Told ya there’d be another one.
My only regret is that I really borked up the music. Not only did it record poorly, but also it’s hard to hear too often. Oh well. Lesson learned!
Category: Video Games
One Hit Knock Out
It’s been a while since I uploaded any Let’s Play videos, and there are good reasons for that, but they’re not happy things so let’s skip to the point. During my hiatus, I decided to start up a new format. It’s not terribly original, but I’m going to do entire runs of smaller games in one video, and I’ve titled the project OHKO because it’s the most topical thing I could come up with that’s even sort of clever.
The first game in this series is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan, which is embedded below. So if you’ve got half an hour to kill and want to see me crawl my way to the end of the most pathetic Turtles game, it’s there for you. I’m really hoping the sequel is at least a little better.
Where I’ve been
It’s been almost a month now since I posted anything here. What’s been up? The short answer is Monster Hunter. For those who don’t follow, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate came out on Wii U and 3DS last month, and thats pretty much all I’ve been doing. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that when I get into Monster Hunter, I get in deep. I’ll write about it at length another time, but for now I leave you with this small musing:
I believe that it’s for the best when games aren’t drowned in pop culture references, unless that’s one of the bullet points on the back of the box. Even then it’s like, can’t you write your own material? Still, I can’t help but love that Capcom’s translators snuck a Foreigner reference in there. It’s easy to miss too, because the optimal way to approach dialogue in any MonHan game is to ignore it entirely and skip through it as fast as you can. Apparently at some point a character sings a song from Rent as well, but I didn’t pick up on that one because I stopped watching Rent after approximately two minutes. At this point I’m just waiting for some NPC to claim that they need to see the soul doctor.
Home Again
Talking Time regular Loki started up an Earthbound Let’s Play back in January. I was very excited about it because Earthbound (yes, that’s a reason), and because I couldn’t stand to wait the months between updates, I decided to take things into my own hands and just play the damn game myself.
It’s been some time since I last played Earthbound, and it’s one of those games that gets better every time I go back to it. This time around, it’s mostly because I’ve figured the game out. In all my previous runs, I always had a ton of trouble making any progress. It would always end with me grinding for levels because the enemies were too strong. Only now do I realize that it was only so hard because I was playing the wrong way; I never used to make good use of my character’s non-physical attacks.
The way I used to play, I would simply horde all my PP for bosses, which made the areas leading up to those bosses super-tough. The secret is apparently that if you just play through the game making liberal use of magic psychic powers, you’ll pretty much always be at the level you need to be, and while it can still be tough, it’s so much easier than trying to get by with just the Bash/Shoot command. Buying bottle rockets and bombs for Jeff is also a great strategy, and a perfect use for all the extra money that will pile up when you’re not constantly staying at hotels to heal up.
There’s another thing that’s really struck me about Earthbound this time around though, and it something a lot more subtle: Ness’ homesickness. If you spend too much time in-game without returning to Ness’ house or calling his mom, he will contract an invisible status effect which will cause him to waste turns in battle. It’s not something that’s ever announced at all; there’s no message and Ness’ sprite doesn’t change. You won’t know until Ness starts spending his turns in battle reminiscing about home.
Now, this might sound like a horrible thing to put in a video game. And you know, there was a time when I might have agreed with you. But now I can truly understand that it’s another essential thread woven into the beautiful tapestry celebrating life, love, and humanity that is Earthbound. See, I’ve been a little down over the past month, and I’ve really had no idea why. Life has had its ups and downs, but I like to think that I’m a pretty well-adjusted person and I’ve long since learned how to cope with the hardships that life can throw your way. Growing up and moving out hasn’t been easy, but I’m managing and I’m happy to be starting my own life. So when I spend a whole weekend laying on the couch feeling down and not doing any of the things I like, I kinda start to wonder what’s getting to me.
When Ness gets homesick in Earthbound, the quick fix is to use a chick (the baby bird kind) on him. Now, a chick is not an item you’re likely to have in your inventory. It’s one of the few time-sensitive items in the game, and if you carry one around for too long it will grow up into a fairly useless chicken. The chick will only stave off homesickness for a while though; to fully cure the condition, Ness has to talk to his mom. Whether by calling her on the phone or traveling all the way back home, talking to Ness’ mom will remove the homesickness, or reset the counter if Ness hasn’t actually become homesick yet.
