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Video Games Finished in 2023


EH_STEVE

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Just beat game #7, Octopath Traveller II. 100% completion and it took about 107 hours to do. I thought it was a lot better than the first one even if both games are some of the better JRPGs to come out on the Switch. Now onto Zelda since I have been avoiding it since I do not like to start two massive games at the same time let alone on the same system. So Zelda and then we got Diablo IV releasing a week from now. I am gonna be pretty busy in the coming months. 
 

C: 5

H: 1

PC: 1

O: 7

Edited by Irondog666
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6/3- Street Fighter 6 for PS5. 

 

One of the best games of this year. After the disappointment of Street Fighter V... this was a breath of fresh air. Although I don't like the odd gameplay of Manon, and the slow air movement of Dhalsim, I liked the rest of how the other characters played. (As for character design, something is SO odd with Chun-Li's face. Maybe it's something with the make-up or whatever, but it looks plastic and doll-faced to me. Not what I think of Chun-Li. And her theme sucks.  

 

And that goes with the older character's music too. They don't slap as their older themes'. But, with the new characters, their music aren't as bad.) 

 

The new modern gameplay style is a great addition, while bringing back the classic gameplay style is good too. 
 

The game looks visually amazing. 

 

As for the story... I haven't played the CAC story yet, so, I can't answer this. As for the arcade story, it takes place after Shadaloo and M. Bison have fell. So, in essence, it's like how Street Fighter 3 tried to move away from II's success, even if that failed at first, but later gained traction.   

 

Spoiler

So... the new characters except for Kimberly and maybe Luke aren't really tied to the story. Kimberly's uncle died in an incident at Nayshall, an unknown place rising in popularity thanks to this new guy named JP. Ryu, Dee Jay, E. Honda, Blanka, Zangief, and Dhalsim basically have the newbies as rivals. With Shadaloo gone, Chun-Li has seemingly retired, while Juri's just finding purpose now. As for Ken... poor Ken... he gets blamed for being associated with terrorists at Nayshall. He steps down as the CEO of his own corporation, and tries to lay low while he figures his stuff out. Guile tries to console him, but it's of no use. Ken finds JP eventually, but questions killing the man, as it make matters worse, and it goes against what his master taught him. Cammy tries to find Shadaloo remnants, and eventually runs into JP. JP surprisingly has Psycho Power, but tries to hide it really well. He leaves her, (and leaves Kimberly too), and it becomes clear he's the new bad guy. JP might be the leader of Nayshall, but he's also a black market shark and tycoon too. How he got Psycho Power is a mystery as of now.    

  

Street Fighter 6 is a fun game. It's not in my Top 100 games of all time, but it's one of the most fun games of 2023, for sure.   

 

My least to most favorite characters to play: 

 

Dhalsim (Slow in the air, even if he has great range. Not my style.) 

Manon (Her moveset didn't click with me. Ballet-styled judo doesn't seem to work for me.)

E. Honda (Not bad by any design, but his special is meh.) 

Blanka (I tried to get his special, but it's a mid-air grapple. Still fun.) 

Jamie (He's not bad, but I constantly got him to drink in the wrong times. When he has a great rhythm though, it's good! His special is insane too.)

Kimberly (Her grapple special aside, she's a fun new addition, similar to Isla for King of Fighters XV.)   

Zangief (A new challenger has taken his throne for me, but he's fun to play too.) 

Luke (A discount Ryu/Ken, and his special is meh, but he's a solid fighter overall.)

Chun-Li (If I remember, her special was a directional one that hits aerial fighters more, so I didn't like it. But, she's still as speedy as before.)  

Guile (His special's range aside, his Sonic moves are still as zoners as ever.)

Cammy (Maybe not as speedy as Chun-Li, but her aerial movement is good, her special rocks, and I like her arcade story.) 

JP (Only because of story and gameplay reasons.)

Marisa (I like her non-BS fighting style, I like her mindset, I like her design, I like her stage, and I like her victory animation. Out of the new characters, I like her the most.)

Ryu (He's still solid as ever... but-)

Ken (Poor guy, poor guy, poor guy.)

 

(I haven't played as Dee Jay, Juri, or Lilly yet. But, I like how Dee Jay looks and plays in this game.) 

 

6/4- Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition for PS5 

 

After spending about... $80 because total confusion about the season pass system, I technically beat the game with the arcade mode, since I heard not really great things about "A SHADOW FALLS".  

 

Coming off the big hit known as Ultra Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter 5 had a lot to prove. (Same thing for Tekken 7, when Tekken 6 and Tag Tournament 2 had a huge roster). Looking at both of their base rosters at the time, however... they were really miniscule. About 1/10 of the size of their former games' rosters. Sure, some characters sucked game-play wise, but I mostly cared about their design and their fighting styles more than the actual competitive scene; even if that is the huge draw of fighting games as a whole. As for the case of Street Fighter 5, fan favorite characters like Balrog, Guile, Blanka and so on were gone. Heck, eventually, only two characters from the Street Fighter IV generation only returned. (Seth in a new feminine body, and the psychopath Juri.) Sure, some of the big names eventually came back as DLC... with a Season Pass... But, that was just a small myriad of problems for base Street Fighter 6. Missing modes, weak "character story" modes, mediocre music and stages, and maybe a lack of customization hurt this game maybe more than the Street Fighter 3 generation. Being a fan of fighting games in the mid-2010s, if one wasn't a Mortal Kombat fan, and maybe a King of Fighters fan, was rough. That's why I originally turned on those games and went back to Ultra Street Fighter IV and Tekken and Tekken Tag Tournament 2.  

 

(2015 and 2016 were rough years for video games in general, except for maybe Kirby, Super Smash Bros., the Legend of Zelda, Monster Hunter, and maybe the Souls series. Heck, Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice seemed like a disappointment for me. Overwatch came out around that time... and with the recent drama surrounding the sequel, thank gosh I'm not an Overwatch fan anymore.) 

 

Not only that, but at the time, the modern look of this game, rather than the anime-style look of Street Fighter IV, was not very welcomed at first. Street Fighter felt more cartoony than most of its other competitors back in its heyday. And, some characters looked outright wrong. Remember Ken with that banana-styled haircut? Thank gosh nostalgic costumes came to get it right. (Hopefully, the same can be said with Chun-Li's doll-like appearance in 6.)

 

But, in hindsight, the new models aren't too bad, plus most of the scenery is gorgeous. The people in the background do look strange. Their cartoony style clash with the models of the realistic fighters.  

 

Also, the new music is leagues better than the base music.

 

It took about five to six years for this game to get it right, but then in 2021, Street Fighter 6 was announced.  

 

With the way things are now, when the base roster came out with 6, I realized that I placed way too much expectations on 5 in the beginning. A smaller roster doesn't mean I'll hate the experience even less. Plus, I have now two huge games to fall back on when I am eventually tired of 6. Same with Tekken and Mortal Kombat in that regard. Even Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a large cast too. Still, that doesn't excuse Street Fighter 5 of the lack of modes at launch. Or the lack of a decent cast. Also, the game still requires the PS Plus to experience online play. Thank gosh Street Fighter 6 doesn't have that B.S.... as of now.

 

Street Fighter 5 should be seen as the lowest point of the series. Maybe even worse than the Street Fighter 3 trilogy. Even with its debacle at first with the first game, it had more content at launch, like a genuine arcade mode. Hopefully, Capcom learns from the gloom of the mid 2010s.         

