Last Game You Finished And Your Thoughts V3.0

Its been a few years by my reckoning since I last booted this up.  At this point nobody should need to be told what the gameplay for Fire Emblem entails thanks to Heroes existence, turn based grid based strategy RPG whose main appeal is a simultaneous easily understood gameplay structure combined with a sometimes brutal perma-death system where each character dies for good.  

I thought after playing the superior Fates* games that I would find it hard to go back to Awakening, after all Fates uses a FAR better version of the same engine with far smoother transitions in to battle and models that both look and move far better, and its map design is so much better you'd swear two different development teams did the games.  And yet going back to the game it has an undeniable charm to it, and while its engine lacked the polish of Fates it was still that same fundamental Fire Emblem gameplay.  

The big reason it remains charming however is the localisation, which is a direct contrast to the one fates received.  Dialogue has actual personality to it, with a clear attempt to have characters talk in a way that fits the time period they exist in.  The villains are a joy to see in action and have a real personality to them (well, besides Walhart, although even he has an intimidating aura that the game's story builds up well).  It says a lot that despite clearing the game four times now I still read (speedily though it is) the dialogue.  Perhaps it wasn't the moth faithful thing ever, but it had genuine soul poured in to it and created a genuinely entertaining story.  


The game does, however, have some glaring issues.  The map design being the real big one.  By the end you'll likely be feeling fatigue set in as you realise that the maps are all playing the exact same.  See most maps in the game are essentially big open grids with enemies randomly splattered around, and you'll find by the midway point that you've worked out the best way to position your troops as the enemies all try to zerg-rush you.  

It's a big contrast to Birthright, which while using a similar map design ideal deploys it with far more variety.  In Birthright enemies have frequently been placed with genuine intent to test the player and their formations.  In Awakening there doesn't appear to be any real intent, positioning of enemies feels completely random and almost amateurish.


Still Awakening's perma-death does help to mitigate some of this, as the enemies don't have the same perma-death penalty for when they die, and the game considers every death you suffer a victory.  Indeed the game is at its strongest when death exists, when the player suffers actual consequences for messing up.  Without that threat the rest of the game's design issues become an unforgivable design flaw where the strategy part of strategy-rpg is removed from the equation, with that threat the maps still have a clear intention and purpose, even if it's nowhere near as good as it could have been.  



Final Rating: 7 out of 10, with a personal enjoyment rating of 8 out of 10.  The game's showing its age thanks to Birthright and Conquest, and its balance leaves a lot to be desired (especially with casual mode's existence which may have made them get lax on level design), but it still holds an undeniable appeal to it thanks to a strong localisation and that classic timeless Fire Emblem gameplay.


*It should go without saying that I am not including "Revelation" when I speak of the collective of Fates.

Athrun888 wrote:

(In sort, a much more considered post about a much more important videogame)

which I can't really comment on, so I'm writing down my thoughts on something else, before I forget - but y'all should probably skip this and comment on Fire Emblem as described above


Lumo

This was free on PS+. I remember mas pointing in me in the direction of this previously, basically saying (but in a nicer way) "hey, you like old shit!". This is a love letter to the old-school UK computer games that we endured played before Nintendo got on board. I did have a bit of nostalgia for this, and it does do a good job of keeping the puzzle rooms of Head Over Heels (which is generally considered the king of the Weird Isometric Slightly Wacky Puzzle Games genre. It has nostalgia as well - there are references upon references upon references, which makes it an ideal game for me; a treasure hunt with knowing winks of gags (at one point, a map of the crystal maze is framed on a wall; pressing the button in that room starts some fans up. The fans have silver and gold tickets in them. You get the idea).
However, one other throwback it keeps is the fixed isometric camera. This was the reason most people were happy to abandon these games at the time; even with 2016's lighting engines and 3D graphics, it's still impossible to tell if a moving platform is higher or further away. Super Mario 3D Land did this as a tricksy mind-bender, knowing that at least it could provide you with a way of analysing the 3D.

+ for: including a 3" (not 3.5") disk and a Multiface, the Head Over Heels toasters, the Crystal Maze, Trap Door, Manic Miner, Rick Dangerous, and the Head Over Heels spinny teleporters.
- for: Making it as impossible to play as in 1985.

Er, 7/10 if you're old like me.

I'm playing Lumo at the moment and it's a fun little diversion. The fact you can play with infinite lives is great when playing with my 5 year old and while it can feel very lonely (and a little empty), it's as you say, not great but not bad.

