Originally Posted by Key Appreciate it buddy. I may not be the best writer at times but I love video games and journals are fun

Originally Posted by Key 2019 I'm honestly excited to get to this year because I get to talk about Jedi Fallen Order. This is one of those cases where I not only followed the development of this game from when it was first teased, but I also preordered it, and played through it twice. Once when it initially released, and another time when I learned of the sequel. When I learned that there was going to be a Star Wars game that has an influence of Dark Souls-like mechanics, I was excited. Especially since around this time, my experience with Souls games in general was rather lack luster. I didn't get into them as much as other people because the difficulty curve was just a bit too high for my taste. Then comes Jedi Fallen Order, and suddenly I'm finding myself wanting to go back and play the Souls game, with the most recent one being Elden Ring, of course. Jedi Fallen Order is a pretty great game, with some mechanics that have definitely been used in games before. So, while the game definitely feels like its own things, overall it does feel familiar. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, hell it probably makes it even more accessible given that anyone could pick it up and have a good time. It's not the perfect Star Wars game, nowhere near it, but for it to be a Star Wars game that is completely absent of microtransactions and more focus went into making the game actually good, it's got me very excited for the next one in the series. And you know damn well I will try to get a special edition of that. Just based on some of the trailers already, I'm really looking forward to playing the sequel. If I didn't mention it already, the both times I played this game, I enjoyed immensely. But the second playthrough was probably a bit more fun as I had the basic jist of the game down, now I just had to put it into practice. And the combat just feels so good and makes you really feel like a powerful jedi. Much like the Force Unleashed games did. For anyone that didn't feel like jumping into this game, it's the perfect time to do so now given that the sequel is quickly approaching.

Originally Posted by Key 2020 This is a bit of an odd one because despite having played through this game and absolutely enjoying every minute of it, I'm finding it difficult to really remember too many details about it. So, I'm taking a post from a previous journal that sums it up nicely. I want this game to be featured here despite not really being able to talk about it in depth too much now because either I just simply don't remember anything about it that I want to, or I was just so engrossed into the game that I was only focusing on the now, and not really worrying about remembering much of it. I do remember enjoying it so much that I nearly 100% it, but it will always be a game on my PS4 that I just didn't quite finish. One day I'll get back to it, but anyway, here are my thoughts on Ghost of Tsushima: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...ml#post2128433

Originally Posted by Key 2021 I'm gonna be honest, this is another one of those years where I'm not 100% sold on the one I want to talk about, however it is the one that I certianly put the most time into when compared to the other games released this year. And on top of that, there were a lot of great games released in 2021, and the surrounding years both prior and ahead of it. And I'm serious, 2021 was a really good year in gaming. We had games like Monster Hunter Rise, Returnal, Loop Hero, Back 4 Blood. So many, but I definitely spent more time playing Outriders over any of those, and I honestly enjoyed my time with until the gameplay progression started to feel a bit stale as the game went on. Doesn't mean it's a bad game or anything. Hell, I was honestly more surprised by how good it actually was because I hadn't really heard of the game until it was released, and my brother told me to play it. I don't think I ever finished it, but it could certainly be one of those games that I go back to. I just have to be in the right mood. Outriders follows the same kind of gameplay loop that games like Warframe or other third person mission based shooters, and there's not a lot of difference between this and those games, however I would still say that Outriders manages to stay in a league of its own despite it having a lot of similarities to other games. The customizations and the type of weapons you can get are neat and fun to mess around with, but unfortunately, I feel like the mission style gameplay sort of stales the experience a little bit. I remember games like Mercenaries where this type of gameplay was still going strong, however at that time, it still felt sort of new. Outriders still does what it needs to do well, but it unfortunately becomes more of a chore as you progress. Some people like that, some people don't. I don't mind either way, especially since the time I put into the game is time that I enjoyed immensely, so no hard feelings there. I don't have a lot to say about Outriders because you sort of get what you see. You play as a character in third person with an arsenal of weapons, and you take on waves of enemies in different environments. The gameplay is fun, certainly. And the game does do a good job at making you want to progress, but there just isn't enough to where the progression feels warranted or great. If anything, if I were to rate this game, it'd be anywhere between good and great. It's nothing crazy or new, but it definitely is worth your time if you're looking for something to put time into.

Originally Posted by RoxyRollah IMO I don't know jack-**** though so don't listen to me.

Originally Posted by Franco Pepe Kalle The problem is that most police officers in America are psychopaths.

Originally Posted by The Batlord You're a terrible dictionary.

Originally Posted by djchameleon Your writing is fine enough for what you are currently doing. Don't be so hard on yourself about it.

Originally Posted by djchameleon When I first heard bout the Souls-esque gameplay style for this game. I was a bit weary and not sure I wanted to play it. I ended up getting it anyways and learned the whole dodge/parry and roll system. It wasn't as bad as I was dreading and actually got me a little more curious about getting into the other Souls game which I haven't really done yet. I did buy Elden Ring but because I'm so backlogged with games it's still in it's packaging actually. I'm currently working on God of War Raganarak and Fire Emblem Engage.

Originally Posted by djchameleon I love Ghost of Tsushima and the best part about it is that after I finished the story they followed up with the multiplayer mode, Legends that got me excited to jump back into that world. I played Legends for a good solid two months before I moved on. I might try it out later tonight to see what patches or anything that they have added to it.

Originally Posted by djchameleon I missed out on playing Outriders, it was another one of those games where I bought it but just didn't even open it because of spending time going through the infamous backlog. I will get around to it one day.

Originally Posted by SGR Pokemon Gold was my first and still my favorite. A whole other region to explore (Kanto, the OG) after completing the game on a dinky GameBoy cartridge was mindblowing back in the day. I haven't played Pokemon in quite a while though. But many good memories of bringing the link cable and trading Pokemon during recess in elementary school. Tyranitar will always be my fav.

Originally Posted by J.R.R. Tolkien There is only one bright spot and that is the growing habit of disgruntled men of dynamiting factories and power-stations; I hope that, encouraged now as ‘patriotism’, may remain a habit! But it won’t do any good, if it is not universal.

Originally Posted by Key You'll hear more about this during the month of March but Vaporeon / Eevee are my two top faves, and the rest kind of fall in a top 10 though nothing really beats the other. My first experience with Pokemon was Pokemon Yellow however my favorite of the bunch is definitely Gen 3 / Ruby/Sapphire.

Originally Posted by RoxyRollah IMO I don't know jack-**** though so don't listen to me.

Originally Posted by Franco Pepe Kalle The problem is that most police officers in America are psychopaths.

Originally Posted by The Batlord You're a terrible dictionary.

Welcome to Pokemon Month!

For the entire month of March, anything posted in this journal will in some way relate back to Pokemon whether we're talking about the video games or the cards, etc etc. I also want to preface this by saying that I'm not going to copy and paste the proper formatting of the name in every post given that it just takes too much time. So, you'll just have to deal with the word "Pokemon" without all the fancy lettering, etc. And, given that this is an introduction of sorts, I also want to take this time and start this month off by talking about two things right off the bat: my favorite Pokemon and my favorite generation of Pokemon. So, let's get right into it.

As far as Pokemon games go, I haven't played all of them, but I have played a fair share of them. I started playing the series back when it released as Pokemon Yellow, and I've tried to keep up with them over time, but again, haven't played all of them, especially the ones that have been released recently. I think the last ones I played are Pokemon Let's Go Eevee, and Pokemon Sword. Both great. I would love to play all of them at some point, but I know some are better than others. I just sort of lost interest one would say, though I do still hold the games in high regard. I mean, just as a game series, it's impressive how long it's been around. Anyway, throughout my journey, I've had some favorites i.e. Pokemon Black 2 and some not so favorites i.e. Pokemon Diamond, but still, they've all got their strengths and weaknesses. However, the one that I would undoubtedly choose as my absolute favorite generation would have to go to the third generation i.e. Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. I have thought about this one for a while and I always bounce between my experience with the Pokemon Black / White series and Pokemon Ruby / Sapphire and both are near and dear to my heart. Pokemon Ruby / Sapphire just have that extra umph that makes it standout just a little more. First off, the music. It's perhaps one of my favorite soundtracks when talking about any of the soundtracks, and the elite four music for this generation is simply fantastic. I could literally listen to that one track among many others over and over and I would probably still enjoy it.

I unfortunately have not yet played the remakes of these games because at the time, it was just out of my price range. However, I have heard that they are worth playing if you love the generation. I have however played Heart Gold and that one is very close to taking my number one spot, but again, loses just slightly to both Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon Ruby / Sapphire.

I also think the Pokemon designs themselves are some of the most fun and creative that the series has ever seen. Torchic being my favorite starter from this generation, I had a really good time playing through the game with Blaziken, despite it having far more weaknesses than I bargained for. Though, I had a pretty decent party so having a fairly weak Pokemon didn't break the sale for me too much. Blaziken has continued to be one of my personal favorite Pokemon and I would definitely use it again if I decide to somehow acquire a copy of Pokemon Ruby. Only time will tell I'm afraid.

(also the rival battle when she or he has the Grovyle is still trapped in my brain and will never be forgotten)

On top of all that, I just think the overall feeling of adventure is truly apparent throughout the entire game and it is just boosted overall with the inclusions of the legendary's. Kyogre, Groudon, Latios, Latias, Regis, the list goes on. I think those Pokemon in particular are some of the coolest legendary's the series has ever seen, but I'm also incredibly biased as I probably played this generation far more than any of the others. That's a testament to it as a game though, that even after beating it a few times, I also feel the urge to go back because the story just feels good to go through. The Pokemon are always interesting, and the battles throughout are typically tough but fair. Never seems too easy but never seems impossible if you trained right.

Just an overall great generation of games and I certainly cherish the time that I spent on these games when I was younger. Some of my fondest memories of playing Pokemon, for sure.

Now that we have that out of the way, we're going to talk about my favorite Pokemon. Of course, I also do have a top 10 of sorts as far as Pokemon go, but with as many as there are now, it's certainly getting a little more difficult to increase that list as I am continuously unfamiliar with the current gen and given that we have over 1000 of them to choose from, making top lists for things like this is rather difficult. So I'm just keeping it to Pokemon I've used myself and have grown to love for myself. And the one that always sticks out to me is - Vaporeon. And even more specifically the entire Eevee line, and even Eevee itself. But as far as specific Pokemon go, it's definitely Vaporeon. I always seem to gravitate more towards pretty looking Pokemon when discussing my favorites as opposed to which ones are technically better. I mean, that's what it's all about anyway. Vaporeon has been a Pokemon that I not only carried through many generations of Pokemon, but it was one of the few that I actually raised all the way to level 100. And despite it being a relatively weak Pokemon in general, it served it's purpose by feeling more like a buddy instead of a Pokemon, given that like I said, I carried it through many of the games. It ended up on a copy of Pokemon X a few years ago, and I have since lost that copy. So, somewhere out there, a level 100 Vaporeon lies on a cartridge unless it was deleted. That's ok though. I have a Vaporeon in Pokemon Go that follows me everywhere, I have posters of the Eevee line and Vaporeon on my walls and I have a super protected holo of Vaporeon in my card collection so I think I've made up for it. Though, what I would give to get my original Vaporeon back.

Well that's as good of a welcome as you're gonna get from me for Pokemon Month! Strap yourselves in because this is going to be a fun ride!