So what're you playing nowadays?

More Marvel vs Capcom 3 Videos from this weekend:

Me nearly beating marlinpie, one of the best Guilty Gear and Marvel 3 players on the scene. Great match, I choke hard at the end. I'm still coughing up remnants:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThIpF9XUgcU

Me winning a match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llxULmub … plpp_video

Me getting blown up by Haggar and Chris Redfield

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu6IVvLf … plpp_video

Last edited by GoldfishX (Apr 10, 2012)

Please allow me to rephrase:

Zane wrote:

Also, Setzer is a useless piece of shit in the World of Balance and during the second half of the World of Ruin.

He was invaluable to me after recruiting him as the fourth member of my party in the WoR. His long-range attacks and instant death via Trump served me very well for a while, although the latter was useless in Darryl's Tomb since it just immediately resurrects whatever it kills. (Or is that un-resurrects? Stupid undead.) Until I had a more beefed up party (read: Mog, Umaro [yes, I use him frequently] and Shadow), Setzer was always in my party. Granted, he's just hanging out in the Falcon right now, twiddling his thumbs and playing Driving Miss Gogo for the time being (it is a she, right?), but for a good two or three hours he was just as indispensable to me as Edgar and Sabin were.

Ashley Winchester wrote:

But speaking of Breath of Fire II and Final Fantasy VI I kind of consider BOFII a poor man's Final Fantasy VI. I know that's not really a complement to a game I enjoy but there are actually a lot of parallels between the games in my opinion. They're both very character driven.

I can see that - in both BOFII and FFVI, each character has abilities unique to them. It's too bad you can't teach every character all the spells in the game in BOFII like you can FFVI, but not many characters in BOFII are good spell casters.

Sten would be a better spell caster, if only he had more MP, and the one dungeon you had to take him with you, used to really bust my balls because of it (solo fight + low stats = game over - yeah, that fight with Trubo).

Rand was a good healer, but his two attack spells, Thunder and 8.0, only helped you shave off the last few HP that the enemy party had (he was always last to attack, given his low agility), he had low Magical Attack.

Katt, she learns the 3 most ultimate elemental spells in the game, but hardly even before the final boss fight does she ever get enough MP to even use them. Talk about teasing you.

Most of the game, I remember battles went like this: Ryu either attacks or summons Dragons, Katt attacks, Nina casts magic, and Rand either attacks or heals. And most of the time, everyone but Nina would just attack; the characters I liked using most, their character-specific battle abilities weren't even all that useful. Such boring battles gave me a lot of time to meditate and reflect upon the design of the game, all of which thoughts are being put right here.

Once you get the Whale, and can go to Bo & Karn's Island - best level-building spot in the entire game - you pretty much break the game by level-building there - no other enemies in the game offer as much EXP as those enemies do - and they're easier to defeat then a lot of the enemies in the game, too. Chiroru (the giant fly) is dead from one 20MP dragon summon. There's absolutely no point to any other battles in the game - aside from the boss battles which pretty much are broken, too - if you level build there.

The characters I hardly ever used: Bow, Jean, Spar; according to GameFAQS, they're actually supposed to have a good repertoire of spells, and the stats to be able to support them; Bow is actually supposed to be the best healer in the game, on top of actually having decent attack! Next time I play through the game, I might give these characters more screen time.

As far as the game being character-driven, I can actually recall they try to go into detail about each character, where they come from, what they've been through, what they're trying to do to reconcile the past, but the poor English translation kind of ruins it.

Last edited by Dartannian (Apr 13, 2012)

More demos:

Closure (PS3)
-Interesting black & white puzzle platformer where things in the light exist and things in darkness do not. I could see myself picking this up on sale.

Zack Zero (PS3)
-Terrible action platformer.

Time Machine: Rogue Pilot (PS3)
-If you like having a bored Russian women shake her head at you while you play, this is the puzzle game for you.

