completed

Xexyz · 25/04/2025

Harmoknight is best described as a rhythm platformer, although the platforming is basic at best and the rhythms are simple. You have two buttons – a jump, and an attack – and you have to either jump or attack in time with the music’s beat. In most cases it’s sufficient to react in time to seeing the gap or enemy, but on occasion the screen zooms in and reaction times are just too long; it’s at this point that you’ll lose too many lives and have to repeat the level. Each time you repeat you’ll get a bit further (usually), remembering the patterns to hit the buttons in and perfecting timing.

While that’s the core of the game, there are a few sections or levels which differ. Boss battles tend to give you a phrase to repeat, which is very reminiscent of Space Channel 5’s reliance on varying rhythms, while other levels have other characters join to introduce slightly different button requirements – pressing A or X depending on whether there’s an upper or lower enemy, for example. In order to pass a level you generally need to collect enough purple notes – from just running over them, or from hitting enemies exactly in time, or from hitting background objects as you pass them – and this awards you a Royal Note which is used to unlock new parts of the map. It’s possible to get to the end of a level and get a “so so” rating (rather than “good” or “great”), meaning you have to repeat it.

I like rhythm action games. Parappa the Rapper was a favourite at university; I enjoyed Um Jammer Lammy as well, and Vib Ribbon was bought on release day from WH Smiths in Clifton Downs. Space Channel 5 was uniquely stylish, and I still remember Owen when I play it. I’ve enjoyed the various Rhythm Heaven games I’ve played, and Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure, and of course the dance mats and bongos and plastic guitars and the maracas. I wouldn’t say that Harmoknight was the best, but it was very enjoyable. The stages were the right length, the requirements were sufficiently varied, and the game didn’t outstay its welcome. After beating the final boss there were a few bonus levels to complete, plus a new section of the map opened. As well as this, any level which you pass with a “great” rating gives you the option of playing it at a faster speed.

It’s a pretty game with a clear visual identity

The game really benefits from being on the 3DS. The latency between processor and screen is known, and so the timing is spot on. Going back to replay Parappa nowadays is difficult, because of lag between the console and the TV, and the fact that the timing was never quite right in the game to start with. No such problems here – if you know which buttons to press when, you could close your eyes and hit the beat dead on. The fact that I didn’t get perfect scores on every level is my fault, not the game’s.

I’d recommend it, but with the closure of the 3DS eShop there’s now no legal way to get it. Maybe wait for the inevitable rerelease on the Switch 3.

Xexyz · 07/04/2025

Having completed level 10, I was expecting the difficulty to ramp up towards the end of the game. In fact, level 11 wasn’t that difficult, provided you didn’t take it too slowly. The first part of the level required a run along a long collapsing pathway in order to reach the end platform before it was too late; you had to run along this to avoid stepping on traps which closed the door to progress. After this it was fairly straightforward to the end of the level, after ascertaining where leaps of faith off the side of the screen were needed.

Level 12, on the other hand, took me an absolute age. The first part of the level (which, for some reason, is back int he dungeon) is set up with the need to climb up several screens, going back and forth across two pillars in the centre of a gap. This requires a number of perfect jumps and preparation by knocking down tiles to allow for a grab on a solid platform. As you get near the top you have to open a gate by climbing up a screen, and you see the shadow prince waiting for you. I died twice straight after this point, before I got up and around the corner to face him.

I was expecting the fight against the shadow prince to be tricky, but it defined my expectations. It took me an absolute age to figure out that he was mirroring my moves – luckily, as I was being overly cautious, he wasn’t striking out at me but instead just defending. I tried to drive him backwards, but that didn’t work. I pressed up to defend myself over and over, followed by a strike, but he just did the same and knocked health off me. And then I had an inspirational thought; I put my sword away.

So did he.

I gingerly walked towards him, expecting him to draw his sword at any moment, but he didn’t. Instead I eventually reached him, and we merged into one being. Very clever.

There were a lot of vertigo-inspiring sections in the last couple of levels.

That didn’t help with the fact that there was then nowhere to go – the path ended with a dead end. I slowly stepped to the edge to see if I could hang down and reach anything, but instead a path appeared in mid-air in front of me. I ran across this, half expecting it to collapse or disappear, and found myself at the end of the level; or rather, not the end of the level, but in the second part of level 12, with a relatively easy path to face Jaffar. While his was the most difficult sword fight so far, I managed to defeat him having lost only two health points.

And that was that. I went through the opened door, and ran down the corridor to find the princess. Everyone was happy, everyone¹ lived happily ever after.

Other than those who were now dead. ︎

gospvg · 07/04/2025

Play

Cyberpunk 2077 (PS5)

After exploring every nook and cranny of Night City & enjoying the multiple different endings. I've finally completed Cyberpunk 2077 and got the platinum.

Except ...

Phantom Liberty (PS5)

I have gone straight into playing the the Phantom Liberty DLC.

One annoyance I did have with the game is in place it it very dark and there is no brightness setting or torches in the future?!

Backlog

Shopping

£23 spent on a pre-owned Metaphor ReFantazio

PlayStation Plus (To Play)

Yet another game I want to play in Robocop was added.

Want

I have no interest in the Switch 2 but interesting to see the RRP of games increasing with Mario Kart World (the obvious spiritual successor to Burnout Paradise)

Bin

Lack of time to gaming, I'm always too busy doing something else

deKay · 05/04/2025

I’ve been playing a lot of Huge RPGs in the last year or so, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 might be the longest one yet. I’ve completed it, but of course There’s Still More To Do, so it’s not over yet. Just 85 or so hours in.

