Backlog 2021

[Simply Unknown]

Got one new game for Christmas that I'm hoping to get through before some of the new games come out in 2021. Cafe Enchante is pretty cute so far, though I haven't gotten too far in the story. I like Kotone and I have made my first impressions of all the potential romance options, and I only want to punch one, so that's good.

I'm also happy that one of the options I'm most interested in is the final/true route of the story. I usually find that my favorite is the first one I'm told to play in route recommendations and the one I least want to play is the true route. Been true for Collar X Malice and Code: Realize, so this is a welcome change. Still looking forward to Ignis's route though; I have a weakness for tough guys with red hair. He kinda reminds me of Doug, who is my favorite bachelor in RF4.

Also, the music is beautiful in this game. I love it, just so pretty to listen to!

[Kikki]

Wow, I'm pooped. Did a bunch of life stuff, which is probably the real reason, but I feel like I played quite a lot of Fenyx, too. The story and characters are derpicus maximus. Or maybe I should say derpeus maxeus? They're goofy. Goo-fee. For sure. I have to find things witty or unexpected to be able to laugh at them, it seems, and this largely has not qualified.

But the gameplay is really interesting...exploring to find chests, rifts (I think 'rifts' and 'vaults of Tartaros' are the same thing, but I'm not completely certain.) I'm trying to find coins of Charon, right now, via Lyre Challenges and so on. I like the straightforward ones. This game has everything behind a freakin' puzzle, and a lot of them are pretty obtuse, particularly since you have to explore around to even find all the elements of the puzzle.

I'm...kind of totally ignoring the story, actually. I can't see how this game is only 60 hours for 'completionist' level. There's so much to find and complete.

[Ronin19]

I've decided to alternate between Blue Dragon and a Pokemon HeartGold Nuzlocke Challenge.

I started over Blue Dragon despite being about 5 hours in. I just couldn't remember what had happened in the story, so it just made sense to start over.

HeartGold is one of my favorite games and Nuzlockes seem interesting, so I thought I'd give it a go. So far I've gotten Cynder the Cyndaquil, Beaky the Hoothoot, Rocky the Geodude, and Cheddar the Rattata.

[Kikki]

Really enjoying the majority of Fenyx's gameplay. Though...Odysseus' Challenges are the worst...they animate the arrow with splattering sparks of fire AND a big whirling cloud of smoke behind it and I can't see where the arrow is. That kind of quick-aiming challenge would be hard for me no matter what, but being unable to tell exactly where the arrow IS in all that mess makes it basically impossible. I suspect it's much easier to play them on PC, assuming that you can use a mouse to aim. That's the one big advantage to PC gaming imo...a mouse is always going to be much more precise control than you can ever get out of a control stick.

But other than that, it's loads of fun, even if you don't care for the story/characters. Kind of like...take BotW, and compress all the goodies it has into a world a quarter the size, and you have Fenyx Rising. Sorta. Bit of an imprecise comparison, but it'll do. There are chests (guarded and unguarded) all over the place, bits of ambrosia, lighting and treasure to get from rifts...so much stuff. Really not seeing being done in 60 hours if I keep on like this. I should probably at least finish that one last rift for the second set of goals for Aphrodite and make a token attempt at continuing the story.

Problem is, I play it too long, trying to get that one more bit of ambrosia or lightning, or more coins, and then get cricks and cracks and a headache.

[Bluie]

Time in Sakuna goes really fast, insomuch I keep forgetting to tend to my rice properly. It's a pretty decent blend of bite-sized metroidvania and realistic farm simulator, but I tend to forget to balance them properly. You need to provide for the people you're with while also unlocking new areas, which goes in tandem with exploring (items you pick up and meat you get from enemies), but tending to your rice is a whole intricate process that needs to be done well in order to get both a good yield and stat boosts for Sakuna. What is nice is that the people you provide for aren't completely useless as they all have their roles. One monitors the rice for you and gives you hints, one cooks your food, one makes you new weapons while another new outfits - and even the toddler does his part as he brings back animals to help out. Dogs allow you to send out your people to gather so it's not all on your shoulders and ducks (which I haven't unlocked yet) will help the growth of your rice. Cats are just... there, but I'm not complaining, they're cute.

