What are you currently playing?

Just as an aside, yesterday's Nintendo Direct announced Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes!

I have a lot of feelings on this game, ranging from it feeling like the Monkey's paw of FE announcements to it being a mash-up of things people didn't want it to see to it being a great and logical idea, to just feeling "meh," to "I CALLED THE SILVER ROUTES IDEA SO LONG AGO!" (Assuming that's the route they go.)

In reality, while I like the idea and have no problem with the game, I'm not a fan of having it be the only FE game until the release of a new one. Then again, that's probably how Legend of Zelda fans feel, and it's even worse. (But at least they'll be getting some anniversary rereleases. All we got was a release of the first game.) And who knows, maybe this game will have me playing every day for a year, just in time for a real game to hit in 2023?

Sadly, my friend isn't so keen on me playing this. He wants me to break out of my 3-4 franchises and play different games.* But I'm a creature of habit, and the games I buy I tend to play for years on end, so it's not like I'm trading them out for a new edition every year. Besides, with the Warriors/Musou style of gameplay, this feels like a big jump to me!
Later this evening I'll try to pick up the Triangle Strategy demo and see what's up with that.


*I'm usually playing a Pokémon, Persona, Fire Emblem, or Mass Effect game, but contrary to what he thinks, I do play other games. I played Insomniac's Spider-Man games, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and even play Rune Factory games! It's usually that I beat those and go back to my old favorites instead of beating them and going to something new. This year may or may not be more of the same, but I'm trying to make it different.

 

Started up my latest Three Houses Golden Deer playthrough. I'm working my way through it, trying to take care not to burn myself out. I want to get through the game in time for Three Hopes and also so that when my friend hopefully plays Three Houses later this year, I can play along with her, at least for the first route. Granted, I'll be played NG+(+++), but it'll be fun to experience the game alongside her.

Later that evening I did indeed pick up the Triangle Strategy demo, and it went from a "might buy" to a "MUST BUY" for me. It comes out in a week, so I'll take a break from Three Houses then and pick it up.
This isn't the first demo released, but it's the first one I played. The gameplay felt like a mix of Disgaea and what I imagine Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics play like. It's challenging, but never really overbearing. The politics reminded me of both Three Houses and Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. There are layers to the story, and its heavy geopolitical fantasy focus is something I've been craving for a while, so I'm sure this will scratch that itch.

After that, we have Rune Factory 5, Kirby, and Coromon all at the end of the month, and Monster Crown is looking like a game that I should check out. So, a mix of old-school franchises that I haven't played in years coming out with new games, and old-school-style games from new companies. I think that's a good mix!

My brother-in-law got Horizon: Forbidden West and was playing that before his business trip. When I visit next week, I'll have to play a little as well.

Other than that...we have some "leaks" for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes! I use the parenthesis because the "leaks" come from...unsavory parts of the internet, to say the least. But they have me excited for the game, and a big part of me hopes they're true. Still, time will tell, and I'm sure whatever the game is I'll find some level of enjoyment with it.

 

ELDEN RING WHAT ELSE

 

just got my copy today for the PS5 What are the best headphones for the PS5?

 

idk i dont use headphones

 

My PS4 headphones work fine with my PS5, glad I didn’t have to run out and buy new ones.

 

The other day I beat Fire Emblem: Three Houses' Goldeen Deer route for the fourth or fifth time. I wanted to finish up quickly because with the summer approaching, one of my friends promised me she'd try out the game and I want to play alongside her. (I also have a feeling that, depending on how she'll feel after seeing Fantastic Beasts 3, she may be in the mood for more magical school stuff.) Although I got a bit ahead of myself and started a playthrough for the Blue Lions, since I'll probably suggest she play that house first.

I waffled between romancing Shamir (who was my original first romance intent until I decided to go for the "what the heck" ??? choice instead) and Marianne (my go-to, and the one that I personally prefer the most in terms of proposal). Constance was in third, but she had nothing on the front-runners. Anyways, I romanced Shamir, and the paralogues actually lined up exactly how I wanted them to this time! It was great! Now, for Azure Moon, I may have to switch some things around, since Claude isn't here to romance Petra or Ingrid. (I usually do Claude/Petra, but I really like Claude/Ingrid also.)

