Okay, so technically it’s Day Six, because the game launched on the 17th. But my copy only arrived last night! And even then I only had like an hour to play after class.
Those little issues aside, things are looking good for Pokémon Ultra Sun. Mostly because it’s Pokémon Sun again, but with a few tweaks here and there. If you don’t recall, I was really into Pokémon Sun.
I think the only real changes to the game in the first hour are how you get your first Pokémon, and that there are some new weirdos (the Ultra Recon Squad) bumbling around and speaking in vague, cryptic terms. So nothing that really makes any difference. I’m not going to lie, I’m fully aware that almost all of the new content is mashed into the post-game.
I have had two issues with the game so far. Firstly, it locked up as soon as I chose my starter. So that was a pain in the butt because I had to go through the intro sequence twice. Blah.
Secondly, you’re locked into certain times of day until you hit a certain plot trigger, regardless of what time of day it actually is (the in-game time reflects real-world time). This was only a pain because I wanted to catch a Spinarak right away, which only appears at night, and the game demanded it be daytime until X event happened. Not actually a problem, but annoying no less.
And that’s about it so far! Probably not even really worth writing about!
It was a rough month, because I had to make hard decisions about whether to spend my precious free time playing the hottest new releases, or the spookiest games in my library (because Halloween, you see). In the end, I just played like an hour each of all the games.
~ Game Over ~
Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) – Duh-doy.
Kirby Super Star (SNES) – The first thing I played on the SNES Classic, because I will always replay Kirby Super Star. I need to get someone else in on it though, as the AI allies are so dumb.
Magikarp Jump! (iOS) – I did it! I reached the end! Also, this is an idle game that actually has an end! ….Of course, there’s post-game content, but it’s not really worth exploring too deeply.
Star Fox (SNES) – Ran through the easy route as a refresher before trying out Star Fox 2.
Picross S (Switch) – It’s hard to focus on scary games for the Halloween season when there’s a new picross game out…
Death Road to Canada (PC) – More roguelikes need to be funny (and multiplayer). That’s why I have so much trouble getting into them. This is what I’ve decided, and why I’ll play this game forever.
Silent Hill: Downpour (360) – Surprisingly, this is only my first replay of what is maybe my second-favourite Silent Hill game.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii) – It’s that time of year!
The beginning of the month was a time of plenty, with a vacation week dedicated solely to doing whatever the heck I wanted. And also getting a crown on one of my teeth, but that’s besides the point. Then the dark times came, as I went back to school, and my video game time was subsequently supplanted by studying.
~ Game Over ~
Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) – It’s been 13 years since the last 2D Metroid. The wait was so worth it. The only thing that could make it better is if it were a Switch game.
Chicken Wiggle (3DS) – Completed all the packed-in levels, but as long as Atooi and Talk Nintendo keep making new ones, I’ll keep on playin’ ’em!
Illusion of Gaia (SNES) – I’ve been wanting to replay this for what feels like forever, and finally doing so was my birthday present to myself. A good use of my week off.
Piczle Lines DX (Switch) – For the record, I only beat the Story Mode’s 100 puzzles. There are still another 200+ puzzles to solve in the Puzzle Mode. Hooray!
PAN-PAN (Switch) – A cute little adventure game that took well under two hours to finish up. I’ve come to really enjoy short games like this, and PAN-PAN was very fun and rewarding to solve.
No More Heroes (Wii) – A replay inspired by the recent announcement of the third NMH game.
~ Now Playing ~
Hollow Knight (PC) – Not only is it a sterling example of what a Metroidvania should be, but the difficulty level is perfect. Very tough, lots of dying, but no challenge ever feels unfair.
Death Road to Canada (PC) – This weird zombie road trip roguelike came out of nowhere, and holy cow is it ever a blast to play. I’m not convinced that it can actually be won, though.
Final Fantasy XV (PS4) – At this rate, I’ll never finish it. There are too many sidequests. Too many hunts. A too-big Adamantoise. Too many got-danged fish to catch.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Switch) – It’s basically a light-hearted XCOM, so yeah, it’s really good. What’s much more surprising is that it’s sort of making me like the Rabbids.
Monster Hunter Generations (3DS) – Say what you will about the MonHun grinding cycle, I find it ever so satisfying and it’s still fun after seven billion hours over sixteen hundred games.
Monster Hunter Stories (3DS) – I think it says a lot that I invested upwards of ten hours in the demo, and still didn’t finish it before the full game was released.
Splatoon 2 (Switch) – I basically just played during the Splatfest, and it was nice to see my team win again after the crushing defeat of Ketchup by Mayo. Friggin’ mayo. So gross…
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (GBC) – How do you make me like Puzzle League even more? Throw a Pokémon skin on there. Bonus points for being Johto-themed!
