What Are You Currently Playing? (Do NOT Just Make a List)

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Hey, guys! It's been awhile since I last posted.

Welcome back, friend! I enjoy reading your gaming backlog journey - I live vicariously through you! I'm curious to hear your DQVIII thoughts. I started the 3DS version and loved it, but never go around to finishing it. For some reason, I always lose steam rapidly with the DQ series.



I haven't been playing anything, recently. I recently (finally) finished Xenoblade Chronicles II and it's prequel DLC, Torna: The Golden Country. Both have new content in NG+, which I'd lack to tackle at some point, but I've invested 250 hours into the game on a single playthrough and don't think I can go back into that game any time soon. Amazing game, I highly recommend it. One of the best jRPG of this generation.

I recently watched the new Batman film (greatly enjoyed it) and want to try the Arkham game series. I played about 30 minutes of the first game (Batman: Arkham Asylum), and it definitely looked dated by modern standards, so I downloaded several mods and a ReShade and will install as soon as work slows down long enough for me to do so. I've been stuck working 11 to 12 hour days the past three weeks due to multiple major projects all hitting critical milestones at the same time.

I also started Earthbound: Beginnings yesterday and played for maybe 30 minutes. The game holds up SURPRISINGLY well considering it's from 1989/1990 NES. I always wanted to play it, and now that it's on Nintendo Switch Online, I'm glad to get a chance to play it. The game is definitely an old school jRPG, though, in that grinding is absolutely necessary to even walk more than a few steps into the first "dungeon" (in this case a graveyard on the overworld). The encounter rate is also bonkers.

[Acacia Sgt]

Been a while since I gave an update here, heh.

I'm still with Another Eden, but since the year began I started playing The Legend of Heroes - Trails in the Sky First Chapter. I've had the game since 2015, but didn't played far back then. Now I'm actually playing to finish the game. Though lately it's been put on hold. Still in the middle-ish of Chapter 1, as it were.

Recently I also acquired the Special edition of Rune Factory 4, for Steam. I actually got the game for a specific purpose, which I wouldn't be able to do with the 3DS version which I also own, but let's just say things didn't pan out, so I'm just playing for the fun of it, heh. I'm close to ending Act 1 and... geez, I'd forgotten how annoying was dealing with the Town Events system, hahaha. 

[VidKid369]

Hey, guys! It's been awhile since I last posted.

Welcome back, friend! I enjoy reading your gaming backlog journey - I live vicariously through you! I'm curious to hear your DQVIII thoughts.

Omg, hearing you say that makes me life, friendo! Yeah, usually I play LUNAR for Christmas but I didn't this year so that messed me up I was just watching a whole buncha Survivor until I realized whoa I need to do something.

This's actually my third attempt at trying to beat DQ8 I always stop around the time you get the sabrecat but I'm so intent on beating it this time I just grind and grind on Neos island for money from the Gold Golems I've literally only been doing just that for the last 3 days. I'm just waiting for Angelo to learn Multiheal then I'll move on to the Dark Ruins.

I actually like DQ8 it's not hard for me to play it I loved Dragon Warrior VII (PS1) and this game reminds me so much of it so that's motivation to finish the game.

Tbh, before I didn't feel right even playing DQ8 knowing I had DW7 and hadn't beat it.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Omg, hearing you say that makes me life, friendo! Yeah, usually I play LUNAR for Christmas but I didn't this year so that messed me up I was just watching a whole buncha Survivor until I realized whoa I need to do something.

No lie, I will do a LUNAR playthrough with you this winter! We can sync up offline or here or whatever and make it a fun little event. You may play quicker than I do, but I'll totally do it! We've chatted about it before and LUNAR is one of my absolute favorite games of all time. To me it's the ultimate comfort food of jRPGs.

What, for you, is the penultimate version of Silver Star? The OG? Complete? Harmony? The Legend GBA remake?! INQUIRING MINDS MUST KNOW!

