What are you currently playing?

happyninja42

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Unfortunately, no. You won't earn Memory items from re-fighting bosses at the Sculptor's Idol; you only get them on a new NG+ cycle. There's also a special item broken into three parts; if you get all of them, you can trade 5 skill points for an attack increase, but I don't recommend it until you have all the skills unlocked.
So the only reason to replay memories is to just indulge your masochistic fetishes of fighting obnoxious enemies over and over? There is no tangible benefit for repeating the fights?

If you die there, does it count towards accumulating dragonrot?
 

happyninja42

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I don't know if anybody ever gave you a proper answer to this, but I was playing Dark Souls Remaster with my cousin last week and I tried it out. If you invade somebody the enemies don't attack you and you can't attack them.
Yeah it was addressed by a few people. Thanks anyway though.
 

hanselthecaretaker

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So I respect the game but I also dread the idea of actually replaying it beyond a certain point because I'm like "Oh fuck, it's EE, Oh fuck, it's Naked part, and now Fucking Solidus with the sword"

MGS3, OTOH, felt so much more satisfying to actually play and while it's not as groundbreaking, it felt like it's more solid all around and the story better balances the camp and profound whereas MGS2 kind of sharply gyrates between the famous meta commentary and shit like Raiden having to get annoyed by his girlfriend over and over again and having to hear about Otocon getting sexually abused by his stepmom as a child and Huey trying to drown his Sister because of it.
What you did there, I see it; especially with Subsistence implementing the series’ first 3D camera system. Also I’ll take “SWords” for $100 Alex!

Anyways, agreed on 3 being more playable, and therefore more enjoyable to play.


The problem that I have, conceptually, with Metal Gear Solid 3 is that it's entirely reactionary. They took all the things that people were upset about in MGS2 and reverted them as hard as possible. People said they didn't like the bosses? Give them no backstory and no relevance to the plot whatsoever! People said they didn't like Raiden? Murder him in cold blood to progress the story! People said they didn't like the setting on the oil rig? Go into the jungle instead! It's a game written by public demand rather than by the creator, with little identity other than 'it's not Metal Gear Solid 2', and as a person who really liked Metal Gear Solid 2, that just puts me off it.
I can also understand and respect this opinion on it, as that’s likely how Kojima himself felt at least a bit about making it. But having said that, he’s got to understand that due to his… eccentricities, what he prefers doesn’t always translate well to what audiences can readily enjoy or appreciate in terms of actually playing a videogame.
 
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Hawki

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So far, that's about four franchises that has done this. A first game laying the groundwork, a controversial or mixed reception of a second game, and a third game that is a prequel and goes to a back to basic approach, but better. I've noticed that all these franchises are from Japanese companies too.

We have

  • Castlevania
  • Legend of Zelda
  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Devil May Cry
Do I hear five at this point? It wouldn't surprise me if I forgot something, or there's another franchise that had this unique problem.
You can add Final Fantasy, arguably Fire Emblem, arguably Halo, Metroid, and arguably Star Fox to that list.

*In that if you consider Star Fox 2 to be its own thing, whereas Star Fox 64 is a remake of Star Fox SNES.
 
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hanselthecaretaker

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So the only reason to replay memories is to just indulge your masochistic fetishes of fighting obnoxious enemies over and over? There is no tangible benefit for repeating the fights?

If you die there, does it count towards accumulating dragonrot?
Pretty sure the Reflection of Strength at the Sculptor’s Idols is just a boss rush mode; nothing more nothing less. I’ve never heard of it affecting the normal game progress other than practicing to make them easier for a NG+ or something. Bosses and mini bosses from memories follow the same rules as all the others and occur once per play through, as do any rewards.

Dragonrot isn’t something you’ll need to worry about either, unless you really want to complete every possible side quest. You’ll find an item to cure it later.

As an aside, yeah, being the studio’s first foray into it there is definitely some jank to the stealth and alert system here. It’s pretty much an all or nothing affair, meant to punish if you’re seen (or not staying mobile around the laser focused archers). Although it’s typically easy enough to escape the vicinity via the grapple points if needed and reset patrols.
 