Anyways, during this latest playthrough, the new and notable MVPs are below.

New:
Ferdinand - I've never had a good Ferdie, until someone just told me to just turn him into a Wyver Rider and Wyvern Lord. This worked wonders, and he became one of my best units.
Hilda - I've had amazing Hilda's before, but the effort I put into this one and the RNG-Blessings she got made her a star. I trained her Reason to A in order to get Bolting (again), but this time, I made sure to use her as well, so she wasn't dead weight. She went through quite a few classes and ended up maxing out her Axe and Armor skills, ultimately ending up in the Dark Knight class as a hybrid unit who could use Axes, Spears, or Magic quite proficiently. 10/10 would recommend on NG+.
Marianne - Marianne is usually a solid unit for me, but here she was better than ever. I ended up taking her out of the Dancer class for most of the game for that to be the case though. Her level-ups were good, and while she didn't grow as I had desired in the Dark Flier class, it works for her. (And she looks good in it!)
Ingrid - I've had good Ingrids before, but this one was great. She was a dodgetank like no other, and with the Critical Ring, was shredding nearly every opponent in her way. RNG-Blessed, this one was.
Ignatz - Iggy took a lot of training, but he ultimately proved to be worth it. I took him through Dark Mage for Poison Strike, unlocked his Reason Budding Talent for Seal Strength, and made sure he had Break Shot equipped at all times. (I needed to equip Ward Arrow too, but I forgot.) Once Iggy mastered Hunter's Volley as a Sniper, he had options of being either a debuffer or a Crit Machine, depending on what I wanted or needed. Although his endgame class was Trickster due to solid magic growths, I'm probably going to turn him into a Bow Knight next time, so he can join Leonie and Shamir in the Pantheon of Crits.

Notable:
Shamir - Crit Goddess Shamir is always one of my MVPs, and this time was no different.
Leonie - Crit Demigoddess Leonie is always one of my MVPs, and this time was no different.
Seteth - I've finally learned how to make a good Seteth! And he was amazing. 10/10 please use this unit. Even if he's only available during the second part of the game, he is WORTH IT.
Raphael - He's never good for me early or mid-game, but by late-game, he is a Crit GOD. With the Crit Ring and a Killer Gauntlets, he gets 75% or above chance of critting on opponents on every single one of his four chances. I've taken out the final boss in the game with him before. It's insane.
Lysithea - I mostly trained her to use gauntlets this playthrough, but once the Aura Gauntlets were unlocked, she made them work. It was scary, hilarious, and oh so much fun. Alas, I ended up prioritizing the Warp skill over Gauntlet fun in the endgame, but it was fun while it lasted.
Claude - The man has the best personal class out of anyone in the game IMO, and he makes it work. And now that he has S+ in Bows and Flying, the next time I play, he'll be untouchable from the start.


New Builds for the New Playthrough:
Wyvern Rider Sylvain - I want to make him good, and this is apparently how.
Bow Knight AND War Master Felix - He's apparently good in both, so why not raise him to do both? I've already done Wyvern Lord, Hero, Swordmaster, and Mortal Savant anyways.
Wyvern Rider Annette - Apparently she has a very good magical Axe ability that turns her into a walking tank. Oh, and Wyvern Riders are OP in this game, if you can't tell.
Wyvern Rider Leonie - I've been meaning to try this build out.
Wyvern Rider Bernadetta - I'm not actually sure I'll get to this, but we'll see.
War Cleric Marianne - Marianne has a bane in Fists, but that's nothing that can't be overcome with stat-boosting items and a game's worth of training.


Lastly, we've got some Japanese bios for our two newest characters in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, alongside a new story trailer. Buckle up, because it's a doozy!

EDIT: The trailer's confirmation of at least three different routes means that I'll probably be playing this for the next year or so...

