Switch Funday - TemTem - A Pokémon Fan’s First Hour

For Switch Funday i'm trying out TemTem for the first time. it's a game i've been aware of, but not one i've tried. i bought it in an Amazon sale here in Japan and was eager to give it a try. I am a big Pokémon fan and have been playing those games since Pokémon Blue. I Knew this isn't going to be exactly like Pokémon, but i was wondering if my past experiences would help of hinder my enjoyment of TemTem.

I'm going to say it helped. TemTem doesn't have an introduction to the game, it just starts at the character creator. i think this is a missed opportunity. i went in knowing nothing and started knowing nothing of the world nor of it's online stuff. lacking soo much information really doesn't make this game that approachable, especially for a younger audience. I don't know who the character in my house was as there was a name but no label, or anything in our conversation, about if or how we're related. the game rushed to the character creator and then to start, it forgot the why. but as i knew Pokémon, a beginning like this is something i've experienced before so i wasn't too lost.

Not having any TemTem in the intro meant when it came to choosing mine, i could only really go on looks. the game doesn't say if they evolve, just their name and their strengths and weaknesses, something which isn't explained until much later in this video.

So whilst the opening isn't great, there is much to like about the game. graphically it's good and it isn't plagued by technical issues the recent Pokémon games have had. there are more loads and they do tend to last just a little longer than i would want. but i think i would take that over a buggy mess. the battle mechanics are different to Pokémon as TemTem introduces a stamina mechanic. it didn't introduce it that well as an opponent showed the negatives of it before the tutorial did. but it is a mechanic that works well so far and helps push the player to rotate the TemTem's used in a battle. a secondary benefit of all this rotation is that TemTem's, so far, only gain experience by actually being in the battle and not just being in your party. This is something older Pokémon games did before Experience Share is obtained. so i don't mind this mechanic as it balances with stamina. but i could see how modern Pokémon players might find it a bit old fashioned or that the battles might be a bit slower.

Stamina is one way TemTem differentiates itself from Pokémon, but another is of course the TemTem themselves. so far the designs have been fun and very different. the type chart is much more difficult. it would've been nice to have it on L3 or R3. but the game could also do a better job of showing us not only the type of each TemTem but also how effective the moves are. i got confused because i thought i read a tutorial that said once a TemTem is caught i'd know what moves are effective against it. and then when i faced it in battle i couldn't see that information.

The final confusing thing about this game is the online part. so far, the game has done nothing to justify why there is one. it's been on since i got my first TemTem and there's been no tutorials as to why there's online, what i can do with online, or if i can turn it off and play solo. but it's possible it'll be explained a little further into the story. a game like TemTem could have a very long story and i could still be in the basic tutorial.

So there's a lot about TemTem that feels like the first game in a series. some simple mistakes, basic things i'd expect to be fixed and/or improved upon in a sequel. but critically there is enough here for me, an older Pokémon Fan with decades of experience, to enjoy. in a way, i came away from this first hour thinking this is a game designed for someone like me rather than someone coming across this style of game for the first time. i'm currently thinking of playing more with this game, maybe even with videos on here!

Cloud Monday - Dodgeball Academia - Part 2 - The Underdodges Battle to The Tournament!

Today's Cloud Monday is part 2 of playing Dodgeball Academia on my launch model Japanese PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Service. In part 1, https://youtu.be/8VHNzvngNfg, there were a few minor issues with streaming the game but nothing that got in the way of gameplay.

I'd say that today's part 2 went even better. there were a couple of noticeable things but they were slight and didn't get in the way of gameplay. because they were slight, there's a chance they were from the game itself rather than from streaming it from PlayStation Plus Premium to me.

As for playing the game, well it was a pleasant experience. both parts have been enjoyable. by the end of this part i came to the conclusion that it's a bit slow for a sports game but if you treat it like an RPG, then it becomes surprisingly approachable kinda like a Pokémon game. if you've played one of them, certain things about this game instantly became familiar, but it also has plenty of it's own unique ideas. coupled with the whole Dodgeball world, Dodgeball Academia feels familiar but also new and interesting. these two parts are still in the tutorial phase of the game, but because it's been soo well integrated into the story it doesn't stick out. it feels natural and very well crafted to ensure that you are always ready for what's next.

In part 1 i talked about how the game's generous Auto Save and ability to save quickly make it a game that's great to stream even if it wasn't designed for it. In this part, that auto save helped me out when i got stuck in a quest i couldn't finish. it didn't save after each battle, it saved before them. so thankfully all i needed to do was load that auto save and i was unstuck. the game was also helpful in saying that i had side quests unfinished and if i went to the next episode, i wouldn't be able to do them. coupled with the tutorial i mention above, it's clear that the focus for the game is letting the player play in accessible ways and it makes it a great choice for not just streaming but for playing in general.

Cloud Monday - Dodgeball Academia - Part 1 - THE UNDERDODGES ASSEMBLE!

Today's Cloud Monday is part 1 of playing Dodgeball Academia on PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming service. This is a game that came out a couple of years ago from Pocket Trap and Humble Bundle.

This is a game i didn't know about, but thankfully it's description on the PSN gave me enough to understand that it's not just a dodgeball game but there's school life and team building, too. It's a recent addition to the service and i picked it as i thought it's bright colorful graphics and artstyle would be an interesting challenge for cloud streaming as issues like Macroblocking would be very evident should it appear.

And it did appear. actually, there were a host of issues throughout playing the game. as well as the macroblocking, there were resolution drops, stream tearing, and stuttering. at times, it did feel like some blurring and blurring might've been from the game itself rather than from streaming it. however, the controls felt fine and i couldn't notice any lag from them.

Whilst these issues were rarely a problem, they were noticeable. But i did forget to do the internet speed test after i was done so i can't rule out the issue being my end this week. i don't think the issues got in the way of gameplay tho. the visuals are big and bright which meant that even when the resolution dropped, i could clearly see everything and when there was macroblocking it didn't cover up any object.

The game also has a robust autosave function as well as the ability for the player to save manually by bringing up the main menu. This means that if there ever is an issue with streaming and the cloud streaming service decides to terminate the stream, there's a higher chance that we can save before it kicks us off. so far, whilst not perfect, i do have to say that this is a good game for streaming so far. there'll be a part two where we can get a sense of how it is to stream it overall, and hopefully i'll remember to do the PS4 internet speed test.