beasttrash
♡⊹₊˚JACINTHE ZONE!!₊˚⊹♡
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I probably wouldn't be so hyperfixated on Pokemon right now if it weren't for the plethora of mobile games that Nintendo has released over the last half a decade or so.
A lot of these games are really fun! Some of them test my patience.
And all of them have microtransactions that I refuse to pay into.
That's what this blog is about, me attempting to play these games without throwing money at them. So far I've managed pretty well. I know I could do better if I gave in for a premium pass or whatever, but I want to prove to myself, and perhaps others, that these games are still enjoyable without spending money.
So let me introduce you to the games I am playing, how I'm playing them, and how I feel as a Free to Play (AKA: f2p, you're gonna be seeing that abbreviation a lot.) player of them.
Without further ado:
So this one is the Gachiest of all of the Pokemon mobile apps, and unfortunately as a NPC enjoyer, is the one I struggle with this most.
If you don't know about this one, basically what you do is recruit different NPCs to your team and battle other NPCs in "Sync Pairs" where one Pokemon is bonded to a specific trainer, or trainer wearing a fancy outfit (another weakness of mine: fancy outfits)
hi daddy You can talk to the different NPCs in a way that is far more in depth then the main series games. It gives them bits and pieces of characterization that you probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. Its pretty fun. There is even a componet call the "Trainer's Lodge" where you can become closer friends with specifc NPCs such as Cynthia or Steven.
I don't do this bit, not because it costs money or anything I play enough Otome games that the Pokemon version of it feels cringe to me. But that's just a personal thing. Plenty of people love the feature.
What I do like is hatching eggs.
I don't if its just the "I must collect all the little Creatures aspect about it, but it keeps me coming back. Literally, because my phone will notify me whenever an egg hatches.
Also it has that increased chance for shiny Pokemon thats shared by all mobile games, so its always fun hatching a shiny Eevee or something cute.
As I said earlier, the main component of these games are forming Sync Pairs that work together with other Sync Pairs to battle opponents. There's a lot of single and multiplayer options that I... simply don't play because I don't really care too much about that. I just wanna see my blorbos talk with one another actually.
I usually spend most of my Stamina on the Story Events. The Story Events are pretty much what I want from this game. Expanded character lore, fun new outfits for the characters. Etc. Etc. I spend my time on that part. Which makes it really easy to dump your points into them and get shiny medals:
(Look at my shiny trophy case, I dust it quite often)
Now, lets talk about how this game is a money sink. The Fancy Outfits.
A lot of these outfits are pretty cool! My favorite part of the remakes growing up was seeing all the old characters get Fancy New Outfits and DeNA (the developers btw, this won't be the last time you'll see them in this post.) agrees with me.
However, getting these characters with the Fancy Outfits requires in game currency called "Gems" which you get either 1) For Free or 2) paying IRL money for them. Having paid gems increases your odds of pulling a character you really want from the pool of hundreds of characters (+ fancy outfits) basically because you can pull more times. Non-paid gems are a finite substance, and for DeNA's credit: they are quite generous in giving them out. However, in the meta of they game (which I don't really follow ngl) you want to pull that same (rare) character at least 6 times to max out their level.
Sure you pulled Neo Champion Blue, he's one of the best Support Units in the game! But he's nothing compared to his EX version with in thewedding white suit. Do you want him maxed out? The get ready to throw thousands of gems at the roulette!
That's where they get you.
Anyway, I see no reason to waste money on a Blender model. If I pull a character once I am very content. If I pull them twice then lucky for me! If I don't pull them at all, then that sucks. And I'll live.
So what kind of updates will you expect from me?
Well as a fujo. That probably.
Secondly, if I pull something cool then I'll probably post about it. If I run into some cute dialogue I'll probably post about it. I'm playing this game so casually that If I got any of the meta wrong up there you should let me know, because I don't really know too much or even care too much about it.
At the end of the day, these are just little PNGs living in my phone. I don't need to push money at DeNA.
okay wait speaking of DeNA-
This game is DeNA's second(?) foray into Pokemon, and this time its about the beloved Trading Card game. But instead of cardboard that you can firmly grasp in your hands, you get PNGs of your favorites!
