I actually played New Leaf a few years ago and didn't stick to it as I did with New Horizon, but even so, here's a game where you can play at your own pace, whatever that may be, and it'll be perfectly fine
You can go all in on your architecture, money farming, island designing and have that be just as valid as checking in once in a while to greet everyone, check any special visitors and whatnot
Major props to New Horizons for coming out at literally the perfect time, with the world confined to their homes and in need of as much happiness as they can scavenge
I've been real engaged in this game, even if I'm not doing a whole lot every day. It's just so peaceful and cute that it's hard not to be charmed by it all
A lot of the game feels like that. Like everyone wanting a reprieve from whatever lives they had before to start anew in a random island where you can just. Breathe fresh air and lead a simple, fulfilling life
But rather than vague accolades, how about we talk about an actual consistent development seen through Dante himself? How he starts as this shitty young adult, goes to a serious older guy with a chip or two on his shoulder, finds a sense of peace after dealing Mundus and being able to take a backseat when it's someone else's time to shine?
How about the sprinkles of a sensitive side blended in through all the goofy or badass moments that note how much he actually worries about and isn't a total doofus?
How about having almost every character be that way, struggling through a rough world, kicking ass and ultimately realizing yes, it's okay to have and feel emotions? It's okay to cry; you don't have to bottle it all up
How about a killer soundtrack that lets fights be as hype as they should be? And ohhhh those fights. These characters are so badass not just because they're strong or talented, but because they take on a lot of strong and talented enemies. Even regular mooks can fuck you up if you're reckless
Boss fights are great and reward you for being aggressive and consistent and the combat. Just...oh my god, actually playing these games can be a fucking blast.
It's not easy to get into. You have a lot of tools at your disposal, especially as Dante, but it also means you have so many ways to take on enemies and pretty much all of them are valid
You won't catch everything the first time through and that's okay, it means having to play a really fun, challenging yet rewarding game more and more. Twist my arm, I know
I think Capcom realized that the best thing to do with the series is let the devs do what they want. They're good people; they know what they're doing.
5 wrapped up the Sons of Sparda storyline, so Dante and Vergil won't premiere much, but that means Nero inherits the spotlight and oh my god, Nero is such a good boy
Monster Hunter This is probably my favorite game to play with friends. And that's coming from someone who isn't big on getting games just to play with friends
I've been playing the games for about a decade and even back at the barest incarnation I actually played, there was a lot of fun to be had. It's only gotten better since then
You best them and earn materials to make into weapons and armor, meaning you not only got stronger because your gear made numbers get higher, but you also learned how to handle that monster a little better
Nowadays, you have about fourteen different weapon types to choose from, each with a different playstyle and surprisingly, they're all very well balanced
giant hammers, bows and arrows, dual blades, guns of varying size, a RWBY style gunlance, a sword that becomes an axe and can turn into a chainsaw, a glaive that gives you an insect companion and lets you bounce around and be super dodgy
I can only think of the delayed sharing of Generations Ultimate to the rest of the world to after World was announced and wow, that didn't work out well
like DMC, I could make a separate plurk on why I love Monster Hunter and will refrain from going on for too long. Let's just say the least amount of time I've put into an entry is a hundred or so hours while the most I've put into one is a thousand hours
Who the fuck would just let the villain teleport safely after losing? Fucking no one, that's who. Counterspell, monk punches them unconscious, tie 'em, Zone of Truth their ass for a good interrogation
Communication problems between people the reason behind a conflict? Fuck no, throw those idiots together and force them to have an uncomfortably adult conversation
You don't just make an avatar; you make a living, breathing character. You're not just assembling stats and skills; you're assembling a backstory, issues, personal quirks
D&D lets you create so many stories, accidental or otherwise. You form a camaraderie with the party, your fellow players and your DM. You develop a sense of belonging because you have a group who will get the jokes, share in those IC good times and bad times
Wizards have studied hard for their magical prowess, Sorcerers have an innate talent whether because of fey or raw magic or aliens or or an ancestor being a dragon fucker or whatever, druids draw from nature itself, clerics their gods, warlocks their patrons....
