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Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge - Chapter Seven

Hey there folks, and welcome back to my Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge. Apologies for not getting round to this last weekend, but real life managed to get in the way and prevent me from playing enough of the latest Pokémon game to warrant an entire blog's worth of content. Luckily that hasn't been the case this week, and I'm back with another chapter of my journey across the Alola region on the Island Challenge. As always, if this is your first time reading one of these blogs, I'd recommend that you back up and start from the beginning. There's a continuous narrative going on here, so not doing so would be akin to picking up a book and starting at a random page somewhere in the middle. I've provided the links to all previous chapters in the table below:

Chapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter Five
Chapter Six

This instalment of the Nuzlocke Challenge sees us traverse Diglett's Tunnel, visit Konikoni City, and battle the Kahuna of Akala Island in our second Grand Trial. What captures, perils, and victories await? Read on to find out...

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Chapter Seven - Get Your Rocks Off

Alola, Diary! Things are moving on quickly now - I've moved to the very south of Akala Island on my Island Challenge, and met some very interesting people and Pokémon along the way. Let's start where I left off last time, shall we? I believe I'd just beaten Mallow's trial at Lush Jungle, and was on my way to the Dimensional Research Lab in Heahea City...

After resting up at the Pokémon Center on Route 8, I made my way south on Route 5, passing by Paniola Ranch and eventually linking up with Route 6. Around here I ran into Hau, who'd just come from taking on Mallow's trial himself. We had a chat about the delicious Mallow Specials we'd had to whip up, and let Scorch and his Dartrix play together while we ate lunch on Royal Avenue. Afterward Hau packed up and ran ahead towards Heahea City, leaving me to clear up our campsite before I could move on. By the time I eventually arrived at the Dimensional Research Lab, it was early afternoon. I was surprised to see Lillie standing outside with Nebby. She healed my Pokémon with some Potions from her bag, and we caught up on each other's adventures while we waited for Professor Kukui to arrive. After almost half an hour, the professor appeared at the door and ushered us into the laboratory.

Upstairs in the Dimensional Research Lab, Kukui introduced us to his wife and fellow Pokémon researcher, Professor Burnet. She seems like a real live-wire, and I can understand why she and Kukui are together - they bounce off each other brilliantly. Burnet told us that she's been doing some research on inter-dimensional travel, and specifically "tears" in space-time that allowed powerful Pokémon known as Ultra Beasts to invade Alola in the past. Apparently the Tapu guardians were able to drive them out of our dimension and keep the region safe. At least, that's what I think she was saying - the high science of it all started to go over my head a bit. I was brought back to reality by Kukui clapping me on the shoulder, and telling me that I should be heading even further south, through Diglett's Tunnel and onto Konikoni City, where the Kahuna Olivia hosts Akala Island's Grand Trial.

The sun was starting to set as I left the laboratory, and the blue sky was beginning to turn a warm shade of orange. As I looked up, I thought I saw a green flash in the sky above, but I think it must have just been my mind playing tricks on me in light of Professor Burnet's stories. Even though it was getting pretty late, I was determined to press on to Konikoni City before the end of the day. There's only one land-based route to Konikoni from Heahea, and since Kiawe's Charizard stubbornly refuses to fly me anywhere I haven't already been, I was forced to take it. Just inside the entrance to Diglett's Tunnel I ran into Olivia, who wanted to make sure I was ready to take her on. She checked my progress and asked to see my Z Crystals from Lana, Kiawe and Mallow before she would let me pass and move deeper into the cave. Satisfied, she waved farewell and disappeared into the darkness. With only Scorch's flames to light the way, I followed.

Diglett's Tunnel was tough to traverse, not because of the darkness or the strength of the wild Pokémon there, but because every single Diglett that popped out of the ground brought back the pain of losing L'Oréal at Wela Volcano Park. Apart from all those Diglett and the occasional Zubat, I didn't see anything new worth trying to catch in that cave. A little way inside I ran into two white-suited people. They introduced themselves as members of the Aether Foundation, a conservationist group dedicated to preserving the lives and habitats of Pokémon throughout Alola. Apparently Team Skull had been spotted in the tunnel, stirring up trouble and upsetting the Diglett. Sure enough, it wasn't long before I ran into two grunts giving the native Pokémon a hard time. Just then Hau showed up alongside me, and together we battled the thugs and sent them packing. It was reassuring meeting Hau in the dark cave, and together we made our way to the exit.

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When we emerged out into the open air, night had well and truly fallen and the stars were out in full force. Hau left me behind on Route 9, eager to get down into Konikoni City and sample some of its delights before the shops all closed. I stayed out on the route for a while, exploring in search of new Pokémon to capture. Unfortunately, there isn't any long grass on Route 9. Even more unfortunately, my attempts at fishing yielded only a single Luvdisc. I still caught her, and I've named her Aphrodite, but I highly doubt I'll be making use of her in battle. At least Leviathan evolved from a lowly Magikarp into a powerful Gyarados. A Luvdisc is... well... just a Luvdisc. When it became apparent that the fish weren't going to bite, I packed up my rod and made my way down into the lights of the city.

Although Konikoni City was still lit up like a beacon when I arrived, there was nothing open and nothing to do but head for the Pokémon Center. I booked my team in and claimed my bed for the night, resolving to explore more thoroughly in the morning. When I woke up the next morning and retrieved my Poké Balls from the nurse, that's exactly what I did. I checked out the promenade of shops on the east side of town and picked up a cool new pair of shorts and some nice sneakers. There's a guy here peddling Technical Machines and while I don't want to part with five-figure sums for any of them right now, I'll definitely be coming back to snaffle some of his stock in future. Finally, I made my way to Olivia's shop, a jewellery store in the northwest quarter. Olivia wasn't there, but her Probopass was. It handed me a hastily-scrawled note instructing me to meet Olivia at the Ruins of Life as soon as possible. Hoping there wasn't any trouble up at the ruins, I set off to the south once more.

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My journey to the Ruins of Life took me back to Route 9 and out east to Memorial Hill, a graveyard for both people and their Pokémon. I fought a few trainers here, swapping stories about our departed partners. Feathers evolved into a Toucannon following one battle, and I even managed to catch a cute little Phantump in the long grass (I've named him Treebeard and sent him to my rapidly-filling PC box). On the far side of Memorial Hill I ran once more into both the Aether Foundation and Team Skull. The latter were trying to make off with a confused Slowpoke, while the former were trying to stop them. I stepped in and battled the Team Skull grunts, forcing them to abandon the Slowpoke and take off down the hill. The representatives from the Aether Foundation thanked me, with one strangely-dressed man (who I assumed to be their leader) telling me that I should visit the Hano Grand Resort once I've completed my Grand Trial here on Akala Island.

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From Memorial Hill I followed the cliffs to the northeast, reaching an area known by locals as the Akala Outskirts. Here I was able to catch another new Pokémon in the form of a Wingull. It's a bit of a lacklustre capture, but hey, it's better than another Luvdisc I guess. I've named her Peeko, after another Wingull that I met when Mom and I vacationed in the Hoenn region a couple of years back. As you've probably guessed, she's in the PC box too - there's no place for her on the team with Leviathan and Feathers putting in so much hard work. From here it wasn't far to the entrance to the Ruins of Life, but I was stopped at the gate by a woman dressed in black with outlandish make-up and even more outlandish hair. She called herself Plumeria, and seemed to be connected with Team Skull in some way (she mentioned both them and Gladion in passing). She challenged me to a battle, sending out first her Golbat, then her Salandit. The Golbat was tough to deal with due to its constant use of Confuse Ray, but The Ooze managed to break through confusion and hit it with Bite in the end. The Salandit was much easier to subdue, a single Scald from Leviathan proving enough to put it down. Plumeria gathered up her fainted Pokémon and left without saying a word.

I finally reached the summit of the ruins in the early afternoon. I was just about to sit down to lunch when two familiar faces appeared - Lillie and Professor Burnet had come up to the ruins too. Lillie said that she'd had to bring Nebby here because, just like the Ruins of Conflict back on Melemele, there was some kind of energy here that the little Cosmog was being drawn to. Burnet had brought Lillie here to make sure she arrived safely. She found the whole thing fascinating, and seemed to be speculating whether Nebby had some kind of significant link with the Tapu guardians as she wandered back down the hill towards Konikoni. Just as she left, another familiar face emerged from the ruins themselves. Olivia had been summoned by Tapu Lele to clean up the ruins, and she was keen to get my Grand Trial underway there and then. I quickly healed up my Pokémon with my stock of Potions, and accepted her invitation to battle.

Someone down in Konikoni had warned me that Olivia uses Rock-type Pokémon, so I went into battle prepared with my best chance - Troy, the Mudbray who'd only recently joined the team after we lost L'Oréal. His Ground typing made him perfectly suited to deal with whatever Olivia might have to throw at us. First up was her Nosepass. I began the battle by using an X Attack to raise Troy's strength, then threw out a powerful High Horsepower attack hoping to take the Nosepass down in a single hit. Unfortunately I hadn't banked on the Compass Pokémon's Sturdy Ability protecting it from an instant knock-out. Olivia then healed it with a Full Restore, putting us almost back to square one. My next gambit was to use Double Kick, which negated the Sturdy Ability and took down the Nosepass in two swift hits. Olivia's next Pokémon was a Boldore. Knowing from personal experience that the Roggenrola evolutionary line can be Sturdy as well, I stuck with Double Kick and whittled its HP slowly down to nothing. All the while Troy was shrugging off incoming attacks with his own Stamina Ability, his defences growing stronger with every hit.

I threw out a Potion to Troy as Olivia brought out her final Pokémon, a Midnight form Lycanroc. As far as I'm aware, this isn't a Pokémon with access to Sturdy, so I had Troy throw all his strength into one last High Horsepower attack. It felled the Lycanroc in a single hit, defeating Olivia and earning me my second Grand Trial victory. As a reward, Olivia stamped my Trainer Passport and presented me with another Z Crystal to add to my growing collection - a Rockium Z this time. Just as she handed me the crystal, Hau sprinted onto the scene. He was gutted to have missed the battle, but very keen to have one of his own, and Olivia seemed more than happy to oblige. I wished Hau the best of luck and turned to Lillie, asking if she wanted to come to the Hano Grand Resort with me. She seemed to grow distant at my mention of the Aether Foundation for some reason, and resolved to stay behind and watch Hau's trial. That's weird, not like her at all, since she usually hates seeing any Pokémon get hurt in battle. Whatever her reasons, I guess they're probably good ones.

So that's where things currently stand. I'm now back in Heahea City, resting up at the Pokémon Center after beating my second Grand Trial. I guess I'll be moving on to pastures new very soon, but not before I link up with the Aether Foundation at the Hano Grand Resort tomorrow. I get the feeling not everything is as it seems with them, judging by Lillie's reaction when I mentioned them earlier. At least Team Skull make no bones about being the bad guys. Whatever tomorrow has in store, you can be sure I'll write about it in these pages when I get the chance. Until next time Diary, Alola!

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Current play time: 27:48 - Deaths: 2
Current play time: 27:48 - Deaths: 2

So to summarise, we are (I assume) around halfway through the game's main story. That's based on my party's current levels, and where we stand on our Island Challenge - two Grand Trials down, presumably two more to go. Once again I'm a little disappointed with my captures this episode - Phantump is a pretty cool pick-up, but I would happily have done without Luvdisc or Wingull in favour of something new or more exciting. I'm very happy with how the current team is shaping up though, there's a nice mix of types and some reliable stopping power in its ranks. I'm hoping that now my work schedule is settled again, I'll be able to continue pushing these things out once a week alongside the Backlogbook (the latest instalment of which you can find here, if you missed it). Until next time, thanks very much for reading duders. Take care, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Pokémon Sun (3DS)

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The Backlogbook - Week Five

Last Week - Week Four (30/01/2017)Next Week - Week Six (13/02/2017)

G'day folks, and welcome to the first Backlogbook entry of February. Apologies for the slight delay in getting this one out, but my usual Monday slot for writing these things was upset by some real-life happenings, and this is the first chance I've had to make amends for slipping off-schedule. Given this is the fifth one of these things, I'm sure you guys all know the drill by now - I'll be giving some airtime to the games I've played over the past seven days, then selecting two more titles to cut from my Pile of Shame as it dwindles ever closer towards the magical target figure of two-hundred entries. Eventually at some point, this series will become so ubiquitous that I won't even need to type any kind of preamble, and I'll be able to launch straight into...

