Neeksleep's Attempt at Writing Stuff Down

[gaming]

What would you have told Geoff from 5 years ago?

[neeksleep]

Day 24: Animal Crossing: Wild World

               My first Animal Crossing was Wild World, the Nintendo DS entry. I was familiar with the series but never “got it”. Who wants to play a game where you’re essentially doing chores?

               Well, I was (and still am) very easily influenced by the gaming community, and Animal Crossing: Wild World (AC:WW) was constantly hyped up by a website and podcast I was following at the time of its release. So, I bit and went ahead and bought the game. I had purchased one of the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi Connection dongles and needed more reasons to use it anyways. And since then, I now look forward to the next iterations so I can continue to do more chores.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

               Animal Crossing is at a bird’s eye view is a mundane life simulator. You need to raise money to pay off debts which increase your living space once paid off, and then increases your debt once again. You can gain money (Bells in this game) by selling whatever you find; typically, fruits, seashells and unwanted furniture. At the same time, you are also managing your neighbour’s relationship, keeping your town clean, and fulfilling tasks around town.

               It’s not an exciting game, and that’s okay. I do not think it’s supposed to be; instead it’s supposed to bring fun to the mundane through surprises and a feeling of progression. You start your town with only a few fruit trees, but after a while, you can plant more trees which nets you more daily income. Or you start off with an axe that breaks very easily, but you can work your way to a gold axe which won’t break and will help deforest your town quicker. Some of this stuff can take months to obtain, but it’s the little steps that count.  

               I cannot tell you why this works so well. For several months in a row, I would wake up, do my daily task of shaking down every tree that I had planted for time efficient de-fruiting, find the special money-giving rock in town, look for any big fish. Then I would check some website to see if it was any town-members birthday or special event day and plan my day around that. I would take the game to school and use bathroom breaks to quickly do some task that wasn’t possibly before school. The game pulled me in.

2 a.m.: “Let’s trade a pear for a couch!”

               There’s almost too much to cover in the game and most of what makes it special is your own experience. For me, I specifically remember playing in the winter months, not being able to sleep. I would open my DS and see what was up. Occasionally you might find a villager wandering around town like some weirdo, reminding you that you’re also as weird as them, and then might ask to trade something. Or there might be a balloon that is floating by in the air waiting to be shot down.

               But I had three favourite things to do at 2 a.m. on a weeknight, laying in bed under the sheets with the volume slightly turned up. First, I would go fish or go digging for fossils and then take them to the museum. The museum was always a relaxing area to go with its calm music, it’s educational vibe, and its serene atmosphere. In the winter, I would love going around the town and rolling up snowmen. If you rolled up certain shaped ones, you could get special items. But I just enjoyed rolling them up for fun while everyone was sleeping. Finally, I would go to the Roost. A café run by a mellow Pidgeon, get a cup of coffee and then actually turn in for the night. I cannot confirm if Animal Crossing would lead me to drink coffee at stupid times at night, but there is probably a connection there somehow.

In Conclusion…

               Any of the Animal Crossing games are worth checking out. They make great ‘side’ games. Something you load up when you want to kill a few minutes, but also feel like you are accomplishing something concrete in a way that a mobile gatcha game doesn’t. I am not ignorant to the similarity, but there is something different about the way Animal Crossing handles it. It is a great feeling organizing your town in a way that works best for whatever task you’re trying to complete or waking up and realizing there is a surprise new neighbour in town. Heck, even trying to complete a space themed living room has its satisfaction buried deep in there somewhere. If you give it a shot, my only hope is that you find your weird bit of fun in it. For now, I’m going to listen to the 2 a.m. winter jingle and enjoy my coffee.

[neeksleep]

Day 23: Revangelion - Brian Altano

Album Art by Peter Santa-Maria aka Attack Peter (Instagram)

              So, I missed a day, which I feel terrible about. But I’m not going to beat myself up for it. Besides, a 22-day streak is pretty good considering any other project I’ve attempted in a past while, so I’m just going to look on the bright side!

               Also, I decided I ought to try and give back to creators who have been an inspiration to me in some way. So, today I won’t be doing a game review (or whatever you call my blurbs). Instead, I’m going to review an album.

Revangelion by Brian Altano (twitter / Instagram)

               Links to the album:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5BLMVGrMcrXRqkoYbfLKN3?si=E9xvEVxAQuK-1XwFVdlmDA

Bandcamp: https://brianaltano.bandcamp.com/album/revangelion

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/revangelion/1488246898

YouTube: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ofWq2gGp7aU&list=PLMEpSV0C5Xcux9MmVg2i1tRApmpEiAUko

               Admittedly, I have no musical background; no music theory or refined taste, the most I can do on an instrument is the first 4 notes of the Independence Day Movie theme song on a piano. However, I do have a ton of time to myself, a Spotify premium account and an aversion to silence. Basically, I am always listening to music or podcasts, and I always make it a point to sit down and listen to a new album in one session and reflect on it.

The Art of an Album

               I have a test for what makes a baseline good album for me. If on my first time listening to it, I don’t skip a single track or tune out, it means I liked the album. So often it seems that albums, vocal or instrumental, come out and it seems like a mishmash of tracks with little consistency. I don’t mean that every track must sound “the same”, but they ought to have a style or story from start to end. It’s jarring to hear a couple tracks and get into a trance and then taken out of it by something that doesn’t quite fit in.  

               I do not have any proof, but I feel that Brian Altano also has an appreciation for an album as a whole and not necessarily it’s individual tracks. I am not going to begin to try and understand any sort of hidden messages or the story that Brian was telling through the album, but I could tell there as a consistent style from track to track. Of course, the album title is based on Evangelion, a show that explores all types of stories and human emotions. It could be that this album was a summation of Brian’s thoughts or feelings (and not opinions, but the emotion associated with the show) on the series in music form. But I’d like to believe it’s different than that. A mixture of however the show imprinted its emotions on him and whatever he was experience in his own life.

               Now, if you want my thoughts on individual tracks, I can quickly go over them and what I was feeling. For me, it was like an album for my commute to work. A Cruel Angel’s Thesis begins as the garage door opens and the sun blinds me. Nerv played as I dealt with the unpredictable (and oddly dangerous) inner city traffic, and the track has an almost “ready? Fight!” tone to it. As I get onto the highway and the drive is predictable, I tend to get very introspective. I nod my head to A Crystalline Night Sky and Rei Ayanami feeling a weird mix of nostalgia and questioning my own life. Hedgehog’s Dilemna is to me, the most intriguing one, since the title is something I’ve known about because of my interest in psychology. Finally, Tokyo-3 and Fly Me to the Moon are the cooldown tracks as I get into work. It leaves me feeling hopeful for some reason (even though almost no episode of Evangelion ended with any resemblance of hope).

