Whelp, it's been a long time coming, but I finally got myself a PS4 today. Will be updating my backlog with the new games and my PSN Name in a little bit.

As for other news, I swear I'm not dead. 2018 has just been kicking me while I'm down and it just wouldn't stop (only starting to let up now).

good progression on odyssey there i just beaten bowser not too long ago i still got a lot of moons to get

Good to know - I'll have to keep that in mind as I explore History Mode more (I've only done 2 battles so far).

Camilla's been my main since I unlocked her. Trample is nice, and I've been able to unlock a lot of her crests just from playing through Story Mode (including her full combo and Silver Axe proficiency). Outside of Resistance, her stats are awesome. Ryoma's a close second, and I'm trying to get Leo up in order to have some more balance. Lyn's definitely going to be up there pretty quick, though.

I am also not excited for what I need to do to get Anna. I'll have to find a good grinding spot. I haven't found anything yet like in Hyrule Warriors where you can keep playing one of the Reward Levels, or in Dragon Quest Heroes where you can hunt for Metal King Slimes. I'll have to keep looking around.

Good to know! Ryoma has been amazing since I've given him Astra, and I really want everyone else to enjoy the benefits as well.

My sister used to play games a looot more when we were kids (she's 4 years younger), and I like to think that's the reason she's so much better at games than her friends.

I can hardly wait for the 16th, yes 16th, because Amazon doesn't deliver the CEs until then for some reason. Why not release date delivery? Grumble grumble...I got a CE for Switch and PS4. I've heard rumors of a physical version, which...I'll probably get anyway, even though I already have it on PS4 and Switch. I got someone else here the code for the digital game, since she doesn't have a credit card. This month...while it's been a bit sore (3 deaths this month last year, and 1 this year), has a lot of games I'm very excited for...Sonic Mania, Yakuza Kiwami, Obduction, Life is Strange prequel, and then Knack II right around the corner (yes, I liked Knack)

Also in case you're wondering about my note where it says "first game played", I played Sonic 1 SMS in a department store at like...4 or so, a few months before I got my Game Gear, but Sonic 2 GG was the first one I actually owned. I got my GG bundled with some other games, I think, or maybe I was bought those? Anyway, I'm fairly certain that Sonic 1 SMS was my first encounter, while 2 GG was the first Sonic game I owned. Of course, it was about 25-26 years ago, so it could be a bit hazy about what I played at the dept store, but there's no question that my first was Sonic 2 GG.

I think back then I somehow had a lot more patience with games, think it might have had something to do with the fact that I only had like a dozen games back then? So I tried to beat what I had, even if it took a while. Actually, up until I started buying all these systems for myself, I actually had a fairly low backlog (40 in 2009). Most of my N64/Gamecube/childhood collections are mostly /. But yeah, the making me tough as nails thing is also accurate, I beat Sonic 3 & K at 8 years old, and managed to it as perfect bonuses on all 14 special stages. That took a TON of practice, and I ended up playing that game afterschool for like a year or two.

I actually never owned Spinball. I only first played it at some New Years party at friends of my parents, their son had Spinball. I'm still not very good at it, most playthroughs end at Lava Powerhouse, but there have been outliers. I always asked my parents for a Sega CD/Saturn/Dreamcast, but never got one, so I ended up buying myself them in 2010. I actually asked them for a Virtual Boy once, kinda glad they ignored that. Usually they end up having me make a list for games for them to buy me, since they know nothing about gaming. Thinking I may send them this big spreadsheet I have wish games/dates/systems/etc. The barrel in Carnival Night...I think I ended up somehow jumping up and down and that letting me pass somehow? I just remember I always used to get time overs on that act, and Death Egg 2 (to the point where I had to learn how to beat the laser boss with no rings, actually pretty easy). I could never get past Chemical Plant 2 in Sonic 2, so I played a loooot of Emerald Hill. Of course, back then I had no idea that there was that shortcut in CPZ2 to skip all the Mega Mac. I don't think I've taken the regular route in years, the shortcut is just so much easier.

I'm probably the biggest Sonic fan in the family, probably even moreso than my cousin (which I think we got a Genesis after playing it in Virginia)...but he's easily the biggest gamer in the family besides me. My sister will occasionally play Mario Kart and PSVR, my dad will only really play PSVR, and my mom will play Myst games, puzzle games like Puyo Puyo/Tetris/Columns, and Mario Kart...but they all don't hold a candle to me, obviously. The two people I know who as as big into gaming as me are my cousin and my best friend. My friend likes to play modern stuff, while my cousin likes to play retro stuff

I'm not really sure what my first was. Probably Sonic 2 for Game Gear, actually, cause I got a Game Gear in 1991, but never owned Sonic 1 8 bit until a few years ago. I think it went...Sonic 2 8 bit>Sonic 2 16 bit>Sonic Chaos>Sonic 3&Knuckles>Sonic Triple Trouble. I never got a Saturn until 2010 (got a region free one early this year), same with a Dreamcast ( [Link] ) and Sega CD (model 1). Got a 32x and SMS in 2013 (even a Nomad and X'Eye, my Nomad is modded to have a rechargeable 7-8 hour battery). I think I own almost every Sonic game, maybe except for some of the spinoffs, like Free Riders, the two other Riders games (I did own the GCN game briefly), and Black Knight (I also owned Secret Rings and 2006, but sold them both)

I've played a looot of Sonic hacks, too. Mostly based on 1 and 2 on Genesis. They're under the game notes as compilations.

