Showing posts with label Ogre Battle 64. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ogre Battle 64. Show all posts

Monday, December 05, 2022

Games of November 2022


November was a little more normal, but I spent a lot of recovering from the nonsense from October. I did finish Xenoblade and started a New Game + playthrough.

My top five games (by play time) for November were:
  1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Starting a replay has been really rewarding. There's a lot of things I didn't recognize on my first playthrough that I hadn't seen or noticed or understood. It's also reinforced just how awesome Eunie and Sena are.


  2. Ogre Battle 64 - Snow ... but also, the second half of the game still has some pretty interesting parts. It's always a nice game to chill out with.


  3. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Way back, when it came out on PSP, I picked it up, found it really hard and kinda gave up. Getting to revisit it on the Switch has been good so far.

  4. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope - I drifted off of Mario + Rabbids a little faster than I thought I would. I still think it's great, but it just didn't have a time it fit into during the month.

  5. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - Mario Kart felt into a bit of the same as Mario + Rabbids. Not much time really to play it, and honestly, much as I love it, if I had time there was something more appropriate to play.

Here's my total play time chart for November:



And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:




Tuesday, April 05, 2022

Video Games of March 2022


Most of my March got taken over by Breath of the Wild and Triangle Strategy. I didn't manage to keep up my "play whatever whenever it feels good" plan from January and February, but that's alright. There are plenty of games and plenty of days and it's nice to spend more time with something new ... and something older...

My top five games (by play time) for March were:
  1. Triangle Strategy - I like Triangle Strategy. It's not perfect, but the game play is pretty fun. The tactical combat stages are great, and especially the ones you can replay whenever you want have been a lot of fun, especially as you try out different combinations of units. I also like the mechanic where your council votes on what happens next and you have to persuade them how you'd like them to vote (although I really struggle to get them to vote how I want.

    Screenshot from Triangle Strategy: Our Heroes fight enemies in red on a bridge blockaded with wooden spikes.
    (Another) Fight for the bridge
    The game is really slow in the way it tells its story. I'm a little frustrated with the pacing, although I'm struggling to detect exactly why. There's some repeated storytelling, and the voice acting is very isolated, but honestly as soon as they let me out of the cutscene I'm happy again.


  2. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I really didn't mean to put this much time into Breath of the Wild, but here we are again. What's interesting this time is that I actually replaced a lot of my quick mid-day sessions with Breath of the Wild. I should have known, but it's surprisingly easy to drop into for fifteen minutes, find something interesting or do a shrine and then get on with your day. It's always a joy, it's still my favourite game and it's been fun to find a new way to enjoy it.

    Screenshot from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Link rides a horse down into a valley with a rock spire and a large bird shape flying behind.
    Down into the Valley

  3. Ogre Battle 64 - I mostly played Ogre Battle while sick. The fact that it more or less plays itself is extremely helpful.

    Off screen shot: Ogre Battle 64: The heroes sit around a table having a party.
    Ogres but There's Always Time to Party

  4. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - As the one person who really liked the WiiU and bought almost everything which came out for it, I've strongly resisted rebuying all of those games for Switch. The new DLC announced for Mario Kart 8: Deluxe pushed into finally picking it up and I've really enjoyed it.

    Screen Shot - Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - Rosalina riding a bike on the starting line of a time trial with various toads cheering her on.
    The Fastest Space Queen

  5. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 - I ... like Puyo Puyo. I play Tetris like every game is getting reviewed to let me into the world championship, and sometimes that's exactly what I want from a puzzle game. The bit where I don't have any instinct for Puyo Puyo makes it a lot of fun to just jump into (and I'm getting better).

    Screenshot - Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 - A world map showing levels in worlds 3 and 4
    I Have No Idea What's Happening

Here's my total play time chart for March:



And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:




Wednesday, March 02, 2022

Video Games of February 2022

 

February was a weird. I mean, there was a lot weird in February, but particularly I lost that happiness and flexibility about playing that I was feeling in January. So I mostly played comfort games and at least I managed to be a little productive in the other areas of my life. I'm still not feeling right, but hopefully I'll get a little spark back before too long.


My top five games (by play time) for February were:
  1. Ogre Battle 64 - It's been a little bit since the last time I played, but on Axe of the Blood God they've been talking lots of strategy games lately and I jumped back in. Also it snowed. Are you surprised?

