What are you currently playing?

[Sumez | 2,958]

6 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

Has anyone played through the game in both modes? Is there any difference or is it purely aesthetic? I always thought this sounded like a really cool feature.

The retro mode wasn't included when the game was first localized to English, so I haven't played it myself. But I've heard from other fans that it's very different in terms of content and how locations are laid out. In summary it's a really cool gimmick, but also a worse game.

DQ11 has too many gotchas like that, most notably is the trap I've mentioned many times before, that if you are playing the game without enabling "enemies are super strong", you are missing out on practically everything that makes combat and boss fights fun in that game, IMO taking a 9/10 game down to 7/10 at best.
And the stupid thing is you need to enable it before starting a new game. It can always disable it, but never toggle it back on.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Sumez

[NostalgicMachine | 236]

14 hours ago, Gloves said:

Ah hey, I'm playing that too!

I do a few run throughs a year!

[Tabonga | 2,318]

I am doing a third run through of Banner of the Maid.   The game is like a really really elaborate Shining Force II - it has gotten more enjoyable on each subsequent play. Here is an interesting battle from about 1/3 of the way through the game:

 

[NostalgicMachine | 236]

Trying to personal best Legend of Zelda on the top loader.

[Bighab | 58]

Lately I fired up a few Genesis titles that I had bought/traded for but were stuck in the "to play" pile. Castlevania Bloodlines was ok. Enjoying The Lost World Jurassic Park

[T-Pac | 7,550]

I've been playing some Atari 2600 paddle games recently (mostly Breakout and Guardian).

I want to say that my Hyperkin Ranger controller doesn't make for a great spinner, but I'm probably just exceptionally bad at these twitch games...

-CasualCart

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

12 hours ago, CasualCart said:

I've been playing some Atari 2600 paddle games recently (mostly Breakout and Guardian).

I want to say that my Hyperkin Ranger controller doesn't make for a great spinner, but I'm probably just exceptionally bad at these twitch games...

-CasualCart

Paddle games are awesome.  It's a shame they fell out of favor. 

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

Kirby's Adventure for NES and Link Between Worlds for 3DS. 

I am loving Link Between Worlds thus far. The Hyrule Map seems to identical to LTTP, with lots of music, enemies, and sound effects remixed from the SNES game. It's a fabulous throwback adventure.

And unlike LTTP, it's open world pretty much right out the gate due to the "item rental" mechanic unlocking all the good items from you in game partner, Ravio. Highly recommend so far.

[T-Pac | 7,550]

3 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

Paddle games are awesome.  It's a shame they fell out of favor. 

True - I just wish I could get a handle on that "zen-state" paddle gameplay where your brain and the controller are perfectly in-sync.

I'm working on an emulation setup where I might actually try a computer-mouse as a spinner substitute. I feel like that might actually work well for me, even though it would feel "wrong" to play paddle games without a proper controller haha.

-CasualCart

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

1 hour ago, Kguillemette said:

Kirby's Adventure for NES and Link Between Worlds for 3DS. 

I am loving Link Between Worlds thus far. The Hyrule Map seems to identical to LTTP, with lots of music, enemies, and sound effects remixed from the SNES game. It's a fabulous throwback adventure.

And unlike LTTP, it's open world pretty much right out the gate due to the "item rental" mechanic unlocking all the good items from you in game partner, Ravio. Highly recommend so far.

I just finished Link Between Worlds hero mode a couple weeks ago.  Such a good game.  It's up there with LttP and Minish Cap for me.

[Sumez | 2,958]

21 hours ago, CasualCart said:

I want to say that my Hyperkin Ranger controller doesn't make for a great spinner, but I'm probably just exceptionally bad at these twitch games...

That thing looks like it has absolutely none of the dexterity of an actual arcade spinner, and Hyperkin aren't exactly known for quality hardware, so I think you're right about that.

Edited August 7, 2022 by Sumez

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

10 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

I just finished Link Between Worlds hero mode a couple weeks ago.  Such a good game.  It's up there with LttP and Minish Cap for me.

Minish Cap is such an underrated Zelda title. It's been too long. I'm going to need to get me a working SP so I can play it again.

[Sumez | 2,958]

Bomber Man World (with the space) on arcade.

This game is definitely in my top 3 single player Bomberman games at least, despite its shoddy controls. It is a crime the game is so overlooked in an otherwise popular franchise.

Even more crazy is the game came out before Bomberman 93, or any of the Super Bomberman games, meaning the franchise was still a bit of a blank slate at the time.
The endlessly ported 1990 PC Enigne game of course would form the template for most subsequent sequels, but at the time that was mostly just an iteration on the NES one. Irem's two arcade games proposed a completely different direction for the series which I actually feel fits the single player experience way better. With every stage being a battle arena of its own, starting you over with no powerups on each new one, it's honestly much more in line with the generally more popular vs modes.

Still dreaming that Konami would eventually greenlight a new pure action game of this style, but there's no way that is ever gonna happen.

[TDIRunner | 2,741]

Playing the AVGN video game for the first time using the AVGN I & II Deluxe on Switch.  Pretty fun game.  I'm not great at these types of games so it's tough for me, but it's the type of tough that makes you want to keep trying over and over again.  

[NostalgicMachine | 236]

I'm just doing various Legend of Zelda (NES) runs. Seeing how much and how quickly I can accumulate upgrades before entering the first dungeon, etc.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

Wolfenstein New Order on my PS5 because I loved New Colossus so much, though it's on hiatus because our family room has some renovation happening.

Killer 7 for the backlog.

I started House of Fata Morgana, but put it on hold for now because I had been trying to wrap up the SNES, and the SNES writing, and I'm behind on the backlog list.

