Board 8 > SaveEstelle & LeonhartFour in New Houses: Rebirth Edition [SELF]

(+) Yeah! (+)

One of the best things about 13 Sentinels is that everyone experiences it differently

So did anyone play that Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails game? I got a 15% discount code from Nintendo for my birthday, and I'm trying to figure out what to use it on.

I have it but it is currently in backlog hell and will likely remain there for the foreseeable future - and/or until Falcom reveals it's actually Trails canon - so I can't help there.

yeah I doubt I'll play it anytime soon either but I'm always indecisive with stuff like this if I don't go into it with an idea of what I want beforehand

Oh I could get the Ghost Trick HD port, I haven't played that game in a long time

man there are a lot of dating sims on the eShop

After some perusal, I decided to go with Stardew Valley. Feels like a game I can take at a casual pace and my wife would probably enjoy playing it, too.

Stardew is excellent

They're projecting we could get 3" plus sized hail tonight in our area

Oh boy

Looks like my area missed out on the giant hail, but some places west of us got hit by it

LeonhartFour posted...

So did anyone play that Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails game? I got a 15% discount code from Nintendo for my birthday, and I'm trying to figure out what to use it on.

I have! It has some good aspects, but it feels like they cross the action of Ys with the story of Trails, and wind up with inferior versions of both. Here's my review if you're curious:

Nayuta's a game with a lot of highs and lows. I do admire what Falcom did here, trying out some new stuff that stretches the bounds of what they usually do, but it didn't quite work for me. First, the title's a bit of a lie: this is essentially an Ys game. It takes place in a different world and doesn't star Adol, but the combat and design in general feel a lot like Ys. This comparison is generally unfavorable, unfortunately, for one major reason: Nayuta's combat isn't good. At the start of the game, I'd call it actively bad. You have practically no moves, so all the fighting is just repetitive attacks. It does get more interesting as the game goes along, especially when you get magic, but I believe the game would've been better if you started out with more moves and got even more as the game goes along. There are some stupid design decisions too, like how the last couple bosses don't let you use magic, so you essentially just spam the attack button against them until they die (there's some dodging and blocking too, but they're still the most boring bosses in the game, unfortunately). The main story isn't the greatest either. The bad guys' scheme ends up being pretty cliched, and the main villain just sucks. The later parts of the story really took me out of it, since a lot of the villain's motivations were kinda dumb. I think it could've been done better if they'd sprinkled development throughout the game rather than saving it all for the end, maybe? Maybe that would've just made the earlier story worse too, though...

Now, moving on to the good parts. Though Nayuta himself isn't very interesting, having an actual character as the protagonist definitely helps, just like in Ys Origin. The game's structure has you living on an island, where you talk to people and sometimes get quests, then going on missions to another world where you do fights. It's stage-based rather than a connected world like Ys or Trails. Running around the island is pretty fun! It's not a huge island, with a size and character count just right for talking to everyone when they get updated dialogue after story beats. Ys 8 succeeded with a similar formula, though I think Ys 8's NPC cast was quite a bit better. Of all Falcom's PSP games, this one has the best graphics by a lot. People don't look like horrific monstrosities like they did in Ys 7 despite using a somewhat similar graphics style, and there are a few charming animations in there, especially Lyra and Noi freaking out. Noi's your fairy companion who's always with you, and she's the game's best character by a lot. I always enjoyed scenes focusing on her, since she's the soul of the game.

The stage-based system also works in the game's favor, for the most part. Nayuta's level design is way better than any Ys game's. Levels are fun to play through and explore, with minor platforming elements and good enemy placement. Unfortunately, Falcom apparently thought the game was too short, since you get alternative versions of levels after beating them too, which you're encouraged to do to get to a level necessary to progress. Some of these variations are fun, but I think the game would've been better without as much stage revisiting. You get sidequests that have you going back to old stages too, and those aren't that fun either. Every level also has a ranking for it, where you have to complete certain objectives to get a better ranking. This would be a fine optional system, but it also unlocks more combat options, so you'll be redoing levels a lot if you want to unlock your full arsenal, which isn't very fun IMO. Bosses seem quite well designed. They're more like setpieces than a lot of Ys bosses are, including stuff like fighting a boss while rafting down a river. They're not that hard, but they're entertaining and creative. Would love to see more epic bosses like these in Ys games too.

tldr, play some Ys games instead.

