The Selective Hearing team has been immersed in various games this month as fellow gamers. We’re excited to share our personal gaming experiences with you in this new monthly series of articles.
Allen
What Have You Been Playing in September 2024?
- Persona 3 Reload
- Astro Bot
- Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection
- The Plucky Squire
What Are Your Thoughts
SPOILERS AHEAD
I tried to finish Persona 3 Reload before Astro Bot came out, but I felt a bit of burnout. Astro Bot was such a welcome change. The game is so charming and complete that even someone who isn’t good at platformers like me couldn’t stop until I finished collecting the bots.
Graphically, this game is so appealing. All the stages have their charms. I loved the power-ups, my favourite being the mouse one, where you can shrink and expand at will. I love it when you are in a small area, trying to grow back to normal and hitting your head. Of course, you see bots dressed up as PlayStation’s influential characters. This is true not just for first-party games but also for third-party ones. It surprised me to see Aigis from Persona 3 and Kiryu from Yakuza. Also, having the controller and haptics respond to almost everything made me wish other games took more advantage of the DualSense features.
I spent 18 hours over a week and a half to collect the platinum trophy. It was such a joy to play this game. It might be my GOTY at this moment.
I returned to Persona 3 Reload and got caught up in Reaper farming to help create top-tier personas and level them up. Amidst all of it, I maxed out all my characters to level 99.
Hard mode was such a cakewalk until I tried to tackle the super boss, Elizabeth. I may have spent four to five hours trying to figure out her battle patterns and die a handful of times. It was the first time I had to look up FAQs to beat her, and I even turned down the difficulty to reduce the damage.
After finishing her fight, I coasted through the rest of the game because I had maxed out my levels. I enjoyed the characters’ interactions with each other until the end. You even reconnect with all your Social Links as part of the ending. The actual ending does pull on the emotional strings.
After spending two months and over 129 hours, I was able to score the platinum trophy. I don’t see myself playing Episode Aigis. I need a break from JRPGs with high school kids. Maybe until Persona 6 comes out
I finally got to fire up the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection. I may have gotten lost admiring the artwork in the galleries for an hour.
I then spent some time in the lab playing X-Men Children of the Atom. Man, this took me back. I remember playing this in the arcade so much. The game is a bit slower than I remember, so I needed to adjust. It’s also a bit harder than I recall, but then I realized that it’s an arcade game whose primary focus is to be cheap and difficult. I played with Cyclops, Psylocke, and Wolverine, trying to remember their moves and styles. I also remembered that there was an easier way to get the secret characters, so I played Akuma. Magneto is still super cheap as a final boss. I’ll take my time with the other games soon.
I also spent a few hours with The Plucky Squire. I was excited to play this game as it does change from 2D to 3D in art styles from a storybook. Some gameplay reminded me of Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. However, I can’t connect to the game. I feel like the battle system is too simple. I also feel like the game itself is way too easy. This feels like a game for young kids.
What Are You Looking Forward to in October?
Metaphor: ReFantazio will be the next JRPG I tackle. It is from ATLUS, the guys behind Persona, so I hope the battle system is familiar. I’m just glad the story setting is not in a damn high school.
Also, I might be excited about the new Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket when it comes out. I know too many people who will play it, and I may get caught up by sheer proximity. I’ll give it a shot, but I might drop it after a day if it’s like Marvel Snap.
Greg
What Have You Been Playing in September 2024?
- Pokemon Go
What Are Your Thoughts?
I have continued to learn the intricacies of Pokemon Go. I have managed to get in the Dynamax raids and now have a decent roster of these growing Pokemon. Otherwise, it’s the regular attempts of completing field research and taking down Team Rocket members when I see their bitch asses on the map. Oh, and hatching eggs. I get a lot of cool stuff from those eggs.
What Are You Looking Forward to in October?
I’d like to finish Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth before the end of the year, so maybe I” ‘ll take another run at the final boss battles and get it over with.
New game-wise? Not much is on my radar since the stuff I want to play doesn’t come out until 2025 or later.
BigFreaky
What Have You Been Playing in September 2024?