Story is pretty OK so far too. Sakuna is a spoilt goddess who royally screws up and gets banished from essentially heaven and now has to take care of some humans and clear out an island of oni to get back. She's the child of a war « Harvest Goddess » and a harvest goddess, so her moveset (godly strength, but uses farm tools to fight) makes a lot of sense and it's really fun. It all gives me slight Muramasa Rebirth vibes, but this game is really its own thing.

HLTB says the game is around 30 hours and I'm 5ish hours in now. I want to finish all my current game before the end of March (Monster Hunter and Story of Seasons!) so I don't think I need to rush this one. It's honestly pretty relaxing despite the balance I talked about. There is something very soothing about it as a whole.

[Kikki]

Sounds nice, Bluie!

~

Waaa! Waaaaaaa! Discovery.

You have to have enough coins of Charon to do it, but you can unlock the ability to SLOW ARROWS IN FLIGHT DOWN. That doesn't help with the fluffy smoke and flame animation that a burning arrow has, making it so that you can't tell exactly where in the mass the arrow itself is, but...it's going so much slower that Odysseus' Challenges are probably now doable even for me.

I'm wrapping up the Aphrodite quest. She's been freed somehow (did she have the ability to free herself all this time, or what? I don't quite get what happened when she disappeared.) but I have to finish up the final quest which...I'm not sure exactly. She seems to have all her faults back so I'm not clear what it is of hers that I am liberating, right now. But I'll be done soon, anyway

[Ronin19]

Well, I failed the Pokemon HeartGold Nuzlocke challenge. Seriously, I caught 4 Ratttatas and 3 Geodudes. The Pokemon I was catching had no variety. This just means I can focus on Blue Dragon more now.

[Guest]

A number of these games are in various states of completion.
I haven't started some and I'm nearly done with others.

-tales of vesperia
-tales of berseria
-tales of zesteria
-tales of symphonia
-final fantasy viii
-final fantasy x
-final fantasy x-2
-final fantasy xiii
-final fantasy xv dlc (gladio/ignis)
-dragon quest xi
-sakuna of rice and ruin
-xenoblade chronicles
-oninaki
-crossing souls
-fe three houses
-fire emblem shadows of valentia post game
-fire emblem fates (third one)
-fire emblem warriors
-hyrule warriors age of calamity
-The world ends with you final remix
-nexomon
-nexomon extinction
-night in the woods
-My time at portia
-stardew valley
-ni no kuni
-ni no kuni 2
-okami
-little dragon cafe
-little town hero
-sonic forces
-wonderboy and the dragon trap
-banner saga trilogy
-spyro reignited trilogy
-flipping death
-jotun Valhalla edition
-deponia
-chaos of deponia
-darkside detective
-to the moon
-temtem
-old man's journey
-kingdom hearts 3
-both of the kingdom hearts bundle/packs
-star ocean the last hope
-star ocean integrity and faithlessnes
-harvest moon a wonderful life de
-cyberpunk 2077
-persona 5 royal
-persona q2
-dragon age inquisition
-technomancer
-tomb raider
-uncharted lost legacy
-uncharted Nathan drake collection
-outer worlds
-yakuza kiwami
-witcher 3 (complete)
-horizon zero dawn (complete)
-Code vein
-daganropa 1.2 reload
-nonary games
-metro exodus
-beyond two souls
-mirrors edge
-catherine
-assasins creed odyssey
-ac origins
-ac unity
-ac syndicate
-ac black flag
-batman arkham night/city/asylum
-digimon story hackers memory/cyber sleuth
-ace attorney
-earthbound
-the swindle
-mutant year zero
-prof layton miracle mask
-prof layton unwound future
-prof layton mystery journey
-deus ex mankind
-the raven
-sherlocke Holmes devils daughter
-Life is strange
-grim fandango
-ghostbusters
-infamous second son
-shadow of the colossus
-the last guardian
-monster hunter world
-rune factory 1
-rune factory 4
-bravely default
-bravely second
-paper Mario
-ever oasis
-yokai watch 2
-breath of the wild
-loz ocarina of time
-loz majoras mask
-loz phantom hourglass
-loz spirit tracks
-smt iv + apocalypse
-smt strange journey
-devil survivor

[Kikki]

Well, Aphrodite is saved. Ares turned out to be much funnier. Interacting with him is actually quite cute.

