What games are you playing 2: The revenge
- Thread starter GenocideHeart
- Start date
Bought Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight for about $6. For that price, the ~5 hours of gameplay was actually solid (although I would say it's probably 3-4 if you aren't dying or taking bathroom breaks).
A fairly solid metroidvania that feels a bit Dark Souls-y in that bells are like bonfires and the Bellflowers are like Estus flasks. There are consumable items, but all of those recharge when you save/heal.
The two biggest negatives that drive down the score are:
1) There are only two endings, and the only condition for the best ending requires you to find a consumable at a later point and use it at a earlier spot that you probably would forget about or consider non-essential. I'll spoil this because the game itself gives you NO indication that this is even necessary to win, let alone that it's the ONLY way to get the good ending: you need to find an item that creates a Wind spell (it looks like a box) and you need to use it on a windmill that you find early on. This opens up a small opening below the windmill that you can get into once you get the ability to enter small areas, and turn your Autumn Maple Leaf into a Spring Maple Leaf.
2) Your arsenal. Maybe I'm spoiled by games that give me a lot more options, but you only ever get two primary weapons: a maple leaf that acts like a sword and a bow that only fires left or right (one power up lets you charge for a triple shot). You get two offensive spells, but they're consumables, and you get two relics that add damage, one adds poison to your arrows (which can poison you if you walk into the cloud before it dissipates) and another that adds fire damage to your leaf. Of course, there's more items, but those aren't really additional means of attack.
While I would've preferred a longer game, at the price I got it, it was satisfying and self-contained (i.e. you don't need to play any of the previous games to play this one). Even on Easy, it's not entirely easy (at least 75-85% of the deaths I had on Easy were from failing jumps and landing into instant death spikes), and you'll DEFINITELY want to do one optional side quest that gives you 3 full heal items if you're going to take it on Insanity.
All said, it's short but cute and satisfying. I would say an 8.5 out of 10. 7.5 at it's original price.
A fairly solid metroidvania that feels a bit Dark Souls-y in that bells are like bonfires and the Bellflowers are like Estus flasks. There are consumable items, but all of those recharge when you save/heal.
The two biggest negatives that drive down the score are:
1) There are only two endings, and the only condition for the best ending requires you to find a consumable at a later point and use it at a earlier spot that you probably would forget about or consider non-essential. I'll spoil this because the game itself gives you NO indication that this is even necessary to win, let alone that it's the ONLY way to get the good ending: you need to find an item that creates a Wind spell (it looks like a box) and you need to use it on a windmill that you find early on. This opens up a small opening below the windmill that you can get into once you get the ability to enter small areas, and turn your Autumn Maple Leaf into a Spring Maple Leaf.
2) Your arsenal. Maybe I'm spoiled by games that give me a lot more options, but you only ever get two primary weapons: a maple leaf that acts like a sword and a bow that only fires left or right (one power up lets you charge for a triple shot). You get two offensive spells, but they're consumables, and you get two relics that add damage, one adds poison to your arrows (which can poison you if you walk into the cloud before it dissipates) and another that adds fire damage to your leaf. Of course, there's more items, but those aren't really additional means of attack.
While I would've preferred a longer game, at the price I got it, it was satisfying and self-contained (i.e. you don't need to play any of the previous games to play this one). Even on Easy, it's not entirely easy (at least 75-85% of the deaths I had on Easy were from failing jumps and landing into instant death spikes), and you'll DEFINITELY want to do one optional side quest that gives you 3 full heal items if you're going to take it on Insanity.
All said, it's short but cute and satisfying. I would say an 8.5 out of 10. 7.5 at it's original price.
So I picked up Dangan Ronpa 1+2 on sale during the Winter Sale.
Up to the third chapter of the first game.
Case 1 + 2 SPOILERS
Case 3 SPOILERS
Up to the third chapter of the first game.
Case 1 + 2 SPOILERS
I deduced the killer fairly easily in Case 1 as being Leon. It was fairly obvious that it had to have been one of the guys off the bat because of the screwdriver. For a little bit I entertained the thought that Hifuni Yamada was the killer because he could have done a frame-within-a-frame by using the trash room himself (since he was the only one with access) and breaking the glass ball, then burning his own shirt and leaving the last little bit on the ground so that while Makoto might be the initial suspect, Leon would be the next suspect. Technically, I suppose that since we never actually got to see Leon's screwdriver set there was never any physical evidence to disprove this. Leon's breakdown was of course a dead giveaway.
I didn't catch that Sayaka was going to kill Leon, however. I thought Leon had been invited over due to his desire to get into a band and him gushing to Sayaka about that and her being caught up in it.
In case 2, I initially thought the killer was one of the girls of course, up until the Handbook loophole was pointed out. However, once I deduced the real murder location was the boy's locker room, I figured it had to be one of the guys. I wasn't certain at that time if Chihiro was actually a cross-dresser or if she had figured out the loophole and taken Leon's Handbook because she was just that shy about working out. I never really caught Mondo's early on slip of calling her 'Dude' right after her body was discovered. I skipped past Genocide Jack as my prime suspect to Byakuya, but cottoned on pretty quickly that it was too easy. I know Makoto obviously wasn't the killer unless we're doing Baten Kaitos levels of mindfuckery, I didn't think Byakuya was doing a double play to make it too easy to deflect suspicion, and Taka seemed too on the straight-and-narrow to be the real killer, narrowing it down to the other three guys.
(I suppose I should call Chihiro 'him' but dang it's way too hard to think of somebody as girly-looking as that as male)
I didn't catch that Sayaka was going to kill Leon, however. I thought Leon had been invited over due to his desire to get into a band and him gushing to Sayaka about that and her being caught up in it.
In case 2, I initially thought the killer was one of the girls of course, up until the Handbook loophole was pointed out. However, once I deduced the real murder location was the boy's locker room, I figured it had to be one of the guys. I wasn't certain at that time if Chihiro was actually a cross-dresser or if she had figured out the loophole and taken Leon's Handbook because she was just that shy about working out. I never really caught Mondo's early on slip of calling her 'Dude' right after her body was discovered. I skipped past Genocide Jack as my prime suspect to Byakuya, but cottoned on pretty quickly that it was too easy. I know Makoto obviously wasn't the killer unless we're doing Baten Kaitos levels of mindfuckery, I didn't think Byakuya was doing a double play to make it too easy to deflect suspicion, and Taka seemed too on the straight-and-narrow to be the real killer, narrowing it down to the other three guys.
(I suppose I should call Chihiro 'him' but dang it's way too hard to think of somebody as girly-looking as that as male)
Case 3 SPOILERS
I haven't finished this yet. Just discovered Yasuhiro being tucked away in the locker at the pool.
So far, here's my deduction: Hifuni Yamada may have committed suicide or was blackmailed into dying. He initially either hit himself with one of the hammers or used some of the nurse's blood packets to fake being attacked upstairs. Once he was brought down to the nurse's room, he used the blood packets to give the impression that he had been attacked. I'm not sure if Monokuma's body announcement at this time was for Hifuni's body or if Taka's body had been discovered by three people at the exact same time.
Once Celeste and Hina walked away to the bathroom for a few minutes, Hifuni got up, cleaned the blood off his glasses, then went and hid somewhere on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Once he heard everyone else running downstairs, he went up to the 3rd floor, wrapped Taka's body up and put it on the dolly and took it to the repository.
