Omnivore Update – May 2024

Alright, it’s been a minute since the last time I posted anything here. Nothing like easing back into things with a rambling essay about everything I’ve been up to over the last…while.

Life

So I’d love to magically appear after nearly an entire goddamn year and have all kinds of things I’ve done and goals that I’ve accomplished, but…yeah. That’s definitely not the case. I’ve acknowledged some difficulty in establishing anything resembling consistency when it comes to blogging and streaming over the past couple years or so, but 2023 did start off promising enough. It was several months into the year, but I was at least managing to average a blog post a month, along with streaming a couple times a week. It was somewhere around June that I once again hit a bit of a rough patch. It felt like I just wasn’t able to sit down and focus long enough to get anything written, which seemed like it was taking longer and longer for anything to materialize. It wasn’t that I’d encountered a shortage of things I wanted to talk about, it was wrestling the million things going through my mind at any given moment into something even remotely coherent. On the Twitch side of things, I had been staying fairly consistent in playing Tears of the Kingdom on stream but that was starting to lose steam as well. Just the idea of sitting down and writing(or streaming) was becoming a source of anxiety and I honestly wasn’t sure what it was that I wanted to get from any of this…shit, I still don’t have a definitive answer for that. I knew I didn’t wanna completely abandon something that I’d invested so much of my time and energy into, so I decided to just take a day-to-day approach rather than spiraling further because I was trying to force the issue – “No worries, I’ll just resume everything when I can.”

…famous last words, right?

Over the rest of the year I really didn’t play a ton of games; it was primarily playing Fortnite with my wife and a few others(occasionally). During this impromptu hiatus, I spent more time outside doing things, rediscovered some old favorite movies, and even started doing more actual reading – The Great Gatsby is something of a comfort book that I’ll (re)read when I’m feeling kinda low, and despite not being particularly(at all) active on WordPress or Twitch I managed to be “sporadically consistent” in posting random shit on Twitter. 

One of the reasons I started this blog was to simply have some sort of outlet to categorize or articulate my thoughts about a variety of things, primarily video games. The other is to at least make a half-assed attempt at human interaction and the utterly deranged concept of making…friends?  I am able to look back and see progress, albeit miniscule, has been made in that regard. It’s been half a decade and I’ve seen a number of people come and go, on both a broader level in regards to blogging and streaming, and on a more personal one. Ultimately, I feel like I’ve already been through too much to just call it quits just yet and wanna get back to where I was pre-pandemic –  feeling like there is some glimmer of positivity out there…

So anyways…enough depressing shit. Here’s what I’ve been playing lately.

Gaming

I had to sit and think for a minute about what the hell I’ve even played since my last blog post. I feel like last year I really did not play the variety of games that I normally would have and had even more trouble actually finishing games, which I would probably credit to both Fortnite and depression. 2024 so far has actually felt reasonably productive in regards to the mountain of games I’ve yet to start(or finish). I started off the year by finally, yes, FUCKING FINALLY finishing Persona 5 Royal, a game that I’ve referenced numerous times as being something I’d wanted to play through but was a little intimidated by  the time commitment required. Not only did I finish up P5R, I actually managed to go back and finish up Final Fantasy X, which I’d started playing on stream a mere year and a half prior. And then there’s Dark Souls 2…

Speaking of Souls games, I had started the PS4 version of Elden Ring to play alongside my wife on the PS5 and somewhere along the way I decided to get the platinum trophy a second time? Maybe it’s having already played through Elden Ring once before, or the fact I’ve invested an additional thousand goddamn hours playing FromSoft games since the first time I got the platinum, but it actually seemed…easier, this time around? I still really love the game and would maybe place it just behind Dark Souls 3 on my list of favorite Souls games – Bloodborne and Sekiro being the (very easy)picks for my two favorites.

