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Psycho666Soldier

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Posts posted by Psycho666Soldier

  3. Posted

    I feel like a few manga where competitions are held have had the protagonists lose.  Maybe it's mostly Showha Shoten I'm thinking of, but that feeling alone makes me want to see Akane pull this off.

     

    Sakamoto Days has been awesome the last few chapters, too.  Excited to see how this all resolves, and it was cool to see the origins of The Order.  I wonder if we'll get to see how the newer members joined?  Or that super old guy.

     

    I've also been following Tenmaku Cinema and been enjoying that so far.  Haven't really read any of the other new series, though, and not sure they particularly interest me.  I definitely don't have high hopes for Nue's Exorcist considering it's the same creator as Bone Collector, and that was pretty crap.

     

    Elusive Samurai

    Spoiler

    We were talking about things going too well, and the last few chapters really did capitalize on making us regret enjoying everything.  A lot of dead, Takauji seeming invincible despite being absolutely insane, and then Yorishige dying.  Not to mention Fubuki being brainwashed.  Very curious where it all goes from here.

     

    Ichinose Family

    Spoiler

    Well, I gotta say this manga does a good job of changing up the foundation right when you think you know the pattern and the coming events.  Did not expect him to wake up from the coma, and I like that now we're exploring more of his self-hate as he comes to terms with how the actual world has changed on the outside.  My guess is the rest of his family is still out of touch with their selves and not at peace with him being in a coma, but I know Taizan5 usually has some strange supernatural element, so I'm curious if them being linked to his coma dream will become a concrete plot point as opposed to just a metaphorical thing.

     

     

  4. Posted

    Ep. 5

    Spoiler

    Yeah, holy shit, that last episode was awesome!  I love watching Tanjiro's growth, and I loved that he was able to do it with the black sword that was supposedly supposed to be so weak.  Still trying to figure out what the hell is up with that flame swordsman he sees in his visions.  Maybe it was his dad?  because apparently that adult Tanjiro looking guy is just him in some kind of vision/inherited memory?  I dunno, I'm kinda confused by what's going on there and maybe I just need to go back and watch the first couple episodes and then the arc in the forest so I can make more sense of it lol.

     

    So, Genya is a demon?  Is that a new change or has that always been his thing?  I think the latter makes sense due to him not dying anyway, but it's wild.

     

  6. Posted

    Chapter 78 was really fun.  It felt like the old side stories where it would be closer to a full chapter size but be purely focused on character development.  It's nice to slowly get more and more looks at The Handler's personality.

     

    It's a bummer this week's chapter was a short side story, but it was really enjoyable for as short as it was.  Also loved the color spread.

  7. Posted

    1. :switch: Pokemon Violet

    2. :snes: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

    3. :switch: Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage

    4. :switch: Octopath Traveler

    5. :gba: Metroid II: Return of Samus

    6. :ps1: Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssee

    7.  :ps4: God of War (2018) 

     

    Finally 100%'d this and got the platinum trophy. I was originally gonna try and take on the Valkyries on Give Me God of War mode, but I opted not to for the sake of time and sanity. Glad I did because Sigrun, the final Valkyrie, fucked my day so many times. Then I just had to polish off the second set of Muspelheim trials and find a missing jotnar shrine, and now I can finally move on.

     

    It was an awesome game. Really carried the spirit of the original, and though Niflheim felt pretty tedious and annoying, most of the other challenges were enjoyable, and felt like an accomplishment when you finished. Beating Sigrun was such a cathartic moment.

     

    Probably gonna focus on FF7 Remaster and whatever other small things that sound fun when not playing Spyro/Oddworld. Then I'm either gonna move on to Ragnarok or Tears of the Kingdom.

  8. Posted

    1. :switch: Pokemon Violet

    2. :snes: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

    3. :switch: Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage

    4. :switch: Octopath Traveler

    5. :gba:Metroid II: Return of Samus

    6. :ps1: Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssee

     

    Beat these in the last couple weeks.  I started dabbling with Metroid II when the Gameboy games were released for Switch Online, and since I had some days where the TV was being used, I started digging deeper into that.  First time actually playing it, and it's a really fun adventure.  The "gameboy-ness" fades after you get into it a bit more.  A little less exploration than normal, but introducing a lot of series staples(including the Spider Ball which I always thought was a Prime innovation) and just making a generally enjoyable adventure with better control and not as punishing health respawning and such makes this a really fun playthrough.  Could see myself wanting to speedrun it at some point. 

