Japan, why do you always get the superior game covers?
A full month has passed, and the fever of this infection has lessened somewhat. I have a terrible habit of not writing down or documenting knowledge in my head, which has probably made life difficult for the coworkers I left behind after I walked out of a promise/job/contract for the first time in my life. Once I get the motivation to do something about it, oftentimes it's too late (see my STILL incomplete Mass Effect 3 review). I plan to avoid that outcome this time by writing down everything I can about my experience with Detroit: Become Human.
Although I don't want a certain active actor from the project to drop enough trivia and fun facts that may warp my impressions to the point I forget to be as impartial as possible. I do recommend watching Bryan's streams though. He's a cool guy. Until fandom bullshit corrupts him. Pls don't ruin his and his wife's lives, internet and fangirls/fanboys, I implore you.
Even though E3 is this week, I'm not really interested in what's coming out in the next one to five years for three reasons.
Number one, the Playstation 4's library has expanded enough that I can sort through what's already out and be content for the next two years, and by then some well-liked games from E3 2018 have come out, allowing me to avoid the pain of impatience.
Number two, it seems this generation has utterly failed to prove that gaming has innovated beyond hyper-realistic, high-quality graphics that PCs $200 cheaper with five times the library size have accomplished five years ago. Even if it's an exaggeration, I'm concerned that the [Western] gaming industry still correlates pretty graphics and orchestral flair to high quality art and advanced technical achievement.
Real life remains a priority for me, even though some mild depression has dampened my motivation to get out of my rut of unemployment. I can't say how good things look at this point, but I still have enough energy to keep moving, even if the overly critical voice in my head loves to find new ways to subvert any progress I've made. The fact I'm aware of my current state of mind means I'm starting off on the right foot when I start to take action.
That said, I'm still uploading my Persona 3 fanfic, Through the Empty Spiral, on AO3 (30 chapters as of this post), and I'm trying to get my own original story off the ground. A few scenes have come to life, and a dozen characters are begging for their time to shine, so I have plenty of ideas to sculpt and polish. Once I have a more concrete design plan and an actual narrative timeline structured, I might rant about some of the problems I've run into and other concerns floating around my head as I break down this seemingly herculean project.
Entertainment-wise, I've been watching season 2 of March Comes in Like a Lion and fighting every urge to adopt Rei Kiriyama as my son or little brother, and I admit I'm tempted to watch My Hero Academia due to my thirst for shonen anime kicking into overdrive after years of avoiding the genre. Long-running anime with substantial filler content are too great of a commitment and One Piece never did anything for me despite trying multiple times. Thus My Hero Academia, which seems to be running in concise, tight few-episode seasons, may be a safe investment at this point. Maybe a Japanese take on superheroes will provide a different kind of story I can get behind compared to the unavoidable decade-plus-and-still-running Marvel and DC typhoon. If all else fails, an anime reviewer I once followed in high school recommended Busou Renkin many years ago, and I'm enjoying it enough so far. And there is always JoJo's Bizarre Adventure if I'm that desperate. I have options.
My music listening habits has taken a strange turn this year. My Spotify playlists suddenly have 80s, 70s, and 60s hits that radio stations my parents listened to during my childhood, and a few recent pop hits slipped in too. The former is nostalgia hitting me in a sudden wave, and the latter is my best friend's bachelorette party playlist indoctrinating me for an entire weekend during the summer. Although by my own volition I have slowly become a small fan of Charli XCX (hence my Music Mood having "Black Roses" a while ago) after listening to some songs that appeared in The Sims 3 (which I can no longer play thanks to computer problems *sobs*), and I danced for joy when Marilyn Manson dropped his latest album a few weeks ago.
As for movies and video games? The last film I saw in theaters was It, which is both one of the better and more frustrating horror films as of late due to it squandering its diamond-quality potential with severe tonal inconsistencies and an abusive number of tactless and moment-killing jump scares. At least the Nostalgia Critic's review made me laugh harder than I ever had over his content in years. Beyond It and Saw 1, no films impacted me in a meaningful way this year.