  

6/24- Dr. Eggman's Mean Bean Machine (Game Gear) for Nintendo Switch 

 

It's just Puyo-Puyo, but using the assets of the 90s Sonic AM cartoon. Thank gosh the Origins version has save-scumming, because I suck at this game. But, to be fair, this game sucks, sans the gameplay.  

 

6/25- Sonic The Hedgehog for Nintendo Switch 

 

Now with a playable Amy Rose! It's alright...  

 

6/25- Sonic CD for Nintendo Switch 

 

Same old mediocre game, but with Amy now playable for the Origins Plus version. Beating up Metal Sonic as her was something else. And totally cathartic.  

 

6/27- Sonic 3 & Knuckles for Nintendo Switch 

 

-Man, no updated music, but getting Super Amy was fun. I wonder...  

 

7/1- Pikmin for Nintendo Switch 
 

Spoiler

Pikmin as a series has always fascinated me, even if I never gave their games a shot. I was around when the first Pikmin came out, but I never bothered to play it. Sequels, ports to the Wii, and Captain Olimar’s appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl made me appreciate the series from a distance. I don’t know Pikmin never really clicked with me in the past. Well, it’s about twenty years later when the first game out, and Pikmin 4 will come out sometime soon. To celebrate the occasion, Nintendo also released ports of Pikmin 1 and 2 after their June 2023 Nintendo Direct. I finally gave it a shot after so long. What is overall opinion on the first Pikmin?  
 
The story begins with a spaceship, named the SS Dolphin, just cruising around- wait, what WAS Captain Olimar doing in space to begin with? Was he about to go home to his family, was he going to get his check from his employer, was he checking out the view; what? Anyways; out of nowhere, an asteroid crashes into the SS Dolphin. Captain Olimar barely survives landing on a nearby planet, but most of his ship was sent flying to different areas of the planet. Worse, thanks to the unhealthy amount of oxygen on the planet, he only has 30 days to find all of his parts. Still, he’s not alone. He finds a curious ship he calls the Onion. The Onion lays a seed onto the earth; and when Captain Olimar pulls out the flower, out comes a curious creature. Captain Olimar calls this new discovery “Pikmin”; and with it, finds Pellets to make more Pikmin. Eventually, he comes across the ship’s engine; and with the help of more Pikmin, puts it back into SS Dolphin. With the first day done, and sunset about to fall, Olimar goes into the Dolphin, with the Pikmin following in their Onion ship. With more parts found and retrieved, Olimar can find new places to discover. Along with the Red Pikmin he discovers, which are heavy hitters and immune to fire, he later comes across the Yellow Pikmin, which can be thrown farther because of their weight and can carry and throw Bomb Rocks, and the Blue Pikmin, which can easily traverse water. However, it won’t be easy, as the unknown planet is also inhabited by hostile creatures that also can destroy and even… eat the Pikmin. It’s a race for time to find all of the parts. Still, when I beat the game, I had about nine days to spare; and there are three endings depending on the amount of the SS Dolphin parts found. There is a time limit; but beating the game in that time with all parts found is manageable. 
 
Even with the threat of impending doom to due to environmental causes, Pikmin is one of the most wholesome and cutest games ever. The Pikmin are adorable, and even if the other creatures are hostile, they look cute too. Although, it’s kind of dark that once a creature dies, Olimar sees their souls. It also is creepy thanks to the sound effects of any creature dying, especially Pikmin. The titular Pikmin themselves are adorable, are simple in design, and make the cutest of noises when doing stuff. Although, I’m not sure of the malleability of their body; as they seem to contort strangely at times. They’re still adorable, nonetheless. As for the stages themselves, they are serviceable and have fine details. Among the creatures that live there, the stages look realistic, and that’s okay. Even though nothing stands out in the environments, there’s nothing to call ugly or weird. And that’s okay. As for the music, it’s atmospheric and gets the job done of making the game seem laid back. And that’s okay. It fits the game’s tone well, and if a more high-octane song would’ve played, it would have jarringly contrasted too much. None of them are instant hits, but I like the vibe the soundtrack goes for. 
 
Pikmin is simple to learn, even if the time mechanic looms throughout the whole game. The whole game is about rebuilding the SS Dolphin before the thirty days are up. The first world introduces the Red Pikmin, as mentioned before; and the later worlds, the Blue and Yellow Pikmin. Each, as mentioned before, have their own characteristics, but each also have their own weaknesses. Blue and Yellow can’t stand fire, while Red and Yellow can’t stand water. Blue and Red can’t easily destroy brick walls. The controls of Pikmin are basic. Olimar can fling Pikmin, can call back Pikmin, and can separate Pikmin by their color. Each Pikmin can react to the environment, like destroying coral barriers and making bridges, and can attack and take down hostile creatures. The Pikmin can also carry the circular Pellets and most critters, which can create more Pikmin. There is a catch however. Each thing that can be carried needs a certain number of Pikmin. If along the way a Pikmin dies to a monster while carrying, the likeliness of the item coming to the Onion or SS Dolphin diminishes. Also, only 100 Pikmin can be out and about. That includes Pikmin not yet pulled from the earth. If at all there’s 100 Pikmin out, no more Pikmin can bloom. Still, the Onions can be used to transfer Pikmin in an out of the area, so there’s that.  
 
As for the Pikmin themselves, they can be somewhat of a nightmare to control. Their AI sometimes traps them on a wall, or they want nectar that can make them more faster at their job. They can be a hassle to wrangle. Sometimes, they can also fall into places; and if the area has water, they will drown, unless they are blue. When Pikmin go into battle, they will sometimes be crushed or be eaten. They can also be eaten if they are not wrangled by sunset. No matter how much one tries, Pikmin will die; They WILL die. Unless it’s like the last one of their color, one should not be too emotionally attacked to Pikmin. There are other The player will get more and replace those who die. There is no reward for saving every one of them.  
 
(Before I forget, make sure no other Pikmin are nearby when a Bomb Rock goes off or they die.)  
 
As for the time management, the player has until sundown to do tasks, about fifteen minutes real time when not in menus. A lot of items can by acquired during that time, especially the Dolphin parts. When a bunch of Pikmin are around retrieving one part, it’s a good idea for Olimar to collect and round of Pikmin to do another task. The name of the game is Pikmin, a real time strategy simulator. Olimar is basically doing middle management work. With the correct amount of time and patience, it’s easy to get everything done before the 30 days end.  
 
And, that’s what I did. Even though I reset to previous days to make some days more optimal, beating Pikmin for the best ending is possible. There’s no real reward for getting 100%, but it felt good to make sure Olimar returned safe and sound. Pikmin may seem bare in terms of actual depth; but the gameplay was so simple, that I didn’t mind how fast each day went. It’s a solid game. And THAT’S okay.  

                     

7/8- Pikmin 2 for Nintendo Switch 
 

Spoiler

The first Pikmin is an iconic game that was made for the GameCube, and was recently released for the Nintendo Switch… alongside Pikmin 2. I was so pumped after playing the first game, that I jumped into Pikmin 2 immediately, though this time with some cautionary hope. Its caves are the main dividing point among Pikmin fans. Surely, they can’t be that bad… right? 
 
