The State of the Gamer: 4/18/17

/ The Shameful Narcissist

<–The State of the Gamer: 4/11/17          The State of the Gamer: 4/25/17–>

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.

Currently Playing: 2

Title: Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius
Series: Final Fantasy
Genre: RPG – Fantasy
Developer: Square Enix
Platform(s): iOS, Android
Release Date: June 29, 2016
Date Purchased: March 21, 2017
Date Started: March 27, 2017

I’m still hoping I somehow summon Fryevia, one of the 5 star plus summons for the Egg Hunters event.  Since it’s ending either today or tomorrow, I don’t have a lot of hope, but if I don’t, I’ll have to sell her Trust Moogle since no one else can use it.

I’m still not entirely clear on this trust bonus thing to be honest; it’s something I’ll have to research it.  I keep receiving items that has someone’s picture next to it with the term “trust bonus,” and even after looking it up, I’m not sure what it means.  The current event has increased the drop for Lightning, but in conversations with the one and only LightningEllen (and going off what my extroverted friend has suggested), we’ve come to the conclusion that spending legitimate money on the game increases your chance of rare summons.  I can’t prove it, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it were true.  I’d love to pull the pink-haired warrior lady from FFXIII.  I’ve used her as a companion character, and she’d be a great addition to my crew.  Besides, I already have Sazh and Vanille, the latter which I need to start using.

I should also get rid of the characters I don’t use anymore.  My line up has been Rain and Lasswell (two of the main characters) then Kuja, Cecil, and Leah (the White Mage).  Sometimes I’ll switch out Cecil or Leah if there’s some character condition that needs to be met e.g. you have to use Arianna, which is the one I saw.

Speaking of which, what the hell is with the Arianna Grande quest???  Like they were playing her music and everything!  I was so befuddled.  Did she get some kind of contract with Squeenix?  What is going on?  I’m old and confused.

Story-wise, I’m currently in the mountains.  I know there’s going to be some huge revelation soon. This is Final Fantasy after all hehe.

Title: The Room
Genre: Puzzle, Mystery
Developer: Fireproof Games
Platform(s): iOS, Android
Release Date: September 2012
Date Purchased: April 16, 2017
Date Started: April 16, 2017

Thanks to the writer of The Dragon’s Tea Party for their review of this!  That post and the comment discussion that followed prompted me to download the game on my Kindle, so I am currently playing two games both on that magical device.

I did receive finally set it up my PS3 last week, updated it, and now I just have to play something on it.  It will probably be FFV since I keep lying about when I’m going to start that, though right now I’m at my preset limit of two games.  You could argue and say that they’re two mobile games, but they take just as much time.

The Room (which I keep wanting to just call “Room”) is a puzzle mystery game.  You start out in a room (oooo) with a safe that you have to figure out how to open.  There’s a letter on top giving you your first clue and an eyepiece without a lens.  The rest is up to you.  I’m currently on Chapter 2 (accidental rhyme) where I’ve cracked the safe, but the mystery and puzzle fun doesn’t end there.  I’m enjoying greatly, and the graphics are pretty excellent.

It was free on Android (Kindle).  I’m not sure what it is on iOS since I have no room (ha) left on my phone, but it’s more than likely the same.  If you like puzzlers and mysteries with eerie music in the background, I highly recommend!

Games Currently Watching

Title: Phantasy Star
Series: Phantasy Star
Genre: RPG – Fantasy/Science Fiction
Developer: Sega
Original Platforms: Sega Master System
Other Platforms: Sega Genesis, Wii Virtual Console
Original Release Date: December 20, 1987
Let’s Player: Hungry Goriya
Date Started: March 24, 2017

I have to remember what I watched on Twitch and what I watched on YouTube, since I’ve been lucky enough to catch the former.  I remember now.  The intrepid crew found Noah praying in one of the caves, and Noah is, um, kind of beautiful.  Are they male or female?  The name is generally male, but the game seems to consider them a female?

Some sites say “he;” some sites say “she.”  They kind of do like your typical, pretty, bishie, anime guy.  I’m okay with that.

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

Back in the main story!  I’m so happy.  The Omega DLC was interesting, but it was a lot of combat, and I’m way more interested in the story aspect of the game.  Shepherd just cured the genophage, *spoilers* at the expense of both Mordin and Eve. *end spoiler*  Olizandri, the let’s player, was curious about the latter, and I checked it out myself.  Apparently, if you save Maelon’s data,  *spoiler* Eve will survive, *end spoiler* and you’ll have a really strong alliance with the krogan.  *spoiler* I was really upset she died. *end spoiler*  Eve is an awesome character.  She’s beautiful, I love her veil, and her voice is utter magic.  I also like the friendship she can had with Shepherd, and the relationship she can have with Wrex.

