Beaten

Mega Man 2 — I looped back around and finished off the NES Mega Man series by beating the game I am currently prepared to admit is the best of the bunch. (I have long been on the Mega Man 3 side of that argument, but it is always close.) Mega Man 2 is a just such a perfect, compact slice of game. Every game after this adds something between the 8 robot masters and Dr. Wily’s castle. Here, it goes one to the other. The game is smaller, but it feels like a more comprehensible experience. Mega Man 2 is just such a great game.

Ongoing

Rune Factory 4 — Eventually I am going to get through this game. It is likely going back on the backburner for a while, but one day I will clear it. I am more than halfway through, but the odd gameplay incentives that this game creates usually put me off after a few hours. I don’t know how to describe it; it seems like when I am gearing up for adventuring, the game pushes me to do farming, when I am happily farming, the game seems to want to get to those dungeons. I think the problem is me, not the game, but I keep only being able to nibble at this.

Final Fantasy 15 — I got this for Christmas last year and have only barely started it. I wanted to make some real progress, but the game just hasn’t really clicked for me. I just don’t quite get it. I might just need to force my way through some more story stuff and really get some progress going. It might just have to take some steps back on my backlog. I like the setting, so far, it is that I haven’t quite digested and understood how the game plays. I will, though.

Celeste — I got talked into buying this while it was on sale and I am loving it. It is hard, but it letting up pick up right at the spot you failed takes a lot of the sting out of the difficulty. Honestly, it feels a lot like 1001 Spikes, another super hard platformer. Celeste it trying to do a lot more with its story. It also has a very acrobatic set up. It gives the player a very simple set of tools and then just figures out every possible use for them. It is great.

Etrian Odyssey V — I apparently put this game down last winter just before I hit the spot where the whole game kind of gelled. That point is one I’ve found in every Etrian Odyssey game. For a while, sometimes 3-4 floors, sometimes closer to 6, the game just kind of is. Mapping out floors is as addictive as ever, but the personalities of the classes are clear yet; the player doesn’t quite know how things fit together. Then you hit a point when the characters start getting more skills and you can finally really craft the party you want and everything just feels right. I hit that point within an hour or two of getting back into this and have cruised through most of the game. I should have it beaten and a full post about it up not long after this one.

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean — I bought this back when it first game out (more than 15 years ago) and have never made it much further than the first town. It is something that was certainly right in my wheelhouse when it came out. I just never really got around to sinking sufficient time into it. During Christmas break, when I was at my parent’s home with the Gamecube, I tried it out again. I didn’t make it much further than the opening town. I like the look of it and I like the concept. I just didn’t have the time to sink into it. I intend to get back to it.

Upcoming

Dragon Quest XI — This is the only video game I got for Christmas and I am going to push right to the top of my PS4 queue. It looks really good.

Pillars of Eternity — I backed this on kickstarter way back in the day, but I never got around to playing it. Or at least, I never go much further than the character creation screen. My brother getting the game, on XB1, for Christmas kind of reminded me that it exists and I am going to try to play it next month.