Quarter One:
The first part of 2022 took me on a few quick journeys.
It was the start of the year, and I was eager to get a steady head-start on my backlog.
I began 2022 by beating the famed and beloved Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64.
This adventure left me with a great experience.
I was able to appreciate its unique take on turn-based combat style, and how Mario’s friends can accompany him in battle.
You can see early days of the Mario & Luigi games starting to form here. I love that series, so I felt right at home.
I also really liked how they had Luigi lead the charge at the end in the credits parade.
Overall , I thought it was a cute and charming game. If you like turn-based Mario action, you’ll love Paper Mario.
I’m definitely looking forward to my play-through of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in early 2023. It’s a game I said I’d get to this year, but I never fit it in.
Paper Mario was an excellent start to my 2022
Throughout January, I started many journeys, but wasn’t able to finish another game.
I got decently far in my first play-through of Trails of Cold Steel, making it about 20 hours in — well passed Chapter 2. I was going for 100% completion, but it probably won’t happen now.
I even grabbed a copy of the Metal Gear Solid collection so that I’d be able to play all the mainline MGS titles, but I have yet to delve into it.
February…
I started February off extremely strong this year.
I immediately finished Spec Ops: The Line on Steam.
While it was extremely short, I enjoyed basically every minute of it. I think I got it for free on Steam but I can’t remember.
It was either free, or really cheap.
That’s how Steam goes, right? That’s how my backlog was forged. Steam sales.
I also ended up beating No More Heroes on PlayStation 3! Danteku ended up giving me his copy, and I played it immediately. I’ve become a huge fan of this game, and Travis is a dope-ass character!
Dan also sent me two other games that I’m pretty excited to get into next year!
I also managed to get Elden Ring in February. I took down Margit and Godrick, but never finished the game.
I need to get back to it some day.
Towards the end of February, I secured a job interview for a kitchen position in a manufacturing factory. I ended up getting the job and I’ve been there ever since!
I was working as a security guard for four years. It was a great job that allowed me to play many handheld games while working on the job.
I bought a special edition Kingdom Hearts PS4 Pro off my friend Josh!
Before February ended, I started several games such as: Persona, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Pokémon FireRed, Spyro, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, Final Fantasy III, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga… none of which I completed before I left my security job.
March…
I started March off strong by beating an easy FPS game called Call of Juarez: Gunslinger that I got for free on Steam.
Sure, I’ll beat a freebie. Why not?
It was pretty enjoyable. I wound up uploading a clip from it on my YouTube. Check it out!
A few weeks passed and it was time to say good-bye to my four-year journey as a security guard.
I will always cherish the time I had while working there, being able to complete my backlog at record pace. However, the quality-of-life (QoL) improvements I gained from my new job are completely unmatched.
A few weeks rolled by and it was time for my 26th birthday.
If you didn’t know, I’m a Pisces! I was born in the year of the rat. My birthday is the 20th of March!
My wife (then fiancée) bought me three new video games for my birthday, all of which I played immediately. I don’t get new releases that often, but I saw it as an opportunity to get ahead on new stuff. In March I cleared Pokémon Legends Arceus, Triangle Strategy, and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin!
I had a fantastic birthday, made changes to my life in regards to career, banged out a few video games, and had an amazing first quarter of 2022.
But things were going to slow down…
Quarter Two:
April…
Suffice it to say
I didn’t beat any games in April.
But!
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t eventful for me.
As things slowed down as I got used to my new job, life events happened.
First off,
I took my grandma to see Sonic 2!
She’s a big Sonic fan, and she’s encouraged me to play video games since I was a young child.
She’s one of my biggest motivators to seeing the backlog to completion.
We had a fantastic time, and we plan to go see The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023, as well as Sonic 3!
Another life event that happened to me was that I celebrated 9.5 years with Abby!
Our original date was October 19, 2012 — we got together in our early teens back in high school.
We celebrate on the 19th of every month together!
Only 6 more months until 10 years!
But will we make it? Keep reading to find out!
May…
Things were more-or-less the same in May.
I realized I was slacking off too hard. I told myself this year that it was okay to slack off since I played a lot in 2021, and that I’d go crazy in 2023. 2022 was just mean to be a year where I didn’t stress over the backlog too much.
Unfortunately, though. This led me to add way too many games, while playing few too little.
I didn’t have an eventful May.
I tried to start watching anime again in May.
