#but I’ve heard that it’s one of if not the best Mario RPG game

[roscolate]

*inhales slowly and deeply*

SOOO MARIO FAM HOW WE FEELIN’

[i-sailorstar-i]

OMG OMG OMG PEACH FANS WE ARE GETTING SO SPOILED TODAY!!! 💖💖💖

⭐️ Super Mario RPG is game I’ve only played once in my life, and that was on the Wii virtual console. But it’s a fantastic game, and now it looks even better! Princess Peach looks adorable in the chibi artstyle, and is just as beautiful! I kinda wish they kept her classic dress, but I like it nonetheless :)

🎀 I 100% did not think this would ever happen! A new solo Princess Peach game, and way overdue if I may add. I played the hell out of Super Princess Peach on the DS when it first came out and I loved every bit of it, and now my wish has finally come true! And it looks like it has a magical girl thing going on and, as a massive Sailor Moon fan, I’m on cloud nine! Look at her! Peach looks so serene and graceful when transforming! But into what?! And where’s her crown?? Nintendo is dirty for teasing us with so little of it and it’s left me begging for more! How do they expect me to wait until 2024??? ;-;

🌼 I, like many others, have heard the rumors of a new 2D Mario game being announced on this direct, and it was true! I’m a little…iffy about it, tbh, but any game with playable Peach is an instant buy for me! It looks like it may be a tad overstimulating, with the way the world twists and turns, and with the bright colors, but I think I’ll be okay. The artstyle looks great, reminds me of the recent Sonic games with the way Mario moves and expresses. And Daisy’s playable? That’s awesome! She was overdue to be in one of these! The elephant power up is cute, but I’m a bit worried about Peach and Daisy wearing it… looking at you, DeviantArt… :/

There hasn’t been a Direct that’s had me this hyped in a long time, and I think this one’s the best yet! I need all the Peach content there is, and I’m looking forward to each game’s release! 💖👑⭐️

[nukenai]

Well it’s 1am but I absolutely have to finally write one of these posts, don’t read if you don’t wanna be teleported to a sad 1am post of mine from 5 years ago or be consumed by gigacringe (this post is not sad but cw for some as-expected negative mental health stuff/actions I’ll be mentioning, from my past.)

I really don’t think I can even begin to articulate how important Super Mario RPG is to me. When I was a kid - like I’m talking 2006-ish - my Thing(tm) was Earthbound. We didn’t say “fandom” back then. Besides Pokemon and Zelda, it became my THING and I fell so in love with it. A weird part of internet Earthbound culture back then was that you were mad at Super Mario RPG for making Earthbound sell poorly. I know, it’s insane, I was 15 cut me a fucking break.

So yeah that was all intrinsically linked with Smash, obviously. I was online during the pre-release of Brawl days, browsing places like /v/, and there was all this talk of this guy Geno. I didn’t know who Geno was! One time I did a Deviantart Journal “quiz” thing, and one question was, “Who is a video game character you hate?” My response was “I dunno, that Geno guy”. A friend of mine at the time was like “??? Like SMRPG Geno? How could you hate him?” and me being a teenager, I was like well, I’m annoyed that everyone talks about him.

Stuff got weird pretty quickly. An artist I had a goofy little crush on drew Geno. And I went, huh. Okay.

Then Brawl came out. I won’t even get into all of that because this is about SMRPG, but people ripped data off the disks and found unused stuff. Like unused music. I was mad about the unused Earthbound music, and the Ballad of the Wind Fish. Boo!

But then someone made a fun little album, called “Brawl - The Lost Tracks”. They got together “as official as possible” versions of the songs that had gone unused and only existed as text files on the disk. This included Beware the Forest’s Mushrooms (I’ve made angry posts before about how wrong the Cutting Room Floor page is about this track NOT being BTFM - ask me about it sometime and I’ll start screaming)

So one day I downloaded this little album. And I remember exactly where I was sitting, I listened to a couple of the EB songs like yeah, alright. Then there was a nice remix of the ballad of the wind fish. Then I saw beware the forest’s mushrooms and I thought, well. Why not. It’s a song. I like music.

It was the official arrange from the arrangement album. Until Memoria it was 100% the most beautiful rendition of the song to ever exist. And I lost my goddamn mind. I had never heard a song so gorgeous and I was instantly so upset with myself for being such a stubborn dork about SMRPG for so long (imagine that, me, stubborn!!)

So it all kinda hit me like a truck. I remember the day I first saved a piece of Geno fanart, like a day after I heard the song, and I was GOT. I thought oh, maybe he’s kinda cute, and it all just spiraled into hell. When I was a kid I was all into people drawing him as a Cool Anime Bishounen, but now I’m extremely cool and am like “Doll only, please!” unless it’s the goofy cute human design I have for him. But really I prefer doll. ANYWAYS.

During my high school years my life was... uh, rough. I was dealing with domestic violence in my home and we were more than once kicked out of our house and had to scramble to find a place to stay temporarily. While I was still just going to classes. I wound up failing my 11th grade English class because I often didn’t have access to a computer with internet or a printer and couldn’t do my assignments. My teacher didn’t ask why I was suddenly not finishing assignments, she just failed me. I went to summer school and it wound up being one of the best experiences of my life though. So, you know.

Throughout all this bullshit I like, had Geno. I had a reason to look up at the starry sky and make wishes and track meteor showers. It was something to like, keep my going again. Unsurprisingly I was DEEPLY struggling with my mental health. I was self-harming, and was just in general doing Very Fucking Not Great and felt like I had nowhere to turn. To this day my family like, doesn’t let me talk about this situation, and I received no help or support from any of them during this. Things are better now, but holy fuck, man. It was just my mom and I dealing with domestic violence and homelessness and no one was helping us.

But I had him. I had the “will he be in Smash someday?” shit. I had the Smash speculation community. I had SMRPG fans who were all like-minded cool people who loved how much I loved Geno, because they loved him too! He was like a fucking life raft for me in one of the worst periods of my whole existence and always felt like an anchor when things were spiraling out of control.

And it feels so corny to talk about it, because oh Nuke, you’re always dramatic about characters. But damn, did it fucking hurt when “friends” were just straight up fucking mean to me about Smash stuff for years on end. Damn did it hurt when I tried to express how important this shit was to me, and it was written off as me being ridiculous about a Video Game, you know? Would therapy have been good? Maybe. I tried it as an adult after being pressured into it by my ex and it was an actual nightmare because the only therapist in my area with hours compatible with my job who took my insurance was like 24 years old and told me straight to my face she didn’t want to talk about things I liked because she didn’t understand them. So maybe not! But I had this something, something so important to me, and it felt like everyone around me was so fucking Tired of me caring so much about something. It felt like everyone was tired of ME. And I was tiring of myself too, and it fucking sucked! It really did.

A couple years ago I finally let go of all the rage and sorrow in my heart and I’ve been doing so, so well. I found myself so suddenly surrounded by people who fucking care about me, and who are like “Oh, I don’t know that character, tell me about them! You love them so much!”, and people who invite me over to their house to just sit and watch Transformers or build model kits. People tell me to my face “I don’t think you’re annoying” when I compare myself to Rodimus, and I get actively invited to things. Wow! It’s been so fucking NICE. It sucks to have such nightmares in my past to compare this all to, but man, the difference is insane.

So it’s like. I wanted this to happen years ago. I wanted them to announce a SMRPG remake, or something, a few years ago when I was at my worst, when people were treating me like shit, when friends of my SO were being huge assholes to me only for my SO to say “hmm I think you’re making that up because you’re dramatic”.

But it didn’t. And I got through everything with my own strength. And now I’m at my absolute best, and I get this now. I get it once I’ve moved past all those miserable negative people who treated me like garbage. I don’t have to rub it in their faces and be like “Look, I got this far, I’ve made it and I won over all the SHIT”. Because none of them are here anymore and they don’t matter to me.

I got so many messages across all my social medias, even from people who I haven’t actually spoken to in some time (but still exist in internet circles with, you know how online friendships are), so many people saying oh my god, Nuke, I’m so happy for you, holy shit congratulations, this is amazing I can’t believe it.

I love you all so fucking much, I love Super Mario RPG so fucking much, all of you and this game are so important to me I don’t even know if 4k more words of rambling nonsense can express it. I am at such a good place in my life now, I want to spread that positivity and do my best to be good to people and to the world that has been so good to me these past few years. Despite how this year started, it hasn’t felt like a negative shroud over me. Just another challenge to overcome, and I’ve overcome literally everything put in front of me so far. Nothing is phasing me anymore and I’m doing so GREAT.

I’m so happy the remake is happening at a time when I’m at my best. I didn’t need anyone to save me before, and now this will just lift me higher. And I can truly enjoy it, as a joyful gift, as opposed to hoping it will be a life raft getting me out of a flood. I can truly enjoy it for what it is and what it’s meant to be.

A beautiful, delightful, very funny little video game, about Mario and all his weird little friends.

I don’t think I’ll even mind having to say goodbye to Geno at the end, again. Because I know now, there’s nothing stopping him from coming back.

And hey, SMRPG’s not a very long game. I can always replay it. And Geno will always be there.

Always.

[athetos]

thoughts on the progression of the Paper Mario series? my friend said Origami King was the first in a while to return to the "classic" paper mario vibe, but I have zero idea what that means

I’ve only played the first 4 games, I’ve heard origami king was a lot better but still missing the charms of the original, it’s a step in the right direction but lacking that classic feel.

Paper Mario n64 - second best game in the series, and easily a 9/10 game at least. Even today the game is still hilarious, the combat is fun, and the environments are wonderful. The boss fights in particular are a blast. Toad town is one of my favorite hubs in any game ever, with so many npcs and attractions that open up as you progress. Keeping leveling up simple, by only offering to upgrade one of 3 stats, leads to way more strategies than you’d think. A lot of brand new species were made for this game, and the enemies have so much variety and flavor. And the soundtrack is wonderful, with many different variations of each tune (toad town has so many changes in instrumentation depending where you are in it). The premise is pretty standard but it makes for one of the best showdowns with bowser. The peach interludes were also a nice change of pace and gave her such personality… and of course the partners were true stars, it was always exciting to find the right character for the right job.

The thousand year door - the best in the series, a true 10/10 game. Everything I said about paper Mario 1 is still true - rogueport is such a darker and “edgier” hub that leads to no small amount of comedy, the partners are equally fun, a lot of the dialogue still makes me laugh out loud, and the npcs are goofy and cool. Perhaps the best part about this game is that it really leans into the paper motif! You can turn sideways to slip through cracks, turn into a paper airplane, roll up into a tube, etc. it’s just… it’s so GOOD. And the plot takes things up a notch, being much more fascinating with more peach interludes that can even feel tense. The Glitzville tournaments, the train murder mystery, the shadow sisters… so many amazing moments. And that’s not even including the sinister final boss fight that did irreparable damage to my sexuality as a 10 year old.