I'm not really sure whether I want to stream my first runthrough of Mania or just play it with my cousin. I mean, on one hand, it'll be cool to play a Sonic game for the first time together, but on the other it'd also be really fun to stream my first playthrough, and Sonic is evergreen for us (he's almost as much into Sonic as I am, he grew up with a Genesis), I don't know how many times we've played 3&K, and I've certainly played it a fucking ton. That and Resident Evil 2, along with...I used to be big on the GCN Luigi's Mansion, and Pokemon RBY/GSC. Also RE4. I think the only classic RE game he's beaten is RE0, he doesn't seem to like REmake HD, which...is disappointing, but at least we can play the newer games together (at least 5 and 6, and Rev 2), and we can play lightguns and everything else when he visits (he moved from Virginia to San Francisco in 2015, which makes it a LOT easier to see each other)

MANIA

Looks like I finally found someone as crazy about Sonic as me (though Sonic isn't my top IP, Yakuza is)

Impressive BotW page you got here

Wonderful theme!

Love the OW theme!

If you have a 3DS, I would suggest Tales of the Abyss as a good starting point. Alternatively, an Xbox 360 with Tales of Vesperia is an excellent introduction.

If you're looking just based on Steam, I'm not terribly familiar with the platform, so I don't know how Symphonia would differ from the Gamecube/PS3 version, but it is definitely a great game to start with, and probably the best introduction to the series. If Tales of Xillia is on there, I would recommend that one as well (not Xillia 2 - that one you almost NEED to play the first Xillia to enjoy).

To be honest, I don't think Berseria is a great representation of the rest of the series, as the plot and characters are significantly darker than anything seen in the Tales franchise so far. It just makes the feel of the game seem weird if you've played the other, more light-hearted (well, for the most part) games in the series. With that said, I will say that Berseria is a great game overall, and you don't need to play Zestiria to understand what's going on. There are a few references, but nothing confusing - just stuff that if you've played Zestiria, you'd go "Oh, that's cool". The battle system and mechanics are about the same as most Tales games, so in that sense it's a nice introduction, but it has evolved from past games - they tend to build upon previous battle systems, so this one so far is the most advanced (and admittedly the most fun). It might feel weird to go backwards from it, but it might also just be interesting to see how they got to that point. I started with Symphonia, so I lucked out on being able to see it develop from there until now (I've also played the older games, and they feel really clunky to me, so hopefully that doesn't happen to you if you start with Berseria).

Hopefully all of that makes sense - I think I rambled a bit. Let me know if you'd like any clarifications on what I said, or if you have any additional questions about the series.

Happy backloggiversary!

Ah, okay. I've only played the Gamecube and PS3 versions, so I'm not sure what the PC version is like. I hope you do get back to it!

I understand what you're getting at. The skills and story were what confused me as well, which was kind of why I said it wasn't a beginner-friendly game. The basics for battle are fine, because they're pretty much like any other Tales game. The problem is the game seems to focus on those skills, which confuses me to pieces, so hopefully restarting will help me grasp it better. The story does pick up a bit once you leave the big city, so I think you'll get into it at that point.

I don't seem to recall the difficulty being too much of an issue, but I also tend to grind a lot.

Before I respond, YOUR THEME IS AWESOME!

Okay, on to "business".

Aw, Symphonia was a bust? I'm sorry to hear that. I still stand by what I said - it's got a very good plot and characters, but it does take a while to get into the plot. Abyss (PS2 or 3DS) is probably the best game to start with. Maybe Vesperia (360), which I didn't mention - it happens to be my favorite game, but it's also a bit rare so it may be more difficult to find. Xillia (PS3) is also a good one, but I'm not sure if it's on PC or not.

I haven't finished Zestiria (only got about 38% through the main story, from what I've calculated), so I'm not sure I can be a good voice for it. I will say that it's not nearly as user-friendly as the other Tales games, and I would not recommend it for an early Tales experience. I had a difficult time trying to figure out how everything worked, and I've played all of the other games in the series. I've also heard it's best played on PS4, but I'm not sure how true that actually is. I'm restarting it hoping that it'll all make sense this time around. I'm sure it gets better, but it's definitely not quite as good as some of the others in the series. I currently have it ranked as #8 out of 13 for the series, which you can see on my new lists in my sidebar.

At any rate, hopefully you get into it; if not, I would highly recommend Abyss, Vesperia, or Xillia. I would think if any game can get you interested in the series, it would be one of those.

I was lucky I heard about it before hand, so I beefed up their relationship before playing the chapter.

Only Flora, actually. Kaze can be saved if you have an A-Rank Support with him by that chapter, so he's still alive for me.

It's ultimately exactly the same - there isn't any new or removed content compared to the PS2 version. I've heard that the frame rate in the overworld is a bit worse on the 3DS, but the load times are better and there are some added touchscreen features for more attack shortcuts.

They don't do a very good job with tutorials - they're explained in an item you get, but there aren't videos within the game or anything for you to practice. Abyss does a much better job bringing new players in.