Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Sorry guys just squeezing in my 2024 year in review for the channel! You all know I donāt care about or keep track of numbers but all the same itās rather shocking to me that over 2K of you subbed this year despite 90% of the vids being dedicated to Yakuza lmao though based on the most watched, itās probably for Castlevania/Fire Emblem/Final Fantasy haha. Either way, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. š I know Iāve said it a million times but really it is very humbling to know so many of you stop by and appreciate you all so, SO much, I canāt tell you. (Surprised the most popular short was my Murayama tributeādo the people desire Suikoden covers? lol)
So hereās the 2024 breakdown of covers:
Final Fantasy - 2
Xenoblade - 2
Chrono Cross - 3
Castlevania - 2 covers, 1 tutorial
Vagrant Story - 1
1000xRESIST - 1
Lunar: Silver Star Story - 1
Yakuza - 30 covers, 7 tutorials, 1 trailer LOL
Two albums: Final Fantasy Vol. 4, Yakuza Piano Collections
The long Yakuza pilgrimage was absolutely necessary on many levels, I swear it wasnāt just playing the games and simping for the cast lol. For several years Iād been feeling increasingly dissatisfied and disconnected with my playing, like more than usual, and after many months in 2023 trying to diagnose the issues I decided i had been focusing too much on arranging over the years and not enough time in the woodshed actually practicing to become a better pianist. So I dedicated all of 2024 to that end, specifically rebuilding my right hand technique, which was a very, very VERY long, frustrating, soul-crushing process ššš I pulled back on all collabs, workshopped a ton of Bach and Czerny and early Beethoven and the Brahms exercises and did far less arranging in 2024, though I realize the irony of that statement when I put out probably more covers from Yakuza alone than several years combined lol, BUT 60% of those tracks were transcriptions with little arranging involved, and the ones that did require arranging I tailored to target problem areas in my RH. Which was actually the perfect vehicle to do so, as these tracks were either relatively unknown or perfect blank slates to get creative, so I didnāt feel the self-imposed pressure to do justice as with prestige vgm classics like Final Fantasy or Chrono or Octopath. So yeah this entire enterprise was really secretly Yakuza Etudes for Piano lmao
But I am really happy and relieved to report around October I was finally starting to feel like I wasnāt playing like garbage or working twice as hard to accomplish what I should have been able to do in half the time. The hope is eventually becoming a better pianist that I was previouslyāfingers crossed that Iām on the right track!!!!
Going into 2025 Iām planning to pick up where I left off with the Chrono stuff, Vagrant Story, Castlevania, Legend of Mana, and weāre not QUITE done with Yakuza yet haha, still a few things cooking at the moment!! Thank you for all the love and support in 2024! Have a safe and happy new year!!!
91 - 49
Ok after much deliberation, the games I played in 2024, ranked! Just want to stress this list is in no way an indication of quality, itās just me going through each one asking myself, āHow much did I personally enjoy this?ā otherwise Dead Souls has no business being no. 2 lol. But anyways we all know what happened here. Sega owned my ass in 2024 with Unicorn Overlord, Valkyria Chronicles and a bazillion Yakuzas. Square Enix managed to eke into the top 3, but for an IP they tossed into the trash 12 years ago, not their flagship cash cow. Indies as always pulled their weight in a big way with some absolutely unique, memorable, and impactful titles; I really can't love the indie game scene enough. š
1. Yakuza 0
2. Yakuza: Dead Souls
3. Sleeping Dogs
4. 1000xRESIST
5. Unicorn Overlord
6. Pentiment
7. The Crimson Diamond
8. Yakuza: Kenzan
9. Valkyria Chronicles
10. Yakuza 5
11. The Case of the Golden Idol + DLC
12. The Rise of the Golden Idol
13. Firework
14. Yakuza 4
15. Yakuza 6
16. The Vale
17. Yakuza 3
18. Yakuza Kiwami 2
19. Yakuza Kiwami
20. Kurohyou: Ryū ga Gotoku ShinshŠ(Yakuza)
21. Project X-Zone 2
22. Judgment (Yakuza)
23. Astlibra Gaiden: The Cave of the Phantom Mist
24. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
25. Boreal Tenebrae
26. Murder on the Orient Express
27. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
28. Another Code: Recollection
29. Yume Nikki
30. Arcadia Fallen
UNRANKED
Baten Kaitos - havenāt played enough to rank but intrigued enough to keep at it
Picross 6 - always a good time, canāt really give it a rank
Ace Attorney Investigations - essentially a replay, but it's peak AA and the official localization is amazing
Metaphor ReFantazio - only played demo but so far would be top 10, easily
Rain Code - dropped it for now. Have to be in a very specific mood for Danganronpa style
Granblue Fantasy Relink - played demo, wasn't feeling it but might later
91 - 62
Merry Christmas guys!!!!!! Hoping itās a good one for you all, will have one last video for the year in a few days then subjecting you all to my 2024 wrap up hahaāthank you all so much for being awesome!!! ā¤ļø
367 - 52
Last game of 2024, complete list to come! Happy holidays!
Finished Sleeping Dogs (28 hours) yesterday, what a ride--omg. As a lifelong fan of Asian cinema and Hong Kong crime dramas in particular, I LOVED it. Totally felt like Infernal Affairs: The Game with the conflicted loyalties, the turf wars, the gunplay, the car/boat chases, the explosions, the ultraviolent deaths, it was so awesome. In some ways enjoyed it more than Yakuza as it was a true open world and the immersion was on another level, being able to punch random NPCs, steal cars, parkour, there were day/night cycles, changing weather, radio playing ads when you drove around, vendors yelling you werenāt a whole man if you didnāt buy pork buns. Melee combat felt great but shootouts were rough for me as the aiming reticle was too tiny for my grandma eyes and Iād get clipped trying to locate it and died a lot but made it somehow š Side missions werenāt as interesting as Yakuza, but we DID give the final boss the grisly end he deserved--beat his face in and put him screaming into a wood chipper. No Kiryu Kazuma talking anyone off a ledge, Wei Shen does not give a damn about your redemption arc lol.
Tbh the entire time I couldnāt help feeling sad for the now-nonexistent studio who made this incredible AAA title frequently discounted to $3 in 2024. Really feels like the true crime in all of this. Good on Square Enix for publishing it, but also shame on them for deeming sales of āonlyā a million units a failure. Sincerely hope everyone in United Front Games landed on their feet and found work elsewhere.
This isnāt going to be my pipeline into the GTA games btwāI had a total blast with Sleeping Dogs and recommend to anyone into brutally violent gangster sandbox games with a solid story and fluid hand-to-hand combat and chaotic driving, but I loved it mainly for the Hong Kong setting and Chinese cast. yall are not gonna find me ten hours deep into San Andreas next week or anything like that lol
45 - 22
Another five mini reviews of games I finished this year!!
EIYUDEN CHRONICLE: RISING
As a longtime Suikoden fan, itās nothing outstanding, but for $7, 18 hours of sauceless quasi metroidvania exploration and cute town building isn't bad. I mean for an add-on kickstarter reward and intro to the main game, itās actually pretty decentāI got super invested in spunky miner chick, solemn teenage wizard mayor, and kangaroo Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead and hoping their story arcs will get some continuity in the main game. Though pacing dragged for the first 10 hours and I nearly quit after being sent out to gather lightweight lumber for the 5th time, ultimately Iām glad I stayed with it because it did stick the landing with some of that peak Murayama character writing. Looking forward to starting the main game soon!!
YUME NIKKI
Iām late to this party but itās free on Steam. What Yu-No is to the VN genre, this one is to psychohorror surreal walking sims. You play as a girl exploring 12 different realms of bad acid nightmare worlds in search of 24 effects that grant abilities (like riding a bike or transforming into a severed head) to delve deeper into the dream levels. Thereās no story, but a hell of an ending, low poly but as high concept as Iāve ever seen that left me stewing in existential dread for a while afterwards. Gameplay was just walking around trying to find stuff, but after getting stuck/lost/running into those chicken ladies that throw you into an inescapable part of the dream, I got frustrated and used a guide for the rest. Trigger warning: if youāre not in a good place mentally, save it for later (or never).