The same can be said about video games, since I already discussed (in some detail) Mass Effect: Andromeda and Persona 5. However, I recently impulse-bought Yakuza Kiwami and called it crack on Twitter. The gameplay is addictive as hell, the characters bleed so much delicious ham and cheese, and I get to soak up more little (albeit fictional) things about Japanese culture and the yakuza, so call that game a net positive experience.
All of that said, seeking escapism and looking into myself for refuge against the insanity of the world only works for so long. That might be why I am feeling more melancholic and pessimistic than usual. Being thoughtful and introspective doesn't help when everyone in the world is screaming bloody murder over every little thing until nothing seems to matter anymore. We are in chaotic times, and I wish I knew how to navigate the colossal, seemingly planet-sized hurricane.
It's still too soon to render judgment on the state of things in 2017, but at least beloved celebrities weren't dying on a bimonthly basis like last year. (Oh, yes, I am still butthurt that David Bowie and Alan Rickman died within days of each other in January 2016. That was one of the worst weeks of my life.) Sure, the orange monkey still tweets like a tantrum-throwing toddler with immunity from being banned for some unfathomable reason, cock-measuring contests between the US and North Korea has me fear for Japan's and South Korea's safeties, and reputations are getting slaughtered over things as small as illogical accusations and blatant corruption, but at least getting stabbed with acupuncture needles every day still beats a shotgun to the balls every week! I'm bleeding, but I can still force myself to smile when I have to!
It's a miracle I still retain some sanity and have not succumbed to the "breaking news" bullshit the media farts every second by listening to political podcasts from different sects of the political spectrum back when it still mattered. I try my best to not become too political here despite this being my personal blog, but since I have had some people leave comments who did not agree with my thoughts at all, worrying constantly will do no one any good. You are your own worst critic, and I have said some scathing things about myself that other people haven't conceived of yet. It won't stop trolls and negative comments, but some self-awareness goes a long way.
So if any bridges are to be burned over what I say, so be it. Don't let me stop you. I'm not going to cry over the loss of the negative two hundred followers I actually have. Because I'm not going to throw a tantrum over every stupid thing the president and his administration says or does, and I'm not going to blindly follow a political side or cause solely on the basis of how moral an ideology or person supposedly is. A lot of people in the world are suffering and are in pain, every side has a slither of truth and a slither of falsehoods; the last thing I want is to develop a knee-jerk habit of devaluing a human being because they do not share ideas, educational background, or opinions with me. And yes, that means that I am not going to punch a Nazi unless in legitimate, legally defined self-defense because they tried to physically and deliberately cause injury to me (them simply existing does not count).
The state of the world at the moment... sadly.
Now that I got that out of the way and my readership fell to -10,000, I can be left to listen to so-bad-it's-fun music on Spotify and vent my frustrations with American politics into another potential novel that likely won't be published until I'm on my deathbed. Or watch teenagers with bizarre hair punch each other in crazy, nonsensical ways.
Bless the age of streaming, even with the obnoxious commercials. My soul feels slightly cleaner now that I can watch a good portion of anime on legitimate websites.
Enough of the eagerness and euphoria has left my bloodstream that I can look at Mass Effect: Andromeda a little more objectively. If I were to write a review today, I would align myself with those who gave the game a 7/10. By my rating system, that'd be about 3.5/5. Regardless of whether people think it's a good score or not, I cannot condone the gaming industry's skewed and bullshit re-interpretation of ratings for games, and I condemn the bombardment of low ratings from players who hate the superficial faults and call the entire game a dumpster fire based on said shallow nitpicks. Also, a budget of $40 million isn't that much money in the realm of AAA games, especially when this industry is getting so massive that Hollywood will soon be sweating bullets. Mass Effect: Andromeda's problems vastly eclipse quantitative numbers regarding finances and "five years".
THAT SAID. I may still say I love this game in many ways, but when I wake up and smell the coffee this game is a disappointment. Mass Effect: Andromeda took the franchise one step forward and two steps back for a variety of reasons more harmful than "bad animations". And above all, I fear the way Bioware will address these problems, much like every single major developer in the AAA market has done for almost a decade. Now that the Bioware Montreal team which worked on Andromeda is being downsized, my fears are coming true.
Without a doubt, this series deserves better that what we got, but I want to pick at the miniscule specs of gold that is worth preserving and improving upon.
