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901
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The Rest / General Discussions / Re: The NEW Game Journal
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on: September 15, 2012, 07:45:34 PM
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Ugh, I have so many great games in my backlog, but almost all of my systems are currently in storage(along with most of my games) ten states away. x_x Cannot wait till I can get things out of storage. Till then I am stuck playing Leged of Heroes III as my last game with me that I have not beaten. I think this is my current record holder for the longest time between buying a game and actually playing it. Five and a half years. I really can't say that I am regretting not playing this game because I'm not interested in the story and the battle system is fairly bland. Oh well I guess it is marginally more interesting than replaying a game I have already beaten. I remembered Breath of Fire 3 rocking.... I knew I loved it.... but these memories were all crafted and stocked up in me nah-gun upon the titles release many moons ago... But wow... I had no idea NO RECALL of just how much this rocked... talk about classic-gaming-greatness... between this and the .hack series right now I don't even care to check siliconera daily ATM-LoL
Weird, I recall finding Breath of Fire 3 to be my least liked of the four "proper" Breath of Fire games. It has been a while since I played it, so I don't really recall why I disliked it. So I'm curious, what exactly is it that you enjoy about the game? Even though everyone else already more then satisfied a reply to this, I feel it would be rude of me not to acknowledge the question anyhow..... I love BOF3 for a number of reasons that were already expressed... and, actually for a number of reasons that it is disliked it seems.... For one the cast and art style are my favorite amongst the franchise. I love Teepo... I've been itching for a new tattoo and its a toss up right now between something from the BOF franchise or the Madoka Magica anime series and if I go the BOF avnenue Teepo is totally in the running... Moving on, the dungeon designs, mini games and difficulty all gel well enough to keep me never really feeling as though things are getting longwinded. I almost always feel at points in games that things become "routine" and/or patterned in such a way where I'm just going through the motions of predictable gameplay to see more narrative. I just don't feel that way here. Somehow they keep the experience feeling and looking nice and "fresh" for me.... This is also one of the few soundtracks I would call "charming" as well..... not incredible... but completely appropriate for the mood of the visual and narrative..... As you can tell thus far presentation means A LOT to me in games... and it is just all right on the money here for me. I love the Master system as well... I can't believe this hasn't been ripped off more by other titles... So many play-mechanics get re-done and tweaked over and over again... and not that the master system is the most original in the world, but it is far easier to digest and more rewarding, IMO, than some of the micro-management of grids and numbers in more current gen RPGs. And I gotta give credit to BOF3 for being unique in a very un-original sense.... now here me out before you write this off as non-sense. It evolved RPG's beyond the days of Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo by, IMO, evolving what had been working and what fans loved about the predecessors... In other words, you had titles like FF7 (I'm not saying FF7 was bad BTW....) taking RPG's into somewhat uncharted territories in an effort to mainstream and commercialize things as much as humanely possible and move things in new and exciting directions... Then you had games like BOF3, which to me, stand as examples more of what became of the evolved 16-bit days, staying true to form as much as possible whilst making the transition to new hardware.... Despite some other stellar titles that did this (wild arms, suikoden, et cetera....) we clearly see today who won the battle in the long run..... JRPG's are not what they used to be and BOF3 marks one of the finest and final games of those major 16 bit franchises to stay true to form. It didn't do anything flashy but it sure satisfied the BOF itch for fans such as myself. So ultimately my reasons for loving this are really very subjective... that is, I am not gonna sit and argue that this game does anything "better" than any others... because in all honesty it doesn't.... but it does the BOF series, and fans, complete justice. And just to touch upon something else.... I totally loved the fact that Blue was a hidden character in BOF2. In fact, I love a great deal about breath of fire 2.... However, on the note of blue, she was not only a really freakin' cool throwback to the first title but, if I recall, she made the last leg of that game much easier. |
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903
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The Rest / General Discussions / Re: What's the haps?
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on: September 13, 2012, 10:57:05 PM
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I just have no idea how to relate or talk with Americans. Sorry, I just don't.
Don't feel bad.... I have lived in America all 27 years of my natural born life and I feel the same way... I'm so mal-adjusted I don't go out until well after most things close, I work at night (doing tattoos I have the advantage of crafting my own schedule) and the only interaction I have with people is either with my clients or on this message board... So you got a leg up on me socially :) "Why so isolated Klyde...?" You may be asking yourself.... well I've discovered I can avoid 90% of what frustrates me about society and remain blissfully ignorant operating when most others sleep... the trade off is the cost of a social life.... a cost I'm willing pay ATM.... |
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904
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Media / Anime, TV, and Movies / Re: Anime/Manga Journal
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on: September 13, 2012, 10:40:17 PM
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Yay, another convert. Madoka Magica is good.
