#kirby of the stars wii deluxe

[mashounen1945]

Preserving tags:

#yes this is about Super Taranza Burst being the strongest attack in star allies

#taranza could wipe magolor at any moment yet he's benevolent

Hello I'm back

[madfanatic]

Return to Dreamland is coming soon!!!

[mashounen1945]

A question for Kirby of the Stars fans

How did Marx come back? Or rather, how is Marx supposed to have come back?

At the end of Milky Way Wishes in Kirby Super Star, Marx is defeated by Kirby and dies upon crashing into Galactic Nova (then he gets resurrected as a Soul boss in The True Arena of Super Star Ultra, but Kirby kills him again anyway). Years later, he comes back as a Dream Friend in Star Allies [*]. What even happened in that interim of 10 years (22 years if we count from Super Star, the original version)? How did he become good (or at least "not evil")?

This question was also pending an answer in Magolor's case. However, with the release of Kirby's Return to DreamLand Deluxe, the Magolor Epilogue (along with what's implied by Merry Magoland, an old interview with Shinya Kumazaki regarding Magolor in the Team Kirby Clash series, and some dialogue line in the Extra Mode of Return to DreamLand) finally revealed what happened to him after his defeat against Kirby & co. For other villains-turned-friends, that question kind of already got answered in the games where each of those characters debuted: both Taranza and Susie eventually helped Kirby defeat Sectonia and Star Dream respectively, and Triple Deluxe ended with Taranza pretty much reconciled with Kirby (while mourning the loss of his old friend), whereas Susie simply flew out of planet PopStar on the final cutscene of Planet Robobot and apparently kept on doing her own thing (according to some Japanese pause screens of Star Allies, the Haltmann Works Company under her direction was still forcefully mechanizing other planets just like before the events of Planet Robobot, so she didn't really become good and there's merely a "truce" of sorts between her and Kirby & co. [EDIT: I got it wrong; what I just said about Susie is from the English localization of Star Allies, whereas the Japanese version gives her the ostensibly nobler, more benevolent goal of "bringing happiness to families through the power of science"]).

[*: I heard that, among Magolor's additional dialogue lines in the Extra Mode of Return to DreamLand, there's one line where he says he had found someone who told him about Kirby before this game's events, with the implication that it was Marx, and there's also some confirmation of this later on; I'm trying to look that up right now]

What do you guys imagine that happened to Marx after Milky Way Wishes? What do you think led him to become one of Kirby's friends in Star Allies?

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[More thoughts on a related topic under the "Read more" cut]

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I wonder if there'll be a re-release of Super Star Ultra (or a re-re-release of the original Super Star, in any case) where Marx also gets his own "Marx Epilogue" someday. Shinya Kumazaki, the one currently in charge of everything related to Kirby of the Stars, is also the one who led the development of Super Star Ultra, where he came up with so much of what defines his era of this franchise. I doubt Kumazaki would want this Nintendo DS title to remain on "Dual Screen Hell" for eternity, while players have to either resort to emulation or settle for the old Super Nintendo version of Super Star repeatedly re-released on every new Nintendo console with no changes and no additional material.

So, while it's very likely there's already an entirely new mainline game currently in a very early stage of development, I'm pretty sure there are some plans for remaking an old mainline title at some point as well. If that's true, then I'm gonna bet Kumazaki's next remake project will be a Super Star Ultra remake: lots of people are already asking for some kind of home console re-releases of the DS and 3DS titles, which will require adapting them so they don't require dual screens or a touch screen whatsoever; however, it feels a bit too early yet for a full-on remake of any of the 3DS titles (Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot being the mainline ones) and it'd be pretty difficult to add new stuff to them, so the only option left is to give the "Deluxe treatment" to Super Star Ultra, a DS title that works pretty well as an introduction for new players (it starts with Spring Breeze, which is literally the very first game of the entire series) and where you can also find a way to add a little bit of new content. Knowing Kumazaki, he'll add new content by doing the same thing he did in Return to DreamLand Deluxe by inserting a "Marx Epilogue" game mode, which would be unlocked after doing something equivalent to beating the Story Mode at 100% in Return to DreamLand, such as... I dunno... beating Milky Way Wishes with all 19 Copy Essences Deluxe -including the secret one- collected and beating at 100% every other game mode required to unlock Milky Way Wishes (that is, completing everything from the original Super Star except The Arena).

