The Backlogbook - Week Two

Hi there folks, and welcome to the sophomore instalment of The Backlogbook, a weekly blogging feature in which I chronicle my ongoing efforts to whittle down my enormous Pile of Shame from an unconquerable mountain into something slightly more surmountable. Last week, when I posted my first one of these, I had intended to put them out on Saturdays going forward. Then Saturday rolled around and I hadn't played anywhere near enough video games to justify a new blog post. Consequently, I've decided that it's probably wiser for me to put these things out on Mondays, after I've had the opportunity to pump a decent amount of time into the games I'm playing. This means that from here on out, I'll be looking to post Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke blogs on Saturdays instead (I'm well aware there hasn't been one of those for two weeks now, but rest assured I'll be back with the fifth chapter this coming weekend).

This Week's Log

Yep, this is the new name for the 'what I've been playing this week' section of The Backlogbook. There hasn't been any change on this front, as I continue to inch my way through the lengthy PS1 JRPG Grandia and tick up my completion percentage in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. That doesn't mean I don't have anything new to say about these games though, as you'll discover if you read on...

Grandia

I haven't made as much progress with Grandia as I would have liked this week, but I feel like the progress I did make has started to shine some new light on the game. I've got about eighteen hours on the clock at this point, and I've just crossed over the giant wall known as the End of the World (spoilers - it's not actually the end of the world). In that time I've seen the combat system open up a little further with the acquisition of some new abilities and spells, and I've really settled into the game's leisurely flow of story, exploration and combat. Most of what I said in last week's blog still stands, but I have a couple of new thoughts to share based on my last six hours of playtime.

My main criticism of Grandia in last week's blog was the design of its 3D environments. I'm not sure if they've improved at all since my last entry, or if I'm simply becoming more proficient in navigating them, but whatever the reason, it's becoming much less of an issue the further I progress into the game. Another thing that may be helping is that I've cast aside my usual approach of "go everywhere, pick up everything" in a JRPG, instead opting to stick to the in-game compass as closely as possible. I'm sure I'm missing out on all sorts of cool weapons and armour, but as long as whatever's on sale in the local blacksmiths can keep me ahead of the curve, I'm prepared to surrender some loot in favour of a smoother and more enjoyable experience.

One thing that's becoming increasingly apparent as I press on through Grandia is just how... 'Japanese' it is. There's a scene in the Garlyle Base that wouldn't be out of place in a Metal Gear game, where protagonist Justin has to ascertain the passcode for a locked door by spying on three female generals in the changing rooms from the ventilation shafts above. By and large I can cope with this kind of immature silliness, but there's also a lot of pseudo-sexual tension between Justin and his fellow adventurer Feena which, given their ages (fourteen and fifteen respectively), just ends up coming across as uncomfortable. One scene in particular, where Feena suggests Justin joins both her and Sue (who's frickin' eight, by the way) for a warm bath, just made me feel ill. Here's hoping the rest of the game tones that stuff down in favour of ramping up the actual story, which doesn't really seem to have gone anywhere since last week (the Garlyle Forces are still hunting down remnants of the Angelou civilisation, but we still don't really have any idea why).

I anticipate Grandia is going to keep me busy for another few weeks at least. Glances at How Long to Beat suggest I'm a little under halfway through Justin's adventure, given its projected fifty-hour running time. I don't know how much new stuff I'll have to say about it this time next week, but you can bet your bottom dollar that it'll be appearing here in some capacity.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Since last week's entry, I've managed to make a fairly significant jump towards the coveted 100% completion mark. I've now cleared Episodes IV and V from a Red and Gold Brick perspective, cranking my total completion percentage up to 88.5%. All that's left to do is complete my Red and Gold Brick run of the Episode VI levels, finish Episodes V and VI in Super Story Mode, and go back to Episodes II through VI for those pesky blue minikit challenges. I estimate that to be around eight or nine hours' worth of gameplay, not counting potential failures in Challenge Mode (something I'm hoping to avoid by having an FAQ to hand throughout). I definitely feel like I'm starting to hit saturation point on the LEGO formula though, and I'm very aware that the remaining 11.5% is going to start feeling a lot like bothersome busywork at some point. Hopefully that'll be later rather than sooner, because I would hate for LEGO fatigue to get the better of me before I put this thing to rest.

