What are you currently playing?

[Sydian]

I accidentally played Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for ten hours today...........

 

[ソラ]

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (PS3/ENG) - been playing on my proud mode file, to get Ultima, beat all the optional bosses, and doing all the post game files. I really dislike Proud on KHFM, I skip it most the time and play Final Mix Mode. But I want to challenge myself. I have platinum the game already. But want to have a 100% Proud mode file.

Tales of the Abyss 3D (N3DS/ENG) - Replaying my new copy, since my old one was stolen. Sooo yay!

Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PS4/ENG) - Though I should really beat HF, but I never got around to it, (personal reasons), I like the game, its a bit difficult for me to navigate but getting used to! I like it so far tho.

 

[pkmin3033]

I remember making it through the Seraphic Gate in Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria multiple times. Farming and farming, going to other dungeons to retrieve the best release items just so I could make Freya the most BA member of my team. Thoroughly, and literally, delivering the Smackdown on all of the toughest bosses the game had to offer was absolutely worth all of those hours and completely justified Freya's adage "What a lamentable waste of time." It was glorious. How I love that game.

Agh, THAT dungeon. tri-Ace have this thing about infuriating postgame dungeons; did you ever play Star Ocean: The Last Hope? Or any Star Ocean game, for that matter. They're the only games I know that have a more irritating postgame dungeon than that place...but Freya was worth it. I played the game for hours just for Lezard, though. xD

You will have to keep me up to date. Protecting the statue was incredibly difficult if my memory serves. I don't believe I got much further than that, however. I'll really have to start it again, although I secretly hope for a PC release (doubtful). I have many games to go through however, so as Rufus had ceaselessly declared... "this may take some time."

The trick is to stick a character in front of the cart so it doesn't move, then run riot with the other two. That was kind of essential when fighting the boss as well, otherwise he demolished it within two or three turns...although you can kill him in two Hero Actions if you have enough Hollow Point rounds and Molotov Cocktails. I only found this out the second time around...the first I'd used them all up killing more irritating foes early on, aha. It's possible it could come out on PC in the future, as practically everything is coming out on PC now, and there is the original Disgaea coming out soon as well. It might happen.


...but I'm still on Chapter 1 at the moment. I'm taking my sweet time and enjoying it. I knocked out An Unfortunate Accident earlier, which is by far and away the most aggravating trophy of the lot, since taking out a party member with a delayed grenade BEFORE an enemy does is hit-or-miss when in Critical Condition, a.k.a I-can't-do-anything-but-shake-like-an-idiot-so-just-restart mode. Ended up sticking Zephyr (because it's always got to be him) next to an oil drum after playing cat-and-mouse with the Tar Man at the end of Lucia. Burn was both blessing and curse...it accumulated scratch damage, which made it easier to kill him. But the Tar Man got there first. Will do the Arena and sidequests tomorrow before I actually do the chapter properly. No need to do much more in terms of customisation etc until I've beaten Caligula and can use the money trick.

In Disgaea 4...I'm so close. So very, VERY close. I spent about an hour and a half this morning watching every single skill I needed to fill out my list...oh god, the references are outrageous and delightfully obscure. Flower Storm is a HeartCatch Precure reference! I don't like HeartCatch, but I still laughed quite hard watching Val perform what was essentially Pink Forte Wave, right down to the random spinning at the end. It made watching some 300-odd skills worthwhile to see stuff like this.

My checklist for the plat is something along these lines:
- Do the Fuka and Desco Show and Time Leap story, and get the weapons/special skills/pirate ship parts attached to them.
- Finish the X-Dimension Maps. 90% done. Blargh.
- Get Rank 40-2 Armor and Magic-type Monster Weapon. Nearly there.
- Start a new game cycle, catch three Androids, and get the two pirate ship parts and sword associated with them...and unlock every tier whilst I'm at it. This will unlock a crapton of trophies.
- Finish the game again and see all the alternate endings. This will come last.

I'm hoping to have it done by Wednesday (I'll be out tomorrow again) and within five hours or so, although I'm not going to rush the extra content I've not seen yet. I'll take screenshots! Then I'll finally be done and finally be able to shut up about it. xD

 

[Sammi]

- Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Because why not?
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. I'm on the 3rd case. I bought the trilogy on the eShop for my car rides this week but I started a bit early.

