DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition

In the past few days, I have been playing DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch lite. And man, am I having a great time with it. My first DW game was Dynasty Warriors 3. I remember I was in college, young and very stupid. I walked by an EB Games, and saw they had on their PlayStation 2 demo unit Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. So, obviously, I had to buy a PS2 with MGS. Then I remember my buddy looking in the used games section and found Dynasty Warriors 3. Oh boy, after that, not only we played that game almost every single night. I have been playing every single DW game ever since.

For whatever reason, I don’t remember playing 8 but then again, almost every DW, it’s just a reiteration of the same game, same formula, over and over. So, in a way, if you have played one, you have played them all.

Before 8, my most recent like-game from the same “franchise” I played on the Switch, was WARRIORS OROCHI 4. This one is more like a crossover of, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors with other godly characters.

Playing 8, was like going back in time to those first DW games, where the story was the same, maybe adding a few characters here and there. But it was the same old school DW game I felt in love with back in 2001-2002. Even some in-battle dialog are the same.

Love the nostalgia, and I am having a blast revisiting this franchise in all its glory.

NINJA GAIDEN 3: RAZOR’S EDGE ✅

With this, I have played all three games included in the NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection on the Nintendo Switch.

Now, how was my overall experience with all three games? I can say that, I had a great time!

When I first blogged about starting this collection, I had mentioned that I watched one or two YouTube videos to see if it was worth my time getting this collection. What I was looking for specifically was if they had anything to say about the game’s difficulty. My past experience with these games is that they are pretty difficult. It turns out that the added a new Hero difficulty that, as I had mentioned before, makes the game much more approachable. At this point in my life I am not up for challenges, I just want to enjoy the game in my own way, and it makes me happy to see the toned down difficulties for players like me.

Having finished NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA 2, I was browsing the YouTubes there and came across this video, Before you buy. And boy was that a mistake.

Usually, when I look for a YouTube video on a specific game, usually is to find out specific things, usually gameplay, I don’t necessarily carafe for the YouTuber’s opinion much. And even if they have a bad opinion, I don’t affect me much — most of the time. However, every once in a while, it might.

Specifically with these games, I believe that the general consensus is that, the first Ninja Gaiden is a cult classic, the second one is good, and the third is the weakest one. Kind of like with the Blade movies. Or according to this video review mediocre at best. Furthermore, it seems like in this collection, we got the “lesser versions”. These games have been redone a few times for different reasons, and the reason they didn’t remaster the “Original” and apparently “the good versions” is because the lost the original code for them.

Whatever!

I hated myself after watching this video. Why? Because then I had some influenced misconceptions about the game. I started approaching the game in a critical way. I am not a critical person when it comes to games, movies, etc. I just enjoy stuff but yeah, every once in a while my opinions can be influenced — a little —, it happens. This is why I try my best to not read reviews, I try to judge for myself. Because of this, I tend to be a fan or enjoy games and movies most people would probably hate.

That being said, here’s what I think of these games.

NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA: A cult classic! It is a fantastic game, and you are into puzzles, this is the game for you.

NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA 2: It’s good, not many puzzles and less exploration, but still a lot of fun.

NINJA GAIDEN 3: RAZOR’S EDGE: Slicing and dicing! Hack and slash, whichever way you might call it. Much more linear story, no puzzles whatsoever and lots of blood. My kind of game. I had a fucking blast with this game, I might even replay it, it’s an action adventure joy of a game.

The first one, won’t probably play it for another few years, played it, beat it, done. The second and third game, they might have much more replay-ability value — for me.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma as part of the NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection on the Nintendo Switch.

If I remember correctly, NINJA GAIDEN was first released back in 2004 then ported with extra content and graphical improvements and thus NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA. I think I first tried to play this on the Xbox 360, I think under the name of Ninja Gaiden Black. Kind of confusing, but same game. If you are familiar with this series, you’ll know that these games are tough! I don’t think I made it any farther than maybe the first 2 chapters before rage-quitting.

Then, this Master collection was announced, with a Nintendo Switch version, so I knew I wanted this collection on the go. I was still afraid that the game would still be difficult, and I would — again — rage-quit it.

I was watching a couple of YouTube reviews videos to see how the games would hold up and if any changes in the difficulty were made. I cannot with a hundred percent certainty say that the difficulty has been toned down for sure, but it is something that got mentioned. Moreover, they added this new HERO difficulty mode. In this mode, as you’re nearly dead, Ryu would auto-block and dodge, and you can use Nimpo as much as you want. You do have quite some time to fight your way around before you’re dead, dead. This made boss battles doable and the entire game much more approachable. The challenge is still there, but it is a wee bit more forgiving in a way.

This is how I managed to beat the game, finally, for the first time. The game holds up pretty well, besides some control mechanics and camera annoyances it is a fun game. Bosses are ridiculous and over the top, some don’t even make sense but who cares, and dashing and slicing! Female characters are over visually over sexualized, no surprise there, but it can be off-putting.

The game was about 10 hours to beat, for me, it never felt like it was dragging too much. There were times I got stuck trying to figure out what to do as the game doesn’t hold your hand like other games do, I am spoiled by modern games, I guess. But I had a good time.

If you’ve never played the series, give this Master Collection a try, I think with the new difficulty setting it is, like I’ve said before, more approachable for newcomers.

If you have ever played any of the Devil May Cry games, this will be familiar to you.

Sight! Many times, I get excited about a new vidjia game. And sometimes said game, has a demo — great! Sometimes, I play said demo and don’t like what I am playing, but I am still excited about the game. I deleted, said demo and re-downloaded said demo, two more times. And two more times, I couldn’t get into it, but I was still excited for the game. The Game comes out, I had some monies in my Nintendo account, and purchased said game. Not only I bought said game, but I got the deluxe edition of it.

The game in question is MONSTER HUNTER RISE on the Nintendo Switch. After purchasing said game I told myself, “alright, let’s commit to it”. I played the tutorial part of it, and I kind of enjoyed what I played, but I was feeling like I was forcing myself in some way.

I have never played a Monster Hunter game before, well, let me rephrase that, I have never been able to get into them. I purchased and played Monster Hunter World on the PlayStation 4 and the same thing, couldn’t get into it.

What I am trying to get at is, well, I have dropped MH Rise, I don’t know why, but I can’t commit to it. Maybe this is not the time? Maybe I will come back to it later, and then I’ll finally get it and play it through? I don’t know, but I like very little when I get excited about a game and spend money on it, just to uninstall it and abandon it. It does not often happen but when it does, I get unhappy.

Some other games that have been abandoned like so are;

• Xenoblade Chronicles 2

• Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (this one I re-downloaded last night, though)

• Immortals Fenyx Rising (I will come back to this one for sure)

• Darksiders Genesis

I am sure there are more, but those are the ones I regret the most, not finishing.

Whether I might come back to MH RISE, maybe, who knows.

I think, I have found a use case for my Hey World, I have even added a New Page on my blog called Hey, to access them specific posts.

The idea will be specific posts about something I have liked on any given week or games. This is not entirely new since it’s something I’ve already been doing. I have a category for Something I Liked, which is up to volume 31 — damn! Also, one for A Game I Liked. So far, and for now, the idea is to publish these two topics on Hey World, obviously linked to my main blog.

This will definitely change my blogging workflow a little, but these two topics are not as frequent as my regular posts.

I don’t know, it seems like a cool experiment.

Stay tuned…

There is this thing that I get every time I am about to finish a video game that I am really into or a book. Once I realize that I am close to the end I start panicking a little. What am I going to read (or play) when this is over?

There is this sense of loss in a way, like when I am really into a book or a game, I don’t want to lose that “obsession”, like I always got to have one, one thing to play or read. Sometimes, I even start browsing for the next possible thing before I finish which what I am at the moment, just to make sure I have something lined up.

I have been playing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla since December, on the Xbox. I was so obsessed with it that, it would be the only thing I’d play. Even after finishing it, after over 110 hours of gameplay, I started over. Until a week or so ago, I stopped, gradually. If they push an update with new stuff I might jump back into but no for long. And when I had started the second play through, I started browsing for games, specifically on the Switch. Because I needed something once I was done with AC.

Yesterday, I finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and the same thing, when I was aware that I only had a few hours left, I was browsing for the next book. Which I am yet to find the next book.

The bad thing about this is that I don’t know what I really want to read or play next. I just know I need something, and sometimes I end up getting something that is not as satisfying and never finish playing it or reading.

I am sure there’s a name or psychological explanation for this behavior.

Over two years ago, I quit Facebook, no regrets or haven’t looked back — don’t miss it. At the en of 2020, I quit Instagram, deleted, gone! Even when I made the decision, I was wondering if I was going to regret it. Well, for the past week or so, I have been having Insta-withdrawals, I miss having instagram but for the right reasons. I liked seeing pictures of friends and family that I don’t have close contact with or just don’t ever see in person anymore for whatever the reasons. So much so that I’ve even downloaded the app, I just very hesitant about opening and logging into a new account and start over.

Last night, I almost did it, I opened it, enter my phone number to create an account, which I probably shouldn’t. Your phone number is almost like your social security number these days. I ended up not moving forward, I swipe up and “killed” the app. Then I started thinking of why I had quit and that prevented me from try again.

Like I’ve said, there are things I miss, I miss some friends, and the interactions, I miss posting my pictures too, it’s a fun thing to do. What I don’t miss is the Facebook aspect of it, not just the way the app works now but some of the feelings and anxiety that these Facebookated apps can bring if you’re not careful. And that is what I am scared of, being sucked into the Facebook-like-social-media-vortex and lose sight of what I really want and enjoy from the app, if it makes any sense.

I have a feeling that I might wind up doing it, one night, when I have had one too many beers, and like any good decision-making, I will say Fuck it and back to insta I’ll go.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I have been playing Persona 5 Strikers on the Nintendo Switch there. I am only a little over 3 hours and still figuring out how I feel about it.

It is March 1st, not only that, but it is also a Monday and my final days at level 37 😉. For whatever reason it seems like a great opportunity — or excuse — to start new routines and setting up goals and do my best to stick with them. Well, more, than just starting or creating new ones, it is more like adding some to an already existing set of everyday routines.

First and foremost, better quality sleep. I need to be consistent with this one, go to bed on time, try to get 8 hours of sleep instead than less than 7. Wake up on time, be at work on time, this is an area in which I have been slacking a bit for a while. My job, or at least the team I work with, it is not very strict when it comes to the schedule as long as the job gets done. But still, I want to do better at this.

Reincorporate workout routines. I need to get moving, I need to get back into a healthier lifestyle and loose weight. I have tons of excuses and some of them may be valid ones but excuses nonetheless. Last week I kind of started on that, I actually closed all my rings pretty much all week except for Friday.

I want to have a more consistent and effective routine when it comes to organizing my week and work duties. Many times I find myself very unorganized and, as we say back home, Algarete, adrift, no sense of direction and just doing, thus things fall through the cracks. Whether is using pen and paper, an application or just a calendar system, I am not sure, perhaps all the above. But what it’s clear to me is that I need to create the habit, create an ongoing routine.

If you have made it this far, my birthday it’s on March 31st, I like vidjia games, beer, movies and scotch. 😉

Had another strange dream last night. I was involved in some kind of sports game and cannot remember which for the life of me. Then I was in a mall, it looked like a mall from back home in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. What I was doing there I don’t remember clearly either. However, something happened that I broke my iPhone, or part of it. Imagine as if the iPhone had a folding glass cover for the screen, like if you’d open it, it would look like you had a book 📖. Well, that covered broke. I was then calling my local Apple Store to schedule a repair. I knew I had Apple Care plus, but I wasn’t sure if I was over my “accidental damage claims” limit, and if I would have to assume the cost of the repair or not. I spoke with a lady, and she told me it was 280.00 USD for the repair, but they’d just make me pay 120.00 on front and the rest in installments. Not only that, but I remember saying “well, that is a lot of money”, then I said to myself, wait, the iPhone doesn’t have this, it is just a dream. Then I woke up, I felt relieved, turn around and went back to sleep.

I am wearing a case today, just in…. case 😎

You know The Legend of Zelda, even if you have never played a single Zelda game, it is somehow embedded in our nerdy-pop-culture. Just like Batman, even if you don’t like superheroes, at least the name should ring a bell.

I like Zelda, it has a big place in our pop culture and gaming community, I am familiar with its lore and aware of every game out there. Believe me, I even have a triforce tattooed on my arm.

That being said, I think I have only played a small handful of Zelda games in my entire gaming life. I very much remember The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures on the GameCube, I think I’ve played Ocarina of time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D and Breath of the wild. Oh, and the one with the train 🚂 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. So, not that many of them, and to be honest, I have probably finished all the way through, 2 of these.

But anytime Nintendo announces a Nintendo Direct, people go bonkers for Zelda stuff. They want all the Zeldas, all the remasters and all the new as well. That’s cool, I guess, but I guess the hype sometimes makes go meh!

Don’t get me wrong even if I go “meh!”, I get excited for new Zelda stuff. The last two Zelda games released on the Switch are in my wishlist, hoping that I will play them some day. And yet, they’re sitting there, and I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe I’m burned out off Zelda games?

Now I am sounding like a grumpy old gamer 😅

The one I am really eager to play though is Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, simply because I am a sucker for the Dynasty Warriors type of games. 😁

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on the Xbox One.

Normally, when I post one of these, it is usually within the first few days or at least a week after first starting the game. This one though, it is a hundred and forty hours after the fact.

It is no secret whatsoever that I am a huge fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. I have played pretty much every major title since the first one, and I am still a big fan to this date. For the longest time the Ezio Saga, if you will, had been my favorite until AC Origins. I am a sucker for Egyptian everything, so that was right up my aisle. And then Odyssey came out, and then that one was my favorite (😂). And now, Valhalla.

Basically, what I am trying to say here is that Ubisoft has found a way to make these games better and better, taking the good things about them and improve upon them. Making each iteration better and better, to me, at least. AC Origins I replayed that one at least 3 times, and so Odyssey.

In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, you take the role of Eivor Varinsdottir (male or female), A Viking rider in Norway and long story short, you set out to England, against the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Why, well because they can, and they will. If you have played Origins and or Odyssey, the game play and game mechanics are very similar. The same exploration sense of it, parkour and more parkour, leap of faith “eagle” (or raven in this game) vision. All the things that make and Assassin’s Creed and AC game.

In addition to all of that, you have the raids, basically as the word implies, you raid towns, military bases and Monasteries. By doing these raids you gain materials and supplies that will allow you to improve and buildup your settlement. By improving your settlement you get access to some perks which are somewhat necessary to progress in the game as you can upgrade your gear, stats and such. Raids are mostly besides the main story, they are sort of like side-boat-quests kind of thing. In this game, you can either travel by land or by water. I often choose to travel mostly by land simply because you can train your mount to be faster, with more stamina and to swim. So, once you can swim, well, you just go and forget you have a boat (or at least I did), until you want to go to town and do some raids.

The main story of this game it’s pretty huge, I believe people in the internets and some reviewers say about 70-80 hours, or something like that, full of good story telling, and lore My first play though was about 110 hours. The reason why is that I was having so much fun with the game that at any moment that I felt like I was close to the end, I would go out of my way and do side quests, which this game has a lot of the side quests. Some side quests can be, simple word events, like helping someone. Some others are cursed areas, and you need to lift the curse. There can be some secret missions, secret items, drinking games, and some dice game called Orlog, which I had a hard time understanding it at first, not going to lie. And all these side quests are scattered all over the map and the map its massive!

Often times I found myself just going around the map hunting for specific armor pieces and going into areas where I wasn’t supposed to, given my current level.

Now, I am not certain if this is going to be a little spoilery, talking about then protagonist’s dreams.

So, I guess this is a warning ⚠️ - ish

Anyhow, at some point in the game you visit some dreams, some visions you’re having. And they are very Norse Mythology driven or related and that was a lot of fun to play. Although I enjoyed playing it, I did not appreciate that part of the game on my first play through as much as I did the second time. In between play throughs I was listening to the audiotape Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, and then I realized that most of the missions in that part of the story, where Nordic tales, somewhat adapted to fit that part of the game. They weren’t word by word or event by event, but I would say pretty close, and it was awesome to see an adaptation of those stories in the game.

So, yes as you may have gathered by now, once I finish the game I started a second save file. This time around I am focusing more on the main story line, not doing much of the side quests and whatnot. Making different decisions and different approach.

If you’d ask me “Gaby, shall I get this game?”, I’ll say abso-fucking-lutely”! If you are willing to put in the time that is. The game is a lot of fun, I got this game for Christmas and, in between the two plays throughs I’ve got about 130 hours. And just today, as I am posting this, they came out with a new update that adds more raids and missions to the game, so let’s see how many more hours I’ll be putting on this one (😅)

I believe the game now, the standard edition can be acquired or less than 40.00 USD, but if you’re like me, you’ll be spending way more on it as you can buy armors, weapons, and other goodies from the Ubisoft Store 😜