Phantom Thief Nikki
For being the first of these never-ending style of games to actually steal my heart, I have to crown Infinity Nikki. That smooth combination of music, exploration, and Momo... is just too good.
Together
Co-op with Val have come a long way, I'd say. From sliding down beautiful snowy mountains as a wolf cub and deer in Blanc, to endure-and-surviving the waves of buffed-up spiders, goblins, ghosts, and skeletons in the dungeons of Children of Morta.
We're tough as nails now; keep 'em bosses coming.
City-State Blues
There's one thing in Dragon Age II (damn, how I wish I could call it Dragon Age: Exodus) I'd like to see again in a new fantasy RPG, and it's that idea of the whole story taking place in just one city: to have all companions residing and living their lives in its different districts, and to see the culture change over years of side-questing for its citizens—as a foreigner. And with a narrative framed by Varric.
Off to Keep and Inquisition now.
Ico
Between the Astro Bot cameos and Ueda's new teaser giving me the shivers... the new year found me dusting off a PS3 and revisiting the castle in the mist, once again.
Christmas Cloud
After a month-long vacation trip, full of family reunions and plenty of New York exploration... we're back home! Val put up our Christmas tree in record time, and this Cloud amiibo she got for me on the trip is the perfect symbol for this year, apparently coming to an end soon. The Year of VII for me, in many ways.
Liberty City
Our new recruits from New York!
They’ve been with Val and me up and down Manhattan, from Washington Square Park to the Roosevelt Island Lighthouse... and many other non-Blackwell related places.
Flimsy Inventory
There were some headlines about digital stores maybe having to stop using the word “Buy” in the future, and thinking about it sent me down a very familiar rabbit hole of our times. I guess in the end everything is just tears in the rain, really... But a future with more backup and access options would be a better one.
Old Game, New Game
As an update to what I wrote last year about FC 24, I have to say that I ended up enjoying that game a lot. Mostly because it was a beautiful dream season in real life (from Jude’s preseason goal till the very end at Wembley), but also thanks to Operation Sports’ sliders. It was a great last dance for Kroos and the old Bernabéu.
And now it's time for FC 25; with Bellingham on the cover, a playable Zidane for weird Player Career Modes and... I don’t know—it's fun. I'll keep trying to extend Modric's contract for as long as I can, and that would be enough.
It’s funny, but in my head there’s this very nostalgic association between FIFA 2005 and RPG Maker XP that’s kind of being mirrored today with FC 25 and RPG Maker MZ. And if I could speak to that young self of mine, suffering the post-Makélélé era in front of a CRT, I would definitely tease Lisboa 2014...
And Disco Elysium.
Harrowmont vs. Bhelen
Long before the Underground, the Depths, and the Underdark... I first had to stumble around in the Deep Roads. Revisiting Dragon Age: Origins has brought back everything: the multiple days of struggle in caves and tunnels, the non-stop combat encounters, and how my 2009 computer was barely holding together during the whole dwarven plot.
But it also reminded me of the lore, and why Orzammar stayed on my mind for so long—this time, with Shale!
P.S. I need to play a dwarf noble someday.
A Kid Again
There is so much joy in Astro Bot.
Out of what felt like a thousand magical highlights... maybe my strongest dork reaction came with the unexpected McDohl-bot, appearing totally out of the blue, as in a first playthrough of Suikoden II. It felt like Christmas, a birthday present, and some sort of climax to many years of playing.
From Years to Hours
I briefly went back to the great Astro’s Playroom today, and the original PSP was the last thing I found, which felt right.
Nothing left now, but a small wait...
PSI Hug
Loboto’s Labyrinth hits a little different when recovering from wisdom teeth extraction; and from that point on... Psychonauts 2 still touches my heart like no other 3D platformer can.
Rainy Week
I get super excited every time there’s rain in a game. Like a few days ago, with a brief storm during the Battle of Ostagar in Dragon Age: Origins, or a few hours ago, with this New Donk City tempest. Incidentally, it's also raining outside today, and it seems that we’re going to get an all-around cloudy week here.
Perfect for coffee, and dreaming up New York plans...
All Ferelden’s a Stage
Good ol’ Dragon Age: Origins.
Looking at this map after Lothering, I wonder... why on earth did I go to Orzammar first on my first playthrough, fourteen years ago?
BBC
I was waiting for Shadow of the Erdtree to unlock last night when I decided to give eFootball a 2,843rd chance. It’s still upsetting to see Konami’s gameplay stuck in a pack-opening nightmare, but it seems that there are now ways to actually renew contracts...
It was pretty cool to assemble this team back together.
Plus, an honorable member.
The Remake
I’ve never experienced anything quite like the jump from a first-time playthrough of Final Fantasy VII into the cinematic marvel that is Final Fantasy VII Remake. The Midgar segment has my heart.
VII Time
Alright, alright... Let’s see what this is all about.
Mr. Lord of Blood
Elden Ring...
Two years after barely finishing the main quest with a Longsword, a makeshift excuse of a build, and the mimic.
Avoiding Mohg and Malenia like the plague back then has now turned into a combat trial to see if I should get Shadow of the Erdtree, or not. Since right now I can't even remember how to call Torrent, I began refreshing my memory by watching my sister fight all the bosses with a poleblade.
Suddenly Gone To...
My Saturday plans in Kamurocho got destroyed.
Life is Magical and Full of Joy
Y nada más, y nada más... ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
Toni Kroos
I was so worried about Modric that I didn’t even consider the possibility of this being Kroos’ last season.
Time is so, so cruel. Dammit.
It feels like yesterday that I was crying like a baby in front of my CRT after Zizou’s farewell game... but that was 2006, and in the 18 years that have passed since then, I haven’t seen another Real Madrid legend retire at the club. For some reason or another, everyone always leaves and ends up saying goodbye elsewhere.
Well, not everyone! And it might sound silly, but today FC 24 got way more important to me—In the same way that PES 6 is.
¡Gracias, Toni!
El Bernabéu
It occurred to me that this year could be last time that the old Bernabéu shows up in a new video game... so I went to sleep last night unhingedly imagining some sort of tribute to the Real Madrid players that became icons in my career saves—ever since becoming addicted to manager modes with PES 4 and FIFA 2004.
A list with this bunch, more or less:
- Antonio Rüdiger
- Arjen Robben
- Asier Illarramendi
- Aurélien Tchouaméni ★
- Brahim Díaz
- Casemiro ★
- Cicinho
- Cristiano Ronaldo ★
- Dani Carvajal ★
- Dani Ceballos
- David Beckham ★
- Eduardo Camavinga ★
- Esteban Granero
- Federico Valverde ★
- Ferland Mendy
- Fernando Gago
- Gareth Bale ★
- Guti ★
- Isco ★
- José Antonio Reyes
- Jude Bellingham ★
- Kaká ★
- Karim Benzema ★
- Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
- Lassana Diarra
- Lucas Vázquez
- Luka Modrić ★
- Luís Figo
- Mahamadou Diarra
- Marcelo ★
- Marco Asensio
- Mesut Özil ★
- Michael Essien
- Pepe
- Rafael van der Vaart
- Raphaël Varane ★
- Raúl ★
- Ricardo Carvalho
- Roberto Carlos ★
- Rodrygo
- Ronaldo ★
- Rubén de la Red
- Ruud van Nistelrooy ★
- Santiago Solari
- Sergio Ramos ★
- Toni Kroos ★
- Vinícius Júnior ★
- Wesley Sneijder
- Xabi Alonso ★
- Zinedine Zidane ★★★
I would love to add Hierro ★, Makélélé ★ and Redondo ★; alas, I only had them during my sleepless Championship Manager days.
All this to say that I’m very nervous about today.
. . .
P.S. ¡VAMOS!
Ghost Stories
The Blackwell Epiphany is ten years old today.
Oddly, the five Blackwell games have been in my head a lot for the past few years days, as I think over the idea of a game I would like to make. I’ve been thinking of maybe replaying them all for a third time, not only because time with Rosa and Joey is always an awesome idea, but because this time I’ll be particularly interested in all the developer-commentary stuff.
Time of Heroes
The backer code for Eiyuden Chronicle arrived last night. Not even an hour in, the music in the first town was so pretty it made me tear up a little—in part thinking of Murayama’s fate, but also remembering how happy and excited the Kickstarter announcement made me in the middle of a now-distant 2020.
They did it.
LocJAM 6
The weekend was cold, rainy, and awesome. One of the coolest parts was seeing Val participate in a localization jam for the first time ever. She worked on a game called Not Enough Time—a title that fit perfectly with how we rushed in the final minutes before the jam’s deadline, frantically debugging syntax problems to make the game load. A classic dev story, surely.