He then locked the repository door which only locked from the inside so the door was locked during the initial search. The repository door gets opened up once everybody has gone, and he gets hit with a hammer again, this time actually being a fatal blow. Either he does it himself, and somehow manages to wash the hammer and hang it up before putting the hammer away, or the true murderer comes in and kills him, washes the hammer up and puts it away.
My best guess is he was somehow blackmailed into this whole set-up. Taka's time of death wasn't given in Monokuma's file, so it's possible Taka was killed a lot earlier. Maybe Hifuni himself killed Taka and was caught and for whatever reason couldn't kill the witness. Maybe he was somehow blackmailed, or it's possible the killer promised him something would happen outside if s/he got out (ie. if it was Byakuya, he could say "If I get out you'll be dead but I'll revive your favorite anime series"). The other possibility is he was an accomplice at first and then got backstabbed by the murderer killing him in the repository. I have a little bit of a tough time thinking this last one is possible, since he'd have to be incredibly stupid to go along with the plan to fake suicide without thinking of how he might be betrayed in turn. Then again, if he was promised Alter Ego...
My current theory for the true murderer is Celeste. The picture of Hifuni and the robot is just that, a picture. Hifuni and Celeste could have posed the robot suit around to make it look like Hifuni was being dragged off. Celeste would have been able to suggest to Hina to move away from the nurse's room long enough for Hifuni to move away, and it's Celeste who says she saw a shadow upstairs on the 3rd floor that distracted people's attention long enough from the nurse's room.
Meanwhile, since they drugged or knocked out Yasuhiro, it would have been child's play to put blueprints and plaster and stuff in his room to frame him. For this reason it seems very likely Hifuni participated in the scheme since he was the only one to really talk a lot about plaster and stuff earlier.
So far, here's my deduction: Hifuni Yamada may have committed suicide or was blackmailed into dying. He initially either hit himself with one of the hammers or used some of the nurse's blood packets to fake being attacked upstairs. Once he was brought down to the nurse's room, he used the blood packets to give the impression that he had been attacked. I'm not sure if Monokuma's body announcement at this time was for Hifuni's body or if Taka's body had been discovered by three people at the exact same time.
Once Celeste and Hina walked away to the bathroom for a few minutes, Hifuni got up, cleaned the blood off his glasses, then went and hid somewhere on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Once he heard everyone else running downstairs, he went up to the 3rd floor, wrapped Taka's body up and put it on the dolly and took it to the repository.
He then locked the repository door which only locked from the inside so the door was locked during the initial search. The repository door gets opened up once everybody has gone, and he gets hit with a hammer again, this time actually being a fatal blow. Either he does it himself, and somehow manages to wash the hammer and hang it up before putting the hammer away, or the true murderer comes in and kills him, washes the hammer up and puts it away.
My best guess is he was somehow blackmailed into this whole set-up. Taka's time of death wasn't given in Monokuma's file, so it's possible Taka was killed a lot earlier. Maybe Hifuni himself killed Taka and was caught and for whatever reason couldn't kill the witness. Maybe he was somehow blackmailed, or it's possible the killer promised him something would happen outside if s/he got out (ie. if it was Byakuya, he could say "If I get out you'll be dead but I'll revive your favorite anime series"). The other possibility is he was an accomplice at first and then got backstabbed by the murderer killing him in the repository. I have a little bit of a tough time thinking this last one is possible, since he'd have to be incredibly stupid to go along with the plan to fake suicide without thinking of how he might be betrayed in turn. Then again, if he was promised Alter Ego...
My current theory for the true murderer is Celeste. The picture of Hifuni and the robot is just that, a picture. Hifuni and Celeste could have posed the robot suit around to make it look like Hifuni was being dragged off. Celeste would have been able to suggest to Hina to move away from the nurse's room long enough for Hifuni to move away, and it's Celeste who says she saw a shadow upstairs on the 3rd floor that distracted people's attention long enough from the nurse's room.
Meanwhile, since they drugged or knocked out Yasuhiro, it would have been child's play to put blueprints and plaster and stuff in his room to frame him. For this reason it seems very likely Hifuni participated in the scheme since he was the only one to really talk a lot about plaster and stuff earlier.
Up to just starting the trial of chapter 5 in Danganronpa
Chapter 4 spoilers
My theories for the game as far, coming up to the start of case 5
Chapter 4 spoilers
For just about the entire case, I thought Byakuya was the one whodunnit, since I immediately figured out it was poison. He had said a line once about not wanting to eat with others since they could poison his food. I initially thought that he had laced a single piece of candy in a box in the warehouse with poison - the same box of candy that Hina hoarded out of the warehouse and kept to herself. He only poisoned a single piece because any more might lead back to him if somebody deduced it and made him eat the rest. In other words, he intended to murder Hina. When Hina gave a single piece of candy to Sakura, by freak luck it was the single poisoned piece of candy. Byakuya figured this out somehow and had to set it up so he could frame Hiro and Toko so one of them might take the fall for it.
However, I also figured out pretty easily that the locked room mystery was because Sakura barred the door up herself. I had a difficult time trying to square the two deductions. The best guess I had for a little while was that when Hiro and Toko attacked Sakura, she barred up the door to prevent anyone else from attacking her, only to succumb to poison.
That theory obviously didn't happen, though.
However, I also figured out pretty easily that the locked room mystery was because Sakura barred the door up herself. I had a difficult time trying to square the two deductions. The best guess I had for a little while was that when Hiro and Toko attacked Sakura, she barred up the door to prevent anyone else from attacking her, only to succumb to poison.
That theory obviously didn't happen, though.
My theories for the game as far, coming up to the start of case 5
Right now, I think Kyoko Kirigiri is in fact a fake name and that her true identity is that of Mukuru Ikusuba, while the 16th student is in fact someone else.
As for the big mysteries of the game thus far...the one I'm currently running with is that everybody or almost everybody in the game is in fact an Artificial Intelligence put in a flesh-and-blood body, as a greater scope symbolism of Alter Ego. They also happen to be based off of a group of students in the real world from High Peaks, which explains the two mysterious pictures. The massacre may or may not have happened. Presumably, there's even multiple killing games, with the sixteen students recycled every time for a new round, and the reality show changing the set-up each time (ie. someone else is the spy, Chihiro isn't a crossdresser, Hiro isn't so stupid, etc) so viewers don't get bored of the same structure and things will play out differently. This could also relate to whatever changes were done to their bodies.
But there's still a more ultimate purpose to the game. Maybe the massacre actually happened and if my KK = MI theory is correct, she's actually in the game, and she's being forced to go for this as a penance.
If my KK = MI theory is incorrect, or if she's supposed to be more than the Ultimate Despair AND Ultimate Soldier, then I would say KK is either the Ultimate Detective/PI or the Ultimate Hope. Perhaps the long-term game is to try to break her, and when she doesn't break but everyone gets killed, restart the game and wipe her memories completely?
As for the big mysteries of the game thus far...the one I'm currently running with is that everybody or almost everybody in the game is in fact an Artificial Intelligence put in a flesh-and-blood body, as a greater scope symbolism of Alter Ego. They also happen to be based off of a group of students in the real world from High Peaks, which explains the two mysterious pictures. The massacre may or may not have happened. Presumably, there's even multiple killing games, with the sixteen students recycled every time for a new round, and the reality show changing the set-up each time (ie. someone else is the spy, Chihiro isn't a crossdresser, Hiro isn't so stupid, etc) so viewers don't get bored of the same structure and things will play out differently. This could also relate to whatever changes were done to their bodies.
