The NEW Game Journal

[Starmongoose]

So, I finally got to play Suikoden III. The only installment that never made it to our shores. Twas a damn fine game, some complaints and grievances but otherwise I was pretty damn pleased.

So now that I have played them all my personal list of best Suikoden is:

Suikoden II
Suikoden V
Suikoden III
Suikoden
Suikoden IV

This is about right. Now go play Tactics or whatever you guys call it. Seriously, its the half of Suki IV that doesn't suck.

I've played Tactics, it's better than IV but I didn't really count it for the list - just like I didn't put in Tierkreis.

[Aeolus]

So, I finally got to play Suikoden III. The only installment that never made it to our shores. Twas a damn fine game, some complaints and grievances but otherwise I was pretty damn pleased.

So now that I have played them all my personal list of best Suikoden is:

Suikoden II
Suikoden V
Suikoden III
Suikoden
Suikoden IV

This is about right. Now go play Tactics or whatever you guys call it. Seriously, its the half of Suki IV that doesn't suck.

I've played Tactics, it's better than IV but I didn't really count it for the list - just like I didn't put in Tierkreis.

I can understand not wanting to count Tierkreis, after all, it barely even resembles a playable game, let alone a Suikoden game. But seriously, Tactics was made from the parts of IV that were cut out due to Suki IV being made purely out of spite. If it weren't for the fact that Tactics lacked a full complement of 108 stars and a home base it would belong on that list more than Suki IV ever would.

[Lard]

So, I finally got to play Suikoden III. The only installment that never made it to our shores. Twas a damn fine game, some complaints and grievances but otherwise I was pretty damn pleased.

So now that I have played them all my personal list of best Suikoden is:

Suikoden II
Suikoden V
Suikoden III
Suikoden
Suikoden IV

That's a pretty accurate list. Congrats on Suiko III. I'm guessing your complaints were about the battle system.


People are going to think I'm crazy but I really think Uncharted 3 is a much, much better game than Uncharted 2.

[Starmongoose]

I liked tactics, and I also like Tierkreis even though it was a really simple RPG fair. I was just listing the ones with numbers, nothing more than that. Tactics and Tierkreis would still be under the original Suikoden but above IV if I were to count them, so nothing much changes.

@Lard: I didn't mind them being paired up so much, sure it was annoying that I couldn't use my Shrike rune because the other member of the pair needed to cast Kindness Rain, but it's probably the only Suikoden where you can use a tank-Firefly character to best effect. The speed of battles was very annoying however. Normal monsters could have some ridiculously long spell animations that would take forever, and you could end up against 6 of the same enemy so you could be there a good 2 minutes even before you get to move.

Allies being damaged by area effect spells...makes sense but very annoying in reality. Considering you had basically NO control over where you characters moved to on the battle map(sometimes melee characters would do an entire lap around the screen to hit an enemy that was right next to them), you were probably going to do just as much damage to your own party, in the early game at least. Later in the game your allies dodge the magic most of the time, but by then you have access to the Pale Gate rune and the True Lightning Rune, which either do insta death or lots of damage to enemies only. Unite attacks are pretty much a gimmick, no real reason to use them (or much of a chance considering you usually have one or two compulsory characters in your party at all times).

I liked having unique Skills on characters, but this brings with it another problem. The way Suikoden's experience system works is you can level up new characters VERY fast by just fighting a couple battles in a high-level area. But when characters also need to have Skill Points to be effective, you are suddenly back in grindy-rpg territory.

But, even though I just wrote all that, all that bad stuff regarding the battle system was nothing compared to the good things the game has. The story was gripping, and being able to see events occur from three, four or even five perspectives was interesting in the way it changes the way you feel about events. Characterization was also a strong point, especially the female characters. Chris, Lucia, Sarah were three very different characters but all felt very real and honest. Despite that rant above, I still loved the gameplay too. The Rune system is just perfection and it's always a pleasure to play with.

So yeah, Suikoden III, still a great game despite some flaws.

