression.

On 1/1/2021 at 9:46 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

4. This one, I just received for Christmas, so of course I'll be spending time in it. But how much? Let's be optimistic, and plan to play through all three titles on the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, a reconstruction of some of my earliest gaming experiences. 

I played a bit more of this one recently, specifically making more progress on Ripto's Rage. That said, I still haven't touched Year of the Dragon.

On 1/1/2021 at 9:46 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

9. I'd like to buy a new-to-me game in an unfamiliar franchise. I was thinking Catherine: Full Body, but I've also heard lots of good things about Hades, Hollow Knight, and Cuphead. Yeah, I realize these are all over the place in style and substance. So let's just say purchase, and play, a totally novel gaming experience.

I think I've satisfied this one, by playing Jenny LeClue: Detectivú. I described this in detail on the "Whatcha Playing?" thread, but in short - the stylings of the game are really impressive, but the narrative and gameplay aren't quite as solid. Still an enjoyable adventure game experience, that I may revisit someday.

Of course, this resolution is open-ended enough that I may find myself playing something else to meet it all over again.

One more thing - I've been playing a lot of Celeste lately. While I'd completed "Farewell" a while back, I went back to do 8B, thus opening up the C-sides. And now, I've beaten all the C-sides but one. So I'm setting another resolution:

10. Collect all Crystal Hearts in Celeste.

I'd like to get the Golden Berries as well, but most of those are really challenging. Well beyond my current level of skill, snd patience. 

Anyway! How are your resolutions going? Let me know when you think to do so!

[Zapp Branniglenn]

As part of my goals I need to beat all the unfinished games I own for my old GBA SP. That thing still works, though the battery is shot and the usual red light indicator doesn't properly warn you that it's running out, so I just leave the thing plugged in. It's funny, three of the four games on that list are just GBA ports of existing games. Mortal Kombat Advance is an atrocious port. Pretty much everything you could think would be wrong with a fighting game is wrong here. The hit detection is off, special moves inputs are inhumanly precise, and it's looking and sounding worse than even the SNES conversion. Plus when you win, the enemy AI goes nuts in reading your inputs and ignoring your own attacks for the following rounds. This was fairly common in Arcade fighting games, the breaking point where the game is like "sorry, I'm taking your quarters now" before going back to normal, but of all the things to successfully convert from the superior arcade original...

Earthworm Jim is in the same boat. Now I see why I could never get into the game growing up. The GBA version is garbage. The camera is so zoomed in that you can't react to enemies onscreen before they hit you. And the shoddy hit detection just prompts you to abuse I-frames and walk past the enemies. The visual and auditory experience is considerably worse than the SNES or Genesis versions. And some of the game mechanics just aren't programmed right. Like whip climbing in the final level. I was nearly convinced that it was impossible to do this part before it started working suddenly. I'm still not sure what I did differently. 95% of the time I would just lose control of my character and fall down. The game would also drop my inputs for jumping, and the zoomed in camera makes some jumps into leaps of faith when they weren't in the original. 

The GBA port of Rayman is fairly faithful. But it's easy to see how I never managed to beat it growing up. This bright and colorful kids game does not screw around after its first few stages. But the real roadblock comes when you get to the end. Those creatures in cages that seem like the game's only collectible to encourage exploration are not optional at all. You need to find all six in every stage before the final level unlocks. I never knew that. Nothing in the game tells you about it. I just looked up the manual and it doesn't tell you either! So I felt justified in using the level select cheat code to simply access the final level once I beat every other one before it. 

The fourth and final GBA game is certainly the best of the batch. Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. If I can beat it, I'll also have beaten all 20 kirby games in my collection. But there's a problem, the save battery is shot. I can't save my game, I have to do it in one go. It's not a huge deal, I'm already playing my GBA with the charger plugged in. But that's always been my excuse for not having finished it. The idea of keeping the GBA plugged in the wall for hours or even entire days just felt like an odd waste of electricity. 

Following this GBA revisit, the last two games to fulfill Goal #5 are the two Playstation Vita games that I own. Muramasa, and Persona 4 Golden. Muramasa looks wonderful and I should have played it years ago. P4 is a game I've already tried to finish but never quite stuck it out. It's not that it's a bad game, it just didn't grab me for the full 80 hour run time. But I feel like my tolerance of JRPG bloat has been built up over the years and I'm more than ready for a game like that again. 

Update: It turns out my copy of Kirby has a working save battery. Maybe I was thinking of a different game?

Edited June 9, 2021 by Glennstavos

[Fabulously Olivier]

Quit Fallen Edelgard Heroes entirely. Currently scaled way back.

 

Quit or scale back on Genshin Impact.

 

Finish Trails of Cold Steel 3 and 4. While I love the stories, I find the games truly exhausting to play. Like I'd sincerely prefer that they were ongoing anime series or Warriors games instead.

 

Buy and play Ys 9. This one should be an easy task, as I love Ys so very much.

 

Play a lot more Warriors games. Probably going to do my first ever 100% in OPPW3. Maybe force myself to actually finish Age of Calamity. Saving the last 15-20% or so of FEW to tide me over if and when they announce a sequel. 

