Honestly, I feel like these questions are getting tougher and tougher.
Really, which gameplay I prefer depends on my mood at the time. Visual novels or point-and-clicks are good if you just want to escape but are feeling a bit lazy or sluggish; there’s no worry about failing a QTE section, or missing an attack and dying.
That being said, one game I really did enjoy recently was Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom. As a huge fan of the anime, the game did a really good job of giving me just what I wanted; to be able to fly around on the 3DM gear and slay titans. It really puts you in the place of the playable characters, and sucks you in to be part of the ongoing battles. It’s also hugely unlike any game I’ve ever played and was a really exciting mechanic to try out.
If you had the misfortune of following me on Twitter in January, you would have seen me have meltdown over meltdown about the ending of Final Fantasy XV.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been so affected by a game in recent years, and I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever cried so much. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific scene which I would call “the saddest”, as I spent pretty much the last third of the game having just finished crying, actually crying, or just about to cry.
Pretty much everything after the game ends just destroyed me, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get the image of the four empty camping chairs around the campfire out of my head. I can no longer listen to any version of Stand By Me without welling up (or actually crying, in the case of during the Power Rangers movie).
I’m not really one for soundtracks to games. I tend to get really absorbed and sort of block all sounds apart from dialogue out. I’ve never finished a game, then found an urge to listen to the songs from it, but I’ve never given myself the chance to do that either. Maybe that’s something I should do more in the future.
Having said that, I do own two game soundtracks on physical CD (Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and Persona 5) and another on vinyl (Persona 4 Arena). I’m not sure this is necessarily because I like the soundtracks to the games, or more because of an obsession with the Persona series, but either way, the songs are really catchy (especially in Persona 4: Dancing All Night) and good to have on whilst travelling.
Long time no write. I’ve neglected this challenge thing (theme of my blog), so on bank holiday Monday, what better time to get back at it?
I’ll be honest, part of the reason I’ve not updated 30 Days Of is because I really struggled with this question. Most of the games I play don’t have ‘couples’, and if there’s a romance option, it’s up to you who you date rather than having a preassigned partner *coughPersonacough*.
After a lot of thought, I’ve opted for Snow and Bigby from The Wolf Among Us. I know in the game they’re not strictly a couple, but I think they’ve got a really great dynamic and they’re part of the reason I started reading Fables (which everyone else should totally do, especially if you enjoyed TWAU). Also, Bigby is a babe, and Snow isn’t taking any shit from anyone. They’re both great individually as well as together, and that’s what being a great couple is about!
I’m sure you’re all dying to know how things are going for the 2017 challenges, so let’s crack on with my shame.
Make 10 new cosplays (including one entirely from scratch) It feels like con season has well and truly started now! Only March and I’ve already got two conventions under my belt, MCM Telford and MCM Birmingham. I wore new cosplays to each of these conventions, both from Yuri On Ice!!. A photo of my Phichit is below, but I haven’t got any photos back of my drunk Yuri yet – when I do, I will share!
Phichit from Yuri On Ice!!
This weekend, I started the work on my ‘from scratch’ cosplay; Kubo from Kubo and the Two Strings. I’ve got the kimono base done, so now I just need to weather it, and add the detail on. I also started making the guitar, but I feel like that’s going to be a much slower process!
Watch 30 anime series I’m totally powering through this one now, with four series under my belt! I’ve watched Voltron: Legendary Defender (s01), Love Live! (so1), and Vampire Knight (s01 and s02). I’m still planning on doing reviews of each series, so stay tuned for those! As I’m apparently obsessed with social media, I’ve also made a MyAnimeList profile, so feel free to add me on there.
Watch 30 new ‘old’ films The less said about this the better… I’ve still only watched one, and that was E.T. Moving swiftly on….
Watch 60 films at the cinema As always, you can track the progress on this challenge by following me on Twitter (more social media plugging) or checking out the hashtag #cs2017challenge. I’m well on schedule, with 16 films under my belt. I won’t list them, so check out that hashtag!
Clear the gaming backlog Look, I don’t think I even made the list for this did I? Probably not. And by ‘clear’ do we mean ‘continue to add more games until it’s totally out of hand’? Because if so, I’m way ahead of you…. Persona 5 comes out in two days, so there’s absolutely no chance this is getting done this year. Hooray!
Some eleven years after its original Japanese release, Ys Origin has been brought to PlayStation 4 by publisher DotEmu (via a PC localisation by XSEED back in 2006). Set 700 years before the events of the main Ys series, Origin steers away from the series’ familiar protagonist Adol Christin in order to focus on the background of the series’ story by exploring the world through the eyes of new characters.
No character has annoyed me so much in recent years than Duck from season 1 of TellTale’s The Walking Dead. I’m not sure if he’s made to be purposefully irritating, but I spent the entire time he was alive blaming him for everything bad that happened to Lee and Clem, and wishing for him to be gone.
You bet I left him hanging, and I didn’t hesitate to offer to shoot him when the time came.
So, I really struggled with this one. I don’t have a very good grasp on how things are received by a wider audience, purely because I have such a variety of people in my life (in real life, and on Twitter etc. too), that at any given time there’s a whole combination of people talking about games, so between them they seem to cover most genres.
Rather than picking out a game, I’ve gone for a whole genre. Visual novels. I love visual novels, but I often get the impression when talking to others that they’re viewed as slightly inferior.
Sure, they’re not the most action-heavy, but a great game isn’t reliant on action alone. Some of the best stories I’ve played have been through visual novels, and they work particular well as a mystery story which I’m very fond of.
If you’ve never played a visual novel, please change this as soon as possible! Not only is it a great experience, you can unlock a whole genre of games to enjoy. Also, if you’re hella weeby like me, then you sure are in for a treat….
I have spent far too long thinking of the answer to this question, and I don’t think there’s a singular answer that I can give.
The immediate answer that jumped into my head was Prompto, from Final Fantasy XV, but that’s probably because I’ve been in FFXV hell ever since I started the game back in December and there’s been little else that’s run through my head since. Prompto is the best of the chocobros, the one who makes me laugh the most, the one who I feel I relate to the most and the DLC I’m most looking forward to.
Thinking further back, I would also cite Chiaki Nanami from Danganronpa 2 as one of my favourite characters. On a personal level, I relate to her a lot; any character that’s socially inept and obsessed with video games resonates a lot with me (see also: Kozume Kenma from Haikyuu!!). She’s a key part of Danganronpa 2, and the game would be much poorer without her in it. I’ve even cosplayed her in the past!
Going back a bit further in time, I’d probably give Crash Bandicoot the title of my favourite character, purely for nostalgic reasons. There’s nothing relatable about him, but I have the greatest memories of playing as him in games, so he has to get some recognition somehow!
Way back in 1993 (ish), ma and pa saw fit to buy me my first games console; a Sega Master System II. With it, I inherited a whole bunch of games from the brother-in-law of my aunt, but these were mostly beyond my skill level and didn’t have a whole lot in there to keep a four year old captivated.
It was the built-in Sonic The Hedgehog which I spent most of my time playing, and I also have the fondest memories of. When I first got the console, I would use my arms to try and control the game. Going right meant that I would pull my arms as far to the right as possible, often pulling the controller out of the console. If I had to jump, I would fling my arms in the air, also pulling the controller out of the console. Thankfully, I grew out of that habit!
Here’s a picture of me enjoying a spot of Sonic, complete with mid-90’s decor and adorable pyjamas.
Culture Shack 