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Dalisclock

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If you die there, does it count towards accumulating dragonrot?
Dragonrot pretty much doesn't matter in the long run. It prevents you from doing SOME things but you can still buy shit from merchants and nobody will actually die from it.

Which I'm okay with because you die so much in this game that it would be a major pain in the ass if you could fuck yourself hard by, you know, playing the game as intended. There's a finite number of times you can cure it but I don't think I ever got close to exhausting my supply of that item because I only cured it like a couple times, normally when I needed it to progress some sidequest and then I just went around and tried to progress all of them while everyone was doing okay.
 

happyninja42

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Dragonrot pretty much doesn't matter in the long run. It prevents you from doing SOME things but you can still buy shit from merchants and nobody will actually die from it.

Which I'm okay with because you die so much in this game that it would be a major pain in the ass if you could fuck yourself hard by, you know, playing the game as intended. There's a finite number of times you can cure it but I don't think I ever got close to exhausting my supply of that item because I only cured it like a couple times, normally when I needed it to progress some sidequest and then I just went around and tried to progress all of them while everyone was doing okay.
Yes I know you can buy an item to cure it, it's just really vague how it works. I've seen people say there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to how many deaths = someone getting dragonrot.

Also what do you mean finite number of times? I mean I know what the word means, just to clarify because internet. But I've not seen anyone warn about a finite number of times to cure it. I frankly don't really care about doing all the sidequests, though I'm not opposed to content. I mostly just dislike the idea of my efforts to "save" this world from some terrible war/calamity, is literally killing the innocent people of the country I'm trying to help. Also can they actually DIE from dragonrot? Or do they just cough forever, and you get locked out of sidequests, and have a lower % chance on that Unseen Aid perk? Because if they can actually die from my repeated deaths, AND they limit the number of times you can cure them, that's just a really dickish mechanic. I know From Software has a fetish for everything dark and depressing and brimming with misery, but some of us like other things besides insanity and death in our games.
 

Dalisclock

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Yes I know you can buy an item to cure it, it's just really vague how it works. I've seen people say there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to how many deaths = someone getting dragonrot.

Also what do you mean finite number of times? I mean I know what the word means, just to clarify because internet. But I've not seen anyone warn about a finite number of times to cure it. I frankly don't really care about doing all the sidequests, though I'm not opposed to content. I mostly just dislike the idea of my efforts to "save" this world from some terrible war/calamity, is literally killing the innocent people of the country I'm trying to help. Also can they actually DIE from dragonrot? Or do they just cough forever, and you get locked out of sidequests, and have a lower % chance on that Unseen Aid perk? Because if they can actually die from my repeated deaths, AND they limit the number of times you can cure them, that's just a really dickish mechanic. I know From Software has a fetish for everything dark and depressing and brimming with misery, but some of us like other things besides insanity and death in our games.
I believe the number of dragonrot cure items is limited but each use cures everyone who has it so it's essentially a global dragonrot reset. And no, they can't die. They'll just get to a point they cough and hack a lot so can barely speak so they can't help you. Other then selling you stuff, I mean. The merchant may be hacking their lungs out, but they'll still sell to you all damn day untill they run out of stuff or you run out of cash.
 

Chupathingy

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Started playing Grandia on PS1. It's a cute and charming game so far with a neat (if a little easy) battle system, likeable characters, and nice presentation. people have recommended it to me based on the game's great sense of adventure, and the game certainly hypes itself up as such. Here's to hoping it delivers.
 

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Final Fantasy, arguably Fire Emblem,
So FF III is a prequel to I & II? I thought each game, barring a few later exceptions, is its own continuity. Unless you're referring to the 3rd game playing more like the first game and better than the second, then yes it counts in this case.

arguably Fire Emblem,
Don't know enough about that franchise aside from the titles in the 2010s.

arguably Halo
Each Halo game takes place after the other. From what I remember, though opinions might have changed, 2 or 3 is considered the best in the franchise or have better gameplay than 1. I do know there are fans who prefer the gameplay of the first, so you or someone else might have to clear the air for me on that one.