Super paper Mario - the first game to move away from the core formula, changing partners to pixls that while full of personality were less interesting, and to move from turn based battles to platforming. That said, while being a significant departure it’s a blast due to the insanely good story. This game could have been a phenomenal visual novel. For real! The plot had a big impact on me and my storytelling, and many of my friends also agree. I cried. It went to a lot of unexpected places too, such as a G-rated version of Hell of all things, fighting a weeaboo fedora-wearing chameleon guy, and even exploring outer space. It’s a game that’s hard to revisit solely because I find the actual gameplay a bit underwhelming, I love watching videos to see the dialogue and cutscenes.

Sticker star - most disappointing game I’ve ever played, most likely. Chuggaconroy on YouTube has a multi part series talking about why this game sucks, that’s really informative and puts a lot of frustrations into words. But to sum it up, the battle system is changed so drastically that it actively discourages you from battling; there’s so much backtracking because the game’s clues are obtuse and the puzzles make little to no sense; the levels are uninspired; many things are never communicated to the player; the npcs are generic species with zero charm; and kersti is perhaps the most annoying support character in anything ever. It’s not just that they removed the rpg elements, or the partners, or the more “open” world. They literally made the game utterly insufferable.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Podoboo

Debut: Super Mario Bros.

Before I start this post, I’d like to clear something up. Podoboo? Yes, Podoboo! I’m well aware these enemies are often called Lava Bubbles and that’s the name Nintendo has been trying to make standardised these days, but you know what? You can’t make me! Podoboo is a lot cuter, plus its the name I grew up with and changes in society scare me and cause me to lash out! Maybe Lava Bubble is closer to the Japanese name of just “Bubble”, but since when has that been a factor in any of the localised names? Do you really want to refer as Lakitu as “Jugemu”, huh? I’ll have you know one of my civil rights as a citizen of Wet Dry World is to refer to Mario enemies with whichever official name I please. Like it or leave it!

So this is a post about Podoboo. Do you like Podoboo? I certainly Podo-do! They are perhaps the most generic design you could give to a Mario enemy, a visibly Dangerous Thing with two eyes, but they have always charmed me! It’s the little things, like their distinct shape and the fact their pupils are somewhat wider than most obstacles like this. They bring me comfort in dire times. No matter what happens, I know Podoboo will be there, jumping at a set height in a particular spot of lava! Without them I would be nothing! 

So simple is their design, isn’t it weird to think they started off as even simpler? The Podoboos in the first SMB game are completely blind, and with no eyes they may as well not be creatures at all! Of course, I’m very glad they are creatures, and their iconic behaviour was there from the start! They love to jump, of course! There is nothing they would rather be doing!

Awaken! As of Super Mario World, they have been gifted sight and are no longer blind to the sins of this world! Hurray! What do you think they see as they jump up and down? I’m surprised it doesn’t make them dizzy!

You’ll be glad to hear Podoboos have had an expansive career ever since, now with their new trademark eyes! After all, they are THE lava enemy! Anywhere you’ve got that tasty hot fire juice, these guys are soon to follow! Here they are in Super Mario RPG, called Sparkies here because they couldn’t make up their minds on a localized name and probably because they confused them with Li’l Sparkies. In Yoshi’s Story they even called them Spark Spooks! Geez, I’ll even take the name Lava Bubble over this! But doesn’t this render look nice and juicy?

Though any great career has its flops, and I have to say... I am usually the first to campaign for the unique designs from the first three Paper Marios, but I do not really like this Lava Bubble! This takes away from their distinct Mario-y charm and makes them look like a Fire Enemy you could find in any other game! Though in the RPGs they are able to float around without needing any lava, the ones in Super Paper Mario act just like the platformer ones, jumping around despite not looking like they should be doing that! Ok!

The Podoboo from New Super Mario Bros. DS just wasn’t trying very hard at all. Come on! They could’ve it a bit more justice than this! 

Ah, there we go! The Podoboos in New Super Mario Bros. Wii decided to finally stop messing about and go back to what everyone loved from them in Super Mario World. I encourage experimenting with your identity, of course, but it’s good to be back, and now they are more mortal than ever! A single shot from an Ice Flower is enough to instantly vaporize a Podoboo in a puff of smoke, which is a bit scary! Are they really just pure fireballs that can be put out just like that? What a frightening life to live!

And in Super Mario Galaxy 2, they... hey, wait!! You took away their eyes again! Now you are just being inconsiderate. This outraged me as a kid! One of my most vivid memories of playing this game with my brother involved chanting “Podoboo rights! They deserve eyes!” because this upset me so much. Maybe my past as an activist is why I am so passionate about Mario enemies these days... I think I was 100 percent correct in hindsight, and now you know some of my backstory, too!

What relief it gave me to find out they were back to their usual selves in 3D Land! And they have been ever since, of course getting redesigned for the modern Paper Mario games and everything. 

What’s this? Blue Podoboos! Podo-blues, even...! They show up in 3D World, in its incredibly cool-looking blue lava levels! It’s a well known fact that blue fire is objectively cooler than red fire, and it seems even the Podoboos wanted in on the action! Blue Lava is an actual phenomenon I’ve just learnt, though it’s a sulfuric fire rather than lava. Could it be that Podoboos, being made entirely of lava, adapt to their environment? I’m not sure...

As an aside, the blue Lava Bubbles aren’t to be confused with Lava Bubble (Blue), which are from Mario Galaxy and show up during King Kaliente’s fight! They hop around on the ground and have square-ish eyes, which is enough to make them different I guess!

The Podoboo’s next big appearance, in Super Mario Odyssey, was in Soup! Yes you heard me- Soup! Some delightfully pepto-bismol pink coloured soup, no less. This is why I wasn’t too sure about Podoboo’s being able to adapt to their environment earlier- the Luncheon Kingdom is a big soup volcano after all, but the fact these Lava Bubbles are able to live in it is very interesting!

There is simply no way I would talk about Odyssey here without talking about possibly its greatest achievement, the best game design decision ever made! After decades of begging from fans, they finally did the impossible- they made Podoboo playable! Now it is Podo-you! It is quite unlike the other captures in the game, since it keeps the Podoboo’s simple-looking eyes and simply adds onto it a nose and a mustache! You may very well be the world’s first Podoboo with a sense of smell! I wonder if that is a benefit or not. The constant smell of soup might be a bit overpowering. 

Not only is this delightful, but it gives us more insight into the life of the humble Podoboo. First of all is the fact that they can swim around in lava, not just jump in one spot! Do you think they do this when we aren’t looking? I really hope so! Imagine a school of Podoboos swimming through molten lava in a castle’s moat. How delightful! 

The Luncheon Kingdom is also home to a number of Lava cannons, marked with a Podoboo’s lovely face. These are cannons for only for Podoboos to launch themselves across the kingdom, from one body of lava to another! My question is whether this was technology made by Podoboos themselves or whether it was made by some generous Podoboo lovers as some lava equivalent to the Fish Tube. I think I would take either explanation! 

And last I have a Podoboo appearance that even I, the world’s biggest Podoboo fan, didn’t know about! Paper Mario Color Splash has a Big Lava Bubble boss which speaks with you through a Shy Guy translator! It is quite upset that you barged into its volcano and decided to change the temperature. Mario, of course, kills it anyway, and also the Shy Guy translator without a second thought.

Still, just take a look at this sprite sheet! How cute! A little disappointing that they thinned out the eyes, but wow! They more than make up for it with this range of expressions! An angry Podoboo! A sad Podoboo! And my personal favorite is of course the shocked Podoboo with its assymetrical dot eyes, which might be one of the best things I’ve ever seen. 

To be honest, I could talk about Podoboo forever! If you didn’t stop me, I would go on all day about their every appearance, but I kind of had to limit myself to some of the most relevant ones. I just think they’re neat! And cute! And silly! Besides, I’m Mod F Boy, so I’m basically obliged to talk about fireballs with eyes! But for now I must bid you Pod-adieu! 

...Not! What, did you really believe me? Well you clicked the Keep Reading button, so you only have yourself to blame for this. Here I am talking about more Lava Bubbles from all over, because Lava Bubble’s career has taken it BEYOND the Mario series! Wow!

Podoboo’s had quite a few appearance in the Zelda series, appearing in Link’s Awakening, both the Oracle games, and even Cadence of Hyrule! Their Zelda wiki page is still called Podoboo instead of Lava Bubble, which means those Zelda fans have it better than we do. But wow, this is a pretty angry looking Podoboo! I wouldn’t mess with them! 

Both the Oracle games even had a Podoboo Tower! Amazing! They look quite a lot like a Fire Snake, but they are simply a tower of Podoboos! Why don’t they do this more often?

Hm... The Cadence of Hyrule one doesn’t have any eyes. Come on guys! It’s 2019! Podoboos having eyes should be standard! Though they still made the conscious decision to call them “Podoboos” in 2019, so I can’t be too mad. 

And they have even spread to Minecraft! In the Mario Mash-up Pack, they replace the Magma Cube enemies, and really there was no better choice for this. And now we have a Podoboo Cube! What more could possibly be left for Podoboo?

The answer is obvious- Podoboo in real life! Thanks to a certain Lego Mario set, Podoboo is now real and can be in your home for the small price of 19,99 US dollars. Please give a Podoboo a home today! Just make sure you don’t own anything flammable. 

[supertrainstationh]

More PKMN Violet thoughts...

I mentioned in a previous blog post how I preordered Pokemon Violet to ensure I had it delivered to my house in time to stream on my my Twitch channel on release day instead of gambling on questing from store to store to find a copy like I did for Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and how it was unusual for me to preorder video games under any circumstance.

But maybe it's more interesting that I had enough faith that the new Pokemon Violet and Pokemon Scarlet games would meet my expectations to actually pay money in advance to secure a copy in the first place.

I've been playing Pokemon since the original games first came to North America, and Pokemon Sword and Shield were the first games in the series I found myself uninterested in after seeing the preview materials and hands-on impressions. What I saw painted a picture of games that lacked the quality I required for me to spend my money and time on them.

I found that the graphics and presentation unimpressive, that certain features that would otherwise be taken for granted were lacking or absent, and that the overall package reflected lapses in quality, with plenty of rough edges that would have never been expected from a mainline game in the Super Mario or The Legend of Zelda franchises.

When I shared this opinion on Pokemon Sword and Shield, I sometimes got push-back saying I was being a "graphics snob", which is absurd given that my main video game platforms have been Nintendo systems, even when the competing PlayStation and Xbox systems have significantly outclassed Nintendo's in terms of high performance visuals for more than fifteen years.

I was also told I was being unfair for judging Pokemon Sword and Shield based only on trailers and pre-release materials. If those weren't enough for someone to judge whether or not they'd enjoy the game, then Game Freak and The Pokemon Company didn't do their job, and that's not my problem.

The other thing I was told was that I was jumping on a "hate bandwagon", and participating in part of an irrational movement to defame the games.

If anything, my long running interest in having a Pokemon region inspired by Great Britain had me crossing my fingers for the most impressive game reasonably possible, and it was only reluctantly that I began to admit to myself that I wasn't compelled to buy Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Reviews and impressions once Pokemon Sword and Shield released confirmed my concerns.

