Backlog 2025

[Bluie]

I think the stresses of life have given me a minor mental snap or something, because I have suddenly devolved into wanting to play cutesy games and ONLY cutesy games. I'm talking pastel colors, chibi model, full of whimsy games. I went on a (husband approved) PS5 buying bender yesterday and came out with Fantasy Life i (which is mere hours from unlocking for early access as I type this), Witch Spring R, and Märchen Forest. I'm also replaying Project Mirai DX on my 2DS because I wanted to play it's Puyo Puyo mode and ended up actually playing the actual game mode too. My 2DS' headphone jack is wonky though, so it's a little hard to play in early hours or while sharing any space as the slightest touch disconnects the audio (and yes, I've tried multiple headphones - it's the 2DS). Annnnd I decided to finally get into Disgaea 7 (I have the complete edition from some sale last year) because while I want to get the Phantom Brave sequel played, I can't rationalize playing it when I still have another NIS game in the queue.

Regardless, added to the backlog and simultaneously working on it too lol. Still don't know what's brought this on, but for now, I'm blaming the 'male gaze' direction of the Atelier series since the first Ryza game. I miss my cute girls doing alchemy in cute outfits in cute worlds, I miss it a lot. My only hope for the series right now is the other old games getting remakes just like the first game did, but I doubt it. It's all about « Mr.Gourmet's hat », thighs, and boobs now. I will probably eventually play Atelier Yumia like I did the Ryza trilogy, but I don't see myself buying it until it's like, 20 beans.

[Kikki]

I went on a (husband approved) PS5 buying bender yesterday and came out with Fantasy Life i (which is mere hours from unlocking for early access as I type this), Witch Spring R, and Märchen Forest.

I don't know the others, but of course I know FLi. Hope it's good. All feedback (and I can see two livestreams on Youtube as we speak) seems very good, and it's not as garish now as all the previews showed it to be, for some reason. (I don't get it!)

Too bad there's no way to know how it performs on OG Switch, yet. Though it was where I had been planning to get it, I now DEFINITELY am not getting it on Steam (not willing to install Easy Anti Cheat) and it'd be better on PS4 than on OG Switch, but it's going to get an upgrade on Switch 2 and will then be better than PS4, probably, on the S2, plus I just don't think of PS4 as my cute and cozy console, so it doesn't feel like FLi belongs there. So I don't know where or when I'll be getting the game! If I knew it performs well on OG Switch...eh, but if wishes were fishes, and all of that.

We all go through gaming phases. Might as well just roll with it. I was in a farming phase, and it eventually turned into a building phase, which is where I am now...but I can feel a JRPG phase lurking very nearby.

I played some Dinkum this morning, but quickly became too tired to continue. Then I was even too tired to make lunch. Trying to scrape together the brain and body power to make supper...it's pretty cold today. Drizzly and only 6C (something like 42F, I think). I'm gonna make my favourite soup...curried sweet potato carrot. It's got lots of garam masala in it and it's gorgeous and silky thick, great with bread. And hot and steamy on this cold, damp day.

I'm doing pretty well in Dinkum, though...got myself a Dirt Printer, so I can really get into the terraforming to place my house in a good final location. I already have a jackhammer and a charging station. I should grab a chainsaw and a land vehicle, and find a glider, and then I'm pretty much set for power items. I still need to unlock the good sprinklers, and then I can go hard on large-scale farming to rake in the dinks. Gotta build the bank. I still haven't moved Sally, Sheila or Melvin in yet, either, but I don't think there is anyone other than those three left.

I really should tidy the kitchen again, too. Bleh, it always needs tidied.

[Bluie]

I don't know the others, but of course I know FLi. Hope it's good. All feedback (and I can see two livestreams on Youtube as we speak) seems very good, and it's not as garish now as all the previews showed it to be, for some reason. (I don't get it!)

In the roughly 3 hours I've played so far, it's a worthy successor with a much larger scope. There's three main maps, two are hub worlds while the other is a big open world with varying regions. So far I've picked up Fishing and Hunter and they both play fine. It has the same gameplay loop as the first game (getting your 'Life', talking to your master, getting quests, ect) but the overarching story kinda ping-pongs you around the three maps. So far, I love it, it's very fun and the controls are snappy. No idea how it'll look on the Switch, but it looks fantastic on the PS5. The Switch didn't get early access, but all the other platforms did and people are saying it runs fine on Steam Deck. I've seen a few people having issues, but it seems to be more or less good to go on there if you don't want to get it on your PS4 OR the Switch version chuggs.

