What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?

Yakuza 0 (XBox Series S)

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 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 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.

March 30th, 2023

My allergies are really bad today, but I got myself up and outside for a walk around some nearby strip malls. It makes me feel like I had a vaguely successful morning.

Last night, I did not kick butt at games, though. I briefly tried Pac-Man Museum+ on Game Pass, thinking it would easily let me play Pac-Attack. However, Pac-Attack needs to be unlocked, and even though the requirements to get it are easy, they were vaguely mysterious due to sleepiness. Instead, I played Pac-Land for a few minutes, which I didn't love. I might try it again sometime, though.

I then hopped over to Yakuza 0, where I played the UFO catchers in an arcade for 45 minutes straight. It was really good.

March 29th, 2023

Today is going to be a challenge mode day. Yesterday was really a nasty work day, and I slept poorly last night, with today promising to be slightly busier while my daily task-working time is slashed in half. I'm still not eating takeout lunch or dinner on work days, though, and I've kept up on exercising, too, so I'm approaching this with less blind panic than I might have otherwise.

I didn't feel awake or smart enough to approach Dragon Quest X Offline last night, so I just played more Yakuza 0. It was fun, though. I got into some parts of the game where I can screw around more, raced slot cars, and helped a punk band get confidence for a Q & A session. I was delighted.

March 28th, 2023

I'm posting today just after a morning trip to a bagel shop. My work lunches keep getting forced back to around 4pm by calls I get trapped in, so I'm trying to see if a bagel is substantial enough to carry me through. If it isn't, at least it tastes good.

Anyway, I just played more Yakuza 0 last night, finishing off the first chapter. The combat in this game feels really good, making the chapter end setpiece very fun to play. It was good and satisfying to bust up a bunch of guys in the bathroom. I'm hoping I can get back to karaoke soon, though. Kiryu has music in his heart pleading to be released, I'm sure of it.

March 27th, 2023

Yesterday, I just played the same stuff I had the day before. I hit a few more chunks of text in Dragon Quest X Offline, though I played late enough that when I found a character talking about how to use the map, I was lazy enough to go "well, I've got the gist of this, good enough."

It was midnight by the time I got to Yakuza 0, so I only played for twenty minutes or so, most of which were cutscenes. It was mercifully easy to find a save point when I needed one, though.

I played Disney Tsum Tsum way less than I expected to, too. I scored another cat, though! The all cat game board becomes closer to reality with every gacha pull.

March 26th, 2023

Thanks to the power of a two day weekend, yesterday felt really good! I got some crafts done, played some games, made a really delicious pot of chili, got some Girl Scout cookies, and went to a Vietnamese restaurant. Today won't be so eventful, though I already went to the Asian grocery store for a ramen and fancy soda run, but I think it will still be good.

In terms of games yesterday, Dragon Quest X Offline is probably what I was most excited about. I'm still crawling along at a snail's pace, but I successfully read the text that three NPCs threw at me, and, thanks to a friend's advice, made it to the first save point! In just 900 hours, I should have this game halfway cleared!

I also tried Yakuza 0 through Game Pass last night, which got off to a very fun start. I was having a lovely time just punching people, but then when I saw the skill tree, not to mention the karaoke, I was won over. I'll probably play a bit more of this today.

Last and admittedly least, I played a few minutes of Disney Tsum Tsum, figuring out that the Sticker Book event has some stages that are excellent for coin scumming. I was kind of disappointed when I managed to clear the level, putting my reign of terror at an end, but it certainly made the event more fun. I think I'm going to hit another one of the high coin stages today.

I'm done posting for now, and off to enjoy a classy lunch of tempura shrimp, potato chips, and applesauce. The shrimp smells really good from across the room.