The new game in the Stories on Tuesday series is the PS3 version of XBlaze Lost: Memories from Arc System Works and Aksys Games.
This is the third part and it starts from the third memory sequence, after we collected all the memories in Part 3, and ends when we descend down from the fourth Shadow Field into the fifth.
This week's new Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS4 version of The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game on PS4, via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.
Whilst i've played several of the LEGO games since the PS2 era, Ninjago isn't a LEGO property i've ever watched or engaged with. so as well as playing this as part of the recent look at "kids" games being streamed from the cloud, i was also a little curious.
Many of the "kids" games i've checked out recently have not had manual saves and The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game is not an exception. LEGO games typically have different types of game mechanics so finishing a stage or reaching a checkpoint can take more or less time depending on what you're doing. in this video, the tutorial wasn't too long but the flying chapter went really quick, and we finished with an on foot section that took maybe half of this video. this means that the auto save is sometimes frequent and other times less so. and then there's the snake. the game has not explained the snake. i'll check out the snake and menu saving in Part 2.
The stream this time wasn't as smooth as it had been recently, and i don't mean the sore throat and cough i currently have. there were examples of Stream Tearing where we saw occasional bits of grey on the screen. more frequently were what was either resolution drops or bitrate drops, or both. this wasn't much of an issue as i could just attack anything and make progress. but what got a little annoying my end was the audio. it was like the audio was peaking or clipping at the high end. it doesn't get in the way of gameplay, but it is a little annoying when listing to game audio. maybe dropping volume in the setting could help it sound less harsh at the top end. i didn't notice any issues with the controls and found the game to be quite quick and responsive.
For this week's Mobile Friday i tried Fire Emblem Shadows from developers Intelligent Systems on my iPhone 14 Pro.
Nintendo surprised released Fire Emblem Shadows this week. nothing was known about the game before it came out so it's been interesting playing it. the game's description on the app store is that it's a Real Time Tactics & Treachery game. one of the easier comparisons people will make is that it's an Among Us style game in the Fire Emblem universe, but after spending an hour with it that's not quite true.
It's disappointing to report that Fire Emblem Shadows has not one but two additional data downloads. thankfully the game lets us know, it suggests doing the download over wifi, and gives us the choice whether to download it or not, unlike some other games which'll just download the data. the first one isn't big, but what was nice was the video that played during it. the video has no words and yet successfully get's across the treachery aspect of the gameplay as a member of the group turns on the others. it's a bit of a shame that this same video plays during the second data download. it's unclear how this video fits into the game's story.
It's a high quality video that plays during the data downloads. the art is also high quality. the style of it is also quite striking and has an HD feel about it. it's very noticeable every time a new character appears and we get to see some great looking art. what's unfortunate is that there's not enough of it. the art isn't animated. so when characters start talking, the art will rarely change. each character has maybe 2 or 3 art pieces with slightly different faces, each showing a slightly different emotion. this means there were a few occasions where the story was being serious and the artwork had a big smile. tonally, what's being said and what's being shown can be quite hit or miss.
The key aspect of gameplay is the treachery system. when our team is attacking enemies, we need to pay attention to not just the enemy but also our team mates. someone on our team is working for the enemy and will attack the characters on our team. we need to pay attention to see what attacks are used by both our team mates on enemies and then on ourselves. during the tutorial, this came across quite well. but in gameplay, things move so quickly that this system actually becomes tough to follow. we have to check out health, the health of our team mates, who's attacking who, and then it ends with a vote before we've certain who's the bad guy. i did guess correctly each time, i did have a reason for choosing who i did, but it did feel a little lucky and not too satisfying.
The way the story is told didn't work for me. that's not to say i didn't enjoy the story. i would like to get more of it and learn more about who the enemy really is. but the way it's told not only feels cheap, it feels disjointed and is hurt by the pauses when the loading screen hits. towards the end of the video we learn about what happened before the game start and it sounds like it would've made a fantastic video rather than just the few sentences it gets.
The tutorial in Fire Emblem Shadows starts off good. the game's pace is slowed down and each aspect of gameplay is briefly mentioned. but it's not long before things get confusing. there's a bar top middle and it came across that we can only do actions when it's our color. but the game, outside of the tutorial, starts doing stuff outside of the player/enemy color. then much later we get the scenario where our characters are knocked out but we're still able to attack and the whole revive mechanic wasn't explained in this scenario. the tutorial also kinda fails on the main home screen. the game suggests checking out the red dots but the tutorial explanations feel even shorter here, to the point that i didn't initially grasp how the online has to be played to progress the single player story. The Online mode gives us a choice between wanting to play as good, bad, or let the game decide. Our team fights an enemy. but we have to watch out for the bad guy. get it right, we get points, get enough points and the story unlocks the next chapter.
