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ArsThaumaturgis Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: I've been dreaming of True Love's Kiss
#3826: Mar 18th 2023 at 2:05:36 AM

[up]

Definitely looking forward to hearing any other super-niche titles people have been playing recently.

I'm not sure that it counts as "super-niche", but thinking of Metroidvanias I recently played "Depths Of Sanity".

It's essentially "metroidvania meets cosmic horror", with our protagonist setting out in a rescue submarine to recover the crew from a lost vessel. But the sea-life is oddly-hostile, and something starts preying on his mind—and then things get darker still...

Overall, I had fun with it, and can indeed see myself going back for another playthrough!

It's fairly linear, and the upgrades and weapons were perhaps a bit hit-and-miss for me. But conversely, some of those upgrades and weapons were pretty fun—and occasionally had some neat non-standard uses—and the exploration was pretty cool.

Also, the "cosmic horror" element was, to my mind, better than I had perhaps expected, with a couple of nice twists.

My Games and Asset Packs
ShirowShirow Dinosaur Hunter from Land of Maple Syrup (Old as dirt)
Dinosaur Hunter
#3828: Mar 21st 2023 at 11:09:54 PM

[up][up] I've heard of Depths of Sanity. I'll put it on the list. (TM)

[up] Whaaat why? Probably music licenses I guess... They're all good games though.

Something I wanted to sorta rant about. Slightly spoilery... Okay, pretty damn spoilery for Tyranny and Shin Megami Tensei IV here.

I was thinking about how important choice is in games. Particularly, even if you don't actually make one. In Tyranny, as it shipped, you must eventually betray the Evil Overlord. It was a controversial decision because the whole crux of the game is that you are part of an Evil Empire and most of the game's lore revolves around it. And honestly, it sucks. It kind of took the wind out of my sails. Eventually a patch came out where you could indeed pledge loyalty to Kyros. Did I take it? Hell no, they're an asshole. But just the fact that the betrayal was MY decision made it feel so much more meaningful. Same thing happened in SMTIV: The entire first half of the game is you being manipulated/groomed by a group called The White who want you to blow up the universe. And you CAN. Doing so is not considered a true ending, more of a Non-Standard Game Over, but just the fact that the game allows it makes telling The White to shove it all the more satisfying because it wasn't something you where railroaded into.

It's... Actually surprising that the first time this twist originated in was the OG Dragon Quest.

You are not alone.
Perseus Since: Nov, 2009
#3829: Mar 21st 2023 at 11:21:44 PM

Whaaat why? Probably music licenses I guess... They're all good games though.

It's because they don't want to keep maintaining the servers. Even though Mirror's Edge literally only uses them for leaderboards.

Fortunately, there was such backlash that they took that one off the list.

It's... Actually surprising that the first time this twist originated in was the OG Dragon Quest.

Funny how that game is otherwise the Trope Namer for But Thou Must!.

Edited by Perseus on Mar 22nd 2023 at 5:27:44 AM

electricmastro Since: Apr, 2015
#3830: Mar 22nd 2023 at 10:00:23 PM

Interesting concept using 2K cars and an open world in a Lego game.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2023_03_23_at_125946_am_50.png

Edited by electricmastro on Apr 5th 2023 at 1:31:41 PM

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#3831: Mar 23rd 2023 at 6:06:50 AM

Here's the trailer for LEGO 2K Drive.

It kinda reminds me of the LEGO Island games.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Mar 23rd 2023 at 9:07:11 AM

The Protomen enhanced my life.
TargetmasterJoe from Velocitron Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
#3832: Mar 23rd 2023 at 6:15:25 AM

Embedded version:

Color me interested. Show us how deep the building experience is, and then we'll talk even deeper.

Also, the game's setting, Bricklandia, is called "the Land with a Billion Bricks". Subtle reference to the scrapped LEGO movie "The Billion Brick Race"?

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Mar 23rd 2023 at 9:17:26 AM

ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#3833: Mar 23rd 2023 at 6:20:44 AM

I'm a bit concerned about the pricing model. The two different "Awesome editions" listed both come with 550 coins, which given they're more expensive editions and no coins are listed for the base version suggests microtransactions...