However good and fun those games may be, that release not only suffered from the fairly conservative approach Game Freak has taken to modernizing the Pokemon games, but also suffered from being rushed by the urgency to provide guaranteed best-sellers in the form of mainline Pokemon RPGs for Nintendo Switch during a time of uncertainty in that system's long term viability.

Another factor I feel contributed in a rushed development timeline for Pokemon Sword and Shield was the need to renew the cycle of the Pokemon business model, in which new generations of the main RPG games form the basis for new anime, merchandise, and spin-off games.

Some said that as a hardcore Pokemon player, I was being overly critical, but as someone who plays Pokemon RPGs mainly for the story, and has zero proficiency or interest in competitive breeding or battling, I'm about as casual of a fan as someone can get in terms of gameplay habits and interests.

One thing I heard often from fans of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield that were sticking up for the games were them saying that I had unrealistic expectations, arguing, "Well, it's a new Pokemon game just like on 3DS, but now on Switch in HD, what more could you possibly have been expecting?"

To my lasting delight, Game Freak answered that question for me with the reveal of Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

That's what I was expecting from a truly progressive, home console quality Pokemon game.

While there are still some issues with how the game presents it's plot to us, one of those being by the habit of its script to include events or situations which the developers are either unwilling to, or unable to, animate on screen in the form of a cutscene.

This leads to shameless cuts to black in which events unfold merely through text set against sound effects, before fading back in to show the aftermath.

But within the limits of what the low performance Nintendo Switch hardware can reasonably and reliably generate, the world of Pokemon Legends Arceus is vividly portrayed, and teeming with life.

Just as important to me, Pokemon Legends: Arceus was willing to part with conventions of past Pokemon RPGs, some of which were not so much expertly crafted game design choices, as much as they were limitations of the late 1980's Game Boy hardware that the original Pokemon games were designed for, that were carried forward as series staples.

People from Game Freak and The Pokemon Company were unusually forward in explaining that the reception to Pokemon Legends: Arceus would shape the future of the Pokemon video game series.

After voicing my disappointment with Pokemon Sword and Shield, and admitting that if future Pokemon games followed this format, I would have to bow out from being a fan of the games, I was excited by Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and decided to make sure I was there on release day to support it.

I even went as far as to say that Pokemon Legends: Arceus was something of a last chance for the gameplay of modern Pokemon RPGs had to retain me as a player, as I was more than happy to let future games pass me by and accept that my interest in the franchise was now limited to spin off material and appreciation for the world and its creatures and characters.

While certain elements of controlling the characters and operating the interface were complex in a way that pushed me out of my comfort zone, this was a necessary evil of a more sophisticated game that eschewed old-school RPG simplicity, and I was pleased with the result.

If Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield reflected the innovations and advances that were later seen in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, even with all of that later game's imperfections, I would have accepted these as the growing pains of a franchise slowly transitioning from being a low-tech handheld RPG to something worthy of a modern, if low-power, home console AAA release.

It was my hope that the ideas introduced in Pokemon Legends: Arceus would form the basis for future "main series" Pokemon RPGs, and even speculated that Game Freak was so overly cautious about significantly overhauling the Pokemon formula that they would only allow for these changes to be implemented into a spinoff game to see if the public accepted them or not before basing the main series around them.

When a Pokemon Presents was announced in 2022, I know I wasn't the only Pokemon fan crossing their fingers, actually hoping and praying that a new generation of the Pokemon RPGs would not be announced at that time. I, like others, was hoping for Game Freak to take as much time as possible to develop the new games based on the lessons learned from Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were revealed, and looking significantly far along in development, to the point where it was clearly being worked on in tandem with Pokemon Legends: Arceus, I very quickly formed a speculative hypothesis that I still stand by now.

I think that if Pokemon Legends: Arceus bombed at retail, and the reaction to its changes to the traditional formula weren't taken kindly to, they would have scrapped Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as we know them today without revealing them to the public, and instead worked on a more conservative build of those games (or different games entirely) based on the Pokemon Sword and Shield model, which I feel no shame in calling a HD 3DS-style game.

So with the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet nearly upon us, I'm just happy to live in a world where I'm actually excited enough about these games to have paid in advance to have it delivered to my home on launch day.

If simple graphics and limited tech alone were enough to ward me away from Pokemon, I wouldn't have fallen in love with the original games in 1998, which were released on a system that was technologically already out of date when it launched about a decade earlier in the late 1980's.

I look forward to sharing my first-hand experiences with Pokemon Violet as I play it on my Twitch channel when it comes out on Friday, November 18th.

[zehecatl]

rec post for @f-eef that got too long for its own good, and is now just. a general rec post i guess

(as of writing, today is the steam summer sale! writing this before that goes live, so no guarantee everything on here is on sale, but! most of these are older games, so it’s likely. keep them in mind~)

- Iconoclasts my absolute favourite game, ever (along with OFF, but shh), if you check out one game from this list, let it be this one. it’s a genuinely almost flawless package, with gorgeous pixel art, fun gameplay, a really good story, and a cast of characters i just. adore. it’s so so so good, and three years later, i’m still not over it

- The Binding of Isaac so there’s this genre called roguelikes, wherein the whole gimmick is that, when you die, you gotta start from the Very Beginning; and the ‘point’ is getting better and better at the game, until you win! it’s super easy to just, play a few runs (they generally don’t last that long!), and then go on with your day, so it’s a really fun game to just waste time in, if you just wanna chill with some game. and, in my personal opinion, Isaac is the best roguelike game, with so much stuff to unlock, a whole slew of items to play with, and so much content it’s kind of unreal. i definitely think the DLCs are worth picking up, but it’s mostly for more content than like. actually being necessary

- Terraria it’s minecraft, but 2D. unlike MC, it’s got a bit of guidance, which i personally prefer, with bosses to fight and such. an absolutely BLAST with other people too

- A Hat in Time a 3D platformer, ala Mario, that’s just. super charming. it’s also really fun to play. i haven’t actually played the DLC’s, since i played it way back, but i’ve heard good things about Nyakuza Metro, which does look super slick, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Slime Rancher you are a slime rancher. you ranch slimes. it’s honestly just wholesome as hell, and just exudes happy vibes. mostly for running around and collecting slimes, ngl

- The Messenger really funky retro game, wherein you play a ninja on a mission. it’s primary draw is definitely in its gameplay, but there’s a surprising amount of story for this kind of genre? i honestly really just like this one. it’s neat

- Underhero you play as a cute minion, who kind of like. managed to kill the hero. and whoops, guess you’re doing his job now? it’s got that undertale vibe, though i’d say it’s less polished than it. HOWEVER, it’s absolutely lovely and it’s climax is REALLY good

- Hatoful Boyfriend bird dating sim. trust me. the ‘secret’ finale route is just. *chef’s kiss* fantastic

- Night in the Woods if you don’t mind having a very poignant sad time, oh my god, i could not recommend NITW more. it perfectly captures that period when you’re done with school, and suddenly your whole life is stretching before you, and you feel so so fucking lost, and overwhelmed and pained with it. it’s just. so good. a sadness worth experiencing 

- Shovel Knight another retro game! this one is, pretty much, the king of the genre, and for very good reasons. the first one (shovel of hope) doesn’t have much story, but the latter ones really add on it. they’re honestly just, really solid games! with funky knight characters!!!

- Hyper Light Drifter man, it’s just a masterpiece. everything about it is perfect. it’s been like, five years, and it’s still one of the very best indie games

- Tell Me Why it’s currently free for june! and it’s a story game! plus, if you like the genre, the devs got the ‘Life Is Strange’ serie(s) to delve into!

- Cat Quest honestly, i just really like this little game. the gameplay is SO much fun, and everything else is just. really charming :’)

- Yoku’s Island Express metroidvania, where you play as a dung-beetle post officer, and the gimmick is that it’s pinball-y! it’s really fun, and very cute and just an all around good time :)

- Owlboy you play as an owl boy! named Otus! and you can fly around, and there’s GORGEOUS pixel graphics, and a neat story, and just. the BEST cast of characters. it’s delightful

- Yuppie Psycho + Count Lucanor just gonna bundle these two together, because they’re both REALLY GOOD. YP is the newer one, and is therefore probably ‘the better one’, but i like them both a ton! they’re 2D horror, but i wouldn’t say they’re that spooky? though that might just be because they’re pixel games! you explore spooky place, and weird stuff happens around you. just a really fun time :)

- Angels of Death my FAVOURITE rpgmaker game, it’s main draw is, a 100%, the main characters and the relationship that develops between them. i just love it a whole lot, and it’s got that lil’ tinge of horror that i, personally, fucking adore. there’s actually an anime based on this, but i haven’t seen it myself!

- Celeste curve ball! it’s a 2D platformer! it’s really good, got a ton of accessibility features, and has like. the tightest gameplay- and, on top of that, surprisingly emotional story! 

- Bastion putting Bastion here, because it’s actually the only one i’ve properly played, but you could probably buy any of the Supergiant Games, and come out satisfied. Bastion is the oldest of the bunch, and is definitely a bit less polished for it, but i personally adore it; the gameplay probably hasn’t aged that well, but i think the story and presentation more than makes up for it

- The Darkside Detective funny point and click adventure, with great wit, and a pair of characters i kind of simply adore. it’s main draw is definitely its humour

- Littlewood very wholesome and chill farming game, that feels more like an RPG than something like stardew valley- i’d not recommend it over SV, but if you want more of SV, Littlewood might scratch that itch!

- Pony Island + The Hex absolutely adore both of these, though if i had to rec only one, it’d probably be Pony Island? they’ve both got that undertale-off vibe, though Pony Island definitely leans harder into it. very interesting plays, both of them

- Oxenfree another horror-ish game! primarily story-focused, but oh boy, what a story! i’m a BIG fan of this game, and the sequel was recently announced too! definitely worth a look if you like ghost shenanigans

- Creature in the Well wasn’t a 100% sure if i should rec this, but beside the finale boss, i really enjoyed my time with this! it’s this weird pinball inspired hack and slash, with some amazing vibes

- Kindergarten 1 + 2 they’re just fun little games okay. the 2nd is much more fleshed out, but the 1st one is really fun too

- the Henry Stickmin collection I JUST... LIKE THESE GAMES A LOT... i think you can find the old versions somewhere on the internet, if you wanna check them out first? idk, they’re fun!

- LIMBO + INSIDE personally, i like INSIDE more, but both of these are classics, and also they’re made by a danish team, and i like them a WHOLE LOT

- The Final Station i could not tell you why i like this game as much as i do, but oh my god. i love this game? it’s got a dying world, neat pixel graphics, big zombie apocalypse vibes, and a weird little story

- Year Walk i love Year Walk :)

- Smile For Me if you liked undertale’s lovely cast of characters, oh boy, you’d likely LOVE this game! it’s really, really, fantastic, and the epilogue (not in the actual game lol) hit me right in the feels

- Pikuniku just a fun little game! there’s not really much there, in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a wonderful little play, one of those games that just sets out to give you a good time, and absolutely success. i like it a lot :’)

- A Short Hike wonderful game, where it’s more about exploring the island than actively finishing the game. it’s real wonderful

- ULTRAKILL ANOTHER CURVEBALL! no idea if you like FPS, but oh my god. ULTRAKILL is so fucking good. just an absolute blast to play. there’s a demo to check out, and i’d definitely recommend it, because if it’s a genre you might like, you’ll love this one (OH also it’s in early access, which means it’s not finished yet! personally, i don’t mind that, especially considering this is more gameplay focused, but ya’ know!)

