the "Currently Playing" thread.

[papermario13689]

Originally Posted by shinku no kage

Yeah, but I guess it depends on where you look.

Graces f was pretty good. Just cleared the game's bonus arc the other night. Though it didn't take as long as I expected. I spent 100hrs on Vesperia on my first playthrough but I only spent 60hrs so far on Graces f. But now that I've cleared it I can now allow myself to go online and look at walkthroughs, etc to see what I missed. (I don't allow myself to look at walkthroughs, FAQs unless I clear the game...or possibly stuck with no idea what to do, like in the first Neptune game)

But I do love how unique it is compared to the other Tales series. Sure, each Tales is a little bit more unique then the other but Graces f is pretty unique compared to the other Tales series I've played. Though I've only played Phantasia, Symphonia, Legendia, Abyss, Vesperia, and Graces f so...I don't think I'm the position to say much on the matter.

The battle system was different from what I was used to, no TPs. Instead characters are given CC points and can perform actions until the CC is used up. And while in Vesperia where you gained skills from weapons and armor, in Graces f you got skills from the Titles you've acquired. Hence the large number of titles for the characters, easily 100+ on most of them.

I really liked the variety of titles and how some of them affected the game. Some titles even change the characters' after battle conversations, nice. That was another thing I liked in the game, the conversations between characters during the result screen of the battle. Some of them are just so ridiculous...

Not to mention...

Spoiler for spoiler:

If you take a certain item to a certain person in a certain place then a character can gain a title to BECOME another party character in battle. Yes, you can have 4 of the same characters in battle!!

Enough on Graces f. Chrono Trigger being one of the best RPGs ever? Agreed. Riviera? Also agreed that it's a great game. Has a fairly gorgeous VA cast including Kugimiya Rie and Goto Yuko. Personally I favored Cierra and Serene in my party. I also loved the multiple endings. My favorite ending was...

Spoiler for spoiler:

Rose. Turning into a human form? EPIC.

Currently waiting on:
-Neptune V (this week)
-SD Gundam G Generation Overworld (late September)
-THE iDOLM@STER Shiny Festa (late October)
-Fate/EXTRA CCC (sometime next year)

I just wanted to say that you broke the damn curse. I went in the other day to find Tales of Graces F had dropped $20; did it really sell THAT poorly?

Anyways, I pulled up my Chrono Trigger cart yesterday and started playing it again after its mention here. There really is no better way to play this than on an old CRT with that dogbone controller in your hands, I tell ya.

I'm probably gonna reclaim my copy of Riviera on PSP as well, since that game was awesome. Seriously, Serene is OP, but you just gotta love her in your squad.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

From my own experiences, Tales games in NA stay at full price until they just literally fall off the face of the continent. Tales of Vesperia was a rare case where it dropped to $20, but there was like one copy everywhere and they never came back. I actually gave off my first copy to my best friend since she was leaving and loved the game, but it took me forever to find another copy. I actually ordered it online (for cheap, but don't expect it in stores for cheaper).

As for Tales of Graces F, I didn't get too far into it my first time, so I'm taking that opportunity to wait until I can start over and record it. I greatly await what the game has to fully offer.

NA? The european version currently sells for about £30 (which is insanely high as you can probably tell). I ended up buying it on Games on Demand for an insane 20 something euro and only because I managed to find some good deals on microsoft points (normal price was 30€).

I'll have to pick up Tales of Grace F as soon as it's out this time. I'm not going through that again

Originally Posted by shinku no kage

Yeah, but I guess it depends on where you look.

Graces f was pretty good. Just cleared the game's bonus arc the other night. Though it didn't take as long as I expected. I spent 100hrs on Vesperia on my first playthrough but I only spent 60hrs so far on Graces f. But now that I've cleared it I can now allow myself to go online and look at walkthroughs, etc to see what I missed. (I don't allow myself to look at walkthroughs, FAQs unless I clear the game...or possibly stuck with no idea what to do, like in the first Neptune game)

But I do love how unique it is compared to the other Tales series. Sure, each Tales is a little bit more unique then the other but Graces f is pretty unique compared to the other Tales series I've played. Though I've only played Phantasia, Symphonia, Legendia, Abyss, Vesperia, and Graces f so...I don't think I'm the position to say much on the matter.

