Monday, March 28, 2022

10 Top Tips When You Start Playing Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town

March 28, 2022 0 Comments


#1 Choosing the Right Difficultly Setting

Depending on your preference you can choose the “Normal” or “Seedling” Mode. Your gaming experience will depend on which mode you choose.

Normal Mode is a little more challenging than Seedling Mode. You don’t get any bonuses sways particularly in your favor: shop prices are typically more affordable in Seedling Mode, while the rate which relationships develop and experience gained is much faster. Other than that the rest of the game and story progression remains unchanged.

#2 Get all the Tools

When you first start the game, you’d get a few from Mayor Victor and collect others from the other characters. As you progress in the game, you will have the opportunity to upgrade the tools to achieve maximum results. There are 9 tools in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town:

  1. Axe – Cuts down trees and stumps for logs.
  2. Sickle – Harvests grass, which is used to be spun into thread or as a material to build other tools such as the fishing net.
  3. Hammer – Breaks and flattens rocks which will get you Ores to be used in your building achievements.
  4. Hoe – Tills the land and prepares it to grow your crops.
  5. Water Can – Used to water your crops manually.
  6. Bucket – Given by Clemens on Day 7 after the Rainy Day 6. Scoops up puddles of water for clay (and occasional treasures) and drain little crescent ponds for treasures scattered throughout your farm.
  7. Fishing Rod – Given by Marco, you have to visit his home. Entering the house will automatically trigger a cutscene, which ends with Manuela giving you the Fishing Rod.
  8. Camera - From Gloria in the Museum. Use the Camera to photograph animals around your farm and populate the Museum.
  9. Leash - From Patricia at the Pet Shop once you upgrade from the tent to a log cabin. You can walk your pets with the leash.
 

#3 Selling Your Title Medals

While playing the game, I’ve had the notifications on the Title achieved but never thought to go to the Town Hall to collect them. By the time I did there were quite a few makers I could have gotten for free at the start of the game by simply collecting them instead.

So remember, each time you gain a new achievement in the game, you get a new shiny Title Medal as well as makers, seeds, and other useful tools.You don’t have to waste money buying the equipment when you first start, you actually have freebies which can save you some monies.

As for the medals, you should also sell them. They sell for a hefty amount. Don’t be afraid to sell them (and clear up space) while earning some money.

#4 Complete Requests at the Town Hall

Requests to upgrade the town’s infrastructure can be found here. They can be from the Mayor himself, or the form the other residents. Once you complete the requests, you would get rewarded with money and the story would also progress (for the infrastructure requests).

#5 Plant Enough Crops

Until you reach Level 4 in Level 4 in Fieldwork, tending to your crops would be a time and stamina consuming activity. To accomplish a significant day in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, you’d need to find that balance of work-stamina balance to maximize crop output.

Once you reach Level 4 in Fieldwork, you would be able to access sprinklers, which can automate your crop planting process to free up your day and stamina to do other things. These sprinklers can water up to 8 crops at a time. At Level 8 in Fieldwork, you will unlock upgraded sprinklers that can water 24 crops at once!

#6 Fish as much as you can and be the best!

When it comes to making money to improve your farm and other aspects of town live, there plenty of options. You could grow your crops with the highest possible turnout and rake in the cash, or you could hit the mines in hopes of finding diamonds for that big payout.

Then you have fishing, which is one of the most reliable and consistent way of earning money. Compared to growing your crops, fishing is low in effort and fun. Once you cast your rod, you reel it in when the icon turns blue (for maximum effect), do not reel it in if it is red (fish will escape you faster!). If you see 2 exclamation marks “!!”, that means expensive fish = big money.

#7 Follower Spites and Earth Sprite Village

Once you unlock the Earth Sprite Village, you can “employ” these cute little critters to work on your farm. As you play, you will also be collecting new follower sprites which you can add to your team via the Manager Sprite in the Earth Sprite Village. There’s a sprite for everything:
  • Boss Sprite
  • Journey Sprite
  • Chef Sprite
  • Grass Sprite
  • Field Sprite
  • Care Sprite
  • Log Sprite
  • Angler Sprite
  • Stone Sprite
  • Magma Sprite
  • Gold Sprite
  • Sky Sprite

#8 Be Social and Make Friends

Be friends with the residents by speaking to them whenever the opportunity presents itself. The more hearts you get the better, and you can speed it a little by gifting gifts!

