<–The State of the Gamer: 2/28/17 The State of the Gamer: 3/14/17–>
A weekly post updated every Tuesday detailing my current gaming projects. I have quite a backlog of games to either play or watch, and I’m hoping a weekly article will assist with my progress as my other accountable posts have done with reading and writing.
I have an account at Grouvee, which is a essentially Goodreads for gamers, so please feel free to friend me there!
Original source of the banner art is located here.
Title: Final Fantasy IV
Series: Final Fantasy
Genre: RPG – Fantasy
Developer: Square
Original Platform: SNES
Original Release Date: July 19, 1991
Current Platform: Game Boy Advance
Current Platform Release Date: December 12, 2005
Date Started: October 24. 2016
Methinks I might be shelving this game soon. I started playing it again because I was still on a Final Fantasy IV kick, but I’m currently at one of my least favorite parts, the Tower of Babil, and really, I’ve already completed and reviewed FFIV here. I’ve also played and beaten this version, which I can’t say for the DS (it’s only $25 on Amazon and on my wish list). I want to start FFV asap (maybe/hopefully tonight) so removing extra and extraneous projects from my plate is never a bad idea.
Title: World of Final Fantasy
Series: Final Fantasy
Genre: RPG – Fantasy
Developer: Square Enix
Platform(s): PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Release Date: October 25, 2016
Date Bought: October 21, 2016
Date Started: November 5, 2016
Date Finished(?): February 19, 2017
I only played this game once this week on Wednesday (my husband has been kind of commandeering the PS4 with one of the Saints Rows, the one where you’re in Hell, and I don’t like asking to play. It’s this weird thing of mine. This is another reason I really wish I had my own PS4 and I’m still debating buying another PS3. I just don’t like sharing lol), but I did manage to pick up all of the remaining Shiva, Ifrit, and Ramuh Mirages. I just need to level them up so I can have a transfiguration of each. I also need to level up Bahamut and Behemonster, the latter so I can fight XG. That will be tomorrow’s project. I’m in the best level up spot in the game (sorry! You can only get there in the post-postscript), which is right before the XG fight, so it shouldn’t take too long. Eventually, I’ll have to go and get Elasmos, and I need Bahamut to be leveled up for that, since I can’t trigger Master Tonberry’s prismatunity with him at the level he’s at now (around 65). Both MT and Elasmos are set off by taking off a large chunk of HP, and with MT I’m knocking him down by just under 20k, which isn’t enough. I want Bahamut to be at at least level 75 if not 80 before I give the Master Tonberry another go.
Title: Journey
Genre: Adventure, Art
Developer: Thatgamecompany
Original Platforms: PlayStation 3
Original Release Date: March 13, 2012
Current Platform: PlayStation 4
Current Platform Release Date: July 21, 2015
Date Purchased: January 21, 2017
Date Started: February 11, 2017
I didn’t get to this game again this week. Again I only was able to play on Wednesday (my husband’s bowling night). I hope I’ll be able to play this weekend. I’m supposed to go to a mac and cheese potluck, and whenever I have anything to do on one of the weekend days, it…well I don’t want to say it spoils the day, but since I know I have to go out and be social, I have to prep myself mentally, and I don’t want to get involved in anything prior to that.
Games Currently Watching
Title: Ys: The Vanished Omens
Series: Ys
Genre: Action RPG – Fantasy
Developer: Nihon Falcon
Original Platform: Multiple
Original Release Date: June 21, 1987
Let’s Player: Hungry Goriya
Date Started: February 13, 2017
Email update received this evening! #excited
Title: Mass Effect III
Series: Mass Effect
Genre: Action RPG – Sci-Fi
Developer: BioWare
Original Platform(s): Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3
Original Release Date: March 6, 2012
Let’s Player: Olizandri
Date Started: January 23, 2017
I’ve been kind of slacking on watching this. I tend to like the more interactive episodes where Shepherd talks, negotiates, and persuades people. Combat heavy episodes aren’t as interesting to me, and I’ll usually pay half attention while checking my phone. It’s no offense to Olizandri who’s an awesome let’s player; it’s just the combat parts are run-of-the-mill/boring. I want story! The past few episodes have been that, but last night I finished one up where he said the next would be more talking so I’m looking forward to that.
