The Official "What Are You Playing?" Thread (Post Screens)

[Mr. House 3,371]

Pre-ordered Triangle Strategy. I wanted to pre-order No More Heroes 3 but only the steam page is up, no pricing yet. 

 

10+ hours in DioField Chronicles. Still having a great time with it. I warmed up to the story, I like that it's straight to the point and devoid of character drama. It's focused on the war and politics, which I'm okay with. It's quite different from other JRPGs in more ways than one.

 

I'm passed the halfway point, I hope some new mechanic, or something else will get introduced soon because I'm afraid this might get too repetitive for its own good.

 

No serious grinding required so far, although money is hard to come by, so I went back and replayed a few old missions. Nothing that stopped the momentum of the game though, plus I'm the one who is trying to raise all characters equally when I could just focus on my main 8 and forget the others. I want to mix things during combat. 

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

11 minutes ago, Ramza said:

Pre-ordered Triangle Strategy. I wanted to pre-order No More Heroes 3 but only the steam page is up, no pricing yet. 

 

10+ hours in DioField Chronicles. Still having a great time with it. I warmed up to the story, I like that it's straight to the point and devoid of character drama. It's focused on the war and politics, which I'm okay with. It's quite different from other JRPGs in more ways than one.

 

I'm passed the halfway point, I hope some new mechanic, or something else will get introduced soon because I'm afraid this might get too repetitive for its own good.

 

No serious grinding required so far, although money is hard to come by, so I went back and replayed a few old missions. Nothing that stopped the momentum of the game though, plus I'm the one who is trying to raise all characters equally when I could just focus on my main 8 and forget the others. I want to mix things during combat. 

 

Ill have to check that out again at some point. I wasn't really feeling the demo, but it seems that I need to give it more of a chance.

 

But you'll definitely want to change your approach when you play Triangle Strategy. If you try to level up all characters equally in that game you're getting to get stomped during some of the battles  

[Mr. House 3,371]

1 minute ago, Twinblade said:

 

Ill have to check that out again at some point. I wasn't really feeling the demo, but it seems that I need to give it more of a chance.

 

But you'll definitely want to change your approach when you play Triangle Strategy. If you try to level up all characters equally in that game you're getting to get stomped during some of the battles  

I'd say wait until you can get it for cheap. I mean, I'm personally enjoying this but it's definitely a niche, this won't appeal to many people. Which is why it will flop and sell for cheap fast. 

 

Haha, that's not going to happen. I do that in all my RPGs. 

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

Put about 2 hours into Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. The setting and story setup are pretty cool, definitely a bit unique by modern JRPG standards. Wasn't expecting it to have fully voiced VA either (Japanese only but still better than nothing). Combat is simple so far but has some neat ideas (its turn based but you move around a grid like in a SRPG). Overall its a promising little game so far.

[Delita 698]

On 2022-09-27 at 5:19 PM, Twinblade said:

Put about 2 hours into Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. The setting and story setup are pretty cool, definitely a bit unique by modern JRPG standards. Wasn't expecting it to have fully voiced VA either (Japanese only but still better than nothing). Combat is simple so far but has some neat ideas (its turn based but you move around a grid like in a SRPG). Overall its a promising little game so far.

You ever play a Trails game? How does it compare to trails in the sky, you played it? at the time trails of zero was in Japan and had no hope of coming here but it seems like it has.

 

I remember Trails in the Sky was a huge hit here in the rpg thread mostly between me and smoothhands. I recorded a bunch of videos on my old YouTube account haha

 

 

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

20 minutes ago, Delita said:

You ever play a Trails game? How does it compare to trails in the sky, you played it? at the time trails of zero was in Japan and had no hope of coming here but it seems like it has.

 

I remember Trails in the Sky was a huge hit here in the rpg thread mostly between me and smoothhands. I recorded a bunch of videos on my old YouTube account haha

 

 

 

I never finished it but I did get 40 hours into Trails in The Sky like 7 years ago (played the PC port). I honestly can't remember much about it, but I feel like Trails from Zero has a more interesting start, because of its setting and story. The main city has this gothic/steampunk vibe and the whole premise of playing a detective and doing investigations in and around that urban setting is pretty damn cool. There's a grounded aspect to it thats refreshing compared to other JRPGs that are frontloaded with your typical anime/fantasy elements and use that as a basis for their themes.

[-GD-X★ 7,733]

@Twinblade what’s a fun short game for the switch? Puzzlers preferred, but I’m ok with platformers. 

[Delita 698]

5 minutes ago, Twinblade said:

 

I never finished it but I did get 40 hours into Trails in The Sky like 7 years ago (played the PC port). I honestly can't remember much about it, but I feel like Trails from Zero has a more interesting start, because of its setting and story. The main city has this gothic/steampunk vibe and the whole premise of playing a detective and doing investigations in and around that urban setting is pretty damn cool. There's a grounded aspect to it thats refreshing compared to other JRPGs that are frontloaded with your typical anime/fantasy elements and use that as a basis for their themes.

What you said sounds a lot like exactly what I was expecting from watching the trailers and gameplay footage 10 years ago  

 

I saw it on steam earlier today and was thinking giving it a cop because I’m interested in a new rpg on my steam deck

 

Let me know how it holds up bruh

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

23 minutes ago, -GD-X said:

@Twinblade what’s a fun short game for the switch? Puzzlers preferred, but I’m ok with platformers. 

 

Its not that short (took me over 14 hours to finish) but you would like Supraland.

[-GD-X★ 7,733]

6 hours ago, Twinblade said:

 

Its not that short (took me over 14 hours to finish) but you would like Supraland.