Augh, Vols choked in their first game in the SEC Tournament, which means we can probably kiss our chances at a 1 seed goodbye.

I think Tennessee has a really good team. I just hope we don't get undone by Rick Barnes' propensity to come up small in big games in the tournament again.

My Love Story Episode 22 complete!

This episode dealt with some pretty complex emotions. It was interesting watching how they approached everything between Suna and Yukika.

Anime: So, because SAO is basically my guilty pleasure anime - I noticed that Crunchyroll had GGO Alternative available for non-subscription users and decided to watch it over the past few days because it somehow slipped through the cracks for me.

Really enjoyed it. LLENN is GOATed and it was fun to have the anime mostly focused around a game/mechanics/strategy/tactics. Also continues the tradition of SAO being at its best when Kirito takes a backseat/is just not there at all (Mother's Rosario.) Would have been cool if Sinon could have made an appearance since timeline wise she'd have been available I think but she was only brought up in conversation a handful of times, alas. Great core cast of characters, even if Pitohui can be a bit extra at times.

Also noticed at about the same time I finally committed to watching GGO Alternative that Crunchyroll made Konosuba S2 available (would have been great if they included the movie as well but oh well) - I assume it's temporary and because Season 3 will be soon but it means I can finally watch it so I'll probably try to squeeze that in soon. Been a while though so I'll probably rewatch S1 as well.

My son randomly started singing "Let It Go" from Frozen yesterday. It's the first time he's sung anything. I'm assuming he must hear the song at daycare because we've never watched the movie with him.

Mother's Rosario is a good arc. GGO is supposed to get a sequel anime but I'm not sure when it comes out.

13 Sentinels update

Was gone for a bit this week so haven't had too much time to play aside from today when I played a lot.

-I've made progress on Nenji, Ei, Shinonome, and Shu's routes. Have reached the dreaded story locks in most of them, but I have some left of Shu and also I think progress in Shu's story just cleared the lock in Shinonome's story. So I guess those are next on the agenda. Putting off playing as Fuyusaka and boring anime protagonist man for as long as possible, which I'm realizing is probably a bad idea for actually figuring things out, but at this point I'm already committed. (I also at this point expect Kurabe to prove me wrong about that but I digress)

-I still have no idea who the villain(s?) in this game are or if there even are any. At different points the story has set up 426, Ida, and Morimura, and at this point it could reasonably be any of them or all of them or none of them and/or someone else entirely. There's also that talking cat who I know pretty much nothing about probably because of the choice of story routes I've made. It definitely doesn't help matters that there's multiple versions of every character and like especially with Morimura I don't really feel like I have that straight yet. It does feel like if there are villains it will be more due to circumstance than because they're just evil cackling maniacs behind the curtain or whatever, which is nice

-If Nenji and Tomi do not end up together by the end of the game I'm going to riot.

I loved Kurabe, probably more than most.

Tomi is my favorite character by a lot right now, but most of them have been pretty good. Shinonome has also impressed me but I think part of that is my initially having negative expectations for her because of her design.

My "I'm guessing I like this character more than everyone else" is probably Okino, with the caveat that I think there's a lot about the character I don't know yet.

I should finish up Apollo Justice Trilogy tonight, which means I can get back to Episode Yuffie and finally begin Rebirth.

Have successfully avoided spoilers so far, thankfully!

