What are you currently playing?

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

Kirby 64. Not as good as Adventure or Dream Course. Not quite as boring as Dream Land or Epic Yarn. Just an in the middle Kirby game.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

Finally started Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4 on PS5). I've only made it partially through the intro area, but I'm definitely digging the art style. Lots of oranges and blues, so basically a moving poster for a blockbuster summer action pic. The story seems decent, if well trod and cliched. The story of the honorable outcast in a cruel post-apocalyptic world has been done a few too many times at this point. I am interested in the source of the apocalypse and the story of the robots though.

Gameplay mechanics are good, although I'm itching to expand my weapons and skills to give some more variety. I wish Aloy moved a little faster because traversal takes a little longer than I'd like and having to craft fast-travel items feels like the developers punishing the player.

[Tanooki | 4,931]

I'm all over the place, and I kind of hate it, leaves me wanting to do many things, and I can't.

Currently digging into ActRaiser Renaissance and it's a slow game compared to the original with the layers of strange added to it.  Also Konami dropped that $20 pick up of Castlevania trilogy from GBA+the excellent Dracula X SNES game in that collection.

Also poking away at random stuff depending on mood -- whip out the Nomad and go at it with TMNT, Castlevania, GnG, Virtua Racing, Alisia Dragoon, Hard Drivin, Star Control, Contra, NHL 94, and the 6pak.

A trade netted me recently some stuff, but Tetris 2 is remarkably fun of two games I chose to keep, and Aerostar being the other, both Gameboy titles.

Also still wanting to whittle some time on the PCE Mini too as I started taking Neutopia seriously.

 

Problem is though, that's already a lot, and then with a garage sale find a couple weeks back I wish I could also make time for those Wii games I shelved to keep and haven't yet (2 trauma centers I never owned, Mario Galaxy 2, and Little Kings Story.)

Is it any wonder you see me getting rid of stuff like mad far more than comes in from old wants or trades losing more in the process than coming back in?  Maybe I should thank the scumbags in congress for the $600 cap next year, it'll hard core restrict future purchases, and leave more time to plug away at what is here.

[Estil | 1,264]

I'm currently working on Grandia (PS1)...you don't get much more JRPG than this one!   There is so so much blue chip retro JRPG series...how in the world am I ever gonna get caught up...why couldn't I have discovered turn based RPGs earlier than 2013???  I mean I know better late than never but still...

TBH when I first saw the term JRPG I thought it meant "Junior" RPG as in an easier RPG or something!  

[avatar! | 1,808]

45 minutes ago, Estil said:

I'm currently working on Grandia (PS1)...you don't get much more JRPG than this one!   There is so so much blue chip retro JRPG series...how in the world am I ever gonna get caught up...why couldn't I have discovered turn based RPGs earlier than 2013???  I mean I know better late than never but still...

TBH when I first saw the term JRPG I thought it meant "Junior" RPG as in an easier RPG or something!  

I'm going through FFI on the PSP and I'm really enjoying it for the most part, but, I won't deny that some aspects of the game as well other JRPGs have aged poorly. Mostly I would argue that the numerous random battles are terrible by today's standards, but there are other issues as well. That said, for the 20th Anniversary edition (PSP) of FFI, they did make some quality -of-life improvements. I did play through the remastered Grandia as well, and I'm not going to deny it also has its moments just like it also shows its age. Still, at the end of the day the important thing is whether you're having fun or not and Grandia like FFI is fun and has points for nostalgia

[Estil | 1,264]

3 hours ago, avatar! said:

I'm going through FFI on the PSP and I'm really enjoying it for the most part, but, I won't deny that some aspects of the game as well other JRPGs have aged poorly. Mostly I would argue that the numerous random battles are terrible by today's standards, but there are other issues as well. That said, for the 20th Anniversary edition (PSP) of FFI, they did make some quality -of-life improvements. I did play through the remastered Grandia as well, and I'm not going to deny it also has its moments just like it also shows its age. Still, at the end of the day the important thing is whether you're having fun or not and Grandia like FFI is fun and has points for nostalgia

Well remember I'm mainly doing this to experience the history that I didn't get to experience back when say, the PS1 was in its prime.  And you might know that I mostly don't believe in any of that "aged poorly" stuff...it's the same game now as it was then right?  Naturally I did the NES/SNES RPGs first and now I'm working on the PS1 ones.  I reckon both SNES and PS1 are the Golden Age of JRPGs are they not?

[WhyNotZoidberg | 585]

5 hours ago, Estil said:

I'm currently working on Grandia (PS1)...you don't get much more JRPG than this one!   There is so so much blue chip retro JRPG series...how in the world am I ever gonna get caught up...why couldn't I have discovered turn based RPGs earlier than 2013???  I mean I know better late than never but still...

TBH when I first saw the term JRPG I thought it meant "Junior" RPG as in an easier RPG or something!  

