Continued from the bottom:

Will I complete it some day? Depends on "missables", how time-consuming and difficult the whole process could be, etc. I usually don't complete games if they belong in a series unless I've played some more entries. So revisiting VII, X, etc could be in order.

What didn't you tolerate about XIII-2, since I plan to play that next at some point?

As for other 360 Japanese RPGs like RoF, ToV, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, Star Ocean, etc, how are those?

Hey

Yeah, I had to think what to say and make it fit within the comment box. Wish there was no character limit.

I fit the same boat when it comes to certain Sonic games, being in the minority of liking them when half the fanbase hates them.

Things I liked about FF XIII: The battle system. I liked how fast-paced it was. The paradigm shift thing was cool, forcing you to think what roles to use based on the situation in battle. Though most of the time you use an offensive formation to stagger the enemy anyway. I don't know if any other RPGs have a similar mechanic (I hear Resonance of Fate is similar in gameplay, and I am interested in playing that at some point). I also like the music in the game, especially the main battle theme and the variations of Lightning's. The presentation and visuals. I probably said the same thing in my review. Also well done there.

Things I disliked about FF XIII: Auto game over if the "leader" dies. And speaking of the leader, I would have liked having the option of taking control of one of the other characters not in the leader role. The AI is designed to heal you during the battle, why not when you die? It's amusing seeing your team continue while you lay passed out with GAME OVER flashing. Please tell me if they fixed that for XIII-2 or Lightning Returns. And anytime you switch party members, the paradigms reset. That's annoying.

The linearity and lack of exploration outside of the Gran Pulse section. Now, I understand for storyline reasons the characters being on the run and being outsiders, but I would have liked some some opportunities to further explore the areas outside of branching paths to find treasure or talking to NPCs beyond their "scripted" dialogue.

Hope, I'm sure half the fanbase hated him in the beginning, as did I, but eventually he got over his vengeance for Snow and "matured".

The first half of the game being a long....LONG tutorial and no freedom to choose your party until late in the game.

The difficulty spike late in the game. The game is somewhat easy to get into and play most of the way through, and then suddenly enemies overwhelm you. I didn't have to grind too much since I kept up my characters' stats/weapons/accessories often. I don't mind playing easy or difficult games, but I like some balance too.

Running out of character space.......

What is everyone getting from the Steam summer sale? Any hidden gems you would recommend?

A game I worked on has been released! It's a turn-based strategy game with Worms-a-like artillery element to it. In space. You build stuff, research technology, and launch railgun slugs accross space and time to hit competing planets.

[Link]

I believe I've mentioned the game here before, a couple years ago when it first entered Steam greenlight. Well, now it's actually out. Out of greenlight, out of early access, a complete, full version of the game.

I'm just so proud of the game and the team behind it, I'm plugging it where I can. This is just a shameless marketing post, I have no excuse, I hope you don't mind!

Ah, okay. I understand how it works now, Tomb Raider releases. Thank you for explaining that. I didn't know that they completely rebooted the series! I pretty much fell off the Tomb Raider train after the second game. That wall-bumping thing sounds frustrating and pointless. The swan dive at least had purpose!

So, turn-based strategies are not the same as strategy RPGs, just to be clear here. All this strategy talk is confusing. Real-time strategy, turn-based strategy, and strategy RPGs... When it comes to strategy games, strategy RPGs are the route for me (and tower defense). They're just easier for me to get into and be successful.

Oh man, you just had to tell me about Deception IV: Another Princess... I'll be keeping an eye out for it, definitely. The sub-title has me awfully curious. I wonder how it is expanded on?

And thank you! It is great to have Q*Bert back again.

Hi!

It was made with a GIF animator, frame by frame!

It took me about 15-20h to complete it, but the result was well worth it! I got praised a lot for it!

Ah, I see. It was so long ago that I played the first Metroid, there is no way I'd be able to pick up on the differences. Either way, it was a good play and I'm happy to have finally finished it! Hopefully, one day, you'll have your chance with it. If only they'd make some more traditional Metroid titles (for handhelds, so I can play them).

I can see how Tomb Raider from 2013 (on the PS3) was a reboot, nothing felt familiar, but wasn't it also supposed to be a prequel? Or at least explain Lara's beginnings? Even though I spent only an hour or so with it, the original titles seem better. How can a person not miss the swan dive, or gymnastic looking way to pull yourself up a ledge? Or maybe you still can and I just forgot how to do it...

Is turn-based strategy pretty much the same thing as real-time strategy games (like Warcraft), just not in real-time and taking turns instead? That sounds much easier! I've tried playing RTS games before, but I always get too into building things up, then get attacked before I'm ready and lose. Which is why I never bothered with Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, even if the summons are adorably designed.

At least you got an awesome deal when repurchasing it! I don't think I ever got that good of a deal when repurchasing a game. Once they drop in price, enough to make it worth buying again, they're near impossible to find! At least in my case...

I played the crap out of Deception IV! The series has always been one of my favorites, since the beginning, even if I didn't get to play them all. The only game in the series (that I know of) that I never got the chance to play, sadly, was the third one - Dark Delusion. I wish that one was on PSN instead of Trapt!

Anyway. Deception IV was so enjoyed that as soon as I beat it, I started another play through to unlock another costume and attempt getting more traps, missions, and other stuff. I never do that!

I didn't enjoy Trapt very much... It was a while ago that I played it, so I can't recall any specific reason for not liking it. I never finished it and probably only played it once, maybe twice, before trading it in. I would definitely recommend Deception IV over Trapt.

The number of days I'm behind (in my sidebar) is just how old the next comment I need to reply to is. I try to never fall more than a week behind... Which I am currently failing at! I'm not even sure why I started keeping track like that. Maybe as a sort of courtesy to those "waiting" for replies? Those longer comments slow me down a bit sometimes.

Wow, this comment grew out of control... Sorry about that!

Ah thank you, the comma was supposed to have a space between (obviously) but instead it was messing up the URL. Appreciated!

Yeah, although the games don't occupy nearly as much time as they did in their initial release, AA will always have a special part in my heart that basically led me into multiple genres (adventure/VN/etc)

The last good Castlevania game was Order of Ecclesia. I bought Lords of Shadow and hoped it was good, but alas it is what it is. It's certainly one of the most derivative games I've ever seen. Pretty much everything in it is more or less lifted from another game. Most of that I could handle if the combat hadn't been deadlifted straight out of God of War. GoW's combat engine has always been mediocre at best. (Hammer square until QTE appears, Repeat) I prefer my 3D action titles like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry 3, requiring skill to play. That's the short version. I did not care for that game at all. I tried the demos for the other two and was thoroughly disappointed again. Those two mark the first time in close to a decade that I didn't buy a Castlevania game right away. (I still haven't bought them) The last time was Aria of Sorrow, but that was because I had no money. Aria of Sorrow is a fantastic game.