Shameful gaming confessions

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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Obiwanshinobi
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Marc wrote:I still maintain that Unbounded was actually a brilliant racer, tarnished by having an ill-fitting name stuck on to it. It took a while to click, but once it did I logged a stupid number of hours into it. Certainly more fun that Burnout 3/4/Paradise anyways.
Seems like my sort of game out of a sudden, but as the towering backlog stands between us, it must wait for a little bit longer (for example, I've yet to play any FlatOut).
My kind of a review as well! Anyone knows if the console versions run at 60 fps? If they don't and PC one does, that would be a good enough reason for me to wait 'till I upgrade.
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Hornet
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

Post by Hornet »

XoPachi wrote: Awful.
Oh, this sounds disappointing. I've seen people complaining about the lack of "proper dungeons" and "puzzles" in BOTW and I was thinking "hey, maybe Nintendo just decided to go full Zelda 1 in the dungeon design" but, yeah, that's not it.

I must admit, though. BOTW still sounds more exciting compared to Wind Waker/Twilight Princess//Skyward Sword or the DS games.
BIL wrote: Very little replicates that particular balance of agility, weight and finesse.
Agreed on everything, especially this.
BryanM wrote: There's -> this guy <- whose second favorite Zelda is #2, which has gotten no sequels, spiritual or otherwise.
I've always wanted to visit the parallel universe where AoL became a separate series.:mrgreen: The mere thought of a 16bit sequel makes me tremble with excitement.
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orange808
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

Post by orange808 »

I still play Red Steel 2. The story sucks. The quick time events are annoying. Bashing everything for money is repetitive. The dialogue is embarrassing. (I don't want anyone to know I'm paying attention to a game that sounds this stupid. ) Shooting people to weaken them doesn't make sense. The level design is boring. It's not challenging.

And still.. I love playing it. You shouldn't be able to aim and swing a sword with the controller. In theory, it can't work. And still.. Here I am (still) playing it and it feels great!
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Blinge
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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BIL wrote: Ys III isn't, imo. The sword action and collision are tatty, antithetical to Zelda II's punishing stabs. Adol wields his blade like a grandma batting her curtain-scratching cat with a newspaper - to much the same result!
Lemme second this. Adol can phase through enemies while swinging.. and they you.
There's no physical feel of hitting anything.
You cannot knock an enemy back with the sword.. they just carry on their merry way so you just have to space yourself to hit them outside their patrol range or hope they die first.

even the jump stab is like.. "what the fuck was that."
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Mischief Maker
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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There's a Zelda 2-inspired indie game called Shadowcrypt.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Hornet wrote:
XoPachi wrote: Awful.
Oh, this sounds disappointing. I've seen people complaining about the lack of "proper dungeons" and "puzzles" in BOTW and I was thinking "hey, maybe Nintendo just decided to go full Zelda 1 in the dungeon design" but, yeah, that's not it.

I must admit, though. BOTW still sounds more exciting compared to Wind Waker/Twilight Princess//Skyward Sword or the DS games.
BOTW is a great game. Sure there are lots of haters, but don't listen to them. I loved the game, and I normally dislike modern "open world" design. It's massively, infinitely better than Skyward Sword or the DS games.
Following Skyward Sword, it's really surprising how reluctant this game is to hold your hand, which felt unthinkable for modern Nintendo, but it's incredibly refreshing to be left on your own and discover the game's world and intricate sandbox-like mechanics. The first restricted area where you learn the ropes before getting the parachute sail is very barren and boring, but once you get let out into the full world, that's the most exciting part of the game.

But I agree the dungeons suck. They are a cool idea, but feel kinda half-assed and very un-zelda like.
The final dungeon is different though. It's really cool, feels mildly like a 3D Zelda style dungeon (best comparison is probably the fortress island from Wind Waker), with lots of corridors and rooms to explore.
The music is also an incredibly awesome medley of familiar Zelda tracks with a really ominous tone to them.

It doesn't have the same rigid progression structure that defines most Zelda dungeons though. If you know where to go, you can leg it straight to the final boss, which is too bad - but then again, that fits the general concept of the overall game.

