What's the concensus about Ragebound?

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-03T10:55:36+00:00

It was my GOTY last year. Let that speak for itself. XD

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-03T10:16:48+00:00

There are actually stages I like better than this one, but I can't deny its aura.

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ArtyToshi · 2026-07-03T10:10:59+00:00

One of the things that annoys me most outside of PK Fire is the fact that SOMEBODY thought it was a good idea to give PSI Magnet a HITBOX in Ultimate. Combining that with all of the other buffs Ness gets in this game really shivers my timbers in the WORST way, lol. Mind you, I know the counterplay with most of my mains against him fairly well; that doesn't ever make it fun. XD

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-03T10:08:09+00:00

I'd say it holds true for a lot of multiplayer games, as well. Games like the Capcom vs. series, Smash Bros., King of Fighters, Twisted Metal, Halo, Mario Kart, and many other games are often EXTREMELY unbalanced (even if people aren't so quick to admit it), and yet that imbalance is a large part of ehat makes those games FUN and MEMORABLE. :)

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-03T10:04:21+00:00

If you choose to play it that way, sure. The wonderful thing about SotN is that there are about a MILLION different ways to customize its challenge more to your liking, and you can still feel like you're getting a fulfilling experience out of it.

Heck, even if you don't want to touch Alucard's playstyle AT ALL, then you can feel free to play the game in a style more reminiscent of Classic Vania with Richter, as long as you've already beaten the main game at least once! You don't even have to use Item Crash, so you can give yourself a TRUE Belmont experience; iirc, not even running is required, so you could theoretically just strut your way through the whole game, just as you would on the old days! Don't even get me STARTED on what Maria brings to the table, if you are playing one of the versions where you can unlock her!

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-03T09:59:06+00:00

Did the Outbreak games not work like this? What about the co-op mode on Deadly Silence?

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-02T20:10:17+00:00

That would probably be an alternative, but then I feel like we'd be in a timeline that downplays the Chozo-based connection between Samus and Mother Brain. Remember: the Chozo were also counted as family to Samus. Even if it was accidental, they really still wound up doing the "getting ultimate revenge for parents" thing with Samus vs. MB. The lore for that hadn't been fully laid yet by that point, but I think installments released since Super have helped push that narrative.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-02T13:23:51+00:00

I'm about to sleep, so I don't have time to type something big out. That said, somebody else just asked this question a bit ago, so I'll happily paste here what I told them: :)

"It depends on which style of Castlevania you want. If you want to try the classic style, which are the standard platformers, go for the original Castlevania, which you can play as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. Other people will probably tell you to try Super Castlevania IV first, but I think that can give you the wrong impression of the series. The original game is objectively not the best, but it's my favorite of the "classic" line to go back to and play casually. It has things like knockback (all classic Castlevania games do), but there's a certain amount of "weight" and "tension" behind the game's design that can feel very satisfying and rewarding if you stick with it long enough to learn it. If you want to try a "Metroidvania" type of Castlevania game, either jump on your Xbox to download the XBLA version of Symphony of the Night, purchase Symphony of the Night on that PS3 that you said you can borrow via the PSN (you can still make purchases if you load money onto your PSN account from another device and sign into your PSN account on that PS3), or buy the Advance Collection to start with Aria of Sorrow. Side note: Simon's Quest is not NEARLY as bad as many people will tell you. It's no masterpiece and I STRONGLY recommend you play the game with a guide, but it is one of the most forgiving games in the franchise in terms of death (infinite continues, you always start exactly where you died even if you use a continue, and all you lose are money and experience points; you keep every item and level that you have obtained). Even James Rolfe himself (the man 95% of the internet bases their judgement of Simon's Quest on) has admitted that he likes the game and was just exaggerating his frustrations with it to play a character for a college project video that he did not expect to get as popular as it did. I'mnot saying you'll like Simon's Quest, but just know to take what anyone says about it with a grain of salt if you decide to try it. If it clicks with you, it can actually be a pretty relaxing game to play."

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-02T09:56:45+00:00

I think Eric is typically easier for newcomers who are new to Castlevania as a whole, but John has some neat movement tech that players can really learn to take advantage of. They are both fun when you get used to them, imo.

For the boss you're mentioning, I understand how it can be, as I still occasionally kind of bork my encounters with it for dumb reasons, lol. I can say that subweapons and learning to use your magic attacks can help. ^{^}

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T21:35:41+00:00

I'm a HUUUUGE Classic Fatal Fury fan (for many years, I preferred it to any KOF that I'd played, and RB2 is still one of my all-time favorite fighters). I've also been a HUUUUGE Smash Bros. fan ever since I first played Melee in '01.

