What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?
StrikeForce Kitty (Switch)
February 4th, 2023
Finally, it's over! Using a mix of brute force grinding and power boost items, I cleared the final boss in StrikeForce Kitty last night! The main game was only a couple of hours long, but I think I spent well over 15 hours just level grinding to clear secret levels and the final boss. The ending was only one screen, too, which was kind of a letdown after all that. I got a lot out of this for a free game, though, and it was really cute! I will not go back and 100% this game, because I super don't want to, but I don't regret the time I spent on it, either. I'm really excited that I got through this game.
February 3rd, 2023
I'm really late posting today because today was a killer. I didn't sleep well a couple nights straight, and then I had car problems, tech problems, work problems, errands, and a trip to the grocery store, all delaying today's post.
Last night, though, I cleared the "secret boss" in Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, finishing off the game! It was a short and easy game, but I thought it was fun and'll play the sequel when that hits Game Pass for sure. I hope it allows for more document destruction.
I also ground out another precious stat point in StrikeForce Kitty, the RPG with the least balanced endgame I've ever seen. I swapped into using the Ghibli cats after scoring them all from the secret levels, and feel like I'm finally within reach of beating this game. I don't know if I will this weekend, because the level grinding has gotten kind of boring. It would be neat, though
For tonight, I'll play something, at least for a few minutes, but for now, I'm off to make some crispy dehydrated mandarin oranges! They'll be delicious, and it'll make my apartment smell lovely, too. Even a bad day can be improved by the power of snacks.
January 29th, 2023
It's really hard to focus this morning. Since getting set up to post, I've taken some craft photos, cataloged a lot of the anime in my apartment, and cleaned the snow off my car. My guess from this is that I do not have a very productive day ahead. It's Sunday, though, so that's okay.
I think the game I played most yesterday was probably Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion. It's still mostly fun, and I'm still irritated by weapons switching during boss battles. I had to retry the boss I was fighting last night so many times, but I don't know if it's because it was actually hard, or just because I was tired. At this point, though, I think I'm at the last dungeon and'll probably beat the game in one or two more play sessions.
While I was fiddling around with GamePass, I also tried House Flipper. I got kind of frustrated trying to place a sink and shut it off in a huff, but kind of liked it. I'll probably play again.
Lastly, I hit my "this is too repetitive to play for the next few days" limit on StrikeForce Kitty again, after working on some of the hidden levels for a while. I'll beat it eventually.
January 28th, 2023
Yesterday was solidly okay! I'm still not 100%, but work went decently, and I was feeling good enough to cook and eat a real meal. It was a big boost.
I also met my stated goal from yesterday morning and sat down to clear Salamander County Public Television! I'd brag about getting the platinum trophy to boot, but the full game wasn't actually mapped to trophies, meaning I got that with about a third of the game left to go.
I thought that Salamander County Public Television was funny, if not mildly janky in a couple unintended ways. My game crashed between the second and third stages of the final boss, which was a uniquely infuriating experience! It also seemed to constantly run videos in the background while I watched DVDs. I'd turn it back on to see the in game channel loop at a different spot from where I shut it off. which was more weird than bad. It got me to laugh a few times, though, and the variety of minigames was pretty good. I'll probably go back to play Mitosis Bowling again- if that were on my phone, I'd have a dark day where I sat and played it for hours on end.
I also played StrikeForce Kitty for a few minutes before bed, still feeling like I have a path to clearing this game. I just haven't wanted to level grind in it for too long at a time.
It's a super snowy day, so I'm probably going to stay in, play games, and do crafts, barring any emergencies. I'm looking forward to it!
January 17th, 2023
This'll be a quick post, since I feel down about getting back to work today, with all the non-voluntary late work I've been getting, and had trouble getting out of bed.
Yesterday there was a super sudden tornado warning, complete with sirens going off outside and my phone sending alerts inside. I don't have a basement, and there was no watch beforehand to get to one, like usual, so I kind of huddled away from a window and played StrikeForce Kitty for an hour to distract myself without actually having to think. It was actually great EXP gathering progress, too.
The tornado stuff turned out to be a dud, but still kind of blew my plans for the day. Before bed, then, I played Pokemon Violet for a while, doing some trainer battles and Pokemon catching along one of the routes.
Then, from there, I put together a few easy puzzles in Calm Colors and went to sleep.
January 13th, 2023
I got stuck working late last night, and wasn't feeling great to boot, so last night, I replayed the third world and third boss in StrikeForce Kitty. This was not helpful in my quest to gain EXP, nor was it that interesting.
