Board 8 > transience's video game topic 54: Tom Nook has your credit card information.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Maybe he hasnt played it in a while but Powered Up has a lot of the same problems as 7 and the GB titles where things are too cramped and the character is too big compared to the environment. On Hard difficulty in particular its not enjoyable. Getting all those playable characters definitely scores it a lot of points though
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Gorogoa is incredible. The puzzles feels intuitive and satisfying, but the best part is how the puzzle solving connects with the storytelling in a way that's more than just theming. (No spoilers, but in case you want to go in fresh) The story is incredibly vague, but leaves you with enough that you occasionally feel like you have a grasp of something even if it's not necessarily a sequence of events, which is not unlike the act of sliding disparate pictures around looking for patterns that feel natural yet accidental. You create brief moments of coherence enough to progress, but instantly tear them apart into new configurations. The pictures seem to span a long history, but the way you manipulate them collapses time, and defies causality. In one motion, you're solving a puzzle and creating order, while simultaneously feeling like you're running along with its free associative dream logic. Crucially, it doesn't ever explain itself, leaving you with symbols and motifs that exist mostly in glimpses I'm going to have to play it a second time focusing on the story now that I know the puzzle solutions.
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hey i also started prey

i already saw the opening on giant bomb, but yeah it's still cool.

i know that i should go for that skill that lets me craft neuromods, but i've just been opening up other branches in the skill tree. just 3 hours in so that probably shouldn't screw me over!
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TVontheRadio posted...

Visual Novels

Umineko isn't the hot shit anymore. The sequel came out and kind of retroactively made the story worse. I can't really recommend it to people anymore.

Side note: Umineko is out on Steam now with an official English translation. I really wish that had existed back in the day when I was propogating it! Would've made things ten times easier!

Phoenix Wright is the obvious recommendation but if you're on B8 you've probably played it. Zero Escape is great stuff, even with its flaws. Danganronpa is SUPER anime but if you're okay with that aesthetic you'll probably like it.

As far as the less 'mainstream' stuff goes (by B8 standards), Fate/Stay Night is the most popular Visual Novel of all time. Tsukihime, Steins;Gate, Clannad, Ever17, and Higurashi are all popular, although each one comes with caveats.

A new one came out on Steam recently called The House of Fata Morgana. I haven't played it yet but it looks really cool and is highly rated.

i like the brevity of ddlc! it's very much an "experience" that truly empathizing with each character wasn't my take away. and even with how short some of that stuff was, i still had an emotional response to the characters' plights. i mean yeah having just gone through drama with a couple of women this year probably helped in that regard, but i can't ignore how i felt!

I had an emotional response to things, I just wish some of it had gotten more time to breathe. Well, specifically Natsuki, who gets shafted by the story. If you don't follow her 'route' you'll learn almost nothing about her.
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https://www.polygon.com/features/2017/12/19/16793294/ranking-the-numbered-final-fantasy-games

I like this role Jeremy Parish has settled into, where gets paid to regularly upset certain video game fandoms. It's like a community outreach program for Sonic fandom

I might as well make my list too because all topics turn into Final Fantasy rankings, eventually:

Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 14
Final Fantasy 5
Final Fantasy 10
Final Fantasy 12
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 4
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 3
Final Fantasy 2
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy 8
Final Fantasy 15
Final Fantasy 13
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that's actually a pretty good FF ranking by him
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Is that best to worst or worst to best?
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his is bottom to top

mine is top to bottom
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Still doing that FF15 is bad joke , I commend your adherence to the bit
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And I dont know , that guys list is pretty good
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FF6 at #1 definitely upsets me
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love to develop an open world game with hunting elements and ignore all the lessons open world and hunting games have learned over the years, like "don't make quest chains out of searching for 18 dog tags" and "don't make quest chains out of searching for 40 frogs"
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only problem with icon's list is that 15 is above 13
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final fantasy 13 is a poorly designed game with bad characters and a bad story
final fantasy 15 is a poorly designed game with bad characters and no story
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Polygon got 2 of my top 5 in their top 5, but also have 2 of my bottom 5 in it

