Wow, that’s long. And I can’t even imagine what 80 hours of VN will have in it. That’ll be equivalent to a 1000 page novel or something?

Apparently even longer. I was checking some stats, Fate/Stay Night has roughly the same size as the King James Bible ( ~750k words), which typically is printed in ~1500 pages.

Umineko which is a famous for being a ridiculously long VN is is 50% longer than that (~1150k words). That’s more than the entire Harry Potter series with seven books.

Is Witch of the Holy Night long or are you just playing slowly, cause usually you don’t take this much time with VNs.

I am playing slowly, but most of the VNs I played recently were on the short side (~10h or so according to VNDB), with WotHN being triple of that.

There are much longer VNs though. 😀 I have Little Busters or Fate/Stay Night in my backlog that are listed on VNDB as being 80h+.

@[email protected] congrats on finishing Dark Souls!

For me the last weekend was crazy busy and slowed down gaming progress, and also meant no time for Super Robot Taisen Y again. 🙁

Finished Islets!

Really fun and cute game. It’s on the short side, the in-game clock unfortunately counts the time I left it on “sleep” so it’s hard to give accurate numbers but probably took me 8h or so.

One surprise was the difficulty, from the visuals I was expecting an easy game but most bosses took me a few tries to defeat and I died quite a few times while transversing the map. It’s still a chill game though, you don’t lose any progress when you die, save games are plentiful, and you are constantly opening shortcuts so getting back to the spot you died is usually quick.

I also like the upgrade system, besides the mandatory story upgrades you’re constantly finding smaller upgrades that give you three options each time, so you have a lot of flexibility on what to prioritize. The fact that these are very abundant (looks like there’s 60 of these overall) helps keep a constant sense of progression.

Playing Crypt Custodian!

Another metroidvania from the same developer as Islets, but with a top-down perspective reminiscent of old-school Zelda games. The game stars a cat who ends up having to work as a janitor in the afterlife, using his trusty broom to beat down monsters and clean up dirt everywhere.

The mood is more melancholic than Islets, but still on the “cute” side. It has an equipment system similar to Hollow Knight with “upgrade slots” where each equipment uses a certain number of them, but slots are very plentyful which gives you more options on how to assign things

Still fairly early in this one, just defeated the second boss.

Playing Witch on the Holy Night!

Both parts of Chapter 5 were amazing battles, really impressed by how much they got me hyped. Felt like the “mid-game climax”, and also got the main POV characters (Aoko and Shizuki) working together at last.

Just started Chapter 6 and it looks like this one will be a more chill chapter showing how things settled after that battle.

I agree, there’s a lot of good ideas in Prime 4 that could turn into cool things if developed properly in a future game. Bike is a good example, it’s very fun to ride but also tied to some of the worst aspects of the game like the empty desert and the crystal collection.

The tutorial for the bike felt so disconnected, why am I playing F-Zero in Metroid now?

I forgot to mention but that section felt really out of place. Why the hell does Samus need a driver’s license for a bike in a post-apocalyptic world?

Well, 8 is good. As long as game is fun some flaws can be ignored. Though hope the take the feedback and improve it in next game. Did you use amiibo? Miss anything?

Didn’t use amiibos, though I’ll admit that some good music would’ve made the desert portions less boring. Ended up with 100% items and 92% scans, which almost certainly is my highest collection rate for any Metroid game. There’s some “Scout Bots” that you can activate late-game that will tell you the locations of items you missed, which is a really nice QOL feature.

Haven’t checked the spoiler, but should I play Tsukihime before Witch on the Holy Night? The latter is on my wishlist on your recommendation, but not the former.

Nah, Witch on the Holy Night chronologically takes place before Tsukihime so it’s a good starting point.

Finished Metroid Prime 4: Beyond!

It was nice having a fully free weekend to play this game right after launch. 😀

This is almost certainly going to be a controversial game - it as ton of flaws, everything people are saying about linear dungeons, empty desert, annoying chatty NPC and padding is real. I also agree with most people that this feels more like Zelda than Metroid, with isolated dungeons connected by a big overworld. But you know what? I had a ton of fun with this game and it left me wanting more, which I think is a good indicator the game is still great despite those problems.

