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Post by Ex on Nov 18, 2019 17:20:16 GMT -5
The PSX games were crude but super cool and experimental at the time. I don't think they did third person? Yes they had third person cameras. I very much enjoyed all three PS1 entries, and that was just a few years ago. So no nostalgia goggles here. These are my HLTB entries about the experiences: Armored Core | September 20th, 2014 | 11 hours 45 minutes | 7/10Extent: Finished story mode without strategy guide, used new game plus to finish all other missions. "It's pretty surprising how great Armored Core is, considering it was From Software's initial foray into mech combat. Indeed, From Software got much more right, then they got wrong, with their first attempt. The all important customization extravaganza we mech geeks crave is in full effect here. Unfortunately a flaky camera, somewhat absent OST, and threadbare plot presentation sap some of the fun. All the same there's plenty of fast paced giant robot battling fun to be had with the original Armored Core."
Armored Core: Project Phantasma | September 24th, 2014 | 12 hours 31 minutes | 8/10
Extent: Completed all 17 missions, reached number 1 in the arena, no strategy guided used.
"Armored Core: Project Phantasma is an expansion pack to the first Armored Core, so play AC first and then load your AC saved game into AC:PP for an edge. The new AC:PP plot has decent depth and good cutscenes to involve the player. The missions this time are fewer, but are more detailed in execution (and actually have consistent BGM). The new Arena Mode is an enthralling blast, and now there's also two-player split-screen battles. As an expansion pack Project Phantasma improves greatly upon its progenitor in fun and meaningful ways, though the camera will still drive you bonkers at times."
Armored Core: Master of Arena | September 28th, 2014 | 7 hours 33 minutes | 8/10 Extent: Finished all 19 missions, reached #1 in Sub-Arena and Arena. Short HLTB time because imported AC from previous games.
"Armored Core: Master Of Arena work like an expansion pack for Armored Core, or Armored Core: Project Phantasma. You can import your saved game's AC from either of those games into Master Of Arena. As an expansion pack Master Of Arena adds 19 new missions that are quite fun, as well as a Sub-Arena, Arena, Ex Arena, and a Ranker Arena. Being the third game in this series on PS1, Master Of Arena doesn't offer much new beyond tons of Arena style battles and slightly upgraded AI. That said, if you're a fan of Armored Core or Armored Core: Project Phantasma, you'll find plenty more of the same AC style fun to be had with this one."
I had a great time with those three, blew them fairly quickly. I own all the ACs from the 6th and 7th gens. Just gotta get back to cracking on the PS2 entries! And yeah, I wish FromSoftware would make another sci-fi game. I suppose demographically most players just don't care about sci-fi though. Even more so, I'd rather From make a new King's Field with the kind of production values they've been putting into the Souls series. Now THAT would get me to buy a PlayStation 5!
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Post by Sarge on Nov 18, 2019 17:20:36 GMT -5
Dang, I would play an Armored Souls game. Sounds amazing.
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Post by Chainsaw Bilqis on Dec 3, 2019 3:20:43 GMT -5
Finished my Unlimited Saga replay at a little over 60 hours when I got home from work today. I could have kept playing but I figured it was time to pack it up and focus on the many games I have never beat before haha. I suppose I should have felt guilty spending so much time on a game I've completed multiple times... (citation needed)I will try to keep my SaGa thoughts contained in my Member Article thread so that they do not sprawl out further. I attempted some more gifs though: It was time to finish it today because I had started spending time "google translating" Japanese websites to confirm the existence of a Level 4 Forbidden Arts Magic Tablet via item drop (turns out it is possible) and other minor things instead of being productive. I often let myself be consumed by the minutiae I adore haha. Verdict: My appreciation for the game has only grown. Now I can go back to Koudelka Disc 3 haha.
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Post by Ex on Dec 3, 2019 9:45:28 GMT -5
Chainsaw BilqisI think it's great that you not only adore Unlimited Saga, but have beaten it more than once. You've got me fairly convinced this is a hidden gem most folks didn't give enough time before passing judgement. Such is the price of daring to be different. Thanks for the eye candy as well, this is a very good looking game indeed.
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Post by Sarge on Dec 3, 2019 10:48:25 GMT -5
Yeah, that is some awesome looking artwork. Nothing wrong with replaying what you love! I can't count the number of times I've re-beaten Chrono Trigger, Symphony of the Night, Contra, the Mega Man games... the list just keeps going!