[Kikki]

I don't know the others, but of course I know FLi. Hope it's good. All feedback (and I can see two livestreams on Youtube as we speak) seems very good, and it's not as garish now as all the previews showed it to be, for some reason. (I don't get it!)

In the roughly 3 hours I've played so far, it's a worthy successor with a much larger scope. There's three main maps, two are hub worlds while the other is a big open world with varying regions. So far I've picked up Fishing and Hunter and they both play fine. It has the same gameplay loop as the first game (getting your 'Life', talking to your master, getting quests, ect) but the overarching story kinda ping-pongs you around the three maps. So far, I love it, it's very fun and the controls are snappy. No idea how it'll look on the Switch, but it looks fantastic on the PS5. The Switch didn't get early access, but all the other platforms did and people are saying it runs fine on Steam Deck. I've seen a few people having issues, but it seems to be more or less good to go on there if you don't want to get it on your PS4 OR the Switch version chuggs.

Thanks The reason I don't want to get it on Steam is because Steam forces Easy Anti-Cheat (a kernel level anti-cheat program) on you for FLi, (well, the devs do...not so much Steam itself!) and I just don't want to deal with it, or having to completely uninstall FLi and then manually uninstall EAC afterward when I want to get rid of EAC.

I was never willing to pay $15 extra for 3 days early access, so I can just wait to see how it does on Switch, and if it doesn't do well on there, the PS4 version should be good enough. I'll be able to get it on something, one way or another, so I'm glad it's good. I just have to wait a bit more to figure out where it's best to put my money, considering all the different circumstances and the imminent release of the Switch 2 and uncertain availability and all that.

[greensara]

I have the physical version for regular Switch pre-ordered through PNP, so I should be getting a confirmation email when they ship it in a few days. (May take a bit after that coming from Canada into the US with all the drama + regular snail mail. Can't remember what shipper they're using. ) I will let you all know if I have any issues when I get it in hand. I am super excited for it, especially with school getting out this week. Being free from para work until fall, and wrapping up at the greenhouse for the season will bring more available playtime, woot! Thankfully I have my secondary switch now in case the kids want to hog the regular one since they will have time to play too, lol.

[Kikki]

I have the physical version for regular Switch pre-ordered through PNP, so I should be getting a confirmation email when they ship it in a few days. (May take a bit after that coming from Canada into the US with all the drama + regular snail mail. Can't remember what shipper they're using. ) I will let you all know if I have any issues when I get it in hand. I am super excited for it, especially with school getting out this week. Being free from para work until fall, and wrapping up at the greenhouse for the season will bring more available playtime, woot! Thankfully I have my secondary switch now in case the kids want to hog the regular one since they will have time to play too, lol.

That'd be great greensara, thanks. I know I can manage something, since PS4 is an option, but with my various circumstances, I'm not willing to touch EAC (so no Steam) and it'd be nice to have FLi in a cozy handheld option even if I mostly play docked. These days I'm often too tired to spend much time upright outside of work so many days it's handheld or nothing. That makes PS4 not a great option, though it would definitely perform better than OG Switch if FLi is technically demanding.

Anyway, I'm going to wait long enough to find out if OG Switch is a decent option or not. Then I'll grab the game on whatever weighs out best.

[Code_Name_Geek]

I finally finished all of the achievements for the Shadow side of Sonic x Shadow Generations last week, and I currently don't have any desire to do the Sonic side ones so I can finally cross that game off my list. The last few collectibles were really difficult to find but I only had to scan a guide for the very last rocket piece (and I found all the chests myself), so I'm happy with that. I think my next Sonic game will be Sonic Riders, but I need to find the proper cord to get the AV switch I stole from the basement all set up since the front inputs on my Trinitron have gotten finnicky and swapping cords out of the back of the TV is a drag.

Then I got my 3DS out again and started up Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3, which I've been wanting to play before Tamagotchi Plaza comes out. It's fun so far! New from the previous games in the series is a little bit of the town you can kind of "walk" around (really it's just flipping between screens) and tap on the various Tamagotchis hanging out to chat with them, as well as decorating the park. I'm especially enjoying the piano minigame, which is a very simplistic rhythm game. These games are best in short play sessions so I think it'll make a good chill game to play after my evening shifts at work when it's too late to get into something engrossing. It's nice having my 3DS out again too! How I've missed the fun menu themes - I currently have a Shadow the Hedgehog one that plays the Radical Highway music and it makes me smile every time I open it up.

