What are you currently playing?

[MeganJoanne | 365]

Just finished playing through Willow on the NES. Last time I played this was in 2003, so it was long overdue to be played through again. Like Crystalis which I played through last year it was very enjoyable to play again after so much time. Crystalis when I played that again then, it was even better than my earlier years playing it, loved it, every bit of it. Willow, as well, but as I played I did have some gripes, small one, some items are not spaced out very well, such as getting the Kaiser Sword from Airk in Tir Asleen and using it just to kill the Eborsisk boss and then getting the Wonder Sword just moments later in the same place and then not too long after the Wonder Sword not being much use because the Wing Sword gets an upgrade. The bigger gripe are the bosses, they are lame, mostly lacking any challenge, something I forgot until I studied them for a few moments to realize, they don't do a whole hell of a lot. They can take you down quick damaged wise and you can't use magic when fighting so can't heal, which is odd. The whole boss fight thing doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the game actually. And the final boss Bavmorda, you have to hit her with shots from Cherlindrea's Wand, and every shot has to hit without fail otherwise once out of magic you are screwed, no other way to harm her in the first phase of her attack. Just lame. Another gripe, can't skip or fast forward dialogue, you have to listen to the whole conversation, not so bad really, unless you enter the tavern again and find yourself listening to the same very long conversation you just heard and didn't think would happen again when all you wanted to do was get some rest to restore some HP and MP.

The good, excluding the bosses, the action throughout and the world to explore, all good. The music really good, some favorite tunes here that I hum from time to time despite having not played the game in ages. Love how the screen shifts and warps when enemies are attacking, especially with trees shaking and grass swaying. Swords have weight, that if you are too low an experience level your skill with it will be low thus slower slashes with your sword, though my only very small issue with this is that it is tied to your total experience level, thus once high every sword will be easy to use, and leveling up while requiring some grinding doesn't really take that long. I think the whole sword skill thing could have been better done if each sword had to be learned by using it, but then perhaps that would just over complicate it. Only real, and again minor issue I have with the swords is forgetting to switch to the Devil Eye for those ghosts and undead enemies and then forgetting to switch back to another sword to every other type of enemy. Oh, Willow's shields, I like these, they work as they should, blocking most shots and attacks, with a satisfying click each time, and this is important because I hate when games give shields and all they do is give you a status boost to your overall armor level or something, though I never did explore the differences in Willow's shields, and how much better one protected against another one.

The game only very loosely follows the movie, sorta like Batman, also for the NES, got the locations, the characters, the plot but changes it up to play out differently and adds in a whole bunch of new stuff, and it's all fine and dandy because it is a game and the best ones don't completely follow the movies exactly. Though with as much as is different, they could have done made it their own completely, come up with their own characters and those few things from the movie that are actually used in the game change those as well as the locations and names and perhaps they could have kept this going into a sequel and actually had something longer lasting. Perhaps, but then nothing else ever really come after Crystalis aside from a few other ports of the same game (no sequels or prequels, nothing else) and that was all original and one of the best overhead action adventure RPGs, so even if Capcom did their own completely instead of using the Willow license, well, guess we will never know whether it would have been enough for it to become a series, after all, aside from Megaman and a few others, most of their early games were one time hits.

I always found it odd how in this game Willow, who is a magician uses primarily swords and shields, and that is pretty much how I play him because magic is limited. But by me guess they were making him sorta the Link to the original Zelda game. Though I would have enjoyed using Madmartigan for the fighting and switching characters to use Willow for spells, but then why bother, again, loosely based on the movie, in here Willow is just as competent with sword as he is with magic. And just as the Willow game got inspiration from the first Zelda, Zelda: A Link to the Past took a few ideas from this game, such as Po, the flying creature in this game which acts as fast transport to a handful of visited places, as well as how Willow slashes and stabs with his sword, and even some of the magic spells are sorta the same, and overall sorta has a similar feel, such as I get when in the villages in Willow to that one village Koko... something in Zelda: ALttP, as well as the caves. What Willow though is missing is puzzles, nope, all action here. I think if the game would have had something more besides straight up action (aside from the wandering around trying not to get lost in caves) then it could have been a stronger contender. Still, bosses aside, the game is still a favorite overhead action/adventure/RPG game for me.

Recorded my whole gaming session, something I haven't done in a while.

 

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

I'm still playing Animal Crossing: New Horizon.

As we speak I am still waiting to discover the last few fossils, which I think I need 6 to complete that part of the museum. And unless I get luck with donations mailed to me the remaining two may not be completed this year. Ditto with the art gallery since I have not received an opportunity for some time now. Plus I have been transforming the house into a mini Nakano Broadway. The basement is an original design, but the rest will be a definite homage.

