ZoSo

ZoSo

The last ace in a lost hand

Comments 74

Re: PS5 Exclusives Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Failed to Meet Expectations

ZoSo

The remakes of 7 are excellent FF games in their own right.

16, however, was in my opinion, a plain bad FF game and a mediocre RPG.

Dull characters, no party to speak of and bland gameplay.

Personally I don't find Yoshi-P a particularly good game director.

I also think their poor sales are an indication of just how far the PS has fallen in it's home market.

The PlayStation arm of Sony is, to all intents and purposes an American concern now and I feel Japanese gamers recognise this.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 473

ZoSo

Closing in on 90 hours in ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐š๐ญ๐ก ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ.

I've just 2 more of the group's final chapters left to finish, then it's on to post game.

I think I'm going to take a shot at the platinum. It's going to need some mopping up of side quests, a bit of busy work, a bit of grinding and, of course, a super boss.

Will I preserve? Who knows? I'm not usually a trophy hunter but I'm not quite ready to say farewell to the world of Solistia.

I've really enjoyed my time with OT2. Challenging without being too frustrating. Great cast, mostly great stories. Fantastic music and beautiful visuals.

Hopefully I'll wrap it up, one way or another, over the next few days in time to get my teeth into something new over next week's Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK.

Enjoy your gaming and weekend everyone.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 472

ZoSo

50 plus hours deep into ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐š๐ญ๐ก ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ now and really enjoying it. It reminds me why I fell in love with JRPGS in the first place all those years ago.

The sense of exploration, the occasional frustration of being lost. The trepidation of finding a dungeon.

Really connecting with the eight travelers too. Some stories are better than others, occasionally it's corny but always charming. Even the NPC'S little flavour text paragraphs are interesting, funny or sad.

The difficulty is spot on so far. Hard enough to be challenging but not so much to be frustrating. I did hit a spike on one story boss but, once I'd formulated a strategy and used the parties toolkits better, I overcame it and the sense of achievement was great.

The 2D HD graphics are wonderful. The amount of attention that's gone into the sprites is amazing.

A special shout out to the soundtrack which is just perfect.

If they can just tighten up the party mechanics should there be an OT3 we'll have a perfect modern old school jrpg.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 471

ZoSo

@Matroska I'm going to have to say no, at least as far as an overarching story goes.

The separate character stories are fairly strong, some being better than others so far.

I totally agree that having, say, Thronรฉ basically back stab an NPC or steal the toys from a child whilst the rest of the party make no comment is really immersion breaking.

It's a fun series, I really enjoyed the first one over on the xbox, but, in my opinion, it'll never be a ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต series until they sort out the party mechanism properly.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 471

ZoSo

Well, after a frustrating week where I couldn't find a game that was calling to me, I pulled the trigger on ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐š๐ญ๐ก ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ.

It's been fun so far, I've just gathered all 8 of my party after about 20 hours.

I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't fix the disjointed way that members join your party in the sequel. It's all a bit lackadaisical. Just rock up to the person, they say something along the lines of " hey mind if I tag along " without much preamble and bingo, new member. It ought to be more organic and narrated.

Other than that though it's solid. Looks gorgeous too.

Enjoy your, hopefully long, Easter weekend,don't OD on chocolate and have fun with whatever your playing!

Re: Soapbox: PSVR2 Already Feels Like It's on Course for Failure

ZoSo

@TrickyDicky99 Maybe by concentrating on their core audience and not releasing their games on PC?

It's not like they're legally obliged to carry on doing so.

It's all pie in the sky talk anyway as Sony has surrendered the handheld stage to Nintendo which, for me, is a bloody shame.

Re: Soapbox: PSVR2 Already Feels Like It's on Course for Failure

ZoSo

Brave opinion piece given the prevalent "Sony can do no wrong" attitude that's often here in the comments.

I say that as someone who loves my PS so extinguish those torches and step away from the pitchforks.

It's going to go the same way as the first headset. Unremarkable sales, mediocre games, largely ignored.

It's far too expensive, too niche and VR isn't anywhere near compelling enough yet.

And I've owned a psvr and occulus quest.

Sorry, just doesn't add anything other than novelty to the gaming experience.

I'd have rather have seen Sony put the effort and expense into a new handheld. A properly supported one. With full cross save capabilities with the PS5.

Handheld on the go and pick up at home with none of the graphical compromises of a docked switch.

PSVR2 is going to be a pale pachyderm.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 469

ZoSo

Coming to the end of ๐‹๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐‰๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ.

I have to say it's a definite improvement on it's predecessor in almost every way.

Except the "bug detector" mini game which is about as enjoyable as a root canal without anesthetic. Hope RGG take that behind the barn if there's ever a J3!

I see a lot of discussion that the story isn't as good as the original. I'd have to disagree, the nasty, seedy little bullying case seems to fit the type of work a detective such as Yagumi would do.

Of course, being RGG, there has to be a twist that makes you side eye the plot but, hey, that's what suspension of disbelief is for!