JUDGEMENT (YAKUZA)
This wasā¦.okay. I get the high praise--itās definitely one of the better stories in the franchise and everything was objectively good but I just couldnāt get invested into Yagami, heās ok but I guess Iām more Kiryu-pilled than I realized and constantly went back to Kenzan for my fix lol. Combat was more technical than previous entries which took some getting used to, dashing around and wall jumping never truly felt that good as I missed the scrappy thug brawling style but I appreciated how it was different. Dating had some sweet interactions but ultimately felt gross going after a 19 year old as a 38 year old, I maxed out the 27 year old and decided to stay a one-woman man thereafter lol. Disliked the detective stuff for being too easy like presenting evidence and too tedious like tailing missions. But I liked how you could make friends all over town, and how the Judgement boys were a tight-knit squad and the finale chapter was awesome, wished that Y4 and Y5 had that kind of epic team up. Need a game with my babygirls Kaito and Higashi as mains lol
KUROHYOU: RYU GA GOTOKU SHINSHO (YAKUZA)
Itās not on the same level as the console titles, but for what it is, itās pretty good--a mobile title with short fighting missions that you can just pick up and put down anytime. The comic book style cutscenes were phenomenal and by far my favorite aspect and the VA work was incredible, that Dragon Heat announcer screaming ON THE HEADDDDD!!!! like rent was due was amazing. Combat felt great and had a lot of depth with high and low attacks, three levels of Heat plus learning 25 different styles was a lot of fun! The first time I ever had to look up Muay Thai and Kenpo on the wiki to figure out what kinds of combos to focus on haha. Story was good until unfortunately falling into the Yakuza tendency to jump the shark at the end presenting some rando as the final boss. Ukyo Tatsuya was also a great protag with good character development, it was cool experiencing the same setting as a lowly punk forced into a yakuza-run underground UFC ring, I liked him a lot. Substories were unfortunately mindless, though the ones about the ongoing gang wars were worth doing.
ARCADIA FALLEN
Not bad, but not my thing. Small indie VN with interesting worldbuilding concepts and a robust story that would have made for a pretty good action RPG. I wasnāt into the romance aspect but itās done pretty well with interesting and likable characters, LGBTQ+ friendly, nicely written dialogue. Puzzles are the sliding tile variety. If you're into chill otome VNs, it's worth considering.
45 - 16
Beyond embarrassed to admit it took me two years to finally beat Valkyria Chronicles, because I got super obsessed with scoring an A rank on every mission and nailing the hidden ace so the save scumming was NONSTOP holy crap especially when the snipers would whiff half the time (thanks Cezary) š should have just mowed enemies down with the tanks, score be damned. Wish I havenāt gotten so perfectionist as it cut into my enjoyment of the game a bit but overall I loved it! The scribbly art style, the characters (Welkin and Alicia probably one of my fave game couples ever oh my gosh that battlefield proposal scene had me all verklempt šā¤ļø) and of course the OST BEING PEAK SAKIMOTO IN HIS PS3 PRIME!!!!!!ššššš pretty sure 1/3 of my play time was just hanging out in Book Mode and getting my medals in the throne room listening to the gorgeous House Randgriz themes. Need to do covers from it ASAP!!
I have resolved to be more chill when I start VC4. Lifeās too short to get stressed over trying to get the highest tier ZM Kar rifles and such and weāre definitely training up Engineers this time (me all like IāM NOT GONNA NEED THESE GUYS!!! in the early game and absolutely sweating 20 hours later when my lancers were sitting ducks with no ammo lol)
115 - 42
As the year's coming to a close I'm trying to pull my 2024 games list together--here are five memorable indie titles I finished recently!!