Edited June 7, 2021 by Fabulously Olivier

[vanguard333]

On 6/7/2021 at 6:07 AM, Fabulously Olivier said:

Buy and play Ys 9. This one should be an easy task, as I love Ys so very much.

Seeing this just reminded me: my first Ys game was Ys VIII, and while I was in the middle of playing Ys VIII, I was thinking, "This is great so far; I should probably look at the next game in the series when it releases", but now that I've gotten almost right to the end of Ys VIII and I've looked into Ys IX a bit (as well as the series as a whole), I began to suspect that a lot of the things I liked about Ys VIII... were things that were unique to Ys VIII and not part of the series as a whole. So now I'm thinking, "I probably won't actually get Ys IX", but I'm still not entirely sure.

I don't think this has really happened to me before, where I like a game in a series, but it doesn't make me want to try the rest of the series. So I'm just not sure what to do or if I really know enough about the series to make that call that I don't want to try the rest. It's weird.

[Fabulously Olivier]

5 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

Seeing this just reminded me: my first Ys game was Ys VIII, and while I was in the middle of playing Ys VIII, I was thinking, "This is great so far; I should probably look at the next game in the series when it releases", but now that I've gotten almost right to the end of Ys VIII and I've looked into Ys IX a bit (as well as the series as a whole), I began to suspect that a lot of the things I liked about Ys VIII... were things that were unique to Ys VIII and not part of the series as a whole. So now I'm thinking, "I probably won't actually get Ys IX", but I'm still not entirely sure.

I don't think this has really happened to me before, where I like a game in a series, but it doesn't make me want to try the rest of the series. So I'm just not sure what to do or if I really know enough about the series to make that call that I don't want to try the rest. It's weird.

I think I'll still find a lot to love in IX. But Ys is a series that drastically shifted from isometric to third person with VIII. It really is an incredible improvement over everything that came before.

[vanguard333]

On 6/10/2021 at 3:23 AM, Fabulously Olivier said:

I think I'll still find a lot to love in IX. But Ys is a series that drastically shifted from isometric to third person with VIII. It really is an incredible improvement over everything that came before.

Oh; I figured that you would, given how much you said that you like the series. I was just saying that your statement about wanting to get Ys IX reminded me of how I'm unsure if I would.

 

EDIT: I finally finished another game on the list of games that I want to finish playing in 2021: Ocarina of Time, which I just realized that I forgot to include on the list of games that I wanted to finish playing. In any case, that's still one part of the resolution completed.

Edited June 20, 2021 by vanguard333

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Aaand we're halfway through the year! I must have a lot to say on my resolutions, right? Er, well...

Quote

There have been a few threads here about what we want to see out of video game developers this upcoming year. That's all fine and dandy, but let's also ask - what do we want to see ourselves accomplish in the year ahead? This can be buying a new game, replaying an old favorite, or finishing off something already in progress. I'll start with my own "gaming resolutions for 2021"!

1. I completed Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, as my last game of 2020. And yes, it was long overdue. So, I've already bought it, but I'd like to play through Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. I'm a longtime fan of the series, and it'll be nice to be "up-to-date", as English releases go.

2. Over the last year-and-a-half, I put an absurd amount of time (nearly 600 hours) into Fire Emblem: Three Houses, completing all four routes and the DLC. But my experience isn't yet complete, so I'd like to go back and play through Three Houses on Maddening NG, probably on the Golden Deer route.

3. I bought it last year, and made it a little less than halfway through before dropping it - which is a shame, because I generally enjoyed the game, and want to fully give it a chance. So I'd like to finish playing Paper Mario: The Origami King.

4. This one, I just received for Christmas, so of course I'll be spending time in it. But how much? Let's be optimistic, and plan to play through all three titles on the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, a reconstruction of some of my earliest gaming experiences. 

5. The game, I believe, came as a gift, as did the first DLC pass - but the second one has been in my court, and I've just neglected to pick it up thus far. I'd like to acquire, and fully experience, the Fighters Pass 2 for Super Smash Bros Ultimate, which includes, of course, gitting gud with the characters in question.

6. Last year, I completed a challenge run of Fire Emblem: Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, in which I only used "force-recruits". Just this past month, I attempted Thabes for the first time, but was forced to flee on the ninth understory. So, I intend to revisit, and complete, the post-game Thabes Labyrinth in Echoes - dragons, beware, for Saber has looped and wields a Zweihänder!

7. It's hard to gauge when you've "beaten" an open-ended game like Animal Crossing. I got K.K. Slider to visit, so am I done? Well yes, but actually no. There's so much more to do, but let's use an easy metric of accomplishment: I wish to complete the Museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, save for the Art section, which is up to the whims of fate. Get ready to be bugged, Blathers!

8. I generally enjoy Kart racing games, but despite owning two of the best around (in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled), I basically didn't play them at all this past year. So it's less of a concrete goal, but it'd be nice to spend more time playing my premier kart racing games. If I were to make a goal of it, maybe 100%ing CTR? Or at least unlocking all the characters.

