Kawa's recent activity
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
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Comment on Looking for some video game suggestions based off some specific parameters in ~games
Kawa Link Parentadding @Nny By the way, the demo is available again! It features 3 "levels" of journey mode, and 1 mode of online play with matchmaking. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3847360/Lumines_Arise_Demo/adding @Nny
By the way, the demo is available again! It features 3 "levels" of journey mode, and 1 mode of online play with matchmaking.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3847360/Lumines_Arise_Demo/
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
Kawa (edited )Link ParentYeah for DQXI, I think the relatively vanilla turn-based JRPG combat (and DQ is kinda the king of "vanilla" in JRPG combat having basically established it), and the length of the game (not quite...someone who was convinced that I'm just not in tune with JRPG battle mechanics
Yeah for DQXI, I think the relatively vanilla turn-based JRPG combat (and DQ is kinda the king of "vanilla" in JRPG combat having basically established it), and the length of the game (not quite Persona long but not far off either) are the biggest risk factors for that title failing to reach and connect with you, but if it works out it could be really rewarding.
Thanks for sharing about the slime plushies! That's cute haha. Toriyama really cooked when he drew those, I doubt it was originally intended to be a mascot. There is some really cool Slime merch, too!
For DQVIII and XI there were "Slime Controllers." DQXI introduced a PS4 and Switch models of it, and DQVIII on PS2 introduced a regular blue one but also a variant based on the rarer, "metal slime" monster.
In the funniest ironic twist that could happen to these, the blue ones from the PS2 era (not sure about modern ones) suffer from an issue that happens to many rubberized objects where they get kinda oily if unused after some time, like how regular, non-slime playstation controllers left in a drawer unused will develop on the analog sticks, except these slime controllers have a fully rubberized coating so it happens to more than just the sticks. The phenomenon is thought to be depolymerization, or elastomer loss, or finger oils that have entered into the rubber rising back out to the surface, not entirely sure as I'm no scientist! But in short, the slime controllers got slimy.
There's also a Nintendo 2DS XL (LL in jp) that has a Liquid Metal Slime theme that is absolutely gorgeous. I want this thing so bad. It released for the jp-only 3DS port of DQXI a few years back.
There is actually a ridiculous amount of Dragon Quest limited edition consoles. most of which feature slime variations.
There's even a game where you play as a slime, and wouldn't you know it, it has a Chrono Trigger reference!
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Comment on New World is dead: Amazon ends new content updates following massive layoffs, says 'servers will be live through 2026' in ~games
Kawa LinkI've never played New World aside from very briefly in beta, but I know some people who returned to it recently, and apparently this one stings because the game has been in very poor shape until...- Exemplary
I've never played New World aside from very briefly in beta, but I know some people who returned to it recently, and apparently this one stings because the game has been in very poor shape until like literally this month and now they pull the plug.
The game was doing poorly from just after it's initial launch falloff until October 2025 when a recent update of some kind (don't ask me the details, I genuinely don't know what it was) seemed to attract people to return to the game. According to the steamdb graph it's like a 4x increase in concurrent players comparing "before" to a recent peak. Not a huge blowout success story or anything but the sentiment I've heard was that this was finally righting the ship and could've been the start of New World becoming a better game and maybe growing into something bigger. This month's numbers, though, for MMO standards and what Amazon wanted, seemingly wasn't going to cut it. There is a feeling almost like this was decided by executives even before the update, and almost like no matter the outcome of the update that spurned this return to the game, it's fate was already decided.
Here's a screenshot of the past 6 months player chart from steamDB at the time of my comment and here's a direct link to the data. I had to filter to this cause all time's initial launch peak dwarfs the rest of the data so much and makes the timeline too long that you can't really see October's growth.
Sorry to any/all NW fans. Unlucky.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
Kawa (edited )Link ParentThank you for sharing, I'll probably watch a considerable amount of these videos, I appreciate it. The way you spoke about Dragon Quest in the 3rd bullet point leaves me unclear on your own...Thank you for sharing, I'll probably watch a considerable amount of these videos, I appreciate it.
The way you spoke about Dragon Quest in the 3rd bullet point leaves me unclear on your own familiarity level with it as a franchise. If you haven't yet played one, I would highly, highly recommend DQXI to basically anyone interested in JRPGs (except maybe those concerned about very long games), but nobody (not even Square-Enix themselves) sells it better than Tim Rogers did in this review.
The tl;dr highlight of this video that best makes the point is 23:00 to 27:09, for anyone reading this comment without time to watch the whole thing.
One more edit: the part of this video starting at 30:12 specifically touches on Chrono Trigger and is hilarious in the context of this thread.
Yes I'm spoiler tagging for a youtube video.