In Conclusion...

               To be honest, it feels a little strange to try and recommend an album based off emotion itself. This album has sounds inspired by Evangelion, but there’s no voice clips or anything that would spoil the show if you haven’t seen it. If anything, it may push you to watch it if you have not seen it already.

              If you do listen to the album, please reach out to me and let me know what you think, and of course let Brian know as he is very receptive to critical feedback. I find it particularly interesting to hear what goes through people’s heads as they listen to instrumental albums, as it is emotion based off sounds and not words. But if you want to add a little something to your commute, or something to bop to while working on your own personal project, check out Revangelion.

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If you’re interested in Brian Altano’s work, you can find him at IGN doing shows like Up at Noon (a hilarious comedy variety show covering all sorts of geeky stuff) and Fast Travel (a travel series that covers gaming life in parts of the world often not covered). He’s also part of one of my favourite podcasts of all time, The Comedy Button, a show that I can’t describe other than 4-5 good friends talk about things like horses and fast food. It’s great, trust me.

[neeksleep]

Day 22: Sonic Generations

               Sonic games are a minefield of quality. I have fond memories of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 since we owned the former and my cousin owned the latter. We also owned a Sega Game Gear and the Sonic game for that, which was…not very good from my little memory I have of it. Then there was a large gap until I played (read: my brother played, I watched) Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. And I even have some good memories associated with that game and its sequel. 

               There was even a point where I got ‘really’ into Sonic stuff. I was playing the Sonic games on emulators, trying to unlock every secret I could find, reading about some beta games, reading Sonic “lore”. And then I stopped, and Sonic games started to get a bad reputation. Sonic ’06, Sonic Unleashed and a few others were well known for being bad games. There was the 2D Sonic games on the DS, but I never played those.

               Fast Forward to 2011, when a new Sonic game was released, Sonic Generations. This game was basically Sonic Nostalgia: The Game. And that was honestly not the worst thing.

Gotta Go Back

               Sonic Generations re-explores previous Sonic games by re-imagining levels from older Sonic games in an updated 2.5D recreation as well as a modern take, which is usually more forward running levels. In this game, you have levels from Sonic 2, 3, Adventure, Adventure 2, Heroes, ’06, Unleashed and Colours. And since each stage has both a 2.5D and a modern version, there is a good amount of content in here.

               It was neat to see the stages from my childhood in a cool 3D look, especially with updated music. My nostalgia meter was off the charts hearing the chemical plant zone music and seeing one of my most hated Sonic 2 levels recreated to be a tad less frustrating. But that nostalgia ended up not being the thing that carried me through the game. It was the modern levels.

               Don’t get me wrong, I like the 2.5D stages as well. But in a way, because they often had fluctuating pace, they weren’t nailing for me, what makes a good Sonic game. I want to go fast. I don’t think Sonic games have particularly good platforming, but being able to go at top speed, plow through enemies while looking cool. A good example of this is the Escape the City stage, based off Sonic Adventure 2. It makes a stage out of the downhill boarding/truck chase scene from the original game, introducing a slightly new path and looking a whole lot better. But since you’re moving almost the entire time, taking different paths, it stays exciting the whole way through.

               Another aspect that I did not expect to enjoy as much were the boss battles. The bosses in the game are recreated versions of bosses from previous games. I didn’t realize just how fun and varied the bosses were. Metal Sonic has you racing against him as he causes destruction along the way and tries to take you out. A lot of it comes down to memorization, but I didn’t mind that in this case since the fights are fairly short. It also helps that the HD remakes of the 2D and 3D bosses look great!

In Conclusion…

               The vibe around this game seemed to be pretty mixed. Most people had given up on Sonic games after not seeing much to enjoy in the years leading up this. And I get the feeling it left a sense of apathy when it came to judge this game. But I truly do believe that Sonic Generations is a Sonic game at its best. It should be satisfying to fans of the old games, but also a taste of the newer sonic games without having to play them. And the payoff of having two Super Sonic’s at the end and a goofy storyline gave me hope that Sonic Team knows what they are doing with the series. It is a damn shame they didn’t learn.

[neeksleep]

Day 21: Elite Beat Agents

              The Nintendo DS was when games started getting weird. To be clear, games have always been weird; we’ve just accepted the fact that there are giant mushrooms in Mario games that make you larger. But the Nintendo DS library was a run of games that started to try out new things for the same of using its touch screen, dual screen set up.

               Elite Beat Agents was one of those game. Elite Beat Agents (EBA) was also the onset of weird Nintendo. It does not happen as often as I would like, but every now and then Nintendo greenlights some strange wonderful titles.

Master of Rhythm, Saver of Worlds

               The basic idea of EBA is to hit circles on time to the beat of the music. You’ll either be tapping single beats, dragging along a line, or spinning rapidly for bonus points. There are 4 levels of difficulty which are conveyed by who your dancing Agents.

               The game plays out in a story mode of sorts, where each level is a contained story with a song that goes with it. You’ll be hearing song covers from Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi to (my favourite) Earth, Wind and Fire’s September. It’s an odd selection of songs from a bird’s eye view, but it works so well! I never expected me and my 16-year-old self-conscious self to be giddily bopping my head to Material Girl by Madonna.

               The game doesn’t take itself seriously for the most part (spoiler: there’s one track that made me tear up a bit), and this is shown with the wacky animations. Whether you’re trying to help a former baseball player save a kid from a volcano monster or help an old man find some sunken treasure, the game does not let up on its silliness.

               You won’t have time to check out the story bits on the top screen though as you’ll be focused on keeping up with the rhythm. All the songs have minor breaks in them which will display the progress of the story, and depending on your performance, you’ll see either a very good, good or bad result. You can lose the song by missing too many beats, but sometimes even the failed path storyboard is entertaining.

In Conclusion…

               My journey from the easiest mode to the hardest difficulty was full of many fail states, quivering hands, and actual sweat. But it was such an oddly addicting game, I’d come back to certain songs when I just wanted to cheer myself up, or wanted to get a song out of my head. Fun fact, my first ever YouTube upload was a shaky recording of my S-rank September run. I’m sad to see the series never get a sequel, whereas the Japanese equivalent, Ouendan, had one sequel, but neither made it over here. And with the end of the 3DS’ life and the lack of touch screen utilization from Nintendo, I don’t expect an official sequel anytime soon. If they announced one though, would I be first in line to play it? You bet, kid!

[neeksleep]

Day 20: Journey

            Journey is a difficult game to define past its light platforming and adventure genre. The experience is also so short, that there is not much to say about the journey, but there is probably a unique story for everyone. As you play, you may end up encountering other players, one or many, and the only way to outwardly communicate with them is with a little ‘chirp’ at the press of a button. So, without sounding too cheesy, I’m going to tell you about my short and only experience with Journey. 

