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Makudomi

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  1. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind are my favourite games, while Ace Attorney is my favourite series as a whole. No game appeals to everyone, as has already been said, but these are the ones that I love to share with friends. Though outsiders to the PM games might not expect this from such a seemingly kiddy franchise as Mario Bros., The Thousand-Year Door is a strong JRPG that makes combat fun, rather than grindy and tedious, and the sheer amount of worldbuilding in the game is astounding. As a diehard fan of the original Paper Mario, I remember being totally hyped for its release to a degree of excitement that the cynical adult me would never have allowed (I was in elementary school)...but I made a gamble with my expectations, and they were EXCEEDED by the reality. Even though the game is virtually linear for the main plot (save for exploration and sidequests), I've found myself replaying it almost ten times, since the expansive and witty script always proves that there's SOMETHING I overlooked. As just one example, one of your partner characters can give her insights/commentary on literally every enemy, every individual cell, every NPC in the whole game -- just like in the previous PM, the writers went all-out and their efforts are much appreciated. The jokes are clever but tasteful without relying on referential humour or pop culture, the cast is colourful and pleasant, and it even has a couple of heartfelt or tearjerking (though never heavy-handed) moments. And like I mentioned, the combat is great -- enemies are varied both aesthetically and in terms of strategy, and there are numerous ways to win -- all on the freaking awesome, interactive "theatre stage" that you battle on, which upgrades throughout the game. I wouldn't say it's a particularly hard game, but for a first playthrough it's nothing to underestimate. Morrowind is the quintessential old-school western RPG, for me. Like TTYD, there's an incredible amount of text, but even more replayability due to the absolutely massive open world. Outside of the very minor nudge you get in the direction of the main quest right in the beginning of the game, almost nothing tells you what to do without you stumbling upon it -- you're a stranger in a strange, new place, and the game drives that into your head. The world is open, alien and varied...but what stands out, to me, is that everything was created by the devs based on congruence with the game world rather than usefulness to the player. Some dungeons, usually Daedric ruins or hideouts for powerful outlaws, have great rewards, while others simply have some low-level bandits and modest loot to pilfer from them. If you ask around and receive quests, sure, you might get pointed to the right ones, but that's the beauty of the adventure. You don't magically know, but you explore and find out, which makes every small success feel that much sweeter. Unlike many games that hold your hand and guide you along your path to becoming a big goddamn hero, Morrowind drops you in an unfriendly wasteland and watches you slowly learn the lay of the land. That's not a very popular or profitable style these days, but it's something I appreciate vastly. If you decide to murder your questgiver because you want to rob him but can't do so without provoking his attention, sure, you can -- but he's dead now; you screwed up the quest for good and that's on you. Oh, and if you ever get tired of the game itself, don't worry -- there's almost fifteen years worth of mods made by its obsessive fanbase, many of which are actually worth playing! Ace Attorney is simply a fantastic series the whole way through. I couldn't isolate a single instalment that completely surpasses the others, but what it's offered is a consistently entertaining experience from my middle school days until the present (and hopefully beyond). The characters are memorable and terrifically written (with a big props to the localisation team), the emotional scenes usually hit their mark, and most importantly the mysteries are gripping and always creative. There is the occasional revelation that I've identified from a mile away, and others that become more obvious as the case goes on, but the game manages to be interesting in spite of that since solving the case is indeed a huge part of the fun. The soundtrack is also fantastic, doing a great job setting the mood, particularly when you're closing in on the real murderer of a given case. The newest one, Spirit of Justice, was a great read that seriously took me off guard a few times. Highly recommended! What's more, despite having its fair share of spinoff games, they manage to be worth playing for many of the same reasons as the core series. Other honourable mentions go to the Pokémon series, Pikmin 2, Civilization IV, Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game, Undertale and The Sims 3.
  2. http://xy12.pokemontcgxy.com/en-us/home.php cool
  3. Just saw your earlier post and noticed that you're an AA fan yourself (wasn't sure if you just appreciated the 10/10 animated adaptation). You have supreme taste, my friend. Who needs Chinese porn games when you can have authentic American courtroom drama set in the great city of Los Angeles, right? Have you played Spirit of Justice yet?
  4. I came because of that sweet avatar. Welcome to the forums, @Gaikonaiko.
  5. @Rooke @Tiagofvarela I think you guys are misreading me a bit. To clarify my words, I'm not saying that those cases aren't entertaining or less of a good mystery because of that allowance by the writers, or even that mysteries of their kind are objectively inferior. I'm simply raising the point that, to a new player (e.g. OP), it might give a false impression of the series' content. I should have elaborated on this more. The format isn't a "problem", but a player without prior knowledge might incorrectly assume that they'll never be tasked with solving the whole mystery and will always be told the most important fact from the get-go. There's a reason that people dread stumbling upon spoilers for these kinds of games, you know, even if it's as small as witnessing a YouTube thumbnail of one of the murderers' breakdowns. Spotting the wolf in sheep's clothing is one of the most fun parts of the Ace Attorney games, but it doesn't start until 1-3. Coming back to what you two are saying, though, I agree with your assertion that the "who" isn't everything, either. Perhaps I made a bit too big a deal out of the format of 1-1 and 1-2; I was just specifically concentrating on what the OP themselves had played and thinking back to my own first impressions. It was a relief to me, back then, that I would eventually be in charge of piecing together the entire crime.
