One completion for me this month!

11/23 - The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch) - 33h 3m

Definitely had fun with this one! And was nice to get it done pretty quickly in a couple of months, which is not something I've been able to do often with games of this size in recent years. I hope I can maybe get another completion or two before the year closes but this could potentially be the last completion of mine for the year.

My birthday was a few days ago and my girlfriend definitely spoiled me a bit:



As well as my parents:



Definitely excited to get around to all of these eventually! Started Astrobot last night, Conker’s Bad Fur Day will probably be next once I get the N64 set up again.

My review for Jurassic Park on the NES is out! I played this as part of the Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection on my Switch over the summer and made this video right after since I wanted a break from my giant Fire Emblem video. This one is definitely smaller in scale than that and more comparable to my other reviews! I hope you all enjoy! :)



Since I did make this one awhile ago, the process isn't fresh on my mind, but I did enjoy making this! I had a lot of fun making the skits for this one which was probably one of the big reasons I wanted to dive into this one right after completion since the ideas struck me even before finishing the game. It was also nice to be able to make a shorter video because at the time I was feeling a bit discouraged with how long the Fire Emblem one was taking me.

This is probably my most negative review so far, as to be honest I don't think its a super well made game gameplay wise, but I still did have fun pushing through it since my mood was just right for it at the moment. I'm happy I've finally made a Jurassic Park video too since the movie is my all time favorite and I've always enjoyed playing the games! I definitely want to play more in the collection and I hope I'll be able to get to other I have in my backlog and revisit some of my childhood ones too for the channel!

I've began working more on my Obra Dinn and Octodad videos too! I think for now I'm just going to record the audio since once December hits I'm going to want to start working on my 2024 Ranking video since last year I started after Christmas and it took me longer than I expected, so I want to get a head start on that. I also have some unrelated things I have to do too so I can't really dive hardcore into working on these next videos, but hopefully once the New Year hits I'll be able to get them out at a decent pace!

Which last night I also finished the Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom! Definitely really enjoyed that one and I'm already eager to start writing my script for that! Not sure if I'm going to prioritize that over the others yet since I'm doing them out of order now but I'll figure that out as I go. I think my gaming goal is to also get Path of Radiance done before Christmas so I can kind of have a nice fresh gaming start for the new year and not carry over too much from this year!

I think that's all I have for today, would love to hear your thoughts on the review if any of you have any! Until next time! :)

Video Reviews Backlog:
Return of the Obra Dinn (Script Recorded and thumbnail made)
Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Started Recording Script)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Not Started)

Games Currently Ongoing:
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Pokémon White 2
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (with my girlfriend)

Yeah I think having DLC being a GOTY contender (with a big chance of winning too) is not the correct way to go about it. Even if it’s big enough to be its own game (I haven’t played it but that’s what I’ve heard from others), it’s still an expansion and not a new game.

After months of working on this I finally have released my review of Fire Emblem Engage! This is easily my longest video yet at almost 33 minutes long and I had a lot of thoughts on the game, but I hope all of you interested enjoy it! :)



Just like the game, the process of making this video was definitely a lengthy one I had mixed feelings on and probably put too much work into. Now that I'm done, I'm definitely going to avoid making a review this long again 😅. I know when I started my reviews I wanted them to be short littler projects and this was not that for sure. If this was something I did full time then it would be way more manageable to make a review of this magnitude, but between working and life stuff it was definitely hard to make this video at a decent pace. I'm glad I tried this though to know my own limits better. I still enjoyed a lot of the process of making this, but the length of it definitely made the tedious parts feel even more so. But now that its done I feel the weight of it being lifted off my shoulders a bit. Maybe way in the future I'll be willing to try a review this large again, but for now if I start writing a script I think will end up being like 20 pages again I will have to remind myself of my experience of this one and rework to make it short and sweet.

I think partly because of this video I have been rethinking my whole structure of how I approach my videos too and have been questioning if I actually am going to continue to review every single game I play. I've also decided I'm not going to make myself feel beholden to release my reviews in order of completion now either, so I'll be releasing my Jurassic Park one next in two weeks even though its not the next completion since the video is all done. I'm still planning on doing my Return of the Obra Dinn and Octodad ones, and I'll see how I feel on the subject after doing those since they'll be much shorter. I still want to review all of them, and I think at least I'll write a script for everything so I can go back to any if I skip them, but I know my process has scared me away from playing shorter games in general and is making my backlog situation worse. I also have a growing list of gaming videos I want to make but haven't since I've been trying to catch up on my reviews, so I'm thinking I need a change perhaps. Again I'm going to see how I feel as I work on the next two though over the next few weeks before really changing my approach.

