<–The State of the Gamer: 2/20/18 The State of the Gamer: 3/20/18–>
A weekly post updated every other Tuesday detailing my current gaming projects. I have an account at Grouvee, which is a site you can use to keep track of your backlog, so please feel free to friend me there!
What I Played
Absolutely nothing. I know I know: shock, awe, and disappointment. I did demo Just Dance 2018, and I intend to buy it at some point even though it’s $60. There was only one song by Bruno Mars to try, but I’ve always like the Just Dance games, and I’ve been trying to do dance aerobics once or twice a week so I think it’s a good investment.
What I Watched
Title: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Series: Mario, Mario & Luigi, Mario RPG
Let’s Player: Olizandri
This was exactly what I needed to see after the heaviness of The Last Guardian. It was cute, whimsical, well-animated, fun, and had a great soundtrack. Even though I’ve watched it, I would still definitely play it at a later date. I like the combination of turned based and action elements, and Mario games are always fun. It was the break I needed before delving into…
Title: Ico
Series: Ico
Let’s Player: Olizandri
My journey continues with the first game of the “series.” I know it’s not officially a series and more of a shared universe, but since all of the games are connected I’m calling it a series. Like The Last Guardian, I was left with feelings of unease while watching and afterwards, especially during a scene near the end that verified something I’d figured out early on. I have one more to go with Shadow of the Colossus, which I’m greatly anticipating. I’ll be able to watch the theory videos about that, Ico, and the shared universe of all three once I’m done and of course write my review/analysis of them all.
Title: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Series: Mario, Mario & Luigi, Mario RPG
Let’s Player: Olizandri
This is the third game in Mario and Luigi’s adventures together, but that’s okay. I don’t think it’s necessary to watch them in order (I certainly am not doing that with Ico). This game is…interesting lol. I like it a lot, especially because Bowser is a major player (I mean his name is in the title). He’s a freaking powerhouse when it comes to attacks, though I did start thinking about who would win in a fight between him and Sephiroth (because OF COURSE I DID). Sadly, I think Bowser would buy the farm in that altercation. While the King of Koopas may have teeth, claws, a spiky shell, and the ability to breathe fire, the Great General has the greater speed, dexterity, weapon reach, superior strength, ability to fly, and he’s immune to fire. Bowser’s minions would be short one evil king. In this game though, he’s nothing to sneeze at :p
Title: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Series: Ultima
Let’s Player: Hungry Goriya
Played by our own Hungry Goriya, Ultima IV is a complicated RPG. I usually have an Excel spreadsheet for notes anyway, but it’s required in this game. I’m a little behind in my viewing, so I’ll have to catch up this week.
What I Bought
- Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar for $0.00 @ Gog.com – Yep, inspired and informed by HG that it was free, I picked this game up from the fore mentioned website. It’s the same one I bought Grim Fandango from. They often have sales or just give away games if you can catch them. I think it’ll be fun to try out despite what some commenters were saying about it not aging well.
Oh, that’s it. I keep forgetting how much I’ve truncated these posts. Damn…I was going to mention something down here, Maybe it was about how I’ve mostly been watching games as opposed to playing them. My fatigue has been a bit high, and watching LPs is really relaxing, and I can still be involved in video games even if I’m not playing them myself. I just love games, so it doesn’t matter how I’m experiencing them. I still want to get back in the swing of playing, since of course I have a ton in my backlog, though I’ve been working on organizing that. I just feel better when I’m organized and game attempt a system. I still have this huge pile of games sitting on my coffee table, more on my computer, and of course a bunch on my various systems. Well, I’m going to be working from home tomorrow due to another nor’easter hitting the area. Maybe I’ll sneak in some gaming at lunch 😀
What’s been going on with your gaming life? Comments. Talk. Yes.
<–The State of the Gamer: 2/20/18 The State of the Gamer: 3/20/18–>
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks 
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I’m so glad that you’ve gotten your hands on Ultima IV and that you’re going to give it a whirl sometime. I can’t stress enough that you have to read the History of Britannia before starting. It goes without question! Hopefully I can keep pressing on with the LP in a timely fashion. Thanks for watching it! I know the gameplay isn’t too riveting 😛
I hope you can start feeling more energized with spring right around the corner. I always find this time of year hard with the weather being a huge tease and winter not quite letting go. I’m feeling pretty tapped myself, but soon the sun will be shining every day again! I’m looking forward to the lull of spring after a pretty miserable winter!
