La Prima Giocatrice

Work really picked up at the beginning of the year, not leaving me with much time to post. I now find myself with a bit of free time, so I'm going to play a bit of catch up. These are the titles I've been tackling since January (it's a lot of remasters, I know):

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
This was a gift for my birthday and I didn't spend too much time with it, to be honest. A friend was really excited that I finally got a copy of the game, invited me to his party, and then threw me into an online match against actual online, real people. That was my first impression of this game -- of getting my ass handed to me. I didn't even get the chance to run the tutorial; I found the controls to be a little wonky.

But I will say, it is a very pretty game. I just spent most of my time on it.. with zero hp. I'll definitely go back and give it another try, but I quickly got distracted by another Final Fantasy title.

Final Fantasy X HD Remaster
Having been given the ability to pick Tidus as a fighter made me reminiscent for FFX and I was overdue for a replay anyway. X ranks high on my list of favorite Final Fantasy titles. If I remember correctly, it's also the first Final Fantasy title I managed to play to the very end back when it was first released on the PS2. The game play was fine and it's such a good story! It was a fun replay.

Shadow of the Colossus
Although this is another remaster, I never played the original PS2 version when it was first released. It came strongly recommended and it did not disappoint. The remastered graphics are beautiful and the game itself is so to the point, which is a welcome relief to someone who continuously plays rpgs with many, many side quests.

Fate/EXTELLA
This title caught my eye at a used entertainment store because I am a fan of the anime series and I used to play the mobile game. It's essentially a Fate version of Dynasty Warriors. My favorite thing about this game is the fact that the dialogue doesn't change based on the selected gender of the main character. Therefore, as I'm playing through as a female main character, a lot of comments from Nero come off as gay and I am living for it.

Final Fantasy XIII
For the entire month of May, I didn't have access to my PS4, but my PS3 was still in good, running condition (during this time, I've also dabbled a bit in Steam, but I'm not much of a PC gamer). So what do I do? Naturally, I picked another Final Fantasy title to replay and this time it was XIII. Instead of replaying it for the nostalgia factor, I replayed it because I simply couldn't remember the storyline of the game at. all. and considering that Lightning is one of my favorite Final Fantasy characters, this could not stand.

And as I was going through it again, I remember why I couldn't really recall the story -- there is so. much. going on in this game. Giving a quick summary when you load back into the game is such a brilliant idea. It helped keep the plot at the forefront of my mind.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
When I got access to my PS4 once again, Square had announced the release date (FINALLY) for Kingdom Hearts III, sparking my interest in a replay of the entire franchise before January 29th. I've elected to play them in chronological order of when the events in the game happened, so I started with Birth by Sleep. This was a very quick play through, even with all three characters (each run took roughly 8 hours; I am clearly not going for 100% completion at this point).

And with each play through, the story got sadder and sadder.

Having finished all three, I've since moved on to Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and that's where I'm currently at today. It's been a busy six months. I hope you're all doing well!

I can still vividly recall my first ever video game system: a hand-me-down original NES from one of my older cousins who had outgrown it. Out of the shoe box of games that came with it, one distinctly stood out from the rest: the 3-in-1 Super Mario/Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet.

Whereas Duck Hunt and World Class Track Meet were well played as well, they weren't as loved, or brought my family as close together as Super Mario did. Vividly can I remember sitting close to my parents and sister as we each took turns on this new form of family entertainment for us; there was such excitement in the air as we zipped through levels as fast as we could, each eager to beat the record set by the prior person.

Thus began my near lifelong obsession with video games, during those evenings of escapism into a different world; into time where reality didn’t matter; and into fantastical stories that captivated my imagination, inspiring me to create in various different mediums of my own.

Well, needless to say, I have been a huge Mario fan ever since.

And Super Mario Odyssey does not disappoint.

This is an amazing game, among the first to really captivate me on the Switch (I've yet to play Zelda: Breath of the Wild). I am having so much fun with it and I hope you are, too. :)