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Gripe about What You're Playing 2: Bellyache-tric Boogaloo

I'm really enjoying Minishoot' Adventures, except for the fact that every boss seems to go on at least one phase longer than it needs to. That's my only complaint, though!

(actually I have one other complaint unrelated to the gameplay: the apostrophe in the title annoys the hell out of me, why is it there??)
 
(actually I have one other complaint unrelated to the gameplay: the apostrophe in the title annoys the hell out of me, why is it there??)
This exact question was actually answered at the end of a recent interview that Patrick Klepek did with the dev.

Paraphrased, he basically said "I'm not fluent in English, but the development title was Minimalist Shooter, and I wanted to contract it to MiniShoot, and I thought you use an apostrophe for contractions, like when instead of riding a bike you say ridin'."
 
This exact question was actually answered at the end of a recent interview that Patrick Klepek did with the dev.

Paraphrased, he basically said "I'm not fluent in English, but the development title was Minimalist Shooter, and I wanted to contract it to MiniShoot, and I thought you use an apostrophe for contractions, like when instead of riding a bike you say ridin'."
Huh! Okay, knowing that, I actually think it's kind of an adorable explanation. Complaint retracted.
 
There's a new, non-feedback-oriented "prologue demo" of The Adventures of Elliot available now. I've been itching for just this kind of very classic Zelda- and Mana-inspired action RPG, and they incorporated feedback from last year's demo.
 
There's a new, non-feedback-oriented "prologue demo" of The Adventures of Elliot available now. I've been itching for just this kind of very classic Zelda- and Mana-inspired action RPG, and they incorporated feedback from last year's demo.
Oh huh, the previous demo didn't really click with me despite sounding on paper like something I would love so I should check this improved one out.
 
I can't figure out how to progress in this bubble level in the first world of this new Yoshi game intended for 4-year-olds.

EDIT: Ahh, walkthrough helped me out. To anyone starting the game, Yoshi's ability to physically carry creatures is as important as his ability to turn them into eggs.
 
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I'm three play sessions in, and the combat in Mina the Hollower still hasn't clicked for me. Mina feels extremely slow and clunky, whereas all the enemies are faster and stronger. Dodging attacks feels impossible. I don't know if I'm just playing it wrong or what, but it's been a surprising amount of friction so far for me.
 
The game is certainly more difficult in the beginning than I think is comfortable. After about 5 hours, with some additional trinkets and upgrades, I feel like the game is much more manageable. I still find there are some parts of the game where a "run through, do not engage" philosophy is best, where it isn't worth the time and/or effort to deal with enemies. Like a Souls game, you must know when to engage and whether the juice is worth the squeeze.

There is a trinket you can find early on that allows you to resurrect once after a death, and I find that trinket is essential if, like me, you don't exactly have much patience and would rather face-tank some things, particularly bosses.
 
There is a trinket you can find early on that allows you to resurrect once after a death, and I find that trinket is essential if, like me, you don't exactly have much patience and would rather face-tank some things, particularly bosses.
Yeah, I've been using this one as well. Not because of impatience but because it's been too useful not to!
 
I'm still only at the hub, but one small gripe is that you can't seem to assign heal and confirm to separate buttons. Not a huge deal, but I keep accidentally healing myself while walking around the town.
 
Yeah that’s something I had to train myself to do too.

My only real note is that passive trinkets like the aforesaid extra life, or that make your healing more effective use the same slots that the more active, Dungeon Item ones. Really feels like they should be seperated.
 
I have been having a good time with the Zelda-y parts of it but the Souls-y linage makes it a bit frustrating, but not quite frustrating enough that I have switched on any of the accessibility options, which are ample. Maybe I should just switch on no damage from pits and half damage and have a better time and not sweat it.
 
Speaking of Souls-y stuff, game devs must eventually realize that death runs to get back lost resources is annoying as fuck. Death is the fucking penalty. It may not be necessary to spit in my face at the same time you insert the blade.
 
It's not as if the industry collectively decided to implement a mechanic that nobody likes. People enjoy the tension, and it creates highs (successfully getting something back you feared lost) and lows (losing something due to a mistake). It is very much here to stay in Souls and Souls-adjacent design.
 
I do overall really like Mina so far, and I'm oddly less worried about the 50% bones, by the time bone totals get big enough to really hurt your progression I had gotten a couple of sparks and you're over the hump a little bit and that's not my main concern anymore (not that the small ones don't hurt at the time, but they are a rounding error on the number of bones that you get even just a bit later.) The no pit damage and the instant heals seem like the winners for me. I'm still having a mostly good time with the tension of the default settings, so I haven't changed them.

Every time I say I will change the modifiers if I die one more time, I get past the obstacle so I think it's tuned hard but well, but I do have a nagging suspicion I would have more outright FUN with the mechanics I like the most if I tuned it down just a bit. I do appreciate how granular the options are even if I haven't used any of them yer.
 
Yeah, what I should've mentioned in my earlier post is that I'm still very much enjoying the game, I was just taken aback by how tough the combat has felt. I don't feel the need to turn on any accessibility options yet (honestly, I didn't even know they were there) but I like that they're so granular. Thanks to ohman and Dr. Nerd for reminding me they exist.
 
I hit the point where things really felt like they clicked and it comes down to:

- You can grind. Grind a bit at the start. It's a good idea. Oh and there's an NPC east of the mansion entrance who you can talk to a couple times and get a trinket where all enemies drop bones left and right, so, just get that first and you're good.

- Years of Souls-likes and their damn parry obsession trained people into this reactive defense mindset. Don't try to play this game this way. It's more about positioning yourself well before things decide to attack you, then if they aren't doing much, poke the bear and run. This may be harder or easier depending on primary weapon I suppose.
 
I’ve had just a terrible time with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. I made it to the final dungeon and I could not take it anymore. Every space in the game is maybe three times as big as it should be, full stop. The random enemy encounters spamming status ailments, sometimes twice per turn, is something I’d heard was a major problem, and it certainly becomes very common in the latter half of the game.

My biggest gripe is that there isn’t much of any plot or notable characters to get me invested and give the drive to press on with the wildly uneven gameplay.

Square-Enix pumped out a number of these DQ remakes while XII has been stuck in development hell. Did anybody like them? I remember Alex Fraoli from the No More Whoppers podcast bailing on the remake of 3, and not even touching the remakes of I and II. And he’s a DQ superfan!
 
I enjoyed DQ1 + 2 HD2D, DQ2 quite a bit more than DQ1, but DQ has always been a strange series for me, where I'm super excited to play them and then end up falling off. Even now, my DQ7 Reimaged playthrough is floundering. I find that the forward momentum in any given DQ is sometimes not as...uh... momentous as it needs to be to keep me engaged. I've played most of them but only ever finished DQ1+2 HD2D and DQ5. They can be real slogs.
 
I’ve enjoyed, even loved, most of the DQ games I’ve played. Some of them are among my favorite games!

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is the first one I’ve played that I have not enjoyed at all.
 
I tried DQ3 again, and this time made it to the King Hydra, one of the final bosses. Fuck every head of this guy. He gets three turns, heals around 100 HP every turn, uses party wide attacks that both induce sleep and fear, the latter of which cannot be cured by anything, and can use a move that prevents everyone from using spells.

From what I’ve gathered, the original DQ3 was balanced a lot better than this remake.
 
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