February 2017 Catchup

At the forefront of my thoughts during February was that I really wanted to make sure I finished the rest of my Persona marathon before P5's impending release date. I know it ended up coming out in early April, but I'm not sure at what point I learned that it was going to be delayed. I'm sure I must have known by this point, because if I'm not mistaken it was originally projected to come out that very month! I tend to play through games quickly, but even I wouldn't have been prepared to replay both Persona 3 and Persona 4 in just a few weeks. These are ridiculously long games, after all.

I ended up finishing my playthrough of Persona 3 Portable right at the beginning of February. I had previously played Persona 3 FES on PS2 several years back. It was my introduction to the series and still probably my favorite entry overall. It was just so different from anything else I'd played in that genre. I know it has its debts to other games both within its own overarching series and from other games as well, but there is something uniquely interesting about Persona that few other games duplicate for me. It is a nexus of slice-of-life, dungeon crawling, tough turn-based combat, and ludicrously catchy tunes that really make it memorable for me.

P3P fixed the primary issue I had with the original version of the game which always struck me as a pretty glaring oversight in the first place. For whatever reason, party members in the original P3 (and in FES) are entirely controlled by AI. This is the default setting for all Persona titles but starting from P4 it became fairly trivial to disable the setting. P3P mercifully implements this massive quality of life improvement and therefore makes the game a lot more fun to play and honestly less difficult overall since you have so much more control over how your characters participate in combat. I think this, combined with my familiarity with the game is what shaved about 20 hours off my playtime compared to my first time through.

Not all the changes to Portable are for the better, though. The ability to roam freely through the town in between story scenes and dungeon crawling was completely removed, replaced with a visual novel-style point-and-click interface to travel from place to place. I can't say this was a change that really bothered me that much at the end of the day especially since so much of the game is about creating a routine of visiting various different places on different days over and over. The act of physically walking to these areas was never a satisfying component of the gameplay in the first place. There were also some animated cutscenes removed from this PSP release, which is a bummer, but again, not crucial to the overall experience. I still definitely prefer this version of the game due to gameplay improvements and the wider variety of social links.

The next game I finished in February was Freedom Planet, a cute little game one might be quick to dismiss as a straight-up Sonic clone. Yes, it does borrow heavily from that series, but I do feel it has its own identity, particularly with its cast of anthropomorphic playable characters. Each of these three have their own distinct gameplay styles and conquer the variety of different levels in different ways. I wouldn't mind revisiting this one because it was a fun take on the classic Sonic formula and I didn't spend enough time with it for it to really stick in my mind. This might be another game that I try out again on PS4 or Switch, assuming it's available on those platforms.

As it turns out, those two were the only games I finished in February! I tend to chew through games pretty quickly, so it's surprising I only managed to get through two in one month. Looking ahead a bit, though, it really starts to make sense. I had moved on to Persona 4 Golden right after finishing P3P, which of course is an astoundingly long game. Simultaneously, I was playing the recently released Horizon Zero Dawn on PS4, on which I also spent a considerable amount of time. I imagine I'll be discussing those quite soon.

January 2017 Catchup

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I really wanted to go back and revisit a lot of (or all of?) the games I played over the past couple of years because I haven't discussed them at all on this blog! And that's a shame because I've built up a lot of thoughts over time. I'd say I definitely finished more games than typical during this period of time because I wasn't really taking any time off to write about them or to produce content in any way--but that just led to this sense of unease because I didn't have any outlet with which I could discuss them.

The first game I finished in 2017 was a game I'd been working on-and-off for a decent chunk of the latter end of 2016. I'd planned on starting a Persona marathon of sorts leading up to the release of Persona 5. The only entry in the series I hadn't played at that time was Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. I'd played the other half othat particular duology (Persona 2: Innocent Sin) quite awhile back because its PSP remake was fairly slick and well done. Unfortunately, Atlus elected not to localize the similar remake of Eternal Punishment, so I decided I might as well go back and play the PS1 version instead since it's likely it's the only version we'll ever get.

