Shining Force EXA: I went to the Training Grounds, gained a few levels (somewhere around Lv.152) and still couldn't defeat those accursed worms in Xeylon Castle so I bought a Light Charm so I could cheese the area by making myself invincible and hacking away at the Worm Master in order to eliminate them all. Its a shame I had to resort to that, but a win's a win and the other floors in Xeylon Castle - Wisdom Tower are nowhere near as unfair and frustrating. Right now, I've defeated most of the bosses except for the very final battle. My party is currently at Lv.166 but I feel that it wouldn't hurt to raise those levels up so I can give myself a fighting chance.

Shining Force EXA: Things worked out. I destroyed this snake statue in the desert and got a Core Metal. After running around the desert, I stumbled upon Clannap Island and destroyed a Legion Generator, earning me another Core Metal. This secured me 9 Core Metals, allowing me to upgrade the Geo Fortress's main generator to max level. After a Geo Fortress battle, I was able to get another Core Metal and use that to upgrade the Training Grounds to max level as well.

The final 5 floors of the Training Grounds allowed me to gain several levels, even in spite of how tough the enemies were (Arc Dragons are among the worst of them and I'm still not strong enough to defeat them without getting 1HKO'd unless I get lucky enough to defeat them without them using their physical attacks). As of now, my party is now at Lv.172. The plan now is to gain some levels and earn enough money to buy a few Light Charms so I can get through the very final battle.

Shining Force EXA: I forgot to update this yesterday. Anyway, I did some more level grinding and used a Light Charm to help me deal with the Arc Dragons on Floor 50 which allowed me to obtain Avalon's best weapon (not that he'll need it) and Light Pursuit, a Force Art that allows me to deal more damage to Light type enemies (e.g Mythril Golems and you guessed it, Arc Dragons). My party is currently Lv.180, and with at least 3 Light Charms on hand, I decided to try the very final battle again. I got as far as Dark Toma before I lost.

The plan now is to earn more money (and more Mythril) by going through F41-45 of the Training Ground, and use that money to buy a few Light Charms which cost 5000000G to buy.

Shining Force EXA: Did more mythril and cash grinding in F46-F50 and the Gusk. During my trip to the final dungeon, I activated one of the energy generators but aside from Malxatra being somewhat more durable, the fight is still easy. Hopefully both generators will make Malxatra into the challenge they were supposed to be, though I'm not expecting much.

Shining Force EXA: Fought Malxatra FP (Full Power) who is an anticlimatic disappointment. Despite having more HP and actually dealing damage, my level is just too high for them to handle. I also took on the very final battle, and won after nearly getting Dark Toma down to critical HP and getting one-shotted before trying again. I ended up gaining a few levels and my party is now at Lv.185. I've also gotten all Force Arts for Toma and Cyrille so I'm done with this game now.

Stella Deus- The Gate of Eternity: I've started the game and am on Chapter 1, with my party at Lv.5. Despite my ambivalence towards strategy RPGs (I have no problem with the gameplay, but I dislike how overly complex they are compared to other types of RPGs), I decided to give this one a chance. Gameplay is good. Visuals are good. Music good. Various party members allow me to build a party and experiment, and that's pretty nice. The Catacombs are an optional area used for level grinding, which I'll be using often to get ahead of the power curve. The fusion system is convuled, and I'm probably going to have use a guide and/or learn to experiment in order to make the most out of it. Quests aren't too bad,

Though, was there something meant to be after the "quests aren't too bad," part?

Knowing me, there probably was something I was going to say there but whatever it is, its no longer important and will likely be rendered obsolete by the next entry.

Stella Deus - The Gate to Eternity: I've finished Chapter 1 and made it to Chapter 2. This game really expects you to engage with its mechanics if you want to get past Chapter 1. I've had to do some level grinding in the Catacombs, do as many quests as I can and try to create equipment for my party using the Fusion system (e.g Two Whistles make an Iron Rod, and Iron Rod + Cap = Sun Ring, a decent all around item that boosts various stats) in order to defeat General Viper (Team Attacks are really useful during boss fights).

In regards to quests, most of them are straightfoward and can useful for unlocking new units. Getting an Alchemist is great because they can take up the healer role while Adara can take out enemies with her Shock Blast. Some are annoying only because they're luck based until one of your stats is up to a certain level, though those quests can be tried again.

Stella Deus - The Gate to Eternity: I'm nearing the end of Chapter 2 it seems, and so far its easier than the previous one. Probably because I'm making use of the Catacombs and the various mechanics to keep my party in tip top condition. I'm trying to get all the secret characters, though Viser was an absolute pain to overkill despite the mission itself not being that bad. I haven't unlocked any of them yet, but I'm hoping that I will succeed in that endeavor.