PixlBit

FFXV had product placements from Cup Noodles (there were was even a Cup Noodle truck in the game), American Express, and Coleman camping products every time your party made camp, among other things. I do remember seeing Japanese Coca-Cola commercials promoting Final Fantasy games on YouTube. Speaking of product placement in games, one of the earliest  placements I can remember is that the billboards in the US arcade version of Pole Position II advertised things like Dentyne gum and Marlboro cigarettes.

When my lady friend and I went to Vegas on my birthday, I saw quite a few Pac-Man slot machines in casinos. I think I saw some at casinos here in Arizona as well. The Arizona Lottery also sells Pac-Man scratch-offs, and I've seen them doing that off and on. I'm surprised I've never seen Nintendo-based slot machines, since Nintendo did get involved in gambling in the past and a lot of Mario and Zelda games have casino mini-games, but Nintendo is also kind of careful in how they license out their properties.

Oh, and one other thing that was interesting. You talked about how Nintendo games tend to let you know when you have low health? Wizards and Warriors, which was made by Rare and published by Acclaim, had a memorable little tune that played when you were low on health. Despite the fact that the tune is repetitive, it's pretty catchy.

Stage Select:

I wouldn't mind a painting of the Gallian Army from Valkyria Chronicles raising a Gallian flag, kind of like the famous picture of the Marines raising the American Flag on Iwo Jima.

I also wouldn't turn down a portrait of Tifa in a bathing suit, though I'm sure my GF would roll her eyes really hard at that one.

Pak Watch:

I got nothing, I never played Mega Man IV. I might have said this earlier, but most of my experience with Mega Man revolves around Mega Man Legends and its sequel and spinoff on PS1. I never was into the series otherwise.

I loved Ni no Kuni. On a list of my favorite 7th gen games, it would be number two, behind only Valkyria Chronicles. It's awesome that both series are getting new installments this year.

I also really want Shining Resonance Refrain, although it is not going to be anywhere near as spectacular as Valkyria Chronicles. Most of my experience with the Shining series is with the Shining Force games on the Genesis and the Saturn, which are SRPGs that play like Fire Emblem. I never played Shining in the Darkness or its Saturn sequel, Shining the Holy Ark. Resonance looks like it's a straightforward JRPG rather than a SRPG. I've been wanting it ever since it was on PS3. I'll probably get it on Switch.

I'll admit I do enjoy arguing politics to a certain degree, but in the social media age it's over the top, what with all the usual insults and the odd threat of civil war here and there. For those who have scrubbed their timelines of stuff like that, good for them. I mostly keep up with my family and with 1UP alumni on social media. I actually deleted my Twitter accound and have no intention of making another account on Twitter. I think it's probably the worst non-pornographic site on the Internet, and there are a lot of porno sites that are more respectable than Twitter is, LOL.

RPGs are my favorite genre. I've been into them since Ultima III and Dragon Warrior in the 80s, but it was Final Fantasy VI and especially FFVII that really made the genre my favorite. The problem with this genre being my favorite is that even short RPGs tend to be longer than most other games, so that makes playing all of them difficult, as well as revisiting favorite RPGs.

That said, my favorite overall series is the Zelda series.

2017 was great gamingwise for me even though I didn't play a lot of games. You know how much I loved Breath of the Wild, and the Switch in general. Persona 5 and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 were great RPGs. Yakuza 0 was the first game I bought that year. I also really enjoyed FFXII The Zodiac Age. It took a game I already loved and made it even better. I kinda want Sonic Mania. Tekken 7 I'll pick up eventually. I just wish Sega would make a Virtua Fighter 6, LOL.

2017 started off really bad for me. I left Maryland under rather sad and stressful cirumstances and came to Arizona. Although not perfect, things are a little better now, I met a 1UP alumnus here in Arizona. I also made a new friend in Arizona with whom I've explored the city, Vegas, and the mountains.

This year, I'm really looking forward to Ni no Kuni 2  and Valkyria Chronicles 4. I'm going to get Bayonetta 2 on Switch, and I'm also looking forward to Shining Resonance Refrain, an RPG that was stuck in Japan for awhile but is now being localized for the US on PS4, Switch, and X1.

Gaming in 2016 for me was defined largely by Final Fantasy XV, I also got Odin Sphere Leifthrasir and King of Fighters XIV. One of my favorite unusual gems from that year was Nights of Azure. Another little gem was The 7th Dragon on 3DS. I didn't play Doom on PS4, but I kind of want to get it for the Switch.

2016 wasn't great for me either. I ended up quitting the job that sent me to Maryland because of issues with an out of control employee and because it wasn't paying enough to cover the cost of living in Maryland. I got another job that paid better. I had a lot of conflict in my house. And on top of that, my parents got in a car accident in downtown Phoenix, with my dad ending up in the ICU and my mother blaming herself because she was driving. When I flew out there it was the first time I'd seen my family since I went to Maryland.

Ranger is gonna love this blog.

I played a little bit of Wizardry, but I preferred its competing series, Ultima, for the overhead view overworld and towns. I guess Etrian Odyssey kind of channels the Wizardry vibe these days. Plus there are a few Japanese developers still making Wizardry games.

Bloodborne was a good game. DOA5LR I tried. It's not a bad fighting game at all, and it's about the closest thing left to Virtua Fighter we have nowadays. :( I played Shantae on Wii U and posted in MiiVerse. If you had a drinking game centered around the number of times someone said "fanservice" on Miiverse, you'd die of alcohol poisoning.

I got a PS4 in 2013, but 2015 was the first year that it had things I really wanted to play. I got Mortal Kombat X, Final Fantasy Type-0, Dragon Quest Heroes, and Fallout 4. Fallout 4 was good, but I felt it was a step down from New Vegas. However, the settlements were kind of fun.