What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?
February 2024
February 29th, 2024
Today's post is my last one for February, and I don't feel that I had my most successful month. Bookbug is what I'm most frustrated with myself about screwing up this morning. Even though I'd been seeing posts come in about Giovanni's Room, this month's book by James Baldwin, coming in all month, I forgot to read it myself. It's pretty short, so I thought I could shotgun it in three days, and by raw page count, I still think that was a plausible plan. After one day of that, though, I felt so weighed down by the protagonist's regret and self-loathing that I decided it's better to pace things and just finish it a few days late. It's beautifully written, and I am going to finish it, but the emotional weight of it is so heavy that I can't do it as a speed read. Even if I had finished it on time, I think I would have needed to sit with it a few days to sort out my own feelings.
I don't know if I'll post about Giovanni's Room when I'm done reading it, since, despite being out of school for many years, I still have the dreadful feeling that I missed an assignment and am going to get a zero on it. My big takeaway from this, though, is that I'd best start reading The Left Hand of Darkness this weekend.
Gaming-wise, I fell short of my goal for the month, too, but I don't feel too bad about that. I started February intending to play four games over the month, and I got three instead, which isn't awful! Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore and Costume Quest were both somewhat substantial, and I hadn't enjoyed any game as much as I did Arzette for ages. Plus, I cleared both my "beat an RPG" and "beat a game on GamePass" side quests, which felt good, too. For March, I'm going to shoot for four games cleared again, but if I once again don't make it, that'll be fine.
As for the actual topic of this blog, I cleared the current event in Fashion Dreamer last night, raking in some prizes and giving myself a mild sense of accomplishment. There hasn't been any word that there'll be another in-game event, but I'm certainly hoping for one.
February 28th, 2024
Yesterday, I felt kind of miserable, and was busy, too. The busy parts were good, but after I got home, did my daily life stuff, covered my minimum level of Japanese study, and hit my reading goals for the day, I was too tired for any decent gaming. I did, however, turn on my Switch to play some of the worst Tetris the world has ever seen, playing a few rounds of the shorter B-type game in the event that I somehow got competent enough to drag things out.
Today is busy again, but a pre-office day Target run is much better than a pre-office day blood test. Plus, I don't have to get up early tomorrow, and the wind probably won't be howling all night again. I'm looking forward to being better rested tomorrow!
February 27th, 2024
I'm up early for a blood test before work today, my favorite, so I'm getting today's post in early today, too! This week might not be so great for games for me, though. One of my coworkers and I are trying to hit 100 novels read for the year, and my idea on this front is that if I read two novels a week, it's no problem. I mostly read vintage pulp novels and light novels, so this is pretty attainable. Last week I was so tired that I didn't read anything, though, so I'm reading four novels this week. Since I also forgot about reading the Bookbug novel of the month, despite reading others' thoughts on it, this has also come to involve tossing back 70 pages of James Baldwin a night for the next few days. It's a lot, but with two challenges on the line, I'm determined.
Game-wise last night, due to needing to go to bed earlier than normal and my time spent reading, I just played a little of Fashion Dreamer. I had a game crash, though, so though I got my mission rewards in online mode, I had to make my new outfit parts and use the photo frame offline, after a suspiciously slow restart. Hopefully, it works better next time.
February 26th, 2024
This morning, I slept longer than I should have, but am still glad I'm managing this before work. It's going to be a strange week, so I want to get it started right.
It helps, though, that I didn't play a ton last night. I had a decent amount of time to play My Sims Agents, and wanted to make good progress in it, but was feeling way too tired to stay upright and playing for more than half an hour. Alas, my characters shall jet to the mountains in my next play session.
From there, I played a really minimal round of Fashion Dreamer, getting my next set of event rewards. I actually like the new pose I got- it's very pin-up girl-ish- and should be clearing this event in the next couple of days.
February 25th, 2024
I slept way too much last night, almost 10 hours, so I'm having a challenging morning! It's an awards show weekend, though, so I mostly get to eat nice food with family and do crafts when I'm not trying not to doze off. Plus, I paid my bills this morning, so I'm not a total louse today.