I attempted Fullemetal Alchemist Brotherhood on Crunchyroll. I have a terrible habit of getting into an anime, and only watching 15 episodes.
I’m a terrible anime watcher, but I’ll get better at it!
So far I’m 15 episodes into FMAB, Demon Slayer, and Yu Yu Hakusho!
These are all terrific so far, and my terrible watching-pattern shouldn’t be an indication that these aren’t must-watches.
You absolutely should watch all of these — you won’t be disappointed.
Can’t wait to get 15 episodes into Chainsaw Man!
Another event that happened in May 2022 was my brother James’ 18th birthday and graduation celebration from high school.
We celebrated together and had a good time. I bought him a copy of Lost Judgment for PS4
And that was the end of May.
June…
June was the start of RPG SUMMER 2022
My plan for the hot months was originally going to be to play 12 anticipated JRPG games between June and August. But unfortunately, I spent the coming months sweating my balls off in my room in front of a fan… playing a single RPG.
Now don’t get me wrong, I did manage to beat Army of Two with my brother Kip, as well as blow through Sleeping Dogs — an amazing game if you like Shenmue/Yakuza/ or GTA!
But I spent a large majority of this “RPG SUMMER” playing the great game of Skies of Arcadia Legends!
I would spend the rest of June celebrating the announcement of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, of which would be later released this year, as well as beating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge with my father.
Beating a total of three games and spending time with family while doing it? That’s a good start to summer!
Quarter Three:
July…
July rolled around and, you guessed it, I was still spending most of my time grinding through Skies of Arcadia.
It was July. It was hot. And I was spending every bit of free time in my hot room playing, grinding, putting the emulator on full blast while listening to some new music I found.
I thought it was perfect for the summer — a playlist of new independent metalcore I found to repeatedly level-grind to for hours on repeat. It was a necessity at the time. I wanted to be SURE I beat the game.
And I did!
It took about 2 months or so and over 80 hours. But I did end up beating it.
It was a good start to the third quarter.
But I ended up adding way too much in July. I added games to my backlog such as: Super Mario Galaxy, STRAY, and Super Mario Galaxy 2. I was really into the idea of using my Nintendo Wii. I bought a bunch of Wii stuff.
I also got these:
Only worsening to the situation (LOL)
I’ll play all these in 2023, right? We’ll see!
1 game down, 8 added.
And I was not slowing down.
August…
August was eventful.
I beat Resident Evil 5 by co-op, over at my buddy Davis’ house.
I forced him — I mean, he volunteered to spend the weekend playing through the game with me so that I could cross it off the Backlog Bucket List.
Not saying it was the best or worst RE experience ever, but I definitely enjoyed waiting an hour for us to get pizza and drinking a fridge full of Dr. Pepper in a weekend with my good friend NIX.
By the end of August, I had contracted Covid-19 for, like, the third time and had to miss work.
In that time, I started Final Fantasy and Pokémon Emerald on the same day.
I said I was sick, not stupid — but what was I thinking?
Still, having Covid-19 sucks Donkey Kong dong, and it makes it hard to focus on literally any game. So I had to tough it out for a bit.
That was the end of my oh-so special “RPG Summer” — a thing that never really happened.
September…
The cold, chilly air of Autumn swept in…
Er, sorry. Just kidding, I live in South Carolina.
The warm, then, hot as balls, then cold, then hot, then warm again, then breezy the next day — then chilly again — air of Autumn swept in, in September…
And I was determined to start off with a banger:
What a core memory to have: A McDonald’s Pikachu happy meal and The Last of Us first play-through.
I was really going to make this a good season!
In just a few days, I beat one of the best PlayStation titles I had never experienced before until now. Waited so long to play it, it got a full remake for PS5.
That’s crazy.
But that’s the Vohris way.
Tears of the Kingdom and Like a Dragon 8 got announced in the same month. I’m both cautiously optimistic and extremely happy for both to launch. I’ll be spending my 2023 grinding through pretty much all the Yakuza titles!
Abby and our family went to see her childhood favorite band of all time: My Chemical Romance for the first time.
I drove. It wasn’t too bad.
I never cared for them growing up, but they’re actually pretty incredible live.
It was a dream come true for my wife, though. And supporting her was all I really cared about.
The lead singer of my favorite band took his life in 2016, so I’ll never get to see them live.
