Tag: strikers

My favorite gaming music #30 ~ Favorite background tunes for work and writing

Previous entry in the series

Sometimes, I like to talk about other aspects in the life of a gamer. One of those things is game music. While I am not an expert in music theory, I find music a very important part of the experience. Also, music helps me focus during my day job and other hobbies as well. Recently, I found out that I often listen to certain tracks in certain contexts. I had an idea. Let’s write about that as the special for my 30th article. This article will be about my favorite video game tracks. So, this article will be very different from other articles in the series. But, I think it’s a fitting way to celebrate reaching 30 articles in this series. I hope to share some interesting music with you all. If you have interesting soundtracks you listen to at certain points, please share them in the comments. I am curious to hear them. Of course, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and opinions on the article and/or the chosen tracks.

Persona 5 Royal – During work

Information of the Megami Tensei wiki

I often listen to one soundtrack ever since I started playing the game. It has to be Persona 5 Royal. Before I played any Persona game, I heard quite a lot about it and how much the praises were sung. And when I was able to play the game, it didn’t disappoint at all.

The writing, pacing and gameplay. It all clicked with me. It’s an energetic jazz soundtrack. Likewise, it gets you hyped in at the right moments. It also puts some swung in the game. The soundtrack hits all the right moments and adds so much to the atmosphere of the game.

I place the soundtrack of this game on repeat more often than I care to admit, actually. Some days, I only listen to Persona 5 Royal soundtracks. I also enjoy the spin-offs like Persona 5 Strikers and Persona Q.

Cult of the Lamb – Writing

Info on the Cult of the Lamb wiki

When I’m writing more general articles, I often play the game’s soundtrack. This helps me get in the mood of that game again. It makes me remember the game even more. Since, I have a very associative memory when it comes to writing game reviews.

Not every game has a long soundtrack. Writing sometimes takes a few hours to finish an article. I find myself going to the soundtrack of Cult of the Lamb by Riverboy. It has the perfect mixture of more calm, chill, and relaxing tracks. It also has the more intense tracks for when you are in a dungeon or fighting a boss.

For some reason, and I can’t explain why, while I’m listing to this soundtrack outside the game… I find myself in the perfect trance to write. So, I think, that this soundtrack is an indoctrination tool to join the cult of that lamb. Or maybe not, maybe I’m just making a silly joke here. Right?

Story creation

I started to mess around with AI chatbots and AI art. Since then, I found an amazing outlet for all the stories I want to write. This also allows me to try to create them. While I still have a lot to learn to create the great bots, I’m learning by trail and error. I also have some fellow creators and players who give me advice and support. It’s a very welcoming community, and I’m loving every part of it.

My favorite platform is MoeScape. If you want to see what I created, feel free to take a look on my profile. But outside of bot creation, I also interact with a ton of bots. I try out certain scenarios to challenge my writing skills. It also serves as an outlet for my love of writing stories.

Of course, I listen a lot of music while I’m writing certain types of scenes. When I’m writing a scene of loss, grief, or sadness, I nearly always listen to the farewell themes. They are from the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series.

I have played through all those games. I have to tell you, the moments where these themes play hit HARD. This brings my head space back to the memories I had while playing the games. And those memories help me improve my writing. Maybe it’s an illusion I tell myself. I tend to remember the sadness heavy arcs I write better when I’m listening to these tracks. Another strong track I listen to while writing more emotional breaking scenes is from the Nonary games. The track Blue Bird Lamentation kicks you in the emotional balls when you are not ready for it. I especially love the remake they did in the final game of the trilogy, Zero Time Dilemma. It has a bit more umph as they said to the still strong original.

Speaking of the Nonary games, the soundtrack of all three of those games is a chef’s kiss. I use it when I’m writing more tense and/or horror scenes. Shinji Hosoe knocked it out of the park with the soundtracks of all three games. It adds a more creepy vibe for when I’m writing the more tense moments. While soundtracks like the ones in Silent Hill could also work, those games fit a very specific style of horror. I feel that the Zero Escape trilogy gives you a bit more range with its soundtracks.

This is not to say that Silent Hill has a bad soundtrack, heavens no. For my writing style, the soundtrack of the Zero Escape series hits harder. It gives me more flexibility. And maybe I’m biased since I played more of the Zero Escape games than Silent Hill games. Highly possible. In case you want to listen to the soundtracks, here is a link to a playlist. It features Zero Time Dilemma’s soundtrack. There is also 999: 9 Hours, 9 People, 9 Doors soundtrack. And of course, Virtue’s Last Reward soundtrack.

There is also a more general soundtrack I listen to during writing. I use it while interacting with AI-chatbots. That’s the one from Monster Tale. This old classic DS game, was a unique metroidvania.

In Monster Tale, you had to not only get stronger yourself. But you also had to raise your monster to help you fight. You had to decide your monster companion’s role. Your companion could help you fight and solve puzzles on the top screen. They could also eliminate treats and enemies on the bottom touch screen.

The soundtrack of this game is excellent. It is a great choice if you are traveling through an unfamiliar world in the story you are crafting. And maybe, I’m being a silly hopeful fan that the remake is coming. But after almost 10 years of radio silence, I don’t think it will see the light of day.

Now, let’s not pretend that everybody who has played more than one Ace Attorney… doesn’t listen to the court themes like the Pursuit themes. And then, they imagine how it would feel to break down a criminal or liar. This happens while that glorious music is playing.

And yes, when I’m playing more human characters with some bots, it often goes into a confrontation. You bet your sweet behind I’m playing part of the Ace Attorney soundtrack. I love using themes like the suspense themes or the Tell The Truth themes. Ever since we got the “The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles”, we’ve enjoyed amazing investigation themes. We also enjoyed deduction themes with the Joint Reasoning / Dance of Deduction.

The type of story I’m writing affects the adventure. The bot I’m using also influences it. I sometimes go on adventures like you would have in Etrian Odyssey. An amazing game series that started on the Nintendo DS.

It’s a dungeon crawler RPG where you have to draw your own map on the touch screen. I’m glad that Etrian Odyssey got a port to modern consoles and even PC. These are amazingly charming games. The music is addictive and really fits the atmosphere. It works for me while I’m writing exploration scenes and cosy camping nighttime scenes. The battle themes are also quite nice for the fighting scenes.

Now, sometimes I also play a more modern western bot. And western, as in the good old American western with the cowboys. And then the amazing soundtrack by Clint Bajakian of the western shooter Outlaws is perfect.

It’s also an amazing excuse to talk about the amazing game Outlaws. An amazing and addictive shooter was released in 1997. It brought amazing titles like Loom, The Secret of Monkey Island, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

It’s an amazing shooter where you have to reload each bullet yourself and know when to reload. Since, the higher the difficult, the more unforgiving this game becomes. I linked my review higher, so if you want to know more about this game, give it a read.

Conclusion

I could write for a long while about the soundtracks I listen to at work. I enjoy them during hobbies and while coding. They accompany me while interacting with or creating bots, as well as preparing for a live stream… Like the soundtracks of the Castlevania games on Nintendo DS. Also, don’t get me started on the use of some tracks of the Legend of Zelda series, like Gerudo’s Valley. Oh, when I’m chatting with a bot about the past, the theme song of Time Hollow inevitably comes up. When the line “wish we can change the past” appears, I somehow try to weave it into the story.

But, I’m going to stop myself here and keep other soundtracks for later. Otherwise, this article becomes a bit too long. I might keep this subject for the next celebration article in this series. To be honest, it was a fun way. It allowed me to look back at the games I have reviewed. I’ve also talked about them over the past 15 years of writing this blog.