Anyway... until that happens, I guess we'll just have to keep "fan-theorizing".

[nintendoduo]

Nintendo Announces That The Switch's Successor Will Be The Wii U Again

Putting an end to months of intense anticipation and speculation, Nintendo announced today that the Nintendo Switch's successor console will have the exact same name as its predecessor, the Nintendo Wii U. It will also have the exact same technical specs and game library, and Nintendo projects the exact same lackluster sales.

In a press conference at the company's Kyoto headquarters, senior executive officer Yoshiaki Koizumi explained the reasoning behind the move: "We decided to release Wii U again because it's pretty good. It rules, actually. I love it."

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa further elaborated: "Nintendo Land was my shit. Game & Wario was so underrated. So was Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. So was Star Fox Zero. So was Animal Crossing amiibo Festival. So was Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric." Furukawa went on to list every single Wii U exclusive game over the next minute and a half, as Koizumi cheered and applauded.

Also present at the press conference was legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto, who mostly talked about how much he misses Miiverse. "I'm so nostalgic for Miiverse. When I look back on my life, I realize that without exception, my most cherished memories and friendships all happened within Miiverse. In fact, it was in the Meme Run community that I met my current wife and children."

"Splatoon 1 is the best Splatoon," Furukawa continued. "Mario Maker 1 is the best Mario Maker. Hyrule Warriors 1 is the best Hyrule Warriors. Mario Kart 8 non-Deluxe is the best Mario Kart 8."

"Yooooo, the battle mode with the racing tracks was so much fun!!!" Koizumi exclaimed, as Miyamoto vigorously nodded in agreement. "Underrated," Furukawa repeated. "So underrated."

The press conference concluded with all three agreeing that the Nintendo Switch "sucks" and "ain't shit," deciding on the spot that they would deactivate its online servers in order to reconnect the Wii U ones as soon as possible. "If you like Switch better, I'm very sorry, but it's inferior and we're shutting it down."

"I'm not sorry," Miyamoto said, addressing Nintendo Switch fans directly. "Fuck you. I wish I could shut you down, too."

[desultory-novice]

Nintendo Dream #6 RtDL DX Interview Part 2

Here’s the translation-summary for the second half of the RtDL DX interview with Kumazaki and the team, continuing from last month!

...Sadly, it doesn’t come close to answering all our questions. (The True Arena remains a mystery... :sob:) And I get the feeling Kumazaki’s going to continue to be very staunch on not giving away any hot lore deets/timeline information. Ever. But I like that he continues to encourage speculation!

Anyway, read below for the whole thing!

--

Q: I'd like to ask about the sub-games

-Nishi says since they were deluxe-ifying Kirby Wii, they wanted to enhance the parts of it where everyone could have fun together. The discussion of increasing the amount of sub-games and making them more extravagant led to the idea for Merry Magoland. Due to the desire to have many different generations enjoy them, they pulled popular games from a variety of classic titles and made them four- player.

-Kumazaki says they paid attention to including a variety of play experiences when selecting sub-games, so the experience of playing each doesn't overlap with the others. Man-power wise, it wasn't possible to put everything in, but looking back on it, he says, they miraculously included all their first choices on the initial design document. Ten felt like the right number for this "deluxe" game. They were even able to include some new ones, give them all a unique feel and make them all four-player. He notes as a director on Ultra Super Deluxe (Super Star Ultra) he was in charge of every sub-game there and how difficult it was to design games that used both screens and touch capabilities.

<Short additional commentary about designing games around the Wii remote and transferring that to the Joy-con I'm skipping>

Q: I'd like to ask which of the 10 sub-games everyone has the most feelings associated with.

-Tani says his is Egg Catcher, being the first sub-game in the Kirby series. It was very difficult and so there was some debating about making it more accessible... in the end, they slowed it down some to make it easier. But as you increase in difficulty, it gets about as hard as the original game.

