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In Pursuit of Platinum: Ain’t Gonna Happen With Horizon Zero Dawn

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I absolutely loved Horizon Zero Dawn. I spent over 56 hours with the main game alone, and I’m currently working through the Frozen Wilds DLC. My adoration of the game should not be questioned.

In fact, I’m super close to obtaining that Platinum trophy. Current trophy count is only two trophies shy of getting it. But I’m not going to.

These last two trophies require completing all of the Hunting Grounds activities once and getting a Blazing Sun (first place) in each one. The problem is, I hate these activities. Only reason why I completed one Hunting Ground at all was to get into the Hunter’s Lodge in Meridian. I did not enjoy it, even though I earned Blazing Suns at each trial my first try. The countdown clock stresses the hell out of me. From that alone, I didn’t plan on trying any other Hunting Grounds.

Horizon Zero Dawn Hunting Grounds

Behold, the only Hunting Grounds where I racked up full Blazing Suns.

Hunting Grounds. I Hate ’em.

But Twitter people told me not to give up. Save them all for late in the game when you have all these weapons and gear. It may take you a couple of tries, but you can do it. So I caved and tried two more Hunting Ground locations. Fuck all of this, I’m done.

I’m not enjoying the challenges, even when they teach me something new, because of the damn clock. I’m yelling in frustration. I’m screaming at wayward Glinthawks that decide during a particular attempt it’s time to fly in and make my life a living hell. After my third or fourth try at finishing the challenge of destroying five frozen machines within a minute-thirty, only for a friggin’ Bellowback run me over in the last few seconds, I packed it in.

No virtual prize is worth being miserable for a few seconds, much less a few minutes. I don’t care if I’m a quitter or whatever. I’m too old and care too little to force myself to push on with it.

But Keri, don’t you have a strategy guide for this? Why yes I do! And it gives fantastic advice, but it doesn’t make the tasks any less miserable. It doesn’t take away the clock. I still hate them.

Besides, I have so many other games to play. Those 56 hours I spent in HZD doing virtually everything were not a waste of time. Forcing myself to do these trials I hate is.

In Pursuit of Platinum – Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

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Assassin's Creed Odyssey Platinum trophy

I grabbed the platinum like Theseus grabbed the Minotaur by the horns!

Not this past weekend, but the weekend before that, I finally finished Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. While I was at it, I secure the last couple of trophies for that Platinum. My final time after getting all of the trophies and completing every single side quest clocked in at 123 hours. And I’m still sad I’m done with the game.

Although, I’m done and yet I’m not done. Ubisoft has been cranking out weekly “Lost Tales of Greece” that I’m plowing through as they release, because I can’t let this world GO.

Part of it is because I love the world of Ancient Greece. Give me Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome, and I will always be a happy camper. Is that why I loved Ryse so much? Yes. Yes it is. I do not care. The only thing that would have made this world better is if it actually took place during the time of the Trojan War and Odysseus. But that said, I love where it is. The Peloponnesian War at the height of Greek philosophy was perfect. And at least now I know the proper way of pronouncing Socrates, Hippocrates, and Pythagoras.

I suppose when the Lost Tales are done, I’ll tackle “The Hidden Blade” DLC as well. I mean, there are all these extra trophies just begging me to collect. Perhaps I can get a Platinum in Assassin’s Creed Origins too. Well, that will happen eventually. Right now I’m debating upon whether I bother reviewing the strategy guide at all, because that’s definitely not timely anymore.

In Pursuit of Platinum: I Achieved Another Double Platinum Weekend

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Recently, I reviewed a point-and-click adventure and an otome visual novel for PlayStation Lifestyle, both of which had relatively easy Platinums to obtain. For Code Realize: ~Bouquet of Rainbows~ this achievement was far easier than the other, simply because with visual novels, you often only have to replay on speed dial and get the various endings. The Raven Remastered was a bit more of a beating, because I was missing one little thing to get the last trophy I needed.

On thing I really liked about The Raven was that it lulled you into a false sense of predictability. The dialogue might have been weak and rather forced at times, the voice acting merely okay, and the controls were just annoying, but the story really brought it all together. Some of the puzzles were nearly Double Fine-ridiculous as well, especially in the beginning. As the game rolled on, the puzzles weren’t as convoluted, or maybe it was because the game had beaten their brand of puzzles into my head. What I was missing to get my beloved Platinum trophy was the Master Detective trophy for the third chapter. I got the Master Detective trophies with ease for the other chapters, so it boggled my mind how I didn’t get it for the third. What puzzles could I have missed? I played it twice more and still nothing.

I finally had to look it up, since this was a remaster older guides for the original exist. I was a bit livid with what I missed. Because I didn’t go back in one spot and tell someone I solved the puzzle, I didn’t get full credit for solving it. That is all it took. But hey, it’s done, right?

the raven remastered

While I say Bouquet of Rainbows was easier to obtain, it took far longer. Getting each suitor’s “true ending” are various trophies. Some are easy to get. Others take some planning with dialogue responses. Sometimes what you think is the best response to getting max affinity from a character does the exact opposite. Save points at dialogue choice moments are crucial. At one point, I had three or four different save points regarding ONE suitor’s path. At least the game shows you which choices you already made. The problem is that some of those choices are correct, and others are not. For a couple of suitors, I had trouble figuring out what responses would make them happy.

