• Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:

    1. The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
    2. Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration

    Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.

The Game Sales and Deals Thread, With No Apologies to Anyone

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
I've also always been curious about the Hyperdimension Neptunia games but not enough to actually buy any. The premise of countries of anime girls based on consoles fighting is just so damned weird.

I was in the same boat, and the premise is about the only thing I liked about it. The games are kinda clunky and with a really uneven difficulty; I’ve yet to get past the first major boss, which introduces a bunch of new gameplay mechanics and also is tough enough that I get a total party kill within a couple of turns.
 

Peklo

Oh! Create!
(they/them, she/her)
The first Hyperdimension Neptunia (which they don't really sell anymore as it's been long since remade) is genuinely, on purely mechanical terms, one of the worst video games ever made. I can't tell you why because it's been too long and it's one of the few games that I've been put off by to sell off entirely, but that's the foremost association left to me... aside from everything else it is, which is what's remained consistent with the series always, and why it has continued existing; I would consider all the thematic, aesthetic and tonal content among the worst conceived and executed upon as well. There's nothing to recommend, and if the sheer premise strikes one as curiously absurd, be assured: it's much less funnier and interesting in practice. Avoid!
 
Last edited:

ArugulaZ

Fearful asymmetry
I make it a point to avoid Idea Factory games, especially after playing Monster Monpiece. You know, the game where you wank off your Vita to make your cards less dressed and more powerful. There's nothing like a good fantasy card game, and this is nothing like one.

And oh yeah, Cross Edge. Someone from the previous forum generously gave me their copy, which is good because I could fully appreciate this train wreck without paying for it. If you gotta smoosh together a bunch of video game characters from different companies in a strategy RPG, do it with Project X Zone 2 instead. The Darkstalkers cast deserves better than to be paired up with some Idea Factory morons.
 

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
Idea Factory is basically the LJN of JRPGs; usually have a good premise and are not worth playing otherwise
 

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
Which of the Disgaea games on Switch is considered the Best One?

As they're all on sale, and there are times when "grindy JRPG" feels right, y'know?
 

gogglebob

The Goggles Do Nothing
(he/him)
I would like to extend this question to other modern systems as well. Every once in a while I feel like playing Disgaea, but don't know what is a good target.
 

Positronic Brain

Out Of Warranty
(He/him)
So all the Yakuza games are on sale. Which is the best or the best entry point?
Short answer: 0
Long answer: storywise, some people prefer 1 or Kiwami, since 0 has references that might go over your head. But 0 was designed to be an entry point, story and gameplay wise.
 

Falselogic

Lapsed Threadcromancer
(they/them)
is Doraeman Story of Seasons any good as a farming sim? I do enjoy Harvest Moons and Stardew Valleys.
 

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
is Doraeman Story of Seasons any good as a farming sim? I do enjoy Harvest Moons and Stardew Valleys.
Yes. I have not interacted with the Doraeman series outside of this single game, and I really enjoyed it a lot. The intro is a bit too long imo but once it gets going, it is a charming game.
 

Sprite

(He/Him/His)
Which of the Disgaea games on Switch is considered the Best One?

As they're all on sale, and there are times when "grindy JRPG" feels right, y'know?
I enjoyed 5 quite a bit. It’s the first time since Phantom Brave that I played long enough to dig into the wild and endless numberwankery of the postgame.
 

Violentvixen

(She/Her)
First time I hear about this game but it sounds interesting. Any thoughts?

I played it for (checks Steam) just under five hours. I really enjoyed it at first, but then the adventure-gamey puzzles just got too tiresome for me. But I have zero patience for adventure games so if you enjoy them I would not let that stop you.

I watched a let's play of the rest because I was legitimately interested in where the story went. I don't know if I'd say the writing is good, but the story is evocative and emotional. There are some very sad and upsetting moments. The setting is a hospital with a strong "end of life ward" feeling to it (the spoiler may be revealed right at the beginning of the game but I honestly can't remember).

tl;dr: if you are okay with adventure game item carting around stuff and a sad/realistic story I'd go for it.
 