Ok, I'm kind of being mean, because this game is far less obnoxious about how you spend your money. If you want the rare cards, you spend money buying hourglasses so you can open a bazillion packs in a row.
Just gonna say upfront: I don't use the battle function.
I don't know how to play it and I don't really care it. The collector part of my brain just wants the cards without the battling. And if I miss the promos (that you can get by participating in battles.) Its fine. (Although that Blastoise promo was really really good.) I came into this with one mindset, and its to collect the cards I like. Just how I do in in the real world.
I can imagine it might be frustrating throwing money at hourglasses and the like if you are into the meta and need a specific card that you aren't just pulling. However, I wouldn't know. and I don't really care. I'm just happy getting two free packs a day.
The chances feel pretty good too. I've pulled two Immersives (Re: Cards with special animations, that take you into the illustration itself) since I've started playing (Day 1) just through my two pack a day habit and the occasionally 10 pack pull when I have enough hourglasses to do so. (They give you hourglasses for anything, I really don't know why you would need to be spending any money on this game period.)
The grief point system is good enough that it I am having trouble pulling a card I really want, I can just pull it using Pack Points I accumulate over a period of time (which Unlike Pokemon Master's similar grief point system, doesn't expire after a certain period of time)
Now, my favorite parts of the game are the Binders and Display cases that you can showcase your cards in.
And you can organize them however you'd like. If you wanna showcase a specific card you've pull time and time again, just throw 'em in a binder! Got a really special card that you wanna show off to the world?
Put that guy in a display case! Tag them #MythicalLegendary cause thats what they are!!
So, how am I going to be playing this game?
Right now I'm pulling the Mythical Island expansion pack in the moring trying to accumulate pack points to pity Blue's full art card (I need at least 1350 of these due to its rarity) or maybe even just pulling the card itself! And I pull the new expansion Spacetime Smackdown in the evening. The card I'm hunting in that one is Mamoswine currently (as I already have Mismagius and Garchomp.) I got pretty lucky early on with with this latest release, so I'm just hunkering down and pulling cards until the next expansion release.
Hmm I thought I would have more to say. I don't really care for the Trading feature either?
Its a nice game to periodically check in on. If you see me updating on this, its because I pulled a really cool card.
Pokemon Sleep my beloved.
The Pokemon game so casual that The Cutting Room Floor questions if its a game or not.
Anyway none of this really matters to me, because I just wanna catch Pokemon and maybe get a nap in while I'm at it.
(whoopsies didn't realize the leaf got into the shot until i went to resize the image, no matter.)
The gameplay works like this: Each day you feed Snorlax three meals and Berries as snacks, with ingredients collected by Pokemon on your team.
And while your Snorlax snacks on the berries, you throw a bunch of ingredients into a big pot to make a meal for Snorlax.
Then you feed Snorlax their meal along with the rest of your team, and in turn increases Snorlax's strength.
Now thats the bulk of the gameplay, HOWEVER. the key part of this is when you go to sleep. As you sleep, many Pokemon gather around Snolax. When you wake up in the morning you want to study the different Pokemon's Sleep Styles.
(would you know that this girlie is shiny if I didn't just tell you that. well she is.)
Most Pokemon have four different sleep styles you can study. Some may have three (as the fourth sleep style is usually a Pokemon laying on top of Snolax's belly and some Pokemon are far too big for that.) Some like Ditto may have several sleep styles because Select Button (The developers of this game) thinks they're funny. (And they are.)
This is also how you capture the Pokemon. Once you're fully awake, you can feed the Pokemon biscuits in order to capture them and put them on your team.
Each Pokemon comes with a special skill that can aid you in increasing Snorlax's strength.
These can be recovering energy for themselves and their teammates, some may drop extra ingredients, others will charge Snorlax's strength more. And these skills vary depending on the individual Pokemon and their nature, just like in the main series game, albeit pared down to something more simple and easy to understand.
