Messages

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: May 08, 2026, 08:06:44 am »

42. Trials of Mana - Archdemon

The final playthrough with Hawkeye as the lead, along with Riesz and Angela. Finishing his campaign and his (and Riesz's) final boss earned me the platinum. This was my first time in any version taking control of Hawkeye as the lead. I really liked playing as him. His Nightblade (D/D) class was brutal as heck and had more versatility than I thought. Riesze, of course, became a Star Lancer (L/D) and Angela became a Rune Seer (D/L). Enemies were shredded left and right by the time we reached the second class change. Things were easy up to that point since I upped the difficulty, but taking advantage of new game plus and the carry-over abilities still made short work of just about everything. Trials was a lot of fun to platinum. I may have earned the platinum, but I didn't see 100 percent of what it had. There are some additional classes to try, and I never started a game as either Duran or Charlotte. Which brings me to my character rankings no one asked for: Riesz > Angela > Hawkeye> Kevin> Charlotte > Duran. I still hold Riesz as my favorite, but Angela is just a smidge behind. Both of them are great in terms of story and combat. I just like attacking/comboing slightly more than blasting with magic. Hawkeye is next. Dual daggers is always a way to win me over. His light class options don't feel as fleshed out as his dark class. Kevin is next and he's just a brute. Similar to Hawkeye, his light classes seem like an afterthought. Charlotte and Duran bring up the rear. I don't care of their stories and Charlotte's Elmer Fudd-esque dialect is such an odd choice. Still, they have moments where they shone. This is a great game so Charlotte and Duran would be ranked with something like a B. Time to take a break from action RPGs while I figure out my next game!

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: May 01, 2026, 12:12:48 pm »

41. Trials of Mana - Dark Lich

This was a more or less a speedrun. I intended for it to go quickly, but I didn't think it'd go that quickly. My party was Kevin (D/D), Charlotte (L/D), and Hawkeye (D/L). Thanks to New Game Plus, I had a boatload of options that drastically and rapidly increased my team's levels. They were ready to class change well before the class change capability was available. I had plenty of leftover ?? Seeds for the second class change. Finally, Kevin absolutely shredded everyone and everything in his path. He was a strong character in the original and that carried into the remake. His second class change to Fatal Fist had a CS that demolished groups of enemies and he learned a Luna spell that increased his critical hit rate. In other words, Kevin was bordering on OP and destroying all things in his path. Supported by Charlotte's Sage class that had saber magic, and Hawkeye's Ninja Master abilities, the enemies literally had no chance. The only time I was challenged was during the fight against the Wood Benevedon. Otherwise, a quick and brisk file where I wrecked everything with fisticuffs. After I get the trophies for their third class change, I'll start my last file with Hawkeye, Riesz and...I'm not sure who the third will be yet!

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 27, 2026, 08:38:03 am »

40. Trials of Mana - Mondoragan

I still have some post-game content to do that's required for New Game Plus, but I can chalk this first run up as completed. I chose Angela (L/L), Duran (L/D) and Riesz (D/D). I just got their class four upgrades before posting this and making some progress in Anise's Stockade. This was a great run. I finished the game once on Switch back when it was first released at the height of the pandemic. Now, with the intent of seeing everything for the trophies and trying new parties, I'm feeling just as excited. I'm really I chose Angela as my MC instead of Duran. Back when this game was only available with emulation, patches, and titled Secret of Mana 2, I foolishly chose Angela as my MC. It took her a while to grow into her own in the original. In this remake, she's much more capable and still manages to become as close to OP as possible through natural game play. I played the game on Normal difficulty and while there were some challenges with her in the lead, I still eked out victories. Duran was fine. I won't be using him in any more files. Riesz was still a treasure and continues to shine as my favorite character. Her Dark class changes don't really align with her goal and narrative, but damn are they sure fun. Once the post-game stuff is done, I'll start a new file with Kevin as the MC, along with Charlotte and Hawk.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 20, 2026, 10:42:56 am »

39. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure

I have a bone to pick with this game. It's not because it's bad. It's actually quite good outside of my usual issues that plague the Trails series. My issue is with the side content. Halfway or so through the game, I lost track of where I was supposed to go so I looked up a guide. Doing that led me down a rabbit hole of learning how important the seemingly unimportant stuff was. All of it was like a series of unfortunate events. If you don't fish, then you can't feed a cat, and you'll miss a Master Quartz. If you don't cook, then you can't get special dishes, which you can't offer at the Jizo Statue, and you'll miss a Master Quartz. If you don't talk to important characters (i.e characters with portraits) then you'll miss bonding with them and you'll miss potent accessories. If you don't talk to that ONE PERSON during that ONE TIME during that ONE CHAPTER, then you'll miss out on a book series called Sunshine Agnes, and ultimately miss another reward. I think the real kick in the d*** with all of this was learning that there were hidden quests during certain chapters at certain moments that could only be accessed by talking to a specific NPC. Y'all, Crossbell and its surrounding areas are filled with NPCs. There's a few people that probably relish in talking to everyone all the time. Personally, I'd like to keep the narrative going while taking care of the listed optional quests. I was annoyed when I learned about all the Detective Points I missed because of these hidden quests. The cherry on top was when I learned of one that shed light on Lloyd's (the main-freaking-character) brother. You know, the reason why he became a cop in the first place? By the end of the game, I was shy of reaching the top rank. I played on my Switch 2 so it's not like I was trophy hunting, but that doesn't make me less invested in some of this stuff. One final complaint: I won two important fights where it didn't matter if you won or lost. I finished both of those as the victor, only to learn later that winning against them was optional. I played on Normal, so it's not like the extra experience points made me super-powered due to the game's scaling.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 18, 2026, 04:50:45 pm »

Still chugging at the series with Mega Man X4.  Looks great, with some really cool boss designs.  Overall it felt much easier than other titles.  Theres a little bit of a difficulty spike at the end, but nothing outlandish.  The first game in the series with voice acting and it is absoultely terrible, which has its own flavor of charm.

Did you find out what you were fighting FOOOOOR!?!

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 17, 2026, 08:40:58 am »

38. AAA Dynamic Scenes

My partner and I have been "playing" this to wind down at night. We've completed enough puzzles between the two of us on varying difficulties for me to consider it complete. Simply put, there's a variety of stunning wallpapers (many of which are animated) that you can have on in the background kind of like a bougie screensaver. With the push of a button, you can turn them into a jigsaw puzzle. You put the pieces in one at a time. Throw in some of the most chill, relaxing, haunting, captivating music (depending on the puzzle) and you have the perfect way to chill after playing something more intense. We'll be going back to this time and again, but I wanted to capture it on here.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 13, 2026, 08:40:04 am »

37. Final Fantasy VII

Another platinum for another classic. During this file, I did a lot of firsts. It was my first time getting a date with Barrett. It was my first time skipping the Gongaga area. It was my first time not entering Wutai to deal with Yuffie's Materia stealing antics (something I'll avoid going forward). It was the first time I got Aerith's final limit break. I think most importantly, this was the first time I fully utilized Cait Sith's Game Over slot via his Slots limit break. Specifically, I was able to knock out both Ruby and Emerald Weapon with it; no Mime/KotR combo silliness. This lead to more firsts: my first time not needing to bother with the tedious Chocobo Breeding for a Gold Chocobo. (It's been proven you don't have to race them to unlock better ones but still). And, it lead to my first time getting Master Magic, Command, and Summon Materias. There were other firsts but I won't get into them. I'll just say that I had an absolute blast with this classic despite having to really follow a guide to avoid missing certain things. As a result, I feel like I'll do a replay of this sooner rather than later. The game is still great-fun, and having the boosters around makes some of the less favored areas much more manageable.

31. Pilotwings 64 (N64)

I feel like all gamers have those special comfort games they play when life isn't at its best or maybe they just need to be reminded of simpler times. In my case, I felt like I needed both. I found out last week I'm getting laid off from a job I've had for 8 years. I don't work from some mega corporations where layoffs are the norm and the company is certainly small enough to where everyone is fairly connected to everyone else, even the executive management team. So the fact that I was one of about 40 people that were told we're getting let go soon came as a complete shock. This unfortunate news derailed my playthrough of Chrono Trigger, a game from a genre I struggle to get into even when I'm not dealing with life changing events. When I finally did feel like doing something other than frantically navigating a terrible job market, I decided to play a game I've thoroughly enjoyed since I was a young kid, and one that reminds me of those simpler times better than most.

So sorry to hear about that. I hate that you're going through something like this. Definitely play those comfort games to help punctuate the job search.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 01, 2026, 07:53:33 am »

I think the issue is that the game that's hidden is a PlayStation 3 game and those can't be accessed or shown on a PS5.

That's not true—at least, it's not true for me and my own account as I'm able to view all trophies that I've earned for PlayStation 3 games while using a PlayStation 5. Regardless, we know it's not a problem related to your console choice as trophy information for Dark Souls also isn't available on public websites such as PSN Profiles (most easily evident by your forum signature which states 149 Platinum trophies despite your reporting of 150 while using the PS App.) For some reason, the hidden option settings don't sync from one generational console to the next, which is why you'll need to actually use a PlayStation 3 console to adjust the setting.