As things stand I'm kind of torn on whether I'll attempt the other measure of mastery in LEGO Star Wars: TCS and go for a full 1000 Gamerscore. I'm currently sitting on 530, and I stand to rack up another 280 in my quest for 100%. Most of the rest of the game's Achievements are tied to taking on the boss levels with humorous and paradoxical character match-ups, something I'm not entirely sure I'm down for given the fact I'll already have been through most of the game's levels around half a dozen times each. Even if I have the staying power for those, there's a real problem posed by a single online Achievement, awarded for playing through a complete level over Xbox LIVE. Given that none of my gaming buddies own LEGO Star Wars: TCS, and its online community isn't exactly buzzing, that may well prove to be the nail in this particular coffin.

If all goes well I'm hoping to put a bow on LEGO Star Wars: TCS next weekend, after which I'll be turning my attention to a new game from my immense Pile of Shame. Speaking of which...

The Lost Pages

Formerly titled 'Cutting My Ties', this is the section of The Backlogbook where I remove a couple of titles from my Pile of Shame, most likely never to be played. Historically this is something I've always really struggled with, since every game I pick up feels like I owe it some of my time in making at least some visible effort to finish it. Basically I'm a bit like one of those people who brings stray animals home to save them from being impounded, except with video games instead of animals, and I don't yet have a despairing spouse threatening to leave me the next time I bring one into the house. But this year, I'm going to be harsher and stricter on myself than ever before. My plan is to identify two games every week that I know I'm never going to play, and cut them from my backlog forever. It's not going to be easy, but if last week is anything to go by, it's certainly pretty liberating.

One thing that I've been reminded of while scouring through my list of unfinished games over on The Backloggery is that while its collection-building tools are pretty damn flexible and allow users to assign DLC and episodic content under a single game header, it then treats every single DLC pack or episode as its own entity. This means a lot of the 342 entries from my backlog are actually episodes of, or DLC for, larger entries that are games in their own right. As I say, the tools are flexible, and there are ways I can 'fix' this should I decide I want to. But right now, as things stand, that means those extra add-ons, level packs and epilogues are all fair game for this feature. This week I've decided to cut two such extras. Both are continuations of core games that I love, but both of them build upon their predecessors in ways that don't appeal to me. Let's begin with:

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES: The Answer

I really enjoyed Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 when I played through it in 2012. It was one of those "right place at the right time" experiences, a game that dealt commendably with themes of coping with loss at a time when I myself was going through a very difficult break-up. Sure, I enjoyed the combat and the overarching storyline, but it was those individual characters' stories that I got to know through my Social Links that cemented Persona 3 as one of my all-time favourite JRPGs. I swore off The Answer back then for a few reasons - partly because I didn't want to burn out on the series' mechanics having already sunk over eighty hours into The Journey, partly because I felt like the core game of Persona 3 ended in a satisfying way that didn't warrant an epilogue, and partly because the idea of a thirty-hour stand-alone Persona adventure without Social Links just didn't appeal to me. Fast-forward five years and all three of those points still ring true. Sorry The Answer, but truth be told, I'd rather just play Persona 4 instead.

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast

I've no idea why this is in my Steam library. Presumably it was a freebie that came with my digital copy of The Orange Box? Anyway, Lost Coast is a cut section of Half-Life 2's 'Highway' level, that then later resurfaced as a playable tech demo for some lighting and rendering enhancements to Valve's Source engine. On the one hand, I could probably bust through this in half an hour, chalk it up and move on to something else. On the other, I don't particularly want to. If I wanted to play Half-Life 2, I'd play Half-Life 2, not a cast-off, didn't-make-the-grade level-turned-tech-demo. Sorry Valve, but I just don't have any interest in this. Show me some Half-Life 3 and we'll talk.

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That's going to do it for this week's instalment of The Backlogbook. Join me next Monday when I'll be sharing some more thoughts on Grandia, hopefully giving a post-100% recap on LEGO Star Wars, and axing two more undesirable candidates from my Pile of Shame. Thanks very much for reading, duders. Take care, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Grandia (PS1C)