What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Squire Grooktook]

Awww shucks. Maybe one of these days for fun.

You're not bad though, dun worry.



I have mostly been playing Dark Souls 3, though I tried picking up Irem's brawler Undercover Cops briefly today. Seems fun and I like the first stage theme, along with Irem's characteristic gritty pixel art, but I really have a hard time keeping my interest with these old school 1-2 move brawlers after the manic air dashy chaos of games like Alien Vs Predator, Armored Warriors, Denjin Makai, etc.

[Some-Mist]

think I almost beat ni no kuni last night. got to

Spoiler

casseopia or w/e

and couldn't get it in two attempts. gonna try again on tuesday, but I've really enjoyed the time I sunk into it. currently sitting at 58 hours.

bought SOMA over the weekend, and it is like amnesia: the dark descent but scifi. I've gotten really tense a couple times and I'm only about an hour into it. I'm stuck right now

Spoiler

underwater out in the ocean

and it's pissing me off. my computer is also chugging so it looks like I might be due for an upgrade soon.

[Stevens]

Bionic Commando Rearmed. Strider (2014).

[Ed Oscuro]

That actually sounds interesting...will have to put that one on watch for sales.

Princess Remedy is free so I tried it out. Got the 100% and special powerup for Normal; trying to get a few more hearts in the hardest mode so I can do the same there. Game gets crazy challenging when even the bread crumbs are spitting out bullet vortexes. Too bad the control's clumsy though (no strafing or fast running during battles makes things rather difficult).

[Immryr]

my copy of dark souls 3 finally arrived today, and it came with a dark souls comic which I was very surprised at, it wasn't mentioned in the listing. I've played for about an hour or so, but I'm not going to have much time to get stuck into it this week or next as I'm moving to a different city this weekend. obviously I haven't made any real opinions on the game yet, but it seems that a lot of the design decisions are leaning more towards BB/DkS2 - which is fine, but I would probably have preferred things like no fast travel and merchants/blacksmiths etc to be out in the world rather than all plopped into a kind of hub right from the get go.

[soprano1]

Tales of Phantasia, PSOne translation. Played the SFC translation years ago (fucks like a tiger,lol ).

[Vludi]

I have mostly been playing Dark Souls 3, though I tried picking up Irem's brawler Undercover Cops briefly today. Seems fun and I like the first stage theme, along with Irem's characteristic gritty pixel art, but I really have a hard time keeping my interest with these old school 1-2 move brawlers after the manic air dashy chaos of games like Alien Vs Predator, Armored Warriors, Denjin Makai, etc.

The problem with the game isn't really the lack of moves, but the unpolished combat, games like Final Fight or Tenchi wo Kurau 2 are great despite not having tons of moves, even the simplistic King of Dragons is fun as hell.
For some reason i never liked Armored Warriors though

[Squire Grooktook]

I have mostly been playing Dark Souls 3, though I tried picking up Irem's brawler Undercover Cops briefly today. Seems fun and I like the first stage theme, along with Irem's characteristic gritty pixel art, but I really have a hard time keeping my interest with these old school 1-2 move brawlers after the manic air dashy chaos of games like Alien Vs Predator, Armored Warriors, Denjin Makai, etc.

The problem with the game isn't really the lack of moves, but the unpolished combat, games like Final Fight or Tenchi wo Kurau 2 are great despite not having tons of moves, even the simplistic King of Dragons is fun as hell.
For some reason i never liked Armored Warriors though

Yeah. I kind of like King of Dragons, though mostly for the speedy pace and emphasis on blocking random/telegraphed attacks. Playing fighter on high dip switch difficulty is a great go to for some twitch block slash action.

On the other hand, I prefer how the parry mechanic in Knights of The Round actually works, but I just can't stand the lack of mobility and options in that game.

[FinalBaton]

Bionic Commando Rearmed. Strider (2014).

Oh man Strider 2014 is so fucking fun. Just picked it up and I'm hooked

[broken harbour]

Bionic Commando Rearmed. Strider (2014).

Oh man Strider 2014 is so fucking fun. Just picked it up and I'm hooked

I wish the game gave you the option for movement with the D-Pad, I just can't get used to a 2D platformer using an analog stick for movement, feels so imprecise.

[FinalBaton]

I wish the game gave you the option for movement with the D-Pad, I just can't get used to a 2D platformer using an analog stick for movement, feels so imprecise.

Yeah I wish they did that as well.
Still controls pretty well I think. But the d-pad would've been even better

[Stevens]

Bionic Commando Rearmed. Strider (2014).

