RockmanPM Forums

Amatiramisu · **Reply #4850 on:** January 29, 2016, 10:01:32 PM

That reminds me to play more First Assault once I finish watching.

Hypershell · **Reply #4851 on:** February 01, 2016, 01:03:11 AM

Just started Virtue's Last Reward. Picked up the digital version in the eShop sale, I don't often dip into M-rated territory but this one's had my curiosity for a while. And when/if I need a break I can always start up the Project X Zone 2 demo.

Phi · **Reply #4852 on:** February 01, 2016, 01:05:55 AM

Quote from: Hypershell on February 01, 2016, 01:03:11 AM

Just started Virtue's Last Reward. Picked up the digital version in the eShop sale, I don't often dip into M-rated territory but this one's had my curiosity for a while. And when/if I need a break I can always start up the Project X Zone 2 demo.

Word of advice: Play 999 first.

Certain characters return in VLR, and it won't feel significant unless you've played the first game.

Hypershell · **Reply #4853 on:** February 07, 2016, 11:11:02 PM

It's a little late for that. It's fairly obvious that Clover's been in one of these death-games before, but I hadn't felt lost otherwise. Or at least, not in any "missed the prequel" kind of way. It's not as if VLR is a game that tells you things in chronological order anyway.

If I have one criticism of the game it's that the "let's write awareness of alternate timelines into the story" thing is not revealed until after the point, which makes your first encounter with a locked timeline EXTREMELY confusing.

Well, I like the game overall, so 999 is going on my wishlist.

Strider Xhaiden · **Reply #4854 on:** February 07, 2016, 11:19:57 PM

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.

I really need to get some more 'Cube games.

Phi · **Reply #4855 on:** February 08, 2016, 02:47:32 AM

Quote from: Hypershell on February 07, 2016, 11:11:02 PM

It's a little late for that. It's fairly obvious that Clover's been in one of these death-games before, but I hadn't felt lost otherwise. Or at least, not in any "missed the prequel" kind of way. It's not as if VLR is a game that tells you things in chronological order anyway.

If I have one criticism of the game it's that the "let's write awareness of alternate timelines into the story" thing is not revealed until after the point, which makes your first encounter with a locked timeline EXTREMELY confusing.

Well, I like the game overall, so 999 is going on my wishlist.

(Oh, I should warn you! DO NOT SAVE IN PUZZLE ROOMS. There is a save bug which causes the game to crash if you save data in a puzzle room. You'll lose all of your data and will be forced to start the game over again. It's not a guaranteed crash, but a high probability.)

Zero Escape is a visual novel series, which means there will be multiple routes. But yeah, I understand how locking routes/timelines would be disorienting for some people.

Personally, it made me all the more excited to try another route and see how that story plays a role in tying up loose ends in the locked timeline. Also, coming from 999, the timeline flowchart is an absolute godsend, because you can jump to any part in the story you wish.

Yes, it's not mandatory to play 999 first. You can still get all of the information you need just from VLR. However, you'll completely lose the sentimentality factor from seeing returning characters if you haven't completed 999. It hurts to see how far they have "fallen", I suppose you could say.

Essentially, it's a matter of nostalgia.

Which routes have you completed?

Blue Valkyrie · **Reply #4856 on:** February 08, 2016, 06:12:30 AM

Getting ready for 3.2 in FF14, next Primal is Sephirot who was one of the Waring Triad from FF6, the next twill likely be encountered as the story progresses through 3.3 and onward. Love how they managed to take elements from older FF games and make them work within the world of FF14 as more than just fanservice.

Hypershell · **Reply #4857 on:** February 09, 2016, 01:16:48 AM

Quote from: Phi on February 08, 2016, 02:47:32 AM

Which routes have you completed?

I completed Luna's story by looking up the password online. That was my first playthrough, so yeah, lousy luck on the whole locked storyline thing. If I, for example, hit Dio's ending first, then even though I still wouldn't have had the needed info for Luna, at least I'd have known what the heck was going on.

So yeah, Luna and Dio, and got as far as I could for K before hitting a story-lock. Where's that damn aluminum foil when you need it?

I know about the save bug, but thanks anyway (no idea why they didn't patch that...). And the mechanics of jumping/branching paths is something I very much appreciate, it's just the way the locks are presented that can be disorienting the first time.

Anyways, right now I want to hammer out a few more playthroughs of the Project X Zone 2 demo, but as soon as I jump back into VLR I'll be starting with Tenmyouji at the first door.

Phi · **Reply #4858 on:** February 09, 2016, 01:28:53 AM

Are you kidding me, Shell... You weren't supposed to look up the passwords online. You're meant to come across it naturally and jot it down in your notes. Now you know huge parts of the story way too early.

The point of VLR is to slowly piece together the story and the answer will come to you. It's a mystery thriller, therefore the confusion is intentional.

At least there's still a few (massive) plot twists left, so there's that.

