Thursday, April 17, 2025

Demo Play Thursday - Rusty Rabbit On Switch


For this week's #Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Rusty Rabbit.

At first glance, i assumed Rusty Rabbit was another in a long line of shovelware on Switch but after checking out the eShop page and reading that somewhat famous companies Nitroplus and NetEase were behind the game i was really curious to see what they had come up with.

I did go into this demo expecting it to look worse than it actually did. there was something about the screenshots and video on the eShop page that made it look like a lower resolution game and got me thinking that this would be a lesser experience in comparison to the PS5 version of the game. thankfully this is a great demo and that wasn't the case.

this demo makes it clear that it is a demo but more importantly it says that the save file from this demo will work in the retail version of the game, it's something that a lot of demos don't mention. there are also links at the start of the demo to get the game from the eShop and at the end of the demo. as an experience, it's certainly one of the better demos i've played as part of this playlist.

Right from the start, this demo for Rusty Rabbit impresses. the music on the home screen was great and it's great throughout. the main character Rusty is well written and performed. he was surprisingly likeable, more so when the other characters were introduced. the tutorial is good and smartly incorporates mechanics into actual gameplay, dishing them out a little at a time so it's never overwhelming. that approach also works well with the #Metroidvania style of gameplay in Rusty Rabbit. we have more abilities at the start than when the demo ends but it's well written into the story as to why.

The story is teased a little bit more on the eShop page than it was in this demo but the world building and some of the back story revealed do help make it less obvious how little story we're going with at present. i am curious as to where it's going to go and what other characters will be introduced.

If i had to pick a shortcoming after playing this demo it's that i don't know who we, the player, are. at times it feels like Rusty is talking directly to us but because the world is presented so cohesively, it does make me wonder if Rusty is breaking the 4th wall or if there's more to it.

I highly recommend the demo for Rusty Rabbit. it presents a great first hour of the game. if you're interested in a character driven metroidvania with rpg elements, then this is well worth checking out. 

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Backlog Conquering - Final Fantasy On PSP - Part 13 - The Journey To The Flying Fortress


Welcome to Backlog Conquering. This is a series were i play a game from my backlog that i may or may not have played before. the goal isn't necessarily to finish the game, the goal is to play it. that way, i can have an opinion about it. The newest game in the Backlog Conquering series is the PlayStation Portable version of Final Fantasy. this is the downloaded version of the game, but it is also available on UMD. To help with this playthrough i'm proudly using a guide from GameFAQS. here's the link, https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/psp/937909-final-fantasy/faqs/55625. i'm not following it exactly, but it's useful to have. 

I was lost at the start of this Part. i knew that i had to head for Lufenia but the guide i was using wasn't as accurate as i would've liked. but i got a hint in Gaia and eventually found it. The Mirage Tower was easier to find and easier to navigate than i expected. But with no Inn this part, i still have to be careful and i made sure to heal my team up at the end as i'm looking forward to exploring the Flying Fortress in the next part.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Stories on Tuesday - Coffee Talk - From Start To Finish On PS4


I have combined all 7 parts of my playthrough of Coffee Talk into one story. Linking the videos was difficult so after every two days, like how each part is two days, there is an abrupt change of music as it goes into a loading screen.

Monday, April 14, 2025

Cloud Monday - Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization - Part 2 - Not Cloud Streaming Recommended


This week's new Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

In Part 1 I was surprised that there didn’t seem to be any way to manually save in this game. There are Auto Saves, but they don’t seem to be as smart as I would like for a game being streamed from the cloud. We’d get an auto save when moving from area to area in a town but out in the wild they were less frequent and rarely after a lengthy conversation. 

So to me, it wasn’t surprising that when I was given the 20 second countdown, before being disconnected from the service, I was unable to leave a conversation and therefore unable to trigger an auto save. 

So whilst I’m not going to recommend people stream this from the cloud, I am also not saying Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is a bad game. It has a few quirks and I’m certain the sound issues weren’t from streaming it. The combat is solid and I do like how the story lets us learn more about the past, which is useful for those like me who hasn’t played any of these games before, or carry on like we know everything already. 