     

    And finally beat Oddworld for the first time ever.  100% completion, very minimal walkthrough help(some of the early ones are tricky  and I used it as a double check to see how many mudokons were in each area).  I definitely still love this game, even if the controls aren't the best.  I get the feeling emulating on the PS3 meant the where was an input delay that probably made it worse, but having started Abe's Exoddus, I can tell they actively made it control a bit tighter.  Also, the save/checkpoint system is brutal, especially with some of the challenges/puzzles you're expected to gruel your way through.  But for me personally, the satisfaction of getting it done right always overrode any frustration in my attempts.  Overall, I think puzzle and level design is fantastic, and it's no surprise to me that this game has stood in ny conscious for so long even if I never beat it as a child.  Also, the ending is hella satisfying.  Another moment where all the annoying struggling that came before felt justified.  Most people would probably recommend New 'n Tasty, but I think if you can get over aging, the original PS1 release is still an amazing game that tried something different than what a lot of the competition was doing.

     

    Abe's Exoddus has already been started and it's basically improved everything that needed to be improved, the quiksave function in particular is crucial.

  12. Posted

    It was a birthday gift in 2021 which is part of why I had a physical cartridge.  And also why I feel even worse about losing it.

     

    I'm hoping at some point I at least find it whenever we move from here or something.  The last I remember is putting it inside a pouch in my backpack.  I fear that it accidentally fell out when I was reaching for something else or something like that.

    Holy shit, I found it!  It was in a duffle bag that was in my girlfriend's closet.  I literally checked every other bag and coat I owned and finally asked her about any time she remembered me using one of her bags.

     

    All is good 

  14. Posted

    1. :switch: Pokemon Violet

    2. :snes: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

    3. :switch: Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage

    4. :switch: Octopath Traveler

     

    I FINALLY DID IT!  I 100%'d the whole game.  Beat all the side stories, beat all the main stories, and went to the Gate of Finis and whooped Galdera's ass.  Not after he fucked me up two times prior.

     

    I loved this game so damn much.  It has just about everything I would ever ask for in a JRPG.  Multiple characters, can start as any of them, they're not necessarily mandatory, and all the secret optional stuff to find.  Optional dungeons and bosses, hidden equipment, engaging stories and characters, a real difficulty curve that is only easy if you learn how to break the game - which is kind of the reward.  By the time I was strong enough to beat the first Chapter 4, the rest of the final bosses were relatively easy (Simeon sucked, though), but that also gave me more incentive to swap up my team a bit.  I also loved the job system.  It's a bit annoying not being able to double up with the secret jobs, and I would love if you could add one command from the other jobs(ala FFV), but it forces you to think more carefully about your setup, and keeps the 8 characters more unique.  Only Alfyn can concoct, and while that was annoying to me because I really wanted Tressa to be my Alfyn, it made me develop them into their own personalities that could even work in conjunction with each other.

     

    I started with Therion because I love thieves and wanted to be able to steal and open up all the chests from the get-go.  If I ever do a replay, I feel I'd struggle to pick a different character, but it would probably be Ophilia, because she's a monster.  My primary party was basically Therion, Olberic, Ophilia, and Alfyn, though I also liked swapping Olberic with H'aanit and liked the cut of Tressa's jib.  Part of me wishes I gave more attention to Primrose early, but after a bit of grinding, she was pretty essential in the final boss.

     

    An ultimately minor, but should-be-addressed complaint is the formulaic structure of the stories and the fact that the stories aren't really interwoven.  There are small connections that have huge implications in the final boss story, but the lack of important interactions between the characters hindered the immersion for me a bit.  The Travel Banter and especially the Tavern Banter was a novel way to include, but the lack of voice-acting and actual scenes makes it feel more tacked on than profound, which is a shame since most of these characters have interesting backstories and personalities that deserve more of a highlight.  Some of the dialogue during the banters only confirms this.

     

    The formulaic feel can also be said for the dungeons, which very few felt notable or significant from the others.  The ones in the forest or inside a building were always the most engaging, but the myriad caves all blurred together.  And the shape of them all gives little but "find the boss fight and get the loot, maybe a cutscene."  I think something like that could be at least masked by putting some of the dungeons in your way.  There is no actual dungeon you have to go through to reach a town or settlement, and I think having some areas like that - where the area has a transient, but significant plot connection - would help in making the chapter-locked dungeons feel less repetitive.  I don't know if this specific idea has been implemented, but from what I've heard, the sequel does a lot to fix the formulaic feel and the lack of real party interaction.