Absolutely loved the "School Stories" sub stories. Perhaps my favourite part of the game. Hop, skip, Rabbito!! Adorable.

However, the main thing that I've taken from the School Stories is that, in Japan, educational background checks don't appear to be a thing! ๐Ÿ˜

The "normal" sub stories this time round were, maybe, a little less crazy than the usual faire but none the worse for that.

All in all a bloody good game and what else can you ask for?

Not sure what's up next. Thinking of taking a break from the RGG 'verse after four games on the trot,to avoid burnout. Toying with the idea of trying a platinum run of FFVIIR. Hmm we'll see.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend and your gaming everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 468

ZoSo

Finished up the thoroughly enjoyable Judgement. Plot holes you could drive a truck through but a surprisingly mature story. How far would you go for the betterment of all?

Anyway, it's on to the sequel, ๐‹๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐‰๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ!

Only on chapter 4 at the moment but there are some welcome QoL improvements to the game play and the fighting is far more fast and fluid. Snake style, in particular, feels ace. It's "surrender" ultimate suits some of the battles. Not sure I'd feel quite right about crunching a school kid's face into a wall with my knee!

The story hasn't really got going at the moment, in fact it being set in a high school makes it very anime like, if you know what I mean? Now I like me some anime, not ashamed to admit it, but others may find that a little off putting.

Look,I know there's been a murder but gotta help those Rabbits in the Dance Club and there's the Mystery Club calling again!

Nice to be back in Ijincho again. Forgot just how much bigger it is than Kamarucho! Really appreciate the skateboard mechanic. Tho don't try using it drunk! I thought it was broken at first, far too twitchy to be useful.

Then I realised I was riding it "Brahms & Lizt!"

๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ

Enjoy the weekend and your gaming everyone!

Re: Rumour: PS5 Pro Targeting Potential 2024 Release

ZoSo

As others have said, I'd only consider this if there was a very compelling upgrade reason brought to the table.

Guaranteed 4k 60fps with RT has been mentioned.

However, and this is a huge however, given that a host of developers can't even produce 4k 60fps on the base PS5 I'd be very very wary of any claims beforehand.

Extremely unlikely to be a day one purchase especially given the current economic climate.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 467

ZoSo

@Ravix oh I can help you with J-Crime dramas!

Try :

Ushijima The Loan Shark ( 3 movies, highly recommended!)

Shinjuku Swan 1 & 2 ( Both Movies. HUGE Kamarucho vibe)

The Blood of Wolves. Modern take on the old school Yakuza movies of the 70s

The "Outrage" trilogy. Seriously good Yakuza drama.

That ought to give you a good few days of viewing. All subtitles only tho so I hope you like reading!

Most of these are available to purchase or rent on Prime. A couple you might need to get "creative" to find ๐Ÿ˜

The biggest tip I can give for combat is for the wall strike attacks and it's not explained at all in the tutorial.

When you run at a wall,prior to selecting square, circle, triangle or X to initiate a attack, totally release the left stick as you kick off the wall.

That way your attack will auto lock on to the nearest target.

IE Run, hit wall, let go of stick, hit triangle = wall kick on nearest target

Oh and always go into challenging fights with your drunk meter at 8 if you have the drunken power attack unlocked.

Trust me it's worth it just for the cutscene!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 467

ZoSo

Well, I'm happy to say that I'm enjoying ๐‰๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ far more than I was last week.

The story's really hit it's stride now and, honestly, some of the substories are the best I've played!

Chasing a giant naked,overly well endowed,septuagenarian virgin through the streets of Tokyo.....

Really, is there any other gaming series that would cause you to type a sentence that ludicrous?

The combat has tightened up too,as I've unlocked more skills.

Only real complaint is the annoying constant tutorial pop ups that can't be turned off!

Enjoy both your weekend and your gaming!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 466

ZoSo

@thefourfoldroot1 I've heard, mainly over on the r/yakuzagames subreddit, that LJ is very highly regarded.

I was surprised that it didn't place higher in PS'S poll results yesterday, although I guess those results would be skewed by the amount of people who'd played it.

I'm sure I'll end up thoroughly enjoying Judgement. RGG hasn't let me down yet.

I do miss karaoke tho!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 466

ZoSo

So, having finished the thoroughly enjoyable Yakuza Kiwami 2, I thought I'd give the Kiryu saga a short rest and try ๐‰๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ.

I've owned this since release and tried it a couple of times only the bounce off it in the first chapter.

And....I'm still not totally feeling it. ๐Ÿ˜”

Probably don't help that I'm a bit poorly at the moment, however,there seems to be something lacking for me, compared to the main series.

Maybe it's just that I find Kiryu to be a better MC than Yagami? The mini games are certainly not as fleshed out. I prefer the organic way you pick up sub-stories in the main games to Judgement's job board.

I must say though that the substories are of a consistent high quality.

The combat, at least so far, lacks impact compared to Kiwami, feeling more..floaty?