I'm been trying on and off to start Xenoblade Chronicles but it's not going so hot. It's a totally new game for me and it always takes me a bit of time to get the nerve to play new games. Don't ask me why because I don't know. :B

 

[Spinosaurus]

Just Ultra Street Fighter IV lately. Don't have much to play. Every time I have something in mind I never get the urge to actually start it, or I play it once and put it off for a week or something.

At least Street Fighter is timeless.

 

[rikdegraaff]

If I am gaming, I play Gran Turismo 6 on my PS3.
Very nice game to play!

 

[Ephemeral Euphoria]

Been playing Uncharted 3 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution on the PS3 as of late. Almost done with HR by now so that's surprising considering how long it's taken me to finish it.

 

[Arc]

Luminous Arc 4 Luminous Arc 2: Redux Stella Glow - Has been fun! It's nothing mind-blowing, but it's enough to satiate my Tactics Ogre SRPG craving right now. I'm disappointed that Stella Glow isn't using LA3's alternate level-up system though; just to add a little layer of customization aside from orb set-ups and affections. Music is pretty great so far. All the Witches' songs are very catchy, with the exception to Mordi's (best girl btw), that's kind of grating.

Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon - The partner is a blast. Looplets and Emera are broken as **** (Type Bulldozer + Barrage will annihilate everything). Salamence, Dragonite, and Tyranitar recruited early. Alliance attacks are cool.

I'm really liking this game. Already shaping up to be my favourite PMD, by far. Some of these optional boss fights are interesting to say the least, haha; I hope people aren't too harsh about this game being slightly unforgiving in that regard though. I actually like the fact that some of these missions are surprises like that, it really makes you think over your dungeon loadout.

 

[killer-curry]

I got my Metal Gear Solid 5 a few days ago and it is awesome so far. The graphics are thrilling and the game play is smooth even though I using this entry level AMD Radeon 6670 HD graphic card. The features are quite fresh and a lot stuff you can find out.(Recently just got a cassette tape of a guy vomit in a toilet ... LoL)

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PS4/ENG) - Though I should really beat HF, but I never got around to it, (personal reasons), I like the game, its a bit difficult for me to navigate but getting used to! I like it so far tho.

HF > Lost Song, definitely.
Lost Song just wins with the flying (which is limited anyway =D)

really easy

How many Area bosses have you encountered? xD

 

[Nah]

For a while there I was just kinda playing Smash 4 and maybe one other game, but lately the list has expanded a bit to: Smash 4, replaying Metroid Prime 2 again, Tales of Zestiria, Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, doing my first ever Lunatic Classic (and really my first ever run of a FE game on that level of difficulty) run on Fire Emblem Awakening--Chapter 2 was an awful experience but I got through it--and trying to grind again in Phantasy Star Online (someday Olga Flow, SOMEDAY).

And what breeding I have to do for people on Alpha Sapphire.

 

[Kayges]

Or any Star Ocean game, for that matter. They're the only games I know that have a more irritating postgame dungeon than that place...

I've played Star Ocean: Till the End of Time multiple times and I've played Last Hope once. I will always love tri-Ace for games like SOTtEoT and VP, but their post-game dungeons definitely are challenging. I loved the cameos though. Fighting chibi Freya and Lenneth was always a blast and the battle systems are always such fun no matter what.


The trick is to stick a character in front of the cart so it doesn't move

It's possible it could come out on PC in the future, as practically everything is coming out on PC now, and there is the original Disgaea coming out soon as well. It might happen.


What. I never knew you could stop the cart, which I suppose makes me winning that stage incredibly awesome. Or perhaps I did know and I just don't remember doing so.
I'm just skeptical about a PC release because we have yet to see either of the VPs on PC and I don't recall RoF being widely received, though I could be wrong. I do agree that it will all eventually be on PC, though, so long as there are people like me who would buy a game twice.

Congratulations on your progress! Although you still sound like you have a way to go. I can't remember the last time I had enough time to play so much. I'll get vacation time starting January and I plan on taking long weekends for some serious gaming. :|

While I don't envy what you have to do, I definitely admire your drive. Like I said before, I'm definitely not a trophy hunter or a completionist. The last and only game I ever 100% completed was FF X-2, standard version. Despite its critics, I thoroughly enjoyed that game.