**If you have a minor interest in playing this game, definitely give it a shot before reading this. I don’t want to spoil too much but it’s a bit inevitable given I plan to just tell my story. **

The Journey

            When I started, I was alone in a desert and looking around saw some stone relics off in the distance. Approaching them brings up the title and shows you your destination: a mountain with a pillar of light way off in the distance. Continuing, I saw a large field of those stone relics. I interpreted them as gravestones of sorts for all the people who didn’t make it. 

            Making my way past that, I see my first bit of architecture, a dilapidated building with some...something on top. There are bits of floating scarves swirling around. Honestly at this point, I still have no clue what to make of anything. Things made a bit more sense though as I found another crumbling massive temple. There is the first bit of storytelling through cave-painting-like animations. What does it all mean? Still not sure other than some significance relating to the scarf on your body. I kept going on though, proceeding through a long hallway and into a tunnel of light. 

            Now, I’m not sure if this is the first chance that you can meet somebody else, but in the next area, after jumping down a cliff into a clearing, I saw a bridge form close by. Moving a bit closer, I could hear a chirp! A little further, and I finally found someone else! I was excited because I was going to have someone to get through everything to the very end!

            And so, it was this other player was by my side through the rest of the game. We had come up with a system to communicate to each other using the chirps. One chirp for attention, two chirps for “follow me” and a three for “here, watch me”. Now, it could have been coincidence that we understood what we were saying to each other. The game isn’t all that difficult after all. But anytime either of us got stuck, we were patient enough to wait for each other. I wouldn’t let them get too far behind, and surprisingly they were waiting for me. My favourite moment was a segment where you’re sliding through a building and past some pillars that look outside and all you see is a silhouette of your characters. Something about maintaining that connection for as long as we did was powerful. 

The Destination

            Near the end of the game, things take a turn for the worse. You reach the cold cliff sides near the peak of the mountain and must deal with cold winds blowing you away from reaching your goal. Passing through one final gate, you can see the top of the mountain’s pillar of light still quite a way off. The cold is overbearing, and the friend and I’s characters are covered in snow. As we try and climb this one final stretch, I turn around and my friend is no longer there. My character collapses. As my character is given a second chance by some overseer like figures, I blast through the final area, ascending with ease and excited to reach the end. But I’m also excited to be reunited with the friend I was with the entire way.

            I reach the top, and then I wait, occasionally signaling with the same system we used the rest of the journey. But there was nothing. I waited and waited. I waited almost 20 minutes before moving on, hoping that maybe they were just exploring. They never showed up. I walked through the gate alone. 

In Conclusion…

            I was sad after that. After the credits, it does show you who you encountered along your journey, and there they were, the single person along my journey. But I wanted to reach that gate together. Somewhere they got lost or went off on their own. I won’t ever know, but I wish I did. Regardless, it was a magical journey even if it didn’t end the way I wanted to. And I’m hoping somewhere out there that friend is triple chirping to show someone how to get things done.

[neeksleep]

Day 19: Creature in the Well

               I was very fortunate to be able to attend PAX East earlier this year. This was my second time at the convention, but this year I think I had a better understanding on how to “do” conventions. I spent more time beforehand checking out what was on the show floor, doing a bit of research and then checking it. Unfortunately, I completely overlooked Creature in the Well because…I’m an idiot. I didn’t realize how long lines could get and so I had to watch other people play the game from a distance. The only upside is that I was able to play the game completely fresh when it was finally released. This game is unique as heck and looks great too!

Master of Angles

               The basic gameplay of Creature in the Well involves hitting energy balls at objects to power them up or damage enemies. You can chain hits or charge your hit to increase the energy of the balls, and you can combo multiple balls for an even bigger effect. It also comes down to hitting the ball at certain angles to ricochet the balls to hit multiple objects at the same time.

It’s a simple concept that the developers do some creative things with object placement and timing. There are a small number of weapons that alter how you interact with the ball, and upgrades which will increase how much energy you can gain/output from the balls. This is important since the enemies you face become increasingly stronger.

A Really Cool Well

               The world is worth talking about too. The game has a beautiful cel-shaded graphic with slick animations as you smash the balls into objects and traverse the world. The camera angles swing around in ways to make it seem like someone is watch you go through every room. Everything is telegraphed really well; things that can be changed up have a distinct white line around it, while anything that can damage you is glowing in red.

Any interaction with the Creature is subtle but ominous and is a reminder that you’re dealing with something that doesn’t want you disturbing it. My favourite bit of animation is the boss rooms where your character is suddenly pulled down several floors by two massive hands. And all the machinery in the world is smoothly animated in a way that works so well with graphics. It simply looks rad!

The map that you explore has a consistent rundown look that livens up as you bring it back to life. The different sections don’t have a big aesthetic change between them other than slight background details and colour swaps, but it is at least enough to know which section you’re in. For the most part, each section is identified by the type of puzzle you encounter. The overworld area is a small town that holds a few secrets and bits of flavor text to build the world.

In Conclusion…

               This game isn’t very long and overall it doesn’t have a ton of variety. But because it can be beat in a short time, the mechanic doesn’t stick around long enough to get boring. There’s a neat world that’s been built here with an interesting backstory that unfolds through text from data logs and the few NPC’s in the world. There’s a good amount of secrets and optional cosmetic items, and the world is full of puzzles and traps that provide a fair amount of challenge. If you’re looking for a light puzzle adventure game with a new gameplay mechanic and stand-out art style, check out this game.

[neeksleep]

Day 18: Hyper Light Drifter

               Some games just grab me from their art style, and I’ll want to play them without even knowing what kind of game they are. Membrane, Katamari Damacy, Journey are all games that I bought without doing any research and assumed the art would carry it. My intuition has been pretty on point so far. Hyper Light Drifter is another game that I saw on various websites for years, knew I wanted it but never dove in until it was available on the Nintendo Switch. And once I was in, I was in.

Pixel Art on Another Level

               The opening scene sets the tone for the game. A mysterious mechanism explodes and leaves a desolate landscape and you are presented to the main protagonist. He falls to the ground, coughing up blood, and then is immediately attacked by ‘something’. As he runs away, he eventually comes face to face with some massive titans that are decaying. All of this is presented in some unmatched pixel art animations, no vocals and ominous music. I don’t know what I just saw, but I was ready to dive in.

               But the beautiful art doesn’t stop at that opening cutscene. The world itself is stunning to look at, with its mixture of modern pixel art and a 2D bloom lighting effect that works so well to make everything pop. The world has been in a decayed state for a while, and the visuals do an amazing job of showing that. My favourite example of this is a section in the water biome area where a giant titan from the intro has sunk into the water. The head and part of the hands are the only parts that remained above water and have overgrown moss defining its structure, while the rest of the body is submerged, rusted and fades into the depths. There’s no interaction with this background, or any text that explains what happened (in fact, I am sure there is zero text in the game), it’s just something that builds the world through visuals alone.

