What RPG are you playing right now?

[opa]

You might wanna consult a walkthrough at some point if this is your first time playing the game, btw. Ys is like Zelda in that you really need most every item to proceed and if you miss something you're stuck for awhile.

I played like three-quarters of Ys 1 around eight or so years ago. My memory is a tad fuzzy needless to say. I may grab a walk through later if I get stuck again; maybe even just a map. But I'm gonna try to play it on my own as much as I can (or will tolerate - lol).

[Ack]

I have started playing Icewind Dale. It contains a lot of what I love about fantasy: a snowy locale, an awesome backstory, and lots and lots of violence. Sweet, sweet violence.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I just started up Heroes of the Monkey Tavern (Switch). It’s a first-person, grid-based, real-time dungeon crawler clearly very influenced by Legend of Grimrock. It is much simpler than that game and, strangely, does not have a “front-row, back-row” mechanic. (My caster and healer are just going to have to learn to take a beating, I guess.) It also doesn’t require me to carry lit torches all the time, either, which is a good thing. HLTB says I should be through the game in just a few hours; so, it should be a nice ARPG snack.

[Markies]

I started Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean on the Nintendo Gamecube this afternoon!

I was a little hesitant giving this game a shot as I had never played a video card game before. However, I play card games all the time whenever I play board games, so I figured I would have a ton of experience in them. I felt confident to give this one a shot, so I decided that I would play it this year.

It took a bit to get used to everything and the names of things in the world are very strange, but, once I got into the battle system, the game was incredibly easy to get into and I was enjoying myself immensely. The graphics are probably some of the best that I have seen on the console along with some beautiful music as well. The game moves a little bit slow, which now makes complete sense as I found out later that it was developed by Monolith Soft, the people behind the Xenosaga franchise. I know this will take a while and the plot might be a bit crazy, but so far I'm enjoying myself and I'm happy to be playing it.

[opa]

Baten Kaitos was always on those lists of must-play GameCube games back in the day but I never checked it out. I watched some gameplay and it looks kinda busy on the screen.

[Markies]

The town and dungeons are very detailed, so there is a ton going around as minor details are every where.

For the battle system and fights, its really easy to get into. The game gradually increases your hand size, so you start off very restrictive and then gradually get more complex.

It works well for the Gamecube as it is one of those RPG's where you constantly press the 'A' button and that is perfect for the Gamecube controller.

[bmoc]

I've been playing Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition all week. I'm finishing up some late game quests and then it will be time to grind some affinity in order to make some of the better gems. In the next day or two I'll start the new epilogue Future Connected. I'll probably do a second play through at some point in expert mode.

This is without a doubt the best version of the game to play. It is much better docked than in portable mode as many people have mentioned. Portable mode is still better than the 3DS version. Digital Foundry made a good video detailing all the technical differences. The art book that came with the collector's edition mentioned a few fights were made easier like the first fight with Xord. The quest tracking feature is the real winner here though. I recommend this version of the game for that alone.

[Ack]

Well, I have wrapped up all of Icewind Dale and will be writing about it in the Games Beaten thread. Meanwhile, I have started Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession, another 2nd Ed. D&D game. Strahd is in the same engine as Menzoberranzen, so I am changing styles from a more tactical top down to a first person dungeon crawler.

It's surprising to me that just the colors and texture of the UI have such an impact, but despite releasing the same year, Strahd's feels like a big step back from Menzo in terms of design. The layout just feels...bland. That's unusual, as I don't think there is really any fundamental changes, just cosmetic ones, but a coat of paint can go a long way. Strahd's also doesn't feel as focused, but that can be a double-edged sword; it lets me wander to an extent and explore on my own, but as a result it does not feel as focused and has already dropped the lead at least once. I'm concerned I'm going to repeatedly ask myself, "Ok, what next?" with this game.

Still, should be an interesting experience.

[MrPopo]

I'm going to be wrapping up my Robotrek playthrough likely this evening. It's amazing just how utterly breakable this game is WITHOUT knowing about all the combination formulas. With them it's even worse; end game gear before the third boss.

[Ack]

Yeah, that game very swiftly became a walk in the park with the formulas figured out. Knock it out, champ!