[VidKid369]

No lie, I will do a LUNAR playthrough with you this winter! We can sync up offline or here or whatever and make it a fun little event. You may play quicker than I do, but I'll totally do it! We've chatted about it before and LUNAR is one of my absolute favorite games of all time. To me it's the ultimate comfort food of jRPGs.

What, for you, is the penultimate version of Silver Star? The OG? Complete? Harmony? The Legend GBA remake?! INQUIRING MINDS MUST KNOW!

Ok. Done deal. I'd love it if we can start a thread and just post our thoughts in there, we can also chat about it on Discord! 🙂

TBH, whenever I think "LUNAR" I automatically, my mind automatically goes to LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete (PS1) but, if I had my Sega CD working I'd be playing LUNAR: The Silver Star all day-right now. Whenever other gamers wanna talk about Lunar I just bring up SSSC.

Oh, don't worry about whether or not you can keep up I like to do longplays of my favorite RPG games aka trying to roll the clock into 100 hours I love reading the text from all of Working Designs' RPGs just over and over and analyzing and memorizing it and discussing it. I was planning on doing some sorta FAQ on it or just doing something with the text of L:SSSC.

I'll try to look up online how to fix the Sega CD and if I can just do it myself. Also, I have Silver Star Harmony but I've never played it so we can do something with that too if you want as well.

Since you wanna do a joint with me for Lunar, I'll play an RPG of your liking with you if you want as well like Chrono Trigger? Chrono Cross? Anything, it doesn't matter.

When we do- do it I think as long as we can get a thread started we won't have to worry about the time difference. I'm on Discord too as well so just hit me up. Don't ditch me cause I'm really not a flake when people wanna do plans!

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

TBH, whenever I think "LUNAR" I automatically, my mind automatically goes to LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete (PS1) but, if I had my Sega CD working I'd be playing LUNAR: The Silver Star all day-right now.

Truth be told, I've never played the original The Silver Star! I went straight into SSSC and it's been my default version of the game, although I've played both Lunar Legend and Silver Star Harmony.

I actually really liked Harmony -- there's a cool prologue where you play as the Four Heroes during their final battle, and it actually fleshes out who they were truly fighting and why. I can't remember if any of that is covered in Eternal Blue at all, but it's at least new content for Silver Star Story. I played it when it was first released, so it's been about twelve years or so. I can't remember any other additional content. One thing I did miss was an explorable world map - you can't walk on the map and instead it was just point and click for each location. Booooooo...

As for whatever version we play, I'm fine with anything, I'm fine with any version. SSSC or SSH are easier for me only on account of being able to play on the go and that will triple the amount of time I have available to play (since I can play it while sitting with the kids and stuff). I could always emulate it on my PSP -- I'm pretty sure that there's a Sega CD emulator for the PSP, although I've never tried. Either way, I'm super chill both here and real life, so I don't care what version, because...

...I'm legit excited to play through it with a friend. I tend to shy away from multiplayer games and do enjoy my 1990s jRPGs far too much. There's a nostalgia and almost comfort food-like quality to that era of gaming. Terranigma, Secret of Mana, Lunar: SSSC, and Chrono Trigger are all era-favorites. But jRPGs are also sort of lonely experiences on account of being purely single-played, immersive story-based games (and I don't have any friends IRL that are into that genre of gaming).

It will be a pleasant experience to be able to actually play through what is probably the most feel-good, wholesome game of all time, with a friend roughly in tandem, and to be able talk about the story beats at the same time -- CAN'T WAIT. I don't even know anyone who has played it before, although I know there are a handful of us. Maybe others will want to join (all are more than welcome), but for all I care, the two of us can cut up and have a good time. I'm so excited I just told my wife; she isn't a gamer and doesn't get them, but she's excited for us on my behalf, haha!

When we do- do it I think as long as we can get a thread started we won't have to worry about the time difference. I'm on Discord too as well so just hit me up.

Good idea. Maybe a thread here and we can sync up on Discord here, too. In fact, I just sent you a friend request on Discord.

Don't ditch me cause I'm really not a flake when people wanna do plans!