Flower (PS4)

Initially, I was blown away by this game. It has a beautiful, elegant appeal that disguises what is effectively a collect-a-thon. You control the wind (reflected by one petal to begin with) via motion controls, and must direct the wind and press X to speed the wind up. It's a very minimalist game, not just in the control scheme but also the level design. Large fields possess patterns of flowers that you must touch with the wind, therefore unlocking sections of land and thus, more flowers to germinate/activate. I enjoy collecting things in games, so hunting down more and more flowers is fun, especially with the game world being so wistful and relaxing. There's 6 levels (and then a Credits level) so it's a relatively short game, but it ends just as it gets good. Ultimately, it's a samey game that relies heavily on its aesthetic, but it's a beautiful experience that I recommend.

8/10

I wasn't sure to put this in last game I didn't finish or here as I know Balla and EofGizmo for instance both watched Danganronpa and MGS4: Guns of the Patriots with both having views on those games.

If you listened to the GOTYcast, I bring up Persona 4 Golden a game which I've put 30+ hours into but got stuck (unlike Andy I didn't say it was crap like he did about every game he got stuck on during the cast) in a dungeon and haven't gone back since.

With Persona 5 now here, I thought I'd better do Persona 4 first and I almost did the same as Balla & EofGiz but instead of a let's play, I watched the anime and the anime of Golden.

I've not finished the game but I've finished the story of


Persona 4 Golden the dungeons aren't nothing special and I wouldn't say the gameplay is either. What is great though is the story telling, the interactions between the characters, the music and overall presentation.

When playing I wasn't fussed about doing the dungeons, I wanted to see what happens next to me and my friends in the game with the anime, I still got this.

It was slightly different as I romanced Yukiko and barely hanged out with Kanji that I do get a different experience from playing then just watching the events of what happened.

I will go back to Persona 4 Golden at some-point, however Persona 5 has surpassed it in terms of gameplay that going back might be struggle.

As we love scores, this is a odd one as what do I give a game sure I've put 30+ hours in but know I've got likely that again to do. Yet I think the story is top-notch, so to nab Muss's post in Sterling chat

plot 9, gameplay 6, sounds 8, lifespan 9, graphics 8

You'll have to enlighten me, Drunka

@mas

I really do wonder sometimes if you'd enjoy films way more than games since you tend to put story over gameplay almost every time.

Well for the 24 years, I've been gaming story has been one of the things I enjoyed the most since the days of MGS and that can be seen in my Top games list etc

But on Persona 4, I think if you were to ask Jay for instance he would say the game is lacking in the gameplay department.

Talking of games lacking in the gameplay department


WRoEF is a Walking Sim game and has one gameplay mechanic walk forward (maybe it's a sonic thing for me) and occasionally interact with environment. I streamed this 90 minute game with Andy telling me to play Dark Souls every 2 minutes that I was taken out of the experience of what could be one of the best of it's genre.

Jay said in Admintendo that Persona 5 is the BotW of JRPG this could easily be the BotW of Walking Sims, it's that good from the bits I could really invest in.

Like most of the games in this genre it's hard to talk about without spoilers as its all about that story. I'm just going to say if you own a PS4 or PC and liked Firewatch, Oxenfree, Flower, Joureny, Gone Home, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture then get this played.

plot 9, gameplay 5, sounds 8, lifespan 4, graphics 7

masofdas wrote:

Well for the 24 years, I've been gaming story has been one of the things I enjoyed the most since the days of MGS and that can be seen in my Top games list etc

But on Persona 4, I think if you were to ask Jay for instance he would say the game is lacking in the gameplay department.

It still plays great, but going back to its dungeons would be trickier after Persona 5. I'd still rate it a solid 9, easily.

You know, that's piqued my interest on that game Mas. I do like myself a good walking simulator (as much as I hate that genre name), so I may indeed check it out when there's a lull in gaming releases.

Maybe you'd have been better of just playing Dark Souls...

Andy

Andy is a man what plays the computer games with me and sometimes talks to me and sometimes comments on streams.

Graphics 4 He used to be a small little sphinx but now he is some crump.

Sound 6 He has a good microphone but he talks a lot of rubbish.

Replayability 0 When he is dead he will stay dead forever.

Immersion 3 He normally says things about Dark Souls or horse willies which takes me out of the game.

...are you saying you've finished Andy, Drunka?

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Yeah it's alright. Bit short though. 7/10

Naoto worst girl and anybody that waifu's Naoto has s*** taste in waifu's. FACT.


This has been my enlightened view on Persona 4.

I can't remember if I went for Naoto or Yukiko in Persona 4, now that I think about it. At least they're better than Chie "haha STEAK and KUNG FU guys" Satonaka.

That's some pretty big blaspheming there, implying that Chie is anything but Best Girl.

I think Chie is probably the worst girl in the series...

Marie exists so nope, wrong again. Emo tsundere is probably one of the most toxic archetypes in all of fiction.

My thoughts on girls of Persona 4 Golden.

Yukiko: Who I romanced, I don't know why? Just seemed to be the girl I go for in video games. Watching the anime though, I do find she is a bit boring.