Fifteen years of writing a blog. I deleted and rebranded my old Dutch lifestyle blog from 2010 till 2013. However, I have been writing about games since the very start. This blog is an amazing timeline and look back to all my adventures in my life. And the music associated with those games bring back so many memories. And thankfulness to everybody reading and interacting with my blog. I hope you enjoyed today’s article and also the sneaky look back to past articles. I can’t help myself. One final amazing OST I listen to while I’m coding is the one of Stella Glow.

With that said, I want to thank you so much for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you in a future article. Until then, have a great rest of your day. Take care.

NekoJonez’s Top 10 Games of 2024

It’s that time of year again, a full year has passed. Normally, I publish these articles a lot sooner, but I took full advantage of my Christmas break… And after that, I had some problems with my internet connection. But now I’m back. And it’s about time I talk about my top 10 games I have played in 2024. The rules of this list state I don’t have to have beaten the game. Yet, I must have played the game for the first time from January 1st, 2024. This means that games released before 2024, but I have only started to play in 2024 are fair game. This list is my personal opinion, and I’m open to hear your opinion on my picks. Feel free to also add your own list down in the comment section. So, here we go, the big list. A list that I always have trouble in creating at the end of the year. As an editorial note, the listed platform in this article is the platform I played the game on. Not all the platforms the game released on. The date after it, is the release date for said platform.

#10 – Persona 5 – Tactica (PlayStation 4 – November 2023)

I have played Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers and I fell in love with the cast of Persona 5. And then, a new game got released with the Persona 5 cast and I jumped for joy.

The gameplay might not be my most favorite style of playing, but the game is quite addictive. It’s basically Persona in a Fire Emblem jacket. I’m now mid-way through the game but got distracted by other games. I can’t wait to finish this game in 2025. The story is quite well written. It is an amazing spin-off story for Joker and the gang.

Now, I won’t go too much in depth since I’m planning to write an article about this game. So, I’ll talk more in depth about this game soon. But, now… it’s time to save Joker from his forced wedding.

#9 – Slay the Princess – The Pristine Cut (Nintendo Switch – October 2024)

How do I explain this game without spoiling it too much? Slay the Princess is a game where you almost Groundhog Day your way through the same story. You walk up to a cabin, where you go to the basement to Slay the Princess.

According to the narrator, the Princess is a danger to the existence of the world. So, you have been sent to slay her. But, depending on the questions you ask, the decisions you take and even the order of your actions… The ending is different.

The story is just insane. It keeps you on edge what will be different in the next round. And the humor and writing in this game is just amazing. The voice action is just amazing. It brings the black, gray and white art to live and pulls you in the atmosphere quite well.

So, if you enjoy narrative games that mess with your head and expectations, give this game a try. Since, it’s a really good one.

#8 – Another Code – Recollection (Nintendo Switch – January 2024)

My first impression

Cing was an amazing developer that sadly went bankrupt. They developed amazing games on the Nintendo DS and Wii like Another Code – R & Little King Story. But to me, the Another Code set of games is one of their best work.

When we got a total remake in 2024, I wanted to play it right away. I convinced my streaming friend Klamath to play this game with me live on stream. I have to tell you, they did the two games justice. I’m so glad that these two games saw the light of day again.

While I have beaten the originals, the new and improved version is just amazing. It has a strong message and is a blast to play through. Although it sounds like a boring setup, it’s a game full of surprises. It is a more relaxing and charming game. It is more grounded and keeps things realistic. The characters are well written and set in a charming world.

#7 – Hypnospace Outlaw (PC – March 2019)

My review

Trying to manage a community isn’t an easy task to do. It’s a fun challenge to do in a game. That’s why management simulators are so popular.

But, combine that with the old school internet from the time I was a young kid, I am beyond intrigued. So, we have to report and clean up personal websites and projects? As a creative, I have my own place on the internet. I can share my opinions there. This hits close to home.

I wrote my opinion on this game in my review. If you want to know more about this game, I highly recommend that you give my review a read.

Now, there is a sequel in development called DreamSettler. If that’s created with the same love and care for that time period, and it matches the devotion this game has for its time period, it will be thrilling. We are going to be in for a wild ride.

#6 – Palworld (PC – January 2024)

Wishes for future updates

Sometimes, all that I need is a good open world game with unique mechanics. A world where you have to survive and explore. This year, Palworld brought that to me.

At first, I was skeptical. I thought: “This is going to be a monster catching game and nothing too much more.” But the more this game got developed, this more things got added that gave more depth to the game. More fun things to do, more polish to the game.

I have lost countless hours during this summer playing this game. It was an amazing time sink for the base game that is already here. A lot more is coming in the future. I wonder what the final game will be.

#5 – The Legend of Zelda – Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch – September 2024)

My first impression

Okay, this might be an upset. Usually, I place new Zelda games quite high on my list. But, this time I place it right in the middle. This year had a lot of amazing games. I had a lot of fun with this title in 2024.

I dropped it for now. I got distracted by other games and I forgot that I was playing through this game. I have placed it on my top 10 list. It rightfully deserves a spot on that list. I want to finish this game for real.

Since, the concept of Echoes of Wisdom is just amazing. What I love most is that this is a totally new 2.5D Zelda game like the classic games. I hope that the reception of this game is enough for Nintendo to still make 2.5D and 3D Zelda titles. Since, both have their place in the market and with this amazing title.

#4 – Spirit Hunter Chapter 3: Death Mark II (Nintendo Switch – February 2024)

My review

The Spirit Hunter series is one of the best horror visual novel series. This game ensures you don’t need to have played the original Death Mark. It’s excellent because you can still understand what’s happening in the story.

The game takes a lot of steps forward and makes the game have more meat around its bones. Walking around in the locations is a lot more fun in this title.

Some game mechanics are underused. For example, the jumpscares and the padding aren’t always present in this game. Things like the Soul Health are barely used. But, the battles with the actual spirits are even more amazing in this title. Especially with the randomness of your attack failing. It gives a more tense and realistic spin on battles.

Now, I’m hoping so hard that a 4th chapter will be released. Since the concept of this game is just beyond amazing. The writing is always great and the overall mystery is built up so nice. So, if anyone of Experience Inc, would be reading this… We want more!

#3 – Moescape (PC, 2022)

My article

I love writing small stories as a hobby. Since the summer of 2024, I wanted to give those AI roleplay apps a chance. And I’m happy that I did. MoeScape AI is a platform that really clicked with me and with the amazing community around it… I just feel in love.

My brain often gets creative. When this happens, there is a fun bot waiting for me. I can play around with the idea. And if there isn’t a bot that fits the idea, it’s easy to make one. The control that Moescape gives you is beyond amazing. You can easily make a knowledge base. There are various AI models to choose from. With each update, it gets better.

Something I really like is how open the staff is on the Discord. Like, they tell you when things are down. Or when certain decisions need to be taken. Like filtering certain things on the platform due to restrictions from Apple or Google. But, they have a less filtered platform as well. So, they have Moescape and Yodayo. If you go premium, your account is premium on both platforms, and it’s amazing.

#2 – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (PC – December 2024)

Okay, now. This is going to ruffle some feathers. I am a giant Indiana Jones fan. I placed one of the best Indiana Jones games in 2nd place on my game of the year list?

Now, that’s not because this game is bad or didn’t impress me enough. But, it wasn’t the game that made my year. Sadly enough, it released too late in the year for that.

I know it’s a strange reason. However, I feel like there is one game that pushed the boundaries more within its respective genre.