I think you have more piles of games than I do at the moment. I hope you can continue to organize everything and get back into a swing of things.
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I don’t think I’ve watched all the videos you have out, and I see the notifications for your streams, but it’s always at a bad time, alas!
I’m hoping spring brings some energy with it. I’m kind of in limbo right now with doctors and tests and whatnot. I have to make so many phone calls and I HATE making phone calls ugh. It’s all part of being an adult though sigh.
I have 200 currently on my backlog. I’ve been updating them on Backloggery, which I like for its simplicity, but I do keep using Grouvee for its greater detail. I Just can’t choose which one I want to use as my primary!
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Life sometimes doesn’t give you time for games which is a bit rubbish! Hope you manage to find more time this week.
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Completely forgot I played some Thimbleweed Park. It wasn’t life robbing me of all my time; it was life robbing me of the memories of the game I played. That’s okay. I’ll just have to remember to check better from now on 🙂
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I adored Ico when it came out 🙂 I remember sacrificing my MGS2 money to buy it. Hope you enjoy Shadow! I found it to be equally evocative, if not a little more so 🙂
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I’m excited to watch it! From what I’m understanding Shadow of the Colossus came before Ico chronologically? I’ve been avoiding anything about the trilogy as a whole so I’m not spoiled. Once I finish, I’ll watch all the things I’ve found concerning it.
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That’s only a theory but that’s how I interpreted the SotC ending. Famito Ueda never confirmed it in interviews because he liked to see how people read the game differently. The general consensus is that the two are indeed linked. I’ve not played TLG yet so don’t know about that.
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See I like that, when a creator doesn’t confirm either way when something is up for interpretation. It means they trust the fans to be smart enough to come up with their own ideas.
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Agreed 🙂
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The Team ICO trilogy is incredible!
I’ve been playing lots of stuff for reviews but I have the time since I’m stuck in the office keeping an eye on our recovering cat. I’ve been watching Cry play Xenoblade on Wii and Giant Bomb’s insane Sims 4 series called 13 Deadly Sims. They made all of their staff as Sims and draw a random name from a bag. Then they have to kill that person in a specific way (also drawn from a hat). It’s hilarious.
Right now I’m playing Lone Wolf and Outlast on Switch.
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I completely forgot I’ve been playing Thimbleweed Park and really liking it. The female agent is such a witty, sarcastic ass and I love it. I’m not very far in; I just did the foul-mouthed clown flashback. I love the voice acting and meta/tongue-in-cheek nature of the whole thing.
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It’s so good! It’s like Twin Peaks meets Monkey Island.
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I’ve never watched Twin Peaks or played that! I’ve heard of Twin Peaks and how weird it is, and it’s on my list to watch. The more I hear about Monkey Island the more I want to play it. I never realized it was a puzzle type game.
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The Monkey Island games are really good, classic point-and-clicks. Great humor and writing. I’ve been meaning to finish Twin Peaks, haha. Loved season 1 but season 2 was weird and I couldn’t get into it… but season 3 has me tempted to give it a re-watch.
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Looks like Monkey Island is something I need to check out!
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Whenever Steam has a big summer or winter sale, the Monkey Island games drop to $1 or so. The first two are super rad.
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Ultima IV is the only game in the series I’ve completed, and I have to say it’s one of those games whose impact on the medium I appreciate more than actually playing it. Luckily, it’s in the public domain with the creator’s blessing, so getting a copy of it, as you’ve demonstrated, is easy.
Its concept is so ahead of its time, it would be considered avant-garde if it was released today. It’s an RPG with a hero, but no villain. Therefore, the goal of the game is to become a good person, which involves these really in-depth trials. I applaud the concept, but being a computer RPG from 1985, it understandably has a lot of issues ranging from a complicated keyboard interface to an overall unintuitive nature. I felt it was ultimately worth it for me to check out, but I find the experience tricky to recommend. Then again, this is one of the most important games ever made, and I feel that alone might make it worth checking out.
