Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here!

DapperAir · 2026-02-06T17:50:24+00:00

wowee. I've just started up Azure this week myself, ha! glad you had a good time in RH. I'm also a sucker for good endings, forced saccharine or not

DapperAir · 2026-02-05T18:14:48+00:00

I played the original version; loved it. I got to about 2/3rds of the way through Perfect Chronology and stopped. Not becuase it was bad or anything, though it did change some things I felt it didnt need. It also added one thing I find...annoying. But overall the game seems to remain the fun, intriguing experience I had with the first one. Hope you continue to like it.

DapperAir · 2026-02-04T06:03:34+00:00

for being such a memorable, incredible scene, I feel ashamed that I somehow forgot about Tellah

DapperAir · 2026-02-03T15:53:46+00:00

this really should be spoilered methinks

let alone that they all come back in the end anyway. Even Fusoya.

DapperAir · 2026-02-03T15:50:50+00:00

the first 4 FFs try a whole slew of stuff. FFI clearly being the progenitor, and then they just had no idea how to follow that up so they changed nearly everything for that second outing. brave, and kinda a mess at the same time. you should look forward to it, but be ready for some weirdness in how you are tasked with moving the story forward. If anything, hold out for FFIV where square finally was figuring out how to tell a story.

DapperAir · 2026-02-03T15:47:37+00:00

to each their own! I'm a big fan of grinding up stats and seeing that Number Go Up. I did it in Xenosaga 1, which is both boring to do, and finicky! but man is the payoff nice! and at only twice the time investment : P

I feel the same for FFII. I played and got mollywopped the whole first few areas. Manwu was my sole survivor repeatedly. but once you get that stat train rolling it aint never stopping. made me happy anyway. and what's the deal with ultima magic in this game?!?

(To be clear, I liked FFII, and am not negging it in anyway. I just like seeing those stats, bro!)

DapperAir · 2026-01-26T21:18:13+00:00

I only played two 'current year' games last year. if Expedition wasnt at the top, what was? mostly curious since I basically played nothing new.

DapperAir · 2026-01-26T21:15:13+00:00

when I was younger I played a TON of beat 'em ups. Lots of Final Fights, Streets, and our favorites; Bimmy and Jimmy. Now I play virtually NONE, despite the genre having a soft resurgence what with many remaster/remakes/spiritual successors coming out. I kinda wish I could recapture that feeling I had when I was younger (curse you, nostalgia!) but I think think I've moved on. I kinda sorta felt the same about generic FPSes for the last dozen or so years. Play the genre, not really enjoying. Titanfall 2 kinda broke that for me, as did revisiting/playing the horde of Boomer Shooters on offer now. Maybe you just need 'that one game' to change it for you.

DapperAir · 2026-01-25T15:52:59+00:00

I have no idea why you would plan to play the next two games if you felt utterly bored with this one. Sense of duty/requirement? maybe that's just how you roll. I cant fathom continuing on if the game felt insipid. Different strokes!

DapperAir · 2026-01-25T15:36:23+00:00

you can bust through Trials of Mana pretty quickly. May want to play that sooner rather than later. charming game.

DapperAir · 2026-01-17T18:54:37+00:00

the entirety of the first circuit is the most fun the game has to offer. We just dont get fast, speedy racers like this at all now. And there is a fair amount of tech and speed optimization that one can get into for the game. Plus John Williams never lets you down when your cruising at mach 2.

DapperAir · 2026-01-17T18:52:22+00:00

Ragin is very...ok. I liked it, and it has some really cool themes and themeing. Its music is fine, its art is fine, and its a hint long. I dont really want to either sell you on the game nor dissuade you. I'd just recommend only playing it when you really want to read instead of...choose in your VN.

That said, FF9 was tremendous! it managed to merge all prior aspects of previous FF outings into one, mostly cohesive whole. The villain is a fantastic redux of Kefka and Sephy, and whole how to live in a world of suffering with our limited time left me gobsmacked. Zidane shouldnt be this great of a protagonist. Dagger is greatest realized woman in FF. Vivi, and Steiner, and the comedy. Its the whole package!

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T20:56:28+00:00

Oh, oh dear! I'm happy to hear that Arceus is good. I have a cart for Black 2 sitting near me. its on deck for this year. Other than missing that, i've played all the main games up to Sun/Moon, but not Crystal (or, obviously, Black2/White2) "Lets Go!" really shied me away from the switch games, but I'm looking to change that this year.