 

[thedestinedblade]

I've put about 8 hours into Yo-kai Watch, and I can say I've really enjoyed it as of now. Yes, I can definitely see the similarities to Pokemon, but for the most part, it's got some originality and unique charm. There isn't really a story per se, as you're just going around town and dealing with Yo-kai related problems, but they did a really good job in the building the world (or town) as there's lots of places to explore and things to do. Just wish there was a surefire way to befriend Yo-kai! >_>

 

[pkmin3033]

IT'S DONE IT'S DONE IT'S DOOOOOONE

Finally. After nearly two months (although I started it in December 2014 so it looks longer, haha) and 113 hours 40 minutes of playtime, after several hours of laughter, swearing, and mind-numbing despair and monotony, I have my Disgaea 4 platinum! Knocked out the last remaining trophies today and just finished up with the endings...getting Emizel's was a freakin' nuisance, because even with Valzy reincarnated he kept demolishing Emizel before he could counter.

But I actually really enjoyed the Fuka and Desco show - despite hearing a lot of negative things about it - and, with the exception of Valzy's voice actor being replaced with someone who sounded nothing like him, the Time Leap scenario was great, as it gave some much-needed expansion to the backstory which underpinned his entire character. Plus I could actually enjoy the dialogue, since my endgame team made the battles a joke. I also ship Valzy/Artina something awful, so there was that to it as well.

I think I'm all Disgaea-d out for now. I don't even want to think about Disgaea 3 - I almost platted that on one of my old accounts a couple of years ago, and some of it was HELL - and I'm putting Disgaea 5 on hold for now...I'll come back to it early next year, maybe in January, assuming I have time with Xenoblade Chronicles X looming in my life. I think I'm getting Divinity: Original Sin for Christmas too (or I will be buying it then if nobody else does) so there will be that.

So, with that done...I'm taking a bit of a break. Before I start my next time-consuming Vita JRPG - which will be Moe Chronicle, Operation Abyss, or Dungeon Travelers 2 - I'm going to relax and enjoy Triforce Heroes on my 3DS, and finally get started on Corpse Party: Blood Drive. I think I've tormented myself enough for now. I might even restart some of my old games...I've had cravings for the Gameboy Zelda titles lately. Just...no more grid-based strategy-RPGs. xD

Now, tomorrow I can finally finish off Tales of Zestiria and Final Fantasy XIV, haha. I had them on hold because I wanted D4 to be my 50th, and with that done I can now get those out of the way. I should probably pick up Dragon Quest Heroes again, or it's going to fade into obscurity...

Speaking of torment...Chapter 3 in Resonance of Fate. Caligula looms in the immediate future. I'm going to hold off on it for a couple of days though, since I want to do the Arena as I go, meaning I have some fifty battles to do - it'll take a while, and it's tedious so I'll probably do it in very short bursts - and I want a second pistol for Leanne, because I never use items and dual-wielding is awesome. Plus this will give me the chance to swap weapons around and level up a little...and maybe get some more Hollow-Point Rounds to make my life a little easier when I face Caligula. xD

I've played Star Ocean: Till the End of Time multiple times and I've played Last Hope once. I will always love tri-Ace for games like SOTtEoT and VP, but their post-game dungeons definitely are challenging. I loved the cameos though. Fighting chibi Freya and Lenneth was always a blast and the battle systems are always such fun no matter what.

Urgh, Till the End of Time...the black sheep of the family. I never could reconcile with the No MP = Death thing, it screwed me over one too many times. If, as I suspect, it gets ported to the PS4 with a platinum trophy in the near future, you can bet I'll force myself through it again though.

But yes, tri Ace are wonderful! It's just a shame we never got Beyond the Labyrinth...or Frontier Gate...or Phantasy Star Nova. We'd better get Exist Archive.

While I don't envy what you have to do, I definitely admire your drive. Like I said before, I'm definitely not a trophy hunter or a completionist. The last and only game I ever 100% completed was FF X-2, standard version. Despite its critics, I thoroughly enjoyed that game.

X-2 HD is on my to-do list...I started it right after I platted X HD, which turned out to be a huge mistake, as I was totally burned out from that...Blitzball, Chocobo Racing, Sphere Grid maxxing...I never thought I'd do all that again after the first time on PS2. But I will go back to it; I'm one of those rare people who thinks X-2 is better than X, haha.

 

[ソラ]

HF > Lost Song, definitely.
Lost Song just wins with the flying (which is limited anyway =D)

I guess it depends, I have to play HF when my daughter is sleeping or not at home, when I pause, it still continues and I die...Lost Song you can pause and it actually pauses.