There are 10 Heart Levels to achieve with each character, hearts might be a pink or orange color. Pink means romantic, orange means platonic.

#9 Storage Storage Storage!

One of the first things you should do in the game is to craft a storage box to store items. For food and ingredients, there's a fridge which is obtainable after a house upgrade. It makes it easier to access ingredients when cooking. 

Inventory space can be updated to  store on hand items as you progress along in the game.

#10 Always try to go to the bottom of the Mine

Journeys down the mines are not easy, especially when you get distracted trying to mine them all and have not enough stamina, or items to replenish your stamina.  Planning ios key to make the most out of your trips to the mines. Having lots of food and fruits to restore stamina, and making sure you upgrade the Hammer as best as you can ensures that you get the most out of the experience.
 
There are actually several mines and usually, the lower the you go, the better the minerals found. Besides the one available from the start, there is another one accessible after you fix the bridge. This mine has lots of silver rocks with silver ore inside. Another mine is reachable through the other broken bridge which has even more silver rocks and gold!



What's your tip when playing Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town? Let us know in the comments below!

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Thursday, March 24, 2022

Nintendo Switch Console Region

March 24, 2022 0 Comments
There are many regions for the Nintendo Switch and it might get confusing at times on the regions and setting up your Switch and Nintendo account, both of which work hand in hand but yet independent of each other. Confused? Read on…

This is the first thing you will see when setting up your Switch. It will prompt you to set up a region for your console. There are a few regions to select from:
  1. The Americas (America)
  2. Europe
  3. Australia / New Zealand
  4. Japan
  5. Hong Kong / Taiwan / South Korea

If you haven’t noticed by now, if you are not in any of the above-mentioned regions then you can pretty much choose any region you want. For example, choosing “The Americas” for example, will set your Nintendo Switch Console region to America. If you feel later that you want to change your console region you can do it anytime you want.



The region that you select for you console does not have to match the region as your game. Yes, there are regions for games, but not to worry they are not region locked. You can still pop in a Japan or Europe game cartridge and play on your console which was set to America.


So what exactly is the point of the region setting? It’s mostly for in-game data and may affect the language choices available. It doesn’t restrict you from playing any game!

If you want to know how to set up your Switch for the first time (be it a Gen 1/2, OLED or Lite), you can refer to this which pretty much sums it up nicely with screenshots to follow.





What has do you know about the different game regions? Share it with us below in the comments below!

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Nintendo Switch News: Update 14.0.0

March 24, 2022 0 Comments
Nintendo

If you have a lot of games on your Nintendo Switch and wanted a way to organize them, you can do it with the latest 14.0.0 version update. This updates comes with a “group” function which allows players to create up to 100 folders or groups. 

Each of these folders, which are called Groups, can hold up to 200 games. Individual games can also be simultaneously accommodated in several groups. The only thing you can't do? Having groups within a group. So if you wanted to create sub groups in a group, sorry but maybe next time. 


The new feature can be found on your Nintendo Switch dashboard by selecting “All Software”. 

Press the L button to view the titles in groups.

  1. If no folders have been created yet, a pop-up window will appear allowing you to create a new group. 
  2. All the games that should be in the folder have to be selected. 
  3. The selected titles can be sorted in the group as you wish. 
  4. Give the new folder a name. 

Note: New groups cannot be displayed on the Nintendo Switch home screen. They are only displayed as soon as you are in the new group menu.


Besides the folder addition, volume setting for Bluetooth devices has also been improved and increased. The volume can now be adjusted either via the Nintendo Switch as usual, or via the volume control on your audio device which has to support AVRCP profiles.

The update should happen automatically, but id it doesn't happen you can always start it manually via the system settings.

Monday, March 21, 2022

Pokemon for a Newbie

March 21, 2022 0 Comments

If you like to collect cute little critters, fight them occasionally to level them up and evolve them with a simple storyline like with no major plot twists like your daily soap drama, welcome to the world of Pokemon!

There are plenty of versions from Pokemon Go and Pokemon Unite on your mobile phone, to the Let’s Go (Eevee / Pickachu), Sword / Shield, Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl and the latest Legends of Arceus.


