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New Persona fighting game

Persona fighting game- I'm having a more positive initial reaction to this than I did with Catherine... and I ended up *loving* Catherine! But, it seems like the Persona team isn't too involved making this game... But, BlazBlue is a great series. I'll probably seriously consider buying this one. It's neat that there are some P3 characters like Aegis roped in, and I'm hoping my favorites like Junpei and maybe Koromaru make the cut.

P4 port- Yeah, I'll definitely buy this, though I'm not sure about buying a Vita at its launch.

P5 vastly different from 3 & 4- Seems appropriate to me. 3 and 4 were some of my favorite games, but playing 200+ hours with many of the same enemy and Persona graphics can wear on a person. I would prefer the changes to involve introducing 1-2 adult Persona users like in the P2 games--seems unlikely given the sort of bildungsroman thing going on in 3 and 4, but (i) Catherine shows character development with an adult and (ii) at least one of the P2 games is getting a rerelease. So it's possible! I'd also enjoy significant changes to the battle system since I got my fill of the 3/4 system. As for changes I *wouldn't* like: there's a good reason why folks still enjoy 3 & 4 over 1 and even the 2s, and that's the increased *sim* element and less-video gamey stories that the player can explore when not climbing a mega-gigantic ultra-doomsday tower. I'd dislike it if the games were "streamlined" or anything similar.

EDIT: The hell's up with Yosuke's face in that graphic? He looks like a serial knife murderer. He must've really never gotten over Saki Konishi's death I guess, haha.

Games you want to be made?

Pokemaniac- YES. I'd love to play AA Investigations 2. I think the first one was one of my favorite of the entire AA series. (Although I also don't think Apollo Justice was really *that* big a misstep, and was actually pretty clever & fun with the "game" part in the final trial (you know, "Just repeat to yourself, 'It's just a game- I should really just relax.'").)

alterego- Yes to this too!! Although I've got to admit, I didn't even finish Suiko 5 (the final dungeon was kinda tough I guess), and I stopped with my replay of Suiko 2 around the first visit to Greenhill. I'd honestly love it if they made it with the same tech-stuff as in Tierkris, except in the main Suiko world + more Suiko gameplay & story elements, - terrible terrible VA and characterization.

Pokemaniac again- Pokeman Snap 2? Seriously? Nooo! I got the original for a birthday present. It *was* fun, but way too short. I would only consider playing a sequel if (i) it cost $10-12 on WiiWare AND (ii) I were somehow brought to care about Pokemon again. Seriously, if Nintendo announced a second Pokemon Snap, I'd just be upset they spent time & resources developing it. I'd take another Wind Wake derivative on DS over Pokeman Snap 2, I mean it.

Games you want to be made?

author=Tau
Me personally.. Chrono Break, or a released and finished(though not necessary) copy of Chrono Resurrection.

I'd love to see another Chrono game, but actually I'd prefer a 'reimagining' of Chrono Cross with more money pumped in and better design choices. The game had an amazing soundtrack, innovative combat system, and interesting, unexpected plot, but I just couldn't finish it given the flaws that did exist with it- and by that, I mean the overextended cast with tons and tons of annoying dialects. I'd like the game rereleased with new graphics (and faster load times- urgh) and a much-reduced cast. My picks:

- Serge & Lynx
- Kid & Harle
- Guile as Magil / Magus, with a much expanded role based on the story of Magical Dreamers, as originally planned before he was cut.
- Sprigg (who is just interesting as a gameplay element)

Then, maybe some other characters could be pulled up and *enhanced* like with the new Magil character, e.g. Fargo, Luccia, Radius or Glenn, and maybe Karsh or Pierre. I think a lot of these characters would be a lot more interesting if their dialogue bubbles were less annoying. Seriously, there was no way I could stomach Chrono Cross after learning the stupid blonde Australian girl was one of the *main characters*.

And of course! Dual Techs between all the characters, and Triple Techs for a bunch of the other characters.

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EDIT: My 2nd place? *Maybe* Xenogears... Man, I don't know. There was a while in my teens where I believed Xenogears was clearly the most brilliantly-conceived RPG plot evar, except it had been tragically cut down by time & money budgeting. But in retrospect, I'm not sure I could replay that game, knowing all that while that it ends up involving destroying a high-tech Catholic Church and their evil evil god...

DLC..

I think one consequence of the prevalence of DLC nowadays is that patient gamers will just be less willing to buy games on release day. I'm speaking for myself here- I have a limited amount of free time to play video games, so it makes sense to spend money on older/pre-owned games that cost less money and are also fun. I have the patience to wait 5-6 months or longer for a AAA title to drop 50% or more in price.