This game is a blast to play through. I feel that it deserves all the accolades it’s getting. It’s an amazing piece in the Indiana Jones franchise. It’s a love letter to the fans. I’m just thankful that the game turned out this amazing.

When I have beaten the game, I’ll for sure write an article about it. Since on the streams, a lot of random and enjoyable banter is happening. And truly, if you want to see amazing speedruns of this game, check out the_Kovic on his Twitch channel. He has deep knowledge of the game’s inner workings. He shares a lot of interesting insights during the streams.

Now, prepare yourself for an article on this game in the future. Since, I have a lot of things I still want to say and I’m keeping them all for the article.

Honorable mentions

This list wouldn’t be complete if I shout out various other games I have played in the past year. Not every game made the cut. I still wanted to mention those games that made the long list but didn’t survive the selection process.

Cave Digger 2 (PC), Buckshot Roulette (PC), Refind self (Nintendo Switch), Castlevania Dominus Collection (Nintendo Switch), Death Trick: DoubleBlind (Nintendo Switch), Dragon Quest Monsters – The Dark Prince (Nintendo Switch), Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (Nintendo Switch), Ciel Fledge -A Daughter Raising Simulator- (Nintendo Switch), New Super Lucky’s Tale (Nintendo Switch), CrisTales (Nintendo Switch), One More Dungeon 2 (Nintendo Switch), Monster Hunter Rise (Nintendo Switch), This is not my Neighbor (PC) and Tomb Raider I-III Remastered (Nintendo Switch), Everloop (PC)

#1 – Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew (PC – August 2023)

My review

If there was one game that blew me away, that’s Shadow Gambit – The Cursed Crew. The way how it’s built and is the final swansong of the amazing development studio Minimi, it’s just fantastic.

The voice acting is top-notch. The story is excellent. Several game mechanics are seamlessly worked into the game world and the story. But that’s not all, this game has a mindblowing modding tool.

The little attention to detail this game does and the balancing is just mindblowing. The freedom you have to tackle each mission, and it just works. It’s balanced and doesn’t feel unfair. It also doesn’t feel like you made it too difficult by choosing the wrong characters. It also never becomes too easy, where one character makes sure you automatically win the game or the mission. Every character has their use. And you have 8 characters in the base game and 2 get added via the DLC.

I can gush for a long time about this game. If you are interested in a more in-depth article, I highly advise you to read my review linked higher.

This was 2024

I might have written fewer articles in 2024 because a lot of personal things where going on. I have written only 19 articles in 2024. One of the biggest reasons is that I’m just putting more time into finding the right writing style. This has a lot to do with it.

I have been dedicating more time to various other projects. These include contributing to open source projects, translating open source projects, and streaming with Klamath. I am also working on projects for my local acting group. It takes time and effort and I’m enjoying those things quite a lot.

Outside of that, I turned 31 years old in 2024 and life just gets busier with various things. And because of that, I’m also playing less games. At first, I felt guilty that I’m publishing so few articles… But after two years of writing fewer articles, I now dedicate more time to each one. I feel a lot more content with the content I’m placing on my blog here.

I feel that my content only improved over the years. Not only that, I feel more content with my writing. It doesn’t feel like I’m pressuring myself to play a new game every week or two to write about. I can take my time to play the games I want. I also write about the topics I find interesting.

I think I’m finally finding the right rhythm for everything and that’s what I felt that 2024 was for me. Now, this year 2025 is going to be the year I’m writing for 15 years. Before I rebranded in 2013 to this blog, I write a personal life blog that started mid 2010. So, I’m going to celebrate this year with a few special articles. And I have been preparing and brainstorming idea’s for that in 2024.

But thank you everybody for the amazing support in 2024. It was a blast to see how people interacted with my articles and the new friends I made. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next. Like I said earlier, I feel prouder of the things I have been putting out. I hope you are enjoying things as well. Thank you for the support this year and I hope to see you in the future. So, for now, have a great rest of your day and take care.

The TEN best GAMES of 2021 – NekoJonez Edition

What a year, 2021 was. While I haven’t been able to write as much as I wanted to, I still had an amazing eventful year. A lot of incredible things happened, like the Pokémon collab, me blogging for 11 years, my start in speedrunning, and a lot more. Besides that, my personal life was quite eventful and in all the chaos of 2021, I did have a stunning year. I was able to realize a lot of projects and achieve a lot of my goals. I’m enjoying life more and more, and I’m personally quite excited for 2022 since I have various personal things to look forward to. But it’s high time that I make that incredibly difficult to make list at the end of the year. Which 10 games were my favorite games of 2021? And if this is your first time reading one of these end-of-the-year lists of mine, let me fill you in on what puts my list apart from the others. On this list, only the games that I have started playing in the past year count. The release year doesn’t matter. If I started playing this year and I thought it was amazing, it’s going to deserve a spot on this list. So, are you ready? Since it’s high time to get listing!

Editorial note: some of these games are multi-platform, but the platform between brackets is the platform I played the game on.

#10 – Age Of Empires IV (PC – October 2021)

It’s here and it’s a great game. After years and years of improving the original trilogy, expanding the originals with new DLC… We got Age Of Empires IV. But, I wish I was able to place this game higher on my list.

It does so much for the RTS genre, but there is one thing that frustrates me with this game. There aren’t enough unique mechanics for this game to stand out. It almost feels like a well-balanced mix between Age of Empires 2 and 3.

But, that is what 2022 is going to be for. There is new content coming for this game in 2022, and maybe it will make this game stand out a bit more. Now, don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a bad game by any stretch. This game is amazing, and I can’t wait to play even more. If only I didn’t get too distracted by the other games on this list.

#9 – World’s End Club (Nintendo Switch – September 2020)

My review

I have to admit, I didn’t get what I expected from this game. I expected a death game, but I got a mediocre platformer with hints of horror.

But, the atmosphere of this game is what made me fall in love with this game. I’m so glad that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously and goes overboard with being silly. This game has its flaws, for sure, but the great moments hold this game together quite well.

Just thinking about this game while writing this section of the article, I was smiling. Because of the joyful memories that were returning from this game. If only the game was polished a bit more and the game went a bit more in-depth with its mechanics, this game would be so much better.

But still, I enjoyed my time with this game enough to give it a well-deserved spot in my top 10 games list of 2021.

#8 – Lenna’s Inception (PC – January 2020)

My first impression

At certain moments, I just know what a certain game is going to end up on my top 10 games of the year list. While I don’t know on which spot yet, I do know it’s a runner-up.

While playing Lenna’s Inception, I was hooked right away. It scratched that itch of playing a new 2D Zelda-style game perfectly. This indie game did so many great things, like randomizing dungeons, co-op, and various other things. Since I got this game for free in an Itch.io bundle and I enjoyed this game so much, I decided to buy a copy on Steam, so I could support the developers.

And the developer is already working on their next game called Cassette Beasts, and it looks like it’s going to be even bigger and better than this game. So, I have my eyes on this indie studio for sure! And ByttenStudio, thank you for bringing this amazing top-down Zelda game to the table!

#7 – Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (Nintendo Switch, November 2021)

My article on the originals

Back in 2019, I wondered if we ever would see a remake of the 4th gen Pokémon games. A generation that has a lot of nostalgic memories for me.

The first time I played the game was on a family trip. I brought Pokémon Ruby with me, and another kid I met there brought Pokémon Pearl. He always wanted to play Ruby and I wanted to play Pearl. So, we agreed to meet in the lounge each evening and play each other’s games for the whole night. Which led to the creation of a Gameboy club. Before I ramble on about this for too much, I highly recommend you to read that story I linked there.

