Trading Legend

I'm playing a game because I like the art. No, really. And it isn't an otome game either. Who even am I? No, seriously. It's a slightly AFK (but not really), um, commerce game? Set in Ancient China? 

Wait, actually, the official line is that it's a Business Sim. Okay, we'll go with that. I'm honestly not sure how or when I became aware of it or what made me try it. Maybe the Ancient China thing?

There's a lot going on in it and I'm not going to go into all of it. The story (if you can call it that) is that you're a young Mr. or Miss and have to go to the city to make your fortune because of the ill finances of your family. I can't actually remember now -- is your dad a gambler? Maybe. 

Anyway, once you get to the BIG CITY, an Uncle helps you out and you slowly start to build your empire, making your city better one shop or market at a time. You open an infirmary. You get married. A LOT. You have heirs. A LOT. They all contribute to your fortune. You go on trade missions. You collect retainers and beauties. You build up your estate. 

There is a bit of a fighting component to it as your retainers have a "Trade War" function, but as you don't get to pick your opponents (in fact, it can often be your guild members), it's just sort-of a PvP thing. 

Anyway, I really like the art. Sometimes it is charming. Sometimes it is funny. Sometimes it is even sweet. 

There are at least 3 events going on at any one time. It can be a lot, especially in the beginning. And there are Cross Server events as well, when you're competing oftentimes with more established servers. So even though there's a definite AFK aspect to it (funds keep accruing and you can just log in periodically to grab them), there's also reasons to pop in throughout the day.

There's also a fair bit of humour and...wisdom(?) in the game. Take these very random "conversations" you can eavesdrop on.

When you first get levelled up enough to join a guild, you kinda just join a random one. Then I moved to another one after asking if there were any with openings (there's a World chat function). And it was okay. Then the guild leader had to drop the game for whatever reason and promoted me to the leader. Which was unexpected. So I was growing it, not really knowing what I was doing, and being weird in the process. I dunno why, it kind of lends itself to that. Anyway, long story short, another guild just above us asked if we were interested in merging, so a bunch of us jumped ship and did that. So now we're the number 2 guild on the server. 

I normally avoid like the plague any kind of chat function in a game. But now I'm playing this with people from Italy and Poland and the Netherlands and all over. It's fun. It might also be because I downloaded it when we were all down with COVID and not leaving the house. I'm not even normally a big "collecting" things game person. This is all out of my wheelhouse. So I'm not really sure why I'm enjoying it. I've also been spending some money on it (it's my treat to myself). Will this last? Not sure. I've only been playing it for about two months. We'll see.

Love Spell: Written in the Stars

So. This game has made me worried. Love Spell: Written in the Stars. I picked it up in one of the Steam sales based on the good reviews...but also because I had backed the Kickstarter of another game by the same studio, Great Gretuski Studios. I'd heard so many good things about it and it seemed like a cool idea (Peachleaf Valley: Seeds of Love) AND it's a female founded development studio. All good, right?

Hmmmm. Yeah. Now I'm not so sure. I am holding out hope, however, as Love Spell was their debut game. And I haven't actually finished a play through yet.

A brief summary: the MC is a sort-of down on her luck girl who's supposed to have lots of pluck but to ultimately be kind and brave. Actually...wait...let me start with their fluff copy:

Once Upon A Time,

In a bustling town nestled between the mountains and the sea, there lived a young girl who made bad decisions.

But aside from her terrible luck and life choices, she was a kind and brave soul who always tried her best to find the light, even in the midst of darkness.

One fateful day, she saved the life of a mysterious old woman while crossing the street. The woman turned to her with a knowing smile and in return for her kindness, gifted her a book.

Unbeknownst to the girl, the woman she saved was actually a powerful witch-- and the book she received was a magical spellbook capable of making anyone whose name she writes inside its pages, fall in love with her until the next full moon.

Our heroine took the book, had a terrible day and went to the local pub to drown her sorrows with a good drink...

.......and then she made a really, really bad decision.