- My Friend Pedro it’s honestly just really fun to play, and sometimes i still think about the implied lore, and go all !!!!

- Little Misfortune another point and click! this one is pretty short, and is set within the same universe as their other game, Fran Bow, which is much bigger, but idk. i like this one. it’s dark cute

- This Strange Realm of Mine i honestly dunno how to explain this one, because it’s kind of weird and a bit odd, but i really like it, in all its weird poetic glory. it’s neat!

- Donut County you’re a terrible racoon who’s ruined the whole city with holes. it’s great and i love it

- OneShot another ‘gives me undertale vibes’, though this one was in development before UT, if i recall correctly! it’s so good, and it’s got some fantastic meta bits, and i love Niko. i love Niko so much

- Inmost gorgeous vaguely spooky game with a neat story... my favourite genre

- Sayonara Wild Hearts i’d call this more of a spectacle than anything else, but oh my god. what a spectacle it is! the OST is amazing, everything about it just hits right, and even if you suck at the gameplay (which i did), it really doesn’t matter, in my opinion? it’s just great all around!

[askroahmmythril]

Smash Universe Experience : Updated

So one of those things that will randomly poke at my brain sometimes, felt like looking at what history I have with the different major “universes” of Smash Bros. Ultimate, now that the DLC is fully done.  So here we go! :

Super Mario : Pretty solidly a lot of experience with Mario and various spinoffs.  I will say I don’t have as much experience with the RPG side of things, though I have played the original Super Mario RPG, Superstar Saga, and Super Paper Mario.  Mostly I go for the platformers.

Yoshi : Pretty good overall experience I would say?  I do have Yoshi’s Story on WiiWare, but haven’t really played much of it.  I have however played Yoshi’s Island to 100% completion, same for Woolly World, and off and on poke at Crafted World.

Donkey Kong : Kind of middle of the road here I guess?  I’ve played the original arcade games, DKC 1 and 2 (technically I TRIED 3, but couldn’t really get into it), and Tropical Freeze, which I really should play more of.  I haven’t played any of the spinoff games though like Jungle Beat or what have you.  Also never played DKC Returns, though I’ve heard good things.

Legend of Zelda : Pretty solid experience, I would say I’ve played most of the series.  Notable exceptions, I never had a CDi so I never played.... those....  I’ve never played Spirit Tracks (I tried Phantom Hourglass, and just really hated the control scheme, got too in the way of my enjoyment).  I do have Skyward Sword now on Switch, need to get on that.

Metroid : Again, played most of these titles.  Notable exceptions, I never played Metroid Prime Pinball or Hunters, Other M, or Federation Force.  I should maybe try Samus Returns again sometime now that I have the experience of playing Dread, but... oof.  Still REALLY hate the melee counter.

Kirby : I’ve likely missed a few here and there, mainly spinoffs, but I think I’ve played most of the main series games?  I never played Rainbow or Canvas Curse, Mass Attack, or a lot of the “mini” games like Fighters.  Kind of maybe want the one on Switch though.  I have pre-ordered the new Kirby game though, looking forward to it.

Star Fox : Fairly little experience, I’ve only played the original and 64.  I do have access to 2 given SNES Online though.  Never played Assault or Zero.  It’s one of those series, I kinda like it, but I’m also terrible at it, haha.

Pokémon : .....Hello, my name is Roahm Mythril, and I’m a Pokéholic.  So yeah, big series for me.  Most of the more recent games, admittedly I kinda just play for what’s there, which.... really hope Scarlet and Violet don’t feel as rushed and half-finished as Sword and Shield did.... and still pretty disappointed by the DP remakes...  Anyway, I’ve played most of the games in the series.  Again, mostly a few select spinoffs I missed, like Cafe Mix (don’t really like using touch controls on Switch), Unite, and...... I can’t even remember the name, that early DS racing game?  Dash, was it?  Anyway excuse me while I go back to obsessively working on Legends Arceus research tasks.

F-Zero : I think the SNES original is the only one I’ve played...?  I at least don’t THINK I ever played the ones on GBA or N64, nor the Gamecube one, which... I legit kinda want, haha.  Even knowing it’s hard as heck, I kinda want to try it.

Mother : Minimal.  EarthBound is the only one I ever played, and just couldn’t really maintain interest in it.  It doesn’t help that for the most part, turn based RPGs aren’t really a go to genre for me, nothing against anyone else enjoying them though, I just have a hard time getting into them myself.

Ice Climber : I mean.... yeah, I played the one game, even on the channel as a joke once.  Not really much else to say on this one, haha.

Fire Emblem : Only one I’ve ever played barely counts, as it was Fire Emblem Warriors, haha.  Turn based strategy is another genre that I don’t often play admittedly.  Games like Advance Wars or Wargroove, they can keep me interested for a short time at best (which.... may or may not have to do with how quickly I have to deal with Fog of War because really screw that mechanic...).

Game & Watch : I don’t think I ever had a legitimate actual Game & Watch, but I did play basically all the Game & Watch Gallery games.

Kid Icarus : I’ve played all three games, though I never was able to finish the Game Boy game, Myths & Monsters I think it was called?  There was a particular boss where my game always crashed.

Wario : A few holes here and there, never played Master of Disguise or Wario World.  I think I’ve played most of the rest, both on the Land and Ware sides.

Pikmin : I’ve played all the Pikmin games I’m pretty sure, unless you count the Pikmin minigame in Nintendo Land?  I haven’t really considered that for any of the other universes, but never played that.

R.O.B. : Considering he only ever had two games to his name, 50%.  I’ve played Gyromite, but not Stack Up.

Metal Gear : Extremely minimal.  I played the original NES game myself, and watched my uncle play the original Metal Gear Solid, but that’s about it.

Sonic the Hedgehog : Pretty solid experience.  I didn’t play either of the Wii “Storybook” games, nor Sonic 4.  Also missed most of the handheld ones, I played the first Sonic Advance, and felt like I couldn’t see enough at one time, so hitting enemies and traps felt pretty bad.  Also didn’t play Forces.  Don’t know how I feel about upcoming open world Sonic game...

Animal Crossing : I think the only Animal Crossing I’ve never played is Wild World?  I’ve played the original, City Folk, New Leaf, Happy Home Designer, Amiibo Festival, and New Horizons?

Mega Man : Well yes, very much so.  I’ve played at the very least all the Classic games, X1 - X5, all the MMBN games, Legends 1 (still want to give that one another try sometime), the first two Starforce games, and I think Zero 1 - 3?  Never played the ZX series at all.

Wii Fit : I’ve never played any of the actual Wii Fit games.  If you count things like Wii Sports, I at least played the original one of those?

Punch-Out!! : I played the NES one, Super Punch-Out!!, and Punch-Out!! Wii.  Never played the arcade one.

Pac-Man : Good experience here, mostly with the arcade games.  I’ve played a few offshoots like Pac In Time, Pac Attack, etc.

Xenoblade : Zero experience, I haven’t played any of the Xenoblade games.

Duck Hunt : I’ve played Duck Hunt, as well as a few other Zapper games like Hogan’s Alley and Gumshoe.

Street Fighter : Basically I’ve only played Street Fighter 2 Turbo on SNES.

Final Fantasy : I want to say I’ve only played 7 and 9, with more of an enjoyment of 9.

Bayonetta : I’ve played both and beaten them, and interested to see where things go with Bayonetta 3.

Splatoon : I’ve played 1, though only the single player content.  I do have 2 and need to go through that, just haven’t gotten around to it.

Castlevania : Quite a good bit of experience here.  There are some here and there I’ve never played, like I’ve never had access to the original Rondo of Blood.  Also never played 64, or the fighting game, which at the moment I forget what that’s called....  Was that Judgment?

Persona : 4 is the only one I’ve played.  Oh, wait, nevermind, I have played Persona 5 Strikers.  I would like to play the actual Persona 5, but don’t have a system that runs it.  Really not interested in 3 though for personal reasons.

Dragon Quest : I played a couple of the early NES entries, but never really could get too into them.  Again, turn based RPGs aren’t really a go to genre for me.

Banjo-Kazooie : I’ve played the original and Tooie, as well as the GBA game whose name I can never remember.  Grunty’s Revenge?  I’ve never played Nuts & Bolts.

Fatal Fury : I don’t think I’ve ever played any of the Fatal Fury series.  I’ve seen Terry in passing, but that’s about it.

ARMS : I’ve only played the demo, not the actual game.

Minecraft : Never played it, and admittedly don’t really have any interest in it.  More power to those that enjoy it though, just not really my kind of game.

Tekken : I don’t think I’ve ever played a proper Tekken game, but I have played Pokken if that counts.  Which it probably doesn’t if I had to guess, haha.

Kingdom Hearts : I’ve played 1 and 2, Chain of Memories, uhh.... number of days, Re:Coded, and a little of Dream Drop Distance.  I have Birth By Sleep, but never played it, as my PSP is currently in need of a new battery pack, basically all of that kind of battery I had did the “puff out” thing, so likely best not to chance using them.

[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.

[repentantsky]

5 Franchises That Should be more Popular

Hello, I talk about games a lot, and while I always seem to mention at least one or two series on my lists that aren’t the most well known, I haven’t yet made a list comprised entirely of less popular than they deserve to be titles, so I thought I should maybe do that. No, the irony of a damn near nobody talking about video games that should be more in the public eye isn’t lost on me, but I like a lot of things that aren’t as popular as they should be, so at the risk of making a list that falls completely into the void, here are 5 game franchises that should be more well known. 

5. Yo-Kai Watch. 

We’re starting off with a kid’s game, don’t worry, I swear it will get better for those looking for some of their favorites, or at least I hope, but Yo-Kai Watch as a series is truly fantastic. Not only had it at one point managed to out-popular Pokemon in Japan, and for good reason, that reason being it actually took place is town’s that look like Japan, and the cultural references everywhere make it a joy of a series to play, but there’s a dang good lot of content in these games. While the base games will probably only run you about 25 to 30 hours, which is not long for an RPG, their bonus content, and the collection aspect, will give you more to do than Pokemon. Extra dungeons, stronger versions of the final bosses, and the ability to grind your favorite Yo-kai, and there are a lot of cool designs, was and still is, far more enjoyable than most other games of it’s kind have ever been, and to top it all off, it’s actually pretty funny, which is rare for games to do. The charm of Level 5′s games is also on full display here, and oh man, the whole series is just a treat, and we really need to have Level 5 properly back in the West. 

