The Backlog Check-in Vol. 329: 4/20/24: Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes/Sand Land/Stellar Blade Edition

[isthatallyougot]

I used to look forward to Izzy playing one of the two souls games that I've actually played, finished, and loved - Bloodborne or Elden Ring. I've given up on that dream.

[argyle]

I used to look forward to Izzy playing one of the two souls games that I've actually played, finished, and loved - Bloodborne or Elden Ring. I've given up on that dream.

quit you.gif (1.92 MiB) Viewed 308 times

[Phaseknox]

I dislike when localizers change dialogue in western versions of Japanese games to make them more “Americanized”.

[crimson_tide]

Phase, please tell me in your own words what DEI is. You keep using this term and I am convinced you have no idea what it means. Please stop falling for the grift.

Played: Started New Vegas on Steam Deck but still don't think Fallout is for me. Mega Man Legacy collection (just beat the first 8 bosses now Doc Robot want to run it back for the MM2 crew). I finally made it to the 8th chapter of Infinite Wealth because...well I think they might actually be moving on from Kazuma and now that I am finally getting that, I don't know that I want it. Chapter 8 has abso ******* lutely confirmed it for me ...but I still spent a ton of time on Dondoko Island for the cash and just running around playing with the jobs available absorbing the atmosphere. This is my game of the year already and possibly decade .

Bought: Nothing.

Beat: Mega Man 1, 2

Can you tell I am on spring break yet ?

[isthatallyougot]

quit you.gif

Well, I guess you can just ban me?

I finished up the campaign of RE3, and after finishing and starting a mercenaries run, I realized that I never gave that mode any time back when I originally played it at release. Like with future entries with this mode, it's a fun addition. I'm trying to accumulate enough money for some sweet infinite ammo guns to maybe make a speed run for fun and just to abuse Nemesis properly.

Anyway, it's surely a classic game/series to me, and replaying this for this first time in about 25 years re-emphasized how fun that formula is. It's got plenty of quirks and non-sense, but it's all part of the odd charm in the end. It had been a good bit since I last played an entry in the classic RE form, and I'm happy to have revisited it.

[Phaseknox]

Phase, please tell me in your own words what DEI is. You keep using this term and I am convinced you have no idea what it means. Please stop falling for the grift.

Perhaps you’re right, my understanding of it is that it’s a push for marginalized groups to be represented more. Of course that’s not a bad thing, but I don’t particularly agree with how it was done in the North American version of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes with some dialogue being changed from the Japanese version to include LGBTQ+ representation.

With that said, I’ve since removed it from the couple of posts that I used it in and will no longer use it.

[crimson_tide]

Got it phase. I responded in your other thread...

...because I want to exclusively gush about chapter 8 in Infinite Wealth! OH MY GOD I LOVE IT!!!!! It's so so so GOOD! It's exactly what I wanted, full top, no notes. GODDAMN CHEF'S MOTHER *****ING KISS! I didn't know they were going to go this hard with the Kazuma stuff. It feels so good. I am just running around and taking it in, letting it wash over me. I am getting ready to let go and it's because they made chapter 8 this way. The music choice they make at one point was just so clutch. And they didn't have to do it! j, chapter was good right? I know!!!

[jfissel]

Got it phase. I responded in your other thread...

...because I want to exclusively gush about chapter 8 in Infinite Wealth! OH MY GOD I LOVE IT!!!!! It's so so so GOOD! It's exactly what I wanted, full top, no notes. GODDAMN CHEF'S MOTHER *****ING KISS! I didn't know they were going to go this hard with the Kazuma stuff. It feels so good. I am just running around and taking it in, letting it wash over me. I am getting ready to let go and it's because they made chapter 8 this way. The music choice they make at one point was just so clutch. And they didn't have to do it! j, chapter was good right? I know!!!

Chapter 8 will probably be remembered as one of the best in the series, it's for the fans.

[crimson_tide]

Just finished chapter 8 earlier this afternoon before movie night. You are right j, this is one of the best chapters in the series hands down! I should barrel through the rest before going for the plat j, I absolutely adore the battle system and really want to tool around with the jobs in the optional dungeons.

Izzy, I need your help. There's other stores like Humble Bundle but I don't get them. What are GOG and Fanatical exactly? I think GOG needs a separate launcher on my Steam Deck? Is there other storefronts I should look? Where do you shop is essentially what I think I would like to know. Thanks !

[isthatallyougot]

Izzy, I need your help. There's other stores like Humble Bundle but I don't get them. What are GOG and Fanatical exactly? I think GOG needs a separate launcher on my Steam Deck? Is there other storefronts I should look? Where do you shop is essentially what I think I would like to know. Thanks !

Sure crim, I'll share my PC gaming shopping habits that have worked for me.

Yes, GOG is a separate store / launcher. But the nice benefit of GOG is that your purchases are DRM-free. I have a pretty big library there for that reason alone, and they give away free games fairly often - mostly older or obscure stuff, but some good titles oftentimes. (Also you can add any non-steam game to your Steam library. It essentially just acts as a shortcut, but if you like to consolidate things, you can do that.) As for updates on freebies, GOG and otherwise, I'd recommend checking this thread and maybe turning on notifications so you don't miss out. https://www.resetera.com/threads/add-th ... -122169843 I've added so many freebies that were worth it just by getting updates from there alone. But I surely recommend GOG as a storefront. Their commitment to DRM-free makes them a rarity in the PC space and reason enough to be a customer imho.

As for Steam, outside of buying directly on their storefront, I tend to use the following in order of frequency:

https://www.fanatical.com/en/
https://www.humblebundle.com/
https://www.greenmangaming.com/

Here's a list of stores : https://gg.deals/stores/ There's a toggle at the top to turn off keyshops (unofficial stores) if you want to see a comprehensive list of Steam authorized sellers.

Those are all official stores, meaning that you won't have any possible issues with illicit keys that could be revoked due to shady sellers. Also, if you aren't aware of Humble Choice, it's usually a great way to get good deals if you have a broad taste and can enjoy a big variety of genres. You can pay $12 + tax and get 8 games each month. There's no real subscription, so you can get it in months that appeal to you and ignore (pause) the rest. I've gotten so many great games through that, and they're yours to keep - not like PS+ "rentals" that are tied to an ongoing subscription.

As a further reference, it's very useful to check https://gg.deals/ when you're thinking of picking something up. You can check the current prices and compare on all official / approved storefronts as well as unofficial key-shops / resellers. I only mention the unofficial stores because there are some that are *perhaps* worth your time just due to how good some deals are. Of the unofficial stores, the only one I would even consider is https://www.cdkeys.com/. They sell legit keys, but their method of obtaining them is generally to buy in one region and exploit regional pricing gaps to make their profit. It's just a bit on the shady side in some respects, but they do have phenomenal deals in some cases. I've only used them a couple of times ever, but many people use them nearly exclusively due to their very low pricing in many instances. Worst case scenario, it's possible to get a key revoked for being illegitimate in which case they'd provide another, at least as far as I'm aware. Again, I've only used them a couple times, but they were *great* deals when I did.

Another probably-obvious tip is to populate your Steam wishlist so you can get updates on discounts to games you are really interested in directly from their storefront.

Edit: One other thing I forgot to mention is https://itch.io/. I have a huge library there. And, like GOG, it's a separate launcher / storefront. But if you're into smaller and more experimental / fringe types of games or are looking for a really particular niche, there's *tons* of that sort of stuff there. I love that place too.

Anyway, hopefully that's helpful. That's my essential "arena" of game shopping and how I do things mostly.