You are correct, though Super Metroid takes place after Metroid II. I was once again referring to 3rd games in franchises that act as prequels to first two games to distance themselves from the 2nd game. For the sake of just strictly gameplay, this technically counts.

Star Fox to that list.

*In that if you consider Star Fox 2 to be its own thing, whereas Star Fox 64 is a remake of Star Fox SNES.
The Star Fox franchise as a whole is so all over the place, that I don't even count it. The sequels to SF64 are diminishing returns.
 
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laggyteabag

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Finally finished ME3.

It is definitely my favourite of the 3 games, and by quite a large margin, too.

For the past month-and-a-half, my spare time has been devoted to Mass Effect. I now don't really know what to do with myself, now that I have finished the trilogy.
 

Offworlder

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Rakuen.

Made me cry three seperate times. One of them I was weeping, hit way too close to home.

It draws you in with its Pokemon style sprites and kid friendly vibes and then just dumps heavy, heavy themes on you. It's a beautiful little game, just be ready to potentially deal with some shit emotionally if you do play it, I sure wasn't ready.
 

hanselthecaretaker

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Yes I know you can buy an item to cure it, it's just really vague how it works. I've seen people say there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to how many deaths = someone getting dragonrot.

Also what do you mean finite number of times? I mean I know what the word means, just to clarify because internet. But I've not seen anyone warn about a finite number of times to cure it. I frankly don't really care about doing all the sidequests, though I'm not opposed to content. I mostly just dislike the idea of my efforts to "save" this world from some terrible war/calamity, is literally killing the innocent people of the country I'm trying to help. Also can they actually DIE from dragonrot? Or do they just cough forever, and you get locked out of sidequests, and have a lower % chance on that Unseen Aid perk? Because if they can actually die from my repeated deaths, AND they limit the number of times you can cure them, that's just a really dickish mechanic. I know From Software has a fetish for everything dark and depressing and brimming with misery, but some of us like other things besides insanity and death in our games.
As a general rule, Dragonrot will affect someone at random (after the sculptor initially) every ten or so deaths. Its presence will be explained later too. As a hint, it has something to do with Kuro, death, and the cost of reresurrection (at idols only; the option during combat apparently doesn’t contribute to dragonrot).
 

happyninja42

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As a general rule, Dragonrot will affect someone at random (after the sculptor initially) every ten or so deaths. Its presence will be explained later too. As a hint, it has something to do with Kuro, death, and the cost of reresurrection (at idols only; the option during combat apparently doesn’t contribute to dragonrot).
Yes, again, I know why it's happening narratively, they explain it to you right when it first happens. After curing it the first time, the doctor woman goes on at length about why it's happening. I'm not questioning the narrative concept of it. I'm curious about the actual game/code wise aspects of how it works. Mainly because when I looked up a video on it, the person said very early that he didn't know what the mechanics of when it triggers was. He said he'd died like 50 something times and it didn't trigger. Which seemed generous for FromSoft. But nobody else had said anything even remotely about X Deaths = Dragonrot. So I was curious if there actually was a metric for it.

Though knowing it doesn't actually kill any of the npcs if I suck at the game, that's my main concern really. I just assumed it was going to be cumulatively punishing, to the point of just everyone dying. Which would annoy me a lot. I found myself more personally invested in NOT spreading a fucking magical plague to the country, than trying to save this cryptic little boy that I apparently care about, simply because my foster daddy said I should....after slicing my face with a sword as a child. Great parenting!
 

hanselthecaretaker

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Yes, again, I know why it's happening narratively, they explain it to you right when it first happens. After curing it the first time, the doctor woman goes on at length about why it's happening. I'm not questioning the narrative concept of it. I'm curious about the actual game/code wise aspects of how it works. Mainly because when I looked up a video on it, the person said very early that he didn't know what the mechanics of when it triggers was. He said he'd died like 50 something times and it didn't trigger. Which seemed generous for FromSoft. But nobody else had said anything even remotely about X Deaths = Dragonrot. So I was curious if there actually was a metric for it.

