I’ll also add The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC. I know there’s a remake coming out next year, but there’s a bunch of shady stuff surrounding how they’re gonna localize it. (Supposedly, they’re gonna use AI to try to do most of it and then have real people brush it up.)
So I’d recommend playing the original instead. It’s a 2.5D game with a mostly 360° camera. It uses turn-based combat, but not traditional turn-based combat. And it has a great story.
It’s also on sale for only US$9.99 on GOG (which is DRM-free) and Steam.
Oh no, are they really going to use AI to translate a Falcom RPG? That’s fucking heresy. The scripts in those games, are one of the things that set them apart from other JRPG schlock…
spoilerThe persistent/recurring NPCs having their own little side stories that you can miss or skip entirely if you don’t talk to literally every NPC twice every single day (I haven’t played a ton of Trails in the Sky series yet, was going to wait for the remake, but now I’m not sure… This take is based on Cold Steel and Zero/Azure), is one of the most charming aspects of these games imo… Each NPC has their own individual personality, and it remains consistent (or sometimes even changes through character growth. In the background and completely missable if you don’t exhaust all of their dialogue. Just off the top of my head, I’m thinking of Mint from Cold Steel I & II. What a little rascal! And her interactions with her uncle, Professor Makarov. Then Makarov’s budding romance with that other teacher after Mint sets them up… Lol, I remember this shit more than some of the main plot.
I love that shit!
And, typically, it seems as though they put a lot of care into the localization. This is super disappointing if true.
I get that these scripts must be massive but I’d rather wait an extra 6 months or whatever, if it means the NPC dialogue doesn’t read like ChatGPT.
Edit: I realized that this thread is all about going in blind, and my comment could be construed as ruining that. I despise spoilers of any kind (and my brain seems to seek them out so as to troll me), so I’m very sensitive to that. Apologies.
Along with the suggestions here can also recommend a short hike. There’s also a bunch of short, fulfilling games on itch.io and the developers see more of your cash vs steam, worth considering if you’re so inclined.
I also go through phases like this, particularly in the winter. You could be suffering from depression or if this is a more recent thing as the days get shorter maybe its SAD. Get some sunshine and a SAD lamp and see if that helps. If not, worth talking to a professional like others have suggested. Godspeed fellow gamer!
This happens to me when I don’t have somebody to share my progress in a game with. It’s definitely some sort of failure to achieve dopamine or something.
Having a second person to talk to about the game and your progression may help you to overcome this hurdle.
Alternatively, try some indie stuff? AAA+ games are made by soulless companies who don’t actually care about your joy. Have you ever played Stardew Valley? Made by ONE dude with love. Give that a shot.
Great game! Just be glad you don’t have to swap the cd every 20 clicks. Riven was basically 1 disc per cutscene when it first came out and I remember getting very frustrated as a kid when I accidentally triggered an island switch and knew it’d be 10 minutes until I could get back.
Such laptops are at the low end. But, if you have a really good Internet connection, you could expand your options a lot with GeForce Now. Basically a paid service to use cloud servers to render your game; surrendering an often-unnoticeable delay in response time. They have a free tier worth trying.
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