What a difference a vacation makes (or, impressions of the Bravely Second demo, Final Fantasy Explorers, Return to PopoloCrois, Witch & Hero II, Yo-Kai Watch and more)

I don't know how many of you noticed, but I haven't played too many games over the last few months.

That wasn't because of anything negative or dramatic, mind you. Mainly, it was because I just "wasn't in the mood."

You know how it is sometimes, I'm sure. Thanks to trying to fit a whole bunch of things into a single day or week--my day job, freelance gigs, maintaining this blog, making dinner, exercise and more--I had a hard time mustering the energy and even the interest required to properly dive into any of the many games that are hidden throughout my house at the moment.

All of the above came to a halt when my husband and I went to California for vacation a couple of weeks ago. While there, I spent a surprising amount of time playing the handful of games (and demos) name-checked above and detailed below.

I've played each of the following for more than three hours so far, by the way--well, with the exception of the Project X Zone 2 demo, which I blew through it about 45 minutes.

Bravely Second (demo)--To be completely honest, I dreaded starting this demo. Online impressions of the Japanese and European versions of the full game left me assuming it would pale in comparison to its mostly awesome (in my humble opinion, of course) precursor. Although that may prove to be the case after I tackle the retail release, this demo currently has me in good spirits. It's gorgeous as all get-out, naturally, but that's just the icing on the case as far as I'm concerned. Far more important to me is that the characters are likable and the battles are just as engaging as they were in Bravely Default.

Final Fantasy Explorers--Here's another game I didn't expect to enjoy. I put an hour or two into its Japanese demo ages ago and walked away from it thinking it was little better than ho-hum. Still, I bought a physical copy of the North American release basically to prove to the powers that be at Square Enix there are plenty of people who'd like them to localize their 3DS titles for Western markets. So, imagine my surprise when I found myself having a blast with this Monster Hunter wannabe (although Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles wannabe might be a more accurate description). I can see how its gameplay could become stale over time, but for now I like its focus on fetch quests, its varied environments and its nostalgia-satisfying selection of enemies.

Project X Zone 2: Brave New World (demo)--Of all the games and demos I've spent time with in the last few weeks, Project X Zone 2 was the most disappointing. By far. That's not to say I hated every one of the 45 or so minutes I put into it, mind you. Actually, I found its fight scenes to be pretty thrilling--if far from "deep." They weren't enough to make me want to track down a boxed (or even digital) copy, though. Project X Zone 2's ridiculous wordiness has something to do with that, I'm sure, as does the confusing nature of its battles. (Yes, the latter are exhilarating, but only to a point--mainly because they feel very random and button-mashy.)

Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale--This is the first of all the titles mentioned here that I stuck into my trusty 3DS while traveling to California. Curiously, I liked it so much early on that I thought I'd play little else during my trip. In reality, I gave three hours to it, found it "nice enough" (far from great, in other words) and then moved on to something else. (Final Fantasy Explorers was next up, I believe.) Don't worry, I'll circle back to it soon, and I plan to finish it at some point. Still, I'd be lying if I said it's blown me away up to now. I'm not entirely sure why that is, though I have a feeling its rather dull battles are largely to blame. Here's hoping things pick up in that regard after I return to it.

Witch & Hero 2--Although I put about two hours into the Japanese version of this game in the days following its release, I felt a little out of sorts during that time. I guess the new gameplay "hook"--you can move the witch as well as the hero in the sequel--really threw me for a loop at first. Thankfully, I've felt a lot more comfortable while making my way through the first 26 or so stages of the North American iteration. Being able to control both characters is a nice addition, by the way, as are the new tunes, locales and baddies. What isn't so nice is that, after the Witch & Hero II's tough opening salvo, the journey veers toward cakewalk territory.

Yo-Kai Watch--I've looked forward to playing Level-5's Pokémon competitor in a language I fully understand since the first game hit the streets of Japan back in 2013. Because of that, I fully expected the final, localized product to let me down. Guess what? It hasn't. Yo-Kai Watch is as charming as can be--from its setting, to its soundtrack, to its characters (including the titular ghoulies), to its battles. The latter really have me by the short and curlies right now, I've got to say--even though the associated micro-games probably make me look silly during my morning and afternoon commutes. The side-eyes are worth it, though, because the just-mentioned mini-games add some much-needed zip to an RPG component that's more often than not bored me in recent years.

See also: all of my 'Shall We Do It?' posts

6 3DS games I'm looking forward to playing at some point in 2016

Along with the pile of 3DS games mentioned in my recent pair of "5 games I bought in 2015 that I've regrettably (and embarrassingly) failed to play" posts, I'm also looking forward to playing at some point in 2016:

Bravely Second--I know a lot of people hated Bravely Default, and I mostly understand why that is. Personally, though, I loved the game. Yes, it had its shortcomings--chief among them, for me at least, being its annoying chattiness--but the rest of it was so sublime It wasn't hard for me to overlook the ugly bits. I've heard that this oddly named sequel has its own share of pitfalls, but I'm determined to buy and play it anyway. I mean, there's no chance Bravely Second's negatives will be anywhere near as bad as Default's, right?

Dragon Quest VII--I've wanted to play through the original PlayStation iteration of the game ever since I quite literally wrenched myself away from my beloved copy of Dragon Quest IX. What's kept me from starting that predecessor? The astronomical pricetags usually attached to complete versions of Dragon Quest VII is one. Another is that VII's supposed to be  a real time sink. Thankfully, this 3DS remake addresses both if those problems (in a way), as launch copies should be $50 or even $40, tops, and the length issue will be less of a worry due to its portability. In other words, this sucker can't be released too soon, as far as I'm concerned.

Final Fantasy Explorers--I'm kind of baffled that I decided to pre-order the North American version of this Final Fantasy offshoot, to tell you the truth. I downloaded and played the game's Japanese demo shortly after it was made available in late 2014 and walked away from it feeling ambivalent. On the one hand, Explorers looks a bit rough. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all if someone revealed that the game began life as a DS game before being ported to the 3DS. I also don't much care for the odd aesthetics of this title's character models. On the other hand, I thought Explorers' real-time gameplay was at least competent, and I'm strangely attracted to adventures that focus on completing quests these days. At any rate, I'm not going to cancel my pre-order now, so hopefully the positives outweigh the negatives once I finally plug this cart into my trusty 3DS.

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest--Of course I went with the version of Fates that will allow my male protagonist to woo one of the game's muscle-bound brutes, right? The question is: will that be enough for me to spend more time with Conquest than I did with Awakening? (Last time I looked, I'd put just under eight hours into the 3DS' first Fire Emblem title.) I don't know, but I sure hope it will, as I really enjoyed what I experienced of Awakening.

Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale--The PopoloCrois (or PoPoLoCrois, if you're a Japanophile) series has intrigued me since I became aware of its first entry, a PlayStation game. That RPG--as well as its sequel and roguelike spin-off, both of which also were PSone titles--featured some of the loveliest sprite-based visuals you're ever going to see in a video game. Sadly, developer Epics veered away from that aesthetic for this curious mash-up, which combines PopoloCrois' setting and turn-based battles with some of Harvest Moon's--I mean A Story of Seasons'--farming-focused gameplay. Oh, well, at least Return to PopoloCrois' polygonal graphics still look pretty good.

Witch & Hero 2--The original Witch & Hero first caught my eye about three years ago due to its 8-bit-esque enemies, which look like they were pulled from an old Dragon Quest game. I was a bit shocked when I actually bought and played this FK Digital title, though, as it plays nothing like that classic series of RPGs. Instead, it's a twitchy, arcade-action game that confidently leans toward tower-defense territory. Will this soon-to-be-released sequel be more of the same or offer up something new? I have no idea, but I'm anxious to find out one way or the other.

Are there any in-the-works 3DS games that are causing you to salivate in anticipation of their impending (during 2016) release? If so, let me know about them in the comments section below.

And yet five more games I'm looking forward to playing between now and the end of 2015

Just over a month ago, I published a pair of posts--here's the first one, and here's the second one--that detailed a handful of games I'm looking forward to playing between now and the end of 2015.

My original intention was to wrap up this series (if it can even be called such a thing) within a couple of days of the second post's introduction to this thing we used to call the World Wide Web, but, well, if you've been visiting this blog for any amount of time, you know that's how things go sometimes.

With all of that out of the way, let's get to the final five games that I'm looking forward to playing before this year comes to a close.



The Legend of Legacy (3DS)--Is it weird that I'm going to buy the North American version of this open-ended, SaGa-esque RPG even though I've owned the Japanese release for some time now? (You can read about it, and peruse some photos of its beautiful packaging, in this previously published post, if you're at all curious.) I don't think so, especially since I'm basically stumbling through my current copy of the game at the moment. I was OK with that when it was my only option, but once an English localization joins it as a possibility I won't hesitate in swapping out the former in favor of the latter.



Monhun Nikki: Poka Poka Airu Mura DX (3DS)--Here's another entry that may shock a couple of people, as back in February I devoted an entire post to small handful of photos I'd taken of the first Animal Crossing-ish Monhun Nikki: Poka Poka Airu Mura game that was made for the PSP, which I had acquired a few weeks earlier. Considering I've yet to even pop the aforementioned UMD into either of my PSP systems so far, why would I want to hand over my hard-earned cash to buy this updated 3DS iteration? Because I have a feeling I'll be more likely to play such a game on my go-to portable of the moment (Nintendo's latest dual-screened handheld, naturally), that's why. Here's hoping that's what actually comes to pass once this import cart is in my grubby paws.

Mysterious Chronicle (Vita)--Some of you may know this upcoming PS4 and Vita game by its Japanese name, which is Fushigi no Chronicle: Furikaerimasen Katsu Made wa. It's a remake, of sorts, of a mobile game called One Way Heroics. Both titles are roguelikes that, as far as I can tell, take place aboveground--or at least outdoors--as opposed to indoors or below ground, which is typical of the genre. Honestly, that last bit alone would be enough to make me want to track down a copy of the erstwhile Mysterious Chronicle as soon as possible, so when you add in its stellar spritework, well, you should be able to see why I'm smacking myself around for not having it on pre-order. 

Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale (3DS)--True story: I've wanted to play a PoPoLoCrois (this is how the title is written in Japan, by the way) game for ages. Specifically, I've wanted to play one or more of the three beautiful, sprite-based PoPoLoCrois games--two of which are RPGs and one of which is a roguelike--that were made for the original PlayStation since I first become aware of them a number of years ago. This 3DS-based release isn't as gorgeous as any of those 32-bit efforts, I've got to say, but it still looks pretty good. Plus, I'm intrigued by the fact that this one includes content that calls to mind the Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons, I guess) series.  

Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U)--How am I going to play this precious-looking platformer when I don't yet own a Wii U console? I have no idea, but I'm going to do my best to make it happen. After all, I'm going to need a Wii U if I'm finally going to experience Splatoon, Super Mario Maker and Illusory Revelations ♯FE, right? As for what's pushing me to do whatever needs to be done to experience this game, that would be that it gives off serious Kirby's Epic Yarn vibes. That game was one of my favorite Wii titles, regardless of genre, so if Woolly World is even half as entertaining, it will be more than worth the price of admission.

How about you guys and gals? Are you looking forward to playing any of these games between now and the end of 2015? Or maybe you're looking forward to playing some other games that were recently made available or will be made available soon? If so, please let me know about them in the comments section below.

See also: 'Five games I'm really looking forward to playing between now and the end of 2015' and 'Five additional games I'm looking forward to playing between now and the end of 2015'

This game's title is a mouthful, but I want it anyway (or, PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari is heading to North America later this year as Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale)

First, for those of you who don't know your PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari from your Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke, the former is a 3DS title that curiously combines elements of two different game series, PoPoLoCrois Monogatari and Bokujou Monogatari.

I say "curiously" here because Bokujou Monogatari is what the ages-old Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons) series of farming simulators is called in Japan, while PoPoLoCrois Monogatari is a rather well-loved series of role-playing games that previously were released for the original PlayStation, the PS2 and the PSP.

In other words, PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari--or Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale, as it will be known in North America--is going to be a 3DS cart that allows folks to do all of the things that traditionally go hand in hand with playing a Japanese RPG (traversing a sprawling overworld, challenging a variety of baddies to turn-based tussles) while also giving them an opportunity to lovingly tend to a farm in their spare time. (To get a glimpse of all of the above in action, check out this Japanese trailer.)



Anyway, I've had my eye on this sucker, which is being made by Marvelous and will be published in North America via Xseed, since it was first announced some time ago. I've hemmed and hawed in regards to pre-ordering it, though, due to the fact that I assumed the text in it would be too much for me at this point in time. (Plus, it'll hit store shelves in Japan on June 18, and the last thing I need right now is for another game to arrive on my doorstep that I won't be able to play for a month or more.)

So, the revelation that it's being localized as Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale--officially, it's Return to PopoloCrois: A STORY OF SEASONS Fairytale, but I refuse to support Xseed's all-caps abuse--but won't actually released until sometime this winter has me feeling pretty stoked.

Are any of you also looking forward to getting your hands on this 3DS game? If so, feel free to share the love in the comments section below.