#Pokemon TCG 2 gbc

[retphienix]

Emptying your entire hand down to 1 card before playing your Professor Oak

[daughter-of-sapph0]

I'm currently making pixel art in the style of the pokemon tgc gameboy game.

due to the limitations of the game boy, they can only use four colors for the images on the cards, because that's all the original game boy can display. but since the game plays on a gb and gbc, they can add color data that the gameboy color can interpret and change those four grayscale colors into 4 vibrant colors.

I definitely recommend checking out the art from the original game, and the Japan only sequel. they make incredible use of the limitations of the hardware at the time, and the artwork appears bright and vibrant on both a gbc and original gameboy. most of the artwork is based on the currently released physical pokemon cards at the time, and you can definitely see how accurate they are to the original art.

the tcg games use the card sets originally released at the time, base set to gym challenges (basically just gen 1)

I wanted to make my own versions based on real cards, so I used some cards from neo genesis series (which is basically gen 2 where they introduced dark and metal colors to represent the dark and steel types introduced in gsc)

the cards I used are holo azumarill (2/111), elekid (22/111), and furret (35/111) from neo genesis, umbreon (32/75) and wooper (71/75) from neo discovery, and celebi (3/64) from neo revolution. as you can see from the blank spaces, I'm planning to add a lot more. I'll probably look at the e-card series next.

[smash-64]

2023 Game of the Year Countdown #5 Pokemon Trading Card Game  (and also the Pokemon Trading Card Game Neo! romhack by Cataclyptic that added Gen 2 Pokes) Nintendo GameBoy Color, 1998

This entry will include two games, but one is simply a romhack by a fan. However, that romhack is probably the best romhack I’ve ever played. First, the original.

Pokemon Trading Card Game came with the addition of GameBoy games to the Switch online subscription, and for many, it was their first experience with the TCG. My best friend and I taught ourselves to play back in the day, but we were poor kids with little allowance to spend on cards and never had any good decks. I used to read about really expensive decks filled with holographics and rares that won tournaments and always wished I could make one of my own. The pinnacle was always the Haymaker deck: a deck built around a few Pokemon with high HP and cheap attacks that could KO opponents before they could do anything about it.

The thing is, the Haymaker deck is so hilariously powerful, you can essentially stomp the CPU without even putting together a complete version of the deck. The best versions rely on Energy Removals and Super Energy Removals to hamstring opponents, and Gusts of Wind to force your opponent into switching to suit favorable matchups. I never pulled a single Super Energy Removal at all, and was lacking full sets of numerous Pokemon that were staples in the Haymaker deck, yet I was still able to absolutely blast the CPU. It was easy, but it was also fun.

However, the true experience came from the romhack created by Cataclyptic. The romhack creates a full set of new cards, removing most of the old ones from Base Set, Jungle, and Fossil. Instead, we get all the Johto Pokemon, as well as a few returning cards that have been balanced. I found the balanced cards to be wonderfully tailored to be good, but never TOO good. It was surprising to see that almost every card felt useful. Many were based on other cards, and I fell into a Meganium and Bellossom deck. There were two Meganiums, with one able to heal status conditions and the other able to shuffle energy cards among your Pokemon. Meanwhile, Bellossom was clearly based on the Do the Wave Wigglytuff of Jungle lore. However, this Bellossom felt more balanced since it was a stage 2 evolution, and the attack required grass energies, not colorless. As a result, it took longer to both fully evolve, and power up your Pokemon, since you couldn’t utilize the Double Colorless Energy.

I was also a fan of Jumpluff, as the entire evolutionary line only required a single grass energy for every attack. As a result, you had a whole line of Pokemon that felt true to their original design of being lightweight, quick Pokemon. I loved the attention to detail on this sort of thing.

Additionally, the cards themselves were created in the same GBC sprites that the original game had. Some look better than others, but I think almost all look better than their original counterparts. Clearly crafted with love by Cataclyptic.

