ZBomber

35 minutes ago, MuNKeY said:

My youngest (11) is really wanting this but I still don't know as he is a special needs and struggles to read still (he is grade 5 but barely reads at a grade 2 level) and I have zero interest in it myself and I really hate the ideal having to read shit to him on that let alone pay $60 for something that I think may frustrate him in the end if he doesn't understand what to do and a shit ton of reading (if it had voice over it would help greatly but I know it doesn't).   Granted he can figure out things "his way" as he sat down about a month ago and started playing Earth Defense Force 5 and just yesterday beat it all on his own with no help at all (I haven't made it past the next to the last boss without rage quitting lol), and before that he was playing Luigi's Mansion 3 and had surpassed me time wise from start up to the plant boss with no help. 

Anywooooo... He really loves Pokémon for the monsters and such for those of you that are playing it do you think this would be something he could handle on his own, Do bear in mind he knows nothing about leveling up things or managing anything in these kinds of games but he does pretty good with open world games and just doing "his thing" for example like dicking around with Skyrim when I allow him to or Trove and Minecraft,  Also he does get very frustrated easy on some games if things do not go his way and doesn't quite get the ideal that some games are meant to challenge (if that makes sense) as I had to literally bar him from several games where he gets so upset at it he is near in a rage/tears 

A few of you guys/gals know what I am talking about with all my plights I rattled on about on discord in the past.

I did get him that Pokémon pokken game as I figured he would like it more so over an actual Pokémon type rpg game with it having 1 vs 1 battles and stuff but it didn't seem to last very long and got bored with it after some time and I am debating on maybe getting him one of the Let's Go games as they are a little cheaper now but he seems excited over this new one and wants it for Christmas. 

There is a lot of text in the game because they have cutscenes every time you enter a new area basically, but I haven't really encountered anything important in the text so far. It's also aimed at young children so the dialogue is pretty simple. I think he would probably be fine. Most of the "reading" you need to do in the game is the attacks, but once you know what moves do what it's pretty straight forward. Pokemon games, and this one in particular, are pretty easy so that likely wouldn't be a problem. This one is also rather linear with some bigger areas you can explore so it seems unlikely he would get stuck anywhere.

I'm about 3 hours in right now, going to hold off on posting my thoughts until I'm further into the game.

10/10

One of my all time favorite bands with an amazing discography.

It's hard to pick my favorites, but the top 5 songs that immediately jump to mind: March of the Black Queen, The Show Must Go On, It's Late, Sail Away Sweet Sister, Prophet's Song

I'm not going around on social media blasting the game and I still have mine preordered and am looking forward to playing this weekend, but I kind of feel like people are excusing a lot of the issues the games will apparently have just because some people are childish with their criticisms of the game. Like yeah the people going around acting like their life will never be the same are overreacting, and the people personally harassing the devs are pathetic, but that doesn't mean the game doesn't have a lot of issues that warrant discussion and negative feedback.

That infographic has a lot of nitpicky/dumb things, but the big issues for me from what I've seen:
1. Exp share always being on is the biggest drawback for me personally. I always turn it off in my first playthrough of the games so I'm not ridiculously overleveled and it adds a little bit of challenge/grinding to it. It makes no sense why they wouldn't let this be a toggle when it has been in every single game before. I don't have a problem with them adding an easy mode, but don't force it onto people. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe got flack for having automatic steering on by default, but imagine if you couldn't even turn it off.
2. No National Dex, unable to bring older Pokemon over and go for challenge runs with certain/favorite Pokemon.
3. Cutting out moves like Pursuit makes no sense. I get why there would be moves cut since some are exclusive to certain Pokemon that might not be in it, and some are pretty useless, but pursuit? Really?
4. Not allowing you to catch Pokemon until you get badges makes a linear game even more linear and just seems excessively limiting.
5. The constant cutscenes and interruptions were one of my biggest problems with Sun/Moon, so I'm sad to hear they are still here.
6. Long time issue, but if they're gonna make all these other cuts they should at least cut out the two version thing by now. Especially when the total number of Pokemon is less than half of the last games' and they release TWO follow up versions now (UltraSun/Ultra Moon) instead of doing one (Yellow, Emerald) each gen.

I don't care about graphics at all honestly and it doesn't factor into my enjoyment of a game, but I think having the graphics and animation be Wii-era quality kind of rubs salt in the wounds when they cut out so much already so I get why people are mad about that.

Just finished The Mandalorian and loved it! Can't wait to see the rest. I feel pretty spoiled with most shows coming out all at once these days, but I'm glad it's being spaced out so I can look forward to a new one each week.

