Back To Playing The Roles

I love a good RPG: fantasy, fun, escapism, engrossing, exploration, combat, magic, characters, plot, strategy, puzzles. There’s a lot to enjoy. These good things take time, and it’s time for me to resume play. My growing backlog is a shame to ignore; I added two new RPGs to it this week. So I’m back in the role-playing game!

Last year, I was playing Tears of the Kingdom, the latest Zelda masterpiece. It’s super great! I gave it over 100 hours across several months, and there’s still more to explore and enjoy. For now, it’s on pause; I’ll finish it someday.

In late December '23, I was bit by the Pokémon bug, restarted playing the Trading Card Game, and started Pokémon Violet on Switch. It’s fun! And it’s an RPG, with my preferred style of combat: turn-based. I like Violet more than Arceus and Sword as it combines the best of each into a huge, open-world filled with Pokémon to catch and battle. It’s charming, easy, colorful, and delightful.

Two new RPGs

This week, I saw an ad on YouTube for the upcoming physical release of a recent, critically acclaimed, retro-RPG, Sea of Stars (don’t you just love targeted ads?). I skipped the digital release last Fall, waiting to get my hands on the encased cartridge version. So I pre-ordered the exclusive edition that’s bundled with extra fun goodies! Fandom is fun.

The Sea of Stars ad also reminded me of another recent awesome RPG, Star Ocean: Second Story R. I’ve wanted to play this since I first saw the trailer. It’s been out since last November and is already a little bit hard to find on store shelves. So I ordered it and am excited to dive in!

Backlog bits

Of course, I already have plenty of other excellent RPGs on my backlog. With the addition of two more great ones this week, it’s time for me to get serious about having fun. I’m making a game-plan, a goal, similar to what I did in late 2022.

At that time, I focused on finishing a few then-paused RPGs so I could start some new huge ones and finally enjoy all. In a span of just under five months, I finished and played through:

1. Pokémon Legends Arceus
2. Octopath Traveler
3. Bravely Default II
4. Xenoblade Chronicles Def. Ed. (with its DLC)
5. Xenoblade Chronicles 3

I had set my mind to it by committing to just one hour per day (average) of playtime. It became a daily habit and much fun. It also just felt good to accomplish those games, learning their pros/cons, and discovering their stories. I even felt connected to the characters in XC3. Suffice to say, it was a rewarding and fulfilling experience for me.

The other key to completion of those gaming goals was daily recording my progress in a spreadsheet that I set up, “Playtime Log” (or Plog for short!) Today, I opened it again and added a new month with Pokémon Violet, reinstating my self-imposed one hour per day playtime. Next, I’m adding other RPGs I want to enjoy. It might help to blog my plog too.

What’s next?

So what RPGs am I itching to play most after Violet? Well, Sea of Stars still has a while before the physical edition is released, so it must wait. It’s super hard to choose otherwise!

Looking at my Games page backlog, I guess I’ll push up the ones I’m most sure to enjoy, like Octopath Traveler II. But others have me very curious, and some are distinct enough that it might be nice to mix them up. For example, after turn-based RPG play, then an action-RPG. Or if one is more fantasy/medieval in theme, then play a more sci-fi themed one afterward.

With a total of about 240 hours, gaming on average one hour a day, here are the RPGs I think I’ll play next and should finish around September 16, 2024:

1. Pokémon Violet (about 30hrs left)
2. Octopath Traveler II (85hrs)
3. Star Ocean: Second Story R (40hrs)
4. Tales of Symphonia Remastered (50hrs)
5. Sea of Stars (35hrs)

Final thoughts

I’ve got a lot of fun to have and look forward to this year. Lord willing, I’ll be able to enjoy them all. It’s a luxury, I think, to have such opportunity. It’s also good to have levity and R&R to balance out adulting, you know, a full-time professional career, parenting, and household management. I’m thankful to be able to unwind and de-stress. So after doing laundry, I’ll say dragons.