sdcSpade

Slow progress on Xenoblade X. But that's fine, I still boot up the game to get my 300 material tickets per day to lessen the grind for the level 60 Skells. I didn't think the jump from level 50 to 60 was going to be that great, but just looking at the raw defense of the default armor tells a different story. I'm level 59 right now, soon everything will die...

That being said, I'm past what was the ending of the Wii U version. I forgot exactly what it was, but I'm mad all over again that they thought it was a good idea to end the game there. You finally get some answers, but then they change the questions! Curious to see where this goes now.

Still playing Metroid Prime 4. I'll withhold any comments until I'm done, just to be sure I've seen the whole picture. As it stands, it's en route to become my least favorite Metroid game, barring the NES and GameBoy games on account of their age, and I don't want to say that too lightly. Let's see where else this goes first.

Title Update 4 for Monster Hunter Wilds is here and the Switch Axe got some unexpected buffs. Being able to dodge-cancel the charge of the Full Release Slash is huge! They added Gogmazios as the game's first Elder Dragon. (Editor's Note: Its definitely not the game's first Elder Dragon) It starts out as a normal fight, has an interesting interlude and then goes to shit in its third phase. Packing away your weapon and repeatedly shooting it with what is basically a slingshot is just not fun, especially when the ground keeps exploding while you have to look up!

But I'm super motivated to play again regardless, because they added a way to boost lower rank armor to endgame levels. My set has been stagnant for more than half a year and now I can finally work on that again!

'New path' makes me think it's a reboot and that's why it's not called Mega Man 12.

You'd think one look at the state of America would be enough to render their propaganda completely meaningless. You'd really think. You would really have those thoughts running through your head. But here comes reality with a steel chair to give you a concussion.

They don't get BP if they haven't joined the party yet. Mia had ~100 when she joined compared to the several thousand points the early characters have by now. But I've prepared for that for a while. I tried to save the BP reward for Cauldros survey completion, but you need 65% for the Mia quest to pop up in the first place.

I'm closing in on what was originally the end of Xenoblade X on the Wii U. I still have a bunch of side missions to do, but now that I have all but one character unlocked, I will probably rush to the new part of the story that gets me that last one so he can start collecting BP for his skills. I haven't picked up any treasures in a while to save the BP for the final characters so it doesn't become a stupid grind at the end. I need to play more though, I need to finish this so I can play Metroid Prime 4. I prefer to only play one Switch game at a time, because I really don't like removing and inserting tiny cartridges with my gigantic hands.

...but I've started Metroid Prime 4 anyway. I couldn't resist! I love hoe much you can configure your controls. I've spent quite a bit trying to recreate the controls of the Wii versions. I tried playing twinstick for the first Prime's remaster, but it never felt right to me. I've never played the games on the GameCube, the Wii Trilogy version is all I know, so I need pointer controls! I can't play for very long though, after about an hour my hand almost falls asleep and it's probably because the JoyCons are so much smaller than a WiiMote. That's fine though, Metroid is never a long game anyway, so this keeps it going for longer!

I have to say though, the game starts very, VERY slow. I thought the game would open up after the prologue, but there was more prologue with Lieutenant Tim Talksalot (who doesn't stay with you all the time, thank GOD!). I thought the game would open up after that second prologue, but that's when the game really wants you to get your motorcycle. That was about 2 hours of very linear gameplay that's probably going to stop now, but I'm not going to count my Metroid babies before they hatch.

I have reached Disc 2 of Wild Arms 2. It genuinely feels like season 2 of an Anime, I did not remember every villain introduced on Disc 1 to be defeated by the end of it, leaving us with something completely different to do now. And the game finally upped the damage numbers by the end of Disc 1, it was about time I had to try a little harder!

Still playing Xenoblade X. Finally reached level 50 to upgrade to stronger Skells, the old ones started to feel weak. And at this point I can definitely confirm that I appreciate the game more than I did on the Wii U. I passed the 100 hour mark, which is usually where I start getting tired of a game, but it hasn't happened yet. On the Wii U, I had a much worse time because I front-loaded all the exploration as soon as I got the flight module. Patience is the way to go!

I'm adequately deep into Wild Arms 2 now and I have to say that this game is surprisingly easy. It already has a very low encounter rate for this era of RPGs and you can 'cancel' them if you're a higher level than the enemy. I do that 95% of the time and I'm still strong enough to one-shot enemies with magic they resist. Even the bosses barely pose a challenge, especially when they have an elemental weakness. I wonder if that's ever going to change?

