While we here at Operation Rainfall love covering the latest in gaming news and sharing our reviews of titles new and classic, we also just enjoy playing games in our downtime. So with that, sit back, relax, and check out what the oprainfall gaming crew have been up to this week!
Last week, I mentioned we got the Collector’s Edition of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster. Well I finally got around to playing a (little bit) of Final Fantasy I, and it’s such a nostalgia trip. I spent way too long deciding between starting with a Monk or a Thief for my party, but ended up sticking with Thief so I can get a Ninja later on. After that I spent some time in Cornelia enjoying the arranged soundtrack. It’s honestly just the best. Then I turned on 2x gil and exp modifiers and auto-battled my way around the region and up to the Chaos Shrine to bully Garland into submission. I am gleeful they kept his classic line in this version. All in all, I didn’t spend as much time playing as I would have liked due to other obligations, but actually moving around rather than watching my husband play was such a nice time. I still can’t get used to moving diagonally, though. That’s just way too weird.
In preparation for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom coming out in a couple weeks, I also treated myself to the new OLED Switch model for the game. I hadn’t really intended on getting an OLED since I mostly played the Switch docked, but this is just an honestly gorgeous system, and I am at the point where I could benefit from the better screen and longer battery life. I also joined Team Wisdom for the upcoming Splatfest, because Princess Zelda >>>>> everyone else. (I’m also more of a Shiver fan, but I can’t deny that Frye was just really cute about why she chose Wisdom.) I only played on the OLED for a little bit, but the difference in screen quality is incredibly noticeable. Colors pop, everything looks more vivid, and you don’t have to squint so hard to see detail. I’m still not convinced it’s worth it for just the upgraded screen quality for the majority of players, especially if you tend to play docked, but I’m also not upset at my purchase. I can’t wait to actually play TotK on this baby. – Leah
I thought I had made a lot of progress this week in Atelier Ryza 2, but looking back at last week’s article, I see I’m actually not very far from where I left off before, at least story wise. See, where I left off last week, I was ready to start the post-dungeon, new round of character interactions and little story bits all over town. But it turns out it’s wave, after wave, after wave, of story interactions. Every time I clear out some character story stuff, go look for materials and come back, it seems there are even more character interactions and story content. Maybe this is why I keep putting the game down and have been off and on playing Ryza 2 for so long. I do love the more chill slice of life aspects of Atelier games, but I also like a good balance of story and actual gameplay. When anytime I do anything at all, more character pictures pop-up around town and I keep getting interrupted, it can be a bit much and feel not so chill.
Nonetheless, in between all the character interactions and little side story bits, I’ve been trying to progress further in alchemy. I realized my party is all wearing pretty basic starter armor. Though it turns out I was only slightly behind on one or two alchemy chains of armor creating. But now I’m at a point where I can’t get the next batch of materials I need for crafting equipment one chain further, without better gathering tools. I seem to keep running into things I need three star tools for, specifically the bomb rod and bug net: mine are only two stars at the moment. I’ll find I need one thing and then I need something else to get that thing and so on. Although, in between all those story interactions and alchemy, I’ve also finally slightly progressed in the main story and now have instructions on where to look for the next ruins. – Jenae
What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!
You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!
