This week’s Topics:
This Week’s Topics:
Wherein I discuss: The downfall of social media. An ample assortment of acquisition anecdotes. And one of the best DS adventure games returning from the otherworld.
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Wherein I discuss: My illiteracy. Nina Tendo’s Maple-some Autumnal Treat. Soh Nii’s Amber-some Autumnal Treat. The re;birth of Yakuza. Oodles of TGS-time video game announcements! And the (hopeful) demise of PSVR2.
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Wherein I discuss the end of Dragalia Lost, a potential PlayStation Purchase, a rocky remake, a boy’s club becoming a real company, and a hoax by a bunch of wasteful modders.
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Wherein I discuss the 10th anniversary project’s progress, the Square Enix separation, and an ARG with a zero chance of escape.
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Wherein I repurpose a bit from Natalie Rambles About TSF (coming May 25th), ruminate over how the worst people are buying everything, and muse about half-formed kerfuffles.
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Wherein I discuss a nostalgic TSF diary, Forever remake #5, a new conclusive fantasy, a cynical acquisition of jelly bean boys, and a consolation prize for a decade of loyal support.
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For years I have contemplated posting my novels in their entirety on Nigma Box rather than hosting them via Google Docs, but have not done so because I like having a header image associated with each of my posts and, well, I don’t have any visual assets to represent these works. I thought about commissioning art for each chapter, or just the novel overall, but that could get expensive, and would require me working with an artist, which kinda scares me. So I said screw it, I’ll make my own headers. But I cannot draw, barely know how to use Photoshop, and lack visual artistic sensibilities, so what can I do? I know! I made crummy sprite edits of 8-bit Danganronpa character sprites for my cover of A Vile Doohickey back in 2014, so I’ll just do that again! So I tested this idea by making a header for Random #001: Grandpappy Pyra, and… it took me like 3 hours to make in total… Art is hard!
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E3 came, E3 went, and E3 will swing around again next year, where it will hopefully be filled with far more enticing announcements on account of the next generation. Overall, it was easily one of the weaker years, with Microsoft, Ubisoft, Bethesda, and Square Enix all having some cool things to show, and avoiding a lot of bad or ‘cringey’ moments, but few things to necessarily wow people or with a lot of deeper dives into previously announced games, but also brought with it two new Smash characters, and a Smash character reveal is basically the equivalent to a game reveal on the hyp-o-meter. Anyways, in my blitz through the news, wherein I mentioned that games existed and could possibly be good, I naturally missed some things, and this post is to remedy that.
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You know what the worst past of E3 is? The fact that I cannot simply drop everything to enjoy spending an entire day in video game wonderment. As such, since 2013 the Monday kicking off E3 has always been a frustrating affair where I not only want to watch the conferences, do a write-up, which takes time because I am a slow writer, and keep up with the news that falls between the cracks, but I need to attend college classes and do part-time office work that mostly consists of spreadsheets, filing, and processing bodily specimens. Anyways, enough customary moaning. The video games are here!
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“You know Neku, It’s A Wonderful World, and The World Ends With You. Just make sure you end it definitively. For this is the Final Remix!”
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Ten percent pleasure, ninety percent pain, and a zero percent reason to remember the name!
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By the time I have published this post, I have dragged myself through a 13 hour day of work and school, wherein my free time was spent feverishly catching up on the press events in a vain attempt to remain current with the news, before going to bed and spending the preceding morning catching up on everything before the next day of news picks up. It was a rush to get this post out, but as is always the case with E3, I would not have it any other way.
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So, it’s been about three weeks since I quit Fire Emblem Heroes and swore off playing it, or any other service based game. I can be a somewhat obsessive person at times, and the idea of missing out on something that is time limited instills a sense of anxiety and guilt within me that I absolutely cannot stand. It is an awful feeling, and I honestly never want to feel this way about another game ever. Henceforth, I am not allowing myself to play any service games, because it causes me to express unhealthy tendencies.
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I tend to not show this side too much online, but I am an incredibly unconfident person, to the extent where I am honestly a bit surprised at how few problems it caused me in real life. I am the sort of person who is so intimidated by conversation that they often spend 5 straight hours a day without saying a word to anyone, and gets unreasonably anxious at the thought of annoying or inconveniencing others, or hears someone let out a disgruntled sigh, especially my mother. I could go on, detailing how I often mentally demean or insult myself in order to feel better about myself, but I should probably save the rest of the details for whenever I start going back to therapy. Anyways, on with the game news.