Q: In the original, King Dedede throws the eggs, but here he's an ally. How did you go about solving that problem?

-Tani says that after thinking about it, they gave that role to a robot. It allowed them to re-include the Dedede robot from the Wii version's sub-game, Scope Shot.

Q: Kirby catches the eggs in their mouth, but Meta Knight has a mask and Bandanna Waddle Dee doesn't have a mouth. How did you go about solving this issue?

-Tani says that after thinking about a lot of options they settled on baskets. (laughs) He mentions that Dedede is taller than the other characters so the position he would catch the eggs at would be different. So they fixed that by putting the other characters on raised platforms.

-Watanabe says his favorite is the new game Magolor's Tome Trackers. Because it's Magolor's theme park, they made a sub-game where Magolor takes a big role. The rules are fairly simple, but that gives it lots of replay ability. But there are also fun changes to the conditions and the way it plays by Magolor showing you the back of the book instead or only the color, or taking time before giving you a hint. "My bad! Looks like I showed you the wrong side of the book!" he says, in Magolor-ese, to describe how the gameplay maintains these characterful "Magolor" elements.

Q: Magolor has become a really great character capable of anything now. (laughs)

-Kumazaki says Magolor has grown into a character that can do things they can't have other characters do, something of a rarity in the Kirby series.

-Nakanishi says his favorite sub-games are Checkerboard Chase and Smash Ride. Both can be tricky to control just right, but that makes it more exciting to play with others, and he was very happy they got remade for this game.

-Ninomiya chimes in about Samurai Kirby. It was a sub-game he'd always liked, and while there was some thinking needed to decide how to make it work with four players, its even more exhilarating to win in this version. And that goes for the online version as well. It works with motion controls so you can really pretend to be a samurai.

Q: Samurai Kirby 100 is a game you can play online against others but only once per day. Pleas tell us more about that.

-Kumazaki says most online games involve hanging out in the lobby, chatting with friends, and its very fun. And while the Kirby series has been making attempts at online play with Super Kirby Clash and Dream Buffet, he wanted a game that you can play with no waiting, just a quick, casual investment you could play without any fear.

It's a simple one button game, but they decided, rather than that just being something you could play online, "Wouldn't it be awesome if you could engage in a 100-person battle royal?!" and that was how Samurai Kirby 100 came about.

-Watanabe says they aimed for a goal where you could decide who was best in all the world in a snap. And because it just requires one button press, anyone can have an easy time playing it. It ends quickly too, but they put a lot of effort into the presentation of the game because of that. And you get to see something special if you get 1st place, so he hopes people will keep trying it every day.

[The Symbol of Peace in the Kirby World]

Q: There's an orange butterfly flying near Kirby and King Dedede in the opening and ending movies. Is that the same orange butterfly that has appeared in other titles?

-Kumazaki says that in regards to the story, many times they put much more priority on the game design aspects. But in order to expand upon the world's setting (or if it will make the series as a whole more exciting) they scatter these little seeds that make you think up these deeper connections.

Q: So you're looking/focusing toward the future

-Kumazaki says that the world of Kirby, in order to stay diverse with each entry, has many parallel world elements and unconnected timelines, and he cannot clarify for us if that butterfly possesses the same role in different entries. But that there are elements left in the game that those who want to enjoy the story more can ponder on.

Q: I see.

-Kumazaki says Meta Knight has his airship, the Halberd, that sank in the end of Meta Knight's Revenge. But in a later game, Kirby Squeak Squad, they bring back the sinking Halberd as it's laying at the bottom of the sea in this game. And that there are new stories that can arise from pulling out past story beats like that. Slipping these things in softly can allow those unaware of these to experience the depth of the series' story as well, keeping these elements alive, without interfering in the enjoyment of the series' gameplay.

So if you're unfamiliar with the orange butterfly, it can be a symbol of peace, representing the calm before the adventure kicks in, or the mood of the ending. There are many different points of view you can see it from. Kumazaki wants both those unfamiliar with or not that interested with the story to be able to have their own takes on it and take in the story as they wish.