It's still fun but the irritating aspects of the game are becoming more irritating with time. And I don't think that creating a puzzle where at certain points there's no way to see what is below you is good game design. I've died several times in a row by slightly misjudging when to cut my glide because it was impossible to move the camera in such a way as to actually see what was below me, so I just had to guess whether I was right over the pillar platform or not.

Can't play for long or I end up with stiff hands and sore neck and then a headache. Which is what I've got going on right now, yay. Maybe I actually should try FE:TH and see what it's like and swap between them. I'm doubting FE:TH could have much in the way of tricky controller maneuvering. Can't hurt to try it. Probably. I feel kind of guilty if I'm not at least working on one game when I have some on hand. Though that's not sensible. They're games, not chores.

[Harvest Moon kawaii]

Tell us what you're playing, what you're planning to buy in the future (this year), and how you're progressing. Are you loving what you're playing? Did you try games and hate them? End up abandoning them? To many great games coming out at once?

I'm currently playing Paper Mario the Origami King. And, dabbling a bit in Animal Crossing. The New Year's Eve Countdown starts tonight, and I must stay up for it.

I'm before the first (red) streamer (I think) in Paper Mario The Origami King. I love it so far overall. Some stuff's hard for me, like the motion controls.

I think I end up abandoning or not paying too many games. There's new games constantly coming out. It's crazy.

-Got a backlog three miles long and feel overwhelmed? Multiple members here have managed to eliminate their backlogs entirely with some help from (free) online resources. Just ask for more information if you're interested.

I really need help with my backlog. I've probably got closer to 150-200 games across all systems to play (3DS, Switch, and Steam). But, I haven't done a backlog thing in a few years and I need major help. Please, I'm interested.

-Curious about a current/newly released game but don't have information to decide if you want it yourself? You may be able to talk to others who are playing that very game right now.

Anyone playing Lily of the Hollow Resurrection (a game on Switch)? I'm curious as to if it's any good. It's on sale, and wasn't too expensive anyway. What type of game is it? Beyond being a visual novel?

[Kikki]

-Got a backlog three miles long and feel overwhelmed? Multiple members here have managed to eliminate their backlogs entirely with some help from (free) online resources. Just ask for more information if you're interested.

Hmm...I may be remembering the wrong person, but...I think we told you about the Backlog Blitz method of tackling your backlog, and sites like Backloggery and Grouvee (to track/keep account of your backlog) and howlongtobeat.com, which you can use to figure out which games to buy and which of your backlog to tackle first, etc, by finding out how long it takes the average person to do a straight run through the main story, the main story plus the main extras (probably the most typical way to play any game) or for completionists.

Not that we can't talk about it again, but if you are the one we talked to about the Backlog Blitz method, I'm afraid there's nothing new to it to tell you about. Though if anyone else has other methods for paring down their backlogs, that'd be awesome. (I haven't heard anyone mention one, though.)

The most basic way of summarizing the BB method is that you start each year at ZERO. (So even if you have 100 games in your backlog on December 31st, on January 1, you zero it all out.) Of course your games still exist...you just don't call them your current backlog.

There're more details, of course, but if you're the one I told this to before, you probably don't need to hear the same thing over again. Sorry about that.

[Harvest Moon kawaii]

-Got a backlog three miles long and feel overwhelmed? Multiple members here have managed to eliminate their backlogs entirely with some help from (free) online resources. Just ask for more information if you're interested.

Hmm...I may be remembering the wrong person, but...I think we told you about the Backlog Blitz method of tackling your backlog, and sites like Backloggery and Grouvee (to track/keep account of your backlog) and howlongtobeat.com, which you can use to figure out which games to buy and which of your backlog to tackle first, etc, by finding out how long it takes the average person to do a straight run through the main story, the main story plus the main extras (probably the most typical way to play any game) or for completionists.

Not that we can't talk about it again, but if you are the one we talked to about the Backlog Blitz method, I'm afraid there's nothing new to it to tell you about. Though if anyone else has other methods for paring down their backlogs, that'd be awesome. (I haven't heard anyone mention one, though.)

