Hullo, dear fellow gamers! Hope you’re doing mighty fine, and gaming like it’s going out of fashion. I feel like rambling a bit about this, that and other gaming matters today; and I’ll start with no less than a first debrief of my now tried-and-tested OWOG system.
According to plan, I should have played 18 games already. Did I? Nope, not even close! The OWOG system is not at fault there, though. The culprit that makes my gaming schedule derail on a regular basis is none other than my darn real life, which leaves little to no time or energy for gaming these days. Whole days pass without me getting the opportunity to lay my thumb on a D-Pad, when it’s not a full darn week. I’m mightily miffed, all the more so as when I can pull off the OWOG system, it works like a charm and feels really fulfilling. However, I don’t fret too much over this: my busy IRL schedule is purely circumstantial, and not bound to last on the long run. It sure overstayed its welcome already; still, things will cool down after some time, and then I’ll be able to indulge more in sweet, sweet gaming.
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| So hot, so hot, you're on my radar ♥ |
I cannot game as much as I’d like these days, but I can sure buy as
many games as I want. And oh boy, do I have games to covet and get my paws on
indeed: the first half of 2021 was littered with appetizing releases, and
more yummy titles are piling up all the way to the end of the year. And of
course, I have to welcome the brand-new dark blue Switch Lite in my precious
collection sooner or later — unless I keep it as 2021’s Official Christmas Gift from my lil’
sister, of course. But wait! Maybe Ninty will deliver a limited edition Switch Lite along Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl — and my, wouldn't that be the perfect gift.
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| And yep I notice you, you're on my radar too ♥ |
Let's move on to these upcoming Gen IV remakes, whose names alone make me drool with anticipation. I vowed to never again take part in heated internet gaming debates after being forced to eat a big piece of humble pie upon playing (and loving) Let’s Go Eevee, and I’ll keep that oath. Suffice it to say that I’m extremely hyped about these games indeed, and impervious to the controversy surrounding them. So the art style is deemed too primitive for Gen VIII entries? Please b*tch, no art style is too primitive for a gamer who started their career in 1990. My last Diamond&Pearl fix was two years ago already, and it will be pure joy to dive into revamped versions of the pair. Heck, I'm even itching to be reunited with my little chap Barry, and to see if Vintage 2021 Barry is as excitable as Vintage 2006 Barry. My sole worry lies in the fact that these remakes are being handled by external developer ILCA rather than by GameFreak themselves. On the other hand, GameFreak are not exactly the most outstanding developer out there, and I’m pretty sure the games will be quality-controlled into oblivion; so why worry? Let the hype take over, baby!
What else? I played a bunch of demos lately, which led to some welcome savings as I didn’t fancy them enough to purchase the games they hailed from. Here’s a quick recap:
— Blaster Master: Instant & utter dislike. I managed to last exactly 30 seconds, before exiting the demo and erasing it from my memory card. Heck, just remembering these 30 seconds of abject old-fashioned platforming makes me retch.
— Cris Tales: The art style kinda offended my retinas, and the gameplay was not stellar enough to make me forget what I saw. Also, I dislike games that look like cartoons as a rule, as well as games that sell themselves as homages to a genre that’s still alive and kicking. B*tch, if I wanna get myself some JRPG, I’ll go and play some Tales or some Dragon Quest, not some indie that poses as a JRPG homage yet looks like a Disney movie.
— R-Type Final 2: The plasticky art style was not to my retinas' liking at all; but anyway, the game had lost me before that, when it forced some kind of cinematic intro on me. The original R-Type, although I didn’t fancy it, had at least the decency to let me shoot stuff right away.
— Sea of Solitude: I liked it at first, actually. Very intuitive gameplay,
mesmerizing setting, splendid art style, and a really haunting atmosphere.
Alas, that excellent first impression was tainted by the demo’s handholding and
patronizing, which kinda spoilt the joy of discovery and exploration. But the
real dealbreaker came when I realised that SoS, like so many indies
these days, has a message to deliver; and so, it just won’t let
me project my own thoughts and fantasies into its world, which really bothers me. (I didn’t go far enough
to unveil the message in question, but I’d bet my Switch that the whole game is
a metaphor for depression or the like.) Still, I haven't written off SoS completely yet; it's still tugging at my gamer's heart ever-so-slightly, and I may well give it a second chance — if only because the gameplay was so darn smooth.
That’s all for my ramblings du jour, dear fellow gamers; I’ll see you soon with my freshest run report, or any other kind of gaming goodness. In the meantime, keep playing and take care!
Ya know, I've also noticed that it seems RPGs are getting longer and longer... it's a real drag, actually. 40+ hours is a -huge- commitment, and anything longer I audibly scoff, like "yeah right, like THAT'll ever happen!" In fact, looking back I have absolutely no idea how I managed so many hours in some older RPGs.
ReplyDeleteCrossCode was an exception for me this calendar year. I spent about 45 hours in that awesome gem of a world and for once I'm actually going to return in the summer when the DLC comes out.
You mentioned the Diamond & Pearl remakes and when I saw the news, I couldn't help but think of my pal Isleif and his solo run addiction :) On that note I was unaware of the development being handed off to ILCA, but I think Nintendo/Gamefreak handing off some of their IP has shown to be a good thing in years past (with a big highlight on Grezzo who worked some real magic porting the 3DS Zeldas + Link's Awakening), albeit not yet with the mainline Pokemon games. Their list of titles thus far is very diverse, but from my understanding Gamefreak is all-hands-on-deck working on the open-world Pokemon game.