Plus I am also playing the Street Fighter Collection.

It was on sale and I have not played any Street Fighter games since 2013. The last fighter I did play was Million Arthur: Arcana Blood. And I literally beaten that on my first try. One 100 yen coin, 1-2 different single round losses, with me not having any clue how I was winning. But with this one I finally beaten Street Fighter III: New Generation. With the help of being able to save my game. Because the reasons why I have not finished my remaining JRPGs was why I needed to use the save feature.

[MeganJoanne | 365]

Recca. Played it for about an hour, for the contest this week. I hadn't participated for a while and decided to give this one a shot. It is really intense, a little too much that it is really hard to see much of what is going on when too much is happening at once, it is complete chaos. I did enjoy it for the time I played it but did have to look up what the different power ups were because there were too many letters and two color types and with all the craziness it was hard to tell what was giving me what. Love the shield system and how when not shooting it automatically charges and can block even the deadliest of shots and then you can shoot the shield energy off and then it recharges again during your next long pause without blasting, pretty cool and effective. Still, even after nearly an hour and gradually getting further into the game, I struggle with controlling the too fast moving ship, especially when fighting the second boss, losing more than a few lives to it trying to move lightly but moving too much and crashing multiple times into its blasts. And As I say this, suddenly now it occurs to me to try the select button, duh, like Space Megaforce. So the default speed is fast, actually mid level speed for this ship which has 5 levels of speed. I can't imagine even being able to play this on the fastest, like any other space shmup would just cause me to crash into shit. Okay, so will have to give this another whirl next time with the knowledge that I can adjust the speed of my ship to my liking.

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

Project Blue - Still a lot to play here, but it reminds me of Battle Kid which is awesome since this style of tough platformer is probably my favorite video game genre. I've played on Hard and Brutal, and the higher difficulties change a bunch of stuff around, it's not just like lower health or something.

[Strange | 1,700]

I know this is a currently playing thread but I’m trying to decide if I want Dark Souls for the Switch. Never played Dark Souls, it came out during a time I was on a gaming hiatus. But it’s got legendary status, so I feel like I should give it a shot.  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,526]

Do it.

 

Wargroove, and still plugging along SteinsGate

[Nostalgic Machine | 27]

• Cobra Triangle (NES)
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBA)
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBA)
• Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)

Edited June 17, 2020 by Nostalgic Machine
EDIT: formatting on mobile

[DarkTone | 984]

WW2. 

[Skorp | 383]

Day 1000 for Animal Crossing lol. I've played it everyday since day 1 and nothing else. This weekend, I will finally go back to Pokemon Sword for that expansion pack.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

The other day I finally discovered I was missing out when it comes to the second simcity game on the DS, SimCity Creator.  It's quite well designed, pulled away a lot of the overkill nagging and annoyances of the original.  I really like how it's in a way like civilization and those sorts where your scenario mode has you jump through eras of time with limits on development.  The dawn of civilization part to start was smart with hunting ground, huts, tribal community space, an icon of the age to develop, and even a temple to pray to stop tornadoes faster.  After that the other periods you have choices of style to go with, I picked a Japanese/Korean era style land in the 2nd generation of play and it's smart about how it starts adding new zones and things of concern.

[zeppelin03 | 314]

I decided to test out my Vita after modding.  Playing through Symphony of the Night with adrenaline since I don't feel like digging out the OSSC.  Going great so far.

Edited June 19, 2020 by zeppelin03

[Nostalgic Machine | 27]

• Cobra Triangle (NES)
• Mega Man 1-6 (NES)
• Tecmo World Wrestling (NES)
• Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
• Fester's Quest (NES)
• Guardian Legends (NES)

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

TLOU2. It's like watching a season of TV while holding a controller. The little gameplay it lets you have is either just running around the edges of environments finding "stuff" or brief stealth action bits in around random crouch-high walls, the same as TLOU which is all very similar to other stealth-kill/distract-and-run style stealth action as Metal Gear, Splinter Cell, Deus Ex, etc.  The bits of nonlinear exploration where it takes you off the rails for a bit has been cool.

I do like the dark and serious story and I'm enjoying it, I just can't help but think "Why is this even a video game?" the majority of the time I'm playing. Honestly, the gameplay is probably the worst part!

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Started up Spider-Man on PS4 since my 4-year old son is a huge fan and it's one of the rare modern games I can actually play in front of him. The action and fighting in the opening segment feels great, although I can tell beating up thugs will get old fast, so I'll probably just mainline the story. Swinging around the city is quite fun and the controls are intuitive enough that my son was able to make a decent attempt at traversal. We're also nearing the end of Kirby's Epic Yarn on Wii which is pretty forgiving for the first half, but has gotten too hard for him on the back end.

