Welcome new members (introduction topic)

Hello everyone, I'm Tai!
I'm pretty bad at self introduction, but I wanted to say hi. I started with action games just recently after putting effort into DMC4 and after that I fell in love with the genre as a whole.
So yeah, I'm looking forward to chat with all of you. Cheers!

Hey, nice to see another member here!

What are some other action games that you really like?

Top 3 will probably be Ninja Gaiden Black, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and Kingdom Hearts 2 FM.
NGB is pretty much the closest thing to a perfect action for me, I consider it a masterpiece of design from combat to enemies and levels, I completely fell in love with it.

KH2 FM is the perfect Action RPG instead, I think, the way it's implemented the difficulty system with Critical Mode is still unrivaled from an RPG standpoint.

MHFU is a gem of design, the highest peak the MH series as ever reached imho. And it's the game that made me love challenging videogames

Other than those DMC3 and 4, God Hand, Resident Evil 4 and Ninja Gaiden 2 (I'm still playing this one tho, only did 1 playtrough but I love the combat and how aggressive the enemy are). I also really like MGS3, but I don't know if it can be considered a "true" action game considering the different design focus.

I also got Astral Chain for Christmas and I'm really enjoying it for now, even if it's a tad slow at the start.

Hey Tai! Welcome here, glad you wanted to join us!

The more I read, the more I feel I really need to just sit my ass down and play KH1 and 2...
What makes MHFU stand out across the series for you?

> NGII
You know I love it haha! It only gets better!

> MGS3
There's a few MGS players here, I'd definitely rank them as action. Hell, it's even in the title iirc. Tactical Espionage Action!

> Astral
Probably my favourite this generation, but it really takes long to get going. Not to discourage you, but it took until I beat the game for me to get into it. It really doesn't shine until you have all your abilities, which takes a while. Keep up!

>KH2
Definetly play it, that game is a masterpiece gameplay wise. Just make sure you play it on Critical Mode,that mode forces you to use your entire kit and that it's where KH2FM really shines. If you ever need more info just ask.

>Astral Chain
I just finished File 04 and while yes, the start was pretty slow, once I got Arrow and upgraded the baton I started to see the potential in the systems. The RPG sections in the city are a bit of a chore, but the combat system is really good. Having access to more legion at once is really fun and I'm a sucker for the "left-brain right-brain" kind of mechanics so I'm really having a ton of fun. And the fact I saw what the endgame is like really makes me hyped.

>MHFU
It's pretty hard to explain, it's one of those "you have to try it to understand" kind of thing.
The general design is great imho, the game still has the old AI which makes positioning and pattern recognition even more important. Most of the monster are extremely well designed, pacing is really well done and the game knows when to introduce the different monsters to challenge you and make you learn its system. Mission's design is also well done, with special mission with unique harder monsters like the 1 horned Diablos (which is a mechanic which is not present in the modern titles) and the difficulty in general is higher and more consistent. The armor/upgrade system is on point with armor that doesn't give you a tons of extra skills and its all around harder to make and, on in the other hand, makes strong skills obtainable early if you know what you are doing. It also doesn't have the talisman system so, once in endgame, you can reach the highest level of power without relying on an RNG system.
I higly recommend it if you want to get into the series and ,as before, if you guys need more info on the matter just send a message.

Well, I will just say hi.

It's been a while, but I just wanted to say that I hope everyone had a good Christmas time.

Also, welcome, Tai! It's always great to see someone who likes KH2FM, bonus points if they hold it in such high regard.

Yeah Astral Chain gets better the more you get into it. The detective work is fun, but I'm glad you can mostly skip it eventually. Curious to hear your final opinions when you get to the end-game content.

> MHFU
I'll be honest I've never played a Monster Hunter title, and I don't think I'm going to start, though there have been bigger surprises this decade haha.

> KH2
I've mostly talked to some other users about it beforehand who bring it up a lot in discussions. I tend to always go for the 'full experience' first, so start with KH1 and play the rest of the games where possible. You recommend starting immediately on Critical Mode?

