How's your backlog?

Bluie · Post Posted: Apr 28, 2018 1:17 pm

RopeMaidenKirie wrote: @Bluie - Anything in particular burn you out on the game?

It just got tiring to play. The unskippable bonding cutscenes (ie: you can pick up your partner - or vise versa, like a princess and jump across distances) that you need to use to traverse levels were particularly annoying. Doing them gives you little affection boosts, but it's so miniscule and ham-fisted that all I felt was irritation every time they happened. Like, I get it, everyone's gay for the MC and you gotta raise the affection somehow, but keep it out of my exploration. There's literally an army of demons at the end of this zipline STOP MAKING EYEBABIES.

Other than that, the combat is super dumbed down and janky compared to the PS4 version. Nothing feels like it has an impact and during the bosses, I was doing everything I could to use the terrain it wanted me to, to get the upper hand, but it would trigger 1/5 times. IDK if it was just me but I don't think so.

Also, the time limit is off putting. In Atelier you have months and years to complete goals and explore everything. This gives you three 10 min nights in the beginning and raises it a bit every chapter. I just want to discover everything without being stressed out. :/

Ah well, can't love every game out of GUST, even if they are my favourite company right now. RIP, Neverland, you were my first love.

Ronin19 · Post Posted: Apr 28, 2018 3:30 pm

Bluie wrote:Ah well, can't love every game out of GUST, even if they are my favourite company right now. RIP, Neverland, you were my first love.

It's what I discovered when Andromeda came out with BioWare; even our favorite game companies can make doozies every now and then.

Edit: Movie Night, one of the best side quests ever!

Edit 2: Just beat it again. I'm sure I'll go through my four other files at some point in time. Probably not anytime soon with no sequel confirmed, so I'm not in a rush. Suvi is my last female romance, so just the guys left. So far, I think it goes like this:

Vetra > Cora > Peebee > Suvi > Avela > Keri

Just one more file to see all of the choices I'm truly willing to make aside from the romances. I refuse to

Spoiler:

That'll be for another time though; time to move on to Valkyria Chronicles.

Edit 3: So I'm loving Valkyria Chronicles' characters, but I'm not a fan of the gameplay; there's a chance I may drop it. I'm currently in chapter 4.

RopeMaidenKirie · Post Posted: Apr 29, 2018 3:18 pm

@ Ronin - Thanks for the Hat in Time impressions! I definitely want to pick up Yooka-Laylee sometime on the cheap since I was a huge fan of Banjo back in the day.

My hubs played through Valkyrie Chronicles, and while I like strategy games I wasn't really feeling it. He enjoyed it a lot but it was surprisingly hardcore, and he died a lot lol.

@Bluie - That's a shame :/ I know a lot of people enjoyed the first one, so that sucks it didn't deliver. Time limits stress me out unless they are pretty lengthy, so I definitely don't blame you on nope-ing out of it with all of the other issues.

@ Kikki - Sounds about as long as Bad Apple Wars was, so that's good to know. Definitely going to be on the waitlist, so I can buy it and the sequel and then play them both back to back!

I'm almost halfway through Trails in the Sky the 3rd and it's very interesting how it's quite a bit different than the first and second games. Enjoying it a lot! When I finish this I won't have a backlog technically anymore, since I'll only have Yakuza 0 left :') Hurray! But with getting ready to do a huge international move in the next few weeks, I have a feeling my progress is going to come to a slow halt here really soon since I'm really busy and about to be even busier.

Kikki · Post Posted: Apr 29, 2018 4:23 pm

Oh, I'd just like to mention...being a Canadian citizen only, not US, I can't claim the pins that you can enter your receipts to get, so: if any of you are planning to get the 'summer of mystery' otome games from Aksys but don't want to or can't buy all three games, I'm willing to let you use my receipt for whichever you're missing, if possible, since I can't use them. (I wouldn't anyway since pins are not my thing, honestly.) I know you're allowed to use receipts even if the item was given to you as a gift, so it should be possible. Don't know if anyone cares about the pins, though...just thought I'd offer in case some want the pins but aren't planning to buy all three of the games.

