What Video Games Are You Playing Right Now?

[Vokoca]

Bleh to get any serious money in-game in Yakuza 0, you probably need to use the companion Vita app to be able to put time into it, and you need the money to level up your abilities... while there are plenty of alternatives for sure, this is kind of fucked, especially for an action game. In the last chapters and I'm barely through half of all the skill trees... I suppose it is an incentive to get into the side content more, but 6 skill trees is just a lot to fill.  Ishin was much simpler in this regard.

Still, now that the game is announced to get localised... get the game, guys. The money system can be a pain in the ass, but the rest is pretty fucking awesome.

[Funyarinpa]

the companion Vita app

Oh Japan 

[Vokoca]

Well I haven't tried this one, but the Ishin companion app not only let you play the farming/fishing portion of the game, but it also had most of the minigames and the entire dungeon system. What this means is that you not only got to play the downtime portions of the game (which are fully 3D rendered ports of the original game parts btw), but you got to play with the entire battle system too in the dungeon part of the game. So basically you had almost everything but the free-roam+story on the go, and that was a pretty damn good deal imo, especially considering the Vita 'app' was completely free, regardless of you owning the game.

0 doesn't have the dungeon system, so I'm not sure if they even kept the battle system in for this instalment, but even so it is a grreat way to kill time during commution and such and then carry over the profits into your main game. Western developers should take a cue imo, the only companion app I've tried was for GTAV, and that was complete horseshit.  

[Hijiri]

Got Until Dawn and that's what I'm playing. So far I'm having a ball.

[Fred the Barber]

Just finished the main storyline of Disgaea 5. I am pleased to say that I found it to be the best yet in the series. The characters are deeper and better-developed (and generally both more fun and interesting) than ever, the overarching plot themes are better-executed, and the gameplay absolutely shines this time around. After the slow slide from greatness after the first Disgaea game (2 was a little worse, then 3 was a little more worse, and then 4 was just not great at all), they really turned things around with Disgaea D2, and then got it pretty much perfect with Disgaea 5. With regards to gameplay especially:

- They added a lot of new mechanics, but the new mechanics don't feel bloated (c.f., Disgaea 4, with the weird board game of character placement) or frustratingly time-consuming (c.f. Disgaea 3, with the frustrating ability purchasing system that required you to get lots of kills with your healer for them to be able to learn new healing magic)

- The existing mechanics are around and are still solid

- Classes and weapons are better balanced than I have ever seen in a Disgaea game. This, IMO, has been a major weakness of the series since the beginning - usually, some classes or weapons are just vastly better than others. This time around, whatever class you want to play around with, it's totally viable, while still not being overpowered enough to make you not want to try other things.

I'm just starting the postgame now, so time will tell if I stick with that or move on to some other game for the time being (Tales of Zestiria is still waiting), but regardless, at some point a few months after I've put the game down, I know I'll get the itch to play another Disgaea game again. When that happens, Disgaea 5, not any previous iteration in the series, will definitely be the game I come back to.

[Jun Inoue]

Just finished the main storyline of Disgaea 5. I am pleased to say that I found it to be the best yet in the series. The characters are deeper and better-developed (and generally both more fun and interesting) than ever, the overarching plot themes are better-executed, and the gameplay absolutely shines this time around. After the slow slide from greatness after the first Disgaea game (2 was a little worse, then 3 was a little more worse, and then 4 was just not great at all), they really turned things around with Disgaea D2, and then got it pretty much perfect with Disgaea 5. With regards to gameplay especially:

- They added a lot of new mechanics, but the new mechanics don't feel bloated (c.f., Disgaea 4, with the weird board game of character placement) or frustratingly time-consuming (c.f. Disgaea 3, with the frustrating ability purchasing system that required you to get lots of kills with your healer for them to be able to learn new healing magic)

- The existing mechanics are around and are still solid

- Classes and weapons are better balanced than I have ever seen in a Disgaea game. This, IMO, has been a major weakness of the series since the beginning - usually, some classes or weapons are just vastly better than others. This time around, whatever class you want to play around with, it's totally viable, while still not being overpowered enough to make you not want to try other things.

