I’ve done it! My original stated intention has been fulfilled! Continue reading Pokemon: A Grand Ambition, Update 7 – The End?
Tag Archives: pokemon heartgold
Pokemon: A Grand Ambition, Update 6 – Two Years, Too Many Games
Has it really been two years since I last updated everyone on my Pokémon playing! Wow. I guess I’ll get on with it so y’all can get off the pins and needles. Continue reading Pokemon: A Grand Ambition, Update 6 – Two Years, Too Many Games
The Top 10 Games I Played in 2014
In keeping with tradition, I’m going to forego writing a best-of list, just like I forgot to do in 2012. Scratch that, I mean I’m going to simply order these games alphabetically instead of ordering them. This list is very Wii U heavy, which makes sense as I purchased the system shortly after Mario Kart 8 released. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back in the sense that there were plenty of titles available and coming soon that I wanted to play. And of course, this list is diverse with older games as I usually don’t play many new titles. In that regard, this list is unlike any other I’ve constructed.
Bayonetta 2 – Now this is a video game. Platinum Games, Sega, and Nintendo expanded upon the formula of the original by blowing it out of the water. This was easily the most fun I had playing a game by myself this year.
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence – I’ve been a big fan of the series since playing Aria of Sorrow but this was my first foray into a 3D entry. I did’t think the game was outstanding, but the focus Koji Igarashi and his team had was. An enjoyable action game.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem – The same can be said for this game – that I didn’t find it to be outstanding. It just hasn’t seemed to age super well. Still, this was a fun game to play through with a friend and I’m glad to finally check it off my backlog.
Gyruss – With this game, my friend and I had a great high-score competition going that stretched from late 2013 into early 2014. We had long breaks in between, but the rivalry was fierce. The game and our rivalry was a great example of the Golden Age of Arcade Games.
Mario Kart 8 – This was the game that pushed me over the edge on the Wii U and what a game! If it’s not my favorite in the series, it’s easily #2, right behind Double Dash. A great selection of courses, great DLC, and solid online wooed me in the early days with my new system.
New Super Luigi U – This was another early adoption title that wooed me. I played through the entirety of this in co-op, and it was such a pleasurable experience. A great blend of traditionally designed platforming stages, with super tough requirements, and fun implementation of the Wii U Gamepad.
Pokémon Emerald – I limited myself to one Pokémon game, so despite the more traditional Platinum, HeartGold and the less traditional XD: Gale of Darkness, Battle Revolution, Ranch, and Trozei, I chose this. Having skipped this game in its time, I was excited to revisit Hoenn and see the things I missed out on.
Scribblenauts: Unlimited – My friend and I haven’t beaten this game. We’re maybe halfway through it. Still, the amount of fun we had brainstorming ridiculous creations was probably the most fun I had with a video game all year. Highly recommended.
Super Mario Bros. – I mean, come on. This game is legendary. I finally beat it this year after many attempts and the assistance of my friend. What a sense of accomplishment afterwards! Talk about checking something off of a backlog, this is more like a bucket list item!
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – What a stupid name. Still, this is such a highly refined, balanced game with enough content to keep me content for years. Rest assured, I will play this game until its successor comes out and it will be in the mulitplayer lineup that long too.
Pokemon: A Grand Ambition, Update 5 – Pokemon HeartGold
It’s been a couple of months since my last ambition update, and as you might intuit, I’m beginning to run out of steam. With my last check-in, I was just beginning to play HeartGold. It’s a game that I originally bought day one, and even wrote about it here way back in 2010, and again in 2012. I don’t recall actually beating it 100% back then, so I did experience more of the game this time around. I managed to explore all of Johto and Kanto and catch every legendary Pokémon available to me, all in about 60 hours.
It was easily the most refined game in the series at its release, and I still feel that way. I definitely preferred it to Platinum. The Pokéwalker was a fun addition too. I could transfer a Pokémon to the pedometer to level it up and collect items. It was a nice diversion at work, but I eventually grew bored of it. While I was going after the last legendary Pokémon, it was definitely getting to be a grind; especially because of the FUCKING ROAMING POKÉMON. I struggled catching Entei, the next to last one for me. Using Retail, my Gengar, I would use Mean Look to prevent Entei from running away. However, it had Roar which made me flee and after dozens of Ultra Balls, I finally caught it.
According to the release calendar of the series, I should fire up Black or White next. Lacking either, my next option would be to play White 2, and the 3DS “game” Dream Radar. That being said, I purchased Pokémon Y last week, wanting to redeem the Shiny Mega Gengar that GameStop was giving away. While there, I also preordered Omega Ruby. I’ve been playing other games for a while now, hoping to diversify my playtime somewhat. So… I don’t know which game I’ll jump into next, but any option will be an entirely new experience. Well, besides the formulaic structure.
