I got around to checking out some games that have been on my radar for a while, including the widely beloved XCOM 2! It sucked, so I’ve included some better games too.
Inside: XCOM 2, GRIME, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, WireWalk
Category: RPGs
Shin Megami Tensei V
I was planning to give up on the series after the disaster that was SMT4, but then I read some spoilers for this game that actually piqued my interest: The premise is that YHVH is actualfax, for-realsies, and-this-time-we-mean-it, no-take-backsies dead. Thus, no matter how bad the plot is, at the very least it has to be differently bad. The writers have voluntarily relinquished their ability to fall back on their standard plot with its standard cardboard villain. No hijacking by Ganon, no “Somehow, Palpatine returned.” I demanded these hacks write a different story for once and credit to them, they actually did.
Unfortunately, they did so by writing the absolute minimum. To give you an idea: The compilation of all story cutscenes for SMT4A is 18 hours. For SMT5, it’s 6, and that’s including a full recording of the final boss fight. Did they at least use what little time they had to tell a decent story? No, of course not, the plot is even more backloaded than usual and a shameless rehash of SMT3’s premise but now with the standard choice of “Which flavor of fascism do you prefer?” I deeply regret wasting my time on this garbage.
Megaman Battle Network 1-3
Megaman Battle Network is a spinoff of the Megaman series for the GBA and DS. I’ve never played any of the mainline Megaman games and am only vaguely familiar with them, but I played the third Battle Network game as a kid and greatly enjoyed it. Recently, a remastered port was released on Steam, so I decided to pick it up and give the whole series a whirl.
The premise is that this is an alternate universe where Megaman is a computer program instead of a robot, and the technology focus is similarly shifted: Everything is online, everything is a smart device, and everyone needs the help of sapient programs to navigate it all. This was wild science fiction when the first game was released in the early 2000s, yet in the present day it doesn’t sound too far off from our everyday lives. Surreal, and kind of eerie.
Gameplay-wise, MMBN made the interesting decision to switch from the platformer/shooter focus of the main games to an action RPG with deckbuilding elements. I like its gameplay a lot, and I find it demonstrates how adding even a small spatial component to RPGs greatly improves their complexity and engagement. (It does, however, retain the worst of grindy jRPG mechanics in spades.)
Persona 4: April 11th – April 13th (Prologue)
Persona 4 is meaty enough that I can actually liveblog it. Be warned this doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good, just that, unlike mainline SMT, it has content.
Fun fact: I initially planned to watch the anime adaptation instead after how disappointing P3’s gameplay was, but after comparing the first few episodes with YouTubed cutscenes I noticed the anime is a terrible adaptation that cuts out a lot of really important nuances. So don’t watch it. I was also promised by the fandom that the game does exactly what I said P3 should have done in regards to resource management, so I chose to play it instead of YouTubing it. Let us hope this was not a mistake.
Persona 4: April 14th – April 15th (Shadow Yosuke)
Last time, we got introduced to the characters: Our cop uncle is a deadbeat dad, our baby cousin is deeply maladjusted from this, and our protagonist has severe Someone Else’s Problem syndrome.
This installment, it’s finally time for the supernatural elements to show up.
Persona 4: April 15th evening – April 17th (Shadow Chie)
Last time, Yosuke’s crush got fridged, which he shrugged off because he’s a callous monster who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. He fused with his Jungian shadow by accepting he’s a terrible human being, and I’m apparently cool with this.
Persona 4: April 18th – April 22nd (Shadow Yukiko)
Last time, Yukiko got TV-napped and Chie’s Shadow revealed her darkest secrets, which were significantly less dark than Yosuke’s. Now it’s time to finally leave the prologue and start normal gameplay.
Anyway, time for school again! I’m so excited to see what these gossip queens have to say about all the juicy details we fed them last time. If the town didn’t know about our escapades before they will now, surely!
Persona 4: April 23rd – April 29th (Downtime)
Since I rescued Yukiko early I have a lot of downtime before the next plot segment. I’ll use this time to pursue social links.
Persona 4: April 30th – May 13th (Spring Midterms)
On the evening of the 29th (the third consecutive day of rain), the weather forecast notes heavy fog is about to set in. We could go into the TV world just to make sure no one else has stumbled in, but whatever, the one person we know is fine so who cares. Dojima offers to go on a family outing for the upcoming holiday, and Nanako of course wants to go to Junes. I check the Midnight Channel, but no one appears. Would I have seen Yukiko get gruesomely murdered if I hadn’t rescued her?
Persona 4: May 13th evening – May 21st (Shadow Kanji)
Last time, spent a few hours bashing my head against a stupidly unfair slot machine boss, aced midterms, and made an animal friend. This time, the plot resumes.
Persona 4: May 22nd – June 5th (Downtime)
In the morning, Nanako is staring at a potted seedling. The students were given vegetables to plant in school, but Dojima has been completely unhelpful. I perform his parenting duties for him and tell her to plant them in the grave giant mound by the house. Ah, so finally we get the promised gardening sim.
Persona 4: June 6th – June 18th (The Campout)
Kanji finally comes back to school.
Persona 4: June 19th – June 26th (Shadow Rise)
NANAKO: Welcome back, big bro. How was the school camp?
COMPLETELY FINE I DIDN’T SEXUALLY HARASS ANYONE GOOD NIGHT
Persona 4: June 27th – July 9th (Downtime)
Last time I beat a whole dungeon in one go, without even using the fox! Either I’m getting better or the game is getting easier.
Persona 4: July 10th – July 23rd (Summer Finals)
On the evening of the 9th, John sleeps like a baby after confirming no one’s on the Midnight Channel and congratulating himself on a job well done.
On the morning of the 10th, there’s another murder. A copycat, perhaps, given they didn’t appear on the Midnight Channel?