What Games Are You Playing?

I've been playing Octopath Traveller lately, I've put about 33 hours in to it so far, and still thoroughly enjoying it, which is unusual normally after that long I start to get a bit bored.
 
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Completed Game #21:
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix [PlayStation 4]
Probably my favourite game on the PlayStation 2. When Final Mix was announced I was very excited and I played it for the first time on the PlayStation 3 version under the 2.5 HD ReMIX. However, back then I only focused on the main story and failed miserably on the other stuff. Fast-forward to present time I wanted to experience the games in the best way possible in preparation for Kingdom Hearts III. For this playthrough I went the extra mile by making sure I could acquire the Secret Ending of the game, like what I have done with the first Final Mix title.

Kingdom Hearts II for those wondering is the third title released in the franchise but the second major instalment. Taking place a year later the game improves on virtually everything that the first instalment had and added even more great additions to the mix. Gameplay is more action-packed and fast-paced while the difficulty is more balanced but easier than the previous. The graphics, story, characters, music and gameplay are all basically much better in Kingdom Hearts II.

So rather than going on about the game I want to talk more about the Final Mix version. Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix offers a ton of post-game content and additional features to expand the story. You now have more cutscenes filling in some of the gaps plus some teases for future instalments as well as one cutscene turned into a full on boss battle that is pretty tough if you're unprepared. Drive Form was introduced in Kingdom Hearts II and the Final Mix version adds another form called Limit which is basically a tribute to the first game with the classic Ars Arcanum, Sonic Blade and more, plus we also have a brand new area located in Hollow Bastion called the 'Cavern of Remembrance' where it also offers tribute to the first game with platforms and puzzles to try and progress. It is a challenging area due to the enemy's difficulty but it is doable. Once you reach the end of the Cavern you will unlock a room dedicated to 13 different boss battles if you felt that Sephiroth was too easy. These 13 bosses are called Data Bosses, which will let you fight against each Organisation XIII member including the couple who were first introduced in Chain of Memories. The toughest ones are Axel, Marluxia, Demyx, Xaldin, and Xemnas.

If you thought those 14 extra boss fights weren't enough, you also have Absent Silhouettes which are Organisation XIII members from Chain of Memories that you have to fight in order to start the Data bosses. You will also need to finish the main story in order to unlock the rest of the data bosses. With that you have 19 extra boss battles, but there's another boss battle introduced which is essentially the equilavent of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix's Unknown boss fight in the form of the Lingering Will. This guy is the hardest boss in the game and will be very challenging to beat unless you want to utterly embarrass him like this. Overall you have 20 boss fights included in the Final Mix version, that's a lot. There's also the Mushroom XIII heartless which are easier than the special heartless introduced in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix.

Overall I dedicated a total of 51 hours going through the game completing the journal to unlock the secret ending (which many thought was Kingdom Hearts III at the time but it's actually Birth by Sleep, like how Kingdom Hearts Final Mix's secret ending is actually for Chain of Memories instead of Kingdom Hearts II). I did go through the game on Proud Mode which is the second hardest difficulty (was the hardest, but Final Mix introduced Critical Mode for a bigger challenge). The completion of the journal requires you to acquire all treasures, puzzles (new to Final Mix), characters you encountered, heartless & nobodies (all enemies you encounter & defeated), maps, and synthesis stuff. The synthesis is easier than before but takes a lot longer to sort out if you rush through the story.

My backlog so far:
Nintendo 3DS:
Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson
Tales of the Abyss

PlayStation 3:
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Catherine
Dragon's Crown
Drakengard 3
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
Folklore
Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak II
Jak 3
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes
Soul Calibur V
Tales of Xillia 2
White Knight Chronicles
White Knight Chronicles II

PlayStation 4:
Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed
Chaos;Child
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix
Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash!
Star Ocean V: Integrity and Faithlessness
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception
Yakuza 0
Yakuza Kiwami
Ys Origin
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

PlayStation Vita:
Demon Gaze
Freedom Wars
Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2
Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed
MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies
Valkyrie Drive Bhikkhuni

Steam:
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky First Chapter
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter
Ys Chronicles I
Ys Chronicles II

