What Are You Currently Playing? 6.65: Neighbor of the Beast

[Rynnec]

Gungrave: G.O.R.E
It's been years since I've played Overdose. I remember loving that game despite it being the way it was. That was my go to before I got into the Musou's. Here's the thing. G.O.R.E, if I can recall almost 20 years ago, plays worst than Overdose. I don't know if it's because I can't get used to the controls or if it's because of newer things being attempted, but something is definitely throwing me off. OR it can simply be another one of those "I did this already and not ready to go back to it" (combination of all 3? Who knows).

Having played Overdose a few years ago and watched a fair bit of retrospective vids about it, I can definitely say that G.O.R.E is at least better than OD on a pure gameplay/quality of life level. A lot less cheap bullshit, shield regenerations actually works as it should, and the devs actually listened to feedback and patched out most of the stupid platforming sections. Where G.O.R.E does falter compared to OD, I feel very strongly, is its style. The presentation, atmosphere, art-style, ost, everything just feels off. Not helped by the non-existent story (which while minimalist in the first game at least felt "complete" and had stylish presentation) and half-assed dub (literally no one from the anime or Overdose came back). It has a significantly less of a "late night adult swim anime" vibe the first two games had, and that was a big part of the series' charm. That, and the DMC-style character progression system just doesn't work for Gungrave, imo. Having to farm for red orbs/style points/whathaveyou was bad there, and it's bad here.

Warts and all though, I did enjoy G.O.R.E greatly, and that was with all the day 1 bullshit stage and boss designs. Even with all the stylistic changes, it still has that sense of "coolness" I look for in everything. As far as solo play sessions go, I prefer it over Musou, if only because most Musou games don't give me the feeling of playing a Terminator as directed by John Woo.

The first game is still the GOAT tho'.

[Mustang]

You win, for the Terminator feeling alone lol, because I can actually picture that.

Called myself taking a little break from the fighting games. Playing a lot of these single-players and deception games with the fam (often dabbling into Tekken 8 so I don't get left too far behind), buuuuuuut people are starting to call me out again wanting the smoke (go Street Profits lol). Nah, but they do want my help in trying to get better, which may or may not cause me to start going to my locals a bit more (especially with ED being released and Akuma's on the way)

Before I fully bounce off these games though, my nephew has challenged me to Pokemon and Mario. "Sigh" little midget challenging me to games I don't particularly care for. FINE! Better be happy I like him lol.

Eventually I'll pull out Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 to play to pay homage to Akira Toriyama as well. Been meaning to do that over the weekend but haven't been able to get to it.

[Mustang]

Persona 3 Reload
I put off for it for as long as I could, but having coming off of a 3rd playthrough of Shin Megami Tensei 5, nothing else was really holding my interest so I went ahead and fired this game up (now I'm holding out on Rise of the Ronin lol). Anyway, lot's of comparison's can be made to Persona 5. Hell, if you want to call this Persona 5-2, I wouldn't stop you. I'm in the beginning of August as of right now. The only issues I have right now, and there are 2 of them. The glaring one is Junpei Iori. In fairness, Ryuji is Junpei 2.0. Character's like these, the whole "dude-bro" bullshit, I don't have a high tolerance level for them. The activities involving them I just want nothing to do with any of it. Don't get me wrong, relatable stuff I get it, but whatever at the same time lol. The other issue is mostly a minor nitpick. The collectible items you get from Tartarus, most of it is lackluster and all breakable objects should have something in them at all times otherwise, I'm just going to skip them. Other than that I am enjoying the game.

Edit:

Finished my 1st playthrough. Kinda cheated a bit by going with the "bad" choice just to end it and start my 2nd playthrough. I already know I'm not going for 100%, but I did a no no as well. I never made Yoshitzune, so before I move on to the next game I gotta make him and see how overpowered I can make him in this game. He was definitely weaker in SMT5, especially when dealing with so many bosses who were immune to physical attacks. I also gotta see what the Reaper is like as well. I got scared the moment I heard that he pops up at random times and rushed through Tartarus without doing much exploration lol.

Fighting game related, I put them back on hold lol. I'll help train, but getting back into them, nah, still too much noise for me. Great conversations to be held, but not a lot of conversations going on lol. Bunch of bitching back and forth.

