DoctorEncore

@Reed RothchildBruh... Further Fields in Temple Ruins almost made me gouge my eyes out. Took me a couple hours to finally figure that out. I seem to have a knack for making puzzles more difficult than they really are by searching for a convoluted solution instead of an easy one.

There is (or was) a really cool forum-type website specifically for this. You would basically describe a movie and the kind internet people would try to find it for you. They helped me find Time Bandits! If I figure out the name of the website, and it still exists, I'll post it here.

4 hours ago, a3quit4s said:

I’ve decided I’m rolling to the theater alone tomorrow during the day to see it. Matinee is only $11.50! My moviegoing has seriously declined since having a child lol

That's what I did for Dune in Imax. Took a day to myself and went alone. It was amazing. Gotta practice that self love.

Dammit! All you goobers talking about Baba is You got me to start it last night too! I've been playing FFX for almost a year and really need to concentrate on that!

So far, Baba is definitely interesting. I appreciate how unique the entire concept is. I'm most of the way through the second world and moving at a decent clip. The early game definitely has a lot of trial and error as you learn the rules of the world.

I don't think it will go down as one of my favorites, but it's certainly worth checking out for puzzle afficionados.

High level Rocket League gets me pretty sweaty, but that's what makes it fun.

For relaxation, I feel like any single player linear game is pretty solid. Puzzle based stuff without a time limit is even better.

4 hours ago, ThePhleo said:

Just picked up FFF: Athletic World! Now all I need is a nice enough condition FFF Pad to call this mini set truly complete. (Though, I would like something that @acidjaguar has too...oh, and maybe one of those homebrew FFF: Dance Aerobics)

I didn't even realize you had SE! Nice pick up on Athletic World. That one remains quite a challenge to snag.

On 4/12/2023 at 5:24 PM, Reed Rothchild said:

Nope - Better than Us, but maybe not quite as good as Get Out.  I was familiar with the real life chimp horror stories, so those scenes didn't get me as much.  But the one scene with all of the people being "captured"?  *shudder*

The Lighthouse - Very entertaining.  Powerhouse performances.  But I definitely had a shit ton of questions at the end.

Beast - Umm, it was fine I guess.  Typical murderous animals kinda thing.

On 4/12/2023 at 5:41 PM, avatar! said:

I thought "Us" was very overrated. I have not seen Nope, but I have seen most of Jordan Peele's work. I'm not impressed. I will say the best movie he is associated with is BlacKkKlansman, which he produced but did not direct nor write - hence why it's better than the rest

The Lighthouse is fabulous. Easily one of the best Lovecraftian-inspired movies of all time... which probably is not saying all that much, but nevertheless. I thought the ending was wonderful. While there is a lot to the movie, the ending was based upon the myth of Prometheus and viewing the character in that light (heh), at least to an extent, helps makes some sense.

On 4/12/2023 at 6:23 PM, Mega Tank said:

Did I miss something? I was very excited for Nope, but I was disappointed. I thought it was going to be a movie like Signs.

I try to keep hyperbole to a minimum, but Nope was fucking terrible. I could write an essay about just how bad it is, but I don't want to give it any more energy than it took to watch. For reference, I think Get Out is fantastic and I haven't seen Us.

On 4/12/2023 at 11:22 PM, TDIRunner said:

The original DKC was one of my favorite games of all time, but my brother and I couldn't get into this one.  We never owned it back in the day and only played it through rentals.  Honestly, we probably didn't play it enough to give it a fair shake, but regardless, it never grabbed out attention from the very start the way that DKC did.  I loved the idea of adding a new character to play, but I hated loosing DK.  

Are you me? DKC is also one of my favorites, but I never got into the sequels. I didn't put any significant time into them so I can't comfortably rate them, but I suspect I would prefer the simplicity of the original. 2 and 3 always look seem strangely unappealing when I see videos of them.

3 minutes ago, AirVillain said:

This is a dumb question.... but is that orange "Free Mega Man Sticker" banner printed ON the box? 
 

Yes, it is printed on the box. The same is true for all the other Capcom promos as well.

We went to see this yesterday and the whole family enjoyed it. I think the first Sonic movie is quite a bit better, but I really appreciated how they included so many Easter eggs. It seemed like every scene had an animation or sound effect or background nod to people who grew up with the games. I'm not sure I'd want to sit through it again any time soon, but it definitely opens the door to a Mario movie universe. I wouldn't be surprised if we see two or three sequels/spinoffs greenlit in the next 6 months. Nintendo will be seeing green with the profits from this movie ($200-300 million at a minimum) and will be eager to repeat this win.

As for box office cume, I'd estimate $1.1 to 1.2 billion with even more coming from VOD over the next few months. Expect a long theatrical run.

8 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

When you beat a level in Baba despite having no idea what was going wrong 

This will probably be my next small game on Switch after I finish FFX. I've heard nothing but good things.