Basically, if she writes a name in the book, that person falls in love with her. That's the conceit. There are 4 potential love interests: childhood friend, a professor, a mystery barista, and an older mafia-type. There's a prologue that you play through to get the basics -- though it was very lacking on details on some of the possible LIs...really, only the childhood friend comes out of that looking like a real possibility...and he's got a girlfriend. There's no reason for her to write down the name of any of the other guys, even as drunk as she was. So, not entirely blown away by the mechanics of the plot there.

Then, you go right into picking a route, so there's no falling into one naturally. You just pick it and go. Which, okay. Not my preferred way, but it does make things easy.

Lemme go now into the good points. The art is really lovely and well done. The interface, though occasionally a bit glitchy (like when you have to click multiple times before it "takes") is simple and efficient and easy to use. The writing is consistent (in the parts I've been through).

And now...for the not so good.

The MC is really dumb and annoying. She's not plucky. She's SHOUTY. And whiny. And did I say stupid? She's somehow tragically surprised when not showing up for work and lying about why she's hours late gets her fired? Or that you have to pay rent to, you know, keep your landlord happy? Yes, she does give herself little pep talks, but that's about as plucky as she gets.

I decided to pick the gangster looking dude to be different, though he didn't make any logical sense. But, hey, he had cool hair. She doesn't appear to like him AT ALL and basically screams at him and acts really annoying every time she sees him. Then, when he offers her a job (probably because of the spell, because otherwise I have NO idea why he would), she takes it, even though she has no idea what it is. But then he drags her (literally) off to an abandoned warehouse where he beats the living hell out of a tied up guy and nearly kills him and she runs off, saying she's scared and tears up his check...but then the next day, just kinda goes along with it and forgets all her woes when he puts her up in a super swanky room and feeds her good food.

And she's a pig. She eats like, literally, FIVE multiple course steak meals in one go. Like, WTH? Does she have extra stomachs? Maybe one is where her brain is supposed to be because the yum food makes her completely gloss over the fact he's some kind of gangster. I think it's all written to be light and funny, but she's really just so terrible that it doesn't really come off successfully. She's a caricature. Of what, exactly, I'm not even sure.

Mechanically, it also feels like it barely passes the otome test. There was only 1 decision point each in those first 5 chapters of gangster guy's story and it didn't really appear that what you chose would make much of a difference. Actually, I'm not even sure if the first chapter had one.  

So...it's pretty, but so far I'm not really liking what is under the hood. It could be the route -- I mean, he did feel like an outlier. But the childhood friend has a girlfriend. And you should never date your professor. And barista dude you just met and know absolutely nothing about. Well, he makes coffee.

I will try and finish the route to see and maybe try another, but at this point I'm just really really hoping that the new Kickstarter game I backed is better. If it weren't for that, I'm honestly not sure I'd even bother finishing one route. She's really that annoying. I mean, it's one thing to say she makes bad decisions but this girl is a trainwreck.

Will update after I get around to finishing a route.

From Now on, Showtime!

I was caught up on the released and translated episodes of Shooting Stars, so I thought I'd try another one that looked to be on the funny side (I have just NOT been able to pick back up on any of the drama heavy ones I had started--Move to Heaven or Navillera or Blue Birthday). So, I'm now alternating with From Now on, Showtime!

Cha Cha-Woong (played by Park Hae-Jin, who I knew from My Love from the Star) is a magician. But, not really. Actually, he's descended from a Shaman and he can see ghosts. The magic tricks in his show are all accomplished by ghosts who work for him. 

Meanwhile, Go Seul-Hae (played by Jin Ki-Joo, who I've mostly seen clips of, other than her small part in Splash, Splash Love) is a police officer who wants to be a detective. She also has a crush on someone else on the force -- Seo Hee-Soo (played by Kim Jong-Hoon, who I haven't seen in anything yet), who also happens to be the son of the police chief...and probably looks at her like she's his little sister (she might have grown up in their household after her father died?). That police chief? He, um, seems like he might be a bit crooked, though his son doesn't seem that way. Pretty sure they'll make something of that in the show at some point.

