A brief history of my time playing “main” Pokémon games:
1997: Pocket Monsters Green, a badly translated ROM on a Game Boy emulator. I had returned to university early from a holiday in order to spend a few days revising. Instead, I spent a few days playing Pocket Monsters Green, non-stop, reaching the Elite Four and realising my chosen team were no match for them. I never beat them.
1999: Pokémon Blue, on a Game Boy. I obtained the first 4 gym badges, then stopped playing. I don’t know why.
2001: Pokémon Gold, on a Game Boy Advance. As with Blue, I obtained the first 4 gym badges. Then I stopped playing.
2003: Pokémon Sapphire, on a Game Boy Advance. Once more, after obtaining the first 4 gym badges, I stopped playing.
2016: Pokémon Y, on a New 3DS. Completed!
After the earlier false starts, I’d given up on playing any more in the series because I assumed they’d all go the same way. After 13 years, however, and my 7 year old daughter wanting to play Pokémon X, the time was right to get back into the main series Pokémon games.
It was fun playing alongside her, mostly progressing through at a similar rate, with me occasionally helping out by sending her Pokémon or using O-Powers to augment her abilities temporarily.
Since the last game I played, things have improved greatly. The graphics, of course, but also there has been a lot of streamlining. Early on in Y, you obtain an item that allows you to share XP with all your party, meaning you no longer have to start with a Pokémon you want to level up and then swap them out immediately. Item management is easier, and trading your Pokémon is so much easier – and can be done over the internet. There’s even an online “swap shop” for them, where you can browse “wants” or offer your own Pokémon up. Or, you can do random trade matchups where you don’t know what you’ll get. I’ve used this a lot with duplicate creatures, and obtained some great stuff, like a high level Pikachu, a Shiny Oddish, and plenty of others I’d not seen myself at all.
All that is great, but the core game is the same as it ever was. Travel the region, fight the gym leaders, Be The Best. No bad thing, especially to someone who hasn’t played Pokémon in such a long time, and there are so many ways to make it easier (the trading, the online “Pokémiles” shop, the XP sharing, O-Powers, Mega Evolutions) that the frustration of grinding – perhaps a reason I gave up on the earlier games – doesn’t happen. Indeed, I beat the Elite Four, the Champion, AND the *spoiler* with my team of mainly Legendary level 100 monsters (and level 90+ Greninja and Charizard) taking down every opponent Pokémon (bar one, who was Sturdy) in a single hit each without taking any damage in return.
Too easy? Possibly. Did that matter? Not at all. Did I complete it before my daughter finished X? Hell yes. And isn’t that all that is really important?
I took some wonderful photos (or rather, Phil the Usually Drunk Photo Guy did) on my travels around the Kalos region. Otherwise known as “that place in Pokémon X and Y”, which I wrote about here.
Unfortunately, you can only take photos at pre-determined spots in the game which makes recording your adventures for all eternity a bit difficult. But still – here’s all I have:
Drunk.Drunk. Creepy guy behind me.This castle was scary.T-shirt in the snow, as you do.Morning after. That rushing water didn’t help my head.Don’t remember this.I think we broke this.Drunk.Drunk. We stole their wheelie bin.This girl was lovely. Then I was sick on her shoes.Drunk.We tried to get in here, but they said they didn’t allow degenerates in.Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)MoreClick to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)
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Three games completed this week! That’s me back on the 104 Games In A Year trail, then. Hopefully.
Play
Pokémon Y (3DS)
My first, main series, Pokémon game completion! And it was excellent. I’m totally hyped for Pokémon Sun/Moon now, and it makes me realise what I’ve been missing all these years by not playing (proper) Pokémon games. I’m sort of tempted to get Yellow on the 3DS Virtual Console now, but I wonder if the lack of niceties (like XP sharing) might sour things.
