What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Shelcoof]

Final Fantasy X [PS2].
why is it taking so long for things to happen

In the first 40 minutes, there are probably only 8 minutes of you actually playing. What.

It gets worse. You have to suffer through a lot to enjoy the best battle system of any FF game.

The story is fucking stupid as well.

I found the game extremely boring and linear. I ditched it during the dragon fight on my way to go save yuna I think.

[null1024]

Eeyuch. I did hear the battle system was good, which is 90% of why I picked it up, so I guess I'll keep going through.

In better news, playing Threads of Fate [PS1].
Pretty fun little hack-and-slash so far [on the second dungeon, the underground one, playing as the boy]. Emulating because I still haven't fixed my PS2 to read CDs with that tip BIL gave me.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

It gets worse. You have to suffer through a lot to enjoy the best battle system of any FF game.

This. A number of RPGs take a while to fully develop their battle systems, but FFX takes longer than most. FF6 is a bit like this due to espers only appearing a few hours into the game, but the special abilities keep things interesting until then. The International version's sphere grid is a bit better at least...

And it's pretty fun to play the game No-Sphere-Grid for a challenge at least. Although that takes quite a bit of effort because there's item grinding to do.

[Shelcoof]

Eeyuch. I did hear the battle system was good, which is 90% of why I picked it up, so I guess I'll keep going through

Battle system is your typical turn based JRPG Battle system. Personally though I swear I have no clue how I got so far without really thinking in this game.

You know an RPG that has a really good battle system? Panzer Dragoon Saga

[drauch]

Titan Quest and Baldur's Gate. Quenching my thirst for isometric action-RPGs since Diablo III was such a let down.

[Hagane]

the best battle system of any FF game.

That would be FFT's battle system (which is a dumbed down Tactics Ogre battle system, but still). FFX's sucks just as much as the rest of the main FF battle systems.

[Illyrian]

the best battle system of any FF game.

That would be FFT's battle system (which is a dumbed down Tactics Ogre battle system, but still). FFX's sucks just as much as the rest of the main FF battle systems.

Well you're just a bundle of laughs aren't you?

I really liked the systems in FF7, and FF10.

The system in FF8 was terrible. The system in FF9 was...pretty good...but thankfully the rest of the game was so glorious that it made up for it.

[Hagane]

They are all terrible. The difficulty is so low and the systems so basic that you can just mash X to clear most of them. FFT is mostly the same in concept (turn based strategy) but adds a lot of extra depth (height, terrain, spell ranges, jobs, etc). I don't know why they haven't switched to that instead of the crap they do with the main saga.

[null1024]

Got my new slim PS2, which reads CDs! Yay! [I will probably fix my old PS2 and sell it to one of my buddies or something.]
FF10 [PS2], still nothing happening.
Wipeout 3 [PS1], it's almost disgusting how much better the PAL only Special Edition is than standard Wipeout 3. Better physics, more tracks, more refined details [powerup tiles darken when inactive, your ship explode animation isn't stupid looking, there's a next race option in single race [which is actually the main mode of the game]]. Still, having a physical US copy and playing it on a TV feels good, and the physics aren't too different between the releases.
Wipeout Fusion [PS2], what the hell. Contender eliminated! Contender eliminated! I finished a race and there were only five racers that survived, out of sixteen. Also, the ships control like ass.
KOF11 [PS2], fuck the input timing in this game. After playing so much 2002, it feels bad, and the weird-ass input timing is probably the only thing that bothers me. Also, just try to do a dragon punch motion with Hotaru. Didn't work, did it. Yeaaaaaah.

Waiting for Threads of Fate to come in the mail, and Shadow of the Colossus is stuck in Iowa for some god-forsaken reason.

[Kiken]

Having beaten Monster World IV, I'm now playing through Monster World III. Just met Poseidon and got the Oasis Boots, so I went through some of the desert area and found my fourth magic spell.

[Shelcoof]

Having beaten Monster World IV, I'm now playing through Monster World III. Just met Poseidon and got the Oasis Boots, so I went through some of the desert area and found my fourth magic spell.

I'm a huge Monster World fan but I haven't really touched Monster World IV yet. How is it?

