I was thinking about what to write in my personal blog after some time. Lately, it's been a real drag at how the digital age can be a wonderful or terrible thing. The good thing about the digital age is accessing some good old shows and good new shows like never before. Though, I think some classics won't get an international subtitle soon as they're stepping back with the previous generation. Meanwhile, I think digital gaming has slowly become more and more overrated or commercialized. I think I practically wasted some pre-order with Mortal Kombat 11 because of the Aftermath package. Heck, I think Mortal Kombat X and the reboot predecessor are more fun to play with. I felt that Tekken 7 just doesn't live up to the hype of its seventh generation console predecessors. I did enjoy Dragon Quest Heroes' two entries which were pretty much fun for low budget games.
I could talk about how the PS3 (IMHO) was really the best era ever
Make no mistake. I'm just a casual player. I did remember how I whined about not having a Super NES, ended up playing Super NES games on a pirated SNES Station game for the sixth generation console (PS2), and how I just enjoyed those games. I mean, I did finally get to play Super Mario World and forget I even had that bootleg NES version that ruined my childhood. I was in college when I finally got to fill up those holes. I'm glad I didn't have to get rid of a Super NES as an electronic waste along with cartridges that the snobs bragged they had during hte 1990s. I just enjoyed the games and did have that Gameshark during the the PSX and PS2 days. Though, I suspect games were much harder back then so Gameshark and every other cheat device sold well.
However, the cheat devices ALL DIED OUT. Sure, I'm going to miss trolling Nemesis with infinite ammunition in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis which was a very hard game without cheats. However, the good thing about the seventh generation games is that they were achievement oriented. Oops, no cheats. If a game got too hard - developers would practically patch it up to give a reasonably difficult game. I would think about how the seventh generation games were hard but not too hard. The challenge was rather moderate.
Think about how fighting games have changed throughout the years. I still think I'd rather fight the very infamous Azazel in Tekken 6 over how idiotically difficult Heihachi was in the first Tekken game. Though, I didn't cheat (at all) to defeat Jinpachi in Tekken 5 back when cheat devices were the thing. So, no legitimate way to play the infamous Azazel. I would even dare say that Mortal Kombat (2011) which is called MK9 by the fans is heavily praised and treated as the new MKII by the fans. I would say that while difficulties were there - the hidden non-playable characters (NPCs) and the bosses were a lot more tame than the 1990s version. For example, even Klassic Noob can be defeated when you know how to use the block, combo, block strategy or the boss characters don't button read as much. Button reading only happens in Difficult and Expert difficulty. MK9 really made me forget EVERY. SINGLE. MK. GAME. before it. I mean, Kintaro may still grab the player at the air BUT he wasn't as annoying as he was when he first appeared and in the infamously imbalanced MK Trilogy.
One of the highest sense of achievements for me is Tales of Xillia II's debt sidequest. Back then, trying to get money that high was a lot of work. I could remember how the fifth generation consoles had that "money is so hard to get" and "must get Gameshark to maximize power" craze. Here, I just really enjoyed the sidequest which was satisfying even if, I mus admit, the weird cut scene might not be funny for everyone. I mean, trying to understand Gaius' zipper is very self-explanatory.
Why I feel like I'm practically dried up with gaming after the eighth to ninth generation console
Just hearing somebody has a PS5 doesn't make me as jealous as before when my peers kept talking about the Super NES. Maybe, it's my gaming vibes are dried up. Then again, I have a PS4 and still have it. I still think there are some cool games. However, I think about how Mortal Kombat and Tekken are examples of what went wrong. I think the over-focus on microtransactions are just one. Sure, I can understand if microtransactions are there to pay for development expenses and server maintenance. However, I think they're getting overloaded way too much. For example, I'm glad I didn't get MKX immediately as the upgraded edition gave me the DLC characters for free. However, the costumes still have to be either bought or played through ridiculous sidequests. Until now, I never unlocked Revenant Liu Kang costume.