My musician page
IvanovTroping97 Since: Mar, 2015 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#3834: Mar 23rd 2023 at 11:21:12 AM

LEGO 2K Drive looks pretty interesting. This is probably the closest thing we'll have to a LEGO Racers revival.

Edited by IvanovTroping97 on Mar 23rd 2023 at 9:27:25 PM

electricmastro Since: Apr, 2015
#3835: Mar 23rd 2023 at 11:58:44 AM

Trailer makes it look even better, with how colorful and big in variety it is with its vehicles.

MrTerrorist Since: Aug, 2009
#3836: Apr 1st 2023 at 2:33:54 AM

Reverse 1999, the Chinese gacha game with an English dub, will have a close beta testing in China after the game got approval for release.

electricmastro Since: Apr, 2015
#3837: Apr 4th 2023 at 9:19:06 PM

I find it interesting how much early 2000s 3D platformers like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper took off, whereas other ones like Ty the Tysmanian Tiger and Blink: The Time Sweeper didn't. Games like Sly Cooper could easily be dismissed as a Sonic clone by virtue of being an animal platformer, yet I don't really see that.

ShirowShirow Dinosaur Hunter from Land of Maple Syrup (Old as dirt)
Dinosaur Hunter
#3838: Apr 4th 2023 at 9:23:13 PM

Yeah SNES/Genesis of course had a wave of new platformers that where walking the trail blazed by Sonic, the PS 1/N64 era gave us Banjo, Crash and Spyro and a decent amount of sleeper hits like Tomba, Klonoa or Ape Escape and the PS 2/Gamecube/Xbox war had at least a dozen contenders including Jak And Ratchet. But after that... Nothing, really. There are some indie darlings of course but AAA work has basically abandoned the ring to leave Nintendo undisputed.

You are not alone.
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#3839: Apr 4th 2023 at 10:45:06 PM

The first and main reason why Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper managed to keep up despite the mascot platformer dying out, was because they were or went Darker and Edgier then their contemporaries, which was prevalent during the sixth gen of consoles.

The second was they were exclusive to the PS 2, the second best selling piece of videogame hardware of all time, and had backing from that console's developer Sony.

Ty suffered because of his cutesy looks and being multiplatform, and Blinx suffered for being kiddie on a "not for kiddies" original Xbox.

And reminder that there was only one new Mario game for ten years between 64 and the NSMB 1, and that was Sunshine (all of the other Mario games were updated rereleases in the Advance series or the remake 64 DS).

And Sonic's quality began dipping once the blue Hedgehog had to go multiplatform.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
electricmastro Since: Apr, 2015
#3840: Apr 4th 2023 at 10:53:23 PM

[up]I also get the feeling that games like Ratchet & Clank feel less one note. Instead of just focusing on a character's quirks and gimmicks, you get this sense that you're not just being shown a character, but that you're also being shown a world worth exploring, with a variety of skills to gain and things to do. It's as if the world matters just as much as the character your playing as themselves, as opposed to being secondary in games like Ty or Blinx.

ShirowShirow Dinosaur Hunter from Land of Maple Syrup (Old as dirt)
Dinosaur Hunter
#3841: Apr 5th 2023 at 10:22:47 PM

Random Beat 'em Up thoughts as I go through a few that I somehow missed. Jesus christ they released a lot of these in the nineties. I thought I knew about all of them, even obscure titles like Undercover Cops or Gaia Crusaders, but they just keep showing up.

D. D. Crew is awful with almost no redeeming qualities. Gameplay is tepid, friendly fire is brutal, enemies and levels are uninspired. Does have a hint of "Action Movie Fan Fiction" as a lot of the characters and bosses are clearly ripoffs of actual actors.

Mutation Nation is fun and fast in comparison. Big scary enemies that squelch and mutate as you fight them. Flashy screen-filling special attacks are satisfying to pull off. Doesn't exactly innovate past the Charged Attack but it'll kill an hour or so.

64th Street: A Detective Story is just so boring. Enemies take too long to take out. Picking up a weapon feels terrible because it simplifies the combat even worse. Enemies come in a lot of shapes and sizes but rarely vary their tactics, cardinal sin in a belt-scroll. At least the two playable characters play a bit differently. Rick has a cool Kazuya-style uppercut but since it drains your health you'll never use it. It does have a lot of destructible environs though, which is awesome.