I’ll be the first one to stand up and say that I don’t talk to my parents enough. There have been stretches since I moved out where I haven’t even talked to them on the phone for roughly two weeks. My mom talks to her mother almost every single day. When I lived at home, I thought that was crazy, and I knew that wasn’t a thing I was going to do. But I kinda get it now. Because I have been homesick. I never thought a video game status condition could imitate real life so closely, but when I was in the darkest of my days, just calling my mom immediately made me feel better. Spending the day at my parents’ house was even more comforting.
Of course, in real life homesickness doesn’t just have an =false state, so it’s been an ongoing battle for a while now. I’d never been homesick before I moved out, so it wasn’t something I’d ever considered that I could be, mostly because it just seems like something made up to write songs about and simulate humanity in fictional characters. But it’s real, and it’s a lot more affecting than I ever would have thought. In Earthbound, if you talk to a doctor when Ness is homesick, he says “What a sad look in your eyes… you, the boy in a red cap. You must be homesick. That’s nothing you need to be ashamed of. Anybody who is on a long trip will miss home. In this case, the best thing to do is to call home and hear your mom’s voice.” It’s advice that I never thought much of when I was nine years old, but I find it especially poignant now.
In the end, I think it’s good that I’ve had this experience though. The most obvious benefit is that it has taught me to make sure to keep my family close. It’s also nice to know that Earthbound has helped me to learn a little bit about myself, and that I’ve been able to forge an even deeper connection with one of my favourite video games. Maybe that sounds weird, but Earthbound is more than just a game. It’s an experience. It’s a whirlwind of emotion and nostalgia. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most important thing in the world can be the sound of your mother’s voice.
I sing in this video
Yes, that’s right. There is an audio recording of me singing in the video embedded below. You’ve been warned. Twice.
In reality though, I mostly just recorded this because I felt like I should at least try to tie up some loose ends before I start up a new long-running series. I’ve been bitten by the Minecraft bug, and I feel like I should be documenting my attempts to defeat the Enderdragon on hardcore mode. So that’s going to happen eventually, but there’s going to be some more FFVAC before that comes around. Maybe even a little something else…
TE’s Top 12 Video Games of 2012
Another year has come and gone, and a big ol’ stack of videogames with it. I made a point in April to keep a list of every game I played throughout the year, and by the time July or so rolled around, I had decided to make up this list of the Top 12 Games of 2012. There are a few rules I decided to put in place for this list, though I ended up breaking them. Heck, there somehow managed to be 14 games in my top 12. Obviously the rules are more like suggestions.
Going in, I had decided that the games which would populate this list would have to be games that I started and finished in the year 2012. They would also have to be games that I’d never played previously. While most of the list fits this rule easily because they were released in 2012, I did make a couple exceptions. Technically there is one game that I did not beat on the list. However, I am right at the end of it, and I haven’t pulled the trigger on the ending sequence because there is more that I want to accomplish and I’ve heard whispers that ending the game ends the game for reals. Justified. The other exception is a pretty major one: a collection. I couldn’t help but add it because 2012 is the Year of the Video Game Collection and it’s by and large the best one I’ve seen so far. Also I did play through two of the games included on it this year. Good enough.
I think that earlier on in the selection process I had another stipulation on what could qualify, but I’m pretty sure that I broke it so many times that I can’t even remember what it was. Probably would have cut down the eligible games to under a dozen anyway. That said, let’s take a quick peek at the honorable mentions. These are games that either didn’t quite make the cut, or games that I really liked but didn’t even come close to finishing. They all deserve to have words written about them, but this is neither the time nor place. So let us look at their boxarts and dream about what could have been.
Now that we’ve got those losers out of the way, you can go ahead and check out what games earned the most of my affection and/or time last year. The list is exactly as Nintendo-centric as you might expect, but there are a couple games on here that will probably come as surprises. I’ll warn you now though, the total word count goes ever so slightly over 10,000 words, so if you’re in, be ready for the long haul. Maybe go get yourself a sandwich or a drink before you get started.
TE’s “Top” 12 Bands of 2012
I mentioned in the Top 12 Albums article that I think making up year-end Top X lists is silly, and I stand by that statement. It’s a super-easy way to farm up some content that takes very little creativity and considerably less effort than writing something with a more original topic. I should know, because I’ve written more than a few of these for those reasons exactly. I’ll admit it, I’m a hack. This is just a hobby, and not one I take particularly seriously.