As for games I’m currently playing, I’ve still been playing a fair amount of Fortnite – I’m not exactly in love with this current season, but it’s still been a lot of fun kicking back and playing a few rounds with my wife after finishing up work for the night. I’ve also been playing a little bit of Helldivers 2 here and there with my brother. I’m still not entirely sure what I think about the game? I do have fun playing it, and I’m not someone incapable of enjoying some spectacular explosions, but I don’t feel as “hooked” as I normally would(should?) given everything about the game.

The other game I’ve been actively playing is Dragon Quest VII: Journey of the Cursed King. Having finished up a couple other JRPGs that had been on my ‘To Do Pile’ for some time, I decided to jump into another Dragon Quest game. I’ve only gotten into the series within the last 5 years or so, but having played through a few of them now, I wish I would have played them years ago. They don’t necessarily have the flash or spectacle of something like Persona or Final Fantasy, but there’s still something so simple and satisfying about them. The art style and music have such a charm that it’s impossible not to love it.

Watching

In one of the bigger plot twists of this past year, I…kinda got into watching more anime. The first places I had wanted to start were Cowboy Bebop and Chainsaw Man. Since then, my wife and I have watched through a handful of others while casually watching things like Mushi-Shi and Death Note. Recently, we’ve been making our way through season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen and have really liked it? It took a few more episodes to get what I think is a better grasp of everything going on than something like Chainsaw Man which, in comparison, felt a little easier to follow early on and didn’t introduce what seems like a handful of new characters every episode or two(which is fine, it didn’t take long at all for me to like Maki or Yuta). Either way, it’s been my favorite thing to watch as of late.

Upcoming Games

There’s no shortage of games that I haven’t gotten around to playing yet that I had on my radar for some time – Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, so I’ve tried not to get too carried away about upcoming games. However, there is a couple standouts that I’m pretty excited to play:

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree – Ok, so this one isn’t even a full game(which makes it easier to justify?) but after finishing up my second trophy run in Elden Ring I’m even more excited to see what surprises FromSoftware (hopefully)has in store for the DLC. It’s already been confirmed that Shadow of the Erdree is gonna go even deeper into the lore and story elements that George R.R. Martin had written, so that’s probably the most intriguing element for me. I’m also guessing that it’s gonna revolve pretty heavily around Miquella, who’s referenced numerous times throughout The Lands Between, but was never seen except for a very brief cutscene showing his arm protruding from a cocoon of sorts at Mohgwyn Palace before the fight with Mohg – Lord of Blood. Whether or not any of this is included in Shadow of the Erdtree is neither here nor there as I’ll gladly take more Elden Ring. Only a matter of weeks now…

Hades II – 2020 was loaded with awesome games – DOOM Eternal, The Last of Us Part 2, Streets of Rage 4, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, but there was one game that I picked as my absolute favorite of the crop. Hades. A game as close to perfect as I’ve come across in a looong time. So much that, similar to Elden Ring, I don’t really have a ton to say about it other than I can’t fucking wait to play it. The early access version of the game just went up on Steam, so I will be playing that one soon.

Thanks for reading!

My Canon Event

It all started on a random June afternoon in 1998. The day had likely been spent the same as so many others during my summer vacation…glued to the tv, most likely watching cartoons on Nickelodeon. I can still vividly remember seeing a commercial that started with some guys sitting around the campfire as one of them described this unbelievable creature they had witnessed while out in the woods shortly before one of them is snatched from their seat and carried through the air. The commercial then cut to some gameplay shots of a new Nintendo 64 game featuring a bear with a bird in its…backpack?. The game was called ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ and me being the easily-influenced child I was at the time, I knew I NEEDED to play it. Of course, the immediate hurdle preventing my playing said game was the fact I didn’t even have an N64. It was shortly afterwards that I discovered a way that I could play this Nintendo game that had (almost)entirely consumed my thoughts.

Looking a little dated, but I was sold instantly.

