January

Backlog Report – January 2023

DaNamesX3 Comments

It is a new year and I have wrote diddly squat. It is not from a lack of trying, but from me not knowing where I want to start this year. I normally put out a post about what I want to achieve this year, but those things never work out so I didn’t feel the need to write about it. I am taking this year with an open mind as much as possible. Instead of trying to plan things out and stressing about things yet to come, I am going to ride the waves and see where life wants to take me from once. I have unnecessarily created stress for myself already, so I just need to empty my brain and remind myself that things always work out at the end.

On the writing front, I have written a few things that just need a second readthrough and some edits here and there. One thing that I wrote was really fun for me to write, and I hope I did that game justice while talking about it. It may take some time for that to come out, but I hope you enjoy it. I am going to continue just posting when I feel like the moment is right. When I feel like I am completely done with the post, I will release it like normally. I noticed my blog stats took a dive last year, but that has never bothered me from the very start. I just want to write fun things that I like to write and people enjoy reading. I’m too busy to get sucked into the numbers game.

There is also the matter of EXP Share. Earlier this month I asked the community if they would like to see this event return. I received a large positive support for it, so it will be officially returning. My plan at this point is to aim for March since I still need to sit down and hammer out the changes coming to it. Please look forward to it!

Games Finished This Month

Star Fox Zero

The best way to start a new year is to start from the bottom. I had hoped that I would be able to overcome Star Fox Zero’s unique control scheme, but it quickly made me frustrated. There were some parts where I had brief moments of enjoyment. The on-rails portions made changing my view from the Wii U Gamepad to the TV was easy enough to overcome, but once all-range mode started, my orientation would always be off. All the different vehicles were a headache to control with the landmaster being the worst. The game is pretty to look at, and the soundtrack is one of the best from the Star Fox series. I just wish like everyone else that the controls could be adjusted and accessible for different playstyles.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

I wouldn’t say that I am the biggest Spider-Man fan, but he is one of my favorites. I had no real interest in playing this game, but I decided to give it a try after owning it for a while. My impressions? This was one of the best times that I’ve had playing an action game. My problem with most action games is that at some point the combat gets too heavy and complicated that half of my moveset is wasted since I quickly forget about them. Not to mention that sometimes you have to remember different combinations with light and heavy attacks and how to chain into a specific move. With Spider-Man, all you have to remember is the melee button, the web-pulley button, and the get-out-the-way button. Just by remembering those actions, the combat becomes a simple rhythm dance that is easy to follow. What also helps is that if a special action is available, the game will tell you which buttons to press which eliminates my weakness of trying to remember how to pull off a specific action. I was really not expecting to enjoy this game as much as I did. So much in fact…

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

I decided to keep the spidy train going by finishing Miles Morales. Since it is a shorter game (and I didn’t feel like completing everything), it only took me three play sessions to finish the story. I enjoyed playing as Miles as we get to see him starting out and getting used to his powers and responsibilities. This is something we hardly get to do as the OG Spider-Man since most of his games start off with him being Spider-Man for a while. While I am now looking forward to Spider-Man 2 later this year, it might be something I don’t play immediately at launch.

New Additions

Ys (Origin, The Oath in Felghana, & The Ark of Napishtim)

The Ys series is one that I’ve been interested in for a while. I played Ys I and found the bump mechanic to be a learning curve at the time. Now that I am deep into The Legend of Heroes series, I want to take the time to visit Falcom’s other signature series. My friend described the later games as Zelda on crack, so I will eventually see if that is true.

Harvest Moon 64

No. My quest to own almost every Harvest Moon game has not ended. I never knew this game existed until I did my research on Harvest Moon games. I’m just happy to own a genuine copy since most I found online were reproduction carts.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

I have never seen this game in the wild. I’ve heard mixed things about this game, but the only opinion that matters is mine. So far just by looking at it, I don’t know if I will finish it (like the original FFXII). If anything, I now have a complete collection of Final Fantasy games that came out for the Nintendo DS!

