Thursday, July 13, 2023

Backlog Conquering - Foul Play - Part 6 - Finishing the Game and Breaking it!

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.
This is part 6, the final part, of playing Foul Play on PlayStation 4.

In part 5, https://youtu.be/qRXv9-BjQzE, i had completed the fourth play leaving the fifth play. there were only 2 acts in the fifth play but as i managed to break the game, i had to do Act 2 twice. you'll see that in this video.

As i'm a big fan of the story of this game, and how it's been told, i really enjoyed that the start of this video began with a cool plot twist. more so as i didn't see it coming. what's great about it is how well it fits into the game's story and yet still be a little ambiguous. up to this point the game had been using a theatre performance to tell the story of something that had happened in the past but now the twist has happened, is this still the case? i don't want to spoil it but at the end of the video i do give my point of view.

As for how i broke the game, well it's weird because i repeated something i did earlier that worked fine but this time it didn't work and the game got stuck. it needed me to attack the boss, but i could only do so in a specific way. however, i activated my flourish (L1 Button) and i could no longer continue to attack the boss in said specific way. this meant the boss wouldn't attack me nor could i do damage to it. so to be safe i ended the act and tried again. thankfully Act 2 is just a boss battle and i did it the next time.

This has been a fun game to play. the fighting got tedious more than once, and the combo system was frustratingly unforgiving. but it oozes charm and plays into it. the artstyle, whilst somewhat simple, is bold and colorful and fully plays into the theatre gimmick of the game. it's so noticeable that i based my opinion about what happened based on it! i do recommend people try this game. i'd suggest switching the difficulty to the easiest mode so you can get to the story, the characters, and the world much quicker than i did playing it at normal.

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Backlog Conquering - Foul Play - Part 5 - Finishing the Fourth Play

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.
This is part 5 of playing Foul Play on PlayStation 4.

In this part i finished the fourth but had to stop as my recording equipment seemed to be having some issues. there's some minor breakups in the footage near the end, but it should be clear what's happening on screen. It's hot here and i think this was simply a temperature issue as that was the fourth or fifth video i had recorded.

This felt like one of the easier play sessions i've had with this game. in part 4,  https://youtu.be/-ZlAxJCLM5Q, i got my first 5 star review and that continued into this video. But it's not just the game saying that i'm doing well, it also feels like i'm doing well too. it must be a combination of practice and unlocking new moves.

The story continues to be it's own unique thing but as it's started to come to a conclusion i've got more into it. again i mention how the combat is getting in the way of a fun little story. There will be a part 6 as i have the final play left and i want to know what happens.

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday - Nintendo Switch Edition - Pixel Sherias Cup - Achievement Run

Welcome to Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday! Sit back and either watch me play through, with no commentary, the cup or leave it running in the background as BGM!

I play and earn all the achievements from The Pixel Sherias Cup! (2023/7/10 9:00~2023/7/17 8:59 JST) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.

It had been a long time coming but for the first time in a long while i managed to beat the boss! i didn't play against many other players, but there was only one game when it was just me. i had owl and YURI for most of the games and it was really tough to beat owl, even when i beat the boss too. i don't think i fully understood the gimmick, but i understood it well enough to get some great results. this was a fun week.

This week i played against:
YURI - Rank 74
owl - Rank 68
あーし - Rank 69

Monday, July 10, 2023

Cloud Monday - Rogue Legacy 2 - Part 2 - Rough Streaming Leads to Run Anxiety

Today's Cloud Monday is part 2 of playing the newly released Rogue Legacy 2 via the PlayStation Plus Premium service on my launch model Japanese PS4.

In part 1, https://youtu.be/WzCKzpCKwXA, the streaming was a little rough at the start but was great for most of it. in part 2, this video, it was more rough. more than once the warning symbol appeared! at least once i couldn't see what the issue was, but for the others it was clear on screen what the issues were.