[Lynda Monica | 350]

I've been playing Donkey Kong Country Returns for the first time, and I'm loving it. I passed on it back in the day for stupid reasons, and I'm discovering that I missed out. The game has a great difficulty level where it's hard and at times pretty frustrating, but it's never so annoying that it stops being fun. Grabbing all of the collectibles is what actually makes the game hard, as a lot of the levels haven't been too big of a problem otherwise.

I'm enjoying it way more than I did Tropical Freeze, and I may end up ranking Returns pretty highly in the series if it stays this good. I just got all of the collectables in world five, and just have to beat the boss.

There's no way I'm doing the time trials though.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Lynda Monica

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

On 8/20/2022 at 12:37 AM, Lynda Monica said:

I've been playing Donkey Kong Country Returns for the first time, and I'm loving it. I passed on it back in the day for stupid reasons, and I'm discovering that I missed out. The game has a great difficulty level where it's hard and at times pretty frustrating, but it's never so annoying that it stops being fun. Grabbing all of the collectibles is what actually makes the game hard, as a lot of the levels haven't been too big of a problem otherwise.

I'm enjoying it way more than I did Tropical Freeze, and I may end up ranking Returns pretty highly in the series if it stays this good. I just got all of the collectables in world five, and just have to beat the boss.

There's no way I'm doing the time trials though.

I loved Tropical Freeze, but I just don't see myself busting out the Wii or 3DS to play DKCR. Here's hoping Nintendo remasters it and puts it on Switch.

I've been really into Rogue-lites after playing Returnal, so I've been spending most of my nights with Dead Cells. That game is fantastic but really hard. I'm constantly getting better and unlocking items, but it's so easy to lose a 30 minute run with one mistake. I can see why people love it, but I don't think I'll play it enough to master.

I've seen almost every level and was able to finish one run using the Gotta Go Fast aspect with a Nail, Ice, traps, and a focus on damage/Brutality for upgrades and mutations. For me, that's definitely the easiest way to play. I don't find the shields very effective or fun. Anybody else spend much time with Dead Cells?

Edited August 23, 2022 by DoctorEncore

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

@DoctorEncore I had great success with the turrets/traps, an ice bow (I think) and maybe some sort of life steal?

I dunno, it was back near release, and they've added a million things since which may have nerfed or negated my strategy.

I've seen ZERO of the DLC, so I'm overdue to return to it.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

@DoctorEncore I had great success with the turrets/traps, an ice bow (I think) and maybe some sort of life steal?

I dunno, it was back near release, and they've added a million things since which may have nerfed or negated my strategy.

I've seen ZERO of the DLC, so I'm overdue to return to it.

Yeah, that sounds very similar to what I'm doing. It feels like pure offense is better than a balanced or defensive approach.

As for content, the game is absolutely loaded. I don't have the DLC, but the sheer amount of stuff in the base game is almost overwhelming. I can see why it ranks so high on so many lists.

[G-type | 2,482]

I'm revisiting my DS games with my newly acquired 2DS.

Currently playing Pac-Pix

When I first got my DS,  I was especially attracted to games that with gameplay based around the stylus/touch screen interface. Pac-Pix was one of my early games. Reviewers dismissed it as a tech-demo that didn't merit a stand-alone game. I strongly disagree. It is a delightful arcade action game that requires quick reflexes and resource management.

[Lynda Monica | 350]

I've been playing some Hudson games for the Wii, and I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying the Deca Sports games. The second one is easily the best, and today I finished the legend tournament for synchronized swimming. Legend is unlocked after you finish the local, national, and global tournaments, which get you a bronze, silver and gold trophy respectively. Winning the legend tournament gets you a platinum trophy, and four stars on your tournament records for that sport.

The Deca Sports games don't support Miis, but Hudson created their own avatars. Deca Sports 2 added a character creation feature, so I was able to re-create some of my Wii U Miis into Deca Sports characters!

Nine sports left to go!

Edited August 30, 2022 by Lynda Monica

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I just started Guardians of the Galaxy on XSX and am really enjoying it. Eidos-Montreal did a phenomenal job of capturing the essence of the Guardians, without feeling like a straight rip-off of the movies. In most games, I just read the subtitles and skip through the voice acting, but the writing and voice acting are so good that I'm taking my time and listening to the performances. Combat is probably the weakest part of the game, but still serviceable. I definitely recommend giving it a shot at current prices or through Game Pass.

I also loaded up Aliens: Fireteam with my brother the other day. It's a class based, level-based co-op shooter similar to Left 4 Dead. We only played the first two missions, but it seems pretty good with nice variation between playstyles for the different classes.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

Been playing Wave Race 64 on Switch which also prompted me to boot it up on the 64. The water physics in this game are 2nd to none.. incredible achievement. There's also something very satisfying about bumping old records off second hand games in your collection. Sorry 'JAM'. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

17 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

I just started Guardians of the Galaxy on XSX and am really enjoying it. Eidos-Montreal did a phenomenal job of capturing the essence of the Guardians, without feeling like a straight rip-off of the movies. In most games, I just read the subtitles and skip through the voice acting, but the writing and voice acting are so good that I'm taking my time and listening to the performances. Combat is probably the weakest part of the game, but still serviceable. I definitely recommend giving it a shot at current prices or through Game Pass.

I also loaded up Aliens: Fireteam with my brother the other day. It's a class based, level-based co-op shooter similar to Left 4 Dead. We only played the first two missions, but it seems pretty good with nice variation between playstyles for the different classes.

Can you describe the GotG gameplay?  I'm incredibly hesitant to give it a shot even though it got a good reception and there have been plenty of good Marvel games in the last 10-15 years.  But then I see it on sale for $20 and tell myself to quit being silly...