I think my reception of Eternal Punishment was really damaged by playing the PSP version of Innocent Sin first, even though that game is chronologically first of the two. It has so many quality-of-life improvements that really make the game a lot more fun that it felt incredibly glaring when I came back to Eternal Punishment. The plot is at least interesting and is a continuation of the wackiness from the first Persona 2 title, but the repetitive dungeon-crawling, tedious combat interface, muddy graphics, and refusal to explain basic gameplay mechanics really drags it down. It also takes forever to open the map (which I had to do frequently), the random encounter rate is stupidly high, pitfalls that drop you to the previous floor are extremely common, combat is very slow-paced even with animations turned off, and collecting essential items is extremely tedious and almost requires consulting a guide.

It's hard to say if the PS1 version of Innocent Sin had similar problems but at this point I feel confident that I've played the only version of that game that I need to play. If for some reason I ever have an opportunity to play the PSP remake of Eternal Punishment (whether it be through a fan-translation or some highly unlikely localized rerelease) then I definitely will, but this version of the game has aged extremely poorly. Although I did finish the game, I didn't particularly enjoy it at any point. Everything I admired about the game was also present in Innocent Sin. The only thing Eternal Punishment has going for it is a higher difficulty level, but it's difficult in such a frustrating way, I can't say that is much of a saving grace.

It was around this same time in early January that I played through a short adventure title on PC by the name of Oxenfree. Now, this one I really enjoyed because it felt really engaging and engrossing. The story itself, concerning a spooky visit to a place called Edwards Island, is interesting, but I found myself much more drawn in just by the interaction between the game's characters. The dialogue is really funny and well-written, and I like how it's delivered by the voice actors too. It really helped me to be invested in their outcomes and made the decisions I made feel more impactful. I'd really recommend it and I'd like to play it again, maybe on PS4 this time?

On literally that same day, I finished Evoland, a game I'd heard about for some time but never really pulled the trigger on. It's been awhile, but I think I decided to grab it because it was on sale and the concept seemed reasonable intriguing. It's essentially a hybrid RPG that moves through the various eras of game development. You'll start with a game that resembles the 8-bit Legend of Zelda titles and transition into 16-bit styles, flirt with turn-based RPGs, and eventually end up with full 3D graphics. It's a game that features a lot of callbacks to a lot of retro RPGs and I really dug that about it, but it tends to be a little awkward and hamfisted in its approach.

It also has kind of an unfortunate script that feels as if it were written by someone without a strong grasp on the English language. If i recall correctly it comes from a French developer so that may have something to do with it. It's a very short and unpolished game but I really adored the concept and felt it was worth playing for that alone. I liked it enough that I decided to check out the sequel, Evoland 2: A Slight Case of Spacetime Continuum Disorder.

Now, Evoland 2 is a whole different ballgame. While it shares some similarities with its predecessor, it really evolves on them and matures them in a lot of really exciting ways. Evoland 2 is not content to take us through different RPG genres but instead flirts with a wide variety of other genres as well, including fighting games, shmups, tactical RPGs, and even straight up puzzle games. The graphical style is also considerably more polished in all forms, from its slick 8-bit, 16-bit, and 3D styles. It also involves time travel, which while typically pretty difficult to pull off, is presented in some pretty fun ways here. The script is also massively improved and pretty interesting! I can't recommend this little-known game enough. It's worth completely skipping the first game just to try this one out if you don't have time for both. This is another game I'd happily replay. I only wish it were available on consoles instead of just PC and mobile.

I only beat four games in January, but I happen to remember I was deep into a playthrough of Persona 3 PSP in a continuation of my P5-prep marathon after finishing up Eternal Punishment. I'll talk about that one on my next entry as we get into February 2017!

Those Who Forget

Okay, I know I need to start talking about the games I've played for the past two years, but I really want to take a second and discuss Hollow Knight. This is a game that I've been pretty obsessively playing for the past week and a half or so and have racked up considerably more time in it than I initially expected. I've just recently finished the game and really enjoyed it.