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Over the past few days I have been playing Black Desert Online after it was available during a free weekend on Steam. I had known of the game for several years, and was curious to see how it fared, but then I was reminded that MMORPGs are some of the last intuitive games on the market, containing so many mechanics and subsystems that are thrust onto the player. With trade routes, housing, four types of glorified crafting, and all of this tedious nebulous rubbish that exist on top of an interesting action RPG that has an interesting fixation on grinding knowledge on enemies, skills, and even people. It is an odd little title that really could be something novel, if only it did not belong to a genre notorious for its nebulous nonsense. Also, it’s controller support leaves a lot to be desired.
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So, I recently made my appointment for facial feminization surgery, and as it turns out, I will be using approximately all of my money outside of my IRA to pay for it. Because of this, I will not be doing as I originally planned, and I believe referenced in a prior Rundown, and purchase a Nintendo Switch for my recuperation period. I will also be taking a hiatus beginning in mid-December and lasting until sometime in January. I take pride in how I have maintained a constant weekly review schedule for the past two years, but I will need to break it, on account of my face being reformed into something prettier. (more…)
It has occurred to me that I really have not ever really explained how I select the games I review. Quite simply, I have a list of titles that I keep based off of games that I catch a glimpse of or hear about while perusing around my regular sources of game related news. I collect these titles into a list that I then update once the game is released, setting a reservation price for myself to pay based on the often brief snippet of gameplay I played. Once it reaches that reservation price, I then glance at its reception on Steam to quickly double check the game’s quality, and then buy it. This is exactly what happened with The Turing Test. Also known as a case that makes me want to rethink this process. (more…)
I have probably listened to the soundtracks for each of the Parappa games about eight times now, and find myself constantly humming and thinking of the lyrics whilst I do other things. Also, I ended up making a recording of me trying to sing one of the songs despite the fact that I cannot sing worth a toss and know next to nothing about audio editing. I hope my voice does not sound too atrocious. (more…)
It has occurred to me how little I actually research the games I am going to review until I actually play them. This is mostly because I enjoy going into a game blind and not have my expectations too heavily hued by trailers and speculation, but it’s getting to the point where I jump into games without even seeing 30 seconds worth of gameplay or more than five screenshots. I’m not sure if that’s unusual, just like I’m unsure if playing most games several months or years after their initial release is unusual, but it’s something I’ve been doing lately, and something that applies to this title. (more…)
You know what? Griffith from Berserk only did three wrong things. One, care for Guts enough so that he was torn apart over his departure. Two, rape the princess and steal away the virginity that the king hoped to steal with his musky old penis. Three, let Guts and Casca live when he could have easily killed Guts and Casca was rendered mentally retarded due to all of the demon rape. Everything involving him sacrificing his army and family for more power? That was a rational and well formed decision. It could be that I forgot some things, as it has been 5 years since I read the manga in full, but I don’t believe anyone who says they would not kill their family when they are unable to so much as lift a spoon to their mouth. (more…)
A few months ago, I reviewed Dragon Quest VII, and after forty hours with the game, my thoughts could only be generously described as mixed. It certainly made me question of affection towards the series and how I would feel about Dragon Quest VIII, but after playing it for only a short while, I realized that Dragon Quest VIII is something of an antithesis to its predecessor, and I’ve never been happier to use that word. (more…)
So, I listen to a lot of gaming related things in a given week. I have my Super Best Friendcast, my Podquisition, and my Up At Noon. I enjoy all of these shows quite a lot, but lately whenever any of the hosts say anything inaccurate, I tend to fidget about in frustration, as I am unable to correct a blatant mistake I noticed. I’ve actually stopped watching certain episodes of these shows because of an off-handed inaccurate statement, like saying that the Wii version of Twilight Princess was better and more definitive than the GameCube version. Which is objectively wrong and anyone who disagrees does not deserve to be listened to. (more…)
Despite not being the biggest fan of the series, and only having played through five games prior to this one, I actually hold a special place for Dragon Quest. It is a lighthearted and joyful RPG series with memorable scenarios, excellent designs, lovely music, and simple yet enjoyable gameplay. So when a new one came out, under the guise that its success will dictate whether or not the series will continue undergoing the lengthy and difficult process of localization, I naturally picked it up, got my hopes up, and… well, I’m incredibly disappointed, let’s put it that way. (more…)
Jeepers am I going to have a lot of games to play this month. Hyper Light Drifter came out on March 31st, Hunie Cam Studios launches April 4th, Danganronpa 2 is out April 18th, and Double Root: Before Crime After Days Xtend Edition is out sometime this month. Plus a proper review of Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin should be up whenever I find time to finish that game amidst this chaos. Seriously, this is the reason why I don’t like buying lots of games at launch. You need to build your schedule around release dates, get 60% through a lot of games, and then stop suddenly and hopefully get back to it later. (more…)