As for what I've been playing, its largely just been The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom which I got on release day! I made some quick progress on it early on since I took a week off from work for a staycation, but have slowed since. I believe I'm about half way through the game though so I'm hoping to have it completed this month! And if I'm feeling ambitious maybe I can get Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance done too! I know even if I change my approach to reviewing all the games I play I'll still want to review those two so don't worry there. There's a couple short games I'm hoping to getting around to as well, but those are entering the territory of not sure if I'll review those. I think no matter what though I'll always try to include everything in my end of the year ranking video so I can still talk about them at least :)

I believe that's all for this update, I'm glad to be back to posting and excited I finally am able to share this video with everyone and for my next that will be coming soon!

Video Reviews Backlog:
Jurassic Park NES ✅(Complete, releasing in two week)
Return of the Obra Dinn (Script Written and thumbnail made)
Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Script Written)

Games Currently Ongoing:
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Pokémon White 2
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - On hold until EoW is finished
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (with my girlfriend)

Daily Challenge - 2024-11-01
Score: 401 / 500
🟪🟦🟪 🟦 = 88 | P | Amnesia: The Dark Descent
🟦🟦🟦 🟦 = 75 | S | Costume Quest
🟪🟪🟩 🟩 = 79 | R | Grabbed by the Ghoulies
🟪🟪🟦 🟦 = 90 | Resident Evil
🟦🟦🟩 🟩 = 69 | The Evil Within

Always enjoy these special ones!

Me on the Completion thread last month:

There is a small possibility I might have 4 completions for October though if things go right 👀

So yeah I didn't complete anything again this month 🙃

Want to apologize as I did not get around to playing Inside this month. I have barely gamed at all the past couple weeks so I sadly just never got around to it like I planned 😅. I’ll definitely try to share my thoughts on it when I do eventually get to it though!

Daily Challenge - 2024-10-31
Score: 220 / 300
🟩🟩🟩 🟩 = 61 | S | Binary Domain
🟦🟪🟦 🟦 = 82 | R | Tales of Hearts R
🟦🟦🟦 🟦 = 77 | P | Fire Emblem Engage

Play @ https://howlongtobeat.com/play

Site Update:

Submissions
- Start Date field is now available under Current Progress, not set by default.
- Has Omit/Today like Completion Date
- Changed design of Date entry on mobile.

Quick Add / Games List
- Start Date will now appear on details expansion.
- New Days Taken stat on details expansion.

Future update will include Game List filters for Start Date and using "Days Taken" on your stats page.

Definitely loving the addition so far and have been adding a bunch of my start dates already!

Are people still interested in an "Start Date" field to accompany the "Completion Date"?

Yes absolutely!

Daily Challenge - 2024-10-19
Score: 255 / 300
🟪🟩🟪 🟩 = 81 | P | Dino Crisis
🟪🟪🟪 🟪 = 100 | S | Journey
🟩🟩🟪 🟦 = 74 | R | Divinity: Original Sin II

First perfect guess I’ve gotten in a long time! Definitely one of my better scoring games!

The haul from a retro gaming convention I went to yesterday!

2 weeks since my last post and I’ve gained 5 games 😅.

Daily Challenge - 2024-10-02
Score: 256 / 300
🟪🟪🟪 🟩 = 86 | S | Kirby's Dream Land
🟦🟩🟪 🟦 = 79 | R | Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
🟩🟪🟪 🟪 = 91 | P | Metroid Dread

I probed the wrong way and if I went the correct way it would’ve been a perfect guess 😫. One below my best score too 😩

Inside is one I've wanted to play for awhile and since its pretty short it should be easy for me to fit it in and play this month! Will probably play it after beating the new Zelda, or if that takes too long then I'll take a break from that to play this!

Resident Evil 7 is one I'd try one day and I got it free from PS Plus at some point, but I don't think I'd have the time or desire to this month. I know my brother talks about it a bit and it definitely sounds like a pretty spooky and stressful one!