Pokemon: A Grand Ambition, Update 4 – Pokemon Battle Revolution
It’s been a little more than a month since my last grand ambition update, but it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. Since I last composed one of these, I have beaten Pokémon Battle Revolution on the Wii and began playing Pokémon HeartGold on the DS. Battle Revolution was a brisk affair – I was able to complete it in a literal week, ultimately taking me about a dozen hours. I wouldn’t say it was a letdown, as I wasn’t expecting much, but it’s very barebones. I’ll discuss it in greater detail soon. I was able to extract all three Pokémon it had to offer though. The Surfing Pikachu, Magmortar, and Electrivire are now mine!
With that game done, I have since progressed to HeartGold. I’ve been looking forward to replaying this title for many reasons. I thought I left it incomplete on my original playthrough, although I’ve discovered that to be untrue. Still, I’m jazzed to be playing it. I was also looking forward to using the Pokéwalker and that’s been a nice distraction at work. Also, this is a remake of perhaps my favorite generation of the series!
Before beginning anew, I extracted the Pokémon I wanted from my original playthrough – around fifty – and restarted. I decided not to begin with all three starters, as that made the past few games a little easy, and resulted in my party being devoid of diversity. Instead, I chose Cyndaquil as my starter. The Totodile family is my favorite, although I generally always choose it and I don’t care much for Chikorita’s family, so I went with the fire starter. I’m about a dozen hours in now and have obtained three gym badges and around twenty Pokémon. I’ll check back again once it’s complete!
Pokemon: A Grand Ambition, Update 3 – Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, My Pokemon Ranch, and Pokemon Platinum
I swear, I’m so bad about keeping the internet updated on my Pokémon goings-on! How does anyone manage to go on with their day-to-day life, not knowing what I’m doing in the Pokémon video games? Serious kudos’ are in order for all who’ve had to suffer these past three (!) months without a grand ambition update. It’d help me out if I update more frequently, I mean, look at that title! I’ve got a lot to discuss so I’ll get down to it.
Okay, the first major happening since I last wrote about my grand ambition was my completion of Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. I completed it to the moon and back! Nearly, that is. I was able to snag and extract every available shadow Pokémon, caught most of the limited wild Pokémon, and obtained every in-game trade Pokémon – which included a Shuckle! Honestly, the only thing that I didn’t do was complete the Orre Colosseum. It hosted a difficult series of trainers that wasn’t unavailable until after completing the game. I participated in the first round so I could obtain a Lucky Egg – an experience duplicating held item which is very valuable. Having extracted all of the Pokémon, I have shelved Gale of Darkness.
Before diving into Pokémon Platinum, as I had planned, I took a detour. One late night, partially at the heckling behest of a friend, I purchased the WiiWare title My Pokémon Ranch. What a great mediocre poor way to spend ten dollars buy a Mew. Here’s how this software (not a game, folks!) works: players connect their Nintendo DS and either Diamond or Pearl and transfer Pokémon to the ranch. It stores up to 1,200 Pokémon and acts more like a gussied up utility. After depositing 999 Pokémon, players are awarded with a Mew. Believe me, this was no small task and was so gratifying. My friend can attest to that fact as well.
So, after spending hours catching low-level Bidoof and Starly in Diamond, I finally transitioned to Platinum. Side note: I didn’t spend any other time playing Diamond – this has all my creatures from back in the day and I didn’t want to sully this game, yet. At this point, I’ve completed Platinum. In the sense that I’ve beaten the Elite Four; I still haven’t seen all the post-game content that opened up afterwards, so I’m not satisfied with being done with it. In fact, I said to myself that I wasn’t going to catch all available Pokémon in it, and briskly move onto Battle Revolution, but I’m swaying the other way recently. So I may wind up catching all the Pokémon I can in the game. Mind you, I don’t mean obtain one of everyone – simply catch anything that’s out in the wild.
Once I’m satisfied with Platinum, I’ll begin Battle Revolution on the Wii. That should be a succinct adventure as there are only three extractable Pokémon – a Magmortar, Electrivire, and a Pikachu that knows Surf. Perhaps, I’ll play a Pokémon Ranger game or two? I need to do more research towards extracting legendary Pokémon from those games. Depending yay or nay, I should transition to HeartGold, which I’m excited to play again and hopefully complete all post-game content. Until next time!
Pokemon: A Grand Ambition, Update 2 – Pokemon Emerald
It’s been a long time but I haven’t dropped this grand ambition of mine. As I mentioned at the end of my last check-in, after beating Pokémon Colosseum, I was due to begin Pokémon Emerald. It was a new experience for me as I skipped out on the game when it originally released back in 2005. My experience was somewhat of a mix between a trip down memory lane and dementia, as I recalled certain aspects and events, but couldn’t really tell what differentiated it from Ruby and Sapphire. Nonetheless, I’ve powered through the narrative, and am passively working on the Pokédex while I actively play Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness – my current challenge.