               Extending beyond the background, the animations are amazing. Pretty much anything the Drifter does is “cool”. Slashing the Drifters sword has neat light-saber light look to it and then gets tucked away immediately. The dashing has a good sense of speed and finishing it with an attack makes you feel like the flow is never broken when you’ve become comfortable with the movements. Bosses all appear to over-power the Drifter and show their brute strength with their unique styles of combat. In one biome is a massive frog, clearly corrupted by whatever is destroying the world with moss enveloping half it’s body. In another, King of sorts attacks you with an arsenal like your own.

A Silent World

The way I’m presenting these enemies and the world could be different to how you interpret them though. There is not a single line of text in the game to describe anything, and the most storytelling you get are small pictures from NPCs. Even those are up for interpretation though. I personally found this to be a fun way to tell my own story with the little information that was given. I made up my own lore as to why there would be a huge underground lab under a desert. I am aware that that is not for everyone, but it was fine for me and my approach to the game.

In Conclusion…

               From a gameplay standpoint, Hyper Light Drifter isn’t doing anything new. It has an almost Zelda-like approach to adventuring, and the combat feels like a very polished and good-looking hack and slash game. Even the map itself isn’t doing anything overly complex as its split into four biomes that all interconnect somehow. But that’s not a knock on the game either. It does both of those well and then wraps it in a beautiful mysterious world where vague clues let you dig deep into a lore if you want to. I seriously can’t wait to see what the developers, Heart Machine, comes up with next and explore whatever world they create.

[neeksleep]

Day 17: Shenmue(-ish)

              I am late starting today’s post and have some other things to do, but I am committed to at least posting something today, even if it’s not a typical review.

               So, here’s the truth about me and Shenmue. I only played parts of it, but I watched the game played by my brother. When the game was released, we had rented the game and needed to beat it over the weekend (with an extended rental for 5 days instead of 3). Knowing full well that this game was going to be some massive, movie like experience, my brother and I prepped ourselves for the experience. For the most part, my brother had full control of the game. We’d be sitting for hours playing it, probably making instant noodles for sustenance.

               Now, when I say I played parts of it, what I mean is that I would play for any moment I could get when my brother wasn’t around. I would sneak in a few minutes of gameplay just so I could experience this “cinematic” experience myself. I would quickly run to the arcade to play one of the games, or slowly progress the story. I would avoid saving though because I didn’t want to get a sibling beatdown, and if I figured something out before my brother got there, I would act like I didn’t know what to do for a few minutes and then make “suggestions”. Yes, I did that.

               None of this says anything about Shenmue though. But if I’m being honest, Shenmue is just a product of it’s time and I don’t think it would hold up all that well today. Looking back, I completely understand why it was a big deal though. It had this living, breathing world that other games didn’t at the time. NPCs had schedules that they stuck to through the game-day, you could waste days not progressing the story, you had to get a job. On the face of it, it is a boring life-sim with a story there somewhere.

               For me though, it was like watching a movie or TV show that exuded a feeling of a sleepy town in dreary winter months. It was odd that I felt a part of setting and probably had something to do with the realistic nature of the game. I could see myself being the Ryo who would just walk around town, spending money on little figurines or going to a store to kill time. That is an odd feeling for a 9-year-old to have.

               I think it is generally agreed upon that fighting in Shenmue is not the highlight of the game. And I don’t really remember seeing the fight sequences as a kid. I remember the QTEs and being quite good at them (it was my claim to fame when I got the high score on the QTE arcade game and demolished my brothers score). I do remember being so interested in the town though. I wanted to inspect every detail in the town, zoom in on every low-res texture design on the wall that barely resembled a flyer. I was interested in exploring the town in the same way I would explore the real world.

In Conclusion…?

               These days, Shenmue is more fun to watch a playthrough of than to play. The voice acting is mostly terrible but hilarious at best, the signposting is terrible and it’s easy to get lost, and the QTE/Combat stuff is kind of half-baked. But I must commend it for trying to do so much despite the hardware limitations of the time. Looking at it now, you can see the rough edges, but it did a good enough job at the time to really make me believe that what I was seeing was believable. I don’t have a preference on game worlds, a game doesn’t need to be set in a real-world setting for me to be interested in it. But I think that Shenmue was one of the last times I was immersed in a world that I felt was so real. That illusion was essentially broken for games that I experienced afterwards. No matter how good-looking game worlds got, how good the AI was, or how many jobs your character had to take on, I would never be able to picture a game world as “real” as Shenmue.  

[neeksleep]

Day 16: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

                I’ve never played Castlevania: Symphony of the Night because I never had a Sony console until the last quarter of the PS2’s lifecycle. My only experience with Castlevania games was Circle of the Moon, a game that I definitely played right up to the final boss but couldn’t beat and had to return it to blockbuster. Still, Circle of the Moon was a pretty fun game, but I do remember a lingering stiffness to it, and not really remembering much besides the card system. It was complex to my 11-year-old brain and I didn’t ever get to play around with the system since it was a game rental and I had 3 days to clear it as fast as I could.

                Eventually I was gifted Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, which birthed a nostalgia of Castlevania in me. Since I didn’t have a deep relationship to the series, Aria of Sorrow would be the first time where I was constantly humming the music, thinking about the game as I slept and encouraging everyone around me to play it. 11-year-old me didn’t care for the Vampire Killer song. 13 year me would have it on repeat (despite it not being Aria of Sorrow). This was the game that had me waiting for the next entry even if nothing was really changed.

Sprite Work at its Best

                My knowledge of Castlevania games was that the main character moved like molasses and had a whip. It wasn’t all that cool to me, and things had to be cool for met to be really interested in them. Aria of Sorrow cranked up the coolness by having these (relatively) huge bosses and a wide variety of weapons and special abilities. I loved trying out the different weapons since they generally had a unique look to them and changed how the game played enough to have me switch between them for different bosses. There was no cooler feeling than having a killer set of abilities and a strong weapon. Once you’re able to dash your way through the castle and superman-jump your way to anywhere, going through the castle without warping is just pure fun and satisfying.

Metroidvania Nearly Perfected

                There’s also the castle itself which has a buttload to explore and rewards backtracking once you have new traversal abilities. Saving and Fast Travel points can only be done in special designated rooms, but there’s enough around to not be frustrating if you’re having a difficult time in an area. The castle is easy to navigate, and I never felt confused about where I could go next which keeps the game going at a good pace. When I think of current Metroidvanias, I sometimes notice that the traversal can be a bit confusing or not as well thought out. There are a few games where the art gets in the way of discerning what a platform is or what is an interactable object. The graphic style in this game might have been simple due to hardware limitations, but because of that, it was easy to see how to get around or what would probably require a future gained ability. Simply put, I never had a hard time making me through the castle because I overlooked something.

