Currently Playing

[nocturnal YL]

I'm at the end of Atelier Lulua now. I want to aim for the true ending, and there's still quite a lot of exploration and other stuff to do, so it should still take me a while.

At this point, I'm even more impressed with this than previously with Atelier Lydie & Suelle.

It makes me wish Atelier Lulua contents are in Nelke too, but given that Nelke features post-ending alchemists, there's no good way to incorporate Lulua without spoilers.

Previously, I pointed out that the Nintendo Switch version of Atelier Lydie & Suelle is something of a rarity. With Nelke and Lulua, PS4 remains the vast majority, but it's also easier to find blog posts, wikis and guides that feature the Switch version. I guess the lack of a PS Vita version in Lulua's case helps.

And just how could GUST make these games at a rate of about one new title per year? Counting spinoffs, online and mobile games, it's even more frequent than that! And GUST have other non-Atelier games too. That's crazy.

(Here's a really nice fan-made illustration)

[nocturnal YL]

I've collected all endings in Atelier Lulua. My final verdict is the same as what I said before. Better in overall terms, but not strictly better, than Atelier Lydie & Suelle. The game system is mostly excellent (with some improvable parts), and the overall look and feel (graphics, sound, UI) is the best I've seen across the few Atelier games I've played. It turned out that it's not actually less buggier, though. Crashes happened rather frequently towards the end of my playthrough, though it's nowhere near Atelier Firis-bad.

I still prefer the Mysterious series in terms of story, though. This is to be expected, as each sub-series has different story tones and aspects of gameplay, and they differ greatly in terms of fan reception. This game also screams sequel hooks, unlike the last one which properly ends the story.

I'd like to talk more about this game, but gathering my thoughts together (and screenshots; I took many of those) will take some time. I'm going to spoil this game before it even comes out in the west.

Here's a comprehensive guide (Japanese) that introduces the series and gives tips and trivia on this game. I didn't rely on guides in general for Atelier Lulua, but I used this to get an estimate on how far am I in completing the character events.

[nocturnal YL]

Um… hello, other people? No updates at all?

While I'm waiting for other games to come out, I started playing Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- X HD.

I guess SEGA isn't going to update this series besides the occasional Arcade FT EXTRA EXTREME charts? (They also added two modules for AC FT and PS4 FT/DX in early 2019, while not updating PS4's EXTRA EXTREME charts to match Arcade. Seriously.) At this point, I can't even tell if they're busy preparing the next game orhave already moved on to other things. Would be a shame if there's no further games, especially since SEGA is still active with other Miku-related activities.

I've heard quite a lot of bad things about Project DIVA X, and I actually think most complaints are spot-on. Problems include:

• Song selections are way too Miku-centric (Rin, Len, Luka, MEIKO and KAITO are lead singers of one song each, and KAITO deserves special mention for having only one song, with no guest singer roles)
• DIVA X has 30 songs (+2 DLC), which is less than that of Project DIVA F (38 songs), F 2nd (40 songs plus Edit mode), and even mirai 2 (47 songs) and DX (mirai 2's songs plus 1 extra)
• Having a story tied in, which some feel unnecessary and slows down the game's pace
• Project DIVA Future Tone was released around the same time, and FT has almost the entire library of DIVA history (except songs from X, and some mirai and license-locked songs didn't return)

There are things I do like. Some of the song selection (Brain Revolution Girl, Ai Dee, First Sound, Love Song, Amazing Dolce) are great, and the "boss" songs are medleys made specifically for this game. It's also good to have the characters actually address the player to a greater extent than the previous games.

With this done, there's not much left for me to do with this series. Because of Future Tone's all-encompassing nature, one only needs three games to have a taste of most of Project DIVA: FT, X and mirai DX. And I've finished all of these.

(For a list of Project DIVA games, head to TV Tropes)

What's next, then? Maybe I should get back to my Wii U and play Game & Wario (I bought a used copy a while ago) and download some of the better Super Mario Maker 1 stage before the second game comes out. I can't get my lazy bum to move the plugs and start the Wii U right now, though.

[Nester the Lark]

To be honest, I've barely done much gaming in the past month, so I don't have much to update on.

I started a game of Twilight Princess HD on Hero Mode and played through the first dungeon just to see what it would be like to go back to one of the older Zelda games after spending two years on Breath of the Wild. I still miss those old big dungeons. (TP does have some of my favorite dungeons in the series.) Combat is more fun, too. The overworld is a lot less interesting, though.

Since Cadence of Hyrule is due out soon, I decided to try the original Crypt of the NecroDancer. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's a roguelike combined with a rhythm game, so the turn-based gameplay is tied to the beat of the music. It's really hard, but very addictive.

