What are you playing?

[Ack]

Well, I have the first five coins in the SNK version of Cardfighters' Clash for the NGPC. I'm now working to get some better cards before I take on the big tournament and get the last coin. The SNK and Capcom versions really are almost exactly the same, so I expect I'll need some more 700+ BP cards. I'm mostly at 600 and up at this point, but there are a couple of 500s I've been keeping around either for abilities or SP.

[Arenegeth]

I finally started Shadow Man on PC, with a Texture Pack on. Though I had trouble starting the game with my CD, SecuROM strikes again! Had to use the GOG executable to make it work.

I sometimes forget how much I love 3D game design from that era, and games like Shadow Man and Indy Infernal Machine that I played recently, do a good job of reminding me.

Multilayered non-linear level design, mechanical depth, enemy variety, and complete lack of handholding. Is really sad how game design has devolved to to this sterile, formulaic, linear and condescendingly easy mess.

For the most part anyway, there's a few exceptions, but I really miss game design from that era, which I consider to be the pinnacle of game design in general, everything started to go downhill late during the PS2 era.

In other news, I got only the Sonic A and B Emblems left in Sonic Adventure and the Chao Race stuff. I'm slowly building a Perfect Chao, though I'll probably have all the Emblems from the Races before that happens.

Great fun playing Chao Adventure on the VMU after close to 20 years!

[noiseredux]

Got home late last night, ate dinner late, and just wanted to zone out. I remembered that Pokemon Shuffle was on 3DS so figured I'd re-download that. If you're not aware, Shuffle is pretty much like a Bejeweled or Puzzle Quest sort of game, but with Pokemon to catch. It's also free, and I got sucked into it for MONTHS a few years back when it first released. Whelp... turns out it still sucks you in. Or at least it sucks me in. Played it until I really needed to sleep.

[Arenegeth]

I got sucked into it for MONTHS a few years back when it first released. Whelp... turns out it still sucks you in. Or at least it sucks me in. Played it until I really needed to sleep.

I got sucked into it close after release also, and kept playing it (without spending a penny of course) all the way until mid-2017.

I eventually got tired of chasing the carrot, and after they 'nerfed' some Pokemon I had heavily invested in with my limited resources (since I didn't spend any money) I got tired of playing catch up, plus all the Pokemon they kept re-releasing also put me off, you only need so many Pikachu's.

I recently updated it again, but didn't bother to play it, I may go back if they stop messing with it, and they have a constant source of all the Pokemon I must have missed in all this time and all possible boost items, but more realistically I'll just forget about it and get Pokémon Trozei! on the DS that was released before Shuffle instead.

I've been stuck on Shadow Man for the past week, and by stuck, I mean I've glued myself there because of my completionist bullshit.

I first finish the game and find out that one of the secrets I was missing was permanently unobtainable (only thing in the game that's that way really) so I go ahead and use the debug menu (since I'm on PC and that's available) to obtain it.

That didn't sit very well with me, and the fact that another secret that I did get on my way through the game didn't unlock for some reason, made me restart the game all over again.

After I made some way through my second playthrough, I realized that I was missing some cut-scenes from the cut-scene viewer at the main menu. Turns out you have to keep going back to Nettie and Jaunty early game for 'hints' that I obviously didn't need having played the game previously all those years ago (and once more just before now).

So I start yet another game to get those, while keeping my second playthrough as my 'main' one since unlocks like that are universal between saves. And then I realize, two of the most simple, unmissable cut-scenes in the game (boss introductions) also didn't unlock for some reason, and at least one of them still won't unlock in my second playthrough.

So now on my third playthrough I'm trying to get to the boss before Shadow Man gets his powers in 'Liveside' to see if that unlocks it. But even if it does, it looks like is impossible to get to the other boss's cut-scene without your powers, but I guess we'll see.

My original playthrough was for 27 hours, my second is at 15 now and my baby third already at 3. This is the sort of stuff I do, in the sake of 'completion' that turn 20 hour games into 40 hour ones...

And of course even if I'm done, then I'll have to go and make sure I've got everything in the Dreamcast version, because of course I have to do that! Can't have an imperfect save file, no siree!

