Friday! Video games! Let’s talk!
This week’s post won’t be much different from last week’s, as I’m still chipping away at Final Fantasy XIII on PS3. I’m roughly 30 hours into the game and recently stepped foot on Gran Pulse — the 11th chapter where the game transitions from a linear experience to a more open-world one.
I’ve only managed to complete a pair of side-quests in Gran Pulse, but the casual nature of the area and its quest structure have been most welcome. With the fall semester beginning on Monday, I haven’t had the time or desire to invest in something I have to strongly focus on (i.e. RPGs), and with Gran Pulse being more casual and open-ended, devoid of story exposition, it’s ideal if I only have an hour or two to kill. Finish a side-quest, explore a bit, die to giant monsters I have no business fighting… you know, the usual.
I’m not sure how much Final Fantasy XIII I’ll actually get to this weekend, though, since I have family coming in from Maryland and New Jersey for the eclipse (which passes right through our small town) and I’ll be out on Sunday for my birthday.
I was worried about going out to dinner as a family since my girlfriend and I are both veganĀ and we didn’t want to drag everyone along to a specialty restaurant with foods they probably won’t eat. Crisis averted, though, since Red Robin has vegan burger options and their fries aren’t deep fried in the same oil as any animal products. Huzzah.
Since my free time is a bit scattered, I’ve been picking up my 3DS for short bursts of the Mega Man Legacy Collection and Pokemon Y. I’ve not made much progress in either, but Mega Man is basically comfort food and leveling Pokemon is apparently my idea of mindless enjoyment.
It’s always nice to revisit a series like Mega Man and fall in love all over again (the same thing is occurring now with Final FantasyĀ since playing through XV and World of Final Fantasy last December). The 2nd and 3rd Mega Man games were some of my most-played as a kid and still remain two of my favorite gaming soundtracks of all time, but I’ve always been incredibly bad at the Dr. Wily stages. Not much has changed there. If anything, I’m worse now than I was in elementary school.
Playing through the Mega Man games on the 3DS, however, makes me wish both Legacy Collections were available on the Switch. I like the idea of Mega Man on a handheld, but the tiny screen on the 3DS and stiff d-pad aren’t doing it any favors.
That’s about it from me. What about you, folks? Got any weekend gaming plans?
Cheap Boss Attack 
Man, that’s great you’re replaying the classic Mega Man games! They are a joy.
I will work all day Saturday as usual, but then when I get out, I will be driving an hour away to a Retro trade event with some stuff to swap. I’m sure I’ll probably splurge on something the second someone buys anything from me too. But they’re always fun.
Hopefully this will be the time I find the 2600 port of Double Dragon, or some Commodore 64 cartridge releases like H.E.R.O. though the VCS version of that would also be wonderful.
Speaking of the VCS people looked like I had two heads in Starbucks today as I cried “NOOOOOOOOOO!” upon losing my last city in Missile Command on the AtGames Atari Flashback Portable.
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I do love the Mega Man games, even the bad ones like 8 lol. 9 and 10 are the ones I have the least history with, so I’d really like to pick up the 2nd Legacy Collection at some point. I just want it on a handheld, not a home console.
Good luck at the swaps!
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I absolutely loved 9, and 10. Bought both day one on Wii. Just make sure you know in those games when they say hard mode they mean it. Especially 10, where it’s either EASY MODE (Blocks over every spikes so you win) or HARD MODE (HOLY SHIT I HAVE NO WAY TO DO THIS OTHER THAN MASTER JUMP SHOTS!) Love them to death though.
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I think I have them both on PS3 since they were free through PS Plus, but my subscription expired a few months back.. so damn.
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I’ll likely be making use of the Switch – jumped into BOTW, but also picked up Sonic Mania which is just as fan pleasing so far as I hoped it would be. š
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Enjoy BotW! It’s a fantastic game that I had a ton of fun with. Sonic Mania is on my radar, which feels weird to say as someone who has never really been into the series. I played the original a lot since I got a Genesis before a SNES, but I didn’t care for it enough to ask for 2, 3, or S&K down the line. Once I got the SNES and into SMW, Yoshi’s Island, and DKC, I forgot Sonic existed until Adventure on DC. Mania, though, looks really, really good. I’m glad you’re enjoying it and it seems like a steal at $20.