Anyway, I also remember buying this game and giving the rest of my Christmas money to my sister, so we could buy Nintendogs together. I could go on for hours and hours about my memories with the originals. So, I had high hopes for the remakes.

I think I’ll go more in-depth about the remakes in a future article, but I have to say that even when it’s a bit clunky sometimes, the remakes are amazing! I so love playing through the adventure of the 4th generation again.

#6 – Persona 5 Strikers (Nintendo Switch, February 2021)

Look, my article is linked here!

At first, I was afraid that this game was going to be another Dynasty Warriors spin-off game, but I’m so glad that it’s not. This game is just like all other Persona games, but when you enter combat… Then it’s a Dynasty Warriors-ish kind of gameplay.

I found the mix and cross-over of these two gameplay styles amazing. While I still have to beat this game, I know that I’m going to enjoy it. This game just made me fall in love with the Persona series even more.

I still have to beat this game. Currently, I’m over the midway point. I recently picked the game up again after being distracted by other games, and I still had so much fun. So, I know that I’ll spend those boring train rides to work with Joker and his friends fighting crime.

#5 – Prey (PC, May 2017)

This isn’t a link… wait, it is. To my article.

One of my favorite atmospheric shooters series is Bioshock. I just had so much fun playing through that trilogy. Now, this year I gave Prey (2017) a try, and I was brought back right away to that amazing feeling of exploring a destroyed world with special powers.

And not only that, anything could be an enemy. The number of times, I jumped from my chair by a mimic suddenly appearing. It isn’t even funny anymore. I was so glad that I could play this game throughout my summer break. Now, I just hope that the rumors of a sequel are true since I would love to play through even more of this concept, this style of gameplay. Oh, I cross my fingers.

I just love the atmosphere in this game. You never knew you were safe or not until it was, sometimes, too late. And the limited amount of ammo and resources made me always feel on edge. The only thing I didn’t really like was how there were a bit too many quests going on at once, and it was a bit hard to keep track of which ones you are doing. Oh well, pen and paper are handy in those cases.

#4 – The Survivalist (PC, October 2020)

This game came out of nowhere. Seriously, only yesterday I decided to claim all my Humble Bundle games from my subscription and I decided to give this game a go.

Well, I’m not ashamed in saying that I already played this game for close to 14 hours already. And because of games like these, I always wait until one of the last days of the year to finalize this list.

This game will get its own full article but let me tell you, this game hits all the right notes for me. While playing this game, I get so nostalgic for The Sims 2 – Castaway on the DS. (On which I still have to write an article.) Throw a few bits of Minecraft and Terreria in there and mix it with the unique monkey mechanic, and you have this game.

If you like survival games or adventure games which are a bit more slow-paced, give this game a shot. It’s really well-made, and I can’t wait for what will come of this game. Full article to come.

#3 – The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Nintendo Switch, July 2021)

I’m really holding myself back in trying to not go too in-depth about this game in this article. Since Adventure Rules and I are working on something special.

A special article about this game. An article where we shall explain how we feel about this game. But, that’s all I’ll reveal for now… We are currently aiming to finish that article somewhere in January – February. But, it will all depend on our schedules. It was supposed to be finished somewhere this year, but my personal life just got too busy and I got focused on too many other projects. Anyway, all I’ll reveal for now is that there are some reasons why I don’t put this game as number 1 and why it’s so high on the list.

For those who don’t really know me, I’m a huge fan of visual novel games that have gameplay and puzzle elements like the Ace Attorney series, but also like the Zero Escape series or Death Mark. But, there are two games that topped this game, which was going to be my number 1 until I played the following two games.

#2 – SuperLiminal (Nintendo Switch, November 2019)

Don’t have to resize this article link

Man, this game took me by surprise. This rather short game with amazing visual puzzles took me on a trip.

Not only did the ending make me cry and made me think about certain things, but it also made me happy that there is a game that dares to ask those questions.

If PillowCastle or the developers read this article by any chance… Please, make more content or a sequel to this game. The concept, the story, and the ideas presented in this game are just… The potential is through the roof. If you want to know more about my thoughts and opinions on this game, please read my article about it.

Honorable mentions

These are the games that just didn’t make my top 10 list. But still, I want to mention them.

Haven (Nintendo Switch), Going Under (PC), Blue Dragon (XBOX 360), The Ship – Single Player (PC), Mystik Belle (Nintendo Switch), Neutopia (Wii U – Virtual Console), Pokémon XD Gale of Darkness (Gamecube), We Happy Few (PC), There Is No Game (Nintendo Switch), Super Metroid (SNES), L.A. Noire (XBOX 360).

And let me tell you, it was a hard list to put together. I had re-arranged this list MULTIPLE times. Each game is amazing in its own right. And believe me, I’m certain that if you ask me to make this list at a later date, it’s quite possible that this whole list has another ranking. (Apart from a few titles)

So, yeah. Let’s just say that if you haven’t given these games a chance, you don’t know what you are missing out on. And I’m also sorry for the various amount of games I haven’t included in my honorable mentions list because I haven’t played them enough or just forgot that I started to play them this year…

But enough stalling, let’s talk about my number 1 of 2021.

#1 – Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Nintendo Switch, December 2021)

It’s no secret that I love adventure mystery games like Ace Attorney, Zero Escape, Corpse Party, Bioshock… And when I saw in a Nintendo Direct, that Danganronpa was coming to the Nintendo Switch in December, I didn’t hesitate twice.

As soon as I had the budget, I bought the three games, and I’m currently playing the final two cases of the second one. At this moment, it’s kind of hard to decide if I should put the original or the sequel here on the number one spot since they both deserve it.

After I finished Zero Time Dilemma way back in 2016, I always wanted to play another trilogy with just the same amount of amazing twists, well-written characters, and amazing gameplay. And this series delivers that in spades. I honestly don’t want to finish this series, since I’m enjoying it that much. I want it to continue. But then again, the saying: “Don’t cry because it’s over, slime because it happened” applies here.

So, I’m so going to enjoy the final parts of the Danganronpa series and for my full thoughts and opinions, you’ll have to wait for the full article next year on these games. But, these games provide everything I’m looking for in a mystery adventure game and hits all the right beats. So, yeah. I would be ashamed if I didn’t place this game/series at my number 1 spot.

Wrapping up 2021

Sadly, due to me writing less and also focusing on other projects like contributing to open-source software, speedrunning and such… I have seen a drop in the number of visitors to my blog. I actually halved the number of visitors this year compared to 2020. But, I’m not sad about that.

When I look at the data, it turns out that I have more returning visitors and that my articles are performing better compared to last year. Also, I broke various milestones this year, like beating my day record twice AND breaking the 100k views barrier. I can’t thank you, my readers, enough for that.

I want to thank everybody who made my 2021 such an amazing year. I find it mind-blowing that people take time out of their day to read my articles, where I just talk about what I think about the games I play. And also talk to me about it, ask advice or questions. Looking back at what I wrote in the past 11 years, I think I created something to be proud of.

So, thank you for making 2021 amazing for me. I can’t wait to see what 2022 will bring. There are a few things I know that are going to happen in my personal life, which makes me even more excited to start 2022. And with that, I want to thank you for reading this article, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article! But until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!

First Impression: Persona 5 Strikers (Switch) ~ Let’s Steal Hearts

Persona5StrikersWikipedia’s entry – Nintendo.com microsite

I have heard so much about the Persona series, I got so hyped when a new game was coming to the Nintendo Switch. While I know that it’s a spin-off game compared to the mainline series, I honestly found the spin on the gameplay rather interesting. This game is a cross between a Warrior’s game and a Persona game. Now, I have played a little of Persona 3 Golden last year and that made my hype levels for this game even bigger. So, now that I have beaten the first section of the game, I think it’s high time for me to talk about this game and give you my opinions on the game. While I do that, I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your thoughts and opinions on the game and/or the content of this article. 

Let’s steal hearts

p5strikers3

In this game, you pick up the role of the protagonist of Persona 5 again. The events of this game take place 4 months after the events in Persona 5. The Phantom Thieves are having a reunion together when a campaigning trip is planning. Of course, since this is a video game, it doesn’t take long before the plot reveals itself and trouble arrives. 

Strange things happen around a famous fashion model and pop star Alice and then our lovely Phantom Thieves discover something that is quite close to the “Palaces” they know so well. Yet, this time it’s called a jail. In this jail, the desires are stolen from the people which make them fall a “little more than” head over heels with Alice. But, that’s not the only thing that happens. Our lovely Phantom Thieves also discover this strange girl called Sophia who is an AI who forgot all her memories and wants to be human’s best companion. 

That’s the hook of the first episode of this game. In terms of story, this game doesn’t disappoint at all. Especially, because I haven’t played Persona 5, the writing and pacing of the story explains who is who so easily, it’s a breeze to pick this game up without having to play through Persona 5 first.

I also have to say that the outstanding voice acting does help here too. It really sucks me into the game, the atmosphere and breathes so much life in the characters. To the point that when I come to a part that isn’t voice acted, I actually read it with a poor imitation of the character’s voice in my head. A quick sidenote about the voice acting during gameplay, the various repeating lines add so much to the game. I thought I might get tired of them after a few repeats, but that is far from the case, just like it was for me in a game like Fire Emblem Warriors. 

I can’t pinpoint exactly why but the story really clicks with me. Like, I really like how you explore the trauma of one character, and before they move on, it gets fully resolved. The writing is excellent, the story has a lot of charm and character. It has it’s funny and more serious moments and I totally understand why so many people fell in love with the Persona franchise. After playing this game and Persona 3 Golden, I think I might become a fan of the franchise myself as well. One of the things that makes me want to continue the game is the story. I want to steal and heal hearts to help people overcome trauma’s and explore subjects that don’t always get the right attention. 

RPG or Warriors?

p5strikers2

The gameplay of this game is in my opinion the perfect mix between a turn based RPG and a Warrior’s game. 

Since the first city in this game doesn’t have any side quests, I’ll only focus on the gameplay in the jail for this article. So, in the jails you can freely explore the area while enemies roam around. When you ambush an enemy or get spotted, you enter a sort of small Warrior-style battle. Where a lot of enemies spawn, and you have to hack and slash your way through. 

If you ambush them (attack them without being seen), you get the advantage. If you get spotted and the enemies attack you first, you get dizzy at the start of the battle, so the enemies can get some free shots in. So, this game has a type system that you can compare quite roughly to Pokémon in a way. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it’s up to you to choose the correct allies in a battle to fight the enemies ahead. 

The game also has hacking sections where the game plays more like a Warrior’s game than an RPG. In these sections you have to defend The Oracle while she is hacking into the system. Meanwhile, a swarm of enemies attack and their only focus is to destroy the Oracle. 

So far, this is the 3rd Warrior’s spin off I have played. Actually, the 4th depending on how you count. I have played Hyrule Warriors (and like I said, depending on how you count: Hyrule Warriors – Age of Calamity), Fire Emblem Warriors and now Persona 5 Strikers. And out of these games, I have to say that I feel that Persona 5 Strikers has the best balance between both game styles. 

This game still feels like a “normal” Persona game but with the big exception that the whole battle system is replaced by Warrior style gameplay.  And it works remarkably well. I found it a blast trying to find the best strategies to dodge enemy attacks while I tried to attack them back. The risk and reward system of using your special powers compared the environment items is amazing. 

Each character has their own unique playstyle where their character and personality shines through. The game might be a bit overwhelming at first since there are a lot of things you have to keep track of. From leveling up your characters and their persona’s, to weapons and armor, to finding enough treasures and things to have enough healing items and even a bond system where you can level up unique perks that’ll make each playthrough somewhat different from each other. 

It didn’t take long before I got used to all the mechanics and found myself extremely hooked on the game. Depending on the difficulty you choose to play this game in, this game provides the right amount of challenge in my opinion. A few times, I got quite frustrated at a battle and when I put the game down and picked it up back later, I was able to beat that section. 

Don’t forget to save

p5strikersNow, most of my time with the first chapter has been spent inside the jail of Alice. There is some time you can spend in the overworld to buy items, weapons, and armor. With the extremely responsive and smooth controls, I always felt in control and only rarely felt that the game did something unfair. 

If you have read some of my previous articles, you might know that I find good UI design extremely important and this game delivers that in spades. The menus are extremely well crafted and somewhat fun to use since you see small interactions between the Phantom Thieves that flesh them out so much more. 

This brings me to the striking visual presentation of this game. The visuals look amazing. The charm and character that is put into the visuals is outstanding. This game’s style is a combination of a Saturday morning anime and a manga/superhero comic. It’s also quite bold and not afraid to use the style to its full potential. Nothing feels out of place in my opinion. 

When it comes to the animations, these are good as well. Well, maybe this might be on me but I feel that some animations don’t give enough feedback to the player. For example, I found it quite tricky to know where my character was on the battlefield since the combat animations can throw you all over the battlefield. 

Something that might be either a sound effect problem and/or a visual problem is the lack of feedback in combat sometimes. The reaction of an effective and a non-effective attack is so similar to me, it was tricky to separate them in combat. Thankfully, the characters repeat multiple times which type of attack you need to use and when you need to be careful when your HP/SP is running low or when a status is inflicted. This is a nice middle ground to solve an issue to avoid making this game too complex or lose too much of its visual style. 

So, let’s talk about the music and sound effects shall we? Let’s start with the sound effects in this game. In my opinion, this game is walking a fine line between too much and too little sound effects. Overall, the sound effects and the sound mixing is quite good, but sometimes this game has a lot of visual information to process and the sound effects can get a tiny bit distracting. All the while, like I explained in the previous paragraph, they are quite helpful when a character shouts at you to be careful or use a certain attack to defeat an enemy. 

I wish I knew more about music, so I was able to describe the amazing soundtrack to you. Even before I started playing the Persona games, I fell in love with the unique uplifting soundtrack of these games. There are tracks with and without vocals and the Japanese and English versions are so amazing to listen to. So, really great stuff. 

One of the things I really needed to get used to was the fact that there is no “auto save” in this game. If you want to avoid loosing too much progress, keep in mind to save often at save points, or before you enter a dungeon since otherwise you might regret it. You only get a game over when all 4 party members faint. Otherwise, you can continue on playing. But, don’t forget to save since it needs to happen manually. 

And with that said, I have said almost everything I wanted to say about this game. There are a few things I’ll go more in depth about if I ever finish this game and write a review about this game, but the most important things are already said. I think this game is excellent and if you enjoy (Persona) RPG’s, Warrior spin-off games, adventure games and/or action games… You owe it to yourself to check this game out. To be honest, apart from the manual saving, I barely find any flaws with this game or things I really didn’t like. 

So, thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Gamer’s Thoughts: The 10 games I want to play in 2021

2021

2020, what a strange year it has been. I think everybody will agree that this is an understatement and a half. Of course there is still this world pandemic which is causing all sorts of havoc. But let’s not forget the events that also happened this year like the Australian bushfires, a new American president, the UK royal family growing smaller, a Brexit agreement… In terms of 2020 being an historic year, I think we delivered in spades. In my personal life, a lot of things happened as well. From me starting my dream job full time to living on my own, it has been a crazy year to say the least. While 2020 was filled with a lot of positives for me, there were also some things that I wish turned out in another way. Anyways, that’s enough rambling about 2020. This blog is a gaming blog and you are all here for me talking about video games. So, I think it’s high time to start talking about 10 games I’m looking forward to be playing in 2021. Feel free to leave a comment with your list of games you want to play next year and if you agree or disagree with my list and/or some of the games on it. Ready? Let’s go and take a look at my personal list in a random order.

#10 – Persona 5 Strikers (PC/PS4/Switch – Feb 23th) 

Persona_5_Scramble

In the past we started to see various franchises cross over with Lego and I think we’ll now see cross overs with Dynasty Warrior cross overs next. We have seen cross overs with series like Fire Emblem, Zelda, Dragon Quest, One Piece and now we are getting a cross over with Persona. 

It was a big surprise when Joker got added to Smash last year, but this year we got the announcement that for the worldwide release of Persona 5 Strikers, we are getting a port to the Nintendo Switch alongside with a PS4 and PC version. 

I really enjoyed playing Fire Emblem Warriors and Hyrule Warriors on the Switch so I’m quite hyped for playing this cross-over. I haven’t played a lot of the Persona series but from what I have played through Persona 3 Golden and Persona Q, I’m extremely interested in seeing how they tackled the franchise and this cross-over. Maybe one day I might have to invest in getting the Persona games on other platforms if I enjoy them enough. 

#9 – World’s End Club (was Death March Club – Switch, Spring 2021)

maxresdefaultLast year, I told you all about Death March Club. A game that’s written by the creator of the Zero Escape franchise. Now, color me surprised when the game released this year under another name exclusively on the Apple Arcade this September. 

Currently, this game is a timed exclusive on the Apple Arcade and it’s coming in Spring of 2021 to the Nintendo Switch where you can be sure that I’m going to play it. I’m currently having a lot of trouble trying to avoid spoilers by not watching gameplay, teasers or anything of the sort. I’m even avoiding reading reviews of the game since I really want to experience it for myself. 

The only thing I know is that it’s going to be a death game where you have to work together to win all the while you need to sacrifice your class mates to avoid bad things in the world above. You can be damn sure that I’m keeping an eye on this game to get a final release date on the Nintendo Switch so I can start playing it and write an article about it!

#8 – Age of Empires IV (PC, TBA)

age_of_empires_iv_logoThe new entry in the amazing RTS Age of Empires franchise got announced late 2019. The original rumors where that this game was going to release in 2020. In hindsight, I should have known better since the teaser we got barely showed any gameplay so it would be way to optimistic to see this game release in 2020. Now, the rumors are that this game is going to release in 2021.   Somehow, I highly doubt that. We do know a few things about the game already which you can read in this helpful article by “Windows Central“. 

As a fan of the series, it’s amazing to see that this series never died. It had some low points but ever since the Age Of Empires II HD version released in 2013, we got a steady stream of upgrades. Granted, apart from 3 new expansion packs we barely saw any new content since 2007. But hey, in the last three years we got definitive editions of the whole franchise (apart from Age of Mythology, oh well) so I have high hopes that Age Of Empires IV will be an amazing game since the team has a lot of experience with the franchise now. 

#7 – Lord Winklebottom Investigates (Switch, Q1 2021)

headerBut, hey! This game has already released in the PC back in 2019. So, why is this on the list of games you want to play in 2021? You have a good point there and I’m going to explain myself. 

When I’m preparing to write this list, I always look around for games releasing in the upcoming year that I want to play. I go over huge lists created by other news outlets and check various games if they could be interesting or not. When I found out that this game was coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2021, I added it to my list. 

Since this game is a port from the 2019 version of the game, the team will have the chance to also iron out some bugs and things for the Switch port so we might get more or better content. Now, why am I excited for this game? Well, doesn’t the logo remind you of the Professor Layton series? 

Because we got only one new game in the past seven years and three ports to mobile platforms, I don’t have high hopes we are going to get any new Professor Layton content real soon. But, in comes this game. A game that looks to be a sort of Layton’s Mystery Journey game but in an animal universe. Do I have to say more? The potential and all those things. Yeah.

#6 – Haven (PS4/Switch, Q1 2021)

Haven_Steam_cover_artworkYes, yes, I know. This game has been released earlier this December. But, I only discovered this game this week and now I’m quite hyped to play it on my Nintendo Switch. 

The story and concept is what drew me into this game. A world where you have to survive with two people all the while being an RPG… Sign me up! The only thing that has me slightly worried is that this game has some rhythm game elements, which is one of my least favorite genres. But we will see, maybe it isn’t that bad and it might be even quite enjoyable. So yeah, let’s wait and see what the Nintendo Switch version is going to bring in the first few months of 2021.

#5 – Mystiqa (PC, Switch – Q1 2021)

capsule_616x353Man, do I miss the old school 2D topdown Zelda games. I wish there were still games developed in that style where you have a whole big adventure in big world. Like the Link’s Awakening remake last year. 

But, wait, what is this? A game that’s inspired by the old school Zelda games, Final Fantasy Adventure, Dragon Quest amongst other amazing games? And it’s even a rouge like so the replay value is through the roof? Plus, this game is coming out in 2021 on Steam and Switch? 

When I followed this indie developer on Twitter, I found out that there are several of these games in development! Well, well, well. I think my dream came true. More content in the style of the old school 2D-Zelda games. I simply can’t wait to play them and you can be sure I’m going to write an article about them!

#4 – Bravely Default II (Switch, 26th February)

220px-Bravely_Default_III have played Bravely Default back when it got released on the 3DS. I still have to play the 3DS sequel Bravely Second but from what I have seen from the demo, I think I’m going to have a great time with that. I have also played the demo of Bravely Default II and I’m also quite hyped for that game. 

I can’t put my finger on exactly why I enjoy playing the Bravely Default games but something is really drawing me in. Maybe it’s the unique battle mechanic where you can skip turns to use stronger attacks or the whole class system. Yet, I do know full well that these mechanics are also present in other RPG games but something just clicked for me with Bravely Default. Maybe I’ll be able to answer that question when I have played Bravely Default II. 

One thing I know is that my birthday month is going to be extremely busy with two games releasing I want to play. Not even that, a few games are releasing in Q1 2021, which can be in February as well. And I have the Pokémon collab to finish as well. Wish me luck!

#3 – Re:Zero – Staring Life in Another World: The Prophecy of the Throne (PS4/PC/Switch, 5th February)

headerI love the setup of the Re:Zero story. When Subaru, our main character, got transported to another world he discovered that he has a special ability which he can’t speak about. Whenever he gets killed in the new world, the whole world gets reset. As if he is part of a game that gets reset whenever he dies. He does remember everything but nobody in that world is able to remember the reset. 

Now, this unique story mechanic is getting worked into a game. It’s going to be a visual novel but it’s also going to be a tactical RPG/adventure game. So, this is going to be quite enjoyable if the “Return by Death” is implemented well and might set up various twists up extremely well. 

For some reason, the USA is getting this game a week earlier than we over here in Europe. Oh well, that means I’ll have to dodge spoilers for a week which won’t be too big of an issue since it’s a work week and also working on the final stages of the Pokémon collab by then. 

#2 – Shin Megami Tensei V (Switch, Early 2021)

Shin_Megami_Tensei_VThis series is one of the biggest RPG series ever created. I think I don’t have to explain more by simply saying that Persona is a spin-off of this series. Yes, you read this correctly, the popular Persona series is actually a spin off of this franchise. 

I have played some Shin Megami Tensei games over the years but everytime it was in between waiting for other games to release. But, I decided that in 2021, I want to fully play through a Shin Megami Tensei game. I quite enjoyed my time with the series so far playing the (3)DS entries and the cross over Tokyo Mirrage Sessions #FE. So, it’s a good thing then that a new game is going to be released on the Switch in the near future.

You might argue that it’s not a great idea to jump into the series with the 5th main entry but then again, it might make it more interesting to me to play the other games to connect the dots and to answer all the unanswered questions in the 5th entry. 

#1 – Axiom Verge 2 (Switch, Early 2021)

H2x1_NSwitchDS_AxiomVerge2I honestly have a weakspot when it comes to MetroidVania games. When I learned about Axiom Verge and the unique mechanics that the game brought the genre, I was hooked. I haven’t finished the game yet but it’s one of those games that I pop into my Nintendo Switch or start up on my Wii U once in a while to wind down and relax. Maybe I should continue the game on only one of the two platforms instead of two. But, I own the collectors edition on Switch… 

At first, this game was going to be released in the fall of this year. Sadly enough, due to a delay, this game has been pushed to early next year. For now, I think this game will be an exclusive or a timed exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. And looking at the screenshots, oh wow.. Is this game going to be fun! Maybe I should finish Axiom Verge and Axiom Verge 2 back to back… That might be fun.

Wrapping up

I have to say that it’s getting more difficult by the year to create these lists. Mostly because most of the announced games are scheduled in Q1/Q2 of the upcoming year and a lot of them are sequels or entries in a long running series. On top of that, we lately get more remakes/remasters and ports in the last few years. 

Another big reason is that I’m more and more focusing on my collection and collecting games instead of playing the upcoming and new games. So, that means I’m not going to buy a PS5 or the new XBOX or even upgrading my computer to play the newest games. I’m quite enjoying myself by playing games on my consoles. 

That means I have an even smaller pool of games to pick from. And when I notice that a game that looks interesting to me requires to either upgrade my PC or get a new console, I dismiss it. For now, there aren’t enough games that I really want to play that validate the purchase of a new console or a stronger computer in my mind. 

I rather spend my money on games I actually want to play or add to my collection instead of having the “latest and strongest” gaming hardware. I know that this might be just me or my collecting hobby but maybe this year a lot of games will release that validate the purchase of a better computer. 

Besides all that, it looks like my Nintendo Switch will be quite busy in the upcoming year. Which is a good thing, since I love playing my Switch on the train to and from work. I just a great way to spend the long train journey creating memories and something starting to talk to other gamers on the train about various games. And I wish to be able to do that in 2021 and make new friends. That would create some sunshine in these strange times. 

But with all that said, I think it’s high time to wrap up this article and thank you for reading this one. I hope you enjoyed reading this article and as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care. 

NekoJonez’s April 2018 Update

BannerBlog

April 2018 is almost over and there are a few things I would love to tell about the future of my blog. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes, making my life extremely hectic and busy. So, I hope you don’t mind I keep this article extremely short. So, ready, set, go! 

Personal life stuff

Like I said in the introduction, my personal life is quite hectic at the moment. Next week, I’ll have a week off from work. While you would think: “oh, then Jonez has more time for articles.”, that isn’t true at all.

I took a week off from work because the final week of rehearsals for the play I’m in starts up tomorrow. That means I’ll be out of the house each and every evening to perfect the play and have the premiere upcoming Friday.

That’s a lot of work for sure, but during the day, I’ll be a student. Where I’m studying for an upcoming exam in college for my one to least subject. For those who are curious, it’s a SQL-exam.

Also, the past week was exhausting. Long hours at work, studying, acting and I started to play a bunch of new games to review in the future on my blog. I think I better focused on one game. But, hey, I wanted to play some different games too.

In addition to that, I have been buying games left and right, mostly Dutch edutainment games to complete my collection of some series. While I’m glad my collection gets more and more complete, I don’t have the budget right now to buy a Switch. But, one thing is for sure, this year will be the year I’m going to buy a Switch!

Blog work

When April is over, I’ll start making some changes to my blog. At first, I’ll fix typos in older articles and make small changes to articles. Most of those changes will be rewriting sentences that don’t make sense in English. You might have noticed here and there that I use expressions that make sense in Dutch, but not in English. So, that sort of thing.

Besides that, I’ll be changing the layout of my overview pages. I’ll be merging some of them and others will have a design change. In addition to that, I’ll be merging some of my categories too. Series I don’t write anymore will go to an archive and other series will become sub-categories… I hope to be able to finish all the work by the end of this year.

For progress on this, follow me on Twitter. I’ll be tweeting out when I updated something. If the update is bigger then usual, I’ll be writing a short post on my Tumblr who, which is set up to give an automatic tweet when posted.

Besides all the reworking of my blog, I’m still fighting against article theft. Recently, I found out that three blogs (!) were stealing content from me again. Thankfully, two of three are down already. This all started with the publication of my Monster Tale review. I, NekoJonez from NekoJonez’s Gaming blog, haven’t got any request for using my review on another site… and yet, I found it on three other websites.

Currently, I’m trying everything I can to take down the root of the problem. It’s a website that is advertised by the three theft bots. So, I hope the websites where the accounts are located take them down.

Now, to close this section with some other news and that is what I’m thinking about something along the lines of Patreon or a PayPal tip jar. So, anybody who wants to support me, can. Now, where would this money go too you might ask. Well, all the money I earn from my blog will go towards my gaming collection. I’ll only buy games I want to review on my blog.

Now, I’m only thinking about this and I’m curious if there is interest in this. Feel free to post your thoughts in the comment section down below.

Upcoming articles

So, I have a whole list of articles that will appear in the future. My list is a bit too long in my opinion so some articles might not appear soon but later.

First of all, I want to write a first impression – review article on Neon Valley Revenge. Now that the game has been released on Steam as an Early Access title, I want to write an article about it. But, because I didn’t have the time and I had other developer requests waiting for me, I had to delay it a bit. If I find the time, this article will arrive in early May.

So, what games will be getting an article in the future from me? Well, here is a peak on my list of games I want to talk about. Do keep in mind, that this is subject to change depending on how much time I have and what games grab my interest.

God of Thunder (PC), Popolocrios (PSP), Pokémon Diamon, Pearl & Platinium (DS), Star Stable Online (PC), Drawn To Life (DS), Rob (PC), Project Zero II – Crisom Butterfly (PS2), Rayman (PS1), Mario Strikers (Wii), Tomb Raider Underworld (PC)…

Besides that, I do have some things to talk about I promised on Twitter. I have been asked this question by Bradon Green.

Also, I want to write articles like I wrote last week about my nostalgic memories of a series I love. Other series I want to take a look at in this format are Mario, Zelda, Lego games, Freddi Fish and various others.

The final thing I want to mention is that it’s possible that next week might have no article. Because, like I said earlier, I’m quite busy and my focus is more on my acting group and college. If I do find the time, I’ll write an article. Otherwise, next week will have none. It’s a great idea to follow me on twitter @NekoJonez if you want to keep up to date with the latest things happening.

So, that’s everything I wanted to say and keep you up to date about. Thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, take care and have a great rest of your day.

My TOP 10 games of 2016 – Part 1: 5 – 1

2016Part 1 (10 – 6)

I’m not going to introduce the second part like I introduced the first part last week. We all know that 2016 flew by. In 2016, a lot of things happened. But in my personal life, it’s was one of the better years. In any case, it’s time to give a little reminder. In this top 10, I list off the best games I played this year. If I started playing the game in an earlier year, it doesn’t count. Also, it doesn’t matter if the game is released in 2016 or 1996. If I started playing it this year, it counts! Also, it doesn’t matter if I have beaten the game fully or not. So, yeah. Let’s dive into my top 5 for this year. Also, feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on this article and/or the games and/or your top 10 games of 2016. 

#5: Ace Attorney 6 – Spirit Of Justice (3DS)

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Link to my first impression

As we enter the top 5, I had the most difficult time choosing the order of the games. I had to make some hard decisions.

The Ace Attorney game we got this year was amazing. It had some amusing throwback moments to earlier games and it has hit me emotionally a couple of times.

It might not be my favorite game in the series, but it’s was a pretty enjoyable ride from beginning to end. One of my biggest let-downs was that the 4th case was way too short in my opinion. But, in exchange, we got 2 “joke” episodes that made me laugh multiple times. Also, I need to remind myself to not play this game on the train to work, since I nearly missed my stop once and one time I started laughing so much, I got strange looks for the whole ride… Yeah.

#4: Pokémon Sun and Moon (3DS)

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Link to my review

Like Ace Attorney 6, the new game in the Pokémon series is amazing. While it’s not the best in the series, in my opinion, it has a lot of throwback moments to earlier Pokémon games.

So, I honestly think it’s a no-brainer that this game should be on my top 10 games I played in 2016-list. Since this game brought back some amazing memories I had playing Pokémon throughout my life. I even met some strangers on the train who were playing Pokémon Sun or Moon as well. I never imagined that that would be possible in the crazy times we live in currently. Pokémon connects people. And thanks to Pokémon Go, a game I wasn’t able to play, the craze for Pokémon grew even more.

I have almost beaten the game and I’m looking forward what the new Pokémon generation will bring. I think they are taking it in a great direction. If only they tweaked the games a little bit for long time players, and it would be perfect in my opinion!

#3: Stella Glow (3DS)

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Link to my review

So, in late June, I downloaded the demo for this game on my 3DS. I was deciding which games I was going to buy to play in the upcoming summer. I played the demo and placed it on my wishlist.

That same day, I started talking to one of my friends over at ButtonSmashers. He said he still had a review copy of Stella Glow. So, in exchange for a review on the ButtonSmashers, he sent me the code over mail.

And believe me, this game grew on me really quick. Like I said in my review, the story pulls you in and doesn’t let you go. At least, with me. This game is one that I wish hadn’t passed under my radar. Since that game was already released for 3 months upon that point.

I honestly think I’m going to replay this game next year. The replay value is quite high in this game. I’m going to take a completely different route and try to see things I haven’t experienced yet in this game. I’m quite looking forward to it!

#2: Zero Escape Dilemma (3DS)

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Link to my first impression

“Life is simply unfair, is it not?” is one of the quotes I remember from this game. The Zero Escape trilogy got its final game this year. Honestly, I would love a new game in the series since I’m highly addicted to the gameplay.

This game came pretty close being my favorite game of 2016. If you ask me the question, what’s your favorite game released in 2016? I have to answer that this game is my favorite game from 2016. But, I have played one other game that got the number one spot.

So, why is this game on my list? Well, I have played the Zero Escape series from beginning to end. I have played every game, finished every puzzle and the wrap-up of the series is just so heartbreaking. The story is over. Every dot is connected now.

The game almost didn’t see the light of day, but thanks to the support of the fans, this game DID see the light of day. And I’m glad that it did. Everything in this game clicks. It’s almost perfect. Thank you, guys and girls, for this amazing series. I hope you guys and girls keep making games since I would love to see more! Thank you, that’s everything I can say. The series is so good, I hope that the Steam versions of the trilogy will draw a lot of attention. The attention that this series deserves! Seriously, thanks for making this game. I can’t repeat it enough. And honestly, I can’t say it in any other way.

Honorable mentions

With pain in my heart, I have to say that these games didn’t make my list. Some games might come as a surprise to people who know me personally and know the game series I love & adore. So, yeah. Here are the honorable mentions:

  • Yo-Kai Watch (3DS): Interesting mechanics and gameplay, but I haven’t gotten far enough yet in the game.
  • Sphetory (Android): An Android game that took me by surprise. Just read my article about it!
  • Mario Strikers Football Charged (Wii): Just Mario football. But it’s a whole lot of fun!
  • Evoland 2 (PC): Evoland 1 was amazing, so I had to play the sequel. And I don’t regret it!
  • Minecraft Story Mode (Android): I had been putting it off, but when I got it in a sale for my tablet, I gave it a go. And I’m enjoying it a whole lot. Just finished the first episode.
  • SteamWorld Dig (3DS): It reminded me of an Android game I reviewed a long time ago, but this one is miles better.
  • Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS): I just adore the gameplay. If only I was better at it. Also, the micro-transactions nearly ruin the game for me. Since I want all content in my games to be playable.
  • Corpse Party (3DS): It was really close being number 10. The 3DS port is so faithful to the amazing PSP port that introduced me to the series. It creeped me out so much once, I had trouble sleeping one night.
  • Dragon Quest VII (3DS): I have played the first hour of this game, and I enjoyed myself a whole lot. But I haven’t gotten far enough yet.
  • Bravely Second (3DS): The sequel to Bravely Default. One of the RPG’s I love playing on my 3DS. I have to continue playing this game honestly!
  • The Beginners Guide (PC): A game that hit me as a content creator. And it has hit hard. Created by the creator of the Stanley Parable.
  • Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon (3DS): I can’t believe myself I have played 10 different games that trump this game. The new Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game was amazing. But it’s number 11 on my list… Yeah.
  • Kirby Planet Robobot (3DS): While I think that Kirby Triple Deluxe was better, I think that this game is stil worthy to get a spot on the honorable mentions list here!

#1: Bioshock Infinite (PC)

162247_frontLink to my review

Wow, I ended 2015 with playing the first game in the Bioshock series and at the end of 2016, the latest game is my number one game I have been playing in 2016. This series took me by surprise. The story telling, the atmosphere, the setting, the visuals, the gameplay, the soundtrack, the voice acting… it just all clicks for me.

It’s one of the best games I have played this year. Well duh, that’s why it’s number one. At first, I had trouble picking which Bioshock game to put on number one. But the DLC for this game made my decision that much easier. It wraps up the story of this trilogy so nicely, I’m conflicted if they need to continue the Bioshock series. Since it’s finished up so nicely, I think a 4th game would ruin it. But at the other hand, I can’t get enough of the universe. And honestly, the fact that I bought and read the novel and bought merchandise… the fact that I often listen to the soundtrack of this game at work, proves one thing to me. The Bioshock series is sinking it’s (sky)hooks into me. So, if you haven’t played Bioshock; would you kindly give it a go? Give it a chance, you might find one of the best games you have played in a while.

After I had beaten this game, I restarted from Bioshock 1. I have played the three games (and the DLC’s) this year at least two years. That’s a clear reason why this game is my number one game I have played in 2016!

Closing words

So, I’m looking forward to 2017. Since a lot of new challenges await me. But 2016 is coming to an end. I have said multiple times, this year was special to me. But, 2016 was a crazy ride from beginning to end. I have learned so much and experienced so much as well.

I’m disappointed that several events almost ruined the year for me. But, let’s not think about them. Those events aren’t worthy of our attention. I think we can agree that this year has been a crazy ride. Like I said before.

Thank you for all the support I got this year! I seriously helped my blog grow. I love writing for you guys and girls and I hope you will visit my blog again in 2017. So, have an enjoyable rest of 2016 and I hope to see you in 2017! But until then, take care and have a great rest of your year!