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Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 23, 2020 1:01 pm
by Kikki
Okay, the backlog thread is too darned big for me to introduce another aspect to it, even though I think this would fit there. What I want is to be able to discuss games that we have not yet bought, but are THINKING of buying. The ones that are most seriously under consideration to be our next new game. It'd be nice to have a place to get feedback from others on those games. Right now that discussion tends to sneak into the tentative announcements thread and the backlog thread in little bits and pieces, but...how about a thread dedicated to that?

For example, of games already released, I am seriously considering Final Fantasy VII Remake, Astral Chain, Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Journey to the Savage Planet. I know a decent amount about the first three and am just juggling around the pros-and-cons of them (they're pretty evenly matched, so it's a tough decision) but I know very little about JttSP. (It's very newly released, and by an indie dev...I think this may even be their first game, so I have nothing to judge by, but I like games where you can explore and catalogue your finds. On the other hand, first person perspective, BLECK. And some first person shooter aspect, though probably on a fantasy level, not a gory one.)

Be great to hear what people liked/disliked about those games...they may reveal something I didn't know, before, that may apply to me, too. I think it'd be nice to have this thread to be a place to look for information on games we can't make our minds up on and thus are still looking for enough info to be able to make that final decision.

Whatchu think, guys? Got any of your own 'I can't decide!' game lists that have been under consideration for days, weeks, months...possibly even years?

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 23, 2020 1:21 pm
by Kross lover/fan
I loved loved loved FF7R but I also played the original so it might be partial nostalgia talking. It takes its own spin and expands on the story and characters but at the same time it takes things from the original and makes me go ‘oh I remember that!’
Plus Chocobos. They are just so gosh darn cute.
I went a little crazy and got all the pre order bonuses, ‘buy candy to get materia’ and All the summonings (except for one) that I can get.
My only slight complaint, which isn’t really much of a complaint is when you beat the game, you can replay it in hard mode. In that mode you can’t use items, you can’t level up past 50 and at times it’s a little TOO hard. I’m stuck in Hojos lab and I keep dying no matter what strategy I do. I don’t think I can make it past without looking up how.
Bright side: you can redo any of the chapters in any order you want after you beat the game so I was able to get all of Tifas, Clouds, and Aeriths dresses lol.
And Sephiroth....I loooooooove me some sephiroth :wink: :heart:



Games I’m considering...Doreamon Story Of Seasons. Idk I’ve been on the fence about this game for a while.
Grand Theft Auto believe it or not. I just want to try the game :/ mom even wants to watch me play XD
It’s on sale but I’m not sure if I’d actually continue to play it after I try it.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 23, 2020 3:40 pm
by Simply Unknown
@Kikki
I haven't played most of the games you are considering, but I have played FE: Three Houses so at least I can talk about that. As a game on its own merits, it is pretty good. There are 4 paths that you can choose from storywise and which path you choose has different effects on your playthrough like which characters you start out with. With a lack of a weapon's triangle like in the majority of the FE series, new players don't have as much to learn or worry about in battle, especially with the ability to rewind if a battle is going poorly or play on Casual mode which removes the permadeath option that Fire Emblem is famous for.

The voice acting for this game is pretty excellent, and you are allowed to choose between Japanese or English voices. The characters are incredibly fun with plenty of standouts like the lord characters. Support conversations are mostly pretty strong, with some being more lighthearted and others being very serious. There's also plenty of worldbuilding which is a massive improvement from the last game in the series, where the continent wasn't even given a name.

That being said, there are some flaws with the game. For one, there is no one single path in the game that will give you all of the answers you seek. It encourages replayability, but has drawn some heavy lines in the community about specific characters and which path is the best. The game throws a lot of information at you in the beginning and for newer players, it can be a bit overwhelming especially if they're new to Fire Emblem as a whole. The game itself is morally gray on all paths and can get a bit dark on some of them, which could be triggering for people with PTSD.

Due to the nature of the separate paths, there are also plot points that people feel can be glossed over or happen too quickly, if they're even addressed at all. Also, one of the paths is more difficult to get on unless you know what you're doing or have looked at a walkthrough so that can affect some people's first playthroughs. I'm not sure which house you're planning to start with if you do pick Three Houses, but I can give you a bit more information if you let me know. Good luck with your decision!

