Weekly Gaming Blog · 6:10am Nov 25th, 2016
Welcome to my Weekly Gaming Blog!
This week's coverage: Pokemon Shuffle, Yo-Kai Watch 2, and Pokemon Sun.
Newly acquired games this week:
Pokemon Sun
Pokemon Sun
Holy crap Pokemon took a level in RPG. 
I mean, X/Y were already a massive step up from the traditional Pokemon style, but Sun looks and feels more like a hybrid between the Pokemon anime and a solid Square Enix RPG.
I chose a female Trainer, of course, and named her Marinette. I chose Litten as my starter and named it Adrien. Unlike previous Pokemon games, I'm not going to do an in-character travelogue. I'm just going to post my thoughts here, along with my current game progress.
The record scratches in the soundtrack honestly get on my nerves. On the other hand, I do like the graphical evolution here: finally, the Pokemon games have dispensed with the SD sprite look entirely! Your character and all other characters now appear full-size, properly proportioned, at all times. This was long overdue.
Also long overdue was the change in structure of the game formula. I was surpised to learn there are no Pokemon Gyms in this generation! I'm looking forward to seeing how this "Island Challenge" format plays out.
AND THOSE FUCKING ANNOYING HM MOVES ARE FINALLY GONE! Thank GOD for that. I mean, I liked some of the HM moves, like Surf and Fly, but most of them were a burden.
I've only played a little bit this week due to having been sick most of the week, so I'm not even to the first trial on Melemele Island yet...
Trainer: Marinette / Official Pokemon Trainer
Starter: Litten
Trials completed: 0
Current Party: Litten, Metapod, Munchlax, Pikipek, Slowpoke, Wingull
Current Location: Melemele Island/Hau'oli City Shopping District
PokeFinder V2
Total Thumbs-Up: 2,496
Record Thumbs-Up: 1,460
=Pokedex (4%)=
Seen: 21 (20 Alola, 1 National)
Caught: 13 (12 Alola, 1 National)
Shinies: 0
Vivillons: 0
Legendaries: 0
Mythicals: 0
New Pokemon obtained this week:
Abra (nickname: Kurama)
Caterpie (nickname: Nooroo)
-E-> Metapod
Greninja (OT: Ash)
Ledyba (nickname: Tikki)
Litten (nickname: Adrien)
Magnemite (nickname: Bit)
Munchlax (nickname: Totoro)
Pikipek (nickname: Woody)
Rattata (nickname: Splinter)
Slowpoke (nickname: Barney)
Wingull (nickname: Gulliver)
Yungoos (nickname: Sunil)
Z-Crystals:
Snorlium Z
Yo-Kai Watch 2 (Fleshy Souls)
Katie's Diary
Dear Diary,
We defeated Unfairy...but Dame Dedtime brought a dismal cloud of darkness over the entire town of Springdale! The Fleshies and Bonies united as one to confront the Wicked Youkai and save Springdale, but Dame Dedtime said her revenge has carried across time to the future, and flung me and my Youkai friends there to prove it!
The Springdale of the present--MY home--is shrouded in darkness, and every single person in town is inspirited by Wicked Youkai! This mess is too big to fight in the present, but in the past...
We found a place to warp to the past from the Springdale Community Center, and met Kenny in Old Springdale. Then we just had to figure out how to fight Dame Dedtime's Ded-Cloud...
Splitting up and searching the town, we found three smog generators guarded by three powerful Wicked Youkai. We defeated Dedtime's flunkies and destroyed the smog machines, but the cloud didn't disperse. It turns out there was another smog generator further downtown! We took care of that one and the Youkai defending it, but the cloud still didn't break up! That's when Hovernyan showed up to tell us he found where Dedtime was holed up! She was hiding out at a manufacturing plant downtown. Getting in was tricky, but we all went--me, my Youkai friends, Kenny, and Hovernyan.
I tried to beat Dame Dedtime but she revived herself immediately! Dedtime, Kin, and Gin have the power to rewind time and undo anything bad that happens to them. It seemed hopeless, but then Kenny called out to all the Youkai in Springdale, and they gave him their power, creating a new Model Zero watch! His old bottlecaps turned into the original Youkai Medals, and his Youkai Friends showed up to fight Kin and Gin. Kenny's Youkai friends managed to put them down for the count, and that left me and my friends clear to take down Dame Dedtime. It was a hard fight, but we won...but then she escaped! We went outside and found the entire town covered in darkness!
It's like every step forward is two steps back with this witch...
We found Dame Dedtime in front of the train station, where she was busy sucking up all the time and spirit energy from every human in Springdale to power her transformation into Dame Demona. Determined to have her revenge on all the humans--and especially me and Kenny for thwarting all her evil plans--she attacked!