Skull Girls (PS3)
-Solid 2D fighter that reminds me of the Darkstalkers games. Lack of an in-game move list is baffling.

2 Fast 4 Gnomz (Wii)
-Reeks of a smartphone port, but for a runner game, it's not half-bad. Goofy all around, there's some cheap thrills in here.

Dead Rising (360)
-Demo lets you do pretty much nothing, and combat is clunky.

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (360)
-Much more polished than the first game, but combat is still clunky and doesn't seem to sever much purpose other than to give you points.

Dead Rising 2: Case West (360)
-More objectives in this demo than in the demo for Case Zero, but there's little fun to be had.

The Darkness II (360)
-Publishers take note: this is how you make a demo. It introduces you to all the main gameplay systems, and it hooks you with the story. Really enjoyed it.

Fable III (360)
-I really like what Lionhead has going with the story, world, and characters here, but the gameplay itself isn't much fun, and the game engine really chugs.

Final Fantasy VIII. I'm about 20 hours in and I am having an absolute blast. While I have played through Final Fantasys VI through X multiple times over the years, I've only played FFVIII once so I barely remember any of the game outside of a few key moments and strategies. (20AP per fight near Cactuar Island right after you can control Balamb Garden, WHAT IS UP.) While FFVII may have the nostalgia factor for me and still held up well enough, seeing as I ran through it twice semi-recently (although FFVIII may have ruined that for me now), FFVIII is easily my favorite post-VI FF in terms of gameplay, adaptability and overall vibe (thus far, at least). Total shock.

I only played through FFVIII once because I hated the GF/Junctioning system and never really "got" it. I remember having a hard time and barely scraped by throughout the whole game - it was more of a chore than something fun. This time around, I went in with an open mind and, ironically enough, the one thing that has kept me from playing this game again is my absolute favorite part of the whole damn thing. I didn't dig deep into the card game or the refining system my first time around, which is where I have been really experimenting and taking time to learn about this time through. And let me tell you - having three characters with 3,000+ HP halfway through disc one is some nice little cushion (thanks to L-Mag refining 30 Tents for 300 Curagas for junctioning). That's just scratching the surface.

The genius of the modification system is that the way you can get tons of awesome items is from collecting cards. Since Triple Triad is so addicting and really fun, I've been collecting a ton of cards just for the hell of it, and have been reaping the benefits. After some pretty intense semi-early mods (Junctioning 100 Deaths to status attack makes anyone an instant undertaker) I realized how weak and unrewarding the other systems from the other FFs I've played really are. The reason being is this: true and complete customization.

Instead of gradually giving you little things here and there as the game goes on that build up until a rushed endgame grind for the best stats or abilities, FFVIII gives you the tools to turn your characters into monsters early on. I admit, drawing magic can be a pain sometimes, but spending 10 minutes grinding to have your character's stats grow enormously due to some ridiculous Junction makes it totally worth it. Instead of grinding for an hour to have some useless Limit Break or another star and spell on your Fire Materia, when that 10 minute battle is over and all of your characters have drawn out 100 Hastes a piece, you can immediately Junction it and get the return from your work. There is constant reward for the gamer that takes that route, and while I'm sure you could just get by as I did the first time through, this system makes the experience much more exciting and gratifying. The grinding here is not just another step toward creating an ultimate character with completely maxed out Materia or learning every spell from every Esper, it's actually a crucial part of character and battle development that stays with you as the game progresses.

Another fairly radical trifecta that I completely love is the dissolution of equipment, a barely existent weapon upgrading system, and the lack of accessories/relics. The genius is that if you want a weapon that is ice-elemental and deals silence, you can easily make your own. Want something that causes poison and inflicts sleep? A Gunblade that shoots proverbial fire? A whip that will kill on impact? Don't wait until that third-disc dungeon rare drop - just Junction that shit and do it yourself, and be proud of your accomplishments. This system also avoids the repetitive pitfalls that other RPGs fall into - go to a dungeon, open all the chests, sell old equipment, go to a new dungeon, find more equipment, etc. Repeat ad nauseum until the final dungeon.