EDIT: same time post haha! Merry Christmas to you too Phoenix! Hope everyone's going to have a good new year's eve!

If you want the full experience story wise, you should play KH1 then Chains of Memories and then 2, but while 1 is a great game in is own right, chains is pretty terrible so I'd skip that if I were you. Either way you can get the 1.5+2.5 collection on PS4 that contains all of the main games (2 of the portable one are only recap movies tho) and I think there's also a collection that include KH3 but don't quote me on that.
And yeah, play 2 in Critical Mode from the start, the other difficulties are too easy and don't give you a reason to use half of your kit.
Moreover Critical Mode starts you with some skills from the starts and it's all around magnificently designed, you have low health but you still have full offensive capabilities so fights never drag on and you never encounter hp bloated bosses. The same can't be said for KH1 hard mode so feel free to play it on normal for the first playtrough.

I definitely agree with starting KH2 on critical, honestly vanilla Crit is still pretty easy aside from a handful of parts.

Yep, you should definitely start on Critical first, then play Lv 1 Crit next. As for CoM and the others, yes, they definitely cannot compare to 1 and 2, but they're guilty pleasures of mine (granted, I had some fun with those prior to being interested in the Action genre. Not sure if my opinion of these games has changed since then). For people getting into the KH games for the gameplay, I'd say play 1 and 2 only, the other games should be played if you're curious about why they aren't up to par with 1 and 2 (much like someone in the KH3 board telling me to not skip DMC2 since that was a guilty pleasure of said person; the same guy doing NUR runs of DMC3 and DMC4 on the DMC5 board. It's thanks to him that I'm still considering on playing DMC2 first and then play the rest so everything can feel like a step up from there).

Say I'd play KH2 first, and just start with that one. Would I be completely out of the loop as in "what am I even looking at", or would I still be able to enjoy it?

> DMC2
I almost thought you meant me until you mentioned those NUR runs from Phil. But yeah, DMC2 is pretty fun, it is very different and gets blasted a lot for being so different, but it has some really neat ideas and its gameplay being focused on efficiency is a nice touch. A lot of players just didn't give it a chance and just used the SMGs to slowly chip their way to victory.

Do you mean story-wise? If so, there are, of course, some references to KH1 and CoM here and there, and some unexplained scenes that no first time player would understand even if they played the prior games, but as far as the main point of the game is concerned (beat the main villain and maybe get to know his motivations), then I'd say you'll be fine. Be aware that it's been years since I played that game, so maybe I'm wrong about some stuff.

If you mean gameplay-wise, the system is simple enough to understand, once you unlock an ability, all you have to do is read its description and equip it, the rest is up to you. Drives and Summons are also very simple to use.

Oh, by the way Roy, I want to let you know of something about each version of KH2 (except the vanilla one).

-The PS2 version is the 2nd best one, but I'd say it's the best version if you don't mind 30 FPS and load times, since every mechanic works. People have said that a certain gimmick enemy can now be beatable under base Lv 1 conditions (read: no stat boosts are required). You have to beat it under a certain amount of time to 100% complete the game, which was deemed impossible to do until the PS4 version came around. Some time later, people found that it was indeed possible to do on the PS2 version.

-The PS3 version is the worst one overall, since it doesn't have any improvements over the PS2 version besides graphics and the possibility to play the game with English subs without patching the game, and it has worse load times than the PS2 version. Avoid at all costs if possible.

-The PS4 version can be considered the best version by a lot of people, since this version has pretty much no load times, has superior graphics, and runs at 60 FPS (which made beating that gimmick enemy possible). However, this version broke a mechanic, namely, Blizzard. The finisher variant of that spell let you deal extra chunks of damage while ignoring a value that lets bosses to break out from your combo. This is no longer possible to do on this version, which is why I consider the PS2 version to be the best one (again, if you don't mind load times and 30 FPS). Every other mechanic works as intended though, only Blizzard suffers in this version.

Just something to keep in mind.

As for DMC2, you're probably the second person I've seen to have something positive to say about that game, but you went a bit more in-depth with said positives.