Completed Games Collection of 2018:
  • #01 | Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3)
  • #02 | Saints Row 2 (PS3)
  • #03 | Sengoku Basara HD (PS3)
  • #04 | Sengoku Basara 2 HD (PS3)
  • #05 | Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4)
  • #06 | Corpse Party: BloodCovered Repeated Fear (Vita)
  • #07 | Corpse Party: Book of Shadows (Vita)
  • #08 | Corpse Party: Blood Drive (Vita)
  • #09 | Soul Sacrifice (Vita)
  • #10 | Persona 5 (PS4)
  • #11 | Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (3DS)
  • #12 | Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Arcade Future Tone (English Version) (PS4)
  • #13 | Mobile Suit Gundam Side Stories (PS3)
  • #14 | Strider Hiryu (PS3)
  • #15 | God of War Ascension (PS3)
  • #16 | Heavenly Sword (PS3)
  • #17 | Far Cry 3 (PS3)
  • #18 | Mafia II (PS3)
  • #19 | Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (PS4)
  • #20 | Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (PS4)
  • #21 | Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix (PS4)

Black - PlayStation 3 / Blue - PlayStation 4 / Red - PlayStation Vita / Purple - Nintendo 3DS

Platinum Trophy Collection:
#01 | 2014 | PS3 - Saints Row: The Third (+ All DLC)
#02 | 2015 | PS3 - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle
#03 | 2015 | PS3 - Hyperdimension Neptunia
#04 | 2015 | Vita - Dekamori Senran Kagura
#05 | 2015 | PS3 - Steins;Gate
#06 | 2015 | PS3 - NieR
#07 | 2015 | PS3 - No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise
#08 | 2015 | PS3 - Asura's Wrath (DLC Trophies not acquired)
#09 | 2015 | PS3 - Saints Row IV (DLC Trophies not acquired)
#10 | 2015 | PS3 - The Darkness II
#11 | 2016 | PS3 - Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2
#12 | 2016 | PS3 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD
#13 | 2016 | Vita - Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus
#14 | 2016 | Vita - Gravity Rush (DLC Trophies not acquired)
#15 | 2016 | PS3 - Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory
#16 | 2016 | PS4 - Resogun
#17 | 2016 | Vita - Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
#18 | 2016 | PS4 - Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game
#19 | 2017 | Vita - Miracle Girls Festival
#20 | 2017 | PS4 - Senran Kagura Estival Versus
#21 | 2017 | PS4 - The Wolf Among Us
#22 | 2017 | PS4 - Final Fantasy XV (DLC Trophies not acquired)
#23 | 2017 | PS4 - Amplitude
#24 | 2017 | PS4 - Root Letter
#25 | 2017 | Vita - IA/VT -Colorful-
#26 | 2017 | Vita - Persona 4: Dancing All Night
#27 | 2017 | PS4 - Gravity Rush Remastered
#28 | 2017 | PS4 - NieR: Automata
#29 | 2017 | PS4 - The Silver Case HD
#30 | 2017 | PS4 - Steins;Gate 0
#31 | 2017 | PS3 - Under Defeat HD
#32 | 2017 | PS4 - Tales from the Borderlands
#33 | 2017 | PS3 - Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection
#34 | 2017 | PS4 - Life is Strange
#35 | 2017 | PS4 - Sword Art Online: Lost Song
#36 | 2017 | PS4 - Crash Bandicoot HD
#37 | 2017 | PS4 - Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back HD
#38 | 2017 | PS4 - Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped HD
#39 | 2017 | PS4 - Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
#40 | 2018 | Vita - Corpse Party: Blood Drive
#41 | 2018 | PS4 - Persona 5
 
Finished playing the second DLC story for South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Despite some fun throwbacks to 80s slashers and some nice musical cues this was pretty underwhelming and unfortunately very tedious to get through. The boss fights felt cheap at times whilst the puzzles were monotonous and needlessly long. A shame really since the Casa Bonita DLC was good fun.
 
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Completed Game #22:
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix [PlayStation 4]
Now we reach the most critical game in the Kingdom Hearts saga, Birth by Sleep. This is where everything starts to get even more insane in the lore, from who the real villain of the franchise is and how we have three characters who end up in various directions.

Birth by Sleep was one of two Kingdom Hearts games I never played before prior to the HD Collection, the other was Chain of Memories. Birth by Sleep started off on PlayStation Portable and while I had a Nintendo DS I wasn't able to get it.

Birth by Sleep is split into three different campaigns, one focused on a different characters; Terra, Ven and Aqua. Each campaign takes around 6-8 hours and you'll only need to be at least Level 30-35 before tackling the final boss of that campaign. Like Kingdom Hearts II I started the game in Proud Mode and it was pretty doable however Aqua's campaign is tedious due to her character not being strong enough to hit the enemies unlike Terra & Ven during the early parts of the game.

