Board 8 > Now Playing

(+) Yeah! (+)

I envision this as a casual space for progress updates and lighthearted talk about what were playing. Especially stuff that doesnt have or need its own thread, though you are welcome to post about that stuff too. Ill give a couple examples below.

Another Code: Recollection (Switch)

I never played either of these games, though I was tempted by Trace Memory for DS as it is called in the states.

Yesterday I played the demo. It was a pretty generous length imo - it takes you through a prologue and all of chapter 1 from the first game, and I spent a little over an hour completing the demo.

Supposedly it supports save data from the demo carrying over to the full game, and I assume this holds true for the physical version. I will find out soon because I subscribed to GameFly and this game should be coming today or tomorrow, along with Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Anyway its bordering on visual novel more than I expected (Id say one-third of my play time was spent on exploring and puzzles), and I have very little experience with VNs, but I like it so far. Im a sucker for a mystery and atmospheric mansions. I really liked the Nancy Drew point-and-click games for PC and yet Ive not played anything like them in well over a decade.

Well that was much longer than I expected but updates can just be oh I completed chapter 2 and spoilers are here now or Ashley is the best character or whatever the heck we want

Super Mario 64 (Switch)

When I finished the Another Code demo I felt like killing a few minutes with something familiar and this game is a warm blanket for me. I havent played through in maybe three years and Id like to tackle the 3D All Stars collection which I bought but never played.

I got the first couple stars in BOB, both stars from the princess secret slide and the aquarium star near JRB (5/120). Also I spent a few minutes messing around outside the castle for fun getting familiar with the controls on Switch. The haters do bring up valid points at times but this games hub is an all-timer. Also, its an absolute miracle how good movement in this game feels for being such an early 3D title. I dont think anything will replace the feeling of being six years old and staring at the tube tv in amazement, taking my first steps into Peachs Castle on Christmas Day 98.

I might shelf this briefly to prioritize Another Code: Recollection and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Id like to get the most from my GameFly subscription. But its so easy to play for 5-10 minutes and get a few stars that Ill likely keep the momentum going.

Wow, didn't realise Another Code had made it to Switch. I wonder if that opens the door to Hotel Dusk?

I'm currently hooked on retroachievements. Basically achievements/trophies for older consoles. Working my way through Final Fantasy 12: IZJS playing New Game Minus (Weak Mode).

Yeah, Another Code: Recollection on Switch is a full blown remake of both the original DS game and its Wii sequel which was never released in North America. Apparently Nintendo kept the rights to the developer Cings IPs when they went bankrupt. I do think were likely to see Hotel Dusk if this sells well, but Im not optimistic for that. Believe I heard they also made a game called Last Window but I know nothing about any of their games, as I missed them during the DS days

Is there a way for me to see what achievements youve earned on retroachievements? Id have fun looking through what youve played. I never played FF12 and I have never played a single Final Fantasy all the way through lol

Helldivers 2. Already made a topic on it but it's already probably goty this early.

New major order up fellow divers. We are moving all the way out to the Western front!

Thanks for sharing Cavedweller, I look forward to following your retroachievements fun

Aecioo posted...

Helldivers 2

A buddy of mine recommended this, unfortunately I dont have a PS5 or gaming pc. But Id enjoy giving it a try one of these days

I finished Trails to Azure about a month ago and thought I was going to take a break from the franchise because that's what I generally do, but nothing else on my shelf was immediately grabbing me, so I went ahead and started Cold Steel 2 (having played the first one a couple years back).

I'm about halfway through and enjoying myself enough, but the CS games are really, really lacking in the Trails charm I've come to expect. Everything about it is just marginally less fun than the Sky trilogy or the Crossbell games. I'm not souring on the series yet by any means, and I've heard very good things about CS3, but I sure hope this isn't indicative of a shift that's going to continue as I go on.

wallmasterz posted...

Believe I heard they also made a game called Last Window but I know nothing about any of their games, as I missed them during the DS days

Last Window is a direct sequel to Hotel Dusk. It was never officially released in the States but it was released in the UK and DS games are region free so it's totally playable in English.