[Blace]

Finally decided to play through Chrono Trigger DS after having it for 4 years lol. Started a new game. I had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off so I got a good chunk of gaming in. I'm at the very end. I could probably try my hand at Lavos, but I'm doing all the sidequests for the best equipment etc... played for 18 hours and my characters are between lvl 40-45. Love this game so much... I've actually never beat it either. I played it before about 8 years ago and got about 3/4 through the game and just gave up for some reason... don't remember why. My one complaint compared to the tons of positives is that the anime cutscenes taken from the PS1 version are kind of blurry and small... not the most attractive scenes in the world. They are just a bonus though so it doesn't bother me.

[Akanbe-]

I give up, I'm not platinuming Senran Kagura.  There's just one trophy standing in my way but it seems completely impossible to me.  Basically the game has this system where if you send an enemy flying you tap circle to chase after them, then if you do an air combo and send them flying again you can keep chasing them and repeating this.  The tophy is to do this 10 times in a row without hitting the ground.  The problem is:

1.  It's not even theoretically possible to do this until you grind for a while and max out a certain stat because before you do that you're not even allowed to keep air combo-ing indefinitely.  Which makes it a bit of a pain in the ass but also leads to problem 2...
2.  Once you've grinded enough to get that stat maxed out you've probably hit the level cap and your attacks are doing a ton of damage.  Which unfortunately means, at least on normal, none of your opponents can actually survive 10 combos in a row.  They're dead well before that and the match ends.  So try the match on hard, you say.  Well...
3.  The problem with doing it on hard is that the computer friggin cheats.  It doesn't even react to being hit half the time.  Seriously, I've seen it counterattack in the middle of being hit by my attack.  This isn't a skill thing, that's not supposed to be possible.  The player certainly can't just shrug off hits like that.  And there is no way to keep a combo chain going that long if your opponent isn't even being affected by your attacks!

I wasted like 4 hours yesterday trying to get this one stupid trophy and go nowhere.  This is why I hate trophy hunting...

Oh, this trophy is a friggin bronze BTW...

I looked up the achievos for that game and holy crap.  You weren't exaggerating about the fanservice.  Also, out of curiosity (though I'm assuming you did), did you look up topics for this on gamefaqs?  Some saying you need asuka, some saying it's possible on normal.  I don't know what any of it means but it might help out if you haven't checked already.

[Zik]

I've been playing a bit of FFIX from time to time lately, I think i'm at the end of the 3rd cd. I had it when I was younger but english being my second language I was unable to progress very far. It's very good, I feel so nostalgic listening to the beautiful soundtrack ! After that one i'll need to decide which other RPG I start, I have plenty still sealed. (I buy way too many games for the spare time I have)

[Kevadu]

I looked up the achievos for that game and holy crap.  You weren't exaggerating about the fanservice.  Also, out of curiosity (though I'm assuming you did), did you look up topics for this on gamefaqs?  Some saying you need asuka, some saying it's possible on normal.  I don't know what any of it means but it might help out if you haven't checked already.

Yeah, I did read all the stuff I could find on gamefaqs and ps3trophies.org.  Honestly, I can't figure out what they're talking about.  People have explicitly stated that you can keep the combo going after an enemy's life has hit zero, but you can't in my experience.  Doesn't matter if you're mid-air or mid-combo, once they're dead the match ends.  I don't see how there's anything the player can do about that...it actually makes me wonder if this is something that used to be true but they changed it.  The game has been patched a couple times, and I only played the most recent version...

[Aeolus]

I liked tactics, and I also like Tierkreis even though it was a really simple RPG fair. I was just listing the ones with numbers, nothing more than that. Tactics and Tierkreis would still be under the original Suikoden but above IV if I were to count them, so nothing much changes.

@Lard: I didn't mind them being paired up so much, sure it was annoying that I couldn't use my Shrike rune because the other member of the pair needed to cast Kindness Rain, but it's probably the only Suikoden where you can use a tank-Firefly character to best effect. The speed of battles was very annoying however. Normal monsters could have some ridiculously long spell animations that would take forever, and you could end up against 6 of the same enemy so you could be there a good 2 minutes even before you get to move.

