Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7911I've accumulated too many PS4 games, so I've been trying to bring them off the pile of shame onto the "pile of played". So, I started this one...a few months(?) ago - but didn't get very far and was then unable to keep on playing. My first impressions from then was that this was really interesting, it would take me a while to learn the details of the stats and equipment and numbers and stuff, but that was ok, and that the world/setting seemed interesting and familiar...but in a way that didn't make it stand out or resonate. So, it's Fallout, but in space...but also on the ground. Oh, but this is now like Borderlands too. So, again from my limited time, I didn't feel like I had a strong sense of "wow, this is different and interesting". After starting it up and getting past the tutorially parts I had a clear sense of what to do - some missions to follow up on and so on. In this case, "you have a ship, but it's busted and you need to get a part to fix it" and a world to explore, places to visit, people and factions to learn about and interact with, and from all of this I expected to - eventually, many hours later, get the ship part and "leave this forsaken rock of a planet". Along the way I realized that I wasn't too much of a fan of the combat in the game - there's aiming and shooting, but there's also a lot of stats stuff happening and I found that I was dying really easily and quickly and wasn't sure what to do about it. Then several months of real world time passed...and I picked the game up again. To my surprise, the "get the ship part" turned out to be a lot quicker/shorter than I expected and within a few hours I was done with that and ready to leave into space where the game opened up with a space map, a new mission, and a general idea of "hey, there's so much more stuff for you to do now". All this while still having open quests back on the original planet! So, I played some more, did some more missions, moved things along and then...after a mission I kept dying on because "shooty-shooty not so good" I sat down and asked myself... do I really want to keep on playing? The answer was no, in part because I was a bit frustrated with this mission - but mostly because, I just wasn't engaged with the story or world - the things that were supposed to be funny, weren't (for me) because it felt a bit too...uh... familiar? (as in, I've heard those jokes about corporations that are dumb and have you do dumb stuff..and so on). I also realized that I might have to dig deeper into the crafting and gear stuff just to be better suited to handle combat, and...well, I couldn't be bothered really. So, I'm done. Not because the game was "bad", I just didn't really gel with it.Fri, 13 Jun 2025 14:16:48 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7911&iddiary=13404https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7827So I finished a full "run". It's weird to call it that even because it felt so much more involved than I would think of in the context of a "roguelike", which this game sort of is...but also isn't. I mean, there's lots in the game (including when you get to the end) that strongly suggests you want to play again, not just to get "different endings" or see "other paths through the story", but because there is a meta-campaign of sorts to explore/discover/investigate. I'm not sure I want to do that - mostly for time - because I really did have an interesting time with this game (it was a big surprise for me since I was expecting less, or at least not to find it as compelling as I did). Perhaps what I need to do is wait enough that I've forgotten a lot of the details of my 1st playthrough before playing again?Fri, 13 Jun 2025 14:00:32 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7827&iddiary=13403https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7892Finished it! I really enjoyed it if, at times, it started to get a bit too grindy/back-tracky, but perhaps the back tracking goes with the territory for the type of game? (what we'd now call a metroidvania). I've been thinking about it's place in these "top lists" of DS games you never heard about but should play and... well, I don't think the game is "OMG this is the best ever", but I DO think it's a game that deserves more attention than it got. So, in that sense it's place is worthy/meritorious...because, sure - it's a "typical" (which may not have been THAT typical when the game came out) metroidvania in many ways, but the two-screen use, your monster companion is really interesting and novel (then and now). So, mixed feelings - but also, I get the sense that the game aims at a younger demographic... The game isn't THAT hard (by this I mean, I was able to beat it, it took me a few tries in the end, but I would describe it as a high-challenge game) - but that's not a bad thing! (to be fair I did think the difficulty is somewhat uneven). Super glad I played it and, this is unusual as I make my way through my DS backlog, I stuck all the way to the end.Fri, 13 Jun 2025 13:57:12 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7892&iddiary=13402https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7909Ok, so I finished the first mission - that then opened the game to other deliveries! The ones that opened up later were much more of the fetch quest variety - take 2 feathers to Jim in town X and not "move the story forward" kind of missions. So, I happened to be able to easily do one (because I already had the materials)...and then, well, I've decided to put the game back on the shelf. It's just really slow! And the combat is not interesting at all and also really slow. You can't select whom to attack, and at best you may want to cast a healing spell now and then. But, even with my caster at level 10 I can only cast a few spells (and maybe the bigger ones twice) so...there's not much do engage with here. Sure, the game might open up more later in that sense (more party members?) but I'm almost three hours in and it was really feeling like a drag. I did find (by accident) some "secrets" while in the dungeon (where I had to fight some sasquatch who had stolen the original/first package I had to deliver). In their dungeon rooms there were tombs - and you could slide back some of the tombstones. In one of them I found a "bone sword" - which I thought was a weapon, but no. It's an item to sell (or perhaps use as part of a delivery quest?). The game's entire set of items and their role/function is really unusual - items weren't in the "categories" I thought they'd be, so I'd end up looking through all of them to swap for a better weapon and that sort of thing.Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:24:35 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7909&iddiary=13400https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7909This looked to be a "generic" (as in, typical) JRPG game - wander around a map, fight monsters in a turn-based system, meet characters, learn about the story, etc. But, it's surprisingly obtuse..in ways I was not expecting... 1. There's the usual "make sure you talk to the correct person in the village" in order to unlock the next step in the story. (I wasted a lot of time doing what I thought I was supposed to - wandering the thieves forest, when I had to talk to a townperson who "unlocked" a rockfall to another area entirely... 2. There's two modes for combat - in one you get experience (and level up), in the other you get loot (no experience). It took me a while to understand what was going on - and a quick peek at the manual as well - you basically toggle between "virtue " and not - in the former you get experience, in the latter you just get items. I think it's an interesting idea - in theory - you decide whether you want to level up or accrue loot to sell to get better gear. I've mostly been going with the levelling up, but to be fair it's not clear to me if there's an optimal to pursue here (I'm also over-levelled because of the time I spent wandering in the forest). 3. The UI shows a list of boxes and I noticed they sometimes had red check marks - I thought it was connected to combat in virtue mode. Separately I found some blue chests I could not open, and wasn't sure if there was a glitch or what. Thanks to some internet sleuthing, it turns out you have to kill all the monsters in an area (each then adding a red check), on doing that you get a blue effect on the characters that then lets you open the blue chests. I might have figured that out eventually - the red check marks being the clue here. But, there's more... 4. You can dash - but I've only just realized that it costs hit points! I noticed after dashing around that eventually the characters just wouldn't dash anymore. I was confused...and then I was also weirded out by times I healed and then healed again (with effect) without there being combat. So I noticed that dashing cost health! I'm not sure how the cost is calculated - is it linear (to time spent dashing?) or not? The risk/reward consideration here is that walking is slow and the game gets a bit boring (again, I've spent too much time wandering in the woods, so perhaps it's my own fault?), so dashing is REALLY tempting... 5. The first time I went through the woods and got to the town at the other side I was almost out of HP, not MP left and could not find how/where to heal! Yeah, there's a statue in town you activate and it heals you - this might be a "Lunar series" staple that people would/should recognize if familiar with the series? (I was not) and I swear the first time I tried it didn't work - but that might have been a collision thing? So I wasted time wandering around the village trying to find "the inn" to rest or whatever. Overall, I'm not sure I'll keep playing - but I do want to finish the first mission (the game has framed itself as a "package delivery game" - but the first delivery has gone astray and it's taking a lot longer from what I thought it would... We'll see....Sun, 08 Jun 2025 13:25:20 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7909&iddiary=13399https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7908Hell of a long name for a game! According to Gameeye "Keroro Gunso the Super Movie: Gekishin Dragon Warriors de Arimasu!' is a game based on the 4th Keroro Gunso anime movie of the same title. That would explain the pretty cool anime intro movie that played... I wonder if there's a way to watch the movie now? I only picked up this game because it was cheap and it looked like I could play it despite having zero Japanese language skills. And, I could play it! And the gameplay-related text instructions I was able to figure out. Mostly. I think. I'd seen the character before - sort of a cute anime frog with a yellow hat/helmet and I recall the name being "Kero Kero Kero" but a few minutes on wikipedia has set me straight that the character is called "Keroro" so perhaps my understanding was from some other things? The show sounds like fun and I'm surprised it's never made it's way to the US. At least I think it hasn't? It seems like a funny action adventure kind of show... The game itself is a simple 2D platforming game with special abilities - that let you navigate the levels. There are several (6?) different characters - with levels being dedicated to each and they each have a different "attack" ability which you can also power up. It was fun, pretty polished, and with all kinds of things going on I have no idea what they were about. You collect gems and I think you unlock stuff? I was playing off the saved games on the cart which (all three!) had completed the game...and I was too lazy to see how to clear at least one so I could start fresh. But, no matter - I had fun anyways! (just went back to the first levels and did those from scratch).Sat, 07 Jun 2025 21:25:45 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7908&iddiary=13398https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7899Got to a point where I decided to bail. This was partly because I got frustrated - I was in a Pokemon Ranger temple or something where you have to do some tests..for one I had to defeat a Pokemon and losing meant going back to the beginning of the trial which meant I had to do a bunch of fights along the way...and I just decided it wasn't worth it (after trying three times). So, I bailed. The game is more interesting than it probably gets credit and I was surprised about some of the mechanics and how you have to figure them out with IMO very little info from the game (no clues, etc.). For example, it took me a while to realize that how quickly you draw the loop does matter because different Pokemon react differently to it! For some, going slow and wide was the trick, for others, the opposite! For the encounter at which point I decided to bail, "Chapter IX - Three Relics and...?" I wasn't able to figure out the right technique - or pull it off at least...and since I'm on a plan to REALLY work on the DS backlog... and I was having an "ok" time, I decided to move on.Sat, 07 Jun 2025 20:26:26 