There was a small clothing/jewelry store in town that also rented out movies and games and I was THRILLED when I noticed a copy of Banjo-Kazooie sitting on the rental shelf. What made this even more a sign from the heavens was learning that the store also rented out Playstations and N64s. The consoles themselves were rented out in these black plastic briefcases with molded foam on the insides to securely house the precious cargo – these things looked like they’d survive a fall out of a three-story window. I was able to negotiate with my mom and she agreed we could rent an N64 and a game or two and play over the weekend. I can still remember coming out of the store, bulletproof briefcase and game cartridge in hand. At risk of sounding hyperbolic, this was the MOST EXCITED I’D BEEN ABOUT ANYTHING IN MY LIFE.

We got home and I frantically began hooking up the N64 to the little tv in my bedroom, where I spent almost every waking minute over the next two days. There’s something almost indescribable the feeling of playing the game for the first time – gameplay, music, controls; it was magical and I loved every bit of it. I still remember making it through the Spiral Mountain tutorial before collecting every note and puzzle piece in Mumbo’s Mountain. Next up was Treasure Trove Cove, which to this day is still my favorite level in Banjo-Kazooie. I managed to make it all the way to Bubblegloop Swamp that weekend, before getting somewhat stuck(no pun intended) and running out of time before having to bring everything back to the rental store.

After falling in love with Banjo-Kazooie in this brief amount of time, the goal over the next few months was clear: acquiring an N64 for my birthday in December. I had played Mario 64 and a few other games(Cruisin’ USA, NBA Hangtime, and Diddy Kong Racing) at various times when hanging out with my friends and neighbors and definitely knew I wanted one, but this time I possessed a newfound sense of determination. I was successful in wearing down negotiating with my mom and she agreed that I could have my choice of either a Nintendo 64 or PlayStation for my birthday. I briefly entertained the idea of getting a PlayStation over the fall after going back to the rental store and trying out a few games(NBA Live ‘98 and Nuclear Strike) and there was a new PlayStation game that looked pretty cool after seeing the commercials, titled ‘Metal Gear Solid.’ It was Banjo-Kazooie, however, that I can point to as *THE REASON* I needed an N64…and I regret nothing. My birthday finally rolled around at the end of the year and I finally got the N64 I’d spent so much time dreaming about, along with Banjo-Kazooie a couple days later during my birthday party.

I spent the rest of the month obsessively playing Banjo-Kazooie. I remember standing in the gym during basketball practice after school and counting down the minutes until I could get the hell out of there and resume exploring more of Gruntilda’s Lair at home. I can still remember spending the days leading up to Christmas collecting everything in Freezeezy Peak, which was 100% season-appropriate. It quickly catapulted its way into my favorite games of all time, alongside Super Mario Bros. 3 and Donkey Kong Country.

It was a couple years later that I got Banjo-Tooie, which I really liked, but never could say I loved the experience anywhere near as much as the original. A few years later I had the opportunity, as an adult, to play the HD remake of the original on my Xbox 360 and absolutely nothing had changed. I loved the game every bit as much as when I first played it – that familiar ‘Rare magic’ was still there.

I’ve been asked several times over the course of my online existence about which gaming memory means the most to me and getting my Nintendo 64(w/atomic purple controller) and Banjo-Kazooie is usually my answer. It has, along with a handful of other N64 games, become part of my Gamer DNA and has played a significant part in my life. One of the reasons I ever decided to start a gaming blog was finding an outlet to talk about games like Banjo-Kazooie, Ocarina of Time or Resident Evil 4 with others as I’d never come across many others who shared the same appreciation for those games(or gaming in general). I’ve written in the past about how much I love Banjo-Kazooie and I’ve even played through the game several times on stream. For all that I’ve droned on about the game, it feels like I still haven’t properly articulated how significant of a place in my life Banjo-Kazooie has occupied. It’s ascended beyond “just a video game” and symbolizes those moments of innocent childhood joy. A pure emotion that diminishes far too often over the years…

Happy 25th anniversary, Banjo(and Kazooie!) Guh-Huh!