Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir. What even was this? It was so weird.
I didn’t like that you create your team (or some of them anyway) rather than meet companions as you play, that made it feel like the developers had given up and were like “ah I can’t be bothered, just get them to make their own team”.
Khelgar’s voice had changed! My best friend had a different voice! No!!!
Suddenly I’m on a tropical island which is really unlike any other area ever seen in The Forgotten Realms, and maybe that was the point, but it just did not work, dinosaur enemies in a world of goblins, trolls and shadow kings? I don’t know, seems a bit out of place.
The map! What was the weird world map where you walk across it like a giant and then get random encounters sprung on you?
Why am I here? What is happening? The other expansion pack (Mask of The Betrayer) continued on from the original story but this one is like “hmmm NWN hasn’t had a tropical area yet… Tropical means sea… Sea means boat… They’re on a boat…”
The story was about trade and sales and… I don’t know some merchant in trouble? Yawn.
Definitely not the worst game in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but disappointing? Yes.
Which game sequel disappointed you? Have you played Storm of Zehir?
Undertale! Even though I haven’t actually played this, I watched a Let’s Play of it (courtesy of Steam Train, have a look!) and got really into it. I love the different ending possibilities and the characters were amazing. I really wish I had played it myself rather than watch it though because now I know what happens and if I play it myself the effect will be spoiled. I don’t want to say a lot about it in case I ruin any plot but trust me, it’s really, really good.
Honourable mentions: Gone Home, Silent Hill 2, Bioshock
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while then you will know that this is going to be RPG. I love the freedom you get in RPGs from the character creation to the alternative endings, it makes me feel more like I am part of the game rather than just playing a game (if that makes sense).
Who remembers when you were a novice, young Pokémon trainer just starting out? Remember your neighbour Gary Oak and how he would antagonise and bully you? So much so that it would make you even more determined to beat the game to prove him wrong? We would give him names like ‘Butthead’ and ‘Arseface’ just to make ourselves feel better but you know what… When all is said and done I miss Buttface.
Now I get what these cheerleaders were all about
Nowadays your ‘rival’ – if you can even call them that – is a goody two shoes friend that helps you throughout your adventure. You’ll fight them and when you win rather than say something like “Whatever. My granddad is going to give me a super rare Pokémon I can beat you up with, I don’t care” and swagger away, they’ll congratulate you on your victory and will probably give you a cool item to help you in your quest, how dare they?! At first I thought it was a nice change but now I want them to go on about how they’re going to be the champion and that they will crush my dreams. Stop being so nice to me Brendan from Sapphire/Ruby, I don’t want your stupid Go-goggles or your help defeating Team Aqua, and I’m not your best friend! I’ve never even actually spoken to you, you don’t know what my voice sounds like because you’re always the one talking! Tell me you’re going to ask your dad for a rare Pokémon to beat me up with, I want to hate you!!! “Hey, let me heal your Pokémon for you!” Leave them alone! I don’t trust you! We are sworn enemies and I will crush you! Then there’s Wally as well who actually asks if he can be your rival. HE ASKS YOU.
Look at his annoying eager to be friends face
I can’t say exactly why I miss the actual rivalry so much, maybe it’s the thrill you get from beating Gary up after he’s so mean to you, there’s get that wonderful ‘mwahaha’ moment when you defeat him in a battle. Right now even the bad guys are nice to you, Team Aqua/Magma see the error of their ways and now there’s Team Skull who are not even a serious gang, even Nintendo has realised no one takes the Teams seriously anymore. There’s no nasty character pushing me to finish the game to prove to them that I can beat them once and for all, it’s all some larger threat which is not directly associated with your character, it’s just something you end up involved in somehow halfway through the game.