[Mustang]

Persona 3 Reload
Just about done with the 2nd playthrough. I'm basically at endgame again. This time I went with the "good" option and continued with the story.

Spoiler

Having seen the bad option. Seeing Aigis's reaction towards everything, you can't help but feel for her. Hell, having actually slowed everything down to actually read, I understand if you want to see both endings, but you gotta have ice in your veins to still carry out the bad option.

[close]

I did it my first playthrough because I do multiple playthroughs. In any case, I fought the Reaper. He's definitely easier here than in Persona 5, but this might also be because there's just so much in your arsenal to deal with him. I do wish you could swap party members in and out between battle or at the very least have some sort of way members you don't use gain EXP without having to rely on finding a certain chest and waiting for this room to pop up to boost 2 members. I'm also not sure if I like the idea of slash/fists/pierce strengths and weaknesses either. Other than that, it's a fine game. Not game of the year material, but it's fine. I may do 1 more playthrough because there are far more Persona's in this game and I still haven't gotten a chance to fuse for Yoshitzune. Not to mention, actually making cheap builds (I can't really start moving on until I start seeing damage reach breaking game status). Seeing what the party can do, I got nothing for them, but in terms of my personas, I got some ideas.

Edit:

Just finished everything. Didn't 100% it. Don't plan on it either. And then I found out Yoshitzune's not in the game (HOW DARE YOU). Anyway, I definitely have some issue's with this game having played it twice now, but my thoughts are jumbled because of the ending (boiiii. heartstrings) and it rattled my head. Definitely an impactful one because I'm still thinking about it.

Spoiler

I knew from way back the outcome of the story and while The Answer was made and whatnot. That being said, it tugged on my heartstrings quite a bit. I didn't break though. I thought for sure Koromaru was going to be the one to get me, and low and behold he was the closest. My beef with that ending is your crew's reaction. Like no one is in a state of shock and it rolls credits. Even afterwards, they all just standing there smiling.

[close]

Man, I need something light hearted after that. All that talk about the meaning of life and death. I play games to get away from these type of conversations lol.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Dragon's Dogma 2- I've experimented with each vocation that I've unlocked so far. I always prefer melee combat so I leave the Archer, Mage, and Sorcerer sub-classes to my Pawns. Fighter is OK but feels a bit too basic, and Warrior is powerful but attacks are too slow for my liking. Thief is easily the best and most fun to use starting class, so that's what I used for quite a while, but Mystic Spearhand is easily the best class that I've unlocked so far. It has great mobility and attack options, and feels more unique than the other basic RPG classes.

Stellar Blade- I've only played the opening mission so far, so not much to go on. I am always down for a more traditional action game, but admittedly I'm a bit less eager about parry mechanics as I used to be since freaking everyone does it these days, and so few do it as well as games like DMC and MGR did it. This game seems to be heavy on parries, but at the same time I'm not judging until I've played significantly more of it to see if the combat stacks up to the greats of the genre.

[Mustang]

Mystic Spearhand; I'm assuming that's the vocation that allows you to use both magic and weapons?

Both games are on my radar, but I've been a little bit apprehensive towards Stellar Blade (the noise behind it is whatever) mainly because I never cared for Sekiro's combat, mostly the way parry seems to be the focus, and I'm the not the parry kind of guy. I see Stellar Blade following suit a bit in that aspect. I'm sort of curious because it supposedly is a character action game.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yes. Magic Archer and Warfarer do too but I haven't unlocked either of those yet. I'm not a huge fan of ranged combat in these types of games but I may try it through Warfarer once I unlock it as it allows for on-the-fly weapon switching from what I've seen.

[Mustang]

Rise of the Ronin
So I played a little bit of it and checked out Kagerasimaru (one of XLH Gladiators buddies) play it. Yes the disappointment is definitely there. This SHOULD NOT be exclusive to the PS5. I have no problems with open world, but this angle, nah, this is very lazy and Team Ninja is better than that or are they? Whatever on that though. Yes I'm disappointed, but not to the degree of when I was disappointed with Mass Effect Andromeda. More to the degree of GranBlue Fantasy Relink. Meaning, it's getting dropped for something of more importance (I'll come back to it later on down the line). What that is I have no idea yet lol. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth won't get touched until the 3rd installment comes out (I want to experience all of it at once) I have a lot of in betweeners to fill in that space until the next Trails game and Metaphor, BUTTT those probably won't get touched until the end of the year or beginning of next year. July-August I'll probably dive into Zelda and take those to whenever I'm finished and ready to move on.