Hat-trick in San Mamés
Jude’s celebration is in the game!
We may not have seen it in real life for a while, but I’m sure another streak will come soon. Bellinghamania will resume...
...hopefully Wednesday?
Balloons
In Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising... something about those balloon reactions popping above the characters’ heads unlocked mamny memories for me. Memories of being fourteen years old, tinkering with RPG Maker 2003, and of being wide-eyed and dreaming big with the release of RPG Maker XP. I remembered making ugly sprites in a program called GraphicsGale, and falling in love with Suikoden II’s spritesheets way before playing the game itself.
I think I’ll give RPG Maker MZ a closer look.
A Day in the Nest
It was a beautiful indoorsy birthday yesterday—rainy, foggy, and we only briefly went outside to get coffee. My favorite moment, though, is probably somewhere between playing Haven with Val and munching on the heart-shaped brownie she made.
I love her so much.
Dark Hour and a Half
Watching the first Persona 3 movie somehow reminded me of the beautiful Diablo 2 adaptations I used to dream about as a kid, starring a moody paladin as the hero.
P.S. I kinda wish they’d kept that dim lighting in Reload's dorm.
The Scenario Writer
What on earth...
Yoshitaka Murayama has passed away.
I can’t believe it’s been three years since that super funny video pitch for the Eiyuden Chronicle campaign—three years of reading his Development Report emails. For this to happen so close to the game’s release feels cruel, and unfair.
Rest in peace, Murayama-sensei.
4/6
First date on Persona 3 Reload’s calendar turned out to be my birthday! I missed the releases of Persona 3, Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable, so this one truly feels like a gift to unwrap.
February, Finally
Having completed our search for a new apartment in the last days of a packed January, and with Val’s birthday shining bright just around the corner, we decided to kick off February with a celebratory weekend getaway to the mountains!
...a comfy cabin in the mountains, of course.
I believe it was a super happy birthday! And now that we’re back, older and less stressed... I feel like we're ready to experience the real-life version of Unpacking.
Coffee Places
It should not be surprising that Coffee Talk ended up being Val's first game purchase ever. Nor that its soundtrack is on loop now.
It was heartbreaking to learn later that Mohammad Fahmi—real writer of those in-game short stories we loved and designer of the game itself—passed away in 2022. His tribute in A Space for the Unbound was very memorable for me... but I had no idea then...
We'll play What Comes After soon. And as of today, After Love EP is one of my most anticipated games.
A Geno-Beam to the Heart
Both Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario RPG have some of the most beautiful ending sequences I’ve seen lately—one incredibly joyful, and the other a bit more bittersweet.
First RPG of the year!
Remedy Road
It took me 23 years to get past its once-scary first scene, but now I understand why the original Max Payne was such a favorite of Vic's during our childhood—why he got so into noir afterward, and why his first email was victorinoxpayne.
Sturgeon Day
Lil’ Val just caught our dinner for tonight. She’s going places!
Christmas Roll
Baldur’s Gate 3 opened a door to a type of game I’ve been wanting to get into ever since I failed to make progress in Icewind Dale II as a kid, and Val’s Christmas gift is the perfect totem to crown it as my favourite game of the year. The amount of RPGs I want to play now is definitely not a lake, but an ocean.
Dreaming of School Life
This promo image for an amusement park in Japan feels like a teaser for my life in February. Fingers crossed.
Community Sliders
Bellinghamania is fully underway, and not since Zizou was appointed manager in 2016 have I been this excited about Real Madrid's future. I needed something from video games to carry me on this wave, but I was quickly reminded of a landscape that couldn’t be more horrifying:
- PES is dead.
- eFootball plays well, but the online mode it promotes is awful and boring. Master League is still missing in action.
- Football Manager is too dangerous of a drug. I should stay away.
FIFAFC 24 is... uh... well... not super terrible, I guess. At least when combined with this Christmas miracle.
. . .
P.S. We got our first Christmas tree today, and it was as magical as Jude Bellingham himself:
One Step Forward
Games spent enough time in my head for the creation of this blog to feel almost inevitable. Or maybe it has to do with the year ending?
In any case, here it is! I’m not entirely sure about what the goal of these scribbles is, but for now, I hope that someday it will be fun to look back at these thoughts and remember... just how breathtaking my first playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3 was.