     

    The last complaint I have is the final dungeon, which I guess I'll put in spoilers just in case.  I also ramble a lot here about my specific strategy, so you know, if ya wanna skip:

     

    I'm glad you don't have to deal with random battles, but the boss gauntlet sucks.  The final boss has two phases, and if you're trying to go in relatively blind, it's an ordeal to go through the boss gauntlet every single time just to test out different party setups on the final boss that might not work and have to try again.  My first go through, I thought I was in good shape.  Primary party at Level 74+, the stragglers in the 50-60 range(except poor Primrose at like 41 or maybe even high 30s).  I got stomped by The Omniscent Eye.  And I failed to beat Galdera on the second try.  And each time the idea of carving out a chunk of time to try it again to

    maybe have a good party setup against Galdera was just annoying.  The gauntlet bosses aren't even hard, they were just tedious.  Being able to save before Galdera would have been really nice.

     

    That said, the positive effect of this is it really forced me to min/max more than I ever have before.  After the first try, I finished all the sidequests, grinded the stragglers a bit while farming items, and had everyone at 71+ with Primrose at 68.  I spent some time researching skills and equipment and trying to make the optimal party to correct where I fucked up with Omniscent Eye.  I setup Olberic as a Warmaster, and had Alfyn as Merchant and Tressa as Thief, while Primrose played cleric. The party was made to boost Olberic with BP and stat effects and spam Winnehild's Battlecry to kill the souls quickly and deal massive damage to the Eye.  It worked like a charm.  I got through it with nary a scratch and beat it with relative ease.  I felt great, and with looking at the second form's HP, I thought my Therion/Runelord, Cyrus/Starseer, H'aanit/Warrior, Ophilia/Sorceror would be a bang-up team.  Good healing, two of my most powerful and leveled people in Therion and Ophilia, and versatile ways to dish out breaks and damage between all four.  But once I beat the three puppets covering the main body, Galdera started unleashing powerful attacks that were chopping my HP in half with one strike.  Multi-strikes were even worse, Encore and Divine Aura be damned.  To be fair, there was one crucial moment where my party was beat up and not setup to unleash hell, and as Ophilia, I could have used a spell that would break Galdera, or try to heal my party and survive the two turns he had before I had another turn.  I thought breaking Galdera would be too greedy, and part of this was because I wanted to rely on Ophilia for damage as much as healing and didn't want to waste a break opportunity having to heal.  I chose to heal and proceeded to kill me in those two turns.

     

    Determined to not have to do this again, I went deeper.  Now, I was actually looking at damage calculations.  I was realizing how important all the multipliers were, and that using a same strategy as my Olberic party could be more optimal.  Rather than trying to have a party that could equally support and damage for the second fight, I would ultimately focus on finding another ultimate attack comparable to Winnehild's Battlecry to boost and spam for the win.  I tried to think of some strategies that would involve just bringing Olberic over to the second party and replacing his damage output, and honestly I probably could have swapped the two and it would have worked fine, but I was concerned that switching out Olberic would kill the successful dynamic I had for the Eye, plus Winnehild's works well for getting easier breaks, and I thought that was more vital.

     

    But Therion was my first character to break the 9999 damage cap with Aeber's Reckoning, and sure enough, I found a way to boost his damage all the way to 85k with that move if I got all multipliers in there(including BP Eater).  And though the fight was still harrowing, the strategy(plus taking the opportunity to break Galdera whenever it was there) paid off.  I swapped Tressa and H'aanit to have Armor Corrosive and Donate BP in the second party, and had Ophilia focus on support except when she could break or didn't need to support, and while I couldn't fully maximize Therion's damage output due to not having a strength boost, I was still hitting for 68,000, and I got through it with relative ease in comparison to the first try.

     

    So yes, the final dungeon is annoying, but I kind of liked that it forced me to really take my setups more seriously.  I know there are ways I could have cheesed even more damage, but it involved strategies I didn't want to take the risk on or do the research to figure out how to safeguard them.  I do think it's a big ask for people who don't want to get into math and hyper analyzing your setup, and I'm sure some would be upset that the one unifying element of the stories is locked into a boss like that, but then again, those who are looking for the optional dungeons are probably willing to put in that work anyway.

     

    Fantastic game.  I can't wait to buy the second one.  It only took me 4 years to beat it, but it happened.

    • Love 1

  15. Posted

    Ichinose Family #18

    Spoiler

    Yeah, I like this direction.  I was hoping it would be a bit more than just "Tsubasa's in a coma and having coma dreams.  The angle that they're all connecting through dreams is pretty awesome.  That keeps a proper supernatural element that I expect from this mangaka.

     

  16. Posted

    Based on vibes, how much more does this feel like Diablo in comparison to Diablo 3?  I only played a small bit of D3 as local co-op, but it didn't have the same feels as D1 and D2.  So I guess I'm wondering if D4 does anything different that might appeal to someone who's gut reaction to D3 was lukewarm?