January 12th, 2023
I'm not very energetic this morning, so this'll be a short post. Yesterday was a pretty good movie day- I watched Escape From New York in the afternoon, then went to see Shin Ultraman that night- but not such a good games day.
I played StrikeForce Kitty a bit in the morning, since my Switch was just next to me after I posted here, gathering more EXP.
Then, I played some Pokemon Violet, giving a Tera Raid a shot and buying some new accessories for my trainer. It was fun.
January 11th, 2023
Right after posting yesterday, I did clear Cube Escape: The Lake, and was shocked by how little left there had been to the game! I do think, having played just two of these, that it's an interesting approach to serialized storytelling in games, and am curious to see where it goes in the next few. This game was so unexpectedly tiny, though, that I felt a little disappointed.
After work, though, someone slammed into the back of my car at a stoplight and zipped away when the light turned green! I was too surprised to get the license plate in my rear view mirror, and since the car is fine, I guess there's no point in having it. My neck feels weird, though, and I keep getting really bad on and off ear pain, even this morning.
Because of that, I ended up abandoning my plans to play Pokemon Violet for a bit before bed, due to being irritated and sore. Instead, I did ten or so minutes of EXP grinding in StrikeForce Kitty and went to sleep. It was disappointing, but that's how it goes.
January 8th, 2023
Today, I am going to try to regain some energy! I had a fun morning and afternoon yesterday, but when I got home, I crashed like I have been and couldn't do anything. Watching movies was too much, but I couldn't focus on Youtube or streams, either. I got through a little bit of crafts and a very basic drawing, but it was unimpressive progress for the amount of time I had to myself.
Because of my sleepiness, I just ended up playing StrikeForce Kitty for a while last night. I actually am making some noteworthy progress in the final level, so I still think I can beat this game- it's just going to take mind numbingly more EXP gathering to do it.
January 5th, 2023
My energy level is still at absolute zero today, but I should be able to fake being cheerful on the phones at work.
I finished Cube Escape: Seasons despite getting weirdly stuck on a puzzle that turned out to be pretty simple. I don't know if I think this was super special in and of itself, but am still curious to see where the next few games in the series go.
In Pokemon Violet, I managed to actually look at the map and made my way to the next town, catching many Pokemon along the way.
Plus, I did a bit of idle levelling in StrikeForce Kitty, raising a couple of stats and hopefully getting closer to the power required to finish the game.
January 2nd, 2023
I'm posting today on a glorious day off of work, in which I plan to do very little and enjoy it. Last night, I tried playing Clay Fighter on my Genesis Mini 2, which I did not enjoy. I used to have the SNES version, and remember feeling super indifferent towards it then, but since there's only 8 characters, clearing it as everyone seemed like a doable game to polish off for the week. However, I could not get myself to care enough to clear it even as one of them. The dithering on the digitized models looked super sloppy in motion, the music was weird and tinny, and when I was fighting the final boss, I got bored rather than pleasantly frustrated. I don't really mind a mediocre fighting game, but Clay Fighter is not for me.
I'll probably turn it on again, though, because I feel like I ought to be able to beat it as at least one character.
Pokemon Violet was actually enjoyable, which is always a good feature in a game. I backtracked and did some trainer battles and Pokemon catching that I'd skipped out on while heading to the first city. There's so many different Pokemon already that I feel like I've got a nice amount of team building options ahead of the first gym.
Of course, I continued my fruitless quest to defeat StrikeForce Kitty, too, clearing two secret levels and getting roundly demolished by the third one I tried. It was still kind of fun, and I can't believe how much I'm playing this for a free game. It's nice!
January 1st, 2023
Happy new year, everyone! I don't know that I feel it's special to have started 2023, other than that my calendar for this year is much cuter than the one for last. I'm excited to keep this blog going for another year, though. In 2023, I'm hoping to clear a game a week, even if the majority of the games I clear end up being 20 minute long kinetic novels from itch.io. There's no big reason why I have this goal. It just seems fun, and like a good way to get through some of the shorter games I have around.
I also want to clear a full game in Japanese this year, which is slightly more daunting. My vocab is good enough that I think I can do it, but my confidence is the issue. I'll see how it goes!
Last night was pretty fun, but my power started flickering close to midnight, so I retreated to my room to play Switch. My rushing to the salon in Pokemon Violet paid off for sure, and I got a player character I'm happier with. (The game can't render her freckles unless it's a super close up of her, though! Isn't technology grand?) Now, I get to backtrack and do some battles and catch Pokemon in my next section, for the prize money to buy her more hats and shoes. That's what this game is about, right?