 

I forgot how long it can take you to play a round of Mario Golf 64. Admittedly I was a bit rusty. But the difference between it and Super Rush Golf on the Switch is quite noticeable. I can complete a round with a very good score in Super Rush in about 15-20 mins. It was taking me an average of 40 mins in the N64 game. The better graphics etc make you a lot more confident in Super Rush. Or you at least know what kind of result you're going to get unless you hit a really bad shot. (And there's no possibility of duffing it on the new game) With Mario Golf 64 though it's hit and hope sometimes. Even in fair conditions. And it's actually a pretty good strategy. Pondering over a shot for minutes and then hitting a perfect swing NICE SHOT! only to find you were never ever going to carry the greenside bunker no matter what the distance graphic told you, can be pretty demoralising when you had a chance to lay up in a really nice spot but passed it up.

Super Rush gives you lots more shot options but doesn't get in your way. On the other hand though, it would be great if there were more actual courses in Super Rush. The courses are good for the most part but the charm of Shy Guy desert and Yoshi's island courses would be most welcome in the new game.

The Switch version of Mario Golf looks pretty good. The last time I played it was on an old CRT with an RF cable and needless to say, this was an upgrade. it is not, however, a complete remaster of the game. The contours and texture mapping of the fairways and greens are still very hard to distinguish. As are the boundaries between Fairway, Semi-Rough and Rough.

 

Between the Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes demo release last week, I've put in 25 hours of gameplay and grinding over two routes. I've completed pretty much everything I can reasonably do or want to do before the game launches this upcoming Friday, and now it's just a waiting game and fighting my urge to keep playing despite reaching the end of the demo and risk burning myself out before the game even releases.

I have a lot of thoughts about this game, particularly since this demo was my first foray into the Musou/Warriors genre and my first real experience at a hack'n'slash since Kingdom Hearts 2. (I did play about two levels of Dream Drop Distance on the 3DS and I do own KH3, but I haven't opened it.) After beating the demo but before I got too absorbed in grinding, I bought the original Fire Emblem Warriors so I could compare the two. It should come as no surprise that Three Hopes wins the day. It's the newer game, the creator's third game together, and combines the best of both worlds. Three Hopes at times feels like a mix between hack'n'slash and real-time strategy in how it functions on the mode I'm playing, and I love that. I'm sure I'll have more to say when the game proper comes out. (I will. I'm already planning out a whole thing.)

 

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, now that it's released. Outside of roughly 2.5 hours on Friday when I got a haricut and lunch, talked to my grandfather, and talked to my sister and niece, I played this game from roughly 6 am Friday to 4 am Saturday. I promptly passed out until 8:30, helped my friend move, and spent the most of the rest of the day out. Today was similar, with me spending most of the day on other things so I couldn't play a lot. (Which is also why I played so much on Friday.)

I imagine I won't be on this forum as much in the upcoming weeks and/or months primarily because of this game.

This happens from time to time, usually (but not always) with games I consider top tier or that go into my favorites. The previous notable entries were Persona 5 and Fire Emblem: Three Houses in 2019 and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition last year. I didn't stay up nearly as late with Insomniac's Spider-Man or Horizon: Zero Dawn, despite me loving both games. I did stay up super late with Mass Effect Andromeda last year, despite me not liking that game nearly as much.

Needless to say I'm enjoying this game. I'll write up a real review once I finish in a few months. Expect it to be heavy on gameplay and characters, and light on story outside of some stuff in the demo, as I want people to go in not knowing too much, but to be aware of what they should probably know beforehand. I'll also do a breakdown on the history of this game in relation to Fire Emblem as a whole, as I think it's important to understand that history to understand this game, as well as a potential future for Fire Emblem Warriors games.

Also, Damien Haas from Smosh is the voice of the main character, Shez, and he's phenomenal in the role. (Although it's funny hearing that person you know from one thing in a completely different role.)

 

Just finished the Blue Lions aka Azure Gleam route of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, and I have thoughts on the game.

TL;DR - Three Hopes is a great sequel and spin-off to Three Houses, but it's ultimately more of the same. You'll probably like the game if you like Three Houses and can get into the Musou/Warriors gameplay. You won't really like or appreciate it if you didn't like Three Houses or can't get into the Musou/Warriors gameplay. The game carries the same bonuses and flaws of Three Houses, including seemingly unfinished storylines, slight nonsensical stuff, and an overabundance of content that can feel like a slog, and grinding that actively impedes the story at times. Still, this game was an incredibly fun one, and one I have no regrets buying or playing.