There are many aspects of Fire Emblem Shadows that individually are good, or have good ideas, but they don't really come together in a satisfying way. i'll keep the game and see what updates come to it, but as it is Fire Emblem Shadows isn't for me. i do think it's worth checking out because of it's interesting ideas. but as a game, as a whole, it doesn't quite land.
For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Formula Legends from 3DClouds.
I'm a fan of Formula 1, and racing in general, and i'm always keen on trying new arcade style racers. what interested me in Formula Legends was the inclusion of many different era's of cars, teams, and drivers. the game doesn't have the license for official names so the alternatives they've come up with work well enough.
The makes it clear that it's a demo. but what the game fails to explain is how the demo differs, if it does, from the main game. the issues include not knowing what tracks are included in the game. i pondered whether the game would focus on famous tracks of the eras or just focus on the tracks which are in all eras included. the demo doesn't have all the teams and drivers from some, if not all, the eras included and doesn't detail at any point if this will continue into the main game or not. some games will provide more information, whether via a bullet point list or trailer, as to what more content the retail game has.
i did enjoy the art style, all the cars looked great. the team have taken some liberties with the tracks, shortening them significantly but trying to keep iconic parts of them. But the Switch version seems to have an odd issue with the tyres. they seem to be in a constant state of vibration and never really look like round tyres. it gave the impression the the cars were floating on the track rather than racing on them. i also thought the engine sounds were off when driving the 90's cars.
The demo didn't start with explaining how the controls worked. the demo loads into the main menu with Story Mode being highlighted even tho it's locked and not in the demo. the two modes we can try are Time Attack and Custom Mode. I chose to start with Time Attack to learn how to play the game. unfortunately, the tutorial was in Custom Mode, so i didn't get to experience it for a while.
I felt that the demo for Formula Legends failed to get the message across the players about what the main game is and includes. whether it's a technical issue or limitation of the Switch, the graphical and audio stuff makes me not want to play this version of the game. if there was a trailer showing the game running on other platforms or from the final game then maybe i'd have a different opinion. But the demo as it's presented doesn't do a great job showcasing the game and i honestly wouldn't recommend the Switch version.
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.
Our new game is the PlayStation 3 version of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy from the 2012 The Jak and Daxter Trilogy that remastered the games and brought them into HD. This series is my first time playing any of the games from the initial trilogy, tho i have played the PSP game Daxter.
The new game in the Stories on Tuesday series is the PS3 version of XBlaze Lost: Memories from Arc System Works and Aksys Games.
This is the third part and it starts from the third memory sequence, after we collected all the memories in Part 3, and ends when we descend down from the fourth Shadow Field into the fifth.
This week's new Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing the PS3 version of Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension on PS4, via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.
In Part 1, we learned that the game doesn't have manual saves but the auto save is frequent enough. after playing this part, it feels like that if there is a disconnection you could lose as little as 5 minutes of progress. it's not perfect but it's better than a lot of games we've played in this series.
Playing a couple of hours of Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension has also shown how many different gameplay styles there are. in this video we have some traditional platforming, we have a flying sequence similar to Space Harrier, there's even a sequence where we set up turrets and fight off waves of enemies. none of these gameplay types over stay their welcome which means for me that across both parts time seemed to fly.
I've said a few times now that i've never watched an episode of Phineas and Ferb, nor have i watched the movie this game is tied-in with. there are some characters and situations i don't know the back story for. but in general, the story has been fine, the characters have been good, and it's not been too quippy either. with the shifting gameplay styles and mini-game breaks, i would recommend Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension as a game that's good for kids to play, but also for those who, like me, don't know much about the show and haven't watched it as the game doesn't require this knowledge from it's players.
For this week's Mobile Friday i tried Destiny: Rising from developers NetEase Games on my iPhone 14 Pro.
I've played both console Destiny games, tho admittedly not for a long time, and what i enjoyed about them the most was the gun combat. i really enjoyed online multiplayer, too. the game's story wasn't something i was concerned about. i have completed the story on disc for both, but i don't really remember it. for me, i wanted to try Destiny: Rising to see if they could replicate that gun feel the console games had.
