I had good intentions. I was going to talk about houses. Or maybe clothesline-stealing squirrels. But I'm really trying to put forth some positive effort re: home ownership, so I have nothing to say on that at the moment.
So.
Let me tell you about Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Why I bought it. Why I played it. Why I'll never play it again.
Don't get me wrong. I love me some Castlevania. Symphony of the Night is my favorite game of all time. Despite never finishing many of the early games, I own all 3 original NES games, GBA games, and all 3 DS games. The games have gotten easier over the years. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia "fixes" that.
Trust me when I say the game is gorgeous. Beautiful, even. Great music. Evocative enemies. But it's hard. How hard? SO HARD. I bought it last fall, set it aside after a few weeks (yes, that's right, weeks) and just picked it up again this week after some malaise with my stand-by DS titles.
I play DS at work (lunches and breaks, represent!), so lately it's been crosswords and turn-based strategy. Seeking something different, I turned to my DS pile of shame (more in the future) and remembered never finishing C:OoE.
I'm finished now.
I have been on the same boss for 2 solid days. That's approximately 2 1/2 hours of the Same. Boss. Fight. I have searched FAQs online. I have tried any number of options. I even have the pattern mostly figured out. But it's just too freakin' hard.
Why, my character has 548 hit points. That sounds like a lot. It might as well be the 3 hearts of 1986 NES games, because I'm dead within 3 hits. Seriously. Screw up on the pattern once, and you're toast.
I'm too old for this. I don't have the patience for this anymore. The internal game clock has me logged at 8 hours, 56 minutes. In real life? Double it. Easily. 3 days spent on the 2nd boss, but I wasn't ready to quit that early on. 70% unlocked at this point. That's enough.
Back to the shelf. The pile of shame. It will sit there and mock me as an example of my gaming failures. But y'know what? That's OK. The frustration saved by not playing - and the money saved by not throwing my DS against a wall - that'll do. Because I'm a homeowner now, and I can't afford to replace that DS until we get a dining room table.