Allies being damaged by area effect spells...makes sense but very annoying in reality. Considering you had basically NO control over where you characters moved to on the battle map(sometimes melee characters would do an entire lap around the screen to hit an enemy that was right next to them), you were probably going to do just as much damage to your own party, in the early game at least. Later in the game your allies dodge the magic most of the time, but by then you have access to the Pale Gate rune and the True Lightning Rune, which either do insta death or lots of damage to enemies only. Unite attacks are pretty much a gimmick, no real reason to use them (or much of a chance considering you usually have one or two compulsory characters in your party at all times).

I liked having unique Skills on characters, but this brings with it another problem. The way Suikoden's experience system works is you can level up new characters VERY fast by just fighting a couple battles in a high-level area. But when characters also need to have Skill Points to be effective, you are suddenly back in grindy-rpg territory.

But, even though I just wrote all that, all that bad stuff regarding the battle system was nothing compared to the good things the game has. The story was gripping, and being able to see events occur from three, four or even five perspectives was interesting in the way it changes the way you feel about events. Characterization was also a strong point, especially the female characters. Chris, Lucia, Sarah were three very different characters but all felt very real and honest. Despite that rant above, I still loved the gameplay too. The Rune system is just perfection and it's always a pleasure to play with.

So yeah, Suikoden III, still a great game despite some flaws.

Meanwhile, my biggest problems with Suki III stems from the constant plot battles that you're meant to lose (fuck you Yuber) and the asinine travel system/tardiness of the Blinking Mirror. Skill points don't take that long if you know what you are doing, and with the way the treasure bosses work, you can easily establish a perpetual boss killing cycle for wads of cash for weapon sharpening (which is still just as much of a grind as it is in other Suikodens).

[Starmongoose]

Yeah, I feel you on the travel. If I've already passed through all the exits in the area, and I don't need to be there for story reasons, do I REALLY need to pass through Yaza Plain again.

[Lard]

I finished Uncharted 3 tonight.

I may get called crazy, but I really feel like it was a better game than UC2.

[MeshGearFox]

Beat Asura in SJ, and I want to continue this a bit, but... I've got so many other games I haven't even touched yet.

I figure Aquaria, Way of the Samurai, and Sakura Wars might have higher priority. Moreso Aquaria - that's a little more pick-up-and-play.

Or I could start digging through the stack of old PC games I have too. Actually fuck it let's make a game schedule:

Remainder of April: Chulip, Solatorobo, Aquaria, and SJ
First week of May: Maniac Mansion and Culpa Innata
Second week of May: Fear Effect and Bioforge
Third Week of May: TRAIN ADVENTURE from GOG, some other thing from gog
Last week of May: Sakura Wars and Tropico/I take another stab at Twinsen's Odyssey
First Week of June: Jade Cocoon and Lost Kingdoms
Second Week of June: Shenmue and Lands of Lore 2

(Soul Hackers whenever the fuck I feel like getting a 3DS).

[Yggdrasil]

Resident Evil 6 : Onslaught Theme

This is quite possibly the "sexiest" theme I've heard in Resident Evil.

I finished Uncharted 3 tonight.

I may get called crazy, but I really feel like it was a better game than UC2.

UC3 does some pretty crazy stuff that can make it the better experience out of all the Uncharted games for some people.

Is not a bad game for any stretch of the imagination, but UC2 was like this big game that make a lot of get a PS3. It was like what the original Gears of War was for the 360 if you think about it.

[Annubis]

This is quite possibly the "sexiest" theme I've heard in Resident Evil.

That's funny because I just happened to replay Analogue: A Hate Story so I could listen to Mute's theme.
The music is good overall in the whole game but there's just something I adore about this one song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rB9vpItNHs

It was a good palate cleanser though, so now I can go back to play The Witcher 2.

[Lard]

UC3 does some pretty crazy stuff that can make it the better experience out of all the Uncharted games for some people.

Is not a bad game for any stretch of the imagination, but UC2 was like this big game that make a lot of get a PS3. It was like what the original Gears of War was for the 360 if you think about it.

I just felt like they tried to do more that was different than they did in UC2.

It also helped that I really stayed away from E3 previews and videos. I felt like watching previews and the E3 demonstration ruined a lot of UC2 for me, so UC3 felt fresher because I managed to remain unspoiled.