What's better, if I can wait 1-2 years, I can probably get a "Game of the Year" edition that comes with *all* the DLC and at a reduced price (I'm looking at you, Bethesda Studios & BioWare). I loved Fallout 3- got it for Christmas the year it came out as a gift, then got every sequential piece of DLC as it was released. I think TES5: Skyrim will be similar: high-quality game, with a long-tail release plan of DLC after its initial release. It just doesn't make sense to purchase the $60 game (or worse, some $70+ "special edition) near release day + each $5-8 piece of 4-6 DLC pieces, spending between $80-108 total, when I can (i) play other great games in the interim that I haven't played, (ii) REPLAY great games for less money (I got Oblivion w/ all the DLC ever released off Steam for $25), and (iii) wait for 2-3 years and get it super-cheap.

On the other hand, I pre-ordered Catherine and Persona 2 because (i) I won't feel buyer's regret when the same game's released later for cheaper with more stuff packed in, and (ii) I get cool stuff like music CDs! After all, when I'm buying all this stuff new, I just can't help feeling like a sucker...

Anyways, I'm only describing myself here, and this typical DLC strategy seems to be popular and effective for game developers. I wonder how many other people have the same attitude about *eventually* getting these DLC-heavy newer video games when the price of all of it lowers, while playing other excellent games in the interim.

Catherine!

Ehh. You have a good argument, Lucid. I guess maybe, the way I'd look at it (and at least with the true-Katherine ending), it's a person, faced with a very important life-changing decision, who makes a decision that pulls in one of those specific directions. I think that the ideas you articulated are explored better in SMT 1 & 2, although Nocturne and Catherine are even less determinative about whether there's always some right line between a freedom/order dichotomy. And, obviously, the Persona games are all about people choosing to act or behave in different ways depending on the circumstances, and trending differently over time. But, at this point, I'm overthinking what end up being a bunch of fun video games.

Also (and this isn't a spoiler), I only cringed a bit with the ending parts in Catherine where they actually have to explain the moral of the story (pretty awkward and not well handled). I've kinda come to expect those awkward "OK kids, listen up!" moments in SMT-line games from Atlas, though. But really, if you haven't figured out yet what the Mass Effect-type morality meter stands for, you might've missed the boat already.

(Slight spoilers about what I thought of the final areas and the endings-- (but I liked them))

So I don't want to spoil the story or the final areas, but... man, I was totally tuned in and busting up laughing .I also watched the other two endings on YouTube. Not as sweet, but they're absolutely worth it. The Catherine ending is just goof-balls weird and funny, but I think that's only because, as you can tell from looking at stats for players' responses to ending-determining questions on their first playthrough, most players end up with the Katherine or Neutral endings.

In my opinion, though, the Neutral ending isn't really *the wrong path* at all, because in both Neutral and Katherine the protagonist is shown as confident and happy with his decision, although Neutral aligns closely with what Lucid argued about the whole law/chaos dichotomy being a fabrication. This is in contrast to SMT1, where the player missed half the final dungeon and a monologue about not subscribing to ideology if they took either of the 2 not-correct paths of the 3 available. Catherine's argument is simpler, since it's a story about a young professional loser who was pushed around his whole life and who develops his own willpower: it's just a very effect variant off the old bildungsroman formula, except it's also a bit didactic since its primary audience would bear similarities to the main character.


Anyways, hard to say if this's my *favorite* Atlas game, but it's only ~15-20hrs and definitely stomps the crappy secret-special ending from Persona 4 deep in the mud (That game was great except for that awful, awful final dungeon, boss, and subsequent moralizing). Catherine was totally worth it, even with the new-game $60 price tag that I paid.

Hey Buddy, Whip It Out. Let's Compare Swords.

author=Max McGee
Still actively used by TACTICAL OPERATORS IN SPECIAL FORCES UNITS TODAY you mean.


Could that possibly include... the legendary super-soldier, Solid Snake? I'd do an impression of Solid Snake gushing over the first lethal pistol-type weapon he gets in any game ever, but I can't remember them. (Emm-NIIINE.) Makes me wish I owned a gun though.

Umm, best weapon? Maybe the nail bat from FF7?



It may not store any Materia, but magic is for wimps. Real men just bash their enemies' skulls in!

Catherine!

author=chana
"horror puzzle-platformer Adventure game", wikipedia, I'm not sure I could have remembered all that!

The game's intro calls the game itself a member of the "romance-horror" genre of video games... Except I'm pretty sure that doesn't exist, haha. Anyways, it's a puzzle game, though it's REALLY thoughtfully designed.

I'm going to start the final world this weekend... The story is *really* interesting. There are moments that seem very real and ordinary, except then you play a little longer and, well, without spoiling anything, you get into super-goofy land.

(I mean, right from the get-go, you ARE climbing a gigantic tower, a la Nocturne or P3... But, it gets weirder.)

Even then, it's not like these earlier games. The main character's a 30-something-loser who's not particularly bright or smart, and it's debatable (or, rather, up to the player to decide) whether or not he's got some heart of gold underneath it all.