 

[Kayges]

IT'S DONE IT'S DONE IT'S DOOOOOONE

Speaking of torment...Chapter 3 in Resonance of Fate. Caligula looms in the immediate future. I'm going to hold off on it for a couple of days though, since I want to do the Arena as I go, meaning I have some fifty battles to do - it'll take a while, and it's tedious so I'll probably do it in very short bursts - and I want a second pistol for Leanne, because I never use items and dual-wielding is awesome. Plus this will give me the chance to swap weapons around and level up a little...and maybe get some more Hollow-Point Rounds to make my life a little easier when I face Caligula. xD

Congratulations on your Plat! It sounds like an absolute relief - I feel tired for you after reading all of that. Good luck with Caligula, though. I have no idea what that game has to offer after that point, but some day I'll get myself to finish it, if only to really enjoy that battle system again.

Bad news is that I tried to set up my television and PS2 only to find that I have no idea where my television cables are or if I even brought them with me when I moved. ~_~ I suppose I could try to find the cords on amazon or something. Extremely disheartening too, because I've been listening to the Xenosaga OST and having major nostalgia trips, so I would really like to be able to play that series again.

In other news, I recently picked up Skyrim again, a game I have yet to remotely complete. Naturally, I adjusted my mods (which is a project in itself) and started a new character. Hopefully the game can keep my attention for more than a week, but I have a feeling it will take a lot of willpower on my part. So many shiny new games to play and so many classics to finish up or replay.

Urgh, Till the End of Time...the black sheep of the family. I never could reconcile with the No MP = Death thing, it screwed me over one too many times. If, as I suspect, it gets ported to the PS4 with a platinum trophy in the near future, you can bet I'll force myself through it again though.

But yes, tri Ace are wonderful! It's just a shame we never got Beyond the Labyrinth...or Frontier Gate...or Phantasy Star Nova. We'd better get Exist Archive.


X-2 HD is on my to-do list...I started it right after I platted X HD, which turned out to be a huge mistake, as I was totally burned out from that...Blitzball, Chocobo Racing, Sphere Grid maxxing...I never thought I'd do all that again after the first time on PS2. But I will go back to it; I'm one of those rare people who thinks X-2 is better than X, haha.

Haha, I suppose that would be something to get accustomed to, but I actually saw it as an interesting concept. It would have been unforgivable if MP Killing didn't work on enemies, but it definitely does! Can you say Aiming Device? Maria can. A lot.
I can't even remember how much time I played that game for, but it was a very healthy amount. I spent hours and hours in the Colosseum.

I'd say my opinion on both X and X-2 are on par with each other. I love them both for different reasons. X had a fun crafting system with the weapons and a very defined story. I wasn't a big fan of Tidus as a main character, though. I found X-2's dressphere system incredibly fun and a real motivator in my 100% run. I finally got the Mascot dressphere, celebrated with a couple of random battles, and then was completely burned out and never touched it again. xD I wasn't completely impressed by the story, but I appreciated it enough. I would have been happier if Yuna could have just moved on (maybe that's one of the endings I didn't get).

 

[Trainer Kenzie]

I've currently been playing Dragon Age: Origins, Skyrim, X/Alpha Sapphire, Fallout 3, and replaying a few other games, such as Fable 3 and Batman: Arkham City.

 

[pkmin3033]

I'm platform-hopping right now, hoping that something is going to stick, because I am really not in the mood for anything specific. I'm playing Corpse Party (the original) on my Vita, because just the opening cutscene of Blood Drive had me completely confused - I couldn't remember what the Book of Shadows incident was, or even who half the characters were. Corpse Party was released in 2011, and I played it when it first came out. Woops. So I'm running back over the two prequels before I pick up the third game. After dying repeatedly at the end of Chapter 1 because I forgot to check Class 2-A, I've moved on to Chapter 2. Good stuff. I love the atmosphere in this game!

Resonance of Fate progress has stalled slightly, because the item drop rate is obscene. I'm on Chapter 5 - I took out Caligula with three Hero Actions! Two passes with Zephry with Incendiary Rounds, then one with Leanne and that was that - and I need 5 sets of mannequin parts for a sidequest. The problem? The heads are ****ing obscenely rare. Cue about three hours of swearing and I have ONE head. I don't want to hex farm to connect the item drop terminals because I'll only have to do it all over again in Chapter 7 (the place most people hex farm)

On my 3DS, I'm hopping about like crazy. I finished replaying Metroid Fusion yesterday; took me four and a half hours, because I couldn't remember where I was going and I died a couple of times...once against the Nightmare, and the SA-X killed me as well because I forgot I could freeze it with Ice Missiles. Woops. Good game, though.

