Coelacanth

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Still on the ninja grind, at this point I’m hopefully done with Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge relatively soon. Not yet, though.

I really wish this solid fundamental combat system wasn’t trapped inside a godawful game. I really truly hate everything the story and presentation is doing. The setting is shit, the narrative is shit, the QTE gameplay is shit. The levels are boring. The voice acting is bad, but not even in a fun and campy way anymore but just bad. And worst of all - unlike the previous games this attempts to be “story focused”. So instead of just getting a cutscene at the start and end of a chapter and then action in between you are non-stop engaging with the terrible garbage they’re serving.

And they even managed to fuck up executing the combat even though they have the most solid fundamentals in place of the entire series. I hate the Steel On Bone counters, and the combat is designed around spamming them all the time. It’s boring. QTE-ing a single SOB counter into multiple instant kills feels unearned, and so much less satisfying than deliberately delimbing enemies with specific combos in NG2 to set them up for instant execution.

Plus the bosses are actually even worse here. Some are okay, I know it’s infamous but the T-rex actually felt fine to me but stuff like the tank and helicopter bosses are just pure trash. I’ve also heard the final boss is a world record holder in unfair bullshit so you know, I have that to look forward to too, I guess.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

I’ve dug up my New3DS again and am ordering some games for it. Castlevania is somewhat of a gaming blind spot for me, is there one playable on the 3DS you’d recommend?

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

How hard is it to hack your 3DS? I haven’t done it and I haven’t really experimented with stuff like that for like 20 years. I feel like it could be a good idea to look into after Nintendo closed the eShop and second hand 3DS games are getting more and more expensive.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Thank you! I’ll bookmark that for the future.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

This is absolutely insane. Move over Skyblivion, we have a new king in town.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Seeing as you liked Chaos Theory and look like you have access to a PS2 the co-op campaign in Splinter Cell: Double Agent (OG Xbox/PS2 version developed by Ubisoft Montreal) also tends to get good reviews. I haven’t played it myself though.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

I’ve always felt that puritanical stigmatization of sex and sexuality have really fucked us up psychologically as a species.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

You’re not alone, James Gunn (yes, that James Gunn) thought the same.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

It’s a sadly forgotten relic of the old internet.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

I definitely am a victim of over purchasing during deep sales and building an insurmountable backlog, but there is also something kind of nice about having a library waiting to browse after each game just waiting to install.

Regardless though, what I really wanted to say was: I’m seconding interest in your Python app, that sounds very useful actually!

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

It’s a shame we can’t follow individuals around here, so please @ me whenever you do decide it’s ready to publish. I don’t want to miss it.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

I was always curious about the Playdate because Lucas Pope made a game for it and he’s a genius, but I never really could see myself justifying the massive price tag for what it is.

Also I hope you’re feeling better! It made me so happy to see a post from you again as I’ve missed seeing you around. Hope your health is improving ♥️

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Still working on Ninja Gaiden 2 (Xbox 360 version, emulated on Xenia Canary). I’m currently halfway through Chapter 12 out of 14 on Path of the Warrior, so I’m almost at the point where I can see the finish line. Still unsure whether I can beat it as I’ve heard the final stretch is pure hell.

I have never played a game that made me feel quite like this, I have to be honest. It’s one of the best and one of the worst games I’ve ever played simultaneously. If this was released today it would be absolutely lambasted for its blatantly untested, horrifically balanced and absurdly unfun encounters.

And it’s such a shame and a waste because the pieces are all there for a spectacular tour de force of an action game and you can see that side of it shine through from time to time. Whenever the game clicks and is good, it’s fucking incredible. Lightning fast, blood and limbs flying everywhere, incredible animations and brutal execution moves as you’re zipping through combat and weaving through combos. They really had the fundamentals here for something special, and the first half of the game is mostly good - albeit still with some complete garbage like Gigadeath sprinkled in.

From around the halfway point on though it’s become perhaps the most infuriating game I’ve ever played. Some of the gameplay design is just completely incomprehensible and encounters devolve into being spammed with projectiles from offsceen while you’re showered in constant explosions that deafen you and make you unable to see shit while you’re stunlocked to death unless you ignore using your combos and instead just abuse i-frames. Boss fights like the Double Armadillo I just finished feel like a straight up “fuck you” from Itagaki. Time and again I finish a fight and say “who the fuck thought this was a good idea?” out loud.