Speaking of the genophage, I cannot blame the krogan in the least for everything they did in that situation.  The salarians and the turians screwed them over royally, though arguably the salarians didn’t expect anyone to actually use the genophage and believed it would only be wielded as a deterrent, but war makes monsters of us all (truth per GRRM).

The other alien races used the krogan in the Rachni Wars and then committed genocide against them.  That’s supremely fucked up.  The salarians developed it.  The turians used it.  The krogan suffered from it, and a human cured it.  No wonder Wrex has such respect for Shepherd (in the way Oliz plays).  There’s no way I wouldn’t cure the genophage in my playthrough of it either.  Yes, the krogan do breed a lot due to the environment they evolved in, but genocide is never the answer, and they deserve reparations for what occurred.

Games Added to Playlist: 1

  1. Persona 5 – You all got me!  Cheap Boss Attack and a few other non-bloggers convinced me to add this.  The Persona series seems similar to the Final Fantasy series insofar as the games have a connection to each other, but can be played on their own in any order.  Though I think I did make myself a rule that I’d only have one game of every series on my backlog at a time.  Ah well.

Total Games in Backlog: 102
Change from Last Week: +1

Games Added to Watch List: 0

Total Games on Watch List: 21
Change from Last Week: 0

Miscellaneous

Nothing miscellaneous this week.  I started reading the Hyrule Historia, but I talked about that in my State of the Reader post.  As I was perusing the Mass Effect wiki I was wondering if there was an equivalent book for the same, because I’d read the hell out of that.  BioWare make it happen!

Also, I’ve removed WOFF from my Currently Playing list.  I figured it was time even though I said last week I’d wait a month.  Since I’m playing two other games now, my chances of just popping it on are far slimmer.  If something new happens with it, I’ll probably get back into it again.  I think Balthier is supposed to become available some time in July or August.

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: 4/11/17          The State of the Gamer: 4/25/17–>

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27 thoughts on “The State of the Gamer: 4/18/17”

  1. Pingback: The State of the Gamer: 4/11/17 | The Shameful Narcissist Speaks

  2. I’m glad you’re enjoying the FF mobile game. It exceeded my expectations, at least what I played of it. It’s just hard for me to stay focused on a mobile game with a 3DS, Vita, and now a Switch within arm’s reach. I also really liked Fire Emblem Heroes and recommend giving that a shot, even if you’re unfamiliar with the source material. It’s well done and free, so there’s that. Though, I’m not 100% sure if it’s available on Kindle.

    Lately, I’ve mostly been playing the PVE event in Overwatch. The weekly reward tier just reset yesterday that awards you one loot box per 3 wins, up to 3 boxes per week. There are a few things I’d really like to get before the Uprising event ends on May 1st, and if they aren’t in my random loot boxes I *may* end up spending some real-world cash during the last day of the event. Against my better judgment, of course.

    I finished Breath of the Wild, which was incredible. It’s overtaken the NES original as my series favorite and may actually be the best game I’ve ever played. It really is that good. Since I’m done with that, aside from random shrine hunting, I started Horizon: Zero Dawn on PS4.

    It seemed like a game I would love, being an epic-scale action RPG with skill trees, armor crafting, etc., but playing Zelda for nearly 70 hours beforehand has made Horizon’s open world feel kind of dull. Going from being able to climb and paraglide off of everything, to scrambling up mountains via dedicated Assassin’s Creed-like climbing areas is considerably underwhelming.

    I don’t want to think about Zelda comparisons the whole time, so I put Horizon aside and starting playing through the PS4 remaster of Darksiders as a palate cleanser. It’s a fairly linear comic-book feeling God of War-type game that looks like it’s full of World of Warcraft characters, so it’s good, mindless fun.

    Enjoy the rest of your week!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I’m extremely impressed with the music! It does Final Fantasy proud and like every area has phenomenal music. Hehe, given all the awesome games you have available, I don’t blame you for not being wholly entertained by a mobile game. Oooo I think I saw it in the recommendations actually! I’ll take a look. I had no idea my Kindle would become one of my favorite gaming devices lol. My phone is so full that if I can spread that around, it’s for the best. I tried to find Record Keeper, but that’s not available on the device at least not yet. I’ll check out FE and let you know when I do!

      Whoa…Breath of the Wild was that good. Holy shit. That’s quite a compliment. I can see why you’re not as impressed with HZD if you’re going from the best game you’ve ever played to something that could never add up. I’m sure HZD is good, but yeah, it’s like having an amateur follow a seasoned comedian. I think putting it aside for a while is a good idea. You can come back with a fresher mind, because you’re only going to compare it to Zelda and it just won’t be able to stack up.