4. Naruto games.

Now wait, I hear you saying, Naruto games are all really popular, the whole series only barely lost out to One Piece for several years, but no, you’re not right in that assessment, the only games in the series that reached true high level success were it’s leading 2D fighting games, and the series has a lot more to offer than that. Ever heard of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact? What about The Path of the Ninja 1 and 2, what about Kizuna Drive, or the entire list of exclusive Naruto RPG’s in Japan? Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about handheld Naruto games. Did you know there were actually a whole ton of them, and they varied in genre’s from RPG’s, is side scrollers, to Beat’em ups, and yes, even fighting games, some of which were not just ports of the console versions. Naruto’s handheld adventures obviously did something for the series, or there wouldn’t have been so many as there are, but none of them reached the hype and the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, even if they were just as good, if not better, and it’s honestly sad. Naruto got a lot of out of it’s fans, and it still does even now, but it could have done so much better if only those handhelds had reached the numbers they deserve. 

3. The Asphalt series. 

It’s not often that I talk about racing games, but I do like a number of them, and my favorite that I swear I’ve never seen a sole talk about, is Asphalt. They aren’t the best games ever, but they do what most racing games should do, they come at you fast, with great cars to race, and they are also the only series of racers I’ve ever played a handheld version of that didn’t have me crying in pain because how awkward they were to on a handheld device, seriously have you ever played Mario Kart 7 for more than an hour? Never again I promise you. But seriously, the Asphalt series is a lot of fun. My favorite are the Urban GT games, but if whatever reason you can’t play those, 3D and Injection are also a lot of fun, and while the series doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and yes I understand how that joke will be taken by many, it’s still just a series you can sit down and enjoy without getting cramps. Seems like a series that’s underrated to me. 

2. Shin Megami Tensei

Some people after playing Persona 5/Royal and now possibly Strikers, are apparently super hyped for Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne, and that’s great, it really is, but the problem is most of those people only aware of mainline SMT, and have either never experienced it, or are have only played something like SMTIV Apocalypse, which is a great game, but also an incredibly easy one. I hope you all enjoy finding out how hard the series can be. The SMT name, which has been dragged around a lot in the West since it’s more notable to Western fans, has several spin-offs, including just Shin Megami, The Last Bible, Majin Tensei, Devil Children and Devil Summoner. To be fair, a number of those games, or entire series, haven’t come to the west, and several are left on old platforms, I mean who collects for Macintosh these days, but that’s the problem. If the series was as popular as it deserved to be, we’d be getting those games on more modern platforms, and people who think they are hyped for May 25th in the west, might already know what they’re getting into. SMT has been around since 1987, that’s 34 flipping years if you can believe it, and the series has never gotten to the level of popularity it deserves. Persona being it’s most popular spin-off helps, but we’ll have to wait and see if the hype this year, really translates to what the franchise is long overdue for. 

1. The Legend of Heroes. 

You know ones series I really like, it’s Kingdom Hearts, and if you’re wondering why that matters, you probably haven’t played a Legend of Heroes game before. The series has become over the years, similar to Kingdom Hearts in one very specific way, that being that it’s all about over-arching stories, and every sequel mattering. It is true that not every game is connected, there are five previous entries that are two games long, and three games long as their own series respectively, but the franchise is turning 30 years old next year at least for the West, and it’s shameful that we still don’t have three of the games from the mainline releases, and neither of the two spin-offs that weren’t gatcha games, both of which are fantastic if you play them in their original Japanese with fan subtitles. Most of the Trails series can be found on Steam, which is great, accept that two crucial games are missing, because the series isn’t seen to be as important as it is. I love games with continued stories, and as far as I’m concerned, The Legend of Heroes Trails series is absolutely the best of them all, because it takes it’s time developing all of it’s characters and it wait it avoids trying to create hype moments for fans just for the sake of it. It can be a slow burner of a series at times, which can turn some people away from it, but man when it goes, it goes so much harder than almost everything else, that it’s a massive shocker that it’s not more popular. Sure, it’s not visually all that impressive, even when it first becomes 3D, but if you can get past the looks, it truly is something to marvel at. 

And that’s my list. Did I miss anything that you think it underrated? Let me know in the notes below, reblog this list if interested you, and have a wonderful day.    

[razieltwelve]

Nostalgia

As I’ve hinted at in quite a few of my posts, I do play video games. Admittedly, I don’t play nearly as much now as I once did, but that comes down to not having as much time as I used to and developers not making games that I particularly enjoy anymore. That’s right, I’ve become that crazy person sitting on their porch and ranting at passersby about how awful everything is now and how everything was better back in the old days.

That said, video games played a huge role in my childhood and young adulthood. I remember my high school and university years as much by what I was playing as what I was studying. As you can imagine, I get a bit of nostalgia every now and then. Most of the time it’s music that triggers it. I’ve found that as much as the images of a game might fade from my memory over time, the sound of its music lingers long after all of the other memories are gone.

I experienced this just recently when I heard the Gusty Galaxy Theme from Super Mario Galaxy. It’s a wonderful piece of music. Indeed, I’d put it in the top five best themes from any Nintendo game. The moment I heard it, I was taken back to the past. I loved that game, and I put a lot of hours into it. Hearing that theme brought back all of those memories in an instant from the good (completely finishing the game with everything unlocked and acquired) to the bad (accidentally deleting an almost completely finished save file).

I haven’t touched that game in more than a decade, yet for a few moments, the experience of playing it was so clear that it could have been yesterday. I could feel the controller in my hand again, even feel the chair I used to sit on when I played. I even remember playing on a dodgy CRT which was pretty much permanently magnetised, so the colours were off.

In some part, I think this is why we put up with game franchises long after the games themselves have stopped being good. We have such a strong connection to the older games that part of us will always love the series, no matter how bad it gets. For example, Blizzard has been a disaster zone for years now, but I still watch Broodwar and Starcraft 2 even though I no longer play because of how many great memories those games have given me over the years.

I really think that one of the biggest mistakes companies make these days is obsessing over photorealistic graphics. Photorealistic graphics rarely age well. They are a product of their time and technology, and time and technology both march ever onward. But music? That lasts. There isn’t a gamer alive who can’t recognise the Mario theme within moments, and I’d wager a great many of them are taken straight back to the past when they hear it. I have friends who get misty-eyed over the Halo theme and who immediately start rocking along when Guile’s theme from Street Fighter comes on. I’ve seen people moved almost to tears when they hear a song from their favourite RPG, and you can always tell the Final Fantasy fan from the manic grin they get when One Winged Angel starts up.

Nostalgia… even the words sounds vaguely nostalgic. For some people it’s a sight or a smell. But for me it’s always been music. Indeed, I’ve forgotten so many details from when my family first moved to Australia, but one I’ve always remembered is the little red radio my father brought over. Sure, it needed an adaptor to work with the power socket, but it could still play music, and for that, I’ll always remember it.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

I also write original fiction, which you can find on Amazon here or on Audible here.

[gamersonthego]

Chase Koeneke’s Top 25 DS Games

The DS was a fascinating system. It was the first salvo in Nintendo’s pivot to more innovative and oddball gaming, priming an audience for the Wii console that was about to come. It was easy to laugh at this thing. How the hell were you supposed to pay attention to two screens at once? And yet, developers found interesting new ways of using the dual screens to create a slate of awesome and original titles. I haven’t played every DS game. Hell, I haven’t even played all the ones I’ve wanted to (like The World Ends With You or Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story), but here is a list of my 25 favorite DS games. If you don’t see one of your favorites listed, let me know. I could always use another game to add to my never-ending backlog. 1. Advance Wars: Dual Strike 

I may be president of the Fire Emblem fan club these days, but back in the DS era, it was all Advance Wars, all the time. And Dual Strike represented the peak of the series, even if it may have gotten a little too complex for its own good. The dual front mechanics and new units types felt mostly superfluous, but the online play is what made this game truly special in its day. It’d be great to see Intelligent Systems come back to this series one day. 

2. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

I love to tinker. I love to grind. I love job systems with lots of unique skills. Dragon Quest IX has all that and much more. While some may not enjoy the blank slate party you’re given, I loved building a completely customized team. The main campaign is extremely meaty (HowLongToBeat clocks it in at 48.5 hours), but the amount of endgame content is truly staggering. With proto-StreetPass and SpotPass functionality, the game felt truly limitless (for comparison, HowLongToBeat says a “completionist” playthrough balloons up to 752 hours!)

3. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver

Nostalgia keeps the original Red & Blue as my favorites of the series, but if I’m being honest with myself, these are the best Pokemon games ever made. These remakes smoothed out the few rough edges from Johto and added in the modern functionality from Diamond & Pearl (like the Global Trade System). This double-long Pokemon adventure is one of the best, with expressive new sprite work and a remastered soundtrack.

4. Monster Tale

Don’t be discouraged if you’ve never heard of Monster Tale. No one has. It came out late in the DS lifecycle (like, five days before the 3DS launched), so it very quickly was buried in the mix. And that’s a shame because it’s one of the best DS games ever made. Developed by the makers of Henry Hatsworth (#19 on my list), Monster Tale makes great use of the two-screen concept, having a Metroidvania brawler on the top screen and a virtual pet simulator on the bottom. The two games worked in tandem as your pet could come up to the top screen to help solve puzzles or battle enemies. An excellent aesthetic and tight controls make this one of the best games you’ve never played.

5. Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2

Speaking of games you’ve never played, what is a licensed anime game doing in my top five? It’s here because it’s actually a really great RPG. You get access to a large cast of unique characters and arrange them on a 3x4 grid for surprisingly tactical combat. You may rub a hole into your DS’ bottom screen with the game’s poor special attack quick-time events, but if you can get past that, it’s a real gem. I wrote more on this series back in an old GOTG SP if you like what you’ve heard.  

6. Mario Kart DS

This is the best Mario Kart game, don’t let anyone tell you different. No silly gimmicks like two people on a cart or motorcycles or anti-gravity: Just good, tight racing action. A bevy of great new courses (like the incomparable Tick-Tock Clock) and retro tracks (Moo Moo Farm, Choco Mountain, Donut Plains 1) complete the package. There are plenty of other good Mario games, but this one’s the best.

7. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

Look, I’d be lying if I said this game was as good as the ones on the Game Boy Advance, but I love Golden Sun with all my heart and this entry does have some cool ideas. Lots of cool characters, some amazing summons and a very useful encyclopedia that can be accessed within the natural dialogue of the story: There’s good stuff here. The graphics may not be great and the game may be too easy, but I enjoyed my time with it, even if I was mostly reminiscing about the GBA games.

8. Final Fantasy III

I’ve mentioned it on a number of shows and in some of these GOTG posts, but I just don’t enjoy Final Fantasy’s Active Time Battle (ATB) system. I like my RPGs strictly turn-based. And Final Fantasy III is that. While not the strongest game in the series by any stretch, it does have a fairly robust job system that I appreciate, and the updated 3D graphics were great for the time (and led to a beautiful, yet too difficult version of Final Fantasy IV not much later).

9. Picross 3D

I love Picross. I’ve written about it here before. But Picross 3D changed the game, literally. That extra dimension made for much more interesting puzzle mechanics as you strategically chipped away blocks to reveal the figure within. So charming, so fun and occasionally, so challenging. I’m glad a 3DS sequel was eventually made, but this original is still the one to play.