I don't really follow the meta for this game, but it certainly exists. Like most of these games, I like playing with Pokemon I like. Which is why my Slowking has been my leader Pokemon since Day 1 (This is the Pokemon that shows up on the screen when you activate the sleep mode portion of the game. However, I stopped playing like this months ago when they added Apple Watch support so I just sync my data with Apple Health when I wake up.)
Now how do Microtransactions/Free to Start play into this?
Well they aren't as obvious as the DeNA developed games, you can buy in-game currency (also Gems) for money, as well as buying into a premium pass that grants you extras such as a second biscuit to help you catch more Pokemon.
I really don't think it becomes to obvious until you've been playing as long as I have and you pretty much plateau at Greengrass Isle (which me and my friend call "Baby Isle" since its the beginning area that is often used for event weeks such as this previous Valentines Day event.) at Master 15, despite the highest level you can go is Master 20.
This could be because I don't really follow the meta enough to really push myself farther then this, and its possible to get higher levels just by catching better Pokemon. That or they really want me to buy into the Premium Pass so I can get that extra biscuit or rewards that would catapult me upwards. I don't really know, and I don't really think it matters. I'm still enjoying myself enough in the endgame to just keep playing as is, and I don't really feel inclined to buy in despite peaking here.
And that's how I'm going to playing the game mostly. If I see a fun shiny Pokemon or I accomplish something cool (like this Clodsire Eclair I managed to make this afternoon) I will probably blog about it. That or you'll see a lot of Slowpoke's Goofy Sleep because its my favorite.
These are the three main games I play. I might talk about another one soon (Magikarp Jump, also developed by Select Button) but I need to play it a bit more so I feel comfortable talking about it.
There are of course other mobile games (GO, Cafe Remix and Unite) that also include microtransactions. Admittedly, I'm not really into their gameplays so I haven't thought about playing them. But like, GO in particular is aggressively microtransactiony so I might play that one for science. See how far I get before I throw my phone on the bed in annoyance.
Let me know what you think! I know for a fact that I am not playing these games how the developer intended, there are probably things I didn't even realize were a part of the game play simply because I don't go there (especially if it concerns the meta) If you have any questions or clarifications to add just throw 'em at me.
I'll probably update this blog whenever something interesting happens in these games. It might be as early as tomorrow, or it might be half way into next week. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy my f2p journey as it continues forth!
A lot of these games are really fun! Some of them test my patience.
And all of them have microtransactions that I refuse to pay into.
That's what this blog is about, me attempting to play these games without throwing money at them. So far I've managed pretty well. I know I could do better if I gave in for a premium pass or whatever, but I want to prove to myself, and perhaps others, that these games are still enjoyable without spending money.
So let me introduce you to the games I am playing, how I'm playing them, and how I feel as a Free to Play (AKA: f2p, you're gonna be seeing that abbreviation a lot.) player of them.
Without further ado:
So this one is the Gachiest of all of the Pokemon mobile apps, and unfortunately as a NPC enjoyer, is the one I struggle with this most.
If you don't know about this one, basically what you do is recruit different NPCs to your team and battle other NPCs in "Sync Pairs" where one Pokemon is bonded to a specific trainer, or trainer wearing a fancy outfit (another weakness of mine: fancy outfits)
I don't do this bit, not because it costs money or anything I play enough Otome games that the Pokemon version of it feels cringe to me. But that's just a personal thing. Plenty of people love the feature.
What I do like is hatching eggs.
I don't if its just the "I must collect all the little Creatures aspect about it, but it keeps me coming back. Literally, because my phone will notify me whenever an egg hatches.
Also it has that increased chance for shiny Pokemon thats shared by all mobile games, so its always fun hatching a shiny Eevee or something cute.
As I said earlier, the main component of these games are forming Sync Pairs that work together with other Sync Pairs to battle opponents. There's a lot of single and multiplayer options that I... simply don't play because I don't really care too much about that. I just wanna see my blorbos talk with one another actually.