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š¤ I’d be curious to know if Mania has attracted many new players. It’s such a tribute to the old games that I thought it might be off-putting, but it’s also great fun š
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I’ll never forgot the first time I got roflstomped by a giant turtle on the lovely Gran Pulse, haha. Good times!
Enjoy the eclipse and happy birthday!!
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Thanks! I managed to get trampled by one of those lizard things that regenerate their scales after being staggered. Almost had it down too, but it got off one single attack that one-shotted my party. Fucker lol. I had no idea there was such a level gap in Gran Pulse and had to look up what to avoid, since it was my instinct to explore every inch of the place the moment I stepped foot in it. Nope!
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I’ll be testing out my new mouse (got it for my B-day) on various different games. Most of my time will most likely go to Pokemon Moon, and Path of Exile. I’ve also been playing the shit out of Sonic Mania on the Switch. It’s actually a good Sonic game.
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I keep hearing/reading great things about Sonic Mania and I like what I’ve seen so far. Sonic has never been my cup of tea (it always felt like the game wanted you to go fast, but road blocked you with slow platforming areas) but I’m interested in Mania. If I do pick it up, it’ll definitely be on Switch. Seems like a great on-the-go game.
I never finished Pokemon Y and it’s been installed on my 3DS since it released, so I figure I might as well start chipping away at gym badges.
Happy belated birthday!
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Happy birthday young man!
I dropped back into The Division with the 1.7 patch but they added more mechanics and another currency that just makes the game an even more complicated mess. This game continues to make itself inaccessible to a wider audience. I’d like to see it out a bit more but…
I also bought Matterfall and have yet to play it. There has been a swirling of mixed reviews but I’ve been avoiding them as much as possible so I can see for myself with as little bias as possible. My plan is to play this weekend but I have to cover part of the weekend for work and I have some family in town as well.
Maybe since I can’t sleep anyway….
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Thanks! I just watched GB’s Quick Look for Matterfall and it looked rad. Jumping with R1 seems odd (I struggled with that in Rogue Stormers), but otherwise it seemed super fun.
Let me know what you think, once you’ve played a bit.
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I’ll have to get back to FF13 to, I left off at Gran Pulse, and seems quite intriguing as things open up there.
For me, a mix of Splatoon 2 (more addicted to this than I thought I’d be), me andromeda, botw master mode and maybe finish Hellblade, loving that game.
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I’m doing everything I can not to fall off FFXIII here since I know I’m so close to the end. I’m just so busy with school that I don’t have time to play in longer bursts, and we both know how cut-scene heavy XIII is lol. I have a few days off at the beginning of September, so that’s when I’ll go nuts and try to muscle out the rest — just doing side-quests and leveling in Gran Pulse in the meantime.
Hellblade is near the top of my must-buy list. It seems right up my alley and I genuinely enjoy Ninja Theory games. ME Andromeda is one I couldn’t get into at launch, but it was just a rental. Once it plummets in price I’d like to go back. Splatoon 2 looks sooooo damn good and I’ll probably pick it up in the winter during break.
Have a good weekend! Looks like you have some great stuff lined up to play.
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I have started to play Undertale on PS4. I also downloaded a game called Briks. It’s an overpriced breakout clone, but I had to buy it because the backgrounds feature big breasted women. Don’t judge me!
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Is this your first time playing through Undertale? I *love* that game and it was my GOTY the year it released, narrowly edging out Axiom Verge.
I’ve purchased plenty of games with fanservice and busty anime ladies, so who am I to judge?
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Happy birthdaaaaaay! *confetti* I travelled with a friend this weekend for a good old roadie before she goes back to work in September, so I haven’t gotten much done on the gaming side of things. I might be able to squeeze something in later today if I can manage to get enough work done. SpellCaster has been calling my name!
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Thanks! Hopefully you had fun on your trip. Have you played more of SpellCaster outside of the first stream?
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The trip was good but tiring. I’m always glad to get home after a lot of driving.
I think I’ve streamed SpellcCaster twice now. I got stuck in a really horrible part that I just need to get good at before I can progress. I’ve been doing some recording for my LP up to that point though!
