Games We Complete In 2024

[Ruki]

6 hours ago, Your Mom said:

I think I'm like half done with it and I fully agree. If there is any strategy to the chase sequences I can't figure it out. I just run through every door I can open and hope for the best. Right now I'm stuck on

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The chase sequence right after the school part. I really want to see how the story ends but I had to stop. Just too frustrating

 

I pulled up a walk-through to see the path they took, and it sorta helped. The last chase is worse.... bigger area AND you need to find 4 items.

[apsham]

I saw that Paradise Killer was on sale for the Series X - I originally played it when it came out on Switch back in 2020 or so, and I realized I had entirely forgotten the major plot points so I decided to pick it up and play it again. Love that game - went ahead to complete it again and 100% the achievements.

[Colly]

Not a finish (sadly), but I'm still plodding through The Last of Us (I think it's the remastered PS4 version) for the first time and I'm just not enjoying it. I'm playing it, and it's obviously quite good, but I find the stealthy bits dull, I'm sick of being jumped on by monsters, and it's just so dark that it's annoying. I've got to about halfway through and switched it to easy just to get through quicker (I'm interested in the plot), but I'm slowly starting to accept that it isn't for me and if I wasn't such an irritating completist I'd have given up by now.

Might just watch the TV show...

[Chris2K]

Yakuza Like A Dragon is done, and it still may be my favourite of the series. The JRPG aspect really appeals to me, and I would probably be happy grinding levels on every possible job type if I hadn't manage to convince myself I need to move on to the next game. 

Spoiler

Whilst I was frustrated at losing to Majima/Saejima, and even more so after the third time, the euphoria I felt after eventually beating them was probably worth it. It's crazy how much harder their battle was than anything after it, even Tendo was just a case of grinding down his health and occasionally healing, and Aoki's battle is naturally a curbstomp.

Kiryu's re-introduction as a fist coming in from off-screen to knock out an Omi yakuza may be one of my favourite cut scenes in video game history. When it got to his actual talking though I couldn't deal with his English voice, and ended up going back to the menu to switch the audio to Japanese until his part in the story was done.

The story is so good, with ridiculous levels of emotion. I can't say I emphasise with Ichiban too much because I think he forgives people far too easily, particularly Namba who I will never trust, and his complete refusal to accept that Aoki/Masato was irredeemable nearly got several people killed.

On to Man Who Erased His Name now, but I kinda wish I was going straight into Infinite Wealth. And not just because I'm expecting to cry.

 

[Ruki]

3 hours ago, Chris2K said:

Yakuza Like A Dragon is done, and it still may be my favourite of the series. The JRPG aspect really appeals to me, and I would probably be happy grinding levels on every possible job type if I hadn't manage to convince myself I need to move on to the next game. 

  Hide contents

Whilst I was frustrated at losing to Majima/Saejima, and even more so after the third time, the euphoria I felt after eventually beating them was probably worth it. It's crazy how much harder their battle was than anything after it, even Tendo was just a case of grinding down his health and occasionally healing, and Aoki's battle is naturally a curbstomp.

Kiryu's re-introduction as a fist coming in from off-screen to knock out an Omi yakuza may be one of my favourite cut scenes in video game history. When it got to his actual talking though I couldn't deal with his English voice, and ended up going back to the menu to switch the audio to Japanese until his part in the story was done.

The story is so good, with ridiculous levels of emotion. I can't say I emphasise with Ichiban too much because I think he forgives people far too easily, particularly Namba who I will never trust, and his complete refusal to accept that Aoki/Masato was irredeemable nearly got several people killed.

On to Man Who Erased His Name now, but I kinda wish I was going straight into Infinite Wealth. And not just because I'm expecting to cry.

 

You are going to ugly cry.

[Ruki]

On 01/02/2024 at 23:30, Ruki said:

I probably shouldn't include it, but I'm gonna do it anyways. Silent Hill: Short Message. Only about 2 hours long... the story/mystery and the atmosphere are really good. The voice acting was passable, and the gameplay was downright bad. You walk from place to place looking at newspaper clippings or notes to piece together what's going on then there are two or three sections where you are being chased by a monster in a dark maze where you can't really tell where you're going. And there's a single 4 digit lock puzzle. The puzzle and the checking out notes, I didn't mind that! It was fine! But the monster chase sequences sucked. You have no idea where you're going, there's no indicator you're going the right way or doing the right thing and being chased the whole time. And if you die? Start all over again! But it's dark, so you can't tell if you are retracing your steps or not. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

1. Super Mario Wonder

2. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy

3. Mario RPG

4. Dave The Diver

5. Silent Hill: Short Message

 

Speaking of games I shouldn't include.... Balatro! I don't care that I only managed one successful run, I WON. I AM THE WINNER.