Star Fox Command

From one bad Star Fox game to one that I’ve heard little about. The back of the box should give me all the information that I need to know (like the good ‘ole days…). I’m just happy to play a Star Fox game that isn’t a retelling of the first. Speaking of which, I need to get Star Fox Adventures from my brother at some point…

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Adding this to the collection means that I now have all the Castlevania games released on the DS. That means that for this October, I will be playing through the DS titles. This also means Konami will announce a DS trilogy collection this year. I will feel slightly defeated if that happens.

Pokémon HeartGold

RIP my wallet on this one. If I had the foresight that I do now, I would have “held on to” this game from my younger brother. He lost it after a move, so congrats to whoever finds that game. What made buying this sting even more is that there was a cheaper copy at a different booth that was selling games (about $25 dollars cheaper). I was saving that blow for a copy of Dragon Quest VI on the DS, but settled with this since it would have hurt just as much. Now I am just missing two games to have the entire mainline set…

Final Fantasy II (PSP)

I am one of those sickos who actually enjoys Final Fantasy II. The PSP version looks good, but I will have to see if it will allow me to teleport all my enemies away.

Fire Emblem Engage

I wasn’t planning on getting this so soon, but peer pressure finally got the best of me. From what little I have seen and heard, this is a fantastic Fire Emblem game. As someone who wasn’t crazy about Three Houses, this looks like it is up my alley with the heavier focus on tactical gameplay. Can’t wait to play through it (need to finish it before Theatrhythm).

Currently Playing

The first half of the month was supposed to be Fire Emblem Engage time to shine. That was until a demo for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Final Bar Line was released. I hardly ever play demos for games since they are more or less incomplete versions of the final game, but I cave when it is something I really want to play. I will definitely play Engage, but it might be after a few rounds of blissful music.

I am also almost done with my first playthrough of Romancing SaGa – Minstrel Song Remastered. I have hardly talked about this game since it is a bit complicated for new players. I am at the final “dungeon” and I’m still finding mechanics that I never used, or learning more ways that made the game 10 times harder than it should be. I imagine at this point the final boss will take me about two months to beat, so I will keep you posted when I am victorious.

That’s all I got this month. I am going to continue patiently waiting for my game of the year to come out now.

Thanks for reading. 

Backlog Report – January 2022

DaNamesX1 Comment

New year, same-ish format. This month has been busy and slow for me as I’m still trying to figure out what I am doing this year. I don’t currently have, in a depressing way of saying it, something that excites me each day. I go with the flow of the day. I have come to learn that I am the type of person who needs some type of exciting project to get my motivation going. It is a character flaw that has negative effects. Eventually I will find something, but things are really dull without that “thing.”

On the writing front, I have slowed down on releasing posts just so I can have extra time to polish them. As I try more and more to reflect my voice in my writings, I also want to make things clearer on what I am saying. If my speech impairment already makes my normal speaking voice hard to understand, then I want to make sure that my writing is as clear as it can be. The old goal used to be to have a post ready every week, but now my goal is to post something every other week and make it the best that it can be. There are some games that I have finished that I haven’t talked about yet, some thoughts on gaming that I want to talk about, and a series that I’ve wanted to include for the longest time that I haven’t written anything about. This is the year that I want to produce the most content that I have since starting, and I want to see how far I can take it.

Now moving onto the games:

Finished This Month

Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2

There was only one game that I finished this month. I choose Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 as the first game to finish on the first day of the year. It has been a tradition to finish a game on day one for a while now, and I chose this game since I didn’t have time to prepare the week before. Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 has some of the best locations in the series with actual destructible environments that the later games do not have. I will say that I am not a fan of this game for different reasons. I don’t like how you acquire skills in this game, and the amount of times your gundam feels like a ragdoll gave me multiple rage moments. The fact that giant gundam fights are still hard even on the easiest difficulty made the process much longer than it needed to be. Overall, I don’t see myself returning to complete all the achievements, but if I’m bored one day I may consider it.

