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Post by Xeogred on Jun 20, 2024 21:06:33 GMT -5
Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PC) ~ 6h43m, Normal, Adol 51, all equipment obtained/fully upgraded
Pretty nice redux on Ys III and a step up in terms of combat from Ys VI's engine debut. The bracelets/magic attacks were a lot cooler here than Ys VI's elemental swords, which weren't all that different. This is more Ys goodness as most of you and I have come to expect by this point. An ARPG with no frills, impeccable pacing, a nice little isolated story and crew of characters, dungeon crawling supreme. What Oath has over VI and the others is way tougher bosses. I got Mega Man X6 vibes here in a humorous way, getting body slammed by most of them on a first attempt like "Is this serious?" I'll chalk it up to some past Ys games making me soft, since this is still pretty doable stuff after some trial and error. Loved the uptick in challenge and how interesting all the boss fights consistently were. The final dungeon was amazing too. There's less checkpoints in this one than Ys VI, so things feel a bit more dangerous getting deeper into a level too. Should you go back to upgrade/buy some stuff and save? Sometimes yes. Overall I might like Ys VI more in other ways still, I liked that setting more, the characters/story, and general layout of everything. But Oath is an obvious improvement over Ys III to me and much higher quality. I suspect it's the case with Origin as well, anyone who likes Ys IV or Oath, will certainly like the other. Gotta play them all.
I'm just going to rank them in tiers at this point:
S: Ys VIII A: Ys II, IV (Dawn), VI, and Oath B: Ys I, Ys III C: Ys V
Too lazy to do the humorous math tonight but yes, I think I beat 7 old school Ys games around that 52 hour mark it took me to beat Ys VIII all on its own haha. Wouldn't change a thing though. A testament that length isn't always the main quality marker of a great game.
The Elden Ring DLC is out now, so I'm taking a break from Ys. I'd like to get back to it and knock out Origin later this year though. Then from there, it'll be cool to start digging through the newer bigger games with parties of characters and stuff. I suspect Ys VIII will not be topped, but it looks like I'll have nothing but more A and B ranked Ys games to add to this list. So that's awesome. Amazing series. One of my greatest gaming sins has been corrected. YS IS SUPREME!!!
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Post by Ex on Jun 21, 2024 10:01:25 GMT -5
Xeogred >Ys: The Oath in Felghana Great beat! Glad you had a good time, not surprised you did. >I suspect it's the case with Origin as well As far as release order goes (I mean chronologically released, not canon-wise), Origin was the first Ys that I gave a 9/10 to. For me Origin is where Ys as a series becomes amazing. Yes, there are great earlier games in the series, but none of them exceeded 8/10 for my tastes, not even Oath. Origin finally breaks through into that legitimate 9/10 territory. The next game after Origin is Seven, and thus begins the whole awesome modern Ys era. My point here is any Ys fan MUST play Origin. So I hope after your Erdtree vacation you come back to Ys and beat Origin. >A testament that length isn't always the main quality marker of a great game I'm certain all HRG regulars agree quality is more important than quantity. >One of my greatest gaming sins has been corrected The only gaming sin I hold against you, is not finishing Eternal Ring. And that's because I'd like to know another person who has beaten all FromSoftware's first-person-real-time-dungeon-crawlers other than myself. You're so close man.
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Post by Ex on Jul 7, 2024 20:56:44 GMT -5
 Title: Dungeon Siege IIIGenre: action-WRPG Platform: Xbox 360 Region release played: USA Year of release: 2011 Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Publisher: Square Enix Graphics: 4/5 Audio: 3/5 Challenge: 4/5 Fun factor: 2/5 Premise: Dungeon Siege III is the third main installment in the Dungeon Siege series. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment (the earlier entries were developed by Gas Powered Games) and published by Square Enix. Set in the kingdom of Ehb, the plot revolves around a fallen legion seeking to restore its honor and defeat a powerful adversary threatening the land. The game features real-time combat with a focus on crowd control tactics and character abilities, accompanied by visually appealing graphics and a milquetoast OST. The standout feature is local offline co-op, allowing two players to attempt to beat this game's true final boss; blasé narcolepsy.     +A streamlined action-WRPG with plenty of dungeon crawling. +Above average graphics with strong art direction for environs. +The latter game difficulty becomes stiff and will challenge players even on normal. +Innovative "Pac-Man dots" waypoint pathfinding system to keep players tracking mission objectives. +Supports local offline co-op. -Co-op often hampered by a camera that behaves erratically in multiplayer. -Stale combat that is never exciting and can be mechanically frustrating. -Randomly generated loot that is never exciting to acquire or use. -Certain areas of this game are overtly generic and drag on far too long. -Bland plot with boring writing and overly verbose NPCs. Conclusive thought: Dungeon Siege III could intrigue diehard dungeon crawling loot hoarders, but those seeking an exciting action-WRPG will be nonplussed. (True story: My wife fell asleep every time we played this game longer than an hour, she's never fallen asleep playing any other game we've beaten together. So take that as you may.) Ex's time to beat: 13 hours (beat co-op with my wife) Ex's rating: 7/10 |
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 7, 2024 21:09:30 GMT -5
Takes a special game to put someone to sleep. (that was Tales of Berseria for me, lol).
