May 2021 report
I didn’t do super well this month, I kept having to take mental health breaks playing Saints Row 3 because the co-op achievements are migraine inducing.
Also i’m lazy.
I managed to get my first curator request earlier today, so i’m really excited! I’ll finish it sometime next month as I’m still figuring out what games to pick out and play.
5/11 SG wins to go~
+1 to backlog
+4 100% completed
Play as Aoba, a normal guy working in a spare parts shop trying to live a peaceful life. Living in the shadow, literally, of a huge walled off mega resort and city aptly named Platinum Jail isn’t as easy as it sounds. Rhyme Gangs roam the streets marking off ever changing territories and Yakuza reign supreme, making your corner of paradise remarkably dangerous. Still, despite your best efforts at avoiding violence, a mysterious power forces you to meet new people and leave your comfort zone to find out what exactly is behind those shimmering walls and discover the true face of the Toue corporation.
I loved playing DRAMAtical Murder, a 10-13 hour LGBTQ+ VN featuring exceptional storytelling, characters, CG’s, and voice acting. While this game definitely isn’t for younger audiences and has some uncomfortable themes, DRAMAtical Murder is already one of, if not, the most well put together and best VN I’m going to play all year. Game was made in 2012 and, finally, officially translated to English 2021. I look forward to the Re:Connect and any future translated games!
Rated the routes:
Mink – 0/10; for people who enjoy unhealthy relationships.
Noiz – 4/10; bit of an asshole but cleans up at the end.
Koujaku – 8/10; short-tempered guy, but very nice good ending.
Clear – 9/10; literally just a cinnamon roll.
Ren – 100/10; GOODEST BOI.
Saints Row: The Third
When a bank heist goes terribly wrong, the Saints are kidnapped by The Morningstar and taken from Stillwater to Steelport. Escaping after the death of one of their own, Johnny Gat, the Saints take their vengeance by hunting down The Syndicate, an organization comprised of three gangs, The Morningstar, Luchadores, and Deckers. Take over the city!
This game is wild. It’s fun, it’s interesting, and absolutely insane. 20 hours to beat, multiple soundtracks, a rather incredible storyline, character customization, witty dialog, Saints Row: The Third is definitely a game worth playing, especially with how frequently it and it’s DLC goes on sale.
However, Achievement Hunters Beware! The co-op achievements are very specific and must be done on a brand-new game and all on one save file. DLC activities and missions do not count. The co-op achievements alone increased my playtime by 50 hours because I didn’t realize till after I had to restart. It gets very frustrating very quickly and the only thing that saved my sanity was the car radio.
Sha La La La La!
Journey is a very relaxing and gentle linear adventure game with an unforgettable soundtrack and an intriguing storyline. The graphics are stunning and it’s especially easy to lose time while playing. A single playthrough takes about two hours but the re-playability is remarkably high, no journey is the same as the last.
Make your way to the mountain while uncovering your history and the story of the civilization buried in the sand. During your journey, you can meet other travelers. Cross paths with them or join together to get to the peak.
Waking up with amnesia in another world is the least of your problems. Suddenly appearing in the town of Lightshire while it’s being attacked by Darkwolves and being rescued by a pink-haired mage insisting you become an adventurer is a whole nother story. Lost and confused, you slowly learn how to complete quests, and become a proper, if reluctant, tank. Solve the mystery of why the monsters keep attacking Lightshire while clearing the mages name!
I would have a hard time recommending this so I’m not going to.
You have three romanceable characters, Aiko the healer, Chise the rogue, Shiori the mage. While they are certainly likeable, I didn’t find them loveable and it was hardly worth remembering their names rather than just pink, green and purple.
The entire time you are just trying to stop the three love interests from fighting each other and you just keep getting pushed around. You get forced into becoming an adventurer and a tank when you clearly don’t want to, and just keep getting dragged everywhere. The ending of the story was rather underwhelming as well.
TL;DR: While Ascendant hearts is well written and has lovely backgrounds, that’s all it has going for it.
Congrats for the saints row achievment hunting. I wouldn’t have the patience.
Definitely love the radios as well. My favorite was the mix (esp bonnie tyler). Which one was your favorite ?
This scene is definitely one of my favs of the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwbm3CvPsKQ
Heavy Young Heathens - Sha La La La La was definitely one that I looked forward to listening to. I typically had on the mix or the gen radio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voQBqYiJ0s4
Also yes absolutely, I have a screenshot of jumping out into the penthouse, one of my favorite missions. The Gangsters in space though, that was my favorite DLC!
Can’t believe you abandoned my co-op mission on Saints Row 3. What a tragedy.
Congrats on the finishes, but damn I like the art on the visual novel cover photo ^^
The actual in-game art and CG’s are even better, really impressed it was made in 2012, didn’t expect that sort of quality + full voice acting.
oh dang 2012 nice will put it in my radar ^^
a 10-13 hour VN
How on earth?! Did you read up on how to save tactically or was 2015 me just dumb (with ~33-35 hours)?
Holy crap, what an accomplishment, congrats! 👏
Did you play the other SRs? If so, which one would you recommend to a newcomer?
3 is definetely the best one! :D. Totally recommended game
Yeah the 4 is great as well, but I feel like they went a little bit to far.
Thanks for the tip, would you advise me to play 1+2 first or is it just whatever?
They are too outdated by now IMO, I tried 2 and it was a mess.
I haven’t tried the others but I’m definitely not touching another Saints Row game again if it has co-op. It was really fun though, 3 is good.
number 2 is a broken mess but it doesn’t have achievements. number 4 does. gat out of hell does to but you only need to play for 3 hours, which is pretty much how long the game actually is, but musicals right?
They chilled on their achievements for co-op in the later entries. For 4 and GoH it’s only a few hours of gameplay and a few missions. No the entire playlist.
That’s comforting. I’m doing Ryse: Son of Rome next, lots of co-op but the game still seems really active despite it’s age, so i’m hopeful.