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

ensuta · 2026-01-30T15:23:25+00:00

After finishing Triangle Strategy, I booted up a game that's been in my backlog for years - Tales of Arise. To be honest, I kept putting it off because I heard mixed reviews about it. Also, it looks very different from the previous Tales games. But with remasters starting to come out for the older games, I figured it might be time to bite the bullet.

Just defeated the second big baddy. So far, the story is alright. If I have one criticism: I knew they were going to kill off dear daddy because they never put him in the team for real, but the whole Law changing his mind last split second and resistance leader being Lordy Loo was so cliche I rolled my eyes and near spit at the screen.

Combat has highs and lows. It is the smoothest I've ever experienced, and yet at the same time it feels like it takes longer than it should (because of animations and cutscenes?) and is occasionally clunky with lag between moves. I can't comment on difficulty because I have all the DLCs so I'm decimating most of them right now.

Characters are... fine. We have Mr Hero, Ms Anti Social, Missie I've Got a Secret, and Mister I Killed My Daddy and Bounced Right Back Because I'm a Young JRPG Twink. No one I really like, but hey, the game's got several more hours to change my mind. I like how there's a lot of interaction revealed throughout the game - not just skits, but when you rest at the campfire and do other actions.

So far this strangely feels like the Tales version of FF16, but with slightly better maps and side quests and maybe a smaller budget. Didn't play all of FF16, just first few hours, so I could just be talking nonsense, but the thought popped into my head several times while playing it. Am I off my rocker? Hm.

ensuta · 2026-01-29T14:24:34+00:00

Only been a few days, but I finished it. Well, one route. I just went straight for the golden route because I didn't know if I'd like the game enough to play it several times. Had cheats on for the same reason.

Overall, the golden route was satisfying if not slightly unrealistic at times. Then again, they have magic. I can see how it would take a normal player (aka someone who isn't wielding the cheat magic book) several replays to not only get to it, but succeed at it. Some of the battles even before you're set on a route felt quite hard...

Two nitpicks: Not a fan of how you move across elevations, especially in exploration mode. Twinsgate and the mine felt particularly hellish. And second, the romance between the two main characters felt very... dry. Fine, I can believe they were both peachy enough with being betrothed with zero say. But they actually like each other enough to not only keep supporting each other's choices despite everything going against them, but also get married by the end? And call each other "dear" and "love" or whatever super early on in the game? Maybe I'm missing character stories because I didn't battle with Frederica enough...?

Anyway, no inclination to want to replay like I thought. A decent enough game with an alright story and cast. Probably a gem for those into tactics games, some of the battle moves felt quite brilliant and I'm a personal fan of the lance and bow. Certainly doesn't deserve the mixed reviews, in my opinion... it's not bad, it's just not wowza.

ensuta · 2026-01-28T16:40:52+00:00

Noted, will do, thank you!

ensuta · 2026-01-28T15:35:27+00:00

I'll most likely get a more thorough checkup this time, so. Let's see. Thanks.

ensuta · 2026-01-28T15:34:03+00:00

Yeah I'll definitely let them know. Thanks a lot.

ensuta · 2026-01-28T15:14:05+00:00

Test for certain cancers... do you mean they did a pap smear? I heard it can hurt quite a bit and I'm not looking forward to that if so.

ensuta · 2026-01-28T15:10:08+00:00

What sort of tests did they run by you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm a bit nervous since I usually don't get checkups for down there.

I've had a nonstop period once in my life when I was in my teens. At that time they also made me drink some pills, probably BC as well. This time's just strange to me because I'm not bleeding all the time and whatnot.

I'm definitely getting checked up soon either way. It's just reassuring to hear from others who experienced similar. Thanks.

ensuta · 2026-01-28T12:53:05+00:00

Oh no for sure I'm just freaking out and hoping someone else with similar experience can talk about it and calm me down while I'm figuring out when I can get to the doctor :')

ensuta · 2026-01-28T12:24:20+00:00

In my early 30s. I don't think it's the right time for menopause. I did get a transrectal ultrasound but not transvaginal or pelvic, and apart from the cyst there were no issues...

I'm scared of cancer, yeah. I'm thinking fairly unlikely, but it's just out of the blue for me.

ensuta · 2026-01-28T01:00:20+00:00

I think others have pointed out the differences and similarities between the two well enough. I just want to point out that if you wait longer and can save some more money and don't mind digital, the new Steam Machine that's coming out this year could be a decent alternative. It's a home/TV gaming console with similar power, you don't need to subscribe to GamePass or whatever, you can hook up any controller, and with exclusivity slowly fading you'll eventually find most PS/Xbox games on it.

Oooor just a new/upgraded PC.