Hollow Knight was initially available on PC which I don't really spend any time on anymore. Fortunately, it was recently released for consoles (including PS4, where I played it) including a whole pile of DLC bundled in. I picked it up in a sale with little in the way of expectation and was really blown away with how engrossed I became in it.

It's this really dark, dank world full of slightly anthropomorphized bug characters that chitter and chirp and skitter through a series of labyrinthine interconnected passageways. In true Metroidvania fashion, there are plenty of paths, secret areas, destructible walls, and treasures to find. The Knight, your white horned, soulless-eyed protagonist unlocks a series of different powers and abilities both for platforming and for combat. Skilled explorers are rewarded with a wide variety of different new tools that allow you to peel back layer after layer of the game's expansive world.

It's also an extremely difficult game featuring a series of extraordinarily difficult boss fights. Every time I reached a new boss it felt like I was playing Dark Souls and had hit a brick wall. Endlessly repeating these boss fights forced me to learn their patterns and to devise new strategies to defeat them. In cases where I simply wasn't up to the task of defeating a particular boss, I'd simply retreat and explore elsewhere. I might find a new health upgrade or a charm that would unlock new strategies that might help me to fight a boss in a different way. Although it was frustrating for me to "give up" on bosses sometimes, it felt refreshing to get a new perspective by trying new areas and then coming back later with new strategies.

There are a lot of cool gameplay elements in Hollow Knight. At its core its built around the Knight's melee combat with his weapon of choice, a nail. However, you do have access to a series of spells as well, useable by expending Soul which builds up over time during melee combat. I found that I typically used my Soul on healing, either in between melee encounters or during carefully timed lulls in boss fights. A lot of strategy in boss fights was finding just the right moment in a boss pattern to get just enough time to land a heal. Some bosses were tough enough that there was never any time for this to happen. Of course, the Quick Focus charm made it more likely this was possible, at the expense of three notches.

Just to clarify a bit, charms are these little trinkets the Knight can collect and equip that create a lot of interesting different effects. Some modify your damage output or defense outright, but most have effects that are entirely unique. The Defender's Crest causes you to "emit a heroic odor" for instance, which really only makes sense until you equip it and try it out. A lot of these charms have interesting interactions as well that don't really come into play unless you experiment. With 40 different charms to collect, there are a lot of different combinations and builds to try. I know I've tried dozens of different combinations when tackling a tough boss one thousand times in a row.

It's just a really exciting and interesting game. There's always something new to uncover around every corner and it's always impactful. Each charm you find unlocks new gameplay options and each spell or ability either enriches the combat or gives you access to a new area in Hallownest that was difficult or impossible to access before. Beyond that, the enemy variety is outstanding with each area featuring dozens of really memorable different types of bugs with cool gameplay patterns. Bugs leap at you, explode on you, shoot blobs of goo at you, fly wildly through the air with nail-lances, throw javelins, and in one particular case split into two entirely separate parts after death and start attacking you again! Most of these designs are wildly creative and really enrich what is a breathing and fully-realized world. It's all very aesthetically pleasing and well-designed and I just can't recommend it enough as a game.

Assaulting the Cobwebs

Oh boy, do I have Things To Say about Dragon Quest VIII, Hollow Knight, and whatever else I've been playing recently. I've been positively buried in games over the past few months and it's a real shame that I haven't taken the time to really comment on any of it. I think it might be time to do a brief retrospective. And man do I dig those. Full disclosure: I chronicled every single game I finished in 2017. I did this on Backloggery as usual but I also kept a list going on GameFAQs with a reasonably detailed comment on each of the games. However, I never published it, on this blog or anywhere else. The plan was to pen a retrospective resembling the ones I'd done on this blog in 2014 and 2015, but it never quite materialized. I'd whipped out Photoshop and started crafting images for the list, but the amount of work it was going to require was discouraging and nothing ever came of it.