This Week's Log

Last week was a bit of a non-starter for video games for a few reasons. For a start I had my shifts changed at work, which altered my morning and evening commutes on Thursday and Friday and cut out pretty much all of the time I usually dedicate to progressing in Pokémon Sun each week (hence no new chapter of the Nuzlocke Challenge last weekend). On top of that, I had a smattering of evening commitments through the week that out-prioritised any game-playing I might have otherwise scheduled. Monday nights are once again quiz nights down the local pub. Tuesday night continues to be darts night. On Wednesday night I went into London to see one of my favourite bands play their first album live in its entirety to commemorate its tenth anniversary. Come Friday night, I didn't want to play video games, I just wanted to sleep.

So at the weekend, I threw myself into some video games, and I threw myself hard. Here's exactly what I played over the course of last week, beginning (as usual) with...

Grandia

I'm running out of Grandia images to use from the GB Wiki, so here's the artwork for its official soundtrack album.
I'm running out of Grandia images to use from the GB Wiki, so here's the artwork for its official soundtrack album.

For the first time since the start of the year, I didn't play too much of Grandia last week. I spent a couple of hours with it over the course of my week's worth of lunch breaks - enough to get the second disc officially underway, but not really enough to add anything substantial to my ongoing critique of it. In some ways that's a blessing, because I went pretty deep on Grandia last week and was kind of reluctant to do the same thing again today. In others, it's a real shame, because anyone who read last week's Backlogbook will know that I'm really starting to come around on Grandia's story and characters. As it stands, this week's entry will just have to be a progress update - I'm about thirty-seven hours on the clock, and currently ascending the Tower of Doom having just met Milda. Mark my words, I'll have a lot more than that to say next week. And seriously, if you missed last week's Backlogbook, then go back and check out that Grandia write-up near the top. It's probably my best bit of blog-work since last year's Stranger's Wrath piece.

Tomb Raider

Hey Lara, it's been a while...
Hey Lara, it's been a while...

Now here's where I really lost my weekend. But before I go deep into Tomb Raider, I feel like I should explain why this is on here in the first place. When 2017 started, as part of my efforts to prevent my backlog from continuing to spiral out of control, I decided to limit myself to one video game purchase per month. That's right - from beginning to end, I don't plan to buy any more than twelve games this year. In January, my purchase was Oxenfree, which I played and wrote about last week. This month, my chosen game is Rise of the Tomb Raider, a sequel to what was one of my favourite games of the last console generation when I played it back at launch. I'm planning to get stuck into Rise sooner rather than later, but before I do that, I thought it might be a good idea to revisit its predecessor.

So I spent my weekend getting reacquainted with the rebooted reincarnation (damn, that's a lot of "re-"s) of Lara Croft. I went the whole hog, not just playing through the story but hunting down every last collectible along the way and earning a 100% completion rating by the time the credits rolled on Monday morning (I fear LEGO Star Wars may have awakened the long-dormant video game completionist within me). I feel like there's a lot I could say about Crystal Dynamics' efforts to breathe new life into the old girl, but on going back through my previous blogs I found that I've said pretty much everything already. When I originally played through Tomb Raider almost four years ago, I wrote this opinion piece about it, and having just re-read the whole thing, I don't see anything in there that I disagree with given the benefits of hindsight and a second bite of the apple. So, if you want a thorough break-down of my time spent with the game, I feel like I'm better off directing you to that old blog rather than regurgitating the same words in this space.

I think Tomb Raider out-Uncharteds both the first two Uncharted games
I think Tomb Raider out-Uncharteds both the first two Uncharted games

One stance I can take now, which I couldn't before, is that of comparing Tomb Raider with Naughty Dog's Uncharted series. Back in 2013, on my first run through, I'd never touched an Uncharted game. In the four-year interim between playthroughs, however, I've been able to sample the first two games for myself, and I now feel qualified to weigh in on that side of the argument. Bearing in mind that Uncharted pre-dates Tomb Raider by some margin, it's clear that Crystal Dynamics owe a lot to Naughty Dog in terms of their use of set-pieces, and the 'feel' of their combat and exploration mechanics (although in that last instance, there's a case to be made for both series owing a mutual debt to Ubisoft and Prince of Persia). That being said, I think Tomb Raider manages to do those things better than Uncharted, or even Uncharted 2. I feel like the set-pieces in Tomb Raider were both bigger and more memorable. I feel like the combat is much more fun. And I feel like the main reason for Tomb Raider coming out on top for me is because it goes way beyond being a simple Uncharted clone, with its deeper melee combat system, its Arkham/Metroidvania-inspired gating of exploration, and its upgrades and progression systems. If all of that stuff persists in Rise, then I think I'm in for one heck of a ride when I start it up next weekend.

One negative thing I will note before we move on, though - the final "boss" encounter (and Lara inheriting her trademark dual pistols) being reduced to a quick-time event feels like a cheap cop-out, and definitely puts a bit of a dampener on an otherwise incredible interactive experience. I'm not sure I'd want a proper, bona fide boss battle in this kind of game either, but I hope that Rise at least avoids this particular anticlimactic pitfall.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

I'm done screwing with canonical timelines for now
I'm done screwing with canonical timelines for now

I bet you thought this was over, didn't you? I certainly did - two weeks ago I declared myself done with LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and ready to move on to other things. But when I booted up my 360 to start replaying Tomb Raider, I was greeted by this title still sitting in my disc tray. In that moment I made the decision to follow through on the nebulous commitment I made a fortnight ago, and wrap up the handful of Achievements I missed out on during my quest for 100%. Turns out none of them were particularly taxing or time-consuming, as I picked up all eleven in just over an hour of playtime. I'd initially believed that the Crossover and Revenge Achievements were tied to beating bosses in Free Play mode, but they can actually be earned in Arcade mode too, so plugging in a second controller solved that predicament to great effect.

I'm now the proud owner of a save game with 100% in-game completion, all Achievements and 1000 Gamerscore in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. And right now, I'll be damned happy if I never have to look at another plastic brick again. Or at least, not for a good long while. I don't want to rule out ever getting round to LEGO Harry Potter or LEGO The Hobbit just yet.

The Lost Pages

Speaking of ruling things out, this is The Lost Pages, the section of the Backlogbook where I part ways with a pair of games that I'm realistically never going to play. This is all with a view to trimming down my Pile of Shame and making sure that it's all killer and no filler going forward. This week sees our strongest themed link between our Lost Pages yet - not only are they from the same franchise, but one is a direct sequel of the other. Both are PC ports of Dreamcast games that I bought in Steam sales as curiosity pieces. Have you guessed yet?

Sonic Adventure DX

Sorry Big the Cat. It's not personal, it just... Actually, yeah, I guess it kind of is
Sorry Big the Cat. It's not personal, it just... Actually, yeah, I guess it kind of is

There was a time when I loved Sonic the Hedgehog. The original game was one of my first ever video game experiences, alongside Alex Kidd in Miracle World. I remember spending hours at my cousin's house when I was five, pushing my way through Sonic 2, making incremental progress each time (not unlike this site's fantastic 'This Is the Run' series, although my own successful 'Run' didn't come until over a decade later). When I was seven and had a Mega Drive of my own, Sonic 3 was my jam. I would play it every evening when I got home from school, occasionally letting one of my sisters control Tails and laughing as I left them behind to die off-screen. Ah, those were the days.

Then, things changed. My household didn't upgrade from the Mega Drive to the Saturn - we jumped ship completely and migrated to the PlayStation, leaving the Blue Blur behind. When the Dreamcast came out and Sonic Adventure was touted as its killer app, it was something I admired from a distance for a little while. Then I became fixated on the prospect of the PlayStation 2, because yo dude, Final Fantasy X was coming out on it! Consequently, I missed out on Sonic's first foray into the third dimension. At the time I regretted it, because the game was well-received and blew pretty much all of its graphical contemporaries out of the water. But attempting to go back to it now on Steam, I feel like I made the right choice in hindsight. Sonic Adventure really hasn't aged well. Its graphics, arguably the best thing about it back then, are still the best thing about it now. It feels like a game that's too big for its boots, trying to tell an epic story and introducing this enormous cast of bit-part characters when all you really want to do is just go fast. That might be fine if the going fast was consistently enjoyable, but all too often it's interrupted by an unstable camera. These are all things I probably could have overlooked in 2000, but not in 2017. I missed the boat with Sonic Adventure, and I'm fine with accepting that. You win this one, Eggman, but you'll always be Robotnik to me.

Sonic Adventure 2

It's Rouge the Bat, everyone's favourite Sonic character!
It's Rouge the Bat, everyone's favourite Sonic character!

There's really nothing I can write down here that I haven't already said above, is there? Truth be told I've never played any of Sonic Adventure 2, since I've never finished the original Sonic Adventure. But, from anectodal evidence, I gather that this doubles down on a lot of the original's problems by introducing even more unnecessary characters, and by extension even more middling mechanics and problematic level design. Ultimately, if I can't see myself making it through the first Sonic Adventure, then why would I devote time to the sequel? It's a case of either both or none at all, and under the immense weight of my backlog, I'm going to opt for the latter.

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That'll do it for this edition of the Backlogbook. I'm not entirely sure it's been worth the wait, but at least it's finished and out there. Be sure to join me again next week (hopefully Monday), when I should have some fresh thoughts to share on Grandia, some early impressions on Rise of the Tomb Raider, and two more neglected titles from my Pile of Shame will take the long walk to the proverbial hangman's noose. Thanks for reading, as always. Take care, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Grandia (PS1C)

Last Week - Week Four (30/01/2017)Next Week - Week Six (13/02/2017)
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The Backlogbook - Week Four

Last Week - Week Three (23/01/2017)Next Week - Week Five (06/02/2017)

It's Monday, and that can mean only one thing - time for me to sit down and write another one of these Backlogbook blog entries! For those not in the know, the Backlogbook is a weekly serial blog I've committed to writing throughout 2017, documenting my efforts to whittle down my Pile of Shame. This week sees more thoughts on Grandia, an assessment of a single-sitting playthrough of Oxenfree, a revisit to the first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead, and another little Borderlands-based addendum. Not only that, but two more ill-advised video game acquisitions will be stripped from my backlog. That all sound good? Good. Then let's begin, shall we?

This Week's Log

This Week's Log is the part of the Backlogbook that focuses on what I've been playing over the previous seven days. Turns out that even by omitting this week's Pokémon Sun progress (which you can read about here), that's quite a bit. I made significant headway through Grandia, headway that has turned me around on it quite a bit. I also managed to play through indie adventure Oxenfree in a single sitting, made it through the third episode of the first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead, and sunk a few more hours into Borderlands with my buddy Duncan. That's going to be a lot of ground to cover, but I'm going to do my best, starting with what is fast becoming the Backlogbook's equivalent of a resident band...

Grandia

I've sunk no less than nine hours into Grandia since last week's Backlogbook. Those nine hours have seen the game undergo some kind of magical transformation, not unlike a caterpillar cocooning itself and emerging as a beautiful butterfly. In fact, that seems like the most fitting simile to use, since a lot of what's changed about Grandia in that time is tied up in the development and maturation of some of its characters. I'll get into more detail on this in a second, which means some mid-game story spoilers are inbound, but before I do, I just want to clarify that my position on the game's awesome combat and character development mechanics hasn't changed a bit. The fact I'm still enjoying and actively seeking out battles thirty-five hours in is a testament to how great those systems are. My only complaint is that it's proving seriously difficult to level my Water-elemental magic, since the healing spells it provides offer such meagre experience gain. Now, about that story stuff...

I've run out of Grandia screenshots to use from the Giant Bomb Wiki, so here's a picture of Leen instead
I've run out of Grandia screenshots to use from the Giant Bomb Wiki, so here's a picture of Leen instead

Last week I levelled some criticism at Grandia for sidelining its main story in favour of vignetted chapters. Almost immediately after that, the primary story thread reared its head in a major way. The Garlyle Forces, seemingly absent for the previous ten or so hours, reappeared in spectacular fashion at the game's Twin Towers dungeon. Their return brought with it a pretty major exposition dump, giving a great deal more insight into the Icarians, the lost civilisation of Angelou, and the motivations of Colonel Mullen, Lieutenant Leen, and the rest of the Garlyle Forces. Leen in particular is a pretty fantastic, complex character who I hope we get to see a lot more of as the story progresses beyond here.