Rise: Before playing P4G this is the girl I thought would be the one everyone goes for in the game. before people where telling me its Chie. I didn't like her myself seems a bit over the top and same in the anime as well.

Naoto: In game I'm on her dungeon still that I don't know what she is like after it but I hear she opens up a bit but from the anime, she doesn't seem to (Epilogue seems more girly though) but I do like her as a character.

Chie: Before hand everyone was telling me that Chie is best girl, I don't know if that's because she's one of the first characters you meat or what but like Naoto seems a cool character but not someone I would want to date (maybe that's why I went Yukiko).

Marie: I remember Athrun telling me to avoid her after I said that I would most likely romance her as who doesn't like a emo chick. She is annoying though sometime again due to her archetype, I did warm to her by the end of the anime and from how far my social link is with her in the game.

I think they're all decent characters with Rise likely being the worst and all depends who you hang out with, as in game I never hanged out with Kanji at all but due to watching the anime and series time sort of split evenly even he seemed a good character.

Life is Strange (PS4)

ERRR-MAH-GAAAADD

I know this game has been critically acclaimed but boy, I still found Max Caulfield's time-travelling tale of life and death an absorbing, unforgettable game that I'm chomping at the bit to replay.

As far as gameplay, you guide a 17-year old college student through a week of her life after she discovers she can reverse time (and later jump through time via photos). It's a great concept and draws on the theme of nostalgia and reliving childhoods, which when coupled with a melancholic soundtrack and a quiet, seaside town location, ensures you're sucked in to this world of teen-angst, bullying, social media and most importantly, love and friendship.

Without giving anything away plot-wise, Life is Strange is a gripping story with controller-dropping twists (end of Episodes 3 and 4, my DualShock is looking at you). Having played The Walking Dead Season 1 and Game of Thrones, I found Life is Strange far superior. Its use of a few locations that you grow to know intimately, particularly Chloe's house, is reminiscent of Last Window and Shenmue, two games that I adore. Not enough games make you feel like you're living in that world, but Arcadia Bay is beautifully designed despite the last-gen visuals. The easy-going pace and lack of a Game Over screen (the screen just goes black and white and you hold the Rewind Time button to rectify your error) mean this game is difficult to put down, although I did struggle through the first part of Episode 4. It's massively depressing and kinda tedious, but it's clearly an accurate depiction of *SPOILER DELETED*.

There's a few niggles that stop this being a perfect experience: the language (particularly the use of the word "hella") is marginally OTT and occasionally breaks the mood, it's very restrictive gameplay-wise, and there's a ton of unanswered questions. There appears to be a TV series in development so I'm hoping this gives a bit more background on the characters that aren't seen (Mr. Prescott, Max's parents...).

Nonetheless, I REALLY recommend this game and I THINK it just cracked my Top 10.

9.7/10

Life is Strange is really bloody good. One of the best time travel stories around.

PES 2017 (PS4)

“Finished” being I did everything there is to do in Master League and my team are ranked #1 in the world. I’ve done 8 seasons and won all the trophies in the French league (with Auxerre), along with the Champions League three years on the trot.

I’m at that stage where my team are so good that I’m setting new targets (score 100 goals a season for example, or win every league game) and I don’t know if it counts as cheating, but I used re-gen youth players like Totti and Ibrahimovic. For those who haven’t played Master League, you get a youth team of players with which to sign 16-year old players and there’s the option as to whether you include retiring players. Totti is rated 99 and he’s only 22 years old, which has helped, but it was guys like Embolo, Martial and the only original player I still have – Castledine – who helped make the team so good.

As for the game itself, it’s an addictive combination of RPG-grinding and satisfying, responsive gameplay – what every great PES is about. I really don’t know why anyone would play FIFA instead as the Career modes just aren’t as rewarding. There’s also some really funny game-y moments such as signing Petr Cech and he wears his protective hat during the contract signing video, or the nicknames that the fans give your players – Ibrahimovic is known as “The God of Football”.

I’m tempted to skip PES 2018 depending how good the demo will be, and would like to delve in to the Become a Legend mode (where you play as just one guy) but PES has always been about Master League for me. Plus, I don’t think PES is selling well and I’d like to support Konami so that we aren’t just left with FIFA.

9.9/10 (because next year there'll be something slightly better in it)

Right, I was a bit unsure as to what to play next to cleanse my pallet after a one hundred hour RPG epic - Blaster Master Zero was on the cards - but I think I'll dive into Life is Strange after your write-up, gjones. It's had enough praise lavished upon it round these parts that I think I need to join in too and something a bit shorter and not as involved suits me nicely.

Boo gJones for supporting Konami

I'd would have thought you already played Life is Strange Jay as it's your sort of game.