Pikmin 2 starts where Pikmin ends. Captain Olimar repaired the SS Dolphin, and is about the return home. However, he gets a call from his boss from Hocotate Freight or whatever to return to his headquarters. Turns out while Olimar was gone, the company became bankrupt, because of a problem caused by Louie, another employee of the Freight. Most of the company’s assets were taken… INCLUDING THE SS DOLPHIN! Olimar drops his “treasure”, and its immediately scanned by the company’s main ship or whatever. The main ship’s AI or whatever says that getting more treasure could easily pay off the debt in no time. The boss orders Olimar to go back to the planet where the Pikmin were to get more treasure so that they can pay off the debt. For whatever baffling reason, he also orders Louie to go alongside Olimar. And, I immediately hate the beginning of the game, because it feels like it undermined the best ending of the first game, and Olimar is tagged alongside the employee that started this dilemma in the first place. The two head to the planet, and immediately Louie is ejected from his cockpit or whatever. Olimar finds the red Pikmin first as usual… and so does Louie. They both reunite after about ten minutes of gameplay, and find their first treasure a little bit later. The day is done, but the adventure only begins for the two. One of the biggest things that is also divisive among the fanbase is the fact that there’s no time limit, compared to the first game’s thirty day system. I didn’t mind that the system was gone myself, because even if there’s about twice the amount of treasures or so, it’s still possible to beat the game within 60 days. Heck, I was on day 49 when I beat the game 100%. It didn’t bother me. Besides, it’s not needed when another divisive thing is already in the game. What really bothers me is… Louie. This game is single-player, but a player can use both Olimar and Louie one at a time. This is neat, because it goes for more optimal planning. While Olimar is out destroying a creature, Louie can be near the Onions to help pick up Pikmin. I just didn’t wish it was Louie, since he made a mess of things in the beginning of the game. I always feel reluctant to play him, even if the game forces me to play as him. And, it gets worse knowing what happens next. But, I’ll save the ending for later. 
 
Pikmin 2 is just as beautiful as the first game, but with some twists. First, there is more variety concerning the creatures. I love some of the new varieties of Bulborbs too. I think the only creature I outright despise is the Waterwraith, and for a good reason. I’ll get into that later too. What I didn’t notice until way later is that each four parts of the world correlate with a season, with each of spring, summer, autumn, and winter represented nicely. It’s much better than Pikmin’s plain design in comparison, and I really like it. Most of the caves’ sublevels have some really great designs too. But, some of them can feel bland, boring, and repetitive at times. I’ll get into one of my most hated caves later. As for the music… this is another thing up for debate. The outside worlds have soothing pieces, while the caves are eclectic because of their random nature. I was so busy trying to manage everything, that I didn’t pay much attention to it. It does give off a different vibe compared to the outside, I’ll give it that. One of my favorite new sound effects is the massiveness of the Purple Pikmin when thrown. Those Pikmin also make make the controllers rumble too.  
 
I almost forgot the matter of treasures in the Switch version. In the original GameCube game, some brands, like Duracell and Dr. Pepper, were represented by some treasure. It was a cool thing to look forward to back then. In the recent version, those treasures were rebranded to some more generic designs. I personally don’t mind the change; as it makes like the planet visited is a different world compared to ours, like Shiver Star from Kirby. Maybe humans will exist on worlds that have apocalyptic consequences. Plus, it could’ve taken time and money to work out those deals again, something maybe modern Nintendo don’t care about.  
 
Pikmin 2 adds more stuff that players have always pointed out for their cases for which Pikmin game is better. First off, with the return of the three Red, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin (which now have an immunity to the lethal electricity in exchange for carrying bomb rocks), Purple and White Pikmin join the fray. Purple Pikmin are heavy and amount to 10x to other Pikmin. They are required for some treasures, including a treasure that needs 100 of them. Still, they are incredibly slow, and are the slowest to carry treasure. White Pikmin are the fastest, can dig hidden treasure, can dig the fastest, have immunity to poison, and can cause poison to creatures when eaten. Unlike the other Pikmin, however, White and Purple Pikmin can only be stored in the ship (the other three types fly in their designated Onion ships), and can only be acquired by using their respective flowers in… the caves.  
 
Okay, so here’s the talking point about this game: the caves. The caves were added because of the number of treasures in the game. They disrupt the returning day system brought back from the first game; and the day system is resumed only when Olimar and Louie get out of the caves. Like mentioned, only White and Purple Pikmin can be found in the caves. Each cave also has a certain amount of randomly generated sublevels which house their own enemies/bosses, traps, and treasures. I don’t mind the concept of the caves themselves. It introduced new enemies and bosses, new traps that incorporated poison and electricity, and new puzzles of how to get each treasure efficiently. However, in execution, I hate a certain amount of caves because of: One) Most enemies contradict the traps that Pikmin can’t get by. One example are the fiery pig things that shoot flames. They can somehow go in water, and can breathe water! There are some creatures I’ve seen near poison gates or whatever, but never harm them. The worms that shoot rocks can damage each other, but not the electric spider things. The only huge thing that is affected by terrain is the Fiery Bulborb. It is a ball of flame, until it goes into water. Two) there’s sometimes way too many enemies and traps, that some sublevels seem overwhelmingly difficult and unfair at times. There’s a room with spiders of each element, and most hazards except for water. (There’s also an enemy that somehow disrupts the treasure locator monitor in that room too.) There are sometimes rooms with many types of Bulborbs, and even a few bosses like to constantly spawn Bulborb larvae seemingly ad infinite. There’s even a few enemies that can whisk away the captains for a few seconds and throw them for damage, and they’re just plain annoying to deal with alongside the other problems. Sometimes, even bomb rocks and enemies can fall completely out of nowhere. Three) some sublevels are so condensed, that trying to herd and separate Pikmin is a complete nightmare. Four) Some caves go on for too long, and the amount of sublevels are never consistent. Five) I hate the Submerged Castle. It’s the worse cave, because it forces the player to only use BLUE PIKMIN, EVEN IF ALL HAZZARDS WILL BE IN EFFECT. Not only that, but it also has one of the most annoying bosses: the Waterwraith. That… mother effer randomly drops after a while, and will hunt the Captains and Pikmin. It is treated as a boss too; but the problem is that it cannot be harmed until the final level, where its weakness, the Purple Pikmin, can be spawned. One might ask why I can’t take Purple Pikmin- EASY: the entrance to the cave is surrounded BY WATER. There’s no way to drain the water too (which might make Blue Pikmin seem ineffective after a while too). And do not try to make one pilot brings those Pikmin. The only Pikmin that can enter is the one herded by the one closest to the cave. (WHICH IS REALLY INCONSISTENT; SINCE ALL PIKMIN CAN ENTER LOWER FLOORS IN THE CAVE, EVEN WHEN HERDED BY BOTH LEADERS SEPERATELY. GAME LOGIC; WHAT’S THAT?!)   
 
Not all of the caves are bad, but the ones nearing the end were overstaying their welcome. This is why Pikmin 2 is the game I had to “reset” my Nintendo Switch game the most out of any game I played on it. It was that annoying.   
 
The one other change is a treasure monitor. It locates treasure like a game of hot and cold. It can locate buried treasure too. It’s really helpful judging the immediacy of getting each treasure, especially if a boss has one. It only turns off if there’s no more treasure over ground and in a sublevel. (I’m not sure if I like the noise Pikmin make when there’s no more treasure to be found. It sounds either cheerful… or condescending.) 
 
And, it’s not like Olimar has to collect all the treasures to pay off the debt. After acquiring about 50%-75% the treasure, Olimar and Louie can finally return home. The ship leaves the atmosphere, and it’s time to say goodbyeeeeeee…. And Olimar turns around to see that HE LEFT LOUIE! He doesn’t even turn around! The end credits play… with moments of Louie trying to survive on the planet. I would’ve been sad, but I don’t really like Louie because he caused the company to go broke in the first place. So, I don’t care. 
 
After THAT happy ending, the boss congratulates Olimar for helping off pay the debt. It seems the ship also got a golden shine too. The boss sees that Louie is missing, so he tags with Olimar to find him. In actuality, the boss really loves the treasure, and just wants to join only because of the treasure, more than actually finding his employee. 
 
