Dilaudid (Day 345)

I think once I finish Front Mission 3 I'm going to go ahead and move on to PlayStation 2 as my next console. I have five or six games left still to complete on the platform and I expect I'll enjoy most of them pretty well. My new video card should make emulating these games a lot easier than before. Since I've played so many strategy RPGs recently, I feel I'll probably play something more traditional, which leaves me with the option of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne or Digital Devil Saga. Of the two, Nocturne definitely seems more intimidating, but I also think I could probably think of a lot to say about it.

Other than the two Digital Devil Saga games and Nocturne, I also have a slew of Nippon Ichi strategy RPGs left to complete on the PS2. I think I lost interest in them initially because they weren't really all that different than Disgaea and there's only so much I can play a game like that without getting burned out. I've never successfully played two Disgaea titles in sequence and the same is also true for any two games by the developer. Actually, I've never finished any of their games except for those in the Disgaea series. I've actually finished all four of the main games in that series, although I haven't yet played Disgaea D2.

It's possible I may write some of those games off if I revisit them and decide they're not for me, but there are few strategy RPGs that I can't at least give a playthrough. La Pucelle: Tactics predates Disgaea and therefore features some prototypical elements that would later become refined and expanded upon in later NIS titles but it still seems valuable as a frame of reference. Still, after juggling Front Mission 3 and Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, I'm ready to move on to a slightly different genre.

I'm told that Nocturne is a very long and difficult game. The last time I played it, I struggled with my sense of direction. I had a hard time actually figuring out where it was I had to go. I expect this time I"ll keep a walkthrough close at hand so as to avoid losing interest as I progress. I love the art style and atmosphere of the game and have historically enjoyed Shin Megami Tensei games--though admittedly I've only finished games in the Persona series. I've heard from multiple sources that Nocturne is one of the best in the main SMT series so it would likely be a great game for me to invest seriously into finishing.

I've definitely been splitting my focus lately though, and my progress on my backlog has suffered as a result. I have complete confidence that I will finish both Fire Emblem and Front Mission 3, but I'll be doing so a lot later than I'd originally planned. Fire Emblem in particular is taking a tremendous amount of time because of my questionable decision to play the game on hard mode. I haven't hit any huge roadbumps in FM3 and to be honest the pace is a lot faster than FM4, so hopefully that'll be done in the next few days.