Only one person of course, since I'm not trying to cheat Aksys here or anything

I don't think I'll be managing to fit any more games into April so here it is:

Spoiler:

Ronin19 · Post Posted: Apr 30, 2018 1:30 am

RopeMaidenKirie wrote:@ Ronin - Thanks for the Hat in Time impressions! I definitely want to pick up Yooka-Laylee sometime on the cheap since I was a huge fan of Banjo back in the day.

My hubs played through Valkyrie Chronicles, and while I like strategy games I wasn't really feeling it. He enjoyed it a lot but it was surprisingly hardcore, and he died a lot lol.

It's so adorable! Well created and a gem. I recommend this over Yooka-Laylee. Not saying Yooka-Laylee is bad; I enjoy it. I think A Hat in Time is just a better platformer than it.

Oh yeah, I definitely feel the difficulty. Sadly, I'm dropping it. I'm definitely invested in the characters, but I don't like how difficult it is nor do I like the gameplay. It's really sad though; I remember back when I made that thread for people on here to recommend story games for me and Valkyria Chronicles was one of the suggestions. The graphics drew me in as did the characters and gameplay. It wasn't until it was in my hands that I realized it wasn't for me.

I did just beat A Hat in Time. Definitely worth it, although maybe not for that price given how long it took me to beat it. I would wait for a sale; it is currently on sale on the PSN, which is why I picked it up now. I hope there's a sequel, but I doubt it; you don't find a charming little platformer like that every day.

Guess I'll go back to Jade Empire in the meantime!

Bluie · Post Posted: Apr 30, 2018 3:42 am

I played so much Splatoon 2 last night my palms hurt. I'm going back and forth between it and Neo Atlas and it while I wait for Atelier Lydie & Suelle character DLC to drop. If i'm going to grind the other endings, i'm doing it with the new characters. I just hope they aren't stupidly priced like $10+ per character. This is the first Atelier i've played where the DLC isn't already packaged with the game (All i've ever played are the Plus versions) so idk what to expect. The season pass is redonks expensive so, eh?

And a little bit of sad news. I thought of starting a new I am Setsuna file soonish, but when I booted it, my save file was gone. Save data was still on my system, but the game showed nothing. Reboot and still nothing. RIP my perfect team. I guess it's not a HUGE deal as theres no New Game+, but still, it sucks regardless. Kinda killed my interest in a second playthrough. Must have been some sort of update that killed my save or the data was corrupt? Eh, i'll get over, eventually.

EDIT: The Atelier DLC characters ARE $10+. Ugh, that's gonna be a hard sell.

RopeMaidenKirie · Post Posted: Apr 30, 2018 11:23 am

Oh no, SDV beta branch on Steam updated with the new single player content and multiplayer.. might have to start a new file...

Kikki · Post Posted: Apr 30, 2018 11:51 am

I am STILL not finished my first play of SDV. -___- I put it down about a year ago and then just forgot about it and it keeps slipping my mind. Of my existing games, the ones I intend to get to next (in any order) are:

Stardew Valley (about half done)
Fire Emblem: Awakening (also about half done)
Yonder (ditto, I think)
Dust: An Elysian Tail (8% done...the file actually gives you a completion percentage, lol)

I can't really get myself to commit to one of them and just play it through so I keep chipping in tiny bits at all of them except Stardew (mostly because my sister is still regularly occupying my Switch with her file of DQB). I'm hoping to wrap them all up in May, especially since I've decided not to bother buying Hyrule Warriors after all, which means my only new game slated for May is 7'scarlet, which will only take me 1-2 days. So in theory I should be able to finish them all without a problem even if things get busy (and they're definitely already busier) but...I'm not really feeling motivated. I'll just have to keep playing in dribs and drabs unless one of them manages to drag me back in properly again.

Do you have to start a new game to see the new content? (Though I have SDV on Switch so I guess it doesn't apply to me anyway.)

EDIT: Sorry about your lost file, Bluie. I know how it feels when that kind of thing happens and it's a mean little spurt of crushing/exhausting discouragement.

Ronin19 · Post Posted: Apr 30, 2018 3:32 pm

RopeMaidenKirie wrote:Oh no, SDV beta branch on Steam updated with the new single-player content and multiplayer.. might have to start a new file...

