Board 8 > March Game of the Month Club ft. Red Dead, Portal 2, Super Mario RPG, and Ys

(+) Yeah! (+)

Marchs Games:
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (XB1/360/PS3)
Portal 2 (PC/360/PS3)
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES/Wii/Wii U)
Ys 1: Ancient Ys Vanished (PC/iOS/WII/DS/PS2/PSP/NES/plenty of obscure systems)

What is Game of the Month Club?
Game of the Month is a community project open to all B8ers where users share, discover, play and/or discuss a select few games every month. The games featured each month are chosen by YOU the users (and Lady Luck)

The Basics
- Each month will usually feature three games that were chosen via a random drawing from a pool of games that users nominated
- For each game you beat, you get a cool point on our just-for-fun standings as well as a nomination for next month's randomized drawing
- In order to receive the point and nomination, you must beat said game within the calendar month
- If you beat one of the current month's games in the previous month, you can apply for a "recently beaten waiver," but you will only receive a point and no nomination should you do so
- Drawing for next month's games is usually around a week before the end of the month
- If you periodically keep us posted on your progress and/or talk about different aspects of the games, then everyone will think you are super awesome!

Nomination Rules
- You get one nomination automatically each month
- You receive additional nominations each month for every chosen game that you beat
- Each game you nominate has to be unique from all other nominations and cannot include a game that has already been selected for GotM
- Each game must be a standalone game that can be acquired and played on its own (aka cannot be DLC/expansion that requires the base game)
- Nominations only carry over if you beat a chosen game after the drawing for next month's games but before the end of the month
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Just-for-Fun Standings (among those who beat a game in 2017 or later)
KCF: 104
gameking: 99
Mr Crispy: 62
ArkOfTurus: 60
Lolo Guru: 59
KnightOfNee: 35
Cody: 27
Arti: 23
scarletspeed: 23
MegamanX: 22
Fenny: 15
Robazoid: 13
Wickle: 13
Suprak the Stud: 12
Shonen Bat: 10
profDEADPOOL: 8
Wigs: 8
Shaduln: 7
UndeadUnicorn: 7
darkx: 6
GreatPaul: 6
Johnbobb: 6
MZero: 6
paperwarior: 6
BetrayedTangy: 5
MrSmartGuy: 5
LordoftheMorons: 4
Bane: 3
Cavedweller: 2
Fake Account: 2
KommunistKoala: 2
PrinceReva: 2
Waluigi1: 2
azuarc: 1
captaincanadian: 1
Harrich: 1
Kain66: 1
Not Dave: 1
Peace Frog: 1
SantaRPG: 1
SBell: 1
Steiner: 1
Tom Bombadil: 1
VintageGin: 1
Wiki: 1

Spreadsheet with history
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X8E8oqzES42W4S82j7WTfNnzNa8c3uXdSE1rnqYG7WM/edit?usp=sharing

Additional noms this month
Crispy - 1
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Tag

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Reposting my notes

Notes to self;

1)Thieves on path to tower
2)Reah is a girl in thewalled town who had silver harmonica stolen
3) monsters are in the mine
4) bats from mine destroyed Rastih (sp)

need more cash for a shield

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Tag. Might start SMRPG tomorrow.

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Shall likely try to start Portal 2 tomorrow, barring anything interrupting me on me day.

Shall try to get it and Ys done this month.

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I wandered into the mine and got one shot qq

Finally made some of the gold back and also got to level 2. Im skill bashing so much better now!

Also just north of Minea (sp?).and to the east over a bridge, then south huggjng the west bank you can find a cheat with a bestiary potion in it; drink it and you see enemy stats and your stats and stuff at all times for the rest of the game apparently

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just a heads up.

if you're playing the modern remade version of ys 1 (the psp/pc version), I would recommend just setting the difficulty to the easiest settings unless you're a masochist because the third boss and the last boss are horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible nightmares.

I haven't tried the turbo cd version, but it might be a bit more manageable since it combines the two games and I think the level carries over so you might have a little more breathing room in terms of gaining levels if you're having trouble instead of suffering such pain despite already being forced to be at the level cap.
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Sounds rough. Im playing the psp version, Ill let you know how I do.

Edit: Dang they werent kidding about the mine being deadly I got one shot again lol

plate mail and long sword ftw. On a mountain path.

Found a shrine which should have a magic book in it. Going to bed 4 now.

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Got two star pieces on SMRPG

Man I keep forgetting how good this game is. I have a few complaints though (it doesn't seem like you can see the stats of armor before you buy it?) Also I don't see anyway to check what items do during battle. Maybe I'm just spoiled lol

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Wtf the shrine boss is ridiculous

Blue fire shooting everywhere and somehow I have to charge this teleporting mage without being hit by it even though hes basically standing inside it half of the time.

And this isnt even the evil boss?

