The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by argyle »

Games added: Nothing

Last week: Finished Glass Masquerade 2 (the jigsaw puzzle game I've been playing off & on for the past 2-3 weeks), dabbled with a few other games.

This week: I've been playing Dragon Quest Builders 2, and it's really good - but I imagine that will come to an end tomorrow when I get ahold of Xeno 3.

So I know no one really cares, but...Glass Masquerade 2. I paid like $3 for it, and was looking for a chill relaxing game that I could play while watching tv or whatever, just to wind down. And it fit that bill, barely. But it could have been much better. The puzzles are stained glass pictures, and even once they've been put together half the time I couldn't make heads or tails out of what they were supposed to be. When you're putting them together, you only have the shape of the pieces to go by - they're all black silhouetted until you actually click on them. And the shapes are all really weird, so it's very difficult to tell what will go where. I started out playing on difficult, the only difference being that you have to rotate the pieces on difficult as opposed to normal where you can't rotate them because they automatically orient to the way they're supposed to go. I quickly changed back to normal because of all the issues above (oh, and the fact that you can't see all of the pieces you have available at once, you have to do this weird scroll thing to go through them). It just made it way too frustrating, and for a game that I bought to be relaxing, that was no good.

There's some other puzzle game I saw advertised recently that's anime based, forget what it's called - but my concern is that all the pics will be half-naked way-too-young-looking anime girls. Gonna have to check into it more to see if that's the case or not, because I still feel that a well done digital jigsaw puzzle game could be really fun.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

I played more Dusk Diver, and I’m finding it be a fun dungeon crawler. It’s a little more than just dungeon crawling since you spend a decent amount of time doing things in the real world city area of the game, but the bulk of the game is going to the otherworldly dimension and navigating dungeon-like levels fighting a lot of enemies. The combat is enjoyable almost like a beat ‘em up, and there’s some platforming puzzles for a little added variety. The gameplay loop is a bit repetitive, but the story, characters and combat have been keeping me wanting to play.
Last edited by Phaseknox on Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:39 am, edited 4 times in total.
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crimson_tide
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by crimson_tide »

I keep thinking about Dusk Diver. You're selling me Phase. Also, I really enjoyed my time with the DQ Builders 2 demo. I might do that as well. My summer work ended yesterday and after a short jaunt to Ohio for several days, I will be home for a bit.

Me and the kid beat Shredder's Revenge this week. She even got the last licks in on the big man himself, I was impressed! And just a few minutes ago I beat what might end up my game of the year, Guardians of the Galaxy. The good one from last year, not that Telltale thing I bounced off after chapter 1. It's been a good year honestly thus far. Tekken 7, the first like 5 and 2/3 levels of Freedom Planet, Soul Calibur 6, MK10 & 11, Miles Morales...all good stuff. Tekken 7, Miles Morales and Guardians will likely be way at the top so far. Soul Calibur 6 might sneak in when I do the actual single player mode. I need to get some good RPG action going soon though now that I have a minute...
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

crimson_tide wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:54 pmI keep thinking about Dusk Diver. You're selling me Phase.
I think that you would like it.
crimson_tide wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:54 pmIt's been a good year honestly thus far. Tekken 7, the first like 5 and 2/3 levels of Freedom Planet, Soul Calibur 6, MK10 & 11, Miles Morales...all good stuff.
I was thinking about getting Dead or Alive 6, Soulcalibur VI and Tekken 7 because they’re currently on sale at the PS Store. The only reason why I’ve been hesitant is because I don’t think that I will like their story modes. In fighting games I like to choose a character, and go through the entire campaign as them. I don’t like the current trend in fighting game story modes where you have to play as different characters throughout them. So I would be getting them for their arcade modes since I think that’s the only way to play through the games with one selected character. But how bare bones are the arcade modes? Are there no stories for the individual characters whatsoever? I miss the old days of fighting games where each individual character had their own little story and ending, it gave an incentive to play through and finish the games with different characters. I just bought The King of Fighters XIV because it’s like the classics where each different team that you play as in it have their own individual story and ending. I prefer that to being forced to play as characters that I don’t have any interest in.
Last edited by Phaseknox on Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:29 am, edited 2 times in total.
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by canedaddy »

Phaseknox wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 11:24 am I was definitely liking it and will play it again when I’m more in the mood for it, but I bought Dusk Diver yesterday and wanted to play it since I’m in the mood for something anime and Japanese right now.

