Fabulously Olivier
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Posts posted by Fabulously Olivier
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One of the largest gaming announcement events of the year is just over a week away. What do you think we'll see? What are you hoping to see?
I'm going to throw out 5 guesses:
1. It's finally time for the Final Fantasy Tactics Remake/Remaster from the Nvidia leak to get announced.
2. Star Wars Warriors (Star Warriors?)
3. Capcom's unannounced game is Monster Hunter World 2
4. Assassin's Creed Red (Japan) gets a cinematic reveal trailer.
5. Another new League of Legends indie game spinoff is announced and it's nothing remarkable.
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November was a month in which some serious milestones were made. I got caught up on Yakuza after almost a year of tackling the franchise. I played the whole Tomb Raider survivor trilogy, and the whole Nathan Drake Collection.
71. Like a Dragon Ishin
Cleared 10/29
7/10
SpoilerThis one ranks around the lower-middle of the Yakuza games. Still good, just less good than most.
+ Good story
+ The emphasis on weapon based combat is a refreshing change of pace for Yakuza
+ Strong side quests and side content
- No side quest discovery markers
- Traversing the map is slow and annoying
- Some of the sections are extremely unfun. Namely the ones that require you to shoot enemies while moving between cover. They don't work.
- The katana moveset sucks until you get the attack speed moveset, at which point its better than all the others.
72, 77, & 80. Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb RaiderCleared 11/1, 11/12, & 11/17
8/10, 8/10, 6/10
SpoilerHonestly wasn't expecting to like this, since I don't generally play stealth games, or puzzle games. But heck, for something on Ps Plus Extra with no entry fee, it was worth a shot. And I liked it enough to finish the trilogy, and do Uncharted as well. Turns out, being a good game overcomes most hangups.
+ Strong cinematic story
+ Decent third person cover shooting
+ Satisfying climbing/platforming
+ All of them have pretty exciting finales, especially Shadow.
+ Great pacing throught the trilogy.
- First one is full of annoying QTEs
- The weapon upgrade system gets worse with each game. Rise introduces crafting, and Shadow makes upgrades specific to one gun. I'm only actually dinging Shadow one point for it.
- I'm also dinging Shadow for triggering my thalossophobia, and for the ramped up horror elements throughout that accursed cave.
- Some sequences are very frustrating, and some platforming sequences don't quite work.
73 & 79. Torchlight III and Torchlight InfiniteCleared 11/3 and 11/14
3/10, 2/10
SpoilerThese are, without a doubt, the worst games I have played all year, and I say that as someone who liked TL1 & 2. This series fell from grace hard. I only really finished 3 because it was a gift, and Infinite because it was something short to do during lunch breaks.
+ Good skill trees in both. Especially Infinite.
+ Some of the gear is really fun to use.
+ Environments are vibrant, and enemy designs are good. They stand out among the sea of gray and brown gothic ARPGs.
+ Infinite improves upon character models greatly, being more reminscient of TL1 character designs, or something like League of Legends. It works.
- Torchlight 3's player character models and gear are ugly as sin. Very little of it looks okay, let alone good.
- Unacceptable enemy balancing. They all take way too much damage, and the game randomly, frequently throws enough damage at you to down you before you can reasonably react. Both games have the damage spike issue, while TL Infinite enemies at least have the decency of dying fast.
- Boss fights are particularly bad, having obscene health, and 1-2 shot abilities. They're like massive battles of attrition, that will wear down your patience until you make a mistake.
- By the way, that was on Normal. I shudder to think of what the high end difficulties are like.
- All of Infinite's depth is in its passives. With only an autoattack and 3 active powers, there is no room for real combat depth.
- Infinite ends on a cliffhanger in Chapter 4, and Chapters 5-6 are just boss runs. There is no resolution to its story, and if it can't be bothered, I can't be bothered.
74. NieR Replicant ver 1.22474487139...Cleared 11/4
6/10
SpoilerIt is extremely rare that a game actually puts me to sleep, but NieR did it because of its beautiful soundtrack and boring first parts.
+ Good combat
+ Top tier soundtrack
+ Wise and Kaine are delightful, amusing companions.
+ The story packs a powerful twist.
- Awful targeting/camera
- The pacing is bad, and the first half is quite boring.