If you want to follow all the different regions and history, that’s cool but if you’re like me who knew nothing about Pokemon except Pickchu then all that matters when playing is having fun.

 There are 18 different types of Pokemon and each of them has its own individual strengths and weakness. And let’s not even go with the dual typing of Pokemon, and the hundreds of different variations there are. There are cute looking Pokemon and the not so cute looking ones. 

Check out this table below for the various types, along with their strengths and weaknesses.

If you are just starting out and not competitive or anything, there’s no real need to memorize or study the different types that or their strengths and weaknesses. You can learn along the way at your own pace. 

It’s a game targeted at kids primarily so it’s not that hard. Some of it can be common sense. For example, a Water Type Pokemon would have an advantage over Ground, Rock and Fire Types, and a Fire Type is strong against Bug, Grass, Ice  and Steel Types.

 

Objective

The main objective for Pokemon has always been to catch them all and completing the Pokedex, which is similar to an Encyclopedia or sorts, where some professor will be research for the betterment of the Pokemon World

Catching and fighting Pokemon helps to level up the Pokemon on your team (those which you catch use in the game). There are also boxes where you can keep your forgotten other Pokemon, which can be used for trades or alternated with your team throughout the game. There’s berry picking and cooking for your Pokemon too.

Once you are all done with catching Pokemon for your Pokedex, or even while you are taking a break from catching and training your team, you fight in game trainers to get badges and money to allow you to handle higher level Pokemon. 

You can also breed them to create your own nursery or be competitive and try to win every online battle with trainers around the world. You might even be lucky enough to find Shiny Pokemon (just a rare and different colored Pokemon). There’s a little piece of something for everyone so you won’t get bored playing.

Playing a Pokemon game on Nintendo Switch is non-stressing too, fights are turn-based so controls are simple (no continuously pressing multiple different buttons to get a particular move). Navigation is also was and you can always revisit an area to see if you’ve missed anything or discover some potions and moves lying around on the ground. Who doesn’t love freebies?

Speaking of freebies, in games like Sword / Shield and Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl, there is an Online Mystery Gift option where there will be occasional freebies like status, clothes or Pokemon. If you are thinking if you should try playing, I would say go for it and enjoy the ride. 

If you are afraid you might not like it, there is always the option of getting it physically second hand or selling the physical game cartridge away when you are done with it and no longer want to play.

Have you played a Pokemon game? 
If no, would you want to pick it up? 
If yes, which is your favorite Pokemon game? 
Let me know in the comments below!

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Friday, March 18, 2022

Mario Rabbids: Kingdom Battle Gold Edition + Donkey Kong Adventure DLC Review

March 18, 2022 0 Comments
This game was on sale on the e-shop so needless to say I got it.. and I love it! I went into it not really knowing what to expect but Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a hidden gem with full of surprises. It’s a turn-based tactics gameplay where you figure out the tactical puzzles of chaining together as many stringed attacks in the least amount of moves possible. It’s oddly satisfying seeing the enemies getting beaten up Mario and Rabbid style.


When you first open up the game it starts with a bizarre story that brings Ubisoft’s Rabbids into the Mushroom Kingdom of Nintendo’s Mario due to a technical accident. A mysterious programmer has designed a VR helmet capable of merging two objects together. 

While said programmer is away for a while, a group of time-traveling Rabbids in a washing machine arrive and snags the VR helmet before finding themselves in the Mushroom Kingdom of Mario. One of the Rabbids decide to don the helmet and begins merging everything it lays its eyes on. This literally mashes both worlds together: Rabbid combined with a piranha plant, one dressed like Luigi and another like Donkey Kong etc…

Most of the altered Rabbids are unhinged and troublesome, while hose dressed as heroes join forces with Mario to stop the chaos from spreading. It’s your job to undo the damage done by defeating the enemies and setting the world right again.

You have quite few characters to choose from which includes both normal and only vaguely related Rabbid-ized versions of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi. You can only have 3 on you team at each time though.


With the right mash up of members in your team you get to be entertaining with the antics and humor the Rabbis bring into the game. Your chosen team members can do jump manoeuvres to launch a them across the map with the help of a squadmate, allowing them to reach adorably colorful sniper towers with ease.