Year Walk (Wii U)
Cheap in the eShop Halloween sale, this graphical adventure interested me. Year Walk was short, scary, but interesting – and I enjoyed it to (and past) completion. Probably not a good idea to play alone in the dark though.
Gargoyle’s Quest (3DS)
And my third game completed this week, was another eShop cheapie – this Game Boy titles on the 3DS Virtual Console. It was OK, and I did enjoy it, but it hasn’t aged well. It reminded me a lot of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on the NES, for better or worse.
Want
Same as it ever was: Zelda (Switch), Sonic Mania (Switch), Pokémon Sun/Moon (3DS), Virginia (PS4), Paper Mario (Wii U) and a Nintendo Switch. Anything else? Not right now.
Bin
Not a lot.
Expense
Year Walk (Wii U) – £2.51
Humble Gems Bundle – £3.61 (60p each)
Technobabylon (PC)
Odallus: The Dark Call (PC)
Chroma Squad (Mac)
Spaera (PC)
Westerado: Double Barrelled (Mac)
Assault Android Cactus (Mac)
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In 2016, I completed a whopping 110 games. My previous record, because of course I’ve been keeping count, was 84 in 2015. You’d think with a number like that, I’d finally be on top of my backlog, right? Ahahahahano.
I didn’t anticipate completing that many. Like in previous years, I did strive to finish the RetroCollect 52 Game Challenge (which I managed before the end of June) and then expanded that to 104 games just for a laugh (and I sorted that by mid-December), but of course I had to go and beat that too, didn’t I?
There may be some arguments over what constitutes a “game”, and what counts as “completed”. There’s no hard and fast rule, whatever feels right for a title, usually. However, normally a game is “something you play” and “completed” is “reached the final goal”, “got all the achievements” or “watched the end credits” as appropriate.
DLC and addons are usually classed as separate games even if technically they’re not – like Life is Strange episodes, or the Lego Dimensions level packs.
Anyway, here’s the full list of 110:
Fallout 4(PS4 15/01/2016)
Batman Returns(Lynx 24/01/2016)
Grim Fandango Remastered(PS4/Vita 30/01/2016)
Thomas Was Alone: Benjamin’s Flight(Vita 30/01/2016)
Hatoful Boyfriend(Vita 31/01/2016)
Nova-111(PS4 15/02/2016)
Bayonetta(Wii U 15/02/2016)
Sonic the Hedgehog(MS 28/02/2016)
Street Fighter Alpha(GBC 28/02/2016)
Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush(Wii U 05/03/2016)
Disney Infinity 3.0(PS4 06/03/2016)
ToeJam and Earl(MD 10/03/2016)
Midnight Resistance(MD 12/03/2016)
Mega-lo-Mania(MD 12/03/2016)
Castle of Illusion(MS 12/03/2016)
Midnight Resistance(Spec 15/03/2016)
Land of Illusion(MS 16/03/2016)
Midnight Resistance(C64 17/03/2016)
Strider(MD 17/03/2016)
Legend of Illusion(MS 19/03/2016)
Batman(MD 19/03/2016)
Castlevania: The New Generation(MD 20/03/2016)
Hyrule Warriors Legends(3DS 28/03/2016)
Puggsy(MCD 02/04/2016)
Time Gal(MCD 02/04/2016)
The Legend of Galahad(MD 03/04/2016)
Lego Lord of the Rings(360 04/04/2016)
Broforce(PS4 05/04/2016)
My Nintendo Picross – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess(3DS 09/04/2016)
Psycho Fox(MS 10/04/2016)
The Witness(PS4 24/04/2016)
Firewatch(PS4 27/04/2016)
The Beginner’s Guide(Mac 01/05/2016)
Freedom Planet(Wii U 02/05/2016)
Affordable Space Adventures(Wii U 06/05/2016)