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7899&iddiary=13397https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7899I'm pleasantly surprised! Usually when you can get a Pokemon game for a decent price it means that it wasn't very good. And, I thought this one was sort of sequel of sorts to the Pokemon mystery dungeon games, but it isn't! What I'm enjoying so far is that it has the collecting and travelling parts of the games, but without any of the micromanaging (or really managing) RPG side of things. You're a young Pokemon ranger - they're sort of Pokemon community cops who help people with their Pokemon (so, not really crimes - just "oh no, there's some grimers in the water treatment plant, please help!"). The catching part is 100% action based - you use the stylus to draw circles around Pokemon (there's more to it than that, because you can use other Pokemon to help you out, but mostly it's frantic drawing on the 2nd screen - trying to catch them...), and that's pretty much it. I mean, you have a device with energy, Pokemon have abilties that can help catching, but also to overcome obstacles in the world, every Pokemon is "one use" and then you set them free... and that's it. Mostly story! So, I'm on Mission 5 (I'm guessing there's like 12 or so?) and it's pretty fun - the Pokedex seems smaller and you improve just by moving along on the story... Neat stuff, and a nice surprise!Mon, 26 May 2025 16:03:52 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7899&iddiary=13394https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7896Started playing this the other day and I didn't have the box or manual with me so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. So far it seems like a pretty straightforward paranormal visual novel - there's more reading than playing/interacting though I found it interesting how the game wears the "trappings" of systemic stuff and gameplay. So, you get experience points for doing the (so far only "gameplay" sections) and you level up - and it says that stuff improves, but I can't tell if it really has and it doesn't seem to matter much either. I haven't tested to see if the game has a real fail state (game over) or not. It's kind of hard to explain what's going on because I think there are issues with the translation - there's lots of typos and stuff like that in the text, but the concepts/ideas in the story are also obfuscated to me somewhat. But, maybe it's just the way it is? The idea is that there's some sort of "entity" (demon? person possessed by a demon?) that can then infect others - and they end up killing themselves (while doing bad things along the way), and this infection is a problem in that it spreads sort of easily. You play as a character who's part of an organization that's trying to stop this, and the main task is to find the "main" (patient zero) baddie. You have a power - which sort of exists because of an artifact which lets you see people's bad thoughts - but they're also like these "lava lamp-like bubbles" that you have to locate in them (it's like they're the infection) and then you tag them and then you learn about the character... This is the most frequent way to get XP - if you tag the bubbles quickly you get bonus XP in addition for the tagging itself. The game takes place in a village and you're a transfer student at a school and so you spend time visiting locations and talking to people trying to track down the "baddies" - it's mostly on rails, so you can visit 3 locations in any order, but you end up seeing them all regardless. I would say I'm not particularly enthused - I'm maybe 3 hours in (bit less) and I've had one "boss fight" (you tap on a thing when it gets white to do damage) - but I'm guessing the rest of the game is sort of the same? I'm not sure what I'll do yet BUT... Again, the trappings of system (and RPG systems/mechanics) is interesting to me - it makes the game seem deeper than it is really. There's also a lot of busywork moments. Stuff that you need to tap on just to tap on really. In the beginning I though there was some gameplay/choice, but I was just wrong about that. For example, right after getting the "bubbles", you then drag them to the character and press "x". And then you get a scene you can skip (with text that floats in, and it's creepy and you read it to know about the character). I've been skipping them all because...it's a bit slow. But the prior step now just feels like busywork.Wed, 21 May 2025 12:10:24 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7896&iddiary=13393https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7892I think I first heard about this game from an internet games website "list" article - probably something like "10 best ds games you never heard about" or something like that. I didn't research it much, and got it as a present for a birthday a few years ago. I've since played it and finished it and really enjoyed it. It's very kid-friendly (the story is even about kids trapped in this other world by themselves and they sort of turn into jerks, but you get them to change their mind) and, surprisingly (to me) is a bonafide metroidvania with all the backtracking that entails. You pick up new abilities that you use to unlock progress on the map, and backtrack as well. The game's key "gimmick" is the titular monster - a sort of "virtual pet" that accompanies you and can help out during fights and such. Enemies you defeat often drop "loot" that you can send the monster to play with (the monster area is on the bottom screen, which is where the monster also rests to heal up and recharge it's power meter). Over the course of the game you unlock new mutations/variations of the monster and it also grows into "older" forms (think baby, kid, juvenile, etc.) that each have their own mutations. It's an interesting system but the game isn't hard enough (or wasn't hard enough for me) for it to really matter all that much. There were a few places that had me spend some extra time before I could clear them. But, I didn't mind because the core experience of exploring, dodging enemies and such was engaging enough - especially when I started to more deliberately make use of the creatures powers and abilities. In keeping with genre canon, the game even has boss fights (each of the kids, they all have monsters that they basically oppress, but when you defeat them they change their mind). The game came out in 2011 though...does this predate with metroidvania indie game boom? I think so?Fri, 09 May 2025 17:47:05 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=7892&iddiary=13389