thatgamingauthor-blog

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I posted a video for the first time in quite a while! I decided to begin a playthrough for the Trails in the Sky trilogy for my friends who don't have access to them, and I thought I'd share the first episode here.

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Coming Back, I Guess?

Well, it's certainly been a while since I was on here. I almost forgot this site was a thing, to be honest. But it seems like a significantly more pleasant alternative to other social media outlets out there, so, here I am! Just some nerdy author. I hope everyone's doing alright, and if you're not doing alright, I hope things get better soon.

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WELCOME TO P5!

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Okay. This part is just hilarious and let me explain why. So you know how in Japan people call eachother by their last names? Well here’s the thing: Ryuji and Ren literally just met and Ryuji is already breaking his boundaries with Ren. Not only does he skip the “last name”-kun phase but he *directly* goes to the nickname territory and calls him “Renren”. I don’t know if y'all realize how really close that is. To give you an idea on how close that is, even childhood friends tend to be hesitant about giving eachother nicknames. Nicknames are generally more used by “lovey dovey” couples, between siblings, or between people who knew eachother for like… 20 years or so. What it means is that there’s this really sweet moment happening with the both of them and Ren just fucking SAVAGELY breaks it as a sign for Ryuji to step off. “Sure. Nice to meet you, *Sakamoto*.” He just uses Ryuji’s last name right off the bat as a sign to keep it low for now. It’s a clear way to say “too close, man, too close.” And Ryuji responds with “Asshole.” 😂😂😂

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Link you should really look around your surroundings…

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That moment when your family likes your book so much, they use it as a wireless extension for the router.

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"Dear James..." Entry 1

Dear James,

It's been a while since we spoke last, hasn't it been? Too long, in fact. I hear you've been going through a tough time... Financial shit, family shit, career shit, and all sorts of other shit, right? I've been there.

When I left my job, I knew I was taking a risk. My parents warned me about it. "You shouldn't leave your job just because it's killing you inside!" they said. Not exactly like that, but you get the idea. My job ruined me beyond belief. Like, my ass was kicked every day. I know my parents have dealt with worse, and they hated seeing their kid "give up" so easily, but it was a move I felt the need to take.

While it is relieving to almost be done, I've been avidly searching for work. I still live with my family; you know this. Even for all four of us working full time, the cost of living is absolute insanity, James. It sucks ass. I don't want to do full time work anymore, but like my parents say, it's a responsibility that comes with being an adult. So, I've been applying for various places around the town I live in, calling to check on the status of said applications, and pushing through to the best of my ability. To tell the truth, it's a daily struggle. I want to break down and burst into tears every day, but I can't. As I'm writing to you, I'm spending time away from home and work, staying away from my parents until later tonight, because I know they'll judge me. I love them and I know they love me, but I don't appreciate others acknowledging when I've done something wrong.

Are you still writing and following your passions, James? Because as difficult as a situation may be, doing what you love is of incredible importance. Even if you're not in a position to work on your book, find alternate ways to feed into your creativity until you can work on your book. Go on a walk, decompress, and here's something one of my closest friends taught me; you have no reason to be afraid. Bad things are always gonna happen, man. People are gonna judge you, they'll tear you down, they'll wear you out, and you'll have days where you will wonder if it's at all worth it anymore. It is... I absolutely promise. Keep going. Even if it's not for yourself, do it for the one girl you love. Yeah, you know the one. She may not feel the same, but that's okay. Accept yourself for who you are: an awesome, kick-ass nerd who doesn't take shit from anyone. Keep pushing forward, James. You've got this.

Sincerely,

Me

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"Because a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries."

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I just beat Persona 5 last night, and holy shit, that finale was among the best I’ve ever seen in a game, if not THE best.  By the way, we might be reaching spoilers here. Fair warning. To be honest, after struggling through this game to the end because I wanted to see how the story played out, I think Persona 5 truly is my favorite game of all time. Even in some of the parts of the game that made me rage quit a little (*cough* Okumura’s and Shido’s Palaces *cough*), I enjoyed myself every step of the way, and I was so absorbed into the story that it made me emotional on multiple occasions. I even teared up a little (a LOT) during the true ending. It’s easy to see why this game is rather high up on the list for Game of the Year. If I had to pick a game for that, it would definitely be this game. The only time it felt “boring” was if I finished a Palace too soon and had to wait a couple in-game weeks for the story to progress. (Like Futaba’s Palace, which only took me two in-game days to finish.) Sadly, I didn’t max out all my social stats or confidants, but I plan on doing so in the next playthrough, which hopefully won’t be until at least January when my co-author returns from his two-year mission in Germany so I can have him play this amazing game. (After he’s settled down a while from coming back here after spending two years overseas.) And I know you can basically date all the girls at once in this game, but I didn’t want to do that. (Makoto is best waifu... aside from Yusuke, of course.) Anyway, this game’s finale was among the best I’ve ever seen. It honestly felt very similar to the finales to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and EarthBound combined, a very interesting combination, but amazing nonetheless. Descending Mementos from the beginning all the way down the 50+ floors or so, arriving at the depths, hearing the new music (Freedom and Security is my favorite final dungeon theme ever now), and seeing how vastly different the aura of the depths was in comparison to any of the palaces you went through before was the best. The music, aura, and feel of the final dungeon really gave off that “this is it” feeling, and it felt more real than anything. Seeing all those people imprisoned of their own volition within the “safety” and “bliss” of ignorance, hearing their words of depressing truth while accepting death as the end comes... it was all absolutely amazing. The first encounter with the Holy Grail, meeting the true Igor that we all know and love from Persona 3 and 4, saving the other Phantom Thieves from their own mental prisons, and then the final showdown against the four Archangels and then Yaldabaoth, the God of Control, words can’t describe how much I loved it all. Instead of rambling any longer, let me just say that Persona 5 is my nominee for Game of the Year. The music itself, hell, the finale itself deserves rewards, because holy shit, that was amazing beyond words.

