Backlog 2021

All other video games not related to the main farming series - Pokemon, Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia, and other indie-developed games.
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Bluie
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Panda Parfait wrote:Also also: I managed to a snag a PS5 today! I've heard horror stories about people getting their orders cancelled because they don't actually have enough stock for all the orders they allowed through, but nonetheless I'm EXCITED. Can finally play PS4 games again, and won't have to wait around to play next gen games anymore. Woo!
Bluie wrote:Hnnnnggg, Endwalker is so close! It's THIS WEEK. I'm going to be SO GRUMPY at work on Friday, literally counting the minutes until I can get home and play! I almost want to call in sick lol.
Saaame, I don't get home from work until 8:30pm on Friday. It's going to be a torturous day. At least I might be able to squeeze a little bit in before work.
I am both insanely jealous at you and elated for you for your PS5 acquisition. Hubbo and I want one so bad we've signed up for the 'right' to try and purchase one. RIP.

I actually decided to call into work on Friday because I've yet to ever call into this job yet and they can kiss my « Mr.Gourmet's hat ». They overwork me anyways so whateverrrrr. Reading the patch notes this morning has me extra excited. I love all the new enemy types (the boinky spunge, crinkly doo, shronkle scrimblo Cactuars lmao) and I cannot wait to be able to dye the weathered sets, finally. They're anticipating a lot of error codes on launch day, so make sure to log out in an Inn and have another game waiting as you try to access your character!

I'm legit going dark on Friday, so I won't be on any social media (which includes here) or probably even on my computer until I finish Endwalker. I'll see you all then!
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Kikki
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Bluie wrote:I'm legit going dark on Friday, so I won't be on any social media (which includes here) or probably even on my computer until I finish Endwalker. I'll see you all then!
Aww....bye, Bluie! I don't know how long that'll be, but we'll see you when you get back, then :) I assume that'll be before the GotY/gaming-year-in-review thread goes up (hopefully Kirie will pop in and put that up, it's tradition by now that that thread is hers!)

As of last night (late! I love Xillia so much that even a replay can keep me up til 1AM, it seems) I am blazing through Magnus Zero to get the Devil's Arms awakened, and I'm collecting missing enemy data as I go. I think it's neat how the ultimate weapons seem so weak when you first get them, to the point where you're baffled how they can be considered special, but once you get them all, you get a cute skit with the characters wondering why the weapons are so wimpy (just like YOU were thinking!) and you realize the quest is not over just because you've fought (and released from endless battle, as they are doomed to fight eternally, unless they finally lose) the Devil Beasts. If you DO complete the whole quest line, what you end up with has the potential to be ridiculously, game-breakingly powerful...though how powerful still depends on you.

Once I'm done here, it's to the coliseum to get the final enemy data...and then the game's final battle is waiting for me. And then it's on to Xillia 2 :D (Though the world there is not as pretty, which is sad.)

EDIT: Finished, but turns out there's no point in trying for Platinum, because my trophy list is bugged. In my Grade/Titles you can see I've already earned almost all of them, but on the trophy page I only have 38% completion. The treasure chests, for example...I have more than the 300 required, but it's still greyed out. Same with Aifried's treasures...I had all 50 on a previous play, but it didn't register with the network. Nothing I can do. Anyway, done the Xillia replay and it was loads of fun...on to Xillia 2 :)
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Bluie
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Kikki wrote:
Bluie wrote:I'm legit going dark on Friday, so I won't be on any social media (which includes here) or probably even on my computer until I finish Endwalker. I'll see you all then!
Aww....bye, Bluie! I don't know how long that'll be, but we'll see you when you get back, then :) I assume that'll be before the GotY/gaming-year-in-review thread goes up (hopefully Kirie will pop in and put that up, it's tradition by now that that thread is hers!)
DW, I'll be back before that happens. I fully expect to (willingly) lose a lot of sleep getting through this expansion. I'm honestly debating if I want to stay up and try and get on as soon as it drops (around 1-2 am my time if everything goes well) but idk, sleep is also nice. The que to get into the game is going to be madness probably as soon as it drops too, so that's also something I need to put that into perspective. I'll probably play Disney Magical World 2 while I wait.

