Final Fantasy Record Keeper (FFRK) - End of Service

This week I received some very disheartening news.  My favorite game on mobile that I've been playing ever since it was released is being shut down later this year. :(  I actually blogged about this 7 years ago when it first came out, and as an devoted Final Fantasy fan I was super excited when I finally got a chance to play it (it had been out in Japan a couple years before).

The game has had so much content added to it throughout the years, but as a Day 1 player who basically logged in every day and rarely missed any rewards, I've been able to keep up with all the challenges the developers have presented me.  It's not really surprising that the game is getting shut down, in fact I've only ever spent $30 on the game lifetime at the beginning, just wanting to support the developers for a game well produced.  It truly was Free-to-Play with not even a single ad, so I imagine it does not bring as much income in as other games.

Here's the screenshot of the End-of-Service notice they announced earlier this week:

So basically my favorite mobile game of all time will be gone after September of 2022. :( At first I was really sad and somewhat upset, since I've invested so much time and love into this game.  However, I've accepted that some things will just come to an end and have made the following goals for me to complete before it's all over.  Here are the things I still want to accomplish:

Magicite Dungeons - I've pretty much 5-starred all of the Magicite Dungeons (which means beating all 5 bosses in each element).  I still have Wind and Lightning to do, but had been saving those to do for "Dr. Mog's Homework".  This will be the easiest thing I have to do on the list.

Dreambreaker - So far I've only mastered FF7 and FF9 and have not attempted any of the others.  My gear in each FF realm is good enough where I should be able to master all of them, but getting sub 30-second clear times in each is probably not going to happen.  It's okay, the rewards for clearing them fast aren't necessary, although it's gonna take up a ton of Rat Tail for me to upgrade most of the Historia crystals needed to help defeat each boss.

Dragonking - This one might be difficult.  The only one I've attempted and completed (no mastery) is FF7.  But since I'll be setting up parties for all the Dreambreaker runs, it should help prepare me for the Dragonking bosses.  This section is the final and most difficult of the Cardia Records.

Labyrinth - This one is my least favorite, since it requires clicking through a "maze of portraits" to complete each dungeon.  The rewards are really good (hero artifacts are some of the strongest gear in the game you can wield), but the time required to farm them is not really worth it in my opinion.  I've skipped the elemental/realm bosses in the labyrinth up to this point, but my goal would be to complete those as well if I have time.

And that's about it.  Everything else in the game I have basically mastered.  I have about 3 months to finish out my goals, which when set reasonably should be doable.  I'm still gonna be really sad when the game finally does get shut down and I'm not even sure what game I would play afterwards.  I still occasionally crush candy, but I moved on from Simpsons Tapped Out.  Square Enix's only other decent mobile Final Fantasy game is Brave Exvius, but I didn't like it as much as FFRK and eventually walked away from it with no intention of coming back.  Ahh well, it is what it is!

Updates to come at the end of September with tons of pictures to show off my collection and mastery of this wonderful game. ♥

2022 APA Regionals Winner!

Back in March, I went to Phoenix to play in the APA 2022 Regionals Tournament for 9-ball.  In order to qualify for this tournament, you must defeat players within your city during the "Regionals Qualiifer Boards", which I did back in late 2021.

The Regionals Tournament for 9-ball took place on Sunday March 6 and started very early in the morning at 8:30am.  I played with mostly other skill level 5s being a 5 myself, and in APA a skill level 5 must race their opponent to 38 points (where each ball pocketed is worth 1 point with the exception of the 9-ball being worth 2).

My first match I actually got crushed, losing to a skill-level 5 from Suprise AZ with a final score of 19-38.  Fortunately, the tournament is a single-elimination modified tournament that guarantees that you play at least two matches.  One could argue that losing my first match didn't actually matter since I was going to still have to win the same number of matches the rest of the way after that first match.

My second match out of the loser's bracket, I played a skill level 6 from New Mexico and actually won pretty convincingly with a score of 38-24.  I then found myself back on the winners bracket between two more skill level 5s on my way to 38-11 and 38-28 victories. I had then found myself in the finals match and played a skill level 5 from New Mexico,  who I was able to defeat 38-32, the closest win of the day.

This was second time playing in the Regionals Tournament.  My first time, I played 8-ball in 2016 and lost as a skill-level 4.  I actually moved up to a skill-level 5 during that tournament, which ended up costing me the finals match since I had to win one more game.  Unfortunately the runner-up doesn't get anything in these tournaments.

But this was a new day and I am now qualified for the Nationals Tournament in Las Vegas!  I leave today and the tournament can go all the way until Friday May 6 if I do well.  There are payouts for the top 17 players (out of about 100), with first place walking away with $10,000 in prizes! :O Super exciting!