Converted indeed... "Good" is putting it mildly... I'm like totally inspired... I wanna do a Madoka tattoo right now!! LoL.... the chances of me ever finding someone to wear that one are like slim to none though... hell it took me about 4 years to find someone willing to wear a sizable Chrono piece... Okay watched episode 47 of Gundam AGE.....and thankfully there are only 49 episodes according to wikipedia. Just two more to suffer through. Almost done. You could always talk about anime you like, I guess, since you're new and all.
Okay that sounds like a good idea. Three anime come to mind immediatly. First one to come to mind is Gundam Wing because it was the anime that got me into anime. I don't think I'll ever be able to really guage its quality properly because I'll always be looking at it through the eyes of nostalgia where I'm a preteen who is seeing giant mecha fight for the first time and it is amazing. I really should rewatch it to see how it compares in my mind now to more recent mecha shows I have enjoyed such as Gundam Seed or the next show... Code Geass! I'd probably consider this to be my favorite anime at the moment. I really love just about everything about this show from the characters, to the fights, to the mecha design, etc. I think it is a very well put together show, and I love it for that......honestly can't think of anything else to say on it. The third anime that came to mind is a more recent one, [C] Control(I forget the rest of the title). It was an enjoyable little show from last year where people fought pretty much by using money as a weapon. It is a really interesting concept and I enjoyed the scope of the series where the characters were effectively betting their futures in battles to get ahead. OveraI can only think of three real complaints about the show. The first is that it is too short, it could have easily been twice the length and still just as interesting. The second is that the battles could of used a bit of an extension as some of them don't even occur on screen. The last one is that......I would have liked more explanation for the ending. The ending is fine, but the scale of the impact of the main character's final action is unclear. Still a good series. Looking forward to rewatching it once it gets an official US release in a few months. I really wish I could get into some Mecha stuff.... I mean there is soooo much of it, I'm sure boat loads of it would really do it for me but all the ones I have seen I can't stand.... Code Geas and Gundam both fall into that category (though admitingly I've only seen a pinch of Gundam)... I loved Evangelion though... do you have any suggestions in that respect (meaning, more psychological and story driven and less "tech-ee" stuff)?? |
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905
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Media / Anime, TV, and Movies / Re: Anime/Manga Journal
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on: September 13, 2012, 05:47:22 PM
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So I figured I would give Madoka Magica another shot, after Kevadu's last post about it, real quick before moving onto Kiba and Gokudo in the search for some satisfying fantasy.....
Kevadu, your two for two with me my man... Madoka Magica is freakin' brilliant... I can't believe I only watched the first two eps of this before and wrote it off.... how foolish of me.... I'm hoppin on the bandwagon with this one.... Madoka Magica is, without a doubt IMO, a cut above other Magical Girl stuff for precisely the reasons you expressed... I still don't like the wonky-pop-art scenes though...
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906
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The Rest / General Discussions / Re: What's the haps?
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on: September 13, 2012, 05:37:50 PM
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Ah school. Kind of glad I'm not taking any classes this semester, yet on the other hand wish I was taking classes this semester.
Back in June, I took the ASVAB, the test to get into the military. Since then, I have been waiting to get medical clearance to go to MEPS. I got medically disqualified for having a fixed retainer, but my recruiter told me that's being appealed. So, I had planned to be going to basic training sometime this fall, yet I still haven't gone to MEPS. That's the reason why I wish I had taken classes. The reason I'm glad that I'm not taking classes is because school sucks.
