I would definitely recommend playing it, because there IS a good game in there somewhere. I wanted to soldier on, because I absolutely loved its worlds and (most of) its characters, and the plot is good and weird. The writing is generally pretty good overall; it dives into a lot of topics, and handles them well. On top of that, it's a game where video games are referenced and does not once (at least as far as I got) resort to using that same tired, hacky joke about, "MASTER of UNLOCKING! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! I am SO funny!" that so many self-aware retro throwback games hamfist in as awkwardly as they possibly can; that's automatic points in my book these days. Do also keep in mind that although I used to be a huge RPG nut - around the turn of the century, RPGs are just about the only thing I was playing - I am not nearly into the genre like I used to be, so it's possible that its flaws might not bother you so much if you're into the genre. Some things to look out for:
- Menus are slow. Like, Dragon Warrior slow.
- Leveling is handled in a way that revels in wasting your time.
- The Lufia-2-style puzzle mechanics are kinda janky, but not functionally as bad as they seem.
- Despite low HP totals, all items heal you by a percentage, rather than a flat number. That said, you can get BLTs pretty early on, which are relatively cheap, and heal 55%, so that does get better.
- The main character is an absolute garbage human being. That gets better, too.
- The straw that broke the camel's back is that once the world changes, all fights scale up to your level, so random encounters can take 10-15 minutes, and bosses take upwards of half an hour, because everything is so damn spongy; I put as much into strength as I possibly could at every opportunity, and even with a 14-hit combo, I was dealing single digits. This is an amateur hour RPG Maker bullshit balancing issue that any amount of playtesting would've sorted out, and I just wasn't having it.

I do hope that you enjoy it, because like I said, there is a good game in there. The story kept me hanging on for 20 hours of this, and that NEVER happens; I am almost always a gameplay over story gal, because I don't find most stories to be that unique or interesting. Also maybe low-key obsessed with Vella, which might be a little off, given how much older I am, but she's fictional; I'd never creep on a 20-something out here in meatspace.

Sound like a pretty nice haul!
My lack of retro consoles pretty much comes down to not having enough room to store them and since a few years ago I’ve been trying to focus on new releases / games I know I’ll finish so my backlog total stays nice and low

Wow that sounds like quite the haul! Amazing finding a NG for a price like that! I'd love to get my hands on a NeoGeo Pocket Color one day. Sounds like a productive day with lots of neat finds!

That's pretty cool! What PS2 games will you be returning to first? I have a PS2, but most of the best games I play remakes of, like Kingdom Hearts or Shadow of the Colossus. Would love any recommendations you have for me! Hoping to grow that collection to more than just Street Foghter Alpha

It gets real expensive real quick. It takes like 250 of the Level 3 Ore to get from 80 to 90. But yea, it's probably better to focus on one or two characters. I looked it up and it cost almost 2 million to go from 1 to 90 between leveling and ascension. And another 1.6 Million for one talent.

I noticed the same thing with my PlayStation profile! While its nice to be able to see all my PS3 trophies on the new console, its too bad that the PS3 and PS4 versions are always listed seperately... I'm actually about to sell Skyrim for the PS3 and get the PS4 version, but I'll have to start my trophies over again... oh well, it is what it is :P

It has come to my attention that many users of Genshin Impact for PC has experienced unfortunate problems loading/starting up the game using Hoyoverse's launcher client. Also unfortunately, I am one of them (I'm linked via iPad, PC and PS4). I wanted to use PC controls for the Windblume's Breath's rhythm mini-game they got goin' on, but my PC copy of GI won't execute no more after the 3.5 update.

So... I had to dust off my iPad, wait several hours to fully charge it (charge port is wonky AF and needs fixin)... and after reinstalling GI (after deleting all my other old app games ) slayed the rhythm mini-game quests (because I tried it on PS4 and I suck using console controls ). Only with the iPad am I slaying the Ballads of Breeze mini-game while all other mini-games and the event itself are being dealt with on console.

Yea, there's a huge difficulty curve when you get AR45 to 50. But on the bright side you can start farming good artifacts. And soon you'll be missing when the overworld was a threat.

They actually have four different control methods now. Modern dual-stick controls like a common console FPS, “classic” controls like the GameCube original, motion controls like the Wii version, and a Hybrid option that’s kind of a mix of Modern and Classic. But aside that that, yeah, it’s just HD Metroid Prime! Significant upgrades to lighting and textures but they didn’t really change anything else. It’s about as faithful to the original as remasters go.

Thanks! It's soooo good to have it all in one place at last, no more looking through 20 boxes to find my copy of Golden Sun