But yeah, I love doing the yearly gaming thread and would hate to miss it! Anyways, I gotta get off now. Japan already has the game and I can see the wave of spoilers hitting asap. Byeeee!
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Kikki
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I hope it's all you've been waiting for! :)

~

Man...turns out when I finished Xillia 2, I went on to play more after, somehow. But only the ONE file, marked at about 80 hours, was considered a completed file for NG+ purposes...I couldn't use the 118 hour one I had the most development on. I had earned over 3000 more Grade on that file! Well, couldn't let THAT go...so even though I can't yet remember how the game works, I had to go redo the final battle, lol, with the 118 hour file. I skipped all the cutscenes and just buzzed through it to get the 'Normal' end (I had gotten the 'True' end already...I still don't entirely understand why this wasn't a completed file...maybe it was a second playthrough? I'm confused, lol...it was from 2016, so I don't remember!)

Anyway, did Normal, and got myself an extra 200 grade, for nearly 4000 more grade than I would have had, if I'd tried using the one file that was already ready for NG+. That will buy me a lot of NG+ goodies! I still don't at all remember how combat works in this, except the bits that are the same as the first Xillia.

Gotta say, I find the 'True' (AKA 'Good') ending of Xillia 2 absolutely galling. It's monstrously hypocritcal, imo...I find that ending disturbing and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth...to me, it's the worst ending of all. (The 'bad' ending is more horrifying, but the payment for all that 'gah!' is very sweet) The 'Normal' ending, however...that feels like the natural progression, to me, that follows along with everything in the game prior to the ending...the only not-creepy-and-uncomfortable ending, though of course it's Tales, so it has it's bittersweet edge, for sure. Well, that's MY feelings about it, anyway. That 'good' ending puts my teeth on edge!

Gonna go for the 'bad' ending for this replay that I'll be starting next. I'm hoping I can clean up 1-2 thousand more grade while wiping out my debt...I'd like to get the 'extra' endings after the bad ending.
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Chrysalis-Lyn
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Still playing through SMTV at a leisurely pace. The atmosphere, graphics, and monsters continue to impress. Stuck at Nuwa, who I'm assuming is the 2nd boss? I also beat the 5th gym in Brilliant Diamond.

So many games on my backlog. I shouldn't buy more... but Wytchwood is now on my radar. Crafting & gathering resources in a storybook atmosphere sounds so comforting right now! I wonder whether it will have a linear narrative, or if it will be more of a sandbox? My brain cells are fried these days, so I find that I enjoy games with casual exploration + light (or nonexistent) plot.

And a very belated thank you, Kikki, for the kind words. I would jump on here much more often if I weren't in a PhD program. Looking forward to hearing more about how everyone is progressing in their respective games!
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greensara
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Had a humorous/ ironic moment yesterday. So I went to the trouble of raising up an Umbreon to get Absol offspring with Mean Look, which also inherited their mother's Luxury ball. They don't have the best stats presently though. Then, while running around in the Underground, I encounter a female Absol with Mean Look. (Face palm) Oh well, her stats aren't that great either and she's in an ugly repeat ball. I just have more work to do in that realm but I'm kind of tired of hatching eggs right now, I miss the O-powers/Rotom powers.

Tetris Effect is absolutely amazing! The pictures and videos do not do it justice. It is not just a pretty version with cool music and new mechanics, it is all out gorgeous and the zone mechanic is a game changer! Finished journey mode on normal for the first time and loved it!