Picross NP Vol. 1 (SNES) – I wasn’t seriously playing it. Just booted it up to knock out a few puzzles. As much as I love this collection, the controls are just too… slippery?
Magikarp Jump (iOS) – Might be time to stop including this and Greasy Money on the monthend list. I mean, I play Pokémon Shuffle every day, too, and it hasn’t been mentioned in ages.
TPB: Greasy Money (iOS) – Back-to-back event weekends mean I’m even more invested in this app than usual. But I’m still not going to give them any more of my money.
Rock Band (360) – Played a bunch one weekend; my left hand remained cramped for days after.
King of the Monsters (SNES) – I played exactly one round, and then quit because it was dumb. But it sure did look appealing in Nintendo Power lo those many years ago.
You might think that I would have played fewer video games in August, what with all the hustle and bustle of moving last month. However, life video games finds a way.
~ Game Over ~
Super Mario World (3DS) – I’ve bought a handful of SNES virtual console games on my 3DS, but had only played Mega Man X up until now. Weird, that.
VOI (PC) – A very fun minimalist puzzle game. In a world where you can’t throw a stone without hitting a boring minimalist puzzle game, I think that’s worth celebrating.
Ever Oasis (3DS) – I’ve been letting this one simmer for a while, but it was time to finally hack my way to the finish line. It’s too bad the post-game is so grindy and not all that fun.
Team Kirby Clash Deluxe (3DS) – Done enough. Anything left to do is gated behind the paywall/waiting for daily gem apple harvests. And that’s a load of crap.
Candy Thieves: Tale of Gnomes (PC) – Lame tower defence game that parents might put on their iPads to shut up their four-year-olds. Uninstalled after ten minutes.
Mighty Gunvolt Burst (Switch) – I really adore this one. Played through twice now, as both Beck and Gunvolt, and then just kept playing. Also, the Ekoro DLC came out late in the month, so…
Blaster Master Zero (Switch) – They’re releasing more DLC characters now so I opted to go back and play with the already-out DLC guys. Gunvolt is awesome and makes the game feel new!
Until Dawn (PS4) – I try not to use this word about video games, but I loved this one.
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES) – The Netflix series and a nice My Nintendo discount inspired me to try one of the few ‘Vania games I’ve never played. Decent, but steeped in bulls**t.
Citadale: Curse of Darkness (WiiU) – Second chapter in the trilogy, solidifying the Casltevania “homage” by using an exact Castlevania subtitle. Perfectly average in all ways.
Super Mario 64 (N64) – I did something new this time and finished the game in a single sitting. Only to the requisite 71 stars, but hey, I’m not some kind of superman.
Tales from the Borderlands (PS4) – I wasn’t impressed with Episode 1, to the point where I was calling it Tales from the Snore-derlands. However, it got so much better once Gortys showed up.
BioShock Infinite (360) – A significantly more interesting tale than the original BioShock, but for some reason the gameplay still feels hollow to me, and I can’t figure out why.
Azure Striker Gunvolt (3DS) – Bought this in August of 2014 when it originally launched, haven’t played it until now. Massive oversight. It is excellent, but very difficult to actually be good at.
Resident Evil HD (PS4) – You know, initially I figured I’d do a one-sitting run of this. And then said run took nearly two months to complete. Damned distractions.
Red’s Kingdom (PC) – Quit playing after 20 minutes because I wasn’t having any fun.
It seems like I’m in one of those phases where I spend a little bit of time with lot of different games. This usually happens when I don’t have a “major” game to focus my time on. Though Ever Oasis was nearly the only thing I played for the final week of the month…
~ Game Over ~
Life is Strange (PS4) – The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. But that doesn’t make the choice any easier. Sorry, Chloe 🙁
ArcaniA (PS4) – By the end, I’d gotten so accustomed to the game’s jankiness that I think I was genuinely enjoying it. But man, is it ever broken. Almost Bethesda-like, to be honest.
Chrono Trigger (SNES) – I usually have trouble with Lavos on a NG playthrough of Chrono Trigger, but I won pretty handily this time around, despite feeling like I was ill-prepared for it.
Team Kirby Clash Deluxe (3DS) – I’ve rolled the credits, but there’s still so much more to accomplish. Is it worth the time and effort, though? I’m not really smart enough to say.
Anna: Extended Edition (PS3) – A free PS+ spook-em-up that sounded great on paper, but was more than a little lacking in practice. And yet it still lingers in my mind… how apropos.