Now I've picked up Bravely Default again - earlier this year I got a file ready so I wouldn't have to rebuild Norende, which is awesome - and I'm casually trying to pick up where I left off in Xenoblade, as well. I've also borrowed all of my mother's Dragon Quest games (both Joker titles and V; I could have sworn she had IV and VI but I guess not) and I'm going to dabble in those; DQ Heroes has piqued my interest in the series again a bit, plus with VII and VIII out next year I should get some passing familiarity with them. I have IX I can play later.

PS4 is still DQ Heroes, although I'm debating starting Re: Hollow Fragment, for something extra to do. I have a bit of a backlog I should probably finish though.

BUT NOTHING IS STICKING. I am so damn bored, and I don't feel like anything. It's irritating me to no end, because there are plenty of games I've thought at some point or another that I'd like to replay, or just play. I have a free month between now and Xenoblade and I'm wasting it!

Congratulations on your Plat! It sounds like an absolute relief - I feel tired for you after reading all of that. Good luck with Caligula, though. I have no idea what that game has to offer after that point, but some day I'll get myself to finish it, if only to really enjoy that battle system again.

Bad news is that I tried to set up my television and PS2 only to find that I have no idea where my television cables are or if I even brought them with me when I moved.

I suppose I could try to find the cords on amazon or something. Extremely disheartening too, because I've been listening to the Xenosaga OST and having major nostalgia trips, so I would really like to be able to play that series again.

Thanks, it is indeed a relief! Although the problem is now I'm totally burned out, I think. xD
After Caligula, the game likes to make life difficult by taking party members out at random. One of them has you playing as Zephyr by himself, and you have to fight a rather irritating boss, too. Not looking forward to that. Then the game amps it up significantly around Chapter 12 and makes good customisation absolutely vital. But you can buy Rookie Grenades very cheaply and make your own after Caligula, making it a bit easier to gain levels and whatnot. Fun stuff.

You should be able to use your PS3/PS4 cables, I think...I'm pretty sure USB/HDMI leads are universal between Sony platforms. Hell, I use the HDMI cable I got with my Wii with my PS4! Although if not, the things are pretty cheap to replace. It'd be nice if controllers were as well...

Haha, I suppose that would be something to get accustomed to, but I actually saw it as an interesting concept. It would have been unforgivable if MP Killing didn't work on enemies, but it definitely does! Can you say Aiming Device? Maria can. A lot.
I can't even remember how much time I played that game for, but it was a very healthy amount. I spent hours and hours in the Colosseum.

I'd say my opinion on both X and X-2 are on par with each other. I love them both for different reasons. X had a fun crafting system with the weapons and a very defined story. I wasn't a big fan of Tidus as a main character, though. I found X-2's dressphere system incredibly fun and a real motivator in my 100% run. I finally got the Mascot dressphere, celebrated with a couple of random battles, and then was completely burned out and never touched it again. xD I wasn't completely impressed by the story, but I appreciated it enough. I would have been happier if Yuna could have just moved on (maybe that's one of the endings I didn't get).

Well, maybe it'll have aged a little better if/when I replay it...I doubt it somehow, as I remember getting very frustrated with it, but it's Star Ocean, so if it comes out over here ported to PS4 (or better yet, Vita) I'm more or less obliged to buy it and try to plat it, no matter how much pain it puts me through. If nothing else, Cripsin Freeman's solid performance as Albel Nox will be welcome. xD

I can see your point, although personally I didn't like X's story, for the way it made Yuna solely dependent on Tidus...she was weak, needy, and very unbelievable as a saviour of mankind. But then, asides from Ashe, all FF female protagonists have had this problem...and Lightning I suppose, but the less said about that mess, the better. X-2 felt like a redemption of her character to me, at least up to the end. I think part of the problem is that I'd played Tales of Symphonia before FFX, and there are definite parallels to be drawn between their stories, and FFX can't hold a candle to that game. At least it wasn't as bad as FFIX though!

 

[Skip Class]

JUST finished Jak II (finally) and now I'm really sad. I'm planning to move on to Jak III once I can grab a copy of it. Also needing to finish Transistor since I started it a while back and haven't finished it.

