Games General

[alfonso_rd_30]

Was playing this one... But it got discontinued

[LeaflameSD]

bought Sonic Adventure 2 on steam for six bucks
downloaded it to 80 percent, then my dongle decides to crap out and tell me i've run out of data
so i tried to reconnect with my phone using tethering and steam decides it won't connect

jfc

[Nichi]

@Leaf: I hate it when that happens; it was worse on dial-up when downloading over FTP, as a slight hiccup would cause it to mess up in such a way that it considers the download to be finished, but the file is considered corrupt as the download never finished >_<;

You know, I was thinking earlier; back in the early-to-mid '00s, while all the kids were nuts over GTA3 and Halo, I was instead playing these:


...with the newest game being

[alfonso_rd_30]

kewl

[Nichi]

So, I beat PS4. Thoughts in the spoiler tag:

Phantasy Star IV: The Game I Stole The Subtitle For That One Story Of Mine From: ShowHide

So, this was definitely an experience.

Before I took on the final boss, I tackled the Anger Tower, a side dungeon that I can earn the most powerful technique in the game from...the process of which was honestly pretty fucked up with what you had to do; at the top, Chaz goes it alone, as you see none other than Alys, whom died earlier into the game, waiting there...but it's not her; it's a demon disguised as her, that you have to fight (The sting cord when you enter the room and see her, combined with the lack of music until the battle starts, with the typical battle music being replaced with a very unsettling tune, helps give a sense of unease; you know something's off). After defeating her, the demon reveals its true form, and then asks if you want to learn "how to convert your anger into destructive power"...but you have to tell him no; if you say yes, you have to fight him again in his true form, except he's impossible to defeat unless you use Game Genie. When you say no, he tells you that by showing restraint, you have proven yourself worthy to control such immense power, and grants you the ability to use Megid; the Phantasy Star equivalent to Final Fantasy's Ultima.

Oh trust me, getting Megid is a must before you take on the final boss, as is loading up on healing items. Given I was at the very end of the game, I dumped half of my money into loading up on the most potent healing items in the game, and entered The Edge; a place with some of the trippiest visuals I've ever seen come from a Genesis, with the background resembling those of the battle screens from EarthBound, except more flashy than wavy. This one can be headache-inducing, but at least, the enemies you encounter aren't terribly strong for the most part; you can take down most of them in a few hits using just your basic attacks, since you want to save your big, hard-hitting stuff for the boss.

Also, for the first time in the game, you're allowed to choose your party...or, rather, you're allowed to choose one character out of the various characters to come and go from your party over the course of the game to join you for the final battle. Most guides I saw suggested I take Raja, or at the very least, Hahn, but I was like "fuck that" and took Kyra with me instead; she had some useful abilities to buff your team, and quite simply, I liked her.

Our final boss is the root of all evil in the franchise, The Profound Darkness. Which, as one might expect, looks like something out of the works of HP Lovecraft, and also as par for the course for the final boss of an RPG, you have to fight multiple forms of it in succession. The first form isn't too big of a threat if you buff up your party at the start of the fight, the second form poses a bit more of a challenge, and the third is easily the most dangerous of the 3; this is the point in the fight where you'll want to unload your entire arsenal of heavy-hitting skills and techniques, while keeping your shields and other buffs up. I admit, I died during my first attempt even though I did make it to the final form, which lead to me backtracking to load up on healing items and then trying again; leading to a more successful second attempt, as while things began to fall apart toward the end, I managed to push through to victory.

The ending has the group escaping from The Edge, as everyone parts ways. TBH, it seems like Chaz is going to be alone...but at the last moment before the ship took off, Rika jumps off and into Chaz's arms. Thus, the ending closes by talking about how a new chapter for the Algol System has begun, while showing brief clips of what the characters would go on to do afterward, before the credits roll, with the music from the title screen playing in the background. It's a great close to a great game, and I'm willing to bet that Chaz and Rika get it on at some point after their victory, because if I were in his place, I'd tap dat ass.

I know there's been demand from fans for a Phantasy Star V, but truth be told, I'm not sure what they could do, aside from spin-offs; since they really can't continue onward from 4 without it being far less grand in scale. Thus, Sega chose to reboot the franchise, with .hack//Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online; which I have talked about plenty of times before, so it shouldn't need any introduction by now.

[LeaflameSD]

playing some visual novel game

its so good, really feel immersed in the story and shit 

[Pitkin]

Just a thought: what was the first game you ever played and when was that? I have this strange feeling it's been asked before, but I... I cannot find any results.

My first game was The Great Giana Sisters, a Super Mario clone, on Commodore 64 back in summer 1990. The computer had been my big brother's but as he'd got an Amiga 500 just before, I inherited the C64 for summer holidays.

Spoiler: ShowHide

I also remember Buggy Boy being my first game experience on Amiga, but the first PC game I don't recall. It might've been Alley Cat around 1992, though.

[Nichi]

My first was the infamously bad port of Pac-Man to the Atari 2600, when I was 2 or so. Yeah, this thing:

I admit, I kinda have a soft spot for it, even though it's a terrible port, and nowadays you can get far superior ports for it on basically every console, handheld, home computer, and coffeemaker on the planet.