10. Meteos

My very first DS game, Meteos immediately showed me how the DS era was going to be different, both in design and input. In this puzzle game, you’d need to skillfully use the touchscreen to line up blocks and bury your opponents while monitoring their progress on the top screen. Each planet you played on had a particular quirk to it, keeping things fresh as you matched and rocketed your way to victory. Extremely fun and a sign of the innovation to come.

11. Animal Crossing: Wild World

12. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl

13. Chrono Trigger

14. Metroid Prime Hunters

15. Retro Game Challenge

16. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

17. Pokemon Conquest

18. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

19. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

20. New Super Mario Bros.

21. Pokemon Black/White

22. Space Invaders Extreme

23. Advance Wars Days of Ruin

24. Kirby: Canvas Curse

25. WarioWare D.I.Y.

[le-switch]

Yes, that’s right, 125 pecking headcanons

This has been in my notes for way too long dfjkdf

I’ve been writting down headcanons for the switch in time au for a while. I stopped doing that now so i thought i might as well share what i got done

@switch-in-time It is time- JK you already saw these

💫 Empress thinks the other kids are really cool but doesn't wanna admit it 💫 After sneaking through the manor, Snatch started to strongly dislike cold weather, and even became a little afraid of it 💫 Moonjumper also started to dislike cold weather, just not as much as his brother 💫 The florist is taller than everyone else. She makes fun of everyone for it but will stop if someome gets actually upset 💫 Grooves prefers instrumental music over lyrical music, since he can create his own lyrics for them 💫 Despite being a very popular and talktative kid, Grooves doesn't feel comfortable enough to sing in front of others yet 💫 Connie is the only one who has heard Grooves' singing voice. It was an accident, but he doesn't regret it 💫 Empress would be nicer if everyone taught her how to do the things they are able to do (Like MoonJumper's arts and crafts, for example) 💫 The moon penguins got to know each other thanks to Grooves, and they'll always be grateful to have him as a friend 💫 The express owls already knew each other before meeting Connie 💫 The express owls know that Connie isn't really as mean as he pretends to be, and they all care for him 💫 Hattie's bed is not hers anymore. It was completely invaded by the kids and she now mostly sleeps in her pillow fort 💫 Split Nessa is more unorganized than Gen Nessa, since her appereance doesn't really matter anymore 💫 Snatch stole everyone's left socks at some point 💫 Split Snatch and MoonJumper have an ant farm and they love every single one of their ants 💫 Connie and Grooves will overdramatize everything since they wanna be actors, no matter how mudane the situation is 💫 Mafia Bab once tried to "kidnap" Mu by trying to block her way with chairs. It did not work 💫 To join the mafia you must shave your hair since "Mafia boss is only mafia member allowed to have hair" 💫 Split Snatch and Moonjumper can't be found separated from each other. If you see one of them alone, the other must be nearby 💫 Nessa is usually very polite and shy, but once she's comfortable around you she can become a little bratty 💫 Everyone thinks Split Snatch is adorable and he hates it 💫 Empress doesn't like to play in mud 💫 After being defeated in his "boss battle", Snatch became so exhausted he accidentaly fell asleep on Hattie 💫 MoonJumper loves to swim and play with water 💫 Snatch on the other side, hates water and it's a pain to force him to bath 💫 Empress was supossed to get temporary glasses after her eye got scarred but she refused, and will refuse for the rest of her life 💫 Every kid has called Hattie "Mom" at least once. Most of them are accidents tho 💫 Nessa is the only one who hasn't called Hattie "Mom" by accident because they're all on purpose 💫 Shapeshifter is one of the kids Connie considers an "enemy" since the day they tricked him into giving them his nuggies 💫 Shapeshifter also wants to be an actor like Connie and Grooves, but their shyness wont let them even practice 💫 The Prince from the Split timeline was a Gemini 💫 Every mafia kid wants to be an actual mafioso when they grow up, except for one, who wants to be a paranormal investigator 💫 Despite wanting to be a paranormal investigator, this particular mafia kid is afraid of paranormal stuff. He's trying his best tho.... I'm talking about Goofy Mafia obviously- 💫 The Subcon trio once played 'Kingdom' and Nessa got to play as queen. They never played this game again 💫 Mafia bab and Goofy Mafia were the most hurt by Mu's betrayal, and yet, they were the first kids to forgive her 💫 Snatch was caught trying to steal Hattie's cereal once. Instead of giving it back like a normal child, he started to run yelling it was HIS cereal now 💫 Empress used to like theater until she learned it was for "nerds" 💫 Split Snatch is not an actual ghost despite being like one. He still has to eat, sleep, breath and has a heartbeat 💫 How are babies made? This is a question only Badge knows the answer to 💫 Mafia bab and Goofy Mafia love pizza but the other Mafia kids like hamburguer better 💫 Connie can, and will bite your legs if you make him mad, wich is very often so you better wear long pants 💫 It's very hard to make Grooves mad, but if you do, he'll give you the silent treatment 💫 When Snatch gets sick he will either take full advantage of the situation or pretend he's perfectly fine and push himself to his limit 💫 Mafia bab to Empress: What do you MEAN theater is for nerds??? 💫 Shapeshifter likes to hang out with the penguins and Grooves the most 💫 After a while, Snatch learned that calling any of the alien gals "mom" is the ultimate manipulative move 💫Goofy Mafia and Mafia bab, despite having pretty much opossite personalities, get along so well to the point of being considered best friends 💫 Mafia bab somehow recognizes and knows the names of every single one of the Mafia kids 💫 Mu subconsciously plays favorites. She can't help it, she has to take care of almost 100 kids, if not more 💫 Nessa has a small crush on Snatch. The feeling is, sadly, not mutual 💫 Snatch snatches Nessa's crown sometimes. He likes to pretend he's a king 💫 Mu's cape looks REALLY messy and it's mostly an amalgamate of stitches and fabric. That's because Mafia made it. It was a Mafia gift 💫 Goofy Mafia's other best friend is Thor. Thor would like it better if he spoke like a normal person tho 💫 Bow is a GREAT actress. She can save entire shows with the power of her presence alone 💫 The reason Snatch is more afraid of Victoria than MJ is because he was the closest to being caught. This means he got to see her eyes and the cold stare she always carries with them 💫 This may sound ironic but Snatch strongly dislikes snowball fights. He'd rather build a snowman while drinking hot cocoa 💫The only way Snatch and Empress get along is when it's winter and neither of them want to go outside 💫 Shapeshifter and Empress both have a massive sweet tooth 💫 Thor eventually manages to break Goofy Mafia's habit of speaking in third person. The Mafia kids are confused and Mafia bab is scared 💫 When Nessa gained a lot more confidence, she started to show public affection towards Snatch with the sole purpose of making him flustered. He hates it 💫 Thor can tell when Mafia bab breaks his stuff on accident, even if he tries to pretend it was on purpose. He can identify when he's nervious or guilty 💫 When Split Snatch gets REALLY mad, he burts into flames. The Fire spirits love when this happens 💫 When someone dies, they are given the options of going to the afterlife, stay as a Subconite if they feel like they died before it was their time, or stay as a Dweller to guard the forest if they don't have any issues left but want to be helpful 💫 The Dwellers don't remember their past life, since it'd get in the way of their duties. However, they can feel conections to those who were close to them 💫 If you were really REALLY close to a Dweller when they were alive, they might give you a flower 💫 A particular Dweller gave Nessa a flower once. She was really confused but felt the need to keep it anyways 💫 The swamp tries to drown Hattie at first, for she is an intruder. However the forest eventually warms up to her and stops trying to harm her 💫 Even if the forest didn't warm up to her it would've made no difference since the Subcon trio likes her 💫 The forest also may or may not be a little jealous of the kids' attachment to Hattie. Especially the Split timeline's forest 💫 Goofy Mafia learned about the types of cables and what they're useful for against his will. Guess who taught him 💫 Thor learned about far away planets and the life forms they might contain against his will. G u e s s w h o- 💫 Empress calls Snatch adorable nicknames like 'Marshmallow'. Don't missunderstand, she does this in a mocking way with the sole purpose of making him mad 💫 When Snatch and Empress fight, it's never certain who will win. The Mafia kids like to bet when it happens in front of them 💫 Split Snatch can sing decently. He usually gets the notes right, but he's not a great singer either, so he almost never sings. Gen Snatch's voice cracks every time he tries 💫 Star kid is a very good writter. They make whole stories by their own and sometimes help Grooves with the creation of his songs 💫 Goofy Mafia actually, geniuenly needs his weird swirled glasses to see 💫 Thor convinces Goofy Mafia to be as nerdy as he wants to be. Being a "cool boy" is overrated anyways 💫 The one thing Mu succesfully taught Mafia bab is that beating kids that can't or won't fight back is stupid. It's not like you win something from it. It's not even fun 💫 Snatch is surprisingly good at strategy videogames. One would think he'd mindlessly go for the strongest attack in rpgs, but he doesn't 💫 Goofy Mafia can, and will kick your butt in racing games like Mario kart 💫 Empress is a natural in fighting games. She knows and plays games she really shouldn't. Like Mortal Kombat 💫 Thor and MJ prefer games where you build and take care of a place 💫 Empress is great at biology. She knows body parts, functions and where to stike to kill you. She doesn't want to be grounded for life tho, so don't worry too much about it 💫 Hattie interrupted a Mafia theater play once. The options she inmediately thought about for that situation were -Say sorry and leave -Play dead -Sweat a lot and stand there awkwardly 💫 Thor can be VERY sassy when he wants to be 💫 Goofy Mafia eventually learns about the power of sass thanks to local goggle boy. He barely uses that himself tho 💫 One of Snatch's biggest dreams is to bite Victoria's ankles 💫 Goofy Mafia makes sure that everything "behind scenes" goes without problem at the Mafia theater when there's a play. He even has a checklist 💫 The checklist is actually nothing but scribbles no one except him can understand 💫 Hattie started a "Too self-conscious to act/sing in front of crowds" club to try and help some kids and herself to be more confident in that aspect 💫 Since Goofy Mafia is like the theater's manager he rarely acts in plays. But he's surprisingly good at playing villains. This confuses E V E R Y O N E, no exceptions 💫 Thor often visits Alpine Skyline when he gets tired of being in Mafia Town. He does this especially when he's working on small projects that don't require big tools or too much material 💫 Little Grooves tried to befriend Empress once. Keyword Tried 💫 Caw agents are the type of children that will carefully observe their toys to see if they move after watching Toy Story 💫 Mu hesitated for a second in The Finale when she saw that both Goofy Mafia and Mafia bab were scared of her 💫 Caw agents often say the same thing at the same time when talking to someone else. No one knows how they do it 💫 Caw agents can be described as 'those kids everyone says are weird, but secretly think they're cool' 💫 Warm weather: Nessa, Empress, Snatch, Connie, MJ, Starkid, Express owls, Hattie, most Mafia kids, Mafia bab 💫 Cold weather: Mu, Grooves, Moon Penguins, Caw agents, Goofy Mafia, Thor, Cookie, Cap'n Warlus and his crew 💫 Both are good: Shapeshifter, Badge, Bow, The Nomads, Nyakuza cats 💫 Nessa spaces out often when not in the manor. Don't laugh at her if she crashes into something or someone when walking, it's already embarasing enough 💫 Badge may not talk much but when they do it's always something wise or confusing that leaves people thinking. Goofy Mafia loves it 💫 Just so you know, wise and confusing can also mean out of place and things kids shouldn't know yet 💫 Badge likes snakes and snakes like them back 💫 Nessa doesn't know how to write things other than her name. Her mother told her that's the only thing she needs to know how to write so she can sign stuff 💫 Split Snatch taught his Nessa how to write. Gen Snatch tried with his, but he's more impatient 💫 Victoria moves similar to a snake when mad. Her massive hair starts moving slightly like tentacles, giving her a medusa-like look. What makes it so scary is that she remains calm and calculating when moving like that 💫 Nessa hates her name. There's people who actually believe her name is Nessa and not Vanessa because she never introduces herself like that 💫 Don't forget that despite that, Nessa is still Vanessa in a sense. She can get REALLY clingy. They're working on it 💫 Mafia kids are REALLY strong. They can take a lot of damage and hit hard 💫 Goofy Mafia is not strong. At all. He is however w a y more agile than the other Mafia kids 💫 Thor doesn't find Mafia bab as annoying when he's geniuenly thinking and trying to understand something. It's even endearing sometimes 💫 Cookie is, unsurprisingly, not very good at acting. But she sometimes plays secondary characters in Mafia plays, since some of those characters might need a more unique look and Mafia kids can't provide that all the time 💫 Empress, after a l o t of self-convincing attended one of the "nerd plays" to see Cookie act, and saw how she rarely fit her roles 💫 Cookie expected Empress to regain at least a little bit of her former love for theater with the play she attended to. She didn't 💫Mafia bab once told Goofy Mafia that he would teach him how to be tough. He didn't believe him, and it didn't really work anyway. If anything it was Thor who taught how to be tough 💫 Empress forces the Nyakuza cats to watch Cookie's cooking tutorials. They ended up liking them so it's not that bad 💫 in stressful situations Goofy Mafia will often hide behind Mafia bab. If he doesn't then Mafia bab will automatically put himself in front of him, so it might as well just happen 💫 Subcon's favorite holiday is halloween. They adore it and will put a lot of attention to detail. Even the queen enjoys some parts of it 💫 The reason Victoria enjoys some of it is because she chooses a group of random people to terrorize all night 💫 The candy for halloween is not for the children. It's for the people Victoria keeps up all night, and it's their decision if they wanna share it with children 💫 Mu actually lives in a cave. She can actually get a normal home, but the cave is cooler and bigger 💫 Mafia was not born in "Mafia Town". One beautiful night Mu woke up to find 100+ children, all of them asleep in boats 💫 If you ask Thor what the worst day of his life was, he'd tell you it was day he woke up to a bunch of random children running around in the usually pacific and quiet town, only to have one of them yell at the top of his lungs that they were staying 💫 Shape can be very forgetful sometimes. Don't call them out if they say "happy birthday" 10 times on your birthday