(And, also: I do hate the AI of the ship and the boss. The boss whines about his predicament while ordering Olimar, NEVER LOUIE, to work faster. Even the AI seems to place more care of Louie than Olimar. EXCUSE ME: OLIMAR IS THE ONE WHO HAD TO GO BACK TO THE PLANET BECAUSE OF LOUIE’S SHINANIGANS. Why should I care for that loser?!) 
 
So, eventually I land on the fourth area, and collect more treasures with more annoying obstacles to deal with. The last cave I go to is the Den of Dreams or whatever. It’s long, maybe too long, and has too much enemies to deal with. There’s only one place of respite, and no place to get more Pikmin or grow White or Purple Pikmin. And, that’s maybe for a good reason. At Sublevel 14, Louie is found atop some junk. That junk turns out to be… the Titan Dweevil, the final boss of the game. Unlike the first game’s final boss Emperor Bulbax, which was a war of attrition more than anything else and is heavily downgraded in this game, the Titan Dweevil is a lot challenging, and a lot annoying. It uses things with each of the four hazards. (Even bubbles kill Pikmin too.) The range of each thing is also ridiculously long too (bubbles can go the farthest, even targeting idle Pikmin), and there’s potential of each captain being stunned and being unable to do anything until the item stops being used (like the time I got hit by the fire item constantly, because it moves too fast). But, there is a catch. Each thing is also a TREASURE. So, even though it’s dangerous, I had some Pikmin carry treasure, even when they were ambushed. It was annoying, but the first time, I got two treasures taken care of. But, there were two more items to deal with, and I barely had any Pikmin, and even the right Pikmin, to finish it off. So… I left, got my Pikmin, went back into the cave with the right Pikmin needed, and came back to defeat the boss. I had 18 Pikmin by the end, 2 or 3 which were Purple Pikmin, but I got rid of all of the parts. Last was the bare part of the Tweevil. It doesn’t put up any of a fight, as it just swings, and doesn’t damage the Pikmin. Without its items, it’s totally weak and defenseless. So, even though I had barely any Pikmin left, I threw them at it. It finally went down. 
 
As a reward, I got Louie. He is hilariously listed as a treasure, and it worth 10 dollars, compared to the hundreds of other treasures. The reasons why is because the ship only has two cockpit seats, and Olimar and the boss rode together. They finally leave the planet on their ship, with the Pikmin glowing in the night from the planet, saying goodbye. (Wait, but do Glow Pikmin retcon that, though?)  
 
So, all that’s left is to look at the Pikmipedia or whatever and glance over Louie’s description of how he’d cook all the creatures (though some are inedible), and see the descriptions of each treasure, including Louie. … Wait, King of Bugs?! … Didn’t the boss say a bug attack Louie’s ship of food and supplies, causing the whole story to happen?! … Was Louie really being trapped by the Titan Dweevil?! … Did Louie intentionally try to sabotage the business he worked for, and try to kill his fellow coworkers?! What was Louie’s true goal?! Was he a spy/inside man from another company trying to kill off Hocotate Freight?! Was he trying to rule the world with his legion of bugs?! But, why would the creatures hurt Louie in that case?! Was that all a ruse?! HOW DEEP IN THESE CAVES DOES THE LOUIE CONSPIRACY GO ON FOR?! 
 
*ahem* 
  
Pikmin 2 is a great game, but pales in comparison to Pikmin 2 because of the execution of the cave system and… Louie. It does some stuff better than the first game by introducing two more Pikmin and changing one Pikmin in particular, making the outside areas based on each season, and the amount of treasure. But, it’s not as fun as the first game, and that’s why it won’t be on my Top 100. It came really close, but the other games on that list aren’t as frustrating to play, or have better rewards to balance out their difficulty. 

 

Edited by Link, the Hero of Dreams
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  • 2 weeks later...
- Ikenfell (Switch)
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A cute little adventure game, though the process of gathering items and completing requests is awfully repetitive. Combat could've been more engaging as well.
 
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I just never got super invested in the main characters' relationship, and the gameplay is kind of repetitive.
 
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- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
Hundreds of hours later, yeah I guess it's a pretty good game.
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Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes - Switch:

Started last July and put over 130 hours I believe and beat it last week on my Birthday. Only went through the Azure Gleam path.

 

Sonic Frontiers - Switch:

Don't remember exactly when I started it at the moment but I enjoyed playing through it and the concept of Open Zones. They have plenty of work to do with all the problems within the game.

 

Parascientific Escape: Gear Detective - Nintendo 3DS

 

Parascientific Escape: Crossing at the Farthest Horizon - Nintendo 3DS

 

Annalynn - Switch:

A cool little retro-like game you can play in bits and pieces. Not too long but has a few different modes. Will have to try Random mode for the real good experience.

Edited by TKrazyO
Updated games
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- The Knight Witch (Switch)

I could've used more Metroidvania and less bullet hell shooter out of this genre mash-up.
 
- Tchia (PS5)
Cool to have a game drawing from New Caledonian culture, and a decent indie version of open-world Zelda. The gameplay is really missing the level of polish and fine-tuning that makes Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom so special though.
 
- Trek to Yomi (PS5)
Great style, poor substance. Combat is not nearly as fluid and snappy as the gameplay seems to want it to be.
 
- Bramble: The Mountain King (Switch)
Liked the dark fairy tale vibes and Nordic folklore inspiration, but the gameplay could use some polishing.
 
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Intermission (PS5)
Coming back to the FFVII Remake after a couple of years and…yeah I still don't like the combat system. Yuffie is decently fun to play though.
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  • 2 weeks later...

- Signalis (Switch)

Kind of surprised I haven't heard more about this game, it's a solid survival-horror.
 
- Man of Medan (PS5)
Not sure why I'm playing so many horror games right now but this one was just okay. Characters weren't all that interesting and the interactive elements seemed even less important than Until Dawn or The Quarry.
 
- Dicey Dungeons (Switch)
Rolled the dice on this one (I won't apologize for my puns) just because it was on sale for so cheap recently. Ended up really enjoying it! A nice compact roguelike that still has enough depth to make every playthrough engaging.
 
- Ghostwire Tokyo (PS5)
Wandering around Tokyo fighting ghosts is cool, but boy does this game suffer from open world bloat. I don't think it's even a particularly large open world, it's just the mechanics of exploring/collecting souls is too slow and gets repetitive super quickly.
 
- Moonscars (Switch)
Soulslike Metroidvania has become a subgenre unto itself and I'm not sure I'm a fan. In any case, Moonscars has some cool ideas that didn't quite work for me overall.
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7/21-  

 

Pikmin 3 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch 
 

Spoiler

Well, I beat the game just in time for Pikmin 4 to hit store shelves as of this review. Honestly, it’s been mostly positive. I love the first Pikmin, as it was a solid foundation for collecting stuff with a time limit of 30 days in mind and an RTS mentality. I think that Pikmin 2 is okay, but some things prevented me from truly loving the game- *cough*Louie*cough*. It was also bogged by the cave system and its floors of varying quality, even though conceptually, I liked it. Pikmin 3 came out nearly nine years ago on the WiiU, with it getting a Deluxe version for the Switch years later. With Pikmin 1 & 2 on the Switch as well, gamers have the chance to play the whole Pikmin experience. (Hey! Pikmin never happened.) So, after my disappointment with Pikmin 2, how did Pikmin 3 Deluxe fair in comparison. 
 