  6. They're pretty entertaining mysteries, but I must admit as a diehard fan that the first and second cases of the first game lack one very important component: They both reveal the murderer at the outset of the chapter rather than allowing the player to piece together the crime and discover that themselves. Ten years ago when I first played Ace Attorney, this actually made me less interested and invested in what was going on; I knew where the chapter would ultimately lead to, so even if smaller revelations along the way were surprising and interesting, the killers' identities being established sort of took the suspense out of it for me. The third, fourth and fifth cases are true mysteries, and it was at this point that I observed a more pronounced investment in the plot. (It's not to say that 1-1 and 1-2, especially the latter, are badly written, but I think that the comparative lack of suspense might cause some misunderstanding to new players.) Digressing, however...whether or not it's really worth soldiering through is your call. Forcing yourself to play a game just because it's highly acclaimed is silly, but if you personally like mysteries, then maybe it's worth revisiting.
  7. I second that suggestion, but just in case it wasn't already implied, I recommend trying out the war gameplay once it's become abundantly clear that you're the most advanced nation on the map. It's almost like target practice at that point, but war takes a little bit of getting used to so it's a great opportunity. Also, OP, don't be ashamed to choose a low difficulty setting at first.
  8. They already bought Civ 5; don't you think we should answer that rather than pointing at other games? @Seth, Civ 5 is one of those games where the vanilla was a total joke but it got better with expansions/DLC. If you have everything, I wholeheartedly suggest installing it all and playing that way from the start. I hope you enjoy it. Have you played any of the other games in the series, or will this be your first?
  9. Can't say I have a preference. I really love both types of RPGs. Favourite games are The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Undertale. So...an American WRPG, a Japanese(-made) JRPG, and an American JRPG. As a general note, though, I'd say the defining aspects of quality (in my eyes) are very different for both. For WRPGs, I care a lot more about world-building and exploration. If I feel like I've been set free into an open world with innumerable possibilities (which was what I liked so much about Morrowind), I can forgive a predictable or even weak central plot. There'll be something else to do; I just have to find it. For JRPGs, the cast and story are paramount, roughly in that order. I'm fine with watching other characters have their fun adventure across a predetermined route (essentially, watching a story unfold rather than writing it yourself), but it's very important to me that I LIKE them and enjoy the quest they've embarked on. And this is purely my own bias here, but I'm a bit more of a stickler for gameplay within the JRPG genre than WRPGs. Maybe that's just because I've yet to really be let down/bored with the combat systems in the latter, though.
  10. Great observations all around. I couldn't agree more with your assertions, both in my experience with VNs and their readership alike.
  11. First of all: If you don't like Katawa Shoujo, don't fool yourself into thinking you do. A lot of people like it, sure, but if you're not feeling it and it just feels like you're forcing yourself to read out of obligation, then maybe it's not the story for you. I remember dozens of people raving about Grisaia no Kaijitsu when it had just been translated. I gave it a solid 5-6 hours before putting it down, never to play it again. It just wasn't for me, and there's nothing wrong with that. That said, if this is a general issue with restlessness and an inability to relax...try settling into a comfortable position, maybe make a favourite beverage, turn off your messaging programmes/close your browser, and enjoy it full-screen? It's a pretty easy read, like comfort food in VN format.
  12. 10/10 superb introduction, McMuffin. Glad to have you; hope you enjoy your stay.
  13. Not to keep you involved in a discussion you'd rather not be, but I agree with this 100%, and KnS is my favourite VN. I actually learnt this lesson from experience years ago -- recommended a friend the game and his commentary was largely "Why is there all of this random porn?" for the first couple of hours. It's a great story, mystery and thriller all-around, but it's written with VN fans in mind (and henceforth laden with fanservice and ero scenes unessential to the plot). That's kind of a shocker to someone expecting a murder mystery with music and visuals.
  14. Oh God not more Kancolle I thought they'd surely aborted it after the shipwreck that was the anime. Edit: Thought it was another season; didn't notice it was under the "Movie" section
  15. This. It introduces the storytelling medium while being an entertaining experience and relatively challenging puzzle for gamers of other persuasions. I was so taken with how the stories were told as a 12-year-old that I began to actively seek out other games like it, which naturally led me to VNs. Kara no Shoujo and its associated titles ended up being exactly what I was looking for, although I imagine that people more interested in the comedy/drama elements would feel at home with different VNs.
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