I fired up Xenoblade for the first time last night, but I am not sure what I think of it right now. It looks good and sounds great, but the controls and camera are going to take some figuring out. I'm going to have to reread all the tutorial stuff a few times I think. The brief parts of the battle system I saw from the beginning to entering the town are still confusing to me. Scrolling back and forth between available moves while all the action is going on seems like it would be a big pain for a harder enemy. I don't quite understand the auto attacks either. But it could just be because I love my button mashing, lol. I'm still going to give it a try, but I may wait until I can devote more time to figuring out its system. I have a lot of sewing I need to finish before Christmas, so maybe after I get those projects done and wrapped up I can try to get serious about it. Until then I think I will probably stick to playing the easy to pick up and put down stuff.
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Kikki
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Greensara...

Xenoblade's combat uses NO button mashing, for sure. I find the combat much easier than most...it's one of the few games where I could almost say I properly mastered it, as it doesn't require you to remember any button combos or have physically and mentally fast reaction time. Since you don't need to button-mash, there's less stress, ime...less need to get tense for a boss fight, for me. Because there's no need to pay attention to your moves (you can't hit a button to swing a sword or raise a shield), it feels less stressy, to me. I just have to watch my art bar and occasionally move Shulk to an advantageous position (such as behind the enemy, if I want a big bonus on my Back Slash art) and as soon as they are ready, fire off the best arts on the bar for that situation.

It is different, though. It FEELS like action combat, but it's really a fairly even hybrid between action and turn-based (menu) combat.

Auto attacks will happen at a set interval, every X-seconds, where your character is casually taking a slice or shot at the enemy. The DAMAGE an auto attack does isn't really important...it's just a bonus. What matters is that auto-attacks fill your art charge (shown in the ring around each art on your battle bar, showing you when it'll be ready to fire off.) Once you're further in the game and able to tweak all of your abilities with gems, you can even get a faster auto-attack (with Haste gems, to be specific), which will let you use your arts more/faster as they recharge faster then...having really high haste/speed with auto-attacks, coupled with high agility (which makes it hard for the enemy to hit you in the first place) makes you a super power :)

Haste + agility boosting was my way to blaze through most things in Xenoblade :)

Anyway, if you need to know anything, feel free to ask! I've played the bejeebus out of XC1. It's really different at first, but once the way it works clicks in your brain, it feels natural. Ime, anyway. It's overwhelming at first when you're being hit with all new things over and over, but Xenoblade's combat doesn't change much as time goes on. Shulk never gets three million arts to use, like many action games, so it's easy to remember what you're doing, once you 'get' it for the first time.
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greensara
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Thanks, just that stuff is good to know even. I may try again sooner than I thought since my son is not making it easy to get any kind of crafting done, especially with the sewing machine. That boy won't leave the pedal alone for anything, as well as anything else in his reach. I am remembering now why I got out of crafting for the past few years with his sisters, lol. We'll see how long it takes for me to click with the systems.
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Kikki
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When it comes to Xenoblade, I may be a little like a religious fanatic...the type who really, REALLY want to convert you and will very eagerly help you with aaaaaaanything you want to know in the hope of doing so, lol. However, I will hold my tongue now, as that was plenty of info in one go, especially when you're at the beginning! Plus, no matter how much I love it, you may not, and that's just how it is.

If you get stuck on any game systems as they evolve in the future, just drop a comment here and I can probably make it pretty easy. If it weren't easy, I wouldn't be good at it! But sometimes the idea is presented in a very complex way, in-game.

Shutting up, now!

~

Okay, so...I had to take a break from Xillia 2, as I do want to clean up all achievements, but I just can't stand searching for another featureless sack or sparkle. I already got the achievement for 800 of the little buggers in the first Xillia, and doing it again in the second Xillia is just too much to ask of me, right now. But I suppose I have light OCD-ish type tendencies and the idea of NOT pinning down the location of every possible bit of random loot bugs me. Even though their position on the map doesn't carry over, so it's not like I'm building anything for future plays. AND this is almost definitely going to be the last time I ever play this on PS3. The last time I ever play it, period, if it doesn't get ported some time in the future. My PS3 isn't going to last forever (Though I'd bet on it outlasting my WiiU. That thing is so rickety and glitchy and I've already sent it in to Nintendo once for a repair.)