And the worst part is I’m developing such a Stockholm Syndrome I’m already looking at Ninja Gaiden 2 Black prices.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

I tried to watch some gameplay footage of it earlier this year as a Let’s Player I watch played it but couldn’t stand it. I concluded the game probably just wasn’t meant for me, but it’s possible it just isn’t good. It looked incredibly boring.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

I know people love Fem V but I find Male V underrated and even prefer his delivery in some scenes, particularly

spoilersome of the stuff in Mikoshi right at the ending.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Looks like a cool game, but considering how many reviewers bring up complaints about the platforming I think I’m going to steer clear to protect my sanity.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

ZA/UM is the studio behind Disco Elysium, one of the most critically acclaimed and highest rated games of all time.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Didn’t you post this same exact question just the other day?

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Blue Prince took a solid month-and-a-half of my life and a good part of my little remaining sanity.

I know some people got annoyed by the RNG but I felt like we were afforded enough control over it by the end, and peeling back the mysteries and solving the insane late game puzzles was just so satisfying. I also really quite liked the moment-to-moment gameplay of drafting.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

It does play out differently for different people, but for me it was like this: first half of the playtime I had so many things to investigate at once that I didn’t care about RNG because every run was making progress on something. Late game when I started needing specific things I had already had time to unlock RNG control.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

A new Tenchu game is what we really need.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Can’t help but agree.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu (edited 2 miesiące temu)

I don’t think it will suck. It will just be “more Hollow Knight” - which is perfectly fine and what people should have been expecting. Don’t think it will live up to the irrational hype though unless it’s literally the best game ever made.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

I still think Dark Souls 1 is more accessible than Elden Ring. Yes, ER offers more and better tools - like the aforementioned spirit ashes - but the complexity and demands of the boss fights are still much harder I would say.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

Oh yes, for sure! That’s what I tend to tell people whose first Soulslike is Elden Ring: Dark Souls 1’s bosses will feel very underwhelming in comparison but the areas themselves will be equally or more challenging.

Though the DLC does have a couple of fun bosses. Make sure you look up how to enter it, it’s not something you’d stumble on naturally. Also you have to do it before the final boss, unlike later games NG+ starts automatically upon defeating the final boss.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

I was asking the same thing a year ago 😅

Though it’s mainly multiple story-heavy games at once I couldn’t do myself I think. Jumping back and forth between Minecraft and Halo and Mario Kart and what have you feels slightly different.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Buy it on GOG, I believe the Steam version of Bloodlines doesn’t even launch. GOG version comes bundled with the “basic” version of the Unofficial Patch which - as far as I know - is literally required to be able to finish the game. GOG also has a one-click installer for the Plus Patch with more restored content as of like a month or two ago, if you’re into that. I personally recommend playing non-Malkavian Basic Patch for a first experience and doing Malkavian with the Plus Patch for a second playthrough.

The game is absolutely worth it, it’s a cult classic for a reason. The combat sucks so be prepared for that and the second half of the game is extremely rushed as the developers were forced to shove it out the door but even having said that it’s a great experience for what it is.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

I’m playing through Ninja Gaiden 2 (X360) at the moment partly in preparation for this release. NG4 looks so fucking different but still - I think - promising. I’m not sure what I think about the full cyberpunk aesthetic but who plays these games for the story anyway? Combat looks vicious, fast and brutal and even though it looks very different from the old games it still looks good I think.

Coelacanth, 2 miesiące temu

It’s more about the aesthetic, I really enjoyed when it was the weird modern/ancient mix they were going with before rather than this actual cyberpunk.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Actually doesn’t look half bad.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Some games still do encourage that! Have you met a little game called Blue Prince?

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

I wonder what the public response will be when Silksong releases and turns out to be just a good game and not literally curing cancer and resolving world hunger.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Spaghetti Western is a very common term for those movies, or at least it was when I grew up. Sergio Leone was one of the pioneers of the genre so I guess that’s where the name comes from?

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Seeing as Roblox being a groomer infested hellhole has been known for years it’s surprised me that it took this long for that story to actually break into the mainstream.

