Time for another round of games I tried and quickly abandoned. It’s a rather short list this time round, because 2013 was a pretty good year. I think I’m slightly more discerning in the games I’ll even try as well, so that leads to fewer casualties in the long run.

Metal Saga: Hagane no Kisetsu (DS) – I was curious to try something from the Metal Saga series of games, but this wasn’t interesting at all. It was okay-ish when I was driving around in my farm up in the mountains, but the first real mission I got sent me hunting a crocodile on my own, and the battle system stressed  me out. It’s also very clearly a sequel to something, and doesn’t seem like much fun unless you’ve played the original. Quit.

Brave Story: Boku no Kioku to Negai (DS) – Boring game about a boy who loses his memory and goes into the world of a book to get it back. Didn’t get anywhere because I was bored just by the prologue. Long ago I tried another Brave Story game on the PS2 and that was boring too so, yeah.

Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (PSP) – Another sucky anime quickie cash-in game. I tried episode 1 of the show and couldn’t get into it, but I thought it might make a good fantasy RPG. Guess I was wrong. They let me fight one battle and then talked at me for 30 minutes. I didn’t have the strength to go on after that.

Amagami (PS2) – “A girlfriend is for Christmas, not for life.” That’s what Amagami means in Japanese. A boy wants a girlfriend just so he won’t be alone for Christmas. I liked the realistic hair colors on the girls, but I wasn’t interested in pursuing any of them. Also the main character was pretty pathetic so, yeah.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) – I’m not a fan of logic puzzles, but I’d heard so much about the Layton series that I couldn’t help trying one. The frequency of puzzles was pretty insane though, and I couldn’t figure out a single one on my own (*blush*). You can’t take 5 steps without something to solve! The story wasn’t so interesting that I would FAQ my way through either. It’s a game for people who reaaaally like puzzles, of which I am not one.

Another Time, Another Leaf: Kagami no Naka no Tantei (DS) – Interesting premise, but that’s about it. It’s about a girl named Kaede who finds a girl with a similar face but different personality hidden away inside a mirror her dead mother left her. When Kaede goes to a new high school, this other self tags along and helps her solve mysteries by winding back time. Not a bad idea, but I quit because there was too much talking and not enough tension. If Kaede’s mother had been murdered and we were trying to find the culprit, or if she had evil relatives after her life or inheritance or something, that would have been motivation to continue. As it is, it’s just another high school visual blah blah blah novel that the world can do without.

And that’s it. I told you there weren’t many. In addition to these I also vicariously played most of Dragon Quest 8, Monster Hunter Tri, Terranigma (for at least the 5th time) and whatever Resident Evil is on the Wii. They were all pretty good, although DQ8 was a rather frustrating experience. I think DQs are meant to be played, not watched (enough grinding on metal slimes already, get on with it!).

It would be great if there’s no 2014 edition of this list and everything I try is wonderful, but seeing as I plan to spend some time trying old Japanese SNES RPGs I’d “always meant to try,” I’d say that’s a forlorn hope. See you next year!

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