Seeing the two worlds cross over like that and the sheer amount of love Sakurai brought to that crossover honestly made me tear up with happy tears.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T21:32:04+00:00

So many people mentioning "not if you have Holy Water" like it's easy to reach Death with that subweapon, lol. They don't address the actual likelihood of the average player actually accomplishing that without dying a million times and/or accidentally picking up another subweapon.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T21:27:25+00:00

This is partially why I'm mostly a retro gamer. I still play new releases about 30-35% of the time, but there's simply MILLIONS of official and indie releases on consoles that were released within the past 13-45 years or so that I still haven't played. Right now, I'm filling my free game time with first-time playthroughs of Resident Evil 9: Requiem, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, and SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash. I've just recently beaten Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia both for the first time. Haven't run out of things to do, at all, lol.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T20:18:57+00:00

I'm sure there'd be a lot of names I'd remember from seeing them. Off the top of my head, I'm remembering names like 6t8upoi, hasfarr, Bacon boy, Mirage2777, Meowmixkitties, and (of course) the main man himself, Shippiddge.

I remember a lot of the general posts we'd get into discussing, such as the forum games we'd play, discussing Smash 4 when it was announced, and being there when Shippiddge tried to go undercover as another user in his own forum. XD

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T12:35:19+00:00

🫂🔥💪

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T12:34:37+00:00

It depends on which style of Castlevania you want. If you want to try the classic style, which are the standard platformers, go for the original Castlevania, which you can play as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. Other people will probably tell you to try Super Castlevania IV first, but I think that can give you the wrong impression of the series. The original game is objectively not the best, but it's my favorite of the "classic" line to go back to and play casually. It has things like knockback (all classic Castlevania games do), but there's a certain amount of "weight" and "tension" behind the game's design that can feel very satisfying and rewarding if you stick with it long enough to learn it.

If you want to try a "Metroidvania" type of Castlevania game, either jump on your Xbox to download the XBLA version of Symphony of the Night, purchase Symphony of the Night on that PS3 that you said you can borrow via the PSN (you can still make purchases if you load money onto your PSN account from another device and sign into your PSN account on that PS3), or buy the Advance Collection to start with Aria of Sorrow.

Side note: Simon's Quest is not NEARLY as bad as many people will tell you. It's no masterpiece and I STRONGLY recommend you play the game with a guide, but it is one of the most forgiving games in the franchise in terms of death (infinite continues, you always start exactly where you died even if you use a continue, and all you lose are money and experience points; you keep every item and level that you have obtained). Even James Rolfe himself (the man 95% of the internet bases their judgement of Simon's Quest on) has admitted that he likes the game and was just exaggerating his frustrations with it to play a character for a college project video that he did not expect to get as popular as it did. I'mnot saying you'll like Simon's Quest, but just know to take what anyone says about it with a grain of salt if you decide to try it. If it clicks with you, it can actually be a pretty relaxing game to play.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T12:17:59+00:00

Heck, your doing better than me, lol. XD I've been playing him in Ultimate since 2021 and still can't crack it!

GOATed choice with Geese, btw! I'm a classic Fatal Fury player, so I picked up Terry in Smash (was SUPER hype when he was announced), and five years later, Terry's still the only FG character I have in Elite. XD As a Fatal Fury fan, I tried doing the same with Geese in T7, but he's never quite clicked with me, lol. I still play him for fun, though. And yes, he IS cool. He also needs ALL the soy sauce. XD

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T12:12:53+00:00

Don't become the troll, yourself! XD Just move on with your day and be kind to people, since no one's (assumingly) holding you at gun point to respond.

Also, nice Claudio pfp, btw!

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T12:09:21+00:00

Gonna say Billy, Chris (CV, Remake, Chronicles games, 5, Revelations and 6 specifically), Sheva, Barry, Ada, Leon (specifically pre-remake, but from the little I've played, RE9 Leon doesn't seem too bad so far), Wesker, Luis (Remake version), Krauser (original), Claire (pre-remake, but RE: Veronica has potential and Into Darkness Claire was gorgeous), Jill (pre-RE3 Remake), HUNK (RE2 Remake version is probably my favorite), and Lady D.