Gosh man, long RPGs are the bane of my gaming life, now more than ever before. I'm so sick of RPG routinely trying to steal 40 hours of my life that I developed a pavlovian response that makes me purchase giddily any RPG labelled as "short", and that an average playtime of 15 hours or less has become a huge selling point. :D
DeleteYeah, you can totally expect a bunch of solo runs once I get my paws on BD&SH. I've played Diamond&Pearl quite seldom despite them being my entry point into the series, and it will be a sheer joy to rediscover them — hopefully with plenty of quality-of-play enhancements. ^^
First off, you are correct that all our work struggles are temporary; it's a huge comfort in life that's very hard to see when we're suffering, but it's true. I've also been struggling this year, in a completely different manner, but I have faith things will settle down eventually.
ReplyDeleteThough I think Cris' Tales looks amazing graphics-wise, I have the same opinion on it considering itself to be a 'homage'. Like, I just bought a FuRyu game this week on a PSN sale, why would I care about a western 'homage' when I can still buy an authentic JRPG so easily? Especially since, and this might just be me, nothing about it makes me think of classic JRPGs, it's just seems like an average western indie game to me. I still want it, but come on...
As for Pokemon, I've given up talking about it too, but not for the same reasons you mentioned; my love and interest for the series has completely died off, so much so I don't even care if the latest entries are good or not. The opposite of love truly is indifference, not hate. I read all your Sword and Shield posts and even though I hold your opinion in the highest regard, I really don't to even give them a try. Even the bunny starter and cute ice-moth don't do it for me...
And yet, I've been very into the Yokai Watch 1 remake on switch that was recently fan translated, so I know it's not because I'm sick of monster games as a whole.
As for my opinions on new stuff, the remakes look really faithful, they translated the style to 3D to a T. So much so...that I don't even see any point of playing it. Any speed boosts from fixing the original's issues will be negated by the transition to 3D always making the games slower, so why bother? Unless the games do away with HMs entirely, there's really no reason to pick it up over the originals. Especially since I actually miss the 2D style...
Since it's handled by another company, there's hope that they will wow us though, even if following Pokemon are still lacking. I'm interested in at least checking out the reviews for it.
Which is more than can be said for the other one; even if I didn't absolutely hate open worlds, I have zero faith GF will be able to handle this. Zero, nada, zilch. I'm also kind of iffy they're using Sinnoh for it, it's like they don't think they make a charming new region to pull players in anymore. (I'm also scared the pokeball throwing will be motion controlled)
I'm super disappointed we're not getting Let's Go 2. Remove the mandatory motion controls (let us use the joysticks for god's sake) and I'd be jumping in my seat with joy.
I'm still going to buy them, cause pokemon games only seem to get more expensive as time goes on. Which yes, makes me part of the problem and only encouraged GF to continue to be crap. But...and I say this with all sincerity, with all the focus on streaming subscription services and the rumors of a PSP 5G being a streaming console only, I'm getting very scared that streaming game services will be the future in about 1-2 generations (2-3 for Nintendo since they are always behind on the cycle), and I loathe the idea so much, I'll quit modern gaming as a whole if that future does come to pass.
So I think I'll just buy whatever I may be interested in from now on (waiting for sales on all non-nintendo 1st party games of course cause I'm not rich) instead of being picky, just so I have a lot of games to enjoy for the rest of my days even when streaming becomes mandatory. Thankfully, I always keep an extra hacked console for fan translations, so I don't fear my digital library ever being taken down, but an all streaming future ruins even that.
Don't take this as a sneaky attempt at bringing you back into the Pokemon fray, but... Sword&Shield may surprise you in a good way, by their decidedly un-Pokemon quality. I hinted at this already in the summary of my massive upcoming S&S report, and I'll say it here again: these games are the first genuine, true departure since the beginning of the series, and they could totally pass as a brand-new monster-hunting IP.
DeleteAnywaaaaay, I don't wanna try and convince you :P Just read my upcoming report, and see for yourself — pretty please ? ^^
An all-streaming, all photo-realistic gaming future seems all too plausible, alas. Talk about the industry going in directions we don't fancy! I fully approve of your decision to stockpile games for later, direr times — heck, I've been going at it myself for years. So more power to you, sister: :D
One game in one week...that’s super ambitious. I don’t think I’ve been able to accomplish that in my gaming life, ever. But I can’t complain, as my busy job in real life is the reason I can pretty much buy any game I’d want to play.
ReplyDeleteWanted to say, Pokémon Platinum was the first ever PK game I played and it will hold fond memories forever. It was the best one, most likely because it was my first one. But I was persuaded recently to go for Pokémon Shield. Hopefully it’ll be another great adventure!
Hello Yvonne, nice to read you here again! ^^
DeleteNote that the OWOG system involves playing a different game every week, but not necessarily finishing said game. I have a pretty busy life myself (especially these days, gosh) and current games are sooooo long that there's no way I could actually polish off a whole game every week. :P
Yay, a fellow Gen Four-er! ^^ I also discovered Pokemon through Gen IV, when I played Diamond back in 2014. I love all Pokemon Gens, but Gen IV will always hold a special place in my heart, and it will be delightful to rediscover these games after all these years.
Hope you'll love Pokemon Sword&Shield as much as I do! I can't wait to read your impressions on your blog. ^^