Though knowing it doesn't actually kill any of the npcs if I suck at the game, that's my main concern really. I just assumed it was going to be cumulatively punishing, to the point of just everyone dying. Which would annoy me a lot. I found myself more personally invested in NOT spreading a fucking magical plague to the country, than trying to save this cryptic little boy that I apparently care about, simply because my foster daddy said I should....after slicing my face with a sword as a child. Great parenting!
Settle down Beavis. I kid! But the importance of frequency, consistency, who, what, when and where of it spreading really isn’t worthy of concern because :
A. You will inevitably die and spread it no matter your skill
B. Critical NPCs won’t no matter how much that happens
C. These things are beyond your immediate control, outside of occasional healing to C. advance side quests or obtaining certain consumables

If that doesn’t ease your mind at all then this is probably the best chance at doing so -


As an aside, things like plot, loyalties and motives will be uncovered as you play, so best advice is to just take everything in stride and have fun slicing up the baddies.
 

Chimpzy

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Control

Mostly played it because it was free at Epic a while back and it's one of the few games with raytracing I have, and since I got my new toy I wanted to see what the big deal is. So, nice visual effect, but is it worth the performance hit? I'd say no. Anyway, as for the game itself, it reminds me a lot of Alan Wake, another of Remedy's efforts, in that I like the premise more than the execution. "What if you ran the SCP Foundation and shit is hitting the fan?" Sounds like a good recipe for some mindbending fun, hopping across eldritch realms, dealing with strange creatures and reality-warping objects, and just all-around goodly weirdness. But instead, 90% of the time it's rather unimpressive and trite 3rd person shooting against uninspired enemies through concrete offices, and it's all rather ... boring. Seriously, how did they manage to make such a neat concept this boring?
 
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meiam

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Control

Mostly played it because it was free at Epic a while back and it's one of the few games with raytracing I have, and since I got my new toy I wanted to see what the big deal is. So, nice visual effect, but is it worth the performance hit? I'd say no. Anyway, as for the game itself, it reminds me a lot of Alan Wake, another of Remedy's efforts, in that I like the premise more than the execution. "What if you ran the SCP Foundation and shit is hitting the fan?" Sounds like a good recipe for some mindbending fun, hopping across eldritch realms, dealing with strange creatures and reality-warping objects, and just all-around goodly weirdness. But instead, 90% of the time it's rather unimpressive and trite 3rd person shooting against uninspired enemies through concrete offices, and it's all rather ... boring. Seriously, how did they manage to make such a neat concept this boring?
Yeah its a shame, control is like the worse game you could have made out of an excellent premise/world. I'd recommend to keep pushing while just lowering the difficulty cause there's a ton of really fun lore and character to be found but the gameplay never really evolve, it keeps giving you new toys but none of those are better than just throwing more crap at the enemy.

They're making more game in the control universe so maybe they'll explore the world better in those.
 

Dalisclock

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Yeah its a shame, control is like the worse game you could have made out of an excellent premise/world. I'd recommend to keep pushing while just lowering the difficulty cause there's a ton of really fun lore and character to be found but the gameplay never really evolve, it keeps giving you new toys but none of those are better than just throwing more crap at the enemy.

They're making more game in the control universe so maybe they'll explore the world better in those.
Apparently Alan Wake and Quantum Break Exist in the same universe as Control.
 
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BrawlMan

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Got a new high score on stage 1, Mania Difficulty, SOR4 with Cherry. Score is 88, 279 and has me ranked in 59th place now. I did a couple of fun runs in DMC5 again. I played some Ninja Saviors again and managed to beat my part time on stage 1. Did a little bit more of No More Heroes, and I might play Arkham City tomorrow.
 

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In between Genshin Impact sessions ranging from 'do commissions and resin then log off' to '3 hours of grinding enemies in the wild for drops', most of my energy's been going into Tales of Berseria. Unfortunately I haven't been playing that much, since I only just got through the second boss fight. Still not sure if I'm feeling this battle system; at least I only bought it for 10 bucks, and the story hasn't lost or killed my interest yet.