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Making anything look nice with the settlement building in Fallout 4. Oh, you want some beds to sleep in? Hope you like sleeping under the stars, asshole. Food? Hope you like a mess of gourds just strewn everywhere. Security? You are computer people, enemies will spawn wherever they want, whenever they want. Your sole existence is to make sure the garbage pile in the workshop keeps filling up, because I know y'all don't actually do jack when I'm not around.

Other than that, I guess learning how to use MAXIMUM ARMOR effectively in Crysis. I learned real quick getting shot is actually bad, and the armor isn't as good as cloak because enemies aren't really going to shoot at invisible people.
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Catventurer: Ultima 1 sounds like it will be the Ultima that I never finish.
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dtgreene: You can still play most of Ultima 1 without playing that minigame; the only thing you'll miss is the final boss and ending. (And the minigame, of course.)
Okay. Okay. I'll be more honest on this one. I gave Ultima 1 a try, and I probably will end up not finishing that one on the basis that I had absolutely no idea as to what I was doing. It doesn't help that it's nothing even remotely like either Ultima 6 or Ultima Underworld, which are the only Ultima games that I can say that I actually played.

Oh and when it comes to mini games, I really am someone who does internet searches on the level of "worst mini games in RPGs" to get ideas on games I probably should avoid. Things I found out about this is that Oblivious has this weird thing where every conversation with an NPC may as well be a mini game, and lockpicking in Skyrim isn't something that I would enjoy. I'm also wary of any game that looks like it could have a hacking or fishing mini game as these almost never are done well.
Here's one that came to mind for me recently:
Eat the Meat! Using monster meat to affect monster evolution in the SaGa 1-2 games. (3 has a much saner system.)

Basically there are 3 families of monster across various power levels, except it isn't linear and you can absolutely downgrade yourself by eating a level 1 monster's meat.

Also: Rhythm minigames. Screw em. Any form, any way, I'm not dealing with terribly thin timing windows.
Post edited January 25, 2023 by Darvond
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Darvond: Here's one that came to mind for me recently:
Eat the Meat! Using monster meat to affect monster evolution in the SaGa 1-2 games. (3 has a much saner system.)

Basically there are 3 families of monster across various power levels, except it isn't linear and you can absolutely downgrade yourself by eating a level 1 monster's meat.
The 3 families thing apples to SaGa 2, not to 1.

Also, since the game lets you choose your party, you can simply choose to put no monsters in your party. In fact, making that choice is certainly reasonable, as they tend to be the weakest race in the long term, with the only good forms being those with magic (which is still weaker than the spells you'd get from a spellbook) or HP drain attacks.

Worth noting that, in SaGa 2, humans and espers have terrible stat growth for most of the game, while robots are terrible at magic. (In the remake, a robot can effectively be a caster, but you need to find and equip magic circuitry to get non-zero magic power, and you still need to actually equip the spells you want to use; you get 7 slots, so you need to distribute them wisely, and won't have room for speed or defense.)

Speaking of the SaGa 2 remake, one change is that eating meat can't cause you to lose more than 1 rank, or go more than 1 rank below the enemy. Another change is the addition of the ability to keep a spell when changing form, and there's also mutations, which give you a monster with better skills (including, for example, the ability to heal the entire party).

As for SaGa 3:
* For the original, there's the issue that you can permanently miss a form if you level up too high, and the level 31+ forms aren't necessary the best. (The level 31+ robot is the best robot form, but that's not true of the other races that can transform.)
* In the remake, monster transformation is a bit more like SaGa 1 or 2, except that you can't lose more than 1 rank when you eat meat, or go more than 1 rank below the enemy's rank; plus, you can gain ranks by eating EX rank (which can break the early and mid game, but feels balanced for late game when it's easy).

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Darvond: you can absolutely downgrade yourself by eating a level 1 monster's meat.
In the SaGa 2 and 3 remakes, this downgrading is limited to a max of 1 rank of loss, so your sprite isn't going to become a weak little snake if you eat the wrong meal (instead, there will be no transformation).
Post edited January 25, 2023 by dtgreene
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dtgreene: -SaGa Shop Talk-
Hey, guess who picked all Espers and made the mistake of trying to show up to Venus with a magic oriented party?
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dtgreene: -SaGa Shop Talk-
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Darvond: Hey, guess who picked all Espers and made the mistake of trying to show up to Venus with a magic oriented party?
Time to bring out those Muskets.

Or, time to go hyperspeed; equip that Accelerator (SpeedUp), use it a few times, then pull out that Lightsaber that you found/bought.

Or, you could just try acting like a Medusa and turning her into a statue. (Yes, it's possible, as she's not actually immune to status ailments (provided that, if you're playing the remake, she hasn't yet brought out that Aegis MAGI); it's just hard because of her high magic power.) (Also worth noting that you don't actually need any particular skill to pull it off, as you can just buy the spellbook; on the other hand, if you have the skill, there's no reason not to use it.)