I continued my endless levelling in StrikeForce Kitty, too, with a wiki helping me out with some of the character teams. I don't know Mortal Kombat very well, so it was a super helpful assist! I'm tackling some secret levels rather than the final standard level, just to mix things up a bit.
From here, I think I'm going to try to go to the craft store in the strip mall next door and get a new sketchbook for the year. It's a really big plan; I'll have to walk nearly 500 feet! I hope all of you have such adventure at hand, too.
December 31st, 2022
This is my last post of 2022, which feels very crazy! With everything else, I'm pretty indifferent about the year switching over, but I'm excited that I managed to keep this website going from May clear until now. I'm hoping to keep it up nicely for 2023, too!
As far as gaming went yesterday, I ate one too many cream cheese and shrimp rolls at a Thai restaurant last night, which was both a brilliantly tasty and deeply regrettable choice, landing me in bed sooner than expected. Before going to sleep, I did some more levelling up in StrikeForce Kitty, the game which I cannot set aside until it is complete. I've got a couple things I want to try in it today, to see if I can boost my power better at all, but if I fail, it's not like I'm going to quit.
I also kept going on some of the early story stuff in Pokemon Violet and felt continually pleased by the good, sunny vibes. Plus, I caught a Hoppip, which I, reasonably, responded to by saying "CUTE!" out loud to my Switch. I tend to like grass Pokemon best, and while Hoppip is not in my top 3 for the type, it is still an exceptionally good little buddy. The competition is super fierce.
I don't super plan to play games in moderation today, so I'm looking forward to posting tomorrow!
December 30th, 2022
Today is my last day of work before a three day weekend, and (maybe) a short one at that. I have my doubts about how well it will go, but that is okay.
Last night, I turned on Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories and hit a stealth mission that's a triple whammy of bad lighting, bad camera, and funky controls, with the added bonus that the mission's theme is escaping drunks that plan to assault you. With Pokemon Violet over on my game shelf, I decided I didn't want to put up with it.
So, I turned on Pokemon Violet and proceeded to waste a lot of time with the character creator. I'm already, even after 10 minutes of gameplay, itchy to start the game over to redo my look. Once it got going, I had a big feeling that it didn't suit the character I'd made at all! I know that I can change hairstyles and eyes later in the game, though, so I'm going to do the "reasonable" thing and wait to switch looks rather than doing a restart.
Alas, my determination to defeat StrikeForce Kitty still has not subsided. I repeated some EXP heavy levels a few times each and shut the game off.
December 29th, 2022
I felt super fried after work last night, so I played more games than usual, which was fine. I beat the final boss and saw the end credits in Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back. For four dollars, this game was fine. It was short and a spot too easy, and I felt like the controls were a little too slippery, too, especially landing on small platforms. While I enjoyed the main game well enough, I'm not going back for 100% completion or a platinum trophy. It's absolutely a four dollar game, and not a twenty dollar one, as is the normal asking price. That being said, it was fun to spend a few nights on an okay platformer and satisfying to get it finished.
After that, I turned on Tekken 7 to play a quick round of Tekken Bowl as a victory lap.
Then, after some craft time, I leveled up a little more in StrikeForce Kitty before going to bed. I'm still making incremental progress, but a sense of futility is setting in.
December 28th, 2022
Work yesterday was somewhat worse than expected, and I got stuck on a call and had to work late. I'd kind of wanted to play Disaster Report 4 last night, but by the time I hit game time, I ended up setting a 30 minute timer on my phone, levelling up in StrikeForce Kitty until the timer ran out, and going to sleep. Today is not set up to be any easier, but online advice for getting through tough work days always assumes you have a certain amount of autonomy in your day, to just get up and take short breaks on a dime, so I'm at a loss. Oh, well! Maybe I'll be luckier today.
December 27th, 2022
Today, I've got an extremely daunting work day ahead, but was able to clear some chores that had been wearing on me this morning. My landlord had shut off my ability to take online rent, and my pharmacy was super down to the wire about getting in a prescription I need, neither of which were pleasant. My online rent payments came back, though, and CVS got my prescription in, too, so that's a lot less pressure to start my four day work week.
It was another day for mediocre cat games, with a couple more rounds of level grinding in StrikeForce Kitty. The end of game grind in this game is truly ridiculous. I think I found a new consistent way to rack up EXP, which I'll test out over the next couple of days.
I also got to the final boss in Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back and decided I didn't care enough to give it a decent try last night. If I didn't have work today, I'd be more confident I'd give it a shot later, but I suspect I'll be burned out hard in 9 hours. I'll get to this when I get to it.
