Time sure flies when I’m having fun and being busy as heck!  There are so many awesome games out right now and I barely have time to play any of them.  I actually just quit one of my jobs… OK, I didn’t actually quit so I could play more games, but hopefully it will be a happy consequence.  I’m toying with the idea of working for GameStop, but I hear a lot of horror stories about that job, and the pay isn’t that great.  So I haven’t decided.  Hopefully I can just make ends meet doing my graphic design and social media job.  We’ll see!  Anyway…

Disney Infinity

I’ve made some progress in the different story modes that I have currently in Disney Infinity.  I’ve only actually played the generic Playset that comes with the Disney Infinity Starter Pack, which includes “Pirates”, “Monsters University” and “The Incredibles.”  Honestly, I haven’t played too much of Monsters U.  Not sure if I just need to see the movie to “get it” a little better, or if the rival college hijinks just isn’t doing it for me, or if the other story modes are just more appealing, but Monsters U is definitely the game I’ve been neglecting the most.  Incredibles, on the other hand, is a really fun action/adventure game and while I haven’t played too much of the story mode yet, I’m looking forward to delving into it more.  Pirates, as I mentioned in my last post, is my personal favorite and I’m almost done with the main story in that game.  I just love navigating on a pirate ship and attacking other boats!  Plus the ship customization is REALLY cool, I can make my ship look like it’s a shipwreck, or made out of bones, or look like a British Royal ship… so many options!  That’s why this game is so amazing!

Recently, JDubz and I celebrated our two year anniversary together.  He got me a TON of new figures and sets as a gift!  Here’s the full collection.  I haven’t even opened most of it yet.  The only figures I bought for myself were the “Cars 2” Playset and I won the “Violet” figurine at E3.

Yep, I’ve got hours and hours of DI Playtime ahead of me!!  I got that Limited Edition “Lightning McQueen” silver car at Toys R Us, which seems to be the place to go for DI accessories.  For some reason, Toys R Us is getting a lot of exclusive items for the Disney Infinity lineup!  And I’m not just talking about these figurines, there are also exclusive Power Disc “gold packs” that TRU is selling.  Just this past week was I able to retrieve both the “Tron” and “Mike’s Car” power discs, which are rare TRU exclusives.  They have translucent red plastic instead of clear, and feature holographic images instead of the regular ones you find on normal power discs.  These power discs are fun to collect, but I have assembled quite a collection of duplicates and spares as well.  Here’s my current spare power discs.  Do I have something you need?  Comment or email me to request a trade!  One power disc I have yet to find is “Elephant Abu”, so please let me know if you have an extra you want to trade!

Pokémon Rumble U

As if Disney Infinity wasn’t taking up enough of my spare time, there is also the newest (and last game of Gen. 5) Pokémon game, the third installment in the Pokémon Rumble series.  This latest game, Pokémon Rumble U, is a Wii U eShop exclusive.  Not only does this game blow you away with it’s HD graphics and all 649 Pokémon, but the game takes on a new form with the addition of the Pokémon NFC Figures.  Pokémon NFC figures are only available at GameStop, and they are little mini Pokémon toys that look exactly like the ones in the game.  But what you can DO with them is what makes Rumble U so much more fun – the NFC Figures can be “scanned” into the game via the Wii U GamePad, and then you can customize your NFC figures by upgrading their power and changing their moves!  I really love this new feature, even if it does make the game a bit more expensive.  You really feel like you are a part of the game since you can touch and feel your Pokémon toys and make them your own.  Here’s some of my Pokémon NFC collection:

I have to say, I do have a couple of complaints with the new Pokémon Rumble U game.  My main issue is that this latest game has gotten rid of the different “areas” that, in previous games, your toy character could walk around in and preview what the different boards will be.  Now it’s just a linear list of stages.  Another change, which I don’t mind quite so much, is that all of the stages are now “Battle Royale” style.  In the older titles, there were lots of boards that you just walk through and fight Pokémon, and each area had a boss battle in the arena.  In Rumble U, every stage is a Battle Royale in an arena, and every stage has a boss at the end.  I personally like this change, but plenty of other Pokémon fans had issues with it, so I wanted to mention it.  Another problem is that the toys that you collect in-game cannot be upgraded, customized with moves, or even organized.  The game itself shows all of your collected toys as a huge army that is simply organized by power level.  There is no search function, so if you’re looking for Oshawott and you don’t have him saved as a favorite, it might take a long time to find him out of a sea of hundreds of Pokémon!