But anyways yeah. Predator hive is full of predators, more news at eleven.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu (edited 3 miesiące temu)

Continuing my ninja adventures by playing Ninja Gaiden 2 (Xbox 360 version) this week. Since the original has such a fierce following and the remaster from this year was somewhat controversial I wanted to play it first to see how NG2B with the “White” mod holds up. It was a little more involved setting up emulation than NGB and Xemu, but it’s running well now albeit with minor graphical glitches. I actually for once kinda wish I had an Xbox Series X though for that native 4k60 HDR.

So far I’m enjoying myself. The highs of the game are really high, even compared to the first game: those frenetic massive hallway fights against hordes of aggressive ninjas are just pure adrenaline rushes and thrilling but stressful in the best way. While the combat in the first game was fast, it was still very measured and deliberate. This time it’s just pure coke-fuelled rabid frenzy.

The improved graphics, animations and gore also make the spectacle of combat heightened and the dismemberment mechanic is really fun and surprisingly strategic to play with.

Some enemies are just shit to fight though, like the dogs and the flying bat demons you have to take out with ranged attacks. Also the bosses have been very hit or miss. Genshin and the spider monster were fun but I was really close to quitting the game over Gigadeath between being one of the worst bosses in gaming and glitching out of the arena 25% of the time.

I’d really like to beat it but we’ll see how far I get.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

I do agree that it’s nostalgia-powered and fuelled by millennials with disposable income being a fertile market, but to me here’s the weird thing: I think pixel art can look incredibly beautiful while the old early 3D game style looks like absolute ass (such as the OG FF7 screenshot above).

But I grew up much more on the latter than the former. There has to be more to it than just nostalgia.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

They already walked back on it in Max Payne 2, which made me irrationally upset at the time. But in Alan Wake 1/2 the Max Payne stand-in Alex Casey had Sam Lake’s face again… so, maybe?

I’m more worried about how they’ll approach James McCaffrey’s passing. He is Max Payne, but I feel like they will recast him out of sheer necessity (unless they really just stick slavishly to the originals and give them a fresh coat of paint).

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Basically Homeless is an absolute treasure. The gas powered PC (and followup) are a personal favourite but all his build videos and his Stupid Setups are absolute gold. Using a printer as a monitor was another highlight.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

I’m playing Ninja Gaiden Black this week for the first time on Xemu original Xbox emulator, and it’s been an absolute blast so far (mostly… we’ll get to that). Despite being known for its combat there is actually a surprising amount of adventure game gameplay in there, with exploration, Metroidvania-esque area unlocks/backtracking and light platforming. I’ve actually enjoyed these parts quite a bit as they’ve provided nice breathing room between fighting.

So far the game’s infamous difficulty has not yet proven insurmountable, even playing on Normal and not “Ninja Dog” (Easy). I’m on Chapter 11 out of 16 now and so far so good. It’s definitely been challenging, but not really unfair - it just constantly demands you to use all the tools at your disposal, and think carefully about every situation. It’s not a hack-and-slash; you have to be very precise and deliberate and use proper combos - button mashing will get you killed. The AI is hyper aggressive, but you have so much at your disposal in terms of movement and offensive and defensive tools that there is always a solution if you’re just fast enough, proactive enough or patient enough. A lot of fights get a lot easier if you just pick the right weapon, or right Ninpo, or remember to use Smoke Bombs.

Also, having access to Save States through the emulator makes things a lot more pleasant to play as the game is notorious for its horrible checkpointing. I’m trying not to abuse it, but I’m not really interested in wasting time either and the game is challenging enough as it is.

Chapter 9 is an absolute abomination, though. There is absolutely no reason for it to suddenly become Call of Duty, and being forced to fight two tanks, a helicopter and a radio tower full of bazookas using only a bow with explosive arrows and awful controller first person aiming was downright horrendous.

Even despite that though I still definitely recommend trying it. Setting up Xemu is extremely simple, the ROM is floating around online for free so the cost is minimal and the combat really is something special.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Good-aligned “resist the Durge” works out better anyway imo and feels like the intended canon playthrough.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu (edited 3 miesiące temu)

Disco Elysium sits completely unchallenged at the top spot as the most meaningful experience I’ve had playing a video game. I resonated deeply with its themes and its main character as someone who has struggled with depression, addiction, obsession and trouble moving on. It’s an astonishing achievement in both writing and in the use of a game as a storytelling medium, an one of the best ever examples of “video games as art”.