Damn the KINGDOM HEARTS All-In-One Package PS4 bundle is on a heavy discount. Down from $100 to $33 here.
Tempting...

Am I correct in assuming the KH2FM PS2 version is Japan only? Or is my research off?

Phoenix Wright wrote:Do you mean story-wise? If so, there are, of course, some references to KH1 and CoM here and there, and some unexplained scenes that no first time player would understand even if they played the prior games, but as far as the main point of the game is concerned (beat the main villain and maybe get to know his motivations), then I'd say you'll be fine. Be aware that it's been years since I played that game, so maybe I'm wrong about some stuff.

If you mean gameplay-wise, the system is simple enough to understand, once you unlock an ability, all you have to do is read its description and equip it, the rest is up to you. Drives and Summons are also very simple to use.

Oh, by the way Roy, I want to let you know of something about each version of KH2 (except the vanilla one).

-The PS2 version is the 2nd best one, but I'd say it's the best version if you don't mind 30 FPS and load times, since every mechanic works. People have said that a certain gimmick enemy can now be beatable under base Lv 1 conditions (read: no stat boosts are required). You have to beat it under a certain amount of time to 100% complete the game, which was deemed impossible to do until the PS4 version came around. Some time later, people found that it was indeed possible to do on the PS2 version.

-The PS3 version is the worst one overall, since it doesn't have any improvements over the PS2 version besides graphics and the possibility to play the game with English subs without patching the game, and it has worse load times than the PS2 version. Avoid at all costs if possible.

-The PS4 version can be considered the best version by a lot of people, since this version has pretty much no load times, has superior graphics, and runs at 60 FPS (which made beating that gimmick enemy possible). However, this version broke a mechanic, namely, Blizzard. The finisher variant of that spell let you deal extra chunks of damage while ignoring a value that lets bosses to break out from your combo. This is no longer possible to do on this version, which is why I consider the PS2 version to be the best one (again, if you don't mind load times and 30 FPS). Every other mechanic works as intended though, only Blizzard suffers in this version.

Just something to keep in mind.

As for DMC2, you're probably the second person I've seen to have something positive to say about that game, but you went a bit more in-depth with said positives.

Pretty much this just one detail @Roy:
if you want to play the PS2 version you'll need to get the jap version, final mix is japan exclusive on ps2 and if you don't get that you miss out on Critical Mode and a bunch of extra boss fights.
If you want to have a complete package story wise the best thing would do play KH1 and then watch a recap video to learn the important plot points from Chain of Memories, they are not many. But, like Phoenix said, you do miss on some stuff but you can start from KH2 and still get most of the story, be warned that is terribly written mess tho ,even if you played all the games.

^ Yup, I agree with that, especially with the story bits.

Also, one more thing (I feel this is kinda obvious, but it's better to be safe than sorry). If you want to pick up the PS2 version, be sure to check that what you're picking is the Final Mix version and not the vanilla version, since both versions exist in Japan.

No problem! I am sure that when I go for it, I will just play the PS4 version since load-times can be a (big) dealbreaker for me. But I might buy the PS2 version just for the heck of it. Thanks for the advice :)

>As for DMC2, you're probably the second person I've seen to have something positive to say about that game,

That's because you'll find no mechanically blind fanboys here.

Hey guys. Longtime lurker here and a Ninja Gaiden/Shadow Warriors fan. Played the heck out of the original NES-games and still play those regularly. Bought a copy Ninja Gaiden 2 for my brand new Xbox 360 about 10 years ago, but then life got in the way. I got married and decided to dedicate my time for something more family friendly. Until lately I got the Xbox One X for my son. I still have the copy of my old NG2, so I kinda decided that I wanna get at least decent at it. I picked up the Ninja Gaiden Black too, but currently the sequel feels more fascinating.

Looking forward to chat with you guys!

Welcome NiceNinja! Good to see you join up after lurking, hope you enjoy your time here!

Great to see you go back into Ninja Gaiden! Though Black is more polished, I really prefer the second game as well. You ever got deep into it in the Xbox 360 days or did you mostly focus on your family then? Your son also playing Gaiden, or is it too old for him (or too mature haha!)?

