4811 replies to this topic

[The Satellite]

Non-Castlevania games I'd played since that last post:

 

Vampire Survivors is a game many people kept saying I would like because I like Castlevania. Don't do this, people. Sure, it's clearly inspired by Castlevania, but it doesn't play like one. At all. In the slightest. Anyway I tried it out because it was on Game Pass and actually this is a fantastic game. Very addicting, full of dopamine. Got all achievements, then again after the DLC came out. Loved it. Mad that it didn't even get a Best Indie Game nomination at The Game Awards but we all know those are an establishment sham.

 

Then there was PowerWash Simulator, also played through Game Pass. Like most people, I found it surprisingly fun, relaxing, and satisfying. Very quirky writing too, I enjoyed it. Mostly... I completed it, and ultimately enjoyed it, but there's a level where you clean a caravan and holy shit is it a horribly racist depiction of Romani culture. It didn't need to be! It could've just been someone's caravan! It would've been fine! But no, they go on about how someone (presumably not even a Romani themselves) bought it off a lady in an auction, the lady got mad she was lowballed and tried to curse her, now the owner wants to be a fortune teller in a circus, sends you messages about fortunes and... I fucking hated it. After time away from the game it really just sort of soured me on the whole experience. At least it didn't use the g-slur.

 

I also played Sonic Frontiers, but I talked about that in its own thread.

 

That does it for 2022. Meanwhile in 2023, well, I played Order of Ecclesia again, and I liked it more this time, but other than that...

 

After owning it for three years since it came with my PS4, I finally played The Last of Us. And... eh. I don't think the story was anything special. Joel is a trope. Ellie is the only good character in the game. Other than the infected being cordyceps, it doesn't really set itself apart from other zombie stories because it barely does anything with that concept. Spore areas. I guess. Like the story was fine but it wasn't amazing. And the gameplay... the gameplay is just not it. It's super basic and barely involved. And I sure hope you like moving planks and ladders around. I didn't.

 

That gave me a taste for survival horror games, which I've barely played any of. I've never played a Resident Evil game before. I own 4! But on Steam, I'm also in the process of building a new PC and would rather wait for that to play any PC games. Good thing I found Resident Evil 2 Remake on sale for $10 on PS4! This and 4 were the ones I was most interested in, and you know what... I loved it! Like, few things freak me out nowadays but goddamn did the atmosphere of this one put me on edge. The setting, the atmosphere, the monsters, it was done so expertly. The story is a little corny yes, but that adds to the charm, and the serious moments do often work. And Mr. X. Goddamn Mr. X. I played Leon's story and then the Claire 2nd run, then set it aside with intents to one day come back for the other route. I need to detox because, again, it manages to get under my skin like few games do.

 

... good thing the Metroid Prime remaster just dropped out of nowhere today, and it's a perfect detox! Goddamn, is it pretty so far.

[Shane]

from last year to now i've played (for the first time):

• sonic adventure dx
• sonic adventure 2 (peak)
• sonic advance 1
• sonic unleashed (peak)
• sonic mania 
• sonic heroes
• shadow the hedgehog
• metroid fusion (peak)
• paper mario (peak)

and now im currently playing thousand year door (maybe peak?). probably the most games ive played in a year in a long time tbh. and they've all been exceptional experiences. and this is not counting games ive replayed or as randos. my to-play list is still huge in spite of the progress. and it's definitely going to be interrupted by tears of the kingdom and final fantasy 16 lmao (still need to get to playing frontiers and elden ring too arrrgh) 

Edited by Shane, 09 February 2023 - 07:31 AM.

[The Satellite]

metroid fusion (peak)

👀
 
Fusion is my second-favorite 2D Metroid. It's true that there's not a whole lot off the beaten path, and I can understand that not being to every Metroid fan's taste, but what's there is crafted so well that I don't mind. It feels good to play, the level design is solid, there's a few things I don't agree with (there's a part near endgame where even if you don't trigger the final countdown it still locks you out of exploring the ship until you beat the game) but otherwise it's such a good game.
 