FF15 has great characters and story, the story is just told a little poorly
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icon likes FFXIII he just doesn't want to admit it
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Man, I kind of want to buy Mario Kart 8 a third time just for that steelbook.
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The tabletop game in the first episode of LiS: Before the Storm is so charming. What an awesome scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOu08Uikul0
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9 and a half hours into prey and i can safely say that i'm REALLY enjoying it. good shot of making my top 10 if it maintains this quality or gets better! i do remember people not liking how it wraps up.

been busy at work though so not a lot of downtime to sneak in some zelda. i did manage to clear the first four shrines and get the paraglider. things will be opening up from here on out, no?

iiicon posted...

The tabletop game in the first episode of LiS: Before the Storm is so charming. What an awesome scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOu08Uikul0

okay now that episode 3 is out i should get on this
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NoA is now using the Nintendo Power name for a podcast, of all things.

https://twitter.com/nintendoamerica/status/943911552310165504

(Meanwhile I just bought a Switch, but as Im at work for the next 8.5 hours I wont be able to do anything with it until tomorrow.)
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TVontheRadio posted...

okay now that episode 3 is out i should get on this

and now i'm hearing from non-hyperbolic people i trust that the ending is absolute garbage sooo now i'm looking forward to seeing the new ways life is strange episode endings make me groan and question if they understand the subject matter they're tackling!!
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the ending is okay

I mean, I'd take it over the first one's ending
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The first LiS had two good endings, though
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i am talking about episodes 2 and 3 specifically, which are hot garbage.

e: i mean, i'm going to play the rest of the series. i had reservations about it going in that were kinda resolved (but also kinda not?) when ashly burch announced she was working on the series in an advisory capacity, but i'm here now. i loved episode 1, which benefits from being a sequel to a series with already established motivations and conflicts, and can just live in the space it creates for its characters. it was heartwarming, it was lovely, it was life is strange without the bs. i am looking forward to seeing how they cross the finish line while breaking their legs.
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I thought episode 1 was pretty weak - but also, you didn't seem to like the first one that much so I'm surprised you're in for this one. you'll probably be disappointed in the end.
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dude, i played the first one the day the first episode came out, and the first thing i did when i finished the episode was buy the season pass for episodes 2-4.

in the weeks before the storm came out, i replayed life is strange season 1.
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I really like LIS and I don't think I could replay it. same with Walking Dead. those games are so much a one-time experience.
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I think Episodes 1 & 2 of BtS are both pretty good. There are some decent spots in Episode 3 but it feels rushed and disjointed in a way that made it hard to have any emotional impact on me the way that the finale of LiS did.
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i will always have time to revisit works that go deep into existential loneliness. life is strange is full of gems, and before the storm is no different:

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Chloe's notebook is great, but also weirdly reverent to the original game to the point of detracting from it as an original work. that was a problem I had with episode 1 that gets better.
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her notebook is just a scene recap with in character editorializing. unless you're talking about the notebook itself, but that's a hallmark of the genre and not just life is strange.

the only weird hangover from the first game are the moments when you sit down and deliver an inner monologue. max is a wallflower and it fits. chloe? ehhhh.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1f6o9YroSc

only goty show worth a damn
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Platinumd Jak II on the PS4 last night

What a weird game, difficulty-swing-wise
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played a lot of night in the woods yesterday. took some time for me to warm up to it, but yeah, i'm all in it now after stuff has happened. also, i like the routine of talking to the cool people of possum springs!

also got little red lie from the steam sale. been thinking of getting it ever since i read that paste review. i never got around to playing actual sunlight, but i edited a review for it. so yeah i'm excited to be reminded of how the world can be a cold, hateful place! perfect way to end the year.

and because i am bad with money, i got life is strange before the storm and little nightmares from the psn holiday sale. gotta buy these games!

