Mobile Friday - Liquid Cat Puzzle - A Cute Smart Puzzle Game That Handles Adverts Smartly

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Liquid Cat Puzzle by Hoshiyadori.

I chose this game mostly because i liked the art style and thought the cats looked cute. i was curious as to how Liquid Cats would be used in a game and how the puzzle sections would work.

First off, in this video i don't really find out an answer about the Liquid Cats. but this game does have a little story so we do know that something happened to the seas changing them from blue to rainbow and since that happened the Liquid Cats had started appearing. we also know that they drink much more water than normal cats. in what i played, Liquid Cats are more like a collectable that gives the player certain power ups and abilities. so one goal of the game is to collect them all, to level them up, and to find the best team for each scenario.

The two main modes are Puzzle Mode and Battle Mode. Puzzle Mode acts like the game's story mode. by completing all the levels in a stage, you unlock more of the story. Battle Mode is, i assume, an online mode where you face off against 3 other players to see who can get the highest score in 1 minute. i was surprised by this mode as it seemed to work really well. tho i'm not too sure how the ranking system works or how it matches players together.

As i played i unlocked two other modes, VIP Stage and Event Mode. VIP works with tickets you earn in-game and its a place where you have to beat increasingly difficult stages. but in doing so you unlock rarer Liquid Cats that are stronger than the normal ones. The Event Mode seems to be something that'll change meaning the available Liquid Cats will also change with each new Event.

One of the biggest praises i can give the game is how it manages adverts. this is a free to play game and in recent weeks i've played many which have been lazy in dealing with adverts. those games have taken up the whole screen, disrupted game play, and generally been rude with them. this game does have adverts but they only take up the middle of the screen. they're not long and this screen also comes with a useful tip. by the time you've read it and understood it you're often free to continue as the advert has finished. the game also gives warnings about them. on the home screen, a balloon flies across the screen. i went to pop it and the game warned me that it'll play an advert and i'll get a reward. this is how games should use adverts.

because of this, i can actually recommend this game for those playing outside of wi-fi. there's no additional download either. there's a lot to do in the game, so much so i won't actually be deleting it and i'll play it in my own time. if i have to pick a negative it's the soundtrack. it doesn't quite match what's happening on screen. it's a bit too chiptune whilst the graphics and clear, bold, and cute. the chiptune music felt a little bit rough and harsh. but on phones it's easy enough to play games in silence so i don't consider it an issue. so please, try Liquid Cat Puzzle!

Backlog Conquering - Foul Play - Part 6 - Finishing the Game and Breaking it!

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

This is part 6, the final part, of playing Foul Play on PlayStation 4.

In part 5, https://youtu.be/qRXv9-BjQzE, i had completed the fourth play leaving the fifth play. there were only 2 acts in the fifth play but as i managed to break the game, i had to do Act 2 twice. you'll see that in this video.

As i'm a big fan of the story of this game, and how it's been told, i really enjoyed that the start of this video began with a cool plot twist. more so as i didn't see it coming. what's great about it is how well it fits into the game's story and yet still be a little ambiguous. up to this point the game had been using a theatre performance to tell the story of something that had happened in the past but now the twist has happened, is this still the case? i don't want to spoil it but at the end of the video i do give my point of view.

As for how i broke the game, well it's weird because i repeated something i did earlier that worked fine but this time it didn't work and the game got stuck. it needed me to attack the boss, but i could only do so in a specific way. however, i activated my flourish (L1 Button) and i could no longer continue to attack the boss in said specific way. this meant the boss wouldn't attack me nor could i do damage to it. so to be safe i ended the act and tried again. thankfully Act 2 is just a boss battle and i did it the next time.

This has been a fun game to play. the fighting got tedious more than once, and the combo system was frustratingly unforgiving. but it oozes charm and plays into it. the artstyle, whilst somewhat simple, is bold and colorful and fully plays into the theatre gimmick of the game. it's so noticeable that i based my opinion about what happened based on it! i do recommend people try this game. i'd suggest switching the difficulty to the easiest mode so you can get to the story, the characters, and the world much quicker than i did playing it at normal.

Backlog Conquering - Foul Play - Part 5 - Finishing the Fourth Play

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

This is part 5 of playing Foul Play on PlayStation 4.

In this part i finished the fourth but had to stop as my recording equipment seemed to be having some issues. there's some minor breakups in the footage near the end, but it should be clear what's happening on screen. It's hot here and i think this was simply a temperature issue as that was the fourth or fifth video i had recorded.

This felt like one of the easier play sessions i've had with this game. in part 4,  https://youtu.be/-ZlAxJCLM5Q, i got my first 5 star review and that continued into this video. But it's not just the game saying that i'm doing well, it also feels like i'm doing well too. it must be a combination of practice and unlocking new moves.

