- she/her
I'm SoftenStar! But you can call me Audrey. :3
I was able to watch the direct before my short work shift today, and now that work is over I want to write about my thoughts on it! :la: Overall, I thought it was a good direct!
I'll talk about most of the games, but the ones I'm less interested in might not get mentioned.
Mario & Luigi Brothership looks good! I'm glad to see that the Mario & Luigi series isn't dead. The game looks really fun and colorful. (also keep wanting to call it "Brotherhood" instead...like FMA Brotherhood lol).
The Nintendo World Championships game looks cool! idk if I'll get it, but I like that they're making challenges for their classic NES games.
Fairy Tail 2 is an interesting choice. |D I only ever watched one episode of the anime but a game based on the final arc is an interesting choice.
Fantasian Neo Dimension looks kinda interesting, but idk how to feel about the combat.
I'm surprised that Nintendo Switch Sports is getting an update. It must have sold well enough despite people's thoughts on it. |D
Mio: Memories in Orbit looks interesting. I wonder if it's one of those games with no dialogue??
Disney Illusion Island getting an update is cool. I haven't played it but it looks like a fun platformer.
Hello Kitty: Island Adventure is no longer stuck on Apple Arcade!!! I've been wanting to play this game so I'm really excited. :D I hope we get a physical release with cute box art.
This also means that the Puyo Puyo game on Apple Arcade could potentially come to consoles at some point. I really hope it does because I need more Puyo Puyo.
That Looney Tunes sports game looks fun. I think there was something like that on the GameCube? Never played it but looks cool.
Among Us is still getting updates? XD That's a bit sus...
idk how to feel about Farmagia. I was slightly interested when it was previously revealed, but idk if I'm vibing with the trailer. Maybe I'll feel differently when more info is revealed.
Good to see that Donkey Kong Country Returns is coming to the Switch! I feel bad for Donkey Kong fans though because they haven't gotten a brand new game in so long. Hopefully he'll get something new someday.
The HD-2D Dragon Quest III remake is looking good! And that's cool that they're remaking DQI and DQII. I played the mobile ports on the Switch all three a few years ago, but I wouldn't be against playing them again. I hope they remake IV, V, and VI this way too though because I personally consider that to be the superior trilogy.
idk how to feel about Funko Fusion man... |D I guess it exists.
Luigi's Mansion 2 looks good. idk if I'll get it but now they just need the first one and all three will be on the Switch.
New Denpa Man!! I was always curious about the 3DS games but ran out of space on my SD card so I never got to try them. I'll definitely make sure to check it out this time. :0
Never played Metal Slug but happy to see it's getting new games.
Never played Darkest Dungeon enough but nice that it's getting a sequel.
They keep trying to get me to get the online expansion pack with these games. |D I still wish we could buy the games individually on the eshop though.
I'm super excited for Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero! I love the original Phantom Brave and I've been wanting them to make a sequel! I do wish they didn't switch to 3D models though (Disgaea looked so much better as sprites) but I'm super happy that they're revisiting one of their non-Disgaea strategy RPGs.
Marvel vs Capcom is cool, but idk if it's my thing. |D
Super Mario Party Jamboree looks good! Looks like they're putting more effort into the series after the 3DS/Wii U era. I just wish I had more friends to play with.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom looks interesting (though they should have called it "Missing Link" lol). Nice to see Zelda as the main character in something that isn't a CDI game. Not sure how I feel about the gameplay but I'm happy Zelda gets to have an adventure.
Just Dance is not my thing, I'm sorry. |D But if you like it then more power to you!
not gonna lie, Lego Horizon Adventures looks kinda fun. I don't have any Playstation consoles so I've never played of the Horizon games, but I'd be tempted to play the silly Lego one.
Stray!! I haven't played the cat game yet but maybe I will now. >:3
Hobbit farming game looks fun. XD Honestly a cozy Hobbit game sounds like something I need.
Awesome to see more Ace Attorney games! One day I'll finally play these games. I think most of them are on the Switch now.
The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy sure is a long name. XD It's from the Danganronpa people so it's probably good.
The Romancing Saga 2 remake looks good! I've been interested into diving into the Saga games so I'll have to check this out at some point.