The rest of the list is almost impossible to order, because there are so many different ways to rank them. Games I’ve played that I think are the objectively best? Games I would like to just sit down and play right now the most? Games that made the biggest impression on me as a person, especially growing up?

Regardless, it’s probably any two out of:

• Dark Souls 1
• Baldur’s Gate 2
• Civilization 5
• Final Fantasy VI
• Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
• Bioshock 1
• STALKER SoC/CoP/Anomaly
• Alan Wake 2
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
• EVE Online (up until 2015-16 or so)

Will probably add Expedition 33 to it in the future, but need the dust to settle on it first. EDIT: Hell, Blue Prince has a good shot at making the list too.

EDIT 2: Somehow forgot Dishonored 1&2 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. It really is impossible to list just three!

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

If you don’t like anime, and you’re too old to relate to teens anymore, and you might cringe at edgy youth fiction… Is P5R still worth playing?

I’ve heard some people really love it, but I’ve been very hesitant to play it for the above reasons. Also it’s like 200h long so it’s a big commitment.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

I just want more granular difficulty/accessibility settings. Give me more sliders to tweak my experience. I know it might be greedy and asking for a lot but Easy/Normal/Hard or whatever is just so clumsy.

Imagine we had sliders to tweak dodge i-frames and parry window lengths? I might actually dare pickup Sekiro if that was the case.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Viconia and Sarevok had no reason to be in BG3 and by choosing to use WOTCs deplorably terrible supplemental product lore as canon Larian has now cemented those character portrayals forever, which was just pure character assassination.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

Well, canonically Edwin gets punked by Elminster and lives out his days as a bar wench. And since they decided from the get-go to set BG3 a hundred years after the originals he’d be long dead, along with any other human NPC from the older games. Which, the fact that they started from the point of “let’s set it 100 years later” tells you enough of how much they wanted to deal with the older games. Viconia is not the only thing in BG3 that gives vibes of disdain at worst and disinterest at best for the originals. Flail of Ages is a useless trash weapon randomly sold by a vendor, for fucks sake!

I wonder how many at Larian even played BG1&2. I get such a Wiki-research vibe from a lot of the callbacks.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

I don’t play D&D - in fact I don’t play any TTRPG anymore (imagine having friends) - but I’ve heard a lot of criticism about WOTC’s products, yes. A lion’s share of it is about how unhelpful the official adventures are for DMs, but I’ve also heard the writing criticised from time to time.

I’ve heard good things about Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and the Curse of Strahd remake though.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

I finished Blasphemous. I didn’t go through the DLC as I apparently missed the chance for the True Ending by not doing it early anyway, so I couldn’t be bothered as I wasn’t really enjoying the game that much. Also I’ve heard it’s even more annoying. I’ll save it for a hypothetical second playthrough. I did beat the one optional DLC boss I had access to - Isidora - and the difference between the main game and the DLC is staggering. I first tried the last two bosses in the main game, but Isidora took me probably 50ish attempts. And I’m not sure it was “fun difficult” either, that second phase sure was something.

My notes remain the same: terrible platforming (and an overabundance of it) and design elements that are deliberately meant to waste your time and/or piss you off hold back what could otherwise have been a great game. I respect the artistic vision, I just didn’t have a lot of fun playing it.

As a palate cleanser I played through LIMBO, which I bought solely because it is supposedly an indie darling and was being delisted on GOG. I was assured by somebody on here that it wasn’t really “that bad” as puzzle platformers go (I hate platformers) and that it was “mostly vibes”. That was a lie - this is clearly a puzzle platformer. And it didn’t feel like a particularly good one either. Fortunately it was only a couple of hours long or I would never have been able to force myself to finish it. YMMV but it’s a solid 5.5-6/10 for me, I’m glad I only paid a dollar for it. I hope INSIDE is better as I foolishly bought both.

Coelacanth, 3 miesiące temu

I love this from GOG. I already liked them because of their game conservation efforts, but now I like them even more.