[Kikki]

Played Dinkum for a bit after waking...and eventually got too tired/sore to continue. Flopped back down. Looked at clock. 8:15 AM.

Holy « Puppy Doodoo »...I wore out all my energy by 8:15? By GAMING?

I'm going though some kind of allergy flare. I'm having reactions to metal again, and foods...just generally everything I've ever had a reaction to in the past, it's back. So far I'm still safe with toilet paper. REALLY hoping my TP sensitivities do not also return! So I must be...I dunno. Maybe my immune system is up at the moment, like my immune suppressant isn't working well right now...or maybe there's something seasonal. I just don't know, but I am a pile of garbage this past week or two and this kind of thing doesn't usually clear up all that fast.

Poop.

Well, I don't think there's anything I can do about it. I'm going to go outside and either go for a short walk or a short ride on the e-bike my family gave me a year ago (yes, I know I'm spoiled), see if fresh air and sunshine can infuse even a sparkle of energy or clarity. My head is so thick.

Too bad, since Dinkum is fun, and I have tons of other fun games, too. Can't afford to be too tired for work. What can I do? My digestive system is in turmoil thanks to all the increased sensitivity, so I have to keep caffeine or any stimulants away from me except at dire need.

So many things I want to play, and not enough physical OR mental energy to play any of them. Handheld gaming is going to be crucial. I think I'll have to get FLi on Switch even if the performance is likely to be notably less good on there, since Steam isn't an option.

At least I can get Azuma on Deck, though. No EAC with that one! But yeah, I think FLi on Switch is my only reasonable option atm, so I hope it works well there. If not, then I hope the S2 upgrade pack for it is a reasonable price (it's really cheap for Japan, but that doesn't mean it is for here.)

[Shan O 123]

I been playing Dinkum on my steam deck. I’m doing creative mode and peaceful wish. Because all I want to do is decorate. The dirt printer is literally my best friend right now lol

[Kikki]

Woot! The instant FLi became available on Switch today, Eeowna started playing it. So I got to see enough to reassure me that the game functions perfectly well.

It does NOT look as good as on PC (duh, right?) or PS5 (ditto), mostly in that it's blurrier...not as sharp, imo. But I didn't see any frame drops (I'm NOT sensitive to frame rate, though!) and what's more, the game definitely has an upgrade pack on Switch 2, and in Japan it is super cheap and will PROBABLY be pretty affordable here, too.

So if in later game it functions badly, I can put it aside until Switch 2.

So I'm downloading it now. It's going quickly! It must be a relatively small game, I guess, in terms of data size.

Gotta leave home in a few hours but I should get to complete the beginning of the game today, since it's downloading so fast. I can chill for a while with my oogy tum and some digestive tea before I have to head out. Happy!

AND I got all my pencil crayons organized as of this morning, except my original Art n Fly set in its cylinder, which has to stay there for a while longer. It's so nice to have them all in a decent user-friendly order...all my sets in one place. Probably no coloring today, but I love thinking about all those organized pencils!

EDIT: Don't have a lot of time before I have to go (and OOG am I queasy!) but: FLi runs great on Switch, no problems at all. Of course, that may change later on when the game becomes more heavily loaded, but for now it actually looks WAY better on my own Switch than it did in the footage on Eeowna's stream. Maybe it was Twitch that was blurry, more than the game itself? I dunno, but it looks very good and has had no problems that I can see in the couple hours I played in handheld. It sucks the battery FAST, though. (But I can just play with it plugged in, still in handheld.)

[Kikki]

Okay, other than that...FLi is fantastic. It looks amazing on Switch, I can't even imagine it looks any better on PC, though probably the action is even smoother. But it's perfectly crisp and saturated and I never see any blips of any kind. Not that I'm alert to them. It seems to look better in handheld than docked, though.