Finally, before I get inundated with messages and comments telling me about the official TCG sequel that was only released in Japan, I did also try the fan translation of that game. However, I didn’t enjoy it much at all because they severely restricted so many things. Part of what was fun about the game to begin with was being able to get booster packs at a rate significantly above what my poor childhood self could afford. However, the very premise of Invasion of Team GR! is that they’ve taken all the Pokemon cards, making them very scarce. As a result, you can’t get cards nearly as easily. And with the extra sets added to the game, you can’t get the ones you want very easily, either. 

Additionally, the entire strategy behind most of the Team Rocket cards is to disrupt play, and while that might be similar in one way to the Haymaker strategy I previously praised, the Pokemon themselves are all pretty weak. It feels like you’re just playing Trainer cards and nothing else. I’ve seen some strategies that make people discard most of their deck instead of KOing their Pokemon. It very much fits the MO of Team Rocket, but it just isn’t quite for me. However, if you like blue decks in Magic the Gathering, you might enjoy this one. 

If you like the TCG or the original game, play Cataclyptic’s romhack! I’d buy a physical cart of it, if I could.

[doubleddenden]

I have done the Worst Possible Pokemon Day prediction. I have done the NO Way in Hell Will it Ever be This Good prediction. Time for the "realistic" prediction.

Nostalgia bait video of game progression throughout the years or scene of everyone playing Pokémon

Pokemon Go is doing a thing I guess, probably BW2 Kyurem

Unite- they're adding Miraidon and have already told us, but they need to take up time.

Masters has a bunch of gems and events idk. Looks like someone is getting a Mega Tyranitar I guess

Cafe ReMix is gonna do a thing- did they already add Miraidon? I don't keep up with it tbh, looks boring

Pokemon Sleep has some kind of thing. Maybe more pokemon added?

Merch announced- its bland and over priced, but someone will buy it. The only thing I want are hats

Pokemon Concierge season 2 trailer?

Next Pokémon game- most likely ILCA Unova remakes (I'll argue this if I have to, but they're just short of a cowboy and large mole driving a car and honking a Driftveil inspired La Cucaracha carhorn through the streets of New York with the obvious hints they're dropping in games and in literal NYC right now lately).

Legends Unova or something in that vein announced for either December 2024 or January 2025. This will be the last Switch mainline game.

Music video, probably Hatsune Miku

Less likely to happen, but on the table

Gb, GBC, and GBA ports to eshop or NSO

New Pokémon movie announcement featuring the first mythical since Zarude- most likely the Horizons cast

Something about Horizons anime- Sprigatito evolves?

New anime mini series based on SV DLC? Maybe centered on Carmine, Kieran, the BBE4, and Ogerpon.

After that is where you start getting surprises, good or bad. Side games won't replace a mainline game release or dlc as proven by PMD DX, so they could do whatever from here.

Reasonable but random predictions, not all but maybe one or more could happen, most likely not

PMD Explorers Remake

PMD Mobile game with micro transactions and live service

Pokemon crosses over with something

tcg digital card game on Switch

Pokemon racer game

Will not Happen, imo:

SV dlc pack 2. They seem pretty done with it tbh, even with all the loose ends. Can't blame them for being tired of adding content to a broken game that's still not finished and is being held together with scotch tape and Elmer's glue

Johto re remakes YET: simply because I think those will be an early Switch 2 title to get as many people on board the next system akin to how LGPE drew in the Go, genwunner, and main crowd to the Switch, and they can't announce it because Nintendo hasn't officially revealed the Switch 2 yet. I'll say they'll announce that next year.

Kalos- yeah I see you there, you dumb bastard, still huffing that Kalos Copium 11 years later. Let it go, man. Let. It. Goooo. Southern Kalos is NOT happening dude. At least, not this gen. It didn't happen in Alola, not in Galar, and it's not happening in Paldea. They're not skipping gen 5 to get to you first.

Overall I expect a similar response to the 2021 Pokémon Day Presents. A mixture of under, over, and straight up whelmed. Thorough disappointment for everything but Legends Arceus, from what I remember. Maybe they'll make my day and surprise me with something amazing, but I feel that the ILCA Unova Remake will probably piss a lot of people off while the Legends game excites me and everyone else.

[flowergirlmiwa]

games I wish I had when I was a kid!