Pikmin 3 Deluxe actually stars a new cast and a new story. The planet of Koppai, I think, is growing and prospering. Maybe too much, because there’s not enough food to feed all of the booming population. Many pilots try to find another planet full of food, but came up short. Except for one team, which found the planet PNF 404. Basically, Earth. The team is sent to go to Earth and collect as much food as possible. There’s just ONE problem. The ship crash lands on the surface, and Alph, Brittany, and Charlie fly off to separate ways. Alph befriends a Pikmin, and later on reunites with his coworkers and gets more Pikmin, including the new Rock and Winged Pikmin. Now, it’s time to get fruit before the crew starves, and find the cosmic space key, the only means of going back home. After the crew get more fruit to save their planet, they eventually find and rescue an unconscious… Louie, who the crew sadly knows nothing about and mistake for Captain Olimar. The day after they save Louie, Louie IMMEDIATELY ABSCONDS WITH THE FRUIT THE THREE COLLECTED FOR DAYS. It makes me even more angrier that he’s an aloof jerk. After the three beat a monster and rescue him, they reasonably tie him up, and he gives them the coordinates for Olimar’s location. Olimar is held hostage by a weird strange liquid gold-colored creature. Once three take Olimar outside, the creature attacks the group, but is once and for all defeated. And, it’s pretty simple, as before. Pikmin 3 takes the collecting aspect of 2, this time with fruit, but like with 1, the days the crew are able to survive is based on their supply of fruit. Thank gosh even some fruit are nearly two “cans”. With each day one, they drink the one “can”. So, there is a sense of a time limit, but it’s not as concrete as the first game. Also, it can take the player 30 days or so to finish the game, like the first. Alph, Brittany, and Charlie are also very distinct from the Hocotations. Alph is the engineer, and also points out week points of the enemies. Brittany is the botanist, and because Pikmin are plant-like, really loves them. She’s also the sassiest of the team. While Louie is straight up a jerk for no reason, I just like Brittany’s no-nonsense approach. Charlie is the team leader, but is also very brash and funny. The three bounce off each other really well, and they’re cute. 
 
Pikmin 3 Deluxe is one of the most gorgeous games of its time. Despite the scary undertones of the game, the environments themselves are nice to look at, and since it’s on newer hardware, it means more detail and polish compared to the GameCube games. Not that the GameCube games look horrible, but each place stands out. There are five new areas to explore, and like the last game, is based on the seasons. Maybe. Unlike the last game, there are no caves to explore, meaning no Purple and White Pikmin in this game. As someone who had mixed feelings about the caves, I’m okay that they choose to not include them in this game. From time to time, even rain pours down on most tracks. I don’t think it adds much more than just making each place now more distinctive. The game’s creatures are bizarre and/or cute, and don’t feel out of place in this game. And, of course, the Pikmin are adorable as ever, even if the Winged Pikmin have soulless eyes like the White Pikmin before them. The music is also charming and relaxing as ever. 
 
Pikmin 3 Deluxe fundamentally improves on the foundation of the first two games. Pikmin can carry Pellets and enemies to get more Pikmin, and give fruit to the team’s ship. They can be flung onto enemies to damage them, and other stuff to collect them. The day cycle from the last two games return, with the warning of sunset happening as always. Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin retain their attributes from the last game. So, what is new in Pikmin 3 Deluxe? First are the three captains themselves: Alph, Brittany, and Charlie. Like the last game, players can switch between the three, even though I find the method how to do so for the Switch version kind of strange and quirky. Players have the press down on the C-Stick thing, and then change using left or right the analog stick. It’s using the whistle from the last game, but maybe worse. All three captains can pluck up the Pikmin to save time too. Also, on the map, players can give a checkpoint to the captains on where to go, but only for areas they’ve already explored. Still, ff there’s an obstacle in the way, or some Pikmin are unable to go to said area, the captains will be unable to go to the destination in mind. There is a new lock-on feature. While a good idea, sometimes it’s hard to lock onto something, especially if there’s other stuff that’s in the way. There’s no way to switch the targets, making locking on a little frustrating. Then, there’s charging. It’s good for defeating some enemies (especially from their rears), and collecting some items, but it doesn’t outright replace throwing, as some enemies are easier to take down when Pikmin are thrown (like the Quagled Mireclops), and some fruit are hanging way up high. It’s a great feature, but players should still use throwing. Electricity isn’t an auto-kill anymore, and instead stuns Pikmin. Speaking of them, there are the new Rock and Winged Pikmin. Rock Pikmin are the fastest diggers, have the highest attack strength, can break crystals and smooth barriers, and cannot be crushed or stabbed, making them easy to take down Wollyhogs. Still, their design makes them harder to move on their own, and it takes them a while longer to think about grabbing something when they’re not attacking. Winged Pikmin can fly, allowing them to go over water and collect some fruit that the Blue Pikmin can grab as easily as well and can take shortcuts that the others can’t. They can also damage flying enemies, and are perfect for attacking those spider things. However, they are the worst attackers ever. Regarding all Pikmin, Bomb Rocks return and can now be carried by every Pikmin. They aren’t used as often as the first game, but they’re still fun to defeat enemies with. The ship also has an auto-call feature which returns all Pikmin not herded by the captains to return to it. It’s especially useful for when sunset rolls around, and it now helps that there’s a radius around the ship where the Pikmin which would be a safe space for them. One of the biggest changes is the Onion. It’s only one this time, and when a new Onion comes around for a new Pikmin color, it merges with the original. The base Onion can hold every Pikmin now, so it’s much less time consuming to go to each Onion like the last two games. It’s a welcome change for me I hope Pikmin 4 does. There’s a lot more in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, but it’s all doable when players get the handle of it. It took me over a few days more than my time in Pikmin, and that’s a good thing. 
 
As for the bosses, they’re a step-up, even though most of them can be cheesed easily. Some of the spiders gave me trouble, and the Quagled Mireclops was just hard because of its arena and its gimmick. Still, the Plasm Wraith is maybe the best final boss. It seems unkillable like the Waterwraith, but its only mission is to take back Olimar, and even though the first part is a chase sequence, it doesn’t outright hurt the Pikmin. When it changes when it’s faced outside, it plays out like the Titan Dweevil of the second game, but a lot fairer. The elements it uses don’t have absurd range, and the attack patterns remain consistent. I didn’t know how to lower its health bar, until I realized that the Pikmin were somehow making the goo the Plasm Wraith has disappear. Sure, by the end of the fight, it got harder with more elemental attacks used, but the range of attacks were still decent. 
 
Pikmin 3 Deluxe followed what Pikmin and Pikmin 2 brought, and Pikmin 3 Deluxe expanded on those ideas and made a really amazing game. I was worried that the quality of the game would be similar with my disappointment of Pikmin 2, but that wasn’t the case. Not everything is perfect, but I find Pikmin 3 Deluxe a wonderful game. Now, here’s to playing Pikmin 4. The same weekend of Barbieheimer. Ooof.      

                      
 

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Given the lack of power for a few days, I played some Switch games:

 

Cadence of Hyrule - Switch

Mega Man 2 via Mega Man Legacy Collection - Switch

Mega Man 3 via Mega Man Legacy Collection - Switch

 

Then my battery died.

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Beaten Fire Emblem Three Hosues on the Golden Deer pathway and the DLC. Beat Black Eagle pathway when it first came out. Have 2 more paths to go but I will do those on a different playthrough. I been in a FE mood lately. Working on Path of Radiance on the GameCube and starting up Awakening on 3DS.