 

[Kayges]

Still continuing with my Skyrim campaign, surprisingly. I dropped my Wood Elf mage in favor of a Redguard sword & shield lady warrior. I figured trying something new and different from what I would normally choose would keep me interested, and it really has. It's satisfying just running into places, jogging past the traps before they can hit me with all that stamina I have, and bashing people in the face. The only thing I HATE is confronting spiders, giant spiders, and the other insects. I. Can. Not. Deal. I'm a big baby when it comes to those things. Incredibly disgusting. I'd rather they all be replaced with dragons.

Finishing up The Companions questline. I will be enjoying Vilkas' and Farkas' company from now on. So long Lydia, you may guard my house.

I'm pretty sure becoming Thane of Falkreath is beyond me now. I've only assisted 1 villager out of 3. The other villagers that supposedly have a quest for me to help them do not have quests for me, so they just go on about their days. So, instead I am trying for Markarth next. Already helped Molag Bal out and received his fancy mace of doom. All the guards keep yelling at me to get it away from them. >:) Hoping to help some other Daedra out along the way. I'm pegging my character as one who strives for power and has a twisted view on what justice is.

BUT NOTHING IS STICKING. I am so damn bored, and I don't feel like anything. It's irritating me to no end, because there are plenty of games I've thought at some point or another that I'd like to replay, or just play. I have a free month between now and Xenoblade and I'm wasting it!

____

Thanks, it is indeed a relief! Although the problem is now I'm totally burned out, I think. xD
After Caligula, the game likes to make life difficult by taking party members out at random. One of them has you playing as Zephyr by himself, and you have to fight a rather irritating boss, too. Not looking forward to that. Then the game amps it up significantly around Chapter 12 and makes good customisation absolutely vital. But you can buy Rookie Grenades very cheaply and make your own after Caligula, making it a bit easier to gain levels and whatnot. Fun stuff.

You should be able to use your PS3/PS4 cables, I think...I'm pretty sure USB/HDMI leads are universal between Sony platforms. Hell, I use the HDMI cable I got with my Wii with my PS4! Although if not, the things are pretty cheap to replace. It'd be nice if controllers were as well...

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Well, maybe it'll have aged a little better if/when I replay it...I doubt it somehow, as I remember getting very frustrated with it, but it's Star Ocean, so if it comes out over here ported to PS4 (or better yet, Vita) I'm more or less obliged to buy it and try to plat it, no matter how much pain it puts me through. If nothing else, Cripsin Freeman's solid performance as Albel Nox will be welcome. xD

____

I can see your point, although personally I didn't like X's story, for the way it made Yuna solely dependent on Tidus...she was weak, needy, and very unbelievable as a saviour of mankind. But then, asides from Ashe, all FF female protagonists have had this problem...and Lightning I suppose, but the less said about that mess, the better. X-2 felt like a redemption of her character to me, at least up to the end. I think part of the problem is that I'd played Tales of Symphonia before FFX, and there are definite parallels to be drawn between their stories, and FFX can't hold a candle to that game. At least it wasn't as bad as FFIX though!

For your first point, that is the worst feeling in the world sometimes. You have free time and you're sitting there with all this pent up frustration because you can't get into that playing mood. You'd think it would be easy since you're a gamer, it's what you do, but it's not coming naturally like it should. Usually at these times I try to take a shower or go for a walk or take a nap. By the time I'm done doing any mix of those I usually feel like playing a game.
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Ha, I don't have a PS3 or a PS4. I pretty much dropped console gaming after I moved out of my dad's house and became a PC gamer. I have a great computer for gaming, it's the TV cables I'm missing. This may have to be a project for next year or so when we move again to a nice condo and have more space. My poor Xenosaga will have to wait, but it's really for the best. I have so much to play right now on my PC as it is.
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Albel was certainly an interesting character, but I could never pick him over Nel. The game kind of makes it that way, though. You spend all this time with Nel, so you grow to love her. I'm pretty sure there's some way to have them both, I just don't remember. I always recruited Nel and Peppita, though. I love Nel's voice actress and her fighting style and her personality. Peppita is fun to play as if you can land her counters all the time. xD
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Yes, you certainly have a point about Final Fantasy and their lackluster female leads. I think that's why I liked X-2 so much, like you said. I've always enjoyed strong female protagonists, but you can rarely find them without some large amount of fan service. I know that's a completely new basket of snakes all on its own, but I hate, hate, hate fan service. :| Unless I can see male fan service in equal measure, then I'm alright.