Getting Back Up to Speed

The Offline Situations

Oh boy, it's sure been quite some time, huh? I won't pretend a lot of this wasn't me getting terribly distracted by video games, but a lot also happened! Like, some mysterious and distressing sensations for example! Palpitations! Aches!

Like, in my chest.

Which I, uh, never quite got any clear answer about? Despite multiple doctor visits and tests?? It's less than great. By process of elimination I've adjusted my diet now though and that seems to be helping a lot, at least?? Hopefully???? Except when my coffee order gets fumbled and I get put in the Negative Zone for the whole day.

And then for additional recent perils, my partner caught Covid-19 at the start of this month. My frustrations with the ways we've been failed by the system are endless, and I implore that people please be safe out there... Shortly after that, we also had to deal with our lil sweet potato of a cat having health concerns of her own. As well as, unfortunately, the vet bill.

Just, man.

Maaaan.

When it rains, it pours, huh. What can you do but keep going, though? Household health issues aside, here's what I've been distracted by and enjoying lately:

ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department

Oshi no Ko premiered this year. I ended up watching it on a whim because I saw a synopsis of the first hour-and-a-half-long episode and went, "Oh. Oh, this is a show for sickos." Then immediately dragged several other people blindly into it.

But everyone's already talking about that one, and it's not even the one I've been totally brain-poisoned about this past while.

That title goes to ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department, by Natsume Ono.

As of this post, the anime is available for streaming via Crunchyroll. The manga is published by Yen Press.

ACCA13 is a light, slow-paced story of political intrigue in a modern fictional setting. The Dowa Kingdom is a federation split into thirteen autonomous districts, supported by the independant ACCA entity (which provides various agencies for its citizens). As you may suspect via the full title, the story focuses on the Inspection Department--the agency designated for keeping an eye on and rooting out corruption in the thirteen districts.

More specifically, the series follows the Vice Chairman of that department: Jean Otus. You get the impression that trouble tends to find this guy more than he'd like, when he'd rather just be left alone to buy souvenirs and smoke in peace. It's not long before rumors of a coup d'etat place Jean at the heart of things, and all eyes start to fall on him.

"You're at the center of this, but you're all ho-hum about it. That's so you, Jean."

There's bread! Treats! Beautiful older men! The je ne sais quoi of deep-rooted, complicated circumstances between two longtime friends! It's a series that's been fun to re-watch and re-read, as carefully placed later revelations updates how one might view certain scenes. (Even the very catchy opening sequence is subject to this change in perspective!)

In the way that I can never half-ass my interest in any media that particularly grabs me, I have been very normal^★ about ACCA13. After watching the anime I just immediately sought out and binged the entirety of the manga. I've been yearning for more of Ono's work in this world, for more of that lovely, slow-paced character writing... but neither the Paula & Michelle one-off or the ongoing Badon seem to be licensed in English, so I'll have to keep on top of my Japanese yet.

^★ Extremely normal. Picking through secondhand sites for goods and various paraphernalia like a starving vulture picks through a skeleton normal.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2

May meant the release of a video game that would assure my destruction. (Or, at least, my free time.) The sequel to a game I wasn't expecting to grasp me as firmly as it had, seeing how I tended to struggle sticking with the genre as I got older. The gameplay loop was just just so smartly put together though, I couldn't put it down once I'd picked it up.

Zelda?

Oh, no.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 released exactly one day before Tears of the Kingdom did.

The second game sure hits the ground running.

For those who haven't caught me going on about this series before: Fuga is a turn-based SRPG series where the 'S' might stand for either "strategy" or "stress". The cast is beholden to whatever path the monstrous tank they're in takes, so it's not exactly possible to grind out exp or supplies, and as a result half the game is anchored around managing your available resources. Should your health dip low enough during the chapter's end, the Soul Cannon can activate and finish the fight immediately... but at the cost of one of your party members' lives.