iiicon posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1f6o9YroSc

only goty show worth a damn

oh shit yes
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I really hated Night in the Woods. It was nice and charming early on, but most parts are way too depressing. Playing it made me feel unhappy. I don't get why you'd want to play this game unless you just want to hate life or something.
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night in the woods makes me smile more than most games in existence

so i definitely don't agree with that
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Xenoblade feelings starting to trend negatively again. I think I should probably just try to beeline through the main story at this point to try and finish it before my desire to play it wanes even more.
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nitw has both sad and funny stuff! it's more sad than funny for me, but hey that's my life right now though so i'm good with that.

but yo digi if you want to smile while playing games you need to get on that butterfly soup!
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Any recommendations for a reliable HDMI splitter? Right now our TV has three ports, and we have PS3, 360, Xbone, Wii U, Switch, and a streaming box. While we can run one of those through the Xbone (its been the 360 for quite a while), and of course Switch and a lot of Wii U can run without the TV, would be nice to have a solution that doesnt involve messing with the cables anytime we want to swap around.
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Night in the Woods is a sad game? I'm now 100% more interested in it than I was before!
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Depressing, not sad. There's a big difference imo.
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i understand where you can get that, the game is basically depressed millennial simulator

but the overall message is a positive one and the charm is oozing from every pore, the dialogue is so funny, i can't imagine thinking it's too depressing, but to each their own

i'll be replaying it soon with the weird autumn update

Mac Arrowny posted...

Depressing, not sad. There's a big difference imo.

you also said "unhappy" which is not depression, so taking sadness from what you said was hardly the point
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JonThePenguin posted...

Any recommendations for a reliable HDMI splitter? Right now our TV has three ports, and we have PS3, 360, Xbone, Wii U, Switch, and a streaming box. While we can run one of those through the Xbone (its been the 360 for quite a while), and of course Switch and a lot of Wii U can run without the TV, would be nice to have a solution that doesnt involve messing with the cables anytime we want to swap around.

I tried various budget HDMI splitters on Amazon, and all of them broke within a couple months. Literally all of them, out of five or so. When I decided to look for something a bit better, I ended up buying this one (I needed 4K/60) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FXALWYY/

Now, there are still plenty of reviews on that one saying it breaks a lot. There's just no reliability in these products until you get to the level of $1000 receivers.

But that one I linked is the only one of six that appears to be made of good parts and hasn't broken. My best advice is buy from Amazon so you have a great return policy.
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Played some of that Master of Orion remake/reboot/whatever. It's enjoyable though not as good as MoO2. Can't exactly place my finger on why though
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digiiiiiiiii posted...

JonThePenguin posted...

Any recommendations for a reliable HDMI splitter? Right now our TV has three ports, and we have PS3, 360, Xbone, Wii U, Switch, and a streaming box. While we can run one of those through the Xbone (its been the 360 for quite a while), and of course Switch and a lot of Wii U can run without the TV, would be nice to have a solution that doesnt involve messing with the cables anytime we want to swap around.

I tried various budget HDMI splitters on Amazon, and all of them broke within a couple months. Literally all of them, out of five or so. When I decided to look for something a bit better, I ended up buying this one (I needed 4K/60) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FXALWYY/

Now, there are still plenty of reviews on that one saying it breaks a lot. There's just no reliability in these products until you get to the level of $1000 receivers.

But that one I linked is the only one of six that appears to be made of good parts and hasn't broken. My best advice is buy from Amazon so you have a great return policy.

Ugh, I was afraid of that. Oh well.
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and i beat night in the woods

the humor was hit and miss for me. some of it genuinely made me laugh, some of it was a bit much. but the serious shit, finji nailed it every single time. the message at the end really got to me. had kind of a shit year emotionally even though i've done well for some personal goals and with work, so hearing that stuff at the end was super touching that i started tearing up a bit. not out of sadness, really. just reminded of the good friends i have that kept me going throughout 2017.

i think i'm going to send some cheesy messages their way because hey it's the holidays and the end of the year is near!
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BV1XBIY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_cf6pAb0JAN8YP

@JonThePenguin I bought one of these about a year and a half ago and it has worked pretty well for me with no issues so far.
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Play Final Fantasy V
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