The title will yet again make sense once you read a bit. There may be some minor side content spoilers for both Like a Dragon 1 (from now on I will refer to this as LAD1) and Infinite Wealth (LAD2 from now on) in the following bits. Nothing major storyline related but I do want to talk about the side activities of the games in a bit of detail, including when you unlock them.
GAMING
Welcome everyone to Dondoko Island! I mean, the Nerdsletter. Yea that’s it. If you cannot tell I spent a huge amount of time with LAD2 this past week, although I am taking a break from it now mostly to avoid burning out on it. I mean, I played it for 40 hours already and have hit the start of Chapter 8, which is a natural break point in the story in my mind given how Chapter 8 starts and its focus. I will absolutely be back to it though, I just need a bit of a palate cleanser given how, well, depressing the story of LAD2 can get at times.
A good 20 hours of my time in LAD2 though has been spent on 2 distinct side activities. First, I did a ton of Sujimon Master grinding, to the point where (I think I mentioned this before) I could go take on the final challenge of the Sujimon League and finish the storyline…. assuming my team was level 31 and could handle the actual enemies that spawn during it. Which they are not, they have hit like 28 now though so it’s getting close. Maybe Chapter 9. I spent about 10 hours give or take on the Sujimon League and enjoyed it.
And whats funny, is that the stuff I did there directly fed into the second of LAD2 big side activities: Dondoko Island. Thats right, my Sujimon are used as workers on the island so having a bunch of high-powered Suji, and just a ton of Sujimon in general, was helpful to getting my island going. Dondoko Island is basically LAD2 version of Ichiban Confections from LAD1…but it did not make me hate the game. Far from it. Seriously, if you were unaware, when I finished Ichiban Confections in LAD1, I literally stopped playing the game and did not return for over 6 months, I hated it that much. Such a slog of a system, and frankly in LAD1 it was the only real way to make money so you kind of had to do it. Also, they locked a party member behind Ichiban Confections which was fucking stupid.
When I started Dondoko I was not sure I was going to enjoy it, as I find most “Animal Crossing” like games to be boring after a while. But I ended up just becoming obsessed with finishing it, to the point where over the course of a weekend I just finished the storyline and hit a 5-star island. Now, it’s not Animal Crossing. You don’t make friends or have talks with the island’s guests. The only thing you can do is give em island souvenirs that you make. It’s more of a cross between Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. You build up the island, increasing its prestige and popularity levels, to achieve an eventual 5-star resort rating, while dealing with a storyline on top of it.
And making a SHIT TON of Cash Money. No joke, I went in with $200 to my name in game and came out with $500,000. And now my island generates me about $11000 every “tour”, which takes about 20 real life minutes give or take but almost no actual effort on my part. I just gotta deal with wild animal incursions (using my Sujimon no less) and “suspicious people” events (smack em with my bat!) occasionally, which take very little effort on my part.
Now, I do have some issues with the island. First, the combat system is pants. Which I find hilarious because it’s a real time combat system from RGG. The people who spent like 10 games so far making real time combat systems. But it’s absolutely pants in LAD2. Aiming is horrible, it randomly locks on to things that I do not target, it’s just a mess. I mean, I was able to cheese the shit out of it and beat every enemy that came my way without issue, but it’s so stupid. Also, the island bills itself as a tropical resort yet the buildings you place make it look more like a slum or office park then anything tropical. Seriously, I think they just took the buildings they use in game in the cities and put the models as placeable objects for the island it’s really silly. Sure, my tropical island needs a “rundown office complex” yes. The thing is, you need these buildings. They generate Dondoko Bucks (The islands currency) which is what you need to buy more stuff. The system isnt hard to work with to be honest, I was able to max out the four “styles” of my island (Sleazy, Elegant, Rustic, and Pop) by the end, and have so many money generating buildings that I basically have to do and add nothing else. My island is loved by all. It’s not a very deep system is what I am saying, but it is relaxing. I also don’t mind the fishing on the island, and I usually hate fishing minigames.
I still need to go find and invite all the NPCs that are out in the world to my island too so I can have em as guests and really maximize my profits. Thats going to take some time and I will 100% be using a guide for it cause they are all over the damn place.
The other games I have been playing are Old World with my buddy Virus, Last Epoch a bit, Spellforce Conquest of Eo, and Alpha Protocol.
For Old World the war with Rome is over, and then another war started and ended with Carthage. We are planning to attack Rome once we build up a bit more military, just sweep in and aim for their cities.
With Last Epoch I have not done much. My Spin 2 Win character has gotten kind of stale, so I might try a Marksman Rogue Trapper. I have not decided yet.
With Spellforce Conquest of Eo, well, the best way I can tell you how I feel is just to show you. Here is my Playlist, where I am doing a Let’s Play on Youtube! Short answer: Its phenomenal frankly and was everything I had been searching for in a narrative 4x game.
And finally, Alpha Protocol. Funny story with this one: I have it on Steam and have had it there for god knows how long. Last time I tried to play it was, according to Steam, in 2011 for a grand total of 2 hours. All I remember was hitting bugs and getting frustrated, so I stopped. But GoG recently got a rerelease of it with some bug fixes and achievements, and I picked up that version to give another go. Apparently, it was delisted a few years ago and I had no idea so this whole big “Its back!” thing was new to me. I decided to set the games difficulty to Easy (of course) but also to play with the background Recruit which meant I have unique dialog options and no starting skills. I am not too far into the game at the moment, but I can say I fucking HATE the PC Hacking Minigame. It hurts my eyes and is massively annoying to deal with. Also, the fact that there are NO MANUAL SAVES! Just checkpoint saves, which is another thing I hate. I get it devs, you want “choices to matter” and to stop people from save scumming but fuck off with this noise. Sometimes emergencies and REAL LIFE happen and losing progress because you can’t fucking manually save is SO FUCKING STUPID.
Beyond that though it’s been pretty interesting, and its fairly unique as far as RPGs go having a spy theme and a modern setting with no fantasy or sci fi involved. And its Obsidian, which means the story should be baller. I will report back after I play a bit more. Oh, and the game keeps turning Motion Blur back on when I start it. Stop that game, I hate montion blur.
Oh, and of course this week had more Lethal Company. Farts is all I can say about the games this week.
FINAL WORD AND ARTIST? OF THE WEEK
Its been a quiet week all things considered. Found out my previous job is getting sold to a huge conglomerate, which makes me happy that I got out when I did cause fuck that shit. Beyond that, I have not been stressed or worried really, just trying to chill, and make it one day at a time.
Stay nerdy, treat each other kindly, and I will catch you all on the next one. Take care.
Ko Fi Donation Goal for my Move
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