The enemies in Birth by Sleep are called Unversed and there's an interesting reason as to how they appear, and throughout the game's story you discover a lot of surprises including how these characters end up in the end and how it connects to the rest of the characters. Bare in mind that you'll need knowledge of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days before starting this one because there are characters and story elements that you may get spoiled from if you haven't yet checked those games out first.

The gameplay in Birth by Sleep is unique like the other portable KH instalments. Instead of commands like Attack, Magic, Items, Summons you instead have a Command selection and Shotlock. The Command selection is where you have attack, magic and item slots but it depends on what you have available and they take time to reload before you can use them again. These command items can also be combined to make new ones which may also feature an ability. These abilities outside of Scan have to be earned by melding these commands throughout your progress. The shotlock is a new addition to the franchise (which is also coming back in Kingdom Hearts III) where you press R1 and capture multiple lock-ons to various enemies before pressing X to unleash the special attack. The shotlock is very useful in the boss battles and I recommend you make use of it a lot since you'll also be immune to damage during that time.

Once you finish each story campaign you'll also have extra episodes to go through however you'll need to unlock them. As I went through the game in Proud Mode I only needed to get the Xehanort reports (most are automatically given to you for certain story elements) to unlock the Final Episode and then I needed to collect all 60 stickers and complete their albums before finally unlocking the Secret Episode (for those playing on standard mode you'll also need to defeat 9999 Unversed, while those on Critical mode don't need to collect the stickers to proceed).

Overall Birth by Sleep was a nice surprise to playthrough. The game took me a total of 25 hours spread across the Terra, Ven, Aqua, Final Episode and Secret Episode story campaigns on Proud Mode. It is a vital addition to the franchise and it's worth checking out. The command system sounds complex but you'll get used to it pretty quickly. The worlds included in the game are also a nice surprise and they go well with the story.

And thus this concludes my Kingdom Hearts marathon progress. I don't have 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue so it'll be a while until I replay Dream Drop Distance. I have gone through both 358/2 Days and Re:coded cutscenes so essentially I have officially sorted out the 1.5+2.5 HD ReMIX collection.

My backlog so far:
Nintendo 3DS:
Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson
Tales of the Abyss

PlayStation 3:
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Catherine
Dragon's Crown
Drakengard 3
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
Folklore
Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak II
Jak 3
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes
Soul Calibur V
Tales of Xillia 2
White Knight Chronicles
White Knight Chronicles II

PlayStation 4:
Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed
Chaos;Child
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven
Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash!
Star Ocean V: Integrity and Faithlessness
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception
Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth
Yakuza 0
Yakuza Kiwami
Ys Origin
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

PlayStation Vita:
Demon Gaze
Freedom Wars
Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2
Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed
MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies
Valkyrie Drive Bhikkhuni

Steam:
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky First Chapter
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter
Ys Chronicles I
Ys Chronicles II

Completed Games Collection of 2018:
  • #01 | Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3)
  • #02 | Saints Row 2 (PS3)
  • #03 | Sengoku Basara HD (PS3)
  • #04 | Sengoku Basara 2 HD (PS3)
  • #05 | Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4)
  • #06 | Corpse Party: BloodCovered Repeated Fear (Vita)
  • #07 | Corpse Party: Book of Shadows (Vita)
  • #08 | Corpse Party: Blood Drive (Vita)
  • #09 | Soul Sacrifice (Vita)
  • #10 | Persona 5 (PS4)
  • #11 | Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (3DS)
  • #12 | Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Arcade Future Tone (English Version) (PS4)
  • #13 | Mobile Suit Gundam Side Stories (PS3)
  • #14 | Strider Hiryu (PS3)
  • #15 | God of War Ascension (PS3)
  • #16 | Heavenly Sword (PS3)
  • #17 | Far Cry 3 (PS3)
  • #18 | Mafia II (PS3)
  • #19 | Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (PS4)
  • #20 | Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (PS4)
  • #21 | Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix (PS4)
  • #22 | Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix (PS4)

Black - PlayStation 3 / Blue - PlayStation 4 / Red - PlayStation Vita / Purple - Nintendo 3DS