But there's still a more ultimate purpose to the game. Maybe the massacre actually happened and if my KK = MI theory is correct, she's actually in the game, and she's being forced to go for this as a penance.
If my KK = MI theory is incorrect, or if she's supposed to be more than the Ultimate Despair AND Ultimate Soldier, then I would say KK is either the Ultimate Detective/PI or the Ultimate Hope. Perhaps the long-term game is to try to break her, and when she doesn't break but everyone gets killed, restart the game and wipe her memories completely?
Case 6, Investigation
Post-Game
So I at least nailed it with Kyoko being the Ultimate Detective. However, it bothers me that there's a strong parallel still between her and Mukuro. Kyoko's dad left her at age 9 while Mukoro 'disappeared' while she was 9 to join Fenrir...
...I'm beginning to wonder if they're sisters? Then Mukuro could have written the diary found in the locker room.
Something I like about this game is that it gives you a reasonable amount of information beforehand to usually be able to deduce the broad scope of what happened, if not the smaller details that only come out in the trial.
I'm guessing Mukuro was never actually killed. The fact there's only 9 lights on in the morgue when there's supposed to be ten dead students and that Mukuro's supposed body stats and measurements line up exactly with Junko's means Junko's body was taken out and further mutilated to pretend there was a new murder. Once that comes out it'll prove the mastermind isn't following their own rules, since they illegitimately set up a fake murder for a false trial.
If Mukuro does have another accomplice in the student body, I'm putting my body on Hiro. His 'Ultimate Clairvoyant' status seems like a perfect fit to being half of the Ultimate Despair, if there's actually a real psychic component to it, he could have mind-wiped everyone's memories of knowing one another, and he was _nowhere_ to be seen during the investigation stage.
...I'm beginning to wonder if they're sisters? Then Mukuro could have written the diary found in the locker room.
Something I like about this game is that it gives you a reasonable amount of information beforehand to usually be able to deduce the broad scope of what happened, if not the smaller details that only come out in the trial.
I'm guessing Mukuro was never actually killed. The fact there's only 9 lights on in the morgue when there's supposed to be ten dead students and that Mukuro's supposed body stats and measurements line up exactly with Junko's means Junko's body was taken out and further mutilated to pretend there was a new murder. Once that comes out it'll prove the mastermind isn't following their own rules, since they illegitimately set up a fake murder for a false trial.
If Mukuro does have another accomplice in the student body, I'm putting my body on Hiro. His 'Ultimate Clairvoyant' status seems like a perfect fit to being half of the Ultimate Despair, if there's actually a real psychic component to it, he could have mind-wiped everyone's memories of knowing one another, and he was _nowhere_ to be seen during the investigation stage.
Post-Game
...
So...during the class trial, I waited. And waited. I waited to be able to point out that the body measurements of Mukuro that we had were identical to Junko's, in height, weight and bust/waist/hip. I was expecting to be able to point this out and say that the mastermind had left Mukuro's profile with false measurements as a trap but also as one last hint to be fair, then used Junko's body to fake it as being Mukuro's for the death in Chapter 5 (cutting the hair off of course so not to be obvious). Mukuro's tattoo would be somewhere _other_ than her hand. Instead, that didn't quite happen. Of course, they're twin sisters (and I got Mukuro being sisters with somebody at least correct), but given Mukuru went off into a warzone at the age of 9, I would expect her to have grown up at least a little different in measurements.
Then it went off in a completely different direction. So Junko as the mastermind still had an unfair Class Trial in Chapter 5. It's just that she did the body discovery announcement there when she should have done it in Chapter 1, as opposed to also lying about the true name of the victim as well.
There's a few elements left unanswered, most obvious being how the hell Junko and Mukuro managed to remove everybody's memories selectively like that. All the tech she got is probably easily explained away as having lots of money and high tech from Mukuro's time in Fenrir, though. So I suppose there's still some element of the supernatural lurking around.
So...during the class trial, I waited. And waited. I waited to be able to point out that the body measurements of Mukuro that we had were identical to Junko's, in height, weight and bust/waist/hip. I was expecting to be able to point this out and say that the mastermind had left Mukuro's profile with false measurements as a trap but also as one last hint to be fair, then used Junko's body to fake it as being Mukuro's for the death in Chapter 5 (cutting the hair off of course so not to be obvious). Mukuro's tattoo would be somewhere _other_ than her hand. Instead, that didn't quite happen. Of course, they're twin sisters (and I got Mukuro being sisters with somebody at least correct), but given Mukuru went off into a warzone at the age of 9, I would expect her to have grown up at least a little different in measurements.
Then it went off in a completely different direction. So Junko as the mastermind still had an unfair Class Trial in Chapter 5. It's just that she did the body discovery announcement there when she should have done it in Chapter 1, as opposed to also lying about the true name of the victim as well.
There's a few elements left unanswered, most obvious being how the hell Junko and Mukuro managed to remove everybody's memories selectively like that. All the tech she got is probably easily explained away as having lots of money and high tech from Mukuro's time in Fenrir, though. So I suppose there's still some element of the supernatural lurking around.
seitora,
That was a fun read of you playing the game. I'm kindof jealous. There's an anime that's based off the first game in the series, and I was exposed to it first - thus, no real point in playing the game. The second game, I bought and it was really fun. The last mystery was too befuddling for me, but the rest of them were really good. The one ... repeat character was a pleasant surprise too.
Personally, I think Danganronpa V3 is priced too high. But I bought it anyway to avoid accidental spoilers. Speaking of which, if you want to go by time-line of events, Danganronpa 1 is the first game (has a parallel anime), Danganronpa 2 comes after that, we have Danganronpa 3 as anime-only - no game associated with it - and finally Danganronpa V3 which is a different storyline.
Hmm... since you were the one who mentioned it, I'll say this - one of the theories you posted IS applicable to another one of the games/anime. I won't mention which to avoid spoilers.
-chronodekar
That was a fun read of you playing the game. I'm kindof jealous. There's an anime that's based off the first game in the series, and I was exposed to it first - thus, no real point in playing the game. The second game, I bought and it was really fun. The last mystery was too befuddling for me, but the rest of them were really good. The one ... repeat character was a pleasant surprise too.
Personally, I think Danganronpa V3 is priced too high. But I bought it anyway to avoid accidental spoilers. Speaking of which, if you want to go by time-line of events, Danganronpa 1 is the first game (has a parallel anime), Danganronpa 2 comes after that, we have Danganronpa 3 as anime-only - no game associated with it - and finally Danganronpa V3 which is a different storyline.
Hmm... since you were the one who mentioned it, I'll say this - one of the theories you posted IS applicable to another one of the games/anime. I won't mention which to avoid spoilers.
-chronodekar
Ha, good to hear chrono. I actually have a fic idea for the game. Don't think I'll ever write it but I'll at least put it up in the ideas section in the next day or so.
Anyways, playing Danganronpa 2 now.
Early game spoilers
Also, I hope Chiaki is the main heroine. Her cat ears hoodie is adorable
Anyways, playing Danganronpa 2 now.
Early game spoilers
So anybody who played the first game knew that they were psyching us out here. I just expected it to be
I wonder if my theory of the first game being a simulation applies here. There's the occasional visual effect early on that gives that impression (lines of tv static distortion), the outright magical spells Umami was capable of doing, and how as soon as Monokuma 'takes control', the sky literally goes from light to dark in a split-second. Plus how the islands are a lot larger than the school was.