But it's not just the return of the main plot that's got me giddy over Grandia this week. As I said, most of the game's cast are finally starting to develop and come into their own. The first hint of this was when Sue, the little girl of the group, fell ill and had to let the rest of the party go on without her. While Justin, Feena and Gadwin are out at Teleportation Hill, Sue comes to the realisation that's she's too young to be doing this, and on the party's return she tells them she's going home. In response to this Justin, who has just fought through hordes of monsters to get the Teleportation Orb they need to cross the Sea of Mermaids, gives Sue the Orb so she can teleport back to Parm. The ensuing scene that plays out is really touching, showing Sue and Justin in very different lights to the obnoxious kids they were back in Parm at the very start of the game. Sue coming to terms with still being a kid is matched by Justin's newfound humility and selflessness. The translation might be a bit rough, and there's still no redeeming that voice acting, but the moment transcends those shortcomings to become something pretty special.

And here's Feena, who's one of my favourite characters at this point in the game
And here's Feena, who's one of my favourite characters at this point in the game

Feena gets her moments to shine as well. There's a really nice scene in Gumbo Village where she and Justin go out to the beach together to see the Spirits. Later on, when the two characters are crossing the Sea of Mermaids in Gadwin's ship, another important scene plays out where they're sitting on the edge of the boat, looking out over the water. Feena and Justin clearly like each other, but are struggling with ways to express it. It's clumsy and awkward, but I think that's what makes it feel so authentic, even in spite of the translation and voice acting getting in the way. Strip away Justin's "I'm an adventurer!" bravado and Feena's flirtatious joking and what's left is two teenagers falling for each other and struggling to explain how they feel. Fellow Giant Bomb blogonaut @Mento gave me a heads-up about this a couple of weeks ago, when he compared Grandia to a long-running book series in which the characters 'grow up' with you, and I think that comparison is definitely justified. I feel like I've come to know these characters over the last thirty-five hours, and seen them grow as people. Grandia often has a frustrating habit of trying to mask the serious with the playful. In fact, it does exactly this after the aforementioned scene, restoring Justin's recklessness by throwing a fake damsel in distress his way (because hey, we need to finish the first disc with a boss, even if it undermines all our character development). But to be honest I think that silliness needs to be there, because if it wasn't, the payoff for the serious stuff wouldn't feel quite so great.

One last thing I want to touch on before moving on from Grandia for this week is how the game builds and introduces its world to the player. It's something that I've been wanting to touch on for a couple of weeks, but I feel like in light of how the first disc ends, now is the perfect time to address it. In most Japanese RPGs the player sees the extent of the game's world right from the start - you're given a world map and although there are parts of it that you won't be able to reach until you unlock new methods of traversal, you know you'll be able to access all of it eventually. Instead of doing this, Grandia reveals the extent of its world gradually, showing you a limited view of the entire world and then moving the proverbial goalposts every time Justin travels beyond them. The effect of this is to make Justin's adventure feel like a major undertaking - a voyage into previously uncharted territory, where the known world expands with every border crossed. It seems like a small thing, but it's one that I think works well in the context of the game's overarching story.

I finally made it to Grandia's second disc last night. From what I've seen so far, the game looks pretty determined to settle back into the quasi-episodic model it adopted for much of the first disc. I'm just hoping that comes with more of these serious moments of character growth for its lead cast, since that's where it seems to be strongest. Expect more Grandia talk in next week's Backlogbook.

Oxenfree

This is the only image for Oxenfree in the GB database, which makes me think I probably should have taken some screengrabs while I was playing
This is the only image for Oxenfree in the GB database, which makes me think I probably should have taken some screengrabs while I was playing

When I put a nice 100%-shaped ribbon on LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga last week, I wasn't sure what I'd be picking up in its place to fill the void. By and large, I still haven't filled it - I spent most of my weekend playing a lot more Grandia than I might have done otherwise, but there wasn't a new 'big' game to step into that collect-a-thon's brick-shaped shoes. Instead, I turned my attention to the shortest subset of my Pile of Shame - those indie darlings perfect for getting through in a single sitting. Last week I entertained the possibility of playing through Journey, but I decided to postpone that particular plan and ended up sitting through Oxenfree instead. I booted it up through Steam and spent four hours of my rainy Sunday afternoon getting to grips with Night School Studio's debut offering.

Oxenfree's most notable feature is the way it handles conversation and dialogue choices, something that's been a feature in games of this kind for a long while now, but which feels refined and polished to a mirror sheen here. The ability to walk while talking, or interrupt other characters with your own interjections lends a more natural feel to the dialogue, giving the game's narrative a satisfying flow that makes conversations engaging and easy to follow. Then there's the content of the dialogue choices themselves, which very rarely has any impact on in-game events, but instead dictates protagonist Alex's standing with her peers. In that respect, Oxenfree is less about dictating the path the story takes, and more about getting to know (and influencing the opinions of) other characters. Basically, much like the era of high school it's trying to replicate, Oxenfree is a popularity contest. Unlike high school, however, it's a popularity contest that you'll want to take part in.

A game built around its characters like this is only ever going to be as successful as its cast, and in that respect Oxenfree has a pretty damn strong hand. Each of the five main characters fits comfortably into a teen movie archetype - Ren is a loud classroom joker type, Clarissa is hot but a bitch, and Nona is quiet and reserved, leaving Alex and Jonas as the central every-man figures. However, these characters aren't confined to their archetypes, and as the game progresses you get to know a lot more about their insecurities and why they are the way they are. It might sound like a daft comparison, but I was reminded of the Persona games, where the characters seem easy to compartmentalise at first, but end up developing beyond the stereotypes you initially associate them with. This doesn't just apply to its characters either - Oxenfree's setting is a member of the cast in and of itself, and uncovering the mysterious history of Edward Island is as much a drive to keep playing as getting to know the kids stranded on it. The visual presentation is simple but charming and cohesive, and the relatively distant camera helps to showcase the gorgeous environments while leaving the emotions of the characters to be conveyed by their dialogue rather than their faces.

If I had to level some criticism at Oxenfree, it would probably be at its dearth of mechanics. While the conversations and dialogue choices are the star of the game, it's a pretty bold move to hang the entire game upon them. This would be less of an issue if the game ran to a movie-length two hours, but at four hours from beginning to end, it becomes an even bigger ask. I don't think it helps that the only other interactive mechanic, namely the radio tuning, is used both so infrequently and so un-intuitively. It feels like there could be scope for expanding this mechanic and using it for some more complex puzzle solving, but as things stand it's basically a trial-and-error exercise of turning the dial until you tune into the correct frequency. I feel like there's at least slightly more depth to the radio than this, given one of the game's Achievements mentions tuning into secret radio broadcasts, but in my time with the game I didn't find any of those, and nor did I find any environmental clues pointing me towards them.

While a single four-hour session was enough to see me through Oxenfree's story, I definitely didn't see everything that it has to offer in that time. I'm informed the game has multiple endings depending on the choices you make, as is standard for the genre, and it would be cool to go back at some point to see at least one other potential outcome for the story. There are also a few collectibles scattered around Edward Island which I didn't pick up on my first run through. Perhaps my biggest impetus for going back through Oxenfree, though, is the fact that my girlfriend Alice wants to check the game out for herself. We have a few games queued up for playing already, but this seems like a good one to add to the list. Speaking of which...

Telltale's The Walking Dead: Season One Episode Three - Long Road Ahead

Hello, old friend
Hello, old friend

I'm a big fan of the first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead. I made no secrets about that when I first played it in the spring of 2013, and subsequently awarded it a spot on the list of my Top Ten Games of that year. My girlfriend Alice is a big fan of The Walking Dead TV series, and although I've never seen a single episode of that version of Robert Kirkman's acclaimed fictional universe, I felt pretty certain that she'd find a lot to like in Telltale's episodic adventure. In the summer of last year, we started playing it, making it through the first two episodes at a decent pace. Then, without going into too much detail, real life stuff happened and we had to leave Lee and Clementine by the wayside for a while.

This week, we finally brought the series out of its long hibernation and made it through the third episode, playing through it in two sittings over Wednesday and Thursday nights. I'm reluctant to write anything more about it here, since we haven't finished the season yet, and I'd rather share my thoughts on the whole thing when we're done. We still have two episodes to go, and I don't think we'll be leaving it six months to get around to those. After that, I'm not sure if we're going to press on to Season Two, or play something else altogether. She's pretty keen to experience more video games as a spectator, if not an active player, and I have a shortlist of titles that I'd like to see her reactions to. Shadow of the Colossus is a major contender - I've been wanting to replay it for a while, I have the remastered HD version installed on my PS3, and I'd love to see what she makes of it as an onlooker. The aforementioned Oxenfree is another option.

Borderlands

I never got to play most of the original Borderlands' DLC, and this seems like as good a time as any
I never got to play most of the original Borderlands' DLC, and this seems like as good a time as any

I could just write "my buddy Duncan and I played some more Borderlands this week" here, and leave it at that. That's all my time with the game this week really amounts to. The big revelation with Borderlands this week comes from the fact that I've transferred my save file from my old Xbox 360 (which I'm slightly worried may be dying) over to my relatively new Xbox One. While this was done for reasons of preservation more than anything else, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that in making the transfer, I was given access to all four of the game's DLC packs. The only one I've ever played previously is The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, which means I've just gained access to three new reasons to explore more of Pandora. I'm not sure that Duncan is particularly keen, but if worst comes to worst I can always check out the DLC solo once we've finished the main campaign.

The Lost Pages

The Lost Pages is the section of the Backlogbook where I part company with those games that have outstayed their welcome in my Pile of Shame. This week, I'll be saying goodbye to two ill-advised downloadable purchases from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Both games are part of my backlog for what amounts to the same reason (they were on sale and I picked them up cheaply), but the reasoning for getting rid of both is a little different....

[Prototype]

No Caption Provided

I bought Prototype in an Xbox LIVE sale a few years ago. At the time I was keen to check it out, partly because it seemed like a pretty cool open-world superhero game, but mainly because I didn't have a PlayStation 3 back then and therefore didn't have access to the critically superior open-world superhero game known as inFamous. Fast-forward to the present day and I have both a PS3 and a PS4, and all the inFamous games available on both platforms. In my present situation, therefore, I don't see the justification in holding onto a game that was billed "a poor man's inFamous" by a number of video game outlets. Sorry Prototype, but I'm going to keep holding out for a different hero.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD

No Caption Provided

Oh man, talk about a burn. I was one of those foolish few, the ones who believed that this HD remaster might have been something more than a quick cash-grab on Activision's part. I hoped and prayed that this would be a faithful recreation of some of the games that defined that formative period through the late 90s and early 2000s. Not only did I buy this, but I bought the THPS3 "Revert Pack" DLC, or whatever they called that thing, so desperate was I to recapture those memories. But even with nostalgia playing into the equation, there's no denying that THPS HD is just plain bad. Everything about the game's physics model feels just slightly off, and the cumulative effect of those minor discrepancies is a major affront to any long-term player's muscle memory. That's not even acknowledging the fact the whole thing is a buggy, nigh unplayable mess. I regret buying this, and wouldn't want to force myself through it if you paid me for the displeasure. That's why I'm bailing on this one.

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Wow, that turned out a lot longer than I expected. I guess that's what happens when you spend time with four games in a single week. Next week's Backlogbook entry won't be this long, I promise. There'll probably be another (much shorter) section on my continued progress through Grandia, and some thoughts on whatever game I decide to pick up post-Oxenfree. Oh, and two more games will bite the bullet and get shafted from my Pile of Shame. All that and hopefully not too much more to look forward to in next week's instalment of the Backlogbook. Until then, thanks very much for reading guys. Take care and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Grandia (PS1C)

Last Week - Week Three (23/01/2017)Next Week - Week Five (06/02/2017)
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Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge - Chapter Six

Hey folks, and welcome to the sixth chapter of my Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge, a series of blogs chronicling my efforts to play through the latest release in the popular Pokémon series with a self-imposed Nuzlocke ruleset and no idea what to expect around every corner. If you're new to the series, or you've missed any of the previous chapters, you can find them linked in the handy-dandy table below (yep, we've finally got enough chapters to warrant a table). I recommend reading the blogs in order, since they form a continuous narrative.

Chapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter Five

If you're all caught up, then we've got one heck of a chapter in store for you this week. We complete our circuit of Akala Island and take on two more trials, but not without loss as another of our roster of pocket monsters joins Zeppelin the Drifloon in Pokéaven. Who will it be? Read on and find out!

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Chapter Six - Wela Begun Is Half Done

Alola, Diary! As usual, a lot has happened since my last entry. We've made a ton of progress, completing our lap of Akala Island and taking on two more trial captains along the way. Sadly it's not all been good news, though. The team has suffered another loss, and it's a difficult one to come to terms with. Maybe it's best if I pick up where we left off, and continue from there.