Cool to read Shadow Warrior as well. Classic FPS goodness. I mostly grew up with the Duke myself, but a friend of mine had a weird demo-disc of it that only had the first stage (came with a magazine) which we played a lot. Good fun! Which one is your favourite?

Thank you very much. I originally played the first two chapters on Acolyte then I stopped.
My son is mainly playing the Minecraft and NHL 20. Maybe I wouldn't mind him trying out the NG2 or Black, but I think that those games are a bit too gory and scary for little ones (he is 9) also his mother would Izuna drop my ass if she saw that :)

Oh sorry I meant that the Ninja Gaiden series was originally called as Shadow Warriors in Europe. The Ninjas were banned because either Brits or Germans decided that the old Japanese assassins wouldn't be suitable for children entertainment. That is why also the Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles were "Hero Turtles" in Europe. Same thing with the Contra-series, can't have that guerilla thing going on, so it was renamed as the Probotector.

However I have played the old school FPS Shadow Warrior as well. I remember that the stage design was really good, with loads of cool secrets. I loved Duke Nukem too. Never owned the game, but my friend had it and we played it a lot after school. He had also the expansion pack for Duke (can't remember the name), which contained some harder missions. That was probably my favourite, but haven't played it since the 90s. Such fun times!

Welcome NiceNinja! Happy for you to join us! Have you also heard of the modern Shadow Warrior games?

Thanks. Yeah I have heard those, but never actually played them. Are they any good?

Yeah they are good. They are similar to Serious Sam and the recent Doom games. The first one is the same as any other: Big maps where you can explore and find secrets while maintaining standard damage which you are free to upgrade if you desire. I say this because the second one is a RPG Looter Shooter. It also added some things such as being able to parry. Personally, I think the first one is better but get both if you can.

Interesting indeed and thanks for the tip. I might check those out, especially the first one. My problem is that I have irregularly about an hour per night of gaming time. So I can't have that many games in the rotation :)

Take your time man, once you've got a family you should just enjoy games as a way to escape and have fun I'd say. Ninja Gaiden II is a game that will keep on giving, that's for sure!

Man at age 9 I was too afraid of so many games haha, remember playing Killer Instinct on the SNES at a friend's house and being traumatized. My biggest leap was buying Resident Evil Remake on the Gamecube when I was 12. I felt like I'd snuck into an adult movie. Great stuff.

Didn't know about Shadow Warrior! I live in Europe as well, but didn't grow up with the classic NES Gaiden games until much later. I do recall Hero Turtles and Probotector (played that one to death as a youngster).

You also play games together with your kid :)?

Yeah one game at time is way to go. I like how the action games genre (atleast Ninja Gaiden) dont waste your time. Right into the gameplay without forcing some cinematic experience. That is why also like the shmups. Funny thing I still can't play any of the horror titles. Although I enjoy watching when somebody else is playing.

We are huge hockey guys so we play NHL together. EA's interpretation of the sport is quite shallow, but it's pretty fun game to co-op. He also enjoyed some of the classic NES titles like Marios.

I have the same regarding story, I used to love it as a youngster but now I just want to push buttons in the few hours I have left to play games if you get me haha!

Ha, I thought I was the only one who liked both character action games as well as shmups. Not that much overlap between those communities in general. In any case, welcome!

Spoiler:

I like a good shmup at certain times, but not a huge genre-advocate by any means. Gunbird is great fun and I love Space Harrier with a passion, though I'm not sure that is a Shmup. Is it?

Spoiler:

Royta/Raeng wrote:I love Space Harrier with a passion, though I'm not sure that is a Shmup. Is it?

Hm... More of a rail-shooter I would say. Those genres have clear aesthetic similarities but they play very differently.

And sorry, I couldn't read the rest of your comment. It keeps glitching in and out of the swamp and now my laptop just cras

Nice to see some shmup-love from here too! Gunbird series are great, like pretty much every Psikyo shooter. My favourite shmup is Cave's Ketsui. Such an intensive game. You have to play agressive and up close to get some decent scores. Which is not too far from NG2-mentality at least IMO. It recently got a high quality port with loads of extra content for PS4.