Friday, April 11, 2025

Mobile Friday - Fishing Fantasy -FishingRPG- Simple Fishing Mechanics Done Well With A Good Tutorial


For this week's Mobile Friday i tried Fishing Fantasy -FishingRPG-, on my iPhone 14 Pro, from  TrickStArStudio Games.

Fishing Fantasy -FishingRPG- is one of the simpler games i've played as part of this series but that's not a negative. there is a great tutorial that shows off every aspect of the game which makes Fishing Fantasy -FishingRPG- one of the more accessible games i've played. another aspect of the game that makes it accessible is how most, if not all, of it is playable with just one hand.

As a game centered around fishing, Fishing Fantasy -FishingRPG- hasn't over complicated that aspect of the gameplay. you have a rod, attach bait, and throw out the line. when there's a bite you hit a button and get a fish. if that fish is a higher level than you, you hit that button repeatedly. the fish you catch are recorded and there are quests around this. by catching fish and completing quests you gain exp and level up. as you level up you unlock more locations and equipment to use.

One aspect of the game i would've liked a little more was the story. our character wakes up in this world but in terms of story there was a lot at the start of the game and not much else in this video. there was no clear indication when the next story beat was coming. as the game is centered around the fishing, this isn't that much of a negative. but it's something i missed and maybe a reason why this video is shorter than other Mobile Friday videos.

I do recommend Fishing Fantasy -FishingRPG-. it's not the best but it is satisfying. i'd like more story and a better English translation, but both of these don't detract from what this game sets out to do.

Version 2.0.1 Played.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Demo Play Thursday - Pilo and the Holobook On Switch


For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Pilo and the Holobook.

i didn't know anything about this game before i started playing the demo, but on the eShop, i did like the look of the game and that you'd be scanning. i was hoping that this demo would help show off more about the game and what you're doing. I think it did a great job at that.

The demo seems to be taken from the first hour, or so, of Pilo and the Holobook, from the start until our encounter with hints of the big bad of the game. nearly all the game mechanics have a tutorial and we seem able to play the game at our own pace. the biggest frustration was the one time the game required us to do something that wasn't tutorised. in the dessert, there's a moment where we need to corral some electric sheep and i missed it the first time and accidently stumbled upon the solution my second time there. a mechanic the developers don't make use of is our own character quipping or talking to themselves possible solutions to an issue. i can see this being a possible stumbling block to progress.

But on the whole, Pilo and the Holobook looked great, played great, and was really chill. i could've finished it sooner but i genuinely enjoyed walking around and scanning.  the music was fine but, as i said in the video, i feel like this would be a good game to play whilst listening to a podcast.

I didn't get the impression that Pilo and the Holobook was purely aimed towards kids, but it did feel like it would be suitable. as an adult, i did enjoy my time with the demo and wouldn't say no to getting it when it comes out. if you're curious about a game where scanning is the main mechanic, then this is a great demo for you to try. but after playing it i'd almost say the game itself is worth getting without playing the demo.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Backlog Conquering - Final Fantasy On PSP - Part 12 - The Sunken Shrine And The Water Crystal


Welcome to Backlog Conquering. This is a series were i play a game from my backlog that i may or may not have played before. the goal isn't necessarily to finish the game, the goal is to play it. that way, i can have an opinion about it. The newest game in the Backlog Conquering series is the PlayStation Portable version of Final Fantasy. this is the downloaded version of the game, but it is also available on UMD. To help with this playthrough i'm proudly using a guide from GameFAQS. here's the link, https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/psp/937909-final-fantasy/faqs/55625. i'm not following it exactly, but it's useful to have. 

Most of Part 12 took place in the The Sunken Shrines.  i initially took most of the right turns and ended up at the boss before half way. the dungeon itself didn't turn out to be too dangerous but the boss was the toughest boss we've come across so far. as i took the correct way to the boss, and the water crystal, i went back in to try out the other way and was reward with more loot, exp, and money.