9. I'd like to buy a new-to-me game in an unfamiliar franchise. I was thinking Catherine: Full Body, but I've also heard lots of good things about Hades, Hollow Knight, and Cuphead. Yeah, I realize these are all over the place in style and substance. So let's just say purchase, and play, a totally novel gaming experience.

10. Collect all the Crystal Hearts in Celeste.

Anyway, those are the ones I've got right now, though, I might choose to add more. What are your own "gaming resolutions" for 2021? Did you make any for this past year, and if so, did you keep them? Thanks for reading, and I really look forward to what y'all have to say!

The color here refers to state-of-completion.

The red resolution, I haven't touched. I feel kinda bad about this one, but I've also already bought new games, so...

The orange resolutions, by far the most abundant group, are in some state of progress. This is variable - I'm almost halfway through NG Maddening Golden Deer, whereas I'm just one case along in Spirit of Justice. I've hardly touched Animal Crossing in months, but my prior progress still applies. I'd like to turn at least a couple of these green by next update.

The green resolutions are those that I've firmly kept, and are closed. It's no coincidence that they're also the most specific. I haven't done much since with Echoes, but I have kept playing Celeste. Quite recently, in fact, I beat the last and hardest chapter, Farewell, in a single run (not a single life, but say, without breaking for a different chapter and restarting from a checkpoint). Ironically, this game is one of my biggest hurdles to clearing other resolutions.

The blue resolution, I've technically satisfied. But it's open-ended enough that I could satisfy it again. Like, I bought Pokemon Snap not long ago - and while I haven't gotten into it yet, I would consider it as qualifying for this category. Y'know what, I've bought it, so let's make that Resolution the 11th.

Quote

11. Play Pokemon Snap. Maybe not to 100%, but at least through the main campaign.

But yeah - how are all y'all's resolutions coming along? Feel free to use a similar color scheme, it's not like I've patented it.

On 6/7/2021 at 9:07 AM, Fabulously Olivier said:

Quit Fallen Edelgard Heroes entirely. Currently scaled way back.

I haven't played Heroes in over a year now. I had enough of it opening up while my phone was in my pocket, haha.

On 6/7/2021 at 12:54 AM, Glennstavos said:

Update: It turns out my copy of Kirby has a working save battery. Maybe I was thinking of a different game?

Glad to hear it. I actually owned "Amazing Mirror", but never beat it. I dunno, it just didn't grab me in the same way as "Nightmare in Dreamland".

[vanguard333]

For me, well, I haven't gotten any further in the games that were on the list for my resolutions, but I have completed two games that I meant to complete that were not on the list (but probably should have been on the list):

1. Valkyria Chronicles 1: ever since I played VC4, I have been curious about how the series began. I was unable to keep playing Monster Hunter Rise due to severe joy-con drift, so I borrowed a pair of joy-cons from a relative on the condition that I only play games where I can be gentle with the control sticks and not have to use them too much, and, after seeing VC1 remastered was on sale on the eshop, I bought it, and I played it. It's actually really good, and while VC4 is definitely better than VC1 in a lot of ways, there are a few things VC1 does a lot better; namely "boss battle" missions.

2. Ocarina of Time: I have had this game for almost two decades on my GameCube and I never actually finished it. I did come close a couple years ago, but then I had to move to a new place. I finally got my old GameCube set up, it amazingly still works perfectly (that console has endured almost two decades of use and several moves across much of Canada; the GameCube's reputation for durability is very true), and I was able to finish that playthrough of Ocarina of Time.

Now, I'm currently playing Majora's Mask, since I figured I may as well finish that game as well. Of course, I'm playing the GameCube version that was part of the Zelda Collector's Edition, and that version of Majora's Mask is infamous for, well, sometimes crashing. I've been able to mostly avoid the crashes, I go back to the Dawn of the First Day quite often, so I never lose too much progress when it does sometimes crash, and I've always been able to figure out what it was that caused the crash and avoid it happening again.

The game is really good and I've been enjoying it a lot outside of a couple of things. I avoided this game when I was a kid because it gave me nightmares (I was five, and the game was quite literally made from grown men's nightmares), but now I'm really able to appreciate the game.

I think I might go back to Three Houses when I'm done with Majora's Mask, but honestly, after playing both a war game (VC1) and Majora's Mask, I think I might need something more lighthearted (like maybe Monster Hunter Stories 2) before I go back to another war game.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