Yu-Gi-Oh The Eternal Duelist Soul

This was one of the best selling games on the GBA, but I got Dark Duel Stories on GBC instead. Eventually I got 7 Trials to Glory, a mixed bag of a game I nonetheless hold dear to my heart, but I wish I had EDS as a kid. EDS is the perfect game to be the first YGO game on GBA. The spelltraps are massive blowouts, caveman Yu-Gi-Oh is in full effect, and the cardpool is both small and nostalgic. EDS (or the original Japanese release) was the first video game that actually tried to follow the rules of the real world OCG/TCG card game and it did a pretty good job along with a clean presentation, great music and flavorful decks to grind against. Plus the packs you pull from are mostly based on real Japanese card sets! Basically I admire a lot about what this game did in 2002 and in a potential world where I got it alongside my GBA SP in 2003 I would have been set for years. Instead I got... Dark Duel Stories in late 2003 around the time I got my GBA SP, and that game is .. not as worth investing time into. Oh yeah and it has a cute calendar system with weekly matches at the duel shop and oooo it's just such a cute game!

Goldeneye 007

I didn't have a lot of N64 games as a kid, but out of all my regrets on the console, I easily missed out the most not owning Goldeneye. Now I can appreciate it as basically the Super Mario 64 of first person shooters and imagine that, even though I only owned one controller, those levels would have kept me coming back again and again obsessively for hours. I can just imagine how I would have organically find the island on Dam by myself and wondered what was out there. I never had that chance

Super Smash Bros Melee

Throughout the early 00s I had various nostalgic experiences playing the original Super Smash Bros, and eventually I craved very dearly to play it's sequel. Literally all I could tell you is that it had (Scott the Woz voice) "a freaky STORY MODE! now that's cool!" and you could play as Bowser. It looked so damn cool but I didn't have a GameCube. I would have dreams about playing this game I knew very little about. I actually can guarantee I read about the Sonic and tails in melee rumor before I had seen more than an hours worth of gameplay in my life (all through playing demos in 2002).

When did I actually get a GameCube? 2007. I actually remember visiting Nintendo World NY in 2006 right before release of the Wii and playing Melee on one of their demo kiosks (and wind waker for the first time ever, notably). I got my hands on a GameCube in summer 2007 thanks to a friend of my dad's and pretty much the first thing I did was go to the still surviving Hollywood Video in The City and rent melee. Now considering I was 12 the first time I got to extensively play melee and really enjoy it, you could say I was still a child and that's true. I wish I somehow had a GameCube around 2004 and got to play it then though. Look, things felt different in my life then, it wasn't the same kind of feeling to me. By the time I got to play it I didn't really have that childish exuberance and excitement. Plus I got a Wii that same year for Christmas so my overall excitement for the GameCube was muted lol.

The Simpsons: Hit and Run

I would have gobbled this up as a kid even if not the biggest fan of the simps, if I had gotten this at release for PS2 I could imagine I would have spent many hours playing it

Pokemon Stadium 2

As a kid I desperately wished I had this game and rented it a bunch of times. When I discovered you could emulate N64 I spent most of my time doing so playing this game. I eventually got my own real copy around 2019 but considering I would leave the first game on for days on end I would have loved to have had stadium 2 as a kid. Plus it actually has single player content and provides plenty to people without use of a transfer pak too! I was fascinated by the updates as a kid renting the game

[acermp100]

Replaying the pokemon TCG 2 for the GBC

And team GR are giving me big Cult Dimple vibes

[cheemken]

what are the things you love and hate about all of the pokemon games you played?