The story is delivered through the dialogue of a friendly AI who is there to guide and help you, along with various familiar faces you come across such a Toad. The storyline is simple to follow though, and the game is easy to navigate with its simple presentation and a clean UI help to demonstrate the game concepts such as the combat mechanics, minor character customization and some basic puzzle solving.

Each time you level up, you get coins which you can use to purchase new weapons (use laser guns, hammers, and bombs) and also unlock new skills such as special abilities to maximize movement and damage. There are unique skill trees for all 10 playable heroes. You also get new enemy types constantly being added so it never gets boring doing the same moves repeatedly.

Besides finding Rabbids gone bad and conquering them, you can also indulge in simple puzzles, which involve flipping switches and pushing boxes, scattered throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, designed to break up the action between battles. I use the word “simple” but not all puzzles are straightforward, and you would have to use your brain quite a bit to it solved. The satisfaction is being able to move on in the story, unlock another character, weapon or item chests with collectables (often with music tracks and concept art).

There are also collectibles and some hidden challenge rooms, you can also explore the different sections with visual easter eggs, usually of Rabbids in various states of shenanigans which add life to the game.

Mario + Rabbids does an excellent job making the boss fights stand out: be it a giant Rabbid Kong who scarfs bananas to restore his health or a Phantom of the Opera parody who sings a hell of a song while you knock out the spotlights that sustain his ego, it never fails to make these battles unique and interesting. There are also minibosses (or “midbosses”) as it insists on calling them) which tend to be harder than the boss fights but equal in goofiness and fun.

Donkey Kong DLC

That’s just the Mario Rabbit Kingdom content. The Donkey Kong DLC is even more entertaining as you get different moves in a different world, and adds more hours to gameplay.

As you may have guessed, the gameplay is very much centered around Donkey Kong himself, but there’s so much more. The stages are entirely built and designed around the way in which Donkey Kong can be used, bringing with it a whole new way to strategize and organize team-based attacks. I enjoyed this a bite more than the Mario Rabbit Kingdom content.

This Donkey Kong world is split into 4 new areas, each with their own unique themes such as ‘Lagoon’ and ‘Jungle’. Although they are not as visually varied as the main game, they do have a new Donkey Kong twist that adds yet another layer of fun and love to proceedings.



Verdict

Overall, Mario Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a very engaging and entertaining game that makes you work out your brain and have fun at the same time without the violence and gore of a typical tactical combat game; all at your own pace. There are some levels which might be tougher and involve some trial-and-error tries, but a good mix of enemies, objectives, weapon and character abilities keep things interesting. Some might find the Rabbids a tad too childish and irritating, but I find them adorable!

Additionally, the Donkey Kong Adventure DLC adds something fresh. It’s not as daunting as the main game, and there are some truly powerful characters often making short work of the slightly-lessened enemy onslaught. The lack of character selection is perhaps the only downside here, as it takes away some of the deeper strategy involved in the main game.


Controls for this game is also simple: press A to select / confirm something, the ZL/ZR to switch between your team, L/R buttons to select an action etc… There’s no need to simultaneously click on multiple buttons, something which might get daunting for new players.

While this game might be everyone’s taste if you are interested to get your own copy, I highly recommend stalking the Nintendo e-shop for their sales and getting the digital version for less than USD$20. It’s a steal since it contains 2 worlds (with the DLC) for you to try out your strategy thinking skills with adorable characters. Otherwise, you could consider getting the physical game for about S$39.90 without the DLC, or choose it get it via the e-shop at a later date. 




Have you played Mario Rabbids: Kingdom Battle? If yes, did you like it, and if no, are you planning to get it or why would you not be getting it? Let us know in the comments below!

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Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Starting the Gaming Journey with Nintendo Switch

March 15, 2022 0 Comments


The journey began with Animal Crossing New Horizons and the Nintendo Switch Lite. It expanded from just 3 games to 29 games in one year: Fitness Boxing 2, Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Shield, Pokemon Unite, Mario Odessey, Mario Origami King, Mario Rabbids, Just Dance 2021, Overcooked 2, Toki Tori etc….

If you haven’t guessed it by now, I enjoy games that are “friendly”, and easy to play and follow through. Easy in the sense that the mechanics and gameplay are easy to follow through: the animals, I mean Pokemon just faint and not die when you beat them and you take turns to fight, my Animal Crossing neighbors do not die of starvation if I haven’t visited them in a long while, and you don’t have to stress much about reaching a game objective. After all one plays to enjoy the process and relax, not get stressed out playing (some games do that to you)… or maybe that’s just me.