In Conclusion…

By today’s standards, this game might be a bit too simple and lacking in its offering. There have been a ton of games that have followed the same formula as this and improved in several areas (the sequel to this game, Dawn of Sorrow, is a good example). But it’s always a nice treat to go back and see how a genre evolved. In my opinion, Aria of Sorrow nailed the overall castle design and navigation and I find myself enjoying current day games that follow its style (the best example of this is Hollow Knight). These 2D Castlevania games stopped being released at the end of the Nintendo DS’ life, and we only recently got Bloodstained from Igarashi. I haven’t been able to play that yet, but I have heard decent things about it which is hopeful for the genre. But I can confidently say that Aria of Sorrow and the 2D Castlevania entries that followed are some of the best Metroidvania games and I think it all comes down to Aria of Sorrow solidifying the formula and setting a standard for many games that followed in its style. 

[neeksleep]

Day 15: Fantasy Life

               There are a few games where I can see all the limitations very clearly and yet I’ll still pour serious time into them. Fantasy Life on the 3DS is one of those games. This is a game that could do a lot more, but what it does have is good enough if you want a simple distraction for a few days.

Lots of Jobs

               Fantasy Life offers 12 different classes which are divided between gathering, combat and crafting type mechanics. Depending on the class you choose, you will be given a specific set of challenges to help you progress in your class. An Alchemist for example would have you craft an accessory as a challenge, while the Hunter class would have you defeat 3 Coyotes for its challenge.

               You can’t stick to one class though as each one aids the other. You might require material from a strong enemy in order to craft a weapon for the Blacksmiths class. In that case, you’d need to level up one of your combat classes so you can defeat that monster. It’s a good cycle and gives you a good reason to change your class and become an expert for each one.

               I found myself changing classes depending on my mood. When I wanted to just adventure out and do a bit of (very basic) combat, I would switch to the combat classes. The world isn’t insanely huge, but there is quite a bit to explore and a whack of tough monsters that you’ll need the best equipment to fight. When I just wanted to relax and kill a couple hours though, I would switch to the gathering or crafting classes. The crafting classes are fun because they are minigames that require a little bit of timing, and it was nice to go back and see what else I could craft after venturing out for a long time.

Lots of Grinding

               This game has you grinding a lot, but I didn’t get bored because there was enough variety to keep things from getting stale. It was cool exploring the world and seeing something I couldn’t gather yet or who was too strong for me. There are a few dungeons where you might happen upon a new boss, and after a serious crafting session, I felt encouraged to try out my new equipment to gauge if I could survive.

               The gathering aspect can be very tranquil, chopping down a few trees or mining some ore is a satisfying experience if only because the games aesthetics and sound design is pleasing. Of course, trying to gather while a strong monster is around is a bit stressful, but it doesn’t happen often enough to become annoying.

In Conclusion…

               There is line that Fantasy Life doesn’t cross that I wish it did. The scope of the world is limited, and there isn’t much reason to try out the different combat classes if you’re already invested in one. But there is a simplicity to this game that makes it a joy to play. It even offers up to 4 player multiplayer, and that can be an enjoyable gather/creation-fest for you and your friends. The feel of the game really does carry it though. The combat is simple but enough, the weapon and cosmetic equipment choices are abundant, and crafting is a good way to make you invest time in every class. But most importantly, you can hire pets (specifically dogs) to help fight with you.

[neeksleep]

Day 14: Dead Cells

              Alright, super short one today! I want to get back to playing Pokémon, so please forgive me!

              I did not expect Dead Cells to be one of my highest play time game on my Nintendo Switch. I had read some articles on the development of the game, but I was unaware of what sort of game it was (which seems to be a reoccurring theme when it comes to indie game purchases for me).  Here’s a quick summary: Dead Cells is a Roguelite (some progress carries from one run to the next) with a sizeable variety of weapons and branching paths. Going through the dungeon lets you net some collectable ‘Cells’ which you can use to unlock weapons/armour/outfits, or to increase the chances of finding already upgraded equipment during your run. Try and get as far as you can (you might not get far), reset the run with your investments in-tact, and try and get even further. That’s pretty much it. Then why do I have over 80 hours clocked on this game?

Everything is so Smooth

               The animation in Dead Cells is spectacular. It’s not just that everything seems to move like butter, but it’s that there is an animation for almost any interaction, and it aids to keep the flow going. You can be mowing your way through enemies, dodge rolling behind one or deflecting it’s attack, and then run off a ledge towards another ledge, grab on, roll onto it and past an enemy while your turret takes it out. All the animations when doing these sorts of actions is seamless and appears as though there is no limitations on the combination of movements you have. Nearly every attack that comes your way can be parried, and the telegraphing from the enemies is obvious, so failing to parry comes down to your reaction time and rarely the game not doing a good job. When it was primary game, I was able to go through the first couple areas without getting hit and perfectly parrying attacks that were coming my way. I loved that feeling of being able to counter attacks almost unconsciously regardless of my equipment.

More Content than I can Handle

               There is a lot to do in Dead Cells. In fact, even with 80 hours in, I don’t think I’ve unlocked half of the equipment available. On top of that, there are areas that I still haven’t reached because I wasn’t able to fulfill certain conditions. Even knowing that though, I still found myself replaying the same paths just to get a bit more gold and cells and perform just a bit better. Of the content I missed though, there are whole areas that I haven’t explored, bosses I haven’t seen, and an entire piece of (free) DLC that I wasn’t skilled enough to access. If it took 80 hours to get where I was, I imagine there’s more than double that to really see everything. This is a game that you get your moneys worth in content.

In Conclusion…

               There is an addicting cycle that comes from Roguelite games where you just want to go one more time and make a smidge more progress. Dead Cells hits the nail on rewarding you with equipment that has unique modifiers, random(ish)ly generated maps and branching paths that make every run feel worth it, even when you die 20 seconds in. The aesthetics might not be for everyone, but this is some fine pixel art that really holds up after several hours in and the game always runs silky smooth. All in all, I can’t pinpoint why I was so taken in by Dead Cells since it’s not necessarily doing anything new. But if you are looking for a polished Roguelite with tons to do and available on every platform, then Dead Cells is the game you should check out.

