Pokémon – Page 9

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – September 2016

Birthday month! Also, month of all the games. My 3DS was already in constant use since July thanks to Monster Hunter, but now it’s just flooded with huge, awesome games that tickle all of my fancies.

~ Game Over ~

KickBeat (PS3) – A game about punching endless waves of goons to the rhythm of angry nu-rock. Surprisingly, I really liked it!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (GBA) – I’m going through a TMNT thing right now, okay? Replayed this for the first time since like 2004, and I am convinced that the Shredder fight is literally impossible without cheating.

Jotun: Valhalla Edition (WiiU) – Wherein you play as a Viking warrior who must earn her place in Valhalla after suffering an inglorious death. This is done by finding and slaying a number of elemental giants. It’s a really great game!

NEO-NOW! (PC) – A pretty boring Early Access game. Maybe it’ll get better in time? I don’t really care and am just calling it a wash. To the “Done Forever” pile with you!

Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – September 2016

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – August 2016

In August, I started organizing all my Steam games. To that end, I decided to actually start playing a few of those indie games I have hundreds of from cheap bundles. I also decided that it’s time to let go of truly “finishing” games and just call them done once I’m bored. For Steam games, that is. If I spend $80 on a console game, I’m damn well still going to try to wring every bit of content out of it.

~ Game Over ~

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii) – It is finished. Click here to read my long, rambling, final impressions, if you haven’t already.

Monster Hunter Generations (3DS) – Cleared both the solo and multiplayer campaigns. And by “cleared”, I mean “I did all the key quests to get to the final bosses and unlock stuff.” There is still a ton of content to play through! I haven’t even seen all the monsters yet. And the Deviants. Oh Lord, the Deviants!

Bonk’s Adventure (TG16) – I was really into Super Bonk on SNES as a child, and was so awed by the ads for Bonk games that appeared in comics, but I’d never played a “classic” Bonk before. Turns out, ehhhhh, not so hot. The framework of a decent game is there, but the levels are uninspired and Bonk’s got really strange momentum.

Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – August 2016

A real-life Crab Puncher

Nintendo has been drip-feeding us new Pokémon for what seems like ages now, but they really knocked it out of the park with the latest reveal: Crabrawler

It’s a boxing coconut crab! This is perfect! Seriously! Look at his surly face!

I’m sort of torn on the fact that it’s a pure fighting-type. On one hand, I want it to be dual fighting/water. But on the other hand, the lack of a water secondary type means that I won’t have two water-types with me (because Popplio).

Generation Seven is already loaded with amazing new Pokémon, and there are still probably a whole bunch still to come. Is it November yet???

A month with Pokémon GO

Pokémon GO hasn’t been out in Canada for a while month yet, but due to some sneaky sneakiness, I’ve had it for a month now. I was totally enamoured of it for the first few days, but how about now? When it comes to phone games, I often get very excited at first and then cool on them just as quickly. Did Pokémon GO avoid that fate?

The answer is both yes and no.

While I was very excited about AR Pokémon times at first, the massive load on the servers made the experience very touch-and-go. So I did sort of let my infatuation with it fade, as it was always a gamble whether I’d actually be able to play or not. Things seem to be getting better, as the game is locking up significantly less often now than it did even two weeks ago. Then again, I might just be getting lucky.

As is often the case with multiplayer-focused games, the actual “game” part of Pokémon GO seems like a massive waste of time for me, and not worth the trouble. There’s the subset of people who will invest all of their time in the game and dominate it, leaving those of us who play casually with no hope of even a temporary victory. And of course, since this is a phone game, folks with cash to burn can also just pay to win. I put a couple dollars in to buy a bag upgrade because I found myself constantly running out of item space, but that’s all I’m ever going to spend on it. So it seems completely futile for me to even try to play the gym battles when they’re stocked with Pokémon at levels that I can’t fathom.

However, I do find it fun to simply wander around and catch Pokémon. The thrill of the hunt is enough for me right now, but I’m sure that it’ll wear off before long. Exploration options are pretty limited when your only method of travel is by foot and you’re also quite lazy. I feel like before long, my Pokémon GO experience will dwindle down to walking around with the app open to hatch all those eggs. That seems to be the real best hope of catching them all.

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a contrarian, and as weird as it is, I’m a little put off by the massive hype surrounding the game. I should be ecstatic that more people are into something Pokémon-related than ever before, but for whatever reason I find it making me want to distance myself from the phenomenon until it dies down a bit. I know it’s ridiculous, and I hate myself for being such a hipster douche.

So yeah, time will tell. I was one of the few who were incredibly excited about PoGo before it launched, which makes it odd that I’m not as over the moon about it as so many others. Maybe a couple updates with new features will truly rekindle my flame for it, but for now, it’ll just be a thing I may or may not boot up when I go for a walk. Full disclosure: It’s probably going to get booted up more often than not.