I just tried it for an hour with my friend. Some notes I made:

Spoiler:

Ehppy · Post Posted: May 01, 2018 6:02 pm

Hmmm I've made some not so good decisions for my backlog the past couple of weeks.

I restarted my Pokemon White 2 game... It's not on my backlog but I technically never finished it so I could sort of say it's "for the backlog" but not really. I just really wanted to play some pokemon.
Unfortunately it's opened a whole can of worms, read: games I've already beaten/abandoned but want to play again. Animal Parade, Tree of Tranquility, Rune Factory 4, Fire Emblem Awakening, Chrono Cross, Legend of Mana, the Jak and Daxter trilogy, Tomodachi Life, oi, the list goes on and on.

On top of that, I DID finally pick up Style Savvy: Styling Star, so that sets me back a point. In my defense, I think that's the only game I've bought so far this year, which probably would have been a lot more if not for Backlog Blitz in general.
And I'm really enjoying it so far. I played Fashion Forward when that came out and was really surprised at how much fun I had, so I'm glad this one made it over to NA, even though it's digital only.

I'm close to beating DQB, in the final chapter now. I keep getting burned out of material farming. I might be being a little ambitious with my building and it's taking up a lot of my time getting all the materials, so I'm playing in shorter spurts now to avoid total burn out.

So overall, minimal progress actually made on my backlog, but progress is progress. P:

Also I'm basically just... frothing at the mouth waiting for the Spyro Reignited Trilogy...
It's like a Nostalgic Arrow straight to the heart.

Kikki · Post Posted: May 01, 2018 6:47 pm

I'm now feeling very impatient for 7'scarlet as once I play an otome I like, I tend to want to just keep playing them and them only...for me it seems to be the addictive junk food of the gaming world. I replayed Collar X Malice because I just finished P.o.t.Black Butterfly and didn't want to return to more standard games.

Replaying is often more fun than getting into something new, ime. Don't you find? Sometimes you just want to go back to old favourites so much more than anything else. It's hard to resist, but when your current backlog is heaping up, it feels regrettable. I still need (and want!) to replay Tales of Xillia as I completed it twice but never got to my Milla playthrough at all. I just cannot resist playing as Jude. It seems as impossible as replaying ANB without marrying Sanjay again. I just can't.

But I'm really pleased with my backlog this year. Only bought 4 games in 2018, played them all right away, and finished another 9 games on top of that, so even with the (-6) handicap I gave myself at the start of the year, I've still hit (+3) for 2018 to this point. And I have not purchased any stinkers this year at all...nothing I was even 'meh' on...everything was something I liked quite a bit. I've eliminated 2 titles off my purchase list this year so far due to more strict adherence to my own rules, and I'm happy about it.

All the games I plan on getting for sure the rest of the year are ones I am confident that I will like or really like, though I don't yet forsee a new addition to my loved list.

Of course, we haven't hit E3, yet. I feel so organized at this point that E3 looks like a landmine waiting to be stepped on...

Ehppy · Post Posted: May 01, 2018 11:36 pm

@Kikki

I might have to look into those... I like Otomes but I've only played the free ones.

I almost picked up the Hakuoki game on 3DS but I was a little self-conscious about it, hahah... Which I don't know why I should be, I buy all kinds of games that are probably far stranger to an outside eye.

Yeah, it is really easy to just slip into a favorite like a good pair of comfy slippers or something. I just have such good memories of these games and I already know that I love them and that they'll be worth my time. Awakening in particular has been on my mind recently because I'm been playing so much Fire Emblem Heroes on my phone, but I've played that game so, so much... I think I have about 350 hours on it, spread across four finished playthroughs and three about halfway through.
( And I feel you on repeating choices. Sometimes I'm okay about trying something else, but in some cases there's just a clear cut best option that I can't ignore.. When I play Mass Effect Garrus is the only option lol. And Sanjay IS the obvious best choice in ANB, to be fair. P: )

Sounds like a really nice pace! I'm glad they've all been good ones for you, too. Even though I consider myself pretty discerning of what I will and won't like, I still get got every once in a while, and it's a frustrating experience.
I've only managed to finished I think three or four titles so far this year, but there are a bunch I'm so close to beating. There may be an avalanche of completions in my future.

