I've been busy enough, and stressed enough that playing hasn't really been that far forward in my mind. I've played to try to relax at the end of the day and to make a little mental space in my head. I'd like to get a little more mindful again, but honestly I'd also like to get my PhD finished so I can pick up a Switch and a PS4.
My top five games (by play time) for September were:
- Final Fantasy XII - In his great review of Dragon Quest 11, Tim Rodgers mentions the mentality behind the Dragon Quest series in Japan. They're the games you play at the end of the day when you're ready for a fairy tale. That got me thinking about how I play and how I choose what I play, and it seemed like trying to play something to chill out a little more was a good idea. FFXII is also my current favourite Final Fantasy game (VI was until I actually played it again), and so I figured it was time to fire it up. And yeah, I'm playing the PS2 version for reasons, I was struck by how awful it looked, and how weird it played, but honestly after a few hours that's all faded away and I'm really enjoying it.
They sent me movies when I asked for games! - Pokémon Go - September was a pretty good month to be out and walking. That, and the explosion of Gen1 pokémon really pulled me forward.
Action in Pokémon - Graveyard Keeper - I'm not sure I like this game. I basically picked it up and started to play it because everyone playing it on YouTube was playing it wrong. I think it has a lot of nicely designed mechanics, and an interesting world, but I think it's missing the compelling element to really keep me playing (It really has nothing on Stardew Valley's charm).
A little shaky, and a little weird, but a solid set of world mechanics. - Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - Yup. It's still nice to play video games in the morning. Played a three player game for the first time and interested that the game played just a little different.
Forgot to take a photo in September, but now we can enjoy all the options the game gives you for purchasing fireworks. - Earthbound - I finally finished Earthbound after trying to finish it for about two years. I liked it, but on its own I'm not sure it was able to overcome being a SNES era game. It has a ton of wonderful concepts and is one of the most charming and well built games I've played, particularly when it comes to the world and the narrative. I'm appreciating the game significantly more watching Chuggaconroy's new Let's Play, as it illuminates a lot of the charm and interesting history of the game.
It was a long journey, but our heroes stayed true.
Here's my total play time chart for September:
And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:
