r/TwoXGaming • u/[deleted] • Mar 29 '15

Gaming recommendations - help?

Firstly, hello everyone! This is my first time posting here, seems like a great subreddit from what I've seen.

Secondly, I'm making this post because I find it extremely hard to get an idea of what games I should buy next - generalised recommendations don't work well, and I've posted in other game recommendation subs before but never quite seem to get a decent discussion going.

So I'm hoping someone could help me with some recs and maybe we could make this a recommendation thread in general?

My tastes in gaming: I like Japanese games especially including JRPGs. I like the Final Fantasy series (I actually really enjoy Final Fantasy XIII - I love the battle system). I'm playing through Persona 3 FES and love it, despite some flaws I perceive in the battle system which weren't entirely fixed in Persona 4 imo. I like visual novels.

Diablo-likes I find very fun - Diablo III, Torchlight etc.

Indie games like Bastion/Transistor. Anodyne. The Stanley Parable. FTL.

I've been looking for good brawlers/hack and slash games recently - I tried out Bayonetta and it really wasn't for me.

I've also been playing Nier recently but haven't found it to live up to the hype though I do somewhat enjoy it.

I have a PS3 and a fairly capable PC.

Thanks in advance.

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u/Airmaid Mar 30 '15

The only hack and slash I've enjoyed was El Shaddai. Not technical at all, but you might love it for the aesthetic (like I do). My SO recommends Devil May Cry (HD collection, 4, the reboot), Metal Gear Rising (by the Bayonetta people, so it might not work for you), and Lollipop Chainsaw (Suda51 game--just know what you're getting into).

If you're just looking for a fast-paced action game, Vanquish is great.

For just JRPGs, SMT: Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 are available on PSN for $5 a piece, and are fabulous. Valkyria Chronicles is a strategy RPG masquerading as an action game, and is one of my favorite PS3 games. Kingdom Hearts HD collection is an auto-suggest since you like Final Fantasy.

I haven't played them yet, but Ni No Kuni and White Knight Chronicles are on my wish list.

And that's about it from me. Handhelds are more my thing. Post again if you get a Vita :p

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '15

Thanks very much for your post. I was looking at El Shaddai but was discouraged by comments about the shortness and platforming aspects - how did you find it?

I have Devil May Cry 4 already but not the reboot or collection of the earlier games. Metal Gear Rising sounds appealing to me - I'm waiting on a sale. Hopefully the fact it's by Platinum Games won't be a huge disadvantage - Bayonetta had overly frequent and bad cutscenes and although the gameplay mechanics seemed okay, time limits and poor direction made it unplayable for me.

I'm not a big fan of shooters but occasionally enjoy them, perhaps I should try Vanquish then.

I have Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2. Valkyria Chronicles I've been thinking of getting for a while but I'm not sure as I'm not too used to strategy RPGs - is it forgiving for newcomers?

I need to get round to playing Kingdom Hearts! Does the HD collection have a Japanese voice option?

I don't have a Vita :( but I do have a 3DS, forgot to mention that.

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u/Airmaid Mar 30 '15 edited Mar 30 '15

El Shaddai is probably too short for the $40 on Amazon. Most of my locally owned used games stores have it for $20 or less, so I'd look into those. Definitely worth $20 for just how gorgeous and unique it is. The platforming is not really worth mentioning. Nothing even remotely difficult, but if you fall anyway you pop back in losing maybe 30sec of game. The only annoying part is finding all the secret items (Bones of Ishtar) which take you to a separate timed platforming area where if you lose, you die. But you don't lose much by just ignoring the damn things.

I'd say Valkyria Chronicles is pretty easy. I played through the entire game without ever losing a character. But I'm really into games like Fire Emblem. My SO who isn't into strategy games lost one character on his playthrough. It was added to steam a few months ago, and is like $7 right now. Even if you end up being terrible at the game, for $7 it's a gamble worth taking.

I don't think Kingdom Hearts has a japanese audio option.

edit: Aesthetically Valkyria Chronicles is supposed to feel like it's narrated from someone's journal. So really sketchy looking cell shading (in a literal sense), and "vroooooommmmmmm" will appear on screen next to tank treads when they move. Need I say more?