    Photo of Ogre Battle on a television, A unit lead by a witch makes fights a unit lead by a general.

    I tend to feel a little defensive about Ogre Battle, and it still has a lot of features that aren't as polished as they could be. This play through I'm trying to play a style that's a little different than what I usually do and seeing the game from that different perspective has showed me quite a few elements that are pretty cool. Also I kicked off the vampire story line by accident, so that was fun.


  2. Hollow Knight - This game is pretty great. The more I play the more impressed I am and the better I get. 

    Screen shot: Hollow Knight jumps over several dead enemies in a room with fancy hangings.

  3. Eastward - I've continued to play Eastward, and enjoyed it a lot. The dark Earthbound / Mother 3 vibes are strong and that leaves me feeling hesitant to invest in the characters or the world. I'm also finding that there's a bit of padding in the section in the 3rd town I'm in now, which makes me want to play a little less, but I'm sure I'll pick it back up.

    Screenshot: Eastward, John readies his frying pan to fight a huge robot in a forest.

  4. Triangle Strategy - I'm sure part of the reason they're talking about strategy games on Axe of the Blood God is the forthcoming release of Triangle Strategy. Along with Ogre Battle, I loved Final Fantasy Tactics (made by some of the same people). It's a broken game with a lot of weird jankiness, but there's just something that is deeply satisfying about moving pixel characters across an isometric grid and getting to watch attack each other with cool animations.

    Screenshot: The heroes are ambushed on the dock.

    The little bit they give you to play in the demo for Triangle Strategy felt like it honoured a lot of that history, but have some good modern design. The demo does seem to have some technical flaws, but overall I'm pretty excited to play the full game later this week.

    Stephen Georg put out a tweet, transposing the name to "Strangle Tragedy" and that has stuck with me hard. Also it feels like it may be a synopsis of the plot to come...


  5. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I wanted to find something simple but fulfilling to play and I couldn't figure out what I wanted. Out of a bit of desperation I put Breath of the Wild in, spent a few minutes feeling like it wasn't as good as the remake of Skyward Sword, but after that, I was back in and I still think this is my favourite game. 

    Screenshot: Link, remembering he's daredevil, shield surfs on the great plateau

Here's my total play time chart for February:



And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:



Monday, November 01, 2021

Blog: Games of October 2021


October was a busy month and I was more focused on doing things than playing things. At the same time my PC has started acting up so any chance I had to play anything on there was a bit of a crap shoot.

I'm at a point where I'd love to find a few games to play on the Switch for short bursts, 15 - 20 minutes. Celeste and -- weirdly -- A Link to the Past have been filling that niche, but I'd love to find something new and maybe something which would have a bit of longevity. 

My top five games (by play time) for October were:
  1. Trials of Mana (Collection of Mana) - Trials has been an interesting game. I still think everything in the remake was better but it's been interesting. I think it's not the greatest SNES (a)rpg, but it has some cool features. I think if I'd had it back when it was originally coming out I'd probably have loved it. As it stands, I'd like it to be faster and smoother, and the level grinding is not very much fun. On the plus side, the sprite work is beautiful (if a little hard to read sometimes) and the backgrounds are lovely. I think, especially if the game were a little faster, the variety of classes would be really cool to explore.


  2. Battle Brothers - If only this didn't make my video card vomit colourful patterns all over my monitor. A little tempted to find the switch version.


  3. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Reaching to ProtonJon playing randomizers, I wanted to actually "git good" at ALTTP. It's been fun to pick up and to my surprise, each chunk of the game only takes me about 15 minutes. I'm certainly enjoying this a lot more than the last time I played through.


  4. Super Mario Odyssey - I didn't play much, but Odyssey is always a delight. It hasn't *quite* been that short burst game I'm looking for.


  5. Ogre Battle 64 - It snowed. I played Ogre Battle. I'm assuming if you've read any of these before you'll know the tune.


Here's my total play time chart for October:



And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:




Tuesday, December 08, 2020

Blog: Games of November 2020


Sure, you could read this or you could go play Hades. Have you gone to play Hades yet? Seriously. Go. Play. Hades.