I have read couple of times Raeng's brilliant Ninja Gaiden retrospective and I am absolutely gonna give some time to NGB too. NG2 is just something that has fascinated me so long.

NiceNinja wrote:My favourite shmup is Cave's Ketsui. Such an intensive game. You have to play agressive and up close to get some decent scores. Which is not too far from NG2-mentality at least IMO. It recently got a high quality port with loads of extra content for PS4.

Oooh, nice!! I imported the M2 Ketsui remaster as well, together with Battle Garegga Rev.2016 and ESP Ra.De.. Ketsui is probably my favorite CAVE title, love the aesthetic and the dope proximity mechanic. Outside of CAVE, I'm also a huge fan of Ikaruga (a very acquired taste, but so incredibly elegant in its design), and Blue Wish Resurrection Plus (probably the best thing money can't buy).

Gotta love the genre.

Ha I have also the physical copies of those M2stg releases. However i have no PS4, but my plan is to get one for cheap once the PS5 arrives. Have you tried the new Deathtiny arrange mode?

Ikaruga is certainly very beautiful game. My brain is just having trouble to comply with the polarity mechanic :) Shame that the latest ports are not on the level with the M2 releases with many save states and arrange modes. With that said, I am just happy that the game is being preserved.

Outside of bullet hells, I love R-Type and Gradius series.

Deathtiny mode is great! It's definitely more accessible than the main game, but in a good way. Perfect for a quick fun session.

Those M2 STG ports are worth their 60€ price tag more than most AAA games these days.

Well said. You can play these games forever. I really need that PS4 Slim though.

Hello everyone! I just recently saw a link to some Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 guides on here and decided to join and show support. It's awesome to see a community for action game fans.

I got my Ninja Gaiden start a looong time ago on the NES with Ninja Gaiden and rekindled my relationship with the series when I bought an XBOX in 2005. I finally was able to finish the game on Very Hard years later. Then I got Ninja Gaiden Black and could not complete Master Ninja mode (I didn't put in the effort to get better).

I bought every subsequent release of Ninja Gaiden on all platforms (including DS & Wii U). One day I will play them all more in depth.

But right now, my focus is Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, I'm finally putting in the effort to improve my skills whereas in the past I kept playing and only minorly getting better. My goal is to be able to complete the Ultimate Ninja Team Missions so now I'm focusing on the mechanics of each enemy & boss...how to actually defend everything successfully and it has been going well! The depth of this game is much more brilliantly designed than I ever thought and the game keeps getting better because of it. I just discovered Phorus' guides that will help that go a little faster :) I'm playing through Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus as well now for further practice before sleep when I have the time. So if anyone ever wants to train online, please do hit me up!

I do play and have played lots of other action games as well, Bloodborne is one of the more recent games I played the heck out of with depth. Very fun game!

Final note, I started reading a couple of the articles in stinger magazine. Well done! I look forward to reading more over time.

Welcome hebass, enjoy your stay!
Glad to see the number of people that love Ninja Gaiden increase more and more. If you want to give Master Ninja another try don't be afraid to ask for help.
What's your favourite weapon in Bloodborne?

Much appreciated and agreed it is great to see that there are so many other Ninja Gaiden fans still! And I will go back to Ninja Gaiden Black one day, I loved that game through and through and will be sure to ask for help as there are so many techniques I never even knew existed.

It's worth mentioning that I have been able to complete Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 on Master Ninja and also the Chapter challenge on Master Ninja now as well.


As for Bloodborne. I played through the game and DLC with the Hunter's Axe. I switched at times for various portions, but I loved the Axe so much. I had started playing with Ludwig's Holy Sword toward the end a bit more. I was able to platinum the game and was rarin' to go on New Game+, but I took a break and haven't gone back yet. Ninja Gaiden wins for now :) Have you played it? Which did you find the most fun?

hebass wrote:Much appreciated and agreed it is great to see that there are so many other Ninja Gaiden fans still! And I will go back to Ninja Gaiden Black one day, I loved that game through and through and will be sure to ask for help as there are so many techniques I never even knew existed.