The battle system was different from what I was used to, no TPs. Instead characters are given CC points and can perform actions until the CC is used up. And while in Vesperia where you gained skills from weapons and armor, in Graces f you got skills from the Titles you've acquired. Hence the large number of titles for the characters, easily 100+ on most of them.

I really liked the variety of titles and how some of them affected the game. Some titles even change the characters' after battle conversations, nice. That was another thing I liked in the game, the conversations between characters during the result screen of the battle. Some of them are just so ridiculous...

Not to mention...

Spoiler for spoiler:

If you take a certain item to a certain person in a certain place then a character can gain a title to BECOME another party character in battle. Yes, you can have 4 of the same characters in battle!!

Hum... The new system is sounding fantastic to my virtual ears. I wasn't actually a bit fan of the system in Vesperia. For some reason I just couldn't get into it but maybe that's just my bias that's in the way (I tend to enjoy turn-based systems a lot more).

As for what I'm playing: I just started The Answer in Persona 3: FES now that I finally finished the main storyline but I'm not sure if I'll actually play it right away. Chiwa Saitou's voice as Metis is a very tempting proposition but having the battle difficulty stuck on hard when I play mostly for the story is a bitter pill to swallow.

Anyway my backlog is humongous and just keeps on growing so I was thinking of picking Lost Odyssey back up since I kind of stopped at the beginning of disc 3 and haven't picked it up since. And then there's also Valkyria Chronicles 1 and 2 that I never got round to finish (and since the fan translation patch of the 3rd seems to be getting closer maybe I should pick it back up).

And I still want to finish up the PS3 version of Eternal Sonata since I love that game and I stopped very close to the end boss. But since it was one of the 2 reasons that made me get a 360 in the first place I already know the story*.

* The other was Castle Crashers btw. That'll teach me not to bank on Microsoft for an exclusive hum? At least I got Fable II out of it.

[SOGESNAKE]

PS3: Finished up Persona 4: The Arena for now, moved onto Persona 3 FES before I go back to getting the remaining trophies in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Seeing as I got extremely far into Persona 3 Portable, I should be able to finish this game with no problem knowing what's coming next~

PSP: Picked up Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time, mostly due to it being Atlus. Wasn't too interested with how the game started, but as it went on I began wanting to play it more and more to see what happens. It's pretty good so far from what I've played~

[Toddler Naruto]

I finally beat the main storyline for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (PS3).

I am now currently re-playing the game on Hard Mode, in order to unlock the Dark Side ending.

(I know I could just skip to the final battle via level select, but I find it more challenging this way)

[Dextro]

You know what I said about the games I was thinking of playing on the previous post? Scratch that. All the talk about Spec Ops: The Line and what an awesome deconstruction of the modern shooter genre it is made me cave and buy the game. Been playing that non-stop since yesterday.

What I can say about the game is that it managed to spook me quite effectively. There's a scene in the middle where they succeeded in making me personally feel just like the main character and almost panic. That is effective game-making in my book. The scene was so powerful that I actually had to stop playing as soon as I reached the next checkpoint simply because I was too shook up to continue playing.

It's indeed a very powerful game. The gameplay itself is only decent but the combat is a bit annoying since you tend to die quite fast if you get caught by enemy fire. It goes to show just how captivating the story is that I keep playing after screaming blood and murder and my screen more times than I dare to count.

[Iijima]

Right now I’m keeping busy with Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Using it as filler until Tekken Tag Tournament 2 comes out in September.

[Kaihan]

Second walkthrough of Atelier Meruru and just started Tales of Graces F.

[Xefi]

Guilds War 2 for now. made it to level 30 so far. the game is pretty fun and it's
going to last for some time while i wait for Tekken Tag 2.

[spikexp]

Dark Souls: Prepare to die edition - PC

[grylsyjaeger]

Still playing DayZ.

Enjoy it a bit too much I think...

