Hey man, I'm seeing that you're playing Wonderful 101. I had a suggestion for you. Now, I know that you're not one to really lower the difficulty of your games, but I have to say that I was hating Wonderful 101 on Normal, and was about to borderline rage-quit until I gave it a second chance on the easiest setting (and I loved it at first, but by the time I reached where you were I became to loathe the experience). It turned the game from something I hated that I barely ever wanted to touch because the levels were so long, hard and stressful, into something I loved to play for the pure FUN of it. Once I accepted the small shot to my ego by lowering the difficulty, it was much more enjoyable, while still retaining a challenge. Seriously, there is still a challenge on the easiest setting. I'd say that setting is akin to most games normal modes.

Just think of the easiest setting like a good tutorial to play before replaying it on a harder setting. The game has an awful lot of different mechanics that it throws at you the whole game, and not having to worry about dying in a flash makes it easier to learn the mechanics so that you can fully understand them and do better the next time around.

At the very least, I hope you obtained and learned to use both dodge maneuvers well. Also, never underestimate the importance of buying health replenishing items. Seriously, save up your money and go into each mission fully stocked on recovery items, and it should make each level much more manageable.

I was actually talking about the lizard staff, but I did hear about the bat staff shenanigans in PvP. I didn't ever pump strength or dex too much so I don't know if they fixed scaling or not. I know on paper, an elemental infusion seemed like the way to go for any class but not sure with scaling and enemy resistances if that is still the case.

I could dodge the homing soul arrows from those priestesses without much of a problem, so it must have gotten the nerf as well. Two or three priestesses were still hard to handle, but it wasn't as deadly as I think it used to be. Besides, as a spell flinger it was pretty much fire and move behind cover, rinse and repeat.

I'm too old to care about being a cool kid. haha. I don't think it is nearly as possible as it was back then, as the resonant spells were nerfed pretty bad. I guess I am too greedy with souls as I mainly stuck to staff hexes when I played instead of the chime hexes. From what I gathered, after the nerf Dark Orb is more powerful than the regular Resonant Soul anyway.

Bayo2 drops pretty soon then. My kids and I were at Gamestop over the weekend and they were showing the trailer on the screen there. My daughter thought the game looked awesome, though I doubt she would have the skills to finish the game. She might surprise me though as she recently beat Twilight Princess so she is getting better.

Wish you were doing better, but glad you're not doing bad. Hopefully that job comes through for you.

I've finally moved on from Dark Souls. On NG+, I suffered my first death at the hands of the Royal Rat Authority at the Doors of Pharros and decided to call it good. I had a ton of fun with it, but it is time to move on. I started Dead Island which has been a lot of fun so far (I've typically enjoyed first person melee) but I'm starting to crave a bit of variety in the gameplay, the enemies, or both as the repetitiveness is starting to get stale. I plan on sticking with it for a while longer though I don't know if I will finish it or not.

Congrats on beating XCOM. Looks like you've started up a new game and the increased difficulty is a kick in the nuts. haha.

Congrats on 10 years. That is quite the milestone! A couple's tattoo sounds like a permanent way to mark the occasion. haha. I'm not a fan of needles, so tattoos are out for me. So has Kacey played "To the Moon" as well?

That does sound like a great (and much needed) addition. Stopping to change the wind constantly always seemed to take forever.

I noticed the rubber banding in MK64, but I could also win a SP race by more than a lap. I have noticed with Double Dash and MK Wii that the rubber banding has gotten progressively worse in the series. Do you think it is more egregious in 8 than in Wii? That is cool that the blue shell is no longer an auto hit. Yeah, I can see how you wouldn't want to hold on to a mushroom unless you are safely out of harms way as it is always useful to be able to trail an item behind to soak up a shell shot. I think both Isaac and Greg have MKW so you could hit them up and see if you can get a race set up.

