I just recently decided to try my hand at Cygni All Guns Blazing and wow... that game is hard as balls. then again i am approaching it from the perspective of a seasoned shmup fan when i should approach it as a newbie (and actually try the tutorial). I am understanding that i need to keep shifting my power from weapons to shields. I guess those little power ups are ONLY shield so when I can, shift all power to weapons and then pick them up. Problem is... so much stuff going on all the time that it gets tricky remembering if i did the change before or not. That first level just keeps kicking my ass but it is pretty addicting.

While I enjoyed Age of Imprisonment, in no way is it worthy of being a $70 game. It's way too short and a good portion of the game is grinding for quest objectives.

Just beat the 20 minute game Cloud Master after about 25 hours. Im not great at shmups, but this was brutal. Its a fun game though. Plays, looks and sounds good.

I recently hooked my 360 back up and decided to play through all the games I missed out on during that time. Right now, it's Arkham Asylum (it was Bioshock 1 before that). Totally impressed by it, but more impressed with the fact that in the near-twenty years since, gaming really hasn't progressed all that much. In some ways, it's regressed... mightily.

good choices there. I remember playing through, but never fully finishing those. Not too long ago i got a deal on steam for the arkham and bioshock collections. I have to say... playing those classics at 60fps is a game changer. I dont think i can bring myself back to finishing the 360 originals, even if it means losing out on achievements. As for the games in question, they play great on the steam deck. in fact... there are lots of PS360 era titles that play even better on the Deck.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.  This game is frikken amazing!  I started playing this shortly after it released on Switch 2, and I finally beat it about a week or so ago, putting in around 150 hours.  I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a game this much.  I would start in the first zone and go "Wow, I can't believe how great this is", then I'd go to the next zone, and I'd be like, "Wow, this is even better than the last!"  It was like this for 150 hours.  They really, really outdid themselves.  

The funny thing is that I waited this long to play it because I felt FF7 Remake was kind of hit and miss.  Some parts of Remake were amazingly great and other parts I felt I endured until they finally ended.  With Rebirth they got rid of the BS from Remake while somehow making the game 3 times longer.  Most of the content is optional, so if I wanted to advance the story, I just did so, and then went back later and completed the optional quests when I felt like doing so.

FF7 Rebirth also had multiple emotional story moments, a couple of which got a stronger reaction from me than any previous video game ever had.  I really feel like they took video games to a new level with regard to the types of stories it can tell and the emotions they can get out of players.  (Ironically the ending was not one of those moments.)  One of my issues with modern video games is that the visuals are in that "uncanny valley" zone where realistic graphics actually make the game worse, because the characters look kind of creepy.  FF7 Rebirth has managed to come out on the other side of the uncanny valley.  There are a few moments here and were the cracks show a little, but it is still by far the best game I've seen that has overcome the uncanny valley.

Final Fantasy was my favorite series from FF1 to FF12, but I became disappointed and disillusioned with the series since the release of FF13.  FF7 Rebirth managed to pull me back.  I feel like a FF Super Fan again and I'm totally excited for the release of FF7 Revelation, easily a day 1 purchase for me.

Anybody played Fire Emblem before? I’m choosing between Fortune’s Weave , Advance Wars Remakes, and FFVII Remake for my late-September/October game.

Based on Fire Emblem games I've played before, I would rank FF7 Rebirth > Advance Wars > Fortune's Weave.  But you have to also realize that sometimes you feel more like playing a tactical game and sometimes you want an action RPG.  If you feel like playing a tactical game, I'd pick Advance Wars assuming you haven't played the games before.

I have been playing Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga 1. Once again Atlus PS2 era showing why it's my fave era of SMT. While Nocturne remains my fave and Raidou is close to that for me. DDS is still fantastic. As usual with older Atlus games, they truly explore some dark themes in a truly fucked world. I can't say too much about setting without spoiling anything. Vague answer, explores death, morality of devouring to survive. As usual it uses press turn system which I love. Also these games in this era known for being difficult. Still easier than Nocturne which is a real bitch, fantastic but wipe the floor with you if not careful. 

Playing DDS you kinda have to be more in a 2D era SMT mindset. Since you do not recruit demons to help you fight like most SMT games. You are the demons and must carefully curate your skills. Thankfully this is PS2 era so unlike Digital Devil Story of the 80s you can't fuck yourself to the point of not finishing the game. One minor complaint is this game is really bad with random encounter rate. It reminds me of Skies of Arcadia in that way. Another great game but the encounter rate is insanely high. Something else I liked about Raidou is enemies can be seen. You choose when to engage. Now Digital Devil Saga is really part one of 2. DDS2 which I have not played yet, is part 2 of 2. Really it's one giant game split into 2 games. Similar to how Xenosaga was split into 3. DDS needs a remaster along with Raidou 2. These are some of the finest RPGs of the PS2 era. Like any SMT game back then. It will explore moral taboo debates. Religion and such. SMT tackles them from not preaching to you good or bad. Just here is how things are, each side has their reasons. Up to you to choose a side. The only true wrong choice is no choice. Nocturne was esp good at that. DDS only has one ending unlike mainline SMT. 

I'm curious you're reason for placing FW behind AW? Would be nice to get Advance Wars Remake off my backlog list... its been there since April 2023 lol. Plus FW is a wopping $80USD. Could also give Astral Chain or Bayo a chance. Never played either of those, though I'd kinda want to replace FW with a tactics game. FFTactics may also be fun as well. Or I could go completely random and knock out Earthbound Beginnings, that's a game I have always wanted to play. Same goes for Banjo Twoie and the original Spyro trilogy.

Oof there's too many options!