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I did some research before starting and decided to pick Mudkip as my starter. Apparently, it makes the first several gyms simple to beat and its ground attacks can easily handle the grass Pokémon I might encounter. Since this is Emerald, and usually the main protagonist’s name is picked based on the game on these challenges, I named my trainer Irish.

Bad Drawing of Mudkip

A horrible drawing, I know.

I got through the usual motions and got my Mudkip. She was a girl, so I named her Alice. I soon realised this game makes you miss the first two routes on a Nuzlocke challenge. On the third route, which was route 102, I caught my first new friend – a boy Zigzagoon I named Stardust, due to obvious reasons. I remained on this route for a while, and trained both Stardust and Alice to level 10. Stardust learned the move Headbutt at level 9, which made him absolutely awesome.

Horrible drawing of Zigzagoon

Who’s that Pokemon’s got nothing on me.

The Petalburg Gym was owned by the main character’s dad, so that one was off limits until later in the game. Moving through Petalburg, I got to route 104, where I caught a Wingull, out of all. I was honestly hoping to get this one because I love its evolution and I remembered it as being quite tough in my previous Sapphire/Emerald/Ruby playthroughs.  I named him Jonathan, after one of the books I liked as a kid.

Horrible drawing of Wingull

My future star player!

Route 104 was followed by Petalburg woods, where I encountered several bug Pokémon. The first one I encountered was a Silcoon, so that was the one I caught. This one was such an awesome catch. I actually can’t remember what I named it at this time. Suffice to say, it was not used in battle yet. I do intend to train it to its final form later, though.

Bad drawing of Silcoon

It almost looks like the real thing this time.

Rustboro City housed the first gym I could actually fight in. It was a rock gym, so Alice had no problems soloing it from start to end. This got her to level 16 and made her evolve to her next form, Marshtomp.

Horrible drawing of Marshtomp

If this Marshtomp could talk, it would ask to be euthanized.

After getting the badge, I taught Cut to Stardust and used it to get some items on route 104 and in the forest. I then went north of Rustboro and soon saw the first Team Aqua event, where they steal some stuff from a Devon employee. I chased them to route 116 where I caught a Poochyena. I named her Neera, after a dog I used to own. I then followed the Aqua grunt to Rusturf tunnel and beat it. For some reason, I returned to the tunnel and promptly forgot about my challenge, which means I killed a potential new friend by accident. So long, nameless Whismur…

Bad drawing of Whismur

At least it died before I could fail it.

I returned the goods to Devon Company and was promptly asked to deliver them to Slateport, as well as delivering a letter to a guy named Steven in Dewford Town. May was nearby, so she told me I can get to both those places by hitching a boat ride with a guy living on route 104.

Dewford town had another gym, this one completely dark and filled with fighting Pokémon trainers. I fought through it and managed to easily beat it thanks to Jonathan and his Wing Attack. My new badge allowed me to use the Flash HM, which I didn’t have yet. In town, I was told Steven was at Granite Cave, north of Dewfort. That’s where I got flash, but sadly, none of my Pokémon could learn it.

There was one good thing coming out of visiting the cave, though. I caught a Makuhita! I named him Bob, but decided to still focus on Stardust, Jonathan and Alice for a while. I will soon learn that this was a mistake.

Bad drawing of Makuhita

Makuhita actually has some potential.

After collecting myself, I got to the Pokémon Center and gave him a proper burial. So long, my friend.I got the letter to Steven and moved on to Slateport. The beach was filled with trainers, so I had to go through a couple of battles with Stardust. Then it happened. I got into a team fight with Stardust at half health and Alice as his partner. I foolishly thought they would be able to handle a Wingull and a Tentacool, but the Wingull got a lucky first strike. Stardust was gone.