Even tho there were issues, i'd say that it didn't get in the way of the gameplay. controlling and navigating the world was still possible, it's more a visual thing. But in a run based game like Rogue Legacy 2, it can be anxiety inducing. there seems to be no way to save mid run, so each time the warning symbol appeared it did get to me a little. i say in the video that my only option is to die. it's a shame that even tho Sony's making a push for cloud streaming, there doesn't seem to be much effort in dealing with these issues like my adding save states.

Ultimately, i had a great time playing Rogue Legacy 2. it's an improvement over the first game, which itself was good game that i finished, and i'm sure i've just scratched the surface of the story and world. But, is it a game to stream? i'd say the first hour or so is probably fine. but the further you go into the game and the longer the runs become, it might be less anxiety inducing to install the game than stream it. 

Sunday, July 9, 2023

Switch Funday - Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle - An Fun First Hour

For Switch Funday, i decided to play a game i now regret to have not played earlier. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a game i've had in my Switch back catalogue for a long time now and i don't really know why i've not played it.

Going in, i had a rough idea as what to expect. when this game came out back in 2017, it was all over podcasts, websites, and most video game places i visited. thankfully i have either forgotten discussions about the story or i managed to avoid it because i had no idea how they'd bring these two worlds together.

the introduction movie tells the story of how our world, the Rabbids world, and the Mushroom Kingdom collide with someone inventing a merging device here, the Rabbids visiting and taking/breaking it, before their washing machine vehicle gets hit creating a wormhole of sorts to the Mushroom Kingdom where further damage is done by out of control merged Rabbids leaving it up to Mario and a couple of hero Rabbids to save the day. it's ridiculous but in a fun way and the cinematic looks great!

the game starts introducing battle mechanics and teaches us across a few battles very well. but it's not perfect, i didn't fully understand the jump mechanic or the need for it nor does it mention that i can't slide afterwards. the tutorial also didn't mention anything about character health so when i lost Mario, i really didn't know what was going to happen. the next battle he was back with 10 health, but i had to find that out for myself. another thing the game doesn't tell you about are the items in the mystery boxes i found. it wasn't until i got to Peach's castle that things were explained. but this was quite a while into the play session.

Other than that, for the first hour i don't really have any other complaints. i had a great time with it, better than i imagined i would have. it looks fantastic and during it i remember saying how dense the world looks. the battles are fun, if a little lacking with no recovery options so far, and the Rabbids haven't worn out their welcome so far. i do worry that there'll be a time when they do, but for a first hour it's a really good one. I've seen that this game can be over 20 hours long so i do worry if the story and game mechanics can support something that long. let me know in the comments if it does.


Saturday, July 8, 2023

Online Saturday - Tetris 99 - 34th Maximus Cup - Pikmin 4 Edition

Welcome to Online Saturday!

Today i'm playing Tetris 99 on Nintendo Switch. This weekend it's a special event where you can earn a Pikmin 4 theme by earning 100 points in the 34th Maximus Cup.

Maximus Cups are a welcomed reason to pop back into Tetris 99. of course the goal is to get enough points but the other goal is to try and win. I've played Tetris 99 a lot but i've never managed to win. unfortunately, i didn't win today either. i got a couple of top 15 finishes, but it's really tough.

It's a nice theme, tho i'm not too sure about the music. Let me know how the cup went for you. did you get a win?

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Backlog Conquering - Foul Play - Part 4 - Finishing the Third Play

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.
This is part 4 of playing Foul Play on PlayStation 4.

In this part i finished the third play and did the first act in the fourth play. i've nearly finished the game as after the fourth play there's only a couple of acts in the fifth play.

This went really well. some new trophies were a welcomed bonus and i even managed to get a couple of 5 stars for the first time, too. at times it felt fairly easy to play. as i've gone on, i've unlocked new moves which has made the combat easier to do but also easier to manage the enemies. this meant that i was finally able to get 5 stars. the enemies themselves were a mix of easy to deal with baddies with swords and annoying combo breakers that either used tentacles or electricity.

The stories continue to be interesting and our main characters are delightful. together, those things are what's driving me forward and wanting to complete the game. i feel that, and have done since the start, the combat takes a little too long and there's too much of it. so if you try this game, go for the easier difficulty so you can enjoy the story and characters more.