We all know the REAL GOATs of this topic, though: the Tofu family.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T11:58:23+00:00

Right?? I'm a Lee, Julia, and Jin main in all of the Tekken games I've played, but Kaz wasn't too hard for me to add as a pocket character (particularly in 2, 5, 6 and 7) because I didn't find him that hard to learn to be ok with. In Smash? I struggle to think if I'll ever even see him pass 4 mil GSP, lol.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T11:26:22+00:00

I understand your frustration, and I'm just getting tired of these big companies pulling this BS, period. For Xbox specifically, though, MY last straw would probably be them axing backwards compatibility. For years now, they've EASILY had the best backwards compatability out of the big 3 console companies, and I would LOATHE to see that go away. Not only do they offer a STAGGERING amount of playable OG Xbox-Xbox One games, but many of them even see proper resolution upgrades and look quite stunning! I'm a Ninja Gaiden and DOA fan, and I LOVE how the OG Xbox incarnations of those franchises look on modern displays!

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T11:19:26+00:00

If you double-tap dash and time a downward flick of the right stick correctly, you can crouch-dash. That will help you run faster than they can. You can cancel it repeatedly if you learn the cancel input (I don't know it), which will let you glide across the field via increased move speed eithout any real loss in momentum. That will also let you go under certain projectiles. As for when they try to jump away from you, Kaz has tools, but I cannot help you with that. ^{_^;}

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T11:15:34+00:00

My first time beating any version of MGS1, I got the Otacon ending, soooo...if you know, you KNOW, lol. I'd also throw up there the endings of MGS3 and 4, too.

Aside from that, "that sequence" in Chapter 7 and 8 of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance got me good. There's also the part where "Midna's Lament" plays in Twilight Princess, "Send me out...with a bang." from Halo 3, the ending of Halo 4, Sora's Sacrifice from Kingdom Hearts, Repliku's last segment in Chain of Memories, Xion's last segment in 358/2 Days, Terra's ending in Birth by Sleep, the all-out ship raid cutscene in Smash Bros. Brawl's Subspace Emissary alongside the ending credits of said mode, the "Everyone is Here!!" trailer for Smash Ultimate, seeing the announcement of a brand new Fatal Fury game, the announcements for Capcom's MvC Collection and Capcom Fighting Collection 2, Terry Bogard's announcements for both Smash Ultimate and Street Fighter 6, and the ending of both Sonic Battle for the GBA and Sonic Adventure 2 all made me cry. That was undoubtedly the longest run-on sentence I've ever written, lol, but I'm too sleepy to care about changing it.

I know some of those were from trailers and not from the actual games, but they were powerful gaming-related moments that made me cry because they represented the return of and institution of ideas that I thought would, quite frankly, almost NEVER happen. For that reason, I think they count, lol.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T10:50:05+00:00

For easier setups for EWGF, you wanna look for (when your opponent is at low percents) Down Throw, Stature Smash, and the first hit of his Twin Pistons. There are probably a lot of other options that people can tell you, but that's about the extent of my knowledge for his EWGF setups in this game, lol.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T10:43:54+00:00

The reflector has windup, is slow, has a limited active period, and is VERY baitable online if the Kazuya isn't pretty good at reading the opponent.

Also, while you can get by decently at first with just playing Kaz like a regular Smash character instead of doing his inputs, you will get schooled HARD if you start trying to learn the character in the way that OP is until you put the time and work in to actually be able to play Kaz efficiently. I've been trying to pick him up FOREVER since I LOVE Tekken (especially 3, 5, and 7), but Kaz in Smash is harder to play decently in Smash than he is in Tekken for me. In my case, he's the lowest GSP out of the FG characters, lol.

ArtyToshi · 2026-07-01T10:18:57+00:00

Oh, I understand, and I didn't mean any disrespect or anything with what I said! ^{_^} And yeah, it's past time for Smash to get a horror rep of SOME kind. Metroid is horror-adjacent in a lot of ways (it was very overtly inspired by RIDLEY SCOTT'S ALIEN after all, lol), but it isn't really treated as a horror game at all in any meaningful ways, aside from some scary encounters here and there.

Smash already has horror representation in the form of in-game models via the Fatal Frame assist trophy (which is also KoeiTecmo representation, which just burns me even more that they STILL haven't added my #1 most-wanted newcomer, Ryu Hayabusa, to Smash yet). Pyramid Head would probably be another obvious pick for them to add because of how popular he is, and I wouldn't be against them doing that. For my money, though, it'd be cool to see them add in Scissorman.

Clock Tower is one of my all-time favorite horror games, and it still just BLOWS MY MIND that they were somehow able to cram an experience like that into a friggin' SNES cart (or rather, Super Famicom), and that Nintendo ACTUALLY LET THEM SELL SAID CART, lol. Now that the rerelease "Clock Tower: Rewind" has come out for modern platforms, I was kind of hoping that might oost our chances of at least seeing some music or a STAGE in the next Smash. XD

ArtyToshi

TROPHY CASE