All that said, I’m getting more joy out of subverting the usual list mechanism by creating it using nothing but a handful of mostly inaccurate data. There’ll be no pondering for me, no mulling over which bands I like the most versus which bands I think deserve most to be on the list. Nope, I just checked the “last 12 months” option on the Artists chart, and voila: the worst of the work is done for me!
Keep in mind that given the method I used to make the list, this only partially represents which bands I would have considered my favourites during the last year. One I actually put any thought into would look considerably different. Hell, I don’t think I could even make a legit favourite bands list for a given year. It seems like a silly proposition, so “most listened to” will in fact be the criteria.
Note that these numbers were accurate as of January 14, 2013.
The unpossible adventure
So despite taking myself out of the game for a while there, and having two unfinished series, I’ve started a new Let’s Play. This one stars Mickey Mouse and is about learning the alphabet.
TE’s “Top” 12 Albums of 2012
It’s January of 2013 now, and January means nothing if not “time to make lists about stuff from the previous year” and I intend to carry on that tired, thoughtless tradition. And, I’m going to make it even more thoughtless by having raw data determine the contents of this list, rather than make decisions on what belongs here based on my opinions.
To that end, I’ve gone onto my Last.fm account and checked the chart of most played albums in the last 12 months. Of course, the numbers are just so slightly skewed because we’re already almost halfway through January, but whatever. I know what I’ve listened to in the last two weeks, and I’ve made adjustments where necessary.
This data has been compiled through two sources: my computer, where every track I’ve played is logged through the Last.fm plugin, and also my phone, where sometimes the iScrob app sometimes decides to log tacks when it feels like it maybe. iScrob is a really crappy app that likes to drop tracks and I didn’t even use it for the first few months of the year or most of the summer. Not included are any songs played through any other source like, say, CDs or the iPod app on my phone. Also not counted are any tracks whose “album” tag is not filled out, though I’m pretty anal about keeping my basic tags correct and complete. So the numbers are going to be incredibly skewed, but whatever! Looking at data gives me total wood. And here it is! (The data, not my wood.)
Shout this
Quite possibly the most in-depth video game experience I’ve ever had has finally come to a close. Last night, I reached the point of completion for myself in Skyrim. For those who are interested: that point is having collected each and every achievement.
I know what you’re thinking, and I am well aware that the achievements only cover a small fraction of what Skyrim has to offer. Don’t you worry, I saw much, much more of that game than my gamerscore would let on. The first few months that I had the game was spent learning about exactly what an Elder Scrolls game is all about. Immediately after escaping Helgen, I set the main story aside and decided to go gallivanting. A couple caves and a small bounty (how did I know someone owned that chicken?) later, I decided it was time to hit Whiterun.
Of course, after meeting the Jarl and unlocking my shout ability, I set off on my own again. I started with the field West of Whiterun, and eventually travelled South to Falkreath. For hours and hours I played in this small pocket of the game’s world, and it was all good. Quests eventually dragged me to Markarth and Dawnstar, but I did very little exploring within those holds. In that time, I completed copious amounts of quests and sub-quests, and raised several of my skills to stand out above the rest. My character was a pro at smithing with a penchant for sneaking around and dispatching foes from afar with her bow. She learned how to enchant her light armor and toyed around a little with illusion magic. Basically, she ended up being an expert at stealth and avoiding any real combat. Generally, close combat would result in my death.
I set Skyrim aside for most of the summer months to focus on other games (Re: Xenoblade Chronicles), because variety is the spice of life. I did give it a spin now and then just to try to make a little headway against the veritable torrent of things to do and find within the game. It wasn’t until October that I picked it back up in earnest, and with a short exception for the Wii U launch, my free time on weekends has been singularly devoted to getting Skyrim out of my pile of shame.
The last few months have been a decidedly more focused affair. While my playstyle before was to wander the countryside and explore and caves, towers, or the like as I found them, more recently I’ve been narrowing my focus to achievement-bearing pursuits. The Companions/Dark Brotherhood/Thieves’ Guild/College of Winterhold quest lines were neat, and kept me entertained enough that they didn’t feel like a slog (I find it much more entertaining to explore on my own, rather than be told where to go), but I can’t help being bothered by the fact that they all had the exact same structure. Find group > prove yourself > join group > achievement quest > learn group’s terrible secret > leader dies > final quest > become new leader. It works for all four. It’s a bit of a nitpick, so whatever.