No More Heroes 3 is coming soon, and I felt it was time to finally replay the first game to completion. I haven't touched it since it came out in 2007. I'll be honest, I didn't like it then. But I was also a dumb teenager in 2007. Seeing where the series has gone, I've retroactively come around on the game and its...unique protagonist. I feel like the only way I'll understand Travis' characterization is by becoming close personal friends with Suda. Heck in the last game Travis was basically serving as a mouthpiece for the guy. I don't understand what I see in No More Heroes, but I did enjoy this replay. Plus it helps that GTA clones aren't freaking everywhere now like they were fifteen years ago. Like most sandbox games, the world of Santa Destroy is almost totally barren beyond the side jobs you'll see on the minimap. You can run over civilians in your motorbike, but there's no repercussion for doing so.  I ran over a hydrant, and the hydrant just disappeared with no water spurting out. C'mon, even GTA3 got that detail right in 2001. There are hidden collectibles, but beyond earning the ability to sprint outside of combat they provide extremely little value. Eventually you get an upgrade that lets you see the locations of hidden treasure that you can dig up. However the location of the treasure is extremely precise, your character model needs to be directly on top of it. And the game's mini map is extremely imprecise for gauging distance and bearing toward it. This sort of pixel hunting is probably the biggest drag on the completion experience. Thankfully a speedrunner recently uploaded video guides for the collectibles. That's a big help in finding them.

Often when I go back to 100% a game, I'll check if the Completionist has covered it. And he has - twice. But in both videos he doesn't mention anything about what completion means in a game like this. He doesn't mention the pixel hunting and kicking open dumpsters for more T shirts. How half of the trading cards are only accessible in New Game +, or how most of them are in the main story missions which you cannot replay. Thus missing one requires a whole new playthrough for another chance at it. Thankfully those cards are almost always in plain sight, but it forced me to keep consulting a guide to make sure i got what I could before saving my game. 

Anyway, my goals have been going well in recent months. Except for 500 or less unfinished games. I'd have to beat fifty by November 11th, on top of any I add to my collection. I don't think this is happening this year. If I'm going to satisfy every other goal, that means I'd need to single out these specific games:

• Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll
• Suikoden 3
• Ascend: World of Kul
• SonSon
• Persona 4 Golden. 

It's an odd batch for sure, but that's what happens when you let a computer pick them out of a hat. I have about a dozen hours on Suikoden 3 already. I played and really enjoyed the first two games much earlier this year, but this third one really drags. I'm having difficulty continuing it. What I liked about the original Suikoden is how you never needed to grind. Then Suikoden 2 added incredibly valuable, permanently missable rare drops, which kills the pacing unless you have the willpower to ignore it and make the game harder. And now Suikoden 3 feels longer and grindier than your average RPG. You not only need the experience, but also skill points to improve your accuracy and spells. Thankfully you can save scum the game's lottery very easily to avoid the money grind, but even with the extra advantage I'm getting my ass kicked even at the start of the game. Plus the enemies seem to always target low health party members without fail, so you really need to be proactive about healing if you don't want characters falling behind.

Edited July 20, 2021 by Glennstavos

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Summer is coming to a close, and we're two-thirds of the way through the year! As for my resolutions... well...

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

1. I completed Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, as my last game of 2020. And yes, it was long overdue. So, I've already bought it, but I'd like to play through Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. I'm a longtime fan of the series, and it'll be nice to be "up-to-date", as English releases go.

I made it a bit further in this one, having completed the second case! I technically started the third case, but it was a couple weeks ago, so I might just restart it. I'd still like to finish this by year's end, so that I can make Great Ace Attorney a project for next year.

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

2. Over the last year-and-a-half, I put an absurd amount of time (nearly 600 hours) into Fire Emblem: Three Houses, completing all four routes and the DLC. But my experience isn't yet complete, so I'd like to go back and play through Three Houses on Maddening NG, probably on the Golden Deer route.

I'm currently in the midst of chapter 15 on this one. It's fairly slow going, but Maddening mode is always like that for me. I'm enjoying the challenge level - not as overwhelming or restrictive as I had feared - and I plan to finish it in the next couple months.

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

7. It's hard to gauge when you've "beaten" an open-ended game like Animal Crossing. I got K.K. Slider to visit, so am I done? Well yes, but actually no. There's so much more to do, but let's use an easy metric of accomplishment: I wish to complete the Museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, save for the Art section, which is up to the whims of fate. Get ready to be bugged, Blathers!

I did boot up Animal Crossing for the first time in a long time, a few days ago! Discovered that roaches will take up residence in my home, if I leave it for too long. I'm still working on funding a ramp. I made progress in the bug and fish departments, but a full museum by year's end is probably impossible at this point. I must have missed the window on some critters, right?

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

10. Collect all the Crystal Hearts in Celeste.

Why. Why do I keep playing this game. I've gotten a handful more golden berries by now, but I'm terrified of setting the "get all the golden berries" goal for myself. Some of them are just absurd achievements. Still, I love this game's "pick up and play" potential.

That's about it. Any other resolutions, there's not been progress on. I have been doing a collaborative gaming endeavor with a friend of mine - a Pokemon Black/White Rivallocke, to be precise - but due to the collab nature, not sure I should count this one. Still, I anticipate finishing in the next month or so.

On 7/17/2021 at 2:16 PM, vanguard333 said:

Now, I'm currently playing Majora's Mask, since I figured I may as well finish that game as well. Of course, I'm playing the GameCube version that was part of the Zelda Collector's Edition, and that version of Majora's Mask is infamous for, well, sometimes crashing. I've been able to mostly avoid the crashes, I go back to the Dawn of the First Day quite often, so I never lose too much progress when it does sometimes crash, and I've always been able to figure out what it was that caused the crash and avoid it happening again.

