Treasure Trove Cove: Another Week, Another Haul

This took longer than I meant it to! Things have been a little too crazy around here lately. It feels like this semester is tests on top of tests on top of projects, so all the extra workload is definitely taking a chunk out of my already sparse game-time. Not that that’s really unusual for the middle of the semester; I usually have 3-4 months of a gaming lull while I’m at school, and make up for it by becoming a machine over my breaks (I plowed through 14 games over my 6 week winter break, and that was with being relatively caught up in doing stuff I wanted to do while I was home in the States). Digressing aside, I finally got some time to write this out, so onto the pictures and stuff!

Treasure Trove Cove : New Games Since Winter

Long time no post! Since coming back overseas I’ve been crazy busy and haven’t had the time to write… but I’m going to make an attempt to change that by starting a weekly or monthly goal to keep me current.

 

Sadly, I haven’t beaten that many games since my last post (with the exception of some of the ‘currently playing’ games I’d written about, but I’d already given a pretty good impression of my thoughts on them).

 

So in place of game reviews, when I don’t have any to write, I’m going to post pictures and explanations of my newest acquisitions! Though it’s stretching quite a ways back, I’ll list back to Christmas just to have a starting date. And this time, I’ll add the bonus of a figure I found in my mailbox when I moved back to Japan!

Winter Break Game Roundup

I feel bad for the huge gap since my last post… but I’ve been enjoying glorious winter break. Between the  fatigue from my daily commute, my usual class-related stress, and the feeling of shock from living in a different culture for the first time I was ready for a nice, long vacation full of sleep, friends, and games. And I went especially heavy on the games.

I’ve been home for only three-and-a-half weeks and I’ve managed to beat or complete twelve games in that time, and start four others of note. I didn’t want to do a huge post for each one, so… I figured I’d condense them all into a mega-post of drive-by reviews and first impressions.

On Location: Tokyo Game Show

I told myself I was going to make this post months ago after the show itself… but procrastination and the feeling of constantly being busy sort of delayed it a bit. I don’t actually have a lot to write about the show itself… the rooms were dark, the lights were bright, the crowd was suffocating and claustrophobic, and it was loud as hell. But it was still a pretty rockin’ experience, despite the fact that I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours, had about 5 hours of sleep, and was zombie-ing my way through the show rooms, all the while seriously checking out the incredibly attractive hordes of women they had set up what felt like every two feet. Like a boss.

 

WARNING: Post is very image-heavy.

Fandom Gets Physical: Tales of Vesperia Figure Set

I only got the idea for this last night; as someone who likes collecting game merchandise of games I love as much as playing them, I have a bit of a collection of random merch from my favorites, from figures to books to anything in between. Some of it is gorgeous to display, some of it is just fun. I’ll be using this category to post pictures/comments on different pieces in my collection. This will be easier to do once I get home (and expect a very, very big Pokemon themed post, complete with Burger King toys), since that’s where most of my collection is… but for now, I do have some stuff that I bought with my school-provided food money here in Japan.

I’ll start off with my new figure set from my favorite game, as I love the figures and it’s worth giving the luck Backloggers who claimed the extras a preview! Here’s the Tales of Vesperia One Coin Grande Figure Collection by Kotobukiya! (click on the thumbnails for larger pictures!) And sorry for the slightly blurry photos; I was perched precariously on the end of my bed while I was snapping these.

The Winter Crunch: Prioritizing the Priorities

First things first: I love studying abroad. So far it’s been a great experience. Every day is a learning experience, I’ve improved in my understanding of Japanese language and culture, and I’m having a blast while I do it.

 

But when you’re largely removed from most means of your favorite hobby for a few months, you start to get antsy. I have my PSP and my DS, yes, but my love for my consoles and their constantly growing backlog is strong. Not even having my hands on a controller for the past three-and-a-half months has resulted in me squirming in my seat to get back to the action, and the best way to relieve that tension? Of course, it’s talking about what games I intend to prioritize! Because that can’t possibly backfire and just make me want to game even more.

30 Days of Gaming, Day 9: Saddest Game Scene

Spoiler’s for Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, though if you’ve played Final Fantasy VII the ending to Crisis Core shouldn’t be a spoiler, anyway. I think that’s what ultimately makes it awful; you go into the game knowing how it’s going to end and there’s nothing you can really do to stop it.

30 Days in Gaming, Day 8: Best Game Soundtrack

I’m not sure whether it’s just because Kajiura Yuki has a direct line to my soul or not, but Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra‘s soundtrack is the one I can listen to over and over. In particular, “promised pain” and “battle of your soul”… This is still the soundtrack I listen to during finals to find reasons to not incapacitate myself until they’re over.

30 Days in Gaming, Day 7: Favorite Game Couple

I was a little tempted to choose Rita/Estelle (haters gonna hate) or Yuri/Estelle for this… but then I remembered my bro Nathan Drake and girl Elena Fisher from Uncharted. Right from the start, I loved them together. There’s nothing better than a game couple who pop caps together while tossing snarky comments back and forth. The guys I played the second game with can attest to the amount of pure rage incited when there was no sign of Nate’s TRUE LOVE at first and it was all about Chloe (who I warmed up to eventually, but can never replace my adorable journalist). I’m basically only waiting on the third game so I can watch them get married on a jet-ski while Elena nukes the reception with her infinite-ammo-forever grenade launcher.

30 Days in Gaming, Day 6: Most Annoying Character

It didn’t take very long for me to come up with this one. Instant reaction to, “annoying character in a video game” for me shoots my mind straight to Dahlia Hawthorne of Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations. If having every male in the game falling for her shit (Phoenix included) wasn’t enough, the fact that she was a crazy bitch pretty much solidified that we could never be friends. And every time she turned on the “tears” I wanted to Dead Space-style curbstomp my DS into infinity. BAAAWWWWW WHY IS EVERYONE SO MEAN TO ME