So what is the Nintendo Switch? It is a hybrid video game console, consisting of a console unit, a dock, and two Joy-Con controllers. Although it is a hybrid console, Nintendo classifies it as "a home console that you can take with you on the go".



You get the best of both worlds – when you want to play on a big screen or when you just want to laze in bed or play when you are out.

When playing on the big screen, you can invite friends over or have a family game night where everyone focuses on the same screen and plays together. Many multiplayer Switch games, such as Just Dance, support up to four players, while others like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate even support up to eight players.

For the portability part of it, the Switch has two removable oy-Cons, which, when turned sideways, become their own controllers. How neat is that! This makes it easy to hand over one of the Joy-Cons a friend when you are out on-the-go or at-home for some multiplayer fun (think Mario Kart 8).

The detachable Joy-Cons

Besides portability, the price is more friendly on the wallet than the Xbox or Playstation, and the Nintendo exclusives such as Pokemon and the Mario games (just to name a few) are fun to play (in a non-bloody kinda way). 

Of course if you want an even more budget friendly option and you don’t fancy playing on a big screen (at times), then the Nintendo Switch Lite might be the one for you. Or if you want better graphics while playing on the go, then the Nintendo OLED might be something which would interest you instead. It doesn’t make much difference when you are playing it docked to the TV, but apparently the graphics with that OLED screen are amazing when you are playing on the go.

Tip: If you want to get a Nintendo Switch / Lite / OLED cheaper do check out the double date sales or any sales for that matter. Shopee and Lazada are 2 good places to look at, where you can stack vouchers with bank card promotions and/or Shop vouchers. I managed to get my Nintendo Switch for less than S$350.


Which is your favorite gaming device? 


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Thursday, March 10, 2022

Has Pokemon really lost its way, or it’s time to grow up and move on?

March 10, 2022 0 Comments

After receiving my very own copy of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, I was super excited and happy as well. For someone new to the Pokemon world and experience, the chibi characters add a cute little touch to it and gameplay is fuss free and straight forward enough.

I think it’s a pretty solid game for players new to the Pokemon-verse and want to try their hands at something which has been refreshed. Or those who simply want to go down nostalgia lane. For the those who have played it before and are complaining that it is lackluster, which as this review puts it – they are safe remakes (meaning nothing new or that exciting to appeal to those gamers looking for a totally new game).

But it seems that people will never be happy with what they have and are always comparing (and complaining) it with the older / earlier versions which were not made for the Nintendo Switch.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of the Pokemon series’ fourth generation games and the first mainline games in the franchise since 2018. Some reviewers say that the design and gameplay is underwhelming, but they have been players of the original makes since the beginning. So maybe these games are not meant for them?

Besides the current “older” experienced players who have been exposed to the games since they were kids, there is a vast number of players who have not yet encountered the Pokemon-verse or totally new to it and interested to play. That’s what being and staying relevant means, re-inventing the games on other platforms such as mobile (e.g. Pokemon Go), including micro-transactions for those who want to upgrade, can afford it and want it to reach more people and “stay alive”.

There are some good games which so-called “experienced” fans seem to love to hate or hate to love such as Pokemon Snap, but for the rest who are complaining about something not being worth their time… maybe it’s not meant for them who have already experienced it all? They should just spend their money elsewhere... just saying. 

With the expansion to so many platforms and the new games for Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch, such Legends: Arceus, there’s a game for everyone. The demographics are expanding, to a wider audience (non-pokemon players, kids, parents who played and want their kids to experience the fun, old and young alike etc,,,) who want to get into the Pokemon-verse and start the first adventure.

What’s wrong with your grandpa and random neighbors talking and playing Pokemon Go? It just means that it’s a success to get old people to play, and an accomplishment at that given how many of them are not tech-savvy and prefer non-techy hobbies. Shouldn’t it be an accomplishment to reach across all age groups and divides to unite (both young and old) people playing a common game such as Pokemon Go

If you think it’s too passe and downhill for Pokemon that it might lead to its demise, the fact that it can reach a vast demographic and be relevant to a large audience while generating income, then that's called evolving and trying to keep up with the times.