Well now I can say I have played gens six and seven, but I haven't finished them yet so I'm just gonna post down what I like abt em so far hahah

I'm also adding the spin offs bc they're also pkmn games

Anyways under the cut hahah

Red/Blue/Yellow - honestly... I just liked that Pikachu can follow us on Yellow, wish they kept that feature all throughout each games, it only came back on HGSS, SwSh, BDSP, and ScVi. Also the fact I can get all three starters hahah

Starting from gen one

Crystal - Kris supremacy, the highlight of it really, also really dope we can visit another region post game

TCG for the GBC - it's fun, made me understand the card game a bit better back then hahah

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald - HOENN SUPREMACY ough this is home in game form fr, this and BW/BW2, but more on this really hahaha it's cool the contests are cool actually, love the starters, they're the first starter trio where I liked all of them, love the characters, I love my son Wally so much, May/Brendan too, Wallace the true Hoenn Champion in my heart (Emerald bias), the best roster of mons, I could go on really

FireRed/LeafGreen - I mean.. idk. It's an improved version of gen one I'll tell you that but yeah

Platinum - Torterra, Garchomp, Riolu, and the contests (yes I liked the contests here too, the contests here low-key better than in gen 3 ngl)

HeartGold - love the pkmn following feature for real, it's so cute, it's dope, wish they added that in gen five hcnxnx

PMD Red/Blue Rescue Team - Red Rescue Team was my intro to pmd, fucked me up so much I had to use the HP cheat lmfaoooo but it's fun tho hahaha

PMD Explorers of Sky - changed me as a person, really dope, the characters are cool, I just hated Chatot at the start lmfao, but dude this game is so fuckin dope pls cndmdn the way Hero and Partner are so soft and I love how they're still together even post game they mean so much to me your honour🥹

White - my absolute beloved omfsssss everything's so cool okay everything abt it is so cool, love the characters man and the story too, dyou know how cool it was seeing all the Gym Leaders interact and fight Team Plasma, dude that blew my mind back then lmfaooo also c'mon the Tao Trio? You mean the greatest Legendary trio? Hahaha

Black 2 - same w White, it's so cool, everything's so fucking dope, plus PWT

Conquest - I like the art style lmfao

X - Diantha my beloved, also the pokemon petting thing I'm just sad it's a bit lag on my emulator but still I really love this feature hahaha

Ultra Sun - the starters, and the pokemon petting thing again hahah

Omega Ruby - look you already know how much I love Hoenn, plus this has mega evolution and it has the dexnav! Also the pokemon petting thing ofc lmfao also also love how they improved Magma and Aqua really idk I just cnmdnd god ORAS Team Magma and Aqua my beloveds jcdmdn

PMD Gates to Infinity - look I just know that Hydreigon isn't really the big bad guy okay and I'm so happy abt that bc it's usually the Dark/Ghost types that are villains in these games so it's a nice change that Hydreigon isn't a villain

Super Mystery Dungeon - man the scene from the start w Nuzleaf looking at the hero and the hero was giving him puppy eyes killed me okay it lives in my head rent free and I wanna draw smth abt it

Unite - ah yes, the moba game, anyways it's dope if you're winning lmfaooo also it's dope Gengar's there they should buff him actually, I think Hex and Sludge Bomb deserve buffs

TCG online/live - the online one was dope, I still miss my Zamazenta deck to this day

Masters EX - the lore chdmdnd they should add more Diantha lore please I am begging😭

Cafe Remix - it's cute, I love the art style of it hahah

-

Now for my gripes for all these lmfaooo

Red/Blue/Yellow - it's boring as hell. I don't like the fans of this one too, most just couldn't accept that people like the newer gens and they always shit on people if they don't like gen one

Crystal - other than not being able to get Mareep, nothing much, they do have a point w the level scaling tho

TCG for GBC - I mean tbf I understand why it's not mentioned much there's not much to it but it's still fun for killing time

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald - how back breaking it was finding Feebas I honestly gave up, also what the fuck was that Regis mission man💀

FireRed/LeafGreen - same w RBY

Platinum - it wasn't a fun experience for me, it's slow as shit, and I'm pretty fucking sure majority of the people who like this game only likes Cynthia. Fr, no hate on Cynthia, she's a dope character, but she's like the Charizard of the pkmn characs really, she gets everything and is everywhere, how abt giving a chance to other Champions

HeartGold - a bit slow, but not DPPt slow at least, also again w the level scaling

PMD Red/Blue Rescue Team - this would've been so so dope if it weren't for the fact that after the story, Hero and Partner became nothing but normal recruits. Like all that buildup of Hero wanting to stay for Partner, and suddenly they're just like normal recruits, it sucks