I'm also still playing Jurassic World Evolution which is a nice changeup from all the other stuff I usually play. It's a bit shallow for a management sim, but the addition of dinosaurs and the high production values (including voice work by multiple actors from the old and new movies) make it enjoyable. I'll probably finish up the main contracts on the main islands and call it good.

Lastly, I tried out the Grounded demo/technical test on Xbox. It's a survival game with lots of crafting which is not something I generally like. However, I enjoyed running around and pretending I was in Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Could be cool with friends and it will be free with GamePass.

 

[Tanooki | 4,933]

I can't remember even when I stopped, had to be late Feb start of March when I put Pokemon Shield down.  I put it back in my system a day or two ago and still ignored it until this afternoon where I ran the battery on the switch down to 10% before docking it.  I dabbled a bit in the wildzone which put me off the game as it just felt like a huge demoralizing destraction so I stopped, stopped early too.  I hadn't got to the first legit central town yet that wasn't rural, the one where you sign up into the league as i parked it at the gates.  I did that, then ran the space between there and gym #1 (grass) and then half way or so through the route beyond that too in one sitting.  I even found an eevee+leaf stone and got a really nice leafeon out of it which I had never seen outside of GO on the phone before or some recent pokemon cards.  I'm digging the game a lot more ignoring the stupid wild zone, it seems a it more coherent and the quality of life upgrades seeing what's on foot, how to navigate, easy jump to flight back to other map spots you've been at.  I like this, it's pretty nice so far, and I know the next space is water.  I did swap a few out I didn't think I would, including my starter pick since fire would get its ass handed to it in this next gym horribly (water.)  SO yeah, that's what I've been up to outside of any daily phone fun with dragalia lost.

[Sumez | 2,951]

1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said:

I can tell beating up thugs will get old fast, so I'll probably just mainline the story.

Tbh I thought it remained fun throughout the game, even though it really does drag it out. There's so much stuff you can do to switch up the gadgets, and going for an unbroken combo-score can force you to adjust your tactics now and then. I played the game on hard, which still wasn't very hard, so maybe that helps if combat gets boring to you.

I'm not a big Spider-Man fan, but I can imagine that if you are, this game is pretty much the perfect package. I really loved how it handled the source material, and there are some very fun "surprises" towards the end of the story.

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

The Last of Us: Part 2. I dunno, I like it and I don’t. Lots of cutscenes and traveling backwards in time. I haven’t made it to where you swap characters yet. It’s been eerily creepy and a little nerve racking at times which is fun. 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

19 hours ago, Sumez said:

Tbh I thought it remained fun throughout the game, even though it really does drag it out. There's so much stuff you can do to switch up the gadgets, and going for an unbroken combo-score can force you to adjust your tactics now and then. I played the game on hard, which still wasn't very hard, so maybe that helps if combat gets boring to you.

I'm not a big Spider-Man fan, but I can imagine that if you are, this game is pretty much the perfect package. I really loved how it handled the source material, and there are some very fun "surprises" towards the end of the story.

Good to hear. I tend to get bored with open world games quickly, so hopefully it wraps everything up in less than 30 hours or so.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

I played through Contra Force just so I could say I finished it. 

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

On 6/19/2020 at 10:20 AM, zeppelin03 said:

I decided to test out my Vita after modding.  Playing through Symphony of the Night with adrenaline since I don't feel like digging out the OSSC.  Going great so far.

I do that once or twice a year.  As much as I love my hacked Vita, I like the face buttons on the PSP better.  My PSP is toast though.  

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

I don't know about you guys but Ima get laid tonight!

Spoiler

 

[Adorabear | 69]

I've been working on the Pokemon Sword DLC (I really like exploring the Isle of Armor; I wish the entirely of Galar could have been like this) and trying to fill up the new Pokedex! I also started Super Mario 64 DS since I never actually beat it as a kid, so now it's time to fix that!

[zeppelin03 | 314]

7 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

I do that once or twice a year.  As much as I love my hacked Vita, I like the face buttons on the PSP better.  My PSP is toast though.  

I'm good for a day or two will it then it's back on the shelf.  There's are a lot of great games for it but I never give it the time it deserves.  I've already returned to the 3ds.

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

2 hours ago, zeppelin03 said:

I'm good for a day or two will it then it's back on the shelf.  There's are a lot of great games for it but I never give it the time it deserves.  I've already returned to the 3ds.

I'm constantly on the Vita playing NES games.  Haven't played a Vita game in years.

[zeppelin03 | 314]

49 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

I'm constantly on the Vita playing NES games.  Haven't played a Vita game in years.

Ha.  It's my PS1 device until I setup a SMB server for freemcboot.  The good stuff on Vita seems to have all made it to the PS4/PC anyhow.