I'm putting the game aside for now, as I'm teetering on the edge of burnout and don't really feel up to taking on the other stories in the game, but I've enjoyed the time I spent with it. (I'm hoping for a Golden Route to be released as DLC. If that happens, I'll replay the game.)


The Long Version - In 2017 Intelligent Systems did something they had never done before in releasing a Fire Emblem Direct. The Direct had four announcements:
A remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden called Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. (It has been assumed that all other remakes will fall under the "Echoes" umbrella, but we haven't had one since so we're not sure.)
A Fire Emblem Warriors game, the first crossover for the genre of this type, and the first true collaboration between Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo.
Fire Emblem Heroes, a mobile gacha (aka "gambling but for kids" game), that has been up and running for five years now, and has officially made Nintendo over a billion dollars, making it the highest grossing FE game to date.
Fire Emblem for Switch, which would later become Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the second of three* collaborations between Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo.

The two we're focusing on today are Warriors and Three Houses. Both of these games ended up being IntSys and Koei Tecmo collaborations, Warriors releasing in September of 2017 and Three Houses delayed until July 2019. Both became successful, with Three Houses eventually becoming the highest selling mainline FE game to date. Three Houses was one of my top games of 2019, right under or next to Person 5, so you can see my thoughts on those games on Page 4 of this thread. Warriors, I only just played after playing the Three Hopes Demo. My thoughts on this are as follows:

Fire Emblem Warriors is a narrowly focused, supremely frantic, and only moderately fun crossover. The game came out when Fire Emblem was still reveling in the fact that it had been saved from cancellation due to Awakening and had made gang-buster sales (for the franchise) due to Fates. The Warriors' cast reflected that, carrying a majority of Awakening and Fates games. This was seen as a sin to many, since previous Warriors crossover games were promoted as celebrations of entire franchises, not just one specific era of the franchise with a few cameos thrown it. It'd be like if Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga only had the OT plus a cameo from Kylo Ren and Mace Windu. Or would a better comparison be if Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga only had the ST and Han & Chewie. Not even a playable Luke or Leia. The point is that the roster focused less on the entire franchise and more on what made the franchise popular and a few meager offerings to the select games. DLC doubled down on this mistake.

The gameplay itself isn't bad. The maps are varied, the objectives plentiful, and the characters fun to use. Nearly every character has a double, even if that double feels cheaper than the original or simply not as fun. This means that there's a lot of variety, but not a lot of creativity, if that makes sense. If you want a mounted axe unit, you go with Frederick. If you want a flier, you go with either axes in Camilla/Minerva or lances with Hinoka/Cordelia. Do you want a flashy, slashy swordsperson? You chose Chrom/Lucina. Do you want a slightly more powerful sword-user who puts electricity in their attacks? You go Ryoma/Owain. Magic? Robin/Tharja. Bow? Sakura/Hinoka. There's a character and clone for nearly every class, but it doesn't give you a lot of room to experiment.
And beyond that, the game isn't as fun for a Musou/Warriors genre newbie like me. Even on Easy Mode, I found myself barely meeting objectives, being overrun with enemies, and generally feeling overwhelmed.

Lastly, the story. Warriors' story was mediocre at best. It's a standard "let's you and him fight before we all team up" story mixed with "evil dragon god wants to destroy the world." Both are derivative, and neither work well together to make something new. Where the game does shine is in History Mode, a game mode where you can replay old maps from previous FE games, and they apparently offer quite the challenge. It also shines in the interactions. The supports between characters are charming, funny, and overall really nice. It's just a shame that players have to get to A-Rank Support with characters to see the solitary support. Overall, this game is decent, but not the best.

Then why waste my time writing about this? Simple - I want you all to see the context of which Three Hopes was born into and where its roots lie.

When Three Hopes was announced, me and others were...confused. It wasn't really what most had wanted, expected, or asked for, either as the next Fire Emblem game/spin-off, or even for the next FE Warriors game. There were a lot of negative feelings about it. (I overcame mine with time.) But the more we got about the game, the more people felt reassured.