My top five games (by play time) for November were:
  1. Hades - Wow. Just wow. This is by far, the best game I've played so far this year and I think it's one of the best games I've ever played. The game play is fluid, easy to understand and feels really good. The story telling is beautiful, brilliantly paced and dynamic enough that you feel like you're in charge. The game is also a masterclass in tutorialization and so I think anyone who's trying to teach anybody anything would be so well served to play this game. (At a minimum watch Dan Floyd picking it up for the first time).
    Zagreus fighting Tisiphone

  2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - The slow drip of Animal Crossing continues. They say they're going to keep supporting the game for a long time to come, but really it feels so far behind where I'd like it to be.
    Villagers gathered at the Harvest Festival Table

  3. Luigi's Mansion 3 - Kinda mixed. I picked this up and wanted to get through it before Hyrule Warriors came out. I wanted to finish something I hadn't finished yet. Some of this game is fun and charming and some of it is very moon-logic frustration.
    Luigi In a hallway of Luigi themed movie posters

  4. Civilization VI - I don't know what brought this to my mind, but I picked it up again and I'm feeling surprisingly bad at it. Still Civ VI really fires all of my nostalgia flares (it *feels* like the original Civ) and so off I went again.
    The Korean Empire around 150AD

  5. Ogre Battle 64 - I played on my birthday. It was great.


Here's my total play time chart for November:



And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:




Saturday, November 07, 2020

Blog: Games of October 2020


October was pretty busy. Keeping two classes in the air while teaching remotely has been a bit of a struggle. So I've been playing more of the bite sized things. I can jump in to and out of really quickly.


My top five games (by play time) for October were:
  1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Getting some seasonal, halloween, things to do did perk the game up a bit. I'm still finding it a touch bland.

    Animal crossing villager with purple skin, zombie face paint, devil horns and a monocle, scowls at the camera.
    I'm mad they won't let me pick my own costume...

  2. Ogre Battle 64 - Did it snow? Yup. I described Ogre Battle to my partner the other day as "my favourite spreadsheet".


  3. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Again and again this remains a classic and my favourite game to just relax and play.

    Hestu the forest nympyh dances in front of Link in a forest.
    He must dance.

  4. Mario 35 - This has been a ton of fun. I've always been a little embarrassed at how I never learned the first Super Mario Bros. This has been great motivation to actually get good (even if it isn't quite the same game from 1989). It's also bite sized

    World 3-2 in Mario 35 with a number of red koops and goombas on the screen.
    I seem to have died. Again.

  5. XCOM: Chimera Squad - I tailed off playing Chimera Squad a little just because sessions can be a little long and I've had a ton of stuff I need to keep working on. There's also the drawback of going back to the desk you've sat at all day to play more games is sometimes a bit hard.

    Godmother and Torque fight a berserker in a shabby bedroom.
    Sometimes the fighting goes bedroom to bedroom.

Here's my total play time chart for October:



And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:




Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Blog: Games of November 2018


I'm not super happy with how I spent my play time this month, especially because I found myself playing more out of frustration / burnout than relaxation or fun.

My top five games (by play time) for November were:
  1. Civilization VI - Well, this is the game I play when I'm avoiding getting the stuff that needs to get done, done. I'm feeling behind on practically everything, and, embarrassingly, it's been much easier to pick this up "for a minute" rather than work. The problem is, that minute often expands out to be a lot more than a minute.  So my goal for December is to, a) relax, b) focus, c) get stuff done, and d) feel good when I do play.

    It has been created. Next Turn!

    On the not of the actual game, side I actually feel like I'm finally figuring the game out a little. I even caved and picked up the Rise and Fall Expansion. I'm not sure I'm actually getting good, but I have learned. Further I've accepted that not every game is going to be a game I enjoy playing until the end and it's okay to go back to the early game part where I was having fun. I also really the aesthetic of the game, the same thing I thought the first time I played is that it still calls back the things I loved from Civ I and II.

  2. Ogre Battle 64 - While I'm accepting things, I'm accepting that I can love this game for the feeling it gives me even when a huge portion of it makes no sense.

    Happy Place.


  3. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I still haven't beaten the Master Sword challenge. I have been trying to pick up some better techniques and skills and I feel like, except for the part I can't do, I'm getting good.

    Little Silver Jerks. 


  4. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - As part of a routine of relaxing this game just keeps giving. It also has an incredibly slow reward system - costumes for the amiibo characters - which might just keep us playing for another year. Animal Crossing for life!

    Animal Crossing is mostly Animal Capitalism.