No completions by me this month. Was going to play a short game but then Zelda came out and that became my focus.

There is a small possibility I might have 4 completions for October though if things go right 👀

I assume Nightmare Kart would be one I could nominate? Haven’t played it but looks like it fits the theme and could be a fun one to try out, plus it’s free

Daily Challenge - 2024-09-18
Score: 197 / 300
🟧🟩🟧 🟦 = 54 | P | Fire Emblem
🟩🟩🟩 🟦 = 56 | S | Overlord
🟪🟪🟦 🟦 = 87 | R | Still Wakes The Deep

Always overestimate with Fire Emblems since they always take me longer than average 😅

3 Years Ago:

Right now I have 109 🙃. I was hoping to get it under 100 by the end of this year but currently that's looking unlikely...

And now I’m at 210 😅. I know I changed my system of how I organized my list a couple times and took games out of retirement since then so that certainly influenced it, although the biggest culprits are me not gaming as much but also purchasing more. I still hope someday I’ll be able to catch up, but as time goes on it becomes less and less likely 🫠.

Daily Challenge - 2024-09-08
Score: 187 / 300
🟩⬛🟪 🟦 = 58 | R | Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
🟧🟧🟩 🟦 = 49 | S | Subnautica
🟪🟦🟩 🟦 = 80 | P | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

Daily Challenge - 2024-09-04
Score: 232 / 300
🟪🟪🟪 🟦 = 93 | S | Ben There, Dan That!
🟪🟦🟥 🟦 = 66 | P | Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
🟩🟦🟪 🟦 = 73 | R | Cocoon

While I’ll partake in it here and there I’m not particularly attached to the feature either. However, I don’t know if we should give up on it because of one bad person. Maybe the question should also be brought up in the chat too, in case those who do like to use it may see it too in case they don’t check this thread?

Daily Challenge - 2024-09-02
Score: 204 / 300
🟪🟪🟪 🟦 = 94 | P | God of War
🟩🟦🟪 🟦 = 79 | R | Pokémon Black and White 2
🟥🟥🟥 🟦 = 31 | S | FAR: Lone Sails

Was going super strong till that last one 🫠

Abzû – Nintendo Switch – 90%
I adored the environment design, music, and story of this game. "Short and sweet" condensed into a 3-hour experience, likely to become something I revisit annually.

Demon's Souls – PS5 – 85%
Clunky controls in one of the most realized environments I've seen on the PS5. I loved running around as a mage in this game, and did not realize I could have a power fantasy fulfilled in a Souls game.

Her Story – Mac – 85%
Love a good knowledge-based game that tries to get you to be creative with your solutions. I have over five pages of notes on a spreadsheet chronicling the timeline of the events of this game.

Pokémon Platinum Version – Emulated Nintendo DS – 85%
That sweet spot of challenging, hold-handing, and letting you go off and do your thing. Everything moves a little too slowly for my liking, but in my quest to play something from every generation, this has been my favorite so far.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – Emulated Sega Genesis – 80%
This is the first time I've clicked with a Sonic game and wanted more without feeling obligated to finish it. It's a wonderful experience, with platforming, stage design, and music more slick than the first, and I'm excited to continue with the series...until I absolutely should no longer be excited to continue with the series.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider – PS5 – 75%
The best the visuals have been in this series up until this point, but it has a story that robs the protagonist of the nuanced choices Corvo and Emily got to make.

Disc Room – Nintendo Switch – 75%
Fun for the most part with an interesting, wordless story, but I found it got repetitive towards the end with rooms that did not have clear goals.

de Blob – Nintendo Switch – 55%
A game from my childhood was on sale for under $10 USD, so I had to buy it. It got exhausting after the first level, which is also what I remember from my childhood.

Lil' Guardsman – Mac – 55%
If Papers, Please, wasn't a good game and had nothing of substance to say but still had blocks of text, it would be Lil' Guardsman. The voice acting was great, though.

And my retirements:
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones – Active hater of the difficulty spikes in this game.
Kirby Super Star – Just lost interest after the first world or two, but it has very nice visuals!

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones – Active hater of the difficulty spikes in this game.

Did you go Ephraim's route? I know for myself this was one of the easier games in the series but I remember once the split happened it definitely escalated in challenge, particularly the boat level. I think I've heard Erika's route is not as hard (I still need to go back and replay someday to play that route myself).