What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Bananamatic]

Did you have trouble beating the Capra Demon ? His arena is often regarded as very unfair to the player.
Oh, and protip : dont ever look at a speedrun until your first run is over.

Took three or four tries to beat him. Stayed in his face and just wailed away. Haven't looked at any runs at all yet.

same here
I think I figured out why people have issues with capra, he ALWAYS opens with the delayed jump attack and you don't know the roll timing, get hit, lose 60% hp, panic, die
after 2 deaths I figured it out and rolled that attack, ran upstairs, killed dogs, then the rest of the fight is easy
capra doesn't even do that much damage outside of that one attack, you can easily take 3 regular hits from him even at a normal level

[Stevens]

Haha, that's not most people's first experience of Capra.
Heavy armour and poise? what level are you?

It looks like our Stevens did a looot of farming in the Burg, tell us please !

Haha. I told you I farmed the Burg.

I'm level 46 now - just killed Gaping Dragon and started Blighttown, so I was probably 42-44 when I fought Capra.

Not sure what my poise is, but I am using the Black Knight Sword (both BK's coughed up their swords), and Balder armor. I would love some better armor, but I'm sure some will turn up.

I may have uh..accidentally hit the smithy while trying to talk to him. I was actually pretty bummed I had to kill him.

[Sumez]

I think I figured out why people have issues with capra, he ALWAYS opens with the delayed jump attack and you don't know the roll timing, get hit, lose 60% hp, panic, die
after 2 deaths I figured it out and rolled that attack, ran upstairs, killed dogs, then the rest of the fight is easy
capra doesn't even do that much damage outside of that one attack, you can easily take 3 regular hits from him even at a normal level

The dogs is the real issue with that fight. Capra itself is really just a beefed "regular enemy" with slow attacks. But managing the dogs at the same time makes the fight close to impossible. After I figured out the same thing about running up the stairs to pick off the dogs in peace, the fight was a breeze.
But I can easily see why he's a showstopper to a lot of people.


And yeah, Dark Souls is not really that difficult. It's just really challenging.
I always hear people "in popculture" stating how unforgiving merciless the game is, but honestly it's one of the most lenient and forgiving games out there - You have infinite lives, and don't even lose your stuff when you die. Sure, you drop your souls, but if you really want to grind, there are probably much easier ways to gets new ones than trying to get back the ones you dropped. The key to the game is not really getting attached to your souls. Just let them go.

[Blinge]

I think I figured out why people have issues with capra, he ALWAYS opens with the delayed jump attack and you don't know the roll timing, get hit, lose 60% hp, panic, die

Yeah it was someone here that said the fight is decided in the first 3 seconds. It's a race to the stairs for most people, can be slightly annoying when a dog hits you with a running attack.

The issue is with light builds or people who don't have much poise. I assume you don't actually need that much, Balder armour is probably fine.
I came to Dark from Demon Souls which had no poise, so light armour or get fucced. I was too much of a doofus to understand the different mechanics by the time I reached Capra.
New players with lighter armour flinch if a dog so much as tickles them, and get hit by Capra.
I didn't know he *always* does the jump swing, and not sure I believe it either.

As for me, I've taken muh autism to new heights in Skyrim. Done every quest I've found without using a wiki, all DLC, all skills to 100.
... and found/wiki'd every book in the game and put them all in my library in my house/Lakeview Manor


This excludes a few books that never have a fixed spawn or randomly appear in a shop because fuck that.

Also Monster Hunter 4U. MH For days son, maining Hunting Horn this time.

I love the game but I wish there were some better evasive options.
Also annoying hitbox shit like running between a Wyvern's legs to hit its tail, only for it to charge forward and I get sent flying because I was stood near the back of its ankle

[Sumez]

Heavy armor and poise is the boring way to play Souls. Dodgeroll that shit!

[Blinge]

Haha, agreed. However I avoid saying that stuff to newcomers because none of us want to be that guy saying "you're playing it wrong." The fanbase gets called toxic enough as it is.

So that advice applies to anyone that's beaten it once I'd say.

...no magic allowed tho

[guigui]

I may have uh..accidentally hit the smithy while trying to talk to him. I was actually pretty bummed I had to kill him.

God, this may actually be pretty bad. You'll certainly find other smiths elsewhere, but I'm not sure if they offer the same services as our Bearded Andre.
In case you happen to accidentally hit another NPC, here is how to overcome it :

Spoiler

- Dont kill him, run !
- Go the Gargoyles' church's roof and talk to that guy spreading his arms. Give a lot of souls to absolve sin, and there you have all your NPCs reverted back to non-aggro state.
- Unfortunately, there is no way to resurrect a dead NPC.

[Sumez]

Haha, agreed. However I avoid saying that stuff to newcomers because none of us want to be that guy saying "you're playing it wrong." The fanbase gets called toxic enough as it is.

It literally took me three games to realise you get invincibility frames while rolling, which is absolutely central to the combat system - and I still managed to love Demon's Souls and the first Dark Souls without that knowledge. There are definitely better and worse ways to play the game, but only few of them are directly detrimental to actually being able to enjoy them.

[Stevens]

I may have uh..accidentally hit the smithy while trying to talk to him. I was actually pretty bummed I had to kill him.

God, this may actually be pretty bad. You'll certainly find other smiths elsewhere, but I'm not sure if they offer the same services as our Bearded Andre.
In case you happen to accidentally hit another NPC, here is how to overcome it :

Spoiler

- Dont kill him, run !
- Go the Gargoyles' church's roof and talk to that guy spreading his arms. Give a lot of souls to absolve sin, and there you have all your NPCs reverted back to non-aggro state.
- Unfortunately, there is no way to resurrect a dead NPC.

Yeah I found him after the gargoyle fight. I considered starting over for a moment but decided not to. The game is based on your decisions, particularly with NPC's, so I will live with the consequences:D

I was wrong about my level when I fought Capra, I was about level 40 (42 now). Current poise is 38 - not sure if that is high or not (just learned what poise is tbh).

Down in Blight Town now, chillin' at the fire.

[Bananamatic]

The fanbase gets called toxic enough as it is.

what planet do they live on
the fanbase is pretty good, I didn't get a single hate mail in hundreds of hours of pvp
unless they consider the "git gud" jokes to be super bad

[Sumez]

I considered starting over for a moment but decided not to. The game is based on your decisions, particularly with NPC's, so I will live with the consequences:D

"decisions" or "annoyingly over-responsive PS3 controller triggers combined with a super cuddly cat right as you are trying to talk to an NPC"

[Stevens]

"decisions" or "annoyingly over-responsive PS3 controller triggers combined with a super cuddly cat right as you are trying to talk to an NPC"

Same situation. Cat on the couch, 360 triggers. Oh well:D

And how could I leave this out? In the midst of all my shit talking about smacking bosses downI left out one small detail. It seems there is still a Red Dragon hanging out on the bridge to the Undead Parrish. Fucker killed me like 30 times before I gave up.

Blighttown - A place I could not get out of fast enough. Have it saved at the gate to the ruins.

[Khan]

Tekken 7

My god the story mode in this latest iteration seems tougher, im having real difficulty beating Kazuya in his 3rd devil form. Theres some interesting changes like rage burst that im trying to get my head around and overall it seems pretty gimicky...I just miss the days of tekken 2/3 where everything felt so smooth and fresh and original but it is what it is.

[null1024]

Wait, T7's out?
Fuck me, I've really, really, really been out of the loop.

[Sumez]

And how could I leave this out? In the midst of all my shit talking about smacking bosses downI left out one small detail. It seems there is still a Red Dragon hanging out on the bridge to the Undead Parrish. Fucker killed me like 30 times before I gave up.

Don't try beating it. You can do it, but it requires some strategy and preparation, it essentially only has two moves and is really easy to cheese, but will take a long time.

You CAN however attack its tail for a while (easiest done with a lot of shots from bow or similar) to get a pretty cool sword. I think every enemy in the game that's classified as a "dragon" has that trait, actually (attacking its tail for a weapon).

[Stevens]

[
Don't try beating it. You can do it, but it requires some strategy and preparation, it essentially only has two moves and is really easy to cheese, but will take a long time.

You CAN however attack its tail for a while (easiest done with a lot of shots from bow or similar) to get a pretty cool sword. I think every enemy in the game that's classified as a "dragon" has that trait, actually (attacking its tail for a weapon).

I will probably go back to him periodically cause why not? I got the Gargoyle's Axe (and halberd) but if Gaping Dragon had something similar I missed it.

I haven't used too many different weapons, maybe three or four to this point and 90% of that time it has been either the battle axe (which was +3 or 4 when I killed Andre) or BK's sword which I haven't done anything to yet. I did find the huge ass club in the swamp. I haven't tried it yet, but will switch if it will serve me better long term/in the end game.

I do kind of like the lack of giving player direction for the most part. I found the entrance to Demon Land:D after I killed the big ass spider but had a feeling I wasn't quite ready for that. The game doesn't point you in directions often but when it does (like after you ring bell two) that is where I'm headed next.

That said I have discovered through curiosity a few places I have yet to venture into - that pretty forest passed the Parrish, the catacombs, Drake's Valley, and the ruins. Although since I'm saved at the ruin's gate I'm going there next.

[snk80]

playing mario kart 8 for switch

[kaicooper]

played these for million times:
Metal Slug X Nostalgia..best Mix
Metal Slug 3 Best in the franchise ever made
Metal Slug 4 worst .. still ok but its pure hilarious shit
Metal Slug 5 good new stuff here

Next: my 2nd time..Metal Slug 6

[null1024]

Ninpen Manmaru [Saturn].
Cute little 3D platformer that would be kind of neat if it didn't have some ridiculous flaws.

I just finished the second stage, and I'm doing ridiculously vertical platforming onto tiny floating surfaces over lava and with really, really, really hard-to-see bottomless pits [see, the out-of-bounds plane underneath kind of blends in with the rest of the ground textures, so it's not like a big, noticeable black abyss]. In fact, this is a theme -- first stage is a series of small, relatively vertical fields. The boss just involves collecting more coins. Second stage starts off as a more open, flat-ground stage, and ends with a crazy backtracking segment over super tiny platforms that also boost your jump height to crazy levels. I just finished the second boss, which involves just running around until time runs out without dying. I'm deeply worried as to what the hell the third stage is going to bring with how ridiculous the end of the second was for so early on in the game.

No seriously, isn't this based on some cutesy kids anime or something? Why the fuck is it so full of hyper-fiddly platforming?
There's a bit that I'm fairly sure that I have to do a perfect triple jump at full tilt with the last platform being a quarter the usual size. I dunno, because I turned the game off at that point, I'll deal with that shit later.

The controls are fairly easy to get to grips with, with a few baffling issues.
You have a high jump that's done by jumping three times in a row, with the third being a high jump when you hold it. This isn't a nice feeling jump at all. I spent like seven real-time minutes not knowing about this at the start of the third stage and wondering how the hell to cross the big gap.
Turning left/right on the d-pad also moves you forward for no good reason [you have to use L/R to turn precisely, and that occasionally seems to act up for no apparent reason, the camera will stutter for a bit, although it's not as big a deal as it sounds].
Sometimes you'll just start facing the other way for no apparent reason when moving backwards instead of simply backing up like you'd expect.
The direction you move isn't quite determined by the camera, so if you've done something to make the camera not lined up with you, you're in for a bad time if you input during that period expecting things to make sense [this one's almost excusable given the era].
For some fucking awful reason, you can hurt yourself by running into walls. It's really, really dumb. If you're in the air, this doesn't apply.
You also don't get damage invincibility after that, so an enemy can just hit you immediately after, too.

The sound is mildly annoying. The music is a tad forgettable if decent. It's all sampled SCSP tracks instead of redbook.
The graphics are actually kind of almost nice. Bright colors and big VDP2 planes are the name of the game, very reminiscent of Jumping Flash but a fair bit nicer looking. Unlike a ridiculous amount of Saturn games I've seen, there's [basic, flat shaded] lighting on the environment.
The visuals would be relatively mid-end by PS1 standards, really. Texture quality feels like it's a tad on the low side, but Sonic R probably spoiled the hell out of me. There's some really minor framedrops here and there, but nothing to really cause issue, that's probably the worst of it visually.

