I see you are taking advantage of the Atlus sale to get Soul Hackers. Makes sense with the upcoming sequel.

I actually got it day one when it came out. I played it once for maybe 10 minutes and never touched it again. Maybe it's time I got around to playing it.

Edit: Day 1 for the 3DS port that is.

Top 10 Favorite Games of 2021
1. Resident Evil Village
2. Metroid Dread
3. Knockout City
4. Bowser's Fury
5. Ys IX: Monstrum NOX
6. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
7. A Realm Reborn: Final Fantasy XIV Online
8. Shin Megami Tensei V
9. Returnal
10. No More Heroes III

Honorable Mentions
Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERGRADE - INTERmission
Cyber Shadow
Mario Party Superstars
WarioWare Get It Together
Hunter's Arena Legends

Top 5 Old Games of 2021
1. Diablo II: Resurrected
2. NieR Replicant ver.122474487139...
3. Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster
4. The Last of Us Remastered
5. Castlevania Advance Collection

Top 5 Games I wish I played of 2021
1. Tales of Arise
2. Hitman 3
3. Lost Judgment
4. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
5. Monster Hunter Rise

It most certainly does have those. Vagina monsters actually seem to be a somewhat common trope in horror media for whatever reason, which is kind of funny to me.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Aww, thanks!

I also didn't like Trails in the Sky very much and didn't even finish it, although that was primarily because I found the battle system to be a chore. Maybe if the original release I played on my Vita had a turbo mode like the CS games I might have gotten through it!

But anyway, I jumped into Cold Steel because the battle system seemed more appealing to me (and it was! Probably my favorite part of the series). Plus I knew going in that it was recommended you play the other games first, but now having playing all three Cold Steel games I don't think it would have made a difference.

My problem is not a lack of understanding of plot or characters, it is that I fundamentally think the story was presented in a needlessly convoluted way that didn't gel with me. So many scenes in CS3 featured characters talking to themselves vaguely about their hidden agenda/secret motivations, or talking to other characters in a roundabout way about things that I just found annoying. You would have entire scenes featuring villains vaguely discussing their plans, and then another character shows up but they obscure that character's face, and you're left wondering "HMM what was that about?" except they do it so many times that it becomes tedious.

Also also, there were also absolutely no stakes! Up until the end of CS3 nobody suffered any real consequences for ANYTHING that happened during the majority of that story. What was the point of the entire civil war during CS2 other than to establish one of the main villain organizations, a group that ultimately didn't really do much of anything until the end of the third game? I'm all for build up, but it got a bit excessive when the majority of the second game felt like filler.

At the end of the day I mostly understand what's going on, but the way it was all presented I found incredibly frustrating. Also the series (at least the CS games) are stock full of anime tropes that I can't help but roll my eyes at. Oh, and I don't like Rean at all, so that doesn't help when he's the protagonist.

Overall I liked the first one (and the second at times) because they felt like good introductions to the world and characters, but by the third game I was just so tired of everything going on I stopped caring. Didn't mean to ramble about it so much, it's just not a series for me I think. Maaaaaybe someday I'll play CS4 out of morbid curiosity.

I hope it lives up to your expectations!

After CS3, I might not even play CS4. I don't even know if I care anymore.

There's always a handful of Goku's in each Dragon Ball game, it's a fact! Let's see: Kid Goku, Normal Goku, SSJ Goku, SSJ2 Goku, SSJ3 Goku, SSG Goku, UI Goku! That's a whole roster right there!

Have with fun Xenoblade!