I must include some praise for the technical aspects - asides from some occasional long loading times the games runs flawlessly even on Switch 1 and it’s possibly the best looking game in the system. Controls are also spotless, and I love the huge amount of customization options Retro Studios added, from button remapping to allowing motion controls and inverted axis setup independently for different situations (like “regular” aiming, using the control beam, or when riding the bike).

I’d say the 8 rating most sites are giving it is fair. This is not a masterpiece-level game like Prime 1, but is still solid and worth playing.

Playing Islets!

A game announcement a few months back got me to learn about Kyle Thompson, an indie developer who has worked on a few metroidvanias with really good reviews. Since I’m a fan of the genre I wishlisted his games on the eShop and got Islets and Crypt Custodian during a recent sale.

So far I’m loving it, it’s fun, charming, looks and plays great. I also love the concept of this world, there’s five islands in the sky who used to be one but broke apart, and people are trying to get them to become one again. In gameplay terms this means that you start exploring each island as an isolated map, but eventually they connect with the others and become a bigger unified map which opens more paths to exploration.

The game is not too challenging, but a few bosses still took a few tries to beat. The bullet hell bosses fought while flying in the sky have been generally harder than the ones on-foot, but there’s not a lot of them.

Playing Witch on the Holy Night!

After a long break I finally resumed this game, managing to finish Chapter 4 and first part of Chapter 5. This last stretch of the story was an action-focused part which once again highlights how good the presentation for this VN is, and it finally started to connect the stories between the two main POV characters (Aoko and Shizuki). I ended up my last play session yesterday on a big cliffhanger, so really looking forward to playing more today.

On a related topic, I knew this game takes place in the same universe as Tsukihime and the Fate series, but had not realized until yesterday a certain connection which had me stunned for a minute.

Didn’t have time for Super Robot Taisen Y this week, but will continue with it soon.

Minor Metroid 4 spoilers.

Yes, it’s mind-blowing. It’s likely the best looking game on the Switch 1 and it somehow still manages to keep a stable 60 FPS

I saw a few reviews and comparison videos for Prime 4 on the Switch 1 and it seems to run extremely well! Here’s one of those: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMc1oik78Vc

60FPS locked most of the time with very small dips in the “open world” sections which is the same behavior as the Switch 2.

Finished Nine Sols!

I know was being stubborn in finishing the game without lowering difficulty, but holy crap that final boss was hard, likely the hardest story boss I’ve fought in a game in this genre. And I went for the “Normal” ending, which gives you the easier version of that battle!

Took me a few hours of practice and experimentation with different setups until I succeeded, what worked for me was playing very safe with attacks and relying on equipment that makes parries do damage, talismans and arrows to kill it. Using the talisman mode that lets you recharge arrows was great since it let me keep using them to stop annoying attacks.

Anyway, this game was fantastic and is absolutely worth it for fans of the genre. And don’t let my talk of difficulty scare you, it has settings that let you adjust the challenge to your tastes.

Finished Super Mario Galaxy 2!

Cleared the main story. Right now I want to move to other games but will probably pick it up for short play sessions from time to time since there’s plenty left to do. The gyro-based pointer controls are a bit awkward but that aside it’s still a great game.

Finished Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk!

The second game is longer, has better production values and multiple endings. It continues from where the first game left off, with the girl arriving at her home after buying milk, and once again you play as her “voice in the head” while exploring a bit more of her life and traumas.

I think I prefer the first game, but both were quite unique and interesting.

Playing Danmaku Unlimited 3, Caladrius Blaze and Cotton Fantasy!

A comment in last week’s thread got me to dig into the ongoing deals and I found out there were three recommended shoot-em-up/bullet hell games on sale for ~$3 each. So I just went and bought them all. 😄

Danmaku Unlimited 3 is IMO the best of the three and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorites of the genre.

Playing Super Robot Taisen Y!

Was busy with other games so only did a couple missions. Still working on the DLC content before resuming the main story.

Playing Metroid Prime 4: Beyond!

