The Backlog Check-in Vol. 275: 4/8/23: Hello Kitty and Friends: Happiness Parade Edition

[Phaseknox]

Played: BloodRayne ReVamped

Finished: Nothing

Playing: BloodRayne ReVamped

Added: Anodyne, BloodRayne ReVamped, BloodRayne 2 ReVamped, Delirium, Demon Turf, Dustwind: The Last Resort, Far Cry: New Dawn, Feudal Alloy, The Forgotten City, Grow: Song of the Evertree, Infinite: Beyond the Mind, Intrepid Izzy, Kings of Lorn: The Fall of Ebris, New Tales from the Borderlands, Treasures of the Aegean

Games releasing this week
Basketball Pinball
Beyond the Long Night
Boundary
Bumballon
Cannon Dancer
Castle of Shikigami 2
De-Exit: Eternal Matters
Fabledom
Farm Slider
Flooded
Ghostware: Arena of the Dead
Guardian of Lore
Harvest Island
Hello Kitty and Friends: Happiness Parade
Hunt the Night
Inout
King of the Arcade
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection
Miniland Adventure
Pokémon Stadium
Process of Elimination
Rusted Moss
Shardpunk: Verminfall
Total War: Warhammer 3 - Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs
Tray Racers!
Trinity Fusion
Tron: Identity
Voodolls
Wildfrost
X4: Kingdom End

[jfissel]

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, Like a Dragon: Ishin

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 44 games

Well, I played quite a bit of Ishin last week...most of it was the story since I had already done a massive chunk of side stuff. Almost 70 hours in now, on the final chapter, all substories completed, and should finish up this week. I still have a little bit of side stuff that I want to do, but I am skipping a lot of the pointless weapon crafting.

[isthatallyougot]

I fired up Aria of Sorrow. It's the only Vania I hadn't played on the GBA. Really fun, as expected.

[argyle]

Games added: Two Point Hospital & Campus (not really new backlog entries, but I picked up physical copies for the Switch) and Sakura Wars (PS4)

Last week: Finished nothing, played mostly Forza Horizons, FF7 Remake, & Ryse: Son of Rome

This week: More of those

Gamestop started a b2g1 on used games this weekend. I was up late Sat night/Sun morning and decided to look to see if they had the ones I wanted - fully expecting them NOT to - and I was pleasantly surprised to see they did. So I ordered Resident Evil 4 Remake, Dead Space Remake, & Evil West all for the Xbox. Should be here around Thurs - I think I'm gonna start RE4 first. Here's hoping they're all complete...

[canedaddy]

Gamestop started a b2g1 on used games this weekend. I was up late Sat night/Sun morning and decided to look to see if they had the ones I wanted - fully expecting them NOT to - and I was pleasantly surprised to see they did. So I ordered Resident Evil 4 Remake, Dead Space Remake, & Evil West all for the Xbox. Should be here around Thurs - I think I'm gonna start RE4 first. Here's hoping they're all complete...

I avoid buying from them online because I would cringe if I got one of those ugly GS boxes with a scratched-up disk inside. But I might stop by the local store later to see if they have anything that grabs me for a B2G1F.


Played recently: Super Perils of Baking, Greedfall, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 27


I decided to give Fallen Order a try and it is very good so far... although it is extremely derivative. "Hey, it's a sliding sequence from Uncharted!" "Cool, wall running like in Prince of Persia" etc.

I tried Greedfall for the third time and decided it's not for me. I love the pirate vibe in an open-world RPG, but the combat is just ridiculously stiff and unfun.

I also bailed on Super Perils of Baking. I couldn't get past the 15th level (I think it was) of 55 in the game apparently. Too twitchy for my old man skills.

[argyle]

I avoid buying from them online because I would cringe if I got one of those ugly GS boxes with a scratched-up disk inside.

That's what in-store returns are for.

[crimson_tide]

izzy, I might boot up Aria of Sorrow! I know you mentioned a 'book club' thing in a previous thread, let's do it! I imagine just about everyone here has the Castlevania Advance Collection. If you are down izzy, I am .

I also might head to GS for that Digimon Cyber Sleuth game since it's not available digitally anymore. I can let the kiddo pick something for her Switch too, thanks for the heads up argyle .

Addressing things in last week's thread:

Phase, stay strong friend. Keeping you in my thoughts and hoping the universe gives you strength. Hope the incision doesn't get infected and you can continue on your original track.

izzy, we currently have 3 girls we are the charges for: a 9 month foster, the 7 year old kiddo we have fostered for years and a 14 year old we are guardians of since last May and will be going through the adoption process soon. My wife was not one of the 3 . I also have a cat who is the most chill woman in the house and causes me zero stress. The 9 month old is a close second, she is seriously the easiest, most chill baby I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with.