I'm just starting the postgame now, so time will tell if I stick with that or move on to some other game for the time being (Tales of Zestiria is still waiting), but regardless, at some point a few months after I've put the game down, I know I'll get the itch to play another Disgaea game again. When that happens, Disgaea 5, not any previous iteration in the series, will definitely be the game I come back to.

Seriously? Because the general idea, and mine especially, is that they failed tremendously with Disgaea 5. Coming from the excellent (and probably best in the series) D4, with charismatic and likeable characters, a funny and wacky yet interesting and intense MC, and lots of their silly, full of puns fun, D5 is cliché and boring. A tale of revenge, the MC being a loner badass, broken team that slowly drifts together while they learn more of each other... really? the storyline and characters of D5 was pure stereotype shounen material.

The only thing that makes me like D5 is that they did indeed do excellent improvements on gameplay and technical stuff. While the squads are a bit weird and counterintuitive, most of the things (both old and new) feel great and smooth, and the dice game that slightly improves characters makes me think of The Guided Fate Paradox.

[Eclipsed]

Picking up Fairy Fencer F, stalling Atelier Ayesha

[Jun Inoue]

Picking up Fairy Fencer F, stalling Atelier Ayesha

Is it good or are you going in blind? Cuz I've heard pretty weak "meh" style reviews on those latest titles by NIS.

[Eclipsed]

It's about on par with a Hyperdimension Neptunia game, similar battle mechanics, similar artstyle, similar lighthearted goofy storyline & characters, main difference being there's a lazy-type dude protagonist this time around, and instead of CPUs being the cool people it's Fencers. So a "serious" gamer that doesn't like Nep probably wouldn't enjoy it as much.

I picked it up mainly cuz of Tiara who made a cameo in Hyperdevotion Noire; her tsundere-masochist personality is auto-win

[Toastywafflz]

I picked it up mainly cuz of Tiara who made a cameo in Hyperdevotion Noire; her tsundere-masochist personality is auto-win

 See, this is why Plutia is the best girl.

 = 

SADISM~

Ahem.

I uh, need to finish Neptunia 1 and 2 and then get Victory still.  Then I'll be able to handle me some Fairy Fencer F.  But yeah, these games ride on their characters and charm more than anything, so if you get it for any other reason you risk disappointment.  As for me, besides Neptunia, I need to play more Akiba's Trip (Akiba Strip >:D), and get around to some of my other RPG's.  Get together with my friends and finish Symphonia, play more Trails in the Sky, get better at Ys so I don't get slaughtered constantly, and so on.  I also recommend the Kung Fury video game for those of you who have seen that little gem.

[Jade]

Picking up Fairy Fencer F, stalling Atelier Ayesha

Ooohhh, you playing the Updated re-release Dark advent or the Regular one? 

[HotTrax]

Been replaying Lightning Returns PC release. Pretty great port, runs great. (Anything is better than console performance.) Hope 15 comes to PC.

[sixx]

Call of duty:black ops 3 LEL 

[LinovaA]

Replaying Tales of the Abyss on my old fatty PS2 for the nth time. ^^

Luke, my boy, I will never get tired of your ceaseless whining. <3 

Edit: I would also like to mention that I would literally pay infinite money to play a version of the game where every character is genderbent. Just sayin'.

Edited December 15, 2015 by LinovaA

[Fred the Barber]

Edit: I would also like to mention that I would literally pay infinite money to play a version of the game where every character is genderbent. Just sayin'.

Tales of the Abyss never grabbed me, so I only played it for a few hours, but from what I've seen of the cast, I can totally see where you're coming from.

Still enjoying Disgaea 5. Given Jun's comments, I feel like I need to go back and give Disgaea 4 another chance - I never got more than a couple chapters into it, so I really didn't give the characters a fair shot. I do remember some of the mechanics in that one making it hard for me to stick with it, but I shall persevere. As far as Disgaea 5 being cliché... it's undeniable that the game is filled with clichés (all Disgaea games are), but at least for me the overall experience was still a good one. I didn't really internalize it until this iteration in the series, but I feel like the goal of most aspects of any given Disgaea game is to take something that's been done before, and then push it to a logical extreme, until it breaks in a funny and interesting way. The gameplay, with its ridiculous leveling, best exemplifies this, but it's also true of the stories and characters. Characters always start as larger-than-life caricatures, and the plot usually starts off as a hackneyed cliché (though in a bizarre setting). Then they look for ways to stand these things on their head, or to push them over the edge, thereby turning the caricatures into relatable people, or changing the clichéd story into a completely different (but probably still cliché) story, where usually everybody learns a valuable lesson about life, love, and the magic of friendship. Maybe it was a little more obvious this time than usual, but the formula worked ok for me this time too, and I grew quite attached to more of the cast than I usually do.