- No fast travel until the 2nd half, and even then, it's cumbersome.
- No, sorry, I don't want to replay the game for 4 endings. It isn't good enough for that. Very few games are.
- The side quests suck, and you have to do them to earn enough gold for the later endings. Again, sorry, but I don't care that much.
75. Middle Earth: Shadow of WarCleared 11/5
9/10
SpoilerWhile Ghost of Tsushima may be the best Assassin's Creed style game narratively, Shadow of War wins in the gameplay department hands-down.
Also, if I were to design my own video game character, I imagine him looking and playing a lot like Tallion.
+ The Nemesis system is amazing, and it sucks that they patented it.
+ Excellent combat. It's like a responsive, non-sucky version of Assassin's Creed with Batman Arkham elements blended in.
+ Excellent stage design makes stealthing and harassing orcs fun.
+ Traversing the map is quick and fun.
+ Lots of content, and the dynamic systems behind it make it worth playing.
+ Tons of replay value, and postgame value
- Collection bloat, just like AC.
- Much like Assassin's Creed, parkour is inconsistent and often janky. It can be unreasonably hard at times to make the game do what you want.
- It is beyond me why domination doesn't prioritize broken captains over everything else. I lost the coolest looking Olog I've ever seen because the game refused to target him, he knocked me down, and then my bodyguard killed him.
- Iron Will is an objectively stupid mechanic. Your orc betrays you, they gain this buff that makes it impossible to recruit them. Shaming them can randomly remove this buff, but it also changes their appearance so you may not even want them anymore.
76. Sword and Fairy Together ForeverCleared 11/8
6/10
SpoilerI love Wuxia settings. They combine eastern fantasy with so-bad-it's-good martial arts cheese in the best way. But unfortunately there is a dirth of good Wuxia games. And this one is only okay, so I'm still looking.
+ This game is gorgeous. Actually one of the prettiest games I've played.
+ Solid, simple combat.
+ Likeable characters and an interesting plot, if you can follow it.
- Hilariously bad localization
- Bosses have way too much health and do way too much damage. The worst one by far is the demon lord who is basically a solo boss fight with no healers to help you. The game is not designed for this.
- Boring side quests.
78. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His NameCleared 11/12.
8/10
SpoilerI reckon this one ranks in the middle of the Yakuza games, or just below the middle. And well, it's a real mixed bag.
+ Some of the best combat in the franchise.
+ Both of Kiryu's movesets are a delight.
+ That ending made me cry.
+ Best arena in the franchise.
+ Side quests (while somewhat below average for this franchise) were still good and memorable.
+ Generally well paced and doesn't overstay its welcome.
- Soundtrack is mixed.
- Ubisoft style bloat.
- The story is superfluous. This game absolutely did not need to happen and does not tell us much of anything we didn't already know. And given that Yakuza is one of gaming's best and most ambitious narratives, it sucks to see it stumble.
- Live action cabaret club is awkward and creepy. Kill it with fire.
81. High on Life
Cleared 11/17.
7/10
SpoilerI reckon this game is super subjective. If you don't find it funny, it's probably a 5/10. If you do, it could maybe be as much as an 8. I'm somewhere in the middle here. It's hilarious sometimes.
+ Pretty solid gunplay.
+ The guns are all fun to use.
+ When the jokes land, I think they really land. It definitely made me laugh out loud a few times and chuckle quite a bit.
+ It's irreverantly aware of gaming tropes and makes good use of that.
+ Traversal mechanics feel good.
+ Maps are vibrant and fun.
+ Generally well paced.
- Lots of revisiting the same locations.
- Doesn't do anything remarkable. If it doesn't endear itself to you with comedy, it won't exactly stand out.
- No burst fire gun. Burst fire is my favorite.
82. Assassin's Creed RogueCleared 11/19.
5/10
SpoilerThis is without a doubt in my mind the worst AC. Other than maybe the 2D chronicles games.
+ Uhhh... the core AC game loop is fun I guess.
+ If you like the naval combat stuff, it's still here and it's still good. It's just not my thing. I just want to be an impeccably dressed murder hobo who parkours through densely packed cities. I don't want to fast travel and then sail through 3,000 meters of ocean to my next mission, only to be told I should upgrade my ship.
- Bad mission design. The Hope assassination is a contender for the worst in the franchise.