You might remember that last time I wrote, I was just about to head into Wela Volcano Park and attempt to beat captain Kiawe's trial there. I set off at daybreak and found climbing the volcano to be more difficult than I'd expected it to be. I pushed on though, battling a number of tough trainers on my way up the mountainside. At one point I took some time out from my ascent to just take in the atmosphere and environment around me. For the first time in a while, I got out my Rotom Dex and played with its Poké Finder function. I managed to get some cool pictures of a Fletchling flying around the mountaintop, and I can't wait to show them to Hau and Lillie the next time I see them both.

I finally reached the peak of Wela Volcano Park a little after lunchtime. I was starving, and so were my Pokémon, so we stopped and shared a Big Malasada before catching up with Kiawe and officially starting our next trial. Kiawe had command of a troupe of Alolan Marowak, who were all dancing around the volcano's crater and spinning their flaming bone clubs like batons. My trial from Kiawe was to watch these dancing Marowak, paying close attention to their movements and identifying anything out of the ordinary in their routines. To be honest I think Kiawe was having a joke at my expense in some way, because the differences were pretty obvious - he even got a Hiker to photobomb one of the dances!

During the final dance, the Totem Pokémon for the trial area appeared - a huge Salazzle, its scales glistening in the afternoon sun. The final trial battle began, starting with Leviathan, the Gyarados that I'd trained from a Magikarp specifically for this trial. We went in hard with Scald attacks, but the Salazzle managed to withstand the water better than I'd expected and quickly turned the tide by inflicting Leviathan with Poison. Desperate to re-level the playing field, I sent out L'Oréal, thinking that her Steel typing would resist all of the Totem Pokémon's Poison-type attacks. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that Steel doesn't resist Fire, and a single well-placed Flame Burst cut right through her defences and snuffed her out. Knowing I would need to wait to grieve for L'Oréal, I sent out The Ooze to tank the Salazzle's onslaught while I patched up Leviathan. When she was ready to go, I sent her out and took down the Salazzle with one final Scald. We were victorious, but we'd lost another friend in the process.

When the trial was over, Kiawe came down from his pedestal and put one arm around my shoulders to comfort me. I could feel the tears fighting to escape but I bit my tongue and held them back, rising from my knees to stand beside the trial captain. In his free hand he was holding a Z Crystal, a Firium Z, which he gave to me as proof of completing his trial. He also handed me another token for my Ride Pager, allowing me to call on his Charizard to fly me between the islands of Alola. He told me that the Charizard would be able to take me back to anywhere I'd previously been. Then, in a slightly more hushed voice, he suggested that I should go back to Melemele Island and lay L'Oréal to rest at the Hau'oli Cemetery. Cradling my dear departed Diglett in my arms, I thanked him and began to descend the mountain. By now it was evening and the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, so I made the decision to spend the night at the Pokémon Center on Royal Avenue.

The next morning I got into my riding gear and summoned Kiawe's Charizard to fly me back to Hau'oli City. I brought Scorch, Feathers, The Ooze, Tinkerbell and Leviathan with me, and together we picked out a nice spot in the cemetery to bury L'Oréal, near Zeppelin's grave. When the ceremony was over and we'd all said our goodbyes, we headed back into the city. I thought about continuing on with five Pokémon for a while, but instead decided to recruit my Mudbray Troy to the team, ensuring we still had that important Ground-type coverage going forward. Before Charizard flew us back, I decided to pay a quick visit to Kala'e Bay and give my new Fishing Rod another outing. I got a few bites, including some Magikarp and a single Finneon, but I didn't manage to catch anything sadly.

Back on Akala Island, I resolved to keep making forward progress. It would have been easy to sit and mope about the loss of L'Oréal, but I know that's not what she would want me to do, and I owe it to the memory of both her and Zeppelin to keep forging my way forward on this island challenge. From Royal Avenue we headed northeast to Route 7, and from there we went north through the captain's gate to Route 8. I'd barely set foot on this new route when my path crossed with an unusually dressed man. He introduced himself as Colress, a scientist from the Unova region. Noticing I was taking part in the island challenge, he wished me luck for my next trial at Lush Jungle, and gave me a Flame Charge TM which he assured me would be useful in my next trial. I considered using it, but Scorch had already learned the superior Fire Fang move, so I tossed it into my bag instead.

No Caption Provided

A little further along Route 8, I was ambushed by a lone male Salandit. I was able to subdue him with a Bite from Scorch, and managed to catch him and add him to my roster. I've named him Nox and I'm really excited to have him along on our journey, although I'm a little disappointed that he's male (my Rotom Dex says that only female Salandit can evolve into Salazzle). From there the rest of our journey along Route 8 was pretty routine - we battled a few trainers, honing our battle skills in the process, and made it to the far end of the trail just as the sun was setting on another day. Conveniently, a Pokémon Center is placed between Route 8 and Lush Jungle, so I booked a room and gave my Pokémon in to rest while I stayed the night, knowing the next day would bring with it another test of our collective strength and resolve.

The next morning, which was this morning in fact, my team and I set off into Lush Jungle. We were met just inside the entrance by captain Mallow, who'd greeted us with Olivia when we first arrived on Akala Island. The trial that she set for us was again a little bit different from the others - she tasked us with scouring the jungle to seek out four ingredients - a Tiny Mushroom, a Miracle Seed, a Mago Berry, and a Revival Herb. I pulled on my ride gear again and summoned Stoutland this time, hoping that its super-sleuth nose would lead me in the right directions. Sure enough, it was able to sniff out all the items I needed. When I returned to Mallow with the ingredients, she was accompanied by Lana and Kiawe, and together we mixed the ingredients to create a 'Mallow Special', the captain's signature dish. The scent wafting up from the bowl was incredible, but unfortunately, we weren't the only ones to think so.

An enormous Lurantis, the Totem Pokémon of Lush Jungle, appeared from between the trees. Mallow explained that this was my real trial - now that we'd summoned the creature, I would have to take it out to prove myself. I started the battle with Tinkerbell, but my Cutiefly's attacks weren't making a dent in the Mantis Pokémon's armour. I tried switching to Scorch, but the Lurantis' relentless attacks wouldn't let me build up enough strength to fire off his Inferno Overdrive Z Move. I ended up resorting to a combination of attacks from The Ooze and Feathers, chipping away at its HP reserves before finally taking it down with a clinic Acrobatics attack from the latter. I smiled and brushed a tear from my cheek, silently thinking "That one was for you, L'Oréal." As the fight ended, Tinkerbell began to glow, then was surrounded by a blinding burst of light. When she emerged, she wasn't a Cutiefly any more, but had evolved into a full-fledged Ribombee.

After the battle, Mallow, Kiawe, Lana and I finished what was left of the Mallow Special. Mallow then presented me with another new Z Crystal, a Grassium Z which would enable me to use Grass-type Z Moves. As the captains and I left the jungle, I was greeted by a familiar face - Professor Kukui! He'd heard I was taking on the final captain's trial on Akala Island and had come to cheer me on, but he arrived just too late. By way of reward he gave me a new TM for a never-miss move called Smart Strike, and recommended I head back to Heahea City to visit the Dimensional Research Lab there. Beyond that, I guess my next task is to take on Olivia for the island's Grand Trial. Kukui tipped me off that she uses Rock-type Pokémon, so I'm sure that Leviathan and Troy are going to feature heavily in that battle.

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Just as we were leaving Lush Jungle, I was drawn back in by a rustle from a nearby bush. Upon investigation, it turned out to be a cute little Bonsly, the pre-evolution of Sudowoodo. I'm not sure if he'd managed to get separated from his family (what do you suppose you call a group of Sudowoodo? An 'orchard', maybe?), but he practically hopped into one of my spare Poké Balls when I offered it. I've named him Arbor, and he's currently resting up with my other Pokémon here at the Lush Jungle Pokémon Center, but I'll be adding him to my PC roster in the morning. Tomorrow we'll be setting off back down Route 5 towards Heahea City. I sense I'm not going to be here on Akala Island for much longer, and while I'll be sad to go, I'm also really excited to find out what the rest of Alola has to offer. Until next time Diary, Alola!

No Caption Provided
No Caption Provided

So that's where we're at - two more trials down, one more death to mourn, and presumably a very difficult challenge on its way. I have to admit, this section of the game has been the most fun for me so far. Maybe that's because it feels like we're finally getting stuff done at a decent clip, and the game feels like it's starting to take the stabilisers off and show its real hand. I hope that trend continues the further we get through this (and a few more of the new Pokémon wouldn't go amiss, either). It sucks we've lost Alolan Diglett, but at the same time, it's made space on our team for one of Alola's new additions in the form of Mudbray. Here's hoping that little guy can survive long enough to evolve, because Mudsdale is one of my favourite seventh-generation designs and I'd really like to have one on the team. Anyways, thanks very much for reading folks. Join me next week for another chapter of the Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge. Take care, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Pokémon Sun (3DS)

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The Backlogbook - Week Three

Last Week - Week Two (16/01/2017)Next Week - Week Four (30/01/2017)

Happy Monday, duders, and welcome to the latest instalment of The Backlogbook, my weekly video game progress breakdown. If you're not familiar with the format by now then allow me to enlighten you. The Backlogbook is split into two main parts - This Week's Log, which goes into some detail on the game's I've been playing throughout the previous week, and The Lost Pages, wherein I attempt to whittle down my enormous Pile of Shame by identifying the games in my collection that I'm realistically never going to play. This week we have yet more of Grandia, a final lap of the track with LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, and two more underwhelming games will be stripped from my backlog for good. Grab your popcorn and make yourself comfortable, folks. The show is about to start.

This Week's Log

For the third week in a row, the focus of This Week's Log will be Grandia and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The good news is, this is the last week where that'll be the case, as I've successfully managed to score one of those two games off my list following a lengthy time investment, making it my first 'beaten' title of 2017 (spoiler alert - it isn't Grandia). In addition to this, I've made a little bit of space at the end of This Week's Log for a third game, one that I revisited this weekend for the first time in over a year. Make no mistake folks - these may be old games, but we're not retreading old ground here.

In other "what I've been playing this week"-related news, I put a bit more time into my Nuzlocke run through Pokémon Sun, but I won't be writing about that in The Backlogbook since it has its own dedicated blog series. Anyone who's interested in my progress through the Alola region can find the latest chapter here.

Grandia

Gadwin's overpowered attacks feel like they're holding my other characters back
Gadwin's overpowered attacks feel like they're holding my other characters back

Jeez, this is a long game, isn't it? Three weeks into my time with Grandia, twenty-five hours on the clock, and I still haven't reached the end of the first disc, which is where I was hoping I'd be at this point. Maybe I've just been spoiled by modern game design conventions, but everything in Grandia feels like it moves at a glacial pace. Exploration, which I'm still feeling conflicted about, takes a long time. Even with my new route-one strategy, it's taking me well over an hour to navigate some of the game's more complex 3D environments. Combat, while still the game's strongest suit for me, often feels drawn out, with the animations for everything always feeling just a bit longer than they really need to be. Thankfully that's mitigated by the steady stream of new skills and spells my characters are learning. I've just surrendered some more Mana Eggs to give Justin a complete suite of four elements, which in turn is going to give him access to even more skills, and I'm stoked to see how his character develops from here. Less exciting is the presence of Gadwin on the team, since his high level and powerful stats are giving my other characters less chances to improve their own attributes. I'm assuming his role on my team is a temporary one, but right now I'll be glad when he's gone and Justin and Feena get more of a look-in in combat.

It'd be cool to know what's going on with General Baal, but I've not seen him for well over a dozen hours at this point
It'd be cool to know what's going on with General Baal, but I've not seen him for well over a dozen hours at this point

Even Grandia's story has slowed to a trickle. It seems to have sidelined its central plot in favour of focusing on isolated vignettes of story within each of the game's new locations. On the one hand, those little vignettes have all been pretty cool up to this point. On the other, it feels like we're not really making any substantial progress towards an end goal. It's reminiscent of the bulk of the first disc of Final Fantasy VII, where Cloud and co. spend upwards of fifteen hours chasing Sephiroth across the world map. Except at least in FFVII's case, it made sure Sephiroth kept his hand in with frequent references to "the Man in Black" and the occasional encounter. With Grandia, I don't think we've had anything directly linking to our quest for Alent or the Angelou civilisation since our time in the Dom Ruins, which was... I think about fifteen hours ago? I haven't even heard anything from the Garlyle forces for a while (which to be fair at least makes some contextual sense, since we've crossed the End of the World, a feat that nobody else has yet managed). What I'm saying is, these little mini-stories are all well and good, but I really hope we start seeing some pay-off in the core story soon.

