Its That Time For a Weekend Update (Not SNL Style)

Going to try this out and see how it works:

Currently Playing:
Star Ocean: First Departure - PSP
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - PS3
Final Fantasy XIV: ARR - PC

I think for each Sunday post that I do I will start of with these "stats" to give just a gist of what I have played this week.  There are plenty of other games that I am currently playing, however these are just the ones I have touched this week.  Maybe even to make it "SPARKLE" we can do this:

Currently Playing:

Star Ocean: First Departure - PSP




                  Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - PS3

Final Fantasy XIV: ARR - PC

I think that adds a lot of color to the blog?  Pictures are fun!!  Some concerns that I have had is the fact that I don't put too many pictures or images in my posts, but this is usually due to me not having screenshots available for the games.  That or sheer laziness.

I think I will also start working an extra post in here or there on top of my Sunday updates.  I am debating if I should do my Sunday posts where I talk about my take on issues with games or my random thoughts (somewhat philosophical) while giving an overview of my progress through the week.  This would allow me to talk about individual games I am playing during the week when I have thoughts about them.  If it is something that I can hold myself to then I think it will work out perfectly.  My game coverages are going to decrease after tomorrow since my teams only have State Playoffs left and those are once/twice a week starting in May.  We probably won't even go that far and then I will have a lot more time to concentrate on thinking.  

This post will be different though and we will start things up next week.  Today I just wanted to let you all know of these changes since I announced stuff last week.  Changes are a comin.  Let everyone know!!

Times They Are A Changing

So my friend over at Random Nerdom changed their blog up with a new site to host, new template, and new entries!!!!  I wish them a lot of luck and I will definitely be following them.  I urge you all to do so as well.

This new change has me thinking about things as well with my life and new directions.

To announce, the wife and I are having a child!!!!

YAY

And we are having a boy!!!!

YAY

So there are changes coming.  Around August 27th.  Woooo!!!

If I go silent for awhile around then then thats most likely why.

So I am planning on changing the feel of my mission statement for this blog.  First I need to identify one before changing it I guess.  I have used this medium as my journey through my past games as only a means to talk about that experience.  I will be honest and say I just wanted to get through things so I would not feel guilty when I bought new games.  I thought this would be the best way to keep track of things on the internet and it was some cutting edge idea.  Then I found the Backloggery and thats when I realized it wasn't such a brand new thought.  So I started to slack on writing.

Then I saw that some ads had brought me a very small amount of money and I realized that maybe I could try and make some extra cash with this blog.  People do it all the time so why can't I??  Well these people are very dedicated to this and may not be working 2 other jobs and balancing family life.  So I started to slack again.

Then my wife and the We$$ suggested I should keep a journal and track my experience as I found out I was having a kid and each day passing.  I tried to do that but it didn't stick either because there were days when the mundane would happen and I didn't feel like having to write about that.

This all led me to my new vision for this here blog.  It is still going to be "Getting Through the Games", however I am going to get through them because I want to enjoy video games before the baby comes and things will be cut down in terms of my playtime and what I can play.  I am going to try my best to not do game reviews, however I can't guarantee that.  I like talking about what I enjoy with games and that element to each particular one that makes me love/loathe it.  To add to this though I will talk about how I am going to be gaming while preparing to become a father, and then eventually being a father.  I know that there are probably lots of blogs about those concepts, however different points of view and advice don't always hurt.

I am looking at changing the template to the site (you may have noticed something new) until something sticks.  I am also looking at moving it from Blogger to a different hosting site.  That decision will relate to traffic and revenue brought in. 

I am going to make this endeavor easier to read and enjoy but that will take time and I ask please for your patience and support.  Things will get better from here!

Hesitation

I think I am hesitating to play one game in my collection the most out of any of the others.  I have made a lot of headway in my handheld collections on the 3DS and the PSP.  With my PSP I only have 4 games that I need to finish, and I am currently playing one of them now, Star Ocean: First Departure.  When I was trying to figure out which would be next on my PSP from the list I went with Star Ocean because I was timid to play the one game.

Final Fantasy VI.

I think I am worried that a game that I hold as my personal favorite in the entire series won't be as great as I think it is.  I love FFVIII.  I love FFIX and FFVII (thats right, in that order).  But I consider Final Fantasy VI to be the one that hits me right in the heart.

Its the one I first played and stuck with me when I was young.  I rented it over and over again for the SNES (it was FFIII then), just like I did with Mega Man X2.  I did not get that far into it when I was young.  

