What Games Are You Playing?

[ActionFaust]

Will probably do a bigger post talking about Arknights at some point but as they've just started the Episode 8: Roaring Flare event I figured I'd post my first 10 pulls on the new event banner featuring Mudrock and Rosmontis.

Received two new 6* operators (Mudrock and Hellagur) from this attempt. 6*s usually have a 2% recruitment rate so I was very shocked to see two of them in this lineup. Made another few attempts using leftover permits and the free daily permit and didn't get anyone too interesting. Will hold back from the banner for now just incase I recruit Rosmontis from the free daily permits but otherwise I'm not too bothered since she'll likely turn up in another banner sometime.

As it stands I now have 24 out of 32 6* operators. Much better luck than I have in most games of the genre.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Much better luck than I have in most games of the genre.

You tried Princess Connect yet? From what I can gather is one of the best in terms of drop rates. I've got all but 3 of the 49 characters so far. Of the 3, 2 are from the original cast, which can be earned in ways other than the gacha, and 1 that's been introduced since that has to be pulled (as far as I can gather they eventually appear in the various other shops).

 

[ActionFaust]

You tried Princess Connect yet? From what I can gather is one of the best in terms of drop rates. I've got all but 3 of the 49 characters so far. Of the 3, 2 are from the original cast, which can be earned in ways other than the gacha, and 1 that's been introduced since that has to be pulled (as far as I can gather they eventually appear in the various other shops).

I did try PriConne a while back but the characters and story just didn't grab me tbh. I loved the anime but I can't say the same for the game. Great to hear about the gacha rates though.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

but the characters and story just didn't grab me

I've only watched/read the first chapter of the story so far, too busy to doing all the daily missions, etc for that, but have watched most of the character stories as they give attribute bonuses and whilst there are characters that I don't like for one reason or another, there are also ones that I love. With such a big cast that's bound to happen as, I guess, they're trying to cater to different tastes.

 

[NormanicGrav]

This past April has been filled with more games being played to get through the backlog (despite more games eventually joining at the same time oof).

Completed Game #8 | Touch My Katamari (Vita)

When Sony initially announced plans to close their store, I decided to revisit my Vita (which needed to be recharged due to age) and one of the games I decided to check out was Touch My Katamari, a Vita instalment in Bandai Namco's wacky puzzle type series about dragging everything from tiny pieces to whole planets on a ball.

The Vita version is actually pretty good in terms of gameplay though it's timed and can be quite challenging but the modern controls approach I selected worked out pretty well. It's a very short game though, basically a digital title that got a physical release in the end, but overall worth a visit if you want something short and quick to play on the go.

Completed Game #9 | The 25th Ward: The Silver Case (PS4)

A visual novel spin-off and sequel to the cult classic PlayStation game The Silver Case by Suda51. This one was originally released exclusively on a specific cell phone type but is now back as a remake and more 'complete' compared to its original. It continues to provide the blend of visual novel storytelling and adventure gameplay elements which works as well as it did in the first game.

Personally I am overall conflicted in how I felt about the overall plot of the game because it did not invest me as much as I had wanted. The second story arc I quite liked a lot, probably because it made the most sense in storytelling. There's a lot to like with The 25th Ward overall but it's not going to top the first game basically.

I did manage to get the Platinum trophy however I should warn you that one of the trophies requires spending 8-9 hours straight going through 99 different endings with no way to speed it up and it is boring and bizarre as hell. One ending for instance you do something and suddenly you reincarnate as cheese, like what on earth. Playtime is about 14 hours before the 99 endings route.

Completed Game #10 | Everybody's Golf (PS4)

A couple of years ago I got heavily invested in the Vita version of Everybody's Golf because it's the type of game where it's challenging but addicting to continue and try to overcome the obstacles. I liked it so much that I eventually acquired the PS4 instalment but for some reason it did not click with me in the same way that the other did.

Fast-forward to recently, I decided to revisit the PS4 version as I never really finished it for the collection and thus I continued progress. The game is very different in style due to its open-world look and online focus, but the gameplay is really great and the graphics look great. The issue I have is the continuous repetitiveness in the re-using of maps because I feel having to replay the same map every time, even if its mirrored or has additional wind speed/direction changes, does not justify its issues. What the game needed was more variety of maps without having to spend DLC just to resolve that issue.

