Demo Play Thursday - Ys X: Nordics Demo On PS4

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the PlayStation 4 version of Ys X: Nordics Demo from Nihon Falcom.

Ys is a series that i've heard about but not one i've ever played before. so trying out this demo wasn't just for the site, it was for me too. i was curious about soo many aspects and hoped that the demo would let me know if i want to get the game or not.

Unfortunately, my time with the demo got every increasingly frustrating and i didn't enjoy my time with it. nearly every aspect of the game felt outdated or that it was built for a different console, whether that's the #Switch or maybe if the initially started planning this on Vita. graphically, the PS4 version feels like a downgrade. the lack of shadows make certain items in the game look like stickers, but there's the opposite problem where there are shadows that make characters look like they have scars.

The artwork for buildings looks so bland, and the draw distance is so close to the camera that later on islands in the background started to blend in with the sea so it looked like a wall of a single color. the characters were the best looking thing in the game, but don't look to closely as their mouths don't sync up with their speeches. 

I also found the game's story wasn't syncing up with what i was doing and that was probably the most frustrating thing as it meant i was having to pick what to say from a choice of something that makes no sense or something that makes only a little sense. very rarely did the game offer me something to say that i, the player, wanted to say.

The demo also hit a technical issue where i had single digits of frames. this started with the dual battle with the "Princess" and maybe a combination of luck and low difficulty setting meant we could defeat the wolves even if nothing was moving on screen.

Unfortunately, i can't recommend the PS4 version of the Ys X: Nordics Demo, and as my experience with the game was so negative i can't really recommend people getting the game. it felt like it's only for the hardcore fans who are maybe used to the outdated designs and complaints i had through most of this video.

Backlog Conquering - Poison Control On PS4 - Part 4 – Once More Into The Second Circle of Hell

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.

In Part 3, i got stuck in the first major "Dungeon" of the Second Circle of Hell. i tried twice and was defeated twice, right at the end of the Dungeon. so going into this part i thought that would be my first goal. Unfortunately, i seemed to have forgotten to manually save after recording Part 3 so when i started the game for this recording, i realized that i had to basically re-do Part 3 all over again. 

Thankfully i was able to defeat the dungeon, which had previously bested me, on my first attempt. This lead the the story twist that i didn't see coming. previously, our goal had been to collect stickers. we get stickers by solving personal hells. with 5 of them, we're able to get to heaven. well, by finishing the dungeon today i got all 5 and headed off to the shop to redeem them. that's when it's revealed that 5 stickers are needed to get 1 Gold Sticker, and it's 5 Gold Stickers that are needed to get to heaven. so our goal, and the amount of videos in this series for this game, as now grown. 

I am still enjoying the story and the gameplay is mostly fine. the camera tends to fight me now and then and sometimes the lock-on seems to be aiming at ghosts or just off the enemy. thankfully the story is keeping me going so i am looking forward to the next couple of videos at least to see where things are headed.

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/zYr-gRR3IOc

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/DNYEIWBChQA

Part 3 - https://youtu.be/zT1rBNYyQjk

Backlog Conquering - Poison Control On PS4 - Part 3 – Entering The Second Circle Of Hell

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.

Things got more difficult in Part 3. i was able to get into the second circle of hell, but i failed to beat the first dungeon there twice. you can see that in each attempt i get to what seems to be the final fight, but i was unable to successfully clear away the poison whilst defending myself from the never ending swarm of enemies. 

It's a shame as this video starts with a new character, some new questions being asked, and there was a nice boss fight. i  wanted to beat this dungeon to see what would happen, would this have been enough to get us to heaven.

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/zYr-gRR3IOc

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/DNYEIWBChQA

Backlog Conquering - Poison Control On PS4 - Part 2 – The Third and Fourth "Belles' Hells"

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.

Part 2 continues on with the story. we previously did the first two Belles' Hells and they weren't too difficult, nor were the stories behind them that bad. the two I did today, they were much harder. not just in difficulty of playing them but also the stories behind them. There will be a Part 3 as i expect there to be more twists and turns in the story as we progress further deeper into hell.