Oh yeah, I know that the "Majora's Mask remake" discussion became its own thing on this subforum. I've honestly considered picking up the remake, if only because a $20 Zelda remake is much more attractive than the $60 Skyward Sword remake. Did you beat the Gamecube version, or is that one ongoing?

On 7/20/2021 at 12:44 AM, Glennstavos said:

No More Heroes 3 is coming soon, and I felt it was time to finally replay the first game to completion. I haven't touched it since it came out in 2007. I'll be honest, I didn't like it then. But I was also a dumb teenager in 2007. Seeing where the series has gone, I've retroactively come around on the game and its...unique protagonist. I feel like the only way I'll understand Travis' characterization is by becoming close personal friends with Suda. Heck in the last game Travis was basically serving as a mouthpiece for the guy. I don't understand what I see in No More Heroes, but I did enjoy this replay. Plus it helps that GTA clones aren't freaking everywhere now like they were fifteen years ago. Like most sandbox games, the world of Santa Destroy is almost totally barren beyond the side jobs you'll see on the minimap. You can run over civilians in your motorbike, but there's no repercussion for doing so.  I ran over a hydrant, and the hydrant just disappeared with no water spurting out. C'mon, even GTA3 got that detail right in 2001. There are hidden collectibles, but beyond earning the ability to sprint outside of combat they provide extremely little value. Eventually you get an upgrade that lets you see the locations of hidden treasure that you can dig up. However the location of the treasure is extremely precise, your character model needs to be directly on top of it. And the game's mini map is extremely imprecise for gauging distance and bearing toward it. This sort of pixel hunting is probably the biggest drag on the completion experience. Thankfully a speedrunner recently uploaded video guides for the collectibles. That's a big help in finding them.

The one No More Heroes game I've considered getting is "Travis Strikes Again". I know it's a spinoff of sorts, and it didn't get the best reception. But I'm a big fan of Boneface, the indie artist who prepared the cover art, and some of the designs, for the game. Weird reason to get a game, sure, but it would certainly fit into the "seek out new gaming experiences" paradigm.

Oh, now that No More Heroes 3 is out, is that something you've picked up? Or, are otherwise planning to?

On 7/20/2021 at 12:44 AM, Glennstavos said:

Anyway, my goals have been going well in recent months. Except for 500 or less unfinished games. I'd have to beat fifty by November 11th, on top of any I add to my collection. I don't think this is happening this year. If I'm going to satisfy every other goal, that means I'd need to single out these specific games:

• Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll
• Suikoden 3
• Ascend: World of Kul
• SonSon
• Persona 4 Golden. 

Any progress on these games? It sounds like you had gotten into Suikoden 3, at least, unfamiliar as that series is to me. Oh, and is the Super Monkey Ball rerelease on the Switch of any interest to you? My series experience is, uh, limited to one goofy minigame from the Wii entry.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

1 hour ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

The one No More Heroes game I've considered getting is "Travis Strikes Again". 

Do it. That was my favorite in the series until the new one. And I'm currently trying to convince a friend to play co op with me. No online co op on the switch version unfortunately. As a strict gameplay experience, the game kind of drags a little in length for my taste. But the gameplay varies itself up during the latter half, and Suda51 pours his whole heart out into a meta narrative about being a game designer. Tons of cute references to his other games too if you've played those. I hadn't back when the game came out, but it made me interested in this guy's career for sure. This dude is lucky that he has his own company of developers to make all his nonsense ideas into reality. 

If you're doing it for the sake of catching up to NMH3 though, I'd say don't worry about previous entries. No More Heroes games aren't interested in telling one cohesive story. And there's numerous retcons throughout. Honestly having stuck with this series since the first game, I found myself with a lot of distracting questions about returning characters that maybe it would be better to go in blind and just soak in the strangeness like I did with all the entirely new elements.

Quote

Oh, now that No More Heroes 3 is out, is that something you've picked up? Or, are otherwise planning to?

I literally finished the game mere minutes ago. The final battle had me howling, what a perfect idea. And nobody will believe me when I say that I called it. I didn't think they'd make that the finale, but I certainly anticipated that sort of reference somewhere in the game. I loved the game. It was constantly surprising me with new ideas and like the previous game just keeps hitting you with crazy new ideas around the point where you start getting used to the game.

Quote

Any progress on these games? It sounds like you had gotten into Suikoden 3, at least, unfamiliar as that series is to me. Oh, and is the Super Monkey Ball rerelease on the Switch of any interest to you? My series experience is, uh, limited to one goofy minigame from the Wii entry.