The story continues to be it's own unique thing but as it's started to come to a conclusion i've got more into it. again i mention how the combat is getting in the way of a fun little story. There will be a part 6 as i have the final play left and i want to know what happens.

Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday - Nintendo Switch Edition - Pixel Sherias Cup - Achievement Run

Welcome to Puzzle & Dragons Tuesday! Sit back and either watch me play through, with no commentary, the cup or leave it running in the background as BGM!

I play and earn all the achievements from The Pixel Sherias Cup! (2023/7/10 9:00～2023/7/17 8:59 JST) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.

It had been a long time coming but for the first time in a long while i managed to beat the boss! i didn't play against many other players, but there was only one game when it was just me. i had owl and YURI for most of the games and it was really tough to beat owl, even when i beat the boss too. i don't think i fully understood the gimmick, but i understood it well enough to get some great results. this was a fun week.

This week i played against:

YURI - Rank 74

owl - Rank 68

あーし - Rank 69

Cloud Monday - Rogue Legacy 2 - Part 2 - Rough Streaming Leads to Run Anxiety

Today's Cloud Monday is part 2 of playing the newly released Rogue Legacy 2 via the PlayStation Plus Premium service on my launch model Japanese PS4.

In part 1, https://youtu.be/WzCKzpCKwXA, the streaming was a little rough at the start but was great for most of it. in part 2, this video, it was more rough. more than once the warning symbol appeared! at least once i couldn't see what the issue was, but for the others it was clear on screen what the issues were.

Even tho there were issues, i'd say that it didn't get in the way of the gameplay. controlling and navigating the world was still possible, it's more a visual thing. But in a run based game like Rogue Legacy 2, it can be anxiety inducing. there seems to be no way to save mid run, so each time the warning symbol appeared it did get to me a little. i say in the video that my only option is to die. it's a shame that even tho Sony's making a push for cloud streaming, there doesn't seem to be much effort in dealing with these issues like my adding save states.

Ultimately, i had a great time playing Rogue Legacy 2. it's an improvement over the first game, which itself was good game that i finished, and i'm sure i've just scratched the surface of the story and world. But, is it a game to stream? i'd say the first hour or so is probably fine. but the further you go into the game and the longer the runs become, it might be less anxiety inducing to install the game than stream it. 

Switch Funday - Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle - An Fun First Hour

For Switch Funday, i decided to play a game i now regret to have not played earlier. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a game i've had in my Switch back catalogue for a long time now and i don't really know why i've not played it.

Going in, i had a rough idea as what to expect. when this game came out back in 2017, it was all over podcasts, websites, and most video game places i visited. thankfully i have either forgotten discussions about the story or i managed to avoid it because i had no idea how they'd bring these two worlds together.

the introduction movie tells the story of how our world, the Rabbids world, and the Mushroom Kingdom collide with someone inventing a merging device here, the Rabbids visiting and taking/breaking it, before their washing machine vehicle gets hit creating a wormhole of sorts to the Mushroom Kingdom where further damage is done by out of control merged Rabbids leaving it up to Mario and a couple of hero Rabbids to save the day. it's ridiculous but in a fun way and the cinematic looks great!

the game starts introducing battle mechanics and teaches us across a few battles very well. but it's not perfect, i didn't fully understand the jump mechanic or the need for it nor does it mention that i can't slide afterwards. the tutorial also didn't mention anything about character health so when i lost Mario, i really didn't know what was going to happen. the next battle he was back with 10 health, but i had to find that out for myself. another thing the game doesn't tell you about are the items in the mystery boxes i found. it wasn't until i got to Peach's castle that things were explained. but this was quite a while into the play session.

Other than that, for the first hour i don't really have any other complaints. i had a great time with it, better than i imagined i would have. it looks fantastic and during it i remember saying how dense the world looks. the battles are fun, if a little lacking with no recovery options so far, and the Rabbids haven't worn out their welcome so far. i do worry that there'll be a time when they do, but for a first hour it's a really good one. I've seen that this game can be over 20 hours long so i do worry if the story and game mechanics can support something that long. let me know in the comments if it does.

Online Saturday - Tetris 99 - 34th Maximus Cup - Pikmin 4 Edition

Welcome to Online Saturday!

Today i'm playing Tetris 99 on Nintendo Switch. This weekend it's a special event where you can earn a Pikmin 4 theme by earning 100 points in the 34th Maximus Cup.

Maximus Cups are a welcomed reason to pop back into Tetris 99. of course the goal is to get enough points but the other goal is to try and win. I've played Tetris 99 a lot but i've never managed to win. unfortunately, i didn't win today either. i got a couple of top 15 finishes, but it's really tough.

It's a nice theme, tho i'm not too sure about the music. Let me know how the cup went for you. did you get a win?