What are you playing?

[ElkinFencer10]

Is it "real time" like say Halo Wars, or is it "real time" like, well, a third person shooter or any other action game?

The movement is real time like an action game, but your attack is on a cooldown timer kind of like Xenoblade.

[Segata]

Fighting EX Layer Beta. If you want to play this you have to be a PS+ subscriber and the beta goes down on X-Mas.

[Anayo]

Alysia Dragoon for the Sega Genesis has been sitting on my shelf for a year and a half, so for the past 5 days I've been trying to beat it.

This is a really solid Genesis title. I like the unique premise - it's a platformer that takes place in a swords and sorcery fantasy world, and you control a girl who can shoot lighting out of her hands like Emperor Palpatine. She's also accompanied by one of four mythical beasts, such as a dragon, a phoenix, something like that angry sun from Super Mario 3, and a turtle that shoots boomerangs (?). The music is really melodic and well-composed and the graphics are good. The controls are somewhat clunky and there are more than a few cheap hits, but it's fulfilling to overcome the challenge. I keep losing all my lives on stage 6, though. Maybe today I'll get farther than that.

[Sload Soap]

Been playing the Uncharted games. Beat 1+2 so far, as far as Syria in the third.

Generally I feel the same way about these games as I do The Last of Us; top-tier graphics, audio, story, voice work and set pieces but gameplay that is mid-tier at best. The gunplay is really clunky in the first one, slightly better in the second and third but never particularly fun or engaging.

If shooting made up less of these games it'd be okay but there are armies of goons to murder and it's all telegraphed pretty poorly.

[ElkinFencer10]

The fourth one is the best in terms of gameplay in my opinion.

[Exhuminator]

top-tier graphics, audio, story (eh for a video game I guess), voice work and set pieces / but gameplay that is mid-tier at best / armies of goons to murder and it's all telegraphed pretty poorly.

That is exactly how I feel about Naughty Dog's seventh gen stuff too. They really sold on their showboat graphics if we're being honest.

Alysia Dragoon

Yeah it's pretty hard (cheap hard). I beat it myself last year, out of spite I guess. These were my thoughts:

So here's a platformer starring a female who shoots (fairly ineffectual) lightning from her finger tips. Considered a "hidden gem" or "cult classic" by some (because it's a Game Arts release starring a scantily clad female). If you've played something like Valis, you know what this is. Except for the part where your primary weapon is enemy seeking lightning that doesn't do much damage. You also have little dragon partners that die nearly instantly. I'll try to be positive for a minute; the graphics are decent, the music is OK, there are some alright cutscenes and... that's about it. This game should be called "Cheap Hits Dragoon", or "Lightning Sponge Enemies Dragoon", or "Very Boring Level Design Dragoon". I know this one has its fans sure, but I'm just not one of them. Maybe I just suck at this game (beating it was not fun for me), and that's why my dragons constantly died. Well, I'm glad to have beaten Alisia Dragoon and seen it all for myself, but I'll never play this aggravating game again.

-

As for what I'm playing, I've found myself on a bit of a PCECD kick lately. So I'll probably be beating a few more PCECD games. It's a library I previously hadn't spent much time with.

I keep telling myself I need to get back to Xenoblade Chronicles and finish it. I'm about 1/3rd of the way through it. I might start banging on it again when my Christmas vacation starts (I get about a week and a half off). I'm also debating if I hate myself enough to finish The 7th Saga before the end of the year. It was on my goal list, and I got over halfway through it before realizing shoving razors down my urethra would probably be funner.

[Sarge]

Getting a Duo has really gotten me interested in how much there is out there for it. I didn't realize quite how prolific the system was in Japan. I mean, I knew it was successful, but there seem to be a ton of neat-looking games that didn't make it over here beyond even the ones that made me want the system.

I also went through Alisia Dragoon not too long ago. It's a'ight, interesting but not great.

Always wanted to play through Alisia Dragoon. It's... different. The main attack reminds me a lot of, say, the lock-on shot in Panzer Dragoon (what's with that and dragoons, anyway?). The game has a nice anime influence, and I'd almost proclaim it to be one of the best overlooked games ever...

...but the color palette is rather dull at times. That sounds like a stupid complaint that keeps it from being awesome, but the backdrops are so detailed that the game is very hard to "parse". This means you're likely going to get hit by a lot of shots, a lot of enemies, and well... pretty much everything. That your own shot tends to go wild filling the screen with so much going on, and your helper as well, just adds to the mania. I think with more practice, I'd be better at it, but dang if you're not going to take a bunch of hits.

You also want to poke around as much as possible. There are tons of items that will extend your life meter, your helpers' life meters, power up your magic, continues, you name it. And you'll need 'em.

Really, it is a fascinating game, it's just a bit flawed. I'd love to find a copy in the wild, though.

[Exhuminator]

I didn't realize quite how prolific the system was in Japan. I mean, I knew it was successful, but there seem to be a ton of neat-looking games that didn't make it over here

Agreed. I've been doing a fair amount of spelunking into the PCECD library myself lately. I'd wager not even 3% of the PCECD's impressive library was localized for English. A damn shame, NEC. There's still plenty of games that are do-able though, even without knowing Japanese. Some of the RPGs are do-able with walkthroughs I imagine.

[marurun]

The PC Engine was the true successor to the NES, in a lot of ways.

[Segata]

Love the PCE and see it as the proto SEGA Saturn. Distant 3rd place but loaded with so many amazing Japanese games that were mostly in Japan only. Underrated but no less of the system than the other 2 giants.