Thursday, May 02, 2013

And May's 'Bye-Bye, Backlog' selections are ...

... Crimson Shroud, Fire Emblem: Awakening and maybe Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. I'm also hoping to wrap up my EarthBound playthrough.


I know, none of the above-mentioned titles were included on the list I mentioned in this post, but all of them are fairly recent additions to my gaming backlog, so I'm going to do my best to tackle them this month (while I also continue to chip away at Super Mario Sunshine, of course).

Will I "beat" all of them? I highly doubt it, but I'll give it my best shot.


The main reason I'm attempting to play through so many of my backlogged games between now and the end of May, by the way: I'm fully expecting THE "DENPA" MEN 2: Beyond the Waves (releasing on May 30) and Animal Crossing: New Leaf (due out on June 9) to hog my attention throughout the month of June.


Anyway, have any of you fine folks played any of the three 3DS games mentioned at the top of this post? If so, what do you think of them?

See also: previous 'Bye-Bye, Backlog' posts

24 comments:

Justin Difazzio said...

I'm still about a third of the way through Fire Emblem, at my best guess. Maybe I'll add that to the May backlog challenge, too. Right now, the games to finish are Little Big Planet, The Walking Dead, and maybe Fire Emblem, now. In the future, though, probably Kirby Mass Attack will make the cut, as might Arkham City (even though I only bought it Tuesday).

thegaygamer.com said...

How are you liking Fire Emblem so far, Justin? Me, I have to say that although I think it's a well-made and very polished game, it hasn't yet inspired me to play it whenever I have a moment--like Witch and Hero or The 'Denpa' Men or Theatrhythm. Hopefully that'll change when I play it this month. Actually, I'm thinking of starting over, as it's been a good while since I've played it and I hate coming back to games without a clue as to what I did before/where to go next.


You've got a good list of backlogged games, too, by the way. Man, what is it with us gamers and our huge backlogs? ;)

Zaphod65 said...

I vote for Luigi's Mansion. It's charming and funny and very easy to get into. I'm halfway through it; I probably would've beaten already if I weren't constantly playing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. lol

thegaygamer.com said...

No need to vote, Zaphod--I'm going to try to play ALL of the games mentioned at the top of this post. Now, I may not (probably won't) actually *finish* all of these games by the end of the month, but that's OK--all I really want to do is put a good dent into each of them. If I can beat one or more of them ... good for me :)


By the way, I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon so far. I'm sure I'll like it, too. I mean, how can I not? It looks about as charming as is possible for a video game.

Zaphod65 said...

Heh. The vote is mostly to convince myself I need to finish Luigi's Mansion. All three of your games are in my backlog as well.

Justin Difazzio said...

Right? And I keep getting more. Steam is BAD for me. "Oh, it's only $4.99? Sure!"


But I'm gonna make it. Even if it takes forever. I'm really making progress, although not AT ALL what I set out to play at the beginning of this year...way less Wii than I planned...but...I'm okay with that.

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, Steam for you sounds like eBay for me. "What? That PC Engine game's only $7? That's a steal! PURCHASE!!"


I'm also with you on making progress--even if it isn't quite the progress either of us had hoped for. Cheers to that :)

thegaygamer.com said...

I hear ya, Zaphod. Hey, whatever gets you to finish the game, right?


By the way, I'm hopeful that it won't take me long to finish Crimson Shroud, as doing so would "free me up," so to speak, to tackle Fire Emblem and Luigi's Mansion will all my might :)

miruki said...

I just finished FE:A today and I loved it. It has its flaws (especially for FE beginners the game can be quite overwhelming at first imo), I restarted the game two times, first after noticing that hard is just a bit too hard when you have no idea what you're doing and then again after being 25 hours into the game and noticing that I totally screwed up some marriages.. XD - normal mode gets insanely ridiculous when you know what you're doing tho, but right now my highest priority with the game is unlocking all support conversations. 8)

I totally recommend, no matter what your gender or sexual orientation is, to play the game with a female MyUnit and marry them to Chrom on a first playthrough - even tho he's totally not a first-choice husband for my Avatar I found it added quite a bit to the story and got me all teary eyed at the end of the credits. :)

I wish there was a same sex marriage option tho, FeMU x Tharja would have been awesome. And they are both magically talented, so it would totally make sense if they'd just use some spell or something to impregnate each other (like in that toally weird anime "Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito"). ;>

Anyway, I just bought Crimson Shroud as well as it's on sale over here, so I might take a look at that after I got over my Awakening obsession. :>

miruki said...