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/zYr-gRR3IOc

Backlog Conquering - Poison Control On PS4 - Part 1 - The First Two "Belles' Hells"

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.

Poison Control is a surprise pick for a series that focuses on Backlogs. it came out in 2021 so it's one of the more recent games i've bought. But the thing is i don't remember buying it, so i don't know why i have it. it's not a PlayStation Plus game so my Backlog Conquering series is the perfect place to try it as whilst it's not an old game, it's still in the backlog.

Cloud Monday - Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness - More PlayStation Plus Premium Perfect Streaming

Today's Cloud Monday is part 2 of playing Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness on my launch Japanese PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming Service.

In the first video, https://youtu.be/4acBC6x5XXI, as well as enjoying the game i would go so far as to say the streaming experience from PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming was perfect. it had been a while since i played a game with little to no streaming issues so at the time there was a sense of relief, too.

This second video continues that trend. once again i noticed no issues streaming the game and, in both videos, there were moments when i forgot that i was playing this PS3 game on a PS4 as i was so engrossed in playing it. 

It's a hard game, but if it's a style of RPG or if you're a fan of the series, there is a way to play the game just like you had the disc. unfortunately in this video i forgot to do the speed test, but over both days playing the game i'm comfortable in saying that it's one of the highlights i've had streaming games from PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Service.

Cloud Monday - Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness - Story, Tutorials, And Perfect Cloud Streaming

Today's Cloud Monday is part 1 of playing Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming Service.

the only Disgaea game i've played is Disgaea 3 and that was on PlayStation Vita a long time ago. But i still remember roughly what it was about and the style of gameplay. for me, going into Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness i had an idea what it could be whilst also having no clue. thankfully, the game has an amazing tutorial that slowly and assuredly reintroduced me into the world of Disgaea.

I'm not positive where on the Disgaea timeline this game sits, but it felt like it took place after Disgaea 3. the characters and story seemed to match what i remembered of that game. here, the story did feel a little much. Like, they needed to quickly tell the story of what came as well as begin the story of this game. so really, in the 50 minutes i played, i didn't learn much about the story of this game. thankfully, there's a part 2 next week where i'm sure the game will move on from the world's past and focus more on it's own story.

And streaming it from PlayStation Plus Premium went perfectly. it's a very rare thing, more so when you compare the quality of this stream with previous videos. things had been rough recently but then there's this game and it's perfect. All i can think of is that maybe because it's a PS3 game, it requires less bandwidth than some of the PS4 games i've been playing. the speed check seemed normal and comparable to the previous videos so i don't think that has anything to do with it.

NIS America Announce Hyperdimension Neptunia PP For PS Vita, Coming Out At Retail And Online In 2014

NIS America have announced they are bringing Hyperdimension Neptunia PP to the west on PS Vita. the game will be released at retail and on the PSN. the game was originally developed by Idea Factory and Compile Heart and released in Japan earlier this year.

Press Release

NIS America Announce They Are Bringing Mugen Souls Z To The USA And EU In 2014

NIS America have announced they are bringing Mugen Souls Z, a game developed by Compile Heart, to the USA and EU. Mugen Souls Z is a PS3 exclusive and will come out in 2014. NIS America say that some content in the game has been edited to make it more suitable for EU and USA Markets. Mugen Souls Z takes place immediately after the first game and has Sylma and Chou-Chou working together to stop an ancient threat.

Press Release

NIS America Announce The Dragon's Crown Cross-Play Patch Is Out Now Across Europe

NIS America have announced the Dragon's Crown Cross Play Patch is out now across Europe. this patch was already out in the USA and now EU Players on PS3 and PS Vita can play together.



Press Release

NISA And Atlus Announce Cross Play With Dragon's Crown, Apologise For Confusion

Here We Go, there has been some confusion over the last couple of days over Dragon's Crown on PS Vita and PS3 and today it has taken another twist. so here is what's happening...
Yes there is a printing error on the EU version of Dragon's Crown on PS Vita. these state that the game supports Cross Play with the PS3 version of the game. when the game comes out across the EU it won't.
Today Atlus and NISA have announced that both the PS3 and PS Vita versions will be patched to enable Cross Play between them.

i apologise for the confusion this has caused. i've only reported what i was told directly by NISA. like yesterdays statement, i have included the message i got today from NISA about the upcoming patch.