 

C: 7

H: 1

PC: 1

O: 9

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7/31- Pikmin 4 for Nintendo Switch
 

Spoiler

Here’s the big one. I played all of the Pikmin games for the release of the long awaited sequel to the Pikmin series: Pikmin 4. To be honest, I didn’t think that I would have so much enjoyment out of this series. Even though I think Pikmin 2 is a decent game with some things I didn’t like, Pikmin and Pikmin 3 Deluxe are some of my favorite games ever. But, I won’t beat around the bush any longer. Was the wait for Pikmin 4 worth it? 
 
Pikmin 4 continues on from the last game. Captain Olimar lands his ship into a new unfamiliar setting: … a living room and kitchen set-up? It’s full of toys, chairs, pans, and the works. Even Captain Olimar is stunned of the whole place, and the Pikmin are having the time of their lives until he calms them down. Olimar also has a doggie he calls Moss. After some exploring… it then cuts into a few days later. Apparently while on the planet, Olimar got shipwrecked… again. Still, maybe because of every pilots’ horrible luck of crash-landing on this planet, a rescue team is on their way to save him- and they too become shipwrecked. Well, that’s ironic! But, not all hope is lost, as a new cadet of the Rescue Corps (whatever the player calls them) is sent on as a last emergency. The cadet first finds Oatchi, one of the most cutest dogs in video game history besides Poochy. They then stumble across and rescue Collin, the communications officer, and Erma, the Captain; and find the Rescue Corps ship, the SS Beagle, in disarray. Collin tells the cadet to not only find Olimar’s signal, but find the rest of the team too. The SS Beagle can be repaired, but it is also in need of Sparklium. Sparklium can be mostly is found in treasures, returning from Pikmin 2. But, HOW WILL THE CADET AND OATCHI EVER GET THE TREASURES?! That’s where the Pikmin come in, as usual. Along with the returning ones from both 2 and 3 Deluxe (including the Purple and White Pikmin), Ice Pikmin and Glow Pikmin make their first appearance. There’s a lot of places to explore, and caves… once again return. But, it’s not that simple. Some other residents of other planets have also come to the planet and became castaways, and some of them have turned into Leafings, humans with fuzzy faces and leaves on their heads. There’s even one who has a dog like Oatchi that challenges the cadet to…  DANDORI DUELS! If one couldn’t tell, Pikmin 4 goes back to only one playable character… somewhat. Oatchi, the Rescue Dog, is playable, but I’m not sure if he’s effective as the pilots themselves.  
 
Pikmin 4 is one of the most gorgeous games on the Nintendo Switch, no doubt. Everything is animated well, from the creatures and the characters to the environments. Speaking of environments, Pikmin has six places to traverse to, plus a home base. And they’re wonderfully detailed. The only thing some fans have pointed out mostly as a con is how the scenery of the world feels like it hasn’t been empty, like real people are living there. That “vibe” contrasts to what fans thought of: the feeling of an apocalyptic tone that the other games were going for. The fans feel like it discredits the lore of the other three games. Here’s my take: I don’t care. Maybe the planet is just a huge optical illusion making the visitors think they’re on a planet that was inhabited by giants larger than them. Look at all of the treasure from the second and this game, and see how each title and description doesn’t match up to the regular world. It would also make all of the creatures seem larger in scale too, and make his appearances in the Smash Bros. series have a lot more sense. That, or the real Olimar might have been in a coma for the longest time, making this whole thing up as it goes. That would take care of that too. Or maybe there’s a bigger picture that no one knows about. Still, the world of Pikmin 4 is rich with detail. The soundtrack is as whimsical as ever. And, the Pikmin sing a bit more often too.   
 
Pikmin 4 borrows most elements from the last three games. Each Pikmin can carry stuff, interact with objects, fight, and have immunities to their elements. There is a day cycle, but there isn’t an urgency compared to the last three games. And with how long I fully completed this game, I did not care. There are a certain amount of treasure to collect.   
 
 
From the third game, the lock-on returns. And I’ll be the one to say it: it’s still clumsy to lock on to the right target. That system had about nine years to be reworked, and Nintendo still couldn’t do it right. This game also has great camera control too. Onions of each Pikmin color can be found in the worlds can be fused as with the third game. Players can also command where to move automatically too. The raw materials also return, but the developers did something I didn’t like about it. The rewind feature comes back, but it can rewind up to other earlier of the day, than just the beginning of the day. Extended use of the feature means going back way earlier in the day, to even the beginning, so it’s not a total gamebreaker.   
  
From the second game, players can swap characters, but now it’s the Cadet and Oatchi. The juice system of blooming Pikmin and Ultra Spicy Spay also come back, boosting the Pikmin like before. The biggest thing I at first dreaded were… the caves. I liked the idea of them in Pikmin 2, but in practice, I hated them. Unfair enemy and obstacle design, as well as maybe too many floors. Also, there was also the lack of checkpoints. Thankfully, most of my problems went away with Pikmin 4’s caves. First, after retreating, players can… START AT THE SUBLEVEL THEY WANT TO. After playing the second game, I’m relieved that happened in Pikmin 4. Plus, the game tells players what Pikmin are right for each cave, and all of the Pikmin, including those not in the group will FINALLY go in the entrance. (Those who have played Pikmin 2 and entered the first without knowing the consequences KNOW what I mean.) Also, most caves only go up to five floors max, with the final one being reasonably being twenty, and more of a final enemy and boss rush.  I had my problems with the final cave, but it’s still beatable THE FIRST TIME. *stares at the Titan Dweevil*. The only cave that gave me near PTSD flashbacks was… the Engulfed Castle or whatever. Guess what’s back for revenge?! MOTHER$%^^$^ING WATERWRAITH! Still, it’s not as bad as the Submerged Castle. Sure, Olimar has to only use Water Pikmin in the beginning like last time, but riding on Oatchi make the Waterwraith easier to avoid, and I found out through mental planning, I could manipulate the creature to attack nearby enemies by pure “accident”. What I thought was a nuisance in Pikmin 2 was actually a trickster in Pikmin 4. Unlike the second game, the clock on the surface moves forward depending on long the Cadet adventured in the caves.  Also, there are upgrades, but it’s different too how to get them, and not as fun.     
 
(I’m not sure which game had the charge first. Maybe the third game?)
 
So, what is new? Well, a lot. First off, the Cadet is customizable unlike most other characters in the series, and the player can name them too. (The player has the option to also change their appearance later after some time.) I keep on mentioning Oatchi, the cutie, as well. Like the Pikmin, he can carry stuff, interact with the world, and even fight and charge. He can be controlled manually, but he’s mostly for transportation rather more than actual help. He’s a far cry of the secondary pilots of the last two games, but he can get skills to help with his shortcomings. He can also be commanded to do stuff, like going back to the base. Speaking of bases, because most places are larger than before, there are three places where the Cadet can set up. Some of them can only open up when and enemy or more is defeated. Then, there’s the matter of the amount of Pikmin the Cadet can have on them at all times. So, maybe for the sake of balancing the game, the developers basically made a ship called Frarlic to increase the size of Pikmin by ten. I forgot the number, but the Cadet can only take 10, 20, or 30 Pikmin out of the Onion in the beginning. Also doesn’t help that the Cadet can only take three types of Pikmin out at a time. Sure, the game knows what Pikmin I should bring out, but I think that’s a poor decision in terms of good game balancing, and for the player to figure out what Pikmin is needed at a particular moment. I’m a little conflicted on this means of streamlining, because it was maybe for optimization, but maybe at the cost of freely exploring the world with what players had. Items, like the returning Bomb Rocks also return, but players can mostly only get them through a shop. The seller only wants raw material. It’s easy enough to get from some monsters and from excavating dirt, but the same raw material is also needed to make clay for making stuff. And that’s another setback. Rather than directly putting the raw material on the project, the Pikmin also has to carry the new made claw to it now. It would’ve been a lot better if the material to get goods and make stuff was just clay. It would’ve taken less time for the Pikmin to take it back and forth. That same shop also has other weapons and gear for both the Cadet and Oatchi, thought at very specific high prices of raw material at times. Speaking of the merchant, the base is the base of operations of the game, completely independent of the day and night cycle until players return from an exhibition. The base will grow with each castaway rescued and some are important for the game, such as the gear and item merchant, the trainer that can enhance Oatchi’s skills (the skill points increase for each person rescued), and the one holding the Piklopedia. Some of them also reward the Cadet with raw material too for their own side quests. Some of these side quests are necessary for 100% the game, while others feel like padding, like growing 300 Pikmin over and over again. Last, when the Rescue Corps. members are rescued, when the Cadet is exploring, they will not shut up on what the Cadet should do next. I wish there was a way to switch that off, because their hints become worse and a lot more regular than Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I do like their banter when they talk on the SS Beagle at nighttime, because it’s like the conversations Alph, Brittany, and Charlie had in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, and sadly those three aren’t in this game. 
 