Maybe it's time to be a little less ambitious here. Let's just talk about it. Yeah? Does that sound good? I think the main problem is that in 2018 I barely documented anything I played at all. Sure, I have detailed notes on all the 2017 games, but for 2018 I just have Backloggery--so I'm going to be racking my brains. But that's fine. I could stand to dust out the cobwebs anyhow.

Instead of crafting a massive document chronicling two years worth of games, I think I might just be revisiting them a few at a time. I guess on some days this could mean maybe I only talk about one game if I have a lot to say, but in other cases it could be several if the games were shorter or if they weren't very much worth talking about in the first place. I think it'll be an interesting exercise, because traditionally my memory has been pretty terrible. It's part of why I started a blogging project in the first place! My thoughts seem to evaporate so shortly after they materialize. We'll see just how many things I can remember about some of these games.

From what I can glean from my Backloggery, it looks like I finished anywhere from 40 to 50 games in 2017. Episodic games skew the number a little bit depending on whether or not you'd want to count them as separate. 2018 dipped down a tad with about 38, but considering I was averaging about 30 per year beforehand, it's clear that I have a lot of games to talk about. It's insane to me that I've fallen off the wagon to such an extent that I've played this many games and haven't taken the time to write about any of them. It used to be one of my favorite things to do and I'm excited to be getting back to it.

I feel like I need a new domain name. Never dug the generic BlogSpot domain. I'll have to think on that one.

A New Day One

It has been one year and seven months since the last time I updated this blog. Where did the time go? What have I done in the interim?

Well, the answer isn't so glamorous. I haven't really done much of anything.

Okay, well, granted, I've played a lot of video games during that time, but for whatever reason, I've completely stopped writing about that. I document the games I've completed on Backloggery (for the tenth consecutive year now, wow) but my thoughts and my reactions to these games have not been recorded in any way. This is a huge change from a couple years ago, when no game I played went without some form of a documentation, whether it be a review, a brief blurb of my thoughts, or even a full-on video presentation. Admittedly, it was pretty exhausting sometimes to not only devote all of my free time to playing games but then writing about them as well. It occasionally left me with less time to actually play the games I was interested in.

But there was another part to it too. It's always been difficult for me to shake the stigma that video games are somehow less legitimate than other art forms. Why spend so much of my life on something that is ostensibly a waste of time--a leisure activity that is sapping away time from my life that could be devoted to other pursuits? I could be writing fiction, exercising more, broadening my horizons. And that's all true. But now that I'm not writing about the games I'm playing, it's not like I'm suddenly doing those things. I'm still playing the games and I'm not doing anything to comment on them or channel that activity into anything more productive.

I really enjoy writing and I miss spending time on it. I miss having the outlet to express my thoughts, reactions, and feelings to the things I'm doing in my life. Sure, I may never take this writing exercise with me to a platform that elevates my station in life--but should that really be the point? Shouldn't the act of writing and honing my craft be a reward in its own right? I believe that to be true. I strongly believe that writing, even when it concerns something as "trivial" as gaming, enriches my life. It flexes my creative muscle and keeps me mentally awake. I have been accused on a number of occasions (and in moments where I have a moment of self reflection) that I spend a lot of time in a haze. I don't want that to be the case. If I'm playing a game or consuming any kind of media, I want to be aware of what I'm consuming and what it truly is as a form of art. I have things to say! If I didn't, I wouldn't feel such cognitive dissonance when I spend so long without having an outlet to express it.

I spent a lot of time on writing and creating videos and worried so much about reaching an audience. It's nice to have an audience but I truly don't think it should be my goal. The joy of doing it should be enough. The exercise of writing and flexing my creative muscle is enough. I'm not comfortable with self-promotion. Maybe that will be a goal again someday but I think it's important at this point to simply start--to start again. I'm just going to write. Starting from today, I'm going to write as much and as often as I can. I want to set a goal of writing every day, but I know that may not always be possible. But I'm going to give it a shot.