Beat it. That was pretty epic, though! 

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

2 hours ago, -GD-X said:

Beat it. That was pretty epic, though! 

 

hmmm, Im not sure what else is on Switch thats puzzle focused. Most of the time I play that type of game on PC.

 

If you don't mind a straight 3D platformer than Hell Pie is a fun one thats worth checking out.

[Mr. House 3,371]

Last chapter of DioField Chronicle, 25 hours in. Fantastic game, usually my opinion on a JRPG sour as it goes along but this game was the exact opposite. It's a solid 8/10 game for me and I'd buy a sequel day one without hesitation.

 

I never got bored of the combat, even though the game could have used a few more enemy types and more varied missions' objectives. The soundtrack is also pretty weak by Square Enix standard, it's the same few themes from start to finish. 

 

The characters are truly the antithesis of typical characters found in JRPGs even if you wouldn't think that at first glance. Main character is a calculated, cold, ruthless military mind who has no issues finding ways to subtlety coerce people into fighting for his army. 

 

I've grown to like the characters quite a lot because they feel like normal adults that aren't constantly talking about their emotions but instead focus on the important issues around them. There are character building moments here don't get me wrong, but it's done differently. 

 

The pacing is also flawless in this game, I wish all JRPGs moved along at this pace. 

[-GD-X★ 7,733]

1 hour ago, Twinblade said:

 

hmmm, Im not sure what else is on Switch thats puzzle focused. Most of the time I play that type of game on PC.

 

If you don't mind a straight 3D platformer than Hell Pie is a fun one thats worth checking out.

Ha I read the review. It’s vulgar af, apparently  

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

11 hours ago, -GD-X said:

Ha I read the review. It’s vulgar af, apparently  

 

The Nazi turd enemies are pretty funny

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

16 hours into Trails from Zero already. This is definitely one of the most entertaining JRPGs i've played in recent memory  

[Mr. House 3,371]

The ending in DioField Chronicle.   

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

23 minutes ago, Ramza said:

The ending in DioField Chronicle.   

 

Is it true that most missions can be beaten in less than 10 minutes? Sounds like it could make a good deck/ayaneo game

 

Also, were you able to avoid having to grind?

[Mr. House 3,371]

2 minutes ago, Twinblade said:

 

Is it true that most missions can be beaten in less than 10 minutes? Sounds like it could make a good deck/ayaneo game

 

Also, were you able to avoid having to grind?

Yep, they're rather short. 15 minutes at the most, I'd say. I was playing extremely fast near the end; I could finish missions in just a few minutes.

 

Yeah, I didn't really grind, I did replay a few missions for money and because I missed the bonus objectives, but it wasn't really necessary for me to do that anyway. Yet, it was still very minimal. 

 

In fact, once I started getting good equipment and had the right skill setups I tore up through the game with ease. Don't get me wrong, this is not a shallow game, there's a lot of depth here. The game however as all the tools for you to succeed without relying on grinding but you'll need to use your brain a bit and get used to the battle system.

 

The only frustrating thing, I could see is that you lose two of the characters for good, but I can't say more. There's also one point in the game where you can't use all your characters like usual. It might be frustrating if you focused all your attention on just your mains.

 

 You might want to mix match a bit. After a point though you can focus on your main 8 there's no other point where you can't use certain characters like that, it happens about midway through the game. Still, it might not even affect you but it's possible you might have to grind a bit, mostly for money actually. 

[Twinblade★ 3,907]

Im blasting through Trails from Zero, just hit the 38 hour mark. The amount of dialogue in this game is absolutely insane  It actually puts most FF games and JRPGs in general to shame. It feels like 70% of the experience is listening/reading dialogue.

 

Thankfully the japanese VA is good and the script as well. All of the characters, even the minor ones, are interesting and well written (even if some of them do fit well into classic JRPG tropes).

 

The combat & dungeons are probably the game's weakest aspects. They're serviceable overall but you definitely just want to get that over with so you can get to the story bits. Thats helped by the fast forward feature that the game has on by default, You can breeze through many encounters using it which is kinda satisfying in its own way.

 

Unfortunately I read some stuff about next year's followup (Trails to Azure) that has me way less interested in it. Apparently it cranks up the anime elements and ends up becoming very over the top. Trails of Zero's restraint and more grounded approach is one of the things that appeals to me the most about it, so I was hoping the direct sequel would continue that trend. 

 

Still really looking forward to playing more of this one and finishing it as its been very entertaining throughout.

[Mr. House 3,371]

5 hours ago, Twinblade said:

Im blasting through Trails from Zero, just hit the 38 hour mark. The amount of dialogue in this game is absolutely insane  It actually puts most FF games and JRPGs in general to shame. It feels like 70% of the experience is listening/reading dialogue.

 

Thankfully the japanese VA is good and the script as well. All of the characters, even the minor ones, are interesting and well written (even if some of them do fit well into classic JRPG tropes).

 

The combat & dungeons are probably the game's weakest aspects. They're serviceable overall but you definitely just want to get that over with so you can get to the story bits. Thats helped by the fast forward feature that the game has on by default, You can breeze through many encounters using it which is kinda satisfying in its own way.

 

Unfortunately I read some stuff about next year's followup (Trails to Azure) that has me way less interested in it. Apparently it cranks up the anime elements and ends up becoming very over the top. Trails of Zero's restraint and more grounded approach is one of the things that appeals to me the most about it, so I was hoping the direct sequel would continue that trend. 

 

Still really looking forward to playing more of this one and finishing it as its been very entertaining throughout.

Yeah, I have to take breaks sometimes because of how story heavy it is. The dialogue is good at least.