Ape Escape 2 (PS4) – Finally completed the slog of a replay to earn the final trophy. I don’t know why I did this to myself, to be perfectly honest. Ape Escape is NO FUN.
Okay, not really “liveblogging” as it’s usually done. I’m not going to update this post with each thought I have. I’m just going to write down every thought as it goes through my brain and collect them here, then embed the video once it’s over. Let’s a-go!
9:39 – It’s still over an hour away. Also, I am not technically using my lunch hour yet, so I should probably get back to work until the show actually starts.
10:58 – Two minutes away!
10:59 – EEEEEEEEEEEE!!
You know what, forget timestamps. They’re just gonna slow me down.
It’s beginning!
Oh, ARMS. Why are they still wasting time on this? It comes out in… oh, no it’s a sizzle reel. I guess that’s okay then.
Was that Rocket League? I don’t care, but I know many will be jazzed.
God, do I ever love the Splatoon 2 pink/green colour scheme.
It’s Reggie. Stop being philosophical, Reggie. Just show me games. Or silly skits like previous years.
XENOBLADE 2! HYPE! Great place to start! It is even more anime than ever, but I don’t even care. Music seems dope, natch. Still slated for 2017, even!
Kirby! New Kirby! Animal friends are back! And monster allies! And good lord is it ever pretty!
Hi Takahashi. I’m also glad that Switch has been so successful.
Oh man, I sure would like to have a plush Bewear.
Pokkén DX is cool, but there was a whole thing about it last week… CORE POKEMON GAME ON SWITCH!? BWUUHHH!?!? YESSSSSSS
What’s this space… Metroid! Prime! FOUR! EVERYONE LIE ON THE GROUND
Another Yarn Yoshi game? Fortunately, it’s so different (and upon closer inspection, it seems more like Felt Yoshi), it doesn’t even seem like overkill.
I am so hype for Fire Emblem Warriors. Even more now that Girl Corrin is confirmed!
Guh. I can’t believe that the Zelda gear is going to be enough to get me to buy Skyrim again.
Breath of the Wild DLC looks cool. But I still might pass until the rest of it comes out in winter. I will do my best to pass on those new amiibos, too, but I may need to splurge on Mipha.
Shoo, Reggie! Tournaments are cool, but I’m here to see new games!
Mario + Rabbids looks excellent. Like a ridiculous take on XCOM. I honestly can’t wait. Good on you, Ubisoft, for finally doing something I have the slightest interest in.
Oh, yeah, there’s Rocket League. I still don’t care. Sorry. Cross-platform play is sweet, though.
So now there are photorealistic dinosaurs in Super Mario Odyssey? Okay. That’s not the weirdest part by a long shot. The game looks completely insane and amazing, and is by far the most creative thing I’ve seen from E3 this year. And it’s out in October! Whoo!
Is it just me, or did the Mario Odyssey song sound like it came directly out of Katamari Damacy?
After a few minutes of reflection, yes, I think Nintendo “won” E3 quite handily this year. I was just so bored by most of Sony’s presentation, and I really do not give a single flip about whatever Microsoft is up to. Maybe I’ll type up a more thoughtful thing tonight. Maybe not. Time will tell!
A new Pokémon Direct happened today! I have thoughts! Excited thoughts!
Pokkén Tournament DX – I’ll be honest, it’s not what I was hoping for, but it’s about what I expected. You can’t fault Nintendo for taking all the big games from a system that nobody owned and re-releasing them on the hot new machine that everybody (who matters) wants.
But I’m at a very tough crossroads with this one. On one hand, I don’t really want to buy Pokkén again. $80 seems like a lot for any fighting game that isn’t Smash. On the other hand, it has become obvious that they’re never releasing the DLC characters for the Wii U version, so this will be my chance to finally play as my beloved Scizor. Plus Decidueye is super cool and will probably be a lot more useful in Pokkén than the actual Pokémon games.
Ah, who am I kidding? I’m absolutely going to buy it again. Pokkén will be an excellent bus game.
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon – This is not what anyone expected. The whole world was set on getting Pokémon Stars for Switch, not an alternate telling of Sun/Moon on 3DS again. But that’s just the way Game Freak works. They love clinging to the system they’re comfortable on.
Again, I’m a little hesitant to get too excited here. I mean, we really only got a little teaser; I need to know a lot more before I decide how much I care about this one. Pokémon Sun and Moon were wonderful games, and if they craft the UItras as well as they did Black 2 and White 2, I would say we’ve got a definite Buy on our hands here. But that’s going to require at least three things: a convincing new plot, at least one new island to explore, and the return of that sweet movie-making mini-game.
Ohhhhh and new Alolan Forms. Those have to be a thing.