Yesterday, I played a little more of Close to the Sun and quit, deciding it's not for me. It was a true magic of GamePass moment. It's fine, and if this were was a book, I'd be glued to it. The movement felt clunky, though, and I hit some progression points so linear they got frustrating. There's a chance I'll go back to it, but it's more likely that I won't.
After that, I wanted to play something for a few minutes before I had to be somewhere, so I popped Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons into my Switch. I don't know that I'll tackle this game immediately, but the twenty or thirty minutes I played were really enjoyable. I shall return to this.
Last but not least, I had a really enjoyable Fashion Dreamer play session before bed. I may have just been floating through on sleepiness, but I was hitting a lot of funny NPC dialogue, cute new outfit patterns, and just overall good game enjoyment. I'm almost through the current event, so'll probably clear it in my next few play sessions.
February 24th, 2024
It's the weekend, and I'm pleased to not be working today! Last night, I was super tired, so I didn't do much game stuff. On my XBox, though, I played the first 30 or 40 minutes of a wander-around game called Close to the Sun. It's a steampunk game, set on a spooky boat where Tesla seems to have caused some problems, and I'm not sure what to make of it yet. I'm not clear on why my character can delicately vault over gates, but not climb over a box, and it seems like a poor security protocol to clearly write codes to locks on papers next to the locks. It seems to be about vibes more than anything else, though, which is fine. I'm hoping to play a bit more of this later.
I also played a couple missions sets in Fashion Dreamer, and apologize to other players for the outfits I made them while half asleep but very determined to score some event rewards.
February 23rd, 2024
In theory, I understand "thank god it's Friday" attitudes, but Friday is the hardest day of the week by a mile for me! I'm always so tired, and since work was super intense yesterday, I'm dreading logging on today. I did get out of bed in time to post here before work, though, which isn't nothing.
That being said, my gaming last night was pretty unimpressive. I was really tired, so I played My Sims Agents on Wii for about 20 minutes before giving up and going to bed. That's certainly not the game's fault! I'm enjoying it and am surprised how involved I am with the noir-for-kids story. Plus, the game world is so colorful and lovely that it makes me happy just to wander around and hang out. I was just not good at being awake yesterday.
I have a short game on GamePass I'm thinking of playing this weekend, and want to make a little more progress in the current Fashion Dreamer event. I'd really like to get through more of My Sims Agents, too! Before that, though, I've got one more work day to get through.
February 22nd, 2024
I had a game I wanted to try on GamePass last night, but my XBox was not very willing to download anything. That wasn't so bad, though. I chalked it up to internet trouble and hooked up my Wii to try My Sims Agents, which I thought would be cute and not a lot else. The first hour or so was actually fun, though. I didn't expect an "uncover government and corporate corruption, but in a cute way" story, and I was so pleased by how bright, cheery, and cartoony the environments are. Even though I'd started this as just a time-waster, I'm pretty interested in playing more. Since I have the DS version, too, I may fire that up soon, too.
February 21st, 2024
Last night, I finished off Costume Quest, which was a very cute game. Even though I could be both French fries and a cat in battle, which is pretty important, I thought the battle system was a little slow. The idea of the game was really nifty, though, and the little suburban neighborhoods and malls that I got to explore felt like great settings for a trick-or-treating RPG. Plus, the final boss put up more of a fight than I expected! I did win on my first try, since I'd reached the level cap, but I only had one of three characters left standing, with 55 HP remaining. At any rate, I'm glad I saw this through, but don't plan to pick up the DLC. When it gets closer to Halloween, though, I might check out the sequel.
February 20th, 2024
My allergies are really nasty today, so I'm not pleased about being out of bed. It's an in-office day for me, though, so I've put together a Midwestern disaster lunch in a microwavable Hello Kitty bento set- leftover tuna and bean sprout casserole in the bigger box, and cottage cheese and canned mandarin oranges in the smaller one I'll keep cold- and am getting my daily post done. It's not nothing!
I played another hour of Costume Quest last night, and think I'm getting very close to the ending. I'm extremely pleased that one of my new costumes last night was a French fry monster, and will likely stubbornly drag this into the final boss battle when I get to it.
I also played a very small amount of Fashion Dreamer, clearing some event missions without unlocking any photo frames or poses. It wasn't very exciting, but I was playing it to fall asleep, so that's fine.