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Post by anayo on Dec 8, 2019 10:43:13 GMT -5
@chainsaw Bilqis
Wow, Unlimited Saga's graphics look sick! To me the visuals look similar to Odin Sphere (PS2), which really turned my head when it came out.
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Post by Sarge on Dec 11, 2019 23:54:17 GMT -5
I'm going to count this one finished, as I've gotten too frustrated for a clean run through the final stage at this point. Wild Guns, for those that don't know, is a gallery shooter in the vein of Cabal. I loved that game in the arcade, even if I didn't get to play it much. This might be one of the best realizations of that type in existence. The Wild West-meets-mecha motif works really well, and the game has some of the best sprite art of the era. In this game, you control both your character and your reticle with the d-pad. It can be a little awkward at times, but it works pretty decently overall. By holding down the fire button, you lock your character in place, and can aim as needed. Of course, while you're sitting still, you're a nice big target, but that's where the dodge roll comes in, which is invincible during (but not coming out of) said roll. You also get a double jump for more evasive maneuvers. One of the stranger things I ran into (because I didn't read the manual) was the meter at the bottom which charges up. I couldn't figure out how, but finally pieced it together: shooting enemy bullets down increases the gauge. When it fills, you go into an ultra-powerful invincible mode that tears through everything. The meter carries over between continues, so it's quite possible to end up with some fortuitous timing for when it activates. Or you could end up wasting it. Fate is a fickle mistress. Someone better than me could probably take advantage of certain enemies (and I did at one point) to build meter, but it can be tough. Occasionally, enemies will also drop weapons. A gatling gun, a shotgun, and a grenade gun are the main weapons, with the grenade gun generally being the best. All are welcome when you can get them, though. Then there's the peashooter. If you nab a "?" weapon, it could be three good ones, or a weapon that does absolutely no damage to enemies and you just have to run it out of ammo. Derp. A couple of other movement tech options: enemies will occasionally venture onto your plane. You can't shoot them, but you can melee them. You can also hurl a lasso at enemies and freeze some of them in place. The game doesn't go down easy, but I did generally clear each stage on my third try, except for the last. The final boss I came so close to beating on my first try. I'd thrown a save state there (first time I used one), and managed to take him in the next go. Then I obsessively chased a "legit" win, but managed to do progressively worse on most of my runs past about the sixth attempt. I just let it go at that point. Seriously, though, this is the very definition of a cult classic. Almost no one knew about it, it was a type of game rarely seen, and the length is pretty slight. No wonder it got ignored and now praised (and remade). I actually did know about it, though, because Nintendo Power. But I never actually saw the game as far as I can remember. I was about to give it a 9/10, but I think I'm going to drop it to 8.5 for some of my frustrations with that last stage and the fact that you have to do it all in one run on legit hardware. Still, give it a go! EDIT: Y'all know me by now, I couldn't let it go. Dove in from a save state at the final boss, and killed him first try that way, so I figure, hey, I gotta be doing better. I was, and breezed to the final fight with all my bombs... and lost. This created another sequence of me dying, but not for nearly as long. And through that fortuitous luck with my meter (and some judicious farming of shots), I managed to sneak into the final battle ready to shoot a few shots and unleash fury on him. Which I did, with extreme prejudice. Only took one death, and the battle was over in probably 30 seconds. So I'm bumping my rating back up to 9/10; it's tough, but not unfair.
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Post by Ex on Dec 12, 2019 10:57:30 GMT -5
Oh yeah Wild Guns is a great time! I beat it myself a long time ago, I think back around 2001, but I still recall how fun it was. The western / sci-fi mashup theme really appealed to me personally. Nice job beating the final boss legit.
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Post by anayo on Dec 12, 2019 16:21:07 GMT -5
SargeWay to go! I own the Nintendo Switch remaster of Wild Guns. I thought it had a lot in common with classic Atari arcades because it was so high score-oriented. I wish I had the SNES version, but it's too expensive these days.
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Post by Sarge on Dec 12, 2019 16:25:51 GMT -5
anayo : I wish I had the SNES one, too! I bought the remaster as well, but wanted to play the original version to get a really good retro game in before the end of the year. Right now, it has become my favorite for this year, edging out Blaster Master and Shadow Hearts. I really should put some time into its inspiration, though. I feel like it wouldn't be quite the same playing Cabal without a trackball, though.
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