You have my word as a gentleman (caller), I'm committed to playing it with you this winter. I was actually thinking about re-playing SSSC or SSH a week ago (right after finishing Xenoblade Chronicles II); this puts the game on my "to do" list and makes it an experience I'm legitimately excited for.

Get pumped up! https://youtu.be/YNsGfTzF5zQ?list=PLA39731C4C523C6AF

[VidKid369]

Hey! I actually never think about gaming with other people I have to be the one to do everything and I have to be the one with the controller in my hand. I like to do everything myself. Playing only RPGs is a good reason for me to be by myself. Whenever other people wanna game with me I always say I’m only into RPGs and I only have one controller.

I’m only interested in the text (I can do without the gameplay) and I like to pretend I’m sort of an amateur, at home researcher.

But yeah I think Silver Star Story Complete will be just fine. I always start Christmas morning around 8:00 A.M. but sometimes I do start a few days earlier depending on my mood. It’s a very Christmas RPG. It’s been a Christmas tradition at the house for as long as I remember ever since I was a teenager. TBH, if you’re burned out from playing RPGs all year long it’s a really nice way to “reset” or refresh your brain. I’ll be playing the PS1 version on PlayStation 3.

You should definitely try to play The Silver Star I think you’ll like it more than the PS1 version.

Yeah, I heard Silver Star Harmony was actually a decent remake, I have it for PSP. No, they never fleshed out the Four Heroes only through mention from various NPCs talking about which one was their favorite or what-not. The only big deal about Ghaleon was that he was one of the Four Heroes.

I like to play in front of a T.V. I only play portable in my car sometimes before work or something.

I’m looking forward to this project as well. As I am doing backlog, I do sometimes go back and re-play an RPG I really enjoyed or is just due for a re-play.

I’ll pencil this into my schedule this year. Looking forward to it, man!

This makes me excited all the time: https://youtu.be/YiLLN5U9w2U

[Kodokami]

It will be a pleasant experience to be able to actually play through what is probably the most feel-good, wholesome game of all time

I've never played any of the Lunar games, but this alone makes me want to play. Color me interested.

[Toreadore]

Truth be told, I've never played the original The Silver Star! I went straight into SSSC and it's been my default version of the game, although I've played both Lunar Legend and Silver Star Harmony.

SSSC is my first exposure to the series as well; I did see a 9 hour playthrough of the original Sega CD version. It was interesting, but SSSC holds a special place in my heart.

I actually really liked Harmony -- there's a cool prologue where you play as the Four Heroes during their final battle, and it actually fleshes out who they were truly fighting and why. I can't remember if any of that is covered in Eternal Blue at all, but it's at least new content for Silver Star Story. I played it when it was first released, so it's been about twelve years or so. I can't remember any other additional content. One thing I did miss was an explorable world map - you can't walk on the map and instead it was just point and click for each location. Booooooo...

I'd heard about that prologue. Would love to see an entire prequel game with those four, to be honest.

[Ema]

Reporting here to say I'm also a huge fan of the Lunar games. The first one I played was Lunar 2 on the Sega CD (we had lunar 1 as well but I only saw my brother play it). And then I got to enjoy the remakes on the PS1 as they were released (still got my collectors edition boxes and the sega cd CIB of Lunar 2) which were and still are amazing games that I still replay to this day.

[VidKid369]

Wonderful! It warms my heart to read that so many other gamers out there are fans of the Lunar series as well! Boo is right, it really is such a feel-good series he seems to have a better idea of the kind of game it truly is I just always play it at least once-a-year! (either L:SSSC or L:EBC)

I've gotten to know Boo a little better on Discord and I'm touched that fans of the Chrono series/games are so nice... I tended to be a little skittish and shy away from video game messageboards when I was younger so meeting people as an adult and finding out they are so nice makes me glad I reached out.

Have a nice day y'all!

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I've never played any of the Lunar games, but this alone makes me want to play. Color me interested.

The story is pretty straight-forward, and there are only a few sidequests. It is very much a character-oriented story. All of the characters are memorable and likable, with clear, meaningful arcs. Most importantly, the game is an innocent love story at heart -- that sort of young love blossoming that is wholesome and pure. Every time I play it I just gush over how it makes me feel *good* and happy and a thousand positive emotions.