  5. Pokémon Go - Between being behind and it being colder out, I've been playing a little bit less the last month.

    We're slow and that's ok.


Here's my total play time chart for November:



And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:




Thursday, July 05, 2018

Blog: Games of March 2018


I'm not sure how I feel about what I played in March, this year. In short, I played a bit more than I feel great about, and I feel a bit like I played without as much intention as I'd like to. I also feel like I played more than I should have given that my PC was broken / in the shop for the first part of the month.

My top five games (by play time) for March were:
  1. Into The Breach - Wow. Into the Breach is great. It gives me the satisfaction of doing well as a strategy game without being so hard that I grind out and get frustrated. The certainty you have with how the enemy turn will play out is fantastic, and it's nice being able to make decisions (or mistakes) on your own term. I also appreciate its flexibility in challenge, it has three difficulty levels. Playing on easy isn't punished, but you also feel challenged to take on the harder difficulties. I feel like I've been able to learn and improve without just getting clobbered.

    Vek Threat: Kinda stoppable, if you're in the right universe.

  2. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I have played 265 hours of Breath of the Wild. I have found all 120 shrines. I've found around 300 korok seeds (so I'm like 600 short). For a little while the game was starting to feel a bit like work. But even then, I can still sit down and disappear into Hyrule for an hour or two, and really enjoy it. I'm still seeing things I haven't seen before and even when I have seen things before the game still keeps things interesting. I might have to play the DLC some time.

    Yes. I am charging towards to Bokoblin riding bears. No. I didn't live much after this.

  3. Cursed Treasure 2 - Cursed Treasure 2 has a some things that really recommend it. First, it's available on the Web, so I could play it while my PC was broken. Second, it has an interesting set of challenges that keep the game interesting, and it has a meta game that leaves you with a lot of interesting choices. Finally, it's fairly quick to play so it's nice to have for a break when you need it. I've actually been enjoying it enough that I've been messing around with speed running it a bit, and can now play the first 3 levels in 4 minutes and 51 seconds.

    OK. 5 minutes. Go!

  4. Super Mario Maker - I'm actually surprised I played this game this much, but it's kinda easy to get sucked in. I started playing again because I started watching StephenPlays again, and every weekday morning he plays a level from Mario Maker. It's interesting how much level design has changed since I first started playing. Some of it is really good, and I also think some of it doesn't really result in the much fun. Still it's been in my head, and I've been noodling around with a few ideas that I hope are fun.

    Welcome to the doughnut mines.

  5. Ogre Battle 64 - In March I finished a play through of Ogre Battle 64. To the best of my recollection, that's the second time I've finished it. Yeah, it *is* probably my favourite game. It's something I've come to a certain amount of peace with, I can love Ogre Battle and think it's pretty flawed  at the same time. I just need to play it however it seems to work. Anyway, it's time to put it away for now and play summer things until the snow rolls around again in October. (**Coughcough** - insert comment about Calgary's unending winter 2018)

    I ... finished.

Here's my total play time chart for March:


And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:


Saturday, February 03, 2018

Blog: Games of January 2018


I'm pretty happy with what I played in January. If you've been following for a while I suspect you can guess which games are going to show up in my top five. I've been busy with work and pushing on my thesis so I haven't wanted to game for adventure, instead I've been gaming for relaxation and comfort. At the end of the day I've enjoyed another month of games.
My top five games (by play time) for January were:
  1. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild  - So I'm moving in on the end of my 100% Master Quest play through. I have most of the shrines finished (I think I'm at 97 right now) and most of the side quests done (no idea how many, but a lot). I'm still loving every minute of it. I think this has been the right game for me at the moment, because it has so much depth I've been able to come back to it again and again, which works well with my plan to stay focused on my thesis as much as I can.

    A fine mountain stroll.

  2. Europa Universalis 4  - History talk enevitably brings me back into EU4, as does spending too much time sitting at my desk and cold weather. So I've been back into EU4 trying to rule the world as the Ottomans (and trying not to get crushed but Poland and Austria).

    A fight for Cairo


  3. Stardew Valley - Again on the deep winter gaming tip, I've been playing more Stardew. It's another great game for that regular returning and short play sessions.

    An event in the night.


  4. Ogre Battle 64 - I am ... almost done. I started this play through in November 2016 and I think I'm going to finish my favourite game for the 2nd time. As I've said before I love this game, even though it has some really significant flaws. I think it ties into my theme for the month, it's a comfortable game and one that's easy to come back to time after time.