Ahh the ASVAB..... quite a while back I took that test and scored very very high (I am not all that intelligent but have always had a knack for testing well...) anyhow the recruiters came a'knockin and I was all about joining for a brief moment... that was until they looked at my medical records and said I was PDQed for my mental history... I'll never forget the recruiter telling me, given my record, I would have to draft a convincing appeal to even being considered safe to hold a swiss army knife-LoL..... the icing on the cake? apparently (for reasons I can't remember) my ears were also cause for PDQ from certain branches of the military!! That is, the holes in em were/are too large.... who'd have thunk it? Anyhow in other news..... I just want to take this chance to spread the word about something that doesn't have anything to do with matters being discussed ATM because quite frankly this knowledge must reach those who may take interest..... For those who brew their own coffee at home.... GODIVA WHITE CHOCOLATE COCONUT COFFEE IS LIKE FREAKIN' DESSERT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!!!! and I drink my coffee pretty freakin' black BTW..... word on the street is Godiva coffee is also the best follow-up to a threesome with Yoda, Dice or Mongoose involved.... just saying.... |
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907
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The Rest / General Discussions / Re: The NEW Game Journal
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on: September 13, 2012, 05:19:33 PM
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Is PSP region free?
Yes. I have a ton of import PSP games. Best way to play Tales of Destiny 2 and Breath of Fire 3 (which I just decided to start 2 days ago)!! PAL imports btw... thus no translation necessary.. and on that note.... I remembered Breath of Fire 3 rocking.... I knew I loved it.... but these memories were all crafted and stocked up in me nah-gun upon the titles release many moons ago... But wow... I had no idea NO RECALL of just how much this rocked... talk about classic-gaming-greatness... between this and the .hack series right now I don't even care to check siliconera daily ATM-LoL Also just want to extend a quick thanks to Dice for sharing her experience with BOF3 a month of two ago and inspiring the decision to move onto this play-through... And additionally, to Aeolus for the his ultra-in-depth answer to my ZX question. Now if I can just discover the 8th day of the week to find some time for my current gen titles (some of which are officially about to be labelled backlogged in the interest of these classic gems...) I would be set....if I can't have the 8th day I'd settle for the 25th hour I suppose.... |
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908
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Media / Single-Player RPGs / Re: RPGless at the moment...
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on: September 12, 2012, 04:33:19 PM
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This thread has totally reminded me of titles that slipped by me recently (or not so recently in some cases...) that I too need allocate some time to... I still have not got to
-Radiant Historia
-Skies of Arcadia
-Any of the DS Megaten titles
So let me direct a kind thanks to the OP for keeping these swimming around in my head.....
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909
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Media / Single-Player RPGs / Re: .Hack
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on: September 12, 2012, 04:27:25 PM
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If you don't mind to, or are able to, play import titles this is usually a much more cost effective way to hunt down some of the waaay over-priced gems of yesteryear. Check out what some of the old PS1 imports go for on e-bay... way cheaper than the covetted NTSC counter-part releases we pay an arm and a leg for.... this always blows my mind because as a kid I remember paying insane amounts of money for import famicom games then hunted down translation guides and whatnot... my how the times have changed.... Ok I officially am loving the hell out of this series.... I even decided to indulge the .hack//sign anime and get some prequel backstory (although I got to admit the anime is absolutely TERRIBLE.... its still cool to see if your really into it as I am ATM).... Even the gameplay has totally grown on me at this point.... hopping into menus 101 times per battle, while hindering the "action" or "real time" aspect of things, totally reminds me of how single player boss battles felt in secret of mana as kid when the only other neighborhood RPG geek couldn't make it over for couch co-op.
This is really surprising me, my feelings went from "this is really cool narrative but these dungeons and gameplay are gonna get to me..." to "I wonder how many hours of sleep I can cut from my schedule to play more of this"..... If G.U is as big an improvement over the first quadrilogy as the majority here has led me to believe I think I'm in for a real treat :)
Hurray another .hack fan has been born! And I would definatly say that G.U. is an improvement over the original series in just about every aspect. The gameplay is faster, the visuals are better, and I prefer the G.U. storyline a little bit. Only complaints I have about G.U. are that the party member class balance is really bad(I think you get something like 10 single blade users and zero two handed blade users as an example) and I missed some of the completely random stories you occasioanlly got in the "news" for the original game. Those stories really made it feel like you were on the Internet even if they did serve absolutely no in game purpose. Born I have been.... onto mutation I go.... I just finished infection.... And what started out as a "I'm gonna blow through this game" variety of a play-through, turned out quite different... I took the time to do quite a bit of the optional stuff actually. I timed it appropriately enough to where I finished watching //sign right as I finsihed infection as well.... The anime wasn't the worst thing in the world but the ending sure was... I don't know whether the last few episodes (the OVA's) are just non-sense extra content to feature the characters in the quadrilogy or legitimate spoilers... and I'm glad I don't know, because if I did it may ruin things for me.... as such I would HIGHLY SUGGEST NOT WATCHING THE OVA's OF //SIGN until....well... I don't really know exactly... but certainly not as early as I have... |