      I’m kind of salty that they discontinued the NES Classic (even though I have one). The big N is so weird sometimes, though I guess I get it, but on the other hand, they could make so much bank with something like that. The nostalgia factor alone would bring people out of the wood works.

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  3. Come on, I just want Lightning!! Please RNG god, I’m not asking for much here. Don’t make me beg… *sad puppy eyes* I think if Lightning is your badass idol, your odds of getting her automatically drop to zero, no matter what event is on. 🙂

    I think the trust bonus thing increases your odds of getting another item at the end of a battle. For example, my Snow is around 10% and I frequently see his picture pop up with a “trust bonus item”. When you get a character to 100%, I think you get the item that is shown on their information area thingy. This is just me guessing and I truly don’t know, haha. I do recommend you use Vanille! She has great debuffs, the Cura full party heal at max 4 star, and her Death limit ability has great chances of killing most things instantly. With her and Fina healing, I’ve had no trouble at all with battles. Her biggest flaw is that she isn’t Lightning.

    I am also confused by Arianna Grande, and all the hip music people those young punks are into these days *shakes cane* Oh and I want to say so many things about the story! But I can’t 😦

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    • And the event doesn’t last for that long! Didn’t you save up a ton of lapis for it as well? I’m so on the fence with spending $20 for 3000 lapis or whatever it is lol. I shouldn’t, but…

      I think you’re right about the trust bonus! I figured when you get them to 100% is when you get that item, and if you have their Trust Moogle, I’m guessing it brings them to 100% right away? Or it raises it I’m guessing. The TM I have for Fryevia says “Fryevia’s Needle” so I’m guessing I’d get that if I had her. I’ll have to throw Vanille in my party next time I play, which will hopefully be tonight. Cura is exactly the spell I need. Leah (the White Mage) is good because she has Poisona, Vox, and Blindna, but I bet the other white mage I have probably has that, too. Ugh that spreadsheet needs to happen lol. I was supposed to work on it last night, but I was being lazy :p That is a HUGE flaw.

      Arianna isn’t a terrible character, but that vortex quest is really difficult once you get past intermediary. I might try it with my extrovert friend’s really high level, awakened character who takes off like 4000+ HP every hit.

      I’ll get there eventually then we can chat about it!

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      • I did! I had 5k Lapis for the 11 person summon, 4 rare tickets, and I’ve summoned at least once a day for the whole event duration. I think my last try was tonight… I got Snow for the third damn time! *sobs uncontrollably* I’d so rage quit if I wasn’t into the story, lol.

        Vanille also has Esuna, which is really useful! I’ve finally reached a point where things are destroying me. I guess I’ll be farming for materials to 5 Star everyone before I continue. I’m not wasting any more of my precious NRG on Arianna Grande, lol. I agree that she does have nice abilities though. Some random strangers I’ve friended have her up to 6 Star and I find them very helpful!

        OMG the story… I REALLY want to say things, but I can’t say anything 😦

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        • Ughhh, that’s a travesty! I’ll be crying, too, when they finally have VII’s characters and Sephiroth and I don’t get him. I will be inconsolable. As it is right now they’re about to have characters from VI and I’d love to draw Kefka or Terra. I wonder if they’ll have Celes. I hope they have the full complement of VI characters, so I can hopefully get some of them. If I see even a sniff about VII, I’m going to save all of the lapis forever. I noticed Vanille has Esuna, which is so useful. I like having a mage type character with curative/healing magic. I’m also trying to figure out where the hell I got Phoenix Down from, because I had it, but I must’ve won it from someplace, because no towns have it for sale (unless I’m just totally oblivious).

          I only get destroyed if I do some of the Vortex missions, and yeah, I think I’m done with Arianna Grande, too. There’s one more left, but I don’t think it’s worth it. The only reason I eked through was because I used my extrovert friend’s really advanced character, and even with her I had to use 100 lapis for a continue!

          I’m guessing when you awaken characters, they go up in stars? I’ve only awakened Kuja and Lasswell since I just happened to have the materials for them lying around. I haven’t tried to farm any specific ones yet, but I suppose I’ll have to start doing that soon hehe.

          I’m turtle slow when it comes to games like this sometimes! There are days where I don’t advance the story at all. I’m currently in the mountains on Lanzelt, but I should be done that soon 🙂

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          • Travesty is the right word! I’m soooo done with this game after I see the main story, haha. I’m sure the Great General will appear for his number one fan 🙂 I’ve had Kefka for a while now. I would have sold him, but I know he’s the big bad in VI, I think. I have Exdeath too. I think he’s the V bad guy, maybe?