I've been having an itch to jump back into Ultra Street Fighter 4. Nobody challenging me or anything, just got that urge to learn a new character. Decapre to be specific. I think people jumped the gun too early on Elena being the best. She's definitely annoying to deal with, but from what I'm seeing and what I can remember of top Decapre players back then, she was a problem. I think she has the tools to deal with Elena. I also think Yun, Ibuki, and Viper can deal with her as well especially if your fundamentals is good. If Justin Wong played Elena on the other hand, good luck lol

Twitch streamers / youtube
I think I'm done chiming let alone reading the comment sections of the media side of things. Kinda Funny, IGN, MinnMax, etc. I knew better yet I decided to get outta my shell and try it out for once. Yeah, bad move on my end lol. Trying to talk rational or just to the panel itself, good luck cause these comment sections just have 1 tracked minds. That being said, Chilled, Ze (only on Youtube), Dooley Noted I still engage with. These V-Tubers are wild. I have no intentions to ever go to their streams or Youtube, but holy hell, when they are invited for Among Us, Town of Salem, Jackbox, etc, all hell breaks loose. If Chilled is a 10 on a crazy scale, V-Tubers are even more insane than him and I'M HERE FOR IT! lol. They ok to talk to within the game, but that's where you start and stop lol. Once you try to talk outside the group you on your own lol.

I did see Assassin's Creed Shadows. I'm for it but wow, the noise lol. I'm gonna leave clickbait-y ass articles alone too.

[Mustang]

Since I've bailed on Rise of the Ronin (I've bailed on quite a lot this year so far). Just trying to find some smaller games to fit in between these large games I tend to play. Of the ones I've found more fitting to me at the moment

Afterimage
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
Odin Sphere

To be honest I don't know how to describe these games lol. Any other time I'd tell you they 2D side-scrollers, but this day in age where everything has a specific genre I'll just say 2D action (?). Dead Cells and Odin Sphere seems to have combat more to my liking whereas Afterimage has this 1-hit thing going for it. I bailed on Bloodstained because of this. Afterimage has a faster pace and I can get by with the character dashing. The other problem I have with Afterimage, as gorgeous looking as it is, the main character blends in with the background.

I'm not really looking to finish any of these right now. I'm mainly just scraping through the backlog to see what smaller games I have to fill in space until a big hitter I'm looking forward to is released or until I'm ready to move on to the next large game.

I don't usually play these type of games so my tolerance level has been up and down. As I said, I bailed on Bloodstained and Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors. For some reason I recall Ninja Saviors (Ninja Warriors) having combat like a beat em up style; Streets of Rage type. Here, it's weird. Like the characters gotta stand still to attack. I can't micro-step and attack or anything and that just messes me up. That's probably akin to more old school whereas Bloodstained, this 1-hit stuff, I just don't like it. And it's slow. If Castlevania is like this I'm out.

I did get a little too used to modern games where I'm told what my objective is. All these games, the pause menu is so bare and (Afterimage is loaded though) nothing is really explained to you. No objectives, a map that means squat to me.

Edit:

Just a little update on Dead Cells. I've been getting bodied lol. I'm assuming this is a rogue-like, but a 2D side-scroller? Anyway, I don't mind it, but good God, these furry things throwing smaller furry things at me as well as having to deal with a big machine thing shooting a grenade at me while his buddy slashing at me. This as well as probably something like a Hell Divers 2, and Among Us are the kind of in between type of games I'm sort of looking for.

[Mustang]

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania

Holy hell I had no idea what I was in for when trying out these indie darlings. Do I like the game? Yes. Am I having fun? HELL NO!! I do see the draw though. Had you just had a little bit more health, had you just had this weapon, yeah, I definitely see it. I currently just got bodied by some big ass knight armor thingy guarding someone sitting in a throne chair. These boss battles are crazy. I think I know what I'm setting myself up for when I get around to Hades.

