Hazuki Dojo

Just a thread where we can discuss the last game that we finished.

The last game that I finished was Death Stranding. This is definitely one of those games that will stay with me for a long time. Finished it about two months ago and I still can't stop thinking about it. It was really quite different this game. A mix between stealth/horror/walk and explore/builder/strategy , that is also quite cinematic and has a great story. Great ending too! I want to go back and play it again right away (but it was really quite long and I just finished it)

Have you played it?

Persona 5 Strikers. I'm a fan of the series and I like Warriors games. I was surprised this is almost nothing like a Warriors game. Combat feels similar but the game is basically just a Persona game. Just a full-on sequel to regular Persona 5. So I loved it even more. It's an early contender for my GOTY.

God of War (2018) and God of War: Ragnarok. Enjoyed every minute of both.

Like a Dragon Gaiden and Fate/Samurai. LaDG is so damn good!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge... I was just gushing nostalgia with this.

Stellar Blade!

Brotherman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 5:56 pm God of War (2018) and God of War: Ragnarok. Enjoyed every minute of both.

I recently played God of war and I really enjoyed that one as well. Will definitely play Ragnarok as well.

The last game that I finished was Spiritfarer. Oh the feels! So much feels in fact that I had to go back and play Everybody's gone to the rapture which have even more feels so I don't know if that was a good idea. So.. yeah. Feels. I have them. I'm going to go play Animal crossing New Horizons now. It has fewers feels but it's still pretty fun.

What remains of Edith Finch. Good game, I liked it.

The last game I finished was the furiously named The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance ~Memories in Ice, Tearful Figurine~.
I loved it to bits. This is a japanese adventure game with a menu-based interface, set as a detective/mystery/murder investigation and it is a remake of the Famicom version of an even older PC-88 game that was designed by Yuji Horii before making Dragon Quest (I only learned this later).

I had previously played both the Retro Mystery Club volumes which are similar in design but somewhat different in execution. While the latter do play more to retro sensibilities, with 8 bit pixel art, Okhotsk is indeed a full remake, with new art.
What made me like it? Above all that it deals with mature themes in a serious manner. It can also be lighthearted but never overly silly or cute, which is the impression that most modern visual novels transmit. It has realistic sensibilities and it is set in a realistic world.
The menu-based interface is a hallmark from its Famicom heritage - the earlier PC-88 version would have been a parser-based affair.
This makes however for its only fault: that you can't really lose. Towards the end there's a bit more tension, but as long as you try every option, the story eventually moves forward. This pushes it more towards the interactive fiction end of the spectrum rather than a pure game (which you'd win or lose).
In all, I think it would be every bit unthinkable that in 2024 I'd be able to play a previously Japanese-only adventure game, made by the man himself before he had made himself the man, in English and in a perfect version, 40 years after it had debuted on a long forgotten Japanese computer.
For that alone it's a gem. I hope 2025 brings us more of these as there's lots to enjoy from these old games.

darkly wrote: ↑Fri Dec 06, 2024 6:30 pm What remains of Edith Finch. Good game, I liked it.

I watched my wife finish it a few years back. I'm surprised how good it was.

The last game I finished was Overcooked with my wife. A very stress inducing game I must say.