Suikoden 3 is still a work in progress. That game is just not capturing my interest like the first two did, and from what I'm reading online it's about as long as the first two combined. And as for the rest of the list I only cleared Super Monkey Ball DS. As far as I can tell it's repurposed levels from previous games with no new gameplay hook. I have very little experience with those games but I immediately recognized some stages from AGDQ speedruns and watching friends play. The DS touch controls were atrocious, but thankfully D-pad is an option, rendering the game playable, if flat out worse than using a control stick. As for the new switch game I haven't done any research on it. There's only one more game coming out this year that I'm looking forward to and it's Metroid. Between that and No More Heroes, I'm quite curious which one will be securing my personal GOTY.

Also Ascend has been removed from the list. Because it doesn't exist! It was essentially an MMO that I got for free on Xbox's Games with Gold promotion back in 2013 ish. Well the XBLA version was taken offline in 2014, and I never bothered to research the game when it was selected randomly from my backlog. To replace it I rolled one more pick, and was given Silent Hill for the PS1 in its place. Now there's a game I've been putting off for years. 

Edited August 31, 2021 by Glennstavos

[vanguard333]

On 8/30/2021 at 7:01 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Oh yeah, I know that the "Majora's Mask remake" discussion became its own thing on this subforum. I've honestly considered picking up the remake, if only because a $20 Zelda remake is much more attractive than the $60 Skyward Sword remake. Did you beat the Gamecube version, or is that one ongoing?

I finished playing through the GameCube version a bit over a month ago. I ended up really enjoying it overall. Personally, I'd rather recommend the original than recommend the remake, but there isn't really a good way to get the original right now.

Yeah; I know what you mean about the pricing. Even when it was brand new, Majora's Mask 3D cost less than a brand-new 3DS game at the time. Why is every port, remaster and remake that's produced by Nintendo these days full price regardless of how much work they actually put into it?

Of course, with Skyward Sword HD, the price was just one reason I didn't buy it; the other reason was the lack of a left-handed mode for the motion controls (I'm aware of the button controls and I don't care about them; the game's whole selling point was being able to swing the sword with your own hand).

 

Anyway, after completing Majora's Mask, I decided that, after Valkyria Chronicles 1 (a war game) and Majora's Mask, I needed to play something more lighthearted before going back to Three Houses. So, I purchased Monster Hunter Stories 2. It's a fun game and I'm almost finished playing through the main story. If I had one criticism, it would be this: I have a tendency in team-building RPGs like this and Pokémon to mainly rely on Pokémon I obtain within the first half or so of the story mode for my story team, and I was somewhat punished for that in this game because the later monsters are literally better than the earlier monsters, with higher base stats and better abilities and everything. I mean; it's not that bad, as the early-game monsties can still fight well in the late game, but combine that with the fact that every new monstie starts at level 1 because you have to hatch them from eggs, and it means the game both punishes you for wanting to use new monsties and punishes you for not wanting to use new monsties. It's really weird.

EDIT: Well, I just finished playing Monster Hunter Stories 2. Or rather, I just finished the story mode for Monster Hunter Stories 2. Naturally with a game like it, it has a ton of postgame stuff, and I'm honestly not sure if I want to do any of the postgame content.

Edited October 13, 2021 by vanguard333

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Another of my goals is to beat 3 games with Tomb Raider in the title. The 2013 reboot was taken care of earlier in the year, but the rest I have access to are the original series. Looks like I bought those games on a steam sale back in 2013. I've had a rough history trying to get into this series. The initial barrier for entry was the controls. But now the barrier for entry is just bugs. I can't grab onto ledges I should be able to in the original Tomb Raider. Lara's hands just refuse to function where it counts. 

So imagine my heartbreak when I decide to skip ahead to the 2007 remake, and encounter the same problem. The ledge detection is all over the place. I would leap somewhere, fall to my death, spend 5-10 minutes trying to find another solution, look up a guide and see my initial attempt was the correct answer. The game just needs Lara to die to reset all the environments into something functional, and then I can grab that ledge. Once I figured out that hellish logic, things began progressing more smoothly. But now I think I've hit a brick wall. No amount of resetting is getting me up this particular wall. This is the nightmare scenario of attempting to clear a buggy game - the brick wall. I'll give the settings one final round of troubleshooting but this may be a goal I have to give up on.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 8/30/2021 at 11:04 PM, vanguard333 said:

I finished playing through the GameCube version a bit over a month ago. I ended up really enjoying it overall. Personally, I'd rather recommend the original than recommend the remake, but there isn't really a good way to get the original right now.

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I don't have an N64, so the original is out of the question for me right now. Granted, it is coming to Switch through the N64/Genesis upgrade to NSO, but I'm waiting to see how much that will actually cost to access.

On 8/30/2021 at 11:04 PM, vanguard333 said:

Anyway, after completing Majora's Mask, I decided that, after Valkyria Chronicles 1 (a war game) and Majora's Mask, I needed to play something more lighthearted before going back to Three Houses. So, I purchased Monster Hunter Stories 2. It's a fun game and I'm almost finished playing through the main story. If I had one criticism, it would be this: I have a tendency in team-building RPGs like this and Pokémon to mainly rely on Pokémon I obtain within the first half or so of the story mode for my story team, and I was somewhat punished for that in this game because the later monsters are literally better than the earlier monsters, with higher base stats and better abilities and everything. I mean; it's not that bad, as the early-game monsties can still fight well in the late game, but combine that with the fact that every new monstie starts at level 1 because you have to hatch them from eggs, and it means the game both punishes you for wanting to use new monsties and punishes you for not wanting to use new monsties. It's really weird.