Steam is evil... in a way that makes you feel so good yet so guilty at the same time. I just love it. 8)

miruki said...

By the way, if you don't OCD on Fire Emblem: Awakening like me the main story can be easily finished in under 20 hours, I'd even say it's easily doable in under 15h on normal - and it feels to me like playing through just the main story first, without spending too much time thinking about reclassing / strategies / inheritance etc and then playing the game again to get all out of it there is (ultimate children, max stats, completing the support log) is the best way to go about this game. Just felt like adding that. :>

thegaygamer.com said...

I've yet to try it myself, miruki, but I've definitely heard great things about it!

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, miruki! I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to Awakening--and/or starting over. I'll certainly keep in mind what you said RE: creating a female MyUnit and marrying Chrom...

thegaygamer.com said...

Yeah, that's probably what I'll do--just go through the game in a rather straightforward manner the first time around and then going a bit deeper a second time around, especially since this is my first Fire Emblem game.

Matt said...

I'm also going through the first two games, although Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut has my attention for now.

I've only just started Crimson Shroud, but it seems short. I'm a good 20 hours into Fire Emblem and expect to have it completed by the end of the month. I'm really surprised by how much I'm enjoying Fire Emblem: Awakening, even if it's mostly out of a love of increasing numbers rather than an interest in the story or battles. It's quite a bit of fun.

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut! Are you enjoying that one, Matt? The original version (360) is on my shortlist to be played as part of this 'Bye-Bye, Backlog' project.


As for Crimson Shroud being a bit short: that's fine by me!


I'm also glad to hear you've enjoyed Fire Emblem: Awakening so far--regardless of why. I enjoyed what I played of it shortly after it was released, although I have to admit I wasn't as drawn to it as I expected I'd be. Hopefully that'll change the second time around...

Matt said...

I'm only fourty-five minutes in, and I have to say that it's, um. Well. It's a video game. That I'm playing.


(It's too early to form an opinion, but I'm hoping it picks up, because it's not quite quirky enough for me to stick with it)


Yeah, I'm glad that Crimson Shroud doesn't seem to be a ten-hour game--if only because I'm afraid it would overstay its welcome. I really like the visual style.


Are you starting a new file or resuming from when you first tried it?

thegaygamer.com said...

Huh. I really liked the weirdness of the 360 version's story. Unfortunately, the damn shooting scenes really turned me off. Still, I'm determined to give it another shot--and this time hopefully I'll beat it.

As for Crimson Shroud: oh, yeah, the visual style is awesome. Main reason I want to play it, honestly. Well, that and the fact that Yasumi Matsuno made it. And the fact that it's a different sort of RPG. And the fact that it's had stellar word of mouth.


Oh, and, yes, starting over completely with Fire Emblem, I think. My current file is using "chicken" (easy) mode, and I think the complete lack of challenge may be what's turning me off. I need a bit of adversity!

retr0gamer said...

Crimson Shroud is very short, about 6 hours long. Other than some bullshit quests where you have to get a random drop it was excellent. The second last boss can be a bit challenging so you might need to grind a bit to get better weapons. Just remember combining two of the same weapon or armour can make all the difference.


The only thing about this game is that you unlock more of the game and a secret ending in new game+ (I'd recommend reading a faq on how to do it, it can be a bit obtuse) so it adds another 6 hours to the play time. However I found this a lot easier since you get much better weapons from the encounters the second time through.


I thought it was a great game overall!

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, retr0gamer! I've read/heard about the random-drop situation, by the way, so I'm good to go there. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if I end up liking the game, too. I have a feeling I will, but we won't know for a few days, I guess.

Chalgyr said...

Fire Emblem! Amazing game. Probably my favorite 3DS game yet and among my top 'game of the year' considerations so far. I haven't yet gotten a chance to play Luigi 2. I want to, but it's on the back burner as I try to get through more of my current backlog.

thegaygamer.com said...

Great to hear, Chalgyr! Also great to hear, I have to admit, that you've yet to play Luigi's Mansion, too. I have to at least put a dent into it before Animal Crossing's released, though!

Justin Difazzio said...

It really is. I've dropped WAY more money than I intended to on Steam last year...especially during their fall sale. Whoa.

thegaygamer.com said...

I hear that from a lot of people, Justin--that they drop a lot of money during Steam sales. I think I'm going to stay faaaaar away from them for a while :)