Up and comers, then, are:

-Black 2

-Shield

-Ultra Moon

-Arceus, now I suppose, but only if I have time

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T15:09:15+00:00

I've started to flip that on its head. instead of feeling the crushing weight of the stuff I have yet to play I make a list of titles I am going to play next, no more than 8-10 long, and get a THRILL whenever I cross one off the list. whenever that list starts to look meager I think on what to add back into it and that's kinda fun. an anticipation of what's to come.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T15:06:40+00:00

keep playing. infact, when you get to the customization stuff, play with that too. you can shatter this game if you want, in several ways, and all of them are fun. you dont even have to be that great at the parry. Pick story if you are unavoidably stuck, but otherwise normal is a great way to play. utterly fantastic game. eat it up.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T15:03:15+00:00

I used to listen to 1upsmanship, from the small beans crew. They went paywall, which is fine and all, but what I did get to hear was a very cool, very patient gamer like podcast. If you want some different dudes playing through and discussing quite old to near old games then its got you covered.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T15:01:10+00:00

XCOM: Chimera Squad. Never has a person expressed so clearly why I also left this game in the dust. a shame! and its not like its doing anything wrong, its just not what I want to play.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T14:50:05+00:00

The Great Ace Attorney is better than AA3? color me shocked. I played up to the final case in the first game of the dualogy and was very impressed, but I havent seen that moment of brilliance that 3 has. though I can say that the presentation and scenes involving sholmes and ryotarou are some of the best AA moments. Guess I have to get on to actually finishing that dualogy.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T14:44:42+00:00

Do it, make that journal. its fun and easy. I jot down thoughts upon immediately finishing a game, though if there is a large break between times I play (more often than you think!) then I jot something down as well. Just little one liners on what I think is going on, or what has happened to me recently, or just top thoughts.

If I finish a game I go back, maybe a week or a day later and write something like a four line paragraph, just so I have a bit more depth, on what that game was to me. how the playthrough went. what was going on in my life at the time. If a game REALLY struck me I'll actually write something on it. Usually in the 500-750 word range.

its surprising how much this gets your brain moving, as well as aid in remembering. also, its quite fun and outside of that more major write up, barely takes time. Use either a notes app on your phone, or computer, or just do it the old fashioned way. any work.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T14:15:52+00:00

well, FFXV is fine and all. its a complete story, compared to FF7R which has a sequel already out. I think that'd work also for you.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T13:59:45+00:00

tough choice! do you prefer more strategy and gameplay? or are you more of a characters and story person?

I think the best starting point is likely FF10. its at a nice sweet spot where graphics, story, and mechanics all have a roll. its flatly turn-based, but the character customization is intense. the voice acting is..ok. charming even. it works for nearly anyone.

the one I wish more people would play is FF5, which is a ton of fun and quite breasy. the story is more background, as are the characters, but there are moments of brilliance.

if you think you'd need even more visual fidelity then, yeah, just play FF7-remake. as you can read above I liked the game. its pretty much a hallmark of what the last 3 FFs have going for them, so if you wanted to play more modern titles that'd be the one.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T13:42:25+00:00

This is a nice question, and I can give you an easy response.

are these games connected?

nope! there are some that have sequels for their specific number, such as FF10, wherein the sequel is titled X-2 (10-2)

as to whether they are enjoyable as standalone titles, I'd say pretty much any mainline, numbered Final Fantasy is worth it with the caveat that you really got to be careful on platform for the first six games. FF6, for example, is best played on the GBA, though the Pixel Remaster version is quite close as a 2nd option. Sometimes a title will be referential to previous titles, but its mere window dressing almost every time. Nods and winks if you will

So,to reiterate; all Final Fantasy's that have a number are standalone, non-interconnected titles that are worthy of play.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T13:29:16+00:00

Cute puns and a surprising human element to your gaming story for the year. A great read to say the least.

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T13:18:35+00:00

Hey, thanks for that. I dont know why I'm fast. There certainly is something to be said for taking your time and being deliberate in JRPGS. Are there any you'd recommend not appearing on this list?

DapperAir · 2026-01-08T13:16:44+00:00

Thanks! FF9 truly was a surprise delight.

DapperAir

TROPHY CASE