At the very least, the mystery of Necrozma is solved(ish): he becomes armour for Solgaleo and Lunala. Should have been more obvious, since he’s a prism and his ability is Prism Armor. It’s also another parallel to BW2, where Kyurem can fuse with Reshiram and Zekrom.
Pokémon Gold and Silver on 3DS Virtual Console – IMO this should have happened long ago, not in this coming September. Finally, we’ll be able to play a legit version of these games without having to worry about the dreaded battery issue! But seriously, what was the freakin’ holdup?
Actually I think that this is what I’m most excited for out of the three announcements. Though it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering how much I love retro gaming. Gold and Silver are great, though to date I have logged uncountable hours into them and still haven’t completed an English version of either one. I very much look forward to leaving one (or both?) half-finished yet again.
What really boggles my mind is the complete absence of Pokémon Crystal, the GBC-exclusive third version. Its extra features and animated sprites are awesome, but really I want it mostly because it was the first Pokémon game that let you play as a girl.
This may be the longest list to date… I don’t know quite how it happened, seeing as I feel like I’ve been playing far fewer video games than usual. Ack! Maybe it’s time to start logging playtime?
~ Game Over ~
Bye-Bye, BoxBoy! (3DS) – Is it the Best Box Boy? Yeah. Yeah it is. They’ve definitely pushed the series as far as it can go, and I’m glad it’s (ostensibly) being retired before it loses its lustre.
KAMIKO (Switch) – I thought “This looks neat, I’ll buy it off the Japan eShop because there’s no way it’ll ever come out in North America” but was stymied because the Japan eShop doesn’t accept my MasterCard. And then it came out in North America the very next week. Welp!
ABZÛ (PS4) – Something about a diver saving an underwater ecosystem from the ravages of machines. I don’t really get it, but it was super pretty. Also, so many cool fishies!
Blazing Star (Switch) – A NEO-GEO shoot-’em-up that is visually amazing (duh). It also taught me what separates a good shmup from an annoying shmup: enemies that soak up bullets. Also most of the playable ships are kind of terrible. Windina is always the way to go.
Stardew Valley (PC) – We accomplished everything that isn’t a horrible slog. Once we acquired the Junimo Hut, it just seemed like there was nothing else worth doing. And so it’s finally over.
Dark Witch Music Episode: Rudymical (Switch) – The title gives away that this is not your average Legend of Dark Witch game. In fact, it is instead a weird rhythm game that demands nothing less than perfection. Despite that, I still kinda liked it.
Destroy All Humans! (PS4) – Bought the PlayStation Humble Bundle just to replay this. Honestly, a little underwhelming on the gameplay front, but I loooove the B-movie aesthetic/plot.
Snipperclips (Switch) – Chopped my way to the end of the single-player levels. It’s a very clever game, but is so much more fun when you’re working with other players. And I say that from experience, having previously solved all the multiplayer stages with a full four-person team.
ARMS Global Testpunch (Switch) – Okay, so I didn’t really “beat” it because it’s just a demo… But I really wanted to list it because it absolutely sold me on ARMS. Of course.
Holy crow, 2017 is already flying by. It seems like it was just New Year’s Day, and already we’re in February. It’s gonna be Switch Day before we know it!
And that’s about the extent of my small talk abilities. That’s why I spend so much time playing video games alone instead of socializing with humans.
~ Game Over ~
Layers of Fear (PS4) – Appropriate that the first game I beat in 2017 is yet another spook-em-up walking simulator. I think I may have found my sub-genre. In an effort to try to toughen up a bit, I started playing with the lights off and headphones on. That lasted for half the game, at which point I simply could not take it any more. Anyway, I really liked it, and played through twice to get all the trophies.
Layers of Fear: Inheritance (PS4) – A DLC half-sequel for the game listed above. It was good, but much less frightening and also I needed to play through it three times for all the trophies. Though that’s really not such a big problem when the game can easily be run in under an hour.
Resident Evil 7 (PS4) – I was so excited for this scaled-down take on RE, and then about two hours in, I realized “oh, this is just a backwoods version of Alien: Isolation.” But then it quickly got much better and I got completely sucked in. Loved it. Can’t wait to play it again.
Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PS4) – There couldn’t have been a better time to accidentally subscribe to PS+. This was one of the free games for January, and though I own the original game, I haven’t played it in, oh, 20 years? It was wonderful to relive, and looked gorgeous on my giant HDTV. Absolutely perfect bit of nostalgia.
Shovel Knight (3DS) – I played Shovel Knight again. Surprise, surprise. But I did play New Game+ this time, which is v difficult.
