What games are you currently playing?

[Hunchman801]

As for the differences in dialogue localization I'm not sure they're so different that it would create any major changes in sales between the French market and US one, though from what I remember the French version was a bit more explicit in delivery, can you confirm that?

Definitely. It also contains more adult references, though they're not explicit in the sense that a kid won't get them, only an adult will (there's different levels of humor).

[PluMGMK]

The Knaaren say to "kill him slowly" in the French version… need I say more?

[Dart]

As for the differences in dialogue localization I'm not sure they're so different that it would create any major changes in sales between the French market and US one, though from what I remember the French version was a bit more explicit in delivery, can you confirm that?

Definitely. It also contains more adult references, though they're not explicit in the sense that a kid won't get them, only an adult will (there's different levels of humor).

That's what I thought, I couldnt properly remember since I only went through the game in French once a few years ago

[Harpic fraîcheur]

Rayman Adventures.

[Ray502]

Got around to play the first five levels of Crash Bandicoot 2. I consider the game to be the superior one out of all the others; the varied environments, the excellent design of nearly every level, the difficult to find secret "areas," the originality of the levels, are just awesome and a good time killer. Not to mention that several flaws from the original Crash were fixed in CSB.

[Rayfist]

Persona 5

I will make this review as spoiler-free as I can:

After playing through Persona 3 and 4 (alongside a few of the Shin Megami Tensei titles) last summer, I was absolutely hyped for Persona 5. From the first few trailers I watched, the game was oozing with style, I loved everything I saw about it. Even before having played a Persona game and seeing the trailers for 5, I was blown away by how much defining character and style the game had. For an entire year I hyped this game up, I am use to letdowns and games not usually living up to my expectations (hell, I have a hard time even thinking BOTW lived up to the hype it was getting), but somehow Persona 5 lived up to every amount of hype the game got. Whether you are an RPG veteran, or a newcomer, Persona 5 redefines the RPG genre.

What I found particularly interesting of Persona 5 was its story. For contrasting sake, in Persona 3 and 4, you simply play the role of a transfer student, moving to a new area. In Persona 5, you play the role of a transfer student who was given false criminal records and charges, and is put on probation. Modern day Tokyo is filled with corrupt adults who seek to victimize others for their own personal gain, be it, sex, money, power, etc. Within the first few hours of the game it isn't afraid to show you some of its darker tones. Of course, it isn't a Persona game without a supernatural occurrence behind the works. Enter the Metaverse, an alternate world based off of the cognition of individuals. Within the metaverse, you're introduced to palaces, a twisted version of reality birthed from the distorted desires of an individual and how they perceive reality. Those whose desires are incredibly distorted usually have their own palace with their shadow selves as the host. It is because of these varied perceptions of reality that the palaces can take on many interesting forms, such as a castle, museum, bank, etc. The palaces reflect the hearts of these individuals, once the group obtains the power of their Persona's (a manifestation of their psyche used to fight off against shadows, the surpressed desires and emotions of humans), they realize they can change the hearts of individuals by stealing their treasure: the root of their desires. Realizing this power, the group of characters you recruit form the Phantom Thieves, a group of individuals who 'steal' the hearts of corrupt adults, and help reform society to help those who are victim to the corruption. This theme is also very prevalent when each character (including the protagonist himself) first awakens to their Persona, society forces people to wear 'masks', that while not visible in the real world, are visible in the metaverse. The masks are symbolic of their place in society, a prisoner, bounded down by societal expectations and rules. Only by ripping off that mask are the characters able to face their true selves and summon their Persona. While changing the hearts of individuals to make them have heavy remorse for their actions is a nice aspect of the game, the main draw for me was seeing the characters stand up from their role as social outcasts, and fight to help those who are suffering similar burdens just as they were in their double life. I don't want to give away any crucial plot details but not everyone whose heart you steal are necessarily 'corrupt', as a palace is birthed from strong distorted desires, so the game certainly isn't afraid to throw any plot twists or changes at you. Persona 5's main theme is rebellion, and while that may sound cliche in a sense, I feel it is one that really resonated with me, and the way the game handles this theme is done extraordinarily well. Seeing the characters struggle, and having the will to overcome that is one of the best aspects of the game for me. Seeing the characters under these intense moments facing their true identities creates potential for some of the best character development. Character development has of course always been a staple of the Persona series- and for here that is no exception.

