Demo Play Thursday - Visions of Mana On PS4

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the PlayStation 4 version of Visions of Mana from Ouka Studios and Square Enix.

The series is famous so i have heard of it but it's not a series i've played much. i think i bought a recent remake, or played it a little via PlayStation Plus, but i don't know the overarching story of it all. so essentially, i'm going into this "fresh".

The game's PSN Store Page does a good job detailing what this demo is and what it's designed to do. it's a shame the game itself couldn't get that across whilst we played it. but it does try so if you don't check out the store page, you'll get some basic idea that this isn't exactly the retail version of the game and that it contains select moments from the start. i've included at the start of this video the store page so you can check out the extra information.

Starting the demo, it's clear that this is a good looking game. the demo tries to info dump too much information before letting us continue and then more info gets dumped. It's a demo that's designed to show off fighting, traversing, the graphics, the characters, but not in a cohesive way that we would naturally get from the retail version. essentially, it's a bit of a mess and i had to just try, explore, and use some common sense to navigate the whole thing.

Visions of Mana is clearly a good looking game. everything is bright and colorful but not really in a distasteful way. the world, the people, and the animals all seem to work. the music is a little subdued and could be a little louder, and i think i did right by lowering the sfx sounds. it does feel like it came from a near final version of the retail game, there are very few technical issues with it.

I would go so far as to say that after playing this demo i think it would be fine to get the PS4 version. it doesn't feel like a lesser version. loading doesn't feel long, the controls feel solid, and even the draw distance is respectable. the only issue that i had with the demo were some bad shadows on character faces and one or two things not finished loading in even tho the loading screen had gone and gameplay had started.

it's difficult to comment on the fighting. the demo ends with a tough boss battle, but because it's a demo designed to showcase the game, i can't say whether i didn't die because i was good enough or because i just couldn't. it seemed chaotic and difficult at times to pay attention to health and mana. but thankfully my team mate A.I seemed good enough to help me, help each other, and do meaningful attacks.

I would recommend people try out the demo for Visions of Mana. not only because you get some items in-game a little early, but because there's still more to do in it. i didn't do any sidequests, and yet by the time i got to the boat i had maybe 3 i could've done. the open world area is massive and well worth exploring. It's also a good demo and i do think it does a good job showcasing Visions of Mana. i think having a trailer or artwork at the end for those who finished it would've been a smart move, but as it is it's a good showcase for the game. after playing the demo, i would think about getting the retail version of Visions of Mana. i'm intrigued by some of the story elements brought up, but overall i had a good time playing it.

Backlog Conquering - Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut - Part 3 - Missions 6, 7, and 8

Welcome to Backlog Conquering. This is a series were i play a game from my backlog that i may or may not have played before. the goal isn't necessarily to finish the game, the goal is to play it. that way, i can have an opinion about it.

Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut is a game from Born Ready that i've had on PS4 since it game out on the PSN. 

This part was easier than Part 2, https://youtu.be/FApVNW8XBXo. i didn't even die once! tho i came close. i did forget what some of the button's did, but overall it was nice coming back to the game. the story is getting a little difficult to follow, but it has always been a little difficult as it's spread out across the menus between missions and during missions.

Stories on Tuesday - Star Trek: Resurgence - Part 8 - Act 3 Part 19 to Part 23

The new game in the Stories on Tuesday series is the PS4 version of Star Trek: Resurgence, from  Dramatic Labs.

The repercussions from Part 7, https://youtu.be/w-SnRuAjouY, were still being dealt with through most of this video and we quickly got some new issues to deal with. The Scions of the Flame got their big ship and it has an interesting ability that didn't damage the USS Resolute, but internally it's messing things up. And that's not all, there were also staff changes related to actions i took in this part. A lot happens in an hour!

Switch Funday - Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team - My First Time

Welcome to Switch Funday!

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team has just been added to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. On GBA i played the "mainline" Pokémon games on Game Boy Advance but i never tried the Mystery Dungeon games. they were something my cousins had so i thought of them as games for younger children and never tried them.

Going into it, i new that there would be a personality test that would determine the Pokémon you'd start as, tho i didn't know what possible Pokémon i could be, but other than that this was all new to me. even the style of game, a descending dungeon explore, is fairly new and something i haven't got much experience with.

If i'm honest, i was expecting more from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team than what i got. the Pokémon look good, the graphics are good, and the music is somewhat good. but i found the gameplay to be slow, repetitive, and confusing. i was expecting a tutorial that just never came, tho there's a chance this was in the game manual, and there were terms and ideas i just never understood. Like the whole hunger thing, why did it only apply to me?

I also think i had controller issues as i was pressing buttons only for nothing to happen on screen. i can't believe that this was the actual game's fault and think it's the emulator being used to play it. But the game did have it's own issues, like the missing newspaper in the mailbox, poor UI, and too many menus. 

I strongly recommend using the services suspend point option and save frequently. the difficulty spiked so fast i was completely unprepared for it. i feel like the game does a poor job at explaining how to prepare for missions as by the #Diglett mission i was ill-prepared and saving every floor. the difficulty is also hard to manage as Pokémon just keep respawning. it's easy to get into a poor matchup, and with the controls as slow as they were i was often missing or miss clicking.