Q: There's lots of theories/questions though. (laughs)

-Kumazaki says if you play lots of Kirby games then play RtDL DX, you may definitely be thinking "Wait, is that?!" And the fact that the butterfly avoids touching Dedede's head directly but stopping on the flower instead... we make little considerations like that.

[Magolor Epilogue where Magolor is the star]

-Kumazaki says the original had The Arena and Extra Mode, which is generally the right amount of volume for a good Kirby game, but since so many people have already played RtDL, they wanted something unknown, like there'd be if this was a new game - something new to enjoy. They also were thinking up something that included a different style of play than that of the main mode.

Four plays is the crux of the game, so you can play as four Magolors in the Magolor Epilogue too, but this is also an adventure to raise up a weakened Magolor and make him strong again. He focused on adding that growth/development part to the "fun, four player action."

-Watanabe says, regarding the gameplay systems, they included mechanics where you could develop the player character as you pleased, something that they haven't done much of in Kirby. It linked up nicely with the story of Magolor picking himself up from losing his powers, easing you into the story nicely.

Q: It's fun to raise characters up like in an RPG

-Watanabe says that outside of connecting the gameplay to the story, another reason they chose this style of gameplay was to make a wide-audience game that anyone could play. This mode unlocks after you've cleared the main mode, so there is a bit of a difficulty curve, but its also balanced so that players who don't like action games can proceed via powering Magolor up enough. We aimed for something playable for action game veterans and newcomers.

Q: By the way, is it possible to complete this mode if you don't power up Magolor at all?

-Watanabe says yes. The challenge stages require specific power ups, but you can play to the end of the game ignoring those. He's done it himself, he says. It's very difficult though, so if you're confident in your skills, please, make the attempt!

-Nananishi says its the kind of challenge they can include because its post-game content. Kirby and the Forgotten Land's copy ability upgrade system was well-received. This game's system is a bit different, but Kirby hasn't really been a series with elements where your abilities change as you grow, so they look forward to how these different elements will be received.

Q: Why did Magolor's outfit turn gray?

-Kumazaki says they made it white to show how he'd lost his powers after "a certain fight." It visualizes how he's lost all his energy. He's not going to elaborate on the series timeline, but there are things in RtDL DX that lean toward connecting the various stories.

Q: So, he's out of energy?

-Kumazaki says the other reason he's dressed in white is that in RtDL, there are these dimensional rifts that allow you to travel through a variety of worlds, and so Magolor's clothes are white to make you think "Oh wait, does it mean this?!" There's a bit that hints at this, so I'm happy if you complete the epilogue and are able to feel "Aha! So that's why he's dressed in white!"

-

<LATE EDIT: Sooo, I was in a rush when I wrote this and didn’t double check even though it pinged something in my brain (Bad Dess. Always double check!) but there is some implication, notably in the fact that Kumazaki corrects the interviewer gray > white and some obscure/older meaning behind the word “white clothes” that they’re also meant to be funerary garb.>

-

Q: By the way, you can play as four Magolors in multiplayer mode, but is this magic or some other established ability to split oneself?

-Kumazaki says that in Star Allies's post-game content, Heroes in Another Dimension, Kirby can transform into the Dream Friends themselves. Because it's otherwise very hard for Player 1 to play as the Dream Friends in Star Allies, so he wanted a special kind of game experience where you could control them all at the end. Lots of unusual things occur in the space known as Another Dimension, but... they realized it would cause less unease if you could just be four Magolors rather than Magolor somehow being able to summon Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Bandanna Waddle Dee to journey with him. It also makes it more of a Magolor Epilogue because its only Magolor.

Q: It's sure something to play with four people as four Magolors. (laughs)

Unlike with Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, where Kirby is divided into four by Dark Meta Knight at the start of the adventure, nothing happens to cause this. We just wanted to emphasize the fun of playing together as four Magolors gathering power and growing. This is just something conceived of to be unique and fun to this game.