I'm probably the same person...And, I just bought more games on my Switch today, and plan to buy a study aid/game for Japanese tomorrow on Steam. I remember howlongtobeat and use it all the time.
But, I definitely don't remember Backloggery/Grouvee. I'll check those out, thanks!!!

If you want to talk about it again, that'd be cool.

[Kikki]

Okay, well, as simply as I can...

Choose your date (most people would start on January 1, but it's not like you can't choose a different one.) That is the beginning of your gaming year. Using January 1 as the example: If on December 31, you have 100 games in your backlog, then on January 1...you have ZERO. 0. Wipe them all out.

Each game year begins fresh in the Blitz method. Of course, your games still exist! But they're not part of your current year's backlog.

Say that in 2021, you buy 20 games. Each game purchased is a -1. However, each game completed for the first time is a +1. So, if you bought 20 games, that's -20, and if you finished 5 of your new games, that's +5. Let's say you also managed to finish 25 of your OLD games. That is also +25. So adding those all together...you'd net out at +10. You finished 10 more games than you purchased, which is a pretty big win by itself, since it means your backlog is shrinking faster than it is growing.

I use Grouvee to keep track of all my games. (I created an 'abandoned' shelf for games I tried to finish, but disliked/hated, or that were flat out too difficult for me. You can create as many 'shelves' as you want on grouvee in addition to the default ones they have: Playing, Played, Wishlist, and Backlog. In Grouvee you sort of think of your backlog as a library of games and each list is a shelf.) More people probably like Backloggery, but I like Grouvee for its simplicity.

Abandoned games are struck out completely, btw. They're not a + or a -. They're nothing. Replays are also nothing. Only first completions count (unless you're doing an entirely different type of challenge.)

It's really simple, but it helped me a lot...I have no more backlog :D It took me three years to completely get rid of it, but I had fun, for the most part.

[Harvest Moon kawaii]

Okay, well, as simply as I can...

Choose your date (most people would start on January 1, but it's not like you can't choose a different one.) That is the beginning of your gaming year. Using January 1 as the example: If on December 31, you have 100 games in your backlog, then on January 1...you have ZERO. 0. Wipe them all out.

Each game year begins fresh in the Blitz method. Of course, your games still exist! But they're not part of your current year's backlog.

Say that in 2021, you buy 20 games. Each game purchased is a -1. However, each game completed for the first time is a +1. So, if you bought 20 games, that's -20, and if you finished 5 of your new games, that's +5. Let's say you also managed to finish 25 of your OLD games. That is also +25. So adding those all together...you'd net out at +10. You finished 10 more games than you purchased, which is a pretty big win by itself, since it means your backlog is shrinking faster than it is growing.

I use Grouvee to keep track of all my games. (I created an 'abandoned' shelf for games I tried to finish, but disliked/hated, or that were flat out too difficult for me. You can create as many 'shelves' as you want on grouvee in addition to the default ones they have: Playing, Played, Wishlist, and Backlog. In Grouvee you sort of think of your backlog as a library of games and each list is a shelf.) More people probably like Backloggery, but I like Grouvee for its simplicity.

Abandoned games are struck out completely, btw. They're not a + or a -. They're nothing. Replays are also nothing. Only first completions count (unless you're doing an entirely different type of challenge.)

It's really simple, but it helped me a lot...I have no more backlog :D It took me three years to completely get rid of it, but I had fun, for the most part.

Thanks so much!! I'll try out both.

[Kikki]

No problem; I hope 2021 goes well for you. Thinking of each year as a brand new start takes the weight off, I find...makes the backlog feel less like a millstone around your neck.

~

Athena was way faster/easier to save (or restore?) than Aphrodite. Or maybe I'm just faster because of levelled up gear and skills. But I completed her questline, anyway. I felt like they didn't really try to be funny with her, not to my way of thinking, so it didn't have that touch of 'lame' that Aphrodite's part had.

Nonetheless, Fenyx burns me out a bit with the massive array of things you can do at any time. You only have to find it to be able to do it, basically. You can try doing things you literally don't have the skills to complete, even, though it will be impossible.

So I'm playing through the start of FE:TH to see if it feels like a break. Just completed my first battle, and these three kids are suddenly looking at Byleth like she's lunch. A tasty one.