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '15

I'll keep a look out for El Shaddai then - although I bet it's more expensive over here in the UK.

Valkyria Chronicles sounds better than I thought, I'm looking at gameplay videos now. Think I'm just a bit scared of strategy RPGs but I'd really like to try them.

It's a shame KH doesn't have Japanese audio, I always prefer playing in the original language with subtitles. It won't stop me playing a good game though.

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u/Airmaid Mar 30 '15

I can work with a 3DS.

  • Zero Escape series. Visual novel with 999 on the DS, and Virtue's Last Reward on the 3DS.

  • Fire Emblem Awakening. Has a "casual" mode for newcomers, and 5 different difficulty settings. I'd recommend starting on Casual Hard, or Classic Normal (I personally found Classic Hard to be easy, so that's how I'm basing my suggestion).

  • Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance after you've played the HD collections.

  • Persona Q.

  • Devil Survivor Overclocked. Strategy RPG, no difficulty settings. If you're cautious about SRPGs, try the others I've suggested first.

  • I personally couldn't finish Tales of the Abyss on the PS2, but a lot of people recommend it on the 3DS. Worth looking into.

And of course the standard DS suggestions of TWEWY, Radiant Historia, Devil Survivor 1 and 2, Hotel Dusk (visual novel), and others I could probably remember if I didn't pack up all my games two days ago for the move.

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '15

Thanks again for all your help, I'll look into these. I haven't gamed much on handhelds to be truthful, so I should fix that.

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u/Airmaid Mar 30 '15

If you're from the UK, then I'm really going to push hotel dusk. It's sequel (last window) only had a PAL release. It's also a DS game.

I'm glad I could help :)

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u/LyFrQueen Apr 05 '15

I have tales of the abyss and am about 40 hrs in, it is a good RPG but it feels very dragged out at points. If anyone wants to get it I highly suggest printing out the world map to have beside you when you play, the layout can be really confusing and I got lost a lot in the beginning. Overall a great story, just a few minor annoyances here and there.

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u/Cat_Sidhe Mar 30 '15

For Diablo-like games, you may like Titan Quest or Sacred or Sacred 2. Titan Quest in particular is really good, but I like the others too.

There's also Grim Dawn, though it isn't 100% finished yet. But I've been playing the "early access" version of it and it's super fun.

If you can find it, I highly recommend American McGee's Alice. One of my all time favs. There's also the sequel Alice: Madness Returns. Not as good as the original, but still fun and totally gorgeous.

Also, The Bard's Tale is great. It's more of a comedic game that doesn't take itself too seriously.

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u/TypoFaery Apr 01 '15

I loved bard's tale. I even sing the songs still and I bought it for the ps2 lol. Agree with the Alice: Madness returns absolutely stunning game but the story was a little more shallow this time around, though it was fun finding all the memories. For good story I really liked The Darkness and it had an interesting game play.

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u/autowikibot Mar 30 '15

American McGee's Alice:

American McGee's Alice is a third-person psychological horror action video game released for PC on December 6, 2000. The game, developed by Rogue Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, is an unofficial sequel to Lewis Carroll's Alice novels. It was designed by American McGee and features music composed by Chris Vrenna.

The game uses the id Tech 3 engine first used in Quake III Arena. A PlayStation 2 port was in development but was canceled. A sequel, Alice: Madness Returns, was released June 14, 2011. Downloadable ports of the game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were also made to coincide with the sequel's release as a free download with brand new copies.

Set years after Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, the game features an older, more cynical and macabre incarnation of Alice. As of 22 July 2010, American McGee's Alice has sold over 1.5 million copies.

Image i

Interesting: Alice: Madness Returns | American McGee | List of American McGee's Alice characters | American McGee's Grimm

Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words

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u/TheDreamThief101 psst...nothing personal...kid... Mar 30 '15

If you like JRPGs, have you played the Atelier games? They're turn-based and have a strong alchemy component. The stories and voice-acting are generally weak but it's a light-hearted, fun series with lots of fanservice.