Man, 10 hours is one helluva gaming session. haha. I too enjoyed the various types of encounters, but toward the end they did start to irritate me a bit when I just wanted to get to the next story mission. So do you think you'll play again on a harder difficulty? I guess things get really tough if you do. I don't think I could name a character after a loved one just in case the unthinkable occurred. Of course, you can always reload unless you are playing the game where it saves after every action ("hardcore" or "classic" or something like that). That is funny as I couldn't get snipers at all. I had to redo one particular mission over and over again until I was finally awarded with my second sniper as they weren't popping up on the recruit list or anything. I don't think those encounters occur during any particular month but are instead driven by your progress (hitting certain research points, building certain facilities, etc.). Nice job on that mission. The first time I did it I kind of got my ass kicked as I think I did it way too early. The second time was smooth sailing when I came back more prepared. I didn't ever mess around with the mech side of things either.

For those weapons, I have a Watcher Greatsword +5, a Lightning Claymore +10, and a Dark Drakekeeper's Sword +10. They are all a lot of fun but the Watcher Sword really does some work. I really like so many areas in the game, from Heide's Tower of Flame to Drangleic Castle to the Dragon Shrine. As much as I hated it my first time through, I even love No Man's Wharf now. In all of my characters, I probably had 6 pvp battles and I lost 5 of them. haha. It is tough with a sorcerer as I think to PvP with that class, you need to have the proper spells attuned. It seemed like everytime I was invaded, I had on full item find gear and a ton of great soul arrows attuned.

What is next for me is more Dark Souls 2. I started a new character last night for my son and I to play together (named after him). I'm not a fan of pure melee, so this is going to be a dex/hexer that mostly uses spears and halberd type weapons. After Dark Souls 2, I really need to wrap up my 360 backlog to make room for the upcoming PS4. That means Dead Rising, Dead Island, and Revengeance will be up next. I'm still up in the air about the New Vegas DLC and probably won't finish either Rockband or Naruto. I haven't bought hardly anything this year so I already have a dozen or so must purchase titles. I'm just waiting for the right price on most of them. If you're curious, they are all listed in my sidebar. I hear you on Bloodborne. Very excited about that one. As for upcoming titles, Persona Q, Far Cry 4, and Dragon Age: Inquisition are at the very top of my list for 2014 releases, but there is a bunch more that I will probably pick up at some point. So when does Bayo2 come out anyway?

Yeah, I'll cross my fingers for you for the job. It's always good to have a bit of extra cash in the pocket when fall hits and new releases start dropping like crazy. Life is good, man. Work is busy, family is busy, but still some time for games. No complaints from me. How about you?

Well happy belated birthday! Sounds like we share a similar love/hate relationship with Wind Waker. I would like to try the HD version though and see how the changes they made improve the pacing. I made the mistake of trying to explore the islands multiple times early on and was so sick of sailing by the end that it seriously impacted my overall opinion of the game. The infamous rubber banding returns, eh? haha. Gotta love the series. Glad you are having a good time with it regardless. My daughter has the 3DS version that I really need to borrow sometime. The Wonderful 101 certainly looks unique and like something I would enjoy as well. Hopefully it really clicks with you in one of your future playing sessions. So do you plan to pick up any of the other currently available titles such as 3D World, Pikmin 3, or Tropical Freeze? Those all look pretty tempting to me.

I'm going to assume that this is the most recent XCOM, but you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong. XCOM is really classified as just a strategy game though it isn't all that far off from an SRPG IMO. Maybe that lack of JRPG grinding and such is keeping the experience fresh and interesting for you. I too really enjoyed XCOM (my #8 game on the year). It really was a great mix of base management and turn based tactics. I found on every squad, I needed two snipers. Eventually they learn a move where they get to attack twice per turn and it is borderline OP. haha. So where are you at in the game?

I really love Dark Souls 2. It moved ahead of Starcraft and Hearthstone to be my 3rd favorite game I've played this year. The story is pretty non-existent and I didn't really get that "aha" moment like I did at the end of the first Dark Souls. I haven't played the DLC yet either. The latest calibration nerfed soul spears and I don't really feel like changing my play style this late in the game so I've been playing offline for NG+. Afterwards, I certainly may pick up the DLC. I started a bunch of characters from pure strength to strength/faith to pure dex. I beat the game with a sorcerer/hexer. Her main weapons through most of NG were a Lizard Staff (farmed the shit out of the necros in Undead Purgatory for that one) and the fire longsword. In NG+, I have a Dark Sunset Staff +5 and a Magic Staff of Wisdom +5. Both are incredibly powerful. I've been doing a lot more melee in NG+.