I usually spend most of my Stamina on the Story Events. The Story Events are pretty much what I want from this game. Expanded character lore, fun new outfits for the characters. Etc. Etc. I spend my time on that part. Which makes it really easy to dump your points into them and get shiny medals:
(Look at my shiny trophy case, I dust it quite often)
Now, lets talk about how this game is a money sink. The Fancy Outfits.
A lot of these outfits are pretty cool! My favorite part of the remakes growing up was seeing all the old characters get Fancy New Outfits and DeNA (the developers btw, this won't be the last time you'll see them in this post.) agrees with me.
However, getting these characters with the Fancy Outfits requires in game currency called "Gems" which you get either 1) For Free or 2) paying IRL money for them. Having paid gems increases your odds of pulling a character you really want from the pool of hundreds of characters (+ fancy outfits) basically because you can pull more times. Non-paid gems are a finite substance, and for DeNA's credit: they are quite generous in giving them out. However, in the meta of they game (which I don't really follow ngl) you want to pull that same (rare) character at least 6 times to max out their level.
Sure you pulled Neo Champion Blue, he's one of the best Support Units in the game! But he's nothing compared to his EX version with in the
That's where they get you.
Anyway, I see no reason to waste money on a Blender model. If I pull a character once I am very content. If I pull them twice then lucky for me! If I don't pull them at all, then that sucks. And I'll live.
So what kind of updates will you expect from me?
Well as a fujo. That probably.
Secondly, if I pull something cool then I'll probably post about it. If I run into some cute dialogue I'll probably post about it. I'm playing this game so casually that If I got any of the meta wrong up there you should let me know, because I don't really know too much or even care too much about it.
At the end of the day, these are just little PNGs living in my phone. I don't need to push money at DeNA.
okay wait speaking of DeNA-
This game is DeNA's second(?) foray into Pokemon, and this time its about the beloved Trading Card game. But instead of cardboard that you can firmly grasp in your hands, you get PNGs of your favorites!
Ok, I'm kind of being mean, because this game is far less obnoxious about how you spend your money. If you want the rare cards, you spend money buying hourglasses so you can open a bazillion packs in a row.
Just gonna say upfront: I don't use the battle function.
I don't know how to play it and I don't really care it. The collector part of my brain just wants the cards without the battling. And if I miss the promos (that you can get by participating in battles.) Its fine. (Although that Blastoise promo was really really good.) I came into this with one mindset, and its to collect the cards I like. Just how I do in in the real world.
I can imagine it might be frustrating throwing money at hourglasses and the like if you are into the meta and need a specific card that you aren't just pulling. However, I wouldn't know. and I don't really care. I'm just happy getting two free packs a day.
The chances feel pretty good too. I've pulled two Immersives (Re: Cards with special animations, that take you into the illustration itself) since I've started playing (Day 1) just through my two pack a day habit and the occasionally 10 pack pull when I have enough hourglasses to do so. (They give you hourglasses for anything, I really don't know why you would need to be spending any money on this game period.)
The grief point system is good enough that it I am having trouble pulling a card I really want, I can just pull it using Pack Points I accumulate over a period of time (which Unlike Pokemon Master's similar grief point system, doesn't expire after a certain period of time)
Now, my favorite parts of the game are the Binders and Display cases that you can showcase your cards in.
And you can organize them however you'd like. If you wanna showcase a specific card you've pull time and time again, just throw 'em in a binder! Got a really special card that you wanna show off to the world?
Put that guy in a display case! Tag them #MythicalLegendary cause thats what they are!!
So, how am I going to be playing this game?
Right now I'm pulling the Mythical Island expansion pack in the moring trying to accumulate pack points to pity Blue's full art card (I need at least 1350 of these due to its rarity) or maybe even just pulling the card itself! And I pull the new expansion Spacetime Smackdown in the evening. The card I'm hunting in that one is Mamoswine currently (as I already have Mismagius and Garchomp.) I got pretty lucky early on with with this latest release, so I'm just hunkering down and pulling cards until the next expansion release.
Hmm I thought I would have more to say. I don't really care for the Trading feature either?
Its a nice game to periodically check in on. If you see me updating on this, its because I pulled a really cool card.