Hudson Hawk(GB 07/05/2016)
Streets of Rage 3(MD 07/05/2016)
Sonic 3 & Knuckles(MD 08/05/2016)
LocoRoco Cocoreccho(PS3 13/05/2016)
Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure(MD 14/05/2016)
Rainbow Islands(MS 14/05/2016)
Gauntlet 4(MD 18/05/2016)
Star Fox Guard(Wii U 22/05/2016)
Emily is Away(Mac 22/05/2016)
Quiet, Please!(Wii U 26/05/2016)
Quiet Christmas(Wii U 28/05/2016)
Vacation Vexation(Wii U 28/05/2016)
Candy, Please!(Wii U 29/05/2016)
Star Fox Zero(Wii U 03/06/2016)
Teddy Boy(MS 04/06/2016)
James Pond II: Codename Robocod(MD 04/06/2016)
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars(MS 04/06/2016)
Asterix(MS 11/06/2016)
The Lucky Dime Caper(MS 12/06/2016)
Assassin’s Creed Unity(PS4 13/06/2016)
Kirby: Planet Robobot(3DS 21/06/2016)
The Temple of No(Mac 28/06/2016)
Battlefield 4(PS4 29/06/2016)
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse(3DS 02/07/2016)
There’s Poop In My Soup(Mac 02/07/2016)
Gunpoint(Mac 29/07/2016)
Missing: An Interactive Thriller – Episode One(Mac 30/07/2016)
McPixel(Mac 03/08/2016)
Beware Planet Earth(PC 15/08/2016)
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE(Wii U 16/08/2016)
Sakura Spirit(Mac 17/08/2016)
StreetPass Trader(3DS 15/09/2016)
StreetPass Slot Racer(3DS 16/09/2016)
Running Battle(MS 18/09/2016)
Ranma 1/2(SNES 18/09/2016)
StreetPass Explorers(3DS 19/09/2016)
StreetPass Ninja(3DS 21/09/2016)
No Man’s Sky(PS4 10/10/2016)
StreetPass Chef(3DS 11/10/2016)
Chase: Cold Case Investigations ~Distant Memories~(3DS 16/10/2016)
Catherine(PS3 17/10/2016)
Pokémon Y(3DS 25/10/2016)
Year Walk(Wii U 28/10/2016)
Gargoyle’s Quest(3DS 30/10/2016)
Actual Sunlight(Vita 02/11/2016)
3D Fantasy Zone(3DS 05/11/2016)
3D Puyo Puyo 2(3DS 06/11/2016)
3D Thunderblade(3DS 06/11/2016)
3D Altered Beast(3DS 06/11/2016)
One Night Stand(Mac 11/11/2016)
3D Power Drift(3DS 12/11/2016)
3D Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa(3DS 12/11/2016)
3D Galaxy Force II(3DS 13/11/2016)
PaRappa the Rapper 2(PS4 13/11/2016)
Virginia(PS4 15/11/2016)
3D Maze Walker(3DS 17/11/2016)
3D Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (MS Ver.)(3DS 17/11/2016)
3D Sonic the Hedgehog(3DS 19/11/2016)
Lego Marvel Avengers(PS4 21/11/2016)
Retro City Rampage DX(3DS 21/11/2016)
Apartment 666(Mac 26/11/2016)
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter(PS4 26/11/2016)
Super Fantasy Zone(MD 26/11/2016)
Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure(NGPC 27/11/2016)
SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium(NGPC 27/11/2016)
Sonic Triple Trouble(3DS 07/12/2016)
Letter Quest: Grimm’s Journey Remastered(PS4 10/12/2016)
Sonic Blast(3DS 11/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions(PS4 15/12/2016)
Box Box Boy!(3DS 23/12/2016)
Ultratron(Wii U 24/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions: Back to the Future(PS4 26/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions: Adventure Time(PS4 28/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions: The Simpsons(PS4 30/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions: Midway Arcade(PS4 31/12/2016)
Now, will I repeat that in 2017? I doubt it. I’m not even going to try.
Oh, and I’ll write some more about some of my favourites in another post another time!
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