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I recently got the demo for project Octopath Traveler, a new Square Enix RPG for the Nintendo Switch, and I just want to say that I’m already in love with it. The only thing I’m not too fond of is the voice acting, but that’s just a minor gripe I have. The music, the art style, the writing, the gameplay, the scenery, the character diversity, it’s all just so amazing. If I recall correctly, I think it was developed by the team who made Bravely Default and Bravely Second, which explains why the combat system feels rather similar to the combat in those two games. For anyone who hasn’t gotten to try the demo yet, it’s sort of like a Seiken Densetsu 3 type game where you get to pick what character’s story you can start on out of eight characters and you can recruit any of the other eight characters into the party throughout. The demo features the beginning of the stories for two characters: Olberic the Knight, and Primrose the Dancer, and let me say that they are vastly different. I started off by playing Olberic’s story first and finished it last night. It’s a classic story about a knight seeking an old friend who betrayed him and laying low, protecting a village he’s living in from brigands. It wasn’t anything super new to me; it was still good, though, but Primrose’s story was immediately shocking to me. Not only did she witness her father get murdered at a young age, but when she’s grown up, she’s basically the slave of a toxic, perverted old man. I haven’t played much more of her story yet, but I’m excited to see how it plays out. In short, if you have a Switch, like RPGs, and haven’t gotten to try this demo yet, I highly recommend it. The demo isn’t super long, but give it a try. It’ll definitely be a good way for you to see if you’ll like the game or not.

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I feel like Final Fantasy IX helped define me as an author. Granted, I’ve been writing since even before I ever got to play this masterpiece, but I mean it helped me begin writing fantasy novels in a more contemporary sense. Before then, to me, fantasy novels were defined as rather “hoity-toity”, if that makes sense. I felt like they were intentionally boring sometimes for sophistication’s sake, and as a kid, I thought it was necessary to write them like that. But then when I finally discovered Final Fantasy IX and witnessed how genius the writing is, I realized that you can still write fantasy novels that people can relate to and enjoy, even if they aren’t familiar with the world it takes place in. What really matters is the people in the world, not the world itself. If the characters feel human, then readers (or players, like in the case of Final Fantasy IX), are likely going to enjoy it far more. That’s just my two cents, anyway. Also, if you like storytelling RPGs and you haven’t played Final Fantasy IX yet, do yourself a favor and play it. It’s available on the PS4 now, and it’s an absolute masterpiece. You won’t regret it.

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I kind of feel bad for the fact that I don’t like Persona 4 as much as I love 3 and 5. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoy the game, but it just doesn’t click with me the way Persona 3 and 5 did. I love the music, though, that’s for sure. I guess it just feels awkward to me. When exploring and trying to attack a Shadow, it always feels like my depth perception is off and I end up missing. The HUD feels a little weird to me, but honestly, if I can ever get my PS3 controller to charge, I might restart it with a fresh mindset, because despite my gripes with the game, something about it still captivates me and makes me want to keep playing it. The concept is amazing, I love the characters, and the setting is pretty awesome. I think it is something I just need to keep playing for a longer amount of time. 

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I'm sure I've said this before, but so far, Kaneshiro’s Bank has been my favorite Palace in Persona 5. (I just finished Okumura’s Factory, so I still have time to pick a new favorite, but still.) The music is amazing, the puzzles were fun and very creative, the Shadows were difficult but in a fun and fair way rather than "I-want-to-throw-my-controller-across-the-room" difficult, and I freaking loved the boss fight. I think this was the only palace I fully enjoyed from start to finish so far, right from how it's introduced up until its destruction. I'm already looking forward to revisiting it in a second playthrough.

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Persona 5 is one of the games that reminds me why I love video games in the first place. A lot of people in my personal life consider me strange in the way that I enjoy video games as a storytelling medium since the only games I really play are single-player, story-driven RPGs, and everyone else around me finds them boring, but just the music of Persona 5 itself revives my passion for writing, for music, and for gaming when I keep thinking it’s gone. You could call it “reading too deeply into it”, but that’s what I do; Persona 5 reminds me that there’s more to life than the daily grind of waking up, going to work, sleeping, and repeating that pattern. Even when I’m at work, I continue pursuing my passion for writing by, well, working on my book. Do something you’re passionate about today and kick ass like you know you can. Let this be that reminder to you.

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As much as you guys know I love Persona 5, there’s always been something more appealing about Persona 3 to me. (And yeah, I guess Persona 4′s a thing, but for some reason, I couldn’t really get much into it. I’ll get a PS Vita someday to play P4 Golden instead of the original PS2 version; I hear that version improved some things from the original.) It’s funny I say this considering that I’m 80+ hours into Persona 5 and after a year, I only have 30 hours in Persona 3, but listening to songs like this, Darkness, and Heartful Cry, it draws me into the game more. I sort of spoiled things for myself, but only vaguely, by reading comments on these songs, and the vague spoilers I received only fascinated me more. It made me realize that Persona 3 is way more than it appears to be. I still haven’t beaten it yet; I actually started over not long ago because I wanted to play it correctly. The first time I started the game a year ago, a lot of the implications went over my head, but playing it again now helps me see a lot of what I missed, and I love it. One day, I’ll do a Let’s Play for it. I have recording equipment, but I don’t have a PC good enough to handle it yet. But when I do get started, I’ll totally post my videos here for you guys.