Congrats on the WiiU purchase! Looks like Mario Kart 8 is your favorite game on the system so far. Hopefully you can turn the corner on Wonderful 101 like Greg did. Funny how you are playing a nice variety of games while I just keep playing a Dark Souls game. It is like we've entered some kind of mirror universe. haha.

Like I said, I don't think I've actually turned it on since then. All I've done on my 3DS is watch one netflix movie. Once I'm done with Minish I'll be able to play the regular DS and 3DS on mine though.

Jackson wants the updated version of Wind Waker but I don't see the point in spending for a game we already have just for some updates. I liked Wind Waker pretty well when I played it. I remember that there was kind of a lack of nice dungeons near the end, and getting an extended fetch quest instead, but I thought the ending was good. I got the deluxe version super mario/luigi.

I might have to look into 101 but I wasn't enthused by the trailers and reviews I think. Bayonetta is a possiblilty, especially with the first game being bundled with it, but I remember thinking the demo for the first game seemed a bit busy and weird for me. Hyrule Warriors is a possibility as well, but it also looks a bit busy for me. I'm not a fan of button mashing. I'd rather have puzzles and story than 5000 enemies. Super Mario 3D World will probably be a must have along with the new Zelda which I'm guessing will be out next November. Jackson will definitely want Mario Kart 8 as well.

I really like what I have played of The Minish Cap so far. Four Swords was kind of Zelda-lite since it was really just a multiplayer add on for Links Awakening DX (I think), but Minish Cap feels like a proper zelda game and is just as good as A Link to the Past from what I can tell. That brings up a question about the Wii U dl games from the handhelds though: all the pictures show people playing those games on the Wii U controller screen.. can you also switch them to your TV, or do you have to play those on the controller screen?

Yeah, it'll be nice to have that part over, and then I guess the next step is for her to find her own place. I'm ready to get it all done with so I can move on.

I'd hate to be stuck on 3rd shift. Is there much opportunity for him to get back to 1st's or 2nd's? Good luck with the job.

I don't know that I plan on getting anything for the 3DS for awhile. I've got a lot of Jackson's DS and 3DS games to play. All the Zelda ones as well as Luigi's Mansion and NSMB2. Plus mine came with Mario & Luigi Dream Team.

I liked what I played of XCOM on the PS3 when I had Plus. Too bad I ended up with a glitch that wouldn't let me back out of menu's later in the game. That was frustrating. Hopefully it all goes well for you.

Happy (slightly belated) birthday! I don't know if you saw my message about adding you as a friend on my new 3DS or not, I haven't actually turned it back on since I sent that (for shame). Mainly because I've been trying to clear out the games that I have to play on Jackson's DS and 3DS (Minish Cap has to have the GBA port on the DS and Four Swords was downloaded to his 3DS so I haven't been able to use mine yet.

Looks like you picked up a Wii U recently. How are you enjoying that? I'm wary of putting this here in case little eyes go snooping, but I picked one up recently myself though it is being stored in a hidden place until Christmas.

In other news things are finally moving a bit on the divorce front. We agreed to terms and now I am waiting for her to sign papers with a notary.

How have things been going with you? I remember you going through a rough patch last time I heard from you so hopefully things are better.

I feel the ending of WW more than makes up for the weak second half. One of, if not the, best endings in Zelda.

Congrats on the new console.

Your gf is a keeper!

Howd you enjoy the Last of Us?

Well, the story is the only real reason why I liked P4A as much as I did, so that is a pretty big bonus for me.

I can see why you'd want a WiiU first as I think it has the best library of the next gen consoles so far and I know that you are probably really looking forward to Bayonetta 2. For me, a PS4 is definitely going to be my first next gen console even though the only games I really want on it that I can't get on the PS3 are Transistor and inFamous: Second Son. So have you gotten back to Transistor at all?

I do a variety, though I've been doing mostly ladder and casual recently as I've been saving all of my gold for the expansion. I only play enough to complete my daily quests and try to let three accumulate at a time in order to maximize my time played to gold earned time which means that I only play every 2 or 3 days. My favorite deck is a homebrewed Rogue deck which ended up being pretty similar to a Tempo Rogue, though I also have a fun Paladin aggro deck and a typical Shaman midrange control.

That is cool that Super Metroid is still so enjoyable. So do you play it on the SNES or do you use an emulator? I've actually done a fair amount of replays as well recently, including a lot more Terraria, about a half run through Uncharted 2, and runs through both Limbo and Brothers. I think Greg quite enjoyed Skull Girls as well.

Bloodborne looks really cool to me as well, like From Software's way more proficient take on Nightmare Creatures. I too was really impressed with Nintendo. Eventually, I will have to break down and get a WiiU for Zelda and X if nothing else. I thought Far Cry 4 and The Witcher 3 both looked spectacular. I don't take a lot from trailers anymore though, and can pretty much tell you what I will get just from a description.

Not too much to update on with the replays and Hearthstone. I did play through Beyond: Two Souls which was cool but a bit too disjointed and Dragon's Crown which I really loved and IMO is Vanillaware's best game to date. Oh, and SMTIV is awesome and probably my 2nd favorite 3DS game behind Fire Emblem. Just started episode 4 of Wolf Among Us and now that the final episode is out, I should have that wrapped up too. So what is new with you?

Been forever, man. No excuses, just haven't been around Backloggery much to even update my status. Guess when I'm not playing a bunch of different games, it is hard to get motivated to update the same old shit. Anyway, apologies for leaving you hanging.

Hopefully Kacey's parents are in a better place than they were a month ago. Sounds like a really rough month for both them and you guys. Speaking of rough months, that is some scary stuff with TB. I think he'll pull through just fine thanks to the early detection, but it's gotta be pretty rough to go through treatment and still try to stream.

I've played just a tiny bit of DkSII with my son and I had a lot of fun with what I played, though I didn't get very far at all. He didn't want to play anything else so I figured "why not?". I do love getting the best equipment in a game, but I won't fret too much about it it DkSII given that it sounds like more frustration than fun.

I am okay with a wide variety of difficulty levels, so the coddling stuff doesn't bother me.

That does't surprise me as the Matrix is one of the best sci-fi films ever made IMO.

I've watched some of TB's Hearthstone vids, but as you mention later, Trump is my favorite Hearthstone streamer. He seems like such an even keeled guy and his laid back demeanor is pretty refreshing compared to many of the other Let's Play type videos I've watched. I do wonder how much TB spent on Hearthstone cards, as he has all of them in the game, many of them golden. I would like to come up with some fun decks like he has, but I just don't have the card library as except for 3 decks that I've used all my dust to make somewhat competitive, the rest are just kind of thrown together out of what was available.

Sounds a lot like Hearthstone. haha. I'll bet that those people who've lost games thanks to the netcode have probably won some as well, so it all tends to even out IMO. I've won and lost games thanks to Hearthstone disconnections.

Do you not find fighting games repetitive? I guess maybe if I invested enough time to get good I would think differently, but as it is, I tend to get bored incredibly quickly as each battle pretty much feels the same. I know you haven't updated Backloggery for a while, but it looks like you are playing a nice variety which should help with that repetitive feeling as well.

Ah crap, happy belated ring day!

That's no problem man, sorry to hear about all of those problems. It's good to hear from ya again though.

Well, not much progress has been made since then as she never wants to talk about anything. Everything is pretty much fine though. I just want to get the whole thing done with so I feel like I'm making some progress in moving on.

Catherine was one I played a demo for back when it was new and I really liked the demo. I kept waiting to find the game used or on sale but it seems like the price kind of settled around $20 and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I had some PSN gift cards so I used some of that money to get it. I'm liking the game so far. Like you, the story parts are my real reason for playing.. especially with everything going on, this story and its themes are appealing to me right now. Need to get back to it though.

My gaming has been pretty sparse this year. I've really only been playing on some Saturdays. I have been getting a ton of movies watched though, thanks to the DVR filling up and almost deleting a bunch of stuff. So I've worked to clear a bunch of it out and have gotten back into watching movies. I've probably seen more movies in the last month than I have in 3 or 4 years before that, which isn't a lot.

Oh yeah, I've been following the Steam sale and the GOG sale as well. Neither has been friendly to my wallet or my backlog. I have picked up Skyrim (Legendary Edition), Gone Home, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Cognition, The old Tex Murphy collection of games, the old Broken Sword collection, 7th Guest & 11th hour, a couple Myst games, as well as a few other freebees that GOG threw out. I got an extra code for Torchlight cause I already had that one though, if you want it.