Honestly, I think trying to defeat her with an all-monster party is harder, to the point where the "acting like a Medusa" strategy seems to be the only feasible one (assuming you didn't manage to get that rank 11 meat that's possible (but difficult) to get in the remake). On the other hand, at least with the all-monster party, you can have an actual Medusa in your party. Actually, there's another strategy that could work, and that's to have eye stalks shoot laser beams at her.
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Catventurer: Ultima 1 sounds like it will be the Ultima that I never finish.
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dtgreene: You can still play most of Ultima 1 without playing that minigame; the only thing you'll miss is the final boss and ending. (And the minigame, of course.)
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W1ldc44t: Any game mechanic that requires the purchase, rationing and use of consumables are left by the wayside for me, temporary buffs and the like are just not worth it.
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dtgreene: I've been trying to move away from this mindset, but it's hard. It helps whenever:
* It's always possible to get more of the consumables. (In other words, it helps if the game gives you an infinite or respawning source of said resource.)
* The effect is either really powerful (like instantly killing bosses, like in Final Fantasy 5), or is something you can't easily get by other means (Restore Magicka potions in TES: Oblivion, particularly if born under the Atronach birthsign, or healing in some games).
* Using the resource permanently boosts the skill associated with it (like Alchemy in TES: Morrowind through Skyrim, or alchemy in Secret of Evermore).
* There's no alternative (SaGa 1 and 2 (though you can dodge this by not using humans), most Fire Emblem games).
I just remember as a child using my Master Ball in Pokemon Red on some high level monster in the wild and then coming across Mewtwo and just having the worst time trying to catch them.
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dtgreene: You can still play most of Ultima 1 without playing that minigame; the only thing you'll miss is the final boss and ending. (And the minigame, of course.)

I've been trying to move away from this mindset, but it's hard. It helps whenever:
* It's always possible to get more of the consumables. (In other words, it helps if the game gives you an infinite or respawning source of said resource.)
* The effect is either really powerful (like instantly killing bosses, like in Final Fantasy 5), or is something you can't easily get by other means (Restore Magicka potions in TES: Oblivion, particularly if born under the Atronach birthsign, or healing in some games).
* Using the resource permanently boosts the skill associated with it (like Alchemy in TES: Morrowind through Skyrim, or alchemy in Secret of Evermore).
* There's no alternative (SaGa 1 and 2 (though you can dodge this by not using humans), most Fire Emblem games).
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W1ldc44t: I just remember as a child using my Master Ball in Pokemon Red on some high level monster in the wild and then coming across Mewtwo and just having the worst time trying to catch them.
I remember it being possible to get tons of Master Balls just by seeing Missingno. with Master Balls as the 6th item in your inventory. Also works for other items, like Rare Candies, TMs, and Nuggets.
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Catventurer: Oh and when it comes to mini games, I really am someone who does internet searches on the level of "worst mini games in RPGs" to get ideas on games I probably should avoid. Things I found out about this is that Oblivious has this weird thing where every conversation with an NPC may as well be a mini game, and lockpicking in Skyrim isn't something that I would enjoy. I'm also wary of any game that looks like it could have a hacking or fishing mini game as these almost never are done well.
In that train wreck that was Larry 8, every conversation IS a minigame.
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Catventurer: Oh and when it comes to mini games, I really am someone who does internet searches on the level of "worst mini games in RPGs" to get ideas on games I probably should avoid. Things I found out about this is that Oblivious has this weird thing where every conversation with an NPC may as well be a mini game, and lockpicking in Skyrim isn't something that I would enjoy. I'm also wary of any game that looks like it could have a hacking or fishing mini game as these almost never are done well.
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Cavalary: In that train wreck that was Larry 8, every conversation IS a minigame.
How does the game compare to Larry 4?
I've been playing a game with a lot of minigames, and rediscovering all the old classics I dislike.
Like Simon. Short term memory and timing windows? Get lost.
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Cavalary: In that train wreck that was Larry 8, every conversation IS a minigame.
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dtgreene: How does the game compare to Larry 4?
Well, one exists but likely shouldn't while the other doesn't but likely should :p
Basically the Gummi Ship building in Kingdom Hearts games. Personally, the space levels are my least favorite part of the games, therefore I never felt the need to ever bother customizing my ship let alone learning how to.

And I hate how Sleeping Dogs would introduce this signal tracking mini game that will only appear around twice or thrice in the game. And the fact that there isn't much to do during the post game other than completing side quests and just participating in fight clubs, you can't really play that mini game again once you've beaten the story (other than replaying the main missions through the social hub, since that mini game is tied to some main missions of the story). Worse, I think that mini game has some of the worst instructions ever in gaming (I guess it was just too vague), that I had to look up on Google on how to beat that mini game.
Post edited January 26, 2023 by Vinry_.
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Catventurer: Oh and when it comes to mini games, I really am someone who does internet searches on the level of "worst mini games in RPGs" to get ideas on games I probably should avoid. Things I found out about this is that Oblivious has this weird thing where every conversation with an NPC may as well be a mini game, and lockpicking in Skyrim isn't something that I would enjoy. I'm also wary of any game that looks like it could have a hacking or fishing mini game as these almost never are done well.
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Cavalary: In that train wreck that was Larry 8, every conversation IS a minigame.
Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to rethink their life choices.
Agarest combat momentum system.
That's what my JRPG needs: tactical in depth battle strategy, that affects morale, momentum, and blah blah blah.

I don't mind tactical combat, but having to master flanking, and altitude is what is otherwise a pretty standard JRPG was just a complete turn-off, and I gave up about 29 minutes into the game.