December 26th, 2022
Yesterday, I stayed at my family Christmas really late to watch RRR for the third time this year, which was a practical and fun choice. I wasn't home enough to play much of anything.
I did do some level grinding in StrikeForce Kitty for 20 or so minutes, bringing me bit by bit ever closer to this game's end.
My mom gave me Pokemon Violet as a gift yesterday, but I want to finish at least one of the games I'm chipping away before I start it. I've already picked my starter, and I'm thinking about what to do with my player character, too. It'll be fun to start!
December 24th, 2022
I'm posting today right off of making sure I could get my car out of my building's parking lot today. It's never a good sign when the sidewalk is drifted over with snow, so you have to walk in the front yard tire tracks to get to your car instead. Regardless, though, it is nice to be above zero visibility and know that I can be outside more than 10 minutes before the news howls that frostbite might set in. Livability puts me in a super festive mood!
I went to bed last night feeling super unproductive, but thinking about it today, I made a decent sized dishcloth, did a lot of aimless doodling, and fed myself pretty much on time, all of which seems pretty good for such a nasty day in hindsight. I also played a few games for small amounts of time.
First up was StrikeForce Kitty, after the secret levels somewhat renewed my interest. I'm still mostly level grinding to clear the final boss, but it's more fun now that I have some extra goals.
I beat the boss that was giving me trouble the night before in Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back, and shut it off from there because I didn't care enough to keep going at that moment.
Last but not least, I also cleared another race in Kandagawa Jet Girls, a game that has become a test of endurance for me. I shall clear all of the races, bit by bit, but right now, I am approaching it with a chisel, not a sledgehammer.
December 23rd, 2022
Today, I'm starting a four day holiday weekend, which is pretty nice! My main goal today is to stay warm, but I'm going to wrap presents, do crafts, play games, and watch people angrily drive away from fast food restaurants that dare closed in a blizzard from my window. I got a small, lazy amount of back-end work done with links on here, too, which was nice. I have an ok day ahead.
As far as games for yesterday go, it was a day for mediocre cat games through and through. I did five levels and a boss in Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back, which I think is over half of the game. I didn't have a bad time or a great one, and stopped playing at a boss that was proving slightly infuriating. My assumption is that I was having trouble because it was nearly 1 am, so I'll maybe give it another shot this afternoon.
I also sat down for some level grinding in StrikeForce Kitty, since it was too cold to sleep easily. I accidentally figured out that some sets of costumes can unlock special levels with mini-boss cats, which give you more powerful costumes, so I played with that a bit as an attempt at a levelling shortcut. Pure, monotonous grinding is netting me progress, too, so I've got this game's final boss in my sights!
December 20th, 2022
This morning, I'm trying to do a decently fast post, since today is the first of two office days straight for me. There's piles of free food today, I'm not distressed in the slightest by anything but my own slowness.
It's pretty cold where I am this week, and heat can be pricey, so I ended up playing Wii last night as a "stay warm!" sort of game activity. My game of choice was Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, which has good Dragon Quest vibes. I only played one stage so far, and found the motion controls mildly tricky, but got used to them as I went. The RPG trappings between the stages were fun, too.
I also did a few minutes of experience farming in StrikeForce Kitty, which I'm still determined to clear.
December 19th, 2022
I hardly played anything at all yesterday. Time-wise, I think I experience farmed in StrikeForce Kitty for ten minutes or so, but after playing a lot Saturday, I wanted less screen time. I made some sparkly white chocolate pretzels and crocheted a dishcloth shaped like Mickey Mouse instead. Before bed, I did think about playing more, but I wasn't feeling great, so I just went to sleep instead.
December 18th, 2022
I've already done a lot today for a Sunday- I've been to a craft store, which was not scary, and a grocery store, which was scary, along with some quick games over breakfast and some back end work on this website. From here, I'm hoping to make some candy coated pretzels with sparkly blue sprinkles and watch some TV, so my overall ambition level is super high.
Yesterday, I played StrikeForce Kitty way too much, since there was a massive spike in enemy levels and I got dead set on clearing level 18 before I went to bed. I was sleepy yesterday, so that was fine, but I'm going to limit my play sessions from here so I can enjoy other things, too. This is a fun game, but not fun enough for long level grinding sessions to be super tolerable.
December 17th, 2022
I feel so relieved it's the weekend! I succeeded at work yesterday, thanks to luck and my ability to stay cheerful when I am also frustrated. From there, I made some kimchi mac and cheese, did crafts for a while, and watched The Banshees of Insherin on HBO Max. While it was a good night, this won't be a great blog post.