I'll finish it, for sure, it's not a bad game at all. Just, I think, it'll be pretty far down my personal list of RGG favourites.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend and gaming everyone .

Re: European Union Likely to Pass Xbox's $69 Billion Buyout of Activision

ZoSo

I own both " new" consoles.

So far, I'll freely admit, I've preferred my PS5 to Series X for well discussed reasons.

However, it's the PlayStation I enjoy gaming on, not the SONY PlayStation.

It baffles me to see people shilling for these corporations like they were their friend.

Sony, MS, Nintendo? All out to separate you from as much of your money as possible. Ideally for as little minimum viable product as possible.

These acquisitions and mergers are anti consumer and ALL the main players are wrong to practice it.

I want to see gamers enjoy games on whatever platform they choose.

Let the quality of the hardware and IN HOUSE produced games be what tempts the customer.

Not, frankly obscenely expensive acquisitions or money hatting third party exclusivity.

"X has bought Y so A should buy B, that'll teach them."

No, that'll just come back and eventually bite you in the arse as a gamer.

ALL anti consumer! ALL hurting YOU the gamer!!

These corporations are not your friends!

Open your bloody eyes!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 465

ZoSo

Still pounding the mean streets of Kamarucho in ๐˜๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ๐š ๐Š๐ข๐ฐ๐š๐ฆ๐ข ๐Ÿ.

Enjoying it more than Kiwami 1, the combat is clicking more with me and the substories are better.

Also.... ๐ŸŽต"Somebody said I'm good girl
With drinkin' up all wines
Every men seems so happy
To see me good"๐ŸŽต

Hostess club management is back!

I loved this so much in 0. Not ashamed to admit I waste hours playing dress up dolly with my platinum girls.

Honestly I'd pay 70 quid in an instant for a fully fleshed out Yakuza Hostess game!

Enjoy your weekend and gaming everyone!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 464

ZoSo

Finished ๐˜๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ๐š ๐Š๐ข๐ฐ๐š๐ฆ๐ข, good story although I felt that the substories were weaker than 0. Also the lack of a business mini game was sad.

I must say that I prefer the turn based combat of 7. Mainly because I'm....not that great at combo based action games. Get a bit button mashy. That's my failing though, not the game.

However still had a great time, so good in fact that I've decided to go straight into ๐˜๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ๐š ๐Š๐ข๐ฐ๐š๐ฆ๐ข ๐Ÿ!

Couple of chapters in and I'm loving it! The Dragon Engine upgrade makes things look great.

The lack of 60 fps is a tad unfortunate, especially for an action game however it's not too egregious.

Enjoy both your weekend and your gaming!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 463

ZoSo

Finished up P4G, and suffered from the dreaded "Post Persona Depression"...

So...decided against leaping straight into P3.

However I'm still of a mind for some classic Japanese gaming so I've dug ๐˜๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ๐š ๐Š๐ข๐ฐ๐š๐ฆ๐ข out of the back log.

I've only played through 0 and LaD before and throughly enjoyed them both and, so far, Kiwami is living up them both. Crazy substories and compelling main story.

And karaoke. So much karaoke!

Enjoy your weekend and gaming.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 462

ZoSo

Well I'm coming to the end of my time with the sublime ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š ๐Ÿ’ ๐†๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ž๐ง.

Just the final Golden dungeon left to do.

For all it's, deserved, plaudits the cast of 5 can't hold a candle to those of 4. From Kanji's struggling with his sexuality to Yukiko feeling trapped in a life mapped out for her, everything is just so well written.

I'm many decades older than the cast or even, I guess, the targeted audience but I'm not ashamed to say that I'll shed a tear again when the credits roll.

But I know, one day I'll be back in Inaba.

Enjoy your weekend and may whatever you're playing give you even a fraction of the enjoyment P4G has given me this past fortnight.

Re: Persona 5 Royal Steals Four Hour Trial on PS Plus Premium

ZoSo

@Logonogo oh don't let us put you off!

It's a top tier jrpg, really one of the very best imo.

Just bare in mind, good as it starts, ( that's subjective BTW), it gets much much better the further you get into it, especially as you start to recruit other members of the Phantom Thieves!

Give it ago, what's to lose?

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 460

ZoSo

Currently spending my two weeks off work holidaying in a little town called Inaba!

Yup, deep into my beloved ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š ๐Ÿ’ ๐†๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ž๐ง.

Everything about the game is special to me, from soundtrack to story.

If I had one wish it'd would be that there was still cross saves from console to my Vita. Being able to play on the go and then pick up on the PS5 would be amazing.

Have a great weekend peeps and remember...

"Every day's great at your Juuuness!"

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 459

ZoSo

Finishing up ๐’๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ ๐‡๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐†, should get the platinum over the weekend.

It's been OK. Damning with faint praise, I know, but it's a definite " glad I bought it on sale " game.

Next up is one of the ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š games when they drop on Thursday. Probably P4G first.
So hyped for these, they have a special place in my heart, especially 4.

Enjoy your weekend peeps.

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