All this probably sounds like I'm feeling really down on Grandia, and I promise that isn't the case. In spite of all my moaning, I'm still enjoying the game and looking forward to whatever the rest of the experience holds. I just wish it would be a little quicker about it. This coming week will hopefully see me push through into the second disc, which in turn might give me some more insightful things to say about it in next week's Backlogbook.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

We did it guys! Time to PAH-TAY!!!
We did it guys! Time to PAH-TAY!!!

Last week I posited that I would wrap up my time with LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga before this week's Backlogbook entry. I'm happy to report that I was successful in this, earning the remaining 11.5% over the weekend in two lengthy sessions totalling around eight hours. Most of this progress came from picking up various collectibles, most notably the white and blue minikits dotted around the levels in Free Play and Challenge Mode respectively. My process was to open up an online guide pointing me towards all the collectibles, set a podcast playing (either a Bombcast, a Beastcast, or one of @thatpinguino's Deep Listens podcasts), and set about following the step-by-step instructions through each level. Having the podcasts on to keep my mind occupied definitely helped prevent the task from becoming too mind-numbing. Even so, by the time my percentage counter finally ticked over to the full 100%, I'd had enough LEGO to last me for quite some time. Nonetheless, it's a big achievement for me, and it's great to finally be able to put a title on my list of games beaten this year (even if I did technically beat it last year).

While we're speaking technically, I guess I'm not completely done with LEGO Star Wars: TCS. There's still the matter of earning all the Achievements in pursuit of 1000 Gamerscore and the coveted 'S-rank', something I haven't achieved in a game since playing through Assassin's Creed II all the way back in 2011. This is something I'm keen to do, but to be honest it's not something I want to prioritise over playing something new. Right now I have thirty-one of the game's forty-two Achievements and 850 Gamerscore, with most of the remaining unlocks being the paradoxical 'crossover' boss fights. I intend to come back to this later in the year, when I'm not feeling quite so burned out on the LEGO formula, and tie up these last few loose ends to secure my fifth official S-rank (ACII, Just Cause 2, Fallout 3 and Jak & Daxter HD being my others up to this point). Oh, and a huge thank-you shout-out to @ohagan for joining me online yesterday to help me secure the previously problematic Online Player Achievement. Without that duder's contribution, I wouldn't stand a chance in hell of S-ranking this, so thanks.

What's next? I'm not sure, but I do know I want it to be something short and sweet. I picked up the PS4 version of Journey a few months back when it was given away free through PlayStation Plus, and that seems like a perfect 'palette cleanser' - a game I could get lost in for a while and feasibly wrap up in a single sitting. I guess we'll find out what I choose to play when The Backlogbook returns next week.

Borderlands

It may be almost eight years old, but Borderlands is still awesome, and so is that Cage the Elephant song
It may be almost eight years old, but Borderlands is still awesome, and so is that Cage the Elephant song

I hadn't expected to be writing anything about the original Borderlands in today's blog. After all, what would I have to say about a game I haven't touched for over a year? That all changed when on Friday night, I met up with my friend Duncan at the pub. Duncan and I started co-oping our way through Borderlands way back in November 2014, but other commitments started demanding our time and the playthrough lost impetus. We've been back to Pandora a couple of times since, but not in a committed way. When the subject of Borderlands came up over our beers, we agreed to dedicate ourselves to making it through what remained of the game's story. On Saturday afternoon, we started to make good on that promise. We played our way through a few more quests, gained a couple of levels, and advanced the story for the first time since December 2015 (according to the date stamps on our save files). And it was awesome.

I still love the core gameplay of Borderlands. The push for bigger and better loot is a constant driving factor to make forward progress, but for me the most fun lies in the moment-to-moment gunplay and exploring the game's gorgeous cel-shaded environments. That fun is great in a solo run, but it's multiplied when shared with a good friend. It was nice to be back in the shoes of Lilith, Phasewalking my way through hordes of Raiders, Psychos and Skags alongside Duncan's sniper-toting Mordecai. As I said, we've attempted to get back to regular Borderlands-ing before and failed, but this time, I have faith that things will be different. After all, somebody's gotta find that Vault and open it, right?

The Lost Pages

Now for The Lost Pages, the section of The Backlogbook where I take two games from my Pile of Shame, admit to myself that I'll never get around to playing them, and scratch them from my backlog forever. It's a tough, but ultimately cathartic ceremony that I'm starting to look forward to rather than dread when Mondays roll round. For this week's Lost Pages I've chosen two Japanese titles that were released over a decade apart, but are pretty similar at their core.

Harvest Moon GB

It's got most of the substance, but very little of the style
It's got most of the substance, but very little of the style

Nostalgia's a funny ol' thing, ain't it? It's pretty much the only logical explanation for the first iteration of the Harvest Moon franchise on Game Boy being installed on my 3DS. See, when I was around thirteen, a schoolfriend lent me his copy of Friends of Mineral Town for the Game Boy Advance. I fell for that game hard - I sank hours into maintaining my farm, growing crops, tending to animals, befriending the townsfolk, exploring the environments and generally losing myself in the game's charming world. Since then I've picked up numerous games in the Harvest Moon series, always hoping to recapture that same spark, and always failing dismally. I think the problem with this release is that it's just too bare-bones to hook me in the same way. Sure, the core mechanics are there - the land-tending, the crop-growing, the animal-raising - but it lacks the vibrant world and charming personality of Friends of Mineral Town, and as a result I just can't engage with it as fully as I'd like to. Sorry Harvest Moon GB, but I'm putting you out to pasture.

Rune Factory: Oceans

I gave Rune Factory: Oceans a chance, but I just couldn't find anything to like about it
I gave Rune Factory: Oceans a chance, but I just couldn't find anything to like about it

Rune Factory was originally sold to me as "Harvest Moon with actual RPG mechanics", and that description was enough to get me to drop some cash on the PlayStation Store for a discounted copy of Rune Factory: Oceans (known by the more extravagant subtitle 'Tides of Destiny' in the US). A handful of hours with it revealed it to be a disappointing hybrid of Harvest Moon's farming and life simulation aspects, and some very simplistic dungeon-crawling and combat mechanics. On top of that, it's all wrapped up in a story I don't care about, and a cast of characters that I can't warm to. Every part of the whole feels undercooked, and the end result is a constant reminder of wasted potential. Rune Factory: Oceans is a mere shadow of what it could have been, and I refuse to settle by playing what it is.

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Another week, and another instalment of The Backlogbook comes to a close. Join me next week when I'll doubtless have even more to say about Grandia, some thoughts on a game that isn't LEGO Star Wars, and two more unfortunate titles will meet their demise as they are consigned to The Lost Pages. Thanks for reading guys. Take care, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Grandia (PS1C)

Last Week - Week Two (16/01/2017)Next Week - Week Four (30/01/2017)
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Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge - Chapter Five

Hey there folks, and welcome to the fifth chapter of my Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge, a series of blogs documenting my efforts to play through the latest generation of Pokémon with a self-imposed Nuzlocke ruleset. If none of that makes any sense to you, I'd advise you to start reading this series from the beginning - Chapter One is here, Chapter Two is here, Chapter Three is here, and Chapter Four is here. While you catch up, the rest of us will continue on our adventure across the Alola region. In this chapter we take on the first trial on Akala Island, fight in our first Battle Royal, and add some new members to our team. Find out all the fine details by reading on.

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Chapter Five - You Kanto Always Get What You Want

Alola, Diary! I've made a lot of progress around Akala Island since my last entry, and have added loads of interesting new Pokémon to my team (although not the ones I've been hoping for, as you'll soon realise). I'm writing this from just outside Wela Volcano Park, all the way over on the east side of the island. How did I get all the way from one side of Akala to the other? Well, I'm getting to that...

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I woke up at the Pokémon Center near Brooklet Hill to find Hau had already left without me. Maybe since he was up early for a change, he decided to head along to the next trial without me. Whatever the reason, I didn't want to be any later than I already was. I grabbed my bag, retrieved my Poké Balls from the nurse and headed up to Brooklet Hill. On my way into the area I almost tripped over a Paras who was gorging herself on Tiny Mushrooms. I wasted no time in hurling a Poké Ball at her and adding her to my team. I've named her Bolete, and added her to the reserve roster in my PC.

As I reached the stream there was no sign of Hau, but I did meet a woman named Lana, the trial captain for Brooklet Hill. She presented me with a new contact for my Ride Pager - a Lapras who ferries trainers across bodies of water! I thanked her for this incredible addition to my roster of Ride Pokémon, and made a mental note to more fully explore the waters at Kala'e Bay the next time I'm back on Melemele Island. For now though, there was a more immediate reason for Lana giving me access to Lapras' services. There had been reports of unusual splashing coming from the trial grounds. Perhaps something was aggravating the native Water-type Pokémon in the area? Lana wanted me to investigate. Always eager to help, I pulled on my ride gear, called on Lapras, and set out across the stream.

I found two isolated incidents of splashing upstream, both of them caused by lone Wishiwashi that I guessed must have been separated from their school and become agitated. I subdued them both by battling them with my Kadabra Oracle, who I'd recently taught the Electric-type Charge Beam attack from a TM I acquired back on Route 5. My quest took me further downstream, and before I even knew what was happening, I'd passed under the Brooklet Hill trial archway! It started raining, and Lana caught up with me to tell me that my trial had now officially begun. In order to pass and earn a new Z Crystal, I would need to take on the real cause of the mysterious splashing - an entire school of Wishiwashi! Feeling more than a little nervous, I healed up Oracle with a couple of Potions, hopped back on Lapras, and made my way into the very centre of Brooklet Hill.

Based on the Wishiwashi I'd encountered in the moments leading up to this trial, I'd expected to be fighting a lot of small but weak Pokémon - a test of stamina, but not really of power. How wrong I was. What I didn't know about Wishiwashi is that when they swim in schools, they synchronise to the point where they all behave as one giant fish. That means they can hit hard, and take a lot of punishment, as I found out the hard way. I came very close to losing Oracle at one point in the battle, when it looked like he was going to be overpowered by the Wishiwashi's collective Water Gun. Then at the critical moment, I had a brainwave. I instructed Oracle to use Disable, crippling the Wishiwashi by rendering them unable to use their most powerful attack. The Disable bought me enough time to heal Oracle and unleash a critical Charge Beam attack, dispersing the Wishiwashi and bringing an end to the splashing and the storm.

As we paddled back to shore, Lana came to meet us at the water's edge. She congratulated me and my Pokémon for passing her trial, and presented us with a new Z Crystal as our reward. I've heard people say that this is one of three trials on Akala Island, the other two being centred on Fire- and Grass-type Pokémon. I'm particularly relived to have this one out of the way, since choosing Scorch all the way back in Iki Town put us at a natural disadvantage against Water-types. In addition to the Waterium Z, Lana gifted me with a Fishing Rod, allowing me to fish for my own Water-type Pokémon along the island coastlines. I thought about trying it out there and then in Brooklet Hill, but instead decided to head back to the nearby Pokémon Center to rest and recover.

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I slept in again the next day. I still hadn't heard from Hau at all, so I figured the best thing to do would be to keep pressing on with my journey. My Rotom Dex hinted that our next port of call was Wela Volcano Park, off to the east. To get there, I'd have to travel south on Route 6, then cut east through the Royal Avenue to Route 7. With my Pokémon at my side and a fresh stash of Potions and Poké Balls in my bag, I set out to the south. Arriving on Route 6 I was met by a couple of Sudowoodo blocking the road. I was beginning to lament not bringing by Squirtbottle with me, when a nearby trainer suggested I should show them my Waterium Z. The Rock-type Pokémon must have taken this as some kind of threat, because as soon as I flashed my new Z Crystal they uprooted and disappeared back into the tall grass, leaving me free to explore Route 6 at my leisure. On my way south I met a handful of trainers in battle, and finally managed to get my hands on Alola's national rodent - a Yungoos who I've decided to name Sherlock. He's keeping Bolete and all my other reserves company in the PC right now.

Near the south end of Route 6 I encountered a young girl accompanied by a huge Mudsdale. She introduced herself as Hapu, and explained that she was on the look-out for Pokémon thieves. I didn't have a chance to wonder who they might be before they appeared - the two members of Team Skull that keep crossing my path, and this time one of them had a struggling Drifloon under their arm. The memories of my poor Zeppelin came flooding back, and suddenly I saw red. I called on The Ooze and surrounded them with Poison Gas, forcing them to flee and leaving the Drifloon behind. Hapu thanked me for stepping in to rescue the Drifloon, which floated off in the direction of Royal Avenue in search of its trainer. Before she left with Mudsdale, Hapu suggested that I should consider taking part in a Battle Royal before I press on with my island challenge. Curious, I changed direction to the east and set off towards Royal Avenue myself.

