JGreen

I played it for dozens of hours and I think I got close to finishing it. However, I still haven’t completed it. I’ve enjoyed some past Tales games and other rpgs, but this one kept feeling like more and more of a slog to finish. The gameplay is fun and beating regular enemies and even some field bosses are fun too.
 
What got me to stop playing it are the story bosses. It felt like each one was a rather large spike in difficulty where you would frequently need to grind levels before having any chance. They typically have an enormous health bar that takes 20-30 minutes to whittle down.
 
Honestly, the game simply stopped being fun for me after hitting a boss roundblock that took multiple tries to beat. While I beat him, I had no motivation to return after running into the next story boss which was a dozen or two levels above mine and knowing the amount of grinding it would take to get there. 
 
To put it another way, the grind to level up takes so long and given the level of the roadblock boss, I thought the level cap was 50 and not I’m guessing the usual 100. Then I run into the next boss and see it’s level 60 something and drop the game. 
 
That said, if you want a new rpg to try, I’d strongly recommend Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It was my favorite game of the past year. For a more old school rpg, I’m still enjoying Chained Echoes but I think I’m in the early to maybe mid game. 

Thanks to my wife and my family, I am now finally a part of the PS5 army.  They gave me Returnal and Elden Ring  (which my brother in law can't seem to tell when I'm saying something from an objective stand point since he thought I was over the moon about the game but I have it now...may as well give it a shot).   Can't wait to hook this up to the 4K tv at home and see how everything looks on it!  Also gonna have to start looking into SSDs now.

Scored a PS5 with some trade ins at GS. Got Gow Rag and about to download some digital game that PS Plus has given me over the years. Any suggested tips or tricks with this lop-sided slab of silicon lol? Maybe a carrying case or bag suggestion lol?
 

I’m just using the stock mats in my car. However, there are plenty of options out there for floor mats. The two best companies outside of Weather Tech that I can think of are Lloyd Mats and Cocomats. Between those companies, I’d only get Weather Tech if I was dealing with lots of rain or snow. Otherwise, I’d go with Lloyd Mats as I like the idea of custom carpet floor mats. 
 
For even more customization for Lloyd Mats there’s this site: https://www.high-end-motorsports.com/shop-by-category-floor-mats.html
 
It’s a small husband and wife run company that can do embroidery and some other customization. 

Camacho right now 
 
 

Congrats on the new car! Definitely try to temper your driving when around others. I’ve learned to never overestimate my abilities and never underestimate the stupidity of other drivers. Honestly, the thing I appreciate the most on my car are the improved brakes. However even that can get you into trouble as other cars can’t brake as well. 

Whew lawd this girl pulls. Took her to 120 (for legal reasons I’ll say) kph this morning on one of the several mile long straights during my commute. I meant to go fast to pass someone but truthfully I didn’t intend to go as quick as I was. Gave it some gas around 80 and looked down 10 seconds later I was well into triple digits. Was cool and kinda scary at the same time. 

Congrats on the new car! Definitely try to temper your driving when around others. I’ve learned to never overestimate my abilities and never underestimate the stupidity of other drivers. Honestly, the thing I appreciate the most on my car are the improved brakes. However even that can get you into trouble as other cars can’t brake as well. 

Congrats on the new car! Definitely try to temper your driving when around others. I’ve learned to never overestimate my abilities and never underestimate the stupidity of other drivers. Honestly, the thing I appreciate the most on my car are the improved brakes. However even that can get you into trouble as other cars can’t brake as well. 

@Darc_Requiem
 
Bad news: My old car started shitting itself and I needed a new car quickly. I have to cancel my BRZ order since it’s 2 months overdue and Subaru still couldn’t tell me when it was arriving 😕
 
Good news: Got my childhood (attainable) dream car instead

 
Coming from beaters and economy cars holy shit it’s fast. Passing 99.9% of cars on the highway is child’s play. 
 
I giggled like a toddler the first time I heard the cold start. Drove it home over 100 miles.

What I've been up to all year
 
https://wrapup.playstation.com/en-us/1b9357f73763a5a0ede9808a71d3647871bfdc82bc9eea161c57bfcc61481b58/?emcid=ot-ha-456949
 

I got a solid 60 hours out of this game to 100% it I will probably never play it again but it was a fantastic ride.
 

 

In case any of you are interested in an old 16 bit styled rpg, take a look at Chained Echos. I just started it today and it already has me hooked. So far it’s a more classic Final Fantasy medieval setting with warring nations that are at peace after a huge war for 150 years. Of course I very much doubt this peace will last that long. 
 
The battle system is turned based, but pretty fast and with some fun mechanics. The biggest mechanic is managing this bar to stay in the green overdrive area where you deal more damage, take less damage and spells cost less. The level up mechanic is also very different from the norm in that you don’t really gain levels but get points you can put towards battle skills, passive skills or flat stat boosts after you beat a section. It seems like overleveling is impossible at least in this early section which makes the battles more challenging. Thankfully, you heal after every battle because you have to use your skills as your main attack and they cost this game’s MP. Later on it looks like you gain access to mechs. 

Here’s a trailer for it:
 

In case any of you are interested in an old 16 bit styled rpg, take a look at Chained Echos. I just started it today and it already has me hooked. So far it’s a more classic Final Fantasy medieval setting with warring nations that are at peace after a huge war for 150 years. Of course I very much doubt this peace will last that long. 
 
