For the week of November 4 – 10
Check out what I played last week
November 4 – 1000xRESIST
I’ve heard a lot of about 1000xRESIST throughout 2024. I learned about the game from one of the many many podcasts I listen to. They never went into too much detail but it sounded like something that might interest me. This is a mysterious adventure game that I still can’t wrap my head around. It’s got a lot going on that wants me to see where it’s going.
I can’t go into too much detail about the story because it’s still a mystery. This takes place in a world created by a character referred to as the “Allmother”. Your character is “Watcher” and there are other similar characters. From what I can gather so far, these appear to be creations of the “Allmother”. The game’s first chapter has us reliving interactions between two high-school students.
These two seem to have some cultural connection. One is a Chinese immigrant, while the other might be a second-generation Chinese person. It’s clear that the two face some cultural struggles. Watcher serves as the domestic teenager as she interacts with the other girl. We learn a bit about their struggles, but there are also a lot left unanswered.
My hour with the game saw me play through the prologue and first chapter. We get a lot of information but I’m still not quite sure what is going on and what connects everything. I am curious about the story and I want to see what happens next. This feels like a perfect game I can chip away at before going to bed each night.
November 5 – Frame Gride
One of the games I picked up while in Japan in October was Frame Gride. This is a Japan-only fighting game developed by FromSoftware. Imagine VirtualOn but with a medevil setting and that’s Frame Gride. You can play this without knowing Japanese, which is a huge plus for me and my .01% language knowledge.
For a fighting game, this is very easy to grasp. Your character has two main attacks: a close-range weapon and a long-range pistol. This expands when using the triggers on the control. Holding the triggers modifies your attacks. I only found this out while fooling around with the training mode. Having this knowledge now changes how I play future battles.
The single-player campaign is your standard fights in different locales. You’re fighting against other cavalry units, each with special abilities. Plus, you’re fighting in different environments, which also alter how you fight. For a game that’s over 20 years old, I’m impressed with the level variety.
I didn’t get too much into the customization, which there is a lot of. You begin with the default character. But you also have access to other body types. When you win in fights, you earn crystals which help to unlock gear and squires. The squires are your assist characters that the AI relies heavily on in battle. I unlocked a piece of gear, but it doesn’t work for my current character. It will probably work on one of the other body types, so I’ll need to fool around to see what I can upgrade.
November 6 – Lost in Fantaland
As a fan of tactical games, Lost in Fantaland instantly caught my eye. If you’ve played Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre, this is very easy to grasp. Also, the art style draws massive inspiration from both of those games. I’ve gone a few rounds and I am having a lot of fun.
Unlike most tactical games, this is a solo affair. You are only controlling one character (at least what I played), but the stages are all grid-like maps. The rogue-like aspect is that each run is a randomized run. You have your fair share of battles, but you have random encounters, rest areas, and more. At the same time, this game doesn’t take itself too seriously. It breaks the fourth wall a few times, clearly making note that you’re experiencing a video game. It’s not in-your-face, which I appreciate.
Of the few runs I played, I’ve only managed to get past the first “map” zone. That second one is where I see the difficulty getting to the point where I can’t handle the enemies I’m facing. It’s not too difficult, but they want you to level up your character. There are a few “elite” stages that I am not ready to face this early on. The leveling system does feel a bit slow, but there are also a lot of character types to unlock. I can’t wait to try some of the other ones because I want to see how different they play.
I can’t quite say this game surprised me. This is right up my alley with the strategy genre that I love to play, even when I get frustrated. I’d like to put in more time with this one and see where the story takes me.
November 7 – Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
Earlier this year I played SaGa: Emerald Beyond, which was my first experience with the series. Unfortunately, I did see the appeal and left unimpressed. Because of that, I wasn’t planning on trying Romancing SaGa 2: Revenging of the Seven. After seeing some early buzz around this remake, I changed my mind. So far, the prologue is fine but I have yet to see what makes the series so unique.
The key selling point around SaGa games is their focus on non-linear storytelling. These are games that all you to play as a handful of different characters. They also feature branching stories that I guess encourage experimentation and replayability. Considering I loved Octopath Traveller II last year, this sounds like something I’d enjoy. But in the prologue, you don’t see any of that. The first hour of the game focuses on the story of a royal family, specifically the younger son. Meanwhile, I have yet to come across the titular “Seven”.
