I played the Switch demos for Monster Hunter Stories 2 (which was pretty good, aside from the frame rate). Also, Ys 9, which was just... awful? I don't think I liked anything about it, which is odd since I enjoyed Ys 8.
I have only played the original Ys Book I and II on the PC Engine. Recent Ys games look OK, but without having played them they seem quite similar to one another. Is that the case? I don't know how unique or different they actually are
carra wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 4:24 pm
I have only played the original Ys Book I and II on the PC Engine. Recent Ys games look OK, but without having played them they seem quite similar to one another. Is that the case? I don't know how unique or different they actually are
Given that the series has existed since the... mid 1980s, I think... it's all over the place. There are entries that are 2D top-down hack n' slash, 3D ones, and even a 2D side-scrolling entry (Ys 3). There are a few SNES entries that are good. The previous one was a solid action RPG. This one seems to hold to a similar formula, but the setting is quite different (exploring a city instead of wilderness).
Sadly, I can't say "Play this one" because there's too much variety, and I have no idea what you'd like.
I've been working my way through Phantasy Star 3, in my spare time (lol wut is that?). It's such a weird game, but as I understand it the game's development was cut short, so while it retains trappings of a more ambitious project, there's a paper-thin plot advancing the game. You have to do a lot of wandering around to find the right place to be, NPCs have very little to say (and often just blurt out where you need to go next). Other than that, I guess my real complaint is the shopping, where you don't get an option to compare what you're buying versus other equipment. So you really just need to save the game, go shopping to figure out what items are better than what you have, then reload and buy what you need. Otherwise you risk losing all your hard-earned cash.
It's trippy to see the evolution of PS2 to PS4, and where this sits between them.
The Tales of Arise demo came out today. It's very short, but gives you one field to explore, and two bosses to fight, along with all the stuff you'd normally find in JPGs (hidden chests, swimming, resource harvesting, etc). Combat seems decent enough, and still very Tales-ish. Graphically it's striking, with a strong sharpening filter that the game's textures lean into heavily. It's certainly an unusual look, but I think it works.
Oddly, there's no PC demo. Consoles only. Weird, I know.
I gotta say, the last 4 or 5 demos I've played have sold me on their respective games. The only one that turned me away was Bravely Default 2.
Psychonauts 2 and Axiom Verge 2 too! Bah, I don't have time to play games either!
Me I've been properly starting a company so bigger companies can give us money and so I can hire people, but hard mode where I'm offering benefits like dental coverage and such.
Playing No More Heroes 3 as time allows (been working 80 hour weeks the last two weeks). Waiting on Tales of arise on the 10th.
Aliens Fireteam is here, but I haven't even tried it yet.
Axiom 2 looks... ok? I guess the switch to primarily melee combat is a turn-off compared to how well the last game was handled. The last game left me satisfied, but not particularly hankering for more.
