AJ's backlog challenge - choose a game for me to beat!

[Sarge]

I used to be pretty compulsive about that kind of stuff, but as the backlog has stacked up, I've had to abandon it. I can usually only hold up on that end of the bargain until about halfway or three-quarters through, lose steam, and just push to the end. I did do it for Trails in the Sky recently, and it was a terrible idea and not worth it other than seeing all the story bits that go with it. (Which, to be fair, is actually pretty important in what is effectively "Visual Novel: The RPG".)

I do think there are games where it's worth it; using something relatively spoiler-free to not miss recruits in Suikoden is a case where I don't think it ruins the experience at all. Still, the game is short enough that it won't impact your enjoyment. I absolutely would recommend doing so in Suikoden V, though. That game, to get all the recruits, will require between 75-100 hours. I just can't see dumping another four total days of my life into that game, so seeing everything that was worth it to me the first time through was a good choice.

Another game worth playing with a guide is Valkyrie Profile, which signals its end-game requirements poorly enough that I wouldn't judge anyone for using hints to get at the best ending.

When it comes to optional bosses/equipment/whatever, I'm pretty indifferent. I never bothered with the Weapon fights in FFVII, I didn't get all the best equipment in Tales of Symphonia, and so on. So it's really a complete crapshoot whether I actually care enough or not.

[pierrot]

I absolutely would recommend doing so in Suikoden V, though. That game, to get all the recruits, will require between 75-100 hours. I just can't see dumping another four total days of my life into that game, so seeing everything that was worth it to me the first time through was a good choice.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend playing Suikoden V unless someone were being forced to, with threat of injury, and then, totally, use a guide.

[Sarge]

Heh. It's pretty rough to play from disc with all the load times. After I installed it to the hard drive, it got better, but it's still a looooong game.

(I also screwed myself over by having to revert to a different save file, forgot to re-recruit some guys, and threw my hands up and resorted to hacking them back into my save file. So that's an option too. )

[Xeogred]

I think you would have to TRY to miss characters in Suikoden 1. In 2, you get this cool detective guy that gives you obvious clues if you're into that.

Trust me, fetch quests are terrible and this kind of gimmick in other games can be handled horrendously... see Chrono Cross. But Suikoden doesn't fall prey to this at all. You basically get like 60% or even more of the roster by simply playing the game anyways, people just naturally join you as you progress. And many characters are not even playable, but might open up shops or help transform your castle, or be integral to the story (the strategic characters always rule). You're building a literal army. These games are incredible. Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre, etc, all these other SPRG's never have the huge scope of starting from the ground up and building a nation like the Suikoden games.

[Gunstar Green]

Shinobi 3DS. It's fun.

[Xeogred]

AJ... give me some context. What are your thoughts on the series or titles related to the other ideas I had?

Adventures of Lolo 2
Vagrant Story
Final Fantasy XIII
Metal Gear Rising
Metal Gear Solid 4
Devil May Cry 3 (I know you didn't like DMC1 so it makes me iffy on this and RE)
Resident Evil HD Remaster
Seiken Densetsu 3
Donkey Kong Country Returns
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD

Almost pains me to admit I'm becoming a bit of an Final Fantasy XIII apologist. So... me considering that one is to just maybe see what another opinion on it might be. Could be good or bad.

[alienjesus]

AJ... give me some context. What are your thoughts on the series or titles related to the other ideas I had?

Adventures of Lolo 2
Vagrant Story
Final Fantasy XIII
Metal Gear Rising
Metal Gear Solid 4
Devil May Cry 3 (I know you didn't like DMC1 so it makes me iffy on this and RE)
Resident Evil HD Remaster
Seiken Densetsu 3
Donkey Kong Country Returns
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD

Almost pains me to admit I'm becoming a bit of an Final Fantasy XIII apologist. So... me considering that one is to just maybe see what another opinion on it might be. Could be good or bad.

I'm hesitant to jump into DMC3 or Metal Gear Rising without playing other related games first (DMC2, MGS4). I've yet to try FFXIII to judge it, but I'm willing to give any Final Fantasy game a go. Twilight Princess I've beaten on Wii previously, so it's not really new to me. Seiken Densetsu and Vagrant Story I'm excited to play, both were quite recent acquisitions. Resident Evil is very much out of my comfort zone. DKCR is potentially divisive as I adore the SNES games, so I can see this being a love it or hate it affair. Lolo 2 looks cool but it remains to be seen if I have the patience to deal with that theme song for 100 levels

[Xeogred]

Then I have my decision.



One of the biggest SNES OST's crammed in a cart.
One of the best looking games of all time.
The greatest combat system in the history of ARPG's.

[pierrot]

Almost pains me to admit I'm becoming a bit of an Final Fantasy XIII apologist. So... me considering that one is to just maybe see what another opinion on it might be. Could be good or bad.

I actually like XIII. It's not my favorite, by a long shot, but it's better than at least half of the main, numbered, titles. I thought the combat system was really well done, and the second half of the game was pretty legit.

[noiseredux]

I liked XIII a lot as well.