I took this as an opportunity to be there for Abby and reflect on things.
It was a great time, and MCR puts on a great show.
I finally managed to finish Final Fantasy VII for the first time in September:
It was my first time seeing the ending, too.
Omnislash
What a treat.
I spent a few days out of work in 2020 sick grinding through the entirety of FF7 only to get stuck on Sephiroth.
I was so frustrated. I said I’d never return to it.
I was brand new to JRPG. I hadn’t even gotten into Twitter much then.
I had little to no experience, and as it turns out…?
I just needed to grind a little bit.
So silly, right?
I added Soul Hackers 2, NEO: The World Ends With You, Tales of Arise, Scarlet Nexus, and MONARK to my backlog, and that was the end of quarter three 2022…
Quarter Four:
October…
Guess what, guys?
It was ✨ SPOOKY SEASON ✨
One of my favorite times of the year — the actual cool air comes in, the leaves begin to change color, spooky stuff starts filling the air, and my (then-fiancée) gets super excited and happy.
I can’t help but to get excited too, because it was time for some spooky-themed video games.
Long socks, sweaters, hot cocoa, and some spooky games: I celebrate Halloween in my own way.
I began my October with Luigi’s Mansion — a childhood era classic that has eluded me for many years.
A great callback to Resident Evil games with a few nods, including a clover key — and some great memories to be made, Luigi’s Mansion was my first clear of October 2022!
As time marched forward, the countdown to my wedding with Abby was only one month away.
That day, Abby and I celebrated our Ten Year Anniversary together at a Japanese restaurant with fantastic food:
We got our marriage license on the same day.
We were ready to do the thing! But we had 30 days to go!
Shortly thereafter, I began my next adventure in the season of spooky: Dead Space
I dodged this game for 14 years, and for what???
God, I’m silly — I should’ve played this WAY sooner.
Can’t be helped, right?
I can remember a kid on my bus in 6th grade bragging about playing this game in the dark. That was 2009! Has it really been so long?
Still, the remake announcement pushed me right along to finish this one in 2022.
Now I’m all set.
I loved the game, managed to pick up around 60% of the trophies, including my favorite — ONE GUN — since I only used the Plasma Cutter the entire game! My favorite handgun!
Before I knew it, my October was already over.
November…
November. The busiest, mostbeventful, stressful, and best month of my entire life.
I was in for a complete ride last month.
I started my November off like any man should — with Leon Kennedy shooting Las Plagas.
That’s correct, I began my first journey in Resident Evil 4 at the beginning of November.
I had just a few days to squeeze in a game before my WEDDING!
And I didn’t want spooky season to end just yet.
So I picked another short survival-horror game with a remake around the corner.
To say the least, I thought the game was incredible.
I waited way too long to finally sit down with it, but I’m happy to say I finally did.
Pretty much my whole journey is documented on my Instagram and YouTube, so definitely peep those if you get the chance.
It was my first ever experience with RE4!
The night before my wedding, I stayed up overnight to take a 6-year-old to his first midnight launch game release.
And it was fucking dope as hell.
I have to give my brother the benefit of the doubt. He’s 6. He’s excited. He’s hyper. He’s loud. He wants everything in the store. He cries when you tell him no. He baits you into buying him Roblox toys.
But all-in-all, I love him, and I wouldn’t trade that experience we shared for anything in the world.
I bought us the Double Pack — him obtaining the Violet version, and me the Scarlet version.
I took him home at 1AM, and drove home half-asleep.
My dad used to take me to midnight launches growing up, and I just wanted to give my brother a memory he will never forget.
November 19, 2022 — Wedding Day
I got married.
Not only did I get married, but I married the same girl I met when I was 15.
The same girl I spent every day with suffering through school, several jobs, Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament depression, ups, downs, lefts, rights, twists, turns, laughs, heartbreaks, good times, bad times.
10 years of this.
And we finally married.
I love my wife and wouldn’t have it any other way.
The next day we took off to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
We spent our honeymoon together alone, eating at new restaurants every night, playing mini golf, riding the SkyLift up the mountain, and most importantly — just being together.
It was our first time taking a vacation together alone. No family.
We weren’t really vacation takers. We work a lot, and I get my escape through games. If we ever did take a vacation, it was through family.
So it was nice to get away for awhile.