I was at Star Wars Celebration this year and they showed a maybe 10 minute sneak preview of The Mandalorian. It was pretty similar to the middle of this episode, with just a few changes from what I can remember.

2 minutes ago, MiamiSlice said:

I was enjoying the fact that VGS has been a safe haven from this nontroversy and all the long winded regurgitated posts about it but no longer. 

It must be so hard to avoid this one single thread where people are having a respectful conversation about changes to one of the biggest video games franchises.

3 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

How is this part not completely game-breaking?

It's worth noting that you can't transfer over older Pokemon at launch. The past few games didn't add the ability to transfer them until months after launch. I'm pretty sure you also have to beat the game before you can transfer older ones.

It's not really game breaking honestly. The game is already super easy and there's nothing from stopping you from trading level 100 Pokemon from the second version of each game or a friend's game too. The reason ppl want to bring older teams is so they can use them online or in the post game battles where things like the battle tower will scale levels anyway

36 minutes ago, Astor Reinhardt said:

Pretty sure a few toys aren't going to kill my budget.

Not to hijack this thread and not trying to be a dick, but if you don't have a job/stable source of income and you have a medical emergency that you know you will have to deal with then you need to start being responsible with what money you do have. It might seem like spending a couple bucks on toys isn't gonna make a difference, but you really need to cut out buying ANYTHING that's not essential for you to own if you want to be able to get the dental work you need. Little things add up quickly. Take a good look at how much money you spend a month and put it all in a spreadsheet and decide what is absolutely essential and what isn't and cut out what isn't. You'll be surprised how much it adds up fast. It's not gonna be easy or fun, but some things are more important than pieces of plastic.

20 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

Glad I had my Pokemon fun back with red and blue I guess.

Just seems ridiculous to complain about having the monster roster reduced from 900, when from the outside looking in, it strikes me as insane  that they ever reached that number in the first place.

 

 

And if balance has always been a problem, I would have thought what fans would really want was cutting the roster back down to something manageable, and better balancing the gameplay so that it was a better game overall.

Balance is really only an issue at the competitive level. The competitive community got around that by creating their own tiers/rulesets that designate which Pokemon and move/item combos are and aren't allowed. They also have it separated into categories, so you can use the "Uber" ruleset where all Pokemon are allowed, or you could do something like "Overused", "Neverused" or "Underused" where the pool you have to draw from is more limited. Pokemon games from a single player point of view are pretty easy so balance isn't really an issue there.  It's a good solution, because it allows casual players to be able to go through the game using powerful 'mons and steamroll everything if they want to, while people that compete can have their own balanced rules.

One of the cool features that they ARE adding this time is an ability to make more pokemon viable by letting you change their natures/stats. So if you caught a really rare Pokemon but it has a terrible stat spread you don't have to hunt down another one.

It's also worth noting that Game Freak tends to reuse a lot of assets across games. I think a lot of the models they are using now are the same ones from Pokemon Go/Let's Go. So while having to model 900 Pokemon may seem like a lot, you also have to keep in mind they've been using the current models for more than 3 years and they are likely going to continue using them for the rest of the Switch's lifetime, so it's not like all that work would be limited to just one game.

8 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

Wait...they are up to 900 Pokemon in the game and you are complaining about them cutting it down?

151 was plenty

just seems like a major balance issue to try and manage hundreds from a design standpoint.

It has nothing to do with balance, they just don't want to use resources to add all of them to the game.

Pokemon has always been VERY unbalanced, and LeatherRebel hit the nail on the head. Game Freak makes questionable moves every game. I don't think there is a game that allows you to catch every single Pokemon in game, but you have been able to transfer every Pokemon you have up to your current game going all the way back to 2002 on Game Boy Advance. Even if they decided to patch in additional Pokemon as the time goes on I would have been fine with it, but they stated that they are not going to have the complete Pokedex available in this game at any point.

As another thread on here said, one of the cool things about Pokemon is each one is somebody's favorite. Collecting them all was a huge part of the game for a lot of people, It's pretty lousy they can't be bothered to add that core mechanic to this generation and decided to use those resources toward a dumb battle mechanic like making your Pokemon supersized instead.

Pretty heavy topic for a Saturday night...

I've never really believed in being reborn or reincarnation or anything like that. I feel like when you die you return to the earth. It's kind of beautiful in that way... you might be dead, but the particles that compose you will go on to be part of the earth/future life. In that manner you continue living, but /you/ aren't you anymore.