I am so happy right now. My grin is bigger and wider than my face. Considering how stressful the past year has been, this is exactly what I needed. If nothing else, Mass Effect: Andromeda has consumed my life enough that I have walked into work completely exhausted and tired three days in a row. And it was worth it.
Four years life through college later and the waiting is over at last. Finally. Fucking finally.
Since I am still relatively close to the beginning of the game (over 15 hours and nearly 20% complete according to my save file as of my writing this), I will make a multi-bullet-pointed first impressions post. Twitter does not accommodate my gift in writing essays, and my poor baby needs some love, so blog away I shall!
Over the past few years, I've been struggling with finding a way to express myself that I am comfortable with and not feel bored in the process. This blog has helped me a lot in high school, but I know I've been neglecting it due to my personal insecurities and the changes in my personal life. It doesn't help that college was just a busy time for me in general. The timing couldn't be more perfect: last year, when my activity here was at an all-time low, I had the most visitors.
There went a window of opportunity and growth that I missed.
Anywho. Since I graduated from college almost a year ago, and the possibilities are endless, I'm now trying to change how I approach my hobbies to see if I can do anything with them besides hiding in a corner and wailing. I started by posting my fanfic, Through the Empty Spiral, over a month ago on a semi-weekly basis. I can't be a better writer unless it's out there to get praise or ridicule. There are still a few posts I have not yet published, and I want to work on them so fewer untouched items sit at the bottom of the basket.
Yep. I dabbled in streaming. By myself. While sober.
Me. Doing anything based in video. Me, who had two panic attacks in my public speaking course in my freshman year and somehow still got a B. The me who stutters and rambles if I don't have a script handy. The me who has no following whatsoever and pretends that at least one person likes what I say on this vast, open, wild and free country known as the internet.
Past me would hate current me for my nerve.
Well, time and events do change people. The me from 2010 would not recognize the me of 2017. Honestly, not changing would have made me an insufferable person, and I still have enough energy in me to make changes and improvements when necessary and practical. If writing alone isn't enough to get me excited or to motivate me to learn, well, I do the very thing that I once claimed I would never, ever attempt.
In my personal experience, being late to hop onto the bandwagon is better than never. There are still a lot of kinks to iron out with streaming (some of which can't be avoided due to my less than perfect internet connection and the PS4 not being a PC powerhouse), but I thought, "Why the fuck not? Try it out and see if you like it. If it works out, that's awesome; if not, at least you tested your limits." As of this post, I have two sessions saved on my Twitch archive, and once they vanish thanks to the 14-day limit they will sit on the Youtube account I have thanks to Google. I doubt anything will come out of this, but I'm willing to try a medium outside of my comfort zone. Writing comes much more naturally to me than speaking or making videos, so this unmarked territory will bring all sorts of challenges I never had the chance to know about or attempt to overcome.
I am uncertain how things will play out this year, especially when my current job will end this July and finding a new one will be me fighting the same anxiety demon as I did last summer. If this helps keep me sane and I learn a few things about myself along the way, then I'll feel like I accomplished something.
In the meantime Mass Effect Andromeda comes out nine days from now, and my bank account hates me for it. I will likely be off the map for a while, gushing and squeeing over the return to the world of Mass Effect in a new, refreshing way, but when in doubt, I will likely say something on Twitter.
Maybe if I'm ballsy enough, I might stream a bit of Andromeda... as soon as I make changes to the resolution and fix the audio. And pray my internet doesn't crap out on me. Baby steps, me, baby steps...
This is the second year of watching E3 with my pals, mainly to pass the time and to take a break from writing my research paper. Considering it's nothing but a show for investors to examine and determine whether a major company in the gaming industry needs support or not, this E3 was surprisingly fun to watch... depending on the presenter.
Because I'm an amateur and a weirdo, I'll make my opinions on the three-day fiesta as brief as possible.
Time to finally wrap up the Mass Effect trilogy before Mass Effect 4 comes out ten years from now!
Joking aside, if you gathered from my final verdicts of ME1 and ME2, this is my favorite game in the trilogy. Mass Effect 3 has most of the features I liked about the previous titles and improved on them. The story is an intense roller coaster ride after the forty to fifty hours I poured into the first two games. Heck, even the overall difficulty was amped up a bit to keep me on edge. Not many sequels I've played tend to like to do that.
