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The State of Strategy Guide Reviews

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Well folks, it’s been a crazy year for Strategy Guide Reviews. There’s been more than enough strategy guides out there, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get our shit together to review everything we promised. The guilt is strong with this one. The folks at Prima and Prima-formerly-known-as-Bradygames have been incredibly supportive of this little site, and I really did them wrong this year.

I could go into a whole sob story about why I let them down, but please, no one likes sob stories. And sob stories don’t get books reviewed, AMIRITE?

So where are we these days? Are we going away? Are we coming back stronger than ever? The answer is somewhere in between.

Chris is taking a hiatus from the site for awhile longer. He’s always welcome back, and believe me, he wants to come back. I look forward to his full return so we can get back to podcasting again.

As for me, I’m not going anywhere. My passion for strategy guides has recently been reinvigorated, and I’m ready to get back to my reviewing fervor. SGR may return to a one-woman-show for awhile, but you know, it was fun when I started that way. Who’s to say it won’t be fun again? It’s another adventure! And I love adventures, especially with strategy guides in hand.

For everyone who has stuck around this year, thank you from the bottom of my heart. See you all in 2017!

Gaming Diary: Phoenix Wright Cases Closed

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Dual Destinies

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! With the kids out of school, I accidentally took an entire week off from doing pretty much everything. But I did play a ton of the Phoenix Wright games I have in my possession. I finished Apollo Justice and then moved right on to Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies. Because I was so determined to get it all done before Santa arrived, I finished DD rather quickly. It helped that this is, by far, the easiest of all the PW games. It also helped that the stories weren’t as deep as usual.

Overall, I give DD an “Okay.” It’s the weakest of the series, and coming off both Trials and Tribulations and then Apollo Justice really hurt it. T&T is by far my favorite with AJ at a close second. DD tried too much to be a repeat of AJ. A new attorney is brought in. They’re all struggling to solve a case in the present that is tied to a case from seven years ago. I really wish they picked a different number than seven, just to change it up a teensy bit. I also wasn’t a fan of the court cases revolving around the bonds of friendship, which then of course reflected back to Wright’s own law firm. Let My Little Pony tell the friendship stories, mmmkay? They’re pros at it and it’s not as hamfisted as this was. Remember how the first three games wove together the friendship between Phoenix and Miles? And that was subtle? That’s how to do it.

Other big complaints include lack of Miles Edgeworth, even though he did sneak in at the end. I wanted to yell at him and ask where he was and what he was doing those seven years Phoenix was disbarred. So he helped move along Wright’s bar exam; I guess that’s something. His noticeable absence in AJ, when Wright was completely down on his luck, bothered me to no end. Yes, it’s cool to see other prosecutors behind the bench, and I did like Gavin and Blackquill. I just wanted to see more Edgeworth in the background with Wright in some way.

Last complaint is the lack of Gumshoe. They dropped him like a bad habit after the original trilogy, and I don’t know why. He’s so lovable in his own way, and it’s adorable how he follows after Edgeworth like a lost puppy. There was a big reason why Gumshoe wasn’t present in DD, but I missed him in AJ as well. I honestly can’t remember if he was in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice. I’ve been very very tempted to replay that one, especially since SoJ brings in even more of a twisted tale to Apollo’s background. I need to draw up a family tree to try to understand the ties to it. Or maybe I should just smile and nod and let it go.

After all, I do have so many other massive RPGs to play, including Pokemon Moon that arrived from Santa.

In Pursuit of Platinum – Demetrios: The Big Cynical Adventure

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Demetrios: The Big Cynical Adventure Platinum trophy

Back in December, PlayStation Lifestyle asked me to review Demetrios: The Big Cynical Adventure on Vita. I like point-and-click adventures, and this one seemed to have a seriously dirty sense of humor, so I was all in. The game isn’t too difficult thanks to the hint system, and I was able to get through the game in 7 hours. However, unlike most PAC games, the biggest draw to this one is finding all the ways for the protagonist to get a game over. Really, that’s the only challenging trophy to obtain, and I did have to look up help with the Steam Community.

The second most difficult trophy was finding all of the cookies, which are your hints. There are three in every scene, and if you miss one, the only way to have it count in your point total is to load an earlier save or start over. I was hoping I could do it all in two playthroughs, but after I finished the second, the cookie trophy didn’t pop. I looked at my cookie count, and I missed one cookie, ONE COOKIE, in one of the early scenes.

I ended up playing the game three times total. Fortunately, you can skip scenes and once you know the puzzles, it’s very easy to play through the entire game in 2 hours. After playing it for the review, I only needed two more nights to get the rest of the trophies. The third time I played is when I looked up help, because there were a few options that you can only get if you set something first, and I never would have realized what I needed to do with a prod in the right direction.

I know I need to do other things than Platinum a Vita game, but this one seemed so easy I couldn’t help myself.

Tuesday Gaming Diary – I Can’t Quit Phoenix Wright

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I tried to play Pokemon Pearl. I really did. But I really wanted the next chapter of the Phoenix Wright universe. So yeah, I couldn’t resist when Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney popped up in a bargain bin. I’m already about halfway through the game (episode-wise), and I’m so unbelievably hooked for one reason: I’m dying to know what happened to Phoenix Wright.

Apollo Justice

This game takes place 7 years after Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations. I have no idea why, but Phoenix Wright has fallen from grace. He’s turned in his badge, and he’s a professional poker player masked as a pianist. There’s no Miles Edgeworth or Maya Fey. I’m actually missing Maya at this point, because surely she could shake some sense into Nick. Also, whatever happened with Iris? It was strongly suggested they would definitely get together after her prison sentence. Is it wrong that I just really want him to have a happy ending? I hate that he’s broke, obviously miserable, and has taken on a protege of sorts who is disgusted by him. Although, to go from the mighty Phoenix Wright to practically a bum wouldn’t exalt the eyes of many.

I happen to already own the fifth entry, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, so Pokemon Pearl will be delayed a bit longer. I honestly can’t believe I haven’t gotten sick of these games yet, but somehow, I haven’t.

I have a problem. I admit it. It’s also a great way to avoid admitting that I have several really lengthy games to play and finish. Let’s…not think about that. Ignorance is bliss, yes? Especially during the holidays.

Tuesday Gaming Diary: Finished Phoenix Wright. NOW WHAT?

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Last week I made an absolute point of finishing the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy before moving on to my assigned review for work. I couldn’t stop thinking about the game to the point it was hindering all desire to work. And so I stayed up way too late a few nights to get the last two turnabout episodes from Trials and Tribulations under wraps. I honestly was not expecting this third game to go the way it did or end the way it did. It astounded me how well it tied in everything together, from not just this game, but the two before it.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations

And yes, I did wipe away a few tears as the credits rolled. Only a few of the tears were because it was over. The rest was because it was just so gosh darn sweet. I really hope a certain character near and dear to Phoenix Wright pops up in other games. Both her appearance and the truth behind her was unbelievably unexpected. I officially love these games, and I love nearly all the characters.

I’m sorry, Maya Fey, but you are so incredibly annoying. My heart went out to you when your sister died, but you’ve been awful ever since. Not to mention, just how many times are you going to be framed for murder? You came in the series under a wrongful arrest for the murder of your sister, and in the most recent game, Spirit of Justice, you were wrongfully arrested for murder then too. Maybe you need to stop hanging around Phoenix Wright? Or go into isolation? Everyone who comes in contact with you seems to want to frame you for murder. As annoying as you are, I kind of get it. I bet you and Cortana would be absolute besties.

So, now that that is all over and I don’t as of yet own the fourth game, Apollo Justice, what game am I going to obsess over now? It feels weird not taking my 3DS with me everywhere. It’s been suggested I get back into a Pokemon title. I do have Pokemon Pearl, so that is a possibility. However, I just don’t feel the pull. I’m not ready to put down Wright’s trials just yet, even when the puzzle solutions don’t make a lick of sense. I’m amazed that a game series I have avoided for so long has completely wormed its way into my heart.

Then again, the same thing happened with Halo. Maybe I should give Destiny a shot…

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