ShonenCat

 Platinum #107 - Gal*Gun 

⭐️ 5,000th Trophy Milestone! ⭐️

The Good:

+ God tier art direction and character design

+ Cheerful soundtrack goes great with the theming

+ A plethora of cute girls and happy endings that go with them

+ All 78 girls are fully and uniquely voiced (Japanese)

+ An extensive gallery filled to the brim with sexy unlockables

+ PS Move and 3D TV compatible

The Bad:

- Language barrier will keep most from enjoying the narrative

- Framerate can plummet if four or more targets are on screen

- The fact that you’re not playing this right now

Final Results:

Completion Difficulty: 7 out of 10 💪🏻

Overall Enjoyment: 9 out of 10 ❤️

Very Rare 6.85% Completed in 1 week, 2 days ⏱

Playthroughs: 21 Story Modes, 5 Arcade Modes, 4 Doki Doki Carnivals

 Platinum #106 - XBlaze Lost Memories 

“The next evolution in 2D drama!”

Their words, not mine  Behold, one of the original EZPZs 😋 Yes, I would often see this grouped together with the likes of Hannah Montana, NCIS and Goosebumps when someone was looking for a quick, easy plat. But considering all the marvelous content that has hit the PS Store since those times, this title in specific is probably looking pretty scrumptious right about now 😆 This marks my most common plat to date, with a rarity of 53.75%… Because of that, a part of me didn’t want to play this until I reached over a hundred platinums. Given that its more difficult predecessor (for a VN anyway) XBlaze Code Embryo was plat #6 for me, it has been exactly 100 plats until I got around to playing the sequel. This wasn’t planned in any way 😅 It’s just how things ended up. As things currently stand, I needed a game with precisely 40 trophies, and XBlaze Lost Memories was the only one I had on hand that I could find. Setting up for something far bigger in the near future 😎 But what is XBlaze? It is a visual novel series that tells a prequel story to help shape the BlazBlue universe. Yet every time I try to learn more about BlazBlue and its lore, I’m always left with more questions than answers 🙃 That’s okay though. Because given the current state of certain other franchises, I find myself with a whole new appreciation for BlazBlue in general 😙

How would I say the VNs stack up against their fighting game counterparts? They’re mildly entertaining to say the least. I didn’t fall asleep or anything  So my interest is most definitely there, even if I don’t quite understand or remember everything that is going on  I still read it in full. The story is mostly everything a VN would have going for it, and it’s the most important part. From what I am able to gather, it involves Nine looking for her younger sister Celica within the Phantom Field whilst experiencing Es’s past memories along the way. To my surprise, this eventually becomes a continuation of the story. Yes, all this time I thought this game was just “extra scenes” that were not put into Code Embryo, but it’s much more than just that. So it was very nice to get a conclusion to this part of the story… 100 plats later  A conclusion that left me quite satisfied. Since the story is everything, I won’t say anymore just in case others are willing to dive into all things BlazBlue someday. Also, I’m not qualified to break it all down. It takes a Philadelphia lawyer to figure this shit out 🤣

You can’t spell “best” without “Es.”

One of the main key things that drove me to experience these VNs was a girl named Es. She is an android of sorts made up of organic materials. Her design speaks loudly to me  In the beginning, she does have the bedside manner of a turnip 😅 But as the story progresses, her character grows and she develops a will of her own. Complete with emotions and desires. Her VA does a fantastic job delivering such a soft and sultry tone of voice 😌 She is what I find the most interesting part about this whole thing 😗 And I’m happy to say that XBlaze Lost Memories is mostly centered around her in general! She has since then became a playable character in BlazBlue Central Fiction, and is one of my main tiers next to Ragna.

Overall, it was a fun enough time reading through this story, and I’m glad I didn’t put it off forever now that I have learned there is a conclusion to the whole thing 😁 Some of the banter and side story stuff can be a bit mentally exhausting, but certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s hard to recommend unless your interest in BlazBlue is already there. Mine was, so I guess I’m the demographic they’re looking for  I don’t do VNs often, but if I do dive into anymore in the future… it’ll likely be the Steins Gate series. We’ll see what the future holds

The Good:

+ Pleasing character design

+ Fully voiced (Japanese)

+ Painless trophy hunt

+ Good presentation

+ Sexy CGs

+ Es

The Bad:

- You’ll need to first play XBlaze Code Embryo for full context

- Confusing story, adding to the already confusing lore of BlazBlue
- May only appeal to the most extreme of BlazBlue enthusiasts

- Weak dungeon designs and exploration

Final Results:

Completion Difficulty: 1 out of 10 💪🏻

Overall Enjoyment: 7 out of 10 ❤️

Common 53.75% Completed in 4 days, 5 hours ⏱

⭐️ ShonenCat’s PS5 Extravaganza ⭐️

🎉 I got one 🎉

Welcome back, everyone! Been a while since I last posted, but today calls for a celebration 🥳 Whenever someone claims a PS5 around here, it’s usually treated like a party. So I thought I would keep that tradition alive 😛 That’s right! I am now the owner of a PlayStation 5 console! It was a gift from my older sister since I’m always helping out 🙃 She said it had to be preordered directly from Sony at the time. As you can clearly see, there is a game that came included with the console. Modern Warfare Roman Numeral 2 🙃 Sis said the bundled game couldn’t be helped, however I find it’s a pretty decent included title all things considered. It may be a digital voucher, but what isn’t nowadays? 😶 The whole package here is still rather shocking and I don’t think the feeling has quite sunk in yet, despite having it for a couple weeks now 😅 In my head, I wasn’t planning on owning one of these anytime soon. Yet it’s great to get that leap into the next generation for free 😙 Now I merely need to just focus on games. Speaking of games, I have some already 😁

Software for the adventurous type

Be mindful that not all of these were bought on the same exact day 😄 These are only my newest and most recent PlayStation related purchases prior to owning a PS5 console. Some of you may recall Demon’s Souls Remake as my first PS5 game. I played it on my nephew’s console back when he was on vacation and made it platinum #101 🥳 As for Neptunia ReVerse, that was picked up during my birthday month mainly cause I thought it was going out of print 😅 Even though those two games were once shown in previous statuses before, it felt only right to showcase them here again with the real new stuff as well 😆 Those new games being Ghost of Tsushima, Castlevania Requiem and Nioh Collection. Action oriented titles with swords, of course 😌 Not sure when I’ll be able to play some of these more epic blockbusters, but I’d say I’m sitting with some pretty good options right about now 😛

Must accessorize one’s self

Gotta have accessories as well 😗 These were pretty important to me, cause a couple years ago I said a black PS5 console would be most ideal for me. There is no boxed black console as far as I’m aware, but luckily Sony has provided me with the needed tools to help still make my vision a reality ✌🏻 With the midnight black DualSense controller and official midnight black PS5 console covers 🥳 My new console is looking pretty sleek 😎 This is helped further with the third party products I ordered from FlamingToast’s website. A classic logo sticker and power light decals. These help give my console a more nostalgic flare. I really like how everything ended up looking in the end 😁 You’re probably wondering how it looks yourself, but I’d rather not make this status look too overbearing. So I’ll be sharing the rest of the details within the spoiler tab 🙃 Ready to dive deeper into this rabbit hole? Let’s go! 👏🏻
 

 Platinum #105 - Castlevania Advance Collection 

🎃 Halloween Platinum! 🎃

Bats, ghosts, skeletons and spooky castles! The stuff Halloween is made of 😋 This status may be a little late, but the platinum was popped on October 31st. So it still very much counts, and I’m sure you’d agree with me 😛 Castlevania Advance Collection contains four titles from Konami’s better days 😅 Three Game Boy Advance games as the name implies and one Super Nintendo title thrown in specifically. Included are Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Dracula X being the SNES game. A fine collection for any Castlevania super fan like myself 😁 That said, there are some gems and some stinkers in the mix. I’d say Circle of the Moon is on the lesser side along with Dracula X. Now I know Circle of the Moon was a launch title for GBA, but its poor presentation, bland characters, recycled music and cookie cutter castle rooms kind of makes it a novelty more than anything now. Except the DSS card system is its most unique feature for sure and hasn’t been in any game in the series since. But other than that, there really isn’t much else to say 😋

The other lesser title is Dracula X (SNES) which is a less than stellar, horribly unbalanced insufferable reimagining of a game that borrows a lot from the 1993 masterpiece Akumajo Dracula X: Chi no Rondo on PC Engine. It’s like they stuck it in a blender, tried to mold the mush into a SNES cartridge and release it to the public 😵 I can however appreciate some of the exclusive bosses and unique graphical techniques that push the SNES beyond its normal threshold. Even the chiptunes are catchy, but are still inferior to the CD quality soundtrack of the PCE original. I used the rewind feature a lot for this one 😆 It’s extremely difficult, but I may still go back and do a legit run so I can have closure on this 😅 It’s a strange inclusion to this collection, but it’s good to have the SNES version here on a cheap.. considering original copies can go for $300 to $400 🤯 

Who thought it would be a good idea to add pitfalls to a Dracula fight?

But as a super fan, I come to like even the lesser titles  It’s still Castlevania so it warms my heart regardless. But the true gems of this collection start with Harmony of Dissonance. It doesn’t pull anything new per say, but you do play as a Belmont. Juste Belmont to be exact. Him and his friend Maxim set out to rescue a childhood friend from Dracula’s castle. Juste can only use his whip as his main weapon, but it’s solid Metroidvania gameplay with a two layer castle system that will spin your brain at first, but eventually that “ah-ha” moment will hit you, and it feels great once you manage to figure it out 😆 The music is pretty good too, good enough to keep you going and keep those creatures of the night slain 🦇

However, the real diamond here is Aria of Sorrow. Yes, this is the game that carries the collection on its back, and then some. This is the reason you buy this collection for sure 😋 Taking place in the year 2035, this is Castlevania in the future. Which may sound strange at first, but everything here is handled quite well. From the lore and the carefully fleshed out characters. You play as Soma Cruz, a Japanese teenager who happens to be the reincarnation of Dracula. Him and his friend Mina get pulled into the eclipse to find Dracula’s castle within it. Even Alucard is there to help and give sound advice 😁 The music is top notch for GBA standards, and the game incorporates what is known as the Tactical Soul system. Soma can equip three types of souls at a time dropped by enemies for unique abilities and certain play-styles. If you buy this collection, you’re most likely doing it for this game  Yes, it was so good that it actually spawned a sequel for DS in 2005.