They finally showed Metroid Prime 4!! It's looking good too.
oops I think that's all the games? XD Oh well lol.
Overall, for a console that's supposedly at the end of its life, they have a pretty decent lineup of games still coming out. Lots of Mario games this year.
I'm a little surprised we didn't get any Kirby announcements. They release something almost every year (even sometimes just an eshop title). Maybe they're working on something for the Switch 2? :0
Speaking of the Switch 2, they mentioned here ( https://x.com/NintendoCoLtd/status/1787736518762881197 ) that they're going to make an announcement about the Switch successor during this fiscal year. So maybe sometime later this year we can expect a reveal presentation with some launch title announcements?
Weird to think that the Switch is seven years old. They're definitely doing a lot more in this console's final years than they were with the Wii U. I'm really hoping that the successor can play Switch games (I also kinda want it to be a dual-screen Switch hybrid lol) but we'll see what happens. I really do want it to still be part portable though because I mostly play portable.
I just wish games weren't so expensive and that I had more time to play. The endless adult struggle...
The art fight theme has been revealed, and it's Seafoam VS Stardust! :D
I'll be on Team Stardust. I love space related stuff and many of my stories are about different civilizations throughout the galaxy, so to me Stardust just makes sense. Seafoam is still cool of course.
No worries if we end up on the same team though. >:3 I do friendly fire.
I think this is the first theme I've actually had a strong opinion about. I got autosorted into Steampunk and didn't really have strong feelings towards either side. I chose Wither solely because it was pink. And I picked Vampires mostly because of Valvatorez from Disgaea 4. Basically, this is the first theme I care about. XD
I kinda wish I had participated in earlier years because I have strong feelings about past themes. I would have done Color, Magic, Moon, Dream, and Sugar (idk about Coffee and Tea since I drink neither). Sad that I missed those themes.
I also liked some of the themes that they didn't pick for this year. I hope we'll get Time VS Space someday (it's basically Pokemon Diamond VS Pearl lol) and I also kinda want Arctic VS Tropic and Spring VS Autumn sometime.
As always, if haven't added me on Art Fight then add me! https://artfight.net/~SoftenStar I'm always looking for more characters to draw. >:3 And every character from my Toyhouse is available so draw whoever! (okay but if you draw Stickman maybe do something interesting lol).
What team are you guys choosing? :D Let me know!
It's not a new month but here's just a small update of the things I've been up to.
I've gotten deep into the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake. I just got to the area with the final crystal star, so I'm definitely getting near the end. Playing through the game again has been a lot of fun! I think this is maybe the third or fourth time I've played through it? Though I only beat the final boss on my first file. XD
Overall, I think the remake is really good! It looks great, and they kept Vivian being a trans girl this time! The translation is still mostly what I remember it being outside of a few instances (I will say though that I prefer "Shadow Sirens" over "Three Shadows"), and I've also noticed lots of new dialogue. The 30fps thing really hasn't bothered me at all during my playthrough.
I'm a little mixed on the new soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, I think a lot of the remixes are really good! But my nostalgia for the originals is very strong, especially as someone who's listened to the original soundtrack thousands of times. I think the new song I dislike the most is the one that pages during the scenes where Mario is cursed by the black chests, which is ironic because I love the new song that plays when you talk to the chests before opening them. idk the original curse music just hits different? The new Excess Express music also isn't as good as the originals to me.
I've been playing with the new soundtrack on though because I want to hear all of the new music and remixes, and for the most part I like what I've heard. I like the multiple Reunion songs (whereas in the original it was one song) and the new version of the sad music box song. The battle theme remixes are fun, but I do like the original battle theme a little more. I occasionally have turned on the nostalgia badge to compare songs, but otherwise I've kept it off.
I gotta say though, I really sucked at this game as a kid. |D Part of it was that my brother and I didn't bother reading the text carefully, but we were stuck on multiple sections for long periods of time. I remember we couldn't find the Piantas to get to Glitz Pit and they ended up being at the dock (the one place we never checked lol). The one big one I remember was being stuck on the rank 10 battle in Glitz Pit (we didn't understand Yoshi's attack for some reason). And the part where you're supposed to go to the water hole we went all over the map to every body of water instead of the juice bar. |D We were also stuck on Twilight Town forever because we couldn't figure out Dooplis's name.