[neeksleep]

Day 13: Final Fantasy XV

                I never got into Final Fantasy games until Final Fantasy 12. The turn-based nature of the preceding games without some overworld mechanics like Golden Sun seemed boring to me. I also never really had a Sony console at the time that there were big Final Fantasy releases. I eventually bought Final Fantasy 12 and I had spent several hours playing it because the combat was unique. But my 100 hours save file ended up getting corrupted and I never bothered to restart. I also never really followed the games, I knew of Final Fantasy 13 Versus or whatever the name was, and I also knew that I preferred Kingdom Hearts for my over-the-top fantasy game with that Square Enix charm. But I now had a PS4, and my brother had gifted Final Fantasy 15 to me. I’ll be honest, I was so unaware of the Final Fantasy games that I hadn’t even realized that game was released. I hadn’t read any news about the game, or checked the reviews, so I had no idea there was a bad aura around the game. I did know that the food looks delicious though.

                I hadn’t realized that they made the jump to a more active combat similar to Kingdom Hearts, so that was the initial hook. And then the music started playing, along with the message that this was a “Final Fantasy game for fans and newcomers” which intrigued me. By the end of this game, I’m not sure if I’d call myself a fan of Final Fantasy games but I certainly would be interested in a new game with characters as likeable as the four main party members here. They left a mark on me that I admit may not be the case for everyone, but the end of the journey made me feel some emotions like parting with good friends.

                Also, before I start, I should mention, I played this game before a lot of things were added. I played when free roaming the world in the car wasn’t an option, and before extra gameplay and story bits were added. It was essentially vanilla except for maybe a few early quality of life changes were added. The experience might be completely different now, and if I do replay this game, my opinions may change with that.

Bros Before Po(tion)s?

                Could Final Fantasy have achieved what it did with a more diverse cast? Sure. I won’t disagree there. Could there have been more characterization for the people you meet? Absolutely. My hope is that it’s something that’s fixed for the next entry, but for now, I will look at Final Fantasy XV as it is. And what it is to me is four best friends on a journey to get their boy hitched (with some roadblocks along the way, sometimes literally).

                Your crew consists of four characters. Noctis the main protagonist, who is the one that is to be married to Lady Lunafreya, and the sort of whiniest and least likeable character of the bunch (though he is redeemed by the end of the game at least). Prompto, your closest buddy who is a bit more lighthearted and the photographer of the group. Ignis, who is the chef of the group, and the more reserved and butler like of the group. Finally, Gladiolus, the bodyguard of the group who sort of keeps Noctis on track and kicking him into place.

                As you go through the game, there is so many instances of unprompted dialogue between the crew. As you start driving and enable the autopilot on the longer drives, a conversation about cup noodles might start, or you may get a bit of background on Ignis’ hobbies. Eventually you might get repeated dialogue, but at the pace I was going through the game, I didn’t notice it all that much. Either way, I welcomed it. Like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, I appreciate moments in game where you are just navigating through the world with very little to do but take in the scenery. Given the size of the world in this game, driving can take up at to 5 or so minutes before you’re able to fast travel, so having minor distractions, either by way of conversations, or observations along the road made the experience more immersive. I rarely used the fast travel option because I loved the scenery and taking minor detours to explore an area pointed out by one of the characters.

                There’s also the development of the character over the story. Even though the other characters in the world get very little development, the four party members do. They might have their own sidequests or side conversations with some exposition. By the end of the game, you can see the bond grow stronger. I won’t spoil anything, but there is a bit of dialogue at the very end that did make me tear up knowing the journey was over. They may have missed the mark on making a fleshed-out world outside the party, but I believe they absolutely nailed a feeling of ‘friends on a road trip” and activated some nostalgic feelings in me from my own life and friends. I rarely go back and replay games unless it’s on a new generation of consoles, but I would not mind re-experiencing the journey in this case.

That’s No Mountain…

                I have to mention the world that they’ve built in this game. The second half of the game goes full on linear and loses a lot of what makes the first half great, but it does it to progress the story quite a bit, and you can eventually ‘go back in time’ to re-explore areas that you may have missed. There are a lot of areas to explore, with hidden dungeons in some unexpected places, so the time travel feature is useful if you want to find everything.

                The locations you visit are mostly visually appealing and is filled with bits of tiny details and areas to stop and take in the view. The world reminded me of Xenoblade Chronicle’s overword, with its amazing large structures that tower over the environments. Duscae in particular looks like an HD overhaul of Gaur Plains, with much more fauna and a meteorite impact site in the center. The few city locations you visit are filled with detail as well and have a distinct personality to them. My personal favourite areas were the campsites though. They were usually in scenic areas and gave off believable camping experiences.

Like Xenoblade are the superbosses that you can find around the world, enemies who are very difficult even when you’re properly levelled up. And at night, the world is infested by tough and scary monsters, sometimes ones who will appear to block your way as you’re trying to drive to a location. It never came off as annoying, since night-time enemies are stronger and required a bit more strategy to face. The world felt alive, even if it was slowly dying from evil.

In Conclusion…

                Final Fantasy XV had its problems, but I admit that I wasn’t even aware of them while I was playing. I think it’s best to just go into this game and lower your expectations. Not in a bad way, but in a way that lets you enjoy the ride as it comes. This game contains some wonderful moments that aren’t just contained to the story. The pictures that Prompto takes, the food that Ignis cooks, and the kick-star the Gladiolus gives Noctis are all so fitting with the rest of the world. By the end of the game, this was one road trip that I was glad to be a part of.

[neeksleep]

Day 12: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

                I absolutely loved Xenoblade Chronicles 1 on the Wii when it made its way to America after project Rainfall succeeded. The world was massive, the story had me hooked and the combat was unique. However, the span of which I played that game was almost 3 years, picking it back up when I was feeling bored. I would get sidetracks a whole bunch and barely make any progress in the story. Because of that, it’s hard for me to remember most of the details for why I enjoyed the game so much.

                But, with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I could easily block out time to play the game since it was handheld, and I could play it in a condensed period. This game has similarities to the previous entries in terms of huge areas, plenty of monsters and a great story, but there was a huge overhaul for the combat system and the graphical style. They also introduced a gatcha system that lets you draw for rare ‘blades’ which are the complement to your character for combat. It’s a bit complicated to explain in a short, but I’ll do my best. Basically, you the player character are the driver, and can attack with your weapon, but also using skills. The skills come from one of the 3 blades that you can equip at a time, and all offer their own unique abilities, and elements. If that doesn’t make sense, don’t worry, I didn’t understand it until a few hours of combat, but it didn’t mar my experience until then either.

Huge Areas and Great Sights

                Following in the footsteps of Xenoblade Chronicles 1, this game features some really unique and expansive areas. Whereas the original Xenoblade took place on one (and part of another) giant immobile creature, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 takes place on several different Titans that roam around the Cloud Sea, a vast plane of clouds that covers an unexplored world underneath. Although it’s overall not as impressive of an idea that the first game was, the environments in my opinion are as enjoyable to explore.

