March was an interesting month on a couple of levels, as I mentioned at the start of last month's article. I had been tracking the daily death toll from COVID-19 from about May 2020 through February 2021, but because I no longer have access to that computer and I did not have a cloud-saved copy, I have stopped tracking the daily counts. But I just checked again and it looks like the United States is still averaging just around 1,000 people dying every day, with the frequent dips down to 400-600 on Sunday and Monday. But I see that we are about 47,000 away from a death count of 600,000. I know that this is a touch morbid and not really our standard fare as far as video games and board games go, but it is what has been on my mind for the last month so this is where those thoughts or at least some of them are going. I am still not eligible for any of the COVID-19 vaccines in my county, but the current word is that hopefully they will be opened up to my age/health/occupation group starting May 1st. So let us hope for that at least.
And the murder trial for Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd finished up its fourth day and going into Day 5 today, although I admittedly have not been following it as closely as I am not in my car as much listening to daily reports on NPR on a regular basis. I am finding that I am only able to get snippets of news scattered throughout the day whenever I am running errands or if it is covered in what else I need toknowtoday.
On the video game side of things, there is some of the usual and some not. I guess? Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 6 with the subtitle of Primal came out in March. I decided to "buy" the Battle Pass, mainly because Epic Games decided to have their big end-of-season event at the start of Season 6 and be a solo experience instead of on a specific day at a specific time and if you missed it then you could only watch it on YouTube or an archived Twitch stream. *Breath* I just love that Epic decided upon a single-player option, which is pretty big in my opinion for a game multiplayer/co-op game and I wanted to support that decision. And secondly, because I had ~1,400 V-Bucks just sitting there earned from past seasons, I decided to continue playing my usual 30-45 minutes every morning. I also jumped back into Rocket League for their Llama-Rama crossover event and discovered that while I am still not good per se, I am definitely still not bad.
I am firmly 29 hours into Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age on the Switch, and if my calculations are correct, based off of the last time I played back in 2007, I still have around 96 hours to go. Maybe? That first time, I did focus a lot of time taking down marks, going on hunts, and trying to complete every side quest I came into contact with. This time around, armed with the 2x and 4x game-speed-increase, I could see some time shaved off of that 96 hours, but I do still like to experience the massiveness that a lot of the cities have in this game. That being said when I am in the Tomb of Raithwall and have convinced myself that I need to have the right combination of gear/spells/abilities so that I can defeat the Demon Wall and I travel back to Rabanstre through the Nam-Yensa Sandsea and Ogir-Yensa Sandsea and Westersand, then take an airship to the Sky City of Bhujerba, then back to Rabanastre, then another ship to Nalbina and then back to Rabanastre, then back across the Westersand and both Sandseas to the Tomb, you bet your boot skins that I used a combination of 2x and 4x just to discover that I had already purchased the spell but that I did not have anyone who could actually cast the spell.
About midway through the month, I came back to Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity because I realized that once I put FF XII in the Switch, I had tunnel vision with that game and had not come back at all. Kind of like what I had been referring to in my article towards the beginning of the month about buying digital versus physical games, and the frequency that physical games are played and switched out. I am now finding myself in the opposite position though that I am playing a lot of Hyrule Warriors instead of Final Fantasy XII. I impressed myself a bit in jumping right back into Hyrule Warriors and not forgetting (too much) the move sets for each of the characters, but now I am a little afraid that I might have forgotten some of the finer story-points in FF XII once I dive back in. But I did just finish the Raithwall Tomb section, and I know why that quest was happening in the first place, so I think I might be on good mental footing.
In the second half of March, I pre-ordered Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace on the Switch. Being an avid fan of Mansions of Madness, a board game in the Arkham Horror universe, I feel that I bring a different perspective to the game compared to someone unfamiliar with the setting and how the board game plays might experience the game. Granted I have only played Mansions of Madness (both first and second editions) and Elder Sign, but have not played Arkham Horror or Eldritch Horror, so I am not sure how this video game adaptation of that universe compares to those games. I have been tempted to Tweet out various moments in the game since I started, but I had been playing and Tweeting about an #IndieSelect game during that time (Chess Knights: Viking Lands) and I felt that my online presence for that needed to take precedent. But now, four chapters into the game, I feel that I could Tweet some of the pictures and videos I took, but that would take too long and I would just end up not playing just so that I could catch up. So maybe?
And when I started playing Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace, I did put The Runaway Kid's run from the DLC portion of Little Nightmares on hold, although I have returned three times to the section involving the Janitor and have failed to figure out how to get past him. Or at least, how to operate the puzzle so that I can escape, or if there is another piece entirely that I am just not seeing. I have also progressed a bit in Metro 2033 Redux and am thinking that I might actually be getting close to the end of the game. And while at the DMV today (as well as earlier in the week) I pulled out The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, but had to put it down because I was wearing a mask and I came across a puzzle that might have needed the Whirlwind ability as well as being able to play the Spirit Flute, both of which require you to blow into the microphone on the 3DS, an activity that would be frowned upon in a room with a number of other socially distanced people.
I also received a board game, Sagrada from The Kid for my birthday. I have looked over the rules and while it is a drafting game and plays best with more than one person, I think I could play a few rounds by myself to work out the general kinks before Conklederp and I start in. I have seen the game around, mentioned on some of the board game accounts I follow on Instagram so I am looking forward to seeing how the game actually plays and how any of the pictures I take of a game that is based around constructing beautiful stained glass windows will end up turning out blurry and washed out.
I see April progressing with all of these games, and I would not be surprised if I managed to finish Spirit Tracks, Metro 2033 Redux, and even Hyrule Warriors. Maybe even Arkham Horror, but I only am able to put in about 30 minutes each night while Conklederp and I are in bed because I have the brightness down low, and there is a fair amount of reading on the small Switch screen which tends to tire my eyes out and make me sleepy. If I do finish any of those games, I know that I will probably start up Dragon Quest IX on the 3DS (although it being a DS game), and will continue with Final Fantasy XII on the Switch, and maybe starting Blair Witch also on the Switch as our evening game. I do not know what I will do PC game-wise, but bloody lord knows there is a massive queue between Steam, GOG, Epic, and now Amazon Games (being different than Amazon's Luna client and there is already an article in the works comparing those two services).
So hopefully April weather does not get you too down, or anything for that matter, and we will see you next week where there will be at the very least, your usual MIDI Week Single article. Probably.
~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
Put Your Helmets On Back There!
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