I have over 500 digital games now, but I haven’t played very many of them. I’ve been wanting to at least check some of them out to see what they’re like, but I’m not always in the mood for what they are when I check them out so I don’t always stick with them despite liking them. If they really click with me because they’re what I’m in the mood for at the time then I’ll keep playing them, but if not then I’ll check something else out.

Just because I stop playing a game that I started doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t like it, it’s just not something that I’m in the mood to keep playing at that time. Of course sometimes it is because I don’t like it, but I have liked most of the games that I’ve been buying.
That makes sense.

Phaseknox wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 11:24 am The games that are on sale now at the PS Store that I think that you might like are American Fugitive, Ashen, Hob, My Time at Portia and Rustler. They’re all fairly cheap, and skimming some video reviews of them would probably give you an idea if you would like them or not.
Thanks for the word. I'll take a look later.

crimson_tide wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:54 pm Me and the kid beat Shredder's Revenge this week. She even got the last licks in on the big man himself, I was impressed!
Nice! How old is she?
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crimson_tide
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by crimson_tide »

She's six turning seven in August. She keeps trying to get me into Roblox :| ...

And Phase, after looking at a few reviews that all call it a PS2 B game at heart and a sub 10 hour runtime according to HLTB, I am going in on Dusk Diver. Guardians certainly gave off constant PS2 vibes as well, one reason I loved it so. Thanks for letting me know about it :) !
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

crimson_tide wrote: Fri Jul 29, 2022 4:25 pmPhase, after looking at a few reviews that all call it a PS2 B game at heart and a sub 10 hour runtime according to HLTB, I am going in on Dusk Diver.
The gameplay loop is a bit repetitive, but it’s fun and the story and characters are very anime which I like. I’ve been enjoying it, and I think that you will too.

You didn’t say anything about Dead or Alive 6, Soulcalibur VI or Tekken 7. Do you think that they’re worth getting just for their arcade modes, because it’s unlikely that I will want to play their story modes because I don’t want to have to play as characters that I have no interest in. So I’m only interested in their arcade modes, but if they’re not good then I will pass.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by argyle »

I don't get why other devs of fighting games don't try to catch up to Netherrealm's single player experience. Nothing else comes close to the recent MK & Injustice games' single player modes. I guess all they really care about is the tournament scene.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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crimson_tide
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by crimson_tide »

The Netherrealm are clearly the gold standard if you want a Story mode. While Injustice is too much (I need people to stop doing Superman dirty... it's not ok), MKX and 11 we're just prestige series tv shows with some fighting thrown in, I loved it. And all their arcade modes have endings plus that crypt/tower thing is insane, tons of content for a single player. I don't know about a Phase single player though :P . Honestly, I kinda bounced off after the story and some arcade, I don't care for MK style, I find the block button useless for me, back or down back to block option please!

However, with some they are getting better. A little. DB Fighterz has a WAY overblown story mode. It's not a GOOD story, but there's a lot of it. And I am dying for Granblue complete to go on sale, the RPG mode sounds more like Dragon's Crown than anything, yes please!

I had bounced off fighters for a long time but some of my favorites have been fighters this year because they offer some of the experiences that work best for me during the school year given the limited playtime. Phase, I definitely talked about Tekken 7 because it was a bat**** insane story :lol: . I also enjoyed the treasure battle mode. It's similar to the towers/krypt in MK, you do a bunch of fights and get rewarded (cosmetics and the like) but it was a blast. I don't think arcade mode had separate endings for each character. I got the platinum in it so I must have loved it ;) . Whenever they put the complete edition on sale for like $20, you might want to look into it. I think you should definitely pick up Soul Calibur 6 though if you want a single player experience. I ate crow on this one because I said it was boring last year. It is not. There's a ton of single player stuff. There's the Story mode which is typical fighting game fluff. All arcade mode characters have endings I think. But Soul Chronicle is where it's at. You pick a character and go down their timeline either before or after the story mode. It's way more fun than I thought. Then there's Libra of Soul which is an entirely separate campaign where you take on missions like in Soul Calibur on the DC with a created character. This is really what sets the game up for success, the create a character. They use it to make opponents for you in various single player modes. It makes it feel special when you take on named characters so you're not just grinding through the same roster the whole time. Additionally, you play Libra of Soul to unlock some bits of the Soul Chronicle to get the full story. I am going to go back to Soul Calibur 6 at some point because I need to complete Libra of Soul. I really enjoyed my time with this game and for the little they charge when it's on sale, I would say it is totally worth it.

