So last time I said I was playing Tokimeki Memorial Girls’ Side 4 and I wasn’t sure it was for me. I kept at it, though, and slowly managed to get quite into it again. I was rooting for them like a Grandma watching over her grandkids… which is pretty accurate beecause they’re young enough to be my grandchildren (if I had been a very stupid teen).

So I thought my next post would be about that game. But then I idly went on Nintendo’s page and checked for new Picross games like I always do and discovered a new Picross game was out: Picross Records of the Shield Hero. It’s based on the irritating isekai manga, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (Rising of the Shield Hero), and you’re not missing anything by not reading it because it’s just rage bait. Everyone’s horrible to everyone else and the hero is angry, bitter and whiny as a result. I presume he softens up and gets better as the series goes on (or dies of a heart attack from all of that pent-up bitterness) but the 30-or-so chapters I read to set the stage for playing Picross Records of the Shield Hero were quite frustrating. I dropped it after that because I respect my time.

Picross Records of the Shield Hero: I’m a simple gamer. I see Mega Picross and Color Picross, I click. Nintendo could save us all a lot of time by sending Picross titles directly to my Switch and taking the cash from my account. It is really just like all the other Picross games based on franchises, like Picross Sega and Picross Lord of Nazarick (Overlord) in that you’ll get a extra kick of enjoyment from knowing what is being depicted, but it doesn’t really matter otherwise. Picross pictures don’t even look like what they’re supposed to be showing until they’re animated, anyway.

I finished all the Color Picross puzzles almost immediately, still wondering why they only give us 30 puzzles every time, and I’m done with the majority of the Mega Picross puzzles… Now what? Now I work on the last few ones slowly while waiting for the next Picross to come out. I’m a simple gamer.

Murder by Numbers – Phoenix Wright meets Picross. You explore areas and solve mysteries by completing nonogram puzzles. The idea was good, the characters are lively and the banter between them is interesting. If you like colorful characters (maybe even too colorful), a less common setting (Hollywood) and mysteries, Murder by Numbers should be right up your alley. And I thought I liked all those, which is why I got the game, but I’m struggling to play it for the same reason I don’t play Ace Attory these days: too much talking.

Murder by Numbers is a visual novel with occasional puzzle games, not a puzzle game first and foremost. Moreover the puzzles are just normal nonograms, nothing challenging or unusual like Mega/Color/3D Picross. I know they can’t copy those formats wholesale, but they could add something unique to the formula at least? Or maybe have a hard mode with super big puzzles for the veterans among us. …Or I could just admit that this game isn’t for me and give up. I’m only on the first murder case so I’ll try to force myself to get through that one and see if I still feel the same way by the end of it, but it’s not looking hopeful right now.

Picross Logiart Grimoire (demo) – Booooring. Not only did the puzzles lack challenge but the story was poorly translated and the wider idea of creating new items from smaller elements didn’t make a lot of sense (no, you don’t get humans from monkeys, WTH). All that, AND they didn’t have Mega/Color Picross even though the game was made by the same Jupiter that made all the other Picross S and e games. And as with Murder by Numbers, the game just wouldn’t shut up and let me get on with it.  Massive waste of time. I couldn’t even finish the demo. And can you believe the full game costs $19.99 versus $9.99 for the proper ones? Utterly ridiculous.

Balatro – It’s just gimmicky poker, what’s all the fuss about? I mean it’s not bad for gimmicky poker, but I tried it because of all the fuss about how “addictive” it was, and I’m not seeing that at all. For me to find a game addictive, especially when it’s a roguelike and all my progress resets on losing, the gameplay loop must be fun and there must be hope that I’ll actually get somewhere if I play long enough. With RPG roguelikes there’s a story, there are characters, there are changes of scenery, etc. Balatro is just about trying to beat your high score in dumbed down poker.

It’s decent enough, but almost everything boils down to the Jokers and other cards and multipliers you pick up in each run. This makes it feel more like the game playing you than vice versa. My memory is fuzzy, but I feel like I’ve played regular poker either as an RPG minigame (Dragon Quest?) or on the PC and had a much better time there, so it’s not like I have anything against poker. I don’t even have anything against card games in general. It boils down to this: Balatro is more work and less reward than I care for when I turn on the Switch. More work than brain dead Picross, less fun and rewarding than an RPG or action game. In short, too much work. At least I played it for free on my brother’s account, so I don’t feel too bad. Deleted for now.

Voxelgram – Can’t remember if I mentioned finishing it or not. It’s the closest we’ll ever get to Picross 3D, so I enjoyed it well enough, but the controls needed work and the puzzles were too easy. And of course the game wasn’t as snazzy and polished as the one on the 3DS, but no one can fault a one-man indie studio for that.

And that’s it for the games I’ve been playing recently (not including the usual gacha fare like Another Eden, Epic Seven and Love Nikki). Next on the agenda is finishing the Tokimemo GS4 route I’m working on and then starting Atelier Ryza before the end of the year. I bought it on a whim and it’s taking up a lot of space on the Switch. I really really hope I like it.🥺