Q: On the note of the four Magolors, tell me about being able to play as four Kirbys of differing colors.

-Kumazaki says the point of the multi-color Kirbys is so that everyone can be the main character. We had something similar in Star Allies with the helpers, but outside of Kirby, those are generally controlled by the CPU to help out and add elemental abilities.

Q: The helpers give off a strong impression of being support to Kirby during Kirby's own adventure.

-Kumazaki says that in contrast to that, the multi-colored Kirbys are distinct for letting everyone be the main character, and everyone play as Kirby. It's a difference of theme. To match up with the theme of the game, everyone can play as a Kirby of a different color. Because the helpers are identified as helpers, they're really support roles that exist to fulfill a need in the series.

[Kumazaki looks back at 30 years of Kirby]

Q: It's been a packed 30th anniversary.

-Kumazaki says with the goal of making the 30th a big celebration, they worked together with teams and departments outside of just Japan, all toward this one goal, and that he was glad they did. It was very difficult of course, but everyone put their all into "Let's make the consumers happy!" and "Let's make this 30th huge!" It was thanks to this clear goal that Kumazaki and everyone else was able to keep moving in the same direction and that everything was done with excitement and that you can feel the team's energy.

Q: You released three vastly different games this year.

-Kumazaki says for him, the biggest challenge was making those three games. It wasn't just because it was the 30th or to release a new Kirby title, but because they wanted to make the very best title they could that they were able to release three titles exactly on time for the 30th. But the Music Fest, that was definitely prepared especially as a 30th anniversary celebration.

Q: It was really impressive that you made that happen.

-Kumazaki says that he feels as if Kirby has grown much larger thanks to all the events packed into the 30th anniversary celebration. Kirby was 9 years old when he entered HAL Laboratory (2002) so it was just before the 10th anniversary. Now it's been 20 years and you see Kirby in all kinds of places. Kirby dolls hanging on students bags, Kirby merchandise for sale in storefronts, and Kirby prizes at gaming arcades. He says that back during the 20th anniversary, it was still somewhat rare to see Kirby merchandise around. There are many more opportunities to see Kirby in games and elsewhere in just these 10 years. From the first entry to Kirby and the Forgotten Land, not just in Japan but all over this wide world, support for Kirby really has grown. He felt that with the scale of the Music Fest, compared to the orchestra concert celebrating the 25th anniversary just five years ago. The deep feeling that Kirby is loved by so many all over.

Q: You worked person-to-person with the sound staff on the Music Fest while making those three new games, right?

-Kumazaki says it was incredibly difficult. (laughs) The peak of difficulty was Dream Buffet's development falling right when the end of production for the Music Fest was happening. I was listening to songs from the Music Fest in one ear and BGM tracks from the games with the other. We'd made the plan to announce Dream Buffet on stage during the Music Fest, so I made those announcement preparations with the feel of "We're working on it RIGHT now!"

Q: You did the voice of King Dedede for the HAL Laboratory Dream Band King Dedede Fest" didn't you?

-Kumazaki says about that, they didn't rehearse his part in the song before the event. (laughs) After hours at Kirby Cafe Tokyo, they did rehearsal and recording all in the short space between then and opening the next day. "I'll do it!" he thought to himself as he joined in, thinking it would please the fans.

Q: With the release of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the scope of what a Kirby game is has increased, and many people are looking forward to what's going to come out next.

-Kumazaki says as new ways of play are discovered, evolutions and enhancements on types of play increase as well, with things like additional growth parameters but they generally want to see player's growth and proficiency at the controls of the action games they play. The scope of the games has increased, but push it past a certain line and it really would become an RPG, and that action (the genre) and learned proficiency are very important to Kirby, so he's going to continue thinking about that balance going forward. Which is quite challenging.

Q: That brought us the "Magolor Epilogue" right? Magolor did no talking on his own, the whole story till the end was communicated in that fashion. Very well done.

<They're talking about the fact that he doesn't talk to anyone else to explain the story or his feelings while you're playing the game, yet you still understand the narrative. Obviously, he still has some dialogue when you power him up.>

-Kumazaki thanks the interviewer, saying that with an action game, its good to have a story you can read between the lines. And, he adds, the reveal that Magolor('s ears) was dark brown/black underneath his hood was always there from the beginning of his creation.