Next up Robo Army and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon.

(If you want a recommendation play Sengoku (SNK) 3 or Alien vs. Predator (Capcom) )

Edited by ShirowShirow on Apr 5th 2023 at 6:16:18 PM

You are not alone.
electricmastro Since: Apr, 2015
#3842: Apr 9th 2023 at 10:11:55 AM

Just for fun, was trying to see what game franchises have had consistent releases for the longest, and these are what I came to find:

The Oregon Trail - 45 years

Space Invaders - 45 years

Galaxian - 44 years

Pac-Man - 43 years

Mario - 42 years

Wolfenstein - 42 years

Microsoft Flight Simulator - 41 years

Burger Time - 41 years

Q*bert - 41 years

Nobunaga's Ambition - 40 years

Bomberman - 40 years

Dragon Slayer - 39 years

Ninja Jajamaru - 39 years

Reader Rabbit - 39 years

Daisenryaku - 38 years

A-Train - 38 years

The Legend of Zelda - 37 years

Bubble Bobble - 37 years

Kunio-kun - 37 years

Arkanoid - 37 years

Dragon Quest - 37 years

Metroid - 37 years

Street Fighter - 36 years

Final Fantasy - 36 years

Megami Tensei - 36 years

Edited by electricmastro on Apr 13th 2023 at 1:00:25 PM

ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#3843: Apr 11th 2023 at 9:02:34 AM

Sega: We have no plans for another Chao Garden at this time.

Chadtronic: Fine then, I'll make my own.

My musician page
omega2900 Jemerald of Brainrot from The Midwest, where everything is MID! (Ten years in the joint) Relationship Status: In my bunk
Jemerald of Brainrot
#3844: Apr 11th 2023 at 2:30:09 PM

There's no way Nobunaga's Ambition has been around for that long.

Get taxed. Idiot.
Perseus Since: Nov, 2009
#3845: Apr 11th 2023 at 2:34:05 PM

You're right! The first game in the series released in 1983. So it's been around for 40 years, not 39!

HamburgerTime Since: Apr, 2010
#3846: Apr 11th 2023 at 3:33:06 PM

Dragon Slayer is the one that had a More Popular Spin-Off that itself had a More Popular Spin-Off, right? Are you counting all of those?

electricmastro Since: Apr, 2015
#3847: Apr 11th 2023 at 3:39:51 PM

[up][up][up]The series is so old, the first game was available on cassette tapes I believe.

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#3848: Apr 13th 2023 at 10:30:33 AM

Laura Bailey and Ashley Johnson join their The Last of Us co-star Troy Baker in Stray Gods, a new roleplaying musical game inspired by Greek mythology.

The trio joined other cast members like Felicia Day, Mary Elizabeth Mc Glynn, Anjali Bhimani, Rahul Kohli and Janina Gavankar on stage to present a short concert of a few songs from the upcoming game. Bailey stars as Grace, a college dropout that gains the powers of the Last Muse, Calliope (Johnson), after she dies in her arms. Now she must prove her innocence in Calliope's murder while facing down members of the Greek pantheon like Persephone (Mc Glynn) and Apollo (Baker).

Stray Gods comes out on August 3.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Apr 13th 2023 at 1:33:35 PM

The Protomen enhanced my life.
ShirowShirow Dinosaur Hunter from Land of Maple Syrup (Old as dirt)
Dinosaur Hunter
#3849: Apr 13th 2023 at 9:28:04 PM

Holy hell they released an IGS arcade collection on the switch, which includes The Gladiator and Martial Masters, two games I didn't even know had English translations in any capacity.

Absolutely grab this if some classic Arcade action in Beat 'em Up, Shoot 'em Up or Fighting Game flavors are in any way in your wheelhouse. Some amazingly solid gameplay and spritework. Qian-Qian from The Gladiator stands out as having the best walk animation in video game history.

You are not alone.
electricmastro Since: Apr, 2015
#3850: Apr 13th 2023 at 9:49:33 PM

Dragon Slayer is the one that had a More Popular Spin-Off that itself had a More Popular Spin-Off, right? Are you counting all of those?

well yeah, they're all part of the same series after all.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_171.jpeg


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