I got pairs to level 16 or 17, and had only 3 jokers... the joker that gives +20 mult for less than 3 cards played, +X mult per times you played that hand (at the end, I had played Pair 32 times), AND the main piece... the joker that gives you X the number of empty joker slots (with an extra 1.5x bonus). So I was getting +50ish, x3 and then x1.5 on my pairs. 

 

Spoiler

1. Super Mario Wonder

2. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy

3. Mario RPG

4. Dave The Diver

5. Silent Hill: Short Message

6. Balatro

 

[stokeriño]

Persona 3 Reload is complete (and platinumed), so obviously I've been mostly sobbing. You'd think I'd be immune having done P3P all before, but no.

[Ruki]

7 minutes ago, stokeriño said:

Persona 3 Reload is complete (and platinumed), so obviously I've been mostly sobbing. You'd think I'd be immune having done P3P all before, but no.

Oh hey! You managed to finish off the social links, yay!

 

I've stalled out on P3R because of FF7R-2, and D&D prep. Hoping to get back into it tonight. I'm nearing the end of December. 

[Ruki]

I'm basically a speed runner now. I beat The Exit 8 in 5 minutes and 15 seconds! I saw Game Grumps play it this week and it seemed pretty neat, then my friend was playing it before D&D last night. It took him 12 minutes to complete and I wanted to see if I could beat him and I did! I also had a perfect run my first try, never got reset to 0. I think the anomalies I ran into were the fast walking guy, flowing water, lights going out, door opening, and stuff leaking out of the vents. So all very obvious ones, so I was pretty lucky!

Also, I beat my second run of Balatro last night!

 

Edit: And my third one just now

 

Spoiler

1. Super Mario Wonder

2. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy

3. Mario RPG

4. Dave The Diver

5. Silent Hill: Short Message

6. Balatro x3

7. The Exit 8

 

[Ruki]

Just finished Persona 3 Reload. This is the third time I've played through a version of this game (original, PSP, and this) and they still managed to get me to cry even when I knew what was coming. Such a well done remake and a great RPG.

 

Spoiler

1. Super Mario Wonder

2. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy

3. Mario RPG

4. Dave The Diver

5. Silent Hill: Short Message

6. Balatro x5

7. The Exit 8

8. Persona 3 Reload

 

[Chris2K]

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name: Done

Spoiler

It was a lot of fun playing as Kiryu again with the old brawling system, I'm not even sure I prefer one over the another now, both of them are great. I also went back to playing with Japanese audio because Kiryu's voice has to be in Japanese.

The storyline felt a bit rushed, as did the game itself, but I enjoyed the side-content as well. It was nice to have a good antagonist, even if it was a very late heel turn, but his motives were clear and understandable, and the secondary antagonist was delightfully evil. Presumably them being seen to be kept alive and taken by the Daedoji means they're going to both be back at some point

As for the ending... getting to fight alongside Majima, Saejima and Dojima for what I assume will be the last time was epic, and I really enjoyed seeing my favourite scene from Like A Dragon shown from the opposite side. Plus one last KIRYU-CHAN! made me cheer. 

I'm fully aware of what @Ruki was referring to for the crying. I did shed a tear or two but avoided the ugly cry, with respect to Taichi and Ayako, if it had been Haruka speaking to the camera then I would have probably bawled. The drawing that Haruto did was what broke me, although the sight of Kiryu in floods of tears (and the attention to detail of his nose running and the tears hitting the tablet screen) may have been a big part of that.

The Yumi ring was a beautiful touch too, if this is the last Kiryu-fronted game then that ring becomes a book-end for the whole saga. I can't get used to grey-haired Kiryu though.

On to Infinite Wealth which I have just bought, so expect to see it for free on GamePass next month.