At least a lot of the stories were super sweet, so I didn’t mind replaying certain portions. I didn’t love all of them, but I’ve treasured a few to the point I will actually load up the game to rewatch certain scenes. I am a sucker for love stories. I do the same with Odinsphere Leifthrasir as well.

Code: Realize ～Bouquet of Rainbows～

Now that I have both of those games out of my system, I think the next platinum pursuit will come from a LEGO game…

Gaming Diary: My Album Went Double Platinum Over the Weekend

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Double Platinum

This weekend somehow turned into one of finishing things. I platinumed in two Vita games and finished a book. Now I’m wondering what I’ll do next, handheld-wise, as I have plenty to do console-wise.

I honestly wasn’t expecting to finish either Vita game so quickly. Last week I reviewed a visual novel, Bad Apple Wars, for PlayStation LifeStyle. I know if I actually take the time, I can easily Platinum a visual novel, even though I’ve never done it before. Usually racking up the trophies in a visual novel requires multiple, multiple playthroughs. For the review, I played through it a few times, which was incredibly easy since there’s so little gameplay. It also helps that the game has an auto-play feature, allowing you to skip through dialogue you’ve already read and auto-scrolling through dialogue you haven’t read. Anything I could do one-handed, I did while holding my Vita and watching the movies play out. You make 1-2 decisions in the beginning, and then simply watch how it all unfolds. There’s some touch screen gameplay mixed in, but that can be done while doing something else one-handed.

After playing through each character’s ending once, I spent the next two days with the game on almost literal auto-pilot while I worked. When I realized on Friday night that I only had the bad endings to sort through, which I could start at each character’s chapter 6 (out of 9 chapters), it was game on from there. I have to say that the bad endings were some of the most depressing things I have ever seen in a visual novel, which is saying a lot. It probably wasn’t the best thing to end my night with, but the Platinum Trophy pop made it worth it.

Before I had to focus on Bad Apple Wars, I was trying to console myself over missing out on the Platinum trophy for The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game with LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Vita. LEGO games on the Vita are often a bigger pain-in-the-ass than on console, but this one takes the cake. It’s not LEGO Marvel Superheroes on Vita bad, but it’s in that direction. Thankfully, the strategy guide included the handheld strategies (they often don’t lately, only online), which was an immense help in trying to figure out some of the minikit locations in the levels. You’d think that with the Red Brick turned on to point you toward collectibles would be enough, but it certainly was not. I almost did better ignoring the markers completely than trying to figure out what in the world they were pointing to. When you have to destroy X number of things, don’t mark where the kit appears; mark the things you’re suppose to destroy. It was absolutely ridiculous.

The one trophy that might have prevented my Platinum glory, however—the one that requires killing 10 enemies by deflecting blaster shots at them. If you hold down the square button, the lightsaber wielder stands in a defensive position, almost like a batter trying to bunt. It was fairly easy to do this to kill the enemies, but it never counted. If I had the Red Brick turned on to allow perfect deflects, the trophy wouldn’t pop. So, okay, I turn that Red Brick off and all the other Red Bricks, just to be safe. Then I replay one level over and over to bat back blaster shots at stormtroopers. That still didn’t work. Out of extreme frustration, I read the trophy description one more time. It says to deflect as a Jedi. A Jedi. I’ve been using Kylo Ren, so could that be what’s preventing the trophy pop?

Once I switched to Luke, the trophy popped very quickly. It helped that by this point, I was a goddamn pro at deflecting blaster shots. Trophy popped, Platinum trophy popped, victory dance was had, and then it was time for bed.

Not sure if I’ll have any other productive weekends like that one, but it was nice to clear games off my plate when it feels like all I do is pile them on.

In Pursuit of Platinum: Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

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Odin Sphere Leifthrasir platinum trophy

I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get the Platinum Trophy for Odin Sphere Leifthrasir because of bronze trophy. I was certain I couldn’t get the trophy requiring an attack chain of 200. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get beyond 150. I figured it was beyond my skills, but I’d still try to get every trophy I could in the meantime. Turns out, I just needed the right character to get that chain. Once that trophy popped, oh it was game on.

I played the game any time I wasn’t working, taking care of the kids, or sleeping. It was rather easy to do since the story is so great. Some nights I stayed up too late playing, thanks to the riveting story. Now that I’ve unlocked every cut-scene, I’ve been tempted to watch them all in chronological order. I like the pulp fiction way of telling the whole story, and I could see how the pieces fit together. I still think it would be interesting to watch them all in order (which you can do) and get the whole, clear picture.

Seeing every possible cut-scene and ending in the final book was also incredibly worth replaying those bosses for. To see all of the endings, you have to make wrong choices about who fights which of the five final bosses. All of those were heartbreaking, but it filled in other motivations, backstories, and gaps that made the true ending feel more complete. It takes at least four playthroughs of the final bosses to see everything. The only bad thing I have to say about the game is that it gave me hand cramps since I couldn’t stop playing.

By Saturday, the Platinum Trophy unlocked. I was part jubilant and part sad. I put in nearly 50 hours into the game. What was I going to do now? I always feel that way after finishing a game I really enjoyed. It’s akin to going through the stages of grief. I’m happy to have accomplished a goal, but now that it’s over, what will I fill my time with? Will the next game bring me as much joy? Am I ready to let these characters go and make new friends?

Other great games await, such as Horizon: Zero Dawn. Question is, which game will I next pursue a Platinum?

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