Onward to the Castle!

Well, so much for keeping to decent schedule eh? I'm not sure I have appreciated the effort some people must go to when blogging - so kudos guys! With that, here's another chunk of my gameplay as I plug away at Chrono Trigger.
Having done my initial exploring around the clearing, I was left with the only obvious route - through the forest to the castle! There were a few skirmishes, but so far only the same imps and roly poly things to fight; so nothing really of note until I found this:

oooooohhh.. magic box!

If I remember rightly, there is another one of these in the inn as well - but they are sealed for now (by magic no less) and I can only assume that I can only open them when I have become 'worthy' - aka coming back later in the game... but this could mean I'm going to be flipping back and forth between time periods - and that can only lead to some time travel 'hijinks'

Knock knock!

Right then, we're finally here. Lets see if we can meet this queen and find out what's going on...

Don't I know you?

Hang on a second... you look very familiar, don't you?
I'm then told I have the freedom to wander around the castle (as you do) and go and speak to the queen privately. First things first - time to go off and explore. I now have a feeling about how the meeting with the queen is going to play, so I'm going to go for a mooch around the castle first. There's a couple of areas to visit: the barracks, a tower (with obligatory chest at the top) and the food hall! Which was good for a free meal, except I did run into this guy:

Rude much?

Who seems to be a bit of a tool for treating the staff like that (and funnily enough I can't tell him what I think right now!). Right, belly is full and exploring is covered - I suppose I should get down to business. I also seem to have found my way into the throne room... shouldn't that be a little more... you know... guarded? Oh well, time to greet the king and move on!

Well, hello there Mr King!

Now to find her majesty and find a way out of here!

Ta very muchly!

Well that was easy enough, let's see what she has to say, because I have a fairly good idea where this is heading, after her gigglyness appeared before.

Err... no.

Oh lass... no, you didn't fool me. But that confirms it, I've found Leona again - but now what? I assume I've got to get her out of the castle without anyone noticing and find a way home, you know something nice and easy. Right?

Steady on love!

Well maybe not - she doesn't seem in any rush to leave, and naturally decides that this is the time for a heartfelt conversation. She's a sweet lass, but her timing isn't great is it? At this point I'm still on familiar ground - follow the girl, find the girl, rescue the girl etc. and right about the time I'm expecting to have to drag her away from her sudden rise to royalty the game throws me a curveball...

Uh-oh.

Something is obviously not right here - and this time there's no faulty machinery or magic pendant to blame! Understandably she starts to panic... and with good reason! Suddenly there is an eerie light, some magic sparkles and all of a sudden she is gone. Again.

This may be difficult to explain away...

Uh-oh. So now I find myself in the 'queens' private room, after the kingdom has only just found her and after 5 minutes alone with me she has vanished... I may have a tough time talking my way out of this one! I'm kinda glad I didn't insult the guard captain now - I have a feeling I'm going to see him again reeaaallll soon!

Well then, next time we get to see if I can actually get out of this one, as I continue My Gaming Catch Up!

Through the portal - and creeping onwards

Well apologies first - bank holidays, kids birthdays and the Play Expo & Blackpool all compounded together to delay this post! Unfortunately I haven't got much further, but as promised I'll share my experiences thus far...

Having made it through the initial hilly/foresty section, I am treated to a map of where I have managed to strand myself:

Now this looks familiar...

Now then... That looks suspiciously similar to the map I had before I ended up thrown through the magic whirlygig portal thing, doesn't it? Time to engage the time honored JRPG tradition of barging into peoples houses and poking things!

Sorry I just barged in, but would you happen to have the time?

Well that seems to confirm it - we're dealing with time travel here aren't we? And to make doubly sure, the map screen now says 600AD so I know which time period I'm in. If nothing else, I'm now on familiar RPG ground so it's time to do some exploring! First off, there's an inn (naturally) a shop, and a few houses - nothing exciting so far, there's a broken bridge looked after by one very lonely soldier and a church?

That church looks pretty good to me!

 So, the church should be a safe bet right? They're always safe places in these games...

Ok then...

...or not! The church seems to be inhabited by some 'odd' ladies of the cloth - from their little chats, ones that seem much more interested in killing and/or eating me... time for a swift exit methinks! But now I'm at a bit of a loss as to where to go next... and as always, in times like this a good mooch around the pub is a good place to start - and this is no exception. One of the happy bar patrons mentions that Queen Leene has been found wandering about. While this is still a little light on the details for me personally, I now have a rough direction and this leads me to the forest...

Oh goody - more imps!

Now I have to admit, I haven't got much further than this - but I did find out I have unlocked the 'cyclone' technique. And this does exactly what it says on the tin - start with pointy bit of my sword sticking out and spin round! This also has the bonus of AoE damage - meaning if I can time it right, then I can hit more than one enemy at once... if only the little buggers would stay still! That's pretty much all I've got time for now - hopefully I can find out what the 'Power Tab' is for as I continue My Gaming Catch Up!

The Invention!