So far, I do have to say that ME2 has been the best (imo), which makes sense in terms of the “good trilogy” model. I’ve noticed that trilogies tend to take two forms, and the variance centers around the second installment. That part is either the best of the three, or it’s a bridge between one and two, and the series could be considered a duology in such a situation. Case in point, I wouldn’t consider Final Fantasy IV to be a trilogy even though there are technically three games, because the Interlude is just that, an interlude. It’s a bridge between the first and the second game.
I hope I don’t get hate from a certain blogger friend, but from my limited perspective and the informed opinions of those who played through all, Dragon Age II was more of a bridge between Origins and Inquisition. Mass Effect definitely follows the model of the first being the introduction and delving into the main problem (the Reapers), the second being the meat of the story with the action/problem rising to its apex, and the third is the explosion of that action, the climax/conclusion, and denouement. Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings are two other examples of this. I tend to prefer the “second rising action” trilogy to the “bridge” trilogy (I need to think of a better name for the first lol), but this means that I’m a bit bored during ME’s third installment, since Shepherd is mostly gathering intel, troops, and war assets before the big finish. I also really, really want to watch Olizandri’s Breath of the Wild LP afterwards :p
Games Added to Playlist: 0
Total Games in Backlog: 105
Games Added to Watch List: 1
- Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Total Games on Watch List: 23
What are you currently playing and/or watching? Is it something new or old? Is it a first time run or a replay? What’s the genre? Would you recommend it? What’s on your radar to play next?
<–The State of the Gamer: 2/28/17 The State of the Gamer: 3/14/17–>
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks 
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Super busy with major assignments this week, so I’m still sporadically leveling my Control Wizard in Neverwinter. She’s up to level 65 and questing around the elflands of Sharandar and chipping away at the Elemental Evil expansion campaign in Drowned Shore. Needless to say, my squishy Wizard is getting her ass kicked.
I did start Catherine on PS3 last night. I wanted to break away from the MMOs for a little bit and focus on something confined. I ran a few games from my backlog through the ol’ HowLongToBeat.com search and saw that Catherine estimates between 14-17 hours. That seems doable if I can find an hour or so per day. Then I ended up playing for three hours, because it’s really, really good.
So yeah, probably more Neverwinter and Catherine in my future, once I get this essay and the rest of my homework out of the way.
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I mixed up Catherine with Claire for a second, but looked up the former to fix my mix up. Horror/puzzle-platformer? Interesting hehe. You have to find something to break up the monotony of schoolwork for your own sanity. I need to put that site on bookmark since I now have a bunch more games that my normal RPGs on my backlog. You have spring break coming up soon I hope!
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Yeah, Catherine is about a guy questioning his current relationship. His girlfriend keeps bringing up marriage and kids, he isn’t sure what he wants to do, etc. He gets drunk one night and wakes up to find out he had a one-night stand. So every night he falls asleep he has a nightmare, which acts as the puzzle game. You have to move blocks to reach the top of a tower, but under the stress of a timer (see; giant monster climbing the tower to stab you with a fork). It’s… rad.
I get a week off for spring break, but have 3 major assignments due literally the day after. Soooo that whole week will likely be spent working on that instead of, you know, getting a break.
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Ah I’m interesting and terrified. I hate chase stuff with monsters or anything like that. I might have to check it out though, because I do love puzzle games.
Ughh it’s not even a break then. It’s more like just a pause in the nonsense.
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I’m enjoying the story and characters more than the gameplay, though the gameplay is fine, so I think you’d be safe watching an LP to get most of the experience.