It's also got a bunch of extra characters and character skins, so I wonder if there will also be other playable characters in Cadence of Hyrule besides Link, Zelda, and Cadence.

[Evie ❤✿]

I've been playing some Switch games recently. Some of them were past titles but only (relatively) recently became exclusive to Switch.

1. MUSYNX, which is like Hatsune Miku games. It can get quite difficult though at higher speeds depending on the song.
2. Another interesting game is Anarcute; which can be described as being like Pikmin.
3. Have been playing a few platformers inspired by Mario but they felt disappointing (Monkey Business, Croc's World 2) which sometimes feels can be a gamble when you don't know what to expect (however, it can be best to research too).

I'm still playing Final Fantasy VII and Katamari Damacy as I've never completed them before. I didn't enjoy Giga Wrecker Alt as much as I thought, but it seems a very interesting title. ✿

[Nester the Lark]

Been playing Cadence of Hyrule. It's much more like a Zelda game than I expected, but with the randomly-generated maps and rhythm aspects of Crypt of the NecroDancer. I think it's much easier than NecroDancer, but that may be because I played a lot of NecroDancer before Cadence of Hyrule came out.

I also enjoyed seeing the reactions of people who worked on the game who were so excited to have worked on an official Nintendo Zelda game.

[Evie ❤✿]

Sutte Hakkun and Sennen Kazoku. The latter's save battery has died on my cartridge version; which makes gameplay impossible due to an error message. But I decided to download Sennen Kazoku on Japan Wii U Virtual Console as I don't know how to repair Game Boy Advance batteries.

[nocturnal YL]

Good luck with Sutte Hakkun. I don't know if you want to do this, but if you're really stuck, you can find solutions on YouTube and avoid suffering the permanent ×25% penalty for the stages where you viewed hints in-game.

I'm interested to see if you think Sennen Kazoku is good. Not a fan of this kind of game where the player oversees a bunch of inhabitants, but I'm curious what do you think about it.

As for me… nothing! I didn't go back to Wii U like I said I would, and I'm still pretty much playing just the Project DIVA games. Got a few perfects in both Project DIVA X and Future Tone.

I also finished the Guest Star mode in Kirby Star Allies with every single friend helper/Dream Friend.

[Evie ❤✿]

Thanks! ^^
Yes I notice the game becomes much harder as the stages progress. I'm currently on Stage 8, I used video guides instead of hints. Happy now I did this re: the penalties.

I've completed Sennen Kazoku before ~5-8 years ago (?) I think there is a post from me on the forums about a Nintendo HQ cameo. It's good if you like those games where - put lots of work, break of 3 hours or more, return (very loosely like Animal Crossing and Tomodachi Life). However unlike those it seems a little less input intensive; however if you're strategic you may need to focus that nothing goes wrong.

Have come to like those games better personally as I've grown older. However, a criticism I have is that even though you can have your families live for 1000 years if you skip a day that could be e.g. 30 years into the future - this seems not much but because the game is individual centered that person could have serious misfortune hence get sick (butterfly/chaos effect)?

It can be a gamble if you get the 1000 years, and you also need to watch out for demons. Also marriage seems kind of truly is the way to cheat death in this game because you can have extended families who then raise new children and so on; no one can live too long. However I don't know the mechanics too well maybe the manual could help here.

I think originally I got the 1000 years; and something (Nicovideo may know) like this unlocks a sound test and staff credits though a copy of the staff credits (not sure how complete) is in the manual; like Monster Tactics, Magkid etc. Otherwise you don't unlock it(?) It's really hazy now though as I haven't played it for so long. I'm trying to unlock the sound test as an incentive.

Congrats re: Diva and Kirby. I relate with that. I'd like to get back to Star Allies for the DLC (but I feel like sometimes 'I have too many games, must finish backlist, feel bad for not choosing a certain one while completing another do I resist the urge to switch?' thoughts if you relate) ha ha. ¥_¥ :/

[Nester the Lark]

My gaming has been a bit scattered lately.

I started a third playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, not really with the intention of finishing it, but rather just to have a fresh world to play around in. (Although, I've already beaten Vah Medoh. I have no intention of doing all 120 shrines again, tho.)

I've been grinding R-Type Dimensions since I've never actually legitimately beaten the original R-Type. (The Game Boy versions don't count.) I still can't do a recovery from the Stage 7 checkpoint, but at least Dimensions lets you restart a stage from the beginning.

Also, it's October, so I've been playing Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water again. It's too bad Nintendo and Koei Tecmo don't seem interested in bringing this series to Switch, but at least Yuri Kozukata made it into Smash Ultimate as an assist trophy.

