lorahgames

gaming / otome / pokemon / overwatch / more

[lorahgames]

HELP ME CHOOSE A ROUTE FOR THE WEEKEND! 03/01/2024

Lucas Proust (Virche Evermore)

Goemon Ichikawa (Nightshade)

Kageyuki Shiraishi (CxM Unlimited)

Voting ended onMar 2, 2024

It takes me approx. 3-4 hrs of gameplay for two nights to play a route, so I want to start one up this weekend! Please help me pick

[lorahgames]

The Depreciation of Shiny Pokemon in the Switch Era

(forgive me I am at work so cannot format this properly)

So if you know me, you know I am an avid shiny hunter in the post-game of Pokemon Violet. Almost every time I log on I’m slapping herba mystica onto a sandwich and running around like a lunatic for thirty minutes loading in pokemon to try to snag the shiny versions.

But recently, I’ve been hyper aware of exactly how easy it is to get shinies in this game. Like, it’s almost stupid easy at this point.

A sandwich paired with a mass outbreak (and shiny charm) gives you a 1/512 chance of encountering a shiny for 30 MINUTES. I noticed that when I enter the outbreak area, I can get probably 10-14 outbreak pokemon to spawn in. This means if I reset the spawns (run away to respawn and come back) and it takes me approximately one minute to check and respawn them at the 10 pokemon spawn level, I’ll encounter 300 or so pokemon within the sandwich period. That’s almost a 3/5 chance you will get at least one shiny within the 30 minutes!

When you go online to battle other trainers or participate in Tera Raids, you’ll see an outstanding number of shiny pokemon that people are using. It is commonplace to see an entire shiny team during the online battles. It’s at the point where I don’t even notice the shiny’s presence; just a quick “nice” and that’s all I think. I’m not impressed like I used to be.

Now, I never played Sword and Shield, and from what I heard, it had pretty janky shiny hunting mechanics that made it easier to get one. I could be wrong, but it makes me think that this is a Switch Era issue, not just gen 9. I have played Legends Arceus, and it is noticeably easier to get shinies as well, but not nearly as easy as the sandwich method from SV.

Any pokemon in the mainline switch games are practically losing their shiny value. For instance, when I was playing BDSP, I got a shiny Magnemite full odds, which I personally found impressive, but due to Magnemite being on the roster of Pokemon Violet, I just haven’t felt the need to transfer it over. It’s not like people will know it’s origin game unless they look at it off my screen in the summary section. Whereas my shiny Shaymin, I transferred it over with no problem. Shaymin is not in SV, and seems to have been limited to events in Switch era. Thankfully for me, Shaymin was shiny locked in Legends Arceus, and to even get it you need a copy of Let’s Go. I spent twelve hours shiny hunting this thing, so I’m so glad I can show it off.

So what do we do now that shinies are losing their value with every new Pokemon game that releases?

My top guess is marked shiny pokemon.

Recently I’ve been attempting to get more shiny pokemon with unique marks. Like shinies, a player can visibly see when your pokemon is marked, as it is announced in line with the pokémon’s name when sent into battle. This helps your pokemon stand out like being shiny does. Not to mention, it can be hard to get some of the marks as they are rarer spawns, especially on a shiny.

I have to say though, shiny hunting in SV is fun. Making sandwiches with friends, and selecting a cute pick to put it all in place is a slay for Gen9. I don’t feel as mentally exhausted as I did all those encounter resets with good ol’ Shaymin (I wanted to give up). I absolutely love running around with the Academy Special to see if anything comes my way.

And that’s enough of my rambling. I need to get back to work. Would love to know what you guys think!

LORAH

[lorahgames]

Collar x Malice: Full Review

Console: Nintendo Switch

Total Play Time: 60 hours

Lorah Game Rating: 9.5/10

--------

I finally did it; I stuck with one single otome game, and finished it up!

Although CxM is my first blog post, I am not new to otome. I like to think I have a fair bit of experience to chalk up a decent review about these games, so this is my go at it!

SYNOPSIS: Collar x Malice takes place in a quarantined Shinjuku, Japan, where citizens live in fear of Adonis, a criminal organization that believes it will revitalize Japan with its own warped sense of justice and judgement. The story begins when Ichika Hoshino, a rookie cop, is attacked and has a poisonous collar placed around her neck by Adonis, who declare they are testing her as they believe she has potential to be one of their sympathizers. Ichika must now work with a group of ex-cops to discover the truth behind the Adonis crimes and to remove her collar.

TIME TO BEGIN THE REVIEW!

I was absolutely blown away by Collar x Malice. Don't get me wrong, I love all the otome games I play, but this one topped the charts for me. I am very, very particular when it comes to what I like and dislike about otome. I absolutely can't stand when the story is boring, but also don't like when the plot takes away from the romances with the love interests. I think CxM has perfected the balance of story-to-romance. I found myself both wanting to solve the mystery of the game while also loving the time I got to spend with each of the LIs. Of course, some routes I found better than others, but that's to be expected! I genuinely enjoyed each of the LIs and what they had to offer. Usually, there will be a LI or two I'm not too fond of, but let me say, all these boys have replay-ability. I will be revisiting this game again.