Edit: ok that actually wasnt as bad as I thought once I started just sitting at the bottom and ignoring him until he teleported near the center of one of the sides of the room where it was more possible to hit him and dodge the flames quickly. If I wasnt ready or he appeared near the walls there just wasnt enough time so I ignored him until he appeared in the right spot >_>

I was treating it like a boss where you have to kill him before he kills you at first but its actually just a waiting game for the right opening since theres a safe spot out of the fire and he doesnt attack personally >_>

Huh, no autoheals in dungeons...

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Well I resorted to just charging all around the shrine with the mask on all the time but it worked >_>

edit: wow this damage double ring is amazing, can finally go to the mine and not die

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Tag

Gonna start Portal 2 soonish.
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Started Portal 2 today.

I am a horrible person

Got to Chapter 2 and did 2 tests, then stopped for the time being. Gonna try and watch an LP of the first game since I am missing out, ahaha~

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What, you haven't even played the first!?
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The first Portal game is neither expensive nor long, just play it! Its worth it! Tbh it was a more purely brilliant game than the second imo.

Just found a healing ring in the mine. Wow. So I wear it and heal then put the strength ring back on... so much for no dungeon healing.

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I am a methodical gamer, and I beat the first Portal in one sitting. It is definitely worth the experience.
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Found a roda seed in the mine and the guy at the bar who wanted to eat it refused so I said heck with it and ate it myself... >_> this is important Im sure.

Still not sure what Saras crystal does...

oh dang I think Feena and Reah are the two goddesses

note: bron in hospital said something about pikkards and to keep going... kill more pikkards and check pen in Barbado? It looked like it was filling up?

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Game of the Month is giving me just the push I needed to finally start Portal 2, which has been one of the many games sitting in my backlog for ages. In its case, it probably doesn't help that the original Portal kind of underwhelmed me. Anyways, I've just reached Chapter 3 for now, though I might push further later today.

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Not sure how you will feel about p2 then? It felt like a lot more of the same to me, emphasis on a lot. In my case I love me the first so I was a fan even though the bits with the colored goop puzzles halfway through made me start to think of the virtues of shorter games...

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Oh god bats everywhere

Edit: Take that ya bastard @_@

i had to like, try to circle hitting the corners at the right speed to try and get the bats to cluster and not fly all over? And hitting at this precise moment he forms was stupid hard, too late and Im in this massive shitstorm of bats lol wow cant imagine high difficulty levels

My ring not working was evil >_> Was hoping the heal ring would work..,not that I was even not fleeing bats long enough anyway.

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It does seem like it may be short because Im on floor 12 of Darm Tower. Big tower but it feels like Im in the final dungeon already only 7 hours in. Well, 7 hours worth plus times I died and went back to my last save... which isnt recorded.

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Does Super Mario RPG have the timed attack and defending mechanics like in Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi?

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Yes, at least for attacks. It is famous for its 100 consecutive combat jumps challenge.

I haven't played it in over a decade, so I forget if you can time blocks in it.
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You can time blocks.

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KCF0107 posted...

What, you haven't even played the first!?

FakeAccount3000 posted...

The first Portal game is neither expensive nor long, just play it! Its worth it! Tbh it was a more purely brilliant game than the second imo.

I hadn't, but watched an LP like I said, then turned on Steam the next day to see Metal bought it for me (due to the 2nd being my birthday). I'll go back after it since I am enjoying the series.

That said, I'm in the middle of Chapter 6 now.

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Id do it first because the lifeblood of portal is running gags but okay :3

You can time blocks in super Mario rpg, but you cant avoid all damage a lot of the time like in Mario and Luigi, just reduce it.

Also I just beat ys1! About 8 and a half hours, plus probably another hour or two of deaths that didnt go on the timer lol.

Do I get to submit my nominations for next month now or later? Because I want to nominate Ys 2: Ancient Ys Vanished Final.

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You can submit nominations any time before the drawing
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Cool. :)

Enjoying RDR Undead Nightmare.

Warning if your have the physical version of both RDR and Undead; Undead will not update properly when you first put it in, so say no to the update, then start a single player game, switch to multi mid game from the pause menu (NOT from the main menu on the title) as soon as you can and then accept the update, it will install correctly then and restart.

If you already got stuck by trying to download the update you can reinstall the original rdr game and it will fix the files undead broke, then try to install the undead game from your disc again and follow the above instructions

what a weird error. If you bought only Undead Nigjtmare it wouldnt happen or if you got both digital.

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Collected 3 star pieces in Super Mario RPG and am now in the Tower

Current Squad: Mario/Geno/Bowser

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I hate Booster and his little minions >_>

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Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace

aka, Portal 2 has been beaten. Total time was 12 hours, but I had at least an hour of afk thanks to playing before dinner a few times. Still went and played only it because I watched all of Portal 1. Definitely a great game, a lot later on had me stumped for a while. Good to have it done and with the number of achievements I left behind... definitely something to return to maybe a few times. Obviously will wait a long while till the puzzles are out of my system and play the first game first at that time.

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I knocked out Chapter 3 and part of Chapter 4 in Portal 2 today. I'm getting the sense I'll wind up liking it quite a bit more than the first Portal.