I see them when I access the trophy menu. But, I'm not seeing them in the hide/unhide area of the console.

From what you've described, are you referring to the Trophies›Privacy Settings›Hidden Games›Hide your games from other players sub-section while using a PlayStation 5? If so, that will not solve the problem as I'll reiterate that a PlayStation 3 must be used to alter these settings to obtain the desired goal, should the problem you're experiencing be what I'm suspecting. With that said, adjusting any of the privacy settings while using a PlayStation 5 will not solve this specific issue.

I decided to validate the steps I shared before while using a PlayStation 3 console, and I was able to go through the process exactly as described without any hurdles. And to clarify, those specific steps are here.

Correct. That's what I was referring to. I'll need to hook the PS3 back up to deal with that stuff, which is slightly annoying.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 31, 2026, 11:44:07 am »

I think the issue is that the game that's hidden is a PlayStation 3 game and those can't be accessed or shown on a PS5.

That's not true—at least, it's not true for me and my own account as I'm able to view all trophies that I've earned for PlayStation 3 games while using a PlayStation 5. Regardless, we know it's not a problem related to your console choice as trophy information for Dark Souls also isn't available on public websites such as PSN Profiles (most easily evident by your forum signature which states 149 Platinum trophies despite your reporting of 150 while using the PS App.) For some reason, the hidden option settings don't sync from one generational console to the next, which is why you'll need to actually use a PlayStation 3 console to adjust the setting.

I see them when I access the trophy menu. But, I'm not seeing them in the hide/unhide area of the console.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 30, 2026, 02:30:18 pm »

I think the issue is that the game that's hidden is a PlayStation 3 game and those can't be accessed or shown on a PS5.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 29, 2026, 07:41:24 pm »

35. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Fuse/T260G

36. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Fuse/Riki

For real-real, not for play-play this time. The game can be wrapped up in a bow. But this isn't a true ending. It's just taking a breath. It's my favorite game of all time. Of course I'll be back for more. The ending scene that was shown was really heartwarming. Almost heartwarming enough to make me want to do another file but there are other games I want to focus on.

*victory music plays* 150 platinum trophies! (According to the PSN website I have 149, but my PlayStation account and my PlayStation app on my phone says 150 so we're going with that.)

From my understanding, the likely issue is that, whether intentionally or not, one of your game trophy data is set to be hidden. I found a thorough series of steps to reverse that action, because apparently it's different to accomplish the task when using different consoles, and it may be required to use a specific console to reverse the action.

It's worth a shot. I think I know which game it's for (the original Dark Souls on PlayStation 3).

Update: the above method only works for PlayStation 4/5 games, unfortunately.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 29, 2026, 11:31:00 am »

33. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Fuse/Lute

34. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Fuse/Red

I guess I'm in it to win it. These are much, much shorter than I thought they'd be. So, despite getting everything in terms of trophies, I still want to see other things I haven't seen before.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 28, 2026, 12:32:18 pm »

32. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Fuse/Blue

I mean...I simply had to see what my favorite MC's campaign looked like with Fuse. Right? Right. Okay for real this time. I think I'm done with the Remaster for a good while.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 28, 2026, 11:37:57 am »

31. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Fuse/Asellus

*victory music plays* 150 platinum trophies! (According to the PSN website I have 149, but my PlayStation account and my PlayStation app on my phone says 150 so we're going with that.) I'm glad I chose such a celebrated and favorite game to get the trophy. Most folks know I adore this game, and it's baffling that I continue to learn new things about it with each playthrough. The last trophy I needed wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, but that might have been because I overprepared. But, that's better than the alternative. If there's one thing that this series has taught me it's that there is no "just prepared enough" middle ground. You're either overprepared or underprepared. Thus, the gauntlet of final bosses went by without a hitch. I got to learn more about Asellus, too. Final party of parties was: Fuse, Gen, Liza, Lute, and Blue.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: March 27, 2026, 11:34:09 am »

30. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Fuse/Emilia

I had to do some reloading of New Game Plus in order to make Emilia recruitable for future Fuse files. It was fun seeing Fuse's perspective on Emilia, Gradius, and Ren. It was a really short campaign; much shorter than I thought it'd be. Along with Fuse (who's actually name is Roster - who knew?!) I had Blue, Liza, Gen, and Lute. The final boss fell easily so hopefully I'm ready to take on the final challenge and get my last trophy for the platinum. Wish me luck!