[radramblog]

Ninty Direct Feb 2021 Thoughts

That was uh. Kind of disappointing, actually.

I suppose it was inevitable that we weren’t seeing Pokemon since they’re gonna do their own announcement. But like. Coulda done better here.

(oh no you’re now introduced to my awful awful handwriting, is this better or worse than my cursed interests? you decide)

Anyway I wrote down everything they announced so here we go

Pyra/Mythra in Smash: I don’t give a single shit about the Xenoblade series, but it’s one of like 2 IPs Nintendo has had in the last decade so sure whatever they can have second a character as a treat. I’m mostly just annoyed this wasn’t a third-party character.

Fall Guys Switch: This feels inevitable. It also feels about 5 months too late.

Outer Wilds Switch: I’ve heard some absolutely excellent things about this game, so fair enough. I’m not sure I’d buy it on the Switch, but I haven’t bought it at all yet, so.

Famicom Detective Club: This looks like a Ren’py game if it had an actual budget, but still used Ren’py for some reason. Prooobably not biting on this one chief.

Samurai Warriors 5: The only Warriors game I’ve played is the first hyrule warriors, and the only Nobunaga game I’ve played was Pokemon Conquest (it’s a trip), so. I don’t understand the obsession they have over there for this bloke, like imagine if Australia made like a tv series a year and a large handful of video games about Ned Kelly or something.

Legend of Mana: Shit I should go play Octopath Traveler huh

Monster Hunter Rise: Those monster designs looked pretty kickass, and those human designs made me crack up laughing. I’ve never played Monster Hunter, and I don’t think this is gonna change that.

Mario Golf: Hey look they confirmed Waluigi as playable ahead of time so people wouldn’t complain, good job guys. The multiplayer of this looked silly as hell, but I’m not spending 80 bucks on wii sports tennis for a multiplayer mode ill drag my mates to play all of once before we go back to playing Beetle Adventure Racing.

Tales from the Borderlands: Wait telltale is still around? Ok…? I haven’t played Borderlands and don’t really care for the Telltale style so nah

Capcom Arcade Stadium: They could have made a peripheral like the NES/SNES mini, but they didn’t, and it’s for the best. The fact that one of the games is free implies to me that the rest are going to be overcosted, though.

Stubbs the Zombie: What the fuck am I looking at. Apparently this is a remaster of an old Xbox game, but I’ve never heard of it. Weird as fuck, but sure.

No More Heroes III: No more Heroes is a franchise that I’ve never played, but always wanted to. It seems right up my alley aesthetic-wise, and the gameplay looks pretty solid too- probably gonna try one of the older ones first, though.

Neon White: Speaking of aesthetic. This looks anime as fuck and edgy in a good way, and the gameplay looks real fun. I actually really want to check this out, and no, it’s not just because of the skull masked goth gf on the cover. (Doesn’t hurt, though.)

DC Super Hero Girls Teen Power: Jesus, this looks like a bad tie-in game from the mid 2000s. Not like Battle for Bikini Bottom, more like a Jimmy Neutron. And while I really liked the Jimmy Neutron game as a kid (shame about the show), this doesn’t look like it’ll stand up to that…high bar. Listening to this trailer made me want to die a little bit inside.

Plants Vs Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville: I miss PopCap. Peggle 3, never.

Miitopia: This looks cute, and will probably lead to the same sort of 3am DMs that happened with Tomodachi Life. If it’s a full priced game, it probably won’t sell at all.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Mario items: uhhh sure. Don’t have that game, so.

Triangle Strategy: Aww fuck it’s a final fantasy tactics that looks like octopath and it might have an actually good story, shiiiiiiiiit. I’m gonna give the demo a try before I land on this, but I’m optimistic.

Star Wars Hunters: When was the last time we had an actually good Star Wars game? And don’t say Fallen Order. Yeah, didn’t think so.

KO City: Ah, the bottom of the barrel. Didn’t think it would take this long. At this point, the pseudo-cartoony style everything has because they’re trying to ape Fortnite is extremely grating on me. (I definitely thought this ad was for Fortnite stuff at first)

World’s End Club: OK this one has me actually hyped. I knew that Kodaka (director/writer of the Danganronpa series) and Uchikoshi (director/writer of the Zero Escape series) were working on a joint project, and we’re finally seeing the results. Both of them have multiple excellent games under their respective belts, and this new game looks like a fun spin on what I’m sure a lot of people were expecting from the pair. Literally both of them have made a game where (spoilers I guess, Keara stop reading here you haven’t played VLR yet) there’s a death game going on while the characters are unaware the world fucking ended, so to see the idea of the death game getting interrupted and the characters actually having to live in the dead world is really cool. I’m paying cloooose attention to this one.

Hades (Physical Release): Dang now if I buy hades I can choose to have some of my money go to EB games or JB hifi or something. Cooooooooooooool.

Ninja Gaiden Collection: This just made me wonder why Ryu Hayabusa isn’t in Smash yet. Is it because there’s already a Ryu?

Age of Calamity DLC: I don’t think I mentioned this in my post yesterday, but I would have put money on DLC for this game coming out. I still haven’t played it, but the first Hyrule Warriors had so much fucking DLC so this was inevitable in my eyes.

Bravely Default 2: Uhhh its another JRPG man idk what you want me to say. Didn’t play the first one, apparently its good.

Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection: Kinda funny having this next to the free original in the Capcom Arcade Stadium. Capcom is reviving old franchises, I guess? Where’s Mega Man Battle Network, cowards?

SaGa Frontier: I’ve heard good things about the SaGa series, but this looks awful. Not like gameplay wise, the style for the models and shit in game just disinterests me.

Apex Legends: Is anyone still playing this game?

BOTW 2 (no news): I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. Next Direct, I guess.

Skyward Sword HD: I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

Seriously though, I was expecting 3 of the best Zeldas ever made to get ports, and we got the one that I wasn’t interested in. Fuck you too, I guess.

Splatoon 3: I actually was super interested in this, seeing as the trailer looked like it was gonna be for some like… side game, 3D RPG or something, exploring the origins of the Splatoon world? But then it’s just Splatoon 3. And like, I know people really like that series, but it never appealed to me. The world is neat! But I’m not interested in the series as it is.

And that’s the tea.

ADDENDUM:

shit that’s this weekend? huh ok -New Hearthstone expansions revealed, kinda like WOTC does with magic every so often, just like “here’s the next couple sets btw”. Since they do nothing but plagiarise off each other and MTG is having a set based on another WOTC property this year (D&D), there’s going to be a Starcraft set. -Diablo 4 release date that will not be stuck to since COVID is still a thing -people are hoping for starcraft 3. Blizzard to announce Starcraft 2 Episode 1. -New WoW expansion announced, determined objectively to be “worst ever” before trailer is even finished

[punishedvenomsnake]

You are one in a MINION! Send this to ten friends you think are simply bananas!

Hello ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to episode one of Jermacraft, the series where I play Minecraft.

This is gonna be a singleplayer let's play and when I say let's play I use that term... pretty loosely because I'm an idiot in this game - you're gonna see lots of fails, you're gonna see lots of triumphs, at least I'm hoping.

So go grab yourself a nice hot cup of coffee, hot cup of cocoa. I've got apple cider right here freshly brewed, let me take a sip.

sip

Ah that's good cider. Alright, so let's get this started - create new world.

World name is going to be... JermaCraft! Sounds about right, eh ok...

Game mode is going to be suurvii- survival, that's the most interesting I think.

More world options- seed for world generator ok this is important!

I gotta name this something crazy to get cool structures and stuff.

Gonna name it... umm... how about,

"DiamondsAreForever"

"LOL"

"cheese"

uh "BURGAH".

Alright, there's- that's our world generator seed, "DiamondsAreForeverLOLcheeseBURGAH"... Done!

Alright let's see what happens, create new world let's do it guys. 'Building terrain' oh my god this is so exciting this is episode one!

I wonder... I wonder where we're gonna end up... Where are we gonna end up?

Ok... what- what? Where the hell am I? I spawned on top of a mountain top! Ok hold on, sound has to be lowered, definitely...

Mkay, a lil' bit of that, a lil' bit of that... maybe a little lower! That sounds about right. Alright!

So, uh, apparently I spawned on top of a mountain... I kinda- this is a good seed!