Pokemon Emerald - Releasing a Pokemon

So long, my friend…

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I was a bit bored, so I decided to try another Nuzlocke challenge. I already did one with Fire Red, but the rules ended up a bit too forgiving, so I didn’t have many issues in beating the game. This time, the rules will be slightly harder, but again, not by much. The game I picked was Emerald, because I needed fresh Pokémon. The rules are the following:

  1. Name your Pokémon for more emotional attachment.
  2. If a Pokémon faints, release it. It’s gone forever.
  3. You are only allowed to catch the first Pokémon in each new area.
  4. No going back this time. Once you leave an area, you cannot catch a Pokémon there under any circumstances.
  5. No fishing, no special Pokémon. You can only catch Pokémon through battles.
  6. All levels of a cave count as one area.

Anyway, those are the rules and Emerald will be the game. On a side note, I also decided to draw every single Pokémon I catch, as well as maybe some other things. I suck at drawing, though, so at best, it will be good for a laugh or two.

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I’ve cleared the rest of the game in one sitting, for the most part. I got to the last boss, but then took a break before grinding for a level in order to beat him more easily. Most of the bosses on the way were quite easy even without grinding, all thanks to gaining a couple of levels before beating the mantis boss.

Ys: Origin, Top of the Tower

The top of the tower offers a nice view.

Hugo also had to deal with a loss, but it wasn’t his brother, as I sort of expected, but Epona. Later on, he I had to fight the axe wielding warrior and found out he’s actually Epona’s brother. I also fought Toal and Zava, but both were beaten on the first attempt. Honestly, most of the bosses after the mantis were very easy, other than the final boss, though he wasn’t much harder. I decided to grind before killing him, but as it turns out, I managed to beat him at level 51 without even using the resurrection item I got. Come to think of it, I didn’t need to use the item with Yunica either.

Anyway, as usual, the younger characters decided to stay on the surface, while the leaders transported to the shrine and then the game ended.

Ending the game unlocked Toal as a playable character as well as Hugo as a character in time attack mode. I decided to try my luck with time attack on easy and managed to beat it with Yunica. Now that this is done, what’s remaining is beating the game with Toal and then I might consider it 100% complete. Technically, that wouldn’t clear all of the achievements, but some of them are just too much of a time sink for comfort. I have other games to play to.

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I’ve cleared the Silent Sands and killed the boss at the end, but not after grinding for about two levels. I decided to do this with all the future bosses. It’s much faster time wise to just grind for a bit first and then kill the boss, than to go fail about two dozen times and then resort to grinding anyway.

Blighted blood was next, and it was sort of tough from the start, meaning I’m probably underleveled, if anything, in spite of the grinding. After some exploring and training, I finally managed to push to the second save point. I got all the items I could and went to the spot where the knights get petrified. Yunica was there, so I had to go get the Black Pearl replica from Hugo’s brother. I got it and brought it to Rado’s Annex, where the goddess fused it with the Dream Idol. I then returned to the knights with Yunica and got the medallion key I needed to get to the next boss. All this took a long time, so I ended my session. I will grind tomorrow.

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Silent Sands seemed a bit on the difficult side, but gaining a few levels fixed that. I got all the items, including the Evil Ring I knew I’m going to need pretty quickly. I’m now also sure that all of those secret areas marked by symbols on the floor or walls are supposed to be accessed by the magical mask you get at the start of the game. Sure, some of them can be reached by jumping, using the wind skill or double jumping, but all of them can more easily be reached via the mask.

Ys: Origin, Rado's Annex

It’s this place again!

I got to Rado’s Annex and fought the demon Zava summoned. I found it slightly harder than with Yunica, but I still managed to beat it on my first try. I got to the door and then returned to charge the Evil Ring. It seems you can’t charge it until you actually get it and talk to the people waiting at the evil door. After that was done, I spoke to the captured goddess, took the key and opened the door to the rest of the Silent Sands. Due to lots of talking, all of this took a bit long, so I ended my session.

On a side note, Hugo is a complete ass. Every time someone tries to be understanding or helpful, he just screams at them. I get that he’s supposed to be a troubled person, but it really gets annoying.

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I’ve moved on through Guilty Fire, learning my fire skill, which I like a lot, and soon reaching the Devil’s Corridor. This time, the puzzle was not as simple as with Yunica, and I have to admit, I’ve used google to get past it. First of all, getting the fruit for the cute creature the name of which I forgot again involved using the mask that shows hidden paths, instead of just using my wind skill to get over the gap. Actually, come to think of it, I might have been able to use the mask with Yunica to, but just never thought of it, since whirlwind was enough. Secondly, I didn’t get the harmonica and the creature didn’t teach me a song. Instead, I got a hammer.

