Very astute synopsis of ICO and SotC. I feel the exact way for both of them as you do and experienced them both in the same way as well. Both are masterpieces and I have been anxiously awaiting The Last Guardian for years!

Journey is indeed great, albeit short. Still, that is part of it's charm a bit I think. That's cool to read how you shared the experience with others, I really like how they seamlessly incorporated the multiplayer.

Never heard of Monument Valley, but I'll check it out. Any game with atmosphere I'm naturally interested in!

We have been talking about various game now... one I just now picked up (finally went on sale) has me very intrigued. Ever played Child of Light? A fantastic game so far, I absolutely love the art style.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the experience. I too had a similar time with it, at first it feels frustrating and even the ending makes you feel confused and slightly upset, but overtime the more you think about it, that's just the way the game is.

There's not many like it, it's quite a special gem. It's predecessor, ICO, is very similar though so check that out for an equal level of confusion but also satisfaction, if your interested. Another game I would recommend is Journey. It's not nearly as long, in fact you can beat it in an hour or two, but it's a cheaper downloadable title that is full of artistic and emotional gameplay a long the same lines of SotC.

Cool theme, I've never seen those pics before. What are your thoughts on the game?

lol it's been so long since I finished that game (almost 3 years ), I don't really remember specifics, sorry. I imagine grinding would help though lol.

Enjoy Final Fantasy VII, still one of my favorite JRpgs. I haven't played it in a long time, but it is dear to my heart and I've bought a copy on Steam during Summer Sales. Some day I will revisit FF VII, it's going to be amazing.

Let me know what you think of the game at some point.

Hahaha that's awesome. Yeah well I originally just wanted to level up Stahl because he seemed like a cool dude but was horribly underleveled, so I paired him with Cordelia since she's pretty resilient. Then I watched their support scenes and the whole thing with the music duet was pretty adorable, so I got 'em hitched.

I'm still trying to decide on a wifey for MU. Was originally going to go with Tharja because she's so hilariously creepy, but I read that if you wait for Lucina then their child becomes ridiculously powerful, so I'm thinking about that. Other relationships I've got going are Frederick x Lissa and Nowi x Donnel. Trying to find someone for Lon'qu too.

I really love the game. I've played some of the other FE games but they were too hard and stressful and unforgiving for my tastes. I got obsessed with worrying about losing units and not using powerful, breakable weapons, and that just killed the fun for me. This is more relaxed and RPG-like, which I'm really enjoying, and I love the unit-pairing mechanic. I might even try the perma-death mode after I finish it since I'll (hopefully) be better at the game by then.

Edit: Also Radiant Historia is sooooo good. You liking it?

How's Radiant Historia? Is it related to Radiata Stories?

Yeah, I thought it was tremendously solid. Haven't played a classic final fantasy game since FFIV DS in 2008 or so (not counting four heroes which didn't have the ATB system) and I was pleased to see both how much I improved at RPGs and how much they really nailed their formula by the end. Great story, interesting characters, fun and not tedious sidequests, and good extra equipment (espers and relics). Espers in particular I really enjoyed training up and made even the tedious normal battles fun!

I really liked radiant historia but I felt that the battle system got a little too complex at times. Like it was fun in short stretches but I couldn't play for too long without getting frustrated with the length of the battles. Super Mario RPG I thought was good, but vastly overshadowed by Paper Mario and Thousand Year Door

Definitely an awesome layout so keeping it for a bit more is a good idea! Looking forward to your next theme though.

Yeah I totally understand what you mean about sales. I've taken a vow this year myself to only buy stuff on sale, but the only exception to the rule if it's a major release for me. Shovel Knight is absolutely worth the $15 price though, a lot more so than pretty much anything else on the eShop.

Awesome theme you've got here! Especially love the colors.

I've determined that the Steam Summer Sale is incredibly deadly to one's Backloggery...

Yeah I absolutely loved the atmosphere of the game. Pretty much everything about it was exceptionally well done. It does get a tad repetitive in spots, but it's one of the very few JRPGs I've played all the way to the end.

Radiant Historia is so freaking good. Enjoy it man.

I see you're playing through Radiant Historia... enjoy it! One of the best games the DS has to offer, and that's really saying a lot considering how many great DS games there are out there :3

Yee, it's a steal for $2.50, but alas my computer lags just enough to be annoying so I'm going to wait until that situation improves Good thing I have 3D World, Link Between Worlds, and FTL to keep me occupied