The dungeons in the game all have their own unique, varied, and extremely intricate design to them. A big issue I had with Persona 3 and 4's dungeons is that they were all randomly generated, which while not the worst issue, it made the dungeons feel far less varied and quickly get repetitive. The dungeons in Persona 5 have rid of the randomly generated dungeons of Persona 3/4 and opted for its own fully crafted design. As mentioned before, dungeons take on the role of an individual's cognition, which can pave the way for some incredibly varied designs. The intensive amount of vibrant colors and flashiness really give each dungeon its own unique vibe. Style aside, the gameplay in Persona is phenomenal. Persona, much like other games in the Megaten franchise, consists of exploiting enemy weaknesses to gain extra turns and use them to your advantage. You'll be constantly fusing Persona's to give birth to newer ones and creating an optimal setup for each. I find that a lot of people seem to be comparing it to Pokemon (which is a little strange since Megaten has been around way longer than Pokemon), but regardless, Persona 5's "monster collecting" aspect is surprisingly addictive. Fusing for hours on end to transfer over your desired move set can create for some extremely intricate and varied gameplay. It has you constantly changing up your tactic with your arsenal of Persona's to assist you through each situation. Another important aspect of battles is negotiation, a feature that has been absent from Persona since Eternal Punishment. When all enemies have been exposed to a weakness and are downed, you're able to spare their lives and have them join your party. This has of course been a prominent aspect of Shin Megami Tensei for years, but this is not always an easy task. Shadows need to be responded to in accordance to their personality type for you to be able to retrieve them. Gathering all these Persona's up to create even more fusions add to the intricacy of the gameplay. Another important aspect is the return of the demons and gods as enemies you fight. While the enemies you fight are still shadows, when ripping off their mask and revealing their true form, it is shown they are a being formed from the collective unconsciousness of humanity.

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the 'teenagers saving the world' and 'living out an alter ego' cliche. While some may argue that the non-dungeon related parts of the games are more tedious and boring (which is why some people have more of a Shin Megami Tensei preference), I find this to not be the case. When you aren't exploring dungeons and fighting off shadows, you're spending your time doing normal social stuff: hanging out with friends, studying for exams, and watching movies. Those ignorant of the social sim half of Persona will really miss out on some of the best character development in the game. While you do have your main crew to talk to and hang out with, Persona 5 specializes in confidants, the new 'social-link' system that replaces Persona 3 and 4. With confidants, you meet various people who face similar issues that those from the Phantom Thieves do. To get this out of the way: I can easily wholeheartedly say that the confidants are a thousand times better than Persona 3 or 4's social links. Confidants involve some of the more minor characters of the game such as your teacher, a doctor, or even an ex-yakuza, but they all play an important role in helping you power your Persona by helping them all resolve their issues. Some of the 'stories' that these confidants hold and their backgrounds can certainly be pretty rough, and to my surprise, some of these minor characters had more fascinating resolves than few of those of the main crew. The confidants feel like they actually have some relevance to the main narrative, and end up being one of the best aspects of Persona 5.

The music in Persona 5 really accompanies its modern urban style. The music in the game mostly consists of 'acid jazz.' A genre I've never heard of until
playing this game, but the tracks really draw you in. Even after hearing the same tracks repeat having done a 100 hour playthrough, I still never get tired of
the comfy tunes that play to accompany the situation or mood.

This is hard for me to put into words but I want to talk about Persona 5's "style." The game is overflowing with style, even extremely simple and minor
things like menus are filled with over the top animation. It's strange how something as minor as just purchasing items from a store look so incredibly
upbeat and vibrant, it really never gets tiring to look at. There were no shortcuts, every nook and cranny is filled with overflowing vibrancy to accompany
the modernized setting of the game:


Overall, Persona 5 has been an incredible experience for me, I definitely feel the urge to do a second playthrough to get the confidants I missed out on. Whether you're new to RPG's or experienced, I can easily recommend Persona 5. Turn based JRPG's have been lacking a huge absence on consoles, seeing the genre redefined by Persona 5 really is one of the big contributing factors to why I got into RPG's in the first place. Persona 5 was definitely a really awesome
visual experience for me, I found myself being heavily attached to the characters and their resolves. I can easily recommend this to anyone who owns a Playstation 3 or 4 looking for an excellent RPG.

[Dart]

Style aside, the gameplay in Persona is phenomenal. Persona, much like other games in the Megaten franchise, consists of exploiting enemy weaknesses to gain extra turns and use them to your advantage.

One of my biggest complaints about the battle system of since Persona 3 is that it relies way to much on this concept where once you get a new party member, a majority of enemy weaknesses in that dungeon have to revolve around that member (I'll exclude PQ however, since I think from a strategy standpoint the fights were far more interesting).

You'll be constantly fusing Persona's to give birth to newer ones and creating an optimal setup for each. I find that a lot of people seem to be comparing it to Pokemon (which is a little strange since Megaten has been around way longer than Pokemon), but regardless, Persona 5's "monster collecting" aspect is surprisingly addictive.