Xanadu Next (N-Gage)

The great N-Gage game!.....Nah, I am just kidding. I am playing the Steam version lol.
Y's gets all the press for Falcom, I never hear this one mentioned and it's been so much fun so far.
The combat is simple but fun. I like how interconnected the map is and how many silly options there are for loadouts and such.

wallmasterz posted...

A buddy of mine recommended this, unfortunately I dont have a PS5 or gaming pc. But Id enjoy giving it a try one of these days

It's really great, especially if you have a crew to play with. I can't stop smiling during it. The devs know what they're going for and nail it. Watch the opening cinematic if you haven't.

For democracy!

have been playing too much Sailing Era recently (i'd estimate i've put in an extra 150 hours into a handful of playthroughs over the past couple of weeks...). also want to get back to and finish off Murders on the Yangtze River (so far only finished the first three cases before accidentally stalling it). After that I'm probably going to get around to a minor mod for 100%OJ I'd been meaning to do since they added the latest card pack a month ago, though I did also pick up a couple of neat suika game clones so fingers crossed they don't also rope me in for an extended period first lol

No mail from GameFly yesterday so I played more Super Mario 64. Finished up BOB, did Whomps and got the wing cap + star (18/120).

Not a big fan of mario wings to the sky. Usually Ill knock courses out in one go and with this star you either have to save it or do it capless. I have mostly memorized where to shoot from the island to do it in a few shots. I realize thats partially a problem of my own creation but yeah, meh.

I also dont care much for the wing cap secret stars either. The power up itself is fine, though.

Is Blast through the Wall in Whomps Fortress the most unintuitive star in the game? For a player without a guide, I could see it being tough to figure out. I know I never found it as a kid until I got my hands on a players guide.

My favorite stars are the ones where I can just go all gas, no breaks with long jumps, side jumps, dives and wall kicks. I feel like Id enjoy trying a speedrun of this game but Ive never given it a go. I also dont have a version with BLJ so Id have to go glitchless which doable but seems less fun?

Also, I typically knock out 100 coin stars when I get a courses red coin star. Once I tried saving all the 100 coin stars for the very end of a 120-star run and found it way too tedious so I dropped the whole thing.

holy shit gamefly is still a thing?

I don't think I've heard that word in like 15 years

GameFly is alive and well I mean they are alive at least. I never subscribed back in the day. Its not cheap, believe I did the $26/month plan for two games out at a time.

But that is much more preferable for me than dropping $120 on Another Code: Recollection and Princess Peach Showtime, each of which I could satisfy my curiosity on and/or beat in like a week.

Ill probably continue buying longer games. For example, never played Xenoblade Chronicles and I was toying with definitive edition for Switch. No sense in paying them the cost of the game with how long Id need to beat it. lol. At most I could see trying before buying and keeping it until I decide whether to get it.

I'm playing through Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition with my wife.

I love how they do the muliplayer in this. She is able to play through game and I am controlling a second character in all the battles. She is a more casual gamer so battles are often the thing that makes it tough for her to play RPGs. This way it makes it a lot easier since having a second player controlled character helps a ton.

We are really enjoying it and I think we are getting close to the end.

I wish more Tales games had this couch coop mode.

Other than that I've been getting into Deep Rock Galactic which I'm having a blast with.

Oh hey Super Mario Bros. Wonder came in the mail today. Oddly Another Code: Recollection did not, despite being shipped on the same day. I think itll come soon but that will be a bit awkward as a new customer if I immediately claim something happened to one of the games lol

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch) seems fun. I was only able to play the first two levels yesterday, I barely gamed as we were getting ready for my sons birthday party and my in-laws coming to visit. Piranha plants on parade or whatever that was, is the sort of thing that puts a smile on my face. I recall hearing this game is light on difficulty but still fun, its too early to judge difficulty after two levels but Id be cool with that.

Stay tuned for more thoughts on B8s Game of the Year for 2023!!!