I arrived outside the Battle Royal Dome just after midday, and was considering going to the nearby Thrifty Megamart to grab some lunch when I heard a familiar voice coming from the Dome's entrance. I looked over to see Gladion, the blond guy who'd given Hau and I some trouble back on Route 5, making his way into the Dome. Curiosity got the better of my hunger, and I followed him in. Inside the Dome I was reunited not only with Gladion, but also with Hau! Before I could ask him what had happened back at Brooklet Hill, we were interrupted by the appearance of a man in a Luchador mask calling himself 'The Masked Royal'. He dragged Hau, Gladion and myself into the arena and challenged us to my first Battle Royal. Knowing defence would be important against three potential attackers, I sent in my bulkiest Pokémon, The Ooze. Thankfully she withstood the attacks from Gladion's Type: Null, Hau's Dartrix, and The Masked Royal's Rockruff, coming out on top in the four-way fight.

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As we made our way out of the arena and back into the foyer, Hau and I were stopped by a heated-looking young man. He introduced himself as Kiawe, the captain of the Fire-type trial at Wela Volcano Park! He complimented us on our battling skills, and said that he was looking forward to seeing us take part in his trial. When we turned back, Gladion had gone, leaving only The Masked Royal (who, now that I think about it, looked and sounded a lot like Professor Kukui) to say goodbye to. After a quick rest at the nearby Pokémon Center, I headed out onto Route 7 in the direction of Wela Volcano Park. This route skirts Akala's east coast, making it the perfect opportunity for me to test out my new Fishing Rod. Unfortunately there weren't many bites to be had. The only thing I was able to reel in was a Magikarp, which I've named Leviathan. Given the upcoming trial is supposedly focused on Fire-types, I've decided to keep Leviathan in the team, returning Oracle to the PC for the time being.

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By this time it was getting late, so I made my way back to the Pokémon Center on Royal Avenue to rest for the night. I woke up the next morning (this morning, in fact) determined to put Leviathan through her paces with some rigorous training. We started out on Route 7, and when the Pokémon there stopped biting, we moved just inside the entrance to Wela Volcano Park. I managed to catch a Kangaskhan here, who I've named Ruby. I know I should be more excited, since Kangaskhan are so rare back in Kanto, but I'm struggling to get worked up about it. When Mom said she wanted to move to Alola, a big part of that was her desire to meet new and interesting kinds of Pokémon. Instead, all I seem to be catching are the same kinds of Pokémon I'd be meeting if I'd stayed at home. Hopefully things will start to turn around soon, but right now it doesn't feel like Alola is living up to its reputation as a unique ecosystem for all sorts of weird and wonderful Pokémon.

Apparently Kangaskhan aren't the only things dwelling in Wela Volcano Park though. Not long after catching Ruby I ran into a fiery Salandit, which almost decimated my team of Pokémon with its powerful Dragon Rage attacks. After this I relocated to Route 6 and continued training there. It took most of the day, but eventually Leviathan reached evolution point and became a full-fledged Gyarados. I've taught her Scald from a TM I picked up back in Brooklet Hill, which I'm hoping will be a good starting point in seeing us through Kiawe's trial. I wish I had a bit more Water-type coverage, but I have faith in Leviathan. I'm writing this from the Pokémon Center on Royal Avenue, where I'm about to turn in for the night. Tomorrow I'm going to head straight for Wela Volcano Park and take on Kiawe's trial. Hopefully the next time I write in here, I'll be doing so with another Z Crystal under my belt. Until next time Diary, Alola!

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Current playtime: 20:46 - Deaths: 1
Current playtime: 20:46 - Deaths: 1

Sorry it's taken me so long to get around to this one folks. I've been a bit caught up in other stuff over the last couple of weeks, between making some decent headway in Grandia, pumping time into 100%-ing LEGO Star Wars, and establishing the new Backlogbook blog series (the next instalment of which will be up at some point tomorrow). To be honest I'm really starting to regret playing by Nuzlocke rules with this game, since it seems to be locking me out from using most of the new (and therefore the most exciting) Pokémon in favour of a lot of well-worn first-generation alternatives. But we're five chapters into this series, so it would be pretty defeatist of me to abandon the ruleset now.

My plan going forward is to put chapters of the Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge up on a weekly basis (or possibly fortnightly at times, depending on how much progress I make) on Saturdays or Sundays, with The Backlogbook retaining its Monday slot for the remainder of the year. It's kind of nice to be back on a regular, more productive blogging schedule. Having discipline here makes it slightly easier to transfer that discipline into other aspects of my life, and while this probably isn't the right space to be discussing it, discipline is something I'm going to be needing a fair amount of throughout 2017 if I'm going to end up where I want to be by the end of the year. And on that cryptic note, I'm going to take my leave from this blog post. As always, thanks very much for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed this latest instalment in our Alolan adventure. Until next time, take care, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Pokémon Sun (3DS)

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The Backlogbook - Week Two

Last Week - Week One (09/01/2017)Next Week - Week Three (23/01/2017)

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

We're cookin' with gas now
We're cookin' with gas now

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.

Yep, there's no shortage of this sort of writing in Grandia's opening third
Yep, there's no shortage of this sort of writing in Grandia's opening third

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

I'm not sure how many more times I can fight LEGO Darth Vader
I'm not sure how many more times I can fight LEGO Darth Vader

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.

That's a pretty spectacular Achievement, right there
That's a pretty spectacular Achievement, right there

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

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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

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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)

Last Week - Week One (09/01/2017)Next Week - Week Three (23/01/2017)
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The Backlogbook - Week One

Last Week - No Entry AvailableNext Week - Week Two (16/01/17)

Hey there folks, and welcome to a new blog initiative I'm starting up here on Giant Bomb. Apparently one roughly-weekly serial blogging project isn't taxing enough for my diminished writing schedule, and in a positively @Mento-esque maneouvre, I've taken on a second regular write-up that I've decided to dub 'the Backlogbook'. It's intended to be a fairly short weekly breakdown of what's been going on in my life games-wise. I'll be trying to put these up on Saturdays from now on (so consider this a delayed entry that should have gone up on the 7th). There are two main planned sections for the Backlogbook:

  • A 'What I've Been Playing This Week' section, focusing on (you guessed it) what I've been playing in the preceding week. These won't be lengthy review-style editorials, just some progress updates and scattered thoughts about the games in question.
  • A 'Cutting My Ties' section, highlighting two games that I've accepted I will never play, and decided to scratch off my backlog. Again, these won't be protracted entries, just some brief reasonings for why I'm parting ways with these games.

There are two main reasons for me starting the Backlogbook. First and foremost, I have an unhealthily large Pile of Shame at this point. So large in fact, that it's outgrown its old home here on Giant Bomb's list feature, and has had to be re-homed over at the Backloggery. As of this writing, it's reached a towering 344 games across 25 platforms. I think we can all agree that figure is simply too damn high, and it needs to come down a lot before I can even think about considering it manageable.

I have a rough plan for 2017 as far as gaming goes. I'd like to try and beat an average of three games per calendar month. Achieving this would put my total number of games beaten for the year at thirty-six, making 2017 my most successful year on record for actually completing games. On top of this, shedding two games a week by just accepting I'll never play them and taking them off my backlog would further reduce the total figure by a whopping 104 titles by the end of the year. Put those figures together, and you're looking at 140 games removed from my Pile of Shame by the end of this year. That figure won't be a net loss, as I expect I will continue to acquire games over the course of 2017, albeit at a reduced rate, as I've imposed a limit on the number of games I'm allowed to buy this year. Even so, that's set to be a huge dent in the backlog, and one that I can hopefully build upon going into 2018 and beyond.

Since I want to try and keep these things reasonably short, I think that's enough preamble. Let's get stuck into the first main section.

What I've Been Playing This Week

...I'll try and come up with some slightly pithier titles for these sections before the next instalment, I promise.

Since 2017 I've been splitting my game time across three titles. The first of these, as you'll no doubt be aware, is Pokémon Sun, in which I'm currently attempting a blind Nuzlocke run accompanied by a blog series chronicling my progress. Since that endeavour has its own dedicated blogs, I won't be giving it any airtime in the Backlogbook. Instead, I'll be focusing on the other two games that have been holding my attention this past week - the 90s JRPG Grandia, and the colourful collect-a-thon that is LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

Grandia

Time to tick another classic PS1 JRPG off my list
Time to tick another classic PS1 JRPG off my list

I've put about twelve hours into Grandia since starting it on New Year's Day, and I'm still not entirely sure whether I like it or not. In that respect (as well as in some others) it's comparable to the time I spent with Wild ARMs last year. Much like its Western-themed counterpart, Grandia is proving to be a very slow burn, with occasional flickers of greatness punctuating what has thus far been an enjoyable but largely unremarkable experience.

Where Grandia's early hours really shine is in its combat system, which is handy because that's where I seem to be spending a lot of my game time. The battles themselves are pretty standard turn-based affairs on the surface, but there's a lot of depth to the combat mechanics. By timing attacks effectively, for example, you can push back the enemies' turns such that they seldom (or perhaps even never) get a chance to attack you. Or by hitting a 'charging' enemy with a critical attack, it's possible to cancel their queued actions altogether. There's a really satisfying flow to the combat, particularly when things are going in your favour, that makes the system a joy to mess around with. The fact that character development is linked to skill usage also encourages experimentation in battle - since skills and magic spells level up with use, you'll want to make sure you're making even use of all the abilities open to you. My only reservation is the fact that SP (the currency for using non-magical battle skills) doesn't recharge quite as quickly as I'd like it to, but so far that hasn't stopped me from V-Slashing my way through every slime, bat or spider that crosses my path.

Maybe it's the PSP, but this screenshot looks a lot cleaner than the game has been in motion for me
Maybe it's the PSP, but this screenshot looks a lot cleaner than the game has been in motion for me

It's a shame I can't heap that same praise upon any other aspect of it yet. My biggest gripe with the game is its exploration portions, which utilise 2D sprites on ugly 3D backdrops that I'm finding rather difficult to navigate and orientate myself within. This issue is most pronounced in towns and the more 'open-plan' dungeon areas like mountains and fields, where the environments aren't quite as defined or linear as the more conventional ruins-type dungeons. Even the (probably pioneering for its time) compass in the top-right corner hasn't been much help, since it vaguely points in the direction of your objective without actually telling you how to get there. Beyond that major problem, the list of quibbles boils down to standard generic JRPG fare. It isn't much to write home about visually (although it may look better when not restricted to the small PSP screen I'm playing it on), the story and characters are pretty cookie-cutter and haven't hooked me yet, and the English voicework is painful (though blessedly infrequent).

I'll definitely be sticking with Grandia through this week, and probably through the rest of this month, if the pacing of the game up to this point and its projected fifty-hour play time are anything to go by. Hopefully by Saturday things will have started to pick up, and I'll have some more favourable things to say about the characters and story.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

If the Pokémon games reignited my love of collecting stuff, then LEGO Star Wars has continued to fan the flames
If the Pokémon games reignited my love of collecting stuff, then LEGO Star Wars has continued to fan the flames

By all accounts, LEGO Star Wars probably shouldn't be featured in this blog. I beat it last year, wrapping up its final Story Mode levels in early December. The reason I haven't yet shelved this game in favour of something new and unbeaten lies in its ability to unlock a compulsion in me that I haven't felt in a very long time. I am, of course, talking about that coveted gaming milestone of 100% completion. It's something that used to be a bigger deal when I was a kid, when games were scarcer and I was much more determined to wring every conceivable piece of content out of a title. These days I have more games to play than I know what to do with (hence the existence of this feature), making it difficult to justify investing the amount of time required to reach 100%.

But there's just something about LEGO Star Wars that's perfectly geared towards satisfying my inner nine-year-old, something I can't quite put my finger on. I don't think it's the Star Wars tie-in, nor do I reckon it's the broader LEGO game formula - I have previous experience in the form of LEGO The Lord of the Rings, a franchise I'm much more invested in than Star Wars, and nothing about that game compelled me to keep the percentage counter ticking up quite like this one does. Maybe it's simply because there's so damn much to do. Between Story Mode, Free Play, Super Story, earning True Jedi status, finding the elusive Red Bricks and all the white and blue mini-kits, you have to traverse each of LEGO Star Wars' thirty-six levels at least four times each to collect everything. That's a metric fuck-ton of replayability right there. And that's before you even take a look at the Achievement list, many of which have you taking on the series' boss battles in more interesting (and often paradoxical) circumstances. As a kid, this level of content in a single game would have been a dream come true.

