That's funny because I think that was around when I played. I only ever played with at least a duo though. I'd almost never play on my own. Not because I couldn't play well enough, but because I didn't want to have to deal with people alone.

I enjoyed my time (not all of it but some) and watching Arcane made me miss it. But I don't think I'd go back to league. Maybe tft and we'll see how the mmo does.

I identify with this almost exactly except for the fact I played league for a few years rather than a few times. I'd say you chose the better route.

You'll get like 5 minutes with a character and then the game wants you to commit to spending real money. Like I don't even know this character and they expect me to spend money so my character will wear an expensive dress instead of a basic dress just so a romantic interest will like me more? Why would I spend money for poor character development??? Plus I hardly know this character, how would I know if I want to commit to them now??

I feel like games should charge for routes instead of choices. Plus make it so you can earn with ads. Watching ads still generates income. There is a magic number out there for money to free interaction that would make it profitable. Plus it stops people from actively uninstalling due to greed. I know I've straight up uninstalled games after seeing the costs and practices.

I don't spend money on a game unless I feel like it has already earned that amount.

There is a mobile game called "Kingdom Adventure" that had a lot of mechanic's I was looking for. It had town based RPG elements that let you send out adventurers to get resources and beat dungeons. Sounds like a great experience! However it's a translated game that hardly had ANY explanations in game, or online. I had to take notes from a 7 year old reddit post comment that gave more info than anywhere else.

I really liked most of the game. The pixel art had good resolution and was cute. The monster mechanics added more flair to the game. The fog mechanics on the map were cool and made you think about whether you wanted to take a new area or "refog" the area to farm experience. There also was no calendar mechanic so you weren't forced into a time cycle and could play at your pace. But after a while all the guessing about stats and mechanics felt like too much and when I got to the point where I could place a second town hall, I was too unsure of where to place it I just never did. My game is forever in limbo because I'm just tired of finding stuff out the hard way.

Amazing concept, but poor execution.

My issue with mobile Otome games (and sometimes otome games in general) is I feel like they missed the mark for what I'm looking for.

-Either there isn't a character I feel drawn to and they all kind of are blah to me (tired of the evil/mean = personality)
-They use some sort of currency to a greedy extent that makes it so you don't actually have a choice in front of you, but a paid and free option. I don't mind if something has currency but when it is impossible to earn currency, and things are expensive it makes me want to spend/earn less.
-If there is combat/gameplay it feels tedious instead.

One mobile game I actually really like was Arcana Twilight. The gameplay was interesting enough and I liked the characters enough to get invested. However it didn't feel like it had much support and later on the grind to get through the main story was incredibly long. (In order to move on I would do all the new levels only to have to grind on past levels for enough experience for my account to go up a few levels. I feel like I shouldn't have to grind that much, levels should give enough experience to only need maybe 1 more account level to continue the story).

I also tried Tears of Themis which seemed interesting at first, but it felt like the mechanics inspired from Ace Attorney wasn't done well, and the combat had no substance to it. I also felt a disconnect from the cast, so the other downsides made it harder to play until I felt more investment.

The most I played through was Mystic Messenger years ago. It was cute for the time, but when I had completed the routes I was ready to move on. Most of the characters I felt were interesting actually lost my interest in their routes most of the time. I remember being specifically disappointed with Jumin's route.

I also don't like the calls feature some games have, as I usually have no volume on my phone. If they also have text so I'm not forced to listen I don't mind, but I feel like I don't need that level of immersion that some others may enjoy.

I feel like I have a love hate relationship with otome games at this point haha

You might be interested in "Magical Diary". I wasn't huge on the artstyle myself (it's alright but didn't strike me romantically(?) at all), but the rest of the game was awesome. The characters and story are good and the exams you go through feel creative and more interactive. You are at a magic school and have different solutions based on the classes you take.

Not sure if it would be a hit for you for sure, but worth taking a look at.

Ahh I love the manga! Got me into a lot of manga/manhwa so I'm excited to see how the game is~

It's made me appreciate my library more.

These days I hardly buy new since games are so expensive. And I only buy DLC if the game itself has earned the money I'm going to spend. I keep that mentality with any games that have additional costs. I spent a ton of time playing Genshin Impact, so when I put money in the game it felt like it had already earned that much based on the enjoyment I got. I try to stick to that as much as I can.

Sometimes I'm just too tired for some mechanics, but I like the story and want to enjoy it. Also some personalities can maker a game more enjoyable/provide a different experience. It all depends on the game and the player. For me anyways.

Idk if this is an age thing, but just how the market is lately.

AAA games are so expensive I don't even look their way for the most part. My gaming library is big enough that for the most part I can entertain myself until what I want might goes on sale.

Companies that never put their games on sale, hardly get my coin these days. Not because they don't go on sale, but because I don't feel interested enough to buy most of them at full price.

There are a few games that I feel I need to get at launch, but it's honestly been a long time since that happened. Launches also have a good chance of being buggy, so it's safer to wait until after some reception of the game goes around.

I'm more interested in smaller studios and indie games these days. The corporate side of gaming takes out a lot of the inspiration that sparks the idea of the game. I find less corporate teams are able to connect with the audience better.

There are of course exceptions to all this, but they feel rarer and rarer.

I played FF1 on my NES about 10 years ago. It was a bit hard as that version didn't have phoenix downs and I wasn't as used to having to pay as much attention with what you need to do next.

I remember running around the Ice Cave trying not to die with those stupid mages using "rub" to kill my party (I do not know why they chose that name for the spell). It took me forever to realize I actually had the loot I needed and wasn't looking for another orb.

I had a great time until I somehow lost the airship. I was trying to figure out where to go on the other section and somehow lost it and boated somewhere else (I think, it was a while ago now). I think it would be far too much work to try and find it again (I searched for a long time), but I'll always look back fondly on my time with the game. I'd probably look at a newer version to replay as the original version was a bit hard with some of it's missing features compared to the games after and remasters.

More than anything I'm tired of the men vs women approach. I've had men make me feel shitty, and other women. Being a bad person is not exclusive to gender and it's ridiculous to think that gender works like a hivemind.

I suppose I grew up being interested in neutral interests (or didn't care about the stereotypes of an interest) so I felt like people were more individual than the gender they have.

I have a gaming section in a personal notion space. At first I thought of doing something calendar style but you can't quick jump in notion for some reason and going back to 2009 all the time seemed a bit inconvenient, so I went with a board grouped by the days of the week.

It's not 100% accurate as there will be those days where you have to do certain things, but using it alongside a guide is super handy. I'm too lazy to save scum for the sickness trait and stuff, so it let's me visualize what's available with social links, jobs, food, arcade/movies, and the store sales. I think it's grouped by day and then grouped by category.

Idk how they didn't think to put a schedule in the game that included that stuff. How am I meant to remember the dozens of events that occur throughout the week. None of the games have it, though they do have the suggestion thing that let's you know what other people do.

I feel like the world is starting to point out the grossness of those jokes/situations, but there are still areas of the world that are behind. As I'm not trans, I won't notice the more subtle pokes that aren't appropriate, but as a human the blatant jabs don't make me feel comfortable.

A lot of the media we consume is morally grey, so unless things don't go too far I'll just take it as distasteful influence. But if something continues to bother me I'll look for something else to fill my time.

The fact that Persona isn't really getting better, and also has such a poor stance on female protagonists does leave me feeling a little icky. I really like the overall bonding of friends in the games, but it's awkward when they include inappropriate jokes that just kind of ruin the tone (they aren't even funny so idk what the point is in having them).

Also it's annoying the way they think they have to redesign a whole game to have a female character. Just open up the romance prospects and switch the pronouns when needed, maybe add extra lines depending on the gender's involved. They say it's too much work to add a female protag in a basically self insert game, yet we have so many examples of it working out (Fire Emblem, Genshin, Honkai Star Rail, etc.).

Overall I think it's really gross, but experiencing the poor examples of women have me a bit jaded and has effected my tolerance for what I dislike. So I endure a bit until I say it's time to focus on something else.

Currently I have Persona 3 Portable on my switch, I had to set up my own schedule to keep track of all the day to day options, as I was following a guide for the important stuff, but wanted options day to day. Was worth the time because I feel like I can play with a bit more ease. Started off with the female protagonist route. Been liking it so far~

I always have Genshin Impact to go to and now I've begun Honkai Star Rail, so my other games don't get attention as much. I'm bad enough at finishing games as it is lol. Though I beat the other persona games (though not Royal for P5), so I think I'll finish P3.