Platinum Trophy Collection:
#01 | 2014 | PS3 - Saints Row: The Third (+ All DLC)
#02 | 2015 | PS3 - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle
#03 | 2015 | PS3 - Hyperdimension Neptunia
#04 | 2015 | Vita - Dekamori Senran Kagura
#05 | 2015 | PS3 - Steins;Gate
#06 | 2015 | PS3 - NieR
#07 | 2015 | PS3 - No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise
#08 | 2015 | PS3 - Asura's Wrath (DLC Trophies not acquired)
#09 | 2015 | PS3 - Saints Row IV (DLC Trophies not acquired)
#10 | 2015 | PS3 - The Darkness II
#11 | 2016 | PS3 - Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2
#12 | 2016 | PS3 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD
#13 | 2016 | Vita - Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus
#14 | 2016 | Vita - Gravity Rush (DLC Trophies not acquired)
#15 | 2016 | PS3 - Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory
#16 | 2016 | PS4 - Resogun
#17 | 2016 | Vita - Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
#18 | 2016 | PS4 - Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game
#19 | 2017 | Vita - Miracle Girls Festival
#20 | 2017 | PS4 - Senran Kagura Estival Versus
#21 | 2017 | PS4 - The Wolf Among Us
#22 | 2017 | PS4 - Final Fantasy XV (DLC Trophies not acquired)
#23 | 2017 | PS4 - Amplitude
#24 | 2017 | PS4 - Root Letter
#25 | 2017 | Vita - IA/VT -Colorful-
#26 | 2017 | Vita - Persona 4: Dancing All Night
#27 | 2017 | PS4 - Gravity Rush Remastered
#28 | 2017 | PS4 - NieR: Automata
#29 | 2017 | PS4 - The Silver Case HD
#30 | 2017 | PS4 - Steins;Gate 0
#31 | 2017 | PS3 - Under Defeat HD
#32 | 2017 | PS4 - Tales from the Borderlands
#33 | 2017 | PS3 - Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection
#34 | 2017 | PS4 - Life is Strange
#35 | 2017 | PS4 - Sword Art Online: Lost Song
#36 | 2017 | PS4 - Crash Bandicoot HD
#37 | 2017 | PS4 - Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back HD
#38 | 2017 | PS4 - Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped HD
#39 | 2017 | PS4 - Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
#40 | 2018 | Vita - Corpse Party: Blood Drive
#41 | 2018 | PS4 - Persona 5
 
Replaying Read Dead Redemption and likely Red Dead Undead Nightmare in the final stretch until the prequel comes out.
 
HWR said:
Replaying Read Dead Redemption and likely Red Dead Undead Nightmare in the final stretch until the prequel comes out.
Click to expand...
Completed RDR again, still a great game though the auto save became bothersome when attempting the challenges involving collecting flowers and hunting animals etc due to how any death meant undoing the progress. Other than that it was still good fun. 4/5

Now onto Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare
 
Finished Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare. Took around 10-11 hours including the challenges. It's a good game but can be finicky and laggy, which is frustrating when being surrounded by zombies. Being able to tame the four horses of the apocalypse was pretty neat though.
 
Decided to start Persona 3 FES though not sure if I'll persevere or not, depends on whether this social Link guide I'm using is worthwhile or not. These titles tend to be very lengthy.
 
HWR said:
Decided to start Persona 3 FES though not sure if I'll persevere or not, depends on whether this social Link guide I'm using is worthwhile or not. These titles tend to be very lengthy.
Click to expand...
The battle system in FES is also awful due to lack of direct control of your party bar the MC. And I also prefer the Fem MC as a character so I always play P3P these days.
 
AAAARGH! For god's sake, somebody rescue me from Skyrim!

I just got married, built a house and filled it with cheese and killed a floating alien testicle. I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR OVER A MONTH!!!
 
thedoctor2016 said:
The battle system in FES is also awful due to lack of direct control of your party bar the MC. And I also prefer the Fem MC as a character so I always play P3P these days.
Click to expand...
I have considered this and if combat becomes tiresome I'll likely download P3P at some point.
 
HdE said:
AAAARGH! For god's sake, somebody rescue me from Skyrim!

I just got married, built a house and filled it with cheese and killed a floating alien testicle. I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR OVER A MONTH!!!
Click to expand...
Could be worse. The house could be made of cheese. Every night, the nightmares, every day, cheese on toast
 
Finished Detroit a week or 2 ago. My ending was wholesome as f*ck.

I need to play ep 1 of the walking dead too. Just been on Overwatch mainly.

Anyone on here play OW on the PS4 and want a pocket healer? ;) :p
 
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