Tales From The Backlog

Why does my body hurt in the morning?

Hello all. I didn’t plan on going semi-MIA in August. Work really picked up for me and I have been too exhausted to do much. Any down time I have was spent taking time to myself or getting other small tasks done. September is not going to be any prettier, but I do hope I can write more since I really miss doing it. I have reached the point in my life where I need coffee to function properly at work, so the Keurig I got for my office will get its usage (all hail the magic bean).

I only wrote one thing this month, so I am going to omit my blog post section. I do know that when I do get time to write, I want it to be something positive since I’ve had a lot of negatives around me. I don’t want to take my frustration out on a game or a topic that doesn’t really deserve it (and vice versa, I don’t want to spend the time searching for something deserving of my rage). The list of topics for me to talk about continues to grow, but my time and energy to thoughtfully write them out continues to shrink. I can only continue to do what I’ve been doing and that is to write snippets of things every time something comes to mind. Hopefully, those snippets turn into full paragraphs that I can then use as “material.” Any who, I do appreciate everyone who reads my stuff and I’m sorry that I can’t do it as often (or maybe I shouldn’t be sorry since this is just a hobby? I don’t know. I’m tired…).

One thing that I have been very grateful for is my time spent playing with other people. Most of my gaming lately has been with others who give me the excuse to stop what I’m doing to join them in some fun. It’s been a blast playing Elden Ring with my regular friends, but now I’m also playing it with Meghan and Omni when our times line up. If this goes well maybe I can convince them into trying a Bloodborne multiplayer run! I also reconnected with my old Monster Hunter buddy and we have been tearing through Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. We have been working on getting me to G Rank along with his partner and another friend of ours. It has really reignited my love for Monster Hunter, and it feels so good being in a full group of four and taking less than five minutes to kill each target (that will change once we reach G Rank). These moments are going to carry me a lot for the next couple of months, and I am going to try my hardest to keep these connections strong.

Finished Games This Month

I wasn’t able to get anything done this month (sad trombone noise).

Games Added This Month

Xenosaga Episode III: Also sparch Zarathustra (PS2)

You are all now in a binding contract to never tell Kat how much I spent to get this game. I have been holding off buying this game for a while and finally decided to complete the set. I came to the conclusion that this game will never get cheap, so I bought it when I saw it was available through my reliable source. My goal was to originally get this on my birthday since I could justify it. Now that I have this game, I’m sure Monolith or Bandai are working on rereleasing this trilogy as we speak. The hole in my wallet is my gift to all of you if these games get released on modern platforms within the next year or so.

Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection Seekers Edition (PC)

In my enduring quest to play all of the Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy XI Online is a game that I have to play. I do own the game for the Xbox 360, but I think playing this game on PC is the better option. Plus, it was on sale for $7, so it wasn’t a hard pass for me.

Monark

Meh. I saw a copy online for cheap, so I went with the purchase. I was interested in the game when it was first announced, but I knew it was going to be one of those games that I would get later down the road. Hopefully I don’t get around to this within the next year or so.

Prinny Presents: NIS Classics Vol. 3 (La Pucelle: Ragnarok / Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure)

Volume three of this collection may be the best one to get. La Pucelle: Ragnarok is a remake of the PS2 game that never released outside of Japan. Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure is an elusive game that came out on the PS and DS. Having these titles on the Switch and PC will make these games much more accessible.

Currently Playing

All month, I have been focused on playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3. So much in fact, that I have over 60 hours in the game and about halfway done I think?? I feel like I could have finished this game sooner, but Monolith has finally found a way to make their side quests worth doing this time around. I’ve tried to avoid doing some of them, but they do give you rewards like new heroes and unlocking the limits on classes that you have. I will say that I do not appreciate some story resolutions locked behind the optional quests. All in all though, every time I think I’m burnt out from this game, I get to the conclusion of the chapter and it hooks me straight back in. I should hopefully have this done by the end of September (I have other games I want to play…)

Thanks to my (monster) hunting buddy, I have been playing a lot of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. This was my least favorite Monster Hunter title, but I now have a new appreciation for it. I think playing with other people makes that game ten times better than struggling alone. I’m going to save the rest of my thoughts about the game for a later time. I need to get Sunbreak at some point since I really want to play through the expansion now.

The other game that I somehow went back to is Overwatch. The glory days of this game are gone, but I found it fun to replay when I needed to find other things to get mad at besides work and repetitive RPG side quests. I dare say that I’m looking forward to trying out Overwatch 2 when it comes out at some point (I don’t remember the date and I’m too tired to look it up).

I think that’s everything that’s been going on with me. I’m going to test and see what kills me first: work or these never ending side quests.

Til next time.