Currently Playing: Impressions

It's time for another Currently playing update~

1.Pokemon SoulSilver

I'm almost at the end of the game. All I need to do is beat Red. Unfortunately Red's Pokemon are all in the 80s range, while my party is currently at level 60. So right now I'm trying to gain more levels before I stand a chance again Red. After I beat Red, I'll be going after all the legendaries. :3

I'm so happy that S/G/C finally got remade. Johto is my favourite region (love the pokemon and the geography). Commemorative photos are cute~ But that photographer, Cameron, he's EVERYWHERE! :O (Kind of creepy if you think about it. lol.)

Also, the Pokewalker is a neat little addition, as are the pokemon following you. I wish those would make a come back in the next Pokemon games, but from screens, it looks like Pokemon Black/White are dropping these features. :( Well at least I can have my cute little Misdreavus following me in this game. :3

Which reminds me, it's crazy difficult to get a dusk stone in SoulSilver. :/ I think I'm going to have to trade one over from Diamond at this rate...

2. Narcissu

Just finished this not too long ago. I still open the game and use the music mode to listen to all the beautiful tracks. It's a really great visual novel. Of course, I know most people find VNs too slow, but I adore them. :3

SPOILERS!!!!

The ending was sad, but given the way the story was set up, it could not haven been any other way. I think the ending was beautiful. I'm glad they ended it that way. If Setsumi was somehow miraculous saved, it would have cheapened the story. I'm still wondering what happened to the main character after Setsumi died. It's implied he didn't follow her into the sea because he developed those photos, but I'm assuming he died at a later date? I wonder what his choice was...

Spoilers End!!!!

3. Shining Force II

Still making progress through this. It's such a big game, but I'm loving it. Camelot needs to develop another SRPG now! My only complaint is all the females are either mages or archers, where is my obligatory female paladin?! :( I miss Mae from the first game...


Like all old school SRPGs, the story is almost none-existent, but with how fun the battles are, it does not really matter. Plus the major NPCs are really fun~ :3

4. Knights in the Nightmare

I'm so close to the end, I just know it! I just finished with a the preparations (merging weapons, increasing weapon levels, and dividing the EXP between units), so now I just have to actually start scene 47. It's going to be a pain in the ass since the Boss has lots of HP. Dx

SPOILERS!!!

So I was wrong, Melissa did make a comeback. I was thinking I finally beat the game when I beat Zolgonark, but then in came Melissa, absorbing his power and became this new level of evil. God, I am really not looking forward to Scene 47. I really hope this is the final end game boss, because if there is another one with more HP...I'm going to need 3 hours! Story is starting to piece together, but Asgard still hasn't made their move, at least there is nothing indicating they have. :/ Guess I'll have to wait and see what the ending is....

SPOILERS END!!

Mini Updates:

-Still at the Sea of Time in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. I will hopefully resume playing this soon. I've got to finish this before the holiday season when Dark Dawn is finally available. :D

-Finished the Savannah area for LittleBigPlanet.

~Joanna

Now Playing: Impressions

Here's a list and brief look into what I'm currently playing:

1. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
I love love love this game! I love how the battle system is a prefect mix of SRPG and RPG. It combines the best of both worlds. I also adore the demon fusing. It's very addicting trying to see what new demons you may end up getting through fusion. Fusion taps right into my gotta catch em all pokemon obsession, although I'm not too focused about getting all the demons, more about seeing them all. XD

Story is pretty interesting. Although, the gameplay and character interactions are what really keeps me playing. I must say, Midori is my favourite character at the moment. She's cute, funny, and strong. I love how she thinks she's a magical girl saving the earth~

Also love the role playing that is peppered throughout the game. Some of the responses are pretty funny (like telling other characters that so-and-so is your girlfriend). The game is also pretty challenging. I had to really try during the third day's fight with Beldr. Overall I am really enjoying my time with Devil Survivor, and I'm wondering which ending I'll end up getting. =D


2. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

I picked this up because I love pokemon and Amazon had a killer price on it (24.99 CAN as opposed to the regular 39.99 CAN). I also wanted to try an easy rogue-like. First off, this game is adorable~ It's so charmingly cute that I can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside playing this game. Second, for a pokemon game, it's got a pretty interesting story. I was thinking that because it's a spin-off, the game would not have a great story, but surprisingly the story is pretty good.

Also this game is perfect for collecting fanatics like me. You have the opportunity to recruit all 492 pokemon (correct me if I am wrong). There is something insanely addicting in trying to collect all the monsters. The game can get a little challenging, like when you run into monster houses, but usually a bit of leveling or the right items will be enough to work your way through. I like that the game isn't too easy (of course for a rogue-like it is easy). In the end, I am very satisfied with it and I look forward to the rest of the game.

-interesting tidbit: I got cast as a Totodile. I never much liked the pokemon, but now I'm warming up to it and I plan on making my starter for SoulSilver a totodile now. XD Picked Charmander as my partner because I love the Char-family.


3. Wario Land III
I never got around to finishing this, so now I am trying to do that. While I got really close to the end, my game file was wiped clean and I had to start over. Strangely enough the game still saves and I've almost made it back to where I was before the save file got erased. I'm really enjoying myself, I love the blend of platforming and puzzle solving. I wish I could get the other Wario games that I missed out on. Plus Wario is just too lovable~ hehe.

4.Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Doing a complete run of The Lost Age for my backloggery buddy Phoenix's marathon and also because Golden Sun DS is being released this year!!!!!!! I'm currently at Gaia Rock and almost done with it. All I need to do is go to Mikage dragon and fight it. The game is just as fun as I remember it to be & the music is awesome, but I'm amazed at how much I forgot with regards to the puzzles. ^^;;; But that is ok, it makes the game more challenging.

5. Shining Force
I made it to the second last battle, but I'm really taking my time with it. Part of the reason is that I am attempting to level all my units to 20, but the other reason is that I've been busy playing the games listed above. ^^;;; Anyway I hope to finish it soon (yeah right) ^^;;;

Mini Updates:
-I'm on scene 44 of Knights in the Nightmare.
-I'm on the last level of Super Mario Advance, but I can't seem to beat Wart. :/ (currently on hold)
-I finished all the Challenges for Professor Layton and the Curious Village. I am now currently working on the Wi-Fi puzzle. Week 12 Puzzle has me stumped. (currently on hold)

~Joanna.

Gaming Update: Summer Gaming Coming to a Close

So summer vacation is now finished, but I still haven't made much of a dent on my backlog. If anything the monster grew. ^^;;; Anyways, here is what I'm currently playing:

1.Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (NDS)
I was playing this before, but I put it down for months because I got distracted and I basically forgot what I was doing, so I decided to restart from the very beginning, case one. I have finally made it back to case three, which is where I was when I put the game down. Hopefully, I can finish this game now without any interruptions. Well at least I'm pretty determined to do so >:)

No new impressions, since I've barely started case three, and I've already played the other two before. But I just want to say that it's pretty amazing how much I still recall and how much I've forgotten. Also, what is up with Ace Attorney/ Gyakuten Saiben always having those innocent frail girls turn out to be conniving little b*tchs? hmmm? Well at least case three doesn't seem to have any fake innocent girls, not that I hate these types of villains, because I don't; I think the type is used well in the ace attorney games. It's just that after a few of them, I want a different type of villain to mix things up a bit. =)


2.Knights in the Nightmare (NDS)
I was really excited about playing this game when I heard Atlus was going to publish it in North America, but I was sad to learn that it would be released when I would be out of the country. Thankfully I managed to procure a copy even after it had been released for over a month; the only down side is that I didn't get the beautiful pre-order bonus art book. *sniff* =(

I'm really enjoying this game and it has exceeded my standards. I'm about half way through (I think), but I'm making really slow progress. ^^;;; I'm pretty busy even without school so I play it here and there, and I am currently on Scene 32. Plus, because the battles are so intense, I tend to grip the stylus too hard and it digs into my hand, so I can't play this one for long periods of time. ^^;;; (Yeah I'm pathetic)

Still I'm really happy with this game and I am enjoying it a lot. The combat is so unique, I don't think anyone has ever mixed a shooter with a SRPG, and even though it sounds impossible, it really works well. Sometimes the bullets (especially during boss battles) can be overwhelming, but the resume (or was it replay) button makes things a little easier. The story is pretty good as well, but a little disjointed because it's told in fragments. Art and music are very very beautiful. I think the only aspect of the game that is not done as well is the characters. This is mainly because only the story related characters actually get flushed out, even with the pause talks, the regular characters still don't feel as important or developed as Maria, Capehorn, or Yelma (the latter two are villains). Not that I mind because as long as gameplay is solid, I'm happy; story, art, music, and characters are nice bonuses (which I appreciate a lot as well). I can tell that Knights has had a lot of effort put into the game, since not only is the gameplay solid, but so is the art, story, music, and the characters. Everything is well done, and this game is another gem from Atlus. It's also my first Sting game, so I'll be looking out for more games from this developer from now on.