Through crazy circumstances, she finds out Cha-Woong's secret when she thinks he's the one that killed her neighbour in a hit and run, because he knows things that the ghost told him but that only the killer would have otherwise known. That was basically the first episode and I gather it will be a bit of a buddy cop show type of thing where the acerbic magician who doesn't trust people will open up to the bubbly but tough police officer. 

Good ensemble cast. The ghosts are particularly fun. Glimpsing the full list on the AsianWiki, I've seen many of them in many shows. There's definitely some physical comedy to this one and the production value is good. Will write more after I've seen more episodes, but it looks like it will be an enjoyable one.

Edit: I've seen a few of them now and I am enjoying it, though there are times when I think the pacing is a bit slow. And they've teased a whole past life connection thing which I'm a bit meh over as it's been done in other shows and very seldom is handled well enough to justify it. But maybe it'll make sense here as there's the whole ghost/shaman thing. I dunno. 

I do have to say that I'd much rather she wind up with Mr. Magician than the Mr. Detective she has a crush on. While the guy seems good, she turns into a pile of aegyo every time she sees him and it's a bit cringe.

Edit: think I'm around the halfway point now? Still enjoying it, but I admit that there are still moments that drag a bit for me (like with the a) police chief and the b) evil possessed dude). It's not that they aren't important moments, but a) look, we realise he's a weak dude and corrupt...you've established that. Not really sure how many scenes we need to pound that point into our heads and b) I get it. He's bad. The evil spirit possessing him is bad. The scenes, while they keep confirming that he's EVIL, haven't given us really a wealth of new information. 

Anyway, the past life story is being dribbled out. The characters are all holding their own. It would be a good entry Kdrama for anyone who likes buddy cop shows or things like Castle.

Edit: Okay, I finished it! 9 July, so, eh, took me a little while, but I was watching some other things too. I quite enjoyed this one, though I still feel like a few episodes had some draggy bits. Park Hae-Jin was born to play a magician. Seriously. 

The past life / reincarnation stuff actually all worked and they brought it all around in the last episode in a way that made the happy ending make sense. Good job on that. All of the supporting cast were really great and a joy to see. It was nice to see all of their stories wrapped up as well; for once, no one was missed. Well, I suppose we don't really know what happened to the son of the police chief, but he made it out alive, so that was something. He was a decent guy. 

So, am I glad I watched it? Yes. Would I watch it again? Hmmm. Maybe, if I could talk little dude into it. I think he'd actually like it, though he's not a huge fan of live action. But there's a lot of humour in this one, so if he could get past his aversion, it would grab him. 

I liked Park Hae-Jin before, but this made me really love him. I might have to pick up that other show he was in, Forest, now. Jin Ki-Joo was good as well and added a lot of fun to the show. It would be hard to picture her in a super serious part, but I'm sure she could do it. So, yes, I'm calling this one a success. Now I just need to work out what my next watch is before I climb back on the elliptical.

Sh**ting Stars (Shooting Stars)

Ok, so after all that covid horribleness (mostly; I still have a cough I can't get rid of) and other things that I'm not going to go into now, I am back exercising on the elliptical. As it feels like starting again (I'm weak, man), I figured I'd go for a show around an hour vs. anything longer, which is how I wound up starting Shooting Stars (which, for some reason, they list as Sh**ting Stars, but then it looks like you're saying something entirely different and swearing and the stars are doing something rude...) rather than From Now On, Showtime, another new show I was considering. Purely because the Showtime one was 11 minutes longer.

Anyway, the lead is Oh Han-Byeol (Lee Sung-Kyung -- of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo among others) and I quite like her usually, so it was a no brainer anyway. She plays a PR Team Lead working at Starforce, a company that manages actors and idols. The male lead is Gong Tae-Sung (Kim Young-Dae), the top actor at the company who has a pristine reputation. Turns out, they have history. Six years previously, when she was a rookie, she made a typo where she called him a eunuch and he still hasn't forgiven her. But, before that, they attended the same university and obviously have some kind of a past based on photographs. 

