What video games are you playing now?

[CynthiaLover]

Got a fair bit done this morning in Monster Rancher 2 DX. First off, after much trial and error (mostly error) I finally got Quickstrike past the S-Rank. Which means he can now fight in the Major 4 matches. And not long after I got the invite to the first Major 4: the Winner's Cup. After more trial and error I managed to beat the Winner's Cup. I then went on another errantry to boost Quickstrike's Speed stat, since it was starting to lag behind a bit. I then got the invite to the Monster World Cup a short time later. This meant I couldn't go on the October expedition, as I wanted to train for the Monster World Cup. After more trial and error I managed to win the Monster World Cup. That's two of the Major 4 tournaments won. I then got the Wracky doll from the loony fan of Quickstrike, which means Wracky is 99% unlocked (I just need a monster to die first before I can get him). I also got the Mock seeds from the store, so now I just need to wait until the tree blooms and dies before Mock can be unlocked. Now I'm at the Greatest 4 match, which meant I had to also not go on the February expedition in order to prepare for it. However, I'm struggling here, as I either get clobbered by Loveless (Durahan/Durahan) or Carmine (Joker/Dragon), forcing me to restart. I'm taking a short break to recharge the Switch Lite before I try again, as I need to win this tournament before Quickstrike gets retired, as he's starting to really get old.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Forgive the double post but I got much further in Monster Rancher 2 DX. For starters, after much, much, MUCH trial and error (mostly error) I finally beat the Greatest-4 match, netting my my third victory in the Major 4. Then, after a little extra training I got the invite to the M-1 Grand Prix. ...I steamrolled the M-1 Grand Prix on my first try, as it was full of easy-to-beat opponents that Quickstrike pretty much clobbered without taking a single hit in the process. Considering how much I struggled during the Greatest-4 match I was shocked at how easily I swept the M-1 Grand Prix. Not that I'm complaining. But that means I officially "beat" the game, as I received the title "Master of Breeding". Now I just have to unlock the remaining monster breeds. Which I've partly done, as I went on an expedition and got the Joker mask (followed by the funny scene where Pabs gets the mask stuck to his face), so I just need to use it in order to unlock Joker. On one last note Quickstrike's stat gains are really going downhill, which means it'll be time to retire him soon. Hopefully I can squeeze out one last expedition in order to get the Double-Edged so I can unlock Durahan but we'll see how much time he has left. If not, there's always the next monster, as I've already beaten the main "quest" of the game. We shall see.

 

[CynthiaLover]

And now for a third post as even more happened. Quickstrike was invited to the Legend Cup, something that I've never gotten to before. He battled against Most and won, though it was down to the wire. Which means he's now been registered in the Monster Hall of Fame. That's the first time I've ever gotten into the Monster Hall of Fame. Not to mention the first time I've actually make it to the Legend Cup. I'm really starting to see why Blue Kato is the speedrunner's Mon-of-choice now, as he got me further than even my Horn (Suezo/Tiger) did a ways back, and he actually beat the Major 4, too. And I can very much see why Twister Claw is such a popular, almost infamous tech on Katos, as it pretty much soloed most battles for me upon acquiring it (sans the battle where the AI was in command of Quickstrike, such as against wild monsters in errantries... man the AI can be dumb when controlling your monster...). And I've managed to squeeze out two more expeditions from Quickstrike, gaining the Old Sheath, the Big Footprint, and another Gold Peach. While I can't do anything with the Old Sheath until my next monster (as the monster in question needs to be exactly A-Rank in order to get the invite to get the Double-Edged), I can go on the Speed errantry in hopes of running into Big Hands so I can get the Big Boots in order to unlock Jill, though it's somewhat of a gamble, as he's not guaranteed to appear even if you meet all the requirements. We shall see. Oh, also, I've been meaning to mention that I've gotten both stable upgrades and all but one house upgrade, which means I'm just one event away from gaining the item needed to unlock Bajaral. It also means I can now unlock big monsters like Golems and Bakus. Will continue shortly to see just how much further I can get Quickstrike, as I did recently get the second retirement message from Colt, which means his time is nearly up. So, if anyone wants to give me a suggestion for my next monster feel free to do so and I'll consider it.