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I hear ya. I love road trips, but driving is EXHAUSTING in long stretches. I think it’s because your mind is always working, making sure you don’t hit anyone or run out of your lane. So the brain just turns to mush when you get home.
I’ve had little to no free time this week, but if I see you go live I’ll at least RT the details. Can’t wait for the LP!
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Also, sorry I haven’t made it to the post office yet. Between school and having family in town until tomorrow, I’ve been swamped. Soon, though! I promise!
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Hey no worries! I’m in no rush. I’m glad you’re taking some time to enjoy your family and get into a good routine again with school :)
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I got to play some FFV on Saturday, but didn’t get up early enough for Type-0. It’s a bit of a logistical nightmare since we just have the one PS4. BUT I also finally bought a game for my Switch along with some protective covers. One thing arrived today so I’m excited for the rest.
I finished watching The Last of Us, and…I have opinions. So many in depth game reviews š« I still working on SOMA. Then I’ll have Mass Effect (whose DLCs I’m watching right now) then TLOU. I’m happy I’m on vacay the beginning of September. Gives me time to finish all this stuff and work on setting up/testing my video recording equipment.
Good luck with school! I think FFXIII is going to be my next “newer” FF after Type-0. Thankfully I have my own PS3 so no more logistical nightmares hehe.
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Yeah, I can imagine sharing a console could become troublesome. It seems your husband mostly games on the PS4 as it is, which probably leaves little time for you to play Type-0. If you’re not too far into Type-0, maybe just jump right into XIII on PS3?
Did you enjoy TLOU? I know a few folks who weren’t wowed by it, but it’s one of my favorite game experiences of all time. The characters, the story, the world… totally gut-wrenching.
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I’m committed to finishing it! I’m on vacay in the next few weeks so I plan on pushing through it then.
I honestly can’t decide which one is going to be my game of the year, TLOU or SOMA. I’m learning towards SOMA still, but only by a thin margin. I…that ending. I just sat there as the credits rolled wondering if there would be more afterwards. I watched a few discussion videos about it, but not before I wrote down what I thought. Initially I was so pissed off at Joel for what I thought was a wholly selfish decision…but then I realized that yeah, it was, but it made so much sense why he did it and why he lied about it. I have a lot to say about it and that world. It was all about survival…in all senses of the word. Even the infected and the cordyceps itself, and what Bill said about how the “normal” people were worse. I couldn’t agree more. At least with the infected, you knew what they were going to do, but with the non-infected, you could get hunters, you could get cannibals, or you could get people like Henry and Sam.
What were the critiques about TLOU? I’m really curious. I know the ending has caused a HUGE divide in how people see it, which I think is great. Anything that causes contention is something that’s going to last. It’s one of the reasons FFVII is still relevant lol.
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I would read WRM’s review of TLOU’s value as a “game” experience, for sure. Some folks didn’t like how the ending didn’t have a choice. It was “THIS is how Joel would react because that’s the story WE wanted to tell,” which I liked quite a bit.
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Thank you for reminding me of that, because I remember seeing it, but I didn’t want to read it at the time because I hadn’t watched it yet.
I 100% agree. I think referring back to something Athena wrote is applicable here, because Joel isn’t a player avatar…he’s his own person/character, and I don’t think there should’ve been any other ending, because it was about what Joel would’ve done regardless of anyone else or the consequences. There are so many games that give you optional endings (hell Chrono Trigger has like 10 or something), but while I understand that gamers often want to have choices (given the interactive nature of games), I think that you can tell a really powerful story due to how deeply your immersed. Even though that character is themselves, there’s an empathethic if not more nature to going with them on their journey. Plus endings that cause conflicting emotions and responses are the BEST. Gives me shit to talk/write about :D
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Naughty Dog are great at that sort of thing, as proven with the Uncharted series.
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Now THAT Is an interesting conversation lol. TWRM and I have very different opinions about Joel and the end. I hated it when I first saw it, but then the more I thought about it, the more sense it mad. It worked perfectly on a psychological level (which is my favorite level to work on) and after listening to some videos and discussions, it was the only ending that was appropriate.
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