<They make specific mention of his ears, but I think the point is to emphasize that his looks aren't because he's in "shadow">

Q: Lastly, please share let us hear your enthusiasm as we move into the 31st year of the Kirby series.

-Kumazaki says that the 30th anniversary came about because of the hard work of staff and most of all, the cheers of so many fans. The games, the music fest, the events and merchandise. FL is the series first main line 3D action game, Dream Buffet lets you compete against others online, and now this game, a deluxe remake of an 11 year old 2D action game, so there's a great variety of Kirby for the fans to enjoy.

That the team had been feeling this after the 20th anniversary, but with the growth of the staff, while they were able to deliver almost non-stop Kirby titles, presenting nothing but traditional 2D sidescrolling action titles alone might put the series in a rut. That's why with much work, they try to change up the world, the graphics, and the style of play, but the series needs even more variety going forward. Now, at the 30th anniversary, the team has gained so much more experience and are ready to challenge new types of play. It's a big thing to deliver a diverse lineup of titles. But there are still things left undone and new challenges ahead. They don't want to be limited to just mainline titles and specific staple genres and are making preparations to deliver an even more diverse Kirby series to the world. Please look forward to what the new Kirby series will continue to have in store!

[munchboxart]

Kirby Triple Deluxe is 10 years old already...? Oh my god

It was the first Kirby game I ever owned (though my first games that I played was I think Super Star Ultra (emulator) and RTDL on Wii). I remember getting this near the release date because I was still really hyped from playing RTDL. I remember it being very enjoyable but I still kind of lingered onto RTDL more, but that didn't stop me from replaying it numerous times. The music is still amazing though, Moonstruck Blossom is probably still one of my top OSTs from Kirby, maybe my most favorite for boss themes?

It's kind of disappointing that it doesn't get much merch. I know that This game isn't really that notable since it's overshadowed by Planet Robobot (makes sense), but Taranza used to be (maybe still is, I don't know) one of the most popular characters. But I think I can probably say the same for all of the characters post KTD since there really isn't that many figures for any of the newer characters.

While Triple Deluxe isn't that noteworthy compared to the other games, I still have some fond memories of it, maybe I should draw something small for it. Happy 10th anniversary Kirby Triple Deluxe 🎉🎉🎉

[dededaio]

Thought of a fun thought experiment that will either age brilliantly or horribly quite soon.

So, we all know that Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is coming soon, right? Like REALLY soon. Less than 2 months kind of soon.

We still don't really know much about what this remake will change or add except for:

1 new copy ability

new multiplayer mini-games

looming Magolor Castle (that is left unexplained for now) in promotional artwork

I don't mention the visuals because it's the most obvious and expected change coming from the remake of 2011 Wii game.

So I want to do something fun. I'll list my predictions on what this remake will change and/or add. I will be splitting them into predictions that are likely and predictions that are more on pipe dreams territory. I'll present arguments and/or evidence towards each point as we go. Let's begin!

Things that I think are likely to happen:

Playable Magolor. I mean, come on now. Not only he's now included on the cover, which he wasn't in the original game, he's also one of the most popular characters in the franchise now. Like he's actually probably the most popular addition to the series since Meta Knight and Meta Knight was introduced in 1993. I'm not entirely sure yet how this would work (it partially goes into pipe-dream predictions territory), but I'm certain it will somehow happen. It helps that modern Kirby games on Switch had a tendency to have a late-game unlockable that is super OP and is related to game's storyline in some way. Star Allies had playable Mage Sisters, Forgotten Land had Masked Hammer and Morpho Sword as milestones for beating main story mode and post-game campaign. Magolor only makes the most sense to follow suit.