New Additions

Yu Gi Oh! Forbidden Memories

I had the chance this month to attend an event where I could scout out some retro games. The first game I acquired was this; Yu Gi Oh! Forbidden Memories. I remember as a kid seeing this game in a promotional disk and wanting to play it. Alas, the game was only for PlayStation and I was a Nintendo kid. Getting this game now after it being off my radar for a while is like completing a task for younger me. I will give it a go in the near future and embrace all the jank it probably has.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike

I saw this and decided that I should finally add this to my collection. I had some good times playing this game back in the day on band trips. We would play the multiplayer mode where we would pass the DS around for everyone to make their move. I don’t think we ever finished a match, but it was a good game to pass the time. I have never played the campaign mode in this game, so I’m looking forward to it.

Yu Gi Oh! The Falsehood Kingdom

I have never heard of this Yu Gi Oh! game before. I stumbled upon it while browsing a vendor’s wares, and my curiosity kept drawing me back. It doesn’t play like other Yu Gi Oh! games and seems to play like a team building strategy game. I don’t know what to expect, and I kinda want to keep it that way.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

I was allowed to splurge on one item. Out of everything that I saw, I decided to splurge on this game. The Dragon Quest games on the DS escaped me when I didn’t have an interest in the series. I would have been content playing the mobile version one day, but I decided to treat myself for once and buy the complete copy they had. The only one missing out of my collection now is the sixth game, and I believe that is the rarest one of all.

Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny

I didn’t have any real plans on getting this soon, but when I was helping my brother buy a new game, I found this for a really good discount. I haven’t finished the last two Disgaea games, but I’m hoping this and the Makai Kingdom rerelease in a few months will get me back into the series.

Yu Gi Oh! Master Duel

I’m sensing a theme here. This free-to-play game came out to basically everything current gaming device out of the blue. It is a fun and frustrating game if you are a fan of the TCG and haven’t played in a while. I’m now just getting the hang of the new meta and finding a playstyle that works best for me and not just copying the best decks out there (you freaking unoriginal POS). I don’t know when I will consider myself “done” with this since content will keep coming out for it, but it does provide a nice secondary game when I need a break from what I’m currently working on.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

I have a lot to say about this game. While I was left disappointed by the Diamond & Pearl remake, this game has exceeded my expectations from a gameplay perspective. The visuals and graphics could definitely be better, but it doesn’t offend me. If I don’t finish Trials of Cold Steel IV it will be because of this game and the fact that I am having more fun playing this over that.

Currently Playing

I am getting closer to finishing The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV. It is my own fault that I’m taking so long to finish it since I am trying to get as much done on my first playthrough as possible. This will help when I replay all four games to get all the achievements. Turbo speed and skipping cutscenes that I don’t need to see again will help make that process go by quicker. I have to get this done before Horizon: Forbidden West comes out and Kat kicks me off the PS5 so she can play it.


As I mentioned before, Yu Gi Oh! Master Duel will continue to be my secondary casual game when I need a break from the current list. I will probably play it less often once I reach the highest ranking and drop in and out as events and new seasons get started. Pokémon Legends: Arceus will definitely get done this month and that will prepare me for the next two games on my list.

I also forgot to mention at one point I was playing SaGa Frontier: Remastered. When my in-laws came to visit during the holiday season, I couldn’t hide myself in my gaming room. So I brought my Switch downstairs to play games with the family, and for some reason I started SaGa Frontier. My father-in-law was interested in watching me play it, so I did and finished one character’s story while they were visiting. Since each story doesn’t take long to beat (just some grinding to prepare for final boss), I am going to count this game “finished” when I go through all eight stories. Seeing as it took me a week to finish one character and you get to keep stats and weapons to the next story, I don’t see this taking a lot of time.

Plans for Next Month

My plan after finishing Trails of Cold Steel IV is to start Tales of Destiny. This is the first Tales of game that I want to play to finish off my Tales of games. I have a tendency to finish older JRPGs faster, so I’m hoping that it will take me less than a month to finish this.

While I’m banished from the PS5, I do have the next big release already planned out. Elden Ring comes out on the 25th of February, and I will be enjoying that on my PC. I’ve asked a friend of mine if we wanted to play it simultaneously that day and share our experience since we have not been keeping up with the details. We are really looking forward to it and I can’t wait to experience this new hellhole.