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910
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The Rest / General Discussions / Re: The NEW Game Journal
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on: September 09, 2012, 04:51:11 PM
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I still have the first ZX sitting on the shelf un-started. I wanted to get to it bad but the Zero collection kicked my ass something fierce and I got discouraged-lol.... I really wanted to move into ZX after finishing the Zero titles, but i just suck waaaay to much at platformers to stand a shot with those titles..... Would I be completely lost in ZX without having finished the Zero's? And yes, I am aware there is an "easy" mode... however they erroneously made easy mode so freakin easy it plays itself practically.... your Zero comes pre-upgraded and all... talk about boring.... On a completely different note I finally finished earthbound about a month ago (gee golly its been awhile since I posted in here....) WHAT A FREAKIN' CREEPY END GAME DUNGEON/BOSS/SOUNDTRACK!!!! And after losing to the final baddy some odd dozen times or so, I almost decided to make myself a trophy in photoshop to put up on facebook when I finally figured out that using the prayer command of paula's was the only way to win .... What a maserpiece of a game though.... completing this one really brought some closure.... In other news I tried dot hack infection and totally fell in love.... backlogged Growlanser 4, the last leg of Hyperdimension Neptunia and Agarest 2 to give some time to .hack..... totally loving it.... Lastly, I got myself a DS XL and couldnt resist trying out FF Theatrerythym (yea, I spelled that wrong... I'm sorry).. you guys who were going on about how addictive this title was (a few weeks ago) were totally on the money... I hate rythym games, but this is a FF fans nostalgic wet dream. |
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911
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Media / Anime, TV, and Movies / Re: Guilty Pleasure Movies
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on: September 04, 2012, 06:10:47 PM
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My number one guilty pleasure flick is Empire Records.... gee golly I loved the 90's.... Clueless and Bedazzled. I've seen them more times than I care to remember.
I loved clueless too-LoL Hmmm. I really don't do the "guilty" thing. If I like it, I like it. I'd say the closest thing to a guilty pleasure would be all the bad horror movies my wife and I watch. It's all in fun, though. We KNOW they're bad.
I still have a soft spot for 80's fantasy movies like The Dark Crystal, Legend, Labyrinth, Willow, The Never Ending Story, etc. That's pretty much pure nostalgia, and I am not guilty in the least.
Heck, I still unreservedly love the Transformers Movie. It's a heck of a lot better than anything Bay has put out.
I can't think of any more recent movie that would count. Maybe Priest? It was pretty crappy, but I still kinda liked it. Or the goofy ass Crank movie with Jason Statham. Totally nuts.
You are absolutely right about there not being any reason to feel guilty about appreciating under-budget horror or 80's fantasy..... In fact, those two sub-genres encompass the most entertaining american film I've ever bore witness to.... I had the pleasure of doing a Sir Dydymus illustration recently for a client and am now in the process of tattooing it on her (1 session in, 2 more to go)  |
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912
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Media / Anime, TV, and Movies / Re: Anime/Manga Journal
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on: September 04, 2012, 06:00:54 PM
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I only indulged the first 4 or 5 eps of Modaka Magica and was turned off by the art direction (surprisingly as I heard so much praise for it.... but it just wasn't my cup of tea...).... Sounds as though its worth seeing more though....
Anyhow, I've been absent from the A/M Journal thread here for a moment and just needed to pop up quick and thank kevadu for the suggestion of Moribito..... Holy heck man, that was abso-freakin'-lutely satisfying. I typically hate samurai-esque stuff... while I really dig fantasy, of which Moribito is sporting a great deal, I usually can't overlook the samurai/feudal japan anything.... I know, its odd right?.... Anyways, NOT the case here... Moribito's stunning, enthralling right from the door, with NO down time.... action wasn't over the top and the fighting that was present was really well animated.
Just as a quick aside as to what else I've been watching.....
Slayers last 2 seasons has just proved to be the most disapointing thing to happen to a series I loved, ever....... After watching nearly every single of the 70 some odd english dubbed eps of Lupin the Third and a great deal of Case Closed I've discovered I can love outside the realm of the fantasy, horror, and psychological genres....... Panty Stocking and Garterbelt is like the powerpuff girls meets south park minus political relevance or satire, on crack...... .hack//sign, for as terrible as I must admit it is, is very satisfying whilst playing the first leg of the quadrilogy and has an absolutely great soundtrack.... Oh, and the Tales of Vesperia flick was pretty satisfying for an evening but really made me want to play the game (only installment of the tales series I missed)....