"October 10, 2013

RE: Dragon’s Crown™ PS Vita retail packaging

We wanted to let you know that due to a printing error, the initial run of PS Vita retail

packaging indicates that the game is Cross-platform Play compatible with the

PlayStation®3, which is incorrect. At launch, the game will only support cross-save

functionality. We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences this may cause. On a

positive note, we are happy to announce that in the upcoming months Cross-platform

play will become available across Europe via a game patch."

NIS America Announce EU PS Vita Dragon's Crown Boxart Printing Error, Confirm There Is NO Cross Platform Play

NIS America have announced there was a printing error with the PS Vita version of Dragon's Crown. this error meant that the retail package stated the game supported Cross Platform play with the PS3 version of the game. this is not the case, Dragon's Crown only supports Cross Save. here is what NIS America had to say:

"October 9, 2013

RE: Dragon’s Crown™ PS Vita retail packaging

We wanted to let you know that there has been a printing error with the initial run of

the PS Vita retail packaging for Dragon’s Crown™ in the European/Australian regions.

The back of the packaging indicates that the game supports Cross-platform Play with

the PlayStation®3 console. However, this information is incorrect. The game supports

cross-save functionality only. We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences this

printing error may cause. "

NIS America Announce Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness Comes To The USA On 8th October

NIS America have announced Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness, a game developed by Nippon Ichi, is coming out across the USA on 8th October. they will be releasing costume pack DLC for Laharl, Etna and Flonne, which will be free on the PSN for the first 30 days of their release.



Screenshots


Source: USA PlayStation Blog

NISA Have Released A Third Trailer For The PS3 Game Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness

NISA have released a new trailer for the PS3 game by Nippon Ichi Software, Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness.

NISA Announce Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers Comes To The EU From 20th September On 3DS

NIS America have announced the 3DS game Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers will come out across the EU from 20th September. the game will hit retail first on the 20th September and then come to the eShop on 25th September.

Press Release

NIS America Have Released 8 New English Screenshots For Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness

NIS America have released 8 new English screenshots for their upcoming PS3 game Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness. these screenshots also show the humour the series is known for.

Screenshots

NIS America Have Released A New Trailer For Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness Introducing Characters And Game Play

NIS America have released a new trailer for Nippon Ichi's PS3 game Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness. this trailer introduces the main characters and shows some game play from the Japanese version of the game.

NIS America And Atlus Announce Dragon's Crown Will Come Out Across The EU This Fall, Release New Screenshots

Atlus and NIS America have confirmed that they are bringing Dragon's Crown to the EU this fall. Dragon's Crown was developed by Vanillaware and will come out on both PS3 and PS Vita.

Press Release

NIS America Announce Time And Eternity Comes To Europe At Retail On 28th June And PSN On 3rd July

NIS America have announced the European release date for the PS3 exclusive Time And Eternity. the game will hit retail first on 28th June and then on PSN on 3rd July. NIS America have also confirmed there will be a variety of DLC after the game is released.

Press Release

Atlus And NIS America Announce Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers Comes To Europe This Fall

 

Atlus and NIS America have announced they are bringing Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers to Europe this fall. this 3DS exclusive game was originally released on the Sega Saturn in 1997 and this 3DS release will be the first time the game has been released across Europe. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is a first person dungeon crawling RPG set in a cyberpunk style future.

Features:

• Keeping the tradition of Shin Megami Tensei: Players will have the compelling choice throughout their dungeon exploration to fight the enemy demons, or negotiate with them in an attempt to turn them into allies and teammates!

• Classic dungeon-crawling strikes back with more: Players who have already played the original will also experience 30 newly added demons, along with a new opening animation movie and theme song. There’s also an extra dungeon, where players will witness the appearance of Raidou Kuzunoha from the previous Devil Summoner games!

• Utilize Nintendo 3DS functionality: Players can use the Nintendo 3DS bottom screen as an auto-mapping system; engage a COMP hack to change difficulty levels on the fly and fill out maps without having to traverse the area!

Press Release