Even though I don’t speak highly of Circle of the Moon and Dracula X (SNES), make no mistake.. this collection is VERY much worth its asking price 😮 It goes for $20 on a normal day, so that equals out to $5 a game. An absolute steal! I’m still holding out for a physical copy before I buy on Switch, but as far as I know.. there is nothing on the horizon. I wouldn’t doubt that Limited Run will take care of it one of these days 😋 As for the rest of you, wishlist it, wait for a sale and nab it! Dracula ain’t gonna defeat himself, you know 

Final Results:

Completion Difficulty: 3 out of 10 💪🏻

Overall Enjoyment: 8 out of 10 ❤️

Uncommon 25.53% Completed in 1 week, 5 days ⏱

Dracula X (SNES): 1 hour, 27 minutes 🎮

Circle of the Moon: 12 hours, 41 minutes 🎮

Harmony of Dissonance: 12 hours, 13 minutes 🎮

Aria of Sorrow: 9 hours, 25 minutes 🎮

 Platinum #104 - Quake (PS4) 

💫 #1 fastest achiever! 💫

I would almost say this is my magnum opus, but that’s being saved for something else entirely  Quake could be considered a very close second though. If you know me, I’m crazy about DOOM. It’s my most favorite game of all time 😋 If it follows the classic formula (DOOM, DOOM II, Final DOOM or DOOM 64) then it’s my favorite. Put me in any official title or wad pack.. it’ll definitely suffice 😛 That being said, Quake isn’t too far off from that classic DOOM formula. Also made by id Software, Quake is a dark fantasy first person shooter where you obliterate enemies, hit switches, collect keys and find the exit before moving on to the next level. Its influence on the industry is strong and helped pioneer many other titles like Half Life, Unreal, etc. If Wolfenstein & DOOM was the incubation of FPS, then Quake was definitely the birth  And I LOVE IT 😍 Okay, so I didn’t grow up with the PC original right away. It was the N64 port that introduced me to the series. It borrows a lot from DOOM, and maybe that’s why I like it so much 😅 Here’s an unpopular opinion, but I’m a bigger fan of Quake 1 than Quake 2. That’s probably because the first game is much closer to DOOM in both its formula and concept. It truly is a 3D polygonal DOOM made by the same peeps responsible 😆 Moving along, you probably wanna hear more about me placing #1 in fastest achievers, yes? Let’s do it then 😙

I’ve endured the cruelest heatwave of my life

It’s true. The summer this year was a living hell. Even now the heat continues on as things slowly start to slip on into autumn. During my trophy run of Quake, my local area was soooo hot that my phone notified me of many heat advisories. It was practically a state of emergency 😵 Staying indoors until further notice was the safest thing to do, so I did just that. But I didn’t feel like lazing about in misery during that time. I wanted to make good use of the free time, regardless of how much the heat tried to stop me. That’s when I got the idea to see how fast I could pop all the trophies in Quake 😋 I fueled up on caffeine early in the day and ripped & teared until it was done 😈 Roughly 75+ levels of various lengths across five campaigns on Nightmare difficulty, with very small breaks in between 😁 A non-stop onslaught from start to finish, all whilst under the spirit breaking heat that would seep into the house overtime. Of course I wasn’t without a bit of practice 😛 I was raised on Quake, but I’ve also been playing my Switch copy for months now and have even helped a local friend pop a few of his achievements on Xbox. This has been a long time in the making, but I only decided to do this trophy run for myself recently  I’m glad I did it now, for it was an interesting test of my own skill, patience and endurance 😂

The only physical copy of Quake I currently own

I haven’t been able to place #1 fastest achiever in any game since GoldenEye 007 Reloaded, so it’s rather exhilarating to do it again.. especially for a legendary title like Quake 😁 Although I don’t expect my #1 spot to last forever on this one. Without a doubt someone more insane will eventually take the crown, but they’ll need to work pretty hard to claim it 😛 Should it ever happen, I’d sure like to shake his hand 😄 In the meantime, I’ll be basking in the #1 spot for as long as I can and continue to play both DOOM and Quake for many years to come! If you haven’t played Quake yet, please do! It often goes on sale and you get both a PS4 and PS5 version from one purchase! Nightdive Studios always does amazing work with their ports, and this here is no exception. Even Machine Games is on board with providing new official content, so please don’t sleep on it. Thank you all for joining me here today! It has been a real pleasure 😃 id Software salutes you! 🫡

Final Results:

Completion Difficulty: 5 out of 10 💪🏻

Overall Enjoyment: 10 out of 10 ❤️

Very Rare 6.40% Completed in 15 hours, 17 minutes ⏱

Total Play Time: About 14 hours, 30 minutes 🎮

Fuel: Bacon, Eggs, Coffee, Mtn Dew & Leftover Pizza