[shinku no kage]

Originally Posted by Dextro

......

Hum... The new system is sounding fantastic to my virtual ears. I wasn't actually a bit fan of the system in Vesperia. For some reason I just couldn't get into it but maybe that's just my bias that's in the way (I tend to enjoy turn-based systems a lot more).

......

And I still want to finish up the PS3 version of Eternal Sonata since I love that game and I stopped very close to the end boss. But since it was one of the 2 reasons that made me get a 360 in the first place I already know the story*.

......

Graces f also has the "Accel" mode after you enter the extra story arc after clearing the main story. This mode enhances your characters' abilities and has a bonus ability unique to each character. For example:

Asbel: He's surrounded by flames which adds additional damage
Sophie: Her front step will put her instantly behind the enemy
Pascal: Creates a force field centered from where she's standing and characters within it take no damage
Sheria: Stops time until the guage runs out

To add to all this they've also added a new Mystic Arte for Accel Mode and it's attack power increases with each use. They're pretty awesome to watch too.

...and I believe that the PS3 version of Eternal Sonata has a bonus dungeon too. I don't remember if you had to clear the game first or not to access it. But you'll want to check it out.

*goes back to playing Graces f himself* I barely have 50% of the trophies yet...orz

[Vladrave]

Sleeping dogs.
Having like 15 FPS due to my crappy computer and i'm on the lowest resolution.
Yes.Fortunately i can bear with it.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by shinku no kage

...and I believe that the PS3 version of Eternal Sonata has a bonus dungeon too. I don't remember if you had to clear the game first or not to access it. But you'll want to check it out.

Yes, I played it. It's interesting and provides some screentime to a few characters that didn't get much initially but that's about it. If I remember it right there's not even much (if any) voice acting for that bit of the game. It's not bad (I actually found it an interesting detour to the main storyline) but it's let down by a lack of polish. A shame really.

[xza6atox]

Tekken vs Street fighter
Tekken 6 (always play it)
Devil May Cry 4

any news about suikoden in ps3?

[kenjiharima]

Sleeping Dogs
RE6 Demo
and Tekken 6 practicing for TTT2

[blaze0041]

Taking a trip down memory lane and playing some Crash Bandicoot [mainly 2, but a bit of 3 and 1 as well] (PS1) on my Vita thanks to the 1.80 firmware update.

[kenjiharima]

After MGSGZ now I have the urge again to play my MGS HD collection.

[Ryonea]

Sleeping Dogs (PC)
Can't wait for Tekken TAG Tournament 2 (PS3) next week

[sudolicious]

Finished togf a week or so ago, best game since vesperia. That's exactly how a jrpg is supposed to be

Anyway, gonna finally start my long anticipated Zelda marathon today. Gonna start with OoT, then MM, wind waker (my favorite), TP and then skyward sword. Had this in mind for a longer while, but didn't have the time to marathon them all after each other yet.
Wind waker is gonna be especially funny since I can't save the game, I can almost already see it crashing on the last dungeon before my inner eye..

[shinku no kage]

Originally Posted by sudolicious

Finished togf a week or so ago, best game since vesperia. That's exactly how a jrpg is supposed to be

Anyway, gonna finally start my long anticipated Zelda marathon today. Gonna start with OoT, then MM, wind waker (my favorite), TP and then skyward sword. Had this in mind for a longer while, but didn't have the time to marathon them all after each other yet.
Wind waker is gonna be especially funny since I can't save the game, I can almost already see it crashing on the last dungeon before my inner eye..

Agreed.

...well I guess we won't be seeing you for a while then. LOL. Enjoy the Zelda marathon.

As for me I'm just finishing up Tales of Graces f myself. Reached the 10th floor of Zhonecage and after I clear that I'll do a second run of the Lineage and Legacies arc. After that...I MIGHT start a second playthrough, but I'll take my time with that, no rush.

Also started up Neptune V. Only a couple of hours into it and so far it's not that bad.

*edit*

I just checked out the HP for Neptune V to get templates for the processor unit designs and found out that there are five DLC characters and possibly more on the way...*checks wallet* ...(T_T)