One lesson I've learned from LEGO Star Wars - if all else fails, Thermal Detonators are your friend
One lesson I've learned from LEGO Star Wars - if all else fails, Thermal Detonators are your friend

Whatever it is that keeps me coming back to LEGO Star Wars, there's comparatively not a whole lot left of it. After a weekend run on white mini-kits and Red Bricks in the prequel trilogy levels, my total completion percentage currently stands at 80.4%. I've amassed 134 of the 160 Gold Bricks available, most of which are tied to the aforementioned mini-kits. I also have the vast majority of levels to complete in Challenge Mode, easily my least favourite game mode since it strips out all the fun experimentation and forces you to hunt for hidden objects against a time limit. Since I can currently only play at weekends, my plan is to try and crank up that percentage by six or seven percent each weekend. This should bring me to 100% completion towards the end of this month, allowing me to finally lay LEGO Star Wars to rest and move on to something else, like... I don't know... LEGO Harry Potter, maybe?

Cutting My Ties

Now for the second part of this new blog initiative - the bit where I regrettably part ways with a pair of games on my Pile of Shame that, deep down, I know I'll never find the time or the energy to play. This is something that historically I've always had trouble doing, I think primarily because it's natural to have a sense of attachment to an item you've paid money for, even if that item is a middling indie game that came with a Steam bundle, or that money is less than the cost of a McDonald's Happy Meal. I'm not sure if I'll approach this thematically in future, treading along genre or platform lines. For this inaugural instalment, I presented my girlfriend Alice with a shortlist and asked her to pick two titles. The results are below, starting with:

Gish

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I've owned Gish on Steam since November 2010, when I picked it up as part of one of those aforementioned indie bundles that are the bane of every backlogger's existence. Since then I've installed it a bunch of times, dabbled with it, and uninstalled it again. I even featured it almost exactly three years ago in a short-lived feature titled 'Letting Off Some Steam', where I spent around half an hour with it and wasn't very taken with its unique approach to puzzle platforming and character control. It seems like an interesting little game, but one I'm not going to lose sleep over by missing out on it. Good night, Gish.

Populous: The Beginning

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The second game to go this week is Populous: The Beginning, a god-sim-meets-strategy game from Bullfrog (the developers behind Theme Park and Theme Hospital). This quirky title has been in my collection in various forms since the late nineties, first as a physical disc for the original PlayStation, then as a PSone Classic for PS3 and PSP through the PlayStation Store. I found it fascinating as a nine-year-old kid, but I doubt it's aged well enough for a strategy game novice like me to properly get to grips with it in 2017. Sorry Shaman.

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That's going to do it for this first week of the Backlogbook. Join me on Saturday for some further thoughts on Grandia, an update on my quest for 100% in Lego Star Wars, and two more never-to-be-played games will be given the chop. Thanks very much for reading duders. Take it easy, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Grandia (PS1C)

Last Week - No Entry AvailableNext Week - Week Two (16/01/17)
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Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge - Chapter Four

Hi there guys, and welcome to the fourth chapter of my Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge, an ongoing series of blogs documenting my efforts to play through the latest instalment in the Pokémon franchise with the added difficulty and dynamism of the self-imposed Nuzlocke ruleset. Before this properly gets underway, I feel the need to acknowledge that this is not only my first blog of 2017, but also my 365th blog entry here on Giant Bomb. That's right, over the last eight-and-a-half years, I've thrown enough words up into this space for there to be one of these to read every single day of the year. I know it's an arbitrary milestone, but it's one that I wanted to celebrate in some small way before moving on with what you've all come here to read about - Pokémanz stuff!

As always, if you haven't read one of these before, I implore you to start from the very beginning of the series. Not only does the story make more sense when the chapters are read in order, but the first entry has a comprehensive break-down of what a Nuzlocke challenge actually is and how it's affecting my time with Pokémon Sun. I'm going to mastermind a better way to document this stuff for the next chapter, but for now, you can find Chapter One here, Chapter Two here, and Chapter Three here. When you're all caught up, you'll be ready to rejoin us on our Alola Island Challenge. In this chapter we make our way to a whole new environment in the form of Akala Island, we explore Heahea City and Paniola Town, and gear up for what looks to be our second Island Trial.

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Chapter Four - Akala-ful Welcome On A New Island

Alola, Diary! This entry marks my first time writing from a whole new island. Yesterday, I left Melemele Island behind and sailed across the ocean to Akala Island, to continue my Island Trial. I made the journey with Lillie and Hau (and of course Scorch and all my other Pokémon) on board Professor Kukui's own ship. It was a peaceful, pleasant voyage - I spent most of my time out on deck, watching the Wingull soaring overhead as we skittered over the waves beneath them. The only one who didn't seem to enjoy the journey was Nebby, who spent most of it tucked deep inside Lillie's shoulder bag. Maybe the waves made it nauseous.

After about half an hour on the high seas, we weighed anchor at Akala Island, pulling in to port at Heahea City. It's not quite as big as Hau'oli City back on Melemele, but it's still pretty easy to get lost there. Luckily we were met at the port by two of the best guides we could have asked for, two women named Olivia and Mallow. Mallow is one of the Captains here on Akala and has her own Island Trial somewhere over on the other side of the island. Olivia is the island's Kahuna, and it's her we'll be facing in battle for our second Grand Trial once we've completed all of Akala's regular Island Trials. They certainly seemed to know Kukui pretty well, but then I guess his role as professor keeps him in close contact with all the Captains and Kahunas from all the Alolan islands. After all, who better to study moves from than the best trainers out there?

While Professor Kukui went off to do his own thing, Olivia and Mallow gave us the grand tour of Heahea City, taking us by all the main stops. We spent some time in the shopping district and I was able to pick up a nice new pair of shorts to complement the shirt I bought in Hau'oli. Eventually our tour came to its end outside the Tide Song Hotel, a huge building on the outskirts of town. Olivia and Mallow both said they had important Trial business to attend to, and set off for their homes. Lillie broke off from the group too, saying she was planning to stay at the Tide Song until she and Nebby were ready to visit the Ruins of Life located nearby. That left just me and Hau, who was keen to head out of town to try his hand at catching some of the local Pokémon. We said our goodbyes and I made my way to the east, towards Route 4.

On the path away from the Tide Song, I ran into a couple of tourists. I could immediately tell they weren't from around here, with their bizarre dress sense and unusual accents. They introduced themselves as Sina and Dexio, assistants to Professor Sycamore in the far-flung region of Kalos. It turned out they'd come to Alola on the Professor's instructions, to find out more about the local Pokémon distribution. To that end, Dexio asked if we might have a battle, so he could observe my Pokémon and their strategies. I obliged, taking on his Slowpoke and Espeon in what ended up being quite a one-sided battle in light of The Ooze's immmunity to their Psychic-type attacks. As a reward for beating him, Dexio gave me something he called a Zygarde Cube, a mysterious green device that apparently holds the key to unlocking the hidden power of a rare Pokemon native to the Kalos region. Not sure quite what to make of this, I thanked Sina and Dexio and let them continue on their journey.

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After recuperating at the local Pokémon Center, I took my team and followed Hau out onto Route 4, in the hopes of finding some new Pokémon to add to my roster. While I encountered a few, the only one I was able to catch was a little Lillipup, who I've named PJ. He's really cute and would make a great guard dog, since he can hear sounds from a mile away, although he is a little bit on the lazy side. I've kept him in the PC, since there isn't really a spot on my team for him at the moment.

I followed the winding path of Route 4 until it brought me to another settlement, the quaint ranch town of Paniola. It looks more like something from the Unova region than the sort of place you'd expect to visit in Alola, with all its curiously styled buildings and dirt roads. It was here that I caught up with Hau, who wanted to challenge me to another battle against his Pokémon. Since our last battle he'd been given his own Z Ring by Kahuna Hala, and I think he was keen to test out his new-found power against my team. First up was his Pikachu, which didn't stand up long to L'Oréal's Bulldoze attack. When he sent in his newly evolved Dartrix though, I knew something might be up. I switched L'Oréal out just to be safe (even with their defensive Steel typing, Alolan Diglett aren't exactly known for their great physical resilience) and brought in Scorch to exploit my type advantage. Unfortunately my Torracat switched into a powerful Z Move from Hau's Dartrix, in the form of Breakneck Blitz. Thankfully it only weakened Scorch without knocking him down, and he was able to react with a punishing super-effective Fire Fang that ended the fight in my favour.

We shook hands after the battle and made our way to the local Pokémon Center, where we rested our Pokémon and bedded down for the night. The following morning I woke up to find Hau had already left. With nothing to go on, I decided to get back on my own path and headed north towards Paniola Ranch. One of Akala Island's most famous exports is the Moomoo Milk farmed on this ranch, and it was a privilege to be able to stop by and taste it for myself. While visiting Paniola Ranch, I ran into Mallow again. She'd been summoned to the ranch to deal with a grumpy Tauros (honestly, every Tauros in Alola seems to have an attitude problem), but took some time out to chat with me. Afterwards, she registered a new Pokémon to my Ride Pager - a Stoutland with the ability to sniff out hidden items on the ground. I haven't used it much yet, but I'm sure it will come in handy as my adventure continues.

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After Mallow's efforts (and even a stern telling off from a Miltank referred to as "the Mistress"), the Tauros still wouldn't calm down. One of the farmhands seemed to think that it wanted to battle, so I pitted it against Feathers and his powerful Brick Break attacks. That seemed to be enough to subdue the Tauros, leaving me free to continue my exploration of the Ranch. The land is also home to many wild Pokémon, and while there I was able to capture a young Mudbray who I've named Troy. I'd really like to get him on my team soon, but it's kind of difficult to find a place for him while L'Oréal is covering all my Ground-type needs, with the added bonus of Steel-type coverage as well.

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From Paniola Ranch, I continued my journey north across the island's western side, bringing me to Route 5. Once again I set my sights on picking up some of Akala Island's unique strains of Pokémon, but all I was able to capture was a Metapod. I've named her Papillon, but I'm not sure she'll ever live up to that name and evolve into a Butterfree, since I'm reluctant to train her. Call me cruel, but I've had more than my fill of Caterpie and Weedle from my time back in Kanto, and I'd much prefer to give time to the weird and wonderful new kinds of Pokémon I keep meeting here in Alola.

As I reached the top of Route 5, I caught up once again with Hau, only this time he wasn't alone. He was talking to a young man dressed in black, who he'd just lost a battle to, and they seemed to be arguing about their approaches to battling with their Pokémon. As I approached the man in black turned to me, introducing himself as Gladion, and challenged me to a battle. Hi Zubat didn't pose too many problems, but his second Pokémon was much tougher to deal with. He referred to it as 'Null', and it looked completely unlike any other Pokémon I've seen before. It was really tough to deal with too, wearing down half my team with its strong Tackle and threatening Pursuit attacks, but I was able to chip away at it until it eventually gave up the fight. As Gladion called Null back, two grunts from Team Skull joined the fray and seemed to ridicule him for losing. I guess Gladion is involved with Team Skull somehow? Whatever's going on there, I suspect this won't be the last I see of Gladion, or Team Skull for that matter.

Hau thanked me after Gladion and Team Skull had left, and together we made our way to the Pokémon Center on Route 5. It's positioned just outside of Brooklet Hill, where our next Island Trial awaits. Right now Scorch and the rest of the team are resting with the nurse and I'm writing this as I sip on some Tapu Cocoa at the café. Tomorrow Hau and I are going to head to Brooklet Hill and take on the Trial there. I'm a little worried after what happened to Zeppelin back at the Verdant Cliffs, but I'm confident that the team I have now can pull through whatever the next challenge throws our way. Until next time Diary, Alola!

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Current playtime: 16:30 - Deaths: 1
Current playtime: 16:30 - Deaths: 1

Four chapters down, and who knows how many left to go. If there's one thing I regret about embarking on this blog series, it's that my progress through Pokémon Sun has been a damn sight slower than it would have been otherwise. Even so, I'm still having an absolute blast putting these entries together, and the constant fear of losing Pokémon makes turning every corner pretty tense. I genuinely have no idea what to expect from the next Island Trial, and that lack of expectation could potentially result in a death or two, but therein lies the excitement of this endeavour. If you're enjoying this series then I implore you to come back next week to find out how we fare against whatever Brooklet Hill has in store for us.