I am presumably entering the endgame for 13 Sentinels, and unfortunately I am finally being forced to play as Kurabe. The content I have left (assuming the game doesn't pull a fast one on me once everyone reaches 100%) is:

--Kurabe route: at 11%
--Megumi route: Requires completing a Kurabe event to proceed past 71%
--Gouto route: Basically forced into doing last
--Hijiyama route: Requires progress to be made on Gouto's route in order to finish what is presumably the last scene
--An unknown amount of Destruction content (The 3rd area is locked behind Juro's route, and I don't know how many areas there are--though would assume it's either 1 or 2.)

Think the main mystery left for me is whatever the heck is going on with this cat. I suppose the easy answer is that is it's just the next body 426 jumped into, but that doesn't really feel satisfying. Of course, maybe I shouldn't expect an earth-shattering answer since the player can probably access this content much earlier if so inclined >.>. There's also the matter of what exactly are Gouto's, Kid-Chihiro's, and 426's endgames, though at this point I am definitely expecting face-turns from all characters who are still alive and weren't just clearly on our side from the beginning. There's also probably some part of the story I've just completely forgotten about because there is so much to keep track of.

smh doing Megumi the horrible's route before Kurabe's

MacArrowny posted...

smh doing Megumi the horrible's route before Kurabe's

Megumi's has probably been the worst but I was already committed in my head to doing the "protagonist" route as late as possible for some reason.

Apollo Justice Trilogy beated! Here's my updated case ranking for these three games:

6-5 > 5-5 > 6-3 > 5-3 > 5-2 > 5-6 > 4-1 > 5-4 > 4-4 > 6-2 > 6-6 > 6-4 > 5-1 > 6-1 > 4-2 > 4-3

its crazy that aa4's best case was its first one, but it is a really good one.

Haha yeah, I gotcha. I just wanted to take a potshot at Megumi. :p

Also I stand by 5-1 being the worst first case in the series. It's a real shame how much worse Juniper is there than in the rest of the game.

5-1 is fine. 6-1 was such a drag. That case has no business being 3 hours long for how basic it is, and the Andistan'dhin gimmick wears thin really quickly.

I have no idea if the writing is worse in English, but I absolutely loved Nayuta's story. I was also coming off of CS4+Reverie+Kuro1 when I played it, though, and that's the nadir of Falcom's JP writing to be sure.

I should probably replay AA5 and AA6. My memory of those two games is much weaker than anything else in the series.

dowolf posted...

I have no idea if the writing is worse in English, but I absolutely loved Nayuta's story.

What did you like about Nayuta pre-6-5?

Edit: oh god I wish I'd realized what this post was about 5 seconds earlier

I actually found Nahyuta a lot more tolerable this time around! Not great still, but I'd probably put him on par with Franziska and Klavier now, at least.

I first read "Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails" as "Legend of Nahyuta: Boundless Trials" and was very confused.

My Love Story Episode 23 complete!

I like this Ichinose guy. He reminds me of Yusuke from Persona 5 in a weird way. He's the first character who feels like a legitimate challenge to Takeo and Rinko's relationship.

I'm back on the Episode Yuffie DLC in Remake! I rescued Zhijie and next we're headed for Shinra HQ, so we'll see how that goes!

I also decided to give Fort Condor another shot, and with the help of the Assassin Board III (which has 10 starting ATB units and a speed of 3), I've managed to make it up to Level 4, which appears to be the top level and all that's left is the Grandmaster. I still feel kinda like I get lucky to win, but hey, I'll take it!

MacArrowny posted...

What did you like about Nayuta pre-6-5?

Edit: oh god I wish I'd realized what this post was about 5 seconds earlier

the secret is just to have zero memory of what any of the characters' names are in AA6.

Leonhart4 posted...

I'm back on the Episode Yuffie DLC in Remake! I rescued Zhijie and next we're headed for Shinra HQ, so we'll see how that goes!

I also decided to give Fort Condor another shot, and with the help of the Assassin Board III (which has 10 starting ATB units and a speed of 3), I've managed to make it up to Level 4, which appears to be the top level and all that's left is the Grandmaster. I still feel kinda like I get lucky to win, but hey, I'll take it!