YES, I'm looking at you, that one game I kept bashing for over a year.
Anywho, back to Mass Effect 3, my favorite game in the trilogy. And the review begins -
Hold your horses, people. I ain't going there yet. Let me say what I like LONG before touching that can of worms.
For the first time in months I could finally sleep peacefully and wake up feeling refreshed. Although classes are around again and I still have too much work to complete, I'm feeling less stressed than before. If that is the purpose of having a break, consider my Thanksgiving very well spent. Be it doubly so because Amazon kindly gave me my most anticipated game of 2014 just in time before I went back to the doldrums of fall-semester-marathon-of-exams-and-last-minute-assignments.
Considering how Persona and SMT has dominated my blog for nearly two years, I'll take time to play Persona Q inside and out multiple times before taking a good stab at writing extensively on it. Besides, I already promised myself too many times to get the Mass Effect 3 review started before I kick the bucket on my 21st birthday from good ol' alcohol poisoning. (Which won't happen, even if certain friends I have will be disappointed.)
So until I go crazy enough to squee or rage over a stupid video game, I'll at least make several points of observation regarding Persona Q and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. I won't spoil anything though, as tempting as it is in the case for Ultimax. Maybe in the future I can make a rant on the spoilers because I sincerely doubt I'll ever "formally" review a fighting game. Sorry.
The internet was full of talks about E3... three weeks ago. Rather than add to it, I'd rather talk about something that has bothered me for the past year or so. Or perhaps it's always bugged me and I had no idea how to articulate my thoughts on the topic. I try not to piss people off, but often I fail miserably. Thus, I will apologize if I hurt anyone's feelings, but I am not sorry for yelling at the company that made the first gaming console I ever owned.
This review ended up being pretty short, considering how long-winded I can get over the silliest things. Perhaps I need to beat more Shin Megami Tensei games before I can go on for seven parts. Maybe then I can overanalyze every fault in characters, gameplay, plot, and theme that I come across.
I do like this game, but I don't feel the desire to deconstruct and reconstruct the game's basic elements from start to finish. Not yet at least. There is an unfortunate reason for that.
Superior being[s], I fricking hate that one picture so much. So, so, so, so very much.
So let me get the gigantic, stubborn elephant out of the room briefly before I continue onward. Oh, and possible spoilers.
Once the semester ended, I nose-dived into playing games I promised myself for ages I would beat. Eight Megami Tensei games and several others have demanded me to complete them, and I had to light a fire under my bum to get them done. I could list all the games that have been demanding my attention, but I'll be here all day.
But let me announce that I beat the most infamous and insidious wake-up call boss in the history of gaming ever in my first try.
Not on my grave, buddy!
I won't be fully cured from my status of being "that one delusional Shinji fangirl and 10/4 denier who plays video games on EASY MODO", but some were still impressed. Kind of. The battle took over thirty minutes of poor me weeping, screaming, and shaking in utter terror. The feelings that consumed me afterwards were the very similar to when I went to my favorite band's concert four years ago. My throat was sore for twelve hours.
Ignoring the fact I'm scaring readers, I did not have the best preparations for the fight. My level was fine; I had the right bare minimum skills. Yet my party wasn't that great. High Pixie had the weakest healing spell and consumed all the Medicine and Chakra Drops I earned through hard work and grinding. Hua Po is my new best friend thanks to boosting my party's defense. And Jack Frost... kept missing every single punch I ordered him to serve. My demons could have been better.
Anywho.
Yeah. My backlog is kinda big...
Playing console games is now a higher priority until I go back to school in the fall. Pretty much all my handheld games are on hold or on the back burner. It's kinda a shame, especially when I am almost done Gravity Rush and Etrian Odyssey Untold. Add in me being halfway done Corpse Party and Persona 2: Innocent Sin, being early in Persona 1 and Strange Journey, and not even starting Shin Megami Tensei 1 and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment... I am very busy, and my wish list keeps growing (Persona Q is coming in a few months and Devil Survivor 2: Break Record might still be a thing). Console games are just as bad (Persona 4 Arena, Catherine, Valkyria Chronicles, Saints Row IV, and Sonic Generations expect me to pour more hours in sometime soon before I die).