Beowulf

Son of The Answer Man
(He/Him)
Which of the Disgaea games on Switch is considered the Best One?
There are parts of 2 that don't make sense without playing 1, but I would argue that 1 (while having a decent story) is the weakest mechanically. According to my notes, I liked 3 marginally more than 4, and was not wild about D2. 3 and 4 are both standalone.
 
I'm currently waiting for the newest one, as I hear it basically lets you program gambits for each character and then go as fast as you want through combat.
 

Purple

(She/Her)
Which of the Disgaea games on Switch is considered the Best One?

As they're all on sale, and there are times when "grindy JRPG" feels right, y'know?
I am depressingly well situated to answer this as I recently found myself a little Disgaea-curious and grabbed a bundle of like all of them:

1- It's a little, you know, ANIME, but mostly keeps it in check. Has that really good numbers-go-upness, a surprisingly good dub, and when what passes for the plot starts flagging in the back half we bring in these 30s sci-fi serial dorks out of nowhere and just let the game be about them now, so that's great. Probably still the best in the series. Also the one you've definitely played already.

2- Basically the same game as 1 mechanically. There's like, 1 new class? Item world pirates are now a thing and I mean that's just delightful? Plot is... less than memorable but I don't recall ever being offended. Etna shows up and is upset about not having a 4 digit level I remember.

3-This one is freaking garbage. The whole use-this-weapon-type-to-learn-new-skills system is out somehow, and instead you buy all skills by spending way too much mana, which you don't have access to and there's no good grind spots until like, the end of the game, so get used to everyone just generically attacking. Lot of other weird little changes for changes sake I'm not a fan of. So many long tedious puzzle battles you can't just plow through by being level 5000. There's this weird classroom seating chart system that gives minor bonuses but also requires you to be transphobic to a power ranger to progress. The plot has this "it's an evil school so to get good grades you need to cut classes and never study" thing which is charming for like, 5 minutes then gets old. Someone really thought having Emeril Lagasse as an inspirational NPC was the funniest thing ever, and the protagonist is voiced by an infamous pedophile which kinda tarnishes the experience a fair bit!

4- I honestly skipped 4 (at least for now) because it maintains all the mechanical changes from 3 and I hate like all of those.

D2- This one was explicitly made for people who hated the changes made in 3 and 4 and the shift into really saccarine plots that 2 got rolling. So it basically resets to how 1 worked except I'm pretty sure item world pirates are still a thing because why change that, there's a couple new/kept-from-sequels classes, and some nice little quality of life tweaks like if you want to change your spear girl into a higher tier of spear girl you can just do that directly without reincarnating and resetting her level and palettes aren't strictly tied to class tier so you can keep looks you like. And then the plot's just the original game's cast having more inconsequential adventures. Also I believe it gets around the standard plot runs out of steam problem by just having less plot generally.

5- ... I know nothing about 5 at all except that it was made after D2 but I think it sticks with the mechanical tweaks from 3 and 4 which, again, are bad.

So tl;dr 1 2 or D2 I guess.
 

ShakeWell

Slam Master
(he, etc.)
Gunlord X is currently half-price on Switch ($5). Considering it started life as a Neo-Geo game that sold for hundreds of dollars, that's a pretty sweet deal.
 

Sarge

hardcore retro gamin'
Not sure if it was pointed out earlier, but the Double Dragon and Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle is on sale for $10. There's a crapton of Kunio games we never got in English, and that's 75% off the usual price! Instabuy for me.

Also, thanks for the heads up on Gunlord X, I grabbed it (and it's how I figured out the above was on sale, too). I've not been checking the eShop much, honestly, so it really helps when folks alert me to deals like this.
 
I would like to extend this question to other modern systems as well. Every once in a while I feel like playing Disgaea, but don't know what is a good target.
Not exactly modern, but Disgaea 3 on Vita is the best in the series in my opinion. Campaign is fun and won't eat away at your free time (30-40 hours) and has all the extra content you'd like to dig into if it keeps your attention beyond that. As Far as modern systems go, Disgaea 4 is your best bet. Similar unbloated main campaign with nice graphics, fun characters, great mechanics etc. Avoid Disgaea 5 like the plague. The remaster of the original game is fine but its still mostly the original game so it shows its age.
 

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
Windbound is also on sale right now, and it's been in my wishlist for a while;
Anyone have any familiarity with that?
 
Top