Don’t get me wrong, the combat is great. Characters unlock moves as you perform other attacks. But, I suspect the characters I am controlling in the prologue are not the ones we play as later in the game. So, we’ll probably have to unlock a whole new set of skills in the main game. But the story is fairly predictable. The typical RPG tropes are there. Unfortunately, the prologue only lasts 90 minutes and you don’t get to experience what I suspect are the true selling points for the game. Becuase of that, this is the kind of RPG I pick up in six months when it’s 40-50% off.
November 8 – Virtua Fighter 3tb
Another game I picked up in Japan last month was Virtua Fighter 3tb. I bought this because it was cheap (only 1,000 Yen). Also, I like the series and I never played this one. Its included in the most recent Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but I am still trying to finish Yakuza: Like a Dragon. For a Virtua Fighter game, I like the game. So, I’m surprised people call this the weakest in the series.
One aspect that I like about this series is its focus on basics. It doesn’t rely on outlandish, “unrealistic” moves. Yes, it’s not completely grounded in reality, but the key to success is fighting smart and timing. Virtua Fighter 3tb was the first in the series to offer Team Battles. It was also the first to introduce the dodge button. Virtua Fighter is famous for its Punch, Kick, and Block commands, so having Dodge adds another key move.
The Team Battles are fine. I guess that was something special back in 1999, but now it’s a common addition. The roster of fighters here is small, so you don’t have too much choice. I ended up picking Pai three times since she was the character I was best with. For me, Virtua Fighter 3tb was “easy”. I finished both Team Battle and Normal mode on the normal difficulty setting.
Without having people to play with, there isn’t much else to do here. This has an online mode, but I can’t play it in 2024. I suspect the lack of content is why this one doesn’t have the same love the other games in the series get. This did get me to go back and play Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown on the PlayStation 4. For a game from 2021, it’s still incredible. If the rumors of a Virtua Fighter 6 coming soon are true, I cannot wait!
November 9 – The Tower: Idle Tower Defense
An ad while watching a YouTube video on my phone convinced me to try a mobile game. When I saw the trailer for The Tower: Idle Tower Defense, the game’s creator did a great job of talking his game up. The music and retro visuals caught my eye, so I gave in to the pressure and downloaded the game. I’ve been hooked trying to improve my “tower”, but this is very much a mobile-designed game in many ways.
This isn’t a typical tower-defense game that I usually play. I enjoy the Defense Grid style of tower defense. The ones where you place units/structures along a path to defend against hordes of enemies. Here, you have your hexagonal unit in the middle of the screen. Enemy squares of various sizes and speeds come at you. Defeating them and surviving waves earns you money. You then use that main to upgrade your different stats.
There are two aspects of upgrading. You upgrade while playing but earn coins to upgrade your units outside the main mode. Each wave you survive earns you a bit of coin that you then spend on minor upgrades. These upgrades give you an early advantage for the next round you play. Unfortunately, I find this progression is slow.
After a full day of play, I’m stuck dying around the same wave. I was struggling to get past Wave 21 for the first two hours of playing. I got past that but then I managed to get to Wave 30 and was able to reach Wave 40. With all the upgrading I’ve done, I’m unable to get past that. It’s clear that I need to spend money to get further in the game, but I refuse to do that.
November 10 – Tower of Fantasy
I began this day intending to try Death Note: Killer Within. But, that game is an online-only release. I was unable to get into a proper match, so I gave up and tried something else. I saw an Evangelion crossover promo for Tower of Fantasy and I was curious about it. So, I jumped into that. Yes, this is another one of those free-to-play RPGs. What surprised me was that I couldn’t put this down. But, there is one frustrating part of the game that bears mentioning and might stop me from playing more.
I ended up spending a good three to four hours with the game. I was nearing the end of the first chapter when something strange happened. There is a key plot point that takes place at the end of Chapter 1.4. When you begin Chapter 1.5, the game decides to fast-forward new players to a much later point in the game. This might not be a problem, except for the fact that there is a resolution to the plot and we don’t see how it happens.
From a live-service perspective, this makes sense. You don’t want new players too far back in the story. But, you can tell this was not properly designed. They do an awful job highlighting what we missed and it’s confusing for people since so much has changed. What’s worse is that you can go back and play what you missed. But, now your character is level 60 and I suspect there is no challenge.
