Hey! I am back from taking a little break in February. Did not have as much time to sit and write, plus coupled with a little bit of writers block/anxiety I figured it would be best to take a little bit of a break. So I figured what better way to start back to catch you up on what I have been playing and watching while on this break!
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
I have put in about 30 hours into Arceus, which seems like a lot but I really have only scratched the surface on this world. I am in the third area right now and I am really enjoying just taking my time with it. This game is the biggest surprise for me this year so far. Arceus is the first major step that the Pokemon franchise of games has taken in probably 20 years. GameFreak makes some really smart changes that really should have been made years ago but I am happy that they are here nonetheless. When I imagined what an open world exploration-style Pokemon game would look like, it is pretty close to what Arceus does here. There are still some things that are frustrating (like not being able to organize your pastures, this game’s version of PC Boxes).
This game weakest part are the visuals. The Nintendo Switch has already been showing its age, but Arceus is extremely rough looking. It also does not help that there is a first party Kirby game coming out a month from now on the same hardware that looks and seems to run a lot better. I am hoping this turns into an Assassin’s Creed situation, where the first one was a great basis of an idea, then Assassin’s Creed 2 (and Brotherhood) nailed down the idea and perfected it. I do miss Gym battles and bigger town areas, and I could use a more interesting narrative with more fleshed out side quests but if this is the start of GameFreak trying new things, then I am here for it.
Sifu
One of my most anticipated games from the start of the year came out in the beginning of February. I have not put as much time into that I would have wanted, but I am about 4-5 hours into it. The difficulty is extremely high, though I can feel myself improving the more I play and get used to the combat.
It has been the perfect game to pick up for a run (usually they last about 30mins). It has a familiar rouge like grind to it, but unlike previous ones that have gotten their hooks in me (Hades, Returnal), Sifu has not. I have been enjoying it, but it is not as addicting as I thought it would be.
The stand out from this is the combat, which I think is an evolved form of the Batman Arkham combat, with more of an emphasis on actual martial arts. I do wish the combat moves were not as tied to the rouge like style as much as they are. I do enjoy this game more than the predecessor that SloClap had in Absolver.
My Hero Academia
This is what has been taking most of my time up after work and really when I have any free time. I am blown away how much I have been enjoying this anime. The last time I have just binge watched through most of a anime was with Bleach. To quickly go through what MHA is about, it follows the story of Izuku Midorya and how he goes from a quirk-less boy (quirks are the powers everyone has) to given one of the most powerful quirks by the world’s number #1 hero: All Might. You follow his journey through his high school years, learning how to better control his quirk and to become the best hero in the world. The amount of creativity that goes into the powers, the names of the heroes, and the world building in this show is just amazing. I feel like every season, there are new characters and villains introduced they become a favorite of mine (shoutout to Gentle Criminal!) I am just now starting season 5 and the growth that all the characters from Class 1-A have gone through has been outstanding. It is such an easy watch, with a runtime of about 22 minutes without commercials. If you are or have been a fan of Shoen Jump anime in the past, then do yourself a favor and watch My Hero Academia.
So that is what I have been most of what I have been watching and playing in February. Also there are a lot of games out or coming out soon that I want to get my hands on like Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, and Kirby: Forgotten World. Also the Oscars are at the end of March, so I want to make sure to catch up on the Best Picture movies that I have not seen in preparation. I know the Academy Awards are not everyone’s cup of tea, but I still enjoy them and it provides a good list of movies for me to seek out and watch.