The June 2023 Quarterly Media Report
A Post of a Quarterly Roundup (Yes I began this practice mid-year) of media I enjoyed in Quarter 2 of 2023.
I felt it would be good to reflect on how I've spent my time. It's true, I came up with this idea in June, not January. And I discovered a couple problems.
- In my Hobonichi Cousin I tend to write down “Read” instead of specifying what I read.
- Nintendo doesn't give you an easy-to-read screen about when you played something.
- Steam only does so the first time you play something and when you get an achievement, though at least in the recent game section it specifies which month.
Anyway, doing research ( looking through chat logs, scanning my planner for the few times I did specify something, and checking book social media like BookWyrm ) I found a few things.
This is not an exhaustive list. I have been reading a lot of books and I'm only going to mention a few of them, for example. I'm also going to give a bit of a reflection.
Let's start with games!
Games
April
I played a lot of Harvestella and got burnt out on it. Like with Rune Factory 5 (Which I also haven't beaten) I like the farming so much I tend to focus on it instead of the story. Also fun Harvestella Fact: Because my brain is poisoned by EXA=PICO, there's a not-insignificant amount of times I've typed ”Harvestasya“ instead of ”Harvestella“.
I played more I Was A Teenage Exocolonist and I'm Extremely close to finishing my first play-through but I don't know if it's the ADHD or what, but I'm procrastinating because I don't want it to end despite knowing I will play through it more times.
I also finally cleared the Hades Epilogue. It's still one of my favorite games, and I'm definitely gonna start another file at some point, probably to help me get hyped for Hades II.
I happened to see the Volcano Princess Demo and gave it a try. Yes, I did notice the English translation wasn't the best, but it was functional, and I really liked the concept. I have not played the full game yet, but they claim they're going to improve the English translation among other fixes, so I'm in no rush.
May
While I played APICO before this, May was when I played some and elected to take a break, since updates are still coming.
I Got back to (for a brief moment) Xenoblade Chronicles I. I had to have a buddy remind me what was going on, but I grasped it . I then angrily put it down because I learned this whole time I could have been improving party members' relationships by exchanging GIFTS not just fighting together and doing quests together. I had been building Sharla and Melia's relationship for at least 10 hours, and it would have gone so much faster if I'd known about the gift stuff. I will get back to it. I like the game (despite that) and my brother agreed to play Hades if I played this, and he beat it completely, so I gotta do my part, fair's fair.
I happened to get Bad End Theater. It's a short visual novel about choices and how the story plays out with 4 different characters .If you complete all of a character's bad endings, you get a letter. You can beat the game without it (you just need to see each character's ”True End“ to proceed to the end game) but you unlock the uh, True True Ending if you get and read all the letters. When I explained the concept to my brother, he said it sounded a bit like Triangle Strategy but I haven't played that yet so I have no idea.
One of my goals for this year has been to get through all four episodes of the Umineko no Naku Koro ni Question Arc. When Umineko was first released years ago (pre-Steam I mean), I got through Episode 7 and stopped. I regret that. I want to play through all of it, but frankly, with the fact that clearing Episode 1 took over 20 hours and the total word count of the series is longer than War and Peace I think 4 episodes is a good limit for now. I was hoping to do one episode every 3 months, but as you can see by the fact I'm mentioning Episode 1 in May I did not manage that. I managed to finish up all of Episode 2's content today. As much as I've enjoyed my "Umineko Saturdays" I don't actually enjoy hauling ass to finish a 20+ hour episode of a Sound Novel. This probably goes without saying, but I am playing the mod that includes the art and voice acting from the PS3 version. I would be so much work, but I'd love to see this work dubbed.
Also in May, I beat Pokemon Scarlet. While Gen V remains my favorite, this is a close second. I took a break from it soon after and I have not done the post-game contents.
June
Other than Umineko I got back into Animal Crossing for a change of pace, and I also played a little Let's Build a Zoo.
Things I'd like to work on (Games Edition)
- Beating my first run of I was a Teenage Exocolonist. Maybe I just need an accountability buddy. Maybe it can be a Saturday thing now. Ideas welcome.
- Getting back to Xenoblade Chronicles I now that I'm no longer nearly as angry as I was
- Getting back to Harvestella and Rune Factory 5. This is probably not realistic as Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life came out and I'm enjoying it more than the original gamecube version, so unless I really learn to hate it I'll probably focus on that instead.
- Keeping up the pace with the Umineko episodes.
- Trying new stuff and demos I get on steam more often.
Books
April
I am poisoned by The Locked Tomb. It took me months to get through Gideon the Ninth, and to be honest it probably helped that I was propelled forward both by enthusiasts and enthusiasts sharing spoilers. Harrow the Ninth was excellent and I want to read it again. I have read Nona the Ninth and I did like it, but the whole time I was like ”I wanna read Harrow again....”
If you follow me on BookWyrm or Storygraph you've probably noticed the majority of my reading this year has been comics and manga. It's just what my soul calls for. Anyway, I discovered this graphic novel series Fence. And I don't know if you know this about me: Despite the fact I can't stand to watch sports, I love reading sports memoirs. And evidently that extends to fiction. Especially really gay fiction! Like, I've read all five volumes (and I desperately need more) but the series started out pretty queer, and has somehow only gotten queerer with each volume which I didn't know was possible!
I signed up for a Substack book club for the 1818 edition of Frankenstein and then became afraid of my inbox and ignored it until April. I read all of it though.
I also started in on my Substack subscription to Periodic Pride and Prejudice.
While spring cleaning, I started (I'm not finished) reorganizing the bookshelves, and I rediscovered Vinland Saga. It's so good and I'm sorry I got away from it.
May
I read Belle of the Ball, which was great. I've been a fan of the author's web-comic Peritale (which I miss very much). Read Belle of the Ball and read Life of Melody!
A friend online recommended I read the manga Delicious in Dungeon. I love it so far, I'm waiting for the library to place more of them on hold.
Feeling left out after ignoring it last year, I started Dracula Daily. I worry a lot about my good friend Jonathan Harker. Also, I must say, if you haven't listened to the podcast Re: Dracula that follows the same release schedule, you have to listen to it. Every time there's an email from Jonathan Harker's Journal (Kept in Shorthand) I read that first, having gotten to the point where I can hear Ben Galpin narrate in my head, and then I listen to the episode, and go “Wow I sure do love the cast of this.“ I'm sure they will somehow, but the June 29th episode was so amazing I don't even know how they'll top it.
June
As a new member of Jess Mahler's street team, I read and reviewed my free copy of First Came Trust. I'm really excited for some future releases.
My hold on All Systems Red (the MurderBot Diaries 1) came in. It took me a bit of time to warm up to it, but I'm a fan.
I finally got to start The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher, and I love it so far. It's about an Octogenarian Chosen One. I have to get back to it.
Things I'd like to work on (Books edition)
I Started R. F. Kuang's book Babel months ago, I loved what I read, but I could not finish it before the library wanted it back. So I placed another hold and am Semi-Patiently waiting.
Because I got away from the third book, and the fact V.E. Schwab is doing a read-along on Youtube, I really want to get back into Shades of Magic.
Things I'd like to Work on (In General)
This may be obvious, but I'd like to get more specific in my Planner. Maybe I don't have to note when I finish a book, but I should at least note What I'm reading or playing. Since I realized this was a problem, I started getting more specific in my Hobonichi Cousin. So hopefully I keep at it.
I'd also like to get back into TV. There's a lot of good stuff I haven't watched. Maybe that can replace "Umineko Saturdays".
I think I'd like to do more quarterly roundups. It's a good way to reflect.
So, (hopefully) see you again with this in September!