                Each area offers a different biome that is filled with tons of monsters, hidden treasures and gathering points. You may not always be crossing paths with monsters that you can handle either. One wrong turn and you may find yourself being targeted by a monster 90 levels above you! I loved this part of the Xenoblade games. It is so satisfying when you finally get to go back and take on those monsters, and they often still pose quite a challenge even if you have rare blades equipped. The story bosses only go up to around level 70, but the strongest enemies can be found throughout the world (called superbosses) and can go up to level 130!

                Aside from the monsters though, the areas you visit are visually stunning. Not necessarily graphically, the Nintendo Switch has its hardware limitations. But if this game doesn’t prove that art style can make you look past the graphics, I don’t know what will. Even generic environments like some green plains look amazing when you decide to look around and can see the Titan’s body parts, large as mountains, subtly moving as it traverses the world. The Kingdom of Uraya is my favourite, starting you in a very simple looking cave, but opens to a massive cavernous area full of bright fauna lighting up a huge lake and a kingdom at the other end. I don’t want to spoil anything though, because if you plan on playing this game, then I think it’s best you experience seeing the locale by yourself. It may be some of my favourite video game locations to just sit and look at.

Characters to Love

                Say what you will about the voice acting or the character animations in this game, I think there is room for improvement. But that doesn’t change how much I really enjoyed playing the game to see these characters develop.  It helps that I also really liked the voice acting and thought it was only brought down because the animations didn’t match the English voice overs. My favourite character, Nia, has a great range of emotion, and her story adds quite a bit to the world itself. Even Rex, the main protagonist, despite being a typical hero archetype, goes through some believable development as the game progresses.

                There’s also just dialogue that you’ll hear as you’re in combat or small cutscenes. The rare Blades all end up having their own set of sidequests. They are all voiced, and a lot of them have some fairly entertaining conversations. The Blade sidequests also tend to be more involved and fun than regular NPC sidequests.

Incredible Soundtrack

                The first game had some really great music. It stood out because it matched all the environments perfect, and most areas also had songs for both night and day. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 also has this, but I think they outdid themselves in this game. The Kingdom of Uraya track is by far my favourite, but the Mor Ardain track also gets a special shout out. The regular combat track also never got old for me (though pre-patch, some of the enemy callouts were entertainingly overused). Check out some of the songs from this game and check out both the day and night tracks for any area songs. You’ll surely find one that clicks with you.

In Conclusion

                Xenoblade 2 really hit the spot for me when it came to a long RPG with engaging combat and a story that wasn’t overly complex but still fun to follow. The combat might be confusing at first, but it’ll eventually click. And the difficulty never really ends up being a challenge, so long as you don’t completely skip fighting any monsters in the field areas. There are also way too many sidequests to count and systems that offer several hours of gameplay beyond the story. At this point, I have yet to play a Xenoblade Chronicle games I didn’t like. It will be very hard to top this entry, because I could very well consider this one of my favourite RPGs of all time.

[neeksleep]

Day 11: Oxenfree

               I find myself perpetually nostalgic about high school, dumb conversations and ending up at a ‘spot’ unconsciously with my friends. To me, this is what Oxenfree captures quite well. It’s a game about a few kids who go to an abandoned island to chill out, play self-esteem testing games and let out some teen angst. On this hang out night though, things get weird. If I’m being honest, I still don’t truly understand what happened over the course of the game. It’s a light horror game with a believable and controllable conversation between the small cast of characters. I only just played it last month, but it felt like a great game to play in October, the spooky month!

“Ugh”

               Oxenfree lets you control Alex, a teenager who is dealing with the aftermaths of her parent remarrying and in the process, having a new stepbrother to deal with. With you on this trip are your stepbrother Jonas, your old friend Ren, a no-longer-a-friend Clarissa, and Ren’s crush Nona. Each character has unique personalities and their own baggage that is unraveled as you progress through the game. When responding to the others, you have a limited time to choose an answer, or you can let the conversation go on without saying a word.

               At first, I didn’t like that I could miss responding to someone as I felt like I wanted to control the conversation. But a big part of the game is the ‘natural’ flow of conversations and answering with the first choice that comes to mind works best as it portrays how I would respond on the fly in a casual conversation with friends. While a lot of answers have no consequence and just lead to slightly different dialogue (though most of the voice acting performance is terrific and I enjoyed hearing everyone talk), a few choices will affect the ending in some ways. Since I was choosing answers on the fly, it was essentially playing out in a way that matched what I wanted. I didn’t particularly like a certain character, and my choices ended up affecting that character at the end of the game.

               Really though, the voices and the conversations really do carry the game. Hearing the teen-like bantering about trivial things is very much on point for the age group that the characters are in. I can apply their types of talking styles and conversation to ones I remember hearing when I was in high school. Priorities are still scattered, even when their lives are at risk. Yes, they might be in danger, but someone will have to let you know about their crush, because why not. And then when you are faced with the mysteries of the island and are in danger, the characters don’t lose their attitude and it’s very believable that they’d still be snarky when faced with an unknown entity.

Radios are Creepy

               The other gameplay mechanic in Oxenfree involves using Alex’s handheld radio player. Leading Alex to certain locations and tuning to specific radio stations can lead to different things. Some areas have a dedicated radio station that will give you a bit of history about a statue or structure. If you like random video game world building, this is a nice touch, even if learning about a cabin doesn’t really aid you much in your main goal. But you can also use the radio to interact with objects that are “cursed” or to fend off the mysterious threat of the island. In those scenarios, things can get very creepy. The screen might change in a scary manner, objects behave oddly, or a garbled disturbing message will play on the radio.

               To be clear, this is not an outright horror game. It just has a creepy and mysterious mood to it. It matches the tone of a bunch of kids telling other kids how they had a freaky ghost experience. The details aren’t important, but the storytelling is. Experimenting with radio stations around the island is rewarding as it just adds to the mood that the game is going for. Hearing someone speak Morse code doesn’t instill any weird feelings, but it does when it’s through a low-quality radio signal and on a random clifftop.

In Conclusion…

               Oxenfree nails a distinct feeling of uneasiness felt through the characters. It’s not going to scare you or make you afraid of triangles. But it does make you care about the characters and their safety. Seeing the characters that you like in a dangerous situation is a bit alarming because your only way to help them is through saying the right thing. Of course, with the limited time to respond, what you say may not be the best option and you might end up doing more harm than good. Understanding the characters is a big part of the experience, and through the simple conversations, you learn quite a bit. There isn’t really a challenge except maybe your reaction time, so the overall experience is melancholy. This is the perfect game for a low-key weekend. It turns out that solving a mystery and dealing with teenage drama is an interesting combination. I didn’t mention it, but the game also has wonderful voice acting, a phenomenal soundtrack and an interesting visual flair. Overall, Oxenfree was a unique experience and I would love to watch someone else play the game and see what choices they would make as a rebellious teenager stuck on an island that’s trying to kill them.  

