What I Played Today: April 11

Fire Emblem Fates

Still going strong-ish in Fire Emblem. I've finally reunited the royal family and now the real shit is starting, and I'm...kind of scared to press on. The next mission is just to kill the boss of the level, and there are not enough guys on the map so I know it's going to become a drag-out bout with like a thousand million reinforcements and I can't handle that right now.

What I Played Today: March 31

Fire Emblem Fates

I've gotten to a stage in Fire Emblem that made me very happy that I'm playing in Casual mode this time, because it is a goddamn bloodbath that you just need to escape from. I realized too late that I could have just attached my main dude onto a Pegasus troop and fly him to safety instead of trying to manuever to the dragon vein that allows passage across the water in between. But I figured that out too late and several of my people died, which would worry me if they were dead dead, but they aren't, so we are okay! Also got many of my low-level folk up against their tough guys.

What I Played Today: March 22

Fire Emblem Fates

I've been playing a bit of Fire Emblem! It's pretty good, especially when I'm not worried about losing any of my characters. Which is good, because man so many of my units keep dying for insanely stupid reasons! Oh, whoops, I accidentally left my Singer unprotected again, whoops, she's dead, again. Anyway, I think I'm halfway done? I checked, there are 25 chapters, and I just did Chapter 12, but there's also a ton of stuff that I don't understand, like...class changes. I don't know what or why that means, but I know it happens. I guess I just gotta play through it once to figure out what I want to do here. Those are the best games, right? Where you play through it once and fail completely before you know how to play the game? Sure.

What I Played Today: February 24

Fire Emblem Fates

Playing Fire Emblem. One thing I do not understand about this game is the various free-to-play game triggers that it has; every day your castle has new supplies and stuff, so it gives you incentive to not rush and to log in every day and see what's going on. Maybe do a battle or two, whatever.

Anyway, I saved the low-level character who has a high potential while leveling up that always exists in these games. She looks so scared while fighting! I cheer every time she hits. She took out a guy! I've also lost my singer character like three times now, so I'm glad I'm playing casual. Just so easy to sneak up on her and take her out.

What I Played Today: February 20

Fire Emblem Fates

I was on a mission today. I have decided that I want to get into Fire Emblem again. I don't know WHY, but I went on a hunt, and after NOT FINDING IT at three different locations, I decided that digital is the future, and purchased a New 3DS because it was about time, and then downloaded it, because that's how it works.

It's pretty okay! It has a long-ass preamble, including tutorial battles that are not really tutorial battles (I had a really hard time with one where it was my three units against TWELVE), but I like all the things that are happening. The game has a lot of interesting stuff happening, with its three storylines and ever-ramping difficulty and interesting characters. I am on the simplest difficulty and I'm still kind of struggling. I'm hoping that I hit a hump of understand and get to play this game for real. In...like...a month.

What I Played Today: May 4

EVE Online, Fire Emblem: Awakening

I am having an identity crisis in space. A space identity crisis. I kinda want to do everything, and you are not allowed to do everything. But I'm trying...I'm trying.

A eulogy: Ricken is dead. Ricken was a young mage, full of heart and willing to try. But the forces in the desert were strong, and against favorable odds, Ricken was killed. We will miss him. Goodbye Ricken. I'm sorry you had to die, but I needed to push past my reluctance to let anyone die, and while you had a promising career, it wasn't promising enough to reset the battle. And I didn't really need two mages. I hope you understand.

What I Played Today: April 16

Fire Emblem Awakening, Persona 4 Golden

I finally got through that mission of Fire Emblem, and managed not to save the villagers that were in trouble. I'm sorry villagers. But my dudes are more important than you. Only they get a hard reboot.

Also dicked around in Persona 4 Golden. It has finally started raining, so Kanji will finally stop being sick. Good for Kanji. I want that guy on my team.

What I Played Today: March 22

Fire Emblem: Awakening

UGGGGG FIRE EMBLEM. Goddamn Fire Emblem. What is this game? What is? I really wish I just put it on Casual Mode.

What I Played Today: March 21

Fire Emblem

I almost, almost let a character die today. It was Sully, and she got taken out by some dumb barbarian or whatever, and with a tinge of regret, I thought...well...I have a couple of knights...so I kept going, and then Maribelle got sneak attacked and I was like, well, hell, can't have that. This level with all these wyvern knights is hard, even though wyvern knights are ridiculously weak. Well, except for the boss wyvern knight, who I almost had until I miscalculated and left Maribelle wide open again and she bit it in one hit. Goddamn when will I learn to properly protect all of my vulnerable characters. Maybe I shouldn't be bringing four of them with me?

What I Played Today: March 20

Fire Emblem, Pushmo

I was on a plane today, and I brought my 3DS. Still playing Fire Emblem, still closing the game down whenever one of my favorite characters dies. Stop picking on Donnel, you monsters. Although, now looking at it, it appears that Barracks events happen every actual day, not after each chapter, which I guess is there to keep you coming back.