In my quest to explore, experience, and analyze the Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy, as seen in my reviews for XIII and XIII-2, I was dreading this installment. Not due to any quality concerns, but due to the time limit. I was horrified by the idea of being unable to do everything I can in a given amount of time. It was enough for me to go through this game with a guide to assist me, and I played the game on easy mode as well, because Square Enix actually recommended doing so. (more…)
Okay, The Malice of Abigale Quinlan has been released, and now I’m pretty lost as to what I should do. I’ve been pretty depressed as of late, with school starting up, my job being incredibly stagnant, and my inability to come out as transgender to my parents is really getting to me. I have insecurities and anxieties, which are two common things that I should learn to live with because they are never going away no matter what I do. Oh, and constantly feeling like a failure when it comes to literally everything I do certainly doesn’t help. (more…)
I’m pretty sure that everyone who played Final Fantasy XIII at launch did not expect Square Enix to make a sequel for it, even those who managed to look past a plethora of problems and enjoy the game. The ending was very cut and dry, and the reception quickly lost its warmth after the hype died down. So it was surprising when not only did Square Enix choose to continue the story, they chose to take the already confusing plot of XIII and insert time travel into it, which almost sounds like a joke. (more…)
I have been waiting to revisit this game for years now. If only because I built up so much hype and excitement for Final Fantasy XIII before its release, and the fact that I actively enjoyed it back when it first came out. Heck, the fact it was a multiplatform title was what sold me on the console I primarily used for the next five years. As such, I felt I have some unfinished business to attend to with this title, and going back to it after all this time was at least a little disheartening. (more…)
So, the Trans-Pacific Publishing trade agreement is a big thing this week, and it may affect all media in Japan, Australia, the United States, Canada, and more. It will increase the already overpowered corporations’ power, is vaguely written, and will exacerbate the problems with copyright laws, laws that have been mangled and mutilated over the past few decades. You could be deemed a criminal for having the audacity to leak information that the public ought to know about, even if it’s something as simple as a game being technically broken upon release. Tampering with software files would be illegal, from removing DRM, to fixing games, and potentially even mods, which would be viewed as hacking. Piracy could be met with the destruction of your hardware and neigh unlimited fines, and this whole thing was written by corporations for it, so why in the fuck would any true human being support that shit? Seriously, the fact this democratic government would so much as consider this sort of putrid pulsating piece of poo for a second is disgusting. (more…)
Yeah, yeah, reviews are coming, Verde’s Doohickey will be out in 2015, I’ll start watching another anime soon, school is ending so I’m a bit busy, etc. I forgot to do this introduction until I was about to hit post, so… here you go, Guyvers. (more…)
So, Dragon Age Inquisition comes out on my Birthday, but a combination of the price, bugs, and how I am saving for a GTX 970 ontop of the inevitable Steam sales puts it on the back burner. Oh, and Origin, never forget about that yucky Origin! I really do want to dive in though, but I have visual novels and some PS+ games to keep me preoccupied. Also out of the streets, where there is always a war on. A nice chilly one at the moment, filled with mutants. (more…)
If I may be honest, lately I’ve been rather busy with work and been side tracked by school, where I take classes I do not necessarily enjoy… at all really. Seeing as how I no longer spend an entire day in the same building really does lessen any sort of care I have for what I am doing there, as I’m only there from 9:10 to 13:45 two days a week, doing things I really don’t care about. I know they are simply filling out courses, but even the actual content of the class, skill of the instructor’s, site website, and atmosphere all feel like a notable step down from what I did for four years that were filled with so much free time I started this blog. Do I want to go back to that? No, not really, I mostly want to be done and start working four days a week instead of two. Because doing miscellaneous office work for people ten to fifty years older than me is far more enjoyable. That, and I get money for it. (more…)
I’ll be blunt and say that I only got halfway through the Bravely Default, and that should be how this review is read. However, as with any review I do while having not completed a game, it is naturally going to be very negative, as I viewed the game to not be worth completing. So yes, some schmuck on his own private playhouse is going to bad talk a critically acclaimed JPRG that many considered to be a reinvigoration of the genre. I think it is the most stagnant, soulless, and overall worst game I have ever reviewed. …Elaboration time! (more…)
Due to the increasing amount of information and entertainment put out on a daily basis, I personally feel as if the concept behind there being any form of entertainment that “must” be consumed to be rather foolish. I believe that I railed against the very notion of there being a book compiled of 1001 video games, albums, books, movies, and even recordings. I understand that there is a form of shorthand that comes from referencing materials, but that does not mean they need to do anything but be aware of these materials, not necessarily consume them all, as that would take 1,001 years to go through the past 101 years of entertainment if you were locked in a room and did not need to eat or sleep. Also, I don’t think that Final Fantasy VII should be on that list, as I think the game is trash.