Oh and the reason I didn't mention DOA 6 is because I didn't play it :P .
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 238: 7/23/22: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

crimson_tide wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 5:42 amI had bounced off fighters for a long time but some of my favorites have been fighters this year because they offer some of the experiences that work best for me during the school year given the limited playtime.
I had bounced off fighters for a long time as well despite them being one of my favorite genres back in the day. As I mentioned before, I tend to prefer 2D ones to 3D ones. I think that the only 3D one that I really liked was the first Soulcalibur for Dreamcast. I never really cared for Dead or Alive, Tekken, or Virtua Fighter. The last 3D fighting game that I enjoyed was Mortal Kombat (2011), but it was basically a 2D fighting game with 3D graphics. I liked its lengthy story mode despite having to play as different characters throughout it, but I’m not really interested in doing that now for some reason. Although if I do get Dead or Alive 6, Soulcalibur VI and Tekken 7 then I’ll still probably play through their story modes since they’re apparently decent. But I prefer choosing one character, and playing through the entire campaign with them. I don’t like being forced to play as characters that I have no interest in playing.
crimson_tide wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 5:42 amPhase, I definitely talked about Tekken 7 because it was a bat**** insane story :lol: . I also enjoyed the treasure battle mode. It's similar to the towers/krypt in MK, you do a bunch of fights and get rewarded (cosmetics and the like) but it was a blast. I don't think arcade mode had separate endings for each character. I got the platinum in it so I must have loved it ;) . Whenever they put the complete edition on sale for like $20, you might want to look into it. I think you should definitely pick up Soul Calibur 6 though if you want a single player experience. I ate crow on this one because I said it was boring last year. It is not. There's a ton of single player stuff. There's the Story mode which is typical fighting game fluff. All arcade mode characters have endings I think. But Soul Chronicle is where it's at. You pick a character and go down their timeline either before or after the story mode. It's way more fun than I thought. Then there's Libra of Soul which is an entirely separate campaign where you take on missions like in Soul Calibur on the DC with a created character. This is really what sets the game up for success, the create a character. They use it to make opponents for you in various single player modes. It makes it feel special when you take on named characters so you're not just grinding through the same roster the whole time. Additionally, you play Libra of Soul to unlock some bits of the Soul Chronicle to get the full story. I am going to go back to Soul Calibur 6 at some point because I need to complete Libra of Soul. I really enjoyed my time with this game and for the little they charge when it's on sale, I would say it is totally worth it.
I think that you might have just sold me on Tekken 7 and Soulcalibur VI. Unfortunately, only the standard edition of Tekken 7 and the Originals Edition are on sale, not the Definitive Edition. The standard edition is $10, and the Originals Edition is $15. There are 12 additional characters in the Originals Edition which I would pay the extra $5 for, but I really want the Definitive Edition since it includes all of the game’s content. However, I don’t know when it will go on sale or for how much. I don’t want to pay more than $20 for it. So should I just get the Originals Edition now since $15 is a good price for it? The Deluxe Edition of Soulcalibur VI is on sale for $13.49, so I’m probably going to get it.
crimson_tide wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 5:42 amOh and the reason I didn't mention DOA 6 is because I didn't play it :P .
I thought that you played it for some reason. It’s actually the one that I’m most interested in. It looks like a cool urban fighting game with a good selection of characters. However, I think that Dead or Alive 5 looks a little better, but it’s unfortunately not on sale. I should probably get Dead or Alive 6 now since $15 is a good price for it.
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