Also tried some Pushmo. I'm never in the right mindset for Pushmo. Whenever I think I'm doing well and then I fall, my first instinct is just to shut the whole thing down.

What I Played Today: March 14

Fire Emblem: Awakening

Rarg Fire Emblem! I am doing okay on this! I ran into a lady who happens to be a bunny rabbit and can transform into some terrifying beast monster, so that's fun. I also managed to recruit one of my enemies, which I didn't even know was an option. Of course, she was in danger of dying, because I had my knight hit her with a huge axe beforehand, so it was a bit of effort keeping her alive, and I don't know why she isn't mad at me.

What I Played Today: March 12

Fire Emblem: Awakening

I always feel like I am constantly just getting the hang of this game. I managed to save a village from some creepy twins without getting anyone killed for once. One time my vendor ally died on this mission and I thought, "Eh...might not be that big of deal," only for Chrom to die instead, which is an instant game over. But I finally managed.

Now I have to save this castle from a bunch of assassins, and it turns out Marth is a lady, which I knew already, because English voice actors do not do androgenous voices well. And then I got scared so I stopped.

What I Played Today: March 9

Fire Emblem: Awakening, The Resistance, Skull and Roses, Drinking Games

I am making some progress in Fire Emblem, although just the way you have to play to make sure nobody dies is just nuts. You have to be super reticent, because these are all people, and you don't want to lose any of these people, but they are also not going to grow unless you put them in danger. I made a couple of mistakes in which the new character I just met gets taken out on the second turn, and I am just constantly restarting.

Then I went to a party, and we played some regular games, like The Resistance with 11 people, in which no spy was ever put on a mission and the game was over pretty much immediately, and Skull and Roses with 11 people, in which nobody could win a bet, at all, and we eventually houseruled that it takes two skulls to get knocked out, and still nobody could win. It was a terrible idea.

There were also drinking games, which I'm always fascinated by because they always seem to be more complicated than regular games. There was one where you drew a card and then did something on a list. Most of those things were drink. And then there was one where the dealer went around the circle and people would try to guess the card, and whoever lost had to drink. Now, kinda dumb, but when you are the dealer for the last 30% of the game, when the majority of the deck is known? People were concerned that I was going to lose it, because I had to down my entire 12 oz drink in about three minutes. But...I held it together. I can handle it.

What I Played Today: February 22

Antichamber, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Don't Starve, EVE Online

I made a bit of progress in Antichamber, which never feels like progress because you keep ending up in the same rooms over and over again. There is still a lot that I can't do, which is frustrating, and there are some things that I'm just not doing right, I've had to just muscle through a few walls because I did not have the patience to actually figure it out. But I can see the third gun, and I just need to figure out how to turn 8 blocks into 12 blocks somehow. Magic? I don't know.

Played some more Fire Emblem. I've finally opened up the Paralogues and the map and there is more than one fight available and this is much better. There's this weird barracks area in which a bunch of your character march in and talk to each other, and it feels weird and forced. I do need to remember that apparently pegasus are fucking allergic to arrows or something, as I lost Sumia in a match and I panicked and quit the game. Got to resist that instinct, they can't all make it.

Also dicked around in Don't Starve, my 19-day-old guy finally died, so now I'm setting up camp in a place that is not awfully close to spiders and ridiculously difficult to defend. Moved up north past the rocks, going to build my base up against the ocean, because nothing horrible can come from that direction...yet.

Then I got fucking dumb and restarted my EVE Online account. I don't know! I heard someone talking about it and I thought that it might be interesting, and...man, I'm sorry. The exploration system is kinda cool though, where you have to triangulate the location of these various things, and need a lot of devices to actually get anything from these hidden zones. Yeah, I'll probably forget about it in a month.

What I Played Today: February 19

Fire Emblem: Awakening

I did a couple of chapters of Fire Emblem. It is pretty weird to constantly be introduced to so many characters, knowing that at any moment, they can fall on the battlefield. I did have the magician die once, but I restarted because it was due to poor planning during the first turn, and she was my only magician. It is pretty weird that the chapters are so short, only one encounter each, and I still haven't been given full control over everything. I hear there are only 25 chapters? It might open up here soon, who knows?

What I Played Today: February 14

Fire Emblem: Awakening, The Devil's Attorney

I had been trying to get the new Fire Emblem for a couple of weeks now, because I hear it's great. Why would I not believe that? But after a couple unsuccessful attempts to purchase a box that has the game in it, I finally decided to just download it from the eShop. Yeah! Screw you physical media!

Anyway, it's a tactical strategy game. I still don't understand it yet, but nobody has died yet! And the ponytails on the healer are adorable. Yes, that is what I have gleamed from the game so far.

Also saw a preview of Devil's Attorney, which has a lot of style and a modicum of strategy, and decided to download it. I've made it to Act 2 just fine, the game is not that hard. But hey, good work in general, designers.