Going along with customization, there are lots other awesome things that I absolutely adore, including the three-click system where you can instantly switch characters' Junctioned Magic, Abilities and GFs (which makes changing party members literally a 5 second ordeal instead of constantly switching weapons and equipment). I set my three-party up with one fighter (Squall or Zell, high STR and STR+ bonuses), a mage (Rinoa or Selphie, high MAG, VIT, SPR, MP and Mag+ bonuses) and someone that's in the middle (Quisitis or Irvine) to fill the gaps. I also junction 100 Death on my Mage's weapon so that if I need to attack with her she's not just popping piddly damage - she's killing enemies in one hit if I need to use her that way. I also give her the Card ability to get more cards for more refinement.

Another huge plus for me is the Diablos GF that you can obtain fairly early, and what it signifies. With some training you can learn the Enc-Half and Enc-None which do exactly what they imply, effectively giving you the option to play the ENTIRE GAME without ANY random encounters. You didn't have that ability in FFVI until the World of Ruin (and had to keep Mog in your party for it, assuming you knew where to look for the Moogle Charm), and the Enemy Away Materia in FFVII is an absolute joke. By the time that you get it (and the method in which you get it), it's barely necessary and is not worth the time; never mind only stacking to 87.5% instead of a full 100%. I don't even think FFIX had one, and if FFX did I bet you had to add 100 or some bullshit amount of super rare items to a weapon to drop the rate down moderately. My point being: if you don't want to encounter enemies you can do so at an early point in the quest can utilize that for the rest of the game.

Some minor "complaints" I can see from what I have read before are that the Junctioning system is broken, as are Limit Breaks. If you don't want to abuse the system, don't. You do not have to use a Limit Break if you don't want to, so if you think that system is broken, don't repeatedly hammer on the circle button until you get prompted for your Limit. If you don't want to junction 100 Curagas to your HP so that your HP doesn't hit almost 5,000 by the end of disc 1, then don't do that. Simple enough. Another is that summon sequences are too long (which they absolutely are), but if you junction correctly you won't need to see GFs unless you want to. I've seen all of them once and exactly once - I summon them to check them out, and then just remove the GF command from my ability list (another part of each character that is ridiculously customizable).

I could go on about this for pages, but suffice to say I am having a great time with FFVIII and am happy to finally have an RPG that I can completely make my own as I see fit. Other games do that to an extent, but nowhere near as well or as deeply as FFVIII. I am very excited about a game that I have not been excited about for well over a decade, and that feels pretty awesome.

FFVIII, I'd have to agree, not to passionate about the game on the first playthrough; I remember being on auto-pilot, and not really enjoying it. I was decimating bosses without much effort, and pretty much overlooking the entire Junction system. Got up to Ultimecia's Castle, however, and couldn't defeat Griever for the life of me, because I neglected a core mechanic of the game. Also, final dungeons that you can't leave are balls.

Second playthrough, somehow, I really enjoyed the game, and gave the Junction system its due.

However, something about FFVIII is always going to strike me as strange. There's almost no purpose to the towns. Like you said, weapon upgrades - aside from Squall's Lionheart Gunblade, so you can get his ultimate Limit Break - are negligible. The towns exist so you can find people to play Cards with, and there aren't many noteworthy sidequests outside of collecting GFs and Cards.

Honestly, I'd wager to say you can't even beat the game without Lionheart, because I sure-as-hell couldn't. The Eden GF summon is great, for a whopping 40,000 max HP damage, but that still doesn't compare to how much HP the final bosses have. When you need your killer app just to beat the game, I call that pretty abusive. FFVII, I actually managed to beat the first 2 incarnations of Sephiroth without Omnislash, but that final script battle just automatically gives it to you.