Oh man Strider 2014 is so fucking fun. Just picked it up and I'm hooked

Playing it again has made me consider picking up Strider 2 at some point. I'm shocked it is still affordable.

I hear you guys on the controls. Nothing beats a good d pad..

It probably won't happen, but I wonder how Bionic Commando would work in a Metroid setting?

[FinalBaton]

has made me consider picking up Strider 2 at some point

same

I mean, I knew about the series, I have Strider for the Genesis here on my shelf. But I hadn't made the move of purchasing Strider 2 yet.
But now I will

[Some-Mist]

beat ni no kuni last night. unexpectedly incredible game. loved the different towns and characters, sidequests were actually enjoyable and somewhat worthwhile, vast list of familiars (including metamorphing I think there's around 300-400) which makes customizing your party pretty great.

I do have to say that the ending was a bit short and disappointing - I was really hoping for a long studio ghibli animated ending segment, but it wasn't more than 2 minutes long. seeing the water color sketches during the credits made me want to snag one.

as far as other games go, I'm gonna be focusing on samorost 3 (almost done), SOMA, day of the tentacle remastered (almost done), and I might snag child of light.

[Blinge]

It might have something to do with Wrath of the White Witch essentially being a remake of the Ni No Kuni on DS - Dominion of Dark Djinn.

Spoiler

The original DS game ends with Shaddar, I think. So Cassiopeia and nazcaa are all new additions

As for me; Elder Scrolls Arena is getting on my nerves. Stuff like walking along a corridor at full health only to instantly die because an enemy spawned behind me and one-shotted me with a spell.
It may be walkthrough time soon..

[broken harbour]

I'm still obsessed with Destiny: The Taken King, - about 55 hours in total.

I've never been so hooked by an online game or an FPS game, the PvP is ok, its super fast and admittedly it's fun, but the real meat of the game is PvE, Bungie has done a good job with recent updates to just keep feeding you content and new things to do, I finally crested +300 on my Level 40 Warlock and just got a sword, which is quite satisfying.

The fact that I have 8 other friends currently playing the game probably helps, there's almost always a friend to play with right now, and it's fun replaying older missions with their lower level characters and to hold their hand through some tricky bits, and normally repeat gameplay makes me lose interest. (Like when a game makes me play boss fights over again.)

I know this game got a lot of hate when it came out, and will probably get a lot of hate on this forum for being an online-FPS game but hot damn Bungie nailed it, if belatedly.

My backlog continues to grow since I've only played this for 2 months (mostly). My backlog was already a mountain.

[Some-Mist]

It might have something to do with Wrath of the White Witch essentially being a remake of the Ni No Kuni on DS - Dominion of Dark Djinn.

Spoiler

The original DS game ends with Shaddar, I think. So Cassiopeia and nazcaa are all new additions

kinda sucks I never was able to play the DS version, but I still felt like it was a weak ending for such a grand adventure.

[Vludi]

Yeah. I kind of like King of Dragons, though mostly for the speedy pace and emphasis on blocking random/telegraphed attacks. Playing fighter on high dip switch difficulty is a great go to for some twitch block slash action.

On the other hand, I prefer how the parry mechanic in Knights of The Round actually works, but I just can't stand the lack of mobility and options in that game.

Exploiting the 1up system helps a lot if you want to clear that game, the horse is pretty OP too. Also Lancelot is the best.

[Ruldra]

Exploiting the 1up system helps a lot if you want to clear that game, the horse is pretty OP too. Also Lancelot is the best.

That's Knights of Round, not King of Dragons (EDIT: Oh God, I'm sorry. Didn't see that Squire did mention KoR. I really need to stop replying after only skimming a post...)

Speaking of which, I never got the blocking in KoR. Way too difficult to pull off consistently and usually fails when you most need it. Game's pretty unforgiving as well.

[Blinge]

Exploiting the 1up system helps a lot if you want to clear that game

Do elaborate old chap.

[Xyga]

Exploiting the 1up system helps a lot if you want to clear that game

Do elaborate old chap.

Yes please.

NB: I usually take Arthur because I find Lancelot lacks a bit in power, what is it that makes the latter a better choice ?

[Squire Grooktook]

From my experience, Lancelot's vastly superior range and speed pretty much invalidates Arthur. Meanwhile Percival seems better designed as a hard hitting character. Poor Arthur is low tier in his own game.

Or at least, that's the way it felt to me. I started doing much better once I switched from Arthur to Lancelot. He feels like a better version of Arthur overall.