Yeah, I have that problem in Pokemon too. It's hard to say goodbye to the ones you've spent so much time with. That said, I did abandon Sudowoodo for a Donphan right before the Elite Four on a recent Pokemon Silver playthrough. I love the fake tree design, but it's hard to compete with an elephantire that can Rollout over all the competition. Anyway, I haven't done any Monster Hunter, but those games sound like a blast.

On 8/30/2021 at 10:46 PM, Zapp Branniglenn said:

Do it. That was my favorite in the series until the new one. And I'm currently trying to convince a friend to play co op with me. No online co op on the switch version unfortunately. As a strict gameplay experience, the game kind of drags a little in length for my taste. But the gameplay varies itself up during the latter half, and Suda51 pours his whole heart out into a meta narrative about being a game designer. Tons of cute references to his other games too if you've played those. I hadn't back when the game came out, but it made me interested in this guy's career for sure. This dude is lucky that he has his own company of developers to make all his nonsense ideas into reality. 

I appreciate the recommendation. I don't see myself getting into it until next year unfortunately, but it's a game I'll keep an eye on in case it goes on sale.

Anyway, we're well into October, and this wild year is more than three-quarters of the way through! So, how about those resolutions?

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

1. I completed Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, as my last game of 2020. And yes, it was long overdue. So, I've already bought it, but I'd like to play through Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. I'm a longtime fan of the series, and it'll be nice to be "up-to-date", as English releases go.

I've beaten the third case! Those seances can really spell trouble - matching a specific frame, with the right dialogue, and the proper item? I had to look at a guide a couple times for these. They're an innovative gameplay introduction, for sure, but damn if they're not frustrating. Anyway, if I do the fourth case this month, I think I'll be on pace to meet this goal!

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

2. Over the last year-and-a-half, I put an absurd amount of time (nearly 600 hours) into Fire Emblem: Three Houses, completing all four routes and the DLC. But my experience isn't yet complete, so I'd like to go back and play through Three Houses on Maddening NG, probably on the Golden Deer route.

I'm on Chapter 17 now, which is ahead of where I was over a month ago by... two chapters? Geez, I knew my post was glacial, but this is like the one glacier that all the other glaciers make fun of for being too slow. At least most of the paralogues are out of the way by now?

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

5. The game, I believe, came as a gift, as did the first DLC pass - but the second one has been in my court, and I've just neglected to pick it up thus far. I'd like to acquire, and fully experience, the Fighters Pass 2 for Super Smash Bros Ultimate, which includes, of course, gitting gud with the characters in question.

Finally, I went back and played Super Smash Bros Ultimate. I played Min Min, Kazuya, Steve/Alex, Sephiroth, and Pyra/Mythra. Haven't used them online or with friends, but I did complete their Classic Modes. I found Min Min to be genuinely cool, while Kazuya seems a bit complex for my taste, and Steve... I dunno, still doesn't seem to fit in. Sephiroth and Pyra/Mythra each played interestingly, but I am getting some degree of "swordfighter fatigue". Alright, and last on the agenda is... oh. Oh no.

I'm counting this one as complete because I've done as much on this front as I can thus far. I certainly plan to try Sora out when he's formally released - if I fail to by next update, this status will be reverted.

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

7. It's hard to gauge when you've "beaten" an open-ended game like Animal Crossing. I got K.K. Slider to visit, so am I done? Well yes, but actually no. There's so much more to do, but let's use an easy metric of accomplishment: I wish to complete the Museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, save for the Art section, which is up to the whims of fate. Get ready to be bugged, Blathers!

Sigh. I should play this one more. At the very least, I'm planning to check into the Direct on Friday. Brewster's is a nice addition, but what more might they showcase?

On 7/11/2021 at 9:57 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

9. I'd like to buy a new-to-me game in an unfamiliar franchise. I was thinking Catherine: Full Body, but I've also heard lots of good things about Hades, Hollow Knight, and Cuphead. Yeah, I realize these are all over the place in style and substance. So let's just say purchase, and play, a totally novel gaming experience.

I've satisfied this one a second time, with another distracting game that I picked up for too cheap off the eShop. But I think I'll save the details for the "whatcha playing?" thread.

Anyway, with Spooktober upon us, do y'all feel frightened that you won't meet your resolutions? Or, do you find discovering new tricks in games to be its own treat? Let me know below!

[vanguard333]

1 hour ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I don't have an N64, so the original is out of the question for me right now. Granted, it is coming to Switch through the N64/Genesis upgrade to NSO, but I'm waiting to see how much that will actually cost to access.

Yeah, I have that problem in Pokemon too. It's hard to say goodbye to the ones you've spent so much time with. That said, I did abandon Sudowoodo for a Donphan right before the Elite Four on a recent Pokemon Silver playthrough. I love the fake tree design, but it's hard to compete with an elephantire that can Rollout over all the competition. Anyway, I haven't done any Monster Hunter, but those games sound like a blast.