            Have you tried the Floating Continent event that released today? I got another summoning ticket (I didn’t get Lightning. Just some idiot named Shadow *sighs*). The Pro boss destroyed me so I went back to farming materials for Awakening people (yep, that brings units to the next star level).

            No hurry! Playing at your own pace is fun. But yeah, you’ll know exactly what I want to talk about when you get to it… 😦

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            • I don’t know. If Lightning didn’t arrive for her number one fan, I’m not sure what hope I have for Sephiroth D:

              Yup! Kefka is the villain of VI and a huge fan favorite. Exdeath is V even though I haven’t played that yet, I do know that tidbit of information.

              Nope, not yet! I think it just started today, and I don’t hop on BE until closer to 10ish. Bahaha, Shadow is another fan favorite. The ninja guy. He’s the mystery man of FFVI.

              I always use my extrovert friend’s person because he has some really high level character who takes off 4000-5000 plus every hit, and she hits like twice! I really wonder what the algorithm is for what characters you can use as your companion. I’ve been trying to use people I’m not friends with so I can friend them. I’m also curious what character of mine is being used by people who pick me. I have no clue how any of this works, but since these aren’t integral questions, I haven’t bothered to ask the Google.

              I’m trying to save my lapis and I farmed some awakening materials yesterday, which cost 100 lapis, sigh. I was able to awaken Rain though, so I’m happy about that. I guess I can just sell Fryevia’s trust moogle, since the Egg Hunters quest is over. At least I got some good recipes, though I’ll have to find the materials for them.

              Oh I’m sure!

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              • I saw they removed Lightning’s event from the summoning screen today… I wanted to cry a little 😦 My luck has always been terrible. I know you will be able to pull the Great General when he makes his grand freemium entrance. I have faith in you!

                Oh so Shadow is a dude I’ll hopefully get to see, soon. He’s just someone who’s not Lightning to me now, haha. I think the person you have set as your party leader is who everyone sees. Do you see Snow for me? If so, that confirms my theory!

                I got Snow to 5 Star today! Next is Vanille, Fina, Rain, and Laswell. Then I’ll give the story boss who killed me another go. I’ve been farming the Awakening part of the Vortex of Desires. The INT level has the best NRG to Sacred Crystal ratio (that’s the material I need the most). I’ll stop rambling about the game now, haha.

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                • Aw no they did? I’m thinking that she’s still in the rotation, but the chances of getting her are much closer to nil now :\

                  LMAO you should just classify everyone as “not Lightning.” I think that’s an accurate assessment. I was never a major fangirl for Shadow, but he has some serious followers, as most characters do. I wonder if there are any characters without fans. I mean even Edward probably has some following for some reason I can’t understand or Hope.

                  Ooooh is that it? Yup, it’s Snow for you! I should set Kuja as my party leader since I think he’s a pretty rare, and I almost have him at max level. I’m doing it…I’m going to bite the bullet and spend $20 on lapis, though my friend did that and STILL didn’t get who he wanted. I just want Setzer for now and if I pulled Trance Terra I wouldn’t be too upset.

                  I’m trying to work on one character at a time, too. Oh thanks for that tip! I was trying to do the pro ones, but they cost like 11 NRG and the enemies are REALLY hard. Yep, sacred crystals. Some of my characters need Heaven Crystals or something like that, so I’m hoping I can get those to drop.

                  How many espers do you have? I only have Siren right now, but I’ve seen Ifrit and a few others, but I only have come across Siren in the story. I’m wondering if Ifrit was only available during that Ifrit event.

                  I don’t mind the rambling at all! I like the fact that I have someone to talk to about it who’s at my level of enthusiasm and not completely over the top and writing me paragraphs about shit I know nothing about lol.

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                  • Great idea! I’ve been keeping track of who I get. To date (excluding duplicates, triplicates, and quadruplicates) I have summoned 77 unique “Not Lightinings” 🙂 Honestly, Hope is not a bad character at all to me. Sure, I like to make fun of him, but his story is actually interesting, and sad. I’m interested in hearing your opinions once you play XIII! Oh and don’t get me started on that fan fiction ship I want to sink, haha.

                    Yes! Theory confirmed 🙂 I’ve yet to see anyone with Kuja so you definitely should. There’s no shame in supporting a free game you enjoy! I stand by my cranky opinion that they are holding the best characters for ransom though, haha.

                    I got 3 Sacred Crystals from one INT level run today. Sometimes you won’t get any though. I’ve also got several Heaven Crystal thingys there too. Oh and my Rain has joined the 5 Star club! 3 more to go before I’m back on the story path.