 

[MobiusKipper]

The games ive been playing are quite sporatic, it's mostly Final Fantasy 9 (check the pfp!) and Super Mario Galaxy (as part of the 3d all stars collection) and I have been enjoying them throughly, I only have 15 stars in SMG, and I am in Treno with Dagger and Steiner in FF9. I really love Tetra Master, and I want to play it in real life (with even more complicated rules and special effects with certain cards). I have alwayed wanted to eat star bits, but i feel like they would taste like rocks, or coal, and thats why the lumas like them so much

 

[CynthiaLover]

Didn't get much further in Monster Rancher 2 DX. I was forced to retire Quickstrike. He had a good run but Colt said he can't go any further, so it was time to freeze him. Parting is such sweet sorrow but his legacy won't be forgotten. After I froze Quickstrike I spent some time creating a bunch of Sueki Suezos to use as lab rats for combining, creating Phoenix, Centaur, and Joker, so now those breeds (and sub-breeds) have been unlocked. I froze all three of them as I wasn't interested in using them. I ultimately decided to make my next monster a Pixie, although I decided to try a breed of Pixie I haven't raised before: Unico, or a Pixie/Centaur. And, no, I just simply summoned one via the Shrine, I didn't get a regular Pixie from the Shrine and combine it with my currently frozen Centaur. Anyway, I named her Mayfair and took her back to the ranch. Now it's time to raise Mayfair.

Also, I've since learned that due to the rebalancing of monsters in the release of DX, monsters can have vastly different lifespans, stats, natures, techs, and more depending on the CD/Artist you search up. And they also have 100 less weeks in lifespan in general, making them more on-par with the original Japanese version of the game compared to the western release of the original MR2, where we got said 100 extra weeks on our monsters' lifespans. So that's a bit of an annoyance, as you now have to be extra careful on what CD name/artists you use in the Shrine, as they can have vast differences despite being the same breed, as certain aspects, such as lifespan, are no longer locked by breed. That's something to keep in mind in case anyone is playing this game, as you need to manage your time even more wisely now. Just FYI. Again, Legendcup.com has got the general breakdown of it, along with what songs/artists unlock what monsters, so check it out if you want more information or want to plan accordingly.

 

[PokéSean]

LG: Still am training my team and found items without Itemfinder because I assumed. Because I picked Bulbasaur, I’ll pick the Helix Fossil to beat the Rival’s starter.

SLW: Beaten Master Zik finally and completed Zone 3. Now, I’m on Zone 4.

 

[prog rocker]

The games ive been playing are quite sporatic, it's mostly Final Fantasy 9 (check the pfp!) and Super Mario Galaxy (as part of the 3d all stars collection) and I have been enjoying them throughly, I only have 15 stars in SMG, and I am in Treno with Dagger and Steiner in FF9. I really love Tetra Master, and I want to play it in real life (with even more complicated rules and special effects with certain cards). I have alwayed wanted to eat star bits, but i feel like they would taste like rocks, or coal, and thats why the lumas like them so much

On the Tetra Master part: There was an attempt to make a real life version, but considering how much it depends on RNG it was aborted. Not even datamining the game could save it.

On the star bits part: You're in luck, cause they exist! It's called konpeito, and it's a Japanese candy. It's kinda rare to find outside Asia, though (at least from my own experience).

 

[MobiusKipper]

On the Tetra Master part: There was an attempt to make a real life version, but considering how much it depends on RNG it was aborted. Not even datamining the game could save it.

On the star bits part: You're in luck, cause they exist! It's called konpeito, and it's a Japanese candy. It's kinda rare to find outside Asia, though (at least from my own experience).

I think it could work with dice, at least. have 20 spaces to put your cards, roll a 20-sided die, add a barrier tile on the numbered tile (so if you rolled a 14, youd put a barrier on the 14th square), have hp and dmg on each card, along with special effects, if your card has one.

On Konpeito, I am pretty sure it's rock candy, food coloring and all that, except it doesnt come on those wooden sticks.

 

[prog rocker]

I think it could work with dice, at least. have 20 spaces to put your cards, roll a 20-sided die, add a barrier tile on the numbered tile (so if you rolled a 14, youd put a barrier on the 14th square), have hp and dmg on each card, along with special effects, if your card has one.

On Konpeito, I am pretty sure it's rock candy, food coloring and all that, except it doesnt come on those wooden sticks.

Tetra Master: Maybe it could work... At least it won't feel as random as the in-game version. To this day, I don't know how I won any match in the game.

Konpeito: Apparently, it's much more complicated to do. At least one site mentioned it takes 30 days making it with special machinery.

 

[TwinklingCupcake]

Animal Crossing New Horizons and Pokemon Shield.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Still playing Monster Rancher 2 DX. It took a little while but I got Mayfair up to the A-Rank. I also gained the items needed to unlock Bajarl and Dragon and I'm going to get the needed item to unlock Durahan very shortly. I'm glad I didn't rush Mayfair when she was in the B-Rank, as I would've missed the invite to the match to obtain the Dragon Tusk, as you can only get it when your monster is exactly B-Rank. Though that battle was rough. It took a couple of tries but when she got "Power" at critical health it allowed her Bang attack to OHKO the Dragon she was facing, so that was a really lucky break (especially since Bang doesn't have great accuracy, so it was quite the Hail Mary in that battle). Now that she's an A-Rank I can get the Double-Edged from the rather weaker-than-expected Durahan (especially compared to the Dragon battle), as you can only get it when your Mon is exactly A-Rank. Which also meant I had to not go on the February expedition, as the expo battle takes place on the last week of February. Also, it's now the year 1010, which means, if the weather holds out, this fall I should get the otherworldly visit from Metalner in order to get the item needed to unlock Metalners from the shrine. I also went on another October expedition but didn't get any more Gold Peaches. Taking a break while my Switch Lite recharges but I plan to enter that expo battle for the Double-Edged. Considering that the Durahan in that battle is a real anti-climax boss, as his stats are closer to that of a B-Rank monster instead of an A-Rank, it shouldn't be too difficult (especially compared to the Dragon battle, who has stats closer to an S-Rank). We shall see.