All that said, apparently I've been playing too much Disgaea 5 and I fried my PS4 - it won't run for more than about a minute now. Tomorrow I need to try to upload my saved game to the cloud, get the game out of the console, and call Sony support... ugh. I just hope I don't lose my ~70 hours of progress on this game.

[Fox_DL]

Currently playing FF13.. Chapter 11 just opened up..

[Funyarinpa]

I realized that part of the reason I like Persona 4 Golden so much is that it's pretty much emulating the experience of having a fulfilling life. 

[LinovaA]

 Tales of the Abyss never grabbed me, so I only played it for a few hours, but from what I've seen of the cast, I can totally see where you're coming from.

I can totally understand why it wouldn't grab you. Honestly, the first ten hours are kind of a drag. The real meat of the game comes around the ten hour mark, I would say. Also, the first few hours of the game are especially arduous to get through.

Funny enough, the anime does a better job at presenting the first few hours of the story than the game does. In my opinion, of course, as I know there are people who would very quickly disagree with me. ^^''

[Jade]

Currently playing King Quest Chapter 2.

Time to continue Graham's adventure!

[Eclipsed]

 Ooohhh, you playing the Updated re-release Dark advent or the Regular one? 

PC, i ain't getting a PS4 for a long, long while

[Jade]

 Ooohhh, you playing the Updated re-release Dark advent or the Regular one? 

PC, i ain't getting a PS4 for a long, long while

Ahhhh.....I understand that feeling  

[Eclipsed]

Feeling pretty damn good about Atelier Ayesha right now, managed to save

Nio, with 0 days to spare, seriously idk how the stars lined up that I managed to be at the final boss area in time, but I'm glad fate was on my side because if I had to do another playthrough I would've probably raged and broken my Vita ._.

I actually lost to Yggdrasil on my first try, so the date moved to 4/1, aka the deadline in which you get the "Failure to save Nio" ending so I was like oh hell naw!@#


ggez

~~
 Btw, huge props to Wilbell's broken Elemental Call, it's the only reason I managed to win

[Funyarinpa]

Rise swiftly climbing up the best girl ranks in Persona 4 Golden

Man I love her dungeon so much. Music is kinky as fuck. I like female characters that enjoy sexual acts, so the whole premise of the dungeon and Shadow Rise is pretty great. Rise's voice and sprite is 10/10 too.

I haven't played P4G the last few days since I was more focused on finishing Euphoria, but I think I played for around 3 hours yesterday. The camping stuff was hilarious and there were a few amazing moments. I haven't had that much fun with my IRL friends in what might be weeks.

P4G is an amazing Fulfilling Life Simulator.

 

[Turnip Sensei]

Feeling pretty damn good about Atelier Ayesha right now, managed to save

Hidden Content

Good Job!
Stories like this is why I love video games; on top of the written story of the game, everyone has their own cool little stories that are formed through game mechanics.

If you really liked Ayesha, try doing new game+ at some point. Now that you know what to do, you'll have plenty of surplus time for optional bonding with other characters and trying to get the character specific extra endings.

I'm actually replaying Ayesha right now, trying to refresh my memory before Atelier Escha & Logy releases. Mainly my purpose is the finish the story lines for some characters I neglected the first time through and just enjoy more of the cutesy character interactions.

[Fred the Barber]

Go go Eclipse-chan! Agreed with Turnip, the Ayesha main story ending is pretty great, and I like the way they present side character stories naturally as you spend time travelling with each character. I also need to go back and do an Ayesha New Game+ to pick up more endings, but I'm torn between that and trying to pick up Rorona instead.

So, I decided to do neither of those, and it looks like I'm going to try out Stella Glow today, which I picked up on a lark a week back when Amazon told me that I should buy it. I'll report back here on actual enjoyability.