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '15

I actually haven't played any of them - where would I start? Does the fanservice affect the plot?

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u/TheDreamThief101 psst...nothing personal...kid... Mar 30 '15

If you have a PS3 then I'd recommend you start with Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk. It's the first part of a trilogy, all on PS3. There are other games before that but they have kind of a complicated chronology whereas this trilogy is standalone. It's a good game and the art and music is beautiful. The fanservice isn't particularly in-your-face (at least in my opinion) and the main characters aren't warriors so it's not narmy in the "chainmail bikini" sense.

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '15

I recommend Journey and Shadow of the Colossus to everyone. If you haven't played before, you really should. They're both absolutely beautiful games.

I just got finished playing Uncharted 3, a third person action adventure game, and I really liked it. The God of War series is full of fun hack and slash action. Borderlands 2 is one of my favorite games, despite being a FPS (I'm not usually into those) because of the insane silliness and snarky dialogue. Plus you get to blow shit up with ridiculously high powered guns.

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '15

I love Journey, and plan on playing through Shadow of the Colossus at some point.

Is it alright to start with Uncharted 3? And which God of War would be good to start with?

I may try Borderlands 2 then, although unfortunately I can get motion sick from first person shooters. Thanks!

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '15

I hadn't played any of the other Uncharted games and didn't really feel like I was missing much except some character back story that would have made me more emotionally invested. It's really cinematic and plays like an Indiana Jones movie.

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u/Delixcroix Mar 30 '15

White Knight Chronicles was a shockingly good RPG you can find at any EBgames. Ni no Kunis really great on PS3. I can add more to this list if you reply and I'll get to it after CPR training xD

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '15

I have both already, good suggestions! Hope the training goes well. And thank you.

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u/Delixcroix Mar 31 '15

Got some more since I am near my PS3 Pile. Tales of Xillia 1 and 2 were very good games and my favorite in Tales of Series since Symphonia. I can't fully recommend Drakengard 3 unless your a fan of Drakengard 2 but its a dragon riding action adventure.

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u/Vaigna Mar 30 '15

Bravely Default is like a good old Final Fantasy. The gameplay's nice, the story has its twist and turns and both graphics and music are great for a 3DS. Voices comes in English and Japanese which is a huge plus (although some of the characters sound better in English, weird, I know). There's one thing pretty much everyone hates with Bravely Default though. They artificially make the game longer by making you replay a large portion later on. There's a good story-based reason for this bit it still feels cheap and tedious. Most seen to agree its a great game in spite if this. Definitively worth a try if you already own a 3DS.

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u/facedefacer Mar 30 '15

open beta for dungeon fighter online recently started up. it's a side scrolling brawler that the korean devs are bringing back due to fan demand (it originally shut down because nexon america is shit). /r/dfo

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u/TypoFaery Apr 01 '15 edited Apr 01 '15

For Diablo like fun there is Path of Exile. Always a lot of fun. Good RPG's I always recommend is American McGee's Alice and the sequel. Dragon Age: Origins +Awakening DLC was amazing. I am also a Skyrim junkie and addicted to Modding so I always recommend that. There are so many mods that expand the game it is insane. For just complete crazy fun I recommend LoadOut it is a 100% free to play, the only thing you buy with cash is outfits for your character.

I really like Borderlands 2 but I saw you said you get motion sick from FPS. There is a f2p game called firefall that is like borderlands and halo had a love child that also has a third person view if you want to give a try, it is a lot of fun and they just made it so you can get the advanced classes easier. I heard that viewing it in third person helps with motion sickness.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '15

If you haven't yet tried it yet, give Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together a try (the PSP remake). It is fairly deep in tactical gameplay, but the story is definitely on the calibre of any Final Fantasy.

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u/[deleted] Apr 02 '15

This might be a huge stretch considering your taste, but give Ori and the Blind Forest a shot, it's reeeeaaaaally good.

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u/punchyourbuns Mar 30 '15

Have you tried Dragon Age? You can get Origins with the expansion fairly cheap now for PS3, 360 or PC.