Now, the first one that I remember really getting into was Ancient Empires, a couple of years later.

[LeaflameSD]

Just a thought: what was the first game you ever played and when was that? I have this strange feeling it's been asked before, but I... I cannot find any results.

My first game was The Great Giana Sisters, a Super Mario clone, on Commodore 64 back in summer 1990. The computer had been my big brother's but as he'd got an Amiga 500 just before, I inherited the C64 for summer holidays.

lel i used to play that on my mobile phone

my first game was probably the original sonic the hedgehog

[Pitkin]

Giana's indeed got a number of sequels these few years. ^^ Not the best games ever, but such nostalgy!

[Nichi]

Indeed. I have it on DS, and somewhere on a flash drive, I have the sequel, Twisted Dreams; which I should really reinstall and play again :3

So, Phantasy Star II...I can see why people compare this to Shin Megami Tensei. Details in the spoiler:

Phantasy Star II: The Sequel: ShowHide

First and foremost, the game is very, very heavy on grinding, as most '80s console RPGs were...and like most of the MegaTen franchise, as well. Admittedly, I never cared much for the combat in this game as a kid, for how radically different it was in function than the first game; how I felt like I had less control due to the game's auto-battle system, which resulted in me dropping the game after barely 15 minutes. Now, finally taking the time to figure out how it works, I found it's not too bad; if you want to change out your strategy mid-battle, just press the C button, and after the current round finishes, you'll be back at the menu to change up your character's moves. It's not as fast-paced as the 4th game, but it's better than previously thought.

Also, the dungeons have this annoying, habit of having pipes overhead, partially obscuring your view. While this was cutting-edge in 1989, showing off the capabilities of the console, it also makes it somewhat difficult to figure out where you can and can't go; hence why I'm looking up dungeon maps to help me find my way through. Thankfully, by the time the 4th game came out, they stopped doing that.

One thing I do find mildly annoying is that you have to find a save point in order to save, in contrast to 1 and 4 letting you save at any time as long as you're not in a dungeon. However, from what I've read, later into the game I get an item that will allow me to save at any time, so at least it's just something I have to deal with during the early parts of the game.

It's worth noting this game did originally ship with a full strategy guide, much like EarthBound...although it's a pain in the ass to find a copy of it; my copy of the game is complete save for that guide, but I don't really care to spend $50+ for a book the size of a paperback novel that is known among the fandom for some glaring inaccuracies, when more accurate guides are available online for free.

Lastly...the story. While not as heavily story-driven as PS4 was, this does have a much stronger sense of story than other console RPGs of the era...and boy is it dark. I'm still pretty early into the game, having just completed the first 2 dungeons, but after those, they hit you in the face with a quick reminder of how, yes, Genesis Does What Nintendon't; in that your group reunites this man with his lost daughter...but he's become so engulfed in his desire to kill in an effort to make money to pay off her kidnappers, that he initially doesn't recognize her and kills her on the spot. Upon realizing what he had done, he then, immediately commits suicide by way of explosion, as the game mentions in the dialog box something to the extent of "this is but one of many tragedies to befall the world of Algol".

Seriously, I can see why people compare this to MegaTen; it's surprisingly dark, and I've only begun to scratch the surface...although I already know how the story ends; given the ending of the game is mentioned at the start of PS4, much like how PS2 opens up referencing the final battle of PS1

[Chocofreak13]

Brilliant! That's one game that only got better with time.

i'm old enough now to understand how to micromanage, so i actually got to level 6 (paused, haven't played for about a week). it's exciting, but nerve-wracking, since you have to go through all the levels again if you fail. but you remember the funstration (fun frustration). :\


my first game was Pokemon Blue on my sister's friend's Game Boy Colour when i was 5. Jocelyn lived across the street, and was my sister's best friend till she moved away when my sister was about 12 or so. she lent the gameboy to my sister, and i got to play it too--still one of my best early childhood memories. though Cerulean City/Fuchsia City's theme haunted me for years....

first computer game was when i was about 6 or so, at my uncle's house. i have very vague memories of messing with a (likely 3.1) computer when i was about 4, but the only conscious memories involve screensavers, so the Microsoft Entertainment Pack on my uncle's 95 Gateway remains my first computer game (i can't pinpoint the exact MEP version--i think he may have had multiple, weirdly enough). he also had another game that was a favourite that i don't think was included with the pack:
Jewel Thief.

[Nichi]

The most common Windows Entertainment Pack was the Best Of collection, but it is possible he had all 4 releases

Also, really glad I never plunked down the cash to get the PS2 Hint Book that originally came bundled with the game, if the map (Which I do have) is any indication; I found an error in the item chart on the back -w-;

[LeaflameSD]

just bought nekopara vol 0 on steam
wonder what the fuss is about?

[Nichi]

So, I got to this part of PS2:


Basically...


Also, you can see what I was talking about with the annoying pipes obstructing my vision. Yeah...I can't wait for that fan translation of the PlayStation 2 post of Phantasy Star II to be completed, since I'm sure they fixed that (Also, yes; that would be PS2 on PS2)