I may put the replay on hold for a while to try to recoup from all that loot-looking. Maybe some Slime Rancher for a bit? I had only played a few game days in that, so I'd restart it, since I had no idea how the 'plort market' worked to start, and now I do. (PS: I still absolutely love that the Switch version is called the Plortable Edition.) I went through about half my Switch games the other day, checking them to see if they had update, and almost ALL of them did, lol. Though I'm betting it's dry stuff only, not content additions or improvements. I'd really like to play Cupid Parasite, but it doesn't look like that'll be an option within 2021. Variable Barricade (the next funny otoge on the horizon) may even be out by the time I can finally get to CP, lol.
Last edited by Kikki on Dec 04, 2021 3:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Simply Unknown
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greensara wrote:Had a humorous/ ironic moment yesterday. So I went to the trouble of raising up an Umbreon to get Absol offspring with Mean Look, which also inherited their mother's Luxury ball. They don't have the best stats presently though. Then, while running around in the Underground, I encounter a female Absol with Mean Look. (Face palm) Oh well, her stats aren't that great either and she's in an ugly repeat ball. I just have more work to do in that realm but I'm kind of tired of hatching eggs right now, I miss the O-powers/Rotom powers.
Yeah, the Pokemon you can find in the Underground have a possibility of having Egg moves. It can be useful, but there's no way to determine which Egg move you end up with, so breeding can be a bit more useful.

I currently just beat the 6th gym in Brilliant Diamond and I'm having a lot of fun playing. I'm a little annoyed because I don't like overleveling the gym leaders so I have to constantly keep swapping out teammates, but it's been good for filling out the Pokedex. Also got a shiny Ponyta completely randomly, which is always a huge plus! Such a pretty shiny!

I'm just getting a bit nervous as I'm nuzlocking and I've heard some horror stories about the Elite 4 and Cynthia. We'll see how things go later on.
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Kikki
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All the random loot bags and sparkles there were to find must have temporarily killed my traditional-gaming mood; I can't get back into it, atm. I would have been into Cupid Parasite, as that's just reading, but it's being debugged for no-one-knows-how-long, and I looked into Dairoku, but everything I can find on it suggests that it is an extremely mediocre game, with great characters but a substandard plot and weak/shallow romance, to boot. I personally don't even like the art in it, just as I didn't like the art of Bad Apple Wars (same artist, I think.) The only other praise I can find for Dairoku is that people mostly seem to like the soundtrack. But...not worth getting, as far as I can tell, and I definitely don't want Olympia Soiree since I find the plot premise repellant. *shrug* Basically, no otoges for me, right now.

If I want to mainly read, I could commit to Suzerain or Novi News, but I'm nooooot a political person or a social crusader, either, by any means, so I'm not sure they're for me, either.

Maybe I should just write instead of game. (Even though my 's' key is no longer working, again, and I can only put it in by using control + V.) Might be the option that fits better, even though I have a bunch of cute games within reach...none of them want to be played, right now.

It's sooooo quiet right now. I don't live right on the main street but a few hundred feet away from it, but even so you can hear the whoosh when vehicles are travelling full speed. With a decent snowfall yesterday, people seem to be staying home, on top of it being Sunday, which is always quieter, particularly in the morning. It's very silent, today, almost like that Matsuo Basho haiku. We're into that world of one colour, now. Well, nothing to distract me from heading out to make some (supposedly) Mexican rice and beans before lunch. I'd kind of like to have these vanilla cupcakes, too, but I think I should probably resist.
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Panda Parfait
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Bluie wrote:I am both insanely jealous at you and elated for you for your PS5 acquisition. Hubbo and I want one so bad we've signed up for the 'right' to try and purchase one. RIP.
Aw, I hope you guys manage to get soon as well! I basically had to obsessively track stock and buy Walmart Plus to get it, so yeah... trying to find a PS5 is a mess right now. I don't even shop at Walmart, but literally every store that's actually getting the console in stock are limiting access to people who pay for whatever subscription service they have. It sucks.