Speaking of Metroid, I finished Metroid Prime Remastered. Gonna nitpick off the bat so we can move past it: They removed the little symbol from the scan icons, which I find odd, but they *did* add extra flair to icons that are important, so that's neat. Part of me wishes they made it more like the scan visor in Prime 2 and 3, but if that would've taken too much time to backport, I get it. Doors also look a bit off, and it's apparently because they accidentally oversaturated the alpha channel, according to a former dev. There's also a weird mechanic where holding the shoot button now fires off a couple shots before charging the charge beam, which isn't the worst thing but it threw off some of my timing for certain enemies.
 
All of those things are incredibly minor and newcomers wouldn't sense anything off about them anyway.
 
The rest of the game? Absolutely beautiful. Fucking perfection. Probably the best remaster I've ever played from a visual standpoint. A lot of remasters tend to overdesign new textures or completely change the mood of a locale or locales, whether with lighting changes or even removing/changing certain effects. I'm thinking largely of the Halo 1 and 2 remasters here, which the first is guilty of in spades, and the second, while ultimately good-looking, is also guilty of in parts. Not so with Prime Remastered. There is some serious effort on display here in regards to not only textures, but there are updates to models and environments and even some animations. All of it is simply a straight upgrade, simultaneously being a massive improvement to visuals while retaining the mood and atmosphere of the original! I'm frankly impressed. Nothing looks radically different, areas that are meant to be dark still are and aren't arbitrarily brightened up... Retro themselves did this remaster, and they're not the same Retro that made the original, but they still clearly understood the assignment, resulting in easily the definitive version of Prime.

 

There's even multiple control schemes! Like how it played originally? That scheme is here! Preferred pointer controls in Trilogy? Also here (but gyro now)! Want a dual stick setup more like modern first person games? It exists! Looking for a control scheme that's like the original controls but when you hold the aim button you aim with gyro instead? Oddly specific, but that exists too.

 

I'm over the moon with this remaster. I would have been happy if they had just released Trilogy with an HD upscale and maybe some alternate control schemes and called it a day. I can see now why they released this game by itself, seeing as this is more than that. To paraphrase how someone put it, "the only game that can make Metroid Prime dated is Metroid Prime." I mean, I still think Prime looks good, but Remastered is another level entirely. Hoping to see 2 and 3 get the same treatment. I mean I think I want 4 to come out first, unless 2 and 3 are already ready or close to it and they trickle releases before 4. Either way. Incredibly happy with this.

[Avaro]

ever since i checked out metroid samus returns, i grew to love the series. 2D and 3D ones are equally cool. i'm hyped for metroid prime 4 to come out someday

[Shane]

👀
 
Fusion is my second-favorite 2D Metroid. It's true that there's not a whole lot off the beaten path, and I can understand that not being to every Metroid fan's taste, but what's there is crafted so well that I don't mind. It feels good to play, the level design is solid, there's a few things I don't agree with (there's a part near endgame where even if you don't trigger the final countdown it still locks you out of exploring the ship until you beat the game) but otherwise it's such a good game.

I really enjoyed it! It felt very polished for a GBA game and fun to get lost in. The game never felt too obscure besides those pillars that rise out of the ground. There was one or two bosses I didn't really enjoy but I think it was a really good Metroid to start properly with. I can't wait to try the remastered version of Prime at some point. I still got to get to playing Dread, too.

[The Satellite]

Well. Despite how fucking good Metroid Prime Remastered was, despite how it had me hooked from start until completion, despite it being the definitive version of one of my favorite games of all time... I couldn't get Resident Evil off the brain for long. I decided to at least try out the original version of Resident Evil 2, because of how much I enjoyed the remake. I tried the original PS1 version... but I could not get past the tank controls. This is how I found out that 2, 3, and Code Veronica all got GameCube ports, so I tried that port of 2. Despite many people calling it the definitive version of the game... it still only has tank controls as an option. But it sure had no trouble adding a weird-ass control scheme where it's still tank controls, but moving forward is mapped to the R button? And your pressure determines whether you walk or run? The fuck?!