[Nester the Lark]

Also, forgot to mention I was playing some of the Wonder Boy/Monster World games again. I picked up Sega Ages: Wonder Boy in Monster Land a few weeks ago. Then I replayed The Dragon's Trap. Now, I'm in the middle of Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. I still don't have Wonder Boy Returns Remix, but hoping I can pick it up on sale.

Oct 18, 2019 10:23:56 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

Also, it's October, so I've been playing Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water again. It's too bad Nintendo and Koei Tecmo don't seem interested in bringing this series to Switch, but at least Yuri Kozukata made it into Smash Ultimate as an assist trophy.

And no sooner did I say this than the producer of Fatal Frame expressed interest in making a new one for Switch (although, he's currently busy with another game):

"Yeah, I do want to make a Fatal Frame on Switch. I think it’d be a ton of fun to play with the console in handheld mode and moving all around."

(Source)

[Nester the Lark]

Managed to beat the original R-Type!

(Wasn't expecting it to get so many Likes and Retweets on Twitter.)

It was not a 1CC, but it was a start-to-finish run, which was my goal. It was actually not my first time beating the final boss, either. I managed to do it two other times: once in infinite mode, which lets you use slow motion, and then again in classic mode, but starting from stage 8 for practice.

I might do R-Type II next, but it's actually even harder than the first game.

[nocturnal YL]

I got Luigi's Mansion 3. Despite not talking much about it, it's actually my second most anticipated game as of October 2019, after Project DIVA Mega Mix.

It looks like it's going to be pretty fun to me, with the only complaints being it not using the split mission format of LM2 (which has its own demerits), and not being able to save the game after the final boss (what's this, the 1990s?), and by extension, no transferable parts for subsequent playthroughs.

Entire playthroughs can be found online and it's a pretty short game, but I still think it's worth getting.

[nocturnal YL]

Just started Atelier Ryza. I'm two months late!

To be honest, unlike the last few games, I didn't particularly look forward to this game. I got it because it's Atelier, but I'm not a fan of the character design at first sight. It's also said to be changing some of the series' formula to the point that Gust admitted may not be to the liking of old fans, and now that the game is out, it proved to be really popular. All signs point to the start of a new generation like what Fire Emblem Awakening did to its series (or Atelier Rorona, for an in-series example), which may make me, an old(-ish) fan, complain a lot. I'm worried enough that I bought only the standard version of the game without the extra goodies.

Maybe it'll grow on me once I start playing. If anything, it's graphically impressive.

(EDIT — Now that I played a little bit of it, it really feels very different. The story premise, the real-time RPG (why) combat system, the large maps all feel very different. I haven't reached the point where I can make items, but pre-release info showed that to be very different too.)

The reason I started so late is that my queue of games is getting long, and I kept going back to the last few games I played to tie up loose ends. Specifically:

• I still have to continue my Luigi's Mansion 3 online ScareScraper play if I want to collect all achievements. I don't know if I'll ever get the one for defeating 6 ghosts simultaneously, though.
• I tried to continue my run on Rune Factory 4 Special, but I couldn't even get past the first floor of the final tower. There's this room with enemies walled out that I can only hit with magic or a ranged weapon, and my ranged damage output is way too low. I could focus on raising my blacksmith level, but the daily farming is also getting annoying at this point. (And in case you're wondering, I'm playing at Easy. Still way too difficult for me.)
• With the next game coming soon, I want to finally try perfecting the remaining 20-ish songs in Project DIVA Future Tone, even if I have to forego the barely unreachable EXTREME and go for the less satisfying HARD in some cases. Project DIVA is a physically demanding series (not much compared to some other music games, but still), so I can only play a little bit each time, making it a long endeavour.
• I also tried to get some more EXTREME perfects in Project DIVA X, but no luck on that front. At least I finally got Miku's Anode Electronica module (for Ai Dee) and don't have to use an unfitting costume anymore.
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses. No, I didn't start anything; that'll have to wait until more updates come. I just replayed the last battles in Edelgard's route to get Edelgard and Hubert's S support with Byleth.

I have way too much to catch up, and way too little time to really play them for specific reasons. I could bring my Switch to work, but I want to watch RPG cutscenes at home with a monitor, and I can't play online when out of home.

[Nester the Lark]

Dec 4, 2019 11:54:28 GMT -5 nocturnal YL said:

Just started Atelier Ryza. I'm two months late!

I was actually looking forward to your impressions. I was mildly interested in this one, myself, based on what I had heard. (Actually, what got my attention was a comment that the battle system was similar to Xenoblade's, but it doesn't seem that similar from what I've seen.)

Anyway, I haven't been focusing on games too much lately. I bought a few during the recent holiday sale. I got the Sega Ages versions of Virtua Racing and Gain Ground. I also got Blaster Master Zero 2, which included the DLC character for free for a limited time.