Bayonetta 1

Playing this on the Switch. This was a 360/PS3 game first if I recall, so maybe it's the Switch after all, but I remember and don't remember everything looking so muddy. I could've sworn the colors used to pop in this game. But I definitely want to blame it on it being old, but I remember Shin Megami Tensei 5 looking like this as well, hence my confusion. It's not a big deal though. Anyway, I forgot this game also have the whole xxxxoo type of combo structure that I like so this could very well be that middle ground I was looking for between Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry in terms of having a wider field of combat and just a play ground. Only problem, and no slight to Bayonetta's character, she's just not Dante/Vergil. Nothing to do with her being a woman. She's just not as charismatic that's all. She's cool though. I just really started the game so nothing to really say about level design. I kinda want to skip this one and jump right to the next one though, but I can wait lol.

Kingdom Hearts 3

This is the big game I decided to pull out the backlog. I'd be doing myself a disservice if I just left this as is. As confusing as the story is and from what I can remember from way back when in Kingdom Hearts 2, yeah, it's time. I'd also rather get to this now because if I were to put this off any longer Kingdom Hearts 4 would've dropped on me. Anyway while I haven't played it for myself, I am aware of the events (not all) and I'm aware there's a DLC that I'm supposed to get (I don't know if I will) so I won't be shocked at anything. If anything, the main reason for playing this is because apparently there's a magic build setup that's suppose to be busted and I want to try it. And this is pretty much what/why I play my games for now lol (or rather why I replay certain games 2-4 times)

Fighting game wise, these little jabs people throw, I don't take to them too kindly and I'm starting to get a itchy trigger finger. 3rd Strike and USF4, of all games....

Edit:

Kingdom Hearts 3 update. Just finished Repunzel's world stuff. 3 worlds in and I gotta say it's been rough. Not in terms of difficulty. Mostly the game itself is not hitting. The actors aren't bad, but a lot of them just sound dull and bored. I hate the way the controls are and customizing to my comfort is not possible. Going around trying to find a big treasure chest just for the map everywhere is off putting. Sure I like exploring but this turns into find map first while getting turned around in the process because fights keep happening and you get turned around not knowing which way you just came from. These are small things for sure but they're starting to pile on and then I've always tolerated Sora. He is Naruto (I hate Naruto so you can imagine how I feel having to control this idiot). I've seen nothing worth spending money on other than potions and even then I don't really need that. Typical old school stuff. Some of these I don't know what to even call them, the Keyblades turns into a secondary weapon like guns and shields or whatever. Let's just say I haven't seen one I like yet. And then these carnival-like abilities are just dumb. So yeah, minor issues just constantly building up. My ps5 say 57 min, but I've been playing for at least 4-6 hrs. With the way things are going I don't see myself finishing this game. The game is not giving me the motivation to keep going (again, that's on the actors), but I'll try another 2-3 hrs, we'll see.

[Mustang]

Kingdom Hearts 3
Hmmm. I think I'm basically at endgame or at least at the start of it. It's a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be. If you skip the scenes I think this game can be beat in 15-20 hrs.

Soooooooooo I'm up and down on this game. Combat is whatever. From what I can remember it's always been a mash-fest so I won't harp on that. The things where I checkout on is the mini-games. Forced mini-games at that. Give me mindless side-quests over tedious mini-games any day of the week. The world's themselves, for as linear as they are, Square found a way to make them drag on. I would've told anybody that Frozen's world was my favorite but it felt like it went on forever because every time you made it to the goal, you get pushed back to start another long trek. Pirates world could've been great minus the ship battles. Overall this game for the most part has been bad for me, with the way I'm telling it, but I'm having fun with it as well.

Story stuff is WAY over my head. I know Square said the Final Fantasy characters story was complete but they could've been here. I mean you don't have to use characters from 7-10 anymore. Could've definitely brought in characters from 1-6, 11-15 wouldn't hurt either. Disney alone, could kill this game alone (especially if people don't care for Disney). I have no horse in the race, but I'm far more interested in the stuff that has nothing to do with Disney, and that's where Final Fantasy could've came into play at. That being said, Japan's fascination with underdogs, kids, air-heads rolled up in one package is something I will never understand. I'm not saying Riku could've been a better main lead, but I'd take anyone that wasn't an idiot.