February 19th, 2024
The weather is really up and down where I am, so my allergies were a mess yesterday. It was a decently productive day regardless. I got a lot of crafts done, did some better-than-awful Japanese studying, and cleaned a decent amount. Still, I felt so zoned out that the day was a slog.
Games-wise, I put a couple hours into Costume Quest and felt like I made some really good progress. I'm in the second area, a top-notch suburban mall, now, and now that I've got a third party member, the battles are going a bit faster. My feelings about this game are a little strange because, as of right now, I really like the general vibes and cute writing, but find the battle system kind of boring. It's not bad, but maybe kind of repetitive, and the enemy variety is not great. I fought the same boss three times last night alone. The game seems short enough that this shouldn't end up being a deal breaker, though, and I think I'll keep going with this through to the ending.
February 18th, 2024
Yesterday, I got super fixated on clearing Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, and couldn't focus on anything until I beat the final boss that afternoon. It was really fun, though. The platforming and combat felt pretty good, and all the sidequests, with their nifty corresponding rewards, gave me a nearly constant sense of progression. I did check it out due to curiosity about how a CDi Zelda homage would function, but this ended up being one of my favorite games that I've played in quite a while! It was a good time, and I might eventually tackle it on the higher difficulty I unlocked.
After that, as if I hadn't burned my eyes out enough, I did a few sets of missions to earn the next photo frame in Fashion Dreamer. It feels like there's a lot of players active during this event, just from the amount of outfits I'm being sent, which is nice.
February 17th, 2024
I spent all of my game time last night on Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, perhaps getting way too into it. I beat another boss and lit a couple of royal beacons, which are kind of story progression points, and spent a lot of time nabbing upgrades and items with my new powers. In fact, I shut it off to sleep, decided I definitely could not sleep pretty quickly, and just turned the game back on. It's been a while since I've been this excited to play something, and it's a good feeling.
February 16th, 2024
Despite a feeling of near total exhaustion, I am happy that I have finally reached Friday. I'll have to push through today, but from there, two days of not working will be a treat.
Last night, I felt like I made pretty good progress in Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, beating the first boss and getting some important items. I'm really enjoying this a lot so far, and think it'll be my main game for the weekend. I really want the magic that'll let me through the blue barriers, to see what's hidden behind them in the first stage!
I also had a few minutes where I wanted to stay in my living room, but not watch tv or do crafts or anything, so I picked Costume Quest back up. This game is straightforward enough that I made good progress here, too, even after months off. I cleared the bobbing for apples minigame and got a new costume, so in my next play session, I'll be able to go to the patriotic kid's party. I'm looking forward to it.
February 15th, 2024
It's somewhat exciting to be posting before work for a third day straight! I feel so productive!
Productivity is counter to the point of this blog, though, so more on topic, I started playing Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore last night. I had a 3DO, as far as failed 90s multimedia consoles go, so I don't have any specific CD-i nostalgia. The thought of figuring out the potential underneath the messy parts of the CD-i Zelda games seemed really interesting, though, so I'd wanted to give this a try. I'm not very far into it so far, but it was a fun start, and I'm hoping to wake up enough to play more tonight.
I also continued the steampunk event in Fashion Dreamer, unlocking a "marionette" pose. It makes my character look more irritated that she has no bench to relax on than anything, I think, so I was kind of amused by that.
February 14th, 2024
I'm very pleased to be getting posts done before both my office days for work this week, even if I don't have the most exciting gaming to talk about in them. Last night, I found out close to the end of my work day that a new Fashion Dreamer event was starting up in a few hours. It's not any different from the other events, albeit with some steampunk flavor, but I was in the right mood to get really excited about it. After getting everything done for the night, I got too distracted by messing with the character maker to do crafts effectively and enjoyed playing the first set of missions. It was perfect for my current gaming focus level, so I imagine I'll buzz through this event without much stalling.
February 13th, 2024
This is going to be a quick, pre-work post, but I'm glad to be doing a morning post at all! I don't have any blood tests before going to the office this week or next, so I feel less stressed about time. Last night, I worked on grinding some of the basic, non-story missions in Selfy Collection, which is not necessary. I just wanted to be able to buy some of the nicer shop items before moving on, and this proved to be a fairly easy way to do it. My outfit variety isn't fabulous so far, though, leaning too hard on ultra-pricey formal fashion, so I might move forward soon just to see if I can get more shops open.