I'd love to see another Zelda following the same open ended non-handholdy nature, but with classic big, rigid Zelda dungeons that don't rely on wonky physics puzzles, and with consistently challenging combat, sporting fewer ways to completely break the game once you figure out the mechanics.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

Post by dritzthevampyr »

Confession: I've spent years trying to beat Maximum Carnage on Genesis, and it took me getting a MiSTer and playing Maximum Carnage through the Genesis core with cheats enabled to finally beat it. :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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I hate the entire concept of "points" in almost every video game I've ever played. The scoring systems are almost always half-assed and poorly designed.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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It's rare to find console games where it isn't.

I think it's obvious though, that in those cases the problems isn't the existance of a scoring system, but the fact that no effort was put into it, which is a really wasted potential in terms of rewarding player performance.
I guess that's why speedrunning exists.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Obiwanshinobi wrote:
Marc wrote:I still maintain that Unbounded was actually a brilliant racer, tarnished by having an ill-fitting name stuck on to it. It took a while to click, but once it did I logged a stupid number of hours into it. Certainly more fun that Burnout 3/4/Paradise anyways.
Seems like my sort of game out of a sudden, but as the towering backlog stands between us, it must wait for a little bit longer (for example, I've yet to play any FlatOut).
My kind of a review as well! Anyone knows if the console versions run at 60 fps? If they don't and PC one does, that would be a good enough reason for me to wait 'till I upgrade.
360 definitely not. No back-compat with my XoX either, though that might be a good thing given my pile of shame.
Seriously though, it's great. I even did the drift challenges, and I hate those mostly. I fired them off even on the otherwise sublime Horizon 4.
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Obiwanshinobi
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Marc wrote:Seriously though, it's great. I even did the drift challenges, and I hate those mostly. I fired them off even on the otherwise sublime Horizon 4.
I need to ease off my panathletic approach to single-player modes in, at least, vehicular games, as I feel obliged to at least try hard playing them to completion, and some of my faves get difficult quite soon. Nowadays, when I come home from a day's worth of driving pretty fast devices among co-workers who may just be talking on the phone while they drive theirs around the corner, rarely am I in the mood to get absorbed by more vehicular action.
I could use developing a change of attitude towards videogaming to more relaxed, if nonetheless serious one.
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Marc
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Obiwanshinobi wrote:
Marc wrote:Seriously though, it's great. I even did the drift challenges, and I hate those mostly. I fired them off even on the otherwise sublime Horizon 4.
I need to ease off my panathletic approach to single-player modes in, at least, vehicular games, as I feel obliged to at least try hard playing them to completion, and some of my faves get difficult quite soon. Nowadays, when I come home from a day's worth of driving pretty fast devices among co-workers who may just be talking on the phone while they drive theirs around the corner, rarely am I in the mood to get absorbed by more vehicular action.
I could use developing a change of attitude towards videogaming to more relaxed, if nonetheless serious one.
It's taken me until 43, but I'm finally getting there. I'm currently playing Gravel on PS4, and I've managed to three-star every even up until cup no. 8 or so. I've gotten my first 1-star here and normally I'd have sat there bashing away at it for however long it took. I've finally managed to make myself move on and play the rest of the game :D
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Blinge
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Super Metroid wasn't fun. It was a total chore. :lol:

I may have posted the exact same thing in this thread but i'm not about to go digging.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Blinge wrote:Super Metroid wasn't fun. It was a total chore. :lol:

I may have posted the exact same thing in this thread but i'm not about to go digging.
I think you did, and I think I responded in agreement. For a game so lauded, I found the controls and movement surprisingly clunky, and maybe I'm losing brain cells as I get older, but I didn't always find it particularly obvious as to where I should head next. Decent, but not a great for me.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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I didn't always find it particularly obvious as to where I should head next. Decent, but not a great for me.
That's the major appeal of the game though. You are entirely on your own at all times.

It's definitely not a "perfect" game, but it is an incredible masterpiece with nothing else quite like it.
We discussed this thing on Discord the other day, and among people who appreciate the game we pretty much agreed that while the clunky controls are somewhat of a detriment to the game, they are also pretty much essential for the things that it does well. You can't really compromise without losing something in either end (Zero Mission is a good example of that).
It just wouldn't work as well if it were a smooth, fluid action game. The default keybindings are absolutely awful though, it is fortunate that you can configure them freely.