The two biggest factors of the game are… the two new Pikmin: Ice and Glow. Ice Pikmin can freeze water for as long as they are in the water, and can only do so when the number quota matches. If the Ice Pikmin are no longer in the water, the water will eventually thaw after about five seconds. Ice Pikmin can also carry and move about in the water too.  They can also freeze enemies, but the corpses cannot be carried if the enemy died while frozen. And, they cannot be frozen like other Pikmin. If other Pikmin become frozen, one sound of the whistle helps them.  
 
As for Glow Pikmin, that’s a whole other story. After a while of exploring and rescuing, the Cadet will eventually save the Rescue Corps. doctor that save the Leaflings from their fate. The doctor needs Glow Sap, which can only be found… at night. Four games later, and the players FINALLY have a chance to explore at night… Somewhat. The doctor needs Glow Sap from the weird towers known as Lumiknoll. Those towers can only make Glow Sap at dawn; but, creatures go berserk during nighttime, and become more aggressive and dangerous. Using Glow Pikmin to combat them, the nighttime explorations basically boil down to tower defense. Glow Pikmin are the only Pikmin the player can use at night, and they can only be used at nights and in caves. They just don’t like the sun. One might look at the number of Glow Pikmin and say “Wow, that’s pathetic!”. Like the other five Pikmin not Purple and White, Glow Pikmin have their own Pellets in those like star things. And, when an enemy is defeated, they’ll be likely to drop Glow Pellets too. When the Glow Pikmin insert a Glow Pellet into the Lumiknoll, the Glow Pikmin will teleport to the player no matter where they are. Also, when the night is done, the doctor will give the player Glow Seeds they can use for the next night expedition or even exploring caves. Glow Pikmin are special because they are immune to all of the elements; but, they can still be crushed, eaten, and damaged. Glow Pikmin can battle, but their attack is somewhat ridiculous. Because I didn’t go on night expeditions for some time, I forgot that when Glow Pikmin charge, they turn into a ball of Glow energy that can stun enemies for some time. This is great for huge enemies that can wreck Lumiknolls like no other business. The player can order Oatchi to protect the towers, but he’s not always dependable by himself when there’s hoards of enemies. The catch with night expeditions is that when a Lumiknoll is done making Glow Sap, the player cannot infinitely use the same one to grind Glow Sap. The player must use most of the bases in the daytime for their bases at nighttime. And, there’s about fifteen bases, with a few night expeditions having two Lumiknolls to defend. 
 
And that covers Pikmin 4. Oh, wait, I almost forgot about the Dandori stuff. 
 
Dandori is apparently the method of multitasking within a time limit within the Pikmin universe. Why I bring this up is because the Leaflings never shut up about it. Most of the Leaflings task the Cadet to a Dandori Challenge. Dandori Challenges consist of the Cadet gathering treasure and defeating creatures and destroying obstacles within a timed parameter. When the Cadet manages to get a bronze, the Leafling becomes so amazed of the treasure gathered, that they just faint. The Cadet then rescues the Leafling, and uses said Glow Sap to return them to normal. So, the nighttime expeditions are mandatory. Players can also achieve silver, gold, and platinum medals too, but the reward is basically more raw material. As for the treasures themselves the Cadet gets during these Challenges, they’re fake. Then, there’s the mysterious Leafling and its dog that challenges the Cadet… to a Dandori Battle. It’s similar to the Dandori Challenges, but the name of the game is to collect more treasure than the opponent within the time limit. There’s a few catches during these Dandori Battles, like some monsters and fruit having a bonus point multiplier, and both can get random items that can change the tide of the game, like mines. The Leafling with the dog will give the Cadet an unconscious Leafling for besting them and will run off. 
 
Okay, so now that I’m talking about that Leafling in particular, I’ll go into the final part of the story. When the Cadet beats the Leafling at the Dandori Battle in the Hero’s Hideaway, the fourth area of the game and where Olimar started, it turns out that it the Leafling was Olimar all along. (I mean, that dog is ALSO Moss; so, it was so obvious from the very beginning. Also, the Leafling’s pitch is straight on identical on how Olimar talked in the last game too.) Leafling Olimar faints, and Moss… just straight up leaves, no pun intended. Once the Glow Sap is administered to Leafling Olimar, he returns to normal. With all of the other Rescue Corps. members rescued and Olimar back to his old self, they team decides to leave the planet. (Even regardless of how many Leaflings are still in their state, because they too are castaways, and how many castaways are still stranded.)  
 
So, like the false ending of Pikmin 2, it’s not over yet. During the course of the game, Oatchi got a leaf tail, like the Pikmin. Because of the change of his genetic code, he is unable to leave the surface of the planet. Though the doctor tries to administer a dose of the Glow Sap to him, nothing happens. There’s thankfully good news, as a veterinarian also “unluckily” crash landed on the planet with their crew. But… it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, because THE WILD CARD IS BACK! For whatever reason, Louie is also on the planet! Louie not only stole the vet and their crew’s supply of juice, but he also absconded with them while they were unconscious, and EVEN TOOK MOSS AS HIS OWN! *slaps* BAD LOUIE! *slaps* So, now it’s time to rescue the vet and his team, time to stop Louie, and time to collect the other treasures that were curiously somewhat absent in the first part of the game and save the other Leaflings and castaways. After exploring two more worlds, and besting Louie in two more Dandori Battles, Louie gives up two of the three crew members. (One of them is found normally in a cave.) The second one Louie hands over is the vet themselves. The vet examines Louie and concludes that in order for Oatchi to return to normal, the Glow Sap also needs DNA of another dog that hasn’t doesn’t have a leaf tail. Although my mind thought of “Why doesn’t one of the Rescue Corps. temporarily leave the planet, go find another Rescue Dog to take its DNA, and return to mix it with the Glow Sap to save Oatchi”, the game perhaps was padded out a little more, because apparently Louie found a huge hound, that doesn’t have a leaf somehow on this planet, in the final world of the planet, in the final and most dangerous cave yet. The Cadet trails Louie, to where the huge hound is found. For whatever stupid reason, Louie doesn’t want to give up that easily, and commands the huge hound to attack the Cadet.  
 