- I absolutely loathe the stalker enemies. Never bring them back.
- Weak story.
- Yet another redundant game in the same boring time period. It's no wonder why people got sick of this franchise. 3, Liberation, Black Flag, Freedom Cry, Rogue, and Unity all took place in one goddamn lifetime. Seriously, Cormac comes into contact with Adewale, Connor's dad, and Arno's dad.
- Full of Ubisoft collection and objective bloat.
- Fucking crafting!
- Even at its short length, it still feels poorly paced.
83-85. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, & Uncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionCleared 11/21, 11/25, 11/26.
6/10, 8/10, 9/10
Spoiler+ Excellent cinematic gameplay and some really memorable setpieces.
+ Strong narrative
+ Nate, Sully, Elina, and Chloe are all delightful
+ Solid enough gunplay. It's actually really good in Uncharted 3.
+ Strong soundtrack
+ Climbing/platforming is generally fun.
+ Great pacing.
- Uncharted 1 suffers some serious jank, including one of the worst final bosses I've ever seen. This comes affer a really bad timed segment too.
- Platforming detection occassionally feels off. It's frustrating when you definitely did the thing right and your character careens down a ravine anyway.
Playing now and near future.
I'm continuing Shining Force. It hasn't aged well, but I'm having fun nonetheless.
Playing Odin Sphere and liking it a lot.
Persona 5 Tactica and... it's super mid. Like, I understand the Mario + Rabbids comparisons but it does not live up.
Planning to finish the Uncharted franchise, Alan Wake (if I can stomach the horror), and Control by year's end.
In 2024, I'll be less focused on sheer quantity and more on plugging the obvious holes in my gaming history (ie: clearing Witcher 3, BotW, Mass Effect trilogy, Shadow of the Colossus, and more).
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11 hours ago, Capt. Fargus said:
Im inclined to agree but since he asked I’d go with the Dark Souls fans... judging by what I read on Gamefaqs that is
Good answer. I despise the "git gud" crowd.
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I see this discussion going nowhere good.
But screw it. The Sonic fandom are acceptable victims.
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1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:
For me its the other way around. Goofy as the horn was I think Timeskip Edelgard took a very interesting direction by modeling herself after previous emperors like Hardin or Walhardt. Meanwhile the Three Hopes Edelgard goes more for a generic cute girl look. I'd say the same about Dimitri who went from huge crazy hobo to generic cute boy look. Not that Dimitri doesn't have a good Hope design but it comes across as more conventional compared to what came before.
I'm with you on this one. Hopes' Edelgard has the single worst outfit in the game. It doesn't work on any level.
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Sir Herbert Mc. Fluffernutter. The third. Esquire.
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48 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:
Lets see. Aside from Octopath 2 we got the Xenoblade DLC, FF16(if it counts), Star ocean and Mario RPG.
Next year we'll have FF7 remake of course. But what are the other JRPG's coming out next year?
This year we also had Sea of Stars, Persona 5 Tactica, One Piece Odyssey, Fire Emblem Engage, Trails into Reverie, and Disgaea 7. Also a Tales of Arise expansion. And yes, FF16 counts, because it's as much of a JRPG as Ys is.
Next year has a big lineup. Heavy hitters bolded and my most anticipated underlined.
FF7 Rebirth
Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth
Metaphor Re Fantazio
Persona 3 Reload
Paper Mario TTYD Remake
Unicorn Overlord
Dragon's Dogma 2
Suikoden Chronicle 1 and 2 Remake
Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes
Granblue Fantasy Relink
Trails Through Daybreak (localization)
Ys X Nordics (localization)
SaGa Emerald Beyond
Decapolice
Then there are also wildcards like the FE remake, FFT remake, Fuga 3, Kingdom Hearts 4, Armed Phantasia, Penny Blood, Nexomon 3, etc. that could easily happen in either 2024 or 2025. The year is already historic without them, and becomes even better if any of them slot in here.
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1 hour ago, Florete said:
Octopath Traveler 2 is my personal goty, and it's not nominated for anything. For a variety of reasons I don't care much for the actual awards, but it still kinda feels bad.
As for the actual goty candidates, I've only played TotK and RE4R, and the latter would get my vote. I do want to play Baldur's Gate 3 eventually, though.