 

After some finagling though, I got the N64 version of the game running. This port is seriously impressive. It's as complete as one can get for converting a two-disc PS1 game to a single N64 cartridge (even ignoring the fact that said two discs share a lot of data), and its analog control option made it far more bearable in this day and age. Still baffling that the GCN version didn't keep it, while adding that weird "gas pedal" option. Wild.

 

Anyway, while I ultimately enjoyed my time, I beat the Leon A scenario and called it a day. It's way too clunky and monotonous by today's standards, and the transition doors got old fast, but for their day they were very clever loading screen disguisers. There's really a lot to love from a historical standpoint but I can't see a reason to go back to this unless you're really nostalgic for it, or taking yourself on a little history lesson. Which is the main thing that drove me after the remake. Seeing how similar things were, how different others were, the RPD being very familiar while not quite the same... It was a good time in that regard.

 

I might come back to play through the Claire B scenario sometime in the far future, but for now I'm content to put it down. The remake is fantastic. That's the version I'll stick with... but this was an interesting ride.

[Naldrag]

Let's see I'm currently running through a few games at the moment... we got:

 

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge

Probably gonna finish up Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe or Metroid Prime Remastered before getting started on this, but my impressions of it from the demo were pretty good.  You could essentially call it Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 3 but with a dash more of Metroidvania and also a dash more of Gal-Gun as it is a Gal-Gun spinoff featuring the Kamizono sisters from Gal-Gun: Double Peace who may or may not ultimately be related to Acura/Copen Kamizono from the Azure Striker Gunvolt series, but first impressions were really good for sure.

 

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

A remaster of one of my favorite Kirby titles and a remake of the first console Kirby title after Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, the original was one of my favorite games on the Wii and this remaster has so far tightened the experience even further, the need for no waggle controls is also a bonus.  Also, gotta say I'm a big fan of the Mecha ability, which I assume is from Planet Robobot but I oddly never got around to playing that title.  Maybe something I'll get around to later this year.  Biggest downside is the $60 price tag, but maybe the extra content added to this rerelease will make it worth it in the long run.

 

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

Started playing this when Game Boy dropped on Switch and it's been a treat to revisit.  I still need to give the Switch remake a shot sometime, but for the time being the Game Boy Color version still holds up pretty well.

 

Metroid Prime Remastered

What can I say that hasn't been said already.  For the most part this is the gold standard for how remasters should be done, keeping the original gameplay intact with a bump up in production value on the visuals department.  Also, just the content carried over from the various releases of Metroid Prime over the years are a nice treat as well.  Been playing this with the Japanese voice acting for a few cutscenes and title transitions and what not so that's been interesting~  Also, having four whole control setups for this remaster is quite nice for people who might want to play it like the original Gamecube release, the Wii version or a more traditional twinstick shooter, and something similar to the Gamecube controls with gyro mixed in too because why not.  If you haven't played Metroid Prime before and own a Switch make sure to pick this up.  It's considered one of the greatest games of all time for a reason, and after 20 years it still holds up very well.

 

Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins

Been replaying this as well once the Game Boy stuff on Swith dropped, a bit of a mix of classic Mario games and Super Mario World this takes the classic Mario setup but makes it a lot more open ended.  Was a big fan of this when I was younger and it's nice to say during this replay it still holds up pretty well.  I'll probably be giving the DX rom hack a shot sometime soon too~

 

And that's about it for the time being, there's a few things I pick up outside of these but these are my main focus at the moment, and so there you have it~

Edited by Naldrag, 26 February 2023 - 05:05 PM.

[The Satellite]

I have finally gotten to a game I've been meaning to for a while. One I've owned on Steam for a couple of years and just didn't get to until now. One I was actually interested in as far back as its GameCube release, but it eluded me for whatever reason. Probably also the M-rating guaranteeing I would likely never get to own it for a couple years upon release.

