The Backlog Check-in Vol. 118: 4/4/20: Final Fantasy VII Remake Edition

[Phaseknox]

Played: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Finished: Nothing

Playing: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

I'm still playing Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, and thoroughly enjoying it. It's not only one of the best JRPGs that I've played this gen, but in general. It's a mix of old school and modern, and is packed with a variety of things to do in it. And it's a nice change of pace from the usual band of heroes saving the world from an ultimate evil theme that most JRPGs seem to have. If you like action RPGs with a colorful anime aesthetic, then you should definitely check it out.

Final Fantasy VII Remake comes out this week.

[jfissel]

Finished: Shadow of the Tomb Raider (platinum)

Now Playing: Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 35 games

Completed Shadow of the Tomb Raider last week and got the platinum! I've also done a good amount of the DLC tombs and I should be able to finish those up this week. Not sure what my next game will be, perhaps Yakuza Kiwami 2.

[isthatallyougot]

I finished up The Last of Us and the Left Behind dlc. (hadn't played that before) It was great to experience that again. And turning listen mode off and bumping the difficulty up to hard made it more fun imho.

I need to go back and finish up Samurai Western since I got sidetracked and put it aside for a bit.

Once I'm done with that, I think I'll peruse my backlog and find something a bit different - maybe a PC indie title.

I've also been playing Rocket League a fair bit. I know better than to start a match though because every time I do, I get sucked in for far too long.

Hope all you guys are doing well along with your loved ones. I hope you're staying Corona-free and not suffering too much financial hardship. Hang in there brothers!

[crimson_tide]

To echo izzy's sentiment, hope all's well, fam!

Played: Yuri and Brave Vesperia's Big Balling Baller Ass Hat Adventure!

Beat: Yuri and Brave Vesperia's Big Balling Baller Ass Hat Adventure!

Playing: Not sure yet...

I fell off the first Mordor but going to try that again. AC Origins is also on the short list. Trying to decide if I want to dive straight back into another 40+ hour RPG (Tokyo Xanadu, FF Type 0, Berseria, Valkyria, Rogue Galaxy or a replay of Dark Cloud 2 are all options) or just move on to a bunch of shorter, action type experiences (Prototype or Sleeping Dogs, something like that). I know Mordor isn't long. I might just get in good with that one and then move on...

Vesperia would have been great...but they talk. So. Much. And all 8 or 9 of them have to chime in constantly in just about all the convos! It was still pretty and fun as hell but Yuri and crew just kept echoing the exact same sentiment x8. And I wish the skits were told while moving. The cast was solid but if they did all the blabbering while on the move, I wouldn't probably wouldn't have minded. I skipped the vast majority of them.

However, I stuck with it for 50+ hours since getting it last summer and at the moment is probably my favorite Tales game. There was a ton I loved. No forced romance. The cast came together pretty naturally. The battles and combo system were exciting. The skills system was well implemented and considerate if my time. Yuri was cool. I love the costumes and had a lot of fun dressing them up. It was just all pretty well considered and thought out as a game on the whole. Except the talking. Ugh...but super high marks otherwise!

EDIT: And Mordor is deleted...again. I just don't like this game. I understand the appeal. It just bores me for some reason. Shame because it is really impressive. I just can't get into it, myst be the LOTR stuff. Which is weird. Normally, I can look past the license if everything else is good. But I just find this game...I can't put my finger on it.

[argyle]

Gonna forgo my typical weekly post run-down since it's been so long since I've posted. I think I've got a bit of the "stuck in the house" funk. I have some friends I haven't reached out to in a couple of weeks as well. Everything's becoming a blur.

Anyway, I've been playing A LOT of the new Animal Crossing, and absolutely loving it. They've added a ton to do in this one, and literally everyone I know who owns a Switch is playing it. Tam is as much of an addict with it as I am. It's super relaxing and just a blast to play.

The other thing I've been playing is Darksiders III. A friend of mine talked me into giving it another shot, and he was right, it's a blast once you get into it. Everyone compares it to a Souls game, but that's really only true about the level design (which is excellent). It is in no way punishing like a Souls game, in fact it's pretty forgiving. For example you drop your "currency" when you die, but it doesn't disappear if you die again before getting it. Fury is a very fun character as well, both with her personality and her whip. The game isn't perfect - it could desperately use a map, the sub-weapon upgrade system could use some work and the temporary boost items you get are basically useless thanks to the way you have to use them (scrolling through a "quick" menu while in combat, and using any one item starts a cooldown that has to run out before you can use ANY other item). But what it does right it does well enough that it's easy to overlook that stuff. It's just fun, and that's what counts.

Crim, I'm with you on the Mordor games, and I like LotR well enough (I'm not a super fan but I really enjoyed the movies). The games have some good ideas, but you end up seeing most of that stuff in the first 5 hours or so (and that's probably being generous) and the rest of the game is just recycling that stuff over & over. They just feel...soulless? Iunno, I've played both several times trying to really get into them and I've put them both down. AC Origins is a blast tho, you should give that a go as a nice change of pace from Vesper...er, Yuri and Brave Vesperia's Big Balling Baller Ass Hat Adventure. Man, I've missed you around here, it's good to have ya back!

Oh yeah, I played the FF7 Remake demo Monday because a friend told me you get something (a theme? I don't remember) for doing so. Otherwise I was just going to wait until I had the full game in my hands. At any rate - wow would be a major understatement. If the rest of the game is as good as the demo, then everything else this year REALLY has its work cut out for it to top it for GOTY. Can't wait to get my copy in my hands later this morning!

[crimson_tide]

Sorry I bounced Argyle but life and not being having a laptop anymore cut into my time here. But I am finding phone posting better than my last attempt! I know you are a nut for Vesperia so glad you took to the new name ! Seriously though, the costumes kept me going until the game finally came together right around where Rita joins up. There was free dlc that gave like 90 costumes and accessories to the crew. I just had fun making them look goofy then stumbled on Yuri's hat and am still mad it wasn't part of his originsl design! He just looks so cool with it and fits where they go with his character arc. Really glad I got a chance to play it.

Thought I was the only one who didn't dig Mordor. Now I don't feel THAT crazy. And I want to get to Darksiders 3 once I finally get through 2 which I found exceedingly dull after a big event in the game and it just ground to a halt for me. Maybe I will just jump into 3. I can get all caught up on lore on YouTube I guess (I secretly stan for Darksiders lore and its dumb as rocks edgelord nonsense...don't tell anyone)

Speaking of edgelord nonsense, been tooling around my backlog. Hollow Knight is growing on me finally. Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet is anime goofball heaven. Inching through Wonder boy and Nier Automata. But Prototype is currently pulling me in. It's just HD Hulk Ultimate Destruction sans license! And it's so dark and edgy and I love it because it's so stupid! He also can do all the things. For some reason. And AC Origins is still circling and will end up likely being the game I lean into at the moment. But I will stick with Prototype until I beat it or the nostalgia goggles fall off and I stop playing, whichever comes first.

And to end this excruciatingly long post, FF7 Remake Demo. I wanted the combat to be more Kingdom Hearts than it was. But I will get over that and likely play it. I will not get over Barrett still being a caricature. I really hate that he is still a caricature. They had 20 years! Left a bad taste in my mouth...but it is pretty. And fun. And I will play it...but Barrett still blows. He's the literal reason I stopped playing in 1998 when I first played the game and it stayed away for more than 10 years!