Thanks for the heads up about smithing and materials in Ishin j, I figured everyone online was just mad about it because completion. I do want to give it full attention though so it's definitely a summer play through at this point.

Old man, I bought Jedi... whatever (my ambivalence for Star Wars could not be any higher at this point) when it was $5 based on people saying it was like baby's first Souls like. But I haven't installed it. Keep me apprised of how you find it. You haven't sold me yet but you haven't dissuaded me either...

Played: DQ8 (imma just grind at this point...) , DMC1 (...I think I like it? I made it to and beat the lava scorpion thing for the first time ever), Trials of Mana, Maneater, Sackboy Adventure (with the kiddo, she flipping loves it!)...I think that's it? Looking for a spring break game so just bouncing around right now.

Bought: nothing yet. But after tomorrow and the rest of the PSN spring sale hits, I might have a haul. I have several things in my cart now and will buy when they put the rest of the sale up.

This week: still poking around

Also, took the children to see Super Mario Bros. It was mid. it was the most basic thing ever. And don't give me it doesn't matter because Mario is basic. They made a movie about Lego and it was legitimately good, had they made any effort with Mario, it would have been nice. As anecdotal evidence, the girls saw it, said they liked it. Their favorite part of the experience was the popcorn and it was pretty. Which I get because it wasn't about anything. They have very little Nintendo exposure and wanted to see it because of the marketing. The entirety of the movie was this:



It was exhausting and it was only 90 or so minutes! I should have been wary of every positive review starting with some variation of 'I have been a Mario fan my whole life'. As a tribute to everything Mario, it's fine. As a movie trying to tell a story, it's just not good. I fail to see what people are losing their minds over, the critics are exactly right. Basic ass movie is mid.

[canedaddy]

Old man, I bought Jedi... whatever (my ambivalence for Star Wars could not be any higher at this point) when it was $5 based on people saying it was like baby's first Souls like. But I haven't installed it. Keep me apprised of how you find it. You haven't sold me yet but you haven't dissuaded me either...

I played a little last night, and I might be done. The game is probably "good" but it is really just bits and pieces from original good games stitched together and sprayed with Star Wars... an IP that I was last excited about in 1977. For a baby's first Souls like, it is pretty soul-less. Try as I might, I don't care at all about the Ginger Jedi or his mission or the Darth Lady antagonist or the WALL-E + R2D2 sidekick. It also doesn't control very well... the force power is kinda awkward and the melee combat is off. Maybe I'm spoiled after God of War and Elden Ring? Whatever the case, I'm probably moving on.

Also, took the children to see Super Mario Bros. It was mid. it was the most basic thing ever. And don't give me it doesn't matter because Mario is basic. They made a movie about Lego and it was legitimately good, had they made any effort with Mario, it would have been nice. As anecdotal evidence, the girls saw it, said they liked it. Their favorite part of the experience was the popcorn and it was pretty. Which I get because it wasn't about anything. They have very little Nintendo exposure and wanted to see it because of the marketing. The entirety of the movie was this:



It was exhausting and it was only 90 or so minutes! I should have been wary of every positive review starting with some variation of 'I have been a Mario fan my whole life'. As a tribute to everything Mario, it's fine. As a movie trying to tell a story, it's just not good. I fail to see what people are losing their minds over, the critics are exactly right. Basic ass movie is mid.

Thank you for sharing that. I've been mildly tempted to see it even though I'm on record as saying Mario sucks as a character (except in the RPGs). It sounds like it is not for me.

[isthatallyougot]

izzy, I might boot up Aria of Sorrow! I know you mentioned a 'book club' thing in a previous thread, let's do it! I imagine just about everyone here has the Castlevania Advance Collection. If you are down izzy, I am .

Yeah, that'd be awesome. Fire it up and we can dissect it ruthlessly. I had mentioned the book club thing years ago and mentioned it again a little while back and argyle and phase (I think) said they'd be interested, and I guess we all forgot about it and nothing materialized. But we can do our anachronistic thing. Sounds fun. It can be a two-man club (this time) - no women allowed.

izzy, we currently have 3 girls we are the charges for: a 9 month foster, the 7 year old kiddo we have fostered for years and a 14 year old we are guardians of since last May and will be going through the adoption process soon. My wife was not one of the 3 . I also have a cat who is the most chill woman in the house and causes me zero stress. The 9 month old is a close second, she is seriously the easiest, most chill baby I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with.

On a more serious note, I really admire people like you who give of themselves to those who really need it - like in the case of fostering children. Not saying you're not also blessed through such open-heartedness yourself, to be clear. So many kids brought into this world unwanted or in poor circumstances that need a home. I always wanted to do that rather than having my own (even though I dearly love my own child), but my ex-wife didn't want to go down that road, and well, we all know how those things turn out.

[canedaddy]

I'll join y'all in playing Aria of Sorrow.