I haven't played DQ IV, or VII yet and it's still pretty early days in my V and VIII playthroughs. I have finished III and XI. I might actually like XI as much as CT... Feels crazy to say. On the other hand, I think saying III is equally as good as Chrono Trigger is laughable, but I "wasn't there" when it came out and did its thing. I recently finished it via the remake and quite enjoyed it, but it isn't even the same kind of JRPG with the same kind of goals as CT, I feel.
Then again, a big part of the fun of this video is the severe degree of glazing and over-exaggeration, I'm pretty sure we're not meant to take the opinion he presents in this segment that seriously.
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Comment on Microsoft's ambitious new Xbox: Your entire Xbox console library, the full power of Windows PC gaming, and no multiplayer paywall in ~games
Kawa Link ParentAbsolutely going to massively gap the price of PS6, I'm sure of it, unless Sony decides the (relative) absence of competition means its time to crank their own prices. But I think an Xbox at...Absolutely going to massively gap the price of PS6, I'm sure of it, unless Sony decides the (relative) absence of competition means its time to crank their own prices.
But I think an Xbox at $1000-$1200 like some people are thinking this means... For the hardware that might be in it, I think it could be a price that is competitive with a prebuilt PC, and including the ability to play previously owned xbox software for the users who are coming from Series S/X into this, that might be an appealing option if they don't already have a PC or were in need of an upgrade.
For the existing PC market, we'll all pretty much continue ignoring Xbox like we did the past 2 gens. Most PC gamers who ever pick up a console do it for hard-exclusives, period, and that has basically meant Nintendo or maybe Playstation.
As someone prepping a jump to linux (and have daily driven it for years as my only OS in the past, so not particularly likely to be a failed conversion story) the last thing I want would be to become more entrenched in Microsoft's ecosystem, so all the baggage it will bring to the experience will make it even less appealing, not more. The idea of a PC that is an Xbox is a PC that is burdened by Xbox.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
Kawa Link ParentDamn that plugin sounds just right! It reminds me of what this guy does with kind of midi direct connection and has done it live as a big group which is a crazy and respectably deeply nerdy thing...I'm going to take this opportunity to plug what is possibly my favourite piece of software,
Damn that plugin sounds just right! It reminds me of what this guy does with kind of midi direct connection and has done it live as a big group which is a crazy and respectably deeply nerdy thing to do.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Kawa Link ParentAlready using it but good mention! This used to happen to me too but not in DQ. I dropped Golden Sun The Lost Age and FF13 both for going from linear to open too suddenly that I lost momentum.If your 3DS is hacked, I recommend checking into the DQ8 Orchestrated and Restoration mod.
Already using it but good mention!
I tend to fall off DQ games shortly after I get the ship.
This used to happen to me too but not in DQ. I dropped Golden Sun The Lost Age and FF13 both for going from linear to open too suddenly that I lost momentum.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
Kawa (edited )Link ParentRecaps and stuff are definitely a big way forward for the genre. The Tales of series has been doing this for ages, having a Synopsis feature in the main menu that will give you the rundown chapter...Recaps and stuff are definitely a big way forward for the genre. The Tales of series has been doing this for ages, having a Synopsis feature in the main menu that will give you the rundown chapter by chapter of what you'd seen and done. Dragon Quest XI also gives a recap of recent events when you load your save.
On the other hand, when I come back to a JRPG that doesn't have these features, I'll often enough figure out where I am and work my way through an online synopsis or even skim parts of someone else's playthrough to jog my memory, and have yet to go too far or spoil myself so it has been a working option, but I can totally understand why some would not go down that path.
I'll do damn near anything I can when returning to a game I dropped for whatever reason, to not start over. I have just witnessed the cycle of restarting and never finishing too many times, both with myself in the past, and with friends even to this day, and it's just not something I want to be doing with my time. (This is categorically different than finishing a first playthrough for me, replaying something I've beat before is a different thing than restarting unfinished titles from the beginning.)
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
Kawa Link ParentYeah I'm not treating CGA as a committment to completion either, and that may even be the case for the game I nominated if I turn out to not like it. I'd like to give every game a fair shake and...Yeah I'm not treating CGA as a committment to completion either, and that may even be the case for the game I nominated if I turn out to not like it. I'd like to give every game a fair shake and do my best at finishing but I'm never gonna force myself. Next month is an Arcade Special and I plan to treat it as more of a sampler or even as if those 5 titles came on a playstation demo disc - odds are good i play like just an hour or two of each, unless I get hooked.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Kawa LinkFinished Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Game's pretty fun, I ended up only doing a priest->sage, mage->sage and warrior->martial artist-> monster wrangler for my 3 non-hero homies' class changes,...Finished Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Game's pretty fun, I ended up only doing a priest->sage, mage->sage and warrior->martial artist-> monster wrangler for my 3 non-hero homies' class changes, and it was completely adequate for a casual first playthrough normal mode. I hear some of the postgame superbosses require like lv99 tightly tuned parties though so I'm kinda thinking I keep my save file and come back to it for that some day in the future, but right now I'm more eager to move on to other games. I'm still feeling DQ so I'm kinda prodding at Dragon Quest V's PS2 fan translation via emulation on my Steam Deck, and Dragon Quest VIII on my 3DS and then see which one sticks.