I think the best Monster World is Monster World for the Mega Drive/Genesis but my favorite Wonder Boy is Dragon's Trap (Dragon's Curse)

[null1024]

Final Fantasy X [PS2], dunno why I keep doing this to myself, but I will continue

And in other news, I just ordered a Dreamcast off of Amazon.
What games should I get, other than the painfully obvious [Crazy Taxi, Jet Grind Radio, etc]?

[Shelcoof]

Final Fantasy X [PS2], dunno why I keep doing this to myself, but I will continue

And in other news, I just ordered a Dreamcast off of Amazon.
What games should I get, other than the painfully obvious [Crazy Taxi, Jet Grind Radio, etc]?

Games that you can't play anywhere else?

I'd list:
Shenmue
Shenmue II (Japanese Dub)
Bangaio
Power Stones
Power Stones 2
Rainbow Cotton
Confidential Mission
Super Runabout

There are other titles like Shmups but I'll let the others recommend them
Also Fighters.. I won't list them either... I don't consider Power Stones a fighter though hehe

[Paradigm]

They are all terrible. The difficulty is so low and the systems so basic that you can just mash X to clear most of them. FFT is mostly the same in concept (turn based strategy) but adds a lot of extra depth (height, terrain, spell ranges, jobs, etc). I don't know why they haven't switched to that instead of the crap they do with the main saga.

If difficulty was everything, Resident Evil 4 wouldn't generally be considered one of the greatest games of all time. Chrono Trigger is probably the best JRPG I've played and that wasn't exactly the toughest game in the world either.

You don't have to approach every single game with an arcade gamer's mentality.

[louisg]

I'm playing Sub-Terrania since I just picked it up. It's not bad; certainly less frustrating than Thrust (probably due in large part to all the nice gloss to distract me from the difficulty level ).

RE4? I thought the best part of that one was the opening village. I'm disappointed that there wasn't more strategy throughout (or maybe even a difficulty curve at least..? seems like the game part of the game was kind of sloppy).

And in other news, I just ordered a Dreamcast off of Amazon.
What games should I get, other than the painfully obvious [Crazy Taxi, Jet Grind Radio, etc]?

I'd recommend Red Dog. It has its share of shortcomings, but it's not like anything else, especially once you get to the point where you're power sliding while gunning. Play at least to the stage with all the elevators, and check out the mini-games. Good stuff. F355 and TD: Le Mans are both very good games too-- F355 is a rip-your-hair-out balls hard sim which will teach you to drive the tracks, and TDLM is more pick-up-and-play. I think there is a PS2 port of TDLM also, though I can't vouch for its quality.

I'd also highly recommend SF Rush 2049. You can play it on other systems, but this one won't corrupt your saved game And it's worth saving in it-- the unlockables actually kept me coming back again and again. And I usually *hate* unlockables.

Wetrix+ ain't bad. I had plenty of fun with that one. Though I think there's also an N64 rev (not sure).

And, do I have to say it? Typing of the freakin' Dead! And then the DC Daytona has its share of perks that other versions don't.

I second the Power Stone recommendation. Especially the first game. Then if you're a Virtua Fighter fan, try 3TB. It's not nearly as good as 4 (IIRC), but it is interesting in its own way.

Rez and Shenmue-- those are good *experience* games. They don't have super tight gameplay, but you should try them at least once. Throw Cosmic Smash onto that pile too (though that one's got more game).

[Illyrian]

They are all terrible. The difficulty is so low and the systems so basic that you can just mash X to clear most of them. FFT is mostly the same in concept (turn based strategy) but adds a lot of extra depth (height, terrain, spell ranges, jobs, etc). I don't know why they haven't switched to that instead of the crap they do with the main saga.

You can't beat FF10 by mashing X. I can think of a lot of bosses (all of them really) who would put an end to you if you did that.

I assume you're just making an exagerated statement about the games' difficulty.

I agree. They are too easy. The only hard fight in all of FF10, even when you're pretty low level is Lady Yunalesca. Her 3rd form, where she uses the Hanger 18 attack whenever you cure the zombie status she puts on everyone, is a legitimately enjoyable and challenging encounter.