And I have a life outside of video games I have to remind myself of. Having a time turner would be nice to amend this problem.
The good news is that my chronic apathy/disenchantment for anime has not plagued my enjoyment of video games much. The last thing that made me rage at levels rivaling Madoka Magicka was Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. While Madoka Magicka had good intentions and ideas that fell flat on its face due to the ludicrous stupidity of every character except Madoka, Danganronpa embodied lots of issues I have about anime and video games. Then drew dicks on itself with sharpies, set itself on fire, leapt off the top of the Empire State building, and landed in a pool of liquefied lizard intestines.
I don't give a damn if this is a spoiler.
To preserve my health and sanity, I dropped Danganronpa after Chapter 2.
Meanwhile my review of Shin Megami Tensei IV is still in the drafts. The greatest issue I'm running into is finding decent videos and images to help make the post look nice. Sadly, Nintendo and its 3DS seem to like making life a bit difficult for some people. Either the company adopted a hobby in swinging ban hammers, capturing images and video are even harder than for the PSVita, or both. There's not much diversity in what kinds of images are shown for SMT4. Most videos tend to be of boss fights or let's plays (with annoying commentary). Sadly, I can barely back up some of my statements without the risk of spoiling certain places, times, and characters. I will do my best with the few resources laying around.
Furthermore I have taken the extra time to word two sections in Part 2 carefully. Playing other Megami Tensei games have helped me with one topic. The other may have more traces of ignorance sprinkled in. I've chatted with some other fans to double-confirm my knowledge. And finding the pictures and videos will be... fun.
I just wanted you guys to know what I've been up to. It's been kinda quiet because of my focusing on other things. If any drama started anywhere, I may be aware of it. If so, I don't wish to get involved. Adding fuel to the fire is unnecessary and one more voice will just drown out intelligent, clear conversation. This is the internet; this has never been a safe haven for composed, respectful debates.
Besides I have more productive things to do... like overcome my seventh plague of writer's block on my fan fiction. It's longer than four or five Harry Potter books. Superior being(s) help us all.
Now, back to Nocturne. 20 hours down, 50 to 60 left to go at this rate. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's a nice break from other games I played lately that left me unhappy, stressed, or inconsolably depressed.
It feels great having beaten a mainline Shin Megami Tensei game. This may not be the hardest game in the entire franchise - spin-offs included - but the fourth installment is still pretty difficult. It's a fact by this point that Atlus likes torturing gamers as frequently as possible. Beating it means I feel less like casual filth and demon chow and feel more... mediocre. Or a masochist. Or both.
Anywho.
I'll accept this registered quest.
...
Before I begin, just as a very brief note, I will refer to the protagonist as Flynn. You can create a name for him, but I want to simplify this and minimize confusion.
And uh, I hinted at if not outright discussed spoilers in this part. I tried keeping it to a minimum. I apologize in advance.
Exams and homework and Spring Break and DDS-Net and Skype stole my attention from this blog. ...My bad. ^_^'
By this point, just assume there will be a month or two per year when I suddenly vanish or provide no content. It doesn't help if I have writer's block. Like I do now. It's not just Rants From a Fangirl; my fanfic hasn't grown much in terms of length. Maybe I'm still burned out from the October 4th subplot ordeal or maybe I'm pretty close to the worst part of the original game: the horrible November-December angst festival of awful pacing.
Anywho.
To combat my everyday laziness and persistent afflictions of writer's block, I've made tons of progress in Shin Megami Tensei IV. My play hours sat at 15 for so many months, but now I've added another 17 or so in the span of a week. It's not a bad game, but the first several hours were just... frustrating to put it mildly.
Either Medusa - or Minotaur depending on your luck - can be a lot harder to fight than this video makes it look. I was not lucky enough to have as many useful skills for my demons. (Plus, my Flynn is more oriented to physical rather than magic attacks.) Then add my unfortunate luck in recruiting and negotiating with demons, often to the point I would run out of items, macca, HP, MP, or all of the above. I died... many times. I lost count. But if I can make a humiliating estimate, I died at least twice per hour. For twenty hours straight.