Apparently, there is some controversy about the show, though it was hotly anticipated as a comeback for Sung-Kyung. The first episode sees Gong Tae-Sung on a volunteer trip to Africa and the show is being  accused of racism. To be fair, I didn't read any of those headlines until after watching two episodes but I have to admit that I did have a bit of an inward groan when I saw him volunteering there in the first episode. Mostly because it's just called "Africa" rather than a country, like they couldn't be bothered to identify "Kenya" or "Nigeria" or somewhere rather than an entire continent (after some research, looks like it was Zambia based on the language). Two, it kinda harks back to the whole white saviour thing. But, also to be fair to the show, it wasn't too terrible or too white saviour-y. Like, the scenery actual very much fit from my own trip to Kenya and it wasn't totally overdone. In fact, wherever they shot it was actually in much better shape than the couple of towns I saw. So, while it was a bit stereotypical, and definitely could have been handled better, I wouldn't pan the whole thing because of it. His interactions with the kid, in particular, was decent. Plot-wise, I think they just wanted to show that he'd been away for an entire year somewhere. 

Anyway, there's a definite enemies-to-lovers vibe going on. But I'm also quite liking the supporting cast as well, so that's a bonus. Many of these actors I've seen in other shows, though two of them (Young-Dae and Yoon Jong-Hoon (who plays Kang Yoo-Sung, another employee of Showtime) actually remind me a great deal of some other actors and I was confused for a few minutes until I looked them up. Some of it was attitude, I suppose, not so much how they look. Mannerisms? But, anyway, suffice it to say I'm generally liking the whole cast.  I think Young-Dae is giving me some Hwang In-Yeop in True Beauty vibes -- especially in the magazine photoshoot. It's not that they look alike; it's just how it was filmed, I suppose. And the save sort of bravado in the characters.)

It's hard to say yet whether the chemistry between the two leads will stand out or not. There's a bit of pratfall comedy to this one and there's something there, but hard to see what yet. Will write more after I have watched more episodes...though I wish I had realised that this one was still ongoing as it's only been released on Viki up to episode 6 (which isn't even wholly translated yet). So if I do exercise every day this week, I'll need to alternate with some other show(s). Though I should finish up some others on my list, so maybe that's a good thing.

Edit: I'm at the halfway point, if it's normal drama length. And I'm really enjoying it. It's just a fun one. I don't feel like re-capping it all BUT I did want to give a shout out to poor Jin Ho-Eun who plays Byeon Jung-Yeol (the character that helps manage Tae-Sung). They have given him, like, the world's worst haircut ever.

I mean, look at these two pictures of him. 

He's super adorkable in his role and actually really steals the scenes he's in, even with that haircut. Actually, I have to say that all of the supporting cast in this one are really fun. 

There are no "bad" buys. Even the sort-of spoiled snotty actress is more comic relief than an actual bad guy. Oh, and there was a cameo from Moon Ga-Young as an actress that "fake dated" Tae-Sung, though poor Oh Han-Byeol thought it was for real...back when she sort of had a crush on him...which made her harden her heart...which is giving him a headache now that he's trying to confess to her. 

But, seriously, dude, you've spent 10 years teasing this girl and putting yuck in her coffee and tying her shoelaces together and you're surprised that she doesn't believe you're not trying to set her up somehow? 

Anyway, the show is lots of fun. There's definitely some angst coming up as Tae-Sung's mom--who was a famous actress and basically apparently bailed on him, even when his dad was dying -- has come back into the scene. Though he's so pre-occupied with his love conundrum that it's not affecting nearly as much as anyone else was expecting.

Edit: Okay, so I finished this one a while ago but this is the first chance I've had to update. I really quite enjoyed it. It was very low angst -- most "issues" were solved easily, with little drama, and weren't drawn out for very long (an episode or two, three at most). There was a fair bit of sweetness and adorkableness. There were no Noble Martyr moments or forced separations for no reason. In other words, none of the stuff that I really hate. 

The actors were all great, the characters were lovable. Am I glad I watched it? Totally. Would I watch it again? Hm, maybe someday. I wouldn't say it had a huge amount of swoon worthy moments, but it was all a joy.