Dame Demona was serious business. For a while there, I was scared we were gonna get creamed! But we pulled through somehow and beat her! The skies cleared and everyone came back to their senses!
We did it! We saved Springdale! We saved the past...and the present!
Of course, that meant it was time to say goodbye to Grandpa and his Youkai friends. After all, I don't belong in their time...but I can still visit every now and then, just so see how things are going!
...maybe I'd better not, though. Wouldn't wanna risk interrupting some hot kissy moment with Grandma and never being born!
Anyway, everything's cool again and I have my Youkai friends and the rest of my summer vacation...
YO-KAI WATCH FLESHY SOULS . . . . . THE END
Dear Diary,
Summer vacation sure seems to be lasting forever...
Hovernyan showed up while Whisper, Jibanyan, and I were talking about it, and said it might be because of the Youkai in the Infinite Inferno, who make time loop back on itself and drag on forever.
I'll check it out, but in the meantime, I think I'll use the endless summer to help a whole bunch of people out with Youkai related stuff, since I'm the only one who can...
...okay!
Bugs Collected This Week: (★ = "rare")
none
Fish Caught This Week: (★ = "rare")
none
Other Animals Collected This Week: (★ = "rare")
none
Youkai Medals Collected This Week: (Total Youkai Befriended: 148)
Alloo†, Chippa, Copperled†, Frazzel, Furdinand, Infour, Jibakoma, Melonyan, Robbinyu, Robonyan†, Supoor Hero, Wondernyan
(† duplicate medal)
Youkai Medals Fused/Crystallized/Evolved/Traded:
Furgus, Lodo, Peckpocket, Zappary
(+ Numerous duplicates)
Moth's Thoughts:
- I beat Yo-Kai Watch 2 this week. The main quest feels...ridiculously short, to be honest. I mean, it just feels like the first game's main quest was longer. Was it? I'm pretty sure I had more than half the Medallium filled up by the time I got to the endgame in YW1, but in YW2 I'm barely a third of the way there. My endgame party was also kinda, well...not what I'd call an endgame party, really. Not that they didn't get the job done, it's just that half of them I intended to swap out for favorite Youkai before I got this far, and then I just kinda didn't and beat the game. I had intended for Sailornyan and Flamurice to be with me in my endgame party, but the rest? Casanuva MAYBE, but Tunatic and Quaken were just there because they've been there the whole game, and my last slot has been a revolving door of level-evolve Youkai for a while now, so I had Zappary there and he contributed nothing to the final battle.
I do still have a LOT of postgame content to do: Infinite Inferno, Infinite Tunnel, Youkai World, completing the Medallium, a shitload of quests, so I'm not done with this game yet by a damn sight. But I'm gonna be honest: I'm not really sure YW2 stacks up well against the first game in the final analysis. 
- One thing I think is neat about the endgame of YW2, especially compared to the endgame of YW1: In the endgame of YW1, you had enemies who were "washed-out", colorless palette-swaps of regular Youkai. They represented the "bad Youkai", you couldn't befriend them, and they were marginally stronger than the regular versions of the same Youkai. In YW2, you have possessed Youkai. They have an altered appearance from the regular Youkai--sometimes an entirely different model even--and that purple mist 'mask' that's common to everyone possessed by the Youma. But then, when you defeat the possessed Youkai, the Youma possessing them appears and you have to fight that too! It adds a layer of depth and challenge and I like it.
Pokemon Shuffle
Pokemon caught: 673
Pokemon at level 10 or higher: 124
* Main stage Pokemon caught: 481/481
* EX Stage Pokemon caught: 44/45
* Special Stage Pokemon caught:
=All Special Stage Pokemon released through 11/22/16=
* Safari: All Pokemon caught through 11/1/16
Main stages cleared: 1-500
Main stage S-ranks: 497
EX stages cleared: 1-44
EX stage S-ranks: 20
Survival Mode best record: SM16
Max combo: 166
Escalation Battle #1 highest level reached: 200
Giratina caught at: level 12 (12% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #2 highest level reached: 96
Cresselia caught at: level 4 (4% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #3 highest level reached: 101
Darkrai caught at: level 13 (13% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #4 highest level reached: 71
Latias caught at: level 16 (16% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #5 highest level reached: 101
Latios caught at: level 42 (42% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #6 highest level reached: 92
Keldeo (Resolute Form) caught at: level 11 (11% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #7 highest level reached: 101
Kyurem caught at: level 8 (8% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #8 highest level reached: 151
Diancie caught at: N/A (Diancie obtained prior to this event)
Escalation Battle #9 highest level reached: 247
Zygarde (50% Forme) caught at: level 9 (9% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #10 highest level reached: 246
Giratina (Origin Forme) caught at: level 14 (14% catch rate)
Escalation Battle #11 highest level reached: 100
Meloetta (Aria Forme) caught at: level 15 (15% catch rate)
Best Competition Ranking Score:
Mega Camerupt Challenge
Score: 55288
Final rank: (Not yet known)
Best Competition Ranking Placement:
Mega Absol Challenge
Score: 49386
Final rank: #1539
Ranking Event awards won:
Abomasite, Absolite, Alakazamite, Banetteite, Beedrillite, Blastoisinite, Blazikenite, Charizardite X, Charizardite Y, Garchompite, Gardevoirite, Lucarionite, Manectite, Sceptilite, Sharpedonite, Steelixite, Swampertite, Venusaurite
I've been having an absolute blast in Sun.