February 12th, 2024
I was a little out of sorts yesterday, and wanted to play something relaxing. Because I'm a sophisticated adult, I redownloaded Selfy Collection: The Dream Fashion Stylist, onto my Switch. I played this a little when it first came out and was only in Japanese, since I used to play TinierMe, a now-defunct social game that used the same avatars this game does. Back in TinierMe, I was a free user, so it's mildly satisfying to play this over 10 years later and rack up the paid gacha style items.
Now that Selfy Collection has an English translation, I wonder if I might be better off playing it in Japanese. It's a story-based dress-up game, so it's not massively complicated. The translation is so bad, though, that some of the mission objectives are slightly unclear! I am going to keep up with this, since I like that it's got a steadier structure than Fashion Dreamer, and the chibi style is really cute. Still, the translation, at least so far, could be a lot better.
I also gave Sweet Witches, a game I picked up for a few cents without knowing a thing about it, a try. One of the witches you can play as has a chicken hat, so it is good. By more normal metrics, though, it seems fine. It's an arcade-y game where you have to cover specific ground tiles to plant flowers, and it moves quickly with some really nice sprite animation.
February 11th, 2024
Today, I'm posting after a Sunday morning filled with sugary cereal and bill paying, a combo that kind of balances itself out.
Last night, I went back to Yakuza 0, and was slightly put off by getting a character change with the new chapter. It was fine once I got going, but it's important for me to find out soon if I can make Majima waste hours dancing and playing UFO catchers when important matters are at hand, too! Minigames are important.
I also played Toree 2 for a few minutes, but I was feeling somewhat out of sorts and got frazzled too easily. I beat one stage, then shut it off after trying another, since I felt panicky and weird. That wasn't the game's fault at all- it was offering a fair challenge- but it is why I didn't play more.
I don't think I'll play a ton of games today, since I'm in a crafty mood. I'll have something to write about here tomorrow, though.
February 10th, 2024
After work last night, I was super burned out, but immediately jumped into a grocery run and then a one-on-one RP session for D&D. Both were good, but from there, I achieved Hyper Ultra Burnout.
In this rare state, I played two stages of Toree 2, propelled by the ultra bright colors and a top notch vocal track in the water slide stage I played. This game is a complete delight.
Mainly, though, I zoned out and played Love Colors for an hour, clicking little dots with no challenge at hand. It was worthwhile, and being able to relax so well means I could get a refreshing night's sleep.
February 9th, 2024
My energy was still pretty low last night, but I tackled some story stuff in Yakuza 0, and am set to start Chapter 3 this weekend. The boss fight I did was super satisfying- it's great to be able to attack someone with a coffee table. (That's not pictured, though. Today's screenshot is just an in-transit street brawl.) I'm looking forward to wherever this goes next.
February 8th, 2024
Last night, I wanted to sleep more than anything, so I just played one of the bonus levels in Toree 2. The winter theme was very peaceful and charming, and I thought the character's movement worked well in free-roaming 3D. I have two more bonus levels to play and am about halfway through the main set of levels.
February 7th, 2024
I'm super tired again today! It sucks. Even though I'm pretty much ok, it's stressful trying to parse unspecified medical stuff, and the medicine for all that also makes me sleepy. I want to take a week off work and do nothing but read, play video games, cook, do crafts, and sleep.
For now, though, I can't do that, so I'm relaxing with Siactro games. I finished Beeny last night, clearing the bonus level. It felt really slight, but I enjoyed it. The graphics really got the late-SNES digitized sprite look down, and the roll-and-jump play mechanics were a lot of fun. It was also interesting to see the cute ties to Super Kiwi 64, including a little demo. Small as this was, I felt like it was a dollar decently spent.
After finishing Beeny off last night, I started Toree 2. The first Toree was probably the last game I cleared before starting this blog, and I really enjoyed that. The level where you're jumping on the tops of trucks was kind of frustrating, but in a fair way. Toree 2 is off to a fun start, too, and I'm always easily pleased by overwhelmingly bright colors. This should only take me a couple days, but they'll be game sessions well spent.