I also picked up Pokemon Lazarus after some idiots gave it unintended publicity and it's pretty good. I like how it's a Gen3 romhack using Gen2 visuals, that's very different from anything I've seen before! But I'm also learning that I can't play normal Pokemon games the intended way anymore. If I don't nuzlocke them, I have to pre-select a team of six and get them as soon as possible, and with the built-in cheat codes I was at least able to do that. I tried to play the vanilla way until the second gym, but I just can't do patchwork teams anymore. And as an Infinite Fusion player, not having access to over 200.000 Pokemon just doesn't feel right anymore. I've been spoiled, I can't help it!

Still working through Xenoblade X. Finally got the ability to fly! I remember when this happened on the Wii U, I was so excited I took the test robot you're just supposed to fly out to a rock and back around the entire world instead. It's one of the reasons why I love this game, how many big open world games allow you to fly freely like that? Though I definitely overdid it and made myself run out of world to explore back then, so I'm taking it slow this time. Just patched up the holes in my satellite system for now.

Wild Arms 2 is also progressing smoothly. It's weird how many small things I remember, but important events feel completely new to me!

Monster Hunter Wilds introduced Arch Tempered Nu Udra recently and once again, it hits pretty damn hard! The Switch Axe's most powerful attack gives you Super Armor and that's actually causing problems here! One of his attacks will just flat-out kill me because it doesn't knock me back and thus hits me multiple times! And if he winds up that attack after I've already started charging mine, I'm just stuck anticipating a death I know I can no longer avoid. Which means I need to exercise restraint, a word that doesn't exist in the brain of a Switch Axe user!

This not-quite Lumiose City is home to newly discovered Mega-Evolved Pokémon and other Pokémon not usually found in Lumiose, some of which can exceed the normal limit of Lv. 100 with hyperspace levels.

The way they phrase it sounds like Planned Obsolescence to me. "Catch a new team of DLC Pokemon because your beloved old ones won't be able to participate in the new feature!"

Mostly Xenoblade X this week. I forgot most alien races that come to your city, but I remembered every single one of them and what they were all about the second I saw them. I definitely forgot that pretty much all of them join at almost the same time. That was a veritable explosion of side quests!

Wild Arms 2 is progressing steadily, too. Contrary to Xenoblade X, I absolutely do not remember most of what is happening in this game. I remembered the duo of comic relief villains and their theme song, but some very important story beats feel like I'm seeing them for the first time.

Collecting armor is my main goal in Monster Hunter. It's just more work in Wilds because you get access to what was previously considered male and female variants of the armor and they each tend to have Alpha and Beta variants, so I essentially have to make every set four times now. Compared to that, weapons are nothing worth mentioning. In fact, I couldn't even answer your question off the top of my head! But you usually get to jump the line for each major weapon variant, it just takes more or rarer materials than upgrading.

A little more Xenoblade X, a little more Wild Arms 2. Nothing worth mentioning, really.

Monster Hunter Wilds though... I did beat Omega on my first attempt after researching its weird mechanics and for some reason it invigorated me. I haven't wanted to play the game this much in months. Maybe I'll actually make a noticeable dent in my wish list for once! I also need to get onto that 9-star quest train to get better charms. I haven't done a single one yet because Tempered Seregios gave me trouble three months ago and Monster Hunter is a game that very quickly makes me doubt my own abilities.

Xenoblade X is still going. I like how you don't need to put aside a lot of time to play it. Even if I just have half an hour to spend, I can just get something done and call it a day, it's nice. Got my Skells today, though I don't see myself using them quite yet. The Switch version isn't nearly as bad about large enemies having to be fought in Skells or you die, regardless of level. That was a huge problem for me in the original.

Monster Hunter Wilds got its third title update this week and the Final Fantasy XIV crossover boss absolutely wrecked me. Omega is clearly not meant to be fought by yourself, emulating its MMO roots. It went a lot smoother with Support Hunters, but I still lost to being utterly confused by its mechanics, that are unlike anything Monster Hunter usually does. I had to actually research the fight and I'll try again tomorrow. I'm confident I can do it now, but that's only the easy version. I'll try the Hyper Variant once to see what it's like, but I'm leaving it until I'm done with everything else. I haven't been playing enough in recent months to feel ready for such a beast!

I've started playing Wild Arms 2. I've played the first one again last year and was surprised how little I remembered. I have no such delusions this time, I've played it one and a half times in the past, but barely remember anything. I remember Brad being one of my favorite characters, not just in the game but in general, and I'm looking forward to rediscovering why.