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 23, 2020 4:14 pm
by Kikki
Thanks, Kross and Simply. :)

For the ones you're debating, Kross...I wish I could help, but I've never played Grand Theft Auto, and Doreamon...well, I did play the demo, but I'm betting that if you're interested in it, you've played the demo too, and know as much as I do. Unfortunately, I'm totally useless, here. :(

Currently FFVIIR is at the top of my 'next new game to take a risk on' category as I liked what I played of the original, more than any other FF game I've tried. (I played a bit past the Midgar section, but not by a lot. I was out on some big field or plain or something for the first time.) I love the graphics. The setting is not at all my style (gimme sunshine and trees!) but it's the best bet for me, over all.

~

FE:TH would be my next choice, as I just don't get that much of a 'me' vibe from Astral Chain. I played Awakening, and really liked the characters and story, but really hated the strategy combat, and knowing that's what'll be in FE:TH as well turns me off. PLUS I actually really dislike games where I have to play the whole thing over again to get more of the story. I doubt I'd ever play more than one route, and that would probably be Blue Lions...that's my first inkling, anyway. My next choice would be Golden Deer. That was my first leaning when the game appeared, but thinking about it a while, Blue Lion became more of interest to me. As for the Black Eagles...nooooooo thank you! That Adelaide or Edlegarde or whatever she is...she instantly gave me the willies. Her eyes look crazy...too intense...kinda inhuman, like a wolf more than a person. Or maybe a whacked out cultist/zealot. I don't wanna do her route, anyway. I don't know a fourth route.

No games YOU are debating over, Simply?

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 23, 2020 4:28 pm
by Simply Unknown
Kikki wrote:Thanks, Kross and Simply. :)
FE:TH would be my next choice, as I just don't get that much of a 'me' vibe from Astral Chain. I played Awakening, and really liked the characters and story, but really hated the strategy combat, and knowing that's what'll be in FE:TH as well turns me off. PLUS I actually really dislike games where I have to play the whole thing over again to get more of the story. I doubt I'd ever play more than one route, and that would probably be Blue Lions...that's my first inkling, anyway. My next choice would be Golden Deer. That was my first leaning when the game appeared, but thinking about it a while, Blue Lion became more of interest to me. As for the Black Eagles...nooooooo thank you! That Adelaide or Edlegarde or whatever she is...she instantly gave me the willies. Her eyes look crazy...too intense...kinda inhuman, like a wolf more than a person. Or maybe a whacked out cultist/zealot. I don't wanna do her route, anyway. I don't know a fourth route.

No games YOU are debating over, Simply?
Blue Lions is the best story if you're looking for close knit characters with good development, but doesn't really do much in terms of lore. Golden Deer gives you the entire story, but doesn't have as much emotional investment in the war as the Blue Lions do. Sorry that you aren't fond of the strategy combat though.
Spoiler:
The Fourth Route is when you start with the Black Eagles, but decide not to work with Edelgard. It's actually easier to do than working with Edelgard in the first place.
And nope, no game debate for me. I know what I want to do.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 23, 2020 4:55 pm
by Kikki
Simply Unknown wrote:And nope, no game debate for me. I know what I want to do.
Heh heh...you must not be as fussy as me. With each of the games I'm considering, they have aspects I know I will like...and they also have aspects I know I will not like. So it's always a big war on my pro-and-con list, with almost every game I buy...trying to decide if the pros sufficiently outweigh the cons, enough that I won't regret my purchase and have enough fun to actually finish the game. There are only a handful of games/series that I know I'll love them...everything else gives me this big headache, because my likes and dislikes are both very faithful and very obnoxious.

