Do You Have Any Unpopular Gaming Opinions?

[TSTR]

[Gunstar Green]

Hey man, thanks for sharing this! I quite enjoyed it.

No problem, my mind instantly jumped to that video because I thought he really nailed it.

I really love the aethestics and cool unique look of the old 2D Sonic's. Mario gets a bit copy/pastey, but the amount of content in SMB3 or World compared to any Sonic... they just feel like much bigger games with more put into them. A massive Sonic with an overworld and all that probably would have been awesome.

I think that's what we got with Sonic 3 & Knuckles though, minus the overworld (instead the zones are linked by scenes that connect them which is cool). Everything about it is bigger and more epic compared to what had come before (Just look at those level maps!) and the different characters deliver different experiences.

S3&K is a masterpiece of the era and the genre and I really don't think I'm speaking out of just nostalgia.

Mario games only feel big because of their heavy reuse of enemies and tilesets. I'm not knocking that, I think it works perfectly fine for Mario, but similar game design would prove boring for Sonic which has always been about unique levels, especially when they shortened zones to two acts after the first game.

It's one of the things I've always liked about Mega Man as well. People complain about the sequel-itis of that series and while they obviously have a point they're fairly short games with a lot of variety in them thanks to the different themed stages and their gimmicks. I kind of look at sequels to Mega Man like a new album from a favorite band. Sometimes they're classic, sometimes they're a little weird and experimental, sometimes they just suck, but it's always kind of fun and comforting for me to return to.

[3DSStrider]

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You will cowards can't even go fast?

[TSTR]

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You will cowards can't even go fast?

Prepare to have your mind BLOWN.

[marurun]

Also, JRPGs suck. They are one of the most boring things I can think of.

I don't know about suck, necessarily, but as I get older I find it much harder to get into JRPGs.

I think a lot of it is time. You have to dedicate a lot of time to a JRPG, making them feel like a chore to play through at times. I actually stopped playing JRPGs for about nearly a decade, before finally starting up again about two years ago, and I find I appreciate the break I took, but there are a lot of RPGs out there worth checking out. That said, a lot of them have similarities in the story that can make the genre repetitive, and due to cultural differences I find them more alienating now than I used to.

Some this, but not all this. I put almost 200 hours into Skyrim. I can't say that about ANY JRPG. I think the problem is that JRPGs have a lot of game time that isn't impactful, comparatively speaking. There are these long stretches where you talk to a bunch of random villagers who don't have anything important to say, but you have to talk to ALL of them anyway. There's needless grinding. There are battles with attacks that take too long to hash out. One thing that's got me lately are battles without any strategy. You are either too weak to take out the enemies or you can mostly beat them just with straight attacks. The only time you really have to coordinate strategy is on bosses. If there were fewer battles but the battles had more going on, it might be easier to hold my attention.

That and the pick up put down factor. I can spend hours and hours on a game, but I need to be able to save and put it down any where I want.

[Exhuminator]

Some of the best and worst gaming experiences I've ever had have been with JRPGs. Too bad I have not played every JRPG ever, in order to fully comprehend the entire spectrum of the genre's potential, in which to formulate such a well informed and sweeping opinion as 3DSStrider.

There are battles with attacks that take too long to hash out. One thing that's got me lately are battles without any strategy. You are either too weak to take out the enemies or you can mostly beat them just with straight attacks. The only time you really have to coordinate strategy is on bosses. If there were fewer battles but the battles had more going on, it might be easier to hold my attention.

I want to suggest to you my two most favorite JRPGs, Vagrant Story and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. I think you would find these games to be a bit different than what you're used to. Might as well throw an Etrian Odyssey game in there while you're at it. I think Untold on Expert is the hardest RPG I've ever played.

[J T]

I want to suggest to you my two most favorite JRPGs, Vagrant Story and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. I think you would find these games to be a bit different than what you're used to.

I also thought of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. I felt every battle was fairly hard won in that game. The game does require a fair amount of mental memory for different combinations and demon fusions though. I stopped playing a few years ago though and have found it hard to go back despite loving the game. I've forgotten all of my strategy for how to use fusions and spells to best effect, and the gameplay is not forgiving if you don't understand this. It is a strength of the game though as long as you are mentally tracking your gameplay strategies.

[marurun]

I do not particularly like Vagrant Story, alas. I did like what little I played of Persona, though, again, the frequency of battles put me off. I think Grandia's battle system, with a few tweaks, would be the best for me. Reduce the encounter rate and make the battles a little tougher and that's a good start, IMO.

[Exhuminator]

I felt every battle was fairly hard won in that game.

That was one of my favorite aspects. Grinding will do nothing for you, only proper strategy wins the day. The battle with Kagatsuchi was the greatest most intense JRPG boss fight I've ever had. White knuckles, fear sweats, dilated pupils... that's Nocturne.

Actually my avatar is from Nocturne, it's the Matador. I love his chutzpah. Honestly, I wager that 90% of people who played Nocturne stopped once they reached him. He's not too bad if you have a proper plan though. The funny thing is, Matador is actually a very easy boss compared to the ones that come later in the game.

I did like what little I played of Persona, though, again, the frequency of battles put me off.

Playing a Persona game is one thing. Playing Nocturne is an entirely different experience however. Those two are not analog. Nocturne does often have a high encounter rate, but the battles are lightning fast, and you cannot Press A To Win through even the most rote battle. You must always have your thinking cap on to succeed.

[J T]

Actually my avatar is from Nocturne, it's the Matador. I love his chutzpah. Honestly, I wager that 90% of people who played Nocturne stopped once they reached him.

Yeah, I love the intensity of battles in Nocturne. The Matador was the first point in the game where I hit a wall, but I did eventually get through him and a few more bosses. I can't remember where I stopped. I know I got to the point with the Dante cameo, which I think was the Assembly of Nihilo. I think I cleared that area and didn't get much farther. I should probably relearn how to play and finish the game. I really love it.