Just looking at the characters' portraits originally, I thought that one of the two people who would end up being Ultimate Mechanic and Ultimate Musician would actually be Ultimate Punk. I got there being an Ultimate Yakuza correct, but it was the guy who was Team Manager that I thought would be it. It's a little bit of an interesting inversion that the Ultimate Lucky Student is the first person we meet, opposite the first game where we _were_ the Lucky Student.
I wonder what happened to Byakuya. He got...fat...and actually a bit nicer and more intent on holding the group together. I'm going to assume this isn't the real Byakuya then as a result, even if he's still a smug bastard.
As for Hajime Hinata, I don't know what his Ultimate Talent is...preliminary guess would be the Ultimate Skeptic :rofl:
I see the studio got a bit of a budget upgrade, too. Largely more impressive visuals than the first game.
I wonder if my theory of the first game being a simulation applies here. There's the occasional visual effect early on that gives that impression (lines of tv static distortion), the outright magical spells Umami was capable of doing, and how as soon as Monokuma 'takes control', the sky literally goes from light to dark in a split-second. Plus how the islands are a lot larger than the school was.
Just looking at the characters' portraits originally, I thought that one of the two people who would end up being Ultimate Mechanic and Ultimate Musician would actually be Ultimate Punk. I got there being an Ultimate Yakuza correct, but it was the guy who was Team Manager that I thought would be it. It's a little bit of an interesting inversion that the Ultimate Lucky Student is the first person we meet, opposite the first game where we _were_ the Lucky Student.
I wonder what happened to Byakuya. He got...fat...and actually a bit nicer and more intent on holding the group together. I'm going to assume this isn't the real Byakuya then as a result, even if he's still a smug bastard.
As for Hajime Hinata, I don't know what his Ultimate Talent is...preliminary guess would be the Ultimate Skeptic :rofl:
I see the studio got a bit of a budget upgrade, too. Largely more impressive visuals than the first game.
Also, I hope Chiaki is the main heroine. Her cat ears hoodie is adorable
Shantae Half Genie Hero. I'm giving the entire game another playthrough before I get into the latest DLC.
I've played through some of it, but took a trip for the holidays and didn't finish the Friends DLC. So I figured I'd just play through the whole game again from the start now that I'm back. I was gone long enough my platforming reflexes have gone to shit so I needed to retrain my hands to play this game.
It doesn't help that both DLCs are more difficult than the standard main game. [Which I like.]
For those who haven't played the new stuff, the Friends DLC is similar to Trine, and Risky plays just like Shantae in the last game with all the pirate gear. You do not start with all of it despite her having it returned to her at the end of the last game. Lore wise it makes no sense, but it's a gameplay thing that works pretty well.
It also does not send you through the main game again with a different character. Sort of, the maps are the same, but they are remixed levels with new enemies and mechanics. It's also a new storyline, again sort of. It retells the events of the main game from the other character's perspectives and provides some context for some of the stuff that occurs in the main game.
I've already finished the main game and am now partway through the Risky DLC.
It's good DLC and works as an expansion pack for the main game. This is the kind of DLC I'd like to see more of as it actually adds something to the game without making the main game feel incomplete without it.
The DLC has even more cheesecake than the main game. Especially the Risky DLC. Many a happy sock the world over will be filled viewing the main screen between levels of that DLC.
I've played through some of it, but took a trip for the holidays and didn't finish the Friends DLC. So I figured I'd just play through the whole game again from the start now that I'm back. I was gone long enough my platforming reflexes have gone to shit so I needed to retrain my hands to play this game.
It doesn't help that both DLCs are more difficult than the standard main game. [Which I like.]
For those who haven't played the new stuff, the Friends DLC is similar to Trine, and Risky plays just like Shantae in the last game with all the pirate gear. You do not start with all of it despite her having it returned to her at the end of the last game. Lore wise it makes no sense, but it's a gameplay thing that works pretty well.
It also does not send you through the main game again with a different character. Sort of, the maps are the same, but they are remixed levels with new enemies and mechanics. It's also a new storyline, again sort of. It retells the events of the main game from the other character's perspectives and provides some context for some of the stuff that occurs in the main game.
I've already finished the main game and am now partway through the Risky DLC.
It's good DLC and works as an expansion pack for the main game. This is the kind of DLC I'd like to see more of as it actually adds something to the game without making the main game feel incomplete without it.
The DLC has even more cheesecake than the main game. Especially the Risky DLC. Many a happy sock the world over will be filled viewing the main screen between levels of that DLC.
Chapter 1 of Danganronpa 2
ok, so what the fuck
what the fuck was THAT?
A lot of series seem to have a bit of a bad difficulty creep at the beginning of sequels. If you play the Ace Attorney series, you'll have a good idea what I mean. The first two games have pretty good starting cases to ease you into the game, but every game after that seems to automatically assume you're a series veteran and throws a lot more complicated first case at you.
This is the first case of the game, and already it basically seems to blow past every class trial of the first game in sheer complexity. I caught the power blackout easily, but after it was deduced Nagito wasn't the killer, it felt like it just dragged on...and on...and on...and holy fuck is this thing still going on? Nagito's constant interjections just made it painful as well. There were some pretty sloppy logical breaks, too. I have a portable stove but in no way would it ever give me enough light to move by, for example. And that's assuming it was the heating element that was giving the light.
Nagito Komaeda certainly is a lunatic. I wonder if he was designed that way deliberately to be an enormous off-set to Makoto Naegi as 'Lucky Students'. The fact him and Hajime developed a connection at the start of the game makes me suspect they were fairly close prior to having their memories wiped. I suspect it's a good thing Hajime lost his memories, because if he was with a nut like Komaeda for two or three years he would probably have done some bad shit.
what the fuck was THAT?
A lot of series seem to have a bit of a bad difficulty creep at the beginning of sequels. If you play the Ace Attorney series, you'll have a good idea what I mean. The first two games have pretty good starting cases to ease you into the game, but every game after that seems to automatically assume you're a series veteran and throws a lot more complicated first case at you.
This is the first case of the game, and already it basically seems to blow past every class trial of the first game in sheer complexity. I caught the power blackout easily, but after it was deduced Nagito wasn't the killer, it felt like it just dragged on...and on...and on...and holy fuck is this thing still going on? Nagito's constant interjections just made it painful as well. There were some pretty sloppy logical breaks, too. I have a portable stove but in no way would it ever give me enough light to move by, for example. And that's assuming it was the heating element that was giving the light.
Nagito Komaeda certainly is a lunatic. I wonder if he was designed that way deliberately to be an enormous off-set to Makoto Naegi as 'Lucky Students'. The fact him and Hajime developed a connection at the start of the game makes me suspect they were fairly close prior to having their memories wiped. I suspect it's a good thing Hajime lost his memories, because if he was with a nut like Komaeda for two or three years he would probably have done some bad shit.
Got Lego City Undercover off Steam sale. Probably should have waited another 6 months until the price went down, but ... ehhh. Fun game, but the load times are ridiculous. Also, the game noticeably... lags, would be the right term, I guess? The game freezes for seconds at a time, then picks up again. Or it runs at a noticeably slower frame-rate than it should. Is it just me, and my half-decade-old laptop, or does it do this for others? Lego Marvel Superheroes had the same problem at times, but not as often.