After a good hour with the game i can say that they don't quite get there. that's not to say what's in Destiny: Rising is bad, it's actually good. but it doesn't quite reach the highs of the console versions. i played this hour in hand held mode, but Destiny: Rising is playable with a controller too. there's a lack of feedback from the phone when shooting, the rumble the console controllers have is far better and precise than anything my phone has. Playing on my phone also meant i needed much more aim assist that i would on console, to the point where Destiny: Rising kinda feels a little weird to play at first. that feeling went away after some time, but what really kept tripping me up were the on screen buttons.
On the right side, you control the camera and on the left you control your movement. the left side isn't much of an issue, but the right side has many buttons of differing sizes and throughout this video i kept on touching buttons by accident when i was trying to move the camera. for the start of the game, it's not an issue. but by the end and the boss battle i did, it really got frustrating that i was pressing buttons by accident and not having enough camera control for what was happening on screen. There are two possible solutions in the game, use a controller or adjust the placement and size of the buttons on the screen.
At the start, i wondered if Destiny: Rising would have additional downloads. the game's size is near 4GB so it could've gone either way. unfortunately, there were two additional downloads and the game never asked for permission to do the download. the combined size of them was less than 1GB but still, it's using data and not everyone has an unlimited data plan.
There are plenty of positives from Destiny: Rising. the presentation makes it feel like part of the Destiny universe. the graphics, like last week's Kaiju No.8 game, are great on the characters and fine everywhere else. i found the tutorial useful, and if you have played this elsewhere there's even an option to skip it. i felt like graphically, the game is closer to the PS3 generation, but there are aspects of it that do feel modern. it's up there as one of the better looking games on iOS.
I would recommend people give Destiny: Rising a try. whilst it's part of that universe, it still introduces the world and what's happening in a way that new players will have a good idea of what's happening whilst existing Destiny fans will be able to get more lore and expand on what they already know. i found it quite accessible and there are plenty of ways to customise the experience for how you want to play. the basic controls without any changes are fine but i do feel like they're better suited for larger phones than mine. But it's always online and over time that'll eat into your data limits so perhaps it's best played over wi-fi.
For this week's #Demo Play Thursday i played the #NintendoSwitch version of Super Robot Wars Y from #Bandai Namco Forge Digitals.
I've not played any of the previous games in this series before but i was aware of the series. so for me, i was interested in the DEMO not only for getting my first look at the series but also how well the story would hold up for someone like me who's coming to the series.
There is a lot to this demo and i certainly don't cover it all. even before we start, there are 4 difficulty levels. what's nice, and i expect this isn't a demo specific thing, is that each level is explained as to how it's difficult. some games aren't too clear as to what the changes are, but here the changes are clear even to someone new to the series like i am.
It took around 16 minutes before the story stopped being told and we got into the action. that was a long time and it felt like it. it felt like too much is trying to be taught to the point where i don't know if it's just for this game or if we got a bit of a re-cap from the previous games.
the introduction to the combat is also text heavy. there are pictures to help showcase what specific thing's being taught, but the trend nowadays is for games to show videos or gifs of it in action rather than just a static picture. It worked well enough in that i was able to achieve the goals of defeating the enemies.
At the end of the demo, we found the mission menus. i briefly showed the missions sections, where we can take on missions in our new airship. but for me, as someone new to the series, it was the Database section that i found most useful. during the story, there were several characters on screen who looked familiar, but there isn't an in-game button press to bring up information about them, nor does the game spend time saying where they're from. all these characters are treated like this is their game world.
As a demo, it does work well. but it needs longer than an hour and maybe a second playthrough at a different difficulty level as there is so much to take in. it's unclear if the game is smart enough to offer little snippets of information like a refresher or review of the tutorial stuff as we go. if you know, let us know by sending a message via the comments.
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.
Our new game is the PlayStation 3 version of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy from the 2012 The Jak and Daxter Trilogy that remastered the games and brought them into HD. This series is my first time playing any of the games from the initial trilogy, tho i have played the PSP game Daxter.
The new game in the Stories on Tuesday series is the PS3 version of XBlaze Lost: Memories from Arc System Works and Aksys Games.
This is the third part and it starts from the second memory sequence we've come across, on the third floor, and ends when we descend down from the third Shadow Field.
This week's new Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS3 version of Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension on PS4, via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model #PlayStation4.
I've never watched an episode of the Phineas and Ferb cartoon but i am aware of the cartoon. i thought that maybe the audience would be younger than those who watched the Ratatouille which might mean a different take on a platformer. Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension did come out around 3 years after the Ratatouille game.
One of the key things we look for is the game's save system. when you only get a 20 second warning before being disconnected, being able to save or know when you last did is very important. unfortunately, Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension does not have manual saves. the game does have an auto save system which uses the PlayStation 3 saving icon instead of creating one unique to the game. the auto save system is fairly robust, most often saving when entering a new location/room as well as when you complete the mini game between levels.