Before bed, though, I did make a lot more headway in StrikeForce Kitty. Now that I know how the game's systems reward costume collection, I feel like I'm really buzzing through it. The King of the Hill kitties were no longer cutting it in the fourth world, so I gathered all four of the Death Note cats and promptly destroyed the fourth boss without a lot of grinding.
I was playing this a bit before posting this morning, and think I'll probably clear the game this weekend. From there, I don't think I'll 100% it, at least not right away. Collecting all the costumes does involve some significant grinding, and the fiddly jumping gets slightly frustrating, too. This is proving to be a lot of fun for a freebie, though, and I'm enjoying it.
December 16th, 2022
Today, even though I perhaps have no successful way forward at work today, I am glad it is Friday.
Last night, I did more crafts and wandering around my apartment than gaming, but did get in some time on StrikeForce Kitty, which is still better than I expected it to be. I finally realized that the cat costumes came in sets of four, though, because if you use all four together you get a team bonus! I felt so dingbatty not having realized that sooner. From there, though, I set up a team of cats dressed like characters from King of the Hill, both because it was my overall best full team unlocked and because it's funny to make a cat fight with a weaponized propane accessory, and promptly defeated the third boss. (Today's screenshot was cropped to show off the cat team.)
I think I'm three-fifths of the way through this game now, unless it has a second half that's been hidden so far, or something like that. It's cold, though, and I can play Switch wrapped up in a lot of blankets and sweaters, so I'll probably keep going with this.
December 15th, 2022
I'm posting fast this morning, due to some tech slowdowns giving me trouble. I was really tired yesterday, like I was talking about in my morning post, so I played StrikeForce Kitty for a few minutes to relax before going to sleep, making a little progress.
Once I was ready to sleep, though, my neighbor started absolutely blaring music, which they do often late at night.. I had downloaded some free outfit DLC for Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories, so I played that one save point to the next before doing my best to get some sleep.
December 14th, 2022
Being awake is a big struggle today, so this is a quick post. (I didn't even go to be last night or sleep poorly, I don't know what the deal is.)
Last night, I picked up Kandagawa Jet Girls for a race, still hoping to finish. I thought I might have hit a harder part, but I levelled up the current story team's jet ski into making it easy again.
I also played StrikeForce Kitty for another hour, beating a boss and getting 100% completion on three levels.
December 13th, 2022
I can't stop sneezing today, which'll be fabulous for an in-office day. Last night was good, though. I made hot dogs and chili beans from a bento cookbook, which I have as a delicious office lunch for the day, and found out Freakazoid was on Tubi last night, leading to some hard cartoon watching.
Game-wise, though, I just played StrikeForce Kitty, which I don't think I'll be able to let go until it's done. I'm about halfway through the levels now, but want to unlock everything- after all, having gathered Tekken kitties last night, how can I just let a King of Fighters kitty stay naught but a possibility?
December 12th, 2022
My time crunch isn't bad for the post I need to get through today, but I feel pretty down about work. Oh, well. If I can make it through this week, it's my last full week of work until late January, so I'm going to do my best to stay at it. I played StrikeForce Kitty again yesterday and, rather than focusing on forward movement, just 100% cleared levels I already had unlocked. If I play again today, I'll try to do a couple more levels of forward movement.
December 11th, 2022
I had a pretty decent, relaxing day after all of the nightmare insurance company stuff passed yesterday, but rather than playing a lot of different stuff, like I'd planned, I got really stuck on StrikeForce Kitty, a free game I got as part of the No Gravity Games promotion on Switch yesterday. I'm not sure StrikeForce Kitty is very good. Basically, it has short platforming levels full of enemies that your team of cats auto-battles, mobile game style. The foxes you battle have cosplay outfits you can win for your cats, with different attacks and abilities, and you can collect fish in the levels to increase your cats' stats, point by point.
Whether StrikeForce Kitty is actually any good or not is besides the point, as the combination of "leveling up," "unlocking things at a steady pace" and "look, cats!" kept me playing this for hours yesterday, and I don't expect much better from myself today. That is not a complaint. It is nice to get a pleasant surprise like this, and it seems like it'll be fun and easy to waste a lot of time getting 100% in this game. Perhaps the games I've actually paid for are shedding tears of abandonment on my shelf, but they'll get through this.
I put some time into Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories, too, anxiously approaching a subway based section of the game. I basically went save point to save point last night, which was fine, as progress is progress.
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