I also think it's very easy to accidentally approach the game in a way that makes it come across a lot more "annoying" to play than it needs to be, which is unfortunate. But fixing that would also mean giving up the obtuse design that is at the core of its genius.

I've gone way more into details about what makes Super Metroid so amazing on several occasions though, so I'm not going to just repeat myself any more than I need to. :)
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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I'm the opposite. I love Super Metroid.

I hate most Zelda games because they are too linear. BotW was the first game in the series I loved since Majora's Mask. Telling me exactly where to go, exactly what to do, and making sure I am always up to the challenge is boring. I don't want a nanny.

Metroid also rarely wastes my time with goofy dialogue and stupid fetch quests for people/problems that I don't care about. The RPG elements in Zelda are generally too shallow and undercooked for my taste. Too often, reading pages of Zelda dialogue is boring and pointless.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Yo Super Metroid is so good.

Already did my explaining on that as well so not going to bring it up again :lol: just wanted to show support for that great game
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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SM's walljump alone is enough to make me jack off like a man possessed Image

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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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BIL wrote:SM's walljump alone is enough to make me jack off like a man possessed Image

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Yep. With skill, I get "early" access to areas that others wouldn't visit until later--and more missiles. :-) And, after I get the missiles, they are mine.

Beats the shit out of running around catching chickens, reading poorly translated unfunny Japanese kiddie jokes, or fetching a leaf for the neighbor's afternoon tea.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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imho super metroid is one of the only worthwhile metroidvanias. that genre is super decrepit and so ubiquitous at this point that having indulged in it has made going back to a classic like that one less interesting by measure of replaying its worst ideas recapitulated endlessly by idiots
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Depends on what you like. Speaking of shameful confessions, I still love Goonies 2 NES--in spite of its dated mechanics, shallow enemies, and no map. Exploration is a reward in itself.

I'd also much rather play a metroidvania than the latest moronic attempt at a "soulslike" game.

Spamming the dodge button and making every battle last an hour isn't really epic or deep. Making my avatar incredibly feeble isn't special. Making bullet sponge enemies isn't special. It also wasn't fun to give me almost no ammo and limit my saves in Resident Evil. There's a difference between challenge and bullshit. For instance, playing Level 4 in Zanac with no power ups is challenging, but I always have the tools to win.

Most games that that try to be "soulslike" simply pile on bullshit and pretend they added challenge.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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orange808 wrote:Depends on what you like. Speaking of shameful confessions, I still love Goonies 2 NES--in spite of its dated mechanics, shallow enemies, and no map. Exploration is a reward in itself.
Out of curiosity, have you played Legacy of the Wizard (aka Dragon Slayer IV: Draisle Family)? NES/FC, Falcom game lovingly converted from MSX by Compile (they even added scrolling - you'd never guess it was originally flipscreen).

Currently revisiting it on PS4 via M2's Namco Museum Archives Vol 2. ala Goonies 2, not a conventionally great action game, but a compelling and rugged trip. I think it actually plays more than serviceably for what it is - very Bubble Bobbly satisfaction to bopping its variously crawling, hopping, chasing enemies, and as Vanguard astutely pointed out, every kill = one less MP, which also fuels your vital movement tools. It's not ball-breakingly strict - drops are plentiful - just enough to evoke the spectre of a hopeless stranding before you open fire. (this gets into the stomp boots, the only means of killing without expending MP... holy cow, every time I recommend this game I end up with a million tangents. it's good!)

ala the better Metroids it's also got a nice degree of open-endedness and breakability (thought I'd screwed myself on boss order, first time through, pitting Pochi's meagre reach against the punishing salvos of ROCKDUDE - then I went Kevin McCallister on the motherfucker, jerry-rigging an Armour into a frickin suicide vest with the aid of an Elixir Image)

Sorta game I like to revisit every two/three years, when I've forgotten the fine details but still have the basic outline in memory. I gotta make some GIFs to illustrate XEMN/Pop's block-shifting mechanic though. It's bizarre as fuck, though a snap once you know how.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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orange808 wrote:I'd also much rather play a metroidvania than the latest moronic attempt at a "soulslike" game.
the popular indie game trend (dead cells, hollow knight, blasphemous, countless ones you've not heard of, etc.) is smashing them together, and it will soon be that to avoid one you are by default avoiding both. 'progress' in game design is just putting every genre you can into a single game. i don't much care for either, i care for them much less in the same directionless package
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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kitten wrote:
orange808 wrote:I'd also much rather play a metroidvania than the latest moronic attempt at a "soulslike" game.
the popular indie game trend (dead cells, hollow knight, blasphemous, countless ones you've not heard of, etc.) is smashing them together, and it will soon be that to avoid one you are by default avoiding both. 'progress' in game design is just putting every genre you can into a single game. i don't much care for either, i care for them much less in the same directionless package
What's your definition of direction, though? It sounds like there are complete genres that you almost universally hate.