Hypershell · **Reply #4859 on:** February 09, 2016, 11:55:33 PM

Like I said, Luna's story does not communicate that, if it's your FIRST one, you have no idea where that password is supposed to come from. The fact that the game contains a branching story does not in itself let the player know that the key to a given lock falls outside of linear time. Not every story path communicates that the time-jumping is part of the story and not merely a play mechanic. Luna's, up until the login anyway, is one that does not.

And anyway, the spoilers of Luna's ending were not THAT severe if you think about everything that happened along the way.

[spoiler]Aside from the fact that Alice's death was suicide, nothing in Luna's ending was terribly surprising. I had already summized that the old woman was an intended participant and that Dio had at the very possibly least witnessed her death (after round one of the AB game it was pretty damn obvious). And the Gaulem setup was transparent; if anything the surprising part is that Luna is the only one. ...allegedly. Like I said, still more to play.[/spoiler]

Phi · **Reply #4860 on:** February 10, 2016, 03:17:51 AM

Well, if any game obstructs the story with a password or obstacle, chances are, you're intended to come back to it later. Especially since you're going down a linear path, it's your very first route and the flowchart has dozens of other routes? It's not difficult to deduce that the answer may lie elsewhere, alternate timelines notwithstanding.

As for the revelations in Luna's ending
[spoiler]The aluminum foil aspect would've been hilarious to know it was simple to remove the bracelets after hours of time jumps and AB games. The password itself is massive spoilers and Luna's death would hit a hell of a lot harder if you beat the other routes and bonded with her.

It's by far the best ending in the game, arguably... and you got it first.[/spoiler]

It also screws with the narrative cohesion and the fact that Sigma can retain events from other timelines, because the player is only supposed to know as much as the protagonist (not counting story predictions, of course). So when you do other routes intended to be completed before Luna's, Sigma will seem unusually ignorant since he was vastly less knowledgeable, prior to Luna's ending.

In any case, there are far bigger mindfucks to come, and thankfully her ending doesn't quite disclose them. Also, I'm not pissed or anything trivial like that; just slightly annoyed because I've seen others try to rush through the story, too.

Hypershell · **Reply #4861 on:** February 10, 2016, 11:14:53 PM

Well, it IS a little disheartening to think that after clawing through one of the longer storylines for your first time, you have to fly blind through 27 other possible forks before getting any closure to that one. You could say the whole emotional investment thing works against itself in that regard.

Quote from: Phi on February 10, 2016, 03:17:51 AM

Well, if any game obstructs the story with a password or obstacle, chances are, you're intended to come back to it later.

Literally every single puzzle room in the game teaches you otherwise; on-the-spot password locks are both how the game progresses and how optional backstory is unlocked. The fact that the game kicks you out if you fail only communicates that the answer is not readily available in that scene, not that the answer lies nowhere in the current timeline.

Using the floor B graffiti as the big hint didn't help any; floor A's graffiti was an anagram whose original text was (as far as I know, anyway) completely meaningless; that coupled with the allegedly deliberate misspelling of "ninth" seems to scream not to take it at face value.

The only remotely trustworthy hint that you're supposed to come back later is that, if you look REAL close, I'm pretty sure Phi's body is among the "remember death" flashes, which is out of place. But that's an automated sequence, you're not given the chance to absorb it and/or confirm that you saw what you thought you saw. Not to mention that even if you could digest it properly, hallucinations are hardly off the table since the lock is preceded by an unexplained reality-fast-forward spell.

Strider Xhaiden · **Reply #4862 on:** February 16, 2016, 12:18:06 AM

F-Zero GX.

I love this game (this and SOA are the reasons I even got a Cube again.) but my God the difficulty of the Story Mode. I love it, because it's a genuine challenge (something I've not had from a game in a LONG time), but at the same time....

And I'll leave this here too.

Amatiramisu · **Reply #4863 on:** February 16, 2016, 04:02:26 AM

Continuing my replay of Dying Light which I need to hurry and finish since The Following is out.
Also restarting Far Cry 3 because I got the urge to play it outta nowhere.
And continuing my replay of Pokemon X just because my brother has a 2DS now.

Phi · **Reply #4864 on:** February 17, 2016, 04:37:10 AM

Quote from: Hypershell on February 10, 2016, 11:14:53 PM

Well, it IS a little disheartening to think that after clawing through one of the longer storylines for your first time, you have to fly blind through 27 other possible forks before getting any closure to that one. You could say the whole emotional investment thing works against itself in that regard.
Literally every single puzzle room in the game teaches you otherwise; on-the-spot password locks are both how the game progresses and how optional backstory is unlocked. The fact that the game kicks you out if you fail only communicates that the answer is not readily available in that scene, not that the answer lies nowhere in the current timeline.

Using the floor B graffiti as the big hint didn't help any; floor A's graffiti was an anagram whose original text was (as far as I know, anyway) completely meaningless; that coupled with the allegedly deliberate misspelling of "ninth" seems to scream not to take it at face value.

The only remotely trustworthy hint that you're supposed to come back later is that, if you look REAL close, I'm pretty sure Phi's body is among the "remember death" flashes, which is out of place. But that's an automated sequence, you're not given the chance to absorb it and/or confirm that you saw what you thought you saw. Not to mention that even if you could digest it properly, hallucinations are hardly off the table since the lock is preceded by an unexplained reality-fast-forward spell.