 

[PokéSean]

LG: Got the second badge and made it up to Rte 25. I forgot to have my Bulbasaur or Pikachu be the first Pokemon but I fixed it after the Picnicker/Jr. battle to take on Misty.

 

[Lone_Garurumon]

Jak 3: Finished the story. Overall it's just a significantly better game than II. They clearly learned a lot from II in how they structured missions and played with Jak's abilities. More gun mods give a lot more options in how you go about doing things, especially with how surprising it is that they managed to give 12 different weapon types different practical uses in different situations. And the change to Dark and Light Jak's gauges over the way Dark Jak worked in II means I'm not afraid to throw out the powers if I think they could be useful in a given situation. Plus the checkpoints are infinitely better you guys have no idea.

Hades: Did a couple runs the night I finished Jak 3 since I wasn't really feeling jumping into Combat Racing right away. Did my first run with the companion Dusa gave me last time I played, pretty fun mechanic, but I kinda wish it was on some kind of resource rather than just a "flat X uses per run with the occasional restore with a night spindle from the well" scenario. Honestly I did pretty well all-in-all considering how long it'd been since I last played. All the runs were successful so I'm content with that.

 

[PokéSean]

LG: Didn’t know there was a healing spot on the S.S. Anne. But that, explored Diglett’s cave.

 

[Tactician Karina]

Been mostly playing Guilty Gear Strive, mainly just doing online matches and stacking a fair amount of both wins and losses. Also got back into playing Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R on the Switch again since it has Testament, so I've been doing arcade mode with him mostly (yes, I'm still salty he's not in Strive as a playable character).

I've also been picking up King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, KOF '99, and SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy again, for some reason I've been in a fighting game mood again so I decided to go with ones I've enjoyed the most for years, might play other KOF installments again at a later time.

Other than that, I've finally beaten Brilliant Diamond a few days ago, just occasionally doing some Grand Underground stuff and catching more Pokemon in the hideaways.

Tomorrow I'll be replaying Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty again. One of my favorite installments in the series (unpopular opinion I know), mainly because it introduced my second favorite character (if you can't tell from my avvie), and another reason is because it's still pretty relevant today in dialogue.

 

[Bigfoot_the_Pokémon]

Mostly grinding the Rocket League season rn

 

[Lone_Garurumon]

Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia: Browser's almost entirely filled up, just gotta do the Celebi quest (kind of a shame that I need it to get the last Pokemon but eh) capture Regirock, and then take the trio to Hippowdon Temple to capture Regigigas.

Jak X: Most of the way through the Green Cup. Honestly this game is a fucking blast. I wasn't 100% sold on the concept because Jak II's driving kinda sucked, and while Jak 3 definitely got a better idea for it, I still wasn't quite sure it'd be able to carry a whole game, but Jak X absolutely nailed the driving in the way things feel to handle. The tracks also feel incredible to speed through, with a lot of length and plenty of tight turns to nail a power slide around. Also having two different slots for rear and forward weapons each with a different fire button is just a genius idea.

Hades: Did a couple more runs, and acquired Chthonic Companion Shady from Sisyphus and Bouldy. Next run is also going to be my first run with Extreme Measures 3, so I'm very excited to see what it does with the Champions of Elysium. Also Zag's lyre playing is getting better. He's actually playing vaguely good-sounding chains of notes as opposed to random noises.

Pokemon Shield: Figured I might as well actually finish SwSh before Legends comes out, so I finally started on the Crown Tundra. Dynamax Adventures are... Fine. They're basically just the same raids battles from the rest of the game except now you do four in a row. Overall I honestly think I enjoy them a bit less than regular raid battles, and my opinion of those isn't exactly high, either. Doing the Calyrex story, and it's pretty nice, the story they're telling here is neat.

 

[prog rocker]

Rock Band 2 Deluxe

This is the reason why I have been kinds absent here. I also forgot that DLC adds most challenges to the game. And that challenges exclude songs with missing instruments (e.g.: no YYZ in the Moving Pictures challenge).

 

[PikachuRules]

Breath of the wild
Pokémon sword
Rocket league
Minecraft
Spyro reignited trilogy

 

[galacticarticuno]

Last of Us Part 2
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Pokemon Shield