Well, despite the fun that is flat-packed furniture, I did manage to get some time to continue my quest - and it's about time I got a look at this invention that everyone at the fair has been harping on about, especially since I seem to know the girl who made it!
First things first though, I need to show off the lady who hasn't left my side since I got to the fair:

A question I keep asking myself!

With that out of the way, apparently we're just in time to witness the unveiling of the invention and see what all the fuss is about. Drumroll please....

Ahhh... the "Super Dimension Warp" (patent pending) Hmmm... That's got 'teleporter' written all over it if you ask me! Obviously, a guinea pig is needed to test out the contraption and prove it works - and once again, game me is much braver/dafter than real me and is the first volunteer.

Make it so!

After boldly stepping forth onto the teleporter 'Super Dimension Warp' pad we're treated to some sparkly lights and I am magically whisked across the screen to the other pad - phew!
Cue round of applause, and now Leona wants a go too... well I can't see this going wrong, can you?

Can you say 'jinxed'?

Oh... you had to say it didn't you? And in that moment, that single solitary moment... everything went pear-shaped. She might as well have been wearing a red Away Team shirt and been one week from retirement!

Oh the surprise...

Well. Saw that coming, didn't we? 
Whatever that pendant is (told you we'd see that again) it somehow interferes with Lucy's invention, and suddenly a mystic swirly portal appears and sucks her in! Oh no!

Didn't see this coming at all!

Right then. There's only one thing for it - I'm going to have to go and rescue her aren't I? Handily, Leona dropped the pendant when she got sucked up so I should be able to follow her. That's how these things work, right?

Wheeeeeeeee!

Yep. And with that I grab the pendant and I'm ready to go - headfirst into whatever is through the magic portal and after her. It's a good job I'm such a good guy... I suppose no one could blame me for not wanting to throw myself into a unknown void in search of a girl I'd only just met? 
But that's just crazy talk, there's no way we can leave a damsel unrescued - just ask mario! Once I get sucked into the portal there's some pretty nice Mode 7 special effects as I get whisked along to whatever dimension Leona has found herself in. Hope I didn't need to grab anything - I'm not exactly prepared! After a few seconds of space/time/magic travel we find ourselves...

Well these guys aren't exactly happy to see me!

Oh. In a forest. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed - I was kinda expecting something more magical or futuristic, but at least it's a soft landing and I don't have to worry about breathing! No sooner have I got my bearings than I'm set upon by some Blue Imps (as I am reliably informed) who despite their location seem to have found a decent tailor, judging by their fetching purple pyjamas! Luckily I have managed to arrive with all my bits intact and I can dispense some pointy-ended justice. Still being in beginner territory, the imps only take a hit to dispatch and despite some cute flying kicks they are no match for my sword!

Not entirely sure how a NES peripheral will help, but ok!

With the immediate area clear, a bit of exploration is in order and the first things I come across are a couple of chests just left lying around - oh well, finders keepers! In the first, I get a tonic which goes straight into the inventory, but the second has a Power Glove... well, obviously my first through was one of these, so not exactly fashionable... but it bumps up my strength so it's a welcome bonus!

Without further ado, it's time to test out the power glove as I run into two more imps kicking a ball about - and as I approach, the footy stops only to reveal the ball itself was another creature! For just a moment I thought that the big green thing was in need of rescuing - after all the imps had just been kicking it about, surely? But no, no sooner had I reached them than it was already trying to bite me.. ok then - stabby stabby!

Well then, I appear to be lost in a (possibly) alien world, with no idea where I'm going, no way of getting back and I have to rescue a girl I hardly know. At least life isn't dull! There's everything to play for as I continue My Gaming Catch Up :-)

Fun at the Chrono Trigger Fairground!

Afternoon campers :)
Well then, continuing from where I left off... mostly. Due to the 'charming' (read as 'awkward') nature of PSP emulation, some of the snes emulator versions appear to not like saving - or, to be exact they are happy to save... not so happy to continue where I left off. D'oh. Having spent a fair amount time re-starting and reloading the game, I have consequently spent a lot more time at the beginning than I intended to. Without wanting to disappoint, this entry is now more of an in-depth look at the fair than was planned, so apologies for that - having sorted emulator issues now I should hopefully be able to *actually* progress and continue playing as planned!

But back to the events at hand: I was roaming round the fair with a girl in tow - this is the one I had previously knocked over of course. My first thought was mostly "Oh, there's a fair bit to do here!" (pun not really intended, but I'll probably leave it in) and it was bigger than I expected it to be - I can try ringing a strongman bell, enter the soda drinking contest, guess who's going to win a race (comprised of an odd collection of individuals who I can only hope are in costumes... otherwise that Green Ambler looks like it needs a cuddle), and more. Obviously an event this big also needs catering and musical entertainment, which leads me to this area...

At least we get to dance along... 

Yep, that appears to be a caveman 'group' providing some ambient background music for the diners... those poor people! Credit where it's due though, I can dance along - even getting on the stage and shaking along to the 'jungle rhythm'. Back to exploring I think, we visited some shops (picked up some healing things and a new sword - it there's one thing I know about RPGs it's always grab a bigger sword!) and then we found Gato. Who's a big musical cat-bot-thing...

