My wife, the Semi-Gamer, Redux

My wife is still a pansy girly gamer (no offense to macho girly gamers out there). We recently started playing Phantasy Stay Online: Ep 1&2 Plus, again. The game is damn near a decade old and it's still fun to play it and get some split screen monster slaying/loot whoring in once and a while. However, once again, a performance gulf appears between my wife and I.

-Cortez, RAcast, Lvl 34, completed chapters 1-4 NM, completed chapter 1 on HM, 350k Meseta banked
-Denicia, FOmarl, Lvl 13, completed chapters 1&2 on NM, 3465 Meseta banked

We made the characters together, but one cannot complete quests in mutliplayer mode. So, we were forced to play separately in order to progress through the game. Needless to same, I got ahead of her. I beat the game, beat all the quests, and started again on Hard Mode (there are four difficulties, each unlocked by beating the one below it, Hard Mode is only the second). Fortunately for her, being a RAcast, I can't use spells, or increase my mind stat. So, whenever a high level uber-spell or mind boosting item comes my way, I tuck it into my stash, to give to my wife at a later date. As a result, she already knows every spell in the game, and has quite a few shift mod for her armor.

However, it's unlikely that we'll have a chance to play together anytime soon. In PSO, you only receive and XP reward if you deal damage to an enemy, even if it's only one hit. Because of the level difference, I'm liable to kill most enemies in one hit, preventing my better half from gaining any XP.

My wife, the Semi-Gamer

Looking at our PS2 game saves expresses a stark contrast in my wife and I, as far as gaming goes. Take for instance, Disgaea:

Save Slot 1: Chapter 5, 40+ hours, level 19
Save Slot 2: Chapter 7, 29 hours, level 44

Or Resident Evil 4:

Save Slot 1: Chapter 2-3, 15 hours
Save Slot 2: Chapter 4-1, 9 hours

To be honest, the rate at which she completes a game is mostly immaterial. Everyone plays at their own rate, and you can't quantify "fun levels" from person to person. However, the conflict isn't' so much from me poking fun at her once and a while; it comes from her ranting about how broken everything I do is in any game I play.

For instance, in Disgaea, I named a character after my wife, a warrior named Claire. Leveled her up into the 30s, then transmigrated her into a Ronin. Last night, while my wife watched, I leveled her up from 18 to 46 in the span of two battles. She immediately has a spaz attack and demands to know why it's necessary powerlevel someone like that. Honestly, seeing as the max level is 9999, I don't see how going up 38 levels in two battles is a big deal. Then again, I've barely scratched the surface of the game so far.

Another "conflict" that arises is our policy our strategy guides. I try not to use them. If I end up stuck in the same place for more than an hour or so (trust me, I'm stubborn enough to try the same failing tactic or method a dozen times in a row before adapting), I'll look it up. Or, I'll check to see how powerful a current item I possess is in comparison to end game ones, to see if investing money to upgrade it is worth it, stuff like that. Meanwhile, Leyna is playing the game with the strategy guide in her lap. If she misses a treasure chest, she'll re-load her game so she can get it on the second try. That being said, it's no surprise that when I backtracking down a path for the 3rd time, trying to find a passage or switch that I missed, Leyna starts griping at me, telling me to load up the GameFAQs page on the game, to read up on what I missed.

I guess opposites do attract.