...I am now deeply ashamed of myself for not thinking of that nickname for my own Munhlax.
Tip: Most status moves (Leer, Howl, Agility, and pretty much every other move that doesn't deal damage) have a secondary effect from using Z-Power. Example: Give your Munchlax a Normalium Z when you get it and use a Z-powered Happy Hour. The Z-power boost will raise all of its stats by one stage on top of Happy Hour's usual Pay Day-like effect. Here's a list I found if you want to use it for reference.
4316521 Thanks for the tip
...is it weird I could see you turning your Pokemon Sun gameplay into a story where Marinette and her parents vacation in Alola...only to find it filled with Pokemon?
Wow we both named pikipek woody. Is it because he looked like woody the woodpecker?
4316557 Yes.
4316580 More like Woody is pretty much the only notable fictional woodpecker at all, I should think.
4316598
...even if it is weird, I think it'd make a pretty cool story.
Imagine Akumatized Pokemon.
I can only imagine your face and fury when Dame Demona used Soultimate Steal on your Yo-kai...
As for my endgame team, it was something like this:
Cruncha, Lie-in Heart, and Siro made up the front team, while Sproink, Jetnyan, and Shmoopie made up the back row.
4316601 Eh, the endgame boss and major postgame bosses in YW1 were fond of spamming whole-row Inspirits, so I wasn't terribly surprised by it, just annoyed. It made building up an M-Soul move kind of a bitch. What REALLY pissed me off were the watch locks. Locking down Purify and Items? THAT was a pain in the ass.
4316611 I thought that it added to the intensity of the final boss. For once, there's a boss in a game based off of an anime where you had to meticulously think and plan. There was no dominant strategy to fighting Dame Demona, and even some of the big Youtubers like AbdallahSmash026 and JohneAwesome had real trouble battling her. Now, I don't tend to use healing Yo-kai much, since they do kind of drop off later on and during the post game, but with how Demona locked down items, I needed Shmoopie on the team.
P.S. Did you know that a new Yo-kai Hot Spot at Old Springdale Station will allow you to re-fight Dame Demona?
4316634
...
THE YO-KAI WATCH ANIME IS BASED ON THE GAMES.
Not the other way around.
4316641 I am sorry. I thought that most anime-related games were always based on the animes themselves.
4316654 Umm...no. Usually it's the other way around.
Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Beyblade, Yo-Kai Watch, Puzzle & Dragons X, and so forth and so on, they're anime created to promote the games and merchandise.
Games that are directly based on an anime or manga property are, of course, common, but the quality tends to vary and it becomes readily apparent that they're tie-in games. Examples of such include any Naruto, One Piece, or DBZ game.
General rule of thumb: if it involves dozens of quirky critters, any kind of card game, or kids battling with any kind of collectible/customizable toy, it's game/merch first, anime second.
Same, Fly and Surf are at least decently strong moves. And Rock Smash would be great if it had a decent base power of, I dunno, at least 60.
4317795 To be fair, Fly is 33% of the reason my Talonflame is unbeatable. Fly is, without question, the superior Flying type attack move. Surf is better than Hydro Pump simply for its PP. But other HMs like Cut, Strength, and so forth? Yeah, it was time to do away with that nonsense.
4317796 yeah, on an in game team fly is good. Base 90 with 100% accuracy is good. But in competitive it sucks because while you are in the air the opponent can either switch into a wall/tank, or set up either offensively or defensively. I understand you are talking about in game, but as an avid competitive player, if you ever make a conprtitive team, use Brave Bird with a flying gem, then use acrobatics.
4318148 Yeah I would never use a two-turn telegraphed move against a human player. That's stupidity.