Fuga 2 is a reiterative sequel to the first. The party members and their abilities have been adjusted, there are some new systems, and while there's some familiar-looking enemies, they bring various new mechanics with them. It's more of the first Fuga's gameplay, more polished!

As strong a pitch as "if you don't plan carefully, prepare to make a sacrifice" is, the trouble with the first game was that... it actually was quite easy to draw out a fight and avoid using the Soul Cannon at all, because that action still had to be initiated by the player. An important change about the second game is in how it fixes this problem by automatically activating the cannon regardless of player input. The player now has to play it smart and race a countdown if they want to avoid the end outcome. It's quite clever!

Tangentially related, the story is more pronounced this time around, too. The plot of the second game eases away from the more overt World War II-inspired situation of the first, though the impact of such still remains and so do, more importantly, some villains. If you're familiar with Solatorobo and how the tone of that game shifts in the second half, then the change in the overall feel of Fuga 2's story won't be terribly surprising. (Though I know there were some Solatorobo fans who were tepid about that shift in tone.)

My only major complaint is that I think Fuga 2 could generally stand to be a little meaner? I mean, I know video games have to account for a wide variety of skill levels, certainly! But, at the very least, I think it's a bit much to warn the player "hey you should be friends with this character if you want the good ending!" early on, when there's already an existing feature that'll plant you back before the point of no return so you can course correct. A heads up on top of that just feels excessively safe.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have in store for the story's final installment."

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

... what is there to say that hasn't already been said!

I have put dozens of hours into this game and I am nowhere near close to clearing the story. Absolute clownshoes. Just an utter Looney Tunes episode of a game. I love to get hoisted by my own petard in an innumerable amount of ways.

It's fine. I didn't spend ten minutes putting together that plane because I wanted to use it or whatever.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak had its last big content update at the start of this summer, and it was a nice little bow tying off the expansion. I'm glad Malzeno got one final moment in the spotlight at the end of it all.

The movement tech this iteration was fantastic. I don't know how they'll go back to not having a grappling bug for aerial movement and also busting out a sick move. I'm a little, just the slightest bit mixed on the Hunting Horn changes (all that time spent memorizing the different hits and notes... for what...), but then they gave it a cool no-knockback uppercut with a mini-sonic wave buff, so it still rules, actually. I also took up the humble Lance this time around, which was a lot of fun in a different way.

They really did nail the noble beast feeling of this guy.

Speaking of being mixed, I'm still so surprised at the... emphasis on the humanoid characters this go around? They got plush merchandise? We got names?? Right out the gate?? We didn't have to slam through five-hundred hunts and catch it in some side dialogue???

Don't get me wrong, the NPC buddy system that was added is very fun and cute. Excellent for when you don't feel like jumping in with random players. Also who hasn't got a crush on Fiorayne? Like, c'mon.

It's just kind of confusing, because in that way that many aspects of Rise brush against the roots of older entries in the series... the majority of everyone's characterization can very easily be missed if the player doesn't bother to take the time to talk to everyone between quests. The story is still the standard Monster Hunter fare. Which, sure, I know most fans are in agreement that we're not exactly playing this game for the plot, right? But then it's kind of strange to market the NPCs, isn't it?

That's just a little brain wrinkle on my end though. Either way! A very solid game and expansion for the series. They tried out some fun new things and, while some of those new things didn't flawlessly stick the landing, I had a great time. I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do with the next proper entry.

And the Rest

There's been a small sprinkling of other games outside of those:

• Pikmin 4 is delightful, as is We ♥ Katamari Reroll.


• Crumbling to dust as Final Fantasy XIV hits its 10th anniversary since relaunch.


• Particular shout-out to Gravity Circuit, as I had a absolutely fantastic time with it as someone with minimal nostalgia for the Megaman series.


• My partner has been playing Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance lately, and that's been a fun peek into a series that never quite got its hooks in me.

Thank you for taking the time to read if you made it all the way down here! Here's hoping things ease up in the remainder of the year, I really would like the time and energy to tend to other things (like this website) more, haha.