  17. Posted

    I just read that chapter this morning. I figured we were getting into the movie now, which I still haven't seen, so I'm happy to just go through it blind and then see the movie later.  I dig the way they're setting up the Red Ribbon revival though.

     

    Also, #16 being Gero's son is 100% canon now!

  18. Posted

    I'm finally caught up on everything and this week was a strong round of chapters.

     

    Sakamoto Days #111

    Spoiler

    This flashback arc has been really cool.  Feels like the first time we're really peeling back the curtain on Sakamoto's past and his connection to The Order.  The fight with the leader was fun.  I'm wondering if the daughter that was part of the disguise might maybe be Aoi?  Though I feel she's probably too young for the timeline to match.

     

    Ichinose Family #17

    Spoiler

    Oh shit!  Just when you think you have all the answers, they change the questions!  Was not expecting this to be a coma dream.  Now that's very interesting.  I wonder what that means for what his brain is experiencing?  Are we gonna see the dynamic going on outside of his brain?  Or is it all some kind of ruse?

     

    There's that small part of me that feels like "oh, maybe this is a copout," but I think if it's an integral/climactic part of the plot as opposed to an ending twist, then there's so much to explore with that and it fascinates me.

     

    I'm blanking on specific things to say about the rest other than the Spy x Family chapter was a bit underwhelming,  but overall I enjoyed reading everything this week.

  22. Posted

    Ditto on all that Beat & Motion stuff.  It has a special heart behind it.  I'm also super intrigued by how the relationship between the two builds up as she flips between drunkenness and sobriety, and how much of that she actually remembers.

     

    And yeah, I liked Chainsaw Man this week.  Feels like we're getting ready to ramp back up.

     

    Gokurakugai is almost purely an art/aesthetic thing for me.  Best & Motion has the more interesting/personally relevant narrative and characters, but there's a lot of style dripping from Gokurakugai that makes me want to see where it goes.  I still haven't read past the first chapter, though :lol:

     

    I think I'm gonna drop Jiangshi X.  I haven't read the last two weeks, and it just doesn't really hook me.  It's just your basis Shonen with a premise that's niche enough to not 100% feel cliche, but it's still like 95% cliche.  It probably won't last long anyway.

  23. Posted

    Ichinose is in a good groove right now.  It feels like we don't get a lot with only so many pages per chapter, but there's been a hook and push over the last few chapters that has me hyped for whatever comes next.

     

    Last 3 chapters of Elusive Samurai have been good, too

    Spoiler

    I like Shina.  I like the idea of her being a love interest for Kojiro.  Really dig the leg blade.  I do feel like her introduction was kinda shoehorned?  Like it developed nicely, but she just kind of showed up and then was immediately accepted like a primary retainer, without the same kind of build up over a chapter or two like there was for Genba and Fubuki.  So that was a bit jarring, but I like the character and the relationship with Masamune.

     

    The little "Masamune arc" was awesome, though.  I loved the whole showdown between Shizuku and Kojiro and him gauging their fighting style based on their initial approach.  And the weapon upgrades for Shizuku is pretty badass.  So one sloppy character introduction, one amazing one, and both really enjoyable characters.  So yeah, overall these have been great, and I'm enjoying the calm in Kamakura after the string of battles we were going through.  Good pacing.

     

    Chainsaw Man still has me hooked into the characters and what's gonna happen, but cutting things down to 15-17 pages a chapter has made a few chapters feel like they're lacking and like I don't get enough.  I enjoy the smaller moments with the characters before all the brutal action, but it just feels like not enough character stuff is really happening either.

     

    Akane-banashi #52

    Spoiler

    Kaisei is intense.  So far we've only really seen comedic Rakugo, which makes me wonder about his spin on this tale being so dark.  Is this how it's supposed to be, or is the the form of innovation that Arakawa supports?  Super intrigued by this performance.

     

    I also really dug the new Show-ha Shoten.  The wait is never short enough for the next chapter.

  24. Posted

    Chapter 76

    Spoiler

    Always love Anya getting full of herself at school.  It was hilarious watching the kids exoticize her peasantry as being ultra tough.

     

    I gotta say, though.  I have this creeping, but overwhelming feeling of dread in the last few chapters.  A lot of that is coming from Damian's mom, and the anime reminding me how cold of a guy Desmond is, and I feel like something intense is on its way.  I don't think the manga will go as far as like killing a main character or anything, but something.  I definitely feel like the more we peer into Damian's relationship with his family, the darker it gets.

     

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