I also just started Deathloop on XSX. It's a little disorienting and takes a couple hours to get going, but once it does, it is very cool. I've never played Dishonored, but Deathloop feels like I imagine those games play. The levels are small for a 2023 game, but they are extremely dense in terms of content. There are tons of small details to uncover and environmental interactions to use to your advantage. Plotting your pathway to the next target can be very consuming. I've knocked off two visionaries on separate days, so I've still got a long way to go in terms of puzzling out their movement patterns and finding opportunities for the assassination.

Also still working through Witcher 3 DLC. Started with the Hearts of Stone expansion which has been a bit underwhelming. I appreciate that they made the bosses much tougher and more interesting but I don't care much for the story content. I've heard that the Blood and Wine expansion is amazing, so I'm looking forward to doing that next.

On 4/9/2023 at 3:26 PM, Sumez said:

What difficulty did you play on?? The combat in gow4 is pretty involving, and IMO quite challenging at least early on. The game is definitely at least ten times as fun as The Last of Us 

On 4/9/2023 at 4:27 PM, Brickman said:

Yeah agree. I find that people who say that GoW combat is simple are probably playing on the easier levels. Play it on the most difficult and try fighting all the Valkyries. 

On 4/9/2023 at 5:11 PM, Reed Rothchild said:

Well my final thoughts are still TBD, but I'm certainly not doing the "most difficult" setting on any first playthrough.

I played on normal. I did not do a second playthrough on hard, nor did I fight all the Valkyries. I don't usually do those types of time-intensive, combat-heavy side quests unless I'm absolutely in love with a game. I had no desire for more of GoW's combat mechanics. I'm sure combat is more nuanced on a harder difficulty, but that doesn't necessarily make it more fun to me.

I agree that it is better than TLoU, but I wasn't blown away by any particular aspect of the game. The total package is impressive from a technical standpoint and some of the story elements are quite good, but I'll never play it again. All the extra systems and crafting/collecting detract from the experience for me. GoW2 was much more entertaining as a focused brawler, in my opinion.

To each his own, but it was not a GOTY contender for me and certainly not in my favorite games list.

Welcome! Can't say I recognize that user name, but maybe someone else will.

Looks legit to me. Above average condition and hangtab is unpunched, but otherwise looks appropriate. And as others have said, some Capcom games did have hangtabs.

23 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

Buy a sealed copy and open it

Even when advertised on the front of the box, some copies did not actually include a sticker. I know this from personal experience. So if you're going to spend big on a sealed copy, just beware that you may end up disappointed. If the sticker is not included, a $10 Mega Man promo card should be there instead. A nice consolation prize in 1990, but not so much now.

There are two different stickers and, as far as we know, which sticker they included with which game was completely random.

Games with advertisements for the sticker are Little Nemo, Street Fighter 2010, and Destiny of an Emperor. As you may have noticed, it seems like stickers may have also been placed into games with the $10 Mega Man advertisement on occasion. This would explain why you see them included with listings for other games such as Chip N' Dale. Whether this was a factory mix-up or they simply ran out of the different promos, I have no clue. I don't know off the top of my head which games advertised the $10 promo, but I'd expand your search to include all those as well. With patience, you can get one of these stickers at a reasonable price.

Good luck!

On 4/6/2023 at 12:53 PM, Reed Rothchild said:

God of War - Pretty sweet.  I'm only a couple hours in but can tell it's gonna be a 9/10 game at worst.  The combat doesn't seem to be as deep as a Souls game, and the puzzles are pretty brainless, but this is an instance where you have a bunch of different pieces that all work well.  The steller graphics and production values don't hurt either: this probably looks better than the PS5 games I've played.  Next generation my ass 

Xenoblade - Been meaning to play this since the Wii days.  Will be real curious to see if I end up liking this or Xenoblade 2 more.

Super Mario 3D World Bowser's Fury - The boys and I are at 40 shines, and I think you beat this at 50.  Normally that would be an hour or two of work, but I let them play as Mario, so it can be slow going.

Paper Mario - on hiatus

Shenmue - on hiatus

I'll be interested to see what you think of GoW as it progresses. It's kind of a "move forward to win" type of experience. Production values are insane and story has some cool moments, but I found the gameplay kind of lacking. Combat is so-so and collecting/crafting adds absolutely nothing to the game and is emphasized way too heavily. It was a solid 8/10 for me just like almost every first party Playstation game, but that score is really just a reflection of the overall quality rather than my enjoyment. I'd compare it to The Last of Us: a game tons of people consider one of the best of all-time, but that I found pretty uninteresting in the grand scheme of things. That being said, I'm definitely looking forward to playing Ragnarok when it hits PS Plus.

Just finished this game and I really enjoyed it. I played through LeChuck's Revenge last year and I can confidently say that Return to Monkey Island nails the story, dialogue, and atmosphere. The game moves at a nice pace until the fourth act, which is quite fun, but a bit drawn out. I played on "Hard" mode which is recommended for experienced point-and-click players and the puzzles were enjoyable. I did not use a guide or hints and never even felt tempted; the game is much, much easier than the classics of the genre. YMMV obviously, but there are no moon logic type puzzles and I only found myself really grasping for a solution a couple times towards the end. The elephant in the room is the art style, which is certainly divisive. I initially found it quite ugly, but it grew on me as I progressed and more locations were introduced. It looks much better in dark, grimy areas than the well-lit, outdoor prologue area. My only real complaint about the game is that they reuse the same puzzle solutions a few times; one could consider this nitpicking since those puzzles represent a tiny fraction of the overall experience, but it bothered me a little bit.