Eventually as you go up the ranks, you do unlock more maps but the issues still remain. But overall other than that it's still a solid game in general. I haven't 100% the game but I plan to save it for the PS5 since the Pro version has 4K and 60fps.

Completed Game #11 | 428 Shibuya Scramble (PS4)

And now we get to the main focus of this post, 428 Shibuya Scramble is a visual novel developed by Spike Chunsoft that was originally released on the Nintendo Wii before eventually getting a western release on PlayStation 4 many years later. This takes the usual formula and replaces the anime visuals with live-action shots that gives it the same feel and look as though you were watching a J-Drama series or film.

428 was known for having the perfect 40 rating from Famitsu when it first came out, but to be honest it deserves it because the storytelling in this game is really good and concludes on a very satisfying note. You follow many protagonists and your choices will drastically impact everyone's fates so it's up to you to try and make sure they don't end up in a BAD END which can be funny or an oof depending on what the character was doing. It's pacing is also very good and even though there's no voice acting it works really well.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1386418649045495809

Speaking of BAD ENDs, there are over 80 in the game and most of them are different to each other which have their own quirks. The game is also designed where even if your choices are correct for one person's route, they can still hit a BAD END or KEEP OUT (this means you can't proceed until someone else's actions reach a certain point) unless another person is able to make the right choice in their path. It gets very important during the final moments of the story because every choice matters.

The main storyline can take about 24 hours which is plenty, and there's tons of bonus post-game content also. One scenario is called Suzune which is a heart-breaking story of love, while another scenario is called Canaan which some of you may be familiar with. Canaan is the only part of the whole game where it's actually presented in an anime style because it's written by TYPE-MOON (Fate, Tsukihime).

Overall, 428 is a fantastic game and highly recommended. It's so good that it's reinvested my interest in playing more visual novels lol. Of course this game is very unique in its approach but the story-telling is what makes the game so good.​

My backlog so far:

Spoiler

#	Platform	#	Game Name	Genre
1​	3DS​	1​	Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson	Action
2​	3DS​	2​	Tales of the Abyss	Action RPG
3​	PC/Steam​	1​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky	Turn-Based RPG
4​	PC/Steam​	2​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter	Turn-Based RPG
5​	PS3	1​	3D Dot Game Heroes	Action RPG
6​	PS3	2​	Castlevania: Lords of Shadow	Action
7​	PS3	3​	Catherine	Puzzle
8​	PS3	4​	Drakengard 3	Action RPG
9​	PS3	5​	Eternal Sonata	Turn-Based RPG
10​	PS3	6​	Folklore	Action
11​	PS3	7​	inFAMOUS	Action
12​	PS3	8​	Katamari Forever	Puzzle
13​	PS3	9​	Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch	Turn-Based RPG
14​	PS3	10​	Puppeteer	Platformer
15​	PS3	11​	Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time	Platformer
16​	PS3	12​	Ratchet & Clank: Nexus	Platformer
17​	PS3	13​	Ratchet & Clank: QForce	Platformer
18​	PS3	14​	Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty	Platformer
19​	PS3	15​	Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction	Platformer
20​	PS3	16​	Sengoku Basara 3: Samurai Heroes	Musou
21​	PS3	17​	Siren Blood Curse	Horror
22​	PS3	18​	Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus HD	Platformer
23​	PS3	19​	Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time	Platformer
24​	PS3	20​	Sly 2: Band of Thieves HD	Platformer
25​	PS3	21​	Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves HD	Platformer
26​	PS3	22​	Soul Calibur V	Fighting
27​	PS3	23​	Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord	Tactical RPG / Visual Novel
28​	PS3	24​	White Knight Chronicles	Turn-Based RPG
29​	PS3	25​	White Knight Chronicles II	Turn-Based RPG
30​	PS4​	1​	Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle	Musou
31​	PS4​	2​	Blue Reflection	Turn-Based RPG
32​	PS4​	3​	The Caligula Effect: Overdose	Turn-Based RPG
33​	PS4​	4​	Chaos;Child	Visual Novel
34​	PS4​	5​	Code Vein	Action RPG
35​	PS4​	6​	Cyberdimension Neptunia: Four Goddesses Online	Action RPG
36​	PS4​	7​	Danganronpa 1 Reload	Visual Novel
37​	PS4​	8​	Danganronpa 2 Reload	Visual Novel
38​	PS4​	9​	Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony	Visual Novel
39​	PS4​	10​	Date A Live: Rio-Reincarnation - 1: Rinne Utopia	Visual Novel
40​	PS4​	11​	Date A Live: Rio-Reincarnation - 2: Ars Install	Visual Novel
41​	PS4​	12​	Date A Live: Rio-Reincarnation - 3: Twin Edition: Rio Reincarnation	Visual Novel
42​	PS4​	13​	Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Fortune	Simulation
43​	PS4​	14​	Dragon's Crown Pro	Action RPG
44​	PS4​	15​	Fate/Extella Link	Musou
45​	PS4​	16​	Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise	Action
46​	PS4​	17​	Gal*Gun 2	On-Rails Shooter
47​	PS4​	18​	Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Infinite Combate	Action RPG
48​	PS4​	19​	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven	Fighting
49​	PS4​	20​	Judgment	Action
50​	PS4​	21​	Langrisser	Tactical RPG
51​	PS4​	22​	Langrisser II	Tactical RPG
52​	PS4​	23​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel	Turn-Based RPG