And it's a huge game. I even entirely forgot about Ginormosia for the first 12 hours, but it's the BotW-inspired part of the game, imo. And also imo, the, er...no, I've forgotten. Is it the present or the future? I THINK it's the present. The present is the ACNH part of the game. And the past is the fantasy life part of the game (as in, the part that's a lot like the first game in the series.) There's tons to do in all three parts. So much that I can't really believe people are saying this game can be finished in 30 hours. I mean...if you pursued ONLY the story, sure. But you can't do that. you can't get through the story without leveling up a couple of your lives quite a bit as you go along. I'm not sure how much you NEED to do with Ginormosia or Donutopia (or whatever you called your base in the present.) but you definitely have to do a lot of Life development to be able to progress the story. At the very least, one combat Life. And if you didn't also do some gathering lives (woodcutter and miner) and some crafting lives (mostly blacksmith, but probably also carpenter) it'd be a very pricey playthrough that might require a huge amount of grinding of other types. So...yeah, i really don't see how you can get through the story in 30 hours.

I really wonder how anyone could do that, even if it's true that the story itself is simple enough to be done that quickly...the gameplay is NOT that simple.

The story isn't as childish as the first game, thankfully. That story was insultingly babyish, imo. This one isn't. It's a lot of fun, actually...goofy in a way I like, unlike the first game, which was goofy in a way I found foolish.

Alright, I can't stay awake any longer.

Great game. Highly recommend, even if your only option is Switch. So far I haven't a single complaint about the Switch performance.

[Bluie]

FLi was worth the wait, even if the constant delays were worth clowning on (because Level 5 really has some management issues, and until they release all their teased/promised games, they will continue to). It's honestly the first game I've played this year that I WANT to go back to. Yes, even Monster Hunter Wilds, which I anticipated to hook me in, hasn't been touched in weeks by me because it's lacking a special something from the series I love. FLi has expertly captured the magic of a 13 year old 3DS game and vastly improved upon it.

I'm 17ish hours in, not really progressing the story much as I'd much rather farm bosses and work on getting my Lives upgraded. Story-wise, I'm just about to unlock the Farmer Life, but I've been too busy with work and too tired to focus on anything else but Napdragon erasure lol. I'm honestly glad this game is doing so well, because Level 5 needed a win after all their recent games bombed or released to little or no fanfare. Now if they can just keep it up and get back all their street cred with releasing Inazuma and DecaPolice next year, they're back in business. I refuse to get excited for Holy Horror Mansion until those two are released.

Anyways, I finally have a day off tomorrow, and I'm gonna play all day. I cannot wait.

[Shan O 123]

Okay, other than that...FLi is fantastic. It looks amazing on Switch, I can't even imagine it looks any better on PC, though probably the action is even smoother. But it's perfectly crisp and saturated and I never see any blips of any kind. Not that I'm alert to them. It seems to look better in handheld than docked, though.

And it's a huge game. I even entirely forgot about Ginormosia for the first 12 hours, but it's the BotW-inspired part of the game, imo. And also imo, the, er...no, I've forgotten. Is it the present or the future? I THINK it's the present. The present is the ACNH part of the game. And the past is the fantasy life part of the game (as in, the part that's a lot like the first game in the series.) There's tons to do in all three parts. So much that I can't really believe people are saying this game can be finished in 30 hours. I mean...if you pursued ONLY the story, sure. But you can't do that. you can't get through the story without leveling up a couple of your lives quite a bit as you go along. I'm not sure how much you NEED to do with Ginormosia or Donutopia (or whatever you called your base in the present.) but you definitely have to do a lot of Life development to be able to progress the story. At the very least, one combat Life. And if you didn't also do some gathering lives (woodcutter and miner) and some crafting lives (mostly blacksmith, but probably also carpenter) it'd be a very pricey playthrough that might require a huge amount of grinding of other types. So...yeah, i really don't see how you can get through the story in 30 hours.

I really wonder how anyone could do that, even if it's true that the story itself is simple enough to be done that quickly...the gameplay is NOT that simple.

The story isn't as childish as the first game, thankfully. That story was insultingly babyish, imo. This one isn't. It's a lot of fun, actually...goofy in a way I like, unlike the first game, which was goofy in a way I found foolish.

Alright, I can't stay awake any longer.

Great game. Highly recommend, even if your only option is Switch. So far I haven't a single complaint about the Switch performance.

How does it run on switch? I’m debating steam or switch.

Not to mention, I been hesitant (I’m not trying to self plug) because as a streamer on twitch there’s this rule about nobody is allowed to share chapter 7 anywhere. Granted, from what I seen, stuff opens up after the credits so I’m tempted to play main story off stream and stuff.