Also got South Park: The Stick of Truth and Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3. The Stick of Truth is a great adaptation of the show, and the battle system is easy enough to get behind for anyone who's played a rpg. Though I still don't get how to equip weapons outside of battle to grab objects... I guess youtube is going to be a friend, here.
Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 is a gorgeous game. I really like the character designs in this one. I'm glad I bought this one, even if it's readily apparent that my best days as an tournament fighter are behind me.
Also got South Park: The Stick of Truth and Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3. The Stick of Truth is a great adaptation of the show, and the battle system is easy enough to get behind for anyone who's played a rpg. Though I still don't get how to equip weapons outside of battle to grab objects... I guess youtube is going to be a friend, here.
Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 is a gorgeous game. I really like the character designs in this one. I'm glad I bought this one, even if it's readily apparent that my best days as an tournament fighter are behind me.
This opinion ... is not one I fully share. He does have a screw loose, but by and large, I think he (as a character) remains faithful to his personal objective. Now, whether you agree if that objective makes sense is a different matter entirely, but he's one who stuck to his beliefs.
Thanks to a discussion I had on our discord chat, I got convinced to try out Star Ocean 5. Went to the local store to purchase it ... and the game is sold out district-wide. -sigh- and I wanted a new action game to play. Something similar to Tales of Berseria or Star Ocean.
Hmm... looking up the shelves, "Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force" caught my attention. The title was on the pricy side of things. With a cyber monday promotion going on, it was about the same as Fallout4 game of the year edition.
But hey, I was in a mood for some anime, so Fairy Fencer F it is. I was a bit hesitant to buy it, thinking it might have performance issues, but a quick search on my phone tells me that there's a PS3 port of the game too. Which means, I shouldn't have issues with it on my PS4. Ok. Come home, put in the disc and .. it doesn't have an install time? That's nice.
Start playing ... wait .. this is turn based? Doh!
Meh. Think I'll skim the internet for some tips/hints and jump in anyway. The introduction made me think of a Visual Novel, but .. all the hero wants is food? This is the kind of idiocy I'm used to from One Piece. Ok, let's see where it goes!
-chronodekar
Thanks to a discussion I had on our discord chat, I got convinced to try out Star Ocean 5. Went to the local store to purchase it ... and the game is sold out district-wide. -sigh- and I wanted a new action game to play. Something similar to Tales of Berseria or Star Ocean.
Hmm... looking up the shelves, "Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force" caught my attention. The title was on the pricy side of things. With a cyber monday promotion going on, it was about the same as Fallout4 game of the year edition.
But hey, I was in a mood for some anime, so Fairy Fencer F it is. I was a bit hesitant to buy it, thinking it might have performance issues, but a quick search on my phone tells me that there's a PS3 port of the game too. Which means, I shouldn't have issues with it on my PS4. Ok. Come home, put in the disc and .. it doesn't have an install time? That's nice.
Start playing ... wait .. this is turn based? Doh!
Meh. Think I'll skim the internet for some tips/hints and jump in anyway. The introduction made me think of a Visual Novel, but ..
all the hero wants is food? This is the kind of idiocy I'm used to from One Piece. Ok, let's see where it goes! -chronodekar
da_fox2279 said:
Got Lego City Undercover off Steam sale. Probably should have waited another 6 months until the price went down, but ... ehhh. Fun game, but the load times are ridiculous. Also, the game noticeably... lags, would be the right term, I guess? The game freezes for seconds at a time, then picks up again. Or it runs at a noticeably slower frame-rate than it should. Is it just me, and my half-decade-old laptop, or does it do this for others? Lego Marvel Superheroes had the same problem at times, but not as often.
Also got South Park: The Stick of Truth and Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3. The Stick of Truth is a great adaptation of the show, and the battle system is easy enough to get behind for anyone who's played a rpg. Though I still don't get how to equip weapons outside of battle to grab objects... I guess youtube is going to be a friend, here.
Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 is a gorgeous game. I really like the character designs in this one. I'm glad I bought this one, even if it's readily apparent that my best days as an tournament fighter are behind me.
Also got South Park: The Stick of Truth and Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3. The Stick of Truth is a great adaptation of the show, and the battle system is easy enough to get behind for anyone who's played a rpg. Though I still don't get how to equip weapons outside of battle to grab objects... I guess youtube is going to be a friend, here.
Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 is a gorgeous game. I really like the character designs in this one. I'm glad I bought this one, even if it's readily apparent that my best days as an tournament fighter are behind me.
Also, for anyone who hasn't played it, SoT basically lifts Mario RPG's battle system.
Danganronpa 2 continued
so, another thought I had about chapter 1
And, chapter 2
so, another thought I had about chapter 1
I do have one issue with the execution, and maybe this gets explained later on in the game...how was Monokuma able to declare with authority that Teruteru was the killer? In the first game, there were cameras everywhere aside from some of the bathrooms and the bathhouse (and even then there might have been hidden cameras or something). Here, there's a camera in the dining room and in the storage room, but the blackout would have killed the power for the cameras as well. Unless there was an emergency generator that selectively only powered the cameras (and they have night vision mode too) there's no way they could have actually recorded the scene. The only hint Monokuma could have possibly had then was if the cameras had emergency power and the storage room camera saw the light of the stove, and even this wouldn't be absolutely conclusive evidence,
And, chapter 2
Chiaki seems to be moving towards main heroine status. I am totally fine with that. What I'm not fine is with her losing the swimsuit once the investigation started. She didn't _bring_ her change of clothes with her to Island 2. She should've had to do the first part of the investigation in her swimsuit :rofl:
(or for serious fanservice, make all the girls stay in their swimsuits all the way up to and during the trial :rofl: )
Hiyoko looked to be the obvious killer at first, with Fuyuhiko as the one whodunnit, but there was one intricacy that I had seen well ahead of time: the body discovery announcement doesn't happen until after three or more people discover a body. I had to go back and look at the first game and it seems the killer doesn't count as one of the three (at least when they're committing the murder), because the BDA in chapter 2 of game 1 didn't happen when Byakuya and Makoto discovered Chihiro's body (which would be 3 people if we add Mondo when committing the murder and Byakuya had also discovered it earlier). It only occurred right after Taka wandered in. Chapter 2 was the only one where this could be deduced from, because every other chapter crossed the three-people threshold at the same time regardless of if the killer counted or not. I wasn't sure if the game would hold that strong to the logic of the killer not counting in the initial murder, which meant two people had to have discovered the body because Soda did, triggering the announcement. Lo and behold, it actually became an evidence,
Now of course, there was the evidence pointing to Fuyuhiko. Him showing up early on at the diner and not reappearing for the rest of the investigation phase, him having the folder, and of course his mention earlier on in the chapter of his little sister. I considered it a red herring but the only other people I could think of were Sonia and Peko. The former was because of her wetsuit (which there were several of in the bathhouse, but she couldn't have changed there) and the latter because she would have come back up on the beach and still had her bamboo sword, and anybody could have gone through the backside before the murder. By the end, when everyone was focused on Peko, I was thinking, "There's still the Ending Prize and Body Discovery Announcement. Maybe she was blackmailed and Fuyuhiko was the one whodunnit?"
In the event, yeah, Peko did do it, and at least we didn't have to deal with 'oh gosh one of us is a serial killer!' two games in a row. I was confused for a little bit about what she meant by true killer, but even with her logic, it wouldn't have worked. Monokuma wouldn't want to end the game early after only two murders unless Fuyuhiko had been the direct murderer and Peko got voted.