I don't believe in an afterlife but no one really knows I guess. It sounds like a lot of wishful thinking to me, but if it brings people comfort and gives them purpose then that's great. I honestly don't spend much time thinking about it because it doesn't seem to ultimately affect anything. Afterlife or not, the choices we make have a much greater effect on the living/future generations.

10 minutes ago, Darth Vader said:

Ah, I see it now on a link for the first release. They must have pushed it back because in the description it still says they originally planned to start shipping in late September.

Yeah unfortunately that tends to be pretty common for LRG titles. I'm just hoping they ship them out before xmas (and put up the Jedi Knight titles soon)

1 minute ago, Darth Vader said:

Has anyone ordered and received the first wave of Star Wars carded games? I thought it said they would ship out in October!?

I know they state that if you order more stuff they usually bundle the shipment but I've ordered every wave of Star Wars stuff, with plenty of buffer in between. Do I have to stop ordering stuff for a while for them to ship it or has the first wave not shipped yet?

All the retro Star Wars carded games/collector editions are currently scheduled to ship in December.

On 11/5/2019 at 11:58 AM, DefaultGen said:

Do adults ever keep up with new music? I just figure I'm going to be out of touch with music forever and think only 80s/90s music was ever good. New music is made for a generation of teenagers, then they grow up to become old men and hold onto their music forever, then everything new sucks.

I do, although admittedly I've been listening to a lot less new stuff in the past 5 years. It does get difficult when real life responsibilities get in the way. I also don't think most music is made exclusively for a generation of teenagers, I think it's just the music we discover when we are teenagers is what becomes deeply ingrained is us. That said, a lot of my current favorite bands are ones that I've gotten into in my mid/late 20s.

I think part of why new music seems terrible is because a lot of popular music doesn't have much staying power. We look back at the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s fondly because of these legendary bands... but there was also a LOT of shit that wasn't that great but still really popular. It's just no one really talks about them anymore because they didn't stand the test of time. I think it's gonna be the case with a lot of the soundcloud mumble rap artists of today. People that are teenagers now will have fond memories of it because it came out during their formative years, but most people are going to remember this decade of music for people like Kendrick Lamar.

As for modern (this decade) rap albums that I really enjoy... Run The Jewels' "Run The Jewels 2", Earl Sweatshirt's "I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside", Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN", Pusha T's "Daytona", Death Grip's "Exmilitary"... and I'm not really even that big into rap.  These are all relatively big names, I'm sure there's a ton of great underground stuff I'm missing out on. There's still good music coming out, and there always will be, you just have to dig a little bit to find it.

30 minutes ago, MeganJoanne said:

So with Super Mario Bros, what seems to make it most difficult for you, the controls, the one hit, the timer, all of the above and then some? Sometimes one doesn't have to luxury of taking their time in a game and strategizing or finding the right way to go about getting through a tough area, sometimes there are pressures, be it really aggressive foes and/or a timer forcing you to rush, or a scrolling screen (always hated these in platformers) like most shmups have, but if you do have at least some time, don't rush. Get used to the controls, always play around with those first before moving forward (if you are able), then move forward at a decent pace, and if possible one enemy at a time, watch them, learn how they move and think of what you can do to kill it or get past it, and then it's all in the reflexes and timing. NES, many of them are hard because a lot of them will have a timer, though usually in the earlier levels give you enough to work with to learn to play, though even after you've gotten good at those, it's those later levels that kill you over and over because they throw a lot more at you and sometimes also make you have to rush more to finish the stage. But one has to know their flaws, the things they are doing wrong also, what keeps killing you and why, and are you repeating the same mistakes, try a different approach, but think about it, go through the options in head.

Good post! I'm not sure what makes Mario that difficult for me. I've beaten games most people would consider harder, but something about Mario was always tough for me. I find the timer never really factors in (for how far I get at least), but it could be a psychological thing that makes me want to keep moving and thus more reckless. I'm not that great at 2D platformers in general, so it might just be timing jumps. I'll have to really pay more attention to what I'm doing next time I tackle it and see why I struggle with it so much.

Like I said I grew up playing it on the NES and it was one of my first games. That honestly might be more of a hindrance to me than anything, if it's some kind of mental block in the way I approach the game. Like being too comfortable with it since I played it hundreds of times, where a lot of NES games I didn't play back then I tackle in a more "serious" way.

3 hours ago, Nightowljrm said:

Some more news about Death Stranding dropped this morning. The trophy list has been revealed on PSN profiles (59 bronze, 2 silver, 1 gold, 1 plat). According to PowerPyx (warning, their guide may contain spoilers), the game itself takes ~40 hours, but if you want to get the platinum, it'll take ~125 - 170 hours. One of the writers at PowerPyx said that the game is essentially the same throughout, minus some story bits and some occasional combat.