PMD Explorers of Sky - Aegis Cave

White - idk but for me it's hard to level up in this game, also the fact the E4 didn't do much on screen, like I wanna know what they did during Plasma's attack

Black 2 - it's,, well it's how the previous characters interacted really, I wish there was more of it, I wanted to see the Gym Leaders interact w each other during the games, pls I wanted to see Bianca and Iris meeting at Castelia bc I know they met up there again please I just know it

Conquest - I think it's a skill issue on my bit but the gameplay was just so confusing for this one, and no I don't mean the battle gameplay, that I got, more on the,, recruiting bit and using of items and everything else—

X - I can't say it's easy just yet bc I really haven't made much progress so hey, for now I'm gonna say at how fucking long it takes when you get an item like dude why does it take so fucking long💀 also the lack of Diantha scenes, she deserves more, honestly she deserves so much better

Ultra Sun - have not finished this so no solid judgement but for now Imma say it's how tedious it is levelling up your mons and idk if it's a skill issue on my bit but like,,, do they really give off such a small amount of exp?? Idk, granted, my pkmn was a bit over levelled hahah

Omega Ruby - Granite Cave man I can't get Aron early on now ncmxnx

PMD Gates to Infinity - again, haven't progressed much so I don't really have a solid judgement for this

Super Mystery Dungeon - same w GTI

Unite - the abysmal matchmaking, the fact that ftp players don't have a way to get gems even if it's through events or missions, the devs thinking gem locking pkmn was a grand fucking idea, the way they can't balance their mons some are just too squishy and some are still strong despite the nerfs, also have I mentioned the matchmaking? Dude fr standard is either full of bots or I get matched w players who don't even know the objectives even if I'm telling them where to gather chxmxn

TCG online/live - live was honestly so so shit and a lot of players agree like even the cards aren't balanced Jesus Christ also it's lag as shit you can't even do anything most of the time and suddenly you lose also fun fact this game almost broke my fucking phone I almost couldn't exit the game and I had to forcefully reset my phone to save it lmfao

Masters EX - I haven't played this much yet for a solid judgement too but damn is the download time for this is slow as shit and fucking crashed on my tab. Also the lack of Diantha lore, pls they should add more abt Diantha she deserves it

Cafe Remix - idk ig it's the fact I'm broke and can't afford stuff in this game bc almost everything needs real money to get, I really thought this was an offline game at first hahah

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Don't forget the spinoffs!

While you can make the argument that Pokemon Conquest is its own universe or an in-universe legend/story/film/???, the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games from the outset proved the multiverse theory since humans are considered mythical legends and too fake to be considered real and whatever mysterious force (Arceus) brought the human there not only helped them return to their reality but copy-pasted their mind/soul/body so you can also STAY since your character loves your new friends. Each area these Pokemon live in is too big and strange not to be a giant continent or region on the planet yet humans and human civilizations aren't a thing there. Plus at least one game also did time travel based parallel/alternate realities too.

And then there's Pokemon Rangers where one of the games messes around with time travel. The Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver remake also had time travel (ie: fighting Giovanni to prevent him from rejoining Team Rocket in Gold/Silver/Crystal and also apparently prevent him from getting Rainbow Rocket started for Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire). And then there's the big mess that is Pokemon Legends Arceus with two people shotpucked into the past with at least one intended to ensure the frequent timebreaks don't destroy the planet.

For added bonus we also have the two Pokemon TCG video games where Pokemon cards are this huge thing yet as far as we can tell Pokemon don't exist there. Just the cards (which include the Professor Oak, Bill, and Impostor Oak cards). And Team Rocket is a bunch of card-stealing jackasses ruled by a man named Biruritchi. These guys have a giant blimp they flew off from their private island, from which Biruritchi rules as an actual king... or at least plays the part.

So the GBC TCG games are functionally the YuGiOh dimension or maybe Digimon Tamers of Pokemon. No, Tamers still has Digimon... Which Digimon world had Digimon as a fully fictional thing and the real Digimon were from another version of Earth? I know Ryo was from another Earth - Adventure 01/02/Tri before getting lost in the Digimon realities and washing up in the Digital World connected to Tamers.