                    I have 5 Espers right now. Ramuh, the lightning god is by far my favourite, lol. I’ve paired him with Snow and laughed when I noticed Snow has a Lightning resistance now (I’m easily amused, haha). Siren is part of the main quest, so you can’t miss her. The rest are optional, and you get them by doing secret things to unlock hidden areas. I’ll say you can get Ifrit and another one right now, if you want! You are closing in on #4 if you have done the Lanzelt mountains area. I can tell you where they are if you want, but I won’t say anything if you want to find them on your own. 🙂

                    I’ve certainly been having fun rambling to you, but feel free to tell me to shut up at any time, lol.

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                    • He reminds me of the prince in FFXII who wasn’t a bad guy, but he’s the type of person I wouldn’t ever crush on hehe. I probably wouldn’t hate him (so long as he wasn’t annoyingly useless like Edward or overly cocky like Edge), and really to each their own with whom they ship, though I still reserve the right to judge!

                      Well I spent my $20 and nothing came of it, ack. I had 3000 lapis, so I drew six times. No Setzer, I wound up with mostly duplicates, but I did decide to keep a few of them. I forgot whom I drew now, but no one to write home about.

                      Oh you lucked out! I did an INT level yesterday and came up with zilch. I think my Rain is five stars, but I’d have to check. Lasswell probably is now though. I know I’ve awakened them both and Kuja. I still need to awaken Cecil. I might scrounge for materials tonight if I’m not too tired.

                      I only have one! Siren. I’ll take the tips on how to get them, because I must’ve missed those secret areas. Maybe I’ll do some wiki hunting. I know Ifrit is available, and I’m guessing Ramuh and Shiva, since those are the typical triad. I’m in the Lanzelt mountain area right now. I’ve been trying to wiki the map lately, because I know I’ve missed things in my explorations, and I also need to buy more keys, but I used up all my lapis. I don’t want to spend more money, but I might just to get more keys.

                      See I like talking to you about this. I think because we’re not too far apart, and it doesn’t feel like I”m sitting in class :p

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • A few of the random strangers I’m friends with have Setzer, so he at least seems to more common than certain other awesome characters. I hope you get him!

                      I got bored farming Awakening things so I’m doing side quest cleanup now. Here are my horrible directions to get shiny Espers:

                      Ifrit – Go to Port City Lodin on the 1st continent and chat with the street seller dude west of the Material shop. After that, talk to the sailor on the southern dock to unlock Port Ordol. Once you go there, talk to the kid below the Potion seller and exit town through the top right exit. Ifrit’s lair will unlock.

                      Golem – Do the Exploration part of Zadehl Westersand. In the wide open desert area, you will find a poor fella who needs water (he’s south of the south of oasis area in the middle). The water will be a shiny spot near the oasis after you talk to him. After you help him out, finish the dungeon and Golem’s area will unlock.

                      Shiva – In Wolfsfang Peak, after you kill the boss in exploration mode, a tree will fall over giving you access to the eastern half of the mountain. Follow that path and exit through there to get to Shiva’s lair.

                      Ramuh, the badass God of Lightning is on another continent you haven’t been to yet. 🙂

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • I hope so, too!

                      Ah this is perfect! I usually check my comments on email then delete them, but I held onto this one so I can follow along when I play tonight. I think I might try to limit my spending to $20 a week on this if I’m going to do any at all, because I so want to buy more lapis. That’s how they get you, evil Squeenix…Aw, I was just in the Westersand, and I had a map. I must’ve missed that part.

                      Liked by 1 person

    • I agree! I never got frustrated enough that I wanted to google anything, but it was challenging enough to make me think. The fun is definitely in that. I try to muddle my way through most puzzle games without using the google, but I remember Limbo stumped me quite a few times, and there was one part in Journey (which isn’t really a puzzle game) where I got turned around and needed some kind of guidance to get my bearings.

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  6. Pingback: The State of the Gamer: 4/25/17 | The Shameful Narcissist Speaks

  7. The Room looks pretty cool! I’ve played games similar to that before and always enjoyed them. Also yay for the Persona series! I am pretty new to the series myself, but the one game I have makes me want all the other ones, haha!

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    • The Room is so much fun AND addicting. I started Chapter 2 last night, and couldn’t stop playing until I figured it out. There’s a creepy vibe to the game as well since you’ll get these noises in the background and some odd music, and some of the things you see through your spy glass can be a little alarming o.O

      I just got an Amazon gift card for my birthday, so the skies’ the limit (or the $50 it’s worth hehe) in how I spend it. I might get another game.

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