Razakin wrote:

Zane wrote:

and if FFX did I bet you had to add 100 or some bullshit amount of super rare items to a weapon to drop the rate down moderately.

If remember right, you can get no encounter weapons/armours on FF X somewhat easily after from Ghost enemies in Cavern the of Stolen Fayth, which is on Calm Lands.

You need the Purifying Salt to use on a weapon with a blank slot, in order to give it the No Encounters ability. Or you can just find a weapon that already has that ability. That's what I did. So many of the special weapon abilities in FFX, you needed parts that were impossible to find, much less amass enough of the same ingredient.

Last edited by Dartannian (Apr 23, 2012)

Razakin wrote:

Zane wrote:

and if FFX did I bet you had to add 100 or some bullshit amount of super rare items to a weapon to drop the rate down moderately.

If remember right, you can get no encounter weapons/armours on FF X somewhat easily after from Ghost enemies in Cavern the of Stolen Fayth, which is on Calm Lands.

I didn't do my research, so I'm probably wrong about FFX. That was just a dig on the item-finding/weapon-modding system for the game. I'm not a huge FFX fan.

Zane wrote:

Instead of gradually giving you little things here and there as the game goes on that build up until a rushed endgame grind for the best stats or abilities, FFVIII gives you the tools to turn your characters into monsters early on.

I don't know if I'd call that fun as much as unbalanced. Not saying an unbalanced game can't be fun - most games are broken in one way or another like Mega Man II and the Metal Blades However, while I don't have any problems with Final Fantasy VIII's gameplay systems in general, I DO have problems with the story. Not a Squall fan (yeah, yeah, I know he's a only stone's throw away from Cloud personality wise) and the game's love story is shoehorned into the experience much like the love angle in the classic movie The Great Outdoors. To this day I'm still convinced that Squall could give less of a ---- for Rinoa. I think he just gave into the social pressure of having a girlfriend because he's supposed to love something that has a vagina between its legs.

And the one major twist? Oh lord.... I called bullshit on that the first time I played the game. Dur... nobody wants to play with me, I can't remember!!!

So yeah, I'll agree VIII's gameplay is the better half of the deal... in my case I don't know if that would be enough to make up for the story's failings.

Amazingu wrote:

I can post an entire 10000-word long rant here on the many many many things that are wrong with FFVIII, but at the end of the day I still bloody love it for some reason, and it's actually one of my favorites in the series. Weird one, that.

I attribute it mostly to the graphics, cinematics, and themes involved.

That shit was gewd-looking back in the day. Each town and city was just nice to walk through and look at.

Also, good soundtrack.

Whole game just had this atmosphere that inspired these irrational warm, fuzzy feelings.

Also, stupid, silly humor, and a few elaborate, subtle jokes that poked fun at the action genre. As in, some of the shit that your characters survive, for example.

FFVII was dark and bleak, and had some sort of point to make. Environmentalism, the end of days, and all that.

FFVIII was about romance, and honor, and justice!

Last edited by Dartannian (Apr 23, 2012)

FFVIII has many, many, many, many, many, MANY issues. It's also wildly entertaining. I've only played through it once and didn't care much for it then but later playthroughs have been a lot of fun. Although, for some weird reason, I keep getting about halfway through, lose interest and then eventually start over...

What am I currently playing? Yeesh, I have so many games on my backlog. Took a break from Tales of Grace F (which I started when I took a break from Mass Effect 3) and tried out Final Fantasy XIII-2 after it dropped to $29.99. It's pretty much what you'd expect (but with terrible music. I actually cheer when they reuse music from XIII).

PerfectZer0 wrote:

I got the "in the water" ending, which by the way is a really dumb ending. All together it took me 7 hours to beat on Normal.  Silent Hill 2 wasn't that good and I'm kinda pissed off...but oh well.

Wow... This is just... Wow...

Azure Dreams is still fun after all these years, though the item restrictions (both total number and amount you can take into the tower) keeps it from being even better.