You should play Breath of Fire III on PSX, it's awessome. But you might have to broaden your definition of "cute chicks" for this one.

[avatar! | 1,808]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

And you might know that I mostly don't believe in any of that "aged poorly" stuff...it's the same game now as it was then right?

I've always found "arguments" like that to completely ignore reality. The reality is that video games are an evolving art form which is technologically driven, and many of the "older" games have aspects which by today's standard stink - in other words, yes they absolutely "aged poorly". If you like the game, then great. But to try and pass off Grandia as something that would be as enjoyable today as 20 years ago is in my opinion disingenuous at best. Again, I finished the remastered Grandia HD and while overall I did enjoy it, the game had aspects, primarily game-play mechanics, which would never pass muster today (and for good reason). Oh, and the voice acting was pretty poor too. All that said, I enjoyed the game, but by the end the "aged poorly" aspects outweighed the fun and so I was glad when it ended. I would still give it a "good" score - around an 8.0, perhaps a bit more, out of 10. Worth playing, but a large part of that for me was nostalgia. Although, I have to add that the soundtrack HAS aged beautifully, and that is a 10/10 in my book

[TDIRunner | 2,730]

3 hours ago, Estil said:

 And you might know that I mostly don't believe in any of that "aged poorly" stuff...it's the same game now as it was then right?  

The bolded part is completely irrelevant.   Of course it's the same game, but that has nothing to do with how well it has aged.  

[Estil | 1,264]

2 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

The bolded part is completely irrelevant.   Of course it's the same game, but that has nothing to do with how well it has aged.  

Maybe but remember much of this is still new to me.  I guess it helped that I grew up during the prime years of NES/SNES so someone who was born into say 7th gen onward it wouldn't be nearly the same as far as the nostalgia goes so I will concede that.

[Estil | 1,264]

4 hours ago, avatar! said:

But to try and pass off Grandia as something that would be as enjoyable today as 20 years ago is in my opinion disingenuous at best. Again, I finished the remastered Grandia HD and while overall I did enjoy it, the game had aspects, primarily game-play mechanics, which would never pass muster today (and for good reason). Oh, and the voice acting was pretty poor too. 

Are my ears bad or do I have bad taste in video game voice acting or something?  Because one of my favorite parts of Grandia (and Lunar for that matter) was the voice acting and how cute Sue/Puffy and Feena are!    I will say I did find the navigation to be quite confusing...YOU BET I needed maps just like any other big quest/RPG kind of game (and this true even for NES ones!) and what cheapskates Prima was for not even having maps in their guide  

I guess with the one big exception that I can use my 42" HDTV computer (and modern console) monitor on my right side to easily display maps/guides/etc on screen right next to the 20" CRT monitor on my left side for retro games...I do feel like I'm trying to do my best to experience it the way it would've been back then.  It's crazy though that the prime of the PS1 was when I was in HS though!

[Estil | 1,264]

5 hours ago, WhyNotZoidberg said:

You should play Breath of Fire III on PSX, it's awessome. But you might have to broaden your definition of "cute chicks" for this one.

Shouldn't I do the first two on SNES first though?  As for cute chicks in BoF3, what's wrong with the princess one (Nina) and the professor one (Mono)? I think someone mentioned at the multi-disc PS1 games topic I made the two Suikoden games on PS1 and it does look pretty darn crisp graphics wise, I think it may be a bit too serious in tone for my tastes.  I'll probably give it a whirl at some point though.

While we're on the subject of "aged" whatever, did any of the rest of you regularly do PS1 JRPGs and other blue chip games during the PS1's prime?  Perhaps you were a regular subscriber to Playstation Power eh, I mean Official Playstation Magazine and played the heck out of those monthly demo discs! What was it like when you really couldn't "predict the future"?

[Estil | 1,264]

On 9/25/2021 at 6:57 PM, avatar! said:

Who loves their PSP?

I don't guess there's an Everdrive sort of deal for it is there?  Maybe I should've picked one up new off Amazon back when you still could for $100.

Of course I would have to get the PSP 3000 model as that's the only kind that will hook up to your TV.

[avatar! | 1,808]

13 minutes ago, Estil said:

I don't guess there's an Everdrive sort of deal for it is there?  Maybe I should've picked one up new off Amazon back when you still could for $100.

Of course I would have to get the PSP 3000 model as that's the only kind that will hook up to your TV.

No everdrive for the PSP... That said, how awesome would it be if Analogue made a PSP HD system

[Estil | 1,264]

Just now, avatar! said:

No everdrive for the PSP... That said, how awesome would it be if Analogue made a PSP HD system

I don't care about it being "HD" I'd just love a way to play it or the DS on the TV  

[avatar! | 1,808]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

Are my ears bad or do I have bad taste in video game voice acting or something?  Because one of my favorite parts of Grandia (and Lunar for that matter) was the voice acting and how cute Sue/Puffy and Feena are!