And E3.... *shudders* I love E3 so much but I'm afraid of what news may be in store for my wallet.

Ronin19 · Post Posted: May 02, 2018 1:37 am

Ehppy wrote:Unfortunately it's opened a whole can of worms, read: games I've already beaten/abandoned but want to play again.

I'm glaring at my, "need to beat again," pile myself; it contains Jade Empire (currently playing), 4 files for Mass Effect Andromeda, Tale of Two Towns, A Wonderful Life (technically never beat it; only got to chapter 3 a multitude of times), Grand Bazaar, DS, Rune Factory, Rune Factory 2, Rune Factory 3 and Rune Factory 4.

The goal is to at least beat the Bokujou Monogatari games again before the Switch one comes out. Other than that, since it's the immediate goal, I want to play Jade Empire again since I only beat it once (stupid Xbox One cloud save or whatever deleted like 5 hours of progress though, so I'm ticked off at that), I have 4 romances left to explore in Andromeda, and I've always wanted to binge the Rune Factory series in one go as I've never beaten Frontier or Tides of Destiny.

I've already decided to just try and get the Andromeda files over with once this file for Jade Empire is finished. Again, not happy with my Xbox since my progress just up and disappeared; I got to chapter 5 and everything and was pretty sure I could beat it tomorrow. I'm at the end of Chapter 3 again. Not sure how many files for Andromeda I can get done in May; maybe 3 of them since I'm planning on getting One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 for Switch, Hyrule Warriors for Switch, Yakuza 0, « Harvest Goddess » of War (it's really Dad of Boy, lol) and Vampyr at the beginning of June. The Warrior games shouldn't take long, Yakuza 0 and « Harvest Goddess » of War are going to be tests to see if I like them enough to play them later in my life, so Vampyr is the ultimate goal to beat Andromeda.

Kikki · Post Posted: May 02, 2018 5:15 pm

Ehppy wrote:I might have to look into those... I like Otomes but I've only played the free ones. I almost picked up the Hakuoki game on 3DS but I was a little self-conscious about it, hahah... Which I don't know why I should be, I buy all kinds of games that are probably far stranger to an outside eye.

I guess admitting you play and enjoy otome games is something akin to admitting you're a romance-novel afficionado, which not everyone would be comfortable with. People have wide-ranging perceptions of it, because they really run the gamut, from really top quality writing to total skeezy trash. I don't actually read romance novels myself as they tend to be so corny your skin just about crawls off (a friend gave me one she found particularly funny, once, and I must admit she was right, but the thing is that it wasn't supposed to be humorous. It's the only one I've ever read.) but otome games are a lot of fun.

Of course, they also run the range of high-quality stories down to trash, but the thing is that it's all a matter of opinion. I absolutely loathed Ozmafia, to the point where I find it hard to find anything good to say about it at all, but a lot of people really praise it. I really liked Sweet Fuse, but RopeMaidenKirie didn't like it one bit. And so on.

The truth is that a lot of otomes aren't romance heavy and spend 90% of their time focusing on the plot with only little threads of romance woven in. I tend to prefer those ones as ones that focus on the romance part too much tend to get cheesy or weird, at least in my opinion.

If you ever really want to try one, I'm quite sure we can recommend some to you based on your preferences

Full out purchased otome games tend to have much higher quality stories than free-to-play apps or the like. Scarlet Fate has a fairly involved story and is free, but is painfully slow with the many many gateways they put in where you have to meet style levels or have passports or do other things that either take a lot of time or require you to make a purchase to avoid the very lengthy stat raising and so on that it would take to get through it for free (which can literally take weeks to accomplish). :/

Ronin19 · Post Posted: May 02, 2018 11:20 pm

Oh no! The May the 4th sale has something I wanted: Star Wars Lego. And Gleaner Heights is on sale too. These sales need to stop! I only have so much time on my hands!

I did finish Jade Empire today and finished the Detroit: Become Human demo. The former needs an update; it hasn't aged well. The latter is interesting, but it's too much for me; I'd rather watch someone play it rather than play it myself.

I'm just going to try and finish up as many Andromeda files as I can before One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 comes out for Switch, so probably a file and a half.