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Comment on What's your video game comfort food? in ~games
Kawa Link ParentIn support of this, anyone who maybe played in the CS Source and 1.6 days and fell off from then might know this mode as "gungame" when it was more of a custom map/mod thing.In support of this, anyone who maybe played in the CS Source and 1.6 days and fell off from then might know this mode as "gungame" when it was more of a custom map/mod thing.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
Kawa Link ParentIn support of your point by way of completely opposite behaviour and outcome, I was parked in front of CRT TVs and CRT monitors pretty much constantly in my childhood and nothing has happened to...In support of your point by way of completely opposite behaviour and outcome, I was parked in front of CRT TVs and CRT monitors pretty much constantly in my childhood and nothing has happened to my vision. I think it really is a matter of genetics and the cards we were dealt. If there is some effect from CRTs, genetics may still be involved in susceptibility to the effects probably, I have no idea.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
Kawa LinkI did see a few people in the prior thread say that the game is long, and my intention is not whatsoever to call anybody out, be toxic, or gatekeep, I just want to highlight that I think it's...I did see a few people in the prior thread say that the game is long, and my intention is not whatsoever to call anybody out, be toxic, or gatekeep, I just want to highlight that I think it's actually a pretty funny and revealing statement.
In my opinion Chrono Trigger is noticeably shorter than average for its genre, so I think anyone commenting that the game is long would probably say that about any JRPG, while people who regularly play the genre often say the game is concise and moves at a breezy pace, never overstaying its welcome.
I hold the latter opinion, and "notoriously" (except practically nobody knows this about me) I take much longer than average to beat JRPGs the first time through, often anywhere from 120%-200% of what howlongtobeat will say.
Of course, I don't know how many times I've played CT before but being a repeat playthrough saves a lot of extra time by knowing what to do at all times, so I just kinda kept my Analogue Pocket near me and took lots of idle opportunities to keep pushing through it. At one point I even had the pocket in one hand (I can reach the dpad and face buttons with 1 thumb while holding it in one hand - not comfortable, but doable) and my PC controller in the other hand, playing CT while grinding levels in DQ3 HD-2D at the same time.
Anyway, fantastic game! Made me a believer in time travel stories, though I don't know if the genre has ever done it better in the 30 years since.
Ayla cracks me up and Robo's a real one for tending the forest for 400 years. I love the whole cast really, well Crono is a bit blank slate silent protag but yknow. The rest of them anyway.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 đšī¸â° đēī¸ đ¸ REMOVE CARTRIDGE âī¸ Chrono Trigger in ~games
Kawa Link ParentSNES version on Analogue Pocket using agg23's OpenFGPA SNES core. Wasn't my first playthrough though, been around this block a few times.SNES version on Analogue Pocket using agg23's OpenFGPA SNES core.
Wasn't my first playthrough though, been around this block a few times.
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Comment on What's your video game comfort food? in ~games
Kawa (edited )LinkI guess the sort of "default" answer is to just list off nostalgic childhood games I know well and replay from time to time like Super Mario RPG or Super Mario World on SNES, or Mystical Ninja...I guess the sort of "default" answer is to just list off nostalgic childhood games I know well and replay from time to time like Super Mario RPG or Super Mario World on SNES, or Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on N64, but I think that's the less interesting angle to answer the question with.
Instead, I also want to say that without the nostalgia factor, games with sort of non-materialistic particle effect-y visuals (I've sometimes described them as "graphical fireworks shows") and any type of gameplay that has a high chance to make me settle into flow state easily can play the role of gaming "comfort food" because of how capable they are of blanking my mind of my problems and worries.
I don't know how to categorically describe games like this cause they can be in any genre, but the two games that make me want to call this a category are Geometry Wars and Tetris Effect and so naturally the upcoming next thing will be Lumines Arise. I've thought about making a thread here to try to take suggestions on other games that fit the bill, but I don't want to go around replying to people saying what I think is or isn't a fit to try to "fine-tune" a vibes based idea because if I say no to things and can't clearly define why, it'll just discourage further replies. You can tell how wrong it will go by googling for games that look or have vibes like those and seeing a million suggestions that are just too far away from the mark. Occasionally someone will recommend something like Mixolumia or Thumper or Rez which fit, but the vast majority of recommendations will be like Waves (I'm mixed on whether this one fits or not, Waves 2 looks a little more "right") if you ask about Geometry Wars, or completely off topic stuff like Ori and Celeste. Of course the bottom line is that there's not that many games that actually fit.