It's just been a strong year for JRPGs, so it's hard for even something as great as Octopath 2 to stay in the limelight.
And well, next year's going to be even better for JRPGs. Possibly even the best year. That lineup is actually insane.
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49 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:
Huh. I didn't know about that; I didn't really pay attention to the game awards last year. Not disqualifying Genshin is definitely not good.
I honestly don't think either of those will win; Genshin, maybe, but I think the discourse around Baldur's Gate 3 is enough to enable it to win. If I'm wrong, I'll be surprised, but I probably won't give it much thought afterwards.
I think people generally treat PV as a chance to rally behind games they see as getting "snubbed." I say Hogwarts is probably taking it (unfortunately) because it's both the best selling game this year and too mid to win critic awards.
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10 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:
I'm hoping Tears of the Kingdom will win, but I'm expecting Baldur's Gate 3 to win; the sheer hype, momentum and coverage surrounding Baldur's Gate 3 was simply too immense for it to not win.
I'm not really too interested in Game of the Year; to me, The Game Awards is a joke, so the only award they give that I pay any attention to is the Player's Voice Award... and Baldur's Gate 3 is probably going to win that one as well.
See, back when like, Three Houses won, I respected the Players' Voice Award.
But last year, the reward was a mockery. We had Genshin Impact, a gacha game which rewards/bribes its players when it wins awards... vs. Sonic Frontiers, a mediocre game for a mainstream IP. And instead of disqualifying both fandoms - Genshin for bribery and Sonic for botting, they chose to omit the bot votes, admonish the Sonic fandom on stage, and give the award to Genshin.
This year, I'm fully expecting it to be between Genshin for the same reasons, and god damn Hogwarts Legacy.
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9 minutes ago, ciphertul said:
I’m not gonna lie, but that is one heck of a generic list. I don’t mean that in a bad way, there is no surprises there.
I consider Super Mario Bros Wonder to be a huge surprise, and I wasn't actually expecting Spiderman 2 or Alan Wake 2. The most generic possible list would have included Starfield and Armored Core 6, tbh.
Speaking of which, I'm glad Starfield got "snubbed". Because it's an aggressively 6/10 game that didn't earn it.
35 minutes ago, Integrity said:bg3 would be utterly robbed to not win tbh
Yeah. Off of sheer ambition alone, Larian has punched so far above their weight class and delivered something objectively more impressive than anyone else this year. Even if this game genre isn't your cup of tea, you should respect it as an artistic triumph.
I am fully expecting this to be the most viewed TGA's in history because the competition is hotter, and the announcements that are already said to be there are huge.
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But anyway, real talk. Yakuza/Like a Dragon shouldn't have dating sim mechanics. Kaoru was a healthy relationship for Kiryu 6 freakin games ago, and they wrote her off in the next game so players could keep creeping on hostesses. And the rest of the Yakuza arcs (Judgement and Like a Dragon) also have a canon-but-not-canon relationship that they should also be committing to.
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I for one enjoyed LAD Gaiden a lot as a Gamepass game. Like, 8/10.
It's not quite up there with most of the series (0-Kiwami 2, 4, J, LJ, & 7), but it's paced a hell of a lot better than Ishin, 3, or 5. And as a dumb action game, it's a blast for a weekend.
(But yes, I agree that the FMV Cabaret Club shit is awkward af. Get rid of that and bring back Cabaret Club Manager.)
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I can't wait to see the cast for this one, lol.
"Danny Devito is Tingle!"
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Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Princess!
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Always use Thieves, Heroes, Paladins, Sages, and Swordmasters.
Often use wyvern lords, halberdiers, warriors, great knights, bishops, and snipers.
Rarely use falcon knights, manaketes, non-royal beast units, and generals.
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5 minutes ago, Jotari said:
That's what I'm referring to. Pokemon, over the years, went to the trouble to design and refine a system that requires diversity in team compensation and moment to moment predictions of what the opponent will do, where a single bad decision can destroy a match...and then tossed it all out the window by putting it in a game where just spamming the same attacks over and over again to beat every enemy in the game bar maybe one gym leader. Pokemon games are not well designed, but the actual Pokemon gameplay it has is, in my opinion, really good. The game just rarely if ever asks you to engage in it, and in the rare occasions it might, it expects you to put a thousand hours into incest breeding the perfect team (and even then AI players never play the way human players do, particularly when it comes to swapping mid battle).
