I have never played any game in the Fire Emblem series, so when Nintendo announced the GBA version of Fire Emblem is coming to the Nintendo Switch Online service i was eager to try it out. Going in, i wasn't really sure what was going to happen. i had heard games in the series have a death mechanic and a relationship mechanic, but i didn't know if this game did or if it did to what extent it has it.
I'm glad i played it as i had a good time. it kinda felt like a console game due to the slow pace, not in a negative way, of the story and the amount of tutorials the game introduced us to over the first couple of chapters. i came away thinking that this might be a long game. but the first hour i played went really well.
the world was nicely introduced, our main character's story was simple and then there was a twist. it was nice that when i mentioned a character was being annoying, it was clear it was intentional and brought up in game. the in-game art looks great and clear on my TV. the only downside of seeing the game this big was that some of the text was a tad blurry or not as clear as i would like.
Nothing about the introduction seemed overwhelming and i appreciated how the game managed it's first hour. some of the story is a little predictable but it never really detracted from the game. i'd go so far as to say that Fire Emblem did enough in this first hour to get it's hooks into me and i'd be up for playing more of this game. i really do recommend people give this a go.
I'm back after a little birthday break with a Splatoon 3 video. this first weekend in July is a new Eggstra Work event. this, i think, is also the first time that this event is open to anyone and not limited to you and your friends.
As this is the first time i've played this event, i wasn't too clear on the rules, but quickly understood that the team i'm on will face predetermined waves of enemies. whilst playing i thought that it was only 3 waves, but i had a quick read and it looks like it could be 5 waves. However, my teams never managed to defeat the third wave.
Whilst it was interesting facing the same waves over and over again, it got tiresome being stuck with the Slosher every game. i think i played 10 games and never got a different weapon. i tried backing out, i was put into different teams, but nothing changed. i always got the Slosher. ultimately, it was fine, but it's not my favorite Splatoon 3 event. it will be interesting to read in the comments if anyone else managed to beat the 3rd wave or even completed it.
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 Meimei Cup! (2023/6/26 9:00～2023/7/3 8:59 JST) in Puzzle & Dragons: Nintendo Switch Edition whilst using a GamePad and a docked Nintendo Switch.
I played against fewer other players this week so, for me, it wasn't as exciting as in recent weeks. But it was successful as i managed to get all the achievements in 6 games. this means that i finished in the top 3 each time. i did get to the boss many times but i was unable to beat it.
Today's Cloud Monday is part 2 of playing Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness on my launch Japanese PS4 via the PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming Service.
In the first video, https://youtu.be/4acBC6x5XXI, as well as enjoying the game i would go so far as to say the streaming experience from PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Streaming was perfect. it had been a while since i played a game with little to no streaming issues so at the time there was a sense of relief, too.
This second video continues that trend. once again i noticed no issues streaming the game and, in both videos, there were moments when i forgot that i was playing this PS3 game on a PS4 as i was so engrossed in playing it.
It's a hard game, but if it's a style of RPG or if you're a fan of the series, there is a way to play the game just like you had the disc. unfortunately in this video i forgot to do the speed test, but over both days playing the game i'm comfortable in saying that it's one of the highlights i've had streaming games from PlayStation Plus Premium Cloud Service.
Last week i played Harvest Moon for the first time, https://youtu.be/De1aItAfPFk, and it didn't go well. This week i tried it again, having learnt from my mistakes in the hope of making progress and having a better experience. To be honest, that didn't really happen.
By about 20 or 30 minutes into the second video, i had already gotten further than i did in the previous video. but in terms of story, i don't feel like i made any extra progress. i did have a greater understanding of the mechanics, i explored a new area and learnt more about building extensions, and i finally managed to harvest grass. But even after an hour, i still didn't have enough grass for animals, and in some respects my farm was beginning to look worse than when i arrived. i had noticed that the wooden walls around the farm had begun to deteriorate.
So whilst this attempt at playing Harvest Moon did go better than my first attempt, and i'm happy things went better the second time round. i'm also disappointed that nothing really came of it. i'm starting to think that it's more the game's fault than mine. that maybe the game has a really slow start. i get the feeling that the game is wide open and is expecting us to go and explore rather than offer guidance.
For Online Saturday this week i tried out Warface for the first time. With there being soo many game modes to choose from, i decided to focus on something familiar and played Team Deathmatch for an hour.