    A showdown of friends.

  5. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - Again good Animal Crossing charm and good friends to play it with.

    A plaza of fun (and dry cats).


Here's my total play time for January:


And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:



Sunday, January 21, 2018

Blog: Games of December 2017

I didn't get quite as much time to relax into over the holidays as I'd hoped, but I did still get to play a bit of everything.

My top five games (by play time) for December were:
  1. Stardew Valley - Stardrew Valley is still beautiful. I wanted something soothing to play while I spent most of my time marking, this fit the bill. It's also nice that it comes in bitesized chunks. I started a new play-though and now Amri is building a very nice farm.

    Welcome to Old Man's Farm

  2. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Still deep and I haven't even played any of the DLC story missions yet. I'm about 20 shrines short and my plan now is to finish those and power up the armour as much as I can and then tackle the DLCs.

    Always a new vista.

  3. Pokémon Go - A pokéstop a day keeps the streak up and the game going.

    It's a new generation, and a new electric rodent.

  4. Ogre Battle 64 - Cold winter nights and a game that plays itself, what else could you need? Whiskey is a good addition actually.

    This is like the second to last battle in the game and the first one that actually feels tactical.

  5. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - I got this for my friend and I have thoroughly enjoyed Amiibo Fest. If you like Animal Crossing, you might too. It brings a ton of AC charm and is a nice light game, and it has a really nice set of mini-games to play too. (We may have spent a little bit too long dropping cats in to the ocean ... I mean by accident).

    Welcome to Charmingville. Population, however much you're willing to spend on cards.


Here's my total play time chart for December:


And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Tuesday, December 05, 2017

Blog: Video Games of November


I wasn't terribly settled to any specific game in November, but I'm feeling relaxed and enjoyed a lot of different things.

My top five games (by play time) for November were:
  1. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - As  (pretty much) always Breath of the Wild topped my list for the month. I'm trying on this play through (still my 2nd) to do an all shrines play through and I think I'm getting close. I'm curious if the Champions DLC will arrive before I finish.
    Thank you, Mr. Iwata.

    Breath of the Wild has held up to more than 200 hours playing and I'm still enjoying it. Sometimes I miss the tighter story of other games (I went to the Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses last night and was reminded of just how much fun those other games can be), but Breath of the Wild is always fun to play.
  2. Europa Universalis 4 - A few times a year I just get the urge to take over the world as the Ottomans, then I give up. EU4 is interesting in how it always has things to do, so you get a version of the Civilization "one more turn" and when I first stop playing I always think of what the next thing I should be doing in the game. I find that this fades for me some the longer I play a particular game as I don't have quite the skill / focus / DLC for a more in-depth play through.
    I always enjoy it when the game really wanders of historical maps.

  3. Super Mario 3D World - Other than Breath of the Wild this has been what I've turned my Wii U on for in the last little while. I've been enjoying dropping in for short play sessions trying to 100% complete the game. I will admit I was a little influenced by everyone enjoying Mario Ojddesy, but I'll get to that once the PhD is finished.
    Just a giant Bowser head, how bad can it be.


  4. Ogre Battle 64 - I didn't start a new play through this year! That means that I'm surprisingly close to making it to the end, although whether or not I've been careful enough to actually get the "real ending" I guess we'll see. It remains one of those games which I mostly love, but which has some problems in execution. I keep hunting for a "perfect" version, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
    Zarus and I share a birthday!?

  5. Sunless Sea - Sunless Sea is a lot of fun and I should play it more. There's a related game, Fallen London, which is free to play and worth checking out. Both games revolve around story telling in a dark, dystopian(?) steam punk, world where London was stolen by bats and delivered into the Unterzee.
    It's hard to capture a screenshot that really captures the game, but this is a lot of it all at once.

    In Sunless Sea you travel the zee trying to make a fortune, or a name for yourself, or just sense of the world. It is a rogue like sailing game and a story card game. It plays at a wonderful pace, and, if you give yourself to it, a story that will really grab you (maybe by the foot, in the dark, with an icy tentacle).



Here's my total play time chart for November:


And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

The Video Games I Played - February 2024

This is the second new monthly games post . I'm not feeling very settled in what anything means. The book posts have some basic stats...