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Excellent! *added*
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I agree about the second installments of trilogies. I tend to prefer the building action ones, since interesting events happen. That was one of the issues with DAII: it tried to be both by spanning a ten-year period *and* trying to build the overarching story.
Also, what do you think of the name Dragon Age II: Holding Pattern? teehee
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Ah I’m so happy! You were the blogger friend I didn’t want to offend, because I know how much you love Dragon Age 🙂 I was just saying on another post that loving something as a nerd/geek/enthusiast means you can be critical of it, because you want it to be the best version of itself. You’re not trashing it by saying what it did wrong and/or what it can fix. You’re trying to help it to be better!
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Of course! I do love the Dragon Age series, but no game is perfect, and to blindly praise something isn’t good for you, the thing you’re praising, or the people around you. I agree that being critical of something you love is because you want it to be its best self. As much as I love the games, I’m really not an unreasonable crazy person about it, I promise 😉 There are things that even my beloved Dragon Age: Origins didn’t do right, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still one of my favorite games to play!
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I knew you wouldn’t be 😉 I was just talking about this very concept, too. All art has its flaws, and refusing to recognize that does nothing for its growth.
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I’m staying single so I don’t have to compete with a partner for TV gaming time 🙂
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Just make like my wife and I: Have two entertainment centers, side-by-side, with consoles for both.
We have two Xbox Ones, a 360, GameCube, and a PS4 ready to go (just need a GameCube controller…)
Totally feasible, right?
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We do have TVs in the front and bedrooms, the latter mostly being my domain, but different systems!
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This is a wise decision lol. The pros are your TV and consoles are your own, but being in a relationship means you inherit the consoles of your partner…though you have to share them *grumble*
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I know what you mean about needing time to mentally prepare for social outings. Even if it’s something I know I’m really going to enjoy, I’m such a bundle of anxiety and introversion that it’s hard for me to get in the right head space beforehand. And then afterwards I’m completely drained.
A Mac n Cheese potluck does sound pretty amazing though! lol
I’ve been hearing really great things about Breath of the Wild. People seem to be loving it from what I’ve heard. 🙂
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Yuuuup, it’s like you have to mentally gear yourself up. I don’t want to be out for long, but I always end up staying out for way longer than I want D:
I think I’m going to bring macaroni salad. I’d love to make my grandmother’s baked macaroni, but I know I don’t have the time or energy to do it proper.
Now I want to play it and not just watch it!
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I’ve been sucked into Horizon Zero Dawn lately, and despite the fact that I haven’t finished it, I feel like I’m ready to write about it already. It’s such a great game!
Would love to play Breath of the Wild, but $$$…
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Me and my husband watched a demo of Horizon Zero Dawn and holy shit it looks amazing! I’m very curious as to how/why humanity regressed and/or who created those machines. And you just reminded me to add it to my to-watch list.
I’m in the same boat…I have a bunch of consoles on my Amazon wish list. Around $1000 worth of consoles D:
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I’m actually thinking about making a post summarizing the lore of Horizon Zero Dawn honestly.
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I’ve never even heard of a mac ‘n cheese potluck but it sounds amazing!
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My one friend is constantly thinking of new and different things lol. I would love to make my grandmother’s backed macaroni, but I know I don’t have the time or energy. I may just bring some macaroni salad, because it totally counts. My other friend is going to bring cornbread, because I’ve yet to be in a situation where cornbread would not improve things.
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Cornbread is goddamn tasty. My husband makes amazing homemade mac ‘n cheese. He gets all fancy with a rue and everything!
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Yep, FFIV is on my shelf too. Once I’ve fully recovered from my gamer burnout, I’ll take out that evil moon monster. 🙂 Ugh! I hate preping for social things. So annoying and it feels like I’m wasting time, haha.
I’ll be lost in Breath of the Wild and HDZ for quite a long time. I love both of these games so much! It’s hard to balance playing the two of them. I’m doing an alternating day thing that has been working well so far.
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Aww! Gotta have that husband let you play more WoFF! Hope you got to find time to play that and Journey during his bowling night! And congratulations on getting all of those summon mirages! Have to go back to it after I play through all the Switch stuff. And as you know, I’m enjoying the Switch! I’m mostly playing Breath of the Wild, but I’ve also been playing Snipperclips with my wife, Super Bomberman R (he’s alive!), and the new Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment expansion. They’re all so much fun! I didn’t expect to be enjoying other launch games besides Zelda, so I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
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This is why I want my own PS3 and 3 lol. I could technically play right now, but I need to catch up on my comments and blog posts. I spent about 2-3 hours writing a book review, when I normally just spend Friday nights posting Final Fantasy Friday. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow!
I’m so happy there are more good games on the Switch then just BOTW, which I now want to play instead of just watch. Oh, I know I’m not going to be GOOD at it, but so many people have talked about how much fun it is, and I want in on the party! I have an LP fallback when I grow tired of dying, but still. I definitely want to get my hands on that Bomberman game. I loved those, and I’m really glad Nintendo revived it for their newest system!
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BotW is amazing to play! I don’t think one has to be good at it to enjoy it, though I’m sure you’d do fine. 😉 Part of the game is experiencing failure and moving forward from there. I’ve gotten many game overs in BotW, even though I usually don’t get any in most Zelda games. But I don’t mind because it’s the kind of game that pushes me past those game overs. I also think that with BotW, while it’s fun to watch, you end up desiring your own personal adventure. There’s that feeling of controlling where you explore next that only happens when you’re in the game. Ahh, I love it so much!
Bomberman is pretty good! So happy it’s been revived. It’s worth it to experience the hectic multiplayer mode. It’s a blast to play. Hm, I need to find other words besides blast for Bomberman at this point, haha.
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That’s what I like to hear. “You can be terrible at this and still have a great time.” Hm, part of the game is experiencing failure, huh? In that it mimics life perfectly, doesn’t it? Of course I have to think of something philosophical, but I always say all narratives are worthy of discourse, and if Nintendo put something like that in there, it’s pretty brilliant, though Zelda has never lacked such depth. If I weren’t so FF (VII) obsessed, I’m sure I could churn out quite a few Zelda essays, and I’ve read some fantastic ones from people who are as much Zelda fanatics as I’m an FF one.
That’s what I got from the reviews of BOTW, and it made me decide I wanted to play it before I watch it. Granted the inverse can happen, too. Now that I’ve watched the majority of Mass Effect, I want to give it a try, even though I’m terrible at that kind of combat. I’ve never really played it, and practice doesn’t make you better, so why not give it a whirl. I downloaded the entire series for $5. I couldn’t pass it up.
B-man sounds like the bomb 😀 It’s popularity really seems to have exploded :p
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Bomberman really just blew up, didn’t he? 😉
For sure about the themes of Breath of the Wild. I believe it’s a game about experimentation and discovery. Sometimes, people argue that the game is punishing when you go into areas that you aren’t prepared for. I would argue that Nintendo’s actually giving you a huge privilege to travel anywhere in the game, even if you would be “unprepared.” BotW lets you decide if you can handle it. Yes, the insane players will succeed against the most difficult foes. But for those who don’t, it’s a learning experience. Maybe you can try something different that you weren’t thinking of before (this game is full of those moments). Or you can just go back and explore somewhere else and get stronger before you try again. The game is truly open, which is why I’m so impressed by it. And believe it or not, the themes of failure and persistence are present in the game’s wonderful story. The characters are very relatable, and they drive the plot. But of course, I would never say how or why outside of a spoiler discussion.
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It sounds more like the game is giving you an important life lesson! If you go somewhere you’re unprepared and don’t succeed, you have to go back to the drawing board, prepare and try again. Life is a medley of attempts and failures until you eventually/hopefully find success. I like when a games dynamic fits in with the mien of its story. That’s what I’ve about FFXIII, the linear nature of the gameplay reflects the one track motif of its plot.
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