The gameplay was quite fun. most of the mechanics i've come across so far are simple and when there's been puzzle stuff it's been easy to work out. the tutorial has popped up each time something new has been introduced and has been rather useful. shooting also has some sort of aim assist on, so if you shoot forward it'll hit enemies above and below you.
So far, my experience with Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension has been much more pleasant than across 2 parts with Ratatouille.
For this week's Mobile Friday i tried KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME from developers Akatsuki Games on my iPhone 14 Pro.
I'm a little familiar with KAIJU NO. 8 having watched some of the first season, but i wasn't up to date with it so i was wondering if this was a game that covered the entire anime story or not. turns out, this takes place after the entrance exam ark from the first season.
Another thing i was curious about was the game's size. i knew that there would be additional data installed as the app store page showed the app was only 190.3 MB. Over 3 GB of additional data was installed. but this game was polite and honest about it. it installed about half a gig to get to the tutorial and whilst we're in the tutorial it downloaded and installed the rest of the data. so you really do need to be playing KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME on wifi when you start it for the first time.
The tutorial is pretty decent, slowly showing and telling you to perform more and more moves. i found it quite accessible. the presentation of this game is also great. it looks like the anime and when you turn on the auto play function, it's actually enjoyable to watch the fights happen by themselves. this is also a useful feature for those commuting. as someone who uses buses and trains to get and from work there are times when i may not have both hands free so to have the game able to play itself is rather nice.
When you do want to play, the combat has some nice depth to it. you can have up to 4 people in your team, and they're paired up. you're able to do automatic combo attacks with your pair. these are initiated when you destroy an enemy's plate. once this defensive plate has been broken, you'll automatically summon your teammate to attack and that enemy, if it survives, will be weakened. But the enemy, much like you, have special attacks that charge up. it's clear on screen how much time you have before the enemy unleashes their special attack and you're able to target different enemies. by defeating an enemies plate, you're able to reset that charge timer. so the combat is fine for simple attacking, but if you're paying attention you'll be able to stop enemy attacks, do combos, and unleash your own special attacks.
This first hour with the game only got me to the start of the game's main story. what we played was essentially a retelling and tutorial. but it was enough to keep me interested and wanting to know what happens next. i would recommend KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME for fans of the anime/manga but also to action combat fans, too. the game makes a great first impression and is well worth trying regardless if it's based of an anime or not.
For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the PlaySation4 version of Nikoderiko: The Magical World - Director's Cut from VEA Games.
Nikoderiko: The Magical World wasn't a game i was aware off but when i saw they released a DEMO for the Directors Cut update to the game i was curious and wanted to give it ago. So if you have Nikoderiko: The Magical World, check to see if you have got the Director's Cut update.
The game is very colorful but not in a childish way. for me, someone who's played games for a long time, this visual style felt like the PS1 Era of colorful games with fun mascots. this PS4 version of the game didn't feel like a downgrade either.
In this demo we get to explore 3 areas, the Sacred Forest, the Tricky Caves, and the Snowland. the first area is more of a traditional platformer, whilst the second area had us moving sidescrolling and vertical scrolling (like Crash Bandicoot), and the third area had some swimming and hiding sections. as we make our way, the game teaches us in a decent way how to play it. however, there were moments with the enemies where i didn't know how to attack them or in one instance whether or not the animal was an enemy or not.
there were moments where i found some tricky platforming, so again this isn't a game designed at a younger audience. but even when things were a little tough, it always felt achievable. there were also quite a few collectables to get, so once you've mastered the level there's yet more to do to 100% it.
The only thing this demo was lacking was whether or not if there was a save file if it carried over into the main game. there was an option to get the demo from the PSN, which games don't always do, and having a message from the developers at the end made it feel bespoke. I do feel like this is a good demo and after playing it, i am interested in Nikoderiko: The Magical World - Director's Cut and would look to get the Deluxe physical edition as it comes with an OST CD, which is always a great deal but more so here as i genuinely enjoyed the soundtrack.
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. The newest game in the Backlog Conquering series is the #PlayStationPortable version of #FinalFantasy. this is the downloaded version of the game, but it is also available on #UMD. To help with this playthrough i'm proudly using a guide from #GameFAQS. here's the link, https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/psp/937909-final-fantasy/faqs/55625. i'm not following it exactly, but it's useful to have.