My first impressions were so-so; they are almost always completely based off of the LIs' designs (lol, a little bit shallow but what can you do). I definitely had preferences towards Yanagi and Okazaki initially. I was indifferent to Sasazuka, and did not feel like I would enjoy Enomoto and Shiraishi all that much. But let me tell you this.

DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. PLS.

Mineo Enomoto

Honestly, I played this man first to get him over with. LOL. I hate to say it now. Enomoto gave off middle school vibes, and it wasn't for me in the beginning. BUT. He really grew on me! Honestly, for being THAT character, you know, the one with no experience with girls, it ended up being super cute. Once you got past the eyepatch thing, he was truly a really good guy and it was adorable to see his relationship develop with Ichika. Definitely not a story heavy chapter, and was a great light introduction to the game, especially with how the game gets darker later on. Enomoto wasn't my favourite, but I still am excited to play his after-story in CxM unlimited.

Takeru Sasazuka

Oh, Sasazuka. Your route was great.

This man was a tsundere if I've ever seen one. He was curt, he was rude, but he was such a good LI. I actually found Sasazuka's backstory to be really good, especially the role it plays in the plot. He had MEGA character development from the beginning of the route to finish. It was lovely to see him fall so hard for Ichika, who he had been calling stupid cat for half the game. Not to mention, Sasazuka's CGs are FINEEEE. I hit that Switch screenshot button a few times. Funny enough, when I went to go play Yanagi's route it didn't register my completion of Sasazuka's, so I actually had to play his route twice. Of course, I sped through most of the dialogue, but I did find myself stopping to replay and read the cute moments between him and Ichika. I enjoyed them as much as I did the first time. I really enjoyed both LI and plot in this route.

Kageyuki Shiraishi

I played Shiraishi's route fourth. At this point, I had a good gist of how the story was flowing, but I did NOT expect the plot twist of Shiraishi's route! I was hesistant to even play Shiraishi at all, because long-haired men (not to mention the cat aesthetic he has going on) aren't usually my thing. Personally, I loved the route's plot more than I did the romance with Shiraishi. This isn't me saying he was bad, but his story was so well done, it's hard to not like it more. I found with Shiraishi, he was slightly overhyped in online reviews. A lot of people say Shiraishi is their favourite from the game, but he wasn't mine. I think I went in with my expectations a bit too high, especially after how much I loved Okazaki's route. At the climax of his route, I felt things were a bit rushed because I was confused as to what was going on, but it was such a minor confusion that I figured things out pretty quickly. Again, I'm really looking forward to playing his after-story!

Aigi Yanagi

It took forever to finally get to Yanagi's route. Honestly at the point I finally got to play his route, he has been a side character for so long that it was hard not to see him that way (LOL, sorry Yanagi!). One thing I was surprised about was that Yanagi's route really put romance on the back-burner and put the story in the front. I get it, since Yanagi's route was the big reveal and finale, and honestly it really worked for the overall story. It's not like Yanagi's route wasn't romantic, but it was a little hard to focus on him when you could feel the Adonis leader's identity reveal just around the corner. Yanagi also had the longest route, with seven chapters instead of six. I would say he got some of the best CGs of the game, probably since he is the poster child of CxM. The whole Yanagi backstory is absolutely fantastic as well, and they did a really good job diving deep into his character.

Kei Okazaki

Of course, I had to leave Okazaki for last. Okazaki is by far my favourite Collar x Malice LI and may quite literally be overtaking Toma (Amnesia) for the top spot of them all. I knew I would love Okazaki from the start and I was right. I love his character design, the voice acting, aloof personality, route story, EVERYTHING. While I would not classify Okazaki as any sort of yandere (my favourite trope), he checked all the boxes I usually look for in my LIs (self-sacrificing, obsessive, etc). His entire life outlook changed after getting close with Ichika, and was it ever emotional seeing him go though all that inner turmoil. Let me tell you, this man had me RUNNING to Collar x Malice Unlimited for more. The amount of times he popped up in Yanagi's route made me want to just go replay his route again. Not to mention, his tragic love ending has to be the best in the game. I accidently got it by misclicking, but holy crap?? The CG was crazy! And once you get the tragic love end, you get the bonus CG, which also happens to be my favourite from the game. Anyway, this game has left me an Okazaki fan through-and-through, as well as clogged up my Switch library with screenshots of his face. I could say A LOT more, but trying to leave this spoiler-free for friends who potentially want to play.

Kei best boy <3

Do I recommend Collar x Malice? Of course!

The game really hits both the story component and romance component, and I definitely got my money's worth with over 60 hours of gameplay. Of course, there are some minor bugs (looking at you, Sasasuka route) where dialogue seems to be misplaced or the self-inserted name still comes up as Ichika, but believe me, this was so minor and infrequent that I don't think it affected the overall quality of the game.