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Playing Undead Nightmare. Anyone have any tips how to get undead sharpshooter rank 3 challenge done? The kill 5 on fire undead in one dead eye meter.

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It has been almost 8 years since I last played it, and I don't remember messing around with challenges. That is something optional correct?
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Yeah. I finally managed to get it by finding a small pass that was just a giant clump of zombies up to the west of tall trees called Bear Campground or something like that. I tossed a zombie bait that really clustered them even more, then a fire bottle and dead eyed the lot of them al writing around burning and running at me. Took two tries but it eventually worked. And WOW the game started to really chug with slowdown. Never seen that on the PS3 before. XD

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Now I'm part of the way through Chapter 6, and I can say that my own habit to overthink things has been the biggest contributor to my struggles with certain puzzles so far.

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Its so easy to overthink Portal.

Undead Sharpshooter Rank 4 - kill one of each zombie type in one dead eye meter. Heck, Im not even sure where I would find all four together like that..

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Beat RDR Undead Nightmare, 14 and a half hours. I may or may not try to do some more side quests like the challenges but I finished the game.

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Started Mario RPG and just got the first star. This really takes me back. I even had to visit my parents to get the cartridge from my old room lol.

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14 hours for Undead Nightmare? Maybe I won't play it now. For some reason, I had it in my head it took me like 5-6 hours when I went through it in 2012.
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You could definitely do it sooner if you dont do all the side quests, missing person missions, look around for the four horses of the apocalypse, etc The hidden treasures kept me wandering for ages as Im terrible at that and I was trying to do the sharpshooter challenges for quite a while until I gave up, etc.

Im whatever the opposite of a speed runner is.

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Between picking up a gacha game again (always a good idea,) Granblue Fantasy Versus (you'd think the gacha game I was playing would be the one this is based off of. It is not,) and Nioh 2 apparently coming out in two days, I don't think I'm going to get much game replaying done.

I'll just nominate Kentucky Route Zero.

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I guess I forgot to post after my last session a few days back, at the end of which I was partway through Chapter 7. That means my next post in this topic will be reporting that I beat Portal 2 earlier today! My detailed thoughts, featuring a few minor tagged spoilers:

Purely from a gameplay perspective, I perceive Portal 2 as practically the perfect puzzle game. Alliteration aside, I found its difficulty curve and in fact difficulty in general spot-on. The new mechanics really contributed positively to make for a clearer sense of progression and a generally meatier experience than the original game, while staying true to its essence. Said additions never outstayed their welcome, and inversely weren't ever abandoned too soon, just as with the game in general.

My one nitpick with Portal 2's gameplay is entirely self-inflicted - to put it briefly, I am not good at puzzle games whatsoever, so I resorted to a guide to keep things moving more often than I would have liked, even though I could have feasibly beaten the game without doing so. On the plus side, that gives me something else to strive for in an eventual replay, alongside finding more secrets and unlocking more optional achievements than the 2 I earned.

However, even such finely polished puzzle gameplay might have left me unfulfilled if that was all Portal 2 had going for it. Luckily, that's not the case, as I experienced all those years ago before I ever actually played the game. Its compelling plot packs in a surprising amount of twists and turns without ever taking the spotlight away from the gameplay, culminating in a memorable ending. For me, Want You Gone easily trumped Still Alive, and in general, music and sound design were among the many things I felt it did well. As for its much-vaunted humor, small details like the text on posters clicked with me just as much as the three notable characters and their dynamics. Unfortunately, that's not quite the unilateral praise it sounds like, since it was rarely more than mildly amusing to me.

Technically speaking, Portal 2's graphics aren't all that impressive by 2011 standards, but they did a great job creating atmosphere while mostly making things clear. The frequent five-second loading screens were a bit of a downer, but more importantly, the game ran like a dream on my middling PC in between. I also appreciated its sense of scope over the first Portal, along with some minor touches of polish, such as those aforementioned loading screens varying depending on my progress.

Overall, I consider Portal 2 a great game, even if it's not quite among my favorites - and unlike the original, I felt it more or less lived up to the hype. To KCF, thank you for hosting Game of the Month, and so indirectly convincing me to finally play Portal 2!

To finish this post, I have a question for anyone who's already played Portal 2's co-op mode: is it designed for players who haven't beaten it singleplayer, or for those who have already done so, or is it some sort of mix of the previous two?

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I wouldn't watch this for anyone still going through Portal 2 or plans to in the future, but this used to be my sig for years, and it is one of my favorite lines in a video game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDbmu9YYoHA
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Started up Portal 2, made it to Chapter 3. The puzzles and gameplay are good, but the writing in this game is second to none. I have to pause every time someone is talking because the dialogue is so good.
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Monthly Progress
RDR Undead - Fake
Portal 2 - Wickle, Metalmind
SMRPG -
Ys I - Fake

Nominations
Ark - Kentucky Route Zero
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Hopefully I'll start on Ys tomorrow.

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5 star pieces in SMRPG and not really sure where to go next!

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