I always take a really long time to figure out if I should buy something or not. I tend to dislike more than I like. Well, being fussy saves me money and time, but it can get irritating, too.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 24, 2020 6:14 am
by Bluie
I have a list of games that I keep that pertain to upcoming releases I know I'll buy day one. 80% of them are in limbo with little to know news or are still heavily in development. Because of this, I have been looking to more game I've passed on the past year or so, however, it hasn't been a super productive venture. I am lacking the mindset to finish games I only have slight interest in, thus I bought many games and finished few - which bugs me, but It can't be helped at this point. SO, with that in mind, I'm pretty much forcing myself to only look at games that I know I'll finish, but I don't necessarily want them presently. Right now said games are;

- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition
- Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX
- Trials of Mana
- Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl Gold
- Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

They all have gameplay I enjoy or have pleasing art styles or are remakes of games I've played before. With Xenoblade, I'm honestly very mixed towards it due to my first romp with it on 3DS ended with me not liking it, BUT, I enjoyed the second game enough to put almost 300 hours into it, so I am more than willing to give it a second chance at this point (I want... moar xenoblades....). With Pokemon, it's a remake of a game I played to death in elementary school (i'm talking multiple playthroughs, probs 200+ hours overall), so I'm not over the moon about it, but I love PMD as a series and I want to support it. Trials of Mana - I want it, I do, just not right now. Maybe once I get through my backlog. Snack World was a game I REALLY wanted back when it first came out in Japan, but it took forever to get over here + they killed the NFC toys that went with it (I imported some of them!) so i'm 'meh' about it, but I'm also a huge sucker for any game that lets your create your own character - so i'll pick it up eventually. With Bug Fables, it's a homage to the Paper Mario series and I've been following it's development for awhile now, but I'm just not in the mood for it atm, maybe later.

The only other game i'm wavering on is Summer Pockets, a KEY visual novel that i'm pretty much guaranteed to like (I have a big bias towards the company - have never hated anything they've put out), but I'm a little burnt out on Visual Novels as a whole right now.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 24, 2020 6:26 am
by Kikki
Where did you play until in Xenoblade on 3DS? Had you left the Colony 9 region? (I assume you had. The story doesn't start to get complicated until around when you get your party member from the Bionis' Leg region.) If you weren't into it because it was blocky and blurry, then that problem is solved by this new edition, but if that wasn't it, I'm not sure whether you'll enjoy it this time around either. Did you not like the world/characters/plot? Too many side-quests? Combat system too hard or too easy? (The original had no difficulty adjustment, as I'm sure you know, and I haven't heard that they've added one for XenoDE the way they did for XC2.) Pacing not to your liking?

Can't weigh in on any of the others you've got on your list, but I certainly know XC1 inside and out. I think the only way you'll like it this time around is if you either 1) couldn't get into it because of the bad graphics, 2) wanted more Melia in the game or 3) liked XC2 so much that the very brief and tiny connection it has to XC1 are of enough interest to make you want to see them for yourself. But otherwise, the content of the game is exactly the same as the original. Only the Future Connected bit is new, and it's not part of the main game, so...

I can't wait to see the Bionis with cleaner graphics (even though I dislike the way they altered the character style to be more anime, particularly for Shulk and Fiora...more like XC2, whose style was not at all to my taste) and hear even better music, though. I think even XC2 is a better-than-average game, but it wasn't really to my liking. The gameplay is not that similar, imo, so I'm not of the opinion that just because you like one, you're especially likely to enjoy the other.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 24, 2020 10:19 am
by Mikodesu
Sadly the only games I can't make up my mind about are long ones (60 hours+ ish)... There are some titles/series that I'll jump on no matter how many hours I sink into it but what used to draw me to a game is kind of a negative anymore. :lol: Or at least a sticking point.

But I guess that's what Let's Plays and streams are for. It doesn't exactly SOLVE the problem but for me it can help me make up my mind about a game. It can be like a demo when one doesn't exist.

I do WISH I had time for more long games, because there are some excellent ones I've missed out on, but I also really like having time for my art projects and I guess for the time being this is the balance I'm hitting.


As for listed games...only a couple I can speak to at all

@Kikki: Imo the best things about Astral Chain are the gameplay and aesthetic. The story is NOT enough to carry it. It's interesting, but I don't think I'd ever play a Platinum game for story... On the other hand I think FE: 3H could be carried by its story. Just parroting a reviewer and streamer who went into the game for its gameplay more than story, both ended up REALLY enjoying the game. And both said the gameplay on normal was easier than Awakening, so maybe with a little easier gameplay you could focus more on story and not stress so much about battles.

