Hey! I saw you made some updates today! Not sure if you're checking in much but I hope you've been keeping well! Happy New Year to you and your family!

Oh that rank 8 was one really cool, and definitely one of the most unique social link interactions in the entire game. The voice acting is incredible, that was one of the things that jumped out at me really early on in the game. It's amazing how great voice acting can elevate a game so much. Games like Corpse Party and Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia are another couple that stand out in that regard! It's so true though, the plot bombs really do not stop coming!

I'm just at the Royal content now and I love how seamlessly you go from what was the final boss in the vanilla version to the Royal content. My friend was explaining how the the game normally goes at that point and I was like...wow. It's amazing how seamlessly they inserted the Royal content. If I didn't know it was new content I'd have never known where they went in and put new content.

I honestly think I'm going to jump RIGHT back in on New Game Plus when we're done. We've played over share play the whole way (and having to find a creative, work around since Atlus is still blocking shareplay for the Royal Content, so we needed to get creative since we still can't play in person cause COVID) so I want to get the save data on my system and just play at my own pace and experience it again.

I just got to the Royal content now and oh my god, I LOVE this premise! The set up for this is SO good. I can't wait to see where this goes! Also, I can't help but laugh that that first week is "Wow, everyone sure is happy, time to ruin my friends days one at time!" I mean, it makes perfect sense in context, but I couldn't help but joke about it.

Oh my gosh, I honestly wanted to say so much more, but I didn't want to spoil anything in my comments, and also....I COULD NOT FIND THE WORDS!!! That level 9 and level 10 rank ups at the end there before you secure your route to the treasure and ALL the motivations and background of that character getting put in perspective. I was just floored. After all that plot bomb after the casino, this game just keeps hitting you with the plot bombs now. I should be able to take down the boss on Friday and I can't wait to see what happens after I do that! I honestly never want this game to end.

I was saying to my friend that once we finish this, including the Royal content, I might just jump right into Strikers because I don't know if I'll ever be ready to say goodbye to these characters and this world!

Oh I know! There's a few moments where he talks about wanting to talk to girls where you can really roast him or throw him under the bus to Ann and Makoto that leads to some really funny dialogue!

You know what, I've attempted to play Persona 4 Golden on three separate occasions and only made it as far as the end of the bath house. Not because I didn't like it or anything, I was just never able to see it through. I think once I get Persona 5 under my belt though, I'll have a lot of fun going back to the others. I actually own the whole series. Persona 5 is one of those big gaming moneys that I want to get off my back though! I'm excited to play that one and see it through to the end. I think I'm going to be the same to be honest. Once I finish with Persona 5, I'm going to want to dive straight back in. I'm also really stoked for Strikers. This game just has so much to offer.

I'm just about to start the Okumora Palace and I've heard that this is one of the most challenging ones in the game!

I have definitely seen that! I remember when they announced the new The World Ends With You game a whole bunch of Persona 5 fans were claiming it "ripped off Persona 5" because it was set in...Shibuya....as if Persona 5 invented Tokyo lol. I hear ya though! I honestly don't get people sometimes! I promise though, no head biting if I have a different Persona opinion! My friend hat I'm playing with is keeping track of the requirements to make sure we unlock the Royal content! Definitely don't want to miss that stuff!

Right!? I loved her rank 9! It was so nice to see that whole arc really get a nice ending. Oh my god, I know, makes me think back to when I was a teenager and my parents had to deal with me having all my friends over. It's funny my friend and I have this ongoing joke where Sojiro just never remembers who Ryuji is. It started when Makoto first comes to the cafe and Sojiro is like "Ah, looks like I see a new face here" and we joked that he was talking about Ryuji despite having met him many times before, but that he is super close with Yuske. So he was like "Ah, looks like we have a new face here!" and he's like "no....Sojiro...it's me....Yuske, remember?" and he's like "Nope....oh hey Yuske!!!!"