Ys: Origin - Hugo's Sword Scene in Guilty Fire

Yunica is the token valiant heroine, while Huge is the token misunderstood asshole.

After googling, I’ve learned I have to use the hammer on one of the pillars in the previous outside area between two floors. The pillar has a crack on it if you look close enough. Apparently, it’s through the pipes in the pillar that the toxic mist gets to devil’s corridor. Seriously, screw that puzzle. How the hell was I supposed to know that? I mean, I talked to everyone in game and no one even hinted at it to my knowledge.

Anyway, moving on, I’ve dealt with lighting the torches for the construct key and then fought the construct. The fight seemed easy enough, but I kept making silly mistakes, so it took me a few tries. With killing him, I got to the Silent Sands area and ended my session.

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I got a friend who’s living and working in Germany at the moment, so we sometimes play together on Sundays. He plays a monk, while I’m a demon hunter. We got through the signal fire and catapult quests today, but that’s about it. Since the last major patch (1.3), Diablo has been quite laggy for me, which really kills the desire to play. Still, the friend is pretty damn bored on his free days, since he doesn’t speak the language well, so I have no issues with the two of us wasting some time together.

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I’ve encountered Epona in the sunken prison again. She summoned two bat demons this time, but they turned on her, so I only had to fight one of them, while she was dealing with the other. I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but I’m playing the game at Hard difficulty this time, so the boss didn’t fall as fast as I had hoped. After a few tries, though, I did manage to kill it. After some more exploring, I’ve found my lightning skill, which drops a mine at my position. I soon also found my first topaz, allowing me to charge the skill. The charged version drops a mine that does more damage and has a larger blast radius.

With the help of the mine, I killed the centipede boss, but it was a really tough fight. I actually had to train to level 18 in order to get through it, but it was still very difficult and I barely made it after several tries. The next area, Guilty Fire, was easy to deal with due to the extra levels. Similarly to Yunica, I’ve first rescued one of the sorceresses, who seems to have a crush on Hugo. Then I met lady Feena and she was taken by the enemy. This time, though, it was the clawed man that I had to fight and lose to. There was a revelation before the fight to, but this one was much bigger than “I killed your father”, though it was still kind of expected. The clawed man is a traitor of Ys and Hugo’s brother, Toal.

Ys: Origin - Hugo vs Toal

Sibling rivalry.

After Hugo lost the fight, Toal wanted to kill him, but the rest of the rescue team got there in time to save him. Everyone teleported back to the ground level and that’s where I ended my session.

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With the help of the Greybeards, I started gathering shouts all over Skyrim. Some were easily acquired from dragon lairs, while others were hidden deeper in various dungeons, caves and ruins. After a while, I started getting upgrades instead of new words, so I decided to ask the help of the almighty Google.

Skyirim - Throat of the World

Once more into the breach!

I quickly found a list of all the shouts and their locations, but I’ve also learned one other thing, which I should have known already. Four of the twenty shouts that exist in the game can only be learned throughout the main quest line. Now, I had learned twelve shouts in total by now, so I continued to learn the remaining four I still could. Once that was done, though, I had to tackle the main story on my second character. What follows is a list of all the shouts and their locations. I’ll put the words I learned and/or consider faster to get to in bold.