Dedede, Meta Knight and Bandana Dee will receive their updated movesets from Star Allies. While I wasn't overall a huge fan of how Star Allies treated those three characters, being way less polished than later DLC Dream Friends, one things they got right is by finally giving them more original moves into their arsenal. They basically started out as hammer clone, wing and sword clone hybrid and spear clone respectively, which, I assume, was byproduct of RTDL's co-op being a late addition in the development. Giving each of them more unique moves in SA was a great move and them to carry over into RTDL DX would be excellent choice as well. Not only they would stand out more against contemporary copy abilities they were based on, it presents more fun gameplay possibilities (I'm sleeping and dreaming how much I will spam super dedede jump in various boss fights like grand doomer). But the best of all, we have an evidence of this potentially happening, ladies and gentlemen! In trailer footage we got we can decipher Meta Knight doing Galactic Counter that was introduced in Star Allies.

If this is anything to go by, all new additions are set in stone and it's just matter of seeing more of it in the final game.

The boldest prediction yet, mainly because it's not based on anything except for my gut feeling. But Magolor Castle will be the hub-world for the post-game in RTDL DX. It makes the most logical sense as it would be a good way to differentiate post-game from the main story where the hub world was Lor Starcutter. What we will do there? Who knows, there's tons of possibilities. It will most likely house mini-games but I doubt they would design such elaborate looking location just to be a place where you could pick a mini-game. There would certainly be more stuff to do, but what would it be?.. Time will tell!

Things that I want to happen but aren't necessarily likely:

King Dedede, Meta Knight and Bandana Dee becoming playable in single-player (outside of arenas). There are many ways how it could work, but the idea I'm betting on (and therefore hoping for) the most is introducing Guest Star-like mode where each of them get an abridged and changed take on the main campaign's levels, taking advantage of their individual movesets in the process. I feel like them being locked behind co-op in the original game was some of the biggest shortcomings of RTDL so I genuinely hope remake will fix that.

Entirely new post-game story. Extra mode that original RTDL had is less than stellar, to say the least. It's basically the same game again with slightly updated bosses and halfed health bar. Lame. If this remake were to go down the route of recent Switch Kirby titles, introducing an extra-mode that actually continues the story of the main game is the way to go! It can go down many ways, but personally I think the most fun (And funniest) plotline for such extra mode would be helping out to build Magolor's theme park (aka Magolor Castle we've been seeing on the cover art), mirroring the story of the main mode, but with lower stakes and reestablishing Magolor's current status-quo on-screen instead of it being left to Miiverse information.

Old Extra mode being remade into a difficulty option. I think both this game and Forgotten Land were developed co-currently so they are bound to share some of the game design philosophies. Getting rid of the old extra mode entirely would probably be too harsh and unfaithful to the original game... But if you were to repurpose it instead, it's a different story entirely. It will become this game's "Wild Mode", I wager.

These are all the main ideas I currently have for what this remake will have in store. I hope I got at least one of those things right. See y'all in 2 or so weeks when they will actually drop a new trailer.

[purplekoop]

So. This was supposed to be a 2023 games recap, but I remembered that one of my favorite games of all time got an incredible expanded remake at the start of the year. I then talked about it for. a while. So I pivoted it into...

Things I Love #3: Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe

Yeah it's not Ninja Turtles yet, sorry. I'm only on episode 2 of that rewatch, but even without playing this game for the better part of a year, I can still definitely rattle off my thoughts on it.

As usual, this is a spoiler-free rundown on the game, since the point of this post series (I think) is to explain why I love a thing in hopes of getting other people to check it out for themselves, which I do in fact recommend this game. That said, let's get to it!

The original version of this was the game that started the "Modern Kirby" formula that was inherited by the 3DS games and Star Allies, and while at least the 3DS games have always been pretty highly regarded, RtDl was kind of given the New Super Mario Bros effect of being shrugged off because it started a trend of similar-looking games. That's a massive undervaluing of this game though, since in my opinion it's still the best iteration of the standard 2D Kirby formula yet. It's hard to articulate exactly why, but for me Return to Dreamland just has that magic to it. Maybe I'm biased since it was also my first normal Kirby game, but this game's level design is just so pleasant and satisfying. Each level has its own subtle personality, to the point where after enough playthroughs (including challenge runs) I can remember the order of levels and even the minor details of each one pretty well. The puzzles are a personal high point, making use of the game's great roster of abilities exceptionally well, while also giving plenty of room for cheese and alternate solutions. And it's a personal favorite for multiplayer, once again I think being Kirby's best multiplayer outing. The game feels built to accommodate 4 players while holding up flawlessly as a single player adventure. It doesn't feel too arbitrary like Forgotten Land or as centralizing as Star Allies, it's just the right balance. Wrap it all up in a series standard pleasant visual presentation with a banger soundtrack, and you have one of my top 3, if not top 2 games of all time, both in general and for the Wii specifically.