When I say I'd rather recommend the original than the remake, it's because the remake made a lot of divisive changes, and since I haven't played the remake, I personally can't really say anything about those changes, so I can't really recommend the remake. True that the original is coming to Switch with that upgrade. I am curious as to how much it will cost.

I see. For me, it's more because, with earlier Pokémon, you have more time to learn how they work and to optimize their moveset and all that stuff.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 was a blast. Just to be clear: the mainline Monster Hunter games are action games where you're a hunter and the game revolves around hunting monsters; the Monster Hunter Stories games are spin-offs where you play as a Rider and the game revolves around training monsters and using them in battle.

 

Anyway, after playing Monster Hunter Stories 2, I still didn't feel like returning to Three Houses, so I ended up playing SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Bug Fables, and Shovel Knight, all in that order, since they were on sale and they were games I had been wanting to try for a while now. They're all pretty good overall.

As far as the games I said I would finish this year, I don't think I will be finishing any of them this year (maybe Smash Bros. Ultimate if I'm able to get new/replacement joy-cons), partly due to outside circumstances in that I haven't yet plugged in my PS4 post-move, but also because, for some of them, I don't think I really want to finish them. Ys VIII was a good game overall, but I've played almost all of it up to the end, and the ending of it is terrible. And for Witcher 3, I can understand why a lot of people like it, but I really am not a fan. The story is interesting, I like Gwent and I like various other things about the game, but I really don't like the combat, I don't like that the game simultaneously rewards and punishes exploration, and there are a number of other things about it that I don't like.

And besides, I ended up completing a lot more games than the ones on that list; a lot of them games I had been wanting to play for some time. So, the spirit of my gaming resolution has already been more than kept even if the letter hasn't so far.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

On 1/2/2021 at 8:25 PM, Zapp Branniglenn said:

I'm also interested in trying out some challenging mods for some beloved games, like Paper Mario Master Quest, Final Fantasy 10 Hardcore, maybe something for Fallout New Vegas. I dunno, I'm keeping my eye out for things that are interesting. I haven't been big into ROM hacks since maybe 2010, so I'm not up to date on the craziest projects that people have been cooking up. 

Nearly a year late on this, but I have finally sat down to play some ROM hacks. Starting with Pikmin 251. It's an entirely new game featuring new areas, new enemies and a ludicrous total of 251 treasures to collect. The soundtrack also features a lot of classic tracks from Nintendo games redone in Pikmin's particular "sound font". I recommend giving it a listen. Unfortunately the songs often don't loop well during normal gameplay, but it's still delightful to recognize songs ranging as far as Super Mario RPG, Metroid, Banjo, I think I even caught a Toejam & Earl song somewhere in there? I also notice the deliberate decision of only referencing music no more recent than the gamecube era. That's classy.

It's pretty challenging too. There's no time limit to beat the game, but you'll want to get a lot done in each day since enemies and certain hazards respawn much more frequently - typically at a rate of once every two days. And dungeons can have pretty nasty enemy placements. The guy that designed this game sure likes putting cannon beetles on high ledges so that they can shoot their instant kill rocks down at you. It has been at least a decade since my last playthrough of Pikmin 2, so I don't remember optimal strategies for that game's especially weird and dangerous monsters. Thank god the game saves at each floor. And if you're not the type to save scum, floors of dungeons generally have the exit nearby the entrance, so you can breeze past completed floors to wherever you want to be, like grabbing a treasure you missed, building more whites/purples, or picking up where you left off before an unfortunate accident. It should also be said that Breadbugs are an awful enemy gimmick that I wish this hack didn't indulge in. There's also a lot of rebalancing to Pikmin 2's core mechanics. Basic enemies like bulborbs are more threatening, purple pikmin are nerfed in damage (and even then hidden away as the last pikmin type you can encounter), nectar is only half effective, sprays take twice as many more berries to produce, and don't last as long

My friend also recommended we try out Colossal Caverns, made by the same developer. It's a Pikmin 2 Randomizer. Each run is a single floor of a dungeon that's massive enough to hold all 251 treasures from Pikmin 251, All three colored onions hidden somewhere for you to start building your numbers (you start with 75 pikmin), plus one of each boss fight. One of our runs was literally over in the first five minutes because the Water Wraith (final boss of pikmin 2) was able to beeline straight for our base (once he notices you, he does not stop). It's also got a lot of bonus settings to make the run easier or harder, there's seed sharing, and up to four player co op if you think your computer can handle it. It's already a very resource intensive hack. My computer's good enough to run games released this year on high settings, but even so I was forced to overclock Dolphin to 300% to get a stable 30FPS for just two player splitscreen. Co op Pikmin is a lot of fun! The map does eventually get tedious due to the sheer size and how you can't get pikmin onions to move from the location you discover them, but divvying up the tasks and pikmin and dealing with chaotic situations together is pretty addicting.