I have managed to play a grand total of like... 3 hours of FFXIV since Endwalker's release, due to the fact that I get off work during peak hours. I've probably spent more time in the queue or battling error codes than actually playing the game. It's a real bummer, but I understand that their servers are being overloaded more than ever right now. I have off work tomorrow, so I'm hoping I'll get in on that beautiful, short morning queue and actually get some progress in.

That said, I did try out monk and summoner for a little while and I'm really liking the changes to them. This is probably blasphemous to most monk players, but I'm personally thrilled that most of their positional attacks are gone. They were just an absolute nightmare in a lot of content, and I feel like the new chakra system keeps the job pretty hectic, just in a less frustrating way. My summoner is only level 58, so I haven't gotten to the real meat of it, but it flows so much better and feels like an actual summoner now. I can't wait to level it!
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Harvest Moon kawaii
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Currently playing:

Pokemon Shining Pearl (Switch)

Novena Diabolos (Steam)

I've started studying Japanese and Korean again.

I've been enjoying playing Pokemon Shining Pearl on the Nintendo Switch. I'm 20 hours in, and just beat the 7th gym.

I also started Novena Diabolos, which I had been waiting for a long time to release in English. It's a Korean horror/mystery visual novel. I haven't played much more of this. I have to find time/set aside time for it because it autosaves only. (no save states/save slots)

On the Switch, I bought Roller Coaster Tycoon Adventures when it was on sale. I also bought Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani.

I played the demo for Peachleaf Valley: Seeds of Love, and really enjoyed it. I'll definitely be buying it when it releases in Spring 2022. It's a visual novel/otome game based on farming sims.

And, Rewrite+ (by Key) is releasing on December 17, 2021 (this month). Unfortunately, I don't know the price.
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Ronin19
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I just finished the law route for SMT5. It took about half the time since I didn't need to level grind at all. I'm gonna hold off on the other two routes for a bit and probably play Moonglow Bay and Imposter Factory to finish out the year.
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Kikki
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Okay, finally got back to it, and I can confirm that Grow has been DEGLITCHED. The big problematic ones, for sure...the save-game glitch is fine, now. No more issues with saving, plus you can continue Flora's (and Aeric's) quest, and when you go into the Cave of Withering, it is no longer an unfinished cave with no way to progress...it's the full trial cave with the fragment inside. Meaning the game progress is no longer blocked when you get past the 5th fragment :)

I only have one town segment left to unlock, afaik. Looking at the fragment pedestals, I've placed 6, and though it's hard to tell because some things here look like pedestals but may not be...so I think it corresponds to regions and I have one left before the game's plot will be complete. Once I get the current region up to 100% happiness, the final area should unlock, along with the final fragment. Unless there's a surprise at the end and more plot unlocks, I guess.

EDIT: Done! You can continue to play indefinitely, but I've gotten all the regions open and found and placed all the song fragments. The story tries too hard to be meaningful, imo, and falls flat thereby...but the very final line in the plot is pretty darned good, imo. That sums it up in real-world terms.

Final conclusion: lots of very fun mechanics and gameplay, but the performance does chug a fair bit, and though the major ones are patched, it is still rather glitchy. The plot is mediocre (even though I adore environmental plots...saving the planet itself is always my favourite way to save the world or a society.) Each game system is interesting, but all of them could have stood to be deeper, imo. Maybe they limited themselves to reduce performance slow-down or something, but the town-building could have been much more intricate, and world-tending could also have been a bit more varied and fun...it gets old faster than it should have, imo.

I think it's very creative and fun and I will continue to play until I can make all the perfect world seeds, but I don't care at all about the villagers, and the town-building doesn't have enough to it to make it feel 'mine'.
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