PENTIMENT
Took me WAY too long to get hip to this 2022 masterpiece, which absolutely blew me away with the writing, the aesthetic, the intricately crafted historical narrative inspired by Umberto Eco that begins as a murder mystery unspooling into a profound intergenerational tale that goes beyond the main characters. The setting is 16th century Bavaria around the time of the Reformation, and you play an artist employed by the local abbey in the town of Tassing. Gameplay is similar to Disco Elysium in that you go around talking to people, choices matter, mutliple viable story paths depending on who you choose to pin the murder on, which will affect Tassing and its residents for decades to come for good or ill, which you also bear witness to. Also like DE you can customize the protagās educational experience and interests, which open up different dialogue choicesāI chose to give Andreas a background in Latin, mathematics, crafting, theology and the occult with time spent in Basel, giving him fluency in Italian and French, therefore allowing him to scandalize Benedictine monks by bringing up Martin Luther and engage in thoughtful debates about transubstantiation and pagan ritualism with wandering eccentrics. Iām no medievalist, but was utterly engrossed the entire time and learned so much, and the ending was deeply movingāitās such a pleasure to experience a work lovingly crafted by people who know their stuff and are clearly passionate about it (classics and history scholars). HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Definitely one of the best games Iāve played this year.
THE VALE
Omg Iām excited to talk about this one, itās really an experience like no otherāan audio-only fantasy RPG created for the blind and visually impaired. For a seeing person like me, it was honestly a beautiful and novel experience, like an interactive audiobook, wonderfully written and voice acted, with a sophisticated combat system where you can attack, block, parry, counter, and use a bow and arrow using the D-pad and the trigger buttons. Sound effects are staged around the stereo field, and youāthe blind female protagonistāare given audio cues on where to go next, following the rustling of trees or the ping of the blacksmithās hammer. Headphones were a must for me, as well as closing my eyes to concentrate better on identifying the types of sounds and where they were coming from, especally when I was surrounded by a ton of enemies or hunting rabbits. Honestly such a cool and unique concept, and absolutely loved the accessibility for the blind community.
THE CASE OF THE GOLDEN IDOL
I had my doubts on this oneāI was put off by the art style at first, but the overwhelming positive reviews and the deep discounts got the better of me and I bought it. BELIEVE THE HYPE GUYS OMG!!! it is one of the best, most addictive deduction games Iāve played in a long time. If you liked doing those logic puzzle grids as a kid, you will absolutely love this. The best part is that there are two DLCs AND the sequel just came out!!! Plus if you have a Netflix subscription, theyāre all included as part of Netflix Games. Each episode presents you with a tableau of the crime in question, which you have to study carefully to add names and actions and adjectives to your word bank, which you use to fill in the blanks as to what happened and identify key characters. The episodes start off easy and get pretty challenging, though I did my best not to try to brute force answers or that would have just missed the whole point lmao, and they all tie together as part of a greater and really well-written overarching story. I may or may not have binged both games and DLCs over the course of a week!! Itās really that good.
THE CRIMSON DIAMOND
AHHH THIS ONE JUST WENT RIGHT TO MY VINTAGE SIERRA ADVENTURE GAME LOVING HEART I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVED IT!!!!!!!! If you played the early 90s Sierra games religiously back in the day, with the EGA graphics and text parsers, you will absolutely love this, no question. And even if you didn't, give it a chance! It is literally a modern day Colonelās Bequest except without the moon logic and random troll deaths and QoL features like a list of goals and hotkey shortcuts for commonly used actions. Absolutely loved how solo dev āŖ@JuliaMinamataā¬ is very much a Sierra/Laura Bow fan as well, as there are multiple references and callbacks to the Colonelās Bequest and Dagger of Amon Raāfirst thing I did was grab a glass from the kitchen and search the fireplace for charcoal hahaha. Puzzles are rewarding and the story is fantasticādefinitely thinking about my next run as I didnāt get everything the first time. Thank you so so SO much for making this Julia!! I loved every second of it!
BOREAL TENEBRAE
Ok. This is not so much a recommendation but more like me letting you know a game like this exists. I bought this on the Switch for $1.50 five years ago based on vibes alone, thinking that at some point I would be in the mood for a class conscious, low-poly, surreal David Lynchian fever dream about a missing sister and a dying industrial town and its disaffected citizens ground down by greedy capitalist frogs busting up unions and threatening to outsource overseas. Think Night in the Woods with a VERY TINY dash of Persona 4 and Paradise Killer, and crank up the weirdness. Gameplay is point and click, you play as multiple protagonists, transitioning between the present and the past through collectible DVDs which for some reason play as old VHS tapes (why didn't they just use VHS?). Central to the story is staticāboth literal and figurativeāgiant blocks of television static serve as dreamlike thoroughfares in the streets and as an allegory for the town itself stuck in a proletarian nightmare. Itās incredibly ambitious and unapologetic in its vision, but unfortunately janky as hell and crashed often, plus itās unfinished with no plans to continue. Still I found it worth playing as a transitional work, and honestly quite riveting despite the disjointed narrative, which was compelling enough to piece together the conflict at large.
77 - 17
Iām about to upload a new cover but first had to make note of notables last night at The Game Awards:
NEW ONIMUSHA IN 2024
RGG once again specifically targeting me with Project Century
Unicorn Overlord I was pulling for you
FF7 Rebirth taking best OST well deserved
Shocked Arcane did not take best adaptation but Fallout is also well-deserved
Happy to see a fun romp like Astrobot sweep
Need to get Ico and Shadow of the Colossus off my decades long backlog
Gās up hoes down
72 - 19
So I usually keep my cosplay stuff on the down low here because I am a reformed, recovering, 99% retired cosplayer lol but from 2012-2021 I was in deep--making stuff and posting tutorials and going to cons and organizing massive group shoots and being in awe of my awesome friends. My friend and award-winning cosplayer Zach of āŖ@TheCosplayCrunchPodcastā¬ for some reason wanted to dredge up my ancient history on his latest episode so here it is in case yall wanted to hear about that other time in my life lol: https://youtu.be/Ba0rxV3C4e4?si=rVY_R..., also available on the Cosplay Crunch Podcast site: www.cosplaycrunch.com/podcast-episodes/s2-e12-the-ā¦
Some pics for context of the topics we touched on:
- a few (out of MANY) group cosplays over the years: Bravely Default (Agnea), Fire Emblem: Fates (Mikoto), FF6 (Celes), Xenoblade 2: Torna (Haze)
- the 18 costumes I made for a Tonberry plush in 2015 when my kids lost his coat
- my own Tonberry cosplay at A-Kon 2016, huge thanks to all the amazing FF cosplayers who kindly consented to taking pics killing me (plus the bonus KH cosplayers)
- yes I have cosplayed Princess Schala how could I not lol
Thanks so much again for having me Zach it was SO FUN going down memory lane with you!!!! (and offering to pull together an FE3H dancer group just so I can wear the dancer Mercedes I made back in 2020 and have not worn sob omg).
Also wanted to say...looking back on all these pics...I have truly been so honored to know and cosplay with some incredible, amazingly talented people that I can call dear friends. ALL MY LOVE to āŖ@GynxHandmadeā¬ āŖ@FrancoisDillengerā¬ āŖ@ochaberikpā¬ who were with me and inspired me so much during that incredibly fun time of making and learning everything ourselves, teaching each other and sharing tips on sewing, patterning, foamcraft, armorcraft, thermoplastics, woodworking, wig styling, makeup, etc.-- always so thrilling seeing the progress pics we would share with one another and NOTHING could beat the feeling of meeting up in the hotel room at the con and getting fully dressed in these costumes we'd been working on for months and just seeing everyone looking SO DARN EPIC my gosh I'm getting emotional!!!!!! (if I suddenly disappear from this channel without warning you guys can blame Zach for dragging me back into making cosplay again lol)
198 - 43
Popping in real fast to let you guys know new FF sheets dropped! Get 'em on my Musicnotes page!
Lovely, Dark, and Deep - The Greatwood (FFXVI): www.musicnotes.com/l/htcKb
1000 Words (FFX-2): www.musicnotes.com/l/BkcKS
Noel's Theme (FFXIII-2): www.musicnotes.com/l/jdcKb
Enjoy!!
99 - 24
Hi there! I'm a pianist and grumpy old school gamer and this channel is a musically-manifested diary of all the games I've played and loved from my childhood up to the present day, i.e., basically a piano shrine to Hitoshi Sakimoto. lol
Albums on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and Youtube Music:
open.spotify.com/artist/1vKcZvjKATZz5QOObxdxpN?si=ā¦
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/purpleschala/1156194004
Sheet Music (solo piano arrangements only):
www.musicnotes.com/sheet-music/artist/purpleschala
I do not share the sheets for my ensemble arrangements (duets/trios/quartets/quintets, etc). Sorry!