It's worth mentioning that I have been able to complete Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 on Master Ninja and also the Chapter challenge on Master Ninja now as well.


As for Bloodborne. I played through the game and DLC with the Hunter's Axe. I switched at times for various portions, but I loved the Axe so much. I had started playing with Ludwig's Holy Sword toward the end a bit more. I was able to platinum the game and was rarin' to go on New Game+, but I took a break and haven't gone back yet. Ninja Gaiden wins for now :) Have you played it? Which did you find the most fun?

If you finished Sigma 2 Master Ninja some of the skills should carry over so once you learn some tech you shouldn't have big problems with NGB.
Regarding Bloodborne, I did multiple runs and I was actually thinking of replaying it to do a BL4, it looks really challenging and fun. As for weapons I've always been a dexfag is souls game so I loved the faster weapons, saw cleaver, blade of mercy and chikage were some of my favourite. Chikage in particular has a really cool moveset and it's incredibily strong, I'm also a sucker for mechanics that debuff you while giving you a damage boost so it fit perfectly with my playstyle.

Heck yah, that sounds fun. I would like to play Bloodborne again, probably with a fast weapon next time. So fun to be able to play with multiple playstyles. I should also play Demon's and Dark Souls too...they're just sitting on my shelf still.

Also, understood on NGS2, that's good to hear that the techniques will carry over to NGB! I really want to get good enough to tackle the online co-op stuff in NGS2 before switching back, though in case the servers disappear. So again, if anyone else is learning, training, or want to play some co-op team missions, please do reach out :)

Welcome Hebass! Cool to see you here, glad the guides and articles are to your liking! :)

There's another user here that's working on the Sigma 2 trials (Redshot), I'm not sure if you're in the same area since you're in the states. Worth trying though! Sigma 2 is fantastic though, it is the game that got me into the series and the genre at large. No Sigma 2, no Stinger haha! Though I do admit to (vastly) prefering its originator Ninja Gaiden II these days.

If you ever feel like jumping into NGB again, feel free to post, I love talking about that game as I'm sure others do as well. Just a fantastic action game.

Enjoy your stay man :)

Thank you! And indeed, thank you for putting this site together.

Also, thanks for the heads up on Redshot. I'll see if they're interested in giving it a shot!

NG Sigma 2 is fantastic for sure :). I have NG II for XBOX 360 and will give that a shot after I've completed the online component. I played it a bit a long time ago (and seem to remember fights on the water o.o). I still want to play through NG 3 more thoroughly as well. These games will keep me busy for a long time I think!

Ninja Gaiden, as a series, is a life-time dedication imo. There's always something new to enjoy, you can just keep coming back. I love also how different they are. Sometimes I'm in the mood for something more methodical (NGB) or something more curayzhe (NG3:RE). Or I go to my default (NGII). Fantastic series. Think the weapon variety also helps with that in great ways.

Hello! I'm Solitude (edgy I know) I'm a fairly recent action game fan. I got into the genre thanks to Bloodborne and then Bayonetta, and on and on it went.
I mostly played shooters and RPGs before. I look forward to being a part of this forum!

Awesome! Interesting to see you made the jump after BB, heard that one before. Going from your avatar I'd reckon you also played DMC after Bayonetta? What game in the genre has so far pulled you in the most?

Royta/Raeng wrote:What game in the genre has so far pulled you in the most?

Definitely DMC4! Believe it or not I kind of have a love hate relationship with DMC3. While I understand DMC3 is overall a better game, DMC4 is just where it really clicked for me. The combat is much more open and varied with Nero being really fun and a great addition I feel. Credo might also be my favorite boss in any game ever!

Hey, Bloodborne was my first real action game as well! Then Dark Souls 3, then Nioh, and then Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

Nioh 2 was looking pretty cool, so I just recently picked up Nioh complete Edition on sale. Figured it was time! I've been enjoying it so far.

Nice Berserk avatar by the way! Can't remember what arc that's from though.