He really does! He definitely gives 100% of himself to every series he does. That's why it's been so fun playing along with the Xenoblade games. I've even played along with some of his older series too. I'm sure binging the completely series is going to be awesome!

The battle system really is. It took me a while to REALLY get it, but once I did, I really liked it. I also love the blade system. It's so exciting unlocking new rare blades. I have heard that about the DLC. I remember when it came out I was kind of surprised and went and picked it up, just to have it, and now I'm really glad I did. I've heard it really enriches the story and that the gameplay is even better!

Ya, it's been a lot of fun! The only thing that sucks sometimes is when we hit a big story moment and we have to wait until the following Friday....I feel like I'm constantly cliff hanging myself It's been cool sharing the experience with a good friend though! Oh man, seriously? Oh that's awesome, I hope my friend has the same reaction, cause I will have no idea it's coming! I'm really excited now! You'll have to tell me more about this once I'm passed that part! Those "jump out of your chair" moments in games are so special. I can't remember my most recent one, but my most memorable moment like that was when I got to the true ending of 999, I quite literally dropped my DS!

Ah, makes sense! We'll talk more on that once I finish the game, then! I really do love Makoto and Yuske. I think my favourite girl is Ann though. That's what I adore about this game, is all the characters are really relatable on some level or another. I also love their dynamic, like they really feel like a close group of friends. I an honestly imagine any of them just hanging out together and their closeness really keeps me invested in them!

Yes....I didn't PLAN to play two 200 hour JRPGs at the same time but....here we are! I played along with Chugga's Xenoblade 1 LP the whole way, and wanted to do the same for the sequel. It's a great way to make sure I spend an hour or so each night just relaxing and paying a game. I'm absolutely loving it so far, it took a little while for the battle system to really click, but now that it has, I'm really into it. The story is also starting to get REALLY interesting, and I'm so excited to see where it goes!

Persona 5 Royal is quickly becoming an all time favourite! A friend of mine and I play video games together every Friday, but when the pandemic started we were looking for something to play that worked over shareplay, and he suggest P5R since it was long, and worked over share play. So now we do that every Friday. Progress is slow this way, but I don't really mind, I'm loving the game to bits. I'll probably jump in and do a New Game Plus playthrough on my own once we eventually finish. To be honest, I've never played the vanilla version, so Royal is my first impression of it. It's really interesting hearing my friend say "this wasn't in the original game" and just how seamless it is. I think we're finally starting to get into the meat of the game now. I absolutely love it! Who was your favourite character?

It's a fantastic feeling! Definitely worth the wait! It's funny, your video went up like...20 minutes before I was leaving for a concert. I got home at like 1AM and was like "Nope, not sleeping, I'm beating this NOW!" I was so excited. Thank you again for the series and for helping me finally earn that

(Sorry for the late reply, I haven't been looking at my comments closely)

Well I see that you have Fusion and the Prime Trilogy already, which are both pretty good places to start. The Prime series especially, as it's a side-story not involved in the "plotline" (for what there is) in the main series. There's a nice balance between letting you explore, and hinting at where to go. Obviously just go through them in order if you do play them, otherwise nothing will make sense.

If you want to start with the 2D games, Fusion is a good option since it points you on where to go, and you can't deviate from that, so you don't have to worry about getting lost. Zero Mission would also be a good place, being a remake of the original game it's obviously the start of the minimal background plot that arcs over the games.

And of course I have a bias to Super Metroid, that's the one I started with and still think it is the highest point in the series. The opening cutscene tells you everything you need to know about why Samus is where she is, then it drops you off to go explore, no more text until the ending. If you really liked Xeodrifter for leaving you alone and not telling you what to do, you'll appreciate Super Metroid's style, I believe that was actually the inspiration for Renegade Kid in the first place.

So there's 4 different options on where to start, hope that's enough :P

Something just came to mind... You mentioned in your Xeodrifter LP that you wanted to check out some Metroid games, did you ever get around to doing that? I'm a pretty big fan of the series if you want opinions on where to start.