Hey, I’m getting these out a lot more now! That’s pretty good. But yeah, for more transparency I figured I’d keep these sorts of posts up during my off periods or days like today where I wanna write, but have very limited time and thus not enough for a full fat review.

So last month I noted plans to try and mix old queue reviews with newer stuff… Only to be fully new stuff with the Toaplan, Wayforward and Atari releases. On the plus side, I got a bit more out than I did in July, and as of today I have about 4 reviews nearing the end stage of production, with one of a pretty rad Retro compilation coming out tomorrow or Friday, and several long-awaited reviews over the next few weeks, including one of the dreaded 2017 queue games. Yikes, that’s a long time!

Yet again I need to sincerely apologize for those delays, and while I’m thankful at how I reigned myself in and have done well enough at both old and new this year, I’m definitely thinking of ways and a method to just never let such a lengthy review delay happen again after the queue is all empty. Several RPGs and other big games have been offered to me very lately, and I had to ignore or reject all of them solely so I can finish the older shit I’ve been meaning to do.

It doesn’t help that some of the stressors that caused me to regress and fall into a anxious, depressive state back in 2019 were starting to return again (though in July I had pretty much succeeded in pulling myself out of another mental pit), but on the bright side, that Secret Project is almost ready to be finalized, and with that done, a burst of productivity should follow suit! I already took some notes for Nongunz, and that other XSX game on the queue is being saved for said secret project to at least be able to take advantage of a new opportunity I have… (Not unlike how I got to Neptunia VIIR after getting a PSVR)

Switch stuff is moving nicely, with that 2017 game played enough for note purposes and ready to review, along with me dabbling more into Citizens Unite. I wondered why I dropped it since it was a 2021 game and one half was a game I really dug back on the 3DS, but then I realized that it launched with the other half in a buggy state and well, with it patched as much as it will be, best to finally give that other half the attention it needs to review the set proper! River City Girls 2 is also finally getting looked at, though a lot of the setback was due to the rough launch state + trouble getting local co-op sessions set up, and with one part of that done now, I’ll just have to suck it up and continue the game on my own for note taking. I think I did enough of co-op last year to properly get my thoughts down on it.

I’ve also worked more on the slim Steam queue, with Arcade Spirits getting some play and note taking, and Fuga 2 about to be prepped for one hell of a marathon. At the absolute most, I wanna get a good, in-depth review out by the end of October, since that’ll be before the final wave of DLC for that game. Definitely do not want to half ass that review, though I will admit the timing of the review code and the game’s launch really didn’t help with slotting it in… Still, after the prior game won SFG’S GOTY in 2021, I wanna give the sequel a lot of attention as well before I write thoughts. Outside of potential retro compilations that may come in the next few months or simple scorechaser games, I plan on just focusing on the older queue games and continuing to cut them down until I finally catch up.

Speaking of, yes, the PS4 queue. The system with the most pending games that take the longest and have been the slowest of the systems in my queue to cover. Yakuza 5 is a giant I need to devote tons of time to. Cold Steel IV requires more of CSIII to play in order to scratch that surface. Shenmue I/II, regretfully, I failed to cover during the five year anniversary as I hoped due to the Secret Project, but I at least got more notes done for the Shenmue 1 half. Danganronpa V3, the longest lasting game on the queue, is ready to be binged whenever I free up time for it. I also aim to knock out Crystar as that seems like a shorter game on the list, and I’m gonna have to retake the notes for Valthirian Arc and Omensight I lost in the data crash last year, but I did a good chunk of the redo for VA already, so that one should be the first PS4 queue game to be tackled when I get back to it.

So far, the focus has been on switch due to the high amount of shorter games, and Steam due to the Steam Deck making that queue a lot easier to clear off. XSX is almost done, so that’s pretty much less focused so I can slim Switch down more. So soon my friends, I’ll feel confident enough to review and give each game in the PS4 queue the indepth review they deserve… Despite the stupidly long delay.

Nevertheless, I’m still pretty confident with the Secret Project, as it should speed up production and let me focus on that queue being knocked out for by the end of 2023. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and have gotten way better at controlling and holding back of any game that isn’t too simplistic; Fuga 2’s pretty much the biggest scale of any new game I covered of late and that’s why that review is taking so long, so as much as say, I’d otherwise be interested in a game like Mon-Yu, I’ll have to hold off on that for the sake of my queue.

But yeah, that’s basically all for today’s updates: some newer stuff first, possibly an opinion article to seal the lid on a long-running topic here, then a few queue games to knock out in the next few weeks as the Secret Project prepares to be realized!

And maybe after all is said and done with this queue, I’ll get back to looking for more Chunsoft folk to interview…