The battle system is turned based, but pretty fast and with some fun mechanics. The biggest mechanic is managing this bar to stay in the green overdrive area where you deal more damage, take less damage and spells cost less. The level up mechanic is also very different from the norm in that you don’t really gain levels but get points you can put towards battle skills, passive skills or flat stat boosts after you beat a section. It seems like overleveling is impossible at least in this early section which makes the battles more challenging. Thankfully, you heal after every battle because you have to use your skills as your main attack and they cost this game’s MP. Later on it looks like you gain access to mechs. 

Here’s a trailer for it:
 

I’ve heard really great things about chained echoes. It’s definitely on my radar. 

In case any of you are interested in an old 16 bit styled rpg, take a look at Chained Echos. I just started it today and it already has me hooked. So far it’s a more classic Final Fantasy medieval setting with warring nations that are at peace after a huge war for 150 years. Of course I very much doubt this peace will last that long. 
 
The battle system is turned based, but pretty fast and with some fun mechanics. The biggest mechanic is managing this bar to stay in the green overdrive area where you deal more damage, take less damage and spells cost less. The level up mechanic is also very different from the norm in that you don’t really gain levels but get points you can put towards battle skills, passive skills or flat stat boosts after you beat a section. It seems like overleveling is impossible at least in this early section which makes the battles more challenging. Thankfully, you heal after every battle because you have to use your skills as your main attack and they cost this game’s MP. Later on it looks like you gain access to mechs. 

Here’s a trailer for it:
 

In case any of you are interested in an old 16 bit styled rpg, take a look at Chained Echos. I just started it today and it already has me hooked. So far it’s a more classic Final Fantasy medieval setting with warring nations that are at peace after a huge war for 150 years. Of course I very much doubt this peace will last that long. 
 
The battle system is turned based, but pretty fast and with some fun mechanics. The biggest mechanic is managing this bar to stay in the green overdrive area where you deal more damage, take less damage and spells cost less. The level up mechanic is also very different from the norm in that you don’t really gain levels but get points you can put towards battle skills, passive skills or flat stat boosts after you beat a section. It seems like overleveling is impossible at least in this early section which makes the battles more challenging. Thankfully, you heal after every battle because you have to use your skills as your main attack and they cost this game’s MP. Later on it looks like you gain access to mechs. 

Here’s a trailer for it:
 

In case any of you are interested in an old 16 bit styled rpg, take a look at Chained Echos. I just started it today and it already has me hooked. So far it’s a more classic Final Fantasy medieval setting with warring nations that are at peace after a huge war for 150 years. Of course I very much doubt this peace will last that long. 
 
The battle system is turned based, but pretty fast and with some fun mechanics. The biggest mechanic is managing this bar to stay in the green overdrive area where you deal more damage, take less damage and spells cost less. The level up mechanic is also very different from the norm in that you don’t really gain levels but get points you can put towards battle skills, passive skills or flat stat boosts after you beat a section. It seems like overleveling is impossible at least in this early section which makes the battles more challenging. Thankfully, you heal after every battle because you have to use your skills as your main attack and they cost this game’s MP. Later on it looks like you gain access to mechs. 

Here’s a trailer for it:
 

In case any of you are interested in an old 16 bit styled rpg, take a look at Chained Echos. I just started it today and it already has me hooked. So far it’s a more classic Final Fantasy medieval setting with warring nations that are at peace after a huge war for 150 years. Of course I very much doubt this peace will last that long. 
 
The battle system is turned based, but pretty fast and with some fun mechanics. The biggest mechanic is managing this bar to stay in the green overdrive area where you deal more damage, take less damage and spells cost less. The level up mechanic is also very different from the norm in that you don’t really gain levels but get points you can put towards battle skills, passive skills or flat stat boosts after you beat a section. It seems like overleveling is impossible at least in this early section which makes the battles more challenging. Thankfully, you heal after every battle because you have to use your skills as your main attack and they cost this game’s MP. Later on it looks like you gain access to mechs. 

Here’s a trailer for it:
 

Electronic Gaming Monthly and Blockbuster. 

Bit random,but ever wondered how nice it is how we can basically open youtube and  see what's up with pretty much any game that we are interested in before dropping money on it ? 
 
How was it back in the day ? Buy a cartridge or PS1 disk and hope for the best. You may or may not have seen a pic or two in a magazine but that's about it 😅

Just finished Stray. It’s a fun, short game with a surprisingly interesting story. I enjoyed the verticality of the levels which was done better than any game I’ve played. The art direction and graphics were on point as well which pulls you into the world and wondering what happened. Of course being an annoying cat who just knocks things off a shelf was very entertaining. 
 
Oh, the use of the controller was also good with sounds from the speaker and lots of haptic feedback. 
 
Now I’m tempted to play Plague Tale though I never played the first one. I think this is the first time where I’ve played most of the games that were up for game of the year for lots of sites. 

Just finished Stray. It’s a fun, short game with a surprisingly interesting story. I enjoyed the verticality of the levels which was done better than any game I’ve played. The art direction and graphics were on point as well which pulls you into the world and wondering what happened. Of course being an annoying cat who just knocks things off a shelf was very entertaining. 
 
Oh, the use of the controller was also good with sounds from the speaker and lots of haptic feedback. 
 
Now I’m tempted to play Plague Tale though I never played the first one. I think this is the first time where I’ve played most of the games that were up for game of the year for lots of sites.