Anyway recap:

Primary Dimension Trainer: Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow to Scarlet/Violet.

Variant Dimensions Trainer: Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire, Sun/Moon, each Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon's Rainbow Rocket's timeline.

Prevented Timeline Divergence: Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Ranger Guardian Signs, Diamond/Pearl/Platinum (+Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl), Legends Arceus.

Pokemon Dimensions: Mystery Dungeon series.

Known Pokemon-less Dimensions: TCG and TCG 2: Team GR

Probably part of Primary: Snap, New Snap, Hey You Pikachu, Pokemon Channel, Pokemon Park 1+2, Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness and Colosseum

????: Pokemon Trozei, Picross (GB or 3DS), Rumble series, Stadium games, Detective Pikachu 1 and 2. Also Smash series but those are a kid playing with toys.

So known dimensions by my count: 5 + all the Rainbow Rocket dimensions.

(Also why the hell the motorcycle pokemon acts like that to run faster I have no idea, but now bikes are retroactively inspired by these crazy lizards.)

Quick edit: I forgot to mention the Gastly/Haunter/Gengar line! Those guys are LITERALLY CROSSING INTO REALITY FROM ANOTHER. And the way the Pokemon Trading system functions in-universe means that you could be trading with your alternate self! Although there's also the Pokemon Wondertrade system which is just literally global trading with people from around the Pokemon world.

pokemon theory i just thought of: new pokemon appear in the pokemon universe when they're designed in this one. they're created ex nilho but they have retroactive realness; they weren't here yesterday, but today they've always existed.

pokemon researchers have had to suss this out on their own over decades, and it's a really unpopular theory, made worse by the fact that no one can come up with a better one. from their perspective pokemon generate spontaneously but in both chronological directions, and the similarities of many pokemon seem to be detived from a conscious and creative understanding of the world--their world, though? what other world could there be?. there are ice cream pokemon and pokeball pokemon and sword pokemon and trash bag pokemon.

there are so many pokemon with both wings and a beak. is this like swords? is there an ur-flying type that this class evokes? there are so many canine pokemon. but what is a canine? is there such a thing? there's only one set of sword pokemon, right. one tea-set line. is *feline* a coherent category? would the ur-feline have two legs or four? why do so many pokemon have humanlike bodyplans-- but then again, why so few?

pichu has always been the prior form of pikachu. why didn't it get counted in order? why do we call it that instead of saying pikachu is the middle evolution of the pichu line? why can so many trainers remember finding this out well into their journeys? why didn't ash start with one?

this is why pokemon researchers do a lot of labwork, drink heavily, and use ten year olds for field research. you can't have an existential crisis if you don't even know what time is yet.

[launch-cronch]

me, watching B play pokemon tcg 2 for gbc: ya know what i think your deck needs?

B: [groans] i know i know, nightly garbage run

me: and vending machine tauros

[waffle-wings]

Please take a moment to look at the cutest Squirtle card I’ve ever seen

[retphienix]

FINALLY.

So this achievement, by design or by chance, is actually really interesting to me.

So Axel/Eiji's deck is basically just a wiggly wave deck with "standard" heavy hitters like Hitmonchan / Scyther / Magmar instead of stall mons like I usually go for (like Licky / Snorlax / Tauros / Chansey).

And on its face the achievement is pretty good. He wants to build a bench. Defeat him by only attacking his bench.

There are a good amount of options for this actually; But uh.

I lacked some key parts and didn't feel like farming cards right now lol

So I went with Big Thunder.

And Big Thunder is almost directly countered by this deck (in terms of the achievement) lol

THAT is why I think it's "unintentionally" interesting.

It's also just directly interesting! But in terms of HOW it counters Big Thunder to become much more challenging is interesting and probably unintentional by the achievement creator since they weren't also the dev lol

ALL of Axel's pokemon have 70 or less HP, EXCEPT for Wiggly.