I remembered how I got hooked into MKX with the tower challenges and faction wars. I got so hooked it interrupted my personal life. I couldn't even process stuff that was needed and became more forgetful. All I thought was, "Was my faction winning?" or "What's the next challenge?" The challenge towers were cool (at first). However, they reminded me of why I even stopped mobile gaming for most of its run - it's taking over my life. Games are supposed to be recreational - not a job stealing thing. Eventually, MK11 made it even worse with the tower challenges (again) which had grindy tactics. Do a lot of fatalities, fatal blows, brutalites, etc. to get that quest? It felt cool at first and I completed the Liu Kang quest. However, by the time I wanted to get Scorpion's stuff - I felt like, "No, just no! You need to quit! It's making your already crazy mind worse!" Unlike MK9 - these games got too focused on online content. MKX was still fun and the Faction Wars can be easily ignored. Most of the stuff you need are at the Krypt. However, MK11 just ends up making players grind too much. I think I felt so exhausted with Liu Kang grinding that I can't even have the guts to do that quest with Scorpion.
I think MK11 is probably that offensive with the Aftermath package. Heck, I wish I didn't even pre-order the game just to play as my favorite villain Shao Kahn! All I got was a Scorpion plastic stuff and Shao Kahn code. Eventually, the Ultimate package is the ultimate rip-off. This feels like how those who played MK3 bought UMK3 and the really bad MK Trilogy which I don't bother to play again. Sure, I can choose to buy a physical purchase or buy it digitally. However, I still want to think of it as a robbery not only because of Sindel's retcon. It's also because even the DLC characters must grind to get their additional gear. At least, Goro didn't have to grind in MKX along with the other DLCs. Grrrr!!!!
Tekken 7 can be an offender for this - it's becoming the new Virtua Fighter in some way. Remember how Tekken did right what Virtua Fighter couldn't? It's pretty much like how Transformers defeated its predecessor the Gobots. Tekken 7 is severely lacking in single player content. I think Kazumi Mishima could've been more interesting than Kronika was in MK11. However, everything just goes crazy when Akuma suddenly becomes CANON to it. That's why I feel like I might not want Tekken 8 if it ever comes out. I think the Devil Gene revelation is just too inconsistent - as inconsistently idiotic as Sindel loving Shao Kahn in the reboot! Jinpachi's "ending" (which was accessed by not continuing after you lost) showed the potential of the Devil Gene plotline in the Mishimas. I felt the Devil Gene could explain why the Mishima idiocy making them like the Greek gods Uranus, Cronus, and Zeus as all three of them hate each other. How did such a good game enter into that?
I think Final Fantasy XV is really a big time offender too. Some of the sidequests are just ridiculous I freaking GAVE UP. I think the whole game was addicting to somebody who's not into the franchise. However, I think what I truly hated about it (later) are the tedious sidequests to get more items. I admit that the more I don't think about getting through the quests - the better my personal life becomes. Besides those sidequests compromised my entire modest professional life. I couldn't focus AT ALL because of those stuff.
Besides, I think about how video game addiction really nearly killed me back in high school. I could remember how I took video games as a solace from reality itself. I wanted a fantasy-based world or wished Gameshark was a real thing. I almost didn't graduate high school because of it. Fortunately, I had that discipline in college which allowed me to finish on time even if I was actually delayed by a year due to taking a short-term course before taking a bachelor's degree. It was also later in graduate school when I got into seventh generation gaming.
I think it's going to become a bigger problem now due to online. I think the gaming industry is giving into Corporate Commander's unethical practices. Video game playing isn't a mental health issue. However, I dare agree video game addiction can become a mental health issue. I needed to be disciplined from my video game addiction. I feel like gaming companies need to change the way they do gaming. Sure, they can still have paid DLCs to cover up additional expenses. However, grindy tactics and idiotic achievements may need to be removed. If anything, I think parents should have the right to say "NO!" if their kids want a console. Let them have other ways to have fun. If they get a console - LIMIT the gameplay too. Don't give children access to paid content and learn to say "NO!" whenever necessary.
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