I find myself saying this a lot, but I really think that Pokémon is inferior to not only Persona but the whole Megaten franchise as a whole, at least from a video game standpoint. For one thing, there's never any risk when playing a Pokemon game to me or at least never a perceived one, so much so that sheer boredom kept me from finishing Sun/Moon since the only challenges came from random spikes in difficulty. By contrast most Persona's strike a nice balance in difficulty (Persona 3 still makes me want to trow my control at my PS2 at my TV out my window, but otherwise...) and has a continually evolving combat format something Pokémon desperately lacks.

To get this out of the way: I can easily wholeheartedly say that the confidants are a thousand times better than Persona 3 or 4's social links.

In many regards I'd agree with you, but so far there hasn't been a Confidant that really lives up to social links like Akinari Kamiki (P3's "The Dying Man") or Nanako Dojima of P4. Toranoske's probably my favorite so far, though I did enjoy Takemis and what I've done of Sojiros link. Haru and Yusuke are the only Party links I've done that don't feel like retreads of previous party members in some degree, and are by far more interesting than the others.

The music in Persona 5 really accompanies its modern urban style. The music in the game mostly consists of 'acid jazz.' A genre I've never heard of until
playing this game, but the tracks really draw you in. Even after hearing the same tracks repeat having done a 100 hour playthrough, I still never get tired of
the comfy tunes that play to accompany the situation or mood.

OBJECTION! No battle theme doesn't eventually become the worst sound ever in an RPG!

The game is overflowing with style, even extremely simple and minor
things like menus are filled with over the top animation

No joke I spent like ten minutes just flipping through all the menu transitions, they're so much fun to watch!

Overall, Persona 5 has been an incredible experience for me, I definitely feel the urge to do a second playthrough to get the confidants I missed out on

While I can't say all too much since I'm not finished with the game yet, I will say that narratively and aesthetically Persona games have held up surprisingly well in the 20 years they've been around, and with this latest entry being perhaps the most accessible, it'd be a shame not to try it out for sure.

TL;DR I likely sound like a pessimistic butt-nut but am actually really enjoying the game

[Hunchman801]

Been playing Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles recently. Haven't finished it yet (notably because it's insanely hard), but I'll post something when I have!

[Dart]

Recently I streamed an indie game called Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight today to take a break from my overly excessive amount of Persona 5 playing (97 hours, holy shit!) and found something I definitely wasn't expecting, 2d anime Dark Souls. You play as a priestess by the name of Kaho on her quest to purge the dark magic in a nearby kingdom. On the way you'll find monsters, knights,and even a witch as you traverse the world.


The gameplay at it's core feels like a fusion between Castelvania and Bloodborn, having you navigate a large open map to complete things in almost any order. Combat revolves mainly on using Kaho's leaf-sword, a bow, and the most graceful of moves, the dodge roll. Naturally the difficultly even on normal mode is quite challenging and you'll have to get used to watching enemy actions from afar before engaging them and picking up boss patterns on the fly (or by dying a lot in my case ).


And I would really gotta mention the music. It's the really atmospheric kind that draws you into the world, it's one of the first things that sets the mood of the next area you go to and is one of the best parts of the game! I highly recommend getting this game if you're looking for something both old and new, Momodora will really push your skills in a way most platformers the past few years haven't, even if the game itself isn't likely to ever push past 5 hours for most people; for those interested the game is $9.99 for those in the 'States and is available for the PC, PS4, and XBOX One.

[Ambidextroid]

I've been playing the odd bit of Phoenix Wright now and again, I got the trilogy on my 3DS a while ago and never finished it.
I've also been meaning to play the Shovel Knight update but I don't have the time at the moment, hopefully in the holidays I'll set aside some time to do a playthrough.

[Droolie]

Well, haven't posted here in a while. Since the last time I posted, I completed Tales of Berseria (which I had a lot of fun with!) and bought the Kingdom Hearts collection for PS4. I've been a bit busy since then so I haven't bought any of the new games that I wanted yet -- like NieR Automata, Yakuza 0 or Persona 5 -- but I plan to eventually.

Even so, I still took some time to play Kingdom Hearts 1 now and then, and I just 100%ed it again on PS4 (well, 95%, I didn't care for all the Gummi ship stuff). It was quite short and easy even on Proud mode (maybe because this was my 4th or 5th time playing?), but it was fantastic. Better than it used to be on PS2, too, thanks to the 60fps. People who are interested in the Kingdom Hearts series at all should really get the PS4 collection since it has all of the games at their best and at a low price. I'm excited to get into Kingdom Hearts 2 again soon, but first I'll play through the fan-translated Suiko Gaiden, a Suikoden sidestory, since I miss Suikoden 2 so much.

Speaking of which, Suikoden 2 is 2$ in the US Playstation Store right now, and it is one of the best RPGs of all time. What are you waiting for?