So if you're going for Big Thunder like I was you're going to have to either roll the dice and risk it every turn, or gust of wind his Wiggly IN- which is what HE wants- and is DANGEROUS lol

But at least then your big thunder doesn't risk killing the active pokemon- unless he then leaves it in with 10 HP and you're back to rolling the dice again 🙄

But yeah! I thought it was neat because it made me use Pokeflutes and I even ended up tossing in some clefairy dolls as a potential switch target if I had excess energy on hand and needed to stall for some healing on Zapdos.

The dolls didn't really come into play on my winning run- mostly just some nicely timed gust draws and stalling until his bench was a good target, but it was fun to try to make this incorrect deck choice complete the achievement lol

Also, just like every time I play either of these games, infinite shout outs to @pkmntcg4gbc for their in-depth info on these games and the various character decks.

Because I did, indeed, reach a point where he had 3 wiggly's discarded and I had to check to make sure he had 4 in deck, only to then realize "OH NO!" he could still have one as a prize but still, the info was core to some of my tough calls like 'do I keep stalling or roll the dice' lol

[nyanbinary-perineum]

YES!

It's japan only but, as you'd expect, has a fantranslation readily available :3

Overall I'd argue it's a better game, but it has "faults" the previous one didn't- but those faults are more of a thing against doing challenge or themed runs and have no real negative impact on a natural playthrough :3

It's bigger, more duels, I forget without checking but it adds like the next 2 sets or something like that so it's more cards but not "a ton" of cards (funnily enough, due to development time, this still put it behind the card sets available when it came out in japan so this and the previous game were just always "outdated" in a sense when compared with the physical game!).

The "faults" are that there are a LOT more gimmick duels that demand you use specific cards. This is really fun in a normal playthrough but it means if you go "I'm gonna try beating the whole game with only grass types!" No you won't. You can't. Multiple duels will go "Electric energy only!" "Use 8 water pokemon in your deck" etc

I adore this game :3 The pokemon TCG GBC game is one of my favorite card game experiences of all time, and this is just "MORE" and "BIGGER" of that and it took me so many years to finally get the chance to play it :3

(FLIRTING) I got all the retroachievements in Pokemon Snap and both pokemon TCG GBC games :3

MASTERED (no savestates/rewind/etc) of course :3

Pretty hot, right?

[sodapaladin]

Top 10 Games of 2021

As usual, here are my favorite games that I played over the year, not necessarily ones that came out in 2021.

I’ve decided not to include Deltarune chapter 2, because it’s technically part of the same game I already awarded last time, but know that it’s incredible. Now, the annual list!

10. Mario Party Superstars

After half a dozen disappointing Mario Parties, we finally got what fans have been begging for. While there are still some glaring issues, such as the completely busted coin economy and some puzzling minigame choices, I’ve been having a blast with my friends.

9. New Pokemon Snap

At last, a fantastic sequel to the original fun novelty. It’s so charming to see Pokemon living their normal lives in the world. From many of my favorites to some surprising, often forgotten pokes, I enjoyed discovering the many secrets in this relaxing game.

8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

While BDSP disappointed many with its faithfulness taken to a fault, the Mystery Dungeon remake had the perfect mix of new and old. While it stuck to the original three generations of Pokemon like the original game did, it also added all evolutions of those Pokemon that appeared later, such as Mamoswine and Sylveon. As a result, the roster felt totally natural. The QoL additions are much appreciated, and there’s so much content to explore. I loved the music, too; the remixed medley of songs from Gates to Infinity is absolutely lovely, even though I hadn’t played that one. I could easily see myself pouring dozens more hours into this.

7. GameCenter CX 2

AKA Retro Game Challenge 2. Such a shame the original was the only to get officially localized. The experience of playing games with your friend, looking up tips in magazines, and waiting for new game releases as a kid is done so well in this charming nostalgia trip. They could have easily made all of these simple minigames, but they’re all legitimately fun games in their own right. I haven’t even touched the RPG yet, but it’s apparently a full thing with legitimately interesting mechanics.