The case overall was a lot more intuitive and not-convoluted compared to Chapter 1 was, which was nice. Really the only point I got stuck on was the bamboo stick, because I didn't even think of it having a hilt to it. I guess in the true events of the murder Peko would have given Fuyuhiko a piggyback ride out the window so his footprints weren't seen either.
Fuyuhiko dropped an interesting phrase near the end of the trial..."eye for an eye". It's a common philosophy of course in tough-guy society, but I swear Monokuma mentioned it once or twice in the first game, along with 'fang for a fang'. More importantly, I'm pretty certain that phrase was written in blood on the 5-C classroom wall in the first game, the only spot in Danganronpa 1 where the blood is red instead of pink.
Some other oddities...Monokuma seems a little more...tame? Given Umami's cryptic notes at the end of the chapter, I almost wonder if this new killing game is something plotted up by 'good guys' before 'bad guys' would have done it anyways. I've done my very best to stay spoiler-free to the entire series in general, but I am at least aware that this is apparently a chronological sequel to the first game. If so, then perhaps they're trying to force the creation of a new Ultimate Hope to counter Ultimate Despair?
Also, Hajime seems...at the same time both a little bit more and a little bit less personality than what Naegi had. Some of that I suppose comes from not knowing yet what his Ultimate Talent is. I suppose it's also because the student body is still more crowded at this point in the game compared to Danganronpa 1 - 12 students left at the end of Chapter 2, compared to 10 in the original game. Plus some more colourful personalities.
(or for serious fanservice, make all the girls stay in their swimsuits all the way up to and during the trial :rofl: )
Hiyoko looked to be the obvious killer at first, with Fuyuhiko as the one whodunnit, but there was one intricacy that I had seen well ahead of time: the body discovery announcement doesn't happen until after three or more people discover a body. I had to go back and look at the first game and it seems the killer doesn't count as one of the three (at least when they're committing the murder), because the BDA in chapter 2 of game 1 didn't happen when Byakuya and Makoto discovered Chihiro's body (which would be 3 people if we add Mondo when committing the murder and Byakuya had also discovered it earlier). It only occurred right after Taka wandered in. Chapter 2 was the only one where this could be deduced from, because every other chapter crossed the three-people threshold at the same time regardless of if the killer counted or not. I wasn't sure if the game would hold that strong to the logic of the killer not counting in the initial murder, which meant two people had to have discovered the body because Soda did, triggering the announcement. Lo and behold, it actually became an evidence,
Now of course, there was the evidence pointing to Fuyuhiko. Him showing up early on at the diner and not reappearing for the rest of the investigation phase, him having the folder, and of course his mention earlier on in the chapter of his little sister. I considered it a red herring but the only other people I could think of were Sonia and Peko. The former was because of her wetsuit (which there were several of in the bathhouse, but she couldn't have changed there) and the latter because she would have come back up on the beach and still had her bamboo sword, and anybody could have gone through the backside before the murder. By the end, when everyone was focused on Peko, I was thinking, "There's still the Ending Prize and Body Discovery Announcement. Maybe she was blackmailed and Fuyuhiko was the one whodunnit?"
In the event, yeah, Peko did do it, and at least we didn't have to deal with 'oh gosh one of us is a serial killer!' two games in a row. I was confused for a little bit about what she meant by true killer, but even with her logic, it wouldn't have worked. Monokuma wouldn't want to end the game early after only two murders unless Fuyuhiko had been the direct murderer and Peko got voted.
The case overall was a lot more intuitive and not-convoluted compared to Chapter 1 was, which was nice. Really the only point I got stuck on was the bamboo stick, because I didn't even think of it having a hilt to it. I guess in the true events of the murder Peko would have given Fuyuhiko a piggyback ride out the window so his footprints weren't seen either.
Fuyuhiko dropped an interesting phrase near the end of the trial..."eye for an eye". It's a common philosophy of course in tough-guy society, but I swear Monokuma mentioned it once or twice in the first game, along with 'fang for a fang'. More importantly, I'm pretty certain that phrase was written in blood on the 5-C classroom wall in the first game, the only spot in Danganronpa 1 where the blood is red instead of pink.
Some other oddities...Monokuma seems a little more...tame? Given Umami's cryptic notes at the end of the chapter, I almost wonder if this new killing game is something plotted up by 'good guys' before 'bad guys' would have done it anyways. I've done my very best to stay spoiler-free to the entire series in general, but I am at least aware that this is apparently a chronological sequel to the first game. If so, then perhaps they're trying to force the creation of a new Ultimate Hope to counter Ultimate Despair?
Also, Hajime seems...at the same time both a little bit more and a little bit less personality than what Naegi had. Some of that I suppose comes from not knowing yet what his Ultimate Talent is. I suppose it's also because the student body is still more crowded at this point in the game compared to Danganronpa 1 - 12 students left at the end of Chapter 2, compared to 10 in the original game. Plus some more colourful personalities.
Chapter 3
So, that case went down a lot different than what I had expected. I had thought the killer was going to take advantage of Ibuki's gullibility to get her to commit suicide. The blood on the stepladder in the music venue doesn't make sense either. If Ibuki was strangled to death, then the killer would have needed to lower the staging cord the rope is attached to in order to hang Ibuki. That blood...never really gets explained how it's there, then.
Anyways, yeah, like I said, I expected the killer would have said something like ' hang yourself' to get Ibuki to do it. More intriguingly, I was actually expecting the killer to have knocked out Hiyoko and told Ibuki to cut Hiyoko's throat. This would technically attribute both murders to Ibuki (killed Hiyoko then herself), in a direct parallel to the last case. It would have probably made a far more compelling narrative to the case as to straining the interpretation of the rules for the blackened than Mikan directly killing both Hiyoko and Ibuki.
However, when the video played right at the start of the Deadly Days part, I was thinking to myself "...isn't that the conference room?" when Hajime ran off to the music venue. I kept that in mind through the entire case, though I thought it was a recording with Ibuki actually dead (killed in the conference room and brought to the music venue) rather than a live video with a fake Ibuki.
I initially thought it would be Gundham whodunnit. Reason being I didn't think it would be any of the girls (though I did keep Mikan in mind due to her easy access to Ibuki and that if she got infected it could be with something like 'Killing Disease') since once the killer got executed it would be down to 6 males and 3 females. Nekomaru was obviously out along with Hajime, Fuyuhiko would be very unlikely, Nagito was unlikely as well, and there's an Interface Break with Kazuichi where I'm not allowed to do his last event yet so I knew he couldn't be the killer since his last event can't be done until a later chapter.
Anyways, yeah, like I said, I expected the killer would have said something like ' hang yourself' to get Ibuki to do it. More intriguingly, I was actually expecting the killer to have knocked out Hiyoko and told Ibuki to cut Hiyoko's throat. This would technically attribute both murders to Ibuki (killed Hiyoko then herself), in a direct parallel to the last case. It would have probably made a far more compelling narrative to the case as to straining the interpretation of the rules for the blackened than Mikan directly killing both Hiyoko and Ibuki.
However, when the video played right at the start of the Deadly Days part, I was thinking to myself "...isn't that the conference room?" when Hajime ran off to the music venue. I kept that in mind through the entire case, though I thought it was a recording with Ibuki actually dead (killed in the conference room and brought to the music venue) rather than a live video with a fake Ibuki.