All in all, the game is a return to form for the series and I'd highly recommend it to any adventure game aficionados. It lives up to the legacy of the first two games while adding lots of great quality of life tweaks to make it a smoother experience.

Great collection and welcome to the site! Love seeing so much retro love, especially the more obscure stuff.

I'm not sure what my goal is in terms of full sets, but I certainly don't want to go after anything later than 360/PS3/Wii U. I would consider that the modern gaming cutoff and I only want to buy what I intend play at that point. Cartridge based (prior to Switch) would also be a great cutoff point.

13 minutes ago, Webhead123 said:

FInished Grim Fandango. Pretty unique atmosphere, good performances and an interesting (if occasionally disorienting) story. Puzzle solutions do occasionally suffer from moon logic or requiring large amounts of backtracking/searching the environment. The environmental stuff is made a little more frustrating due to the 3D rendered backgrounds. Not among my favorite point-n-clicks and I don't feel a lot of incentive to replay it but it was a good time.

I remember when I was in eighth grade and my teacher told me her son was super excited to get Grim Fandango for Christmas. I didn't really play PC games at that time so I didn't have much interest, but I found the title intriguing and it's lived rent-free on the outskirts of my brain since then. I've been knocking out some adventure games the last few years and hopefully I'll get to it one day. It seems to be on a lot of people's favorites lists.

Coincidentally, I started Return to Monkey Island the other day. It's not technically on my backlog list, but it did come out last year. It's pretty solid and feels like a continuation of the legacy of the first two games. The art style is definitely divisive and I didn't much like it at first, although it has grown on me as the game has progressed. Certain enemies and locations look great while others just look awkward. Even on "Hard" mode, it's a heck of a lot easier than old school point and click games and I'm moving along pretty quick. I haven't used any hints and I doubt I'll need any. Also, it's so, so nice to have a snappy, modern UI. Outside of the old moon logic puzzles, I think the clunky interface is what keeps me from playing more of the classics.

On 3/28/2023 at 10:54 AM, a3quit4s said:

Anyone else underwhelmed by what they have seen from Tears of the Kingdom? I guess I was hoping for an all new game given it’s been what 6 years since the last game? Instead we’ve got some kind of Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask thing going on. I guess it makes sense to reuse assets from the first game because they are running on the same system but can’t help but feel like it just looks like extended DLC for breath of the wild. 
 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to buy and play the shit out of it but I feel like it could have been so much better. Maybe they are just trying to keep a lot under wraps so people by it and it really is a truly different experience?

Yes. I feel exactly the same way. BotW is one of my all-time favorite games, but I'm holding off for reviews and maybe even waiting for the launch of a Switch successor. What I've seen so far has not impressed.

16 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Well, I don't watch the trailers 

Don't care about performance either.  Yesterday I just played Fallen Order on PS5, Buck Bumble on N64, and 3D World on Switch, and I couldn't tell you the frame rate for any of those.

Then again I'm also far more forgiving and aloof than @DoctorEncore

I wouldn't consider myself a graphics snob, but there is a certain level of quality that I expect from a modern game. The Switch is so incredibly underpowered that even first party games are performing at an unacceptable level. If you can't provide a stable 30fps at 720p (or 900p docked), then there is a real hardware issue and it really does affect gameplay. Just look at the latest Pokemon games. Yikes.

As I said, I'll hold off until reviews and probably even until Switch 2 (which I'm hoping will be here in March 2024).

Am I the only one who is less hyped about Tears of the Kingdom with every new trailer? From a purely technical standpoint, I'm concerned about performance and not sure I even want to try to play it on the current Switch model. The graphics are borderline embarrassing from a technical standpoint and, even artistically, I don't find them particularly attractive. Also, the world looks extremely similar to the first game with the addition of some very unimpressive floating areas.

I will admit that the fusion system could be fun, but if there are no true dungeons, I think I'm going to hold off until the upgraded Switch releases. At least that would guarantee a smoother experience.

And to be clear, Legend of Zelda is one of my favorite franchises and Breath of the Wild is one of my all-time favorite games. I just think a lot has changed in the last 6 years.

I'd rather die than choose one of these options. Long live Tanooki Suit Mario!

I spent a couple years chasing achievements and it can be a lot of fun, but if it gets to the point where you're playing solely for those awards, it's probably time to re-evaluate. Even if you want to focus on them less, I wouldn't necessarily write them off completely. Well-designed achievements actually make a game more interesting by giving you unique ways to play or pushing you out of your comfort zone, so they're not all bad. That being said, I don't even look at the lists when I start games anymore. If something cool pops up in the tracker, I might pursue it, but my achievement completion rate now is abysmally low and I'm happy with that.