It’s hard to talk about everything in the game without spoilers. Normally, a spoiler in an RPG like this would just spoil the ending of this game, but in the case of Xenoblade 3 it would actually spoil enjoyment of the previous two games in the series too.

What I can say, hopefully ruining nothing for you, is that the whole existence of the world of Aionios, the setting for the game, is directly related to Xenoblade 1 and 2. This becomes clearer as you play, especially if you remember locations from those games as places you visit in Xenoblade 3 are somewhat familiar, either in look or in name (or both). There are a few “wait, what?” revelations related to it too, but I won’t go into them.

Hung on the front of this is the “day to day” story of the game. Two factions, Keves and Agnus, are locked in perpetual war. Soldiers, when defeated in battle, release some sort of life essence which is used to sustain the Flame Clock of their enemy, and this clock is essential to the existence of that army. For centuries, this life force has bounced back and forth, with no overall victor – intentionally, as it turns out. To add to this, soldiers are “born” as children and only live for 10 years – assuming they’ve not KIA.

You start out as a small group of Keves soldiers, and because of $event, you end up fighting alongside some Agnus soldiers rather than (or perhaps, as well as) against them. This starts off a chain of events which ultimately reveals that this entire war is orchestrated by a higher, malevolent, power and surprise – you have to team up permanently and Become Greater Together and other tropes in order to prevent (or cause?) the end of the world. This mostly involves going round all the colonies, from both sides of the war, and destroying their flame clocks to release them from the endless fighting.

I’m amazed that the three games in the series can be so similar, but somehow still have completely different worlds and events and still be linked in ways that I couldn’t ever have imagined. It’s really clever.

But, that’s the plot. How is the gameplay? Well, it’s similar to what came before, really. You still have a party of heroes, you still have “arts” and other special moves and attacks, and it’s still real-time-ish battles as before. There’s no “foresight” power like in Xenoblade 1, and you don’t have “blades” as such like Xenoblade 2, and there whole upgrading and buffing your party and stats has been streamlined and polished, but it’s still played and controlled in essentially the same way. Battles feel quicker than they did in 2, which was one of my only negative points on that game.

Voice acting is, again, excellent. It took a while for the new characters to grow on me, but I can’t complain about how good their actors are. As before, it’s mostly regional accents – Welsh cat ladies, Australian rebels, etc. – which really adds something. There’s a big variety of characters, loads of heroes you can add to your party (only one at a time, though) each with their own missions and stories too.

And that’s it. There’s a lot more I could say, but spoilers, right? Is it better than 1 and 2? No. But the thing is, I’m seeing all three games as one massive game now, and it’s certainly not a disappointment or a dip in quality. Now, if only Xenoblade Chronicles X was also linked in to the series properly!

Xexyz · 01/04/2025

It turns out that pootling around finishing up side missions was actually the right thing to do. I started by finishing up the taxi and ice cream van missions, unlocking the regular payments from them, then I headed for the golf club to see if there was anything more to do there. It turns out that there wasn’t, but I jumped in a boat and found myself on Prawn Island where there was a film studio in need of some tender care. Tender care through the production of tender movies, apparently, but fortunately Tommy Vercetti isn’t the sort of man to be directly involved in those – there’s no hot coffee here – and the missions associated with the film studio were altogether more entertaining and varied.

Two in particular stood out. First, I had to pilot a plane around the city, dropping leaflets advertising the new film along set routes. Second, I had to take a motorbike up in a lift and jump out an office block window in order to land on another building’s roof, and then follow a path of jumps and ramps around until I finally got to a spotlight – which I could again use to advertise. Why I couldn’t just fly there in a helicopter, I’ll never know, particularly because a later mission at the studio had me using one to follow someone to take blackmail photos.

I raised a lot of money through these side missions, so I went to buy the Malibu Club, and completed the missions there as well. Finishing those, and unlocking the earning potential of the venue, suddenly gave me a new marker on the map, next to the Vercetti mansion. So, naturally, I didn’t go there.

It’s always fun to set cars on fire, and then set the fire engine on fire when it comes to help. Fire.

I went and did some other stuff instead. I searched around for hidden packages, to limited success. I delivered pizzas, I robbed some stores, I managed to complete a course over the rooftops using a dirtbike, I went to the shooting range. And then I decided to try to finish the game.

It took me many attempts. The last mission sees you being betrayed by a good friend and meeting the city’s main crime lord, with many enemies attacking and trying to ambush you. The shotgun came in very useful as I chased Lance up the corridors to the roof. The mafia were trying to steal cash from the safe every time I left it, so my foray up to the roof was kept as brief as possible, although I had to progress slowly to avoid being shot by a seemingly endless supply of enemies. At last I killed Lance, after sniping him from a higher platform, and then returned to meet Sonny and kill him as well. Mr Extravagant Lawyer found me sitting on the stairs, and we walked out the front door to the sounds of the 80s.

On to San Andreas next? Maybe. I’ve never played it; I own it for Xbox and PS2 and Xbox 360 and Xbox One and PS4 and PC, but the setting has always put me off a bit. I like the mafia setting of III, and I like the 80s Miami setting of Vice City, but 90s rap culture has never captured my imagination. Maybe I’ll try it in a few months.

Harmoknight: completed!

Prince of Persia: completed!

April 2025 – I have finally finished Cyberpunk 2077, well sort of!

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch): COMPLETED!

Grand Theft Auto Vice City: completed!