As promised, here comes my first 2023 weekly progress report for the mighty New Classic Project! Can you feel the hype, dear fellow gamers? Because I sure can. I spent the whole week putting games to the (New Classic) test, and it was awesome. Ah, to play like the wind again, with my gaming instinct as the sole compass! Before we dive into that new report, here are links to my first, second and third progress report, in case you may want to refresh your memory.
And now, let’s ride! I’ll tell you a little secret: I hardly played anything between late august and last week-end. Namely: my four X&Y runs, a bit of Persona 5 Royal, a bit of NieR Automata, and a full Pokemon Violet run (posts to come about the latter). That gaming deprivation was mostly the result of unfavourable circumstances best left in 2022; what matters, though, is that it ultimately proved very fruitful. My gaming instinct is now sharper and more astute than ever, and can pass judgement on a game within minutes, with no fear or doubt.
That newfound acuity coincides with a shift in the New Classic focus. My initial goal was to find my own cult classics, games I could adore and replay for all eternity; then I realised that some games I adored could be once-in-a-lifetime experiences. And thus comes my revamped goal: to spot the games I really want to play — once, or a million times.
That sounds like a no-brainer of a goal; but let’s face it, I had to overcome a number of roadblocks to reach such a level of clarity and confidence. I got rid of my gaming FOMO, I put to rest the fear of scarcity inherited from my early gaming years, I eradicated the sunk-cost fallacy and the need to recoup all my gaming investments, I reined in my tendency to over-adapt and ‘find some good’ in every single game; and most importantly, I learnt to trust my gaming instinct, fully and completely.
With that new focus come two adjustments:
— Puzzle games à la Professor Layton are now officially out of the New Classic operation. The reason is simple: although I’ve never, ever been disappointed by a puzzle game, I’ve also never, ever felt the need to replay a single one of them once the deed was done. From now on, all puzzle games are ‘games I wanna play once’ — and I’m gonna play them for sure, and pawn them once I’m done.
— VNs and otomes will get the New Classic treatment as well, contrary to what I announced in the early stages of the operation. Over time, I’ve come to realise that my liking a given VN/otome has an awful lot to do with its atmosphere. If it clicks with me, I’m sure to have a great time, no matter how half-baked the story is; if not, I’m in for a crappy ride, no matter how excellent the story is. As a rule, I envision VNs and otomes as breathers; and when I decide to get myself such a breather, I wanna know what to expect. It’s thus perfectly logical to apply the New Classic treatment to all my VNs and otomes. I’ll dedicate a special session to these games, and go over all of them at once, regardless of their host system.
As for the current state of affairs: I’m proud to announce that my whole current Switch collection has been put to the New Classic test! I’m currently going through my 3DS collection, and progressing fast; you’ll get the reports in due time — namely, once I’m done unleashing my Switch reports onto the world. Said unleashing will follow that report; I’ll wrap things up with a celebratory post of sorts, and I’ll do the same for every sub-collection once I’m done with it.
But wait, I hear you say; isn’t the New Classic operation still a work in progress as far as the Switch is concerned? Yeah, about that… As unlikely as it may sound, I’m currently not feeling the slightest need to purchase new Switch releases. I cannot promise it won’t happen at some point this year; but for now, my gaming instinct is dead-set on the New Classic operation and doesn’t feel like pursuing new titles.
That’s all for that 4th New Classic Progress Report, dear fellow gamers! The companion posts will follow in the next days, and I’ll see you next week with my 5th report. Take care, and keep doing your thing! ^^
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