Yuffie theme battle remix is incredible

My son almost made it to his 2nd birthday without pooping in the bathtub

I don't gag very often but my son is capable of some nasty poops, and this was one of them, combined with being soaked in water

Do not recommend

I think I'm almost at the end of Episode Yuffie, but I'll have to finish it up tomorrow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aveDvd66clk

Hype, this looks pretty good!

Still need to play the first DLC, but they'll both have to wait until after Rebirth.

My opinion on 16 has soured a lot since finishing it. I dont know how much internet I have in going back to that game.

I've heard the first DLC isn't great but the second one is supposed to be pretty promising

I still think it's a great and very flawed game, so I understand why some people don't look back on their experience fondly

Episode Yuffie beated!

They really capture Yuffie's brattiness, but I appreciate their effort to make her look more likable by putting her up against someone despicable like Scarlet.

I also liked the idea that Barret's Avalanche is a splinter cell off of the original, and that Yuffie and Sonon realize partway through that they'd have been better off teaming up with them instead.

Speaking of Sonon, I thought he was a pretty cool dude. I half expected him to die because he wasn't in any of the Rebirth pre-release stuff. Tough way to go though.

On to Rebirth!

Made it through the Kalm flashback in FFVII Rebirth! I like that it was a pretty faithful recreation of the original (in terms of the scenes and the dialogue, at least, not the expanded gameplay stuff like the Mako vacuum lawl). I also appreciated the foreshadowing that you easily pick up on if you've played the original (the multiple hints that the other Shinra soldier is the real Cloud, even almost calling Claudia "mom" during the fire, and the brief tension during one moment in Kalm between Cloud and Tifa that indicates there's some inconsistency between their memories).

Also I guess they're making it obvious from the start that this world in which Zack survived is an alternate timeline altogether. Boss move by Red XIII to take down the pilot and go down with the ship. I imagine there's going to be some sort of merging of the timelines at the end of the game. Otherwise I don't know why they'd be showing us this in the first place.

The Kalm flashback is really good. The Sephiroth turn still feels a little sudden, but it kinda always was like that.

Yeah solid start even with the vacuum cleaner part.

You are in for a ride, this game has like 3x the content of the first game or so.

Oh and I played that first FFXVI DLC and it wasn't too bad imo. Also very short. I think going right back to it after Rebirth will be tough though, combat imo is a lot better in Rebirth.

13 Sentinels beated.

Pretty good game overall. I do think this is a "greatest strength is also its greatest weakness" situation though. By far the coolest part of the game is the way the story is told nonlinearly from a million different perspectives, since it makes piecing things together and trying to figure out what's going on very exciting. Unfortunately, it also makes it hard for the game to provide huge payback on any particular character, which is an area VN's often excel at. Still definitely a net positive overall though, and the epilogue was quite nice. Hoping more games in the future try an approach like this.

Gameplay was fine. The battles were decently fun even if I'd argue there were a bit too many of them.

Kisaragi > Shinonome > Ogata > Yuki > Natsuno > Amiguchi > Okino > Juro > Sekigahara > Hijiyama > Gouto > Miura > Fuyusaka > Yakushiji

Sekigahara the best

Miura blew my mind every time I picked him so he's at the top for me. Gouto's option select puts him at number 2. Nenji and Tomi are next for being the only good romance. I really would have liked Hijiyama if not for his coin mechanic.

Miura > Gouto > Nenji > Tomi > Natsuno > Yuki > Sekigahara > Shinonome > Fuyusaka > Amiguchi > Hijiyama > Kurabe > Yakushiji

Mario Odyssey is pretty fun.

My Love Story complete!

Pretty strong end to the show, although I'm guessing there's a manga where the story continues. Really enjoyed watching it! Favorite character was definitely Suna, what a world class bro.

Suna and Takeo are both fantastic characters. The main trio is all great, really.