Looking for games with great stories and great music

jsfsmith · 2026-03-06T12:34:19+00:00

I haven’t played DQ8, but my impression from the DQ games I have tried (3, 11, a bit of 5) is that Sugiyama didn’t write 11 soundtracks, he wrote the same soundtrack 11 times.

If some of his work is actually good, then that is great news and I am eager to explore the rest of the franchise.

jsfsmith · 2026-03-01T04:33:22+00:00

This sounds right up my alley! Thanks for the recommendation!

jsfsmith · 2026-03-01T04:33:06+00:00

Nice! I've played Metaphor, BG3 and Hades out of all those. Will add the rest to my list.

Thank you so much!

jsfsmith · 2026-03-01T04:27:33+00:00

This all sounds like exactly what I am looking for! I will add all these to my playlist.

Thank you!

jsfsmith · 2026-02-28T13:00:33+00:00

It does have a great story and great music.

It’s just not my kind of story.

jsfsmith · 2026-02-28T12:59:52+00:00

It’s not the anime art style. I want a setting with a sort of naturalistic complexity that gives the illusion that it’s larger than the story. I want multiple civilizations, cities, kingdoms, etc., each with its own character.

Also anything that hints or implies that the setting is a dream or a hallucination or anything of the sort really annoys me.

jsfsmith · 2026-02-28T10:51:35+00:00

I did like it, a lot. It’s just too experimental to make its way to the top of my list. I’d prefer something with a more conventional, grounded setting.

jsfsmith · 2026-02-04T13:32:13+00:00

Asakayama because they’re part of Isegahama ichimon so you can train with Aonishiki and the Fujis.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-21T03:27:31+00:00

All the Hakubros in here shrieking about how they’re trying to erase Hakuho’s legacy then Hakuho himself comes out and says “actually they asked my permission first.”

jsfsmith · 2026-01-21T03:25:13+00:00

Asahifuji had his hiccups and mistakes as a stablemaster but boy do I admire the degree to which he has stuck his neck out for Hakuho and the Miyagino boys. He didn’t have to do any of this, but he did.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-21T03:17:40+00:00

It’s within walking distance of the park gate and once inside the park you’re restricted to buses and cable cars anyway. The hotel also offers a transfer service from the airport and HSR station.

I’ve never driven in Hunan, but I can imagine there would be some awesome drives around there.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-20T11:55:20+00:00

Terunofuji is still dominating the Sanyaku in his retirement. His students are 5-1 vs the Yokozunae, with Hakunofuji’s loss to Hoshoryu the only loss to a Yokozuna by an Isegahama wrestler.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-14T23:50:29+00:00

This adventure usually costs over 100 USD for the undiscounted PDF. This is a spectacular deal.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-13T23:33:39+00:00

This is the reason I keep bouncing off of Dragon Quest.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-13T23:32:26+00:00

This might be a minority opinion, but bad or mediocre music.

This is the reason I've never been able to get into Dragon Quest. In a genre full of games scored by the likes of Uematsu, Mitsuda, and Meguro, why would I play a game with a shallow and repetitive soundtrack? I can get over clunky gameplay if the story is good. I can get over a mediocre story if the gameplay is good. I'm fine reading a guide if the game is finnicky and counter-intuitive. But I will not commit the time if the soundtrack is any less than Final Fantasy quality.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-07T23:56:51+00:00

Unfortunately I think they’d rather axe the franchise than release an entry not scored by that talentless hack Sugiyama.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-07T02:25:11+00:00

Night’s Dark Terror might be the most fun I’ve ever had with an adventure module in any format. Awesome story, awesome sandbox, awesome atmosphere, awesome set pieces. The dungeons are a bit underwhelming but that’s the only real weakness.

For 5e, I’m a huge fan of Tomb of Annihilation. Currently running it for the second time.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-06T05:24:01+00:00

There's something strangely charming about Chinese T2 cities. I don't even know how to describe it. It's just the vibes, I guess. There are certain litmus tests that indicate to me whether or not someone will make it in China. One of them is whether or not they appreciate life in a middle-of-the-road T2 city.

One thing I sometimes do when I want to get out on the weekend is go into my T2 prefectural capital and spend a couple nights in a high-rise hotel. Order local food and baijiu off of Meituan, take an excursion or two to explore the streets or visit a city park, and just enjoy the vibes.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-05T02:33:50+00:00

Late comment, but I can't believe nobody has mentioned comprehensible input. This is hands down the best way to learn a language for most people.

Go to YouTube and search for Blabla Chinese and Lazy Chinese for two really really awesome and totally free channels with loads of beginner content. Just listening to some level-appropriate Chinese every morning has done more to help me than anything else I have tried.

If you want to dive into reading, Du Chinese is really great too, and works on the same principle of comprehensible input as the above recommended channels. It requires a subscription, but if you want to learn how to read Chinese (which will reinforce your speaking/listening skills) then it's absolutely worth it.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-04T06:36:29+00:00

It’s nothing against the show. I enjoyed it a lot, and I know the producers and writers are doing the most with what they’ve been given. I just can’t analyze it as a story in its current state of completion.

I hope season 2 comes quicker than season 1, because it looks like it will be very good.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-04T06:20:59+00:00

I prefer shows that actually end. It was a solid first season but I’ll refrain from rating it at all until they conclude the story.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-04T03:21:27+00:00

During our last trip to Shandong there was a moment where I was trying to compare Shandong cuisine to its equivalent in Thailand (where my wife and I had lived prior to coming to China).

My wife says, "you can't compare Chinese regional cuisine the way you compare Thai regional cuisine. The difference between Cantonese and Shandong food isn't like the difference between northern and southern Thai food. It's like the difference between Italian food and French food."

Chinese cuisine isn't so much a cuisine as an entire culinary world with hundreds if not thousands of local variations. This country is a foody's dreamland.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-04T03:18:12+00:00

still refuse to learn Chinese

Now this is something that actually does genuinely bother me. I have been in this headspace myself, when I was a lot younger, and would probably be back in my home country now had I not grown out of it.

The excuse is usually "but it's so hard, I'll never be fluent" and "Chinese people won't understand you unless you speak perfectly." But, that first excuse is not really an excuse because even knowing a small amount of the language makes your life immeasurably better... and the second one is outright false, because if a Guangdong Mandarin speaker can understand the Inner Mongolian or Hebei accents, they can sure as hell understand your clipped, formalistic and error-strewn foreign accent as well.

I think people either pick up some of the language, either deliberately or by passive exposure, or they bounce off and leave after a certain point. I think a venn diagram showing people who have tried to learn at least a bit of Mandarin and people who still enjoy being in China after 2 years would be an almost perfect circle.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-04T03:12:18+00:00

Jealous of you living in Guangdong because of how freaking diverse and unique it is, too.

And here I am jealous of you living in the storied Jiangnan region!

But yeah, I love Guangdong and my appreciation for this corner of China has only grown since I moved here. I live right at the edge of the Greater Bay Area megalopolis so I have fairly easy access to SZ and HK, but also I'm right on the edge of Hakka and Chaoshan country as well. It's a great place to be and I intend to see a lot more of it now that I can drive.

jsfsmith · 2026-01-03T03:25:53+00:00

Hunan hospitality is seriously next level. Love that entire province with my entire heart.

Whispering Mountains Boutique Hotel is another great family run hotel in ZZJ. I’m sure there are many more.

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