  • Animal Allegiance – Ancient’s Ascent, Angarvunde, Ysgramor’s Tomb
  • Aura Whisper – Northwind Summit, Valthume, Volunruud
  • Become Ethereal – Ironbind Barrow, Lost Valley Redoubt, Ustengrav
  • Call Dragon – taught during The Fallen
  • Call of Valor – taught during Dragonslayer
  • Clear Skies – taught during The Throat of the world
  • Disarm – Eldersblood Peak. Silverdrift Lair, Snow Veil Sanctum
  • Dismay – Dead Crone Rock, Lost Tongue Overlook, Shalidor’s Maze
  • Dragonrend – taught during Alduin’s Bane
  • Elemental Fury – Dragontooth Crater, Shriekwind Bastion, Statue to Meridia
  • Fire Breath – Dustman’s Cairn, Sunderstone Gorge, during The Throat of the World
  • Frost Breath – Bonestrewn Crest, Folgunthur, Skyborn Altar
  • Ice Form – Frostmere Crypt, Mount Anthor, Saarthal
  • Kyne’s Peace – Ragnvald, Rannveig’s Fast, Shroud Hearth Barrow
  • Marked for Death – Autumnwatch Tower, Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, Forsaken Cave
  • Slow Time – Hag’s End, Korvanjund, Labyrinthian
  • Storm Call – Forelhost, High Gate Ruins, Skuldafn Temple
  • Throw Voice – Shearpoint, all words together
  • Unrelenting Force – Bleak Falls Barrow, during The Way of the Voice, during Jurgen Windcaller
  • Whirlwind Sprint – Dead Men’s Respite, during The Way of the Voice, Volksygge

Additionally, it seems Dawnguard adds a few more shouts, so what follows is a list of those, in case it’s required for the future. Since I have yet to play the expansion, I can’t really say which ones are faster to get.

  • Drain Vitality – Dimhollow Crypt, Forgotten Vale, Arcwind Point
  • Soul Tear – taught by Durnehviir on each summon from Soul Cairn
  • Summon Durnehviir – learned after Beyond Death

Luckily, the main quest line is relatively short, and I was already familiar with it, so it wasn’t to hard to get through. During all this, I discovered a small detail I liked. You see, on my last character, a mage, I’ve dealt with the civil war before dealing with the dragons. On this run, the war was still on when I asked to trap a dragon in Whiterun, so the jarl demanded a peace treaty to be arranged until I resolve the dragon threat. I actually had to invite Ulric and Tulius to High Hrothgar and mediate the negotiations. I guess I’ll be discovering new things about Skyrim for a long time.

In any case, after a few more quests, I’ve learned the remaining four shouts and also reached level 54 along the way, meaning I got the final two achievements. Or so I thought…

Skyrim - Steam Achievement List

FML…

Apparently, in a recent update, they decided to add the Dawnguard achievements to Steam, meaning I will not see 100% next to Skyrim for a while longer. Since I won’t be getting Dawnguard any time soon, it might be quite a while indeed. However, I’ve finished the base game and cleared all of its achievements, so I’m considering this one 100% complete from now on.

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With Oblivion Walker out of the way, it was time to tackle the final few achievements. Since Steam handles achievements separately from regular save games, I decided to take the easy way out with the Wanted and Master Criminal achievements. I saved my game to a separate slot and punched a guard. I was thrown in jail, and easily picked the lock, since my character is a rogue with well trained lockpicking.

I reloaded my game and started tackling the master criminal achievements. The problem was, I was so stealthy I had to actively make sure to be seen when killing someone in each of the holds. In case you aren’t sure, I give you the list of holds and their capitals. Don’t forget, if you kill the witnesses, your bounty is gone, so you need to kill a guard or civilian and then run away.

Skyrim Master Criminal Achievement – List of Regions

  • Eastmarch with the capital in Windhelm
  • Falkreath with the capital of the same name
  • Haafingar with the capital in Solitude
  • Hjaalmarch with the capital in Morthal
  • The Pale with the capital in Dawnstar
  • The Reach with the capital in Markath
  • The Rift with the capital in Riften
  • Whiterun with the capital of the same name
  • Winterhold with the capital of the same name

As I said, all that’s needed is to kill one person there and then run away. This is what I did, though I was interrupted by a dragon attack at one point, because I foolishly decided to go start the dragon “invasion” earlier. It took me a short while, and the achievement was mine. When it popped up, I reloaded my game from the earlier slot. It was simpler than going to each hold and pay the fines.

With both of these gone now, the two achievements left were Master and Thu’um Master. As I said before, I expected to achieve Master automatically, and this was getting closer, what with being 49 and close to 50 already. Thu’um Master, on the other hand, is going to take some time.