I tried again when I bought the game as part of the FFV and FFVI collection (Final Fantasy Anthology), yet still I ended up only getting to the same point (which I believe was after the opera house).

I then picked up FFVI on GBA and went farther than I ever had.  I made it maybe 2/3rds of the way through the game, but then put it down.  Not for a specific reason but something in me just wanted to put the game down then and there.  I had the guide and knew exactly what was going on and what I needed to do, yet I just could not commit to it.  I ended up most likely playing Pokemon or something which distracted me more than anything.

Recently after getting a gift card for the Playstation Network I picked up FFVI on the cheap during a sale so I could play on the PS3/PSP.  I have it sitting on my XMB on the PSP right now but I have yet to start it.  I have my guide all ready to go and play it from the beginning, but I just can't push the button.

I am not afraid to play the game from the beginning.  I can't wait for that.  I can't wait for the level grinding and the exploration of such a superb game made almost 20 years ago that it still is listed in the annuals as one of the greatest RPGs and Games of all time.

I am just afraid to live this adventure and not be able to spend the time with Terra, Locke, and company again like the first time.  Its exciting knowing how the book begins and how it goes through the middle, but if you never get to the end you can still revisit things with that same sense of newness each time with the addition of a page here and there.  I don't think I want that to end.  

However we all have to grow up sometime and not be afraid of that which does not hurt us.  So I promise that once I get through Star Ocean: First Departure I will get my life ready to accomplish a feat 20 years in the making.

Frequent Rental Completed, YAY Mega Man X2

Back in the day when Blockbuster and Movie Gallery stores were everywhere and it was normal to go rent a movie or game for the night or weekend.  Back in the good ole days where it felt almost like a rite of passage to get a rental ID as much as a driver's license.  And when you would rush back to return something so you didn't get the fee, however would forget to rewind the movie (for those youngsters out there, google VHS tapes).

Those were the days of my youth, and I would spend a lot of time and money on renting video games from rental stores.  I may not have had the money to buy the game, but I could easily rent the game over and over again.  My biggest concern though was someone renting the game when I wanted to get it, or if someone saved over my file.

This trip down memory lane has lead me to a game I frequently rented titled:

MEGA MAN X2

I had grown up playing the old school Mega Man games.  There difficulty coupled with this new idea of gaining a bosses ability and being able to use it in battle was exciting.  It was like a weird game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors".  The thing is after awhile with the original series things started to get a little stagnant.  It was always you against Dr. Wily.  You had your weird friend but enemy ProtoMan (which my friend Chris and I used to play Mega Man and Proto Man all the time in the front yard as kids.  I was always Proto Man which is cool since he has shades and a kick as whistle intro).

Thats where the X series was a great breath of fresh air.  I have completed X before, but X2 as always the game from my past that struck me the most.  I most have spent about a hundred dollars on renting it between GA and Massachusetts (where my father and mother lived respectively).  Because it was different places I had to get a different cartridge when I was at one house or the other.  I loved my SNES and how easy it was to travel with it.  However paper is usually pretty easy to travel with too but I would always lose the page that would have the number code on it you would get from Mega Man.

Thats right kids.  Back then MegaMan didn't let you save the game.  You would get a 12 digit code that you could input to continue your game.  It was nice and all, however it would be a pain when you could have many codes on one piece of paper.

Back to the matter at hand.  Its hard to really go too much into the detail of the X series storyline.  It is not as founded and established I feel as the original series.  Thats ok though because it is a rebirth.  Its great being able slide and climb walls.  Its great to be able charge up your blaster.  And the upgrade system rocks.

The big draw with the X series is the upgrades that MegaMan X can get.  Dr. Light made X but sealed him away long ago.  He also made capsules that when X walked up to would upgrade his abilities.  In X2 the ability to slide in the air, decreased damage, charge any weapon, and the "find the secret" helmet are pretty damn cool.  These are what made me as a young child gravitate to this game because I found something from when I was really young but didn't understand it that much upgraded.  It wasn't completely brand new in every way, just updated for more modern times.  Thats what I loved.

So go and play Mega Man X2 if you can.  Its worth it.  Trust me.  The whole X series is great.

In fact, before I finished this entry I also completed X3.  Great game too, however doesn't hold as close a spot in my heart as X2.  It is nice being able to play as Zero and getting more into that backstory.

Maybe I should do a Mega Man X series playthrough.  Might be fun on Twitch.