Hullo, dear fellow gamers! The New Classics project is progressing just fine — although you wouldn’t know it, because I cannot seem to post regularly enough; and I cannot seem to do that because I can’t handle time management even if my life depended on it. But the runs are there, and so are the reports; and once I manage to sort things out a bit, you’ll get these sweet reports.
I’ve put roughly 30 games to the New Classics test so far; and not only was it tremendously entertaining, but it also helped me figure out what I want my precious collection to look like. As I was busy playing — and lapping up — a game I’ll post about soon enough, I realised something important: I love grinding. Like, I really, really love it. More like I absolutely adore it, hot damn!
Well, ain’t that old news, you might ask? It sure is; but the thing is, I might have lost sight of that important fact over the years. I might have forsaken that engrossing trance, that tantalizing never-ending mountain to climb, that sweetest of the sweet activity that gave this blog its very name, in favour of other gameplay styles. I did that for curiosity’s sake, and it was a blast; but after ten years of non-stop gaming, my curiosity is quite fulfilled, and it’s time to go back to the basics and concentrate on what I love most. Namely, good old grinding.
This led me to a most ominous decision: all SRPGs will vacate the premises, without being put to the New Classics test. It’s time to admit that such RPGs are just not for me, and that I’ll just never enjoy strategizing as much as freedom & grinding. The only SRPGs I’ll hold onto are Fire Emblem Echoes, because it’s short and I love the hack’n’slash sections too darn much; and Sting’s Yggdra Union and Gungnir — because Dept. Heaven, b*tch. I will amend The List soon enough; but the decision is taken, and it’s taken for good. No FOMO to be found; I’m actually relieved, and glad I went back to my RPG roots.
Another important decision I’m going to enforce is to batch-test RPG series. The very fact that I do own full series I have yet to try at all is absolutely ridiculous; I should have bought a single entry, played it, and purchased the rest only if I liked that first entry. Well, what’s done is done; and since I own these series, I might as well give them a try. Here’s how I’m gonna roll: I’ll try the very first and the very last entry of each still unplayed series I own. If I like any of them or both, I’ll give everything in the middle a quick try to determine what I keep; if I like none, I’ll pawn the whole thing. Last but not least, I’ll write a single report for the whole series once I’m done giving it the New Classics treatment.
That’s all for now, dear fellow gamers; I’ll see you soon with all sorts of gaming goodness! In the meantime, keep playing and take care!