One more thing. Fuck everyone that love this game and hates Metal Gear. If Metal Gear's not your jam then it's not your jam. Cool. This ain't directed towards you. Nah, people like to harp on Metal Gear for it's cutscenes for being long but I haven't heard anyone say shit about these cutscenes. Some can cross the 10 min mark. Sure none cross the hour point, but add it up (and there's A LOT of them), you're doing as much watching as you are playing.

Jokes/snide-ness aside, I don't think this warrants a second playthrough, although I still haven't seen this broken magic build.

Edit:

I tolerated all that I could from Sora. Nope. I'm done. I already saw the end credits when I watched someone play this. I haven't seen everything, but this bullshit I gotta put up with from Sora, oh hell no. Hard bail at the end, I don't care lol. I cracked. What more do you want from me?

[Mustang]

Bayonetta
I just finished this up recently. Wow this game. I still can't tell you why I bailed back then when I first played it. Last 2 fights can kick rocks though lol. Other than it being old, there's no flaw with this game. I've always been a fan Square, Square, Triangle over pushing the same button constantly or at random intervals. I've liked that since Ninja Gaiden Black. It makes me feel like I'm playing a fighting game. Exploration was nothing to write home about, but running, jumping, fighting on falling debris does wonders here. The game just made her feel like she's a force. Old God of War does this (I think GoW3 in particular) pretty well. Overall, I had a blast with this game. And to think, the sequel is suppose to be even better. Would I replay this game? Absolutely not. I definitely see the replay value, but I've said it before. These days compared to back then for me, these are one and done games for me. I just don't have it in me to "Get Gud" on the hardest difficulty setting. Great game, though. 9/10

I might end up reviving the hack n slash thread. I got a rant I need to get off my chest. Can't formulate the words at the moment though.

Street Fighter 6
I really shouldn't be bothering with this game, because fuck the FGC, BUT I'm playing for my brother-in-law and he's been looking to play recently. I've been playing ED and hoo boy this guy is definitely on the technical side. Might be the hardest character to play in the game. He has a lot of frame perfects, and micro-walks/steps and dash timing that's hard to get down, especially for his level 2 shenanigans. Other people will tell you that he's been nerfed, but for me that's whatever. I don't have any desire to play Bison, but I do want to try him out. Definitely waiting for Terry though. Without Cody or Dudley I haven't really felt like I've been able to express myself. Ken has swag and I'll always be a shoto player at heart, but I still want to get away from the shoto archetype. I'm hoping Capcom does Terry right, especially keeping that power with him because him and Sol Badguy/Order Sol are the other 2 characters I can fully express myself with.

I want to squeeze in one more major game before I jump into Zelda (as well as Nioh. Been having Nioh epiphanies lately) for the remainder of the year. Not entirely sure what it's going to be yet. I got Hades on deck but I'm gonna treat that like it's Dead Cells (I'm never gonna beat these games but I don't mind the run attempts) and I've been side-eyeing Elden Ring. Thinking about giving that a chance. I got options. Just a matter of what do I feel like playing.

Edit:

Decided to give Rise of the Ronin another shot. It still pisses me off to see Team Ninja settle for mediocrity, especially with the names and legends in this game. ARGH!!!!! Bouncing back and forth with this, Shin Megami Tensei 5 Vengeance and Hades (man, I'm loving this game now)

[Mustang]

Yeah, I just couldn't stick with Rise. Sorry.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance
Ok. I had already knew by the 2nd playthrough on the original version that I was going to jump into this, but I was not expecting the changes that's been done so far. I'm currently on the 2nd trip back into the netherworld chasing after Lanmu. There's definitely a lot of quality of life changes, but there's layout changes as well, making things easier to get to. New demons. Old demons that weren't previously in the game making appearances. This is a 9 so far for me. Story, this is Shin Megami Tensei. If you're playing this for story you're playing the wrong game. You want Persona for that.

Over 1000 entrants for 3rd Strike at EVO this year and I'm not one of them    Personally, I'm not up for traveling out of state yet. Call me a worry-wort, but I'm not over the whole COVID issue. My sinuses kills me already. I don't need anymore worry. Anyway, I can't help but kick myself on this one.