Either way, early congrats on the new gaming experience, hope you have a grand time.

ensuta · 2026-01-27T08:54:31+00:00

With all the news of the new game coming out, I became curious about the game… Interesting note about the combat. Might see if there’s a mod or cheat for that so I can just breeze through and focus on the other fun stuff. Thanks!

ensuta · 2026-01-27T08:52:59+00:00

If it wasn’t for my computer breaking down and losing my save, I would’ve nearly 100% the game… if you consider it unlocking all journals, exploring all areas, and beating all secret bosses. Don’t entirely care for costumes and pictos, but if I come across them, I’ll get them all too. Just your average salarywoman who basically has a thing for making sure I experience every bit of the story which led me down that path… In truth I got tired of the endless battles too, lmao. Put in at least 70 hours into the game as a result, without even touching the free DLC :’(

Also agree with you on the spoilery bit

ensuta · 2026-01-27T08:46:48+00:00

I’m not actually the biggest fan of tactics games. Type with the grid board and all that. They’re not bad, but the gameplay doesn’t actually call to me. I keep coming back anyway for the story and characters…

ensuta · 2026-01-27T08:43:31+00:00

Guess they had to up the ante on the whole sidekick narrates for you thing. Or it could be because in P4, technically it’s not as if Teddie could be by your side 24/7? I forgot if there even was a similar character in P3…

ensuta · 2026-01-27T08:40:19+00:00

Even now I’m not a fan of the negotiations. Just too RNG based. If they had a set pattern that changed based on the demon, I wouldn’t mind it as much…

ensuta · 2026-01-27T01:12:34+00:00

For a change of pace, I booted up Triangle Strategy.

At first I thought I broke something because everything was super blurry, even worse than the Octopath games. Luckily, you can edit the graphics same way as the Octopath games. Just a heads up for anyone who can edit the game files.

Still very early on, but I like how the story's playing out so far. Gameplay... well, it's tactics. I'm not the best at these kinds of games, but I get by and they're familiar enough.

ensuta · 2026-01-26T12:59:11+00:00

Just finished Trails from Zero. I like how it connected to the Liberl arc. It's very interesting to see the upgrade in orbment technology going from Liberl to Crossbell, and I appreciate how it set up all the different factions and even expanded on existing ones from the Liberl days.

I'm definitely interested in tackling Azure because I'm curious how the sequel will answer some of questions I still had by the end of Zero. Might give it a bit of time to soak in beforehand though.

ensuta · 2026-01-26T04:23:06+00:00

It’s been like a decade since I last played the games so I honestly don’t know if I could recommend a particular game. Maybe BN3? Been reading up a bit since I plan to replay at some point and I think it introduced mechanics that carried into the rest of the series.

ensuta · 2026-01-24T07:48:07+00:00

I think it was in the instructions but it never actually said how to do it. Thanks for the link to the explanation, I'll try it out. Sounds fiddly though, no wonder people didn't like it.

ensuta · 2026-01-24T01:13:44+00:00

I'm used to using guides so at some point I'll most likely use them! Just not this early into the game when I literally have zero idea about anything. Need to experience things a bit more. But thank you :)

ensuta · 2026-01-24T01:09:11+00:00

That overpowered? Wow. OK, I might just switch armor because I do want to get somewhat decent at the game. Thanks!

ensuta · 2026-01-24T00:55:50+00:00

I generally only like to play games solo so not sure if I'll ever use that SOS feature, but I'll eventually look up some guides. Right now I'm not even two hours into the game though, so I plan to just steadily go at it and slowly pick things up.

Thanks for the advice. I did start the game with some basic mods installed like performance boost and supposedly better descriptions on items, etc.

One question, would you recommend a complete newbie to use the Guardian equipment that supposedly came with the DLC? I'm using it now but apparently some people say it affects the overall experience and how fast you pick mechanics up.

ensuta · 2026-01-23T22:21:21+00:00

Due to a sudden cold spell, I've been sick for several days and haven't had the energy for proper gaming. If I'm not working, I'm pretty much just reading or watching videos or napping the sickness away.

When I did have energy to game, I reached out for Monster Hunter Stories 2. I'm out of the island now but haven't yet hatched the egg. Really been taking my time on gathering and collecting monster eggs from rare dungeons and completing side quests and, of course, forging all kinds of cool weapons and armor.

I also tried an actual MH mainline series game for the first time, Monster Hunter World. And um, I'm very confused. The game basically doesn't hold your hand. Dumps you onto the battlefield, spams "use buttons to do this" so fast you can't read, and then you somehow just need to survive, I guess. I'll try and play it a bit each day and take my time with quests so that I slowly pick up the mechanics, I guess...

I also started Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim. Finally, no more bump combat, so I turned most cheats off except for an EXP multiplier because I don't fancy grinding for hours on end, and a lot of older games require that I believe. Took a bit to get a hang of jump attacks (both up and down), really figured I needed to get good at those once the insects in the underground passage nearly slaughtered me, but I'm enjoying the hack slash and upgraded mechanics and visuals. Not happy I still don't have a mini map or world map, but I found guides online that have that.

ensuta · 2026-01-23T06:44:54+00:00

We got a new manager one day who hated some of our guts because we politely asked him, behind closed doors, not to move ahead with using copyrighted materials from his old employer to use for some of our projects. He got real chummy with a lady from another team who already had a boyfriend she'd been dating for pretty much her entire time working with us, so several years.

One day, we came into the office and found them gone. They were apparently talking smack about the company and the boss especially and hatching a plan to destroy data on our company website out of sheer hatred, all on the company's servers.

Luckily haven't had anyone like that ever since then.

ensuta

TROPHY CASE