My copy got here right before the end of the day yesterday (23:40 according to the tracking system), so I only managed to start it today during lunchtime.

First impression is “holy crap this looks way too crisp for Switch 1 game”, Retro Studio is really doing miracles with this old hardware. But not a lot of progress yet, just completed the brief prologue and arrived at the alien world we’ll be exploring this time.

Good to know. Though for some reason it’s still listed as “unsupported” in the eShop. https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/crypt-of-the-necrodancer-nintendo-switch-edition-switch/

Luckly I finished my “git good” game (Nine Sols). :) More info on tomorrow’s thread.

Mine should arrive between today and tomorrow. But I want to finish a game or two more before I start it, so probably will only do it during the weekend.

Looks like they’ve toned it down a bit with the lastest patch, one of the notes is “Makes unlocking some cutscenes in the Gallery easier (changed requirements from “100% item collection” to “beat the game”)”.

Another shoot-em-up player! <3

And you just made me realize Cotton is on sale (as well as Caladrius Blaze which I hear a lot of praise for).

You’re playing some really good classics there @[email protected]. You’re right, Dark Souls is not that hard, but it’s a game that requires you to play carefully and slowly learn enemy positioning and attacks.

Weekend ended up being really busy so I didn’t have the time for a good Nine Sols session, so the status for that game is still “at the last boss but need to sit down and practice”.

Playing Super Robot Taisen Y!

I played a lot of missions this week, but story progress was slow becaused DLC1 got released and I decided it was time to get the bundle. This first DLC comes with Big O, Bryger and goddamn Kamen Rider Double, and since buying the bundle also gives you extra missions to recruit the protagonists of two older games (Iori+Amari from SRTX and Saizo+Sagiri from SRTT) I had a ton of new content to play.

The DLC honestly feels overpriced for what it brings, but I’m having a good time with it. They did a much better job integrating the DLC in the main game compared to the previous game (SRT30), there’s a lot more interactions with characters from other series, plus a new side-plot with a common enemy focused on the units included in this pack.

Playing Super Mario Galaxy 2!

Reached World 5. I have enough stars to proceed to the next world but want to explore more before doing that. “Prankster Comet” challenge levels are getting quite hard, so I might avoid those at least until I finish the main game.

Finished Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk!

This is a very short (~30min) VN, but it’s quite unique and disturbing. You play as the “voice in the head” of a mentally ill girl who is trying her best to do a simple task: Buy milk and get back home. There’s only two endings, one if she manages to complete her task and another where she fails, and it largely depends on how nice or mean you are to her during the path to the store.

This bundle also comes with the sequel game which I plan on playing soon. It’s longer but not by much (people say it’s ~90min total with 5 endings), and I’m quite curious about it.

Probably not worth it at full price, but I got it on sale for $2 and so far it’s been an interesting experience.

Battletoads

Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword of Chaos

Nintendo is trying to give PTSD to a new generation of players with these.

Crazy that the CotND team still can’t get a dev kit, they are the guys who did a Zelda crossover game that was published by Nintendo itself.

I hadn’t tried running Towerfall since getting my Switch 2. What is not working with it?

Don’t have a Switch 2 yet so I don’t know, but it’s listed in the eShop as “unsupported”: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/towerfall-switch/

I have a spreadsheet with all my games where I’ve been tracking what is still listed as having issues.

In my library, Crypt of the Necrodancer is still completely unplayable with latest firmware. Crashes during initial loading. Two firmware patches ago (before 21.0.0) it was briefly playable but you’d have to restart the Switch 2 (full power options restart) or you’d have major sound issues.

Interesting, I also have that game and I remember people commenting that one was fixed, and according to my spreadsheet was listed as “working fine” in the Nintendo website when I last checked.

At least they have it listed as unsupported again, which shows some commitment to have the proper information there: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/crypt-of-the-necrodancer-nintendo-switch-edition-switch/

But I wish there was a changelog somewhere to make it easier to follow this. :/

Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ also moved to “compatible” with this update. Now the only game I have in my collection that is marked as “not working” on the Switch 2 is Towerfall.