And yeah- this game is VERY, frustratingly difficult. I still love it and need to finish it, but I'll admit that even on Easy I'm watching a step-by-step walkthrough off YouTube for some of these final stages. It's not the way the creators intended me to play it, but I feel like I don't have the time or patience to replay the same sequence 8-10 times just to determine the one correct solution to a puzzle, and I'm not willing to set the game down each time for 1-2 days to let myself digest the puzzles.

EDIT: Also, kind of in response to Lucidstilness' post: from what I've played, it's not like a "dating sim" like Personas or other games before it. Again, more realistic-feeling stuff; the guy's in 1 relationship that's under strain while simultaneously pursuing/being pursued by, well, an uber-hawt young naked blonde lady. The point I'm making is that you don't really directly interact with these women, but instead spend your time in a macho-bar sorting out your problems with other dudes. The main character Vincent's interactions with women are mostly forced upon him- which is again kinda the point of the story, as the player sees this driftless loser allow himself to be pushed into these constantly-escalating dilemmas. When Vincent actually takes responsibility and makes his own affirmative choices, it's a major step in the story- but even then, it's based on a Mass Effect-type 'morality' meter (although that's kind of a mischaracterization) that's influenced over the entire game, and it's not merely some binary, immediate decision between Steady Gal and Short Fling. It feels really different and refreshing for a video game, which is why I dig the story so much.

EDIT x2: BTW, Ark, without spoiling much more... *Is* there a third ending if you end up in the Neutral zone? It'd be kinda funny if, like in SMT1, the game has a *true*, best ending where it teaches the player that everything must be balanced: Law to Chaos, and "being a good boyfriend" to "being a douchebag." And then, like SMT2... You get to fight God!! Specifically the Judeo-Christian God!!!!

Catherine!

I've been playing Catherine and LOVE it. Just finished the third-to-last area (the "Castlevania" area) and loved it. I'm playing on Easy and it feels like the right difficulty to me; I'm not in real danger of *losing* since it's easy to stock up on extra lives, but there's enough frustration/reward in replaying certain spots 3-5 times before nailing a solution.

Anyone else playing or having finished the game? I'm a really big fan of Atlus games after playing several SMT games (I especially like Persona 3/4), and Catherine's an immediate favorite of mine. I'm pretty pleased that Atlus is getting great sales (http://www.ripten.com/2011/08/02/catherine-sets-atlus-launch-sales-record/) for such an original effort.

The only thing for me is that it feels somewhat mismarketed as a game about a 'uber-hawt nekkid young blonde lady' when that's not really the point. For me, the point is surviving grisly evening death-trap puzzle areas, being chased by evil sheep musclemen with giant mallets and giant abominable monster-babies, and then afterwards settling down at a dive bar to commiserate with a bunch of 30-something's & learn fun facts about beer, whiskey, and sake. So, for all of that, I'd highly recommend the game, and then say in the next breath that it's *not* the game you might think it is based on the dumb box art. Then again, maybe that advertising helps explain its great sales?

So, has anybody else tried this glorious game? I've heard the difficulty's just nuts on anything besides *Easy*, I'd like to hear what your experiences are like.

Space Funeral

Space Funeral was featured on a 1Up article on great free games! Scott Sharkey of the Retronauts wrote, "Space Funeral is a supremely weird RPG with attractively crude graphics, a great electronica/noiserock soundtrack, and a bizarre sense of humor. It's short and well worth a playthrough, and not just for the "What the HELL are you playing?" reactions you'll get whenever someone sees it over your shoulder."

Congrats catmitts, pretty dang cool!

http://www.1up.com/features/101-free-games-2011?pager.offset=3

Best games for PS2?

Nobody's brought it up yet, so I will!-- Yakuza 1, at least. I'm going to start playing Y2 pretty soon, but #1 was basically like a modern take on River City Ransom, only single-player and with a decent gangland story. From what I've seen, Y2 just continues the story while using the exact same engine and gameplay. There's also Y3 and even Y4 now on the PS3... I'm trying to play them all in order.

I couldn't get into DQ8 just like I couldn't get into 4 or 5 on the DS... I *really* wanna like those games, and they're certainly very pretty, but... eggh I just get so bored for some reason.

I haven't played the Ratchet & Clank games yet... they're kind of like the Sly Cooper games for me, just another great PS2 platformer that came out roughly the same time as Jak & Daxter. The first J&D, by the way, was a great little game. J&D 2 is pathetic- it's fun enough to finish, but it's probably the most egregious example I can think of for a video game's design by committee, as it inexplicably moves J&D to a GTA-style open-world city, has Jak whine like an emo git, gives him GUNS and CARS he can jack (yeah, GTA), and on and on..... Geez, that was just... terrible. Not sure how decent J&D 3 or the other Jak/Daxter games are.

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Off-topic: I can't decide whose avatar I like more, Saya or Ark... It's a tie between Squall being too emo to like girls yet, and Kenshiro getting ready to rock somebody's face with the help of (what looks like) My Little Pony.