Wish me luck and stay tuned for updates!

"I'm going to Disneyland!"

When I was a kid, I remember professional athletes winning championship and being asked, "So what are you gonna do next?".  They'd respond with "I'm going to Disneyland!".  Not sure if anyone got the reference in my title, but if not, that's where it's from. :)

Last month I went back to Disneyland for the first time in over 20 years.  My parents had taken me there several times when I was young, although we spent a lot of time at Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain as well.

I know a lot of people complain about how prices have increased a lot for Disneyland, but seeing how I haven't been in so long, I wasn't one to have an opinion.  I bought a 2-day pass for a total of $250, allowing me to see Disneyland one day and California Adventures on the other day.  I've never been to California Adventures before, but I still .

Going to Disneyland is such a better experience when you are older and have money you don't mind spending.  My favorite area was the new Star Wars Galaxy Edge.  We immediately went there first and stopped at Oga's Cantina for a couple drinks, by far one of the coolest bars ever!  I highly recommend checking it out if you're able to get in.  I think we got in because we went there super early at like 10am.

My favorite ride in this area was the Rise of Resistance, it's a long and exciting experience.  Also, I did buy the Lightning Lane daily pass for an extra $20 because my time is invaluable and I don't mind spend a few extra bucks to skip lines.  We as a group also used the single rider options quite frequently, since these rides are short anyway and I just wanted to experience as many rides as possible.

At Disneyland, I went on basically every ride I wanted to, starting there at 9am and closing down the park at midnight (I got into Space Mountain at exactly 11:59pm).  California Adventures closes two hours earlier at 10pm on the weekends, but that was fine since there's slightly less to see.  At California Adventures, I'd say the best rides were the new Spiderman Webslingers and also the Radiator Spring Racers.

I've also learned that as I've gotten older, I'm more sensitive to motion sickness for some of the rides.  Kind of sad since I used to be able to handle roller-coasters so well (Six Flags Magic Mountain was one of my favorites as a kid).  But I admit that the Guardians of the Galaxy ride (formerly known as Tower of Terror) had me feeling a little nauseous after I got off.

While Disneyland was a really fun experience with my friends, I don't think I need to go back for a while.  Maybe once every 10 years.  My next trip is planned for later this month, I'm going to San Antonio for a friend's bachelor party!

I caught Omicron and it was terrible!

Early this month, I fell victim to Covid, catching what I'm pretty sure was the Omicron variant.  I know I put myself out there with all my extracurricular activities, so it was only a matter of time until it made it to me.  As you see in the picture below, Omicron spiked towards the end of January in Arizona and my symptoms kicked in on Sunday, January 30.

The week before I had symptoms, I had a pretty busy week.  I celebrated a birthday with a friend on Tuesday going out for Korean BBQ and drinks.  On Wednesday, I went to the gym.  Thursday I had bowling league.  And Saturday I had a pool tournament for most of the day.  There's not really any way to tell what day I caught the virus, but if I had to guess, I think it's most likely from the gym.

The first two days of Covid were the worst (Sunday and Monday Jan 30-31).  On the first day, my throat was very sore, never before in my life has it ever hurt that much.  I was in so much pain that all I wanted to do was lie in bed.  I started having chills in the evening.  On the second day, I was so tired.  I had so much fatigue and could barely leave my bed.  All I wanted to do was sleep, but it was difficult to since my throat hurt so badly.  Even if I could fall asleep, it'd only be for like an hour or two until the pain woke me back up.  I finally broke fever that night and I woke up the next day dripping in sweat.

The third day (Tuesday Feb 1), I was less fatigued, but my body felt sore.  I still remember my right elbow being sore to the point where it felt like I had just worked out the previous day.  My throat was still sore and to make matters worse, I was coughing as well, which was extremely painful.

The fourth and fifth days (Wednesday and Thursday Feb 2-3) I finally felt okay enough to sit in my chair at the computer, so I was at least able to play a few games to pass the time.  It wouldn't last very long as I would want to go back to my bed and lie there, trying to pass the time by watching some movies in bed.

After 5 days, it felt like Covid had passed, although I still had a lingering cough that wouldn't fully go away for a couple weeks.  I also noticed that my sense of taste and smell had weakened, and wouldn't come back to full strength for a few weeks later.

I didn't get the booster and it had been 8 months since I was vaccinated in May of 2021.  In hindsight, I probably should have gotten the booster.  Who knows how much it would have helped lessen the symptoms.  Regardless, Covid was the worst flu experience of my life and I can see why some people feel the need to go the hospital from it.  I'm glad Omicron variant seems to have passed, but of course we have to assume that there will be another mutation coming later in the year.  I can't get boosted until 90 days pass, so I'll be patiently waiting for that opportunity.

Stay safe out there guys!