You may need to have your ears checked by a doctor
Truthfully, Grandia has BAD voice acting. So bad, it is rather amusing. Grandia lines in the top-50 worst are #43,21, and 6

 

[Estil | 1,264]

5 minutes ago, avatar! said:

You may need to have your ears checked by a doctor
Truthfully, Grandia has BAD voice acting. So bad, it is rather amusing. Grandia lines in the top-50 worst are #43,21, and 6

Well, maybe those cherry picked lines but I meant the lines you usually hear not to mention the unspoken dialogue.  I mean I happen to think Sue/Puffy and Jenna are cute (including voice acting)...is that so wrong?  

[Gloves | 11,771]

Diablo II Resurrected

[TDIRunner | 2,730]

2 hours ago, Estil said:

Maybe but remember much of this is still new to me.  I guess it helped that I grew up during the prime years of NES/SNES so someone who was born into say 7th gen onward it wouldn't be nearly the same as far as the nostalgia goes so I will concede that.

Just because the consensus is that a particular game hasn't aged well certainly doesn't mean that you can't enjoy it.  In fact, I consider it a great thing that you can still find enjoyment out of those types of things. 

The strange thing is that typically, the longer people wait to try an older game for the first time, the more likely they are to believe the game has aged poorly and might have trouble adapting to the controls or graphics.  I'm glad that you aren't having that issue playing through some of these older games for the first time.  

[Estil | 1,264]

1 minute ago, TDIRunner said:

Just because the consensus is that a particular game hasn't aged well certainly doesn't mean that you can't enjoy it.  In fact, I consider it a great thing that you can still find enjoyment out of those types of things. 

The strange thing is that typically, the longer people wait to try an older game for the first time, the more likely they are to believe the game has aged poorly and might have trouble adapting to the controls or graphics.  I'm glad that you aren't having that issue playing through some of these older games for the first time.  

Yeah I'm quite lucky that I can easily switch back and forth between systems in that way (I mean for the first half of the 90s decade all I had was an NES and precious few of my own cartridges (I didn't even own Zelda 2 or any of the MegaMans/Castlevanias/Ninja Gaidens for example); I had to rent almost everything.  So do you guys kinda get an idea on why I feel so super lucky to be able to catch up on these sorts of things now?  I guess I just know that it isn't a fair comparison of retro vs modern graphics and hey if no one complained back then why should I now?

Then again I'm the one who started that whole UNpopular opinion topic so I guess me not buying that whole "hasn't aged well" thing counts?

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

50 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Diablo II Resurrected

Same. I ruined my wrist playing these games so it's nice I can play D2 with a controller now, even if I prefer a mouse. I've tried setting up scripts and tools to play Diablo II with a controller in the past, even just the gameplay parts, but all of them were pretty limited. The controls kind of work! Although inventory management is slow.

[Gloves | 11,771]

32 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

Same. I ruined my wrist playing these games so it's nice I can play D2 with a controller now, even if I prefer a mouse. I've tried setting up scripts and tools to play Diablo II with a controller in the past, even just the gameplay parts, but all of them were pretty limited. The controls kind of work! Although inventory management is slow.

I on the other hand (hah) am playing on PC, as God intended.

[Californication | 1,477]

On 9/25/2021 at 5:16 PM, DoctorEncore said:

I liked the first one so much I just preordered the second one from Best Buy. I actually prefer these to Ritual of the Night.

Haven't taken Rotn off the shelf yet, but Bloodstained 2 is top of the line. I am pretty sure it's the best 2d platformer I've played on the PS4 and I'd go as far as to say it's as good as a Natsume game. Who ever directed this thing needs to keep it up.

Spoiler

Edit: Down goes Baxter Gordon for the win. Can't believe this is to be continue!!!

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by Californication

[ookii_risu | 206]

I'm playing the pixel remaster of FF4 right now. A lot of the graphical changes are okay, but some of them look worse than the original in my opinion. I didn't like the sprite for Leviathan so far (I'm at Mysidia, so I have yet to fight him). Otherwise, the rearranged music is amazing. The game is exactly the same so far, though. That's okay, because it's my favorite game of all time for the story and characters. I still have yet to play the After Years, which I'm planning on buying sometime after I complete this.

[Estil | 1,264]

5 hours ago, ookii_risu said:

I'm playing the pixel remaster of FF4 right now. A lot of the graphical changes are okay, but some of them look worse than the original in my opinion. I didn't like the sprite for Leviathan so far (I'm at Mysidia, so I have yet to fight him). Otherwise, the rearranged music is amazing. The game is exactly the same so far, though. That's okay, because it's my favorite game of all time for the story and characters. I still have yet to play the After Years, which I'm planning on buying sometime after I complete this.

Yeah and none of these Pixel Remasters include the bonus stuff from the GBA versions, and they're not on Playstation so no trophy support either.  Half-ass lazy cheapskates...