6. Yooka-Laylee

You heard me right! As a huge fan of Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie, I was looking forward to this, but then put it off for a long time in fear of disappointment. But despite hearing all the complaints, I gave it a fair shot at last, and you know what? I loved it. It’s exactly what I wanted it to be! I honestly don’t understand the hate it gets. If anything, I wish it had more levels. The space one was so cool, and I even loved the casino level. It’s a proper Banjo game in my books, and I’m bummed that the sequel wasn’t also a 3D platformer.

5. Pokemon Card GB2

Another game that tragically didn’t get an English release. The Pokemon TCG was already done well on GBC, and the sequel continues it by including the entire original game’s island, plus a whole new one. The addition of even a single new expansion adds a lot of variety to the game. And that soundtrack! Wow! The normal Team GR battle theme is one of the best Pokemon songs, forever trapped on a Japan-exclusive spinoff game. More people need to hear it.

4. A Short Hike

The definition of “charming.” True to its title, you can see just about everything in the game in an hour or two, but what a lovely hour or two you’ll have. What else to say other than it makes me feel warm inside?

3. Lisa: The Painful

The complete opposite of my last pick. Equal parts depressing and hilarious, this bizarre game gave me an unforgettable ride. On top of the dark humor, the game’s also a lot of fun, with many unique party members. I can’t get the Shenmue grunt sound effect song out of my head.

2. Final Fantasy XIV

Hoo boy. It was really difficult to decide between this and my #1 pick. I had never played an MMO before, and never thought it would appeal to me. But when a friend started the free trial over the summer, I figured eh, I’ll give it a shot. And boom, now it’s half a year later and I’m going to themed cafes with guildmates. My idea of MMOs had always been grinding to fight difficult bosses with minimal story. I didn’t expect to fall in love with a fascinating world. I’ve joined a wonderful free company (read: guild) and made many great friends through it. I’m having the time of my life, and I can’t wait to start Shadowbringers soon.

1. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

This is the kind of game you wish you could experience for the first time again. Not since 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors have I had my mind blown to such a degree. There are many mystery games that make less sense the more you think about them, but 13 Sentinels is a game that rewards you for connecting the dots. I love how many times I looked into the timeline and realized how everything fit together. Rather than just outright lying to the player, which makes mysteries feel cheap, the game gives you multiple perspectives. What seems like the obvious truth to one character then plays out entirely differently when you see it from another angle. All of this on top of a kaiju-fighting mecha RTS game that’s surprisingly fun once you get the hang of it, which has tons of postgame levels. If you’re not into visual novels, you may become bored from the tons and tons of story. It’s definitely a VN at heart. But if you’re into mysteries involving sci-fi tropes like giant robots and time travel, this love letter to them is an incredible experience.

[smorgastorm-blog]

Today on Pokemon TCG, we continue on our way to earning the Grass Club medal!

[doubleddenden]

New Pokémon Presents announced for the 8th, which a few of us knew already because of some internal data in a recent thing.

I'll make a prediction list since it lasts 35 minutes, but out of respect to friends that won't want to see it, I won't say what was already revealed exactly and will mix it in my own predictions.

Dlc:

The reveal of one or 2 new Pokémon, convergent forms, variants, regional evolutions, or Paradoxes.

Going by the purple M that flickered, probably a mewtwo raid because of Kanto pandering

Possible release date for Teal Mask, or delay (not likely). Going to say September or late October

Other

Nostalgia bait

Some stuff for Pokemon Masters since the game came out on Aug 28th

Pokemon Unite

Go

Tcg

Basically a little bit of everything for what's shown at Worlds right now, so like Competetive for SV, TCG, Go, and TCG

Sleep

Some info on Detective Pikachu 2- the game, not the movie. The game releases on October 6th and they've barely promoted it

And a music video

Less likely stuff but still on the table

As usual, still waiting for the GB, GBC, and GBA games to come to NSO

PMD. Anything tbh, for like a March release. If anything I'd say an Explorers remake.

A remake or continuation of another GBA and DS era side game, like Rangers, for March.

Extremely unlikely

Teaser for the next official project after dlc- and I mean a very very bare bones teaser

TPC acknowledge the Orre games exist, let alone add them to NSO.

New side project

[flowergirlmiwa]