New Year ... hopefully some New Tricks

Hello all, and Happy New Year!

A total of FOUR new reviews in the whole of 2017. Wow. Seriously. Wow. The return of Twin Peaks on TV, The Last Jedi (both of which I loved, by the way), I found nothing to say about 'em although I had slated myself to cover both cinematic phenomenons upon their respective arrivals, were they video game-related stuff or not - they were both quite important to me on a personal level. I also started a Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary project (a "book" of sorts) last spring, with plans to finish it by December, that didn't work out either, not by a long shot. What I have indulged myself in as of late - within the subject - is a definitive database of my ever-growing collection of games. The concept I have visualized for this massive project is a short review for each game. To get myself back in the groove, I've read through some of the reviews I wrote around the middle part of the blog's "golden age" and I've often found myself asking "who wrote this GREAT STUFF?", before realizing it was me, at a very different time, in a very different mindset. For the last few weeks, if not even months, I've thought about how great it would be to consider 2018 (a great year for new releases, by the way) as another blank slate for me to get the wheels moving again, if even by the length of two reviews a week. That would already be lightyears ahead of the state this thing is in right now.

For now, this is only speculation, only a hint towards what I'd like to do, but if I've learned one thing during these eight years (EIGHT YEARS, think about it... Jesus Christ, how time flies), it's that I shouldn't make promises I can't keep. My personal life is full of constant changes, and those changes won't stop happening any time soon. In a few months, I'm taking a very courageous step, by moving in with the love of my life. Moving in with someone doesn't sound like much of a big deal, but it is a very big deal for both me and my, for our own separate, but very similar reasons. It'll take some time to get used to for both parties, but the most important thing is that we both definitely WANT to do it, and are prepared for lifetime co-op commitment, so to speak. I might've mentioned before that she's an avid gamer as well; actually a lot better in most games than I, to be honest. Actually, she has - by her own relentless commitment to a single video game at a time - affected me and my playing style (and commitment) to the point that even I had the inspiration to write, I don't have the time to write the way I want to. I'm seeing hints of that lacking time in the last few reviews I wrote - perhaps not everyone sees it, but I'm able to spot it immediately. The fire I once had, particularly during the most of 2012 through 2014, just isn't there. Another reason for that lacking thing I call fire might be, that some force drives me to more recent games, although I really want to do retro again - that means anything and everything prior to the seventh console generation by now. I've lost count of the times I've played a SNES game, good or bad, recently (after reacquiring a functional SNES in the end of 2015), and cursed to myself for not having a review of that game under my belt yet. Yet, I'm willing to try and spark VGMania up once more, as soon as I've taken care of some more important things. And I'm hoping this year will be the pivotal one in returning this immaculate love child of mine to its former glory.

Until that happens, Happy New Year once again and may you all thrive in 2018.