 

I'm talking about Resident Evil 4. Fed by my sudden rising interest in the series following 2 remake and then the original on N64, I didn't feel like waiting until I built my new PC to dive into this one. So I'm feeding my need to dive deeper into this series as well as fulfilling a childhood desire. And ultimately, it's a good video game! Ashley wasn't nearly as annoying to babysit as I'd feared, although she's sadly devoid of character. Actually I'm going to get that out of the way now: The story in this game sorta leaves something to be desired, I'll admit. Some of these characters are fun, and the character and monster design is great, but it doesn't feel like a lot happens despite the game being upwards of fifteen hours long.

 

Seriously, who the fuck is Krauser?!

 

Still, it's an enjoyable game, which is ultimately the draw. The atmosphere is pretty solid, and it's creepy in a different sense than preceding games, which I appreciate what they're going for. I wasn't happy about it having tank controls, but with this third-person over-the-shoulder viewpoint, it was far more manageable than my attempts to try RE2's tank controls, as fixed camera angles made it far more disorienting. There's a fun feedback to the combat, even if some of the controls feel dated while handling it.

 

Speaking of dated, QTEs! So novel back then. Nothing more than a nuisance now. Can't believe there's actually an entire fight that's just a cutscene with QTEs. The remake addresses this with a novel concept: It's an actual fucking fight.

 

This is a game I can definitely see being revolutionary and exciting in its day. Sadly, I jumped into the series with RE2make, which is such a phenomenal game that I think it's hampered my ability to enjoy the older games to their fullest. Which is why I'm looking forward to 4's remake with great interest, how it can tune up the controls and atmosphere to be on par with 2make's presentation. The ultimate takeaway I suppose is that 4 is good and I enjoyed my time with it, but with some hiccups. I'll get back to you after I play the remake. Probably.

[Dark Ice Dragon]

 

Seriously, who the fuck is Krauser?!

 

a ex friend from previous games, but i really don't remember who is...maybe it had another name in different translations ?  in the version of the game i play on ps, in the character gallery it say something like "one time he was one of the good ones, why had to end like this..." ( not in english, was written in my local language )

[Professor Bedwetter]

Pizza tower

[Naldrag]

a ex friend from previous games, but i really don't remember who is...maybe it had another name in different translations ?  in the version of the game i play on ps, in the character gallery it say something like "one time he was one of the good ones, why had to end like this..." ( not in english, was written in my local language )

Krauser was first introduced in Resident Evil 4.

 

 

I have finally gotten to a game I've been meaning to for a while. One I've owned on Steam for a couple of years and just didn't get to until now. One I was actually interested in as far back as its GameCube release, but it eluded me for whatever reason. Probably also the M-rating guaranteeing I would likely never get to own it for a couple years upon release.

 

I'm talking about Resident Evil 4. Fed by my sudden rising interest in the series following 2 remake and then the original on N64, I didn't feel like waiting until I built my new PC to dive into this one. So I'm feeding my need to dive deeper into this series as well as fulfilling a childhood desire. And ultimately, it's a good video game! Ashley wasn't nearly as annoying to babysit as I'd feared, although she's sadly devoid of character. Actually I'm going to get that out of the way now: The story in this game sorta leaves something to be desired, I'll admit. Some of these characters are fun, and the character and monster design is great, but it doesn't feel like a lot happens despite the game being upwards of fifteen hours long.

 

Seriously, who the fuck is Krauser?!

 

Still, it's an enjoyable game, which is ultimately the draw. The atmosphere is pretty solid, and it's creepy in a different sense than preceding games, which I appreciate what they're going for. I wasn't happy about it having tank controls, but with this third-person over-the-shoulder viewpoint, it was far more manageable than my attempts to try RE2's tank controls, as fixed camera angles made it far more disorienting. There's a fun feedback to the combat, even if some of the controls feel dated while handling it.

 

Speaking of dated, QTEs! So novel back then. Nothing more than a nuisance now. Can't believe there's actually an entire fight that's just a cutscene with QTEs. The remake addresses this with a novel concept: It's an actual fucking fight.