[Ruki]

3 hours ago, Chris2K said:

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name: Done

  Reveal hidden contents

It was a lot of fun playing as Kiryu again with the old brawling system, I'm not even sure I prefer one over the another now, both of them are great. I also went back to playing with Japanese audio because Kiryu's voice has to be in Japanese.

The storyline felt a bit rushed, as did the game itself, but I enjoyed the side-content as well. It was nice to have a good antagonist, even if it was a very late heel turn, but his motives were clear and understandable, and the secondary antagonist was delightfully evil. Presumably them being seen to be kept alive and taken by the Daedoji means they're going to both be back at some point

As for the ending... getting to fight alongside Majima, Saejima and Dojima for what I assume will be the last time was epic, and I really enjoyed seeing my favourite scene from Like A Dragon shown from the opposite side. Plus one last KIRYU-CHAN! made me cheer. 

I'm fully aware of what @Ruki was referring to for the crying. I did shed a tear or two but avoided the ugly cry, with respect to Taichi and Ayako, if it had been Haruka speaking to the camera then I would have probably bawled. The drawing that Haruto did was what broke me, although the sight of Kiryu in floods of tears (and the attention to detail of his nose running and the tears hitting the tablet screen) may have been a big part of that.

The Yumi ring was a beautiful touch too, if this is the last Kiryu-fronted game then that ring becomes a book-end for the whole saga. I can't get used to grey-haired Kiryu though.

On to Infinite Wealth which I have just bought, so expect to see it for free on GamePass next month.

I have yet to play IW yet, even though I own it. I still don't know if I should do English (The LAD cast was amazing) or Japanese (Kiryu needs to be Japanese)...

[Mick]

Blew up Hitler today: 

[Krabby]

Wooooo I can post in here for once! 

Mega Man Battle Network 1 completed last night!!!

[stokeriño]

1. Persona 3 Reload
2. Unicorn Overlord

Be prepared for a very long credits sequence as every single party member gets their own little epilogue...

[Ruki]

28 minutes ago, stokeriño said:

1. Persona 3 Reload
2. Unicorn Overlord

Be prepared for a very long credits sequence as every single party member gets their own little epilogue...

Holy crap. There's already so many!

[Your Mom]

I've been going back and forth between stuff so it's been like 2 months since I actually finished a game. That changed today! I played Open Roads it's on Game Pass and it was made by the Gone Home people. It's very much that kind of game. Nothing you haven't seen before if you have played that one or like most of the other stuff but it's a kind of game I really enjoy. It's like watching a little movie that I actually control. Was about the same length too I started and finished it today in like probably a bit under 3 hours. Highly recommend it if you are a fan of their work.

 

 

Games Completed in 2024:

1. Spider-Man 2
2. Mineko's Night Market
3. Open Roads

[Ruki]

I considered a single won run on a rogue-like a completed game with Balatro, gonna do it again! I won a run of Luck Be A Landlord on my second or third attempt. Fun little slot machine game. 

Spoiler

1. Super Mario Wonder

2. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy

3. Mario RPG

4. Dave The Diver

5. Silent Hill: Short Message

6. Balatro x6

7. The Exit 8

8. Luck Be A Landlord

 

[Your Mom]

2 days in a row! 😮 To be fair I was almost at the end already but I just finished Resident Evil 2 Remake! I tried it when it originally came out but I quit when that damn big guy kept chasing me around as Claire. So I decided I would try as Leon because surely the big guy would be too busy chasing Claire around. No such luck  but I managed to soldier through and finish it up. Was a lot of fun and I'll probably give Claire another shot. I assume it's way different. You don't just run through the same stuff as Claire right?

 

 

Games Completed in 2024:

1. Spider-Man 2
2. Mineko's Night Market
3. Open Roads
4. Resident Evil 2 Remake

[stokeriño]

1. Persona 3 Reload*
2. Unicorn Overlord*
3. Final Fantasy XVI

(* = also platinumed)

Returned to finish off FF16 after leaving it in October right before the final boss (but with a hundred side-missions still to do). Mopped them all up and the other bits like hunts, chronolith trials etc. over this weekend before finishing the game proper. Got nearly all the trophies, but considering a platinum requires a whole second playthrough on Newly-Unlocked Super Hard Mode, I'm clearly not going to be doing that.