I agree about games that are self indulgent and don't respect my time. GTA5 was a good example.

I quit GTA5 and never came back. There were too many characters and not enough choices. It dragged on and on. I got bored. Even worse, it punished me with way too much dialogue and lame story. I hated every character in the game and I didn't care about their stupid problems. When would they ever shut up?

Even worse, I was playing an open world game that didn't actually let me play the way I wanted to. Missions felt like they were made from a cookie cutter or mold. Did I mention that the game dragged on and on? Doing the same thing over and over gets old.

Mad Max got ripped for being too repetitive, but it was miles ahead of GTA5. No micro transactions, for starters. The vehicle combat was very satisfying and it didn't feel tacked on. GTA5 vehicle interactions are razor thin by comparison. (jack of all trades and master of none) Also, Mad Max gave me enough power to skip almost 25% of the content and finish the game when I got bored.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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well aren't we all a bunch of miserable cunts this week. :lol:

I'd be willing someday to try SMET again you know, and would look to sumez' battered body across the boxing ring to give me some tips on how to squeeze more enjoyment out of it, if he's up4it :wink:
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Super Metroid's skill ceiling is really high, and reaching ''later'' sections early in playthrough due to your own acrobatics, is really satisfying. There's no way one can pull these off in a first playthrough, maybe even second. so it's a great reason to revisit.
Blinge wrote:and would look to sumez' battered body across the boxing ring
love that nugget letting us know with confidence that you are OBLITERATING sumezu. legit awesome rasslin' god-tier promo
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

Post by BareKnuckleRoo »

Agreed, Super Metroid is a game where you can succeed without learning a lot of the advanced tricks, but where mastering them makes the game way more open-ended and satisfying than it already is. I struggled with walljumping for ages as a kid until I realized it's because the controls are slightly different. In most games, you wall jump by either pressing jump while you're holding the D-Pad towards the wall (Mega Man X) or you press it by hitting jump + the D-Pad away from the wall. In both cases you're pressing jump + direction at the same time.

Super Metroid's walljumping is different: you have to press the D-Pad away from the wall then jump. If you try to press both at the same time it won't register. The direction change and the jump have to be done quickly one after the other, not at the same time. It's the only game with walljumping I can think of that does this.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

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Confession: I've spent years trying to beat Maximum Carnage on Genesis, and it took me getting a MiSTer and playing Maximum Carnage through the Genesis core with cheats enabled to finally beat it.
There are a bunch of hidden rooms that spam free lives. They make the game so easy it almost feels like cheating but they're very hard to find on your own.

There's also some pretty significant late game skips:
-Spiderman can teleport past over a dozen enemies at the end of Prospect Park (the hardest stage of the game, IMO) if he summons Cloak at just the right spot
-there's a glitch to skip bosses in Prospect Park 2
-at that point selecting venom skips most of the remaining levels and takes you to basically the end of the game (but I prefer to play those stages for the life spamming secret rooms in them).

You've probably already realized this but some bosses are weak against some summons and get 1 shotted or reduced to 1 health.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

Post by Sengoku Strider »

BIL wrote:Out of curiosity, have you played Legacy of the Wizard (aka Dragon Slayer IV: Draisle Family)? NES/FC, Falcom game lovingly converted from MSX by Compile (they even added scrolling - you'd never guess it was originally flipscreen).
AKA the most obtuse NES game there is.

My shameful confession is that it took me until last week to notice that "Drasle Family" = DRAgon SLayer family. Dorasure/Drasle is literally the nickname for the series in Japanese.
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Re: Shameful gaming confessions

Post by BIL »

Yep! See also Faxanadu / FAmicom Xanadu. I like how they left it unaltered in the West, that title really leapt off the page at me as a kid.
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