[WinterPhoenix]

Playing on a 2DS myself, got one back around when X/Y came out just for them, I still have an old DS as well that will play Platinum, HG/SS, B2/W2, helped with traded evolutions and the like. But yeah I never saw the point of paying full whack for a 3DS tbh, Pokemon are pretty much the only hand held games I've ever played or have any interest in playing, 2DS does me fine so it's all good

But yeah Silencer, depressing about explains it, I couldn't even look at a Pokemon game for ages after that. The Y save itself didn't have all that many hours on it (relatively anyhow) but thinking about just how many hours went into all the previous games ruined in one fell swoop still makes me sad

Agree completely about multiple save files though for sure. Some official way of backing up save-files would be great to avoid the heartbreak of corrupted files as well, but I do understand why such a tool doesn't exist as it would be too easy to simply capture pokemon trade them over and the go back and capture it again, would deafeat the entire point of legendaries and such. Though of course poke-genning pretty much does that anyway but yeah.

[Silencer]

WinterPhoenix, on 06 May 2017 - 06:25 AM, said:

Playing on a 2DS myself, got one back around when X/Y came out just for them, I still have an old DS as well that will play Platinum, HG/SS, B2/W2, helped with traded evolutions and the like. But yeah I never saw the point of paying full whack for a 3DS tbh, Pokemon are pretty much the only hand held games I've ever played or have any interest in playing, 2DS does me fine so it's all good

But yeah Silencer, depressing about explains it, I couldn't even look at a Pokemon game for ages after that. The Y save itself didn't have all that many hours on it (relatively anyhow) but thinking about just how many hours went into all the previous games ruined in one fell swoop still makes me sad

Agree completely about multiple save files though for sure. Some official way of backing up save-files would be great to avoid the heartbreak of corrupted files as well, but I do understand why such a tool doesn't exist as it would be too easy to simply capture pokemon trade them over and the go back and capture it again, would deafeat the entire point of legendaries and such. Though of course poke-genning pretty much does that anyway but yeah.

See, I would have got the 2DS but for some reason thought I might actually take it outside, ever. So I went for the portability factor of clamshell design. These days, I'd get the New 2DS XL over a 3DS any day because honestly, that 3D switch stays firmly rooted in the "off" position. I do have a couple of other games I want to play on the 3DS - Fire Emblem: Awakening, and one of the Zelda's, but I never seem to get around to it. Oh, and Bravely Default. Again, no relevance to the decision to spend more money than necessary on a 3DS, but hey.

It is an interesting quandary for Pokemon to be sure, but I'm sure there's a way Nintendo could deal with it - or hell, just admit that it doesn't matter *that* much, anyone who wants to circumvent the rules will find a way to do it anyway, and just let the rest of us back up our damn saves, and play the game through multiple times without having to buy multiple copies of the game. XD (Though I do appreciate from a purely Pokemon-saving point, the Bank is an excellent addition if you want to just save your Pokemon and then get a new starter to play through again - so there's that. Then again, I haven't been able to use it for 6 months when I didn't have internet, so it was a mostly theoretical benefit until recently XD)

[WinterPhoenix]

Actually I would like to play Fire Emblem one day eventually, heard good things about it, but I doubt I'll ever get round to it. If I didn't have so many other things I need to spend my money on (plus all the things I want to spend my money on lol) I would consider upgrading to the XL for obvious reasons, as is I can make do with what I have so it's not a priority.

Yeah tbh you're right, people who wish to circumvent the rules will always find a way to do so, making that unfortunately easier to achieve has got to be an acceptable price to pay for the utility of backed-up saves. The great majority simply want to be able to play the game multiple times without buying multiple copies as you say, or in my case - and many others, as I found out when I looked my issue up - simply avoid one corrupted save ruining years of collecting. This is especially true when you consider that competitive battling - like the VGC tournaments for example - is the only place where making said 'cheating' easier to accomplish would actually matter - solo play you're just cheating yourself after all. That might be a huge issue if competitive battle is your thing, except, it's well known that those tournaments are already filled with genned pokemon anyway! Pokemon with perfect IV's are so time consuming to achieve - and next to impossible for legendaries really - far, far easier to simply gen them in, and it's nigh-on impossible to tell the difference between a genned Pokemon and one that's legitimately caught, so long as you don't give it something it physically cannot have. So yeah I guess I really do think they should just decide it doesn't matter *that* much as you say lol

Oh yeah the Poke Bank is a great tool, I really, really wish I had had it back before my corrupted save. Nowadays my event pokemon just live in the bank

This post has been edited by WinterPhoenix: 06 May 2017 - 09:18 AM

[Traveller]

I have a 3DS, and yes, the 3d is usually switched off, or put on lowest setting for games like Fire Emblem.
Not played a Pokemon game for ages, so wouldn't be able to judge which would be best if I want to go back to it.

My 4yr old has just discovered Pokemon on tv, so I know a bit about sun and moon from watching a few eps with him. I might check out the games again, I don't take it too seriously but they're pretty fun to walk around collecting and battling.