I am actually sad that the game is over! I'm scared to finish Unlimited too, because what will I do then?!

Overall, Collar x Malice definitely left a lasting impression on me and has become one of my favourite otome. I had a blast playing it and will definitely be back to do it all again. I hope I can break free of my habit of comparing every LI to my favourite, because Okazaki will be hard as hell to beat.

Thanks for reading my review !

LORAH

[lorahgames]

Let's talk about: Pokemon Day 2024

First off, I went into this direct with high expectations. My predictions (for games) were:

A Pokemon Legends Game

A Remake/Ported version of a mainline series game (specifically, B&W or Johto)

The livestream addressed a few things that I am not too familiar with/don't use, so I won't be going into that. This includes Pokemon Horizons: the series, Pokemon Masters EX, and Pokemon Cafe Remix. I can't provide any opinions on if these announcements were exciting or not, so not bothering trying!

Let's begin with the announcement of the Gen 1 Tera Raid Mightiest Mark Battles for Pokemon Scarlet/Violet. I will be playing these! I got the mightiest mark charizard when that raid first dropped, so would love to get the other mighty Kanto starters, especially my long-time favourite, Blastoise. Long live the water starters!!!

Next up, Pokemon Trading Card Pocket. I didn't think much when I first saw it, but the game premise is really growing on me. After all, I am such a sucker for gacha games. Yeah. Anyone remember Quidd, the sticker trading game? Had me in an absolute chokehold, so I feel like this is right up my alley. I'm not sure if I'll actually battle people besides friends, but I'll be all over opening the packs up. I'll definitely be giving this a try.

Fun Side Story Time! I used to be obsessed with the trading cards. I had a collection of hundreds of cards from the early 2000s, with a lot of rare ones thrown in there. Always took them to school to play around with the other pokemon kids. I WAS ROBBED. One of those playground losers stole my entire collection, plus a Webkinz from me. I have been too sad to get involved with the cards since then.

Then we got the new playable pokemon added to Pokemon Unite that include Miraidon, Falinks, and Ceruledge. I have actually revisited Pokemon Unite in the last week. It's still kicking, with enough players to fill matches, and still pretty fun. Forever a Mew main. My only thoughts on this announcement though, is why Falinks? I never played Sword/Shield, so maybe Falinks has some secret hidden fanbase I just never heard of? Also, way to leave Pokemon Scarlet in the dust, Nintendo. You couldn't of added one exclusive from each of the Gen 9 games instead of pulling both from Violet? Oh well.

Surprisingly, I've been using Pokemon Sleep for the past two months, so I'm actually kind of excited about the game receiving legendaries! I think I'm too new to the game to actually come across one in a reasonable amount of time, but it's nice to know it's a possibility.

Now we have Nintendo's grand finale: Pokemon Z-A.

My first thought was, the hell is this?

So I have never actually played Kalos. I was a broke kid whose mom did not think they needed a 3DS, as I already had a DS at home (DS lite WAS NOT the same, Mom!). There was no way 12 year old me was going to scrape up enough pocket money to buy it, so just never bothered. So I have absolutely no emotional connection to Kalos whatsoever. I was jealous of the people who got to play, though. They got Sylveon, an adorable new addition to the Eevee line, and a complete powerhouse! It's one of my favourites.

Honestly, all expectations aside, this game looks good. Legends Arceus was an absolute game-changer in the pokemon series, With a complete new storyline and game mechanics, and I have in fact been waiting for another instalment in the Legends series. Although I had (severely) high hopes for Unova, I'm excited to visit Kalos for my very first time! I can't tell at all if this game is set in past or future. I initially thought past, but not as far back as Legends Arceus. More like, right before major city development takes place. But everyone else seems to think it's super futuristic! I don't really see that working though, if it follows a similar plot to Legends Arceus, since the pokedex would already be completed, as well as most major pokemon research developments. It's all speculation, I'm no expert at all, but that's what I got from the trailer.

I will admit, I am terribly disappointed by the lack of Unova :( If you know me, then you know I am a hardcore Gen-5 stan, so I was praying to the pokemon gods to PLEASE GIVE ME THIS. I'm honestly surprised they avoided remakes completely. Could it be because of the backlash from BDSP? People hated the chibis (personally, I didn't love them but it wasn't awful) so maybe they thought to hold off on remaking more. I just thought with the amount of pointers from the Scarlet/Violet DLC, we would've gotten SOMETHING. A girl can only hope.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Pokemon Day 2024. Lemme know what you guys think!

LORAH

[lorahgames]

first post - welcome

HI FRIENDS ("friends" because I'm assuming only you lot will be visiting my blog here!). Welcome to my side-hobby gaming blog to document my experiences/opinions/whatever else on the games I am currently playing, and probably other stuff that comes to my mind. This is very unserious and just for fun! Thanks for checking it out