Tales From The Backlog

Hi!

It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these. What happened to me doing these during the last few months last year? The simple answer to that is that I went crazy and did some crazy things that affected my statistical reporting. So before I resumed doing monthly reports, I wanted to finish doing the crazy thing that I did and make sure that everything was up to date and everything again. What was that crazy, stupid, idiodic thing that I did?

Video Game Collection Spreadsheet V. 2.0!

Around last July (I think), I started to notice that my spreadsheet where I keep all of my data was incorrect in a few areas. I was also getting tired of the layout a bit and the colors were starting to get on my nerves a bit. So with a heavy sigh and a bit of excitement, I reconstructed my entire spreadsheet and went about inventorying every single game in my collection.

When I first started this spreadsheet back in 2015, I had a simple, small collection. It was easy enough for me to put together since I only had to worry about the few DS, GBA, Wii, PS3, and PC games that I had at the time. Fast forward to 2021, that collection of less than 100 games has exploded into a collection that contains approximately 1059 games now (rookie numbers I know I’m working on it). That number includes all of Kat’s games as well since they are part of the collection as well (and she had zero desire to keep track of her games like this). I will go over the new spreadsheet and provide a viewable link in a featured post this/next week.

Finished Games

Kat and I have an ongoing tradition to finish one game on the first day of the new year. This tradition happened by accident twice a few years ago, but we like to try and uphold it for as long as we can. This year, I finished two games on January 1st.

The first game was Warioware Gold. To be completely fair, anyone can finish the story mode of this game in about two hours. I only had the last three parts of the story to finish which took about an hour to finish. Warioware is always a good time, and I think the 3DS version does the series best by combining all the different playstyles from over the years. There are bonus modes to do that I will enjoy when the craving hits.

Kat didn’t like the idea that I didn’t really have to work to meet my goals, unlike her. She had the entire story mode of Puyo Tetris 2 to do, and I did feel a bit of pity in my bones. So to even the playing field, I started, finished, completed, and platinum Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight in 8 hours.

I had planned on playing this with the intent of getting the platinum trophy in one day. This felt like the perfect excuse to do it. I can comfortably say that I never want to play this game ever again after marathoning it for 8 hours straight. The game has my least favorite interface for a rhythm game. The screen feels extremely busy, and playing it on the hardest difficulty requires complete concentration and every skill imaginable. Toward the end of my marathon, I started to get loopy and cursing Atlus from making a cash grab like this. At least Persona 4 Dancing has an actual story that ties into the plot to make it interesting. This was an excuse to make a rhythm game with not a lot of tracks to begin with.

The only other game that I finished this month was Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City. This was my favorite game to finish this month, as it signified the closing of a chapter. I have had this game since 2010, but could never finish it due to how difficult I made things for myself. This was the first Etrian Odyssey game that I played, and I could never figure out the mechanics of “being good” at the game. Fast forward to this year and with my good friend, the internet, I figured out that I built my team in an idiotic fashion, and that some skills are not worth learning. Pro tip, Combat Study does not increase your current teams experience points. The skill makes your teams in reserve gain experience so that they can stay level with the main party. Whoops.

Another great tip I can give about the game is how to level up stuip easy. The game features autowalk tracks that you can place on your map. Just make a loop and have your team auto walk to get into encounters. If your team can handle themselves, just set them to auto and repeat the steps. This basically makes the game play itself, but it saves you from spending hours grinding manually. The only time you will have to do much is when you have to go back to town to revive someone, or sell your loot for money. This method is also a great way to get money since that can take some time if your gathering team is nonexistent. If you are good at strategizing and understand the basics of the game, then there is no need for grinding, but if you are a dumbass like me, then this simple method will help you get the level and skills you need to reach the end. I would like to talk more about this game, but I will save it for another time.

New Additions

I was really good at the beginning of the month. There were no games that I was truly interested in getting, but the sales fairy always knows when to hit me at vulnerable moments.

The first game that I got this month was Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Video Game – Complete Edition (breath). I missed out on getting this game when it first came out (due to not having a system I could play it on), but I did play it at a friend’s house. I remember it being a really fun co-op beat ’em up game. That’s still the case, but as of writing, I still have not played this with anyone. The charm of this game really does come with playing with others. Until this pandemic is over (whyisn’tthispandemicoveryetseriouslypeoplejustwearafuckingmaskandpracticesocialdistanceyouselfesslunatics) I will have to wait to play this at my friend’s house again.

After buying that, it went downhill from there. I used a gift card that I got for Christmas to buy Puyo Puyo Tetris 2. Why? Because I enjoyed the first game and I want to get better at puyo. Around this time I also bought Captain Tsubasa: Rise of Champions, a football game based on a popular manga. I have never read the manga, but I do enjoy football games that remind me of Super Mario Strikers.

During a supply run, I stopped at a second hand store and found a copy of Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan. I was off the heels of finishing the third game, so I had to get it to add to the collection. I am now only missing the fifth game and then the collection will be complete. Speaking of finding rare games, I also found a copy of Harvest Moon DS Cute for a cheap price. My older brother loved Harvest Moon DS and he considers it one of his favorite games. I got this version just to have it since I will probably never get the original game from him. I am curious to play this one day and see if it holds up to the other version (I don’t see why not, the only difference is that you play as a girl).

The final game that I got last month was Resident Evil VII: biohazard. I have never been a fan of Resident Evil. The only one that I really enjoyed was watching my brother play RE4, and even then, I never played any of them. With recent news about the franchise, Capcom gave me about 9’6” reasons to maybe consider checking out their newest game. So I started RE7 and did not get past the tutorial. I do not enjoy scary games. I like watching others play them no problem, but I dread it if you put the controller in my hands. I have since then watched a full playthrough of the game, so I think I can make it through it since I know when all the bullshit happens. I will conquer it one day; just not today.

*Edit. I forgot that I also bought Civilization: Beyond Earth since it was on sale. It has mixed reviews, but I’m curious to see what a futuristic civ game plays like; and this was the perfect excuse.

Plans For Next Month

Have this gaming review report thing done by the 28th. I will let you know how that goes.

Message From The Writer

Um. How’s your day going? As of writing this, I am going through one of those phases where playing games feels unsatisfying. It happens every so often when I’m feeling stressed or when I can’t make up my mind on what to play next. I will be floating in and out of the aether this month as my introverted nature kicks my butt. I still want to stream Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness at some point this month since I was really looking forward to doing it and I want to commit to myself. Just know it will happen even if I’m not 100% entertaining.

With that, I am going to try and not think of the scary things that I have to get done this month. Remember to get good sleep and play games in a well-lite room.

DanamesX