[Silencer]

Traveller, on 06 May 2017 - 11:50 AM, said:

I have a 3DS, and yes, the 3d is usually switched off, or put on lowest setting for games like Fire Emblem.
Not played a Pokemon game for ages, so wouldn't be able to judge which would be best if I want to go back to it.

My 4yr old has just discovered Pokemon on tv, so I know a bit about sun and moon from watching a few eps with him. I might check out the games again, I don't take it too seriously but they're pretty fun to walk around collecting and battling.

See, I skipped most of the generations as I haven't owned a Nintendo portable for years - I *think* the last one I played before X/Y was Gold/Silver....so generation 2? I honestly can't remember why it was that I ended up buying Y - I think it came in a bundle with the 3DS at the time, and seeing as I wanted a 3DS for some portable gaming goodness I figured I'd pick it up anyway. It was actually surprising how much I got back into them after that. I never would have thought I'd enjoy playing a Pokemon game again, but I'm probably having more fun now than when I was a kid. XD

X/Y is probably a good choice - it should be familiar enough, but they are faaaaaaaaaaaar easier than the originals. (For reference, you get an EXP Share after the first town, are handed a Gen1 starter in the second town you visit on top of your real starter (you get to choose), and the final evolutions of the new starters are dual-type insanity (Fire/Psychic is INSANE, and I'm pretty sure Water/Dark will be just as OP). I have been constantly overlevelled in both playthroughs so far, basically from day one. (The final gym is an Ice gym...the game even has dialogue that goes to the effect of "Depending on what Pokemon you have, this might be the easiest fight you've had, or the hardest." and I was just about rolling on the floor laughing in my Y game because I had a freaking Fire/Psychic to lead with and it was about 15 levels up as well - and that's with no grinding, that's just through natural play. Hilarious.) So it should be great for just casually loafing around - I certainly found it so. Sun/Moon are a bit tougher, I think Nintendo learned their lesson a bit (though I also chose the grass starter which traditionally is not the best choice - iirc Bulbasaur was sort of the unofficial hard mode of Gen1) but honestly it's still pretty much a cakewalk.)


Side note: there is a thing called Nuzlocke, and it's basically just a set of self-imposed rules to play by - you have to catch the first Pokemon you encounter on each route (sometimes excluding duplicates of ones you've already caught) and nothing else. Any Pokemon that faints is to be considered dead, and must be released (this also usually means if you defeat the first Pokemon you encounter on a route then you can't catch any Pokemon on that route). And I *think* you're also obliged to name all your Pokemon. It makes the games harder. Honestly, it's the only way to introduce real challenge to them these days. Quite a few Youtubers do videos of their Nuzlocke runs, it's amazing. (That being said, I'm pretty sure in X/Y I've never had a Pokemon faint yet, so there's that.) But if you ever find it getting too easy, you can always try it out!

[JPK]

^^ Nuzlocke runs are awesome, and a great way to get a player to use a monster they'd usually never pick for a team.

The other way I've found to increase the challenge on both X/Y and Su/Mo is to simply turn the exp share off asap.

At this point I think Pokemon's biggest problem is that they'll have great ideas for ways to improve on a generation but then completely abandon it for the next one. Gen 4 had the vs seeker which charged up in game with 100 steps and then you could use it to challenge trainers you had already battled. Some of those trainers would level up as you progressed in the main game and capture or evolve additional monsters. It added a great tool to as additional playability to the game. Gen 5 had "keys" that you could unlock to activate easy or hard mode. Hard mode started you off with your lvl 5 starter vs your rivals lvl 6. Most trainers simply had level increases, but gyms and certain other trainers would have additional monsters, different movesets, or held items to as an extra layer of challenge. Gen 6 I feel you've already covered well, Silencer. Why, oh why, did they abandon mega-evolution dio fast?

As you're obviously enjoying X/Y, I highly recommend Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire as well as Black and White 1 + 2.

[Tiste Simeon]

Last one I played was Blue when I downloaded an emulator for my phone! Absolutely smashed it.

Not played any of the other Game Boy Pokémon games.

[JPK]

Briar King, on 06 May 2017 - 03:50 PM, said:

Nerds

Don't be jelly now.

[Traveller]

What is the actual difference between the X and Y versions?

[JPK]

There are a couple small things but the primary difference Larry's in what monsters are available, and what your legendary boss-monster is. X gets Xerneas - a fairy type deer thing, whereas Y gets Yvetal - a dark/flying bird thing.

[JPK]

Briar King, on 07 May 2017 - 02:28 AM, said:

I cringe every time my kids ask to play Minecraft. They build neat stuff but I'm forced to sit here staring at them do it for a few hours.

Oh god, I know what you mean. It's so damn grindy and repetitive. And this is coming from a guy who admits that his favorite game franchise of all time is Pokemon of all things. It's not so bad when people are playing it on designer mode (or whatever it's actually called) but if they're doing a ground up night one build, I can't stand that damn game.

[Traveller]

I just fought an insane robot opera singer in an opera house in a theme park, who kept trying to hack into my android brain mid- fight, plus used previously killed crucified androids as weapons.

Nier is definitely growing on me.