"FANGIRL, PLS! Y U SUK SO MUCH!!!!"
This game is the reason I can never go back to Persona 4 Golden. This game destroyed whatever faith I had in my already minuscule abilities and skills as a gamer. Shin Megami Tensei IV made me commit to forever starting off at the lowest or second-lowest difficulty setting in a video game. No exceptions.
Whenever I pick up a new game, I used to sometimes start on the easiest difficulty. Now, it will be a mandatory standard.
Feel free to call me a wimp, a weakling, a little girl, and a child crying over a video game that a manly man can handle but I can't. Considering this is how the video game culture can be at times, I'm not shocked anymore. I am well aware that I'm not the most competitive, the strongest, or the brightest tool in the shed, but for me, entertainment and immersion is my preference. If getting get used to a game's mechanics involves asking for help, consulting a guide, or lowering the difficulty, I'm not ashamed to do so. Besides, the guys on DDS-Net have scolded me for my newly cemented approach.
Now that I'm more interested in playing MegaTen games, I've started to notice that many fans in the fanbase have admitted to going online or asking friends for help on boss battles, negotiation techniques, and demon fusion. Sure, there is still some mocking and teasing going about to separate the chosen elitists from the demon chow, but I have not met one MegaTen fan who said, "Oh, yeah! I totally beat the demi-fiend in Digital Devil Saga in one try without any guides!" or "You can't beat Persona 2 Innocent Sin without a guide for persona fusions? You really suck!" If you are such a person, most people would assume you are lying through your teeth.
I once suggested on Skype for someone to play Nocturne on Hard Mode without dying once. One person - who first played Nocturne as a child - nearly started crying. Another told me to stop taking so many crazy pills. The rest said to leave that idea by the curb, run VERY far way, and never look back. Because... need I say anything more than check TV Tropes for the short answer?
Torturously stupid ideas aside, once I scaled down the difficulty of SMTIV, I enjoyed the game so much more. I went through normal mode for twenty hours before finally giving up my masochistic crusade. I sacrificed my pride and vowed to beat the game, even if everyone mocks me over "EASY MODO". So, believe it or not, I may review the game not long after I complete it! From what some friends told me, I'm at the halfway point and coming closer to the alignment lock. Whether I will be Lawful, Chaotic, or Neutral will be revealed soon.
My overall feelings of the game will be saved for once I review it. I don't want to cause a big stink like I did for Persona 4. But I will say that I'm enjoying SMTIV FAR BETTER than P4 overall.
Call me an elitist all you want, but I have more experience in school kids saving the world. Fighting through the demon apocalypse is still pretty new for me. I ain't a full fledged member who's committed to either side of the fence.
Once I'm done this game - and either Strange Journey or SMTI - I may have my answer.
Now excuse me, but I just ran into my archnemesis while wandering around Tokyo. And I'm at level 44.
I'm still in the stone ages of tech. My all-in-one device is a laptop. My phone and iPod are separate and neither are my places to check email. And I sure as heck don't write essays or play app games on my iPod. It is just a music machine for me.
And then Atlus announced the North American release of Shin Megami Tensei I for iOS this March. For like $8.00.
And I said, why the hell not?
It's been over twenty years since it first came out, and there are a bunch of ports of it already only in Japan. A version of it (maybe the PS1 port, or just the music from the PS1 version will be used) will finally be available without turning my computer into an emulation machine or learning Japanese to play an old Famicom game. If the port sucks b/c most RPG ports on iOS seem to turn out bad, then... at least it's eight bucks. As iffy as this made some people who relied on emulation and ROM hacks, I'm happy about this. Officially, this game will become localized and will be released to the North American public. This is a sign that Atlus might send their Japanese-only stuff over here in the future.
A-Anywho. *sniff*
Regardless of the port's quality, I'll still support it. The game will be obscenely hard and dated, but having it for the sake of giving it a chance never hurts. I'm not sure how soon I'll tackle it, but I'll make time. My backlog is pretty big, but manageable.
Well, for once I don't have to save up pennies. Sweet. If I end up hating SMTI, I can drown out my sorrows with some new music. 2013 was a good year for heavy metal apparently. I should check to see what bands I like released new material...