The only exception to this rule was the Thieves’ Guild, which tasks you with doing several dozen little, repetitive jobs over and over before it lets you play the actual quests. It’s stupid and annoying and why can’t I just warp into the Ragged Flagon? There are two doors between the quest-givers and the outside, where you have to be to fast travel. I’d wager that during these dumb little quests I spent more time on loading screens than actually playing.
And man, what’s up with the load times? I know it’s a huge game but eeeuuuuuggghhhh…
Getting the Oblivion Walker achievement is a story that I could probably stretch into its own blog post, but I won’t. The idea here is to gather 15 Daedric artifacts, of which there are 17 in the game, and one doesn’t count. The rub is that almost half of them are lost-forevers, and since I’m playing the 360 version, I don’t have a convenient command console to hack those I missed into my inventory. Of course, I only learned of the missable ones after I’d hunted down six or seven of the ones I was missing.
What this resulted in was me loading the only viable save I had, which was made right at the beginning of the game. I was at level 2 and sitting in Riverwood without a single completed quest to my name. So off I went, in my alternate reality, to do a whole bunch of quests over again, and with armor and supplies much less suited to the task. I tried to get the Oghma Infinium first (because it’s a quick game-breaker), but the ruins of Alftand are not kind to level 2 adventurers that only have iron armor. I struggled my way through, and then learned that you can’t start the second half of the quest until you’re level 15. So I went off to collect the other Daedric artifacts while I waited for my levels to rise.
The Oblivion Walker achievement took two weekends on its own to obtain, and I feel very little satisfaction for having earned it. My hatred for lost-forevers had grown even stronger than it ever was before. At least in Final Fantasy XII the copious amount of them didn’t really affect you; it just meant you had to play the game without some really broken equipment.
The only other big issue (the third, for the record) I had with Skyrim is that it can get to feel really padded. The tiny, random miscellaneous quests you get are usually stupid and boring, and don’t often reward you with anything you’d ever need. And then there’s the dungeon design. Technically the design is not terrible (though a little repetitive), but nine times out of ten your reward for forging your way to the end of a dungeon is… another dungeon. Another level of the same dungeon, usually, but still. Most of these places aren’t small to begin with, but when I got to the third or fourth stratum of a dungeon, I would generally feel like I was ready to leave and not care what was at the end. Because the actual reward generally wasn’t much better. a lump of gold and maybe an enchanted piece of armor two grades down from what you’re carrying.
No, I found much more pleasure in simply exploring the overworld of Skyrim. The endless green fields and forests, the snow-covered mountain ranges, and the rocky cliffs of the western holds. I could wander around discovering things in Skyrim forever, and be just as happy to never actually find out what’s in that cave. Well, the caves aren’t usually too bad, but those Dwemer ruins quickly became landmarks that I actively avoided. Trying to make my way out of the bounds of Skyrim was its own reward too. I don’t know how far you can swim to the north, but I did find an escapable area on the eastern border that let me walk far enough that the world became one flat mass covered with a single repeating texture. It was pretty cool.
I think the most rewarding part of the game was building my character though. From the literal character creator at the beginning of the game to placing those last few perks, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Olivia the Wood Elf grow from a rag-wearing nobody to an unstoppable force of nature whom even the toughest dragons could barely slow down. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t buy every single perk, but I guess that’s part of the process. If your character just ended up with all the same abilities as everyone else’s characters, the whole point would be lost. Kinda like how it doesn’t really matter who’s in your party in most Final Fantasy games; the only defining aspect of the characters are their Limit Breaks and what kind of weapons they use. I would love to roll up a new character and play a different style, but it just takes so long to make any sort of progress in Skyrim.
In the end, I’m a fan of Skyrim. There are some things about it that bother me, but nothing so bad that I’d give up on it. I’ll just skip the Thieves’ Guild story next time I play it. Well, if I ever play it again. It’s not likely that I’ll ever give Skyrim so much attention again, but you just never know. I pretty much went straight from Fallout 3 into Skyrim, so I think I’m going to need a big long Bethesda break. Five or six years should do it.
Oh, and to Hell with the Dawnguard and Dragonborn DLC packs. They’re way too expensive (about $25 each!) and I just feel like I need to be done with this game for now. I know that technically I don’t have all the cheevos because of them, but I’ve got my 1000/1000 (plus 50 for Hearthfire) and that’s all that matters to me. That was my goal, and I’m going to take the win for what it’s worth.