I just want to point out once more that he art is amazing. I currently have an image of maria as my wallpaper and I've saved a few more images to use in the future. The artist is really talented and I really regret missing out on the bonus art book. The music is also very pretty and each piece fits the mood; there is also a lot of variety, for which I am also thankful. The music on the title menu is very pretty and I could listen to it for hours on end. =3

SPOILER ALERT: The following deals with characters and the story and my thoughts on it so far!!!!

-I like the relationship between Maria and Melissa, I hope we get to see these two interact more (but I doubt we will because the last battle with Melissa made it seem that she was destroyed for good).
-I cannot believe Wilmgard has a lover, it really doesn't fit his character. =/ And it also felt out of place in a story about loss.
-I don't understand why all the characters refer to Nordich as the selfish prince. In the flashback, the prince was worried about his father and kingdom. It seemed like he didn't know what Capehorn was up to, although I will admit he did seem awfully fixated on his own kingship and authority. Still even so I don't think he is selfish, but I guess the other characters wouldn't know this since Capehorn was acting as the mouth piece of the prince.
-The underworld has made its move, yet Asgard, the realm of gods has not, I wonder why. Maybe it has something to do with Melissa?ok that's all for the spoilers and knights in the nightmare. It seems like this is going to be yet another long post. ^^;;

3. Children of Mana (NDS)
I picked it up again after a year, thankfully because there is practically no story, I was able to jump right back in. As a mana game, it disappoints, but it's good for some random pick up and play. I usually play it when I feel like picking something up for a bit; it's mindless hack 'n' slash, so it's good for killing a few minutes. I think I'm pretty close to the end, but with this kind of game, one can never really know.

Also I cannot help but feel that the art direction and music was wasted on this game. The art is so lovely and the music is nice, but the gameplay is generic. This art and music would have benefited from being used in a typical mana game (like sword or secret of mana). In such a generic and mindless hack 'n' slash game, the art and music, although nice, cannot save the game's shortcomings and they would have benefited a better game more. Regardless, I'm still mildly enjoying Children of Mana because it's easy to pick up and play and a good mindless time waster. This one will be coming with me to school a lot, so I'll probably finish it before 2010 rolls around. =)


4. Shinning Force (GEN)
I'm on the last chapter, but I've been playing it sparsely (as usual for me). I still have a bit of level grinding to do. But I finally managed to promote Adam and I got him at level 10 unpromoted two battles ago, which is insane this late in the game. Thankfully Tao learned boast not too long ago so I was able to use boast and get him to level 20 that way. I had to use boast because his attack stat was pathetic since he was unpromoted and without boast he was doing 1 point of damage. This is why I do not understand the logic behind giving the player such a low leveled unit this late in the game, unless it's to piss off, I mean challenge us completionists. I'm currently attempting to get all my characters to level 10 promoted because I want to max them all out and complete this game in one go. Getting them to level 10 now will make it more manageable to max them later (level 20 is the max). All my units are around levels 6-8 right now, so I still have a bit of grinding to do.


6. Super Mario Advance (GBA)
I'm suck on 5-3 T__________________________T
Near the end of the level you have to steal a flying carpet from an enemy and ride it to the other side, but the carpet disappears after some time and I keep dying because the carpet disappears before I make it to the other side. The one time I did make it to the boss, I died before I could finish him because I have one life left. sob sob. This game is somewhat on hold because I'm a little too frustrated to play it. Speaking of frustration....


7.Professor Layton and the Curious Village (NDS)
I am stuck on puzzle 135, the last of the professor's challenges. It's so frustrating because I finally discovered how to solve 134 (which was also giving me grief). That stupid red block, I can't get it out. sob sob. I keep repeating the same moves over and over again. I know I'm missing something, but I can't seem to figure it out. T___________T
This one is currently on hold because it gave me too much grief. :/