When the demo came out, a lot of people were relieved and enjoyed the story and gameplay, me included. Going from Three Hopes to the first Warriors game and back made me appreciate how much effort Koei Tecmo and Intelligent System's third outing really improved upon from each.

From the Three Houses side, the world was given so much more breathing room. Like a good sequel, the foundation was laid with the first installation, so the second one could do what it wanted and/or needed to do to function. The lore we've gotten, people we've met, and stories we've seen unfold would have been nigh-impossible in Three Houses, but Three Hopes made it a reality. Even the graphics got a slight (VERY slight) bump!

On the Warriors side, the Three Hopes took everything good about Warriors, combined with with the best of Three Houses, and created something truly special.
This time around, players can build units however they choose. You want your bulky Armor Knight to become a Mage? Go for it! (I actually did that, and it came out pretty fun!) You want your squishy Mage to become a sword-wielding person of mass destruction? ...that actually may be preferred in some cases...Players have full control over how they want to build their units, what the units may or may not be good against, and how to overall structure their parties. Combat Arts, Accessories, Battalions, Weapons, and Classes - all of it is customizable, which means you can do nearly anything with your army. By the end of my first playthrough, I had several Dark Knights, a few Holy Knights, one Falcon Knight, quite a few magic users, and even more magical sword users. (I had three Dancers - units that can use Magic and Swords - with each having a unique build or purpose. All three were my Anti-Mage Units (even if I only really used two of them), with one serving as a secondary healer and the other as a combo master who could shut down enemy magic users.) The Avatar of this game is particularly fun to use, and I had to contain myself from using them exclusively.
Three Hopes is also an easier game than Three Houses, at least to me. My allies could actually accomplish things by themselves, enemy reinforcements didn't' swarm me and my bases as suddenly, and new objectives didn't overwhelm me like before.
Story and character-wise, this game hasn't let me down yet, but I don't expect that to be the case forever. As I said above, I really enjoyed Azure Gleam, but the story is far from perfect. I suspect the other routes are the same. The Supports are also a middle-ground between the two games. There are more supports that are also more varied than there were in Three Hopes, but not nearly as many as there were in Three Houses. Several characters who are recruited on routes that they aren't native to or are part of a specific affiliation get the short end of the stick even outside of this. Still, certain fan-desired supports are in the game, and it's definitely for the best.

That being said, the game is far from perfect. Three Hopes suffers from the exact same flaws as its predecessor. From the Hub World offering too much to do that doesn't feel optional, to mandatory missions and grinding that pad out the game, to dropped arcs and plots, to nonsensical story plots IMO, to repetitive gameplay, this game is one that you have to commit to, or it'll beat you down. There are tutorials for new things that should have been implemented FAR sooner, and two certain characters have a pretty difficult recruitment that you'll need a stinking guide to figure out how to accomplish. The voice acting is fine, but it's also a little...off at times, for some characters. Others are drastically improved.

Overall, Fire Emblem Warriors is a great sequel/spin-off/follow-up to Three Houses. All it needs is some great DLC, and it'll cement Warriors spin-offs for the franchise for years to come. All of that said, however, I think I'm done with the game for now. I need to rest before I get burnout, and I have some other things I could accomplish in the remaining weeks of summer. I'll give this game an 8.5/10 with the chance to go up to a 9 or 9.5/10 later on.


*During the week the demo came out, rumors about a new mainline FE game were revived, with leaks from a completely separate source providing some potential leaks that fit with what the rumors said came to light. If the rumors and leaks are true, then the next mainline FE game will be another collaboration between Fire Emblem and Koei Tecmo, this time with their subsidiary Gust. Gust is known for their Atelier games, and if you look at some of those and see the leaks...it's not hard to think that the leaks may just have some truth to them.

 

Stardew Valley on Switch



I played it for about a week, but it quickly reminded me why I'm not good at farming sims. Between the seasonal items and harvests, stamina, and several other things, I always feel like I'm running out of time or failing at something. My friend told me to think of the game as a dating sim, but that doesn't really help. Either way, I'll be playing this one on-and-off for the foreseeable future.

Good for fans of:
Rune Factory
Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons
Various other farming sims

Xenoblade Chronicles 3



My first Xenoblade game was Chronicles X on the WiiU, and I played it for about ten minutes before the tiny text on the screen got to me. This experience is SO MUCH BETTER. I know it's a sin to start with the third in a franchise, but each game is supposed to be fully playable on its own, and I watched the entirety of Chuggaaconroy's playthroughs of the first two games, so I know the story and nuances.*

Anyways, Xenoblade 3 has been super fun so far. It's a game about war and the gamification of war, and the brutal lives those within that world live because of it. Saying anymore would be a spoiler...and also a guess, because I'm still VERY early into this game.

The gameplay is surprisingly fun and pretty deep. I wasn't a fan of the gameplay approaches in 1 or 2 from what I saw, but 3 makes them fit better. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say when I beat the game, and it's probably going to be in my top 5 games of the year, but we'll have to wait until then.

Good for fans of:
Any previous Xeno game
Neon Genesis Evangelion
RaXephon

Other random notes:
The exploration in the game is nice, but I'm not the biggest fan of exploration. I appreciate it, and I love having things to do (but not an overwhelming amount like in Pokemon Legends: Arceus), but I'm usually the type of person to run from one objective to the next and maybe explore a bit in order to find some sort of item or thing.



*I watched Chuggaa's XC1 LP about twice, and I watched XC2 up until the Torna Country DLC, which was after the post-game stuff.

 

I've been playing this game since I was a kid in the late 80s, though it's been updated many times, and it's one of my favorite games ever. I first started playing it over at a friend's house then a little later when they ported it to the NES I finally got my own copy. Later on they released a great Sega Genesis port of it and the version I have now is the one released for PC and XBOX back in the mid 00's. While pirates weren't my first love or anything what I loved about it was that it was the first really open world game I'd ever played. You just sail around the Caribbean and look for trouble.

The remakes have all been pretty good, they all added some extra activities and improved the graphics while sticking to what made the game great to begin with.

 

Still playing Xenoblade 3, but I'm taking a short break from it because I played so much of it when I was sick and I don't want burnout. Currently it's my GOTY. I also forgot to mention that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is good for fans

Anyways, there seem to be quite a few gaming events in September. I'm hoping they can fill out 2023 for me!

 

Playstation update screw up my Sims 4 data so I move on playing other game, Cyberpunk 2077, one mission unable to do when last played it where you talk to two cops near V's apartment, was broken now it's fixed and now there new gigs and side job/mission, finish quick sadly went to one or two things.

Then Went on to Life is Strange True Colours, I had to re-do Chapter 1, 2 and 4, cos there things I miss and feel I should re play again. Also re-do on scene in Chapter 3 where yo get anger out of someone and into you but it bad idea. (You may understand if you play Life Is Strange True Colours) , had good ending, I pick one person to romance with but feel bad for other one, even when pick to go places at the end. Also played special extra Wavelengths but foosball was annoying I give up the third foosball, it stress me out (You have to play Life is Strange True Colour to know wha I on about). I have mix feeling about Life is Strange, but good good and like some characters & things.

 

Finished with three Chapters of Life of Strange Before the Storm Remastered & on to Farewell Chapter & next Life is Strange Remastered, maybe playing Life is Strange 2, like Inventory items & souvenirs. I like Max and little things like Hawt Dog Man & Arcadia Bay lighthouse.

 

After watched Cyberpunk Edgerunners, I found Rebecca's gun in the game, she my favorite in the anime. Already got David's coat. Sadly there nothing much for me, would of gone buy cars.

End up playing Watchdogs Legion Bloodline, more to play one of my favourite games. I missed it and hope there be more side missons. But heard they won't updated anymore. Finished Bloodline hope there more but none. I thinking of playing Watchdogs, I loved Legion so much I feel sadden if I played other game. I remeber my brother played Watch dogs 2. Reason I played Legion is it base in London, haven't been to London since 2020 January before Lockdown. Played Legion in 2020 & compled it, played this year with new side mission. Well good things come to end and game don't last long and don't alway Update.