And those praises apply to both versions, but it gets better. Of all the "Deluxe" games in the Switch's lineup, this is one of the best in terms of new stuff and improvements. Saving the new modes for a minute, the biggest change is the art style. It's different enough to where I can see some people not being a fan, but personally I think this game is gorgeous, especially if you just recently saw the Wii version. The sharp outlines and bright colors just make this game look even better than it does in my rose-tinted view of the original. The only truly major visual difference is Dedede's new design, based on his striking Forgotten Land appearance but with his normal outfit. Personally not my favorite Dededesign (that'd be Smash 4/Ultimate), but I gotta appreciate Mr. Clump Penguin, especially with some of his expressions. It also feels better when I remember he wasn't exactly a looker in the Wii version with his big head and tiny body, so I don't mind it much at all.

The main gameplay has some functional changes too. On the subtler side, some moves from newer games have been added to certain abilities, like the skyward strike from the 3DS games in Sword's moveset. The most notable examples are the 3 non-Kirby characters having their extra moves added in one of Star Allies's later updates, such as Meta Knight having a unique counter attack and Dedede having his iconic jump-and-slam and face plant moves. There's also other things of less substantial note added for gameplay, like the ability to dodge while guarding being added ala the 2D games between the original and DX versions, but those are largely minor. I do wish some of the original's somewhat limited abilities, like Needle and Hi-Jump, got maybe a new move or two, but that's such a niche complaint even by my standards.

The most notable new additions to the main mode are two brand new abilities: Mecha and Sand. The enemies and ability pedestals that grant these abilities have been retroactively added to existing levels, never replacing anything but if you're paying attention their placement is a little tacky. The Sand enemies are always placed on a newly added star block and I have no clue why but it bothers me irrationally. The abilities are also introduced as the same time as other new abilities were in the original, which does mildly hinder the otherwise fantastic pacing this game has when it comes to introducing new abilities, but again, that's such a petty gripe that's only coming from someone who knows this game far too intimately. As for the abilities themselves, they're both a delight to use. Admittedly Sand surprised me, it was the second of the two to be revealed and it was much less flashy and thematically exciting than Mecha, but it turned out to be just as fun. It fits right in with the other elemental abilities like Water, and has a set of utility and movement options that make it fun to keep around, but it's just a bit boring in combat. Mecha is the much more obviously exciting option, with an arsenal of very silly attacks that feel more like a Dream Friend than a normal ability, though with less damage output and utility than you might expect. It's also lacking in movement attacks for something that looks so much like Jet, but its midair controls feel so nice I don't mind too much. My main gripe with it is that unlike Sand, the game introduces it in a level much less suited to its talents, and right before the water levels where you can't even use it. The new ability challenge is fun, but otherwise there's not a great time to get a feel for how useful it is compared to the existing abilities and even Sand. Again, a nitpick, as just having the big unga bunga laser and cool flying and even just looking like that is enough to make this ability's inclusion appreciated.

Festival, the single-use screen nuke ability from Star Allies is also here. For some reason. Frankly I'm just mad they only added Festival as the one existing ability retroactively added to this game, something like Beetle would've been nice, but I can see why they went with basically the least obtrusive extra addition possible.

On the note of additions though, this deluxe package comes with not one, but two major new modes.

The first is Merry Magoland, a non-canon(?) side mode, unlocked after beating the second level of the main game, where Kirby and friends go to a theme park to play minigames new and old. And this minigame lineup is super neