What are you playing?

[Sload Soap]

My Yakuza series cruise continues apace with Yakuza 5. This one has Kiryu away from Tokyo and gangs trying to live peacefully as a taxi driver in Fukuoka. Obviously it takes less than two minutes before he's dragged back into the world of kicking people shitless and spouting nonsense about honour but it's a nice premise. Also has a brilliant taxi driving mini-game. There are 4 more characters to play as yet so I expect this one to be even lengthier than 4.

Sticking with Sega I have Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed on the go in semi-preparation for Team Sonic Racing, which frankly looks like a step down but hey ho, any excuse to play SASRT is fine in my book as it's in my top five racers of all time.

I also have made steps into Red Dead Redemption 2's online component. I didn't really want to get the game yet (was waiting for a sale) but was pressured by some friends. I wasn't particularly enthused by early reports of the online and feared that, like with Sea of Thieves, there wouldn't be much to do and navigation would be a massive timesink. Well I was right, the world is massive and there isn't much to do and getting anywhere takes a bloody age. To Sea of Thieves credit though, it didn't push micro-transactions like RDR2 is, not that there is much to spend that real world cash on.

There are very few missions to do currently, little reason to do them and little reward if you do make the effort. The most fun I've found is in hunting but as I said to my friends, if we wanted a game where we went around murdering animals and selling their carcasses Monster Hunter World looks much better as well as being much cheaper. Still, I haven't started the single player so hopefully that'll justify the purchase.

[Ack]

Since I wrapped up the final expansion for Wolfenstein 3D, I decided to keep with the era. I'm now playing Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold with the help of some mods that enable it to run in more modern screen resolutions. I'm only a few levels into the first episode, and this is apparently three times longer than Wolfenstein 3D, but we'll see how I feel after more time playing it.

For those of you familiar with Blake Stone, do I go through the levels sequentially, or do I just need to ensure my Mission Score is high enough to beat an episode?

[Arenegeth]

I have some bad news about Shenmue.

One of the scrolls I had left at the Antique Shop was a Throw move.

When I was looking at the list (sourced from one of the Wiki's I believe) they had the 2000 price-tag antique shop source only under Arm Break Fire and not Tiger Storm, though since they are right after one another, I guess it was meant for both.

Just to be clear what this means is that I will have to restart. Again. Not from Disc 3, not from Disc 2, from the very, very, start.

Judging from the Data Review on the Passport, is about 40 hours worth of work (and a lot of time spend save scumming not registered) down the drain...

I can't stop blaming myself for not noticing this before also, but I guess I'll have to pay the price and start all over again.

There's some upside to this, now that I was getting closer to the end, I noticed that I could afford to waste the time at the Warehouse to get all the scenes from the Old Bum, and also I did a few things inefficiently even after the two restarts I've done so far already. I could also start the Slot Machines earlier, since after the initial 1000 Yen investment, they are basically free, and gives me more time to build towards the 50k certificate.

Of course the argument can also be made, since I probably won't be able to max out all the Throwing moves anyway (or that one non throwing move Master Chen teaches you pretty much right at the end of the game) what's the point? Well that may be true, but Tiger Storm could be maxed, or close to max as possible by endgame, now it will stick out as a sore thumb, especially compared to Arm Break Fire.

And no, the concept of quitting or settling is not acceptable to me, I will either get this done to my standards or die trying.

I've also ordered a Dreamcast controller with Turbo functionality to help with Space Harrier, I guess in the process of completing this, I'll basically have to master two Arcade games from the 80's also, may as well blindfold myself and tie one hand behind my back while I'm at it.

This has put a dumper on my mood and an even bigger mess on my general schedule, at this rate, I'll still be playing Shenmue I (or hopefully II by then) by the time III comes out. Remember I started this process back at Christmas, so almost exactly a month ago, and is not like I've taken a single step in actual registered progress since then, though from what I noticed, knowing is not half, but 90% of the battle with this game.

Oh and my burned patched Passport disc works like a charm in trading the toys with no fuss, so that's one positive thing at least.

At this point, I may as well write a guide when I'm done. There's a 'perfect' guide out there but it opens up by basically waving away Fangemi's Birthday. The only real reason why I'm time pressured at all, if it wasn't for that, I could dally all the way until April and play with the cat at the shrine most of the time. So you know how 'perfect' that is...

Just as a final note, I was using my original save from back in the day as the 'backbone' to this playthrough, mostly because I wanted to use the 'Actual Yokosuka Weather' from the start, but this has resulted in some interesting cumulative statistics at the Data Review on the Passport. For example, despite doing every QTE flawlessly from the first try, and having an 100% rate, my cumulative is 75% due to my failures in my original organic playthrough all the way back in the day. That is not a concern, since I like carrying that flawed history from close to two decades ago, I just thought it be interesting to mention.

[pierrot]

Started Castlevania II over the long weekend.

I was actually playing this a little bit over the weekend, also. (Twins!) More accurately, I was playing the Wii VC release of Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin, because I was hoping to avoid any need to consult a guide. I stopped playing after getting the rib, and buying a couple things at the other town. Was given a blue orb for the white one I was carrying, but no explanation of what the hell the orbs are even for, in the first place. The potential for backtracking has partially prevented me from going back to it at all. I feel like it kind of plays like crap, but I can sort of understand why people might like it, anyway.

One of the scrolls I had left at the Antique Shop was a Throw move.

When I was looking at the list (sourced from one of the Wiki's I believe) they had the 2000 price-tag antique shop source only under Arm Break Fire and not Tiger Storm, though since they are right after one another, I guess it was meant for both.

So, why do you have to restart from the beginning? I assume you hadn't bought Tiger Storm, but is it because you want to have it from as early as possible to maximize proficiency in it? Are your other throws over the intermediate skill line? Because I thought it was possible to set the daily training for just a single move, instead of just strikes, kicks, or throws.

Oh and my burned patched Passport disc works like a charm in trading the toys with no fuss, so that's one positive thing at least.

This is really cool. I didn't realize this existed. Do you have a decent source for it, that you could link to?

[Gunstar Green]

Since I wrapped up the final expansion for Wolfenstein 3D, I decided to keep with the era. I'm now playing Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold with the help of some mods that enable it to run in more modern screen resolutions. I'm only a few levels into the first episode, and this is apparently three times longer than Wolfenstein 3D, but we'll see how I feel after more time playing it.

For those of you familiar with Blake Stone, do I go through the levels sequentially, or do I just need to ensure my Mission Score is high enough to beat an episode?

I love both Blake Stone games. Jazzy music, retro-future designs, and Space James Bond style. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that the enemies don't stagger like in Wolf-3D so engage everyone at a distance to avoid taking huge amounts of damage. Also make heavy use of the map which makes the game a lot easier and faster to get through. Try not to shoot the informants either and you'll be lousy with ammo and food tokens.

You have to go through the levels sequentially. The elevator keys in each level only unlock the next floor so it's essentially the same as Wolf-3D except you can revisit previous levels at your leisure. The only reason for back tracking is if you need more health and ammo (which can be very useful in some episodes where you're starved of resources) and occasionally there are secrets behind force-fields that you can unlock on higher floors. The game never requires you to revisit levels however.

Originally the plan was to make it a big, non-linear game, but Apogee intervened when testers found it too confusing.

For fun here's a cool interview with Mike Maynard, the "M" in JAM (James and Mike) Productions. He was friends with the id guys which is how he got recommended for Blake Stone and ended up working for the company down the line (as well as being part of Romero's infamous Daikatana team). He's still at id today: http://legacy.3drealms.com/news/2006/03 ... cy_12.html

[noiseredux]

Started Castlevania II over the long weekend.

I was actually playing this a little bit over the weekend, also. (Twins!) More accurately, I was playing the Wii VC release of Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin, because I was hoping to avoid any need to consult a guide. I stopped playing after getting the rib, and buying a couple things at the other town. Was given a blue orb for the white one I was carrying, but no explanation of what the hell the orbs are even for, in the first place. The potential for backtracking has partially prevented me from going back to it at all. I feel like it kind of plays like crap, but I can sort of understand why people might like it, anyway.

yeah none of the items are explained. That's one of the biggest issues with trying to play it without a guide.

As far as playing like crap... I'm not with you on that one. I think it controls great. Feels much like the first game really, which I think is really solid. I genuinely find the controls more... I don't know, intuitive? in the NES games than in Super Castlevania IV.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Started Castlevania II over the long weekend.

I was actually playing this a little bit over the weekend, also. (Twins!) More accurately, I was playing the Wii VC release of Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin, because I was hoping to avoid any need to consult a guide. I stopped playing after getting the rib, and buying a couple things at the other town. Was given a blue orb for the white one I was carrying, but no explanation of what the hell the orbs are even for, in the first place. The potential for backtracking has partially prevented me from going back to it at all. I feel like it kind of plays like crap, but I can sort of understand why people might like it, anyway.

yeah none of the items are explained. That's one of the biggest issues with trying to play it without a guide.

As far as playing like crap... I'm not with you on that one. I think it controls great. Feels much like the first game really, which I think is really solid. I genuinely find the controls more... I don't know, intuitive? in the NES games than in Super Castlevania IV.

I’ve asked in two threads already, and I’ll ask again here since I think pierrot knows the answer...Is the Japanese version of the game less cryptic than the NA release? In other words, will I better be able to play through the game without a guide if I play a better translation? Or, do you pretty much need s guide no matter what?

[pierrot]

As far as playing like crap... I'm not with you on that one. I think it controls great. Feels much like the first game really, which I think is really solid. I genuinely find the controls more... I don't know, intuitive? in the NES games than in Super Castlevania IV.

I didn't really mean in terms of controls, because you're right, it doesn't control dramatically differently from the first game on the NES. I feel like I prefer the third game in terms of controls, but it's been a while since I played it, and maybe my love of that game as a whole is influencing that idea.

Anyway, in terms of what I found a bit crappy, I was referring more to the level layouts, enemy designs (placement, and patterns), progression, 'mine sweeping' with the holy water, and general game-feel. It could just be the sound emulation on the Wii VC release, but I also wasn't as thrilled about hearing Bloody Tears all the time, as I would have expected. I'm not saying it's a bad game, though. I think it's perfectly reasonable that people enjoy playing it. I could certainly see playing it around its release, after the first NES game, and being excited about 'exploring the Castlevania world,' so to speak. I'm just not particularly entertained by it. Also, the invisible blocks are super obnoxious, and I didn't realize they would be as prevalent as they are, that early into the game.

I’ve asked in two threads already, and I’ll ask again here since I think pierrot knows the answer...Is the Japanese version of the game less cryptic than the NA release? In other words, will I better be able to play through the game without a guide if I play a better translation? Or, do you pretty much need s guide no matter what?

I don't know that I could say for certain, because I haven't really played all that much of either the FDS, or the Western version. I've known for some time about the infamous whirlwind (?) thing, and I had heard at one point that some of the issues with figuring out where to go, or what to do were introduced in the localization. So that's partly why I went with the FDS, but I couldn't say much in terms of comparisons. I know that the NPCs in the FDS version do a whole lot of place-name dropping, as if I know where any of those places are. I just try to file it away, but they talk about so many different places, it can be a little tough to keep straight. I don't know if this is usually an issue at all, but I was able to find the merchants in the second town without any really trouble. I had to think about it for a second, but it was relatively straight forward.

[Arenegeth]

So, why do you have to restart from the beginning? I assume you hadn't bought Tiger Storm, but is it because you want to have it from as early as possible to maximize proficiency in it? Are your other throws over the intermediate skill line? Because I thought it was possible to set the daily training for just a single move, instead of just strikes, kicks, or throws.

All my other throws, except Shoulder Buster, which is slightly below, are above the intermediate line, and will most likely max out or be very close to maxing out by the end of the game. Tiger Storm would be one of them if I had picked it up along with Arm Break Fire at the start of the game.

The daily training at the bed doesn't work the way it appears to. It gives you EXP towards the type (or all moves if you don't select anything), or specific move you selected only after certain 'story' sequences. Usually QTE's and Free battles (this includes optional stuff). That means, if I just spend days doing nothing but training (the other moves that I can practice solo), the meter for whatever I chose doesn't budge, but after I move the story along, you see it visibly move.

Tengu Drop and Shoulder Buster also don't unlock by executing, but through this process, which is why Tengu Drop unlocks for me right after (technically during) the free battle at the construction site in Sakuragaoka every single time, and Shoulder Buster at a sequence right after that.

Picking Tiger Storm by itself will give it a boost, but it would be at the expense of everything else, which might help it catch up to the rest but if the rest have any chance of maxing out, now is gone.

I said before, that it may be technically impossible to max out all the throwing moves, since even if all the rest get enough of a boost through this process, there's only so many story sequences left in Disc 3 to help boost the old bums taught throwing moves, and they will most likely not be enough to get them to max.

On top of that, Tom's move and especially Master Chen's final move (both of which are not throwing moves), that's taught to you right before the final Chai battle basically, may be impossible to max out because the game rushes you to the end at that point and you don't have time to run and train them.

But Tiger Storm would be able to be maxed out, considering every other non bum move is, now it will stand out among the rest as the only non-bum move that is not maxed out, or at least close to maxing out, since I haven't confirmed how far the moves will go yet.

Fuku-San sparring can also be extended as many days as you want, but mathematically it doesn't pan out. You get about 5 throws a day, so even if you stick around until April 14th it still won't be enough to max out everything (or even one thing), since past the intermediate line Throwing moves take as many executions as normal moves which means you need 20 just to see it go up once.

That's a lot of information I included here when I should have basically just replied 'I needed Tiger Storm as early as possible to have a chance at maxing it out'.

This is really cool. I didn't realize this existed. Do you have a decent source for it, that you could link to?

Yes, but it may not serve you since it might not cover the Japanese version of the game.

Here's the link.

Try to find the NTSC Hex in your Disc image. They say 'NTSC' but they basically mean American, the Hex sequence can be different in the Japanese version as it is in the European version. But I guess you have to try and see.

I assume you know how to get an image of the Passport Disc whether it is by ripping your own GD Rom or 'other' means.

I advise testing the Passport on an emulator first before burning an actual physical disc, just so you don't waste a disc if anything goes wrong. But you need a Shenmue save on your PC for that, even if you don't have the means to move your own, you can probably download somebody else's, or use a fresh save you just created on an emulator for testing purposes.

Either way, let us know how it goes.

[pook99]

Just finished Spider-man and am very near the end of Ori and the blind forest. When I am done I will be playing bloodborne and shadow of the tomb raider.

Any tips for me on bloodborne? I've never played it before, never played any of the souls games, I did beat Lords of the Fallen, and I did play Nioh but got bored of it about 17 hours in.

Also, although I also posted this in the games beaten thread, I am reposting this here because it may help someone

For anyone who wants to play castlevania 2, the best way to do it is with the rom hack called simons quest redaction. The rom hack makes the following changes:

1) text box is sped up considerably so day/night transitions are much smoother
2) Hearts are worth double so you dont have to spend as much time farming
3) villagers make sense and give actual hints
4) floors you can fall through are now invisible meaning you dont have to walk around spamming holy water

It makes the game infinitely more playable, and while it is still the weakest in the series, if you want to play through it, this is the way.