The sequel is also very, very good... but not as good as the first game.

I'd heard about that prologue. Would love to see an entire prequel game with those four, to be honest.

SAME. They easily could have gone the Lufia 1 / Lufia 2 route. There's so much to explore on that adventure, and in reality, we know very little of what the Four Heroes endured.

I've gotten to know Boo a little better on Discord and I'm touched that fans of the Chrono series/games are so nice... I tended to be a little skittish and shy away from video game messageboards when I was younger so meeting people as an adult and finding out they are so nice makes me glad I reached out.

I can't speak for any one else, but I'm similar. I am not involved in social media beyond Reddit, Discord and here, and even then I'm not very active. But the Chrono series really does have a great fanbase for the most part - especially here on the Compendium. This is a place that is sort of internet comfort food; a lot of the same faces year in and year out, and everyone is just so flippin' cool. We have little to no drama these days, and we're just a little corner of the old school forum type of internet that was so prevalent in the late 1990s / early 2000s. I love it.

[VidKid369]

I just beat Dragon Quest 8. Um pretty epic stuff. It almost was overwhelming, but I'm glad I pulled through. Moving onto something else probably Suikoden V?

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I finally picked up I am Setsuna for the Nintendo Switch. My expectations were low, as I had always heard luke-warm things about the game (plus, the older I get, the harder it is for me to pick up some old-school jRPGs).

I'm about 6-8 hours in and absolutely loving it. I've had a hard time putting it down.

Pro's:

• Combat. It's old-school, but it adds some new things (such as stacking optional critical attack addons, which can be used when willed). Plus tech's are customizable, even though some are character-limited.
• Storyline. It's engaging, and moves along pretty briskly. Locations and events never overstay their welcome. I've invested in the characters and always curious to learn more about the various characters, primarily the silent protagonist.
• The protagonist. Although Eldin is the typical silent hero audience proxy, I love that the writers give him regular choices in how to respond to situations. These don't really change much but a few lines of dialogue from your companions, but this really gives a nice level of roleplaying that let's me shape the personality of my hero.
• The graphics. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, and I would love to see more games in this style. I could see a Chrono Trigger remake working with this semi-3D Unity engine build. Plus, there are Chrono Trigger-esque worldmaps -- and item collection forces one to explore the world map and take in the beauty.

Cons:

• Sameness of locations. The whole game (thus far) has taken place in frigid, snow-covered lands. This means that most villages look mostly the same; the differences are moreso around layout rather than architectural style. This same sameness affects the lovely world map, as well. I believe this is something remedied in the next game, Lost Sphear, but yeah, I need more variance.
• Voice acting. I like that the game offers some battle voice acting, but it would've been nice to have this done for the main character's event dialogue, too -- or not at all. Plus, what little battle voices there are, they're all in Japanese. I ended just turning them all off, so I realize that this is more a petty gripe than a true con, but I had to have more than one con, harhar.

That's it. That's all I have for now.

I've also picked up The Outer Worlds again, which I haven't played since February or so. I'm almost done with the game and hellbent on finishing it, even if I'm not feeling super into it anymore. I was hoping it would be a proper Fallout replacement, but it hasn't scratched that itch as I'd like.

I think the whole hyper-capitalistic society in the game hits too close to home. I know it's largely parody, but it sort of brings me down and makes me too reflective of my own suffering in a society that thrives on human exploitation and class warfare.

My first 20 hours or so of the game were excellent, but I'm not sure, at this point it feels like a slog to wrap up.

[VidKid369]

I just beat Breath of Fire III. (PS1 version on PS3) Really good game. I would definitely recommend it to any RPG player out there for a good time. Really brought me back to the days when I was still a kid and shopping at the mall going to Electronics Boutique. 1997, y'all.

I'll probably just continue with the series now and boot up Breath of Fire IV since I'm not really doing anything else. Have always loved the BoF series.