Definitely going to be a polarizing game. If anyone cares, I wouldn't mind sharing my thoughts as I play it some this weekend (I am going to a "Thanksgaming" event a friend is throwing at their house Saturday so I won't be able to devote a ton of time to it). 

If the game can hit that "MMO farming grind" sweet spot, it could be fun. I like grinding when it's done right. 

I'd be interested in reading your take. I wasn't planning on playing it until Xmas and my preorder arrives tomorrow but I'm still on the fence if I want to keep it or return it.

I don't think it's been posted yet but it's been on Best Buy's site for awhile. Lion King/Aladdin is getting a "Retro Edition" for Switch, which comes with a SNES style box and... a poster... for $20 more.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/disney-classic-games-aladdin-and-the-lion-king-retro-edition-box-nintendo-switch/6386809.p?skuId=6386809

Also Steam World Quest just went on sale on Super Rare Games for anyone interested. Sounds like they are planning on releasing the SteamWorld Dig games too.

What are some games that everyone else thinks are easy but you've never been able to beat?

Mine is pretty embarrassing... Super Mario Bros. I know everyone else thinks the NES Mario games are super easy. I had SMB as a kid and it was likely the first game I played, so there is no excuse really. I sat down one day last year with the intention of finally beating it without using warp pipes and I got maybe half way before giving up out of frustration. It's on my list of games to beat but I've accepted I'm just not that great at 2D Mario games.

Super Smash Bros is my go-to game usually. Melee is my preferred version but I've been playing Ultimate when I have only enough time for a quick session and try to chip away at getting 100% in the game (and that will take quite a while given how much stuff is in the game).

Tetris/Tetris 99 is another one that's good to pick up for a quick game or two when I don't have much time. The Switch is just perfect for quick gaming sessions.

But if I have a longer amount of time to play a game then I'm usually tackling something in my backlog/whatever I'm currently playing

Just now, fsped09 said:

I'm only about three hours into but loving it thus far. This is really my first go at LM, is worth firing up the Gamecube and playing the first one? 

I'd say so. I played it for the first time 4 years ago and loved it. Not sure how it'd be going from this to the older one but the game itself is great.

3DS one is ok but if you didn't play it you're not missing out on too much.

51 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Target ad is out

$30 Odyssey, BotW, and Tennis Aces.  Bunch of $25 and $15 titles too

Notable ones (for me) in the $15 range are Killer Queen Black and CTR/Crash Trilogy.

$25 has Overwatch.

I'm glad you asked...

My top three bands to see live are Porcupine Tree, The Dear Hunter and Thrice.

Worst ones... Bob Dylan, Paul Draper, Motley Crue.

I guess it really depends.

As an example, I just played through Castlevania on NES last week. I did it over a couple days, and as we all know when you get a game over screen you can continue from the start of the level as many times as you want. Because of this I had to leave my NES on and waste electricity doing that (and also worry about the system shutting off because of a bad storm we had one night). If I had a device that gave me the option to do save states or suspensions at the game over screens when I'm done playing for the day then I don't consider it cheating. It didn't suddenly change the gameplay or the difficulty, it just allowed me to not have to keep my system on for 168 hours when the game took me maybe 5 hours worth of game time.

But if I used save states to reload parts of the game when I die because I didn't feel like playing through it again, then yeah I would count that as cheating.

1 hour ago, Nightowljrm said:

There's more reviews like this on Metacritic (critic reviews, not fan reviews). I'm worried the scores don't accurately reflect the reviews because people are afraid to give Death Stranding anything less than high praise because it's a Kojima game and all the hype surrounding it.

Having said that... I'm debating on picking up the game Friday. I'm intrigued and even though I'm not confident it'll be a hit with me, I want to give it a shot before there's too many spoilers floating around. It's going to be one of those games you need to play blindly to fully enjoy, I bet. 

This is pretty much how I feel too.

I've also never played any Kojima games so I don't really have anything to compare it to.

Death Stranding comes out this Friday, anyone here planning on playing it?

My preorder just shipped but there's so much coming out this month and the game is so long that I might wait until Xmas to play. It currently has an 85 on Metacritic but seems a bit divisive.

16 minutes ago, G-type said:

I'm a genesis fan, but I have beaten 0 of its games. I'm not that skilled.

Same actually. Genesis was one of the systems I grew up with and I don't think I've actually beaten any games for it.