crispy4000

So, Trine 2 or Trine 3 style?

From resetera: SquareEnix said it had to do well in order for future DQ games to get the same localization work. Good thing it did, because they did a fantastic job. The voice syncing is ace. So are the other creative aspects of the writing/translation.

Switch should be up for the holidays, especially with Pokemon and Smash. Good on SquareEnix for proving the naysayers wrong about Tomb Raider. The review spat over on Steam over a price cut (yes, that's a thing) didn't seem to reflect actual sales. Yay for DQXI charting at #11 too. Deserves to be higher, but at least it wasn't an utter flop.

I care most about comfort. I'm not getting rid of this chair until its looks like a cat clawed it up.

Recently bought this from an Office Max for $100 on sale. Perfect mix of comfort and price. Go to the store and sit in one. And unlike most gaming chairs, it's not totally hideous. https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/8638586/Realspace-Tresswell-Bonded-Leather-High-Back/

I wonder how Ghost Games (NFS Payback) is doing. I suppose its a positive EA hasn't shut them down yet. That would be a PR nightmare.

If these employees are leaving for equally good jobs and get away from being part of EA's gross monetization experiments, all is good. It must have sucked to be working for EA as those decisions were getting made, and even more demoralizing to see the public reaction.

Haha, that reminds me:

In regard to the old date, I think coming so soon off the heels of Resident Evil 2 was the bigger problem.

Maybe being 'meaningful' isn't as high of a priority as entertainment. I don't think Monkey's Island had anything grandiose to say, for example. You could even say the whole game is fluff. But whatever it is, its A-grade.

I loved Warrior Within for being Metroidvania-ish, the chase sequences and improved combat. It's my favorite in the Sands trilogy for that, but little else.

What games come to mind to you?

I thought I was that way too, still might be, but there's been a few games over the few years to make me question it. Darksiders a big one that rubbed me the wrong way. I love most Zelda clones. I enjoyed the game for what it was, and it was still more 'light' in color pallete than others that gen. But setting, premise, characters, etc just made it feel like I was trying to enjoy the game in spite of the tryhard gothic post-apocalyptic edginess. We all do on some level. But I think it's a fair question to ask if it's a factor in what game you'd typically go for first. Might not be for you.

Playing so much DQXI recently got me thinking about this. At least on the surface, I've learned I'm more interested in games that aren't afraid to lead with a lighter tone. Maybe it's just a comfort food thing, but I'd rather 'live in' a world that's not always so bleak and grimy, especially over an extended period of time. When I'm choosing what games to play or buy next, I almost always pick ones that are more 'spirited' than gritty. That's not to say I don't get dark vibes. The obvious benefit is that the stakes can feel higher, and better fit within a genre of choice (ie: horror). But in those games, I welcome comic relief or a distinctly 'video game-y' soundtrack, just to cut the edge down a bit. I almost never play straight up horror games. This time of year reminds me of that. Another thing 'lighter tone' games tend to be able to do better are tonal shifts. As the stakes raise, the visual style and plot can easier change to reflect that. There's more room. Life is Strange is a masterclass in it. To the Moon as well. Come to think of it, there's a lot of games that do this really well. Terranigma might be one of my all time favorites, for revealing that the peaceful starting town was What do you prefer? Which are you more drawn to on the surface?

The framerate in that, holy cow. They should have paired the visuals back further.

90 hours into DQXI. Just reached a point where the post-game story is (mostly?) over and it's either a ton of optional side quests or fight the big baddy. Side quests are so good though they're essentially more story content. There's huge incentive to do them in that way too. So I'll likely continue with that.

It could just be BG&E 2 if it leaves development hell in time. ... fat chance.

Did you play it on PS4? DF's said it has the most lag.

'Finished' DQXI last night. It keeps going in a way I don't think I've seen a game try yet. That's impressive considering how final the game could have felt without the post-game stuff. It's maybe not the best JRPG ever, but it is great game. It makes me want to go back and play some other DQ games if they're anywhere near as good. I've only beaten IX. Any of the others worth playing? EDIT: I just read that the japanese version of XI had no voiced dialogue. wtf? I can't imagine this game without it.

It is when salvaging, for starters. But yeah, the performance overall isn't so bad, especially post patches. I was coming off of playing BoTW on Wii U when playing Xenoblade 2. Some of the towns in the former felt far worse in their framerate dips (like the oriental one, lost woods, etc). Granted, BoTW isn't as heavy handed with dynamic res as X2 in portable mode. But that's only a major issue in Gormott's town IMO.

I can't remember a single salvage spot where there were framerate dips. The camera is always oriented towards the cloud sea 'skybox,' meaning there shouldn't be. Also, the town with the worst performance is on the first main Titan. It's ironic that they didn't put there best foot forward there. But even if you weren't imagining the dips while salvaging there, the button prompts in that town should be stupid easy. It's early game.

Or just keep them A and use them (and others) to have a more steady stream of exclusives. Games Pass needs that to keep subscriptions recurring. Microsoft's also burned some bridges this gen with contracted projects. Coming to the bargaining table with a buyout offer shows a greater commitment, even if it isn't a guarantee.

The only difficult QTEs to hit in that game are some of the salvaging ones, IMO. Can't say I had the same problem. They actually added an option to turn them off for specials in a later patch. It's also not like Xenoblade X where hitting QTEs was needed just to heal. Or if missed, could permanently destroy your mech in some situations.

It'd have to be practically DS resolution for me to agree on that. I played through Radiant Historia (original ver.) on a 3DS XL. That was on the edge of my smear tolerance.

Honestly, you're missing out. But hey, people missed out in Xenoblade 1 for similar reasons.