I initially thought it would be Gundham whodunnit. Reason being I didn't think it would be any of the girls (though I did keep Mikan in mind due to her easy access to Ibuki and that if she got infected it could be with something like 'Killing Disease') since once the killer got executed it would be down to 6 males and 3 females. Nekomaru was obviously out along with Hajime, Fuyuhiko would be very unlikely, Nagito was unlikely as well, and there's an Interface Break with Kazuichi where I'm not allowed to do his last event yet so I knew he couldn't be the killer since his last event can't be done until a later chapter.
A Hat in Time.
Tons of fun. Obviously inspired by Mario games, particularly Sunshine and Galaxies.
Has several interesting setpiece levels and some cool mechanics. Lots to collect, and the levels are surprisingly open. You have a hub that leads to several worlds, and each world is fully exploreable in each level, but the level objectives only take place within a smaller area within that level. The hats and badges are also interesting mechanics.
I'm only part way into level two at the moment, but there's been a decent amount of variety in gameplay. It's all platforming, but they manage to do some interesting things with it.
Controls aren't terribly tight, but work well enough as it's been pretty forgiving so far. Also, the camera can be a bit of a pain in enclosed spaces, but it hasn't killed me or been much of an obstacle. It just makes getting your bearings a bit confusing for a moment or two in some spots.
It's not Mario Odyssey by any means, but is a great game to scratch that 3D platformer itch that other recent games have left unsatisfied.
EDIT: Ran into my first rage inducing platforming section. It involves climbing a tree in a ghost forest area. No deaths, but it's one of those things were it's a long climb, the camera fights you, there are several imprecise bouncing platforms, and screwing up can easily send you all the way back to the bottom.
Luckily, there's a badge that keeps you from dying from a long fall, but it's still an annoying segment in the game. It is optional though, as it leads to a collectable rather than anything plot essential.
Tons of fun. Obviously inspired by Mario games, particularly Sunshine and Galaxies.
Has several interesting setpiece levels and some cool mechanics. Lots to collect, and the levels are surprisingly open. You have a hub that leads to several worlds, and each world is fully exploreable in each level, but the level objectives only take place within a smaller area within that level. The hats and badges are also interesting mechanics.
I'm only part way into level two at the moment, but there's been a decent amount of variety in gameplay. It's all platforming, but they manage to do some interesting things with it.
Controls aren't terribly tight, but work well enough as it's been pretty forgiving so far. Also, the camera can be a bit of a pain in enclosed spaces, but it hasn't killed me or been much of an obstacle. It just makes getting your bearings a bit confusing for a moment or two in some spots.
It's not Mario Odyssey by any means, but is a great game to scratch that 3D platformer itch that other recent games have left unsatisfied.
EDIT: Ran into my first rage inducing platforming section. It involves climbing a tree in a ghost forest area. No deaths, but it's one of those things were it's a long climb, the camera fights you, there are several imprecise bouncing platforms, and screwing up can easily send you all the way back to the bottom.
Luckily, there's a badge that keeps you from dying from a long fall, but it's still an annoying segment in the game. It is optional though, as it leads to a collectable rather than anything plot essential.
Lots of great Nintendo nods in A Hat in Time. There's a few musical themes they slightly tweaked that got a chuckle out of me. There's one in the mountain area that is super obvious that I won't spoil.
Really liking this game, one of the best non-Nintendo 3D platformers I've played. Every area is colorful and interesting, and there's lots to explore. Going off the beaten path is usually rewarded. If you like that type of game, don't hesitate to pick this up. Seriously, it's really good.
It does have a slightly more adult sense of humor than Nintendo games do, but it's all tongue in cheek allusions. It's kept me smiling throughout. The writing in this game is pretty good, it keeps that kid's game feel to it despite it. It reminds me a lot of Psychonauts, which is another obvious inspiration for it.
Despite a few minor hickups, mainly the camera in some areas, and slightly floaty controls, it's top notch 3D platforming. This game needs to get more attention than it has.
It also supports mods through Steam Workshop, including new hats, badges, and entire levels.
Really liking this game, one of the best non-Nintendo 3D platformers I've played. Every area is colorful and interesting, and there's lots to explore. Going off the beaten path is usually rewarded. If you like that type of game, don't hesitate to pick this up. Seriously, it's really good.
It does have a slightly more adult sense of humor than Nintendo games do, but it's all tongue in cheek allusions. It's kept me smiling throughout. The writing in this game is pretty good, it keeps that kid's game feel to it despite it. It reminds me a lot of Psychonauts, which is another obvious inspiration for it.
Despite a few minor hickups, mainly the camera in some areas, and slightly floaty controls, it's top notch 3D platforming. This game needs to get more attention than it has.
It also supports mods through Steam Workshop, including new hats, badges, and entire levels.
Danganronpa 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
So I've got to confess...I sort of saw the twist about Strawberry House and Grape House coming. When we were initially introduced to Grape House, I thought it was the exact same building as Strawberry House though, where the several minutes it took for the elevator to move was for all the scenery to be rejigged. Chiaki's mention of the elevator's position shot that theory down, and the two buildings having actual separate dorms did even more. Still, I was pretty sure there was going to be some sort of twist to the set-up, so the two houses being stacked one on top of another came as no surprise.
The cast at this point was pretty much half comic relief (Nekomaru, Gundham, Akane and arguably Kazuichi), so it was time to off some of them. With Nekomaru being the victim, I had my eyes set on Gundham right away as being whodunnit. I mentioned in the last chapter that Kazuichi couldn't have been whodunnit because the game wouldn't let me down his last Hope Fragment. It was the same here, and I couldn't do Akane's final Hope Fragment either. There was a similar thing in the first game where you couldn't do certain characters during certain times, which usually hinted they would or wouldn't be available still by the next chapter. So that basically narrowed it down to just Gundham for me.
Still, what a way for them to go out. Gundham I suspect is one of those characters who people love or hate, with most people loving. C'mon, he's just a giant ham and people love giant hams. Still, he gets his own moment of glory. It's a shame that Mechamaru was killed off the chapter after he appears. He was too awesome for this world.
Monokuma definitely seems different from the previous game. I said earlier he seems to be a little kinder, but that's not really the case. Different, but certainly not kinder. However, this is the first time he's flat-out put the cast of either game in a situation where one of them absolutely _must_ kill, else nobody will survive. That strikes me. Between this and what I would say was a gimmicky motive with the Despair Disease in Chapter 3, perhaps the 11 characters left at the start of Chapter 3 were deadlocked and friends in a way where they wouldn't kill anymore unless Monokuma gave them a lot harder nudge than any motive in the previous game? Nagito notwithstanding of course.
Nagito definitely took a new twisted turn this case. I'm not sure how I like it. Still, that wheezy insanity laugh just kills me with how awesome and cheesy it is at the same time. Playing 5/6 odds with Russian Roulette, though...holy shit. The guy's probably the one character designed to be detested by fans on both sides of the culture (because I'm pretty sure the Japanese actually _like_ Hiyoko), but he has balls. He has goddamn balls.
Hajime being a Reserve Course student with no talent...I meant to talk about this earlier, but Hajime strikes me as being more and less of a character than Makoto. It's an odd dichotomy to explain. In some ways, while it's easier for me to overlay myself _as_ Makoto and see myself as him, it's a lot more difficult to do that with Hajime. He's very much his own personality, yet he feels a little bit emptier than Makoto was. I think that's because while Makoto dominated the narrative of his own game, Hajime very much shares the limelight a lot more here, particularly with Nagito and Chiaki, and even Byakuya early on.
A random thought about Chiaki. Though I adore her and she seems to be the game's heroine, I can't wonder if there's a darker side to her wanting to make sure there aren't any more killings. Monokuma calls this a 'Killing Game' on multiple occasions, and Chiaki is the Ultimate Gamer. Perhaps, in a twisted interpretation of her talent, Chiaki sees it as a failure of her talent for the Killing Game to continue?
Anyways, I don't intend as long a post for future chapters. Who knows.
The cast at this point was pretty much half comic relief (Nekomaru, Gundham, Akane and arguably Kazuichi), so it was time to off some of them. With Nekomaru being the victim, I had my eyes set on Gundham right away as being whodunnit. I mentioned in the last chapter that Kazuichi couldn't have been whodunnit because the game wouldn't let me down his last Hope Fragment. It was the same here, and I couldn't do Akane's final Hope Fragment either. There was a similar thing in the first game where you couldn't do certain characters during certain times, which usually hinted they would or wouldn't be available still by the next chapter. So that basically narrowed it down to just Gundham for me.
Still, what a way for them to go out. Gundham I suspect is one of those characters who people love or hate, with most people loving. C'mon, he's just a giant ham and people love giant hams. Still, he gets his own moment of glory. It's a shame that Mechamaru was killed off the chapter after he appears. He was too awesome for this world.
Monokuma definitely seems different from the previous game. I said earlier he seems to be a little kinder, but that's not really the case. Different, but certainly not kinder. However, this is the first time he's flat-out put the cast of either game in a situation where one of them absolutely _must_ kill, else nobody will survive. That strikes me. Between this and what I would say was a gimmicky motive with the Despair Disease in Chapter 3, perhaps the 11 characters left at the start of Chapter 3 were deadlocked and friends in a way where they wouldn't kill anymore unless Monokuma gave them a lot harder nudge than any motive in the previous game? Nagito notwithstanding of course.
Nagito definitely took a new twisted turn this case. I'm not sure how I like it. Still, that wheezy insanity laugh just kills me with how awesome and cheesy it is at the same time. Playing 5/6 odds with Russian Roulette, though...holy shit. The guy's probably the one character designed to be detested by fans on both sides of the culture (because I'm pretty sure the Japanese actually _like_ Hiyoko), but he has balls. He has goddamn balls.
Hajime being a Reserve Course student with no talent...I meant to talk about this earlier, but Hajime strikes me as being more and less of a character than Makoto. It's an odd dichotomy to explain. In some ways, while it's easier for me to overlay myself _as_ Makoto and see myself as him, it's a lot more difficult to do that with Hajime. He's very much his own personality, yet he feels a little bit emptier than Makoto was. I think that's because while Makoto dominated the narrative of his own game, Hajime very much shares the limelight a lot more here, particularly with Nagito and Chiaki, and even Byakuya early on.
A random thought about Chiaki. Though I adore her and she seems to be the game's heroine, I can't wonder if there's a darker side to her wanting to make sure there aren't any more killings. Monokuma calls this a 'Killing Game' on multiple occasions, and Chiaki is the Ultimate Gamer. Perhaps, in a twisted interpretation of her talent, Chiaki sees it as a failure of her talent for the Killing Game to continue?
Anyways, I don't intend as long a post for future chapters. Who knows.
Noo!! It is nice reading your summaries. I haven't played the other games being talked about on this thread - your descriptions are a breadth of fresh air for me.
While it might seem that Komaeda took a twisted turn, in my opinion, his beliefs are not really changed. He cheers for the side of Hope - in that sense, he's a good guy. The problem is, he believes that greater hope can be achieved by facing despair and is more than willing to throw despair just to raise that hope.
Kind of like, in an army, instead of pushing new recruits though bootcamp, you throw them into battle. The ones who come back will (usually) be solider material. The problem with this approach is the causality rate. Something Komaeda doesn't seem to care about.
What's very unique about him as a character, is that he has standards for the villians as well. If he feels that the Despair side isn't being despair-ish and just trying to be thugs, he's back-stab faster than you can blink.
Having said that, as far as complicated characters go, just wait till you play the next game in the series and meet Kokichi!!
-chronodekar
While it might seem that Komaeda took a twisted turn, in my opinion, his beliefs are not really changed. He cheers for the side of Hope - in that sense, he's a good guy. The problem is, he believes that greater hope can be achieved by facing despair and is more than willing to throw despair just to raise that hope.
Kind of like, in an army, instead of pushing new recruits though bootcamp, you throw them into battle. The ones who come back will (usually) be solider material. The problem with this approach is the causality rate. Something Komaeda doesn't seem to care about.
What's very unique about him as a character, is that he has standards for the villians as well. If he feels that the Despair side isn't being despair-ish and just trying to be thugs, he's back-stab faster than you can blink.
Having said that, as far as complicated characters go, just wait till you play the next game in the series and meet Kokichi!!
-chronodekar
Sundered.
A nice indie hard difficulty metroidvania rogue-lite.
I finished it in a couple of days after I completed a Hat in Time. Has three endings, and I only did the hardest one so far. The "resist" playthrough where you destroy the shards you're supposed to collect. You've got to get all of them to get this ending, including a set of hidden ones. The game is a Lovecraft style horror thing, and there are no "happy" endings, just endings with a better outcome for humanity.
You can't just replay the final boss again and make a different choice to get a different ending. You've actually got to replay the entire game and either use all the shards, destroy all the shards, or use some of the shards to get different endings. Each ending has a different end boss.
Kind of interesting in a few ways. Enemies appear at random, and rather than being wandering about the level, they swarm the player at irregular intervals, appearing as hordes of enemies. Combat is fast and fluid, and it's often better to just avoid enemies rather than fight them, or only kill specific ones [mostly enemies with ranged powers] and just platform around the others. There are also areas that just throw endless enemies at you no matter how many you kill.
The big draw here is the hand drawn art style, which is very nice. It's also got tight gameplay and a nasty difficulty curve. Controls never killed me, it was always me screwing up or failing to avoid something that I could have dodged.
It's worth picking up on a sale if you're into Metroidvania style games and don't mind a few roguelike elements.
A nice indie hard difficulty metroidvania rogue-lite.
I finished it in a couple of days after I completed a Hat in Time. Has three endings, and I only did the hardest one so far. The "resist" playthrough where you destroy the shards you're supposed to collect. You've got to get all of them to get this ending, including a set of hidden ones. The game is a Lovecraft style horror thing, and there are no "happy" endings, just endings with a better outcome for humanity.
You can't just replay the final boss again and make a different choice to get a different ending. You've actually got to replay the entire game and either use all the shards, destroy all the shards, or use some of the shards to get different endings. Each ending has a different end boss.
Kind of interesting in a few ways. Enemies appear at random, and rather than being wandering about the level, they swarm the player at irregular intervals, appearing as hordes of enemies. Combat is fast and fluid, and it's often better to just avoid enemies rather than fight them, or only kill specific ones [mostly enemies with ranged powers] and just platform around the others. There are also areas that just throw endless enemies at you no matter how many you kill.
The big draw here is the hand drawn art style, which is very nice. It's also got tight gameplay and a nasty difficulty curve. Controls never killed me, it was always me screwing up or failing to avoid something that I could have dodged.
It's worth picking up on a sale if you're into Metroidvania style games and don't mind a few roguelike elements.
