Invalid characterset or character set not supported Game Progress: The Return





Game Progress: The Return
November 12, 2017

Pokemon Go (Android)
A Halloween event rolled in last month, along with five Gen 3 Pokemon: Duskull, Dusclops, Shuppet, Banette and Sableye. I managed to catch all of them, including Pikachu donning a witch's hat.


Legendary: A Game of Heroes (Android)
This one also had a Halloween event that allowed me to nab Wicked Witch. I also managed to amass enough candies to boost her to five star, making her my current most powerful hero.

Mostly, I've taken part in special events rather than furthering the campaign. I am in the fourth segment there, but progress in the campaign doesn't matter much. As I've said before, every challenge there is the same.


3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
I started this game a couple of days ago, and I've been playing it pretty religiously. Right now, I'm about to head to the final area. I like that this title is a love letter to Legend of Zelda that's actually true to Zelda's core elements. It feels like a proper "me too," it borders on shameless knock off, but justifies its existence through charm and presentation. It also doesn't take itself too seriously.

I've gone through all of the main temples. The first couple were easy, featuring only the most basic layouts and weak bosses. The giant snake in the first temple was no hassle, and the massive bee in the second was even easier. The third temple was a little tougher, only because it was larger. Its boss, a huge golem, was no problem, though.

The game didn't start getting hairy until the fourth dungeon, where you had to deal with tons of wizrobe-like enemies. In other words, you could only kill them by reflecting their shots back at them. That all culminated in a battle against a tremendous octopus. This guy was much harder than his peers because I had to grapple hook my way all over the place, while dodging his tentacles. It seemed like would never croak.

The last two dungeons were even worse. One is a complex series of room clusters, with creepy-looking creatures that drain both your HP and MP. There are even multiple rooms with high-level versions of these guys who can, with a single blow, knock you down to one HP and one MP. Sometimes you can't even get a good shot in because the occasional enemy receives a buff that allows them to move more quickly. To make matters worse, MP is absolutely needed throughout this dungeon, as it's the only way to deal with the wizard foes and the easiest way to dispatch some of the tougher critters (e.g. knights whose only weakness is their backside).

The bosses of those last two dungeons are killer, too. One of them is a dragon who just.... won't... die.... I had a hell of a time taking him out because no matter how many times I hit him, he wouldn't keel over. I eventually had to leave the temple, buy some potions, upgrade my sword a few times and obtain the fire shield before felling him. The other boss is a titanic dark knight with slick moves. The only sound method I found for killing this guy was to never take damage, which is tricky if you don't know what you're doing. As long as you retain full HP, your sword gains all matter of ridiculous bonuses besides the standard Zelda beam. It also stretches practically across the screen, allowing you to slice without needing to measure up your opponents much. When I defeated the dark knight, I did so without taking a single lick of damage, though I had to work hard for that victory. The knight knows a fair number devastating moves, including a charge attack, a spinning slice and blade beam that grows as it advances across the screen.


Creeping Terror (3DS)
I played through this portable horror game, and a review should be up very soon.


Statues (PC)
Made it past the first few statues in the hospital. I'm currently looking for a bolt cutter, which is apparently somewhere in the basement. Locating it has been a pain, what with two statues chasing after me through cramped rooms.


Transistor (PC)
I restarted this title and blazed through it in two sittings. Man, what a terrific game! Its combat system is both real time and turn-based. Also, the voice of the transistor itself helps shape the game's world and flesh out bits of its story. It basically acts like the narrator from Bastion, except it narration isn't so obvious. It also sports a great soundtrack with a moving closing cut.


Mass Effect 2 (360)
No progress, but I shall be resuming this title as soon as 3D Dot Games Heroes is finished.

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Feedback
honestgamer honestgamer - November 13, 2017 (10:27 PM)
3D Dot Game Heroes is pretty great. I wrote the guide for that game for IGN, and I enjoyed myself. It also was my first exposure to the tower defense genre, as I recall (one of the mini-games), so all in all, I had a lot of fun with it and I'm glad Atlus localized it.

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