- Pokémon GO
- Pokémon Sleep
What Are Your Thoughts?
Now that the summer season is over for Pokémon GO, we’ve moved into the cooler (North America) season as we progress until the end of the year. Finishing up the heat in September, Halloween in October, and Thanksgiving in November. That said, Pokémon GO has entered the MAX OUT season of Pogo. This season has introduced the Dynamax (and soon-to-be Gigatimax) phenomenon, allowing Pokémon to grow large. I’m not exactly sure how this differs from current Pogo raids… but it’s of no fundamental importance.
We now have Max Battles, which, as previously mentioned, are very similar to raids. However, Max Battles require new Max Particles as opposed to raid passes. You can earn particles by visiting the Max Battle locations or walking. Up to 800(ish) a day, or 1000(ish) total.
It’s just a new currency form you can purchase in the store. Anyways… Max Battles are handled a little differently than raids. You are limited to only 4 participants, and they must be local, with no remotes. Battling is similar to regular raids, but the new Max mechanic throws a bit of a monkey wrench into the equation. I will refrain from explaining it here, as I’ve already written more than just a few thoughts.
Overall, the new Max Raids are a nice bit of change. There is still a grind, and it is somewhat limited. A lot is new, so it will take more time to understand how it all will play out. More things to do that aren’t tedious are welcomed to a pretty standard formula for just the past 8 years now.
The local scene is still interested in it all, but we’ve had a bit of a lull since GO Fest in July. There have been a few rehash raids and not many new releases, but that is pretty typical.
For some reason, I finally fused my Necrozma and Solgaleo, which I’ve been holding off on.
I’ve continued to play Pokémon Sleepdespite it being somewhat dull and almost more of a task than a game. It is still cute, so I guess it has that going. I’ve struggled yet again with horrible sleep timing in the game. The time clock resets at 3 am. If you don’t start to sleep before that, it will just add it to the next day. I don’t know why this is a thing; it doesn’t always work for the night owl that I am. Also, I can’t feed Snorlax breakfast if I’m not up before noon. I’ve had a few F weeks.
There is still a tiny element of online/friend play so that I will continue. The game is primarily casual. Maybe someday, it will have a little bit more excitement.
What Are You Looking Forward to in October?
Pokémon GOduring Halloween is usually pretty fun. Halloween has always been a great season for the Pokémon Company. We always get new Pokémon and/or new costumed Pokémon. Max Battles will also be keeping me busy. Community day this month is pretty Meh, but it’s a time to share with my buddy now that he is playing. As well as seeing the others locally.
Pokémon Sleep will introduce a new sleep level. Old Gold Power Plant. New Pokémon and a new ingredient await!
Pokémon TCG Pocket will arrive on Oct 30th! So, I guess it counts as an Oct release! I am an avid TCG collector, and this will also be fun! I have seen some early-release game footage and play-thoughts on YouTube, and it should be a neat little game. I will approach this game in a very casual fashion. I will try out the subscription for at least a month (or two) to see how it goes. But I will not endlessly dump a ton of money into virtual cards.
Some of the new art is quite amazing, and I’m already sad I’ll never be able to have it in physical shiny cardboard form (most likely, at least officially).
The battles should only take a few minutes due to the rule changes and limited cards. That will appeal to me and others more than the current TCG offering. I would love to play typical TCG, but it’s an investment. It doesn’t only take your money, but it takes your time as well.
Earlier this year, I moved into a new house and have been unpacking very slowly. I’ve also regained an interest in “Retro Gaming” (again). I have some more space to set up my old systems and can play a lot of other things. This month, I hope to get some things going, as I plan to have a few get-togethers this holiday season with friends, and I’d like to play some classics with them as well. I’m not sure where I’m going to start. I have a lot to figure out, unpack, and set up. I have every system back to NES. I had Atari(s), but I got rid of them long ago. But I did pick up a newer plug/play option, and I’ll have to see what I got.
I’ve also made a few purchases while building my retro gaming setup over the last few months. Photos, reviews, and everything will be forthcoming. I just have to get it all set up!