I'm done. I am practically screaming at a brick wall within my own psyche by this point. I just cannot bring myself to enjoy Persona 4. The more I think about it, the more problems I find and want to bitch about.
But I'm done. Once I finish this review, I will just live my life as if this installment meant nothing to me. I will ignore the abhorrent concept of Dancing All Night existing, and I will keep my Vita's skin, even if I hate the majority of Golden's content. I can tolerate Arena because I get to see some of the old members of SEES again. I'll still play Persona Q just for everyone in SEES coming back.
Maybe one day, I'll pick up the original Persona 4, just to get a better sense of the gameplay. Otherwise, if I have killer hangover and have the need to be blinded by yellow, I'll just watch the anime.
Now, let's finish this review. Onto things I am more positive about before I give out my already controversial final verdict.
No build-up, no long introduction. Let's get this story tackled.
Because dear superior being(s), I don't like it.
SPOILERS, of course. I reeditted this post to remove my digression with other games. But still. Mass Effect 3 and Tales of Xillia handled their "big bads" better than Persona 4. My god, this game will be the end of me.
Please don't kill me! I'm back for realz, I swearz!
Looks like I got so caught up in vacation and breaks that... well... I neglected my blog again. Whoops.
Thus in a vain attempt to make my two or three imaginary readers forgive me for my crimes, let me say I have been pretty busy during the holidays. Real-life stuff, of course. Mostly enjoying a mellow and agnostic Christmas, freezing my ass off thanks to below 0 Celsius weather that swept the east coast lately, realizing my cousins are counting down the months to when they can get me legally smashed, lamenting my B+ average grades this semester, etc.
The guys at the DDS-Net forums are pretty laid-back and cool people. No massive wars started yet. No internet drama and bullshit erupted. Since it's still a small community, I managed to find my voice among a sea of veteran fans.
Not long after I published part 1 of my review, someone started a Persona 4 thread. I laid down my opinion of the game and tried to be as honest as I could. Within hours, people flooded in with their own few cents. Just recently, a few of us got heated over a tiny aspect of the game. Had someone not pointed that out, the discussion could've blown up into full-scale war.
It's funny how I am most experienced with the Persona series, but I have more in common with those who like other SMT games.
I have... TONS of issues with this game. Let's say that this can be the ending of Mass Effect 3 levels of rage.
Whelp, the Persona reveals on November 24th exhausted me. Though I got eight hours of sleep and did not watch the stream, I still ended up cranky and angry at the world. And I liked three out of the four new games! How can something I like make me ecstatic and piss me off so much at the time?! If I become an alcoholic once I'm 21, I'm blaming Atlus!
Anyway, I've delayed this review long enough. Time to get to business.
...
Before I do, I find it funny that I said I don't COMPLETELY hate Persona 4, yet I'm sure many people came to that conclusion anyway. Just because I found a lot to whine and nitpick about, that doesn't mean the game was garbage. I've torn the Mass Effect games a new asshole a few times and I still play them endlessly. Though I know it's extremely campy and flawed, I still love Shadow the Hedgehog. As much as I sing high praises to my favorite band ever, I still step back and laugh at how hilarious and awkward HIM is at what they do. You can't be honest with yourself if you say you love everything about something.
So no, I don't hate Persona 4. Not entirely, at least. To know how I really feel, let's finally get this review started.
BTW, some Spoilers will begin to appear early this time around.
The same can be said about video games, since I already discussed (in some detail) Mass Effect: Andromeda and Persona 5. However, I recently impulse-bought Yakuza Kiwami and called it crack on Twitter. The gameplay is addictive as hell, the characters bleed so much delicious ham and cheese, and I get to soak up more little (albeit fictional) things about Japanese culture and the yakuza, so call that game a net positive experience.
I am so happy right now. My grin is bigger and wider than my face. Considering how stressful the past year has been, this is exactly what I needed. If nothing else, Mass Effect: Andromeda has consumed my life enough that I have walked into work completely exhausted and tired three days in a row. And it was worth it.
Time to finally wrap up the Mass Effect trilogy before Mass Effect 4 comes out ten years from now!
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