[Serza5]

I completed Tales of Berseria (which I had a lot of fun with!)

I still have to finish that but projects and Overwatch are getting in the way of that. That and i'm at the point in the game where it's near the end but you have all the sidequests to do.

It's battle system out of all the tales i've played feels the most different and i'm still not fully sure how much I like it or not- mostly because setting up attack combos is much more complex than assign an attack to one button then mash the heck out of it. But I do very much like the whole thing especially story and character wise and would rank it 4th out of 8 tales titles i've played.

Also seeing you mention Kingdom Hearts as well made me remember I have the (original) first game but haven't finished that because my PS2 screwed up on me and doesn't like reading discs anymore unless I have have objects on top of it.

[Droolie]

It's battle system out of all the tales i've played feels the most different and i'm still not fully sure how much I like it or not- mostly because setting up attack combos is much more complex than assign an attack to one button then mash the heck out of it. But I do very much like the whole thing especially story and character wise and would rank it 4th out of 8 tales titles i've played.

Wow, that is exactly how I feel about it! I spent a lot of time in menus because I kept changing my attack combos for every new area and every special enemy. In Tales of Zestiria I didn't have that problem because it was easy to exploit weaknesses by simply armatizing with the right seraph, and Vesperia, IIRC, had a completely different weaknesses system. That's all of the Tales games I played (never owned a PS3) so I can't compare it to the rest, but yeah, it had the best story out of the 3 and the combat system that I'm most unsure about. Character-wise, Zestiria was also really good. Apparently people hate that game, but I have no idea why. I liked it about as much as Berseria.

Also, is it a slim PS2, with the disc tray on top? Mine had a similar problem for a while. I ended up just blocking the sensors which check if the disc tray is open (which coincidentally enables disc swapping... )

[Serza5]

I found myself more so trying to switch between characters a lot during the battles because some where simply useless against some of the monsters that resisted their entire list of artes. It certianly makes me forgive armatisation in Zesty a lot more since despite feeling cheap at some points was at least a lot more convienient and didn't waste BG- or rather I never had any BG to begin with so I had to suck it.

Vesperia is actually my favourite one as I feel that it's the most rounded out of all the tales, although Symphonia (currently second) would be edging it's way there if they stopped releasing ports and had a HD version with updated visuals (It's not bad but Vesperia is still the most gorgeous looking tales game) as well as battle system which is very basic and could do with some tweaks. I've no idea about the sudden dislike for Zestiria too besides the fact that a lot of the complaints are the fact the story was too obviously rushed, which I do get which is why it knocks some points for me but I really enjoyed it none the less.

Also my PS2 is indeed a slim version and that sounds like an interesting fix. Does it involve taking the whole thing apart? If so i'd have to try that out when I remember.

[Droolie]

Hmm, I don't think I had any problems with monsters resisting all of Velvet's artes (except one that was only vulnerable to Reflect, an equipment skill... that was lame), so I only really switched when she was KO'd or almost KO'd. At least, if it was possible, since you lose a lot of your BG when you're KO'd in the first place.
I'd love to play Symphonia sometime, but I'm holding off because they're bound to port some older Tales titles to PS4 sooner or later, and Symphonia may be one of them.

As for the PS2, you can either take it apart and block them off that way, but there's also Swap Magic which comes with a few pieces that you can just insert on top of the sensors without taking it apart. It's basically for softmodding the PS2 so you can get it online in stores for that kind of thing, but it should also solve any problems related to the disc tray cover coming loose.

[Serza5]

I meant more so the rest of the party- since I mind moments where the monster resisted everything except water which made Eizen pretty damn useless there.

I'm amazed they don't even have other tales titles on the digital store when they have a bunch for the PS3. That said i'm sure they've announced a title for the Switch which could may well be a port which sure as heck would be Symphonia as they don't know how to port other games it seems.

I'd have to look at that Swap Magic more once I actually have an income since i'm trying not to spend money.

[Fifo]

My PS2’s also experiencing a tray sensor problem – try to weigh down the lid with something (not too heavy!), that may help.

[Rayfist]

Been doing a second playthrough of Persona 5. I rarely find myself doing second runs of games but Persona 5 really had me wanting to finish everything I missed last playthrough. The second playthrough (gameplay-wise at least) I'm finding way more additive, since I'm trying max rank every confidant and obtain every Persona. I'm even trying to create an invincible, unstoppable Persona, which will require a lot of fusing.

[NyaNyaLily]

My slim PS2 also has a problem with it's disc tray, but because it's standing upright (3rd party multitap) the problem seems to be eliminated, for some reason.

[Ambidextroid]

I've been playing an awful lot of Factorio with a friend, making a huge and meticulously planned factory. It always seems like there's something to do so you hate to stop playing, I've got 10 hours after only playing it for a couple days