I don't know what to tell you, man.

I didn't have this problem. Most people who played the game didn't have this problem. You're thinking way too hard about it.

It's fine, just keep doing what you're doing.

Hypershell · **Reply #4865 on:** February 18, 2016, 04:18:25 AM

"Most people" wouldn't, it all hangs on whose story you land on first. Having completed the game yesterday, I can now say with certainty: Luna's story is the only one where this is a problem. Luna has the only password lock in the game that you can conceivably hit before it is revealed that the Flow screen is not merely a play mechanic (all others are in Phi's story, and they are behind a story lock).

And I......really disagree with you on the importance of waiting on Luna's ending.
[spoiler]As I said before most of Luna's ending is merely confirming suspicions. And I think, given the lack of a story-lock, the game designers were aware of this. There are just SO, SO many more less predictable elements that fall outside of her story, especially around K and the exact mechanics of how the time-jumping works. Sigma's ignorance in "prior" timelines is a non-issue since it is supposed to be a struggle for him to retain his memories; in most cases he isn't supposed to know everything the player does. For that matter, once you realize the nature of the game's story requires letting go of linear time, you basically expect that you're not going to be fed things in order anyway.

On that note, the only bonding with Luna outside of her own story that I considered at all significant was concerning Sigma's arms, and I honestly don't feel that I missed much. Most of that centers around Asimov, and as a Mega Man fan who's long been trading paragraphs with Zan, applying Asimov's laws to a non-Asimov work is something I find more than little cliched. Luna's own story pretty well communicates what a kind soul she is, Sigma's basically just lets you know how he knew to look for her in the garden, and that's pretty much it.

I don't think Luna's character or story are in any way bad, mind you. They're just oddly predictable in a game that otherwise makes it a point to screw with your expectations (not to mention your concept of reality). I mean, jeez, I knew the "016" in blood did not refer to Luna as soon as I saw it.[/spoiler]

Amatiramisu · **Reply #4866 on:** February 20, 2016, 05:50:58 AM

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest.

It's [tornado fang]ing hard. I'm on Hard Casual (would've done normal but I figured since I played Awakening already I was decent enough at the game.)

I was wrong. Chapter 5 and I'm already getting [tornado fang]ing curbstomped up the ass. Awakening was NEVER this difficult even on Lunatic.

Sakura Leic · **Reply #4867 on:** February 20, 2016, 05:52:54 AM

Yeah I imagined Conquest would be harder than Birthright since Birthright is more like Awakening while Conquest actually has different mission types.

Amatiramisu · **Reply #4868 on:** February 20, 2016, 06:01:41 AM

Conquest is functionally more similar to classic FE games.

Sakura Leic · **Reply #4869 on:** February 20, 2016, 06:51:50 AM

Meanwhile I'm almost done with the Neutral Pacifist run of Undertale.

[spoiler][tornado fang] you Mettaton, you made me use my Snowman's piece. I wanted to make a Snowman happy but nooooooooooooooo.[/spoiler]

Police Girl · **Reply #4870 on:** February 20, 2016, 07:06:56 AM

Should've bought a Leg Hero or the Face Steak.

Sakura Leic · **Reply #4871 on:** February 20, 2016, 07:12:53 AM

Maybe, I just stocked up on Glam Burgers instead. I decided to do other things before I proceeded to the end.

EDIT: [spoiler]I pretty much finished what I wanted to do, I'll face King Fluffybuns tomorrow or something.[/spoiler]

Hypershell · **Reply #4872 on:** February 21, 2016, 12:33:29 AM

Quote from: The Promise on February 20, 2016, 05:50:58 AM

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest.

It's [tornado fang]ing hard. I'm on Hard Casual (would've done normal but I figured since I played Awakening already I was decent enough at the game.)

I was wrong. Chapter 5 and I'm already getting [tornado fang]ing curbstomped up the ass. Awakening was NEVER this difficult even on Lunatic.

You gotta love the logic of fans who claim that lacking perma-death and/or the possibility of camping in DLC make the game too easy no matter what.

...yeah, Awakening taught me that my "main" save should not be in any mode that features an abundance of enemy-exclusive skills. Even if I can still win, the game is just less fun that way.

For now, I'm holding off on Fates. PxZ2 is still beckoning to me, and I'm more a little ticked at the lack of availability of Fates's Special Edition. I think the pre-orders for that thing sold out within 30 seconds of its announcement, and I was HOPING there would be some half-assed retail stock to compensate, but no such luck.

Amatiramisu · **Reply #4873 on:** February 21, 2016, 02:15:45 AM

I ended up pussying out and dropping the difficulty to Normal and I'm still having trouble. My pride won't let me do Phoenix Mode but I think I might end up having to do it if I want to move on.

Da Dood · **Reply #4874 on:** February 26, 2016, 02:53:45 AM

Played Star Fox 2 for the first time yesterday. This game is sooo fun and rewarding. Sucks that it didn't get an official release.

I scored a perfect run on Expert a few minutes ago. Cool stuff!

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