@Bluie: Imo...save Snack World for a BIG sale or skip it. I was interested too until I saw reviews + a stream of the game and it's very grindy and very repetitive. Which I know is part of the genre but this just seems...worse, somehow. Been since the game came out that I've seen it so I can't explain it well.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 24, 2020 11:06 am
by Bluie
@Kiki - I got to the part where Sharla joined and we were out looking for Juju. I remember getting really frustrated with a boss. I don't think I had fully grasped the combat yet + at the time open world games were really not my thing, so I think a number of grievances piled up and I quit. I'm certainly more inclined towards the game now, ticking a lot of boxes today than it did several years ago. I'm probs just gonna wait til I have a hankering for an open world JRPG before I pick it up.

@Mikodesu - I'll keep that in mind. I have a feeling it'll hit a steep sale eventually, so I'll keep sitting on it for awhile.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 24, 2020 11:39 am
by Kikki
I played XC1 on regular difficulty, of course, since there ARE no difficulty options in the original, and I'm a total schlub, but then, for some reason, I always GET Xenoblade battle systems, probably more than I get any other game's combat. (I played XC2 on regular too, as I completed it before they added the alternate difficulty modes.) I don't know why...it always feels intuitive, to me, like no others do, lol.

But it is rumoured (because of a French listing that has since been removed) that XenoDe will have 3 difficulty levels...beginner, normal and hard. I'd probably still play on normal (though I could really go for easy when it comes to the post-game content!) but I think it'd be good if they did add those choices. I think it's for the best to let people choose whether they want to concentrate on gameplay or on story. And sometimes even if you're good at a battle system, you want to replay just to experience the story again, and it's nice to be able to speed through.

Also, the game becomes much harder once the enemies start having (mechanic spoilers and region name spoiler)
Spoiler:
'spike' abilities, where your own damage is reflected back on you. There's a difficulty spike around Sword Valley that a lot of people get stuck on if they are either underleveled OR unprepared for 'spike'. (You can make anti-spike gems, but if you don't know to do so, you can be totally stumped as to why half of all the enemies you meet are suddenly wiping your whole party even though nothing seems to be wrong.) It'd be good to be able to lower difficulty for times when the battle system is less than opaque. Not everyone want to spend hours to 'git gud' just to be allowed to see what happens next in the story! (My bro-in-law quit at Sword Valley because he was underleveled due to ignoring side-quests and because he wasn't prepared for 'spike'...and another friend of mine had to restart there because he couldn't get past it, either.)

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 24, 2020 12:19 pm
by Bluie
I played through XC2 two times before they dropped the DLC that added easy + custom difficulties, so I can deal with it if XCD doesn't have easy mode, but it'd be nice to have regardless. Being able to glide through a game I'm a little shaky on might help me enjoy it more.

I remember having to master the driver combos in XC2 on specific enemies to get them to drop legendary cores. "DRIVER COMBO COMPLETE" is ingrained into my brain with how much grinding I had to do get my last few blades (KOS-MOS and Ursula just never ever wanted to pop - it was driving me crazy). Easy mode was a nice addition for my bruised thumbs.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 24, 2020 1:05 pm
by Kikki
Yeah, I agree. I like XC1's battle system (imo, difficulty-wise, XC2 was easiest, XC1 is next, and XCX is definitely the hardest. Almost everyone agrees on that, though it seems opinions are quite split on whether XC1 or XC2 was more difficult to master.) I just think there's no good reason not to let people choose their own focus. Let them sail through the story OR enjoy a battle challenge...or try a bit of both. Whatever they want.

I hope XenoDE does really well, though I've little fear that it won't. I'd sure love to have it be so profitable that they decide porting over XCX is worthwhile after all.

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 26, 2020 3:21 am
by Kikki
Check it out, Bluie. XenoDE WILL have a 'casual' mode. :D Glad they're letting people choose where to invest their time!

Re: Games you can't make up your mind about

Posted: May 26, 2020 4:15 am
by Bluie
Kikki wrote:Check it out, Bluie. XenoDE WILL have a 'casual' mode. :D Glad they're letting people choose where to invest their time!
Awww yiss. This is now higher on my list.

I'm gonna be tied up for awhile with my backlog, but I'll defs me looking at getting a copy before this years ends.