Going into this, i knew nothing about the game. it wasn't until after i had played it that i learned that it's been out quite a while. Obviously it will have changed along the way, but it's still impressive that a game as old as this has retained enough players to keep being updated and to keep being brought to new platforms. But it also means the developers behind it know what they're doing and it showed. this was one of the better online experiences i've had as a new player. More so when you compare it to last weeks Trackmania video, https://youtu.be/we766gY1WPw. the experience for first time players was soo rough, that i couldn't recommend it.
One of the key ways in which Warface was so approachable was that it starts with a tutorial. It's not too big and full of too many new things either. it focuses on two classes and uses in-game action. at every step, everything was clearly highlighted and the text prompts were simple and easy to follow. the main screen does look a little dated and is clearly not designed for consoles. my guess is it's the same screen across all platforms. but it works because only one of them options is playing the game and it's clear and simple "Play".
Going into play, again whilst looking a bit dated, you're greeted by all the game modes divided into three sections, Co-op, Spec Ops, and Versus. whilst these may not be that clear to everyone, what i really do appreciate is that there's a little bit of text explaining what's happening. so Spec Ops was a mode i didn't know what it could be, but after reading the text and looking at the images i understood that i was playing a mission that would have maybe 4 stages, maybe 5, and that they take time. that's soo much more information that Trackmania. and this applied to Versus, too. There are 8 modes but when you move the cursor to one it clearly says what's going to happen. Great.
That's not to say the game doesn't have it's own quirks and issues. the bottom of the screen is a mess and never clearly explained. there are 3 currencies down there, bonuses, and mail. A lot of these screens are dark, the text is often small to very small, to the point where i wonder how legible it is if you played the Switch handheld. Whilst the game is keen to move onto the next game, i feel like there's not enough time given to the player to change class and then there's soo much time given to loading that could be better hidden. the load times are rough in this game. it took around a minute and a half or more to just get to the main screen after clicking start on the icon on the Switch home screen.
It's age could be one reason why the game felt a little old school. and i don't mean that in a negative way. i've tried many newer online shooters and not really enjoyed any of them. so coming to a game that felt old, but in a familiar way, was actually refreshing and Warface actually felt easier to pick up and play. the classes were clearly different, the maps were smaller, respawn times were fast, and the action was frantic. This did mean that in Team Deathmatch the medic class did feel a little useless as people died too quickly and when they did they didn't hang around to be revied. Maybe it'll work better in a different mode. And with the game being as old as it is, at times it felt like i was playing against people who knew all the best places to attack from. the game says that it's trying to balance the teams but it became clear that this didn't mean all new people were together and all veterans were together, this game tries to make teams featuring both.
There was a lot i didn't get to see so i won't be deleting the game. i think i'll come back later and try out some of the other game modes. It's free to play and i do recommend it. More so to players familiar with online shooters during the PS3/360 Generation, but also for those looking for something less serious than Modern Warfare.
For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Miracle Merchant by TiNYTOUCHTALES. It's not a new game and it's out across the iOS app store and android.
I've seen the app icon on the store for a while but only recently downloaded it. but i didn't really know much about it other than it was a card game. i think i saw it mentioned it was a solitaire style game, but i don't think that's quite accurate enough to describe it. It's more a card matching game. you need to match cards to what the customer needs, but also to what the cards themselves need.
It can sound a little complicated and after some of the games i've played recently i too was concerned that i was about to be dropped into the deep end. thankfully the game starts with a simple but effect tutorial that, to me, felt like it covered most of what you need to know. there were a couple of UI stuff i'm sure i worked out for myself. but i'd say the biggest thing Miracle Merchant doesn't do is keep a record of what card matches do.
there are 4 colors of cards and 1 extra trap color. each of these has a picture on them. it wasn't that clear whether the items made by combining four of them were a result of the cards used, the pictures on the cards used, or the amount of money you got from combining 4 cards. i would've liked a book next to me that would tell me what combinations i've found from the cards available.
There's a sense of wanting from this game throughout. it starts us off with a great introduction sequence as we move through a town. and that's the only time we get to see it. i was playing it for free so for me all there is are a few games of completing customer orders. it was shown that if i bought it, i'd get daily challenges unlocked. but it also looked like that was it for those who bought it, one extra mode. the game has great art style, all sorts of interesting characters on screen and a cool world too. but all i get to to in this game is match what the customer wants to the cards i have. i wanted more from this game because the world looked soo interesting.
Miracle Marchant is worth playing for free. there were no additional downloads, no intrusive adverts, and my phone didn't really get hot. but for many, i imagine that this game is a one and done. that's not to say it's bad, i don't think it is. but once you've won, there was nothing left that i wanted to go back and play. i imagine that'll be the case for a few who try it.