As a part of Pokémon history, it's worth trying. but don't force yourself. it's a poor example of a Pokémon game and a poor example of a dungeon explorer. By the time i finished the Diglett mission, i wasn't having fun and i won't be coming back to it. i would be interested in trying out the remake, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, or a later title, like Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, as i'd hope they would be better in every respect than Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team.

Online Saturday - Tetris 99 - 42nd Maximus Cup - Splatoon 3

There is a Maximus Cup this weekend in Tetris 99 on Nintendo Switch. The 42nd Maximus Cup is for the Switch game Splatoon 3. By getting 100 points, you can unlock a Splatoon 3 theme which includes sounds and a background.

The side quest, as ever, is to try and win. unfortunately, i didn't manage to make it to the top 10 at all during this cup. in the first couple of games i managed to get into the top 30, with the first game being especially difficult. but other than that, i wasn't able to score too highly.

Mobile Friday - AFK Journey - With Good Graphics, Music, And Story It's Well Worth Playing

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out AFK Journey, from Farlight Games, on my iPhone 14 Pro.

There had been a little fanfare about this game, with it being available for pre-order on thee iOS store. looking at the screenshots and video on the app store, it was clear the game had good graphics but i was also interested in the character creator and how or if they would incorporate it into the story.

Unfortunately, we start with a download choice. we can either download everything, about 2.5GB, or we can download about 94MB and have the game continue to download in the background when it needs to. i don't recommend this as it's not clear when this will happen or how much it'll download. you really should play the game on Wifi first and then play it out and about once the download is finished. there's not much to do whilst you wait either, other than some good music that is.

We get a cool opening cut scene that hints as to our purpose in the game and once the game starts its also clear that it's a good looking game. it's not long before we're set to leave for the outside world and then the game introduces the character creator as a way for us to hide that we're Merlin. this was such a great way to incorporate a character creator feature within the game's universe.

AFK Journey also introduces it's "Loot Box" mechanic in just as a smart way, too. the premise is that we're going to need support on our journey so letters are sent out requesting help and when we get a reply it's either items that help or characters that can join our party. 

The tutorial starts off being useful, with the game using our amnesia as a way to give us a tutorial. it's a clever way of incorporating it into the story, but it doesn't pay off as well as the two previous examples. it feels more bare bones. i feel like it could've leant into the amnesia more, giving us reminders to upgrade, or asking us if we'd like reminders. The tutorial does a poor job at explaining the busy UI around the edges, too. it's not incorporated into the story, and when the AFK button was introduced i didn't understand what it was for. 

With how well so much of the game works, having such an average to poor tutorial really sticks out. but there are some other things that became noticeable. a big one was when we were going between two locations. there are optional battles and the enemies have their level above their heads. but this is a meaningless piece of information as it doesn't tell us how strong they are. it's not one on one battles, it's a group vs a group. the information we want is the strength of the group as well as the strength of ours. that information is only present when we're on the set-up before a battle, and it's not overly clear if we're about to retreat or not, there's just some non-descript arrow.

It's great that the game has amazing graphics and music, i'm also enjoying the story. but there's just enough wrong with it that it doesn't automatically leap to game of the year. thankfully, i found the story engaging enough that i do want to come back to the game, but maybe not right away. But AFK Journey is well worth downloading and trying out, just be aware that there are a few little issues with it.

Version 1.1.173 Played.

Demo Play Thursday - Guayota On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of #Guayota , from developers Team Delusion and publisher DearVillagers .

The screenshots on the web eShop page made the dungeons look really cool and that was the main reason why i chose to play it. i also thought the look of the characters was quite interesting and wondered how it would be incorporated into the story and world as a whole.

This demo is rather short and at times it feels like pieces of the story have been cut from it as things don't make too much sense at times. for example, we start on a big boat, and the next thing is we're on the beach with two small boats. at first i thought maybe we're dreaming or ship wrecked, but the other people who have landed are busy working. so did they leave us behind? did they let us rest, and if so why were we on the beach. 

Even tho the demo is short, it's full of inconsistences like this that really detract from the story as a whole. we're told our job is to record, and yet the first interesting thing we see on the island we don't record. nor is that something we can initiate ourselves, it's only at specific points the game wants even tho the island is full of new and interesting things we would never have seen before. there are other character interactions too that don't make sense with what they say to us and what they do.

It sticks out a lot as the point of the game is to tell a specific story of the indigenous peoples of the Canary Islands. with the demo as short as it is, i can't say if this carries into the final game, nor can i say if this is specific to the demo. most demos will say that some things are cut to avoid story spoilers, but this demo says nothing. 

The gameplay is something worth praising. the graphics are great, it's a stunner on Switch. the areas we visited looked interesting, unique, and clear. then there's the way light moves around the dungeons, too. the controls are tight and simple, and the puzzles were introduced in a way that was simple to understand.

After playing the demo for Guayota i'm left with the impression that it's a fun game to play, but with a forgettable story. it could be described as a good podcast game. if this demo isn't a representation of the final game, then they've failed with it 'cause after playing the demo i'm not interested in getting Guayota. the puzzle side of the game doesn't interest me and with the story being a mess, i'm not interested in that either.