Combing all 17 parts into one video was too long for YouTube's current 12 hour video limit. so instead, what i've done is include the start of the game up to the first fight, then it's all the fights up to the final boss, and then it's the ending of the story. So you get the start of the story, the fights, the end of the story.
i didn't include the fights that were pointless. for example, there were a couple of times where i died and had to continue from a previous save file. the fights up to those deaths are not included here.
This week's new Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing the PS3 version of Ratatouille on PS4, via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.
Part 1 didn't go great, not because of the game being streamed from the Cloud but because it's just not that great. the platforming was testing my patience more than anything. We also learned that there were no manual save points in that part but i held out hope that once we got out of the tutorial area that maybe there would be save points added. so even tho i wasn't expecting the game play experience to improve, i was still hoping.
Unfortunately, we never found a way to manually save in this part. there was more progress made through the level, and when i was stuck i was able to use the in-game sniffing button to get help to show me where to go. but it wasn't always able to help out, for example in the kitchen, and it often felt like Ratatouille wanted to slow you down with all sorts of hindrances. before the speed test i did complete a challenge without encountering the squirrels, but the time it took to complete it felt like it's own hindrance.
Streaming Ratatouille from the Cloud is easier and maybe more convenient than finding an original disc copy of the game. But with no trophies, no manual saves, and a poor auto save, it's hard to say if there's much to gain from playing the game. You can do it, but i don't think the game is good enough for it to be worthwhile doing.
For this week's Mobile Friday i tried RPG Dragon Spira from developers KEMCO on my iPhone 14 Pro.
Many of the games i play for Mobile Friday are ever evolving and growing, which is why i always try and put the version of the game i played. but RPG Dragon Spira is a finished game. it's available as a premium version you can pay for and get no adverts whilst you play or you can download this freemium version and watch the occasional advert.
After playing this for an hour, i had to sit through 8 adverts. it's more than i expected but certainly not as much as many other games i've played as part of Mobile Friday. all of these adverts were short, but they also had videos. personally, i'd recommend playing RPG Dragon Spira with wi-fi as the data these adverts use will build up over time.
Another odd thing about this first hour of RPG Dragon Spira is that i didn't get to the game's gimmick. KEMCO RPG's often have a unique gimmick and this one seemed like it was going to involve a roulette wheel. but the pace of RPG Dragon Spira meant i never got to use it. the game does have a lot of talking between characters which did slow down the pace. the adverts also slowed things down. but even tho it was slow, it didn't feel too slow as the story and character interactions were mostly fine.
What i found interesting about RPG Dragon Spira was how it did combat. it takes full advantage of the widescreen of my phone. i can see how the number of heroes and enemies could be quite high and there'd still be space on the screen. at the top it shows who's next to attack, the right are commands for our team, and on the left we can turn on auto attacks, speed up the fight, escape, and see the type chart. there is a lot on screen but it never felt crowded.
For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening from Microids.
This isn't an anime or game series i was aware of. so for me, the appeal was the nostalgic look and feel of the animation. i've learned since i played this demo that the game itself covers the first 12 episodes of the 1982 anime.
Unfortunately, as much as i enjoyed the look of the game, as a demo this isn't great. it takes place from the third mission in the game, which means it's after any proper tutorial. so the developers appear to shoehorn in tutorial and it doesn't work. after the animated intro to the mission, we're shown how to move and then how to jump. but the character quips about the collectable at the same point the game tells us how to jump. but the platform is unstable and means we have to skip the collectable as we have no idea how to get it.
the character next quips about exploring the cemetery, so i do that. but then we're up against bats and have to work out the shooting. thankfully the game does tell us how to use the psycho gun, tho it doesn't call it that.
the tutorial aspect isn't great, but the rest of the demo was quite enjoyable. the mix of animation and gameplay worked well for me. it's not quite seamless switching between the two styles, but it's fine. it was surprising to get a mix of combat styles, there's a shotgun style weapon as well as hand to hand combat. by the end of the demo, i was starting to get into a flow with the gameplay.
What the demo was successful in showing was the varied types of gameplay. there's "traditional" platforming, there's puzzle platforming, there's underwater sections, and there are sections where we're avoiding in-coming enemy fire. it's a demo where playing it a second time would probably feel better.
the demo does have a cool trailer at the end, after a "to be continued section." it shows off other characters, several other locations, and a few other gameplay platforming mechanics and situations. Whilst the demo is aimed at the original Anime, the nostalgic feel of the game, and therefore this demo, worked for me too and after playing this demo i would be interested in trying out the full game. so whilst it wasn't the best execution of a demo, i do think it's a successful demo.