I did not beat Pokémon Scarlet while on vacation. Any attempt to play my Nintendo Switch while in Tennessee was met immediately by a heavy exhaustion feeling. My eyes would close after a long day of walking around the Gatlinburg Strip, and 8AM would soon roll in shortly after.
I wish I could experience my wedding and honeymoon all over again… they were the happiest I’ve been in a long, long time.
While on vacation, I had my first ever commission drawn of me:
I conveyed to the artist everything that I wanted and he delivered exactly what I asked for.
He drew me as the hero/swordsman that I’ve always pictured myself as — and he got my hair perfectly.
If you’re on Instagram or Twitter, give @SamKTheArtist a follow for me.
I can always appreciate real, non-AI art.
I ended up clearing Unpacking, as well as Pokémon Scarlet last month.
It wasn’t a time for games, it was a time for something way more important.
Someone… way more important.
Video games are great
But they have nothing on my wife.
“My wife…”
I gotta get used to saying that! ♥️
In November, I added way too many games:
The End-game:
December…
This month has been fantastic to me.
The year was great. Not going to lie. It was a lot slower at the beginning, full of a new leaf, new schedule, TONS of stress, and lots of slacking off…
But I let it heal. I let it get better.
It is now December. The final month of 2022.
It’s cold. It’s rainy. And I am getting used to being back at work.
My legs hurt again. I’m exhausted. Christmas is on its way…
You know, the usual with the holidays.
Only this time, I’m super excited for Christmas. I’m not feeling the usual seasonal depression like I have been these last few years.
I used to be a fucking grouch. No.. grinch. A huge seasonal bitch. I hated Christmas. I hated this time of year.
The winter season brought me sadness, anger, bitterness… you name it.
I don’t feel that this year.
There’s something magical, whimsical, and adventurous about this specific time period in my life and I can’t pinpoint exactly why everything has 180°’d from last year.
I’m stoked for TGA 2022, I’m stoked for next year. I’m stoked for all the new games coming out.
As we all should be, yeah?
It’s a time to rejoice and be excited and I’m glad I get to spend this moment with you guys.
My wife spontaneously bought me a PlayStation 5 as a surprise Christmas gift.
I was so happy I ended up crying.
I didn’t know what to say other than basically yell, “why???? How???”
She initially thought I was upset.
I just didn’t expect to get it. One minute I’m standing in front of the first PS5 I’ve ever seen in a store irl, and the next I’m holding it in my possession.
I never thought I’d have it.
Yet, here I am. The luckiest man in the world to have both a great woman — and the new PlayStation.
Thank you, babe, for this awesome gift.
You made my Christmas.
To round 2022 off, I beat The Callisto Protocol.
My dad sat and watched me play through its story, and it was such a great experience to get to share with him.
I’ve always gone to my dad’s to play games. At first, since I’m older — an adult — married — moved on and out, it felt weird to ask him if I could come bury myself in his bedcovers in the dark using his giant 4K LGC1 TV to get the best experience on this brand new game…
But it’s my dad, and he said yes. And we spent some quality time together.
Overall, despite all your terrible opinions it on Twitter, I fucking loved this game. I’m super glad I played Dead Space first, though, as there are tons of nods to it throughout the game.
I managed to avoid many of the games complaints by beating it before everyone else, playing on easy, getting good at dodging early game, and by already planning to use melee-only anyway, which everyone seemed to dislike. Melee ftw!
Now we’re a weeks out from Christmas, I’ve added like a hundred games to my backlog, a 50-Game Challenge approaches, I’m balancing almost 5 games on PS3, PC, and PS5 right now…
and life is fuckinnn’ goooood.
I’ve waited many years for this level of happiness. It seems like just yesterday I wanted to kms.
But those days are gone.
2023
While December isn’t over yet, and I’ll probably finish God of War (PS2) before years-end, the yearly review is over.
In 2023, I challenge myself to beat a minimum of 50 games. It will be the most games I’ve ever beaten in a single year.
Abby and I plan to move out in January and get our first home together, and I’m immensely excited for it.
2023 will be yet another year full of life, love, twists and turns, lots of tweeting, and most importantly…
video games.
A special shout-out to NIX and Nikko for encouraging me to keep writing this blog despite its length.
I was going to give up on myself, and my friends kept me going.
You are the life of Final Amity.
Thanks for reading my blog.
(Pictures are grabbed from my Instagram page)
Follow me to experience my 2023 50 Video Game Challenge!