2011 seems like peak Obsidian but maybe their A staff were busy on other projects at the time or something.
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Post by Ex on Jul 7, 2024 21:11:22 GMT -5
2011 seems like peak Obsidian but maybe their A staff were busy on other projects at the time or something. I think the A staff were busy making all the stellar DLC for New Vegas that year. |
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Jul 8, 2024 7:03:38 GMT -5
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Post by Ex on Jul 8, 2024 9:05:29 GMT -5
From what I've read, concerning feedback from Dungeon Siege series vets, the overwhelming consensus is DS3 is not as good as DS1 and DS2. The main reasons cited were drastic game design changes and bloated pacing. It's worth noting the first two games were developed by Gas Powered Games, and the PSP entry developed by SuperVillain Studios. Yet Obsidian Entertainment developed the third entry. I've not played any of the other DS games, so I'm neutral on all this. I only played DS3 because I was looking for something co-op to play with my wife. I wouldn't have stuck with this one solo. Not because DS3 is a bad game (it's not), but because it is middling, and there are better seventh gen solo dungeon crawlers/action-WRPGs to play ahead of it. For example the most recent Xbox 360 action-WRPG I beat before this particular Xbox 360 action-WRPG was Risen. And Risen was much better than DS3. But... Risen isn't a co-op game, unfortunately.
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Post by Ex on Jul 19, 2024 9:40:08 GMT -5
 Title: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground ZeroesGenre: "tactical espionage action" Platform: PS4 Region release played: USA Year of release: 2014Developer: Kojima Productions Publisher: Konami Graphics: 4/5 (respective to what I've seen on PS4) Audio: 4/5 Challenge: 3/5 Fun factor: 4/5 Premise: Back in 2014 it had already been six years since MGS4 had released, and fans were chomping at the bit for MGS5. A decision was made to excise a mission from MGS5 into a glorified demo, released for $20 to satiate that desire, until MGS5 could release proper (in 2015). That "glorified demo" is Ground Zeroes, which allowed players to experience some of MGS5's mechanics, along with its Fox Engine graphics, and tidbits of MGS5's plot. GZ takes place in a big coastal base (that is totally not meant to be Guantanamo Bay), offering one main mission and four side missions, along with a bevy of secrets/collectables to keep players busy until MGS5 released. For being a glorified demo, I'll say Ground Zeroes does an admirable job at its intent, and I think it was worth $20 in its day.   +A lot of content crammed into a concentrated area. +The Fox Engine is buttery smooth with strong graphics. +Being able to drive and control vehicles in MGS is a great addition. +The side-op missions are much more difficult than the primary mission. +Hideo Kojima is a great game designer and meticulous director. -By the way, did you know Hideo Kojima made this? No really, Hideo Kojima made this. Let me tell you something bud, Hideo Kojima made this game. And lest we forget, Hideo Kojima made this game. As a matter of fact, Hideo Kojima is IN this game. And never forget what your momma told you about Metal Gear, Hideo Kojima literally gave birth to Snake. -Once again I don't understand a Metal Gear game's plot, and once again I don't care to. -Sometimes my rifle's silencer would just literally disappear, not sure what was up with that. Maybe the silencer baffling wears out after a while, but that wasn't explained. -How can a grunt enemy soldier take 10 shots to the body and head, shake it off, and keep coming? -Hideo Kojima is annoyingly pompous and an awful writer.  Conclusive thought: Ground Zeroes is hardly necessary to enjoy MGS5, but it's worth completing for ardent MGS fans.Ex's time to beat: 3.5 hours (finished main mission and all four side-op missions) Ex's rating: 7.5/10 |
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Post by Sarge on Jul 19, 2024 9:43:49 GMT -5
I still haven't picked that up, but I should. I always passed on it because of its mostly "paid demo" nature. Does this have any of the troop capturing mechanics?
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Post by Ex on Jul 19, 2024 9:47:31 GMT -5
Does this have any of the troop capturing mechanics? Nope. It does go heavy on iDroid usage, though. |
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