The special fights in those games, e.g. Emerald or Ruby weapon in FF7, Ozma in FF9 etc. are just stupid, they aren't even particularly hard they are just designed so the RNG will almost always fuck you over. Summoning Knights of the Round 13 times in a row in FF7 was one of the most boring things I've ever had to do.

[Shelcoof]

I'd recommend Red Dog. It has its share of shortcomings, but it's not like anything else, especially once you get to the point where you're power sliding while gunning. Play at least to the stage with all the elevators, and check out the mini-games. Good stuff. F355 and TD: Le Mans are both very good games too-- F355 is a rip-your-hair-out balls hard sim which will teach you to drive the tracks, and TDLM is more pick-up-and-play. I think there is a PS2 port of TDLM also, though I can't vouch for its quality.

I'd also highly recommend SF Rush 2049. You can play it on other systems, but this one won't corrupt your saved game And it's worth saving in it-- the unlockables actually kept me coming back again and again. And I usually *hate* unlockables.

Wetrix+ ain't bad. I had plenty of fun with that one. Though I think there's also an N64 rev (not sure).

And, do I have to say it? Typing of the freakin' Dead! And then the DC Daytona has its share of perks that other versions don't.

I second the Power Stone recommendation. Especially the first game. Then if you're a Virtua Fighter fan, try 3TB. It's not nearly as good as 4 (IIRC), but it is interesting in its own way.

Rez and Shenmue-- those are good *experience* games. They don't have super tight gameplay, but you should try them at least once. Throw Cosmic Smash onto that pile too (though that one's got more game).

Regarding F355 I'd recommend getting the PS2 version because you can play it WideScreen via Component and you can use the Logitec Racing Wheel. I have this set up at home.

The Dreamcast version has widescreen but you can't use anything better than S-Video. You can use VGA Adapter but the option for Widescreen mode is gone and there is lack of a good racing wheel for the DC.

I also would recommend RUSH 2049 it is very fun racing game especially battle mode.

Typing of the dead is super fun, just make sure to have a keyboard lol. I still have my Keyboard and for the 2nd player I used an adapter. This game must be enjoyed by all DC fans.

I'd have recommended REZ but it was ported for the Xbox 360 and I agree Shenmue is an experience like no other.

[null1024]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

And this finally arrived in my mailbox...
Shadow of the Colossus [PS2].
Was midway through the first fight and the damn game crashed, so I had to do it over. First time around, I had no idea what the hell I was doing, so I fell off. Second time, damn thing died really quickly.

Also, I love how you always have some level of camera control at all times, no matter what. More games should do this.

[MX7]

I once played through about 6 hours of Final Fantasy 10 and gave up because nothing had happened. Massively disappointing. Luckily FF12 made up for it in every conceivable way.

Currently playing Phantasy Star IV. Absolutely amazing. Music is pretty much perfect. The comic book style story sequences are a brilliant example of how to properly handle exposition in an RPG. Clear, concise and visually arresting. The game has so much more character than contemporaries such as Final Fantasy VI.

Also playing through Phantasy Star II on my phone. The iOS version seems a lot easier than the MD version, which is pretty cool. I felt the original was just a mite too hard.

[FIL]

Continental Circus
Don't ask why. I just gave it a go a couple of days ago and now I'm resolved to clear it.

Last console game I played was Dino Crisis 2, totally not what I expected but awesome. I'll be playing it again soon, gotta get all the dino files.

[Kiken]

Having beaten Monster World IV, I'm now playing through Monster World III. Just met Poseidon and got the Oasis Boots, so I went through some of the desert area and found my fourth magic spell.

I'm a huge Monster World fan but I haven't really touched Monster World IV yet. How is it?

I think the best Monster World is Monster World for the Mega Drive/Genesis but my favorite Wonder Boy is Dragon's Trap (Dragon's Curse)

MWIV is fairly linear in comparison to the rest of the series, but I prefer how well it controls and how impressive the dungeon layouts are.

[null1024]

Star Ocean: The Second Story [PS1].

Starts off sooooo slowly. The first 30 minutes are pretty damn uneventful, but then things get more interestingish. Definitely a breath of fresh air compared to FF10, which I will complete irregardless of whether it gets better or not.