Hey, I don’t know if I’ve made this abundantly clear or not, but I’ve written a novel that is available through this link for you to purchase off of Amazon for a dollar. I know I am pushing this super hard, but I really do want to have 100 people read through this thing I’ve done, because I placed 11 months into the project and do not want it to go unnoticed. Yet I’m still gonna be here talking about them video games and get people pissed off if they decide to comment… I’m cyber lonely. (more…)
I suppose this is the paragraph where I should speak of Diddy Kong coming back to Smash, but the return is expected much like Yoshi’s come mid-March. Instead, I want to talk about Pokemon, and how much I wish GameFreak would release tools to create one’s own Pokemon adventure using assets from the newest games. Or in other words, just make ROM hacks easier to make and be something that can be played on the 3DS. Why? Because I’d play Pokemon so much more often then and my 276 hours with X were not enough. 10 Pokemon to go… fart! (more…)
I hope to not make it much of a habit to stop playing games at a certain point, but the idea of there being far too many good ones to bother playing something you view as a massive time sink that is not all that fun is greatly unattractive to me. Yet, that description and Just Cause 2 being combined still provokes something of an error in my mind, as I heard nothing but good things about it upon picking it up for enough money to buy a bag of chips. Yes, Steam sales are lovely.
…What the blazes are you saps looking at- oh, wait, I’m not sure if anybody even noticed how this place has been vacant for a good week. Now how did that… *Looks at 3DS* 100 hours, you slippery SOB. All because I wanted to train myself some extra teams. I don’t even know why I had to do that extra EV raising bull- I’ll just double down on video game news, seeing as how two weeks have passed, and it’s early October, nobody’s announcing jack or anything. They’re all too busy with reviewing the influx of titles that are crawling from the abyss.
Tomb Raider as a franchise was one that I naturally never got into. I mean, I was born in late 1994, so that shouldn’t be much of a surprise. But as with all reboots, I think that it is important to judge them on their own merits as much as their relationship to the prior entries in the series. Yet, after having high sales numbers despite low profitability, alongside high critical praise, what does some schmuck have to say about it? Well, some more negative things, that’s for sure.
Let’s make this a dozen and keep this doom train roaring through the great plains of Acirema, the lands of the deities’ kin, and their devoured corpses. Falling from the sky for weeks before landing and altering the land with the fertile moist soil! Let’s make a cake to celebrate the- What am I talking about? I’ve got game news for this rag of an industry.
Well, I realized that the whole idea of a weekly segment being the actual title was pretty stupid, so I’ll just relabel that bit with the word, “Rundown”. If only because it fits and I like how it sounds. So… PAX East! Very cool convention, with some cool things happened in and out of it that I want to speak about. At least enough to fill a segment with things I personally consider to be worthwhile. But it was originally going to be both GDC and PAX, until I realized that was an awful idea, and am just putting everything together minutes before the post goes up.
For the week of 17/2/13-23/2/13. Another week, another one of these things, and some more pictures. With it being divided into two parts, to make me regret calling this a weekly segment. I already talked about the Playstation 4 Announcement Conference and why I am bitter towards it. But I still have a good two pages of other crap!
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