[prfsnl_gmr]

I’m playing 1001 Spikes (full title...Alan Hawkins and the 1001 Spikes: The Temple of the Dead Mourns the Living). It’s an extremely grueling, but completely fair, MSX-inspired platformer. It’s ransom really, really fun (for me), and I love the process of learning a level, developing a plan to beat it, and executing that plan perfectly to clear the level.

Technically, I’ve already beaten the game since I rolled the credits on it yesterday. I only just unlocked the Antarctic levels, however, which are basically the back half of the game. Once I get through those, I’ll write it up in the Games Beaten thread.

[noiseredux]

I got sucked into it close after release also, and kept playing it (without spending a penny of course) all the way until mid-2017.

I eventually got tired of chasing the carrot, and after they 'nerfed' some Pokemon I had heavily invested in with my limited resources (since I didn't spend any money) I got tired of playing catch up, plus all the Pokemon they kept re-releasing also put me off, you only need so many Pikachu's.

I recently updated it again, but didn't bother to play it, I may go back if they stop messing with it, and they have a constant source of all the Pokemon I must have missed in all this time and all possible boost items, but more realistically I'll just forget about it and get Pokémon Trozei! on the DS that was released before Shuffle instead.

I want to say I never spent any money... but I did. Not a lot. But still, it made me feel kind of icky and then I stopped playing it. But starting from scratch is kind of fun. As I remember from last time, the early game you never feel like it's chasing-the-carrot. Hearts and gems are aplenty, and all the Pokemons are easy enough to catch. So it's fun, for now.

What is Trozei? I've never heard of that one. It's similar?

[alienjesus]

I got sucked into it close after release also, and kept playing it (without spending a penny of course) all the way until mid-2017.

I eventually got tired of chasing the carrot, and after they 'nerfed' some Pokemon I had heavily invested in with my limited resources (since I didn't spend any money) I got tired of playing catch up, plus all the Pokemon they kept re-releasing also put me off, you only need so many Pikachu's.

I recently updated it again, but didn't bother to play it, I may go back if they stop messing with it, and they have a constant source of all the Pokemon I must have missed in all this time and all possible boost items, but more realistically I'll just forget about it and get Pokémon Trozei! on the DS that was released before Shuffle instead.

I want to say I never spent any money... but I did. Not a lot. But still, it made me feel kind of icky and then I stopped playing it. But starting from scratch is kind of fun. As I remember from last time, the early game you never feel like it's chasing-the-carrot. Hearts and gems are aplenty, and all the Pokemons are easy enough to catch. So it's fun, for now.

What is Trozei? I've never heard of that one. It's similar?

Pokemon Trozei is a match 3 puzzler that's faster paced and more about speed than careful moves. I think the Pokemon Shuffle engine is based on Trozei's sequel on 3DS, Pokemon Battle Trozei. Battle Trozei is kinda meh, but I adore the original.

You slide lines of pokemon faces around Yoshi's cookie style with the stylus, and when you make a match of 4, it links. During the link phase (which is a second or two) you can then match other pokemon in matches of 3 to carry on a combo, followed by matches of 2, so you end up clearing huge swathes of the board. More pokemon drop in from the top so you have to constantly match to keep up.

I also really enjoyed Shuffle btw, it's my most played 3DS game. But the late game just got brutally hard and a bit too resource intensive for me, so I've not quite got to the point where I caught them all. I did at least beat the 700 main stages though.

[Arenegeth]

What is Trozei? I've never heard of that one. It's similar?

alienjesus covered it, but I can add that the game is called Pokémon Link! in Europe which is why you may have never heard of it as Trozei. The 3DS sequel is also digital only.

I personally hadn't heard of Trozei either, until I was researching Shuffle after I started that game.

Shuffle is a bit bloated by comparison now, it still has a small, but dedicated community as far as I know. Also most of the Pokemon portraits in Shuffle were shifted directly from Trozei.

[finerion]

I don't get to play as much these days as I would like to, but I do manage to get a little game time here and there. Currently I'm making my way through Disgaea 5 on the PS4 and I just started Atelier Lydie & Suelle on the Switch. I'm in the process of getting The Sega Genesis Challenge back up and running, so more classic titles will be in the works soon.

[SuperDerpBro]

Currently enjoying Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on my Pleb(2)DS. Bought it on eBay but found the seal system made it extremely annoying. So i am playing it on an R4 with the patch that does the seals automatically.