[Kikki]

How does it run on switch? I’m debating steam or switch.

The answer is already in the reply you quoted Shan, lol. I've condensed the post you quoted below so you can see just the parts about Switch performance.

FLi is fantastic. It looks amazing on Switch, I can't even imagine it looks any better on PC, though probably the action is even smoother. But it's perfectly crisp and saturated and I never see any blips of any kind. Not that I'm alert to them. It seems to look better in handheld than docked, though.

[snip]

Great game. Highly recommend, even if your only option is Switch. So far I haven't a single complaint about the Switch performance.

And before that there was this one:

Woot! The instant FLi became available on Switch today, Eeowna started playing it. So I got to see enough to reassure me that the game functions perfectly well.

[snip]


EDIT: Don't have a lot of time before I have to go (and OOG am I queasy!) but: FLi runs great on Switch, no problems at all. Of course, that may change later on when the game becomes more heavily loaded, but for now it actually looks WAY better on my own Switch than it did in the footage on Eeowna's stream. Maybe it was Twitch that was blurry, more than the game itself? I dunno, but it looks very good and has had no problems that I can see in the couple hours I played in handheld. It sucks the battery FAST, though. (But I can just play with it plugged in, still in handheld.)

I don't think I have anything else to add. The game runs perfectly on Switch, especially, imo, in handheld. I haven't had a single problem and it looks great, too, and there've never been any errors or crashes or even screen drops or anything that I've seen.

~

I now have time off. Though I'm so tired, I don't know how much of it will be spent awake. But whatever IS spent awake, I will probably be playing this.

[Kikki]

Okay, update time.

I've played FLi docked a bit more, now, and it's definitely not as good handheld. The resolution seems to be lower, so it's...fuzzier or blurrier on a big screen, I guess. I'm not a tech-type, so I don't know what words to use, here. Also it looks just slightly funny in some animations, such as going up the stairs...sort of jittery or stiff or something. Maybe it's frame drops? I don't know.

I'm not having any problems, but I doubt this would have happened if I were playing my Deck, docked. It'd probably look as good on a bigger screen as on the smaller, if playing the Steam version via Deck.

And I've played enough that I can now finally dredge up about 3 bad things about the game. 1: the farming sucks. It's very weird. There is no hit box, so you're constantly watering when you mean to sow seeds and things like that. I think there's only 8 crops in the game and basically the only use for them is cooking, and I don't care about cooking in this game. I never used cooked dishes in the original, and I'm not finding myself ever doing so in this one, either...I'd rather use potions for straight-up healing and SP replenishment.

It levels up quickly, but generally I don't like farming in FLi.

Artist has the best crafts, but really it's mostly just splitting up what a carpenter used to do...artists make wall decor and garden type decor (like flower planters and so on). I guess they exist because you now have not just a home, but also a whole town that you can decorate, inside and out, and they didn't want to add THAT many crafts to a single profession (carpenter, who has always handled all the decor before.)

The crafting menus are VERY bad, extremely disorganized...but they're doing an update around May 29th for Xbox and Switch for that. (I think the other platforms already have it.)

Party management is a pain. They tidied up Life management, but managing your party, who you level up a nd what bonuses and so on they have...it's really tedious, takes forever, and it's inconvenient, though I like the benefit that your party members give you, now.

So, there. Not just a huge gushing about FLi. There are some problems. But in general, it's a fantastic game. Glad Level 5 has still got it.

EDIT: Oh yeah. The story is way too short. I'm not done yet, but I'm not far off, either. It's kind of disconnected from progress with Lives in that you can easily defeat a boss at level 50 even when your best combat class is only Level 35 and your party members aren't any better. So you don't have to progress much to be able to complete the story; I guess that's why people were able to finish so fast. It's definitely not a deep story, and it still comes across as 'young', imo, but not as babyish as the first Fantasy Life.

I hope they add DLC like Origin Island, including more story. I am at the start of the second last chapter, now. I'm going to stop progressing it until I have about 6 Lives up to level 40-50 and at least Adept, probably Expert. I got ALL the original 12 Lives as soon as they were available, but I didn't progress many of them but Paladin and Miner past Fledgling. Working on Woodcutter, right now, then I'll go to Blacksmith and Carpenter and, uh...probably Magician.