Obviously, playing through the game multiple times will make it easier, but I still have to laugh at my child self sometimes. At least my brother and I leveled up a lot while we were stuck so we had a ton of HP and FP by the time we reached the final boss.
Not sure if I'm gonna be ready for the final boss again, but I'm gonna try once I get there! >:U Wish me luck everyone! Also, if you've never played the game before you should get the remake! It's easily one of my top 10 games of all of.
Next game I play will probably be another RPG. I have a lot of RPGs in my backlog so it's time to get some of those out of the way.
Moving onto anime. Here's a short summary of my thoughts on the ones I've been watching:
Wonderful Precure - At first I really wasn't feeling this season due to the lack of combat, but now that the cat and her owner are getting focus I'm more invested. What can I say? I never was a dog person lol
Delicious in Dungeon - Season 2 was confirmed today!! It will probably cover the rest of the story, which is good. I went into this show thinking it would just be some fantasy cooking anime and ended up discovering an amazing and fleshed out fantasy series. Seriously, watch/read Delicious in Dungeon.
A Condition Called Love - It's been an alright shojo love story. Production values aren't great sadly, but still good to see manga aimed at female audiences getting adapted.
Vampire Dormitory - This show is like the definition of trash. The plot is so convoluted (how does the heroine keep such long hair under a wig??? why doesn't she just cut her hair short???). At this point there are like two episodes left so might as well see what happens, but good god is it trash. XD but it's good to watch trash sometimes.
Record of Lodoss War - The only non-seasonal anime I've currently watching. It's an older fantasy anime and I'm really enjoying those painted background. Deedlit is also such an iconic character.
Anyways, art fight is coming up soon, and I'm hoping to get a few more character bios done before it. I've been bookmarking lots of characters to draw too! I'm also looking for new people to attack, so feel free to add me there! https://artfight.net/~SoftenStar
The theme reveal is happening soon too, so I'll be posting which team I'll be on after it's announced.
Lastly, I need that Nintendo Direct date to be announced. |D They said there would be one this month!! I'm hoping it will be on one of my days off, but lately they've been on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Sometimes they're on Tuesday before my shift starts though.
My cats, Tiger and Nina, are both 17 years old. According to one website I visited, that's supposedly the equivalent of 84 human years! dang...they somehow went from being the youngest in my family to being the oldest.
However, I can't help but worry about them both as they get older. Two years in a row we've had a scare in the fall around the time of my local anime convention where either one or both cats has had some kind of health problem. Thankfully they recovered from those instances (though Tiger still has a heart murmur) but there have been some other issues.
I'm growing more and more certain that Tiger has cat dementia. Originally, we used to joke about that lightheartedly, but lately it seems to be the reality. At night, he tends to yowl loudly and constantly, often sounding like he's being tortured. He's been doing this for years, and every time anyone goes to see what's wrong he just gives us a confused look. It's like he's disoriented and doesn't know where he is. He used to sleep on my parents bed at night, but he rarely does so anymore and usually sits in the hallway outside of our rooms by the bathroom (which has a nightlight).
More recently, Tiger has been not using his box. Well, at least we think it's Tiger (Nina's not completely off the hook, but we have more evidence for it being Tiger). It's not every time, but it feels like it's getting more frequent. Like the yowling, this isn't nessecarily cat dementia, but it is a possible symptom. We have two cat boxes and they're always kept clean with unscented litter, so nothing has changed recently there.
Nina has some arthritis and moves around a little slower, though she occasionally still zooms around like the crazy calico that she is. She goes up the stairs a lot slower, and we have something next to the cat tree to help her get down (she still can jump up it just fine somehow).
Nina also seems to have some asthma. Her breathing is louder, and occasionally she seems to have some kind of wheezing/asthma attack (though sometimes it looks like a hairball, but neither cat really gets those). The asthma attacks are terrifying and I feel really helpless during them. They seem to happen more often in the winter when she sits near the fireplace, but it's still scary.
Both cats have had their share of other health issues over the years. Two years ago, Nina had two bladder infections very close together. Tiger's had some kind of stomach virus last year, and had two urinary blockages in the past (those stopped after we figured out how to get them to drink their water finally...dang cats won't drink water if it's next to their food for some reason). Both of them seem to throw up a lot in general. idk why, they've just always been like that. idk if it's just a cat thing since they're the only two cats I've had.
Unfortunately, I usually work anytime my parents bring them to the vet, and my parents kinda suck at remembering what the vets say (my dad says he couldn't hear the vet...like why didn't he just ask her to repeat herself or write it down?? god it drives me nuts). They mentioned once that the vet said that Nina was per-diabetic, but if I try to ask them about it they can't remember. Same with Nina's asthma. And with Tiger's yowling the vet just always says to come back if it keeps happening. idk I wish they'd put in a little more effort to remember this stuff. I get that they're busy, but this stuff is still important.
Anyways, I could be wrong about the cat dementia, but something is definitely going on. idk if Tiger is just stressed that my brother moved out, but that happened a few years ago. I would think he would have adjusted to that. My brother is Tiger's favorite person though so I think that was hard for him (I think I'm Tiger's new favorite person though).
I do get worried though, especially with how old my cats are. ;_; I know they don't live forever, but I wish they lived longer. Losing both of them is gonna hurt a lot, and terrified that it could happen sometime this year even. I've lost pet fish before, but that's really nothing in comparison. I've never lost a cat before, so I know it's gonna destroy me when it happens.
I'll definitely feel better about things if we could fix Tiger not using the box. That one is the most concerning to me. The late night yowling isn't great, but it's not new either. Unfortunately, googling these things leads to too many different results and possible reasons why it's happening, and lots of possible solutions to stop it. idk if a vet could give us an answer either.
So yeah...I've been kinda nervous about my cats' age and health lately. ): They're doing pretty well outside of the stuff I listed, but it still makes me anxious. Truth be told, I was tempted to try and get time off to visit family in California later this year, but I'm a little scared to leave them both. Maybe if things improve I'll consider doing the trip after all, but I'm not sure if I can bring myself to leave my old babies for a week.
Some recent Twitter posts I've seen have made me wanna talk about games I was disappointed in. I usually post about things I like and I rarely outright dislike things, but today I feel like a hater so let's talk about games we're disappointed in. >:U
Not every game listed here is a bad game. In fact, most of them are decent if not good games. At least one of the games I'm going to mention is one I like quite a bit. They're just games that I personally found disappointing.
So...let's start with the game that made me want to make this journal in the first place. (note: I have images in the Deviantart version of this journal: https://www.deviantart.com/thecreatorofsoften/journal/Most-Disappointing-Games-1060181279 but I couldn't figure out how to add them here)
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Some of you already know this, but I don't like this game. But the worst part about this one is how much it hurt me. I grew up with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and I also played Paper Mario 64 on an emulator tons of times (never played Super Paper Mario for some reason but some day I'd like to!). Those two are some of my favorite games of all time, so when I learned that they were making a Paper Mario game for the 3DS, I was ecstatic. Plus the early 3DS library was so sparse that I was desperate for games.
The initial previews looked good. I specifically remember the Wiggler screenshot: https://papermario.fandom.com/wiki/Wiggler?file=WigglerPM3DS.png and something about a Chain Chomp partner. It looked like a turn-based Paper Mario game.
...well, I guess the final product was turn-based.
I remember getting the game for Christmas, playing it...and feeling the disappointment. Battles are pointless since you don't get exp, and every attack uses a sticker, which you have a limited number of. There are no party members, and almost no unique characters in the game. There's also only one town, which kinda bothers me since the other games in the series all had multiple towns and places.
I think I only managed to finish the first world of the game (although I'm not sure if I even got that far). The game wasn't fun for me, and it's still probably one of the most disappointing game experiences I've ever had. I know it does have its defenders (idk how though) but to me, this game was Paper Mario in-name only. It only looked like the beloved game from my childhood, and that was it.
Sometimes my brain tells me I should go back and try to finish it since I'm trying to complete my games backlog, but idk if I'm ready to torture myself again.
Alright...next game.
Scribblenauts Unlimited
**
This was the other game I got for Christmas in 2012 (same year as Sticker Star). Oof.
I do want to preface this and say that I don't think that Scribblenauts Unlimited is a bad game. I actually remember enjoying it quite a bit when playing it. So, why was it disappointing to me?
To be honest, I preferred the mission-based format of Super Scribblenauts more. I also loved the little playground/sandbox mode in Super Scribblenauts and I remember Unlimited not having that mode (there's a chance younger me was just stupid and couldn't find it).
The other reason is that I wanted to play as the girl, Lily. When I saw her in advertisements I was excited to play as the pink Maxwell (I usually played as the artist character in the playground/sandbox mode in Super). Well, she's not playable until you beat the main story. You can, however, play and unlock her and Maxwell's other 40 siblings...who are all boys. Yes, the only playable female character in the game is not playable until you beat the main story mode. Younger me was pissed. Sure, play a lot of games with male protagonists, but if you're going to offer 42 unlockable characters and only one if them is a girl then you're stupid. Why couldn't any of those 40 characters be girls?? ugh it still bother me.
Rants aside, this is a perfectly playable game and it's not bad. I was just let down.
Alright, next game...
Spore Hero
If you know me, then you're probably aware of my strong love of the computer game Spore. The game that lets you evolve a creature from a tiny cell to a space empire has been a long-time favorite of mine that I regularly come back to. When my brother and I learned of a spinoff game for the Wii, we naturally had to get it.
This game is...different?
It's not a bad game, but it's definitely not what we were expecting. It's an action adventure game with a story mode, which is cool, but the customization options were more limited than what younger me liked. I remember getting stuck a puzzle where you had to make your creature look exactly like another and I just couldn't do it (but my brother somehow got past it on his save file despite the creature he made looking just like the one I did >_> ).
Again, it's not a bad game, but it's very different than the game it's based on. Child me was just a bit unimpressed.
And the next game...
Age of Empires III
Age of Empires is one of the first games I ever played. I grew up with the first game and eventually got the second game. My brother and I loved these games, so naturally we had to get the third game once we learned of it.
Before I say any more, I do want to say that I really like Age of Empires III. If you have me on Steam, you may have even seen me playing the definitive version. It's a good game. The exploration mechanics are fun, I like the shipments, and I've always liked how the water looks in-game for some reason. XD
But as a kid, I was slightly disappointed. It was pretty different than the first two games. The basic mechanics are still the same, but the maps feel smaller, the explorer mechanic was strange to younger me, and the whole deckbuilding thing for the shipments was complicated to my child brain. I also felt that making maps was more difficult? I loved making dumb maps in the first two games, but in the third game I could never get the custom maps to work right (this could have just been me being a dumb kid though).
As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate what Age of Empires III is. I like the game and I like finding treasures with my explorer to level up my home city for customization. My favorite in the series is probably the second game though because I like the medieval themes (though the iron age theme in the first game is also fun).
next game...
AniMates
**
Unlike the rest of the games so far, this game was not a game I had known about prior to owning it. This was a game that my mom got me as either a birthday or Christmas gift (don't remember which). That's honestly how my brother and I got most of our games as kids, though sometimes we got to pick out a game at Best Buy (or another store that sells games) and eventually we had our own gift cards and money to buy our own games.
I do have some nostalgia for the era when my parents would randomly get games for us though (not just because I didn't have to spend money on them lol). In the days were I wasn't a complete video game nerd who was aware of almost every game on the DS, it was fun to discover new games that my parents randomly would buy me for my birthday.
Sadly, AniMates is not very good. It makes me sad because on paper it was exactly the kind of thing I would like. It's a game where you raise and care for little fantasy creatures. I completely understand why my mom picked this up for me because that sounds exactly like something that child Audrey would have loved.
The game is very slow. Just watch this video and look at how slowly the creatures move: https://youtu.be/JDxqQviZYds?si=B0Uxv5tzLMLSD1Ia&t=734 (this Vinesauce segment was one of the only videos I could find of the game).
and it just wasn't very fun. ;_; I wish it was. It could have been much better. Maybe there's more to the game than what I played, but the creatures move so slowly that child me lost all patience.
...I think that's all? I'm sure I've had other gaming disappointments, but these are the main ones that come to mind.
What about you guys? What games were you disappointed in? If you also got burned by Sticker Star you're free to rant to me about it.