Gato seems like fun, especially with the concealed boxing glove!

Gato seems to be a nice introduction to the games combat mechanics. I had set battles to 'wait' at the beginning (mostly because I wasn't sure what I was letting myself in for) so I was soon in familiar territory: turn based commands with good old fashioned attack / technique / item categories. The technique list was obviously empty for now, but I'm assuming I'll fix that soon enough! Biggest surprise here was that the girl I'd dragged in here with me was actually packing - she is armed with a (one assumes) collapsible crossbow and isn't afraid to use it! After a couple of turns of (me) getting punched in the face by Gato's hidden boxing glove, he is defeated and we even get some Silver Points. These are earned over the fair for little things like guessing the race winner, ringing the bell and beating Gato. If you're sensible, you can convert them into cold, hard cash... if you're me, then you'll probably fall for this line:

Horrors? You want to see the Trade Descriptions act mate!

Having accrued a whopping 20 points from robot fighting and bell ringing, I decided that this would be a fun way to spend the points. Well I don't know about them, but seeing 3 men in purple jumpsuits run around isn't quite the stuff of nightmares... or is it? Either way, it's a "follow the ball" mini game and if you can correctly keep your eye on the right individual then you get a prize! Second time lucky for me - and what do I get?
A cuddly toy.
Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

After these, there are only a few more bits to mention: there's a lost cat to return to a little girl, the soda drinking contest and some poor guys lunch to steal (!) all these seem to endear the young lady (who I named Leona, by the way) to me instead of putting her off - another instance of game me being much more charming than me I expect!
Having visited most of the attractions, we were then told that the invention is ready to go and we can go and visit Lucy (the other character I named) and see what she has built:

Time to find out what all the fuss is about!

Now this I am looking forward to, so I'm going to stop here for now and hopefully you'll all join me next time as I continue My Gaming Catch Up! 

In the running so far...

Well, it's almost the Easter weekend now - and apart from the looming chocolate avalanche that will soon fill the fridge and surrounding shelves, that means I'd better make up my mind and decide what I want to play!

After a few insights here and there, I've pretty much narrowed it down to 3 options:

1. Chrono Trigger

2. Legend of Zelda

3. Terranigma 

(Full disclosure, I only recently heard about this one from here)

Now I know at least 2 of these titles are pretty much d'uh choices to most people, but these will still be brand new to me :D so wish me luck - and if you have any other suggestions before I embark on some long overdue questing then just let me know!

(Oh, and Happy Easter!)

My First Blog Post!

Well - here I am, trying to work out what to type... I've been thinking about doing this for a while, so here goes!

I'm going to try and catch up on all the games I *should* have played by now. Simples.

Well maybe not - so a bit of background then:
I'm 35, so with a bit of maths it's fairly obvious I've been around for most of the gaming generations so far. And to be fair I have had a lot of gaming systems and a lot of games!
I started with a ZX spectrum back in the day (I can still remember monochrome Thundercats and waiting 10 minutes for Starglider to load up from a tape) and I knew back then I loved gaming :) but things didn't click until my younger brother got a megadrive... then I was hooked.
At this point I was old enough to appreciate the games but not old enough to start getting my own yet. However this didn't stop me - beg, borrow, whatever... we always found something to play to death. 

It's fair to say at this point I was a fan of Sonic and the whole Sega side of things - I've played an inordinate amount of Streets of Rage for example! This also means I've never had a Snes of my own, nor have I put any serious playtime into the majority of Nintendo games. And I've always a thing for both arcade games and RPGs - now as you can guess, the arcade games I've pretty much covered (especially the scrolling beat 'em ups - I just could never get enough) but adventures and RPGs? That's where I haven't done as well... don't get me wrong, I've managed a few: Game Boy Zelda, Soleil, Golden sun, Shining Force 3 and Final Fantasy 7 (of course) 

But to cut a long story short (for now - I'll probably dip into the ol' memory banks in a later post) I would like some help - I've missed out on a large collection of classic adventuring games, and now I want to put that right. But I don't know where to start... Thinking of just up to the 16-bit generation, I've missed out on...

• Final Fantasy 1-6, 
• The Legend of Zelda games
• Phantasy Star
• Shining Force 1/2
• Super Mario RPG
• Chrono Trigger
• The Dragon Quest games
• Pokemon
• Secret of Mana
• Shadowrun

...not to mention others that I've missed altogether - and this before I get to the PS1 onwards!

So now I'm looking for a place to start - I would like some recommendations on what to play first. Whichever gets chosen, I'm intending to play a bit each day with my trusty PSP as I can play on the move (and I don't have to share with the kids) and make a post weekly about how well or badly I'm doing. No cheats, no guides, nothing - except save states (for the sake of my sanity) and a bit of determination to see through some of these games properly.

So how about it? Where should I start?

If you've read this far, then you have my thanks - now you should go read a proper blog like VGJunk ;-)