Now that the PC crowd has had a chance to play Monster Hunter Rise, I kinda want to get back into playing it. I finished the game real fast when it came out on Switch and haven’t had the drive to keep playing afterwards. With Sunbreaker coming out in the summer, this seems like the time to gear up and do some farming before G Rank/Master Rank/Whatever they are calling it this time comes out. Still don’t know if I’ll switch to the PC version if Capcom doesn’t want to add cross save.

So that was January. Tune in next month when something else has taken over my life that prevents me from finishing Trials of Cold Steel IV. Until then,

January 2021 Gaming Report – New Year, Same (Bad) Habits

DaNamesXLeave a comment

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

January 2020 Gaming Report

DaNamesXLeave a comment

I kicked off the new year with a refreshed mindset and focused goals. 2019 saw me at my lowest point mentally and it affected my habits greatly. But, with the help of this blog and reducing unnecessary work and stress off of me, I feel like my goals are more realistic.

I was very surprised with how much I was able to accomplish this month. As usual, I kept my tradition alive by finishing a game on the first of January to kick off the new year. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel easily became one of my new favorite games and introduced me to a whole new series that I’m interested in playing through. You can read my full thoughts about the game in my review I wrote. On top of that, I finished not one, but two other games this month! That may not sound impressing, but for me that is something I have not been able to do in over a year. I hope that this is a sign a good things to come!

Along with Trails of Cold Steel, I finished Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT, a questionable, yet understanding direction for the fighting series, and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney; a game that blew my mind with each twist and turn. I plan on writing reviews for each game, but they probably won’t be finished by the time this post goes out. If you are reading this from the future (hello from the past!), links to both reviews will be here (Dissidia) and here (Apollo Justice).

New Additions

I really wasn’t planning on purchasing many games this month. Now that my focus is focusing more on finishing games on my backlog, my desire to buy games I find in stores or online sales have been less enticing. Did that stop me from buying anything though? No.

I decided to try out Puyo Puyo Champions since I enjoyed playing Puyo Puyo Tetris. In my opinion Puyo Tetris is the better game, but if you want to learn how to play Puyo Puyo and keep Tetris out of it, this is an enjoyable game. It normally goes for about $10 USD online, but I got it one sale for $5 USD. While browsing the store to spend some Christmas money, I found a copy of Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight. I normally would not be interested in a game like this, but I watched my wife obtain the platinum trophy for Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight in two days and I want to one up her by platinum P3: DM in just one day. One day when I have a few days off I will attempt it.

Other than that, I purchased some games to assist me with the blog and complete some collections. I picked up Tony Hawk’s Underground to capture some images for a future story that I want to talk about. Along with that, I picked up Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 since it was only $9 USD and I have no self control. Both are really good games, so I have no regret purchasing them.

Uno for the Switch I picked up on a whim. I was watching videos of people playing it and it was on sale for $5 USD. I have won several games, but I don’t count it as a game I worked to finish since (in my books) just winning one game counts as beating the game.

The last two pickups were Final Fantasy Tactics and Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology. I own Tactics on the PSP, but for some reason it never captivated me like everyone else. I want to go back to it, but picked up the original PS version to add to my collection. Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology is the only escort Tales game that was released in the west. Adding it to my collection means I can finally say that (kinda) own every Tales game released in the states.

Plans For Next Month

I don’t have an idea what my plans are for February are yet. There are no new releases that I am looking forward to new month, so I can concentrate on my backlog more. I want to continue playing Nier: Automata and I think I can finish it by then. My Monster Hunter burnout is over, so I want to go back and finish Generations Ultimate at my leisure. Other than that, I will keep hammering away at Trails of Cold Steel II since I am also currently hooked on that as well. I’ve also been watching my wife recently trying to platinum Kingdom Hearts 3, and it makes me want to do some achievement hunting. Next update I will include the number of achievements that I earned during the month.

Numbers and Charts

And here are the numbers:

January 2020
Games Finished: 4
Games Added: 7
Finish Total: 190/672

Favorite Game Played: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Most Played Console: A toss up between Switch and PS4

Current Games in Process:
The Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel II
Nier: Automata
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Thanks for reading!

DanamesX