I haven't beat much since our last conversation. As I mentioned to you on PSN, I enjoyed Arkham Origins more than the majority of reviewers. It is the weakest of the three Arkham games, but still has a couple of really stand-out moments and all-in-all is just a lot of fun to play. The stealth seemed a good deal easier, which is okay by me but maybe not for you. I also beat Overclocked which I really enjoyed and was all gung ho for a new game plus run, but I think familiarity with everything that happened along with the somewhat grindy nature of the game and an obsession with Hearthstone really hurt my momentum and I may just call it good. If I remember right, you just couldn't get into the original Devil Survivor, correct?

As you've probably noticed, I've played a ton of Hearthstone. I was absolutely obsessed with the game for a couple of weeks and couldn't get enough as I played whenever I could and listened to podcasts, watched Youtube when I couldn't. I have one ladder quality deck which I think I could definitely climb into the top 10 with (not top ten players, but there are rankings from 25-Legendary with multiple people at each rank), but it takes a lot of games and I've grown bored playing the same deck over and over again. I still plan on playing it enough to get the gold from the daily challenges (anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour a day) as I want to accumulate enough to buy the expansion packs supposedly releasing in July, but that will be about it.

I've also gone back to Terraria as version 1.02 was released and patched with tons of new content and I'm really enjoying it quite a bit. I've promised my son I won't fight bosses or build without him, so will likely move on to new things while he is at camp this coming week. Not sure what new things yet beyond episode 4 of The Wolf Among Us (definitely not as good as season 2 of the Walking Dead from the episodes I've played FWIW). Oh, and I will get Watch Dogs, but with the performance issues on the PS3, I'll probably wait.

I'll be checking out those themes soon and definitely look forward to it. It's been a while since I've listened to many quality VG tunes (though I do love Terraria's OST). So how goes your gaming? Anything you saw from E3 that has your attention?

I liked Crysis 2 more than Rage, but only put 2 hours into it while putting close to 7 into the latter. That is awesome that you went right back to FFVII anyway though. I'll bet you discovered a lot of things you missed your first time through as well.

That is good to know about the turtle character, though I may go for a high agility dodge/roll type character instead just for something different. What I will probably do is start one of each and see which I like better.

I think any community can be petty at times. Check out the Hearthstone forums if you want to see some real whining. haha.

That has to feel good going against one of the best players in the West and holding your own. It validated your skill level for sure, which probably isn't always easy to do picking off random guys like me. haha. Man, gotta love when people blame anything besides themselves when they lose. Hearthstone is full of guys saying "nerf this card or nerf that card" but I chalk up each loss as my own fault, whether it be in skill or in deck construction. Part of the latter is certainly due to not having the right cards, but I could always spend the money if I really wanted to so really, my choice is my fault.

Gotta get some use out of that arcade stick, eh? I've heard that SSIV players are ridiculous in how good they can be, with some of them knowing the game so well that they could probably beat you blindfolded. Not sure if there is truth to this or if it was just used to emphasize how ridiculous good some of the hardcore players were. So which do you like like better - P4A or Blazblue?

So did you pick up a PS4 or is Transistor out on PC? I almost snagged a PS4 this summer, but figured I would wait until Christmas. Really, right now I would want Transistor, inFamous, and Watch Dogs and that is about it. That will change though once games like Unity and The Witcher 3 start coming out (plus a remake of Grim Fandango!). So do you find Transistor more interesting than Bastion? I am definitely looking forward to playing it.

I can understand that. I think there is more blatant backtracking in Castlevania than in Metroid and Castlevania seems much more focused on combat from what I've played. I'm by no means an expert on either series and while I may have played just a bit more Castlevania than you, you've played way more Metroid than me.

Hey, man. I'm the late responder this time as I just got back from vacation. Yeah, I've missed chatting with everyone here too. Besides that, I think talking with everyone gets me interested in trying more games as I've been stuck on the same three for quite a while now.