On deck now I've got Gokudo, Kiba and Shiki.
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913
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Media / Single-Player RPGs / Re: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
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on: September 04, 2012, 05:39:58 PM
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This is freakin' awesome news! The only thing better than this will be the announcement that we are actually getting it... I knew there was a good reason to keep my save file around. LoH Trails in the Sky was, hands down, my favorite thing to happen on the PSP... still have the soundtrack on my "Jogging Playlist" which I run to everyday... and the soundtrack didn't even particularly move me, I just dug the game enough to keep listening-LoL
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914
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Media / Single-Player RPGs / Re: Agarest Wars 2..A thread about the game and NOT the fanservice this time....
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on: September 04, 2012, 03:53:46 PM
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And I could say that you're judging the book by its cover. Yes it's Idea Factory and yes it has fanservice, but the game is surprisingly good in spite of it and I rather liked the narrative. I've played a lot of RPGs, and Agarest 2 actually felt kinda fresh and sexy. Not an "ugh, THIS again?!?!?!"
Give it a rental on GameFly or something and try it for yourself. You might be as surprised as I was. Take away the fanservice (which you do have to hunt for, it's not all gimme) and there is a solid game there.
Doesnt that had to do with the date sim elements? From what i had read that is important to go trough the game (As AT2 is necessary for the reyvatiels to take a bath to level up and advance the game) for that generation thing. You had to give reyvetails dozens and dozens of baths throughout AT2.... it was a necessary and constrant mechanic throughout the game that was quite unrelated to its function making it... well... just odd (what I mean is, who the hell decided to correlate bathing with become a more formidable combatant....?)..... additionally the bathing has nothing to do with the narrative advancing (aside from the fact that you will not get very far in the game without keeping your girls squeaky clean....) The generation advancing in Agarest 2 only happens twice, it is necessarily tied to the narrative and does serve only to advance things in a logical fashion.... that is, due to reasons expressed within the games narrative you must choose a mate to ensure a generation beyond your current MC can carry on your duty/purpose. The generation advancing can be given a great deal of attention or be an afterthought depending on how you play. You can practically ignore the whole concept altogeather, and just simply reach the point in the narrative where the generation advances, pick and chick and keep on keeping on if you prefer..... In other words, the biggest difference here is AT2 baths serve as a necessary (and IMO illogical) game mechanic for character growth throughout the entire game whereas generation advancing in Agarest is a narrative necessity (that makes much more sense) and only happens at story-specific points throughout the title. To be honest, there is really no similarity in the two that I can see. |
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915
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Media / Single-Player RPGs / Re: RPGless at the moment...
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on: September 03, 2012, 05:53:36 PM
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I'm gonna throw a few classics out there as a reminder because you didn't list them even though judging from the rest you mentioned I imagine you've gotten to them already....
-Breathe of Fire (particularly 3 and 4)
-Earthbound
-Some of the weird "Mana Series" titles (Legend of Mana and Sword of Mana were decent IMO)
-Lunar Silver Star and Eternal Blue
now for a few that aren't classics but are certainly just as delightful
-Odin Sphere
-Dark Cloud 2
-Growlanser (a must)
-Vandal Hearts
Next, I'm going to second byter's suggestion...
-Rogue Galaxy (I only sampled it, but I know when I get to it this will be one I really enjoy)
and now for something entirely different I am probably alone on....
-.hack series (the current object of affection, a gem that passed me by that I almost sold and am currently completely enthralled with)
and lastly some newer gen stuff I really enjoyed....
-Disgaea 4 (3 was good, 4 was freakin' awesome as far as SRPG's are concerned, highly entertaining)
-Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2 (no need to play 1, it was BAD, 2 on the other hand was quite addicting for me.... silly narrative, not epic in any sense... but somehow, all the ridiculous over-the-top-anime-fan-service aside, I really liked it.... WARNING: DO NOT INGULGE THIS UNLESS YOU LOVE/ARE AT LEAST COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE WITH HEAVY ANIME INFLUENCE AND STUPID 4th WALL BREAKING HUMOR)
-Agarest War 2 (unlike 1 and zero, 2 completely rocks.... 1 and zero are not necessary at all to understand the narrative of 2 BTW)
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