53​	PS4​	24​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II	Turn-Based RPG
54​	PS4​	25​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III	Turn-Based RPG
55​	PS4​	26​	Megadimension Neptunia VII	Turn-Based RPG
56​	PS4​	27​	Megadimension Neptunia VIIR	Turn-Based RPG
57​	PS4​	28​	Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom	Action RPG
58​	PS4​	29​	Nights of Azure	Action RPG
59​	PS4​	30​	Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon	Action RPG
60​	PS4​	31​	One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3	Musou
61​	PS4​	32​	Onechanbara Z2: Chaos	Action
62​	PS4​	33​	Our World Is Ended	Visual Novel
63​	PS4​	34​	Persona 5 Royal	Turn-Based RPG
64​	PS4​	35​	Punch Line	Visual Novel
65​	PS4​	36​	Raging Loop	Visual Novel
66​	PS4​	37​	Robotics;Notes DaSH	Visual Novel
67​	PS4​	38​	Robotics;Notes ELITE	Visual Novel
68​	PS4​	39​	Saint Seiya: Soldier's Soul	Fighting
69​	PS4​	40​	Sakura Wars	Action RPG / Dating Sim
70​	PS4​	41​	Sengoku Basara 4: Sumeragi	Musou
71​	PS4​	42​	Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal	Action
72​	PS4​	43​	Shining Resonance: Refrain	Action RPG
73​	PS4​	44​	Steins;Gate Elite	Visual Novel
74​	PS4​	45​	Steins;Gate: Linear Bound Phenogram	Visual Novel
75​	PS4​	46​	Super Robot Wars V	Tactical RPG
76​	PS4​	47​	Super Robot Wars X	Tactical RPG
77​	PS4​	48​	Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet	Action RPG
78​	PS4​	49​	Tales of Berseria	Action RPG
79​	PS4​	50​	Tales of Vesperia	Action RPG
80​	PS4​	51​	Tales of Zestiria	Action RPG
81​	PS4​	52​	Tokyo Xanadu eX+	Action RPG
82​	PS4​	53​	Toukiden 2	Action RPG
83​	PS4​	54​	Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception	Tactical RPG / Visual Novel
84​	PS4​	55​	Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth	Tactical RPG / Visual Novel
85​	PS4​	56​	Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen	Tactical RPG / Visual Novel
86​	PS4​	57​	Utawarerumono: Zan	Musou
87​	PS4​	58​	Valkyria Chronicles Remastered	Tactical RPG
88​	PS4​	59​	Valkyria Chronicles 4	Tactical RPG
89​	PS4​	60​	The Witch and the Hundred Knight Revival Edition	Action RPG
90​	PS4​	61​	WORLDEND SYNDROME	Visual Novel
91​	PS4​	62​	YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World	Visual Novel
92​	PS4​	63​	Ys IX: Monstrum Nox	Action RPG
93​	Vita​	1​	Bullet Girls	Third Person Shooter
94​	Vita​	2​	Demon Gaze	Dungeon RPG
95​	Vita​	3​	Freedom Wars	Action
96​	Vita​	4​	Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart	Tactical RPG
97​	Vita​	5​	Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1	Turn-Based RPG
98​	Vita​	6​	Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2: Sister's Generation	Turn-Based RPG
99​	Vita​	7​	Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3: V Generation	Turn-Based RPG
100​	Vita​	8​	Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed	Musou
101​	Vita​	9​	MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies	Musou
102​	Vita​	10​	Muv-Luv	Visual Novel
103​	Vita​	11​	Muv-Luv Alternative	Visual Novel
104​	Vita​	12​	Superdimension Neptune vs SEGA Hard Girls	Turn-Based RPG
105​	Vita​	13​	Valkyrie Drive Bhikkhuni	Action

Completed Games Collection of 2021:

Spoiler

#	Game Name	Platform	Genre	Month
1​	Yakuza 6: The Song of Life	PS4​	Action	January
2​	GOD EATER Resurrection	PS4​	Action RPG	January
3​	GOD EATER 2: Rage Burst	PS4​	Action RPG	February
4​	Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star	PS4​	Musou	March
5​	Gal*Gun Double Peace	PS4​	On-Rails Shooter	March
6​	Odin Sphere Leifthrasir	PS4​	Action RPG	March
7​	Kandagawa Jet Girls	PS4​	Racing	April
8​	Touch My Katamari	Vita​	Puzzle	April
9​	The 25th Ward: The Silver Case	PS4​	Adventure Visual Novel	April
10​	Everybody's Golf	PS4​	Sports	April
11​	428 Shibuya Scramble	PS4​	Visual Novel	April

Platinum Trophy Collection:

Spoiler

#	Game Name	Platform	Genre	Year
1​	Saints Row: The Third	PS3	Action	2014
2​	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle	PS3	Fighting	2015
3​	Hyperdimension Neptunia	PS3	Turn-Based RPG	2015
4​	Dekamori Senran Kagura	Vita​	Music/Rhythm	2015
5​	Steins;Gate	PS3	Visual Novel	2015
6​	NieR	PS3	Action RPG	2015
7​	No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise	PS3	Action	2015
8​	Asura's Wrath	PS3	Action	2015
9​	Saints Row IV	PS3	Action	2015
10​	The Darkness II	PS3	First Person Shooter	2015
11​	Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2	PS3	Turn-Based RPG	2016
12​	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD	PS3	Action	2016
13​	Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus	Vita​	Action	2016
14​	Gravity Rush	Vita​	Platformer	2016
15​	Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory	PS3	Turn-Based RPG	2016
16​	Resogun	PS4​	Arcade Shooter	2016
17​	Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls	Vita​	Third Person Shooter	2016
18​	Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game	PS4​	Adventure	2016
19​	Miracle Girls Festival	Vita​	Music/Rhythm	2017
20​	Senran Kagura Estival Versus	PS4​	Action	2017
21​	The Wolf Among Us	PS4​	Adventure	2017
22​	Final Fantasy XV	PS4​	Action RPG	2017
23​	Amplitude	PS4​	Music/Rhythm	2017
24​	Root Letter	PS4​	Visual Novel	2017
25​	IA/VT -Colorful-	Vita​	Music/Rhythm	2017
26​	Persona 4: Dancing All Night	Vita​	Music/Rhythm	2017
27​	Gravity Rush Remastered	PS4​	Platformer	2017
28​	NieR: Automata	PS4​	Action RPG	2017
29​	The Silver Case	PS4​	Visual Novel	2017
30​	Steins;Gate 0	PS4​	Visual Novel	2017
31​	Under Defeat HD	PS3	Arcade Shooter	2017
32​	Tales from the Borderlands	PS4​	Adventure	2017
33​	Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection	PS3	Fighting	2017
34​	Life is Strange	PS4​	Adventure	2017
35​	Sword Art Online: Lost Song	PS4​	Action RPG	2017
36​	Crash Bandicoot Remastered	PS4​	Platformer	2017
37​	Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back Remastered	PS4​	Platformer	2017
38​	Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Remastered	PS4​	Platformer	2017
39​	Final Fantasy Type-0 HD	PS4​	Action RPG	2017
40​	Corpse Party: Blood Drive	Vita​	Horror	2018
41​	Persona 5	PS4​	Turn-Based RPG	2018
42​	Zero Escape: The Nonary Games	PS4​	Visual Novel	2018
43​	Persona 4: Dancing All Night [Japanese Version]	PS4​	Music/Rhythm	2018
44​	Marvel's Spider-Man	PS4​	Action	2018
45​	Akiba's Trip 2: Undead & Undressed	PS4​	Action RPG	2019
46​	Spyro the Dragon Remastered	PS4​	Platformer	2019
47​	Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage Remastered	PS4​	Platfomer	2019
48​	Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon Remastered	PS4​	Platformer	2019
49​	Tekken Tag Tournament HD	PS3	Fighting	2019
50​	Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy HD	PS3	Platformer	2019
51​	Taiko no Tatsujin V Version	Vita​	Music/Rhythm	2019
52​	Utakumi 575	Vita​	Music/Rhythm	2019
53​	Jak II: Renegade HD	PS3	Platformer	2019
54​	Jak 3 HD	PS3	Platformer	2019
55​	Ratchet & Clank HD	PS3	Platformer	2019
56​	Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando HD	PS3	Platformer	2019
57​	Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal HD	PS3	Platformer	2019
58​	Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash	PS4​	Third Person Shooter	2019
59​	Kingdom Hearts III	PS4​	Action RPG	2020
60​	Zero Escape 3: Zero Time Dilemma	PS4​	Adventure Visual Novel	2020
61​	Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut	PS3	Action Horror	2020
62​	Gal*Gun Double Peace	PS4​	On-Rails Shooter	2021
63​	Odin Sphere Leifthrasir	PS4​	Action RPG	2021
64​	Kandagawa Jet Girls	PS4​	Racing	2021
65​	The 25th Ward: The Silver Case	PS4​	Adventure Visual Novel	2021
66​	428 Shibuya Scramble	PS4​	Visual Novel	2021

 

[ninjamaster]

I'm currently playing Persona 5 Strikers (Switch)

 

[awadama fever]

I started Assassin's Creed Odyssey. So far it seems very similar to Origins - which is fine by me, because I loved Origins!

 

[HWR]

I finished up Red Dead Redemption today and it still holds up well as a modern classic. That said, the Mexico segment of the game felt repetitive in mission structure and if I never have to heard cattle again in a video game it will be too soon.

I am now looking at replaying Red Dead Redemption 2.

 

[Donut]

Completed route C/D/E of Nier Automata finally last night......honestly in love with this game and glad I played it over time so I could appreciate it and let it sink in, I'm just doing all the quests and weapon parts now because I'm completionist, but I think after that, my next PS4 playthrough will be Yakuza 0!

 

[Dai]

Atelier Ryza 2
Unsurprisingly, this plays a lot like the first Ryza game; it has the same synthesis and combat systems with only minor tweaks. The main addition is a handful of new traversal options. There's a giant squirrel thing that you can ride around on. Ryza can swim, opening up underwater exploration in a couple of areas, which is fine, but not quite Tomb Raider. There's also a rope for swinging across gaps, but that just involves pressing X on particular spots to execute a canned animation, which was disappointing.

The other main difference from the previous game is the emphasis placed on exploring ruins. This feeds into an interesting system where you hunt around for fragments of old documents, and then piece them together to make sense of that location's past.

I don't know if it was because I was already familiar with the synthesis system, but it felt a lot quicker and easier to craft overpowered gear than in Ryza 1. Combined with enemies dropping so much experience that my party was levelling up every battle or two throughout the game, and the whole thing was a cakewalk. The final boss was so easy and underwhelming that after beating it I immediately checked online to see if I'd missed a quest to unlock a true final boss, but no, that was it. Not that this was a problem, really; I play Atelier games to relax, so I don't want hair-tearing difficulty.

Overall, I enjoyed this one about as much as Ryza 1 (which is to say a lot). I like the synthesis system in the Ryza games, but I think I preferred the story and structure in Atelier Firis for sticking with its more lighthearted tone throughout. It looks like the theme for the Ryza sub-series is going to keep veering back to a stock defeat-the-ancient-evil plotline. While I'd prefer it didn't, it has enough of the core Atelier experience still going on too, so I'm looking forward to the almost inevitable Ryza trilogy-ender, if one gets made.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Finally got top spot in one of the PvP modes in Princess Connect:

I'll admit I cracked and looked up tactics on the reddit page.
The other mode is a lot more difficult. You need 3 decent teams and in the top 1000 you can't see 1 of your opponents teams, in the top 500 2 and, I assume (only got to 500 once), top 100 all 3!

 

[Anime1977]

I've been playing resident evil 8. I need to get the next two jars of the babies body so its two bosses before the final one.

 

[Dai]

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Despite receiving glowing reviews across the board, I was very wary about buying this. In general, I hate tower defence games, and I'm not as enthusiastic about Vanillaware as most people (the only one of their previous games I really enjoyed was Muramasa). Well, after finishing the game with 55 hours on the clock, this is my new favourite Vanillaware game by a wide margin. More than that, it's one of the best games of the last generation.

The battles are vaguely reminiscent of Front Mission, and a lot more enjoyable than I expected. I thought I'd be rushing through battles to get back to the story, but I ended up liking both parts of the game equally. I was disappointed by the abstract tactical view used for it at first, since it doesn't sell the sense of scale of giant robots fighting giant monsters, but I got used to it fairly quickly. Also, considering the insane number of enemies the game throws at you in later battles, I don't think the game engine could have handled more complex graphics. The epic final battle brought the framerate to its knees on my base PS4.

The story (which makes up the bulk of the game) somehow manages to make its chaotic, non-linear structure work, and the countless mysteries are compelling. Aside from some sections that are gated by overall story progress, you can play the 13 characters' stories in almost any order. This works better than you would think because the story doesn't just have one or two twists--it has all the twists. Figuring out how all the story fragments piece together becomes a broader meta-game in itself, and there's a database that lets you review unlocked information and view previous scenes again. The story references a slew of SF classics, and at times it strays from homage to outright plagiarism, but it incorporates so many different plot elements that it ultimately carves out its own identity instead of feeling beholden to any one influence. I was also pleasantly surprised at the high quality English voice acting. The Japanese dub is available as an option, but the English actors are so good I never considered switching.

I can't recommend this game highly enough. Even if you think it's not for you, I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[WMD]

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Despite receiving glowing reviews across the board, I was very wary about buying this. In general, I hate tower defence games, and I'm not as enthusiastic about Vanillaware as most people (the only one of their previous games I really enjoyed was Muramasa). Well, after finishing the game with 55 hours on the clock, this is my new favourite Vanillaware game by a wide margin. More than that, it's one of the best games of the last generation.

The battles are vaguely reminiscent of Front Mission, and a lot more enjoyable than I expected. I thought I'd be rushing through battles to get back to the story, but I ended up liking both parts of the game equally. I was disappointed by the abstract tactical view used for it at first, since it doesn't sell the sense of scale of giant robots fighting giant monsters, but I got used to it fairly quickly. Also, considering the insane number of enemies the game throws at you in later battles, I don't think the game engine could have handled more complex graphics. The epic final battle brought the framerate to its knees on my base PS4.

The story (which makes up the bulk of the game) somehow manages to make its chaotic, non-linear structure work, and the countless mysteries are compelling. Aside from some sections that are gated by overall story progress, you can play the 13 characters' stories in almost any order. This works better than you would think because the story doesn't just have one or two twists--it has all the twists. Figuring out how all the story fragments piece together becomes a broader meta-game in itself, and there's a database that lets you review unlocked information and view previous scenes again. The story references a slew of SF classics, and at times it strays from homage to outright plagiarism, but it incorporates so many different plot elements that it ultimately carves out its own identity instead of feeling beholden to any one influence. I was also pleasantly surprised at the high quality English voice acting. The Japanese dub is available as an option, but the English actors are so good I never considered switching.

I can't recommend this game highly enough. Even if you think it's not for you, I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised.

I'm not a massive gamer but this one of the best games I've ever played and the only one I've platinum trophied. As you say the story is amazing, the acting is amazing and the artwork is absolutely incredible.

 

[ayase]

I've been feeling like playing games again to cheer me up, so I've just started with Crusader Kings III. I don't think I really play this game the way I'm supposed to, more like it's Medieval Sims, but with incest and murder. I got so attached to the tutorial character that I haven't even started any new games. Once I became King of Ireland I just stopped expanding and concentrated solely on marriages and alliances and internal politics so no-one will ever threaten my grip on power and in the process, I'm slowly turning every royal family in northern Europe into albinos through my current King's nine children (only two of which were by his first wife, who was awful, so he divorced her and married his Bavarian giantess mistress and theirs has been a beautiful love story of near-constant baby-making). I'm so upset now though that I can't grant my favourite giant gay albino bastard daughter any landed titles due to Catholicism not allowing it that I'm seriously considering heresy. I don't think the Pope can touch me at this point, I mean we are both secretly witches already.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Crusader Kings III

I've watched a couple of play throughs of CK II by a YouTuber called ManyATrueNerd plus he's now done a CK III one as well. Looks like you could sink days into it and still see something new.
They brought Stellaris to the consoles and it played OK, but I got a bit lost once my empire got bigger as there's so many plates spinning at one time. So I'm hoping they bring CK over, but at the same time not

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Recently finished all the Danganronpa games on the PS4 (with the final anime that completes the story from the first two in between) finally after having started in November, only to hear they're all being released on Android & iOS imminently.... Aahhh would've been so much easier if I'd been playing on a mobile in the first place heh.

Anyhoo, my first visual novel style games to play and great fun with really fun & varying gameplay, especially the courtroom sections. Surprisingly interesting characters that, despite seemingly annoying on initial impressions, were quite effective in drawing you into the stories & their mystery elements. Monokuma seems to be a beloved character but I found him & his 'posse' immensely irritating. The final game, my favourite, not so much as broke the fourth wall, as ripped it out and repeatedly clobbered one over the head with it. Great fun and am very tempted to get the mobile versions as well heh.

 

[awadama fever]

@Geriatric hedgehog I'm glad you had fun with them! It's one of my favourite game series (I played them on Vita and I'm very slowly/occasionally playing through again on PS4).

If you're looking for something similar in gameplay (but definitely not tone), you might like the Ace Attorney games. They don't have a load of different minigames for the trial scenes (which are my least fav parts of DR TBH), but the general style of play is pretty much the same (something happens, go around some places looking for evidence, then present it in a trial).

AA is a lot more gentle/funny in tone than DR (but still has plenty of emotional moments) - it's got a lot of really great writing and characters and the music is really catchy too. Plus, most of the series is available on pretty much anything that can play games (most of them are available on mobile).

 

[WMD]

Root Film
Really enjoyed this VN. I'm very much into murder mysteries so this was right up my street. Each chapter being it's own mystery and then everything coming together in the final few chapters. It's a linear story with only one ending so no need to worry about the true ending. Just play the game, enjoy the story and solve the mystery.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

AA is a lot more gentle/funny in tone than DR (but still has plenty of emotional moments) - it's got a lot of really great writing and characters and the music is really catchy too. Plus, most of the series is available on pretty much anything that can play games (most of them are available on mobile).

Thanks for the info, and would definitely want to have more of that mode of gameplay. Good to know AA is available on mobile as I had assumed in the past that it was mainly on Nintendo handhelds like the DS. Will definitely try that out at some point!