I only have PSVR but I think it's a lot of fun personally. Recently I played Moss, Deracine, and Tokyo Chronos and liked them all, a bit before that I played both I Expect You to Die(s) and they were great, and before that it was definitely on the shelf for a few months. Like yeah it's kinda "gimmicky" in that I'm not constantly using it (maybe if I had it for PC I'd use it for VR Chat) but I don't regret it because when I'm in the mood to use it there's always something I want play.
I'm sure there's more examples, but the one that comes to mind easily is that just to be a stupid DrakeNier completionist I slogged through Drakengard 2 and 3, which I think are both pretty terrible (the first one sucks to play but at least is overall, an interesting experience). And I guess it's a series within a series, but I really, really didn't have to play FF13-2 and Lightning Returns.
The current one I'm fighting is continuing to play Trails of Cold Steel; I thought 2 was a huge downgrade from the first game and I know I should probably stop there. Will I? Who knows lol.
I have a ton of different hobbies (mostly of the art and/or craft variety) and honestly a lot of it is juggling things in and out of what I'm currently working on (though I definitely have more time than you, it's not unlimited). I feel like golf and fishing don't really factor into it--true, you probably can't just go fish for an hour (unless you're in specific circumstances, those are more like planned lengthy activities), but you could absolutely start painting a set of minis. They'll exist there and be ready for the next space you have time. Just! Start doing it! Hours add up! Minutes add up! If you want to start reading more, just take 15 minutes out of your tv zoning out before bed time and swap to that; it's still a relaxing, passive activity.
There's nothing wrong with riding a wave of passion for a new project either, just leave the old thing in a state where it can be resumed, if you want to resume it at all. If you want to move on, that's fine too. I don't think you have to "drop" any hobbies if you're actually enjoying them, because it's not for work or anyone you need prove something to. (I think this is only an issue if you tend to buy a lot of expensive equipment for a new hobby and then don't do it.) If something strikes your fancy, prioritize it! If it annoys you to feel like you're leaving things unfinished, then your priority is to make sure you carry things to completion. You don't know what the future holds, so waiting for something vague like "when I retire/when I have time" will leave you forever unsatisfied.
I shower at night mostly so my hair can air dry. It helps me relax and then I can sleep until the last minute lol. I know this question can be oddly contentious at times but if you shower once a day it probably doesn't matter which time you pick really.
1. Like fully fully customized, player created? It depends on the jrpg, if it's a heavily story/character based thing it'd feel lazy to me, as I expect character design to tie into the character. In more of a dungeon crawler it's ok. (Or like, I dunno, I guess a more dating sim-y/porno game where it's like, design your perfect tsundere and they just have a script.) It also depends on the system it's made in, if I were given a selection of rpgmaker assets to make a character from, personally I would be pretty uninterested. If you mean just accessories/hair colors/costumes, as other people mentioned it's been done in other games and works fine.
2. Outfits and accessories should be rewards for accomplishments, found in obscure treasure spots, purchasable for a reasonable amount in-game/less reasonable if it's really special, etc.
3. I think this would be best on an individual basis, with a toggle to make everyone have the same shader if you want to have, idk an all pastel colors team.
Great writeup! Very fun to read (maybe partially because I share many similar opinions, like agreeing that Shenmue is pretty great and FF9 is, good but not the best, I might have to check out your podcast based on your jrpg opinions I've seen here).
I have to push back a little on your assessment on Murder by Numbers though (not that it wasn't disappointing, cause I thought it was too), because the writer/artist of Hatoful Boyfriend, Hato Moa, wasn't the writer (or if she contributed at all to the writing, it's uncredited), but the character designer (which you also didn't like but that's fine). I think the game got overly attached to her name because it was easy to remember as like, the wacky pigeon dating sim creator is working on this game, and it's rarely refuted.
This is awesome. A lot of the styles shown in the article are really showy and cool, which even if games can't use them directly I hope at least inspires some larger studios to stray from like, just bland cornrows/afro/maybe a fade or short dreads. A lot of games barely even have good options for wavy to curly hair let alone kinky. At least in games without character creators I think there's been some improvement (thinking about that lady from Deathloop and that other lady from Redfall) but I hope that spreads so people have more options to represent themselves.
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