[Morgoth]

Traveller, on 07 May 2017 - 09:33 PM, said:

I just fought an insane robot opera singer in an opera house in a theme park, who kept trying to hack into my android brain mid- fight, plus used previously killed crucified androids as weapons.

Nier is definitely growing on me.

That battle is even better when you play the game with 9S.

The third play through, that's when things get really crazy. Though, to be fair, that's a whole different story line from the first two.

[Traveller]

Morgoth, on 08 May 2017 - 08:31 AM, said:

Traveller, on 07 May 2017 - 09:33 PM, said:

I just fought an insane robot opera singer in an opera house in a theme park, who kept trying to hack into my android brain mid- fight, plus used previously killed crucified androids as weapons.

Nier is definitely growing on me.

That battle is even better when you play the game with 9S.

The third play through, that's when things get really crazy. Though, to be fair, that's a whole different story line from the first two.

Are there any pod/weapon upgrades that stand out as better than the rest? So far I've upgraded my swords but spent the most on extra fuse slots to fix more abilities.

There seem to be quite a few pod upgrades and moves for about 10k each that I might be missing out on though.

[Morgoth]

Traveller, on 08 May 2017 - 04:40 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 08 May 2017 - 08:31 AM, said:

Traveller, on 07 May 2017 - 09:33 PM, said:

I just fought an insane robot opera singer in an opera house in a theme park, who kept trying to hack into my android brain mid- fight, plus used previously killed crucified androids as weapons.

Nier is definitely growing on me.

That battle is even better when you play the game with 9S.

The third play through, that's when things get really crazy. Though, to be fair, that's a whole different story line from the first two.

Are there any pod/weapon upgrades that stand out as better than the rest? So far I've upgraded my swords but spent the most on extra fuse slots to fix more abilities.

There seem to be quite a few pod upgrades and moves for about 10k each that I might be missing out on though.

Hm, I ended up with the combination of a new Yorha (spelling?) sword you get towards the later part of the first play through, and the dragon lance or whatever it was called. I enjoyed the combination of a wide swinging main weapon and a single target, combo finishing heavy weapon. I think mainly, as with Dark Souls, you should find a weapon art you like.

The game gets a lot easier with weapon upgrades, and when you find the smith in the forest castle capable of upgrading to lvl 4, things get really crazy.

I found a heavy focus on offense was my favourite when it came to the fuse slots. That in combination with, umh, deadly heal(?), the one that gives you health for every enemy you kill. It made everything except for single enemy boss fights almost trivial.

[Traveller]

I'm only just beginning to explore the weapon sets and moves. I've only upgraded one sword once as I haven't even seen half the components needed on the list.

I think I need to spend some time exploring, levelling up and doing some sidequests instead of just piling into the main quest. Found Adam and Eve last night and felt quite unprepared.

It is a very soulsy game in essence - the environment with the depth (I fell off a bridge and instead of dying found a new area at the bottom of the ravine) the initially simple looking but actually quite complex upgrade system, and the little touches like finding other dead players (the ability to then loot them is awesome) all help.

The game creator said he wanted a series of great gaming moments, to keep hitting one after another with no dull bits in between and so far that's what I'm getting.

You'd think anothet future-world overrun by machines would be getting stale but not a bit of it.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 09 May 2017 - 08:49 AM

[Morgoth]

Traveller, on 09 May 2017 - 08:48 AM, said:

I'm only just beginning to explore the weapon sets and moves. I've only upgraded one sword once as I haven't even seen half the components needed on the list.

I think I need to spend some time exploring, levelling up and doing some sidequests instead of just piling into the main quest. Found Adam and Eve last night and felt quite unprepared.

It is a very soulsy game in essence - the environment with the depth (I fell off a bridge and instead of dying found a new area at the bottom of the ravine) the initially simple looking but actually quite complex upgrade system, and the little touches like finding other dead players (the ability to then loot them is awesome) all help.

The game creator said he wanted a series of great gaming moments, to keep hitting one after another with no dull bits in between and so far that's what I'm getting.

You'd think anothet future-world overrun by machines would be getting stale but not a bit of it.

There's a lot of great sidequests. Also remember that the game does not end with the first play through. Rather, consider it episode one of a story made up of several episodes. Episode 2 is somewhat similar, but episode 3 takes quite the turn.

[Traveller]

Is there much to lose if you do die? I've only actually died twice and both times I was just about to turn it off anyway so I didn't see what the results were. Presumably you can go and retrieve your chips, but it seems like a hassle to have to reinstall everything?

I like the messages left by other dead players.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 09 May 2017 - 09:48 AM

[Morgoth]

When you pick up your corpse you get a prompt to reinstall your previous set.

[Traveller]

Morgoth, on 09 May 2017 - 12:15 PM, said:

When you pick up your corpse you get a prompt to reinstall your previous set.

Ah. Does this mean you can use the self destruct as a weapon to destroy something if you can respawn? I was messing with the controls and found the destruct, but haven't had a reason to trigger it yet.

Also found a cool pod assisted jump.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 09 May 2017 - 09:27 PM