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Completely understand what you mean about this. It’s similar to the original Final Fantasy. I don’t think it’s aged all that well, but it revolutionized the RPG genre. You also have to figure that when these games first came out, they were working with the tech of the time, and I, for one, think they did some amazing stuff with what they had. Since they didn’t have the graphical abilities we do now, they HAD to keep kids engaged in other ways.
I have noticed that and I really like it. It breaks that mold for not only RPGs, but video games in general. It’s about bettering yourself, and I can’t think of a better lesson for anyone to learn.
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Nice to see Ultima making a bit of a comeback! The guys over at GoG have the original DOS games dirt cheap, and they come in a DOSBox wrapper. So you don’t have to know the old OS, or how to configure anything in the emulator to play them. And with the complicated patches some of those games required, it’s one of the few times the digital download may be preferred. That said, I’m so glad I have the boxed collection. There’s nothing quite like cloth maps, and trinkets old big box games used to include. https://www.gog.com/game/ultima_1_2_3
https://www.gog.com/game/ultima_456
Anyway, if you enjoyed U4 I think you’ll love the rest of the first two trilogies. 8, and 9 however had a lot of missteps so a lot of fans tend to ignore them. But I suppose any long running series is going to have a couple of disappointing entries.
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I saw that Gog had a bunch of them! I might look into the map and book for when I start playing. How are the first three? I know with the Final Fantasies, I wouldn’t really recommend I-III, well…I is not terrible, but II and III have some major logistical and story issues. I also appreciate a long running series’ foundation, but they can be a bit rough.
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They’re all pretty great, although the story in the original game is the typical “Bad guy holds the world hostage, and only one man can find the MacGuffin to stop him” Fantasy trope. But that said, the great thing about the stories in the games are that you play the Avatar. A character who lives on Earth, but you’re called to the world of Britannia by Lord British. So it tries to make the player feel like a part of the narrative.
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I like watching people play games, too. 🙂 Sometimes it’s just as satisfying as playing the actual game yourself. I like the stories, art, etc. so, like you said, it’s always a treat no matter if you’re watching it or playing it. 😀
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Right?? I just like games regardless of how I experience them. I’m not going to say I’m the best gamer in terms of skill, and I’ve gotten much rustier as I’ve gotten older (stupid arthritis), but that doesn’t mean I can’t and won’t experience them in other ways!
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I miss playing Dance Dance Revolution. I had a pad for my PS2 once upon a time in a land far, far away.
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I once lost a shit ton of weight just playing DDR and using my Wii Fit. I was using that as a testimonial about how video games can do anything. There’s this gaming place near me called Round One that has it, and I think I need to do that for my birthday. You just gave me a great idea 😀
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Yaaaay! 😀
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Just A LOT of Dragon Age inquisition for me. I’ve been feeling down and it’s a great escape 🙂 Almost 100 hours in and a lot of story left to go still.
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We just switched to Daylight Savings Time, so I was awakened by sunlight stabbing me in the eyes. This is supposed to improve moods, but instead I just want to blow up the sun. “Winter blues” is a real thing (if that’s what you think it might be), so I hear you with that. It’s why video games were invented, and if it’s not, well then it damn well should be.
I actually completely forgot that I started playing Thimbleweed Park. I’ve never seen Twin Peaks, but I’ve heard it has a similar vibe to it. The one agent is so jaded and sarcastic. I freaking love her. The game is also meta, self-aware, and tongue-in-cheek. There’s a flashback with a foul-mouthed clown who pisses off a witch. It’s so random.
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Yup. The stupid time change is not helping my mood at all 😦
I saw Mr. Panda’s review for Thimbleweed park! I’ll have to check it out someday. But for now… *runs off to play Dragon Age*
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I feel like this week is speeding by.
You will LOVE the sarcastic agent. I can feel it.
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I am afraid of Ultima IV. I’ve got the shortcut to it sitting on my desktop, and it seems like a really interesting experience, I know I’m going to end up going through it, but… I don’t know much about the game, but I know it’s complicated in a lot of ways that are not at all simple to parse. Don’t know if my mind can take that at the moment.
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Plan to use an Excel spreadsheet hehe. That’s what HG, the blogger/let’s player I’m watching does. There’s so much information you have to keep track of.
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