What's that? We're going to explore it right now - GO!

dies from fall damage

Oh! jerma laugh

... Heheheh... Alright we're going to try that again. This time I'm not gonna miss... I wanna get down to tha- that's the home right there, I wanna live right there.

Don- I don't even have to explore, see if I can't do this... I gotta, hold on... I got an idea, I got a plan.

JermaCraft episode one, this is how we do it! You guys ready? I don't know if you- I don't know if you guys are actually really ready for this!

Here we go! I'm going for a skydive. Remember if you hold shift you don't fall off... That's something I didn't know when I used to livestream this game...

wheeze Heh heh! You guys ready? Ready to go see our new home?

jerma laugh

Alrighty then... What the hell is that? Oh it's an octopus... Look at this quaint little place... I love it already! Heh heh! Alrighty...

So- oh.. exhalation I'm so stupid! Y'see I'm- this is why... this is why I'm an idiot guys... y'see, why would I... I need to get wood! And I just jumped off th- ok...

Remember this... Where are we, pointing east? I have no idea.

Gotta get some trees... That's the most important part of Minecraft you gotta get trees, that's the first thing you gotta get.

Lemme take a sip of my apple cider...

sipping sounds

Oh that's good stuff!

Hopefully you guys picked up a thing of coco like I told you to because that's the most relaxing thing in the world, sitting down, playing videogames... doesn't get much better than that.

Ah ok, c'mon now! Oooh, we got sand too! Now, explain this to me alright?

Alright I want Notch to send me a personal email, and explain to me why there are cows that are acting like Mountain Lions...

I'm gonna kill each one of those cows in just a minute, you watch.

fall damage

Ow... Well at least there's one tree over here... Gotta remember, I gotta go back that way, cause that's where the, the house is gonna be... My awesome dirt house!

So if you are an OLD subscriber, I mean really old, like at least four months ol- month- four... ffweehh four or five months. You'll remember the original JermaCraft it was like two episodes...

And I built a dirt house. This is gonna be completely different I'm going to actually spend time... and make some cool stuff. At least that's what I'm pretending that I'm gonna say that.

Got some wood... aw I got Geno still (his Minecraft skin) from Mario RPG, one of the best games of all time. If you have never played Mario RPG I suggest you play it.

Alright, got some wood, I need more trees over here I can... dig up. I'll get this one too.

excruciatingly slow wood punching

One more and we'll make our way back.

more wood punching

So I guess they added a hunger feature now too if- if you're hungry, you... you die? ... Or something, I guess? Who knows?

even more wood punching

Little bit more wood... And in my livestreams I- I was, always a tradition that when I played this game I would sing a song when things got really boring.

So that seems like the perfect opportunity right now to sing a song, so uh lemme just prep my vocal chords for a second...

sips apple cider

clears throat

Ok... So we're getting wood right now right?

(In Jazz Tune) doodoo, doo doo, (kh) doo, (kh) doo, (kh) doooo doo dooo doo doo, (kh) doo, (kh) doo (kh), doooo.

We're chopping wood down!

(kh) doodoo, doo (kh).

Every single day...

(kh) doo, (kh) doo, (kh) doooo.

I gotta get my tools!

(tch) m'doo (kh)

Any which way.

(tch) doodoo, (kh) doo, (kh) doooo doo doo.

I can't seem to reach this stupid piece of wood, so I gotta put some blocks down to get where I should...

I'mgonnachopem.

(tch) d'dnn, (tch) nhh, (tch) nhhh~

I'm gonna chop right now.

nhh, (tch) nhh, (tch) doooonnnh~ doodooonnh~ doon, (tch) doon, (tch)

fall damage

Alright that's enough... Got it! Let's get the hell outta here! Yaaay!~ splash So those of you that don't think that's gonna be a good spot- you'll see...

I'm gonna build that up to be like a castle! So here's the goal... by Christmas time of this year, 2011, I wanna have... a giant castle like as big as that, uhh, that mountain over there...

begins breaking blocks

So let's clean this up a little bit. Why don't we huh? Yeah alright, alright! ... Maybe put a little bit of dirt down here... Make sure I can y'know...

D- did I really run out of dirt? Wonderful... My first wooden tools. It's just like going to your first day of school... And get, punched in the face by the bully...

Speaking of bullies... I got a funny story for you. First ever story on JermaCraft! While I do this mundane stuff.

So... when I was like in the fourth grade, there was a kid that lived down the street from me, his name will- will stay anonymous, because... y'know I don't want him to like- if he watches these videos- I don't want him to come, like, beat me up.

Not that he would ever remember this to begin with... but I- I was probably like the fourth grade... And eh, swallows I was a little S-word guys I was a little- I was a little... little jerk when I was younger.

So essentially what happened, was- this kid, he was a big, big, fat kid: scary, not very nice. And my brother got in like a fight with him, like a looong time before this v- when I was like the second grade my brother's a little bit older than me...

And lemme pick this up.

So my brother got in a fight with this kid and... and... and like I heard about it. And so at the bus stop one day, cause we were at the same bus stop because he lives right down the street from us. At leas- at least he did, I don't know if he does anymore.

So... I dunno why- I was in the fourth grade this so much of a little jerk I was. So my grandmother used to pick me up from school, after I got from the bus stop...

Because y'know obviously you don't wanna walk- y'know, the mile and a half back to your house or whatever it is, mile... Cause the bus stop wasn't that close.

So my grandma used to pick me up, and he was at the bus stop as well, and one day I decided that out of the back window, I was going to give him a double middle finger, as I was driving with my grandmother one day.

I dunno why- I don't even know why I did it guys I can't- I can't tell you one reason why I gave this kid the double middle finger. And from that day forward, he just kinda gave me the w- like a weird look like "What? The hell are you doing?"

And from that day forward I would RUN. RUN, as fast as I could to the bus stop, and away to the bus stop where my grandmother was gonna pick me up, and it was like that for almost six months.

And he never beat me up or anything like that he, eh- he, I- I he- I don- I don- I was like, overreacting.

Actually hold on a second I don't need this... What am I doing with this? I was just putting blocks down! Actualy nonono, I was- I was doing the right thing. I want- I want these. Cause I wanna make like a wall kind of...

Let's keep that going. So yeah, so I guess the moral of the story is, never give the double middle finger to a bully. Cause, you'll be scared for the rest of your life.

And I still am scared, when I like open my doors to like, go and get the groceries... I'm scared. That bully's gonna come get me for me... givin' him the bird.

Yeah- yeah that is actually a true story I did not make that up it- I was scared for like, at least six months. And nothing ever happened either, and like- like I didn't get beat up or anything, so...

Alright now. Is there- is this all- is this gonna go straight down into... ok cool. C-o-o-o-o-l! I'm gonna make a little mine here!

hisses

It's getting late... it's getting late and when it gets late that's when Jerma starts to lose.

starts digging 4x4 hole straight down

I don't think I've ever made it past one night in this game when people are watching. I really don't think it's happened.

ambient cave sound

Is that- Ooh, there's a mine somewhere around here... Pretty sick! Oh jeez- it's right here! Ohohohoh! Nice! Maybe there's coal right here too, that'd be pretty awesome!

Oh my god, Creeper! Creeper get the hell outta here! I'm gonna kick your butt! Y'know yeah- yeah blow up! Go on, go on what do you think I care?

You can't hurt me I got a shovel! I'm gonna shovel your face in-

creeper explodes and takes off more than half of Jerma's health

gasp

... Ok well that's done. chuckles There's not coal just right here somewhere? There has to be... See this is why they always tell you, right when you start, you need to go get coal, you need to go get wood and everything, but I was too busy talking about a bully... me giving him the middle finger.

So looking- I'm trying to see if I can see coal, sometimes it's just right on the edge of these mountains...

stares into pitch black

Hmmmm... I am not pleased! ... Let's at least do this. I need a sheep too, I need wool! I'm being a real piece of crap...

[posthumanwanderings]

alright so I’ve done a top 10 favorite obscure SNES games and my top games in general are real obvious / similar to others (all you need to know is that Chrono Trigger is the BEST GAME OF ALL TIME :) ) so I’ll do instead a.... ~Top 10 SNES Memories~

1. dat pre-launch Super Mario World hype at Sears (how I played SNES for the 1st time, then afterwards at a babysitter’s house cause we didn’t get one right away)

2. witnessing the first RPG I’ve ever seen, Final Fantasy IV (FFII in NA). I didn’t actually know how to play it, was too young so my older brother would get home from school yelling at me thinking I fucked something up but I didn’t accidentally save anything luckily. so I watched him and his friend beat it from midway in the game, the underground cave of monsters part to be exact.

3. everything about Donkey Kong Country, from gameplay to presentation and this video that came with Nintendo Power magazine:

4. playing copious amounts of Super Mario Kart with my cousin all summer while drawing our own maps and character creations during game breaks. also truth be told, but I came up with a very Bowsette like character back then, with a very similar look but only differences were that she had red hair and was Bowser’s wife, not just the princess alter ego of him.

5. celebrating my 7th birthday at Pizza Hut while getting Star Fox as a present from my mom which came out a week before. for its time it was one of the best looking console games and it drove me towards loving much of the on-rails shooter genre.

6. between the time Star Fox released and before Final Fantasy VI came out my parents got divorced, so I remember vividly how much FFVI and other SNES RPG’s around the time I learned to play from watching my brother helped me cope with it all, just immersing myself in another world and its story. no salty feelings about it now, but gaming definitely helped with my escapism from shit you can’t help in life. so, thanks Squaresoft : )

7. METAL WARRIORS head-2-head mode! I might’ve talked to one person IRL who knew exactly what was up when I mentioned MW, but I see other peeps on the net low key appreciate how intense those matches could get. made me wish the actual Assault Suits games had 2-player Vs. mode, or even co-op.

8. Street Fighter 2 and each revision afterwards was HYPE. from playing it in the arcade to seeing a decent home port, only getting buffer and faster with each release which we got with no regrets. I still play this classic game (SSF2x) on Fightcade to this day, the perfect fighting game.

9. Super Metroid’s deep, desolate atmosphere is embedded in my mind as one of most mood inducing games I’ve ever played. all while still just a 2D game too. foggy, cloudy transparencies, alienating / suspenseful music, nice use of lighting in dark areas and ambiguous ruins that the Metroid series never fully explains until the Metroid Prime series and Zero Mission. on my top 5 favorite game list.

10. sometime in the early 2010′s I had what I call an SNES Renaissance, when I got back into playing emulators but wanted to check out games I never heard before thanks to the blogs at the time showcasing the hidden 16-bit gems. my list I wrote before were the games I beat then, and there’s still plenty more for me to check out, especially the RPG’s!

had a lot of fun fond memories playing the Mega Man X games, Yoshi’s Island, Mario Paint, and losing my mind with Contra III, but I think I wrote enough already for this. currently about to beat the PSP version of FFIV (then maybe check out FFIV After Years?) then play more SNES favorites from my past and some new ones before switching it up to the next system focused vibe (o you already know..) show dat grey and purp box some love for me, and feel free to post some of your own memories here as well : )