The camera is really basic, thankfully. No frills means less to screw up, really.
You'll spend your time adjusting the view height with Z a lot, though.
I've had fairly few issues other than those already described above with it. Maybe looking down is a pain, and this was actually a problem in stage 2 where there were a few bits that ended up as leaps of faith since I couldn't really position the camera nicely to see what the hell I was jumping down onto.

[soprano1]

played these for million times:
Metal Slug X Nostalgia..best Mix
Metal Slug 3 Best in the franchise ever made
Metal Slug 4 worst .. still ok but its pure hilarious shit
Metal Slug 5 good new stuff here

Next: my 2nd time..Metal Slug 6

4 has very nice music, though.
If you can use MAME, give 2 a try with the Turbo hack.

[kaicooper]

played these for million times:
Metal Slug X Nostalgia..best Mix
Metal Slug 3 Best in the franchise ever made
Metal Slug 4 worst .. still ok but its pure hilarious shit
Metal Slug 5 good new stuff here

Next: my 2nd time..Metal Slug 6

4 has very nice music, though.
If you can use MAME, give 2 a try with the Turbo hack.

im using Mame already
i dont hate 4 btw but it was hilarious cus u donno whats going on hhhh

[Stevens]

Great Grey Wolf Sif - You were a wily and difficult opponent who handed me thine own ass in a sling many times.

It was only after I realized the fight was more ballet than slug fest was I able to reunite you with your master.

Off to Darkroot Basin and then Ser's Fortress.

[Square_Air]

I quite enjoyed Dark Souls, but I wish there were less obvious cheese methods in the game. The Bridge drake and a number of other enemies and bosses can be tackled extremely easily if you use the right tactics. I just made the fattest and ugliest character I could and used Smough's with Havel's Shield and a longsword and many encounters were reduced to blocking while I observed and then poking away at them until they dropped. Fortunately the game still throws enough surprises at you that blew away that method. There's a certain boss fight near the end that favours DPS over going turtle mode and on NG+ it ruined me at least 4 times. Sen's Fortress is really fun, you're in for a treat.

played these for million times:
Metal Slug X Nostalgia..best Mix
Metal Slug 3 Best in the franchise ever made
Metal Slug 4 worst .. still ok but its pure hilarious shit
Metal Slug 5 good new stuff here

Next: my 2nd time..Metal Slug 6

There's actually quite a few people here that hate Metal Slug 3 with a passion, and while I can completely agree on a few points (the shump section is bleh, some of the long sections with bullet sponge enemies are off putting) I still think there's too much to love in that game to say it's not good. Some of the sections downright show a mastery of the genre.

While I've always had fun with X as a stand alone experience, I will never understand why people think it's better than 2 beyond most (not all) versions of the game having slowdown issues due to a glitch. X is much more mindless than 2 with grenades being nearly useless for the first 3 stages and the extra firepower allowing you to just fly through sections with less thought or repercussion. In MS2 you feel more like you deserve your speed by playing well, but in X even new players can smash sections because they provide too much firepower for too little opposition (the first 3 stages are once again the biggest offenders). The aesthetic changes are interesting just for variety's sake, and stage 4 is marginally better in X, but people Reeeaalllyy over exaggerate how long it takes to destroy the stage 4 ships in MS2.

[Blinge]

While that's a good point Square, no one's forcing you to play like that. At least the game allows you to remedy that complaint yourself by playing as a different character archetype, or slimming down a bit.

How about the drakes in DeS though.. >_<

For the MS players, do you get your enjoyment from cred feeding, or trying to 1cc the game? Cause that's where I soured on MS3 ;]

[Marc]

Metal Slug 3 was my first full price home cart. It was a lesson in how hard you will try to justify a purchase to yourself (in my 20's). Its a bag of dicks, and I'd say 5 and XX are far better games. I've never explored the differences between 2 and X yet.

And Metal Slug + Neo Forum + Stuart Campbell = Best Internet ever.

[Obiwanshinobi]

The more I play Dungeon Siege III, the less of a Diablo clone it seems to be. Unfortunately, not all difference is for the better (at least on Hardcore, I spend way more time struggling with the camera than it should be the case with this genre game released A.D. 2011). Generally speaking, choosing the highest difficulty setting exposed gameplay cracks that remind me just how much more mechanically advanced a console hack & slash not only Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, but also Gauntlet Dark Legacy (in Robotron mode withOUT auto-aim & auto-attack) was.
Now I'm afraid I must read some of the printed manual for the game itself not quite made sure to me whether I use defensive abilities automatically, or they must be manually set up for them to be of any use.

Nevertheless, it can be hilarious without trying hard, which has to count for something. This is the character I'm playing as on the left hand side. No such detail as a navel that I found, but no discernible bikini either. Wonder why you can't talk to villagers in this form (it otherwise costs nothing to levitate around like this when out in the wild).

[Mortificator]

Metal Slug 3 was my first full price home cart. It was a lesson in how hard you will try to justify a purchase to yourself (in my 20's). Its a bag of dicks, and I'd say 5 and XX are far better games. I've never explored the differences between 2 and X yet.

And Metal Slug + Neo Forum + Stuart Campbell = Best Internet ever.

A photo came to my mind the moment I read that. You know the one.

No argument from me on Metal Slug 3, of course.

[stryc9]

Yeah, the Stuart Campbell exchange on Neo-Geo.com was amazing! Loved how he brought his sock accounts along for the party. You could tell by the time the 'mummy is/isn't a zombie' part started he was just playing with them despite being wrong. Good stuff.

[Square_Air]

While that's a good point Square, no one's forcing you to play like that. At least the game allows you to remedy that complaint yourself by playing as a different character archetype, or slimming down a bit.

See, thing is, I wanted to play a defensive tank and I even enjoyed myself enough to play through NG+ as well with my character. While I say my methods were "Block and poke", that's definitely an oversimplification. Most of the cheese comes from using a bow and sniping down unresponsive enemies which at times is alright, but at certain moments I really wished some of those enemies would react in some form. I thought Dark Souls was great, but I feel like it's reasonable to criticize the game for certain shortcomings while using my chosen build. While I'm against using completely stupid exploits in games, Dark Souls presented itself as this balls to the walls beast and I get my enjoyment out of conquering these sections as efficiently as possible. I just wish there was a little more enemy counterplay to such a defensive style. I've watched a playthrough of Bloodborne and it seems like a much more offense oriented game in response to how much more defense oriented DS1 is.

Of course though, the game offers many different challenges depending on what class you pick, so it's definitely a plus that the next time I play it will be a fresh experience where I have to employ different tactics.

For the MS players, do you get your enjoyment from cred feeding, or trying to 1cc the game? Cause that's where I soured on MS3 ;]

When I was young I enjoyed feeding credits through all of them, but since about 2010 my focus shifted to the 1CC. I've reached the final stage of MS2 many times but have been unable to tackle the final boss, but most of my experience with that is from years ago, so this is something i've been meaning to follow through on for a long time. In MS3 the furthest point i've reached is the nightmarish stage 4 boss, but I have experience with the dreaded final stage too. MS3 is definitely a flawed game, and whenever I mention the areas that it succeeds in I also criticize it for said flaws. MS3 definitely isn't on the same level as MS2, but I still don't understand statements like "MS3 is a bag of dicks". I feel like people are missing the forest for the trees because so many of them swing to such extremes saying it's either the greatest of all time, or an embarrassment to the franchise.

If some of the fat could be trimmed away from MS3, I can't imagine many people still holding this hatred for it. The best elements in 3 outweigh the negatives IMHO.

[guigui]

I have to agree with square that the AI in Dark Souls in sometimes dumb and most mobs can be cheesed from distance. I did not abuse it in my playthrough and rapidly chose to play barely naked and 2-handing my big weapon.
I did definitely used a lot of my bows in Demon's Souls though, youngster that I was.

Fortunately, game and AI design are way better in DS2 and 3 (longer aggro range, harder to lure mobs one by one), not to mention Bloodborne the perfect.