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Comment on If the Xbox Ally is the future of Xbox, Microsoft is in trouble in ~games
Kawa Link ParentI think the implication about wondering why it runs Windows would be that it should be some kind of Xbox OS that runs Xbox console style software, rather than Windows PC software. Anyone who knows...I think the implication about wondering why it runs Windows would be that it should be some kind of Xbox OS that runs Xbox console style software, rather than Windows PC software. Anyone who knows whats going on in handheld PCs and that this is a ROG Ally adjacent product knew it was going to be Windows, but this very question makes this very awkward for some less informed fans of the Xbox brand who may not know what they're getting into with a product like this. If someone's deep in the Xbox console ecosystem and not PC, and gets wind of this device, what is going to happen for them? What if they buy it without really realizing? I mean, I should hope people these days investigate harder before they drop that kind of money but I'm just saying I won't be surprised to hear of someone hitting this particular snag. Xbox branding for this product is actually very awkward in terms of the Xbox organization's customer communications here.
(+ @raze2012 who made a very similar reply)
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Kawa LinkContinuing to play Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake and just got access to fly around the world, did a bit of grinding cause the last dungeon had an HP/MP top-up inside it and because I predict a...Continuing to play Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake and just got access to fly around the world, did a bit of grinding cause the last dungeon had an HP/MP top-up inside it and because I predict a difficult boss is imminent. Like I said the last time I mentioned it in these threads, all the remake polish hasn't exactly hidden the fact that this game has its roots on the NES in terms of the narrative's low complexity.
I complained a bit that the ramifications of the class system seemed overly complex but I've concluded I'd simply read too much optimizer-speak. The biggest thing that prevented me from jumping at the advice of optimizers was the way they dip into classes only a certain amount of levels to a targeted ability and then swap again, while I sit there wondering about everything above that level that was left on the table. I've since found and felt like the game isn't really pushing me to do this, and I'm glad it isn't because my Sage is only just catching up to the rest of the party. Furthermore, there has yet to be a consistent liquid metal slime farm and I'm not sure there ever is, too many non-LMS spawns killing the rate. With that in mind, I'm glad I'm avoiding the re-levelling. Still, my mage can pretty safely become a second sage when I get another of the special item, and my warrior probably ought to become something else once they have unlocked all warrior abilities just because I don't think it feels like the end of the line for that character, and that means all 3 of my non-hero characters will have class changed once. Perhaps enough.
I finished up a Chrono Trigger replay for CGA. IDK not much to say, fantastic game, beaten it a couple times before and watched lets plays of it a few times so I kinda rushed through it. Not sure I'll even make a top-level comment in CGA's remove cartridge thread for it as I feel like I don't have any crazy takes about the game, it's just a concise story that doesn't overstay its welcome, a simple but effective turn based battle system and a solid xp curve that prevents falling behind and satisfies a grinding-avoidant past self. (which is why it's one of very few jrpgs I finished in the era of my life when I originally played it, I was particularly anti-grinding and anti-turn based in my early 20s.) It's a remarkable game, but my remarks would be unremarkable. I'll probably just reply to others and converse in the final thread.
Lastly, not playing, but watching GDQx this weekend. It's gamesdonequick express, so it's 3 days and not overnight. Happening at twitchcon but the viewing experience doesn't differ significantly from other GDQ content so if you wanna watch some speedruns, now you know.
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Comment on Devil May Fly - WIP fighter jet parry in ~games
Kawa Link ParentI don't think I understand the pun in "delivery must complete" What am I overlooking?way better pun title than DELIVERY MUST COMPLETE
I don't think I understand the pun in "delivery must complete"
What am I overlooking?
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Kawa Link ParentThe new Arkveld Extreme trial turned out to be quite easy for what it was. Cleared it in the morning in PF in a couple lockouts. I had a lot of fun but it's probably the easiest Extreme trial so...The new Arkveld Extreme trial turned out to be quite easy for what it was. Cleared it in the morning in PF in a couple lockouts. I had a lot of fun but it's probably the easiest Extreme trial so far in Dawntrail and probably also easier than any Endwalker extreme trial. Very low on coordination and higher on boss animation based tells. Still, I liked it a lot.
Didn't happen to step foot into the deep dungeon at all yet.
Similarly I first played this game to completion somewhere around 2012 on a snes emulator on a smartphone, as an adult. I probably never made it past the court scene in earlier attempts as a teen/kid. I do not have a nostalgia-driven judgment of this game.
Same goes for FF7, same thing around 2013, emulated on phone, as adult. I bring it up cause being a fan of FF7 is the #1 attractant of "rose tinted glasses" allegations.