February 6th, 2024
Being awake is definitely my biggest challenge today, so I almost forgot to post here! I had a blood test before work, and was afflicted with my unbreakable curse in which knowing that I have to get up early prevents me from sleeping. In the interest of trying my best, though, I did go to bed early last night and played a bit of Switch beforehand.
Since I want to savor the new update for Super Kiwi 64, I'm playing some of Siactro's other games right now. Last night, I was going through Beeny, a 2D vertical platformer. In it, you're a satisfyingly round bee that rolls on flat surfaces to get momentum for jumps, which is a pretty good play mechanic, feel-wise. I really enjoyed it, and even though none of the games from this developer are very long, I was a bit disappointed to have cleared all the initial levels in a pretty brief session. It was 99 cents in the Switch eShop, so even that's not so bad. There is a tenth level that unlocked once I hit the end, too, and I'll play that tonight.
February 5th, 2024
I finished the current event, of which I 100% forgot the name, in Fashion Dreamer last night, netting myself the last new photo frame and a hairstyle that'll come in handy later. It felt a little anticlimactic, since I didn't love the clothing prizes for this event. I'm looking forward to the next event, though. They make for nice pre-goin'-to-bed time killers.
In other games, I finished the "scurry around town to get very specific drinks for homeless guys" bit I was working on in Yakuza 0, too. I really didn't play this for long, since I was worried I'd get caught up in it and stay up way too late.
I turned on a couple of other games for less than five minutes, too, but nothing really clicked enough to stick with. In the next few days, I'll probably play one or two tiny, low challenge Switch games to fill late night game time between Fashion Dreamer events. Other than that, though, I'm not going to worry about what I play too much.
February 4th, 2024
Yesterday, my guts were the enemy, but between our battles, I did end up playing a lot of games. I probably spent the most time messing with Fashion Dreamer while I was chatting with a friend. I met my goal in the current event, got a character set up for whatever the next event will be, and actually got a few new NPCs pulled in while I was playing offline mode. Somewhat shockingly, I also reached my next "influencer level" and got a lot of new outfit patterns. It felt like a very productive gaming session, and I'm hoping to finish this in-game event today or tomorrow.
In the afternoon, I think that I figured out what I needed to be doing for a good ending in Elevator Hitch, but the game started crashing on startup when I was set on trial-and-erroring through it. It wasn't my favorite gaming moment, but I'm sure it'll be fine the next time I decide to play.
While my crock pot dinner finished cooking, I played Yakuza 0 for a while, too, and got back onto the story track. Even though I did do a couple of sidequests, most of my playtime was spent rushing from convenience store to convenience store to fulfill very specific liquor orders from the game's homeless community. I'm still not done with it, but I'll get that quest easily knocked out in my next play session.
February 3rd, 2024
I had yesterday off work for what turned out to be no reason, and I picked Yakuza 0 back up. I tried to get back onto the main storyline a little, but kept finding interesting things to do around town instead. I helped a get their stolen copy of definitely-not-Dragon-Quest back, became a substitute TV producer, and kicked a ton of guys in the face. It was extremely fun, but I maybe should be paying a little more attention to the story. Oh, well! Enjoying what a game throws at me is good, sidequest or not.
February 2nd, 2024
I got up enough energy to play Panzer Dragoon for a little bit last night, and found out that my Saturn needs a new video out cable. Every time the screen got too busy, the image would cut out, which wasn't ideal during the first boss battle. What I was able to play, though, I had a very "wow, it's so pretty!" reaction to. The sparkly water and puffy clouds were lovely without being overbearingly bright, with other creatures really popping against the background, and once I went in the castle ruins, the blue and purple tones were amazing! I've never been so pleased by the visuals of a game that was totally tanking on me. I will probably wait for a new cable to play more, though.
I played a little more of Katamari Damacy Reroll, too. I always get hung up on the one meter level, so I'm trying to remember how I cleared it in past playthroughs.
February 1st, 2024
This is a short post to start off February. Last night, I was still feeling pretty low, so I played the first few levels of Katamari Damacy Reroll on my Switch to try to cheer up. It wasn't my worst idea at all.
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