But that's the thing. I don't actually think the competitive gameplay it has is a virtue of the gameplay mechanics. I think it's a virtue of the size of the community. You put a big community and an online competitive matchmaking system in just about any JRPG and it will be just as deep, or deeper than Pokemon. One can only dream of SMT having that kind of mode.
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8 minutes ago, ARMADS!!! said:
lol, seriously? I've always seen them refered to as "The GBA trilogy of Ace Attorney" or "The GBA FE games",... So it just never really ocurred to me that this wasn't the case,
I guess it really shows that I played those games on emulator.Well, we live and learn, thanks for giving me this information before I put myself on a situation where I'd be embarassed for real for not knowing it.Oh, you actually might have unintentionally pinpointed what relates FE fans to Ace Attorney fans: Persona (meanwhile, another circle on the Venn diagram overlaps Danganronpa with Ace Attorney and Persona, but not with Fire Emblem).
Also another thing that for some reason FE fans love too: Xenoblade Chronicles, no clue why and I have no clue about anything related to this game either, I just know some people here and on FE boards on Gamefaqs are crazy about it.
Well, it helps that the most common pairing of visual novel gameplay like Ace Attorney these days is now tactics gameplay. We have ample games like Utawarerumono, Digimon Survive, and 13 Sentinels that pair these two genres.
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The actual "this vinn diagram is a circle" overlap with FE fans is Persona and Trails. And maybe Utawarerumono if those particular fans are especially clued in to gaming.
9 hours ago, Jotari said:Which is a shame since Pokemon's gameplay is actually really well designed
Is it though? I've played enough JRPGs to know that Pokemon is the single most basic "use super effective move to 1-2 shot everything" game there is. Most other turn-based JRPGs at least flesh that out. That only actually changes at the competitive level because teams are so optimized. And the hidden stat progression systems to optimize your teams are easily some of the most obtuse, poorly designed, and busy progression systems in any game.
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13 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:
Reverie was riddled with errors such as these:
the quality of the translation was terrible this time around. I could name maybe 4 crafts with errors in them in IV, but Reverie? A new player will likely make many mistakes due to crafts/arts having wrong descriptions. (Here as you can see, Laura's Radiant Wings has Alisa's Heavenly Gift Crafts description)
Shiiit. I'd actually use Laura if she had that skill. That's hilarious.
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2 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:
Oh i agree. Although i think i appreciated NC7 over the old, as they kinda lost their drive alongside Rean in III. (Most of them, anyways, there were exceptions)
Although i honestly think Reverie was worse than those two, and that's saying something.
Haven't gotten to Reverie yet because I'm not buying new games right now. My understanding is that it's another Sky 3 - great gameplay, irrelevant or semi-canon story. Just an excuse to get the whole gang together.
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Just now, Lightcosmo said:
On visiting new characters: I agree. After CS II, i was wondering why Class VII needed to stay around. I honestly wanted a new MC at that point as well, Rean's story was finished. I admit, there are characters i enjoyed in those games, but they just needed to let go of them.
I don't mind their system, they just never fine-tuned it at all. Most of the glaring flaws that they had right to begin with, were never addressed.
Trails of CS 3 & 4 were bluntly the point when the writing and pacing took a nosedive. And the new Class VII was lame and just made me want more of the old Class VII.
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2 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:
Are you referring to them needing new gameplay or just their engine being reworked entirely?
The continuity, really. All the time with Rean and Class VII has largely overstayed its welcome, and it was time for a change of pace.
The gameplay changes also feel necessary because grid-based games bluntly aren't fun to grind in.
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On 10/22/2023 at 4:58 PM, Lightcosmo said:
I played The Legend of Heroes: Kuro No Kiseki Crimson Sin: this time in English!
Storyline was alright, the early acts were the best parts. Late game needed some work.
Gameplay was as always, leagues better than CS.
I really am excited that they announced Kuro No Kiseki's worldwide release for next year. Trails needs that refresh. Let's friggin go.
What games do you think we'll see announced at The Game Awards?
in General Gaming
Posted · Edited by Fabulously Olivier
It's rare to see two fanbases in the same franchise dislike eachother as much as World and Rise fans.