It’s a new year, which means it’s time for some housekeeping!! Like any self respecting gamer I have a massively huge backlog, that only seems to grow with each passing year—well, NO MORE I say! This year I am going to commit to putting a dent in my gaming backlog if it’s the last thing that I do! And what pray tell prompted this declaration? Why, it was a rather aptly timed Instagram tag currently making the rounds, but that doesn’t make my intentions any less firm! But, where to start? How about with the games I keep putting on hold?
I like these games well enough, but, I just can’t seem to ever stick with them for very long. But, not this year, I am going to commit to finishing these games if it’s the last thing that I do! You dear reader are my witness! It’s time to Marie Kondo my backlog, starting with these five game…
Code Realize Guardians of Rebirth
This game has been haunting my backlog for far too long and it’s high time I bite the bullet and finish it properly. Like most of my otome acquisitions I bought this bad boy on release day only to play juuust long enough to see the opening animation. But, in a surprise twist I managed to finish Impey’s route after five long years, unfortunately that sapped my motivation completely—I haven’t touched Code Realize or my Vita since…
2021 is the year I finish Code Realize—I’m claiming it! Since Impey is out of the way, maybe I’ll give Van Helsing or Victor a spin next~
Ozmafia!!
Between the 60+ hours of game play and the Oz Triangle routes, this game knows how to kill a gal’s motivation. This is another otome game that I bought on release day and so far I’ve only managed to finish Axel’s route. I tried to play Caramia’s route last year, but all I managed to do was dump him for Axel at the first chance, which didn’t bode well for our budding romance…. But, 2021 is a fresh start! I will do my damnedest to finish this game this year, maybe spreading it around a bit will help since this is such a long game….
Persona 4 Golden
I am so close to finishing my first playthrough, but grinding in dungeons between crawls can be pretty dull so I only manage to make so much progress with this game at any given time. The mystery is so good and as you know I am a sucker for a good mystery, but the grinding is so time consuming… *sigh* But I am determined kick my butt in gear and get it done!! My only complaint is that I kind of wish I could have the protagonist pursue Yousuke, I really think they would make a cute couple.
Zero’s Escape Virtue’s Last Reward
I played the first game of the Zero Escape series when they were released on the DS years ago and it was love at first sight, so I absolutely bought the rest of the series too. But, after Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors I never got around to playing the second installment which is a shame because everyone says it’s even better than the first game. I love the escape room/adventure game premise and if Virtue’s Last Reward is anything like it’s predecessor there will plenty of whacky characters to fall in love with~
Piofiore Fated Memories
So, the last game on this list is also one of the freshest games in my backlog—I only bought the game a few months ago. I started Piofiore on release day, even landed Nicola’s route only for my interest to fizzle out and die… Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for Mafia bois… *shrugs noncommittally* Either way, I plan on tackling showing my otome backlog a little TLC in 2021 and I want to kick things off with Piofiore, I even have a Twitter motivation buddy so I have a good feeling about this and seeing all the Piofiore tweets on my timeline are even more motivation… especially if I want to remain spoiler free.
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I’m really excited to see your impressions this year. I always love your writing, and am definitely a big fan. Here’s my five games for 2021:
* Unreal Life (Switch)
* Pokemon Black and Black 2 in Japanese (Nintendo DS)
* Higurashi: When They Cry – Chapter 1 (PC/Steam)
* Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth (3DS)
* Mistover (Switch)
Here’s to a great year of gaming for us both!
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you and thank you for being so awesome and supportive!!
Okay, this is an impressive list, I loved Pokemon Black, definitely the gen with the best story! I hope your year is going well!
I’m also going to play Persona 4 Golden and Code Realize 😀
Oh! Did you make any headway on these games?
As a new-ish reader and lover of this blog, I wanted to say: happy New Years! And good luck with your backlog. 🙂
For me, 2021 will hopefully be the year I get to switch back to PC, and can finally dig into/finish Ozmafia, which has been sleeping on my steam list forevermore. Code Realize is also in my backlog, though for opposite reasons to yours, I think? I’m a huge enthusiast coupled with very fast reader, to the point of finishing several commercial otome within a week (while only playing during the evenings and at night). I’ve been afraid of liking this one too much and blazing through it once I’d begun, only to be starved for content afterwards, so I just… stopped. After playing a tiny bit. And let it stew for like, a year. Smart ^^;
I’ve also had both Men Of Yoshiwara, being relics from a sale long long time ago, and couldn’t yet summon the trashy romance novel mood I feel would help me properly get into them. Maybe this year?
On the non-otome side of things, Mass Effect Andromeda. I played a fair bit of it before my PC imploded, ended up liking it more than most of the internet, and would love to get back to it.
PS: Persona 4 is really great, and the last dungeons are definitely more interesting than the previous ones, gameplay-wise. Hang in there!
Also: “My only complaint is that I kind of wish I could have the protagonist pursue Yousuke, I really think they would make a cute couple.”
The MC has more chemistry with Yosuke than most of the female LIs, no joke. This coming from someone who has no specific affinity for BL (though I’ve played/liked some games in the genre) and mostly ships het pairings. The P4G girls are fantastic characters in their own right, they just didn’t feel like more than good friends to the hero. My protag ending up with Naoto was more a result of me being curious about her than anything elso. 😀
First, Happy New Year and WELCOME!! So glad you stopped by my corner of the internet!
Code Realize is one of those games that I’m just slowly whittling away at and maybe by the end of the year I’ll finish it (hopefully LOL). I sat on Yoshiwara for so long, but I just got around to finishing it and I really like it! Kagerou is hands down my fave of the boys! And I’m excited to try the sequel and see what’s up there.
YES!! The MC has all the chemistry with Yousuke! I ship them hard!! Though, Naoto is a close second (and I mean I also ship her with Kanji).
I WISH I was a faster reader, it usually takes me a few weeks, I can maybe get a week and a half if I really put my mind to it, but I always take breaks!!
Don’t be a stranger, I’d love to talk more with you!!
The dreaded games backlog, oh yes… I’m definitely behind on a lot, but at least “working” on my VN stack since I finally got around to finishing Hustle Cat last November (after… 3 years, wtf). Though while I am making some progress, this is also what motivated me to look up reviews, so I found your site and rather keep adding onto the pile… It’s a vicious cycle!
Ah yes, my backlog, my old foe. How are you liking Hustle Cat? I’ve only gotten through a bit of it, but I liked what I played.
Well, I’m glad you found my site and sorry, not sorry for adding to the backlog madness XD
Oh, I liked Hustle Cat since I first started it. I think it’s really fun! Cats are an automatic plus in my book, though, haha. Also the Free! easter egg. The routes are pretty short, but the length fits the plot? I guess I wish the routes would differ a little more from each other, but it doesn’t bother me too much.
Yeah, not completely blaming you, it’s still me doing the buying, so… xD
Ah so the routes follow the same plot beats. Hmmm, I’ve been meaning to circle back and play it one day…
Yeah, I think only the “secret” route differs a little more, the others are mostly the same except for variations depending on your chosen partner. But it kind of makes sense and it’s not too bad considering the length. I still think it’s a neat game.