PSN Platinum Trophy Thoughts No.221 - No.230
Original post:
https://forum.psnprofiles.com/topic/81083-astray404s-trophy-shelf/
#221 - Silent Hill 2 (Remake)
Difficulty: 2/10
I bet that in 10 months, a new Silent Hill Pachislot arcade with new graphics will be released in Japan. 🤣
Anyway, it is a proper remake of the OG with gorgeous graphics and a more realistic horror experience. Overall it is within my expectations, although some parts are not as adorable as in OG.
+ Most of the characters’ dialogues and cutscenes are well restored to the OG’s taste
+ The Brookhaven Hospital is the best part of the game, with decent puzzles and the success in creating a disturbing atmosphere
+ Maria’s AI. Mostly she’ll stay behind James, being much better than the OG
+ The high-contrast mode is a life-saver when fighting Eddie
- The volume of background music is too low (compared to character voices and sound effects) that almost cannot be heard on my TV, while James sounds overhyped when attacking enemies
- Some newly arranged music lacks the lo-fi and abstract taste compared to the OG’s arrangement, such as Magdalene and Fermata in Mistic Air. Those old ones bring suffocation and make it hard to breathe when listening to them
- Maria is supposed to be seductive. However, she even looks horrible than the render in the OG intro
- And Angela also
- The Labyrinth is a little bit lengthy and tedious when combined with the Daddy’s boss fight
- No special credit video for Dog Ending
#222 - Dungeon Encounters
Difficulty: 2/10 (With a guide)
This game may be the best explanation of why graphics should be important for a game. The low-budget UI design somehow does not match its extraordinary gameplay experience.
The dungeon exploring reminds me of Wizardry and Etrian Odyssey but in a 3rd-person view. Ability points and character PP must be utilized wisely, or it may lead to a party wipe. After the party wipe, the only way to pick up KO-ed teammates is to walk your new team to a specific map coordinate, which might bring more trouble.
Most exploration and battle abilities would reduce the difficulty and bring surprises, such as Descend and Ascend, which allow players to obtain powerful equipment and new abilities without going down level by level. I followed a guide that allowed me to pick up Teleport before 35F, and I would say that Teleport is the most overpowered thing among all abilities, AS LONG AS THE COORDINATES IS TYPED CORRECTLY. 😆
+ Impressive dungeon design and gameplay system
- Low-budget UI and graphics
- Poor rock-rearrange classic music bgm
#223 - Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
Difficulty: 3/10
I’ve never expected such a boring battle system in a SaGa title. Although the 3D remake enhances the narrative experience, especially those cutscenes, tremendously, the OverDrive battle system, along with the imbalanced numerics, makes the battle somehow intolerably lengthy if OD attacks are not used.
Besides, marking all events or quests on the world map like a to-do list makes the game less “surprising” on some events, such as the termites in Ostro, and the glimmering of techs is also displayed on the menu. Maybe the dev would like to reduce the complexity and clarify all the game’s mechanics to players, but the trade-off is a less enjoyable gameplay that does not encourage exploration at all.
+ Remaking the OG in 3D develops a better story narration, especially those cutscenes in Yauda
+ Music
- Poor battle system design
- Much less “surprising” on story events
#224 - Bee Simulator
Difficulty: 1/10
How did this buggy s**t get into the PS+ Catalog?
Don’t buy it, and don’t even play it if you are PS+ Extra. 🤣
- Compass sometimes won’t rotate;
- The main camera sometimes will randomly roll left and right;
- It’s an open world, but your pollen fills too soon, forcing you to go back to the hive around every 5-10 minutes;
- Maps are scattered in the park, but they won’t tell your current location;
- The QTE battle challenges are also unbearably lengthy;
- Poor sound FX and audio design, though BGM sounds not bad.
#225 - Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Difficulty: 2/10
What an amazing turnabout at the end.
Although the world & character settings look slightly too dramatic at first glance, Shu Takumi narrates in a genius way so players can accept it naturally. Some chapters are even more attractive than Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten. However, searching for a solution by interacting with all objects one by one might be frustrating without a guide.
For the last 5x5 sliding puzzle challenges, any puzzle solver like this may be helpful.
#226 - Animal Well
Difficulty: 4/10
A Metroidvania game with a fascinating map design. Although there’s no battle (most of the time), the puzzle-solving gameplay encourages the player to finish all collectables.
+ Map / Stage design
+ Tools that expand the experience of map exploration
+ Sound effects that have an addictive flavour
- No BGM
- It is hard to find your character without visual indications
#227 - LEGO Jurassic World
Difficulty: 2/10
Although glitchy in many ways, this game is more enjoyable than other Lego titles with linear stage designs.
+ Being able to smash objects using dinosaurs in open world and free mode
+ Classic John Williams BGM
- Graphics look like a PS3 game
- Character design makes it hard to distinguish
- Some of the character voice lines and sound effects may sound too loud
- No retry from checkpoints
#228 - Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash
Difficulty: 1/10
Cannot say that it is fun, but if you are a fan of Umamusume it is worth getting one since an item code for the mobile game is also included. (Sounds pretty cy-ish isn’t it 🤣) Besides, the server is already dead, so unless you find someone boosting for the plat, it is not recommended to buy this game.
#229 - Dynasty Warriors: Origins
Difficulty: 4/10
Finally, Koei made a DW that is enjoyable to play. Being a Musou fan for 20 years, I would say DWO probably saved the DW franchise after DW7/8/9.
+ Weapon categories are significantly reduced while the combo system for each weapon is polished, making every action smoothly performed.
+ Although the story ends at the war of Chibi, narrations and cutscenes are attractive. Unlike some JRPG titles (yes, it’s FF7r 🤣), there is no hurry to skip every cutscene and see the most hyped part.
- Too many soldier enemies make it difficult to figure out the officer’s move.
- Enemies’ HP on Ultimate difficulty seems too much.
#230 - God of War Ragnarök
Difficulty: 4/10
The narration of the whole GoW reboot series never disappoints me. Although the last part may look a little bit rushed, but overall the story depicts well, especially on the character emotion changes. Gameplay is also solid, although it also contains similar design defects as the previous one.
+ The story. It always attracts you to watch every cutscene and read every lore, and makes you want more.
+ Battle system. More weapons, more fun. And the new weapon also brings new puzzle solving.
+ Valhalla DLC contains easter eggs to previous GoW titles
- Map is still useless. After clearing the game, not referring to a collectable guide would be painful. For a linear game, a horizontal compass is not as effective as a minimap showing the details.
- In case there’s a need to quickly switch between weapons (such as Valkyrie Queen), it is hard to perform the c-claw trick.