[neeksleep]

Day 10: Membrane

               Another short one for today!

               Membrane is a game that I saw recommended by someone on twitter as a hidden gem on the Nintendo Switch’s eShop. There are a few people whose gaming preferences seem to align with mine, and I can pretty much trust that their recommendations are worth checking out without much research. So, I bought this as it was on sale and I enjoyed the game, even if it was a short experience.

A Visual Trip

               The first thing about Membrane that you’ll notice is its wacky graphics. Everything looks like it’s poorly drawn, but on purpose. There are all sorts of contrasting colours, particle effects from everything, and a slight fuzziness around everything. Nothing really makes sense, and the story is extremely silly, but that doesn’t affect the gameplay experience (The story: a fly lands on a body, and your ultimate goal is to make the body react). Of course, I have caught myself not playing a game because of its art style, which is shallow of me, but I expect others to see this game an automatically dismiss it to. But If you’re in for a very quick puzzle experience, you’ll get use to the visuals quickly. I personally loved it, it was unlike anything I’d seen before and I’m always down for things that don’t always make sense.

Physics + Puzzles = A Good Time

               There are two primary mechanics in this game: You can shoot out a limited number of small blocks that stick to walls or each other and you can shoot out bullets that will destroy those blocks. This sounds simple enough, but the blocks you shoot out and the structures you build are affected by physics. Each level has you collect a certain number of orbs before the exit door will open. So, a simple example is an orb floating above an acid pond that you can’t jump over. The solution would be to shoot your blocks at an arch to create a bridge over the pond, being careful to make a structure that won’t sink into the pond when you jump on it, but also high enough to reach the orb. As you progress, the complexity ramps up. In later levels, you need to manage your blocks, so you don’t run out making the first structure and have nothing left to clear the next obstacle.

               Creating structures is one use, but membrane also has you use the blocks to interact with other objects. You can use it or the bullets to push a giant ball that will break a wall, or you can shoot at a spinning block to create a windmill like bridge structure. The difficulty spike is steady in the game and I never felt too frustrated. This is a puzzle game after all, and it rarely relies on reaction times or skillful platforming. The rooms can be solved with good placement of blocks and a bit of patience.

In Conclusion…

               There isn’t a whole lot to Membrane, the game can be completed in a few hours. But those 5 hours are enjoyable and were filled with puzzles that were satisfying to solve. The few mechanics that it introduces do a good job of not sticking around long enough to be frustrating. There are also a few secrets to discover, and a lot of puzzles can be solved in multiple ways. It’s interesting to watch a few videos to compare how certain levels were solved; it gives you an insight on how others approach the puzzles. If you want a quick pick up and play game, and have a couple bucks and hours to spare, give Membrane a shot. It’s one of the more unique looking games and offers a decent challenge, and I would love to see more short and bizarre experiences like this more often.

[neeksleep]

Day 9: Pocket Card Jockey

              I’m doing a short one today. I started on this one late and I would like to sleep before midnight.

               So, Pocket Card Jockey. Is this game for you? Well, I’ll start with a few questions

1.       Do you like the Solitaire card game?

2.       Do you like raising adorable horses?

3.       Do you enjoy the idea of a slightly complex system that combines solitaire and horse racing?

4.       Do you like seeing the idea of being in a casino with a bunch of flashing lights and satisfying sounds going off but don’t want to actually go to a casino?

              If you answered yes to any of these questions, then do I have the game for you. Pocket Card Jockey is a very strange game that I purchased mainly because many of the games I had tried on my phone weren’t giving me a satisfying experience. After watching a few quick videos on it, I purchased it on my 3DS and gave it a shot. Right off the bat, this is definitely not a game for everyone, but it hit the sweet spot for me.

 More Complex Looking Than It Is

               Right off the bat, Pocket Card Jockey throws a ton of systems at you. You are introduced to the following systems: Solitaire (making a sequence of cards that go from Ace to King, and reverse, also from Ace to King), the START game (a short solitaire game that can determine how well your horse starts its race off), stamina and enthusiasm, comfort zones…you get the idea. There is a lot going on. It can be somewhat overwhelming to look at the first couple games, but you can get the basics easily.

               The solitaire aspect is straight forward, you try to create long chains of cards and clear the board. Clearing the whole board nets you bonus stamina for the horse, not completing it takes away stamina. The positioning is somewhat self-explanatory. If you stay in the center of the comfort zone, you can get more stamina, but your solitaire game is more difficult to complete. There are more complexities to it, depending on your horse, your position in relation to the other racers will also affect your performance. However, those systems won’t affect your game during your first several races.

               Speaking of positioning, there’s also the last leg of the race. Performing well and obtaining boost cards lets you have an advantage during the last leg of the race. You can zoom past the other racers if you play the cards right, or you may get stuck behind the other racers, which can happen even if you played all your games perfectly. Buying items before the race or picking up items during the race can assist in the final leg too. All of this probably sounds very convoluted, but it is more intimidating in explanation than it is to play the game.

                Outside of the races, you can breed horses using horses that you’ve raised and raced, furthering the complexity. You can get lost in breeding the horse with abilities and skills that are optimized for the race style that you prefer. There are also some boards that you can fill out by buying a random lottery in the shop. Ultimately, you are trying to win all the types of races and fill out the boards, so there’s enough to do in this tiny game to last you several hours.

Adorable and Surprising

               The art style deserves a mention as it is hard to ignore. The horses have an adorable look to them and seeing them all during the race is pretty funny. Horses that go out of control have a dizzying look on their faces and zoom right by everyone. And while the interface is quite clear and is very functional for everything that is going on, it also goes a bit out of control wacky. When you fulfil certain conditions, you get a super powered status, where some Japanese words appear on screen and fire fills the background as your horse becomes powered up. It’s silly and unnecessary, but it’s charming and adds to the already ridiculous nature the game carries.

In Conclusion…

               I can’t blame you if the idea of any of this turns you off. It’s not a game for everyone. But it was the perfect game for me when I had a few minutes to kill. If it sounds complex, watch a few videos. It’s much less complex once you start playing, and you don’t need to get deep into the weeds until you’re doing the very difficult races. If the charming art style and the quirky combination of gameplay mechanics are slightly appealing to you, then give the game a shot. It’s a cheaper price of entry, but you can get a bit of mileage out of it. I never thought I’d be excited at the idea of a sequel to a solitaire-Horse racing game, but here we are. I really hope this gets a switch port at the very least because this odd combination needs to be experienced by more people.