I did notice even before you said something and I'll bet it feels good to add some variety to what you've been playing. Yeah, you did fall out with Dark Souls 2 incredibly quickly. So do you think your opinions of the PvP ultimately colored your opinions on the PvE or do you think there is another reason for your 180? You know, I have a feeling that I will enjoy DkSII a good deal more than Demon's Souls, but probably a good deal less that the original Dark Souls. So with the way that enemy respawning works, is it pretty difficult to farm some of these items? I remember watching vids of guys going for that ridiculous sword in the catacombs almost from the very beginning, and I was always fascinated by that stuff even though I wasn't skilled enough to do it myself.

That sounds pretty cool about the new stuff in NG+. I had a pretty easy go of my limited NG+ run in the original, but as I've mentioned to you before, I didn't play all the way to Four Kings or anything. So is that nerf a good thing or a bad thing in your opinion?

I usually am pretty thorough in exploration so I should find some things on my own. Of course, there are some things I would never find on my own in the original game, like the way to get back to the starting dungeon to fight that optional boss.

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that I traded SO2 for my Vita. So I've heard the story in SO3 has similarities to the Matrix. Is that true? I didn't ever play that far into the game.

I can understand that. Isaac and I have very different opinions on the game as he doesn't have fond memories due to the lackluster combat while I loved the originality and exploration. Yeah, I could have gone back in and done several post game dungeons and activities that might have really tested my Pokemon trainer abilities, but when the credits rolled, I was ready to be done. Didn't you get one of the X or Y 3DS XL's? Did it not come with the game?

Even in my old age, I have more or less patience with a game depending on my mood.

Thanks for telling me about Cook, Serve, Delicious. After watching that video you linked I added it to my wishlist haha. I'm finding myself falling in love with more simplistic, addictive indy games these days. Epics are great, but give me a Papers, Please 2 any day.

I actually got the Platinum for South Park. Your analysis from the LP is pretty spot on. Very simple mechanics, but the simplicity made it even easier to become addicted to it. If you're a fan of the show at all you'll find something to easily love about it. I haven't religiously watched the show since I was a younger man so some of the fan service went over my head, but there was just so much of it didn't matter. The soundtrack was awesome, graphically (despite some of the choppiness on console) it was spot on, and the combat and story were addictive. Time-wise it only took 16-20 hours to get the Platinum (basically - do everything you possibly can), but even with that it was totally worth the price of admission in my opinion. I'm hoping they can pull off an equally great (if not longer) sequel.

Beyond all of that there really isn't too much going on! Vacation is great but there's always something so lovely about coming home to your own space. I'm looking forward to getting some gaming in and relaxing from my vacation haha. How about you? Anything new and exciting happening in your world? Are you taking a break from DkS2 to try anything else?

All good on the time lapse dude, I send my apologies right back. Things got crazy on my end as well. Ended up taking a few weeks vacation with limited to no internet access and am just getting back this week.

April was a slow month for gaming due to all the travelling. Prior to leaving I beat Infamous Second Son, and then when travelling I brought my Vita. I finally got around to beating P4G, which was so incredibly spectacular. I can't wait until I get to my second playthrough... which I will be starting once I finish P3P (started after I beat P4G). I wish I could say that I am loving P3 as much as P4, but it just isn't grabbing me in the same way. Also Tartarus gets tedious. Since being back I finished my Extreme playthrough of Infamous and got the platinum! Whee! The backlog has grown a bit as well. I picked up P4 Arena, Trials Fusion, a few Lego games for me and my son, and Dark Souls II (I actually got this before I left, but have barely touched it).

I was watching you play a ton of DkS2 before leaving, so I had a feeling you enjoyed it a lot! The little bit I did play (getting f'd up by the three little pigs) felt good, and I'm looking forward to getting into it a bit further. I totally understand your feelings on Dragon's Dogma. I pushed through to the end on that one, but it's been collecting dust on the shelf since.

That's sad to hear about your experience with Bravely Default. I did the same thing as you, and was incredibly confused. I pushed through until I beat the game and got 'reset' to the point prior to the decision. I went through, did all the remaining chapters, and completed everything there was to do. It was truly incredible. All that being said, I completely understand what you're saying and can't blame you. The thing that saddened me, and lessened the experience, was that by going through to the 'true' ending there was no big reveal. I already knew what was going on, and that frustrated me. It was upsetting that you were able to go down the 'bad' path with so much game left to go. I hope you get the itch to go back one day, perhaps when the pain has subsided, as the 'true' experience was so worth it.