Also I still inexplicably want the stupid bracelet. What the heck is wrong with me?

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – July 2016

Sometimes I think that I need to grow out of being upset that I don’t get summer vacation any more. I mean, it’s been well over a decade since I finished high school. In the time that I’ve been out of school, kids have started and finished school. But you know what? Nuts to that. I miss having two months to do whatever I damn well pleased.

~ Game Over ~

Final Fantasy VII (PC) – I’m amazed at how much shorter this game is than I remembered. I mean, I suppose it’s in part from not having sought out all the ultimate weapons and other fancy doo-dads, but even with a few hours of grinding and breeding a gold chocobo, the final time clocked in at under 40 hours. Crazy! (The time investment for prepping to fight the Emerald and Ruby Weapons is a whole other story.)

BOXBOXBOY! (3DS) – When I finished BOXBOY!, the only thing in the world that I wanted was more BOXBOY!. And now I have it! And it’s sooooooooooo good! And the ending suggests that there could be up to three more sequels. Hooray!

Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – July 2016

Pokémon makes me Go places

I’ve had it for only a matter of hours, and Pokémon Go, the new mobile AR game from Niantic, has already persuaded me to explore a little and check out places I never would have gone otherwise. Since the game encourages you to check out local landmarks (historic sites, parks, murals, statues, etc), I’ve already seen a few things around my workplace that I haven’t noticed in the four years I’ve been here. It’s even cooler when the associated landmarks have little blurbs about them, to add learning to the fun and exercise.

Good on you, Pokémon Go. Good on you.

I’m still not gonna buy that massively overpriced bracelet, though. I want it, but even I cannot justify the cost.

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – June 2016

My free time from mid-April to mid-June was reduced very drastically by both school and my renewed efforts to get into slightly better physical shape, and now, now I am free from the clutches of higher learning (for a while) so that I can go back to wasting that portion of my spare time on mind-dulling television games.

😀 😀 😀

~ Game Over ~

Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS) – Played through the story mode again for… collection purposes. Yeah, I’ll probably be playing this one forever.

The Legend of Zelda (NES) – All that Hyrule Warriorsing often makes me want to play real Zelda, and sometimes I do. Like this time, when I played the first one!

Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) – It’s almost exactly like Triple Deluxe, but the Robobot Armor is a much more fun gimmick than Hypernova. Also, the sub-games are somehow even better. You can expect that I’ll be writing a big ol’ thing about them soon. As another note, the final boss is friggin’ AMAZING. Fanservicey as all heck, and I loved it.

Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) – I also played through the entire Meta Knightmare Returns mode, which is playing through the game again as Meta Knight, but it’s all lined up as one super-long level, and all the bosses are powered up and there is a super-sweet trio of legacy bosses at the end.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game (360) – I got really frustrated with Ornstein and Smough in my Dark Souls replay, so I flipped over to something a little more friendly. In fact, this game is very easy to burn through when you have a maxed-out character. Still fun, and the music is phenomenal.

Cibele (PC) – A narrative game about a girl who meets a guy online, falls in love, and then meets up with him to bone. Guess how it ends.

Her Story (PC) – A narrative game where you’re sorting through hundreds of little interview clips to piece together the story of a murder. Only I didn’t realize that the game wasn’t functioning properly for me, so I only got audio clips when there were supposed to be accompanying videos! The game still worked, and I loved it. Recommended to everyone.

Mighty No. 9 (WiiU) – What was supposed to be the glorious (off-brand) return of Mega Man instead turned out to be half-baked and disappointing to most. I don’t hate it, but it’s generally underwhelming and the final boss is just so difficult.

~ Now Playing ~

Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii) – Speaking of wanting to replay Zeldas… I hadn’t revisited Skyward Sword since I beat it the first time, and man, I am really digging it. I’ve been writing about it weekly, so… you know. Read those entries.

Monster Hunter Explore (iOS) – Most of my playtime was during the bus rides home from school. Now that I’m out of school until ????, I probably won’t play it until then.

Fallout 4 (PS4) – Started up a new game on my shiny new Playstation 4. I suppose that above all else, this spells the end for my stalled game of New Vegas. Also, no other game makes me wish there were more hours in the day. So that I could squander them on pointless video games, you see.

Pokémon Pearl Version (DS) – This was a very spur-of-the-moment replay decision. I really can’t even remember why I decided to go back to it. What I do know is that even after I’d confirmed that all the important Pokémon had been safely transferred away, it still killed me to overwrite my old save. This is why I very rarely replay Pokémon games.

Final Fantasy VII (PC) – One thing I always forget about FF7 is that enemy attack animations can be really long, and as a result, really drag out the battles. I would like a separate timer just to see how much of the game time has been spent watching monsters do elaborate attacks. Or a switch to just turn them off like Pokémon has.

Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (WiiU) – Yep. Still poking around in this one. I beat it, but I wanted to go back to find all the stamps and poes (which I still haven’t accomplished). I’ve played the game like five times before, and never explored the world nearly as thoroughly as I have this time around.

Dark Souls (360) – I get about an hour in each Saturday afternoon, and have managed to make my way back to Anor Londo. Yaaaay. As stated above, NG+ Ornstein and Smough are an absolute nightmare. I did manage to get past them, though, so it should be easy street from here on out, right?

New Pokémon Trailer!!!

What do I think about it? Aww, so kind of you to ask!

My knee-jerk reaction was that I did not like any of the new Pokémon designs, but that I was absolutely in love with the Hawaiian theme (not going to marry it). Trainer customization seems to be back, but even if it’s not, I think the girl trainer design is perfect and won’t complain. Plus, it at least allows you to choose your skin tone, so that’s good.

Over the course of the morning, and with some persuasion by amazing official art, I have sort of come around on Popplio. I’d probably be choosing it by default anyway because I never take the grass-type starter and I really don’t like Litten. The truth is that I really do like Rowlet, but as I said, I just can’t choose the grass-type, no matter how awesome. If Turtwig couldn’t do it for me, nothing can.

The new legendaries aren’t the worst, I guess. A little too much going on in their design, but majestic and mysterious enough to justify their place as the cover art. Mostly I just want to know what their place is in the plot and then I’ll proceed to never care about them again, like all of the cover legendaries that came after Lugia and Ho-oh.

Based on the Hawaii Land setting, I also spent a good portion of my morning coming up with appropriately-themed Pokémon. I’ll probably draw a bunch of them and post images here. If I don’t, just know that I’ve basically done six months worth of fan speculation in under six hours.

Also most of my ideas are “Existing Pokémon but Incorporating a Pineapple Somehow.”

I am not the most creative person.

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – April 2016

Late March’s descent into Zeldamania continues. Mostly because I’ve been devoting roughly 95% of my gaming time to Hyrule Warriors again. Which is, you know, not really Zelda, but it looks the part.

This month also saw the release of the new Star Fox games. One of which is a very traditional Star Fox game which people hate because of the controls. And the other is a Star Fox game in name only which people are in love with because of the controls. Wacky!

~ Game Over ~

Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS) – I completed the story, including all the optional stages. But the adventure maps… they just never end. I mean, I guess they do, but there is so much content smooshed into this game that it’s hard to imagine ever clearing it all.

Resident Evil Revelations (PC) – Guys, I’m gonna spoil it for you: the first revelation is that there are two identical boats. The second revelation is that there’s a third identical boat, which had sunk a year before the game’s events, and a man has been living in it the whole time. This game’s plot is bananas. And I love it that much more because of it.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 – Episode 1 (PC) – Been putting this one off for a while, despite hearing that it’s quite good. And I agree! Not totally on board with the flashlight mechanics, but everything else is just swell. I am frothing in anticipation of the rest of the game.

Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – April 2016

Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – March 2016

If February was defined by Pokémania, then March was defined by… also Pokémania (and to a lesser extent, Zelda mania). Eh, what can I say? I really love Pokémon, and there’s been a lot going on with the franchise these days.

~ Game Over ~

Pokémon Yellow Version (GB) – Playing through this one again was a very welcome blast of nostalgia, and also a little frustration at trying to remember how the mechanics used to work back in Gen 1. Running the game with a team of monsters I’d usually never use was a great way to make it feel fresh again. Hooray for Flareon!

Splatoon (WiiU) – Finally bothered to just hone my focus and complete the single-player mode. It was an absolute blast, and the final boss was something else entirely. I’m seriously hoping that they release another campaign some day, even if it’s just a little eShop title.

Jett Rocket II: The Wrath of Taikai (3DS) – Replayed the game in “mirror world” mode, which I guess is just the same levels you already played but reversed? While I may not be as hype for it as I was when it originally released, I still think it’s a solid little platformer.

Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (GC) – I was testing out some Gamecube games to see which save files on my giant memory card had been corrupted, and popped in Mega Man Anniversary Collection. The save was still good, and somehow I ended up playing through this one. I mean, just one story path as Bass, but that’s still a cleared game, right?

New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS) – I’ve been wanting to replay this for months now, but always had some other major 3DS game on the go. With Paper Jam and Pokémon Yellow done and dusted, there was no longer any reason not to jump into it. The twist is that this time I played about half the game in co-op mode, which is super fun.

Shovel Knight (3DS) – Do I really need to justify another Shovel Knight run to you? I think I’ve made it pretty clear already that it’s my favourite game.

Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – March 2016