Outside of my Pokémon antics, I've started 2017 by picking up another Japanese RPG in the form of the PSOne Classic version of Grandia. I've only put about an hour in so far, so it's far too early for me to pass any kind of judgement yet. All I do know is that I'm glad voice acting is used so sparsely, because what little of it there is grates hard. I'm also dipping in and out of LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, gradually trying to tick my completion percentage up to 100%. You can expect some blogs related to those as the month goes on, but for now, I'm going to bid you adieu until Chapter Five of this series, scheduled for next weekend. Thanks for reading guys, take care, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Pokémon Sun (3DS)

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My Top Ten Games of 2016

Hey folks, and welcome to what's likely to be my final blog of 2016 (unless by some miracle I manage to get the next chapter of the Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge written before midnight). It's been a really weird year for me in terms of video games. It's a year in which I played significantly less games than I usually do - my total of completed games for 2016 sits at just twelve titles, less than half my usual annual figure of between twenty-five and thirty. A lot of that can be pinned onto real world stuff just getting in the way, particularly increased hours at work and spending more of my free time with my girlfriend. Not having the time to play games hasn't stopped me from buying them, though - the tempting lure of perennial sales on the PlayStation Store has caused my backlog to spiral even further out of control, reaching an all-time high of nearly 350 titles (a number so unwieldy that I now have to track it over on the Backloggery rather than here on Giant Bomb). One of my top gaming priorities for 2017 is to work hard on paring that list down, both by finishing more games and by finding the strength to part ways with games I know I'll never play.

Usually at this time of year I put together a multi-part End of Year Awards, honouring all the games I played over the course of the previous twelve months before whittling the longer list down to the ten best titles. This year, since I barely played ten games total, I figured I'd skip the formalities and cut straight to the top ten. As always, this list is in alphabetical order, and not an indication of ranking (I've always struggled with ranking lists like these, since the numbers start to feel arbitrary past a certain point). Also, I never restrict these things to titles released within the calendar year, so expect to see a lot of games not released in 2016 on this list. I recognise that's generally not the "done thing", but it's always been a necessity for me, mainly due to my tendency to favour older games over new releases.

Before we properly get underway, I'd like to acknowledge the two games I played this year that didn't make this list - Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines and Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line. The former, while impressive from a technical standpoint, ultimately makes too many sacrifices in translating the Assassin's Creed experience to a handheld. The latter, while a solid old-school JRPG that's in many ways superior to its predecessor, regrettably didn't capture my attention in quite the same way. With those acknowledgements out of the way, it's time for me to reveal my Top Ten Games of 2016.

Axiom Verge

PS4 - Thomas Happ Games - 2015

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The first game I beat in 2016 is also the first game on this list. I don't have any notable history with the '2D Metroidvania' genre, so I didn't go into Axiom Verge with any preconceptions. In some ways that might be a bad thing, since Jeff's five-star review from last year states that some of the best things about Axiom Verge are the ways in which it subverts the expectations of a player well-versed in these kinds of games. But even without that extra layer of appreciation, I had a brilliant time exploring the world of Sudra and unravelling the mystery around Trace and the Rusalki. Particularly noteworthy are the game's graphics and audio, which emulate their 8-bit inspirations with a deliciously modern twist. The controls are tight, the inventory is varied, fun to use and experiment with, and the boss battles are challenging without ever getting frustrating. Knowing this is all the work of one man makes the level of quality present in Axiom Verge even more astounding. I've never played any of the classic Metroid or Castlevania games, but now might just be the best time to start.

Demon's Souls

PS3 - From Software - 2010

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From my first beaten game in 2016 to my last. I first tried to play through Demon's Souls a couple of years ago and ended up hitting a wall at about the halfway point, I think due to some poor levelling decisions that left me with a 'jack of all trades, master of none' character who simply couldn't hold their own against the Demons of Boletaria. This winter I returned to it, starting from scratch with a new character focusing on a Strength and Faith build, and was able to fight through to the end credits. For me, the lure of Demon's Souls lies in the constant striving to become better. Death is a penalty, but also a learning exercise - every time my character fell in battle I would resolve to get back to that spot, correct my mistakes and emerge victorious the next time (hopefully recovering my dropped Souls in the process). The methodical pace of the combat lends itself to some truly thrilling battles, particularly when it comes to the strategically varied boss encounters (my personal favourites include the Storm King, the Tower Knight, and the Armor Spider). Apart from the gameplay, Demon's Souls also delivers a gameworld dripping with atmosphere in the form of the kingdom of Boletaria, and although its story is somewhat simple on the surface, it belies a deep and rich lore that slowly reveals itself to the player through item descriptions and NPC interaction. Demon's Souls may have been my first Souls game, but it definitely won't be my last.

Dragon Quest

Android (NES) - Square Enix - 2014 (1986)

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When I started playing the original Dragon Quest in September, I went into it expecting a rudimentary Japanese RPG with turn-based combat and a save-the-world storyline. In many ways that's what Dragon Quest is, but the time I spent with it revealed it to be so much more than that. Most of the world map is open to you right from the start of the game, with progress gated not by story events or new means of traversal, but simply by the strength of the monsters you encounter. This fact, coupled with the lack of direction, makes for a much more exploratory experience than your average story-focused JRPG. Initially it was frustrating wandering into a new area and dying because I wasn't strong enough to counter the enemies, but that frustration was superseded by a sense of accomplishment when I was able to return at a higher level and push on through. The story progression is surprisingly non-linear as well, trickling pertinent information through to the player through the NPCs that populate its towns, and allowing the player to complete new objectives as they stumble upon them rather than in a pre-determined order. Put all this together and what you have is a game that captures the essence and spirit of adventure - exploration, freedom, and accomplishment. That's how I'll remember my time with Dragon Quest.

Gone Home

PS4 (PC) - Fullbright - 2016 (2013)

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There are quite a few titles on this list that might not have been in the running for consideration for my top ten, had I been able to find the time to play more games this year. Gone Home is not one of those games. I'm pretty sure I could have played fifty games in the last twelve months and this still would have been a candidate. As an interactive story, Gone Home blows everything else I played this year out of the water. It combines the core conceits of the point-and-click genre with a first-person perspective and the audio-log narrative device used by games like BioShock. Those mechanics are then given purpose in one of the most beautifully realised gameworlds I've ever spent time in, and used to tell an emotionally captivating story that stayed with me long after I'd put the controller down. I think It's almost too easy to dismiss Gone Home as a "non-game", due to its pared down mechanics and isolated setting, but in terms of the story it tells and the world it builds around that story, I think it rivals the first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead for immersion.

Jak II HD

PS3 (PS2) - Naughty Dog/Mass Media - 2012 (2003)

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Before April of this year, I hadn't revisited the second Jak & Daxter game in over a decade. I've played through the original game several times, even going as far as to earn a Platinum Trophy from the HD remaster last year, and I've played a lot of Jak 3 too (I wrote the guide featured on this here very site, don't ya know?). I hadn't revisited Naughty Dog's PS2-era middle child since its original release back in 2003, and with the benefit of hindsight, it's perhaps easy to see why. The first Jak & Daxter's pure platforming has an undeniably timeless quality, one that's lost in the sequel due to its desperate desire to become something it was never meant to be - an open-world Grand Theft Auto-a-like. While that works in Jak 3, it's because the player is given plenty of stuff to keep them occupied. Jak II's Haven City is kind of barren by comparison. I think it says a lot, then, that even with this being the runt of the litter, I was still able to glean a lot of fun from Jak II when I played through it back in the spring. It's funny, it's charming, and when it's not being unfairly difficult, it's actually really fun to play. Here's hoping the same is true of Jak 3 when I inevitably get around to playing its HD remaster next year.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

X360 - Tt Games - 2007

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LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga is a really big game. I guess that's kind of to be expected, since it gathers content from the two previous LEGO Star Wars releases into a single package, but even so, I wasn't banking on it being quite as big as it is. One hundred and sixty gold bricks, thirty-six levels, not to mention a plethora of bonus content to be unlocked... That's a big time investment for anybody. Luckily the game justifies its hour count with some fun core gameplay and generally good puzzle design, both of which help prevent retreading old ground looking for collectibles from becoming too tedious. As well as being crammed with stuff to do, LEGO Star Wars is also full of the series' trademark charm and humour, conveying the familiar stories of all six Star Wars movies with a unique LEGO twist (and in the case of anything involving Anakin Skywalker, a lot more personality). Through the last two months of 2016 I put just under thirty hours into this game, and I have a completion percentage of 73.4% to show for it. I'm still in two minds about whether I should aim for the full 100%, but even if I decide not to, I've had more than my money's worth from this title.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD

PS3 (XBOX) - Oddworld Inhabitants/Just Add Water - 2011 (2005)

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I've long considered myself a fan of the Oddworld series of games, but prior to this year I hadn't played through Stranger's Wrath before (mainly due to not owning an original Xbox at the time of its release, I hasten to add). Upon clearing it from my Pile of Shame back in January I found myself wishing I hadn't waited so long, since this spin-off is probably the best game in the entire franchise. It's not just the gameplay (which does a fantastic job of combining first-person shooting with third-person action). Nor is it just the world-building (something the Oddworld games have always done brilliantly). It's not even the way the story, characters and objectives evolve and change as the game progresses. It's the way all those ingredients come together, against all odds, to deliver what is probably the most quintessential Oddworld game to date, despite it being nothing like any of the Oddworld games that came before it. I could go on for ages about what I like so much about Stranger's Wrath. Come to think of it, I did just that when Gino "@thatpinguino" Grieco invited me onto his Deep Listens podcast back in February to discuss the finer points of the game. Like I said earlier, I don't do ranked lists, but if I did, I'm pretty sure this would be at the top spot. Bottom line - if you haven't played Stranger's Wrath before, even if you have no previous experience with the Oddworld franchise, I implore you to check it out.

Pokémon Omega Ruby

3DS - Game Freak - 2014

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Does this count as cheating? After all, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire was in my list of the top ten games I played in 2015, and this is effectively the same game. If you're willing to hear me out, my reasoning is that this playthrough differs pretty drastically from the Egglocke adventure that put its partner on last year's list. This was a true story playthrough, my attempt to experience everything this up-rezzed return to Hoenn had to offer, and boy, did it deliver. Where Omega Ruby really shines is in its post-game content. The Delta Episode, Mirage Spots and other assorted distractions blow the meagre post-game offerings from X and Y completely out of the water, giving me a reason to stick around in Hoenn long after beating the Elite Four. The inclusion of Omega Ruby on this list also represents my 100% completion of the National Pokédex, without a doubt one of my biggest and proudest video game achievements ever. My only regret is that my progress through Pokémon Sun has been slowed by my Nuzlocke blog series - I'm pretty sure if it hadn't, it would have comfortably taken this spot. Ah well, there's always next year...

Ratchet & Clank

PS4 - Insomniac - 2016

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I have a real soft spot for the original Ratchet & Clank, moreso than any of its sequels. While those games are mechanically superior, I've always felt that the first game has this incredible, unique vibe and style that was lost in the rest of its PS2 iterations (to date I still haven't played any of the Future series on PS3). That's why I was a little bit worried going into this remake - what if that vibe was missing? Thankfully, playing the game revealed I had nothing to worry about. Ratchet & Clank 2016 does a great job of dragging its source material into the modern age, preserving its essence while trimming away some of the fat and updating the visuals and mechanics to ensure it looks and plays better than ever. The self-referential humour has shades of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, and the "greatest hits"-style weapon roster is fantastic (although I did miss having the Suck Cannon around). I loved Ratchet & Clank so much that after beating it, I did something I almost never do and jumped straight back in for a Challenge Mode playthrough. If that isn't high enough praise for the Lombax and robot's latest adventure, then I don't know what else I could say to convince you.

Wild ARMs

PS1C (PS1) - Media.Vision - 2012 (1998)

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Wild ARMs is probably the game on this year's list that I feel most conflicted about. It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not an especially great one either. Pretty much every facet of the game, from its story and characters to its combat mechanics, is cookie-cutter JRPG trope fodder. What really set Wild ARMs apart and elevated it to memorability for me were its pseudo-Western setting and Zelda-style dungeon puzzles, both of which offered enough of a variation on its otherwise common-or-garden JRPG trappings to keep me interested right up to the end. It wasn't an easy ride, and it definitely wasn't a short one either - from beginning to end, it took me around four months to see the credits roll. But when you spend that much time with a game in any capacity, it's going to leave a lasting impression on you. For that reason alone, Wild ARMs would warrant a place on this list. The fact I ultimately enjoyed the experience ended up being the icing on the cake.

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That was 2016 in a nutshell for me. Here's hoping that 2017 brings with it more opportunities to play and maybe even finish some video games, if only to make choosing next year's top ten list a little more challenging. I'm now heading off to see in the New Year with my best friends, a few beers, and plenty of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.. To everyone reading this, I hope 2016 has been kind to you, and I hope 2017 is even better. Take it easy duders, a very Happy New Year to all, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Pokémon Sun (3DS)

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