Currently, I’m close to crossing the 100 hour mark in Emerald. Honestly, I didn’t anticipate spending this much time with the game. I believe I was around 70 hours into it when I decided I’d completed all of the postgame content I was going to complete and thusly, moved onto Gale of Darkness. However, I’ve put another 30 hours into Emerald by playing it before bed here and there and taking it with me into public if I anticipate a long enough downtime to fire it up. In fact, on one such outing (a visit to the emergency room, care of my girlfriend) I caught a shiny Pokémon! It was a shiny Wailmer, which I’m pleased as punch with.
I anticipate completing Gale of Darkness in another dozen or so hours, so I’ll probably spend more time with Emerald before jumping into the next game on my list – Pokémon Platinum! In that time span, I’ll be working towards completing the Pokédex, although I don’t think I’ll be able to fill out the 200+2. That being said, I have many Pokémon to trade between LeafGreen, Colosseum, and Gale of Darkness, so we’ll see. As far as the next stops on this tour of mine, Platinum will follow Gale of Darkness; afterwards I’ll jump back to the console space with the Wii’s Pokémon Battle Revolution. After that, Pokémon Ranger is a possibility before jumping into HeartGold and then the Black/White series. Until next time, which, will be much sooner.
![Pokemon Emerald [GBA] – Review](https://mybrainongames.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/pokemon-emerald-japanese-box-art.jpg?w=640&h=372&crop=1)
Pokemon Emerald [GBA] – Review
Classically, the mainline Pokémon games come in threes. The first two launch together while the third, usually an enhanced amalgamation of the previous two, releases about a year later. Pokémon Emerald is the enhanced remake of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire – the first two Pokémon games on the Game Boy Advance. I adored Ruby when it released in my freshman year of high school. I clocked well over 200 hours with it before moving on. After retiring LeafGreen and Colosseum, I was interested in starting Emerald and returning to Hoenn as it had been ten years since I last saw it.
Returning to Hoenn brought back many memories. As I crisscrossed the expansive island, I remembered specific towns, routes, and completing specific objectives. Not everything was familiar though. I couldn’t remember some of the smaller story beats. The series is host to light and airy narratives though, so this wasn’t a surprise. Whereas players were confronted with Team Aqua or Team Magma in Ruby and Sapphire, players had to contend with both in Emerald. These groups aren’t necessarily evil like Team Rocket, but their goals of enacting massive changes to Hoenn’s ecosystem were potentially world ending.
The Battle Frontier was heavily marketed as the defining feature of Emerald when it released back in the middle of 2005. Personally, the battle facilities that have been introduced in the series haven’t appealed to me too much. This one hasn’t stolen too much of my time either. I appreciate being able to win harder to find evolutionary items and spotlighting the various battle styles is fantastic, but I’ve never put too much time into these. I’m more of a breeder than a fighter. The Battle Frontier is massive though and there is plenty there to entertain diehard fighters.
Really, those are the major differences between Ruby and Sapphire and Emerald. Perhaps the most notable of the minor alterations was Game Freak’s adjustments of wild Pokémon locations and the ability to capture both Groudon and Kyogre. Oh, and the Pokémon battles featured minor amounts of animation, like Crystal did prior. This generation was host to many new additions. Prime among them were double battles, contests, weather, the ability to dive, and many, many other novelties and mechanics.
- This awesome building was one of the attractions at the Battle Frontier.
Pokémon Emerald is the first enhanced remake in the series that I’ve completed (discounting LeafGreen and HeartGold, I guess). All in all, the additions and alterations make this the most feature packed between Ruby, Sapphire, and it, but it doesn’t make those games obsolete. I would find it grueling to play this immediately after playing one of those, so if you’re attempting a series playthrough as I am, pick one. The major changes may seem minor, but a comprehensive changelog of all changes would be immense. An older Pokémon game like this isn’t for everybody though, so only Pokémaniacs need apply. I fit the bill too! It’d been forever since I journeyed across Hoenn and it was a pleasant return.
In Between Posts, January 22, 2012
Besides Skyrim, I played a handful of other games last week. My friend and I finished Blue Toad Murder Files and got some time in with NBA Jam: On Fire Edition. We also played a few demos on the Wii, and perhaps because it was on, we began playing a new game – Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure.
I’ve given Zack & Wiki a whirl a time or two, but fell out of it. It seems like a really solid point and click game. Puzzles have kept us on our toes already and the whimsical nature is endearing, although I’m not fond of the dialogue. It received a lot of praise when it was originally released, partly because it deserved it, and partly because it was one of the few “hardcore” games on the Wii, despite the aimed-at-youngsters art style.
I also played a smidgen of Pokemon HeartGold.
P.S. Last week was pretty weird on the internet thanks to SOPA and PIPA.
In Between Posts, January 8, 2012
I have so much to report, but let me condense it down. I played a lot of Skyrim last week. The schedule I’m on affords me the ability to play it roughly every other day, but that’s about to change. I return to school tomorrow and my schedule is going to be full. Less free time should mean less game time, but I’ll manage. Also noteworthy, I played a lot of Pokemon HeartGold last week.
My Brain on Games