Fighting feels a bit like a simplified version of how recent Tales series games are, and the whole thing feels a bit like a Tales game even [yeah, yeah, I know the Tales of Phantasia team had a hand in the Star Ocean games or something like that].
[also, jeez, $20 for a somewhat beaten-up copy, gah]

Also, it's pretty amazing how nice the soundtrack is, it almost doesn't sound like it's sampled instead of CD audio. Almost.

[Shelcoof]

MWIV is fairly linear in comparison to the rest of the series, but I prefer how well it controls and how impressive the dungeon layouts are.

Linear is not a bad thing. Though what I really loved about Monster World and Dragon's Trap was that every level was connected some how and you'd have to back track to certain areas later in the game. It really felt like an adventure.

Then again Monster Land was linear and I loved that game too.

[replayme]

House of the Dead: Overkill on PS3. With Move controller.

I'm not really a sucker for lightgun shooters, but HotD:OK gets so many things right, it's unbelievable. From the F-Bombs, to the ridiculous B-Movie script, the game feels and presents itself as trash. But the good kind of trash. Like a McDonalds happy meal. You know it's bad for you, but it just feels sooo right, only because it is sooo wrong.

The comic timing of the two lead characters helps as well, and sometimes the banter is rip-roaringly funny.

[BIL]

Amongst favourites I've mentioned in this thread already... I was exploring Namco Museum Encore's non-Dragon Saber and Rolling Thunder content, as I've never bothered with the other games. I swear Namco were trying to maintain a certain percentage of pure shit in each of these otherwise lovingly-crafted compilations. Who needs Nebulas Ray, Rolling Thunder 2, Metal Hawk or Galaga '88 when you can have Wonder Momo? -_-

[Ed Oscuro]

Gaffe Dodger!
98% on the first one because I didn't know the date of the general election. Got it right on my second try.
The Florida level was tougher on me, only 91% because I screwed up a few of the early ones.

Other things (detailed impressions in the Genesis thread):

The Bearenstain Bears' Camping Adventure
Beyond Oasis
Steel Empire (just a bit)

Nebulas Ray just infuriates me...I tried to play it again yesterday. Almost got all the way through the first boss without dying. To me, this game just feels floaty and bad in MAME. It makes me realize that I'd much rather deal with Twin Hawk's bullet patterns than evade homing enemies all day (although the speed-ups negate this within the first stage, more or less).

[BIL]

At least as recently as a couple years back, Nebulas Ray had emulation issues in MAME (missing graphical effects in the first stage's background, for one). Control felt really skittery to me as well, especially with a few speedups. Didn't know how to test for input lag at the time, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was another MAME flaw.

Whether the real deal is like that or not, though, it'd definitely be more welcome on a disc I paid the king's good pounds for than Wonder Momo or Dragon Buster. :[ Little Things That Annoy The Hell Out Of You, Digest Edition: classic game compilation picks based on nostalgia and not actually fitting the definition of "classic." Assault alone delivers a coccyx-shattering steeltoed boot to a good 75% of NM1-6's other content.

[KennyMan666]

On Wii, Kirby's Epic Yarn. Fantastic game. So adorable. I love it for much the same reasons I love LocoRoco. The controls are so smooth.

On DS, assorted things since I just got a flashcart. Among them, Picross (addictive as all hell), Scurge Hive (aka isometric Metroid Fusion), Point Blank DS, The Legend of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass (really not sure about the controls), Might & Magic - Clash of Heroes (only Quick Battles so far, though, haven't been arsed to start the campaign - already know how the game works from playing it with my brother on his PS3. The AI sucks against my strategy). And, well, it's a shmup, but Ketsui Kizuna Jigoku Tachi Death Label - I'm incredibly impressed at how well it plays on DS.

[FIL]

Continental Circus was a surprisingly easy clear, but well worth it for the ending.



I guess I need to find something else to play now.

[Ruldra]

I guess I need to find something else to play now.

I'd suggest Super Monaco GP if you want another F1 game. Or Hang-On / Super Hang-On for a bike racing game.