[Vludi]

Do elaborate old chap.

In short, the game has a weird as hell items/1up system that depends on doing certain actions. My basic strategy for a clear is suicide before stage 3 (boss 2 is a good option), then in stage 3 get 3 extends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4VY7TrN5YM (6:45 and 8:00)
You have to kill the Bird man with a heavy attack when he rushes at you, then break the barricade/item for an extend.

From my experience, Lancelot's vastly superior range and speed pretty much invalidates Arthur. Meanwhile Percival seems better designed as a hard hitting character. Poor Arthur is low tier in his own game.

Or at least, that's the way it felt to me. I started doing much better once I switched from Arthur to Lancelot. He feels like a better version of Arthur overall.

For me Lancelot > Arthur > Perceval
Lancelot is the best because of reach, fast heavy attack and the best using the horse.
The problem with Arthur is that his heavy attack is sloow, but his up+attack is pretty useful, he is decent with the horse and the damage is pretty good. Perceval is the worst imo because of the awful reach.

protip: when using the horse, temporize your attacks, don't button mash.

[Ruldra]

This guy explains how the 1UPs work in KoR: http://forums.marpirc.net/viewtopic.php ... =30#p39080

[Vludi]

This guy explains how the 1UPs work in KoR: http://forums.marpirc.net/viewtopic.php ... =30#p39080

Perceval seems to be the most exploitable. Although the Stage 3 trick is enough for a clear imo.

[null1024]

Fiddling with Asura Buster in MAME right now.
Fun little fighter, nice art. Could probably be kind of busted, but I have no way to find out since next to one played this.
Inputs are reasonably sane, other than maybe 2xDP being a stupid input for a super.

It'll be hard to convince my buddies to play this with me, blah.

Was playing through it in single player and 1CC'd it on default on my second try, that was kind of silly. The AI is really, really bad/exploitable. I then set it to max -- it's harder, but the AI is still kind of exploitable, and other than screwing up against the final boss twice, I almost 1CC'd it again.

[Zaarock]

Elevator Action Returns
Been playing this for a few days. 1cc'ed on defaults yesterday but might go for something else? One of the easier arcade games I've seen really. That soundtrack and pixel art though. Surprised at the amount of little tricks you can do with weapons and movement.

Shinobi PS2
Did a normal playthrough and close to finishing hard. Really digging this game. It's arcade style and a lot of fun once you get the hang of the mechanics & camera. Weird how little recognition this gets compared to 3D ninja gaiden considering it was made before. Movement feels good and hitting enemies in the back for double damage is tricky but satisfying.

[BIL]

Elevator Action Returns
Been playing this for a few days. 1cc'ed on defaults yesterday but might go for something else? One of the easier arcade games I've seen really. That soundtrack and pixel art though. Surprised at the amount of little tricks you can do with weapons and movement.

The only arcade game I've played to date where I felt bumping the difficulty up was warranted. Definitely give it a go on max - it's still relatively easy, but a great time nonetheless. ^__^

[Obiwanshinobi]

Weird how little recognition this gets compared to 3D ninja gaiden considering it was made before.

Sharing their names with arcade classics (or "classics") is about all those two have in common, though. I don't consider them the same genre games.
Recognition-wise, admitting Sega could do any good at that time was not fashionable.

[BIL]

PS2 Shinobi is held back only by the basic early stages imo. The system is classically arcadey - sleek moveset, smart chain system, relentless countdown - but early stages spread it a little thin. The more concentratedly lethal later ones are harrowing blasts, especially 8A's rooftops and 8B's vicious corridor battles.

The US version stands above EU and JP with its explosive uncensored violence and, more importantly, the exclusive Super difficulty. Revs up the speedkilling feedback loop to its wicked extreme. Akujiki is now absolutey ravenous for blood, demanding huge, regular TATE slaughterings. Enemy aggression, HP and attack power are off the scale, and only the most finessed slaying will keep the sakura raining down, the gore rolling in and Akujiki from eating you alive (at least if you stick with Hotsuma - despite his accelerated chi drain, Moritsune kind of trivialises Super with his massive damage output).

Enemies falling progressively faster as a chain builds is a bit of genius, especially with Super folding this directly into survival via Akujiki. Starting out is tough, then you rack up a few kills, bodies start falling quicker and quicker, and before you know it BOOM! Akujiki's got a big batch of chi to devour and you're sprinting off in search of the next slaughter. Balancing finesse with desperate aggression and reaping regular, visceral rewards is addictive as hell - something out of the best arcade gaming.