And if there's ever an issue you have with the system, you can negotiate it with your DM. Not everything is set in stone and I love that this is a thing WotC encourages
Strength is nearly worthless in 5e, for example, so for the class that outright needs it, Barbarian, I will house rule that their AC can be based off STR and CON instead of DEX and CON
I do feel the series could use more love, especially since the last time they got attention was for that star ship game that featured them as DLC or whatever it was
I admittedly don't have a lot to say on the matter since most of my love for it is fawning over Star Wolf, SF64 and A Fox in Space but yeah. I would welcome more Star Fox in my life
Ultra tasty soup that refills health and magic, lets you deal double damage until you get hit and each bottle has two servings because it's that hearty
as for Twilight Princess, I...honestly don't remember a lot about the game? I only played it once and it's definitely good, but i really don't remember much of that playthrough
....also I have Breath of the Wild sitting around in my collection. I didn't get very far in it, but that just means I can start my file over and both reexperience the beginning parts and also proceed with the other 95% of the game I didn't do
also I have never played Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask. I'm sure they're good games and I would probably enjoy them, but I'd really have to warm up to them if I wanna get past the years of excessive hype
I haven't been in a great headspace for a while now but I know for sure that I would be in a worse place if I didn't have online friends I can chat with or shitpost at or randomly nudge on Discord now and then
And some of them have been really patient with me and how difficult it is to get me doing anything and that means more to me than I can properly convey
so much of my time spent around other people my age was spent being told that the things I liked were stupid and unimportant, and being a nerd was Weird. and then there's Robin Williams being such a nerd he gets to advertise the new game with his daughter and it's like
The fact that it suddenly became cool to be a nerd after picking on them for years without so much as an apology is complete bullshit and I hate that but this is a happy plurk
I cannot say good things about where I'd be if I was so closed off without online friends since I'm already lacking in nearby friends and I refuse to get into that
It can if like, a local place has a bangin' plain cheese and I'll eat those up no problem, but otherwise I like to load them up with whatever I can throw together (and maybe try to make them coherent)
Odin SphereCastlevania So I can openly admit that the story isn't the strongest aspect of this series and that's okay because there's a lot to love about Castlevania
What gets me invested in this series isn't a sort of overarching plot line that somehow all comes together after a thousand years of battle because that doesn't really happen
There's a lot I love about this series. It's got some delicious gothic fantasy to it, the music is consistently good, there's a strong sense of continuity, I like a lot of the characters and I can enjoy both classic gameplay and Metroidvania style
You'd think fighting Dracula over and over would get boring but no, there's so many circumstances that it all plays out and he's more the commonality between them all
You see the beginnings in Lament of Innocence, how Dracula was once a man named Matthias who cursed God for taking his lover away, then came up with a plan to become immortal to spite God and wanted his bff Leon Belmont to join him
except all this included killing Leon's girl, so after fixing all this, he makes a vow of revenge for his bloodline to hunt Dracula and the night and that sets everything in motion
Then they fight Dracula for a few generations until Richter fucks up and the Belmonts need to take a break, so the next few centuries are about people filling that void
We meet the Morris family and the Lecarde family, the Order of Ecclesia comes and goes, all until 1999 when Dracula is truly defeated and Soma Cruz becomes Dracula's reincarnation and just
I'm a sucker for timelines and past actions explaining how things are now. You'd think that would make me a history buff but...eh, maybe if I studied it, I'd be for it, but eh
Also the games themselves tend to vary in quality but are generally good. The lowest dips I can think of are the N64 games and the PS2 games are okay but yeah
The fact that it suddenly became cool to be a nerd after picking on them for years without so much as an apology is complete bullshit and I hate that but this is a happy plurkOdin SphereCastlevania So I can openly admit that the story isn't the strongest aspect of this series and that's okay because there's a lot to love about Castlevania