To pause the story for a moment, the fight with the huge hound, also known as the Ancient Sirehound, plays like the fights with Titan Dweevil and the Plasm Wraith. At first, it attacks with boulders and rushes at the Cadet, but with each defeat comes a new phase with new elemental attacks to deal with. The only elements it uses are first ice/snow, electricity, fire, and finally mist. (It uses “mist” that outright can affect and kill Glow Pikmin, so maybe even every time of Pikmin, and it can fly too. I was lucky that there was enough space to avoid the “mist”.) The only true phase I had a problem with at first was electricity, because the Ancient Sirehoud shoots balls of electricity that cover most of the arena and can stun and kill most Pikmin. (The balls can be destroyed by Yellow Pikmin; but return if all are destroyed by the end of the Sirehound’s electric making howl.) The only way to stop the Ancient Hirehound is to put fifteen Pikmin on its lowered tail (or roughly two Purple Pikmin). It will flop, leaving its belly open for an attack. After about fifteen attacks to the belly (depending on the number of Pikmin left, and how much time the player went back to; and even the game is generous with that, because the Ancient Hirehound has a checkpoint for each phase defeated), the Ancient Hirehound is defeated, and Louie goes unconscious. 
 
The Ancient Hirehound leaves, but drops its huge collar. With the DNA of the hound now reserved, Oatchi finally returns to normal. Louie is tied up, and the veterinarian wants to have a long hard talk with him. (Olimar hopes that the conversation is civil, but we all want Louie to stand trial for his actions in the three games he’s been a part of.) The vet tries to also help Moss, because it too has a leaf tail, but there’s no effect. Olimar explains that Moss lived on the planet since it was a baby, so maybe longtime exposure on the planet made it unable to leave the surface. The Rescue Corps. with Olimar, Oatchi, and the rescued castaways (even those once Leafified) finally leave the surface of the planet PNF-404 behind. The Pikmin are bummed out, but Moss is there to help keep them company. Although the Pikmin are somewhat terrified of it, even the Ancient Hirehound vows to keep them safe from other creatures. 
 
And, that’s the true ending of Pikmin 4, and the end of this review. Pikmin 4 is a larger beast than most Pikmin games combined. It took me 78 in game days to beat this game, and I’m kind of glad there wasn’t and immediate urgency because of that. And, here comes my main dilemma of this game: After about nine years since the original Pikmin 3 came out, is Pikmin 4 better than Pikmin 3 Deluxe? To that, I say: I don’t know. Each have their own pros and cons. Pikmin 4 feels a little more restrictive and streamlined, but it’s the most optimized in the series. Oatchi doesn’t compare to the effectiveness of the three pilots of Pikmin 3 Deluxe, but he also has his own skills and I cared enough of his journey in this game. Ice Pikmin are a great addition to the series, but I’m not sure if the Night Expeditions and Glow Pikmin were executed right. The worlds are grander and larger, and there’s more of them and a lot more caves, and the caves aren’t as bad as in Pikmin 2; but I feel like the game probably dragged on too much by the end with the amount of collectibles and castaways needed to be saved. Dandori Battles and Challenges were a great addition, but I don’t think the true rewards (raw materials) are worth it. They are needed to 100% beat the game, but going only for the bronze is fine enough. It’s similar to the Crash Bandicoot dilemma. Sure, there are cutscenes that make 100% those games worth it, but… there’s also the internet. No amount of frustration and time wasted equates to just looking up videos online nowadays. Dandori Battles might also replace Bingo Parties for multiplayer purposes as well. As a solo player of the series, I’ll just shrug. Pikmin 2 is my least favorite of the series, and Pikmin 4 seems to have been a better version of Pikmin 2. Fans might hate what I might say, but… Pikmin 4 might be better. By a slim margin. I love most of the Pikmin games, sans 2. Each game seems to get consistently better throughout its over twenty-year history, and with each time players wait, the wait will be worth it. I do have my qualms with Pikmin 4, but they are just my own complaints and nitpicks I hope a Pikmin 5 in 2031 will rectify in the future.

 

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- Alan Wake Remastered (PS5)

I played Alan Wake ages ago by racing through it all in one day with a friend, so I honestly do not remember much about it. Playing it now was practically playing it completely fresh. I liked the story—or at least the atmosphere—but I could've done with a lot less of the repetitive combat.
 
- Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp: Campaign 1 (Switch)
Great to revisit Advance Wars like this. Although the first game is certainly the most simple, it's still a ton of fun, and in some ways having the limits of just a handful of COs and basic CO powers makes for a more accessible experience.
 
- Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp: Campaign 2 (Switch)
Super CO powers are fun but mostly it's just nice to have more elaborate maps and fewer pre-deployed maps.
 
- Teslagrad 2 (Switch)
Good but not quite as good as I remember the original game being.
 
- Pikmin 4 (Switch)
Surprised by how easy the early parts of the game are but by the end there are a couple of good challenges.
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8/9- Final Fantasy: Heavensward for PC- 

 

Spoiler

*looks at the time since I beat base A Realm Reborn* Over three years?! Three years since I beat the base game?! Listen, since I beat it back then in 2020, it’s been a ride. A thing that shall not be named shook the world since its arrival. Plus, other games and so on came into my life. I didn’t forget Heavensward. I merely went on to do other stuff. So, for the sake of getting on with my life, and because I have a job that isn’t as laid back as before, I finally purchased some things that helped me get to the level before the current expansion (Endwalker). I was tired of the grinding, and with the money I thankfully had, I could get a move on. Like last time, the bosses and references to past games are nice. 
 
Heavensward begins where the base game ends, with the defeat of the Ultima Weapons, and the defeat of a possessed Scion. The Warrior of Light defeats a mystic dragon named Mid… *hold on…* Midgardsomr. It becomes their chibi pet for some time. One of the major characters bring up a new military might named The Crystal Braves, but their loyalty is somewhat suspect. The Sultana tries to settle things down during a banquet to make things easier for the rulers. Still, when she has a brief conversation with the Warrior, she drinks from a cup and… dies. Turns out the cup was poisoned. The Warrior and the Scions are falsely branded as traitors, and the Warrior a regicide. The Crystal Braves turn on their founder too, and the Scions are forced to flee. Chaos breaks loose, and only a few make it out safely out, with Cid and his goons Biggs and Wedge helping the trio via airship. The few have nowhere to go but Ishgard, a kingdom of the snow and ice. They are welcome by the rulers of the land, but they too have their own problems to deal with. The Ishgardians have battled the dragons of Dravonian for countless generations, known as the Dragonsong War. Will the Warrior be cleared of their false charges? What’s the true story behind the war? What do the Ascians and the Empire play in this expansion? All of these questions will be answered! So, I love this expansion a little bit more than the base game because of the political backstab the Warrior has to go through, and because this game features cool looking dragons.  
 
Like the base game, this game looks well and has a great soundtrack. I love the new wintry world of Ishgard, as it is different from the desert, plains, and coastal worlds of the base game. Finally, there’s snow! The main theme, Dragonsong, is one of the best songs in the series. 
  
Okay, with Heavensward out, there were three new jobs, a few more primals to battle, and chance to fly on mounts. (With the last one being kind of a chore.)   
 
Since my time beating A Realm Reborn, I beat Final Fantasy II (the original thanks to the Pixel Remaster), IX, X, XII, and Tactics. I’m more experienced with the series. Again, my problem is how grindy the game can become at times. Using five classes kinds of making the journey somewhat tedious. But, since 2020, a lot of tweaks to the game have improved the game a lot. There’s been another expansion that ties up most of what A Realm Reborn started nearly a decade ago as of me writing this. I admire A Realm Reborn for continuing on since that thing plagued the world for some time. A new expansion will come next summer, so here’s to me getting my units up to level 90 by then. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY…  

 

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