What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?

Costume Quest (XBox Series S)

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 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.

July 28th, 2023

Today I have the day off for absolutely no reason, which, even though I'm still pretty tired, is a very good feeling. I'm gonna go see Oppenheimer this afternoon and soak in three hours worth of movie theater air conditioning on a super hot day, and other than that, it doesn't matter what I do. It's excellent.

Last night, I was trying to finish a craft project, but kind of gave up and played Costume Quest for a little bit before bed. It's a very cute and easy going game with piles of sidequests, so it's not bad to play late. Sometime, though, I want to start a play session more intentionally so I can make some actual progress in it.

July 24th, 2023

My post is way later than I usually like to be, but I'm feeling kind of tired and having trouble focusing today. That is ok, though, I think.

Yesterday, I spent another 199 yen that I had left on my JP eShop card, but since it was a super cheap game picked up with the spare change, called For a Vast Future, I'm not counting it against my cleared game total.

I was going to try Indivisble from my set of download pickups last night, but turned on the wrong machine and was defeated enough to just kind of roll with it. Because of that, I ended up trying Costume Quest on my XBox instead. It was really cute and charming, at least at the start! I want to play more tonight if I can manage to get through everything else.

I played a tiny bit more of Jarataire RPG, too, accidentally clicking on a level I wasn't ready for, halfheartedly trying to beat it, and falling asleep. It was perfect late night gaming.