Despite these few shortcomings, I am enjoying Rumble U immensely!  I usually play it at JDubz’s house, since I can bring over my NFC figures and play on his system by scanning them in.  It’s also just fun to have a collection of little Pokémon toys that I carry around with me everywhere.  :3

EarthBound

When I’m in the mood to get my RPG on, I turn to EarthBound.  This game is hilarious and has the zaniest enemies to battle!  I’ve been making good progress, and I’m currently “stuck” on a notoriously tough boss, named Master Belch.  The only reason I’m stuck is because I think I need to be leveled up a bit more, and I need to use my Fly Honey.  Plus Jeff needs to get his rocket launchers!  Yeah I just need to be more prepared when I go into battle against Master Belch!  He stinks!

Animal Crossing: Wasabi Village

Of course, when I’m not home playing my Wii U, I’m playing ACNL.  I still carry both my regular 3DS XL with Jubilife City, as well as my JP 3DS with Wasabi Village… but unfortunately Wasabi often is the neglected town.  I usually only sign in to Wasabi when there’s a Japanese holiday, or if I need to check turnip prices, or feel inclined to splurge at GracieGrace.  Last week there was a JP Holiday (we get it in the US too, but on a different date) called Weeding Day!  This is Leif’s only holiday… you know him, the little weird looking guy from the Garden Store!  Unfortunately I hadn’t “prepared” Wasabi well enough for this holiday.  Leif tells you that if you can pull 30(!!!) weeds in town on this day, then he’ll give you a special prize.  I tried, and I counted only 26 weeds that I was able to pull up.  So I didn’t get whatever the special prize was, but I did get this snazzy Flower Screen!

The only other updates coming out of Wasabi is the sad news that King (aka Elvis in the US version) slipped away during the night and moved out.  He was kind enough to send Neko a signed photo, but it’s just not the same!  I feel awful for neglecting my Japanese town and in turn, losing one of my favorite townies.  I don’t have any vacant resident spots in Jubilife, so I think he’s gone for good.  😦  Cue the depressing Elvis classic:

Are you lonesome tonight,
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter summer day
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?
Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

Animal Crossing: Jubilife City

Jubilife, on the other hand, is bustling and busy as ever, with exciting fall holidays coming up on the horizon, such as Halloween and the Harvest Festival.  Earlier this month we celebrated Labor Day, which consisted of Isabelle handing out picnic baskets, and a funny face cutout standee was displayed.

Gracie made her first official appearance in Jubilife City, and I was subject to the first of four Fashion Checks that will allow Gracie to add her store to the Shopping District, which ultimately will mean that I’ll get the Department Store upgrade.  My first Fashion Check was for a “modern” style, so of course I played it safe and wore as many items from the Gracie fashion set that I could get my hands on!

I passed the test and received a Sweets Bookcase.  I really hope to get all of my Fashion Checks done during this season, because the Sweets series is my favorite, and I can’t afford to pay full price for it right now!  Gracie gives you a free item from whichever the current season series is, which is why I hope to finish my evaluations during the fall!  Wish me luck!

My favorite news about Jubilife is the fact that I’ve caught the elusive Petaltail Dragonfly!  This wily bugger is one tough insect to catch.  It’s only available from August to October, from 5pm-7pm daily.  I’d been looking for it in Jubilife for the past month with no luck.  So I figured I’d try to hunt for it in Wasabi instead, and I caught it quickly and easily on a rock!

I was so excited!  Hooray for me!!

Just a head’s up, there’s a holiday coming up on 9/19 called the Autumn Moon Festival.  While this festival occurs in every region’s version of ACNL, every region has a different special item that can only be obtained from that country.  So I am going to open the gates of Wasabi Village from 9pm – 11pm on Thursday night so people can come and get the JP exclusive Autumn Moon item, the “Dango.”  Feel free to join in!  I made a Facebook Event for this, so hopefully you can join me!  See you then!  😀