Beaten

Pokemon Crystal – I did beat it. I really don’t like Gen 2 Pokemon, as I said last month. The level curve is all over the place. The last few gyms are all really close together, with little difference in the levels needed to beat them, before the Elite 4 makes a big jump. The available Pokemon, especially early, are underwhelming. I admit that complaint is mostly about personal preference. In Gen 1 you can find something interesting to complement your starter pretty early, like a Mankey or Nidoran. Here, I was stuck using useless cruft for about four towns. THat has something to do with the games day night cycle, an excellent idea that doesn’t work when the only chance you have to play is for 30 minutes before going to bed.

Despite all of my complaints, there is still something magical about the end of this game, of getting to what appears to be the end, only to have the map of the first game open up to the player and a whole new set of gyms to conquer. No Pokemon game since has managed that, and I can’t quite figure out why not. Pokemon Crystal is a worthy piece of the series history that I am glad I played and am glad to no longer be playing.

Ongoing

Pokemon Ultra Sun – Beating a somewhat unsatisfying Pokemon game convinced me, for some reason, to buy a different Pokemon game. I forgot how chatty these latest Pokemon games are, but in every other way it is just such an improvement over what has come before. There have been so many quality of life improvement since Gen 2, like reusable TMs of getting rid of HMs. I do kind of miss the usual gym structure and I think I may have made the smart choice skipping this after having played Moon when it was released, but this is a good game.

Suikoden V – I haven’t really pushed much further than the opening, but I am still really enjoying the time I get to spend with this game. It is an underrated classic. I really miss this sort of mid grade JRPG.

Upcoming

Super Mario Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros U – If I ever have time, I am going to get back to my replay of the series.

SNES Classic – I also hope to get some time to play with Christmas gift at some point.