Pokemon Sleep my beloved.
The Pokemon game so casual that The Cutting Room Floor questions if its a game or not.
Anyway none of this really matters to me, because I just wanna catch Pokemon and maybe get a nap in while I'm at it.
(whoopsies didn't realize the leaf got into the shot until i went to resize the image, no matter.)
The gameplay works like this: Each day you feed Snorlax three meals and Berries as snacks, with ingredients collected by Pokemon on your team.
And while your Snorlax snacks on the berries, you throw a bunch of ingredients into a big pot to make a meal for Snorlax.
Then you feed Snorlax their meal along with the rest of your team, and in turn increases Snorlax's strength.
Now thats the bulk of the gameplay, HOWEVER. the key part of this is when you go to sleep. As you sleep, many Pokemon gather around Snolax. When you wake up in the morning you want to study the different Pokemon's Sleep Styles.
(would you know that this girlie is shiny if I didn't just tell you that. well she is.)
Most Pokemon have four different sleep styles you can study. Some may have three (as the fourth sleep style is usually a Pokemon laying on top of Snolax's belly and some Pokemon are far too big for that.) Some like Ditto may have several sleep styles because Select Button (The developers of this game) thinks they're funny. (And they are.)
This is also how you capture the Pokemon. Once you're fully awake, you can feed the Pokemon biscuits in order to capture them and put them on your team.
Each Pokemon comes with a special skill that can aid you in increasing Snorlax's strength.
These can be recovering energy for themselves and their teammates, some may drop extra ingredients, others will charge Snorlax's strength more. And these skills vary depending on the individual Pokemon and their nature, just like in the main series game, albeit pared down to something more simple and easy to understand.
I don't really follow the meta for this game, but it certainly exists. Like most of these games, I like playing with Pokemon I like. Which is why my Slowking has been my leader Pokemon since Day 1 (This is the Pokemon that shows up on the screen when you activate the sleep mode portion of the game. However, I stopped playing like this months ago when they added Apple Watch support so I just sync my data with Apple Health when I wake up.)
Now how do Microtransactions/Free to Start play into this?
Well they aren't as obvious as the DeNA developed games, you can buy in-game currency (also Gems) for money, as well as buying into a premium pass that grants you extras such as a second biscuit to help you catch more Pokemon.
I really don't think it becomes to obvious until you've been playing as long as I have and you pretty much plateau at Greengrass Isle (which me and my friend call "Baby Isle" since its the beginning area that is often used for event weeks such as this previous Valentines Day event.) at Master 15, despite the highest level you can go is Master 20.
This could be because I don't really follow the meta enough to really push myself farther then this, and its possible to get higher levels just by catching better Pokemon. That or they really want me to buy into the Premium Pass so I can get that extra biscuit or rewards that would catapult me upwards. I don't really know, and I don't really think it matters. I'm still enjoying myself enough in the endgame to just keep playing as is, and I don't really feel inclined to buy in despite peaking here.
And that's how I'm going to playing the game mostly. If I see a fun shiny Pokemon or I accomplish something cool (like this Clodsire Eclair I managed to make this afternoon) I will probably blog about it. That or you'll see a lot of Slowpoke's Goofy Sleep because its my favorite.
These are the three main games I play. I might talk about another one soon (Magikarp Jump, also developed by Select Button) but I need to play it a bit more so I feel comfortable talking about it.
There are of course other mobile games (GO, Cafe Remix and Unite) that also include microtransactions. Admittedly, I'm not really into their gameplays so I haven't thought about playing them. But like, GO in particular is aggressively microtransactiony so I might play that one for science. See how far I get before I throw my phone on the bed in annoyance.
Let me know what you think! I know for a fact that I am not playing these games how the developer intended, there are probably things I didn't even realize were a part of the game play simply because I don't go there (especially if it concerns the meta) If you have any questions or clarifications to add just throw 'em at me.
I'll probably update this blog whenever something interesting happens in these games. It might be as early as tomorrow, or it might be half way into next week. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy my f2p journey as it continues forth!
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