 

This is a game I can definitely see being revolutionary and exciting in its day. Sadly, I jumped into the series with RE2make, which is such a phenomenal game that I think it's hampered my ability to enjoy the older games to their fullest. Which is why I'm looking forward to 4's remake with great interest, how it can tune up the controls and atmosphere to be on par with 2make's presentation. The ultimate takeaway I suppose is that 4 is good and I enjoyed my time with it, but with some hiccups. I'll get back to you after I play the remake. Probably.

To further answer the question, Leon met Krauser in between the events of Resident Evil 2 and 4 (obviously).  The only other game inbetween 2 and 4 that featured Leon was Resident Evil Gaiden on the Game Boy Color and 1. It didn't  have Krauser. 2. It was rendered non-canon by Resident Evil 4 and other future titles.  But ultimately, Krauser was first introduced in Resident Evil 4.  Leon and Krauser's backstory however would further be elaborated on in 2009's Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles in one of the scenarios unique to that game.  Outside of that 4, Darkside Chronicles and the upcoming remake of 4, Krauser isn't in anything else.

Edited by Naldrag, 28 February 2023 - 08:46 PM.

[Magi_Hero]

hello yes i am playing octopath traveler 2

 

square enix jrpgs where they get really lazy with the bottom text title art is really fun

 

do you like pixel jrpgs? me too

[The Satellite]

So the "Who the fuck is Krauser?!" line was mostly a joke about how the game treats this character like someone we're supposed to know and feel for Leon regarding, despite having never appeared before. It's laughable and I'm curious to see what the remake does with it. I'd already read about him appearing in Darkside Chronicles (to my utter shock) but I don't think I care much about the spinoffs to get into any of them lol

[Naldrag]

So the "Who the fuck is Krauser?!" line was mostly a joke about how the game treats this character like someone we're supposed to know and feel for Leon regarding, despite having never appeared before. It's laughable and I'm curious to see what the remake does with it. I'd already read about him appearing in Darkside Chronicles (to my utter shock) but I don't think I care much about the spinoffs to get into any of them lol

You can definitely live without playing Darkside Chronicles.

[The Satellite]

Despite misgivings about tank controls after my attempts to play any version of RE2 before finagling the N64 version, I ended up taking a crack at the original game! ... sort of. Anyone remember that it had a DS port? No? Well it did! After a bit of research, I decided that, if I played any version of RE1, it would be that one. Thus, I took Resident Evil: Deadly Silence for a whirl. Get it? Deadly Silence? DS? You're so clever Capcom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

... anyhow, said version had some quality of life features I felt made it the version I wanted to play. On top of the fact that, other than some FMV bitrate crunch, the DS version is apparently a pretty good port. Anyway, it added the ability to skip door cutscenes for one, which I found attractive since those honestly dragged down the experience playing RE2. There's also a dedicated knife button, as well as a dedicated reload button, freeing up an inventory slot and cutting down on menu time to reload guns. Also the constant map is handy.

 

Game also sports a "Rebirth" mode, an arrange mode that includes new puzzles and features based on the DS's functions. I went with the original mode for this run, playing as Jill. With the ability to actually breathe and get a feel for the tank controls, as opposed to RE2 throwing you face-first into death, I was able to adjust. It's... still a very clunky game, but playable! Truthfully I enjoyed it for the most part, there were some very good puzzles and a lot of the notes went a long way to enhancing the atmosphere... especially seeing how far we've come in terms of game design and visuals. Then of course, the legendary voice-acting.

 

I will admit to a generous amount of save-stating, because of the archaic in-game save system. That and it's just so clunky that it rarely feels like my fault when I fuck up. Save states can't help the copious amount of backtracking though, especially when you don't know what you need and when during a first playthrough. If I'd played through this several times and got a feel for the whole game, sure, I could know what I'm doing every time, but that's true of any game a newcomer might find frustrating.

 

Basically, mixed bag overall, but leaning more towards enjoying it. I plan on playing the remake eventually, especially after finding out there're more differences in the remake than I thought, and now I have the frame of reference to appreciate those better.