Aside from all that Gary Oak’s own story was, let’s face it, kind of sad when you thought about it. His own granddad forgets his name and is always reprimanding him no matter what he does, his Raticate actually dies (allegedly) which, as a Pokémon trainer just starting out must have been devastating and would have probably knocked anyone else’s confidence out of the park leaving them to retire their Pokédex, but despite that he does actually become the Champion only to be defeated almost instantly by some kid his own grandfather decided to favour and is then told by said grandfather, the person he has being trying to impress all this time, that he is disappointed in him, even though he managed to beat the Elite Four and become the champion first! That’s not to mention a theory I came across in one of my many voyages down an internet rabbit hole, it was a horrible game theory that said Gary kills himself after you become the champion… I choose not to believe that one though. I did try to find it to link it in case you’re into that sort of thing but I can’t find it.
Nintendo are probably trying to teach us that everyone can be good and that there is no need for anyone to be mean. Even people you consider to be a rival should be treated with love and respect, etc, etc. Maybe my early Pokémon days have scarred my psyche for life and I will forever be a bitter winner/loser when confronted with competition because my first ever rivalry with Gary Oak was so intense. Maybe the kids starting out with the Pokémon games of today will grow up to be peaceful and respectful, the word ‘rival’ will eventually be phased out of the English language and the time of Gary Oak (and that red haired dude from Gold/Silver) will be looked back on with horror and the tale of Pokémon Yellow will be used as a campfire horror story – “and then he said… Smell ya later” *gasps* *fainting * *screams*.
I think Outset Island from Wind Waker would be a lovely place to live.
I used to spend ages just running around, messing about on the little island. Look at it, it’s gorgeous. There’s sun, sea, sand, rock climbing, a pretty forest at the top, adorable little pigs… It does need a good bar/club or something for the nightlife but I bet they have some crazy BBQs.
I will have to say Link from The Legend of Zelda is probably my favourite protagonist, if you saw my posts about my Comic Con cosplay (see them both here and here!) you may have guessed this. Despite the fact that he’s a silent character, which usually prevents me from creating a bond with the silent protagonist, he’s still got personality, I just can’t put my finger on how. Wind Waker Link is probably my favourite Link though, he has some good facial expressions going on and he’s adorable too. I love the cartoon look they used for that game. He’s also just a very selfless, brave and generous character, again despite his silence this all comes across somehow in his reactions to situations and the side missions he can do, although sometimes he has a cheeky side as well, like in Skyward Sword when you can choose to give Cawlin’s letter to the ghost hand in the toilet rather than the girl he fancies and then the hand falls in love with him and haunts him, I thought that was funny.
Oh yeah, and he can TURN INTO A WOLF!!!
Who’s your favourite protagonist? Any Link fans out there? What’s your fevourite Legend of Zelda game? (mine’s Twilight Princess)
Another challenge, I know! Don’t worry though, this one isn’t like my 30 Day Video Game Challenge though, this is a challenge I thought I’d try while I was on holiday and I thought I’d share it with you!
I don’t know why but playing Pokémon while I’m on holiday is one of my favourite things to do (second favourite next to reading a good book), I’ll happily lie by the sea/swimming pool with a cocktail and play through a Pokémon game. This holiday my boyfriend came with me and we went to France to my parents’ house to dog-sit for them while they were away. Dan suggested a challenge where we assign numbers to the 17 different Pokémon types (excluding fairy) and then we are randomly assigned a number, he got Steel and I got Psychic (I originally got Ice but in the version we’re going to play there’s only like 6 ice Pokémon and they’re all quite far into the game).
The versions we are playing are both Sapphire, however he has downloaded the original Sapphire on his phone to play through while I have my Alpha Sapphire game on my 3DS. We were going to race to see who finished first but what with the phone vs 3DS way of playing it seems like that might not be fair. As he is playing on his phone he was able to do some sort of cheat to get all of his Steel Pokémon straight away as, like with me being unable to get ice type Pokémon early in the game, he couldn’t get them at the beginning. They all started at level 2.
I am playing through on my 3DS though as I just find that it’s better, I love my 3DS! I played through with a starter until I got to the first Psychic type (Ralts) and then I released the starter Pokémon (that always makes me sad) and just continued as if Ralts was the starter, I forgot how long you have to wait until you get the next Psychic type so I just had a Ralts for ages and it got very over-levelled. I did have to temporarily catch a Zigzagoon to get past Team Aqua as well because Mightyena is immune to Psychic moves, and if I get stuck fighting a dark type Pokémon, as it’s really effective against Ralts, I’m done for and I’ve actually died a couple of times to my shame! I have never found Team Aqua to be a challenge until now.
So as Dan is playing it on his phone he can play the game sped up, and at first I thought that that may let him get through a lot faster than me but then I only have one Pokémon and it’s really over-levelled, plus they introduced bits in Alpha Sapphire where once you have finished certain quests someone will say “would you like to return to Slateport with me?” and then rather than have to make your way back on foot you just warp there. We keep overtaking each other, right now he’s in the lead. I don’t know which of us has the best way to do it, I guess only time will tell but on our track record so far Dan always gets through the Elite Four while I’m still on like the 5th gym or something in a normal playthrough. I like to take my time in my defence but maybe having less Pokémon will speed me up a bit. Also, I have a history of being terrible at Nuzlocke challenges, usually wiping out halfway through the game.
A comparison of new vs old
As it stands right now, he’s just finished the Team Aqua hideout and I am about to start it. We both have full teams of Pokémon now and I have suddenly found myself being showered with Psychic types, mainly thanks to the Safari zone and Mount Pyre which means that I have some really overpowered Pokémon and some normal level Pokémon. I don’t like it, I usually try and have them all be about the same level.
My unevenly leveled team as they are now. Can’t figure out how to do 3DS screenshots so apologies for the quality
Would you rather play on your phone using an emulator or on a DS? Have you ever done a Pokémon challenge? Do you know of any Pokémon challenges other than a type challenge or a Nuzlocke? I’m always interested to try new ones!
I missed yesterday! Very sorry, I know you were all dying to know which game I think has the best cut scenes. Yesterday was moving day and today I started my new job (all went well!) so I was a bit preoccupied. I’ll do today as a two parter instead.
Day 16: Game with the best cutscenes
I guess Final Fantasy holds the record for this but as I haven’t played that many of them… I’m not sure. This one’s a bit of a struggle for me, the games that I can think of (Witcher, The Last of Us…) I haven’t actually finished yet so it seems unfair to say them but then again I haven’t finished Bioshock yet either and the beginning scene always springs to mind when I think about good cut scenes. The first time I saw the bit where you get in the lift and you are taken to Rapture it was amazing.
Day 17: Best Antagonist
GLaDOS from Portal, hands down. I have never loved an antagonist more. She is brilliant. I love her sarcastic, mean commentary and I was actually quite sad when I beat her in the first game. Here’s a nice lengthy quote for your enjoyment: “There was even going to be a party for you. A big party that all your friends were invited to. I invited your best friend, the Companion Cube. Of course, he couldn’t come because you murdered him. All your other friends couldn’t come, either, because you don’t have any other friends because of how unlikable you are. It says so right here in your personnel file: “Unlikable. Liked by no one. A bitter, unlikable loner, whose passing shall not be mourned. Shall NOT be mourned.” That’s exactly what it says. Very formal. Very official. It also says you were adopted, so that’s funny, too.”
Woooooah, we’re halfway there… WOOOOOOAAAAAH can’t think of anything relevant that rhymes with ‘theeeeere’!
So I’m going to have to cheat a bit because my PS4 is all packed up in a suitcase ready for the big move (I move tomorrow!) and I didn’t prepare a screenshot in advance. So instead here is a picture of the boss I’m currently dealing with in Bloodborne: Vicar Amelia.
She’s the prettiest boss so far with her little lace hat thing and luxurious hair/fur. As soon as I get my PS4 unpacked she’s done for… Maybe, or you know after a few rage quits and screaming at the screen more likely. Gaming is so relaxing.
Does Game Grumps count as a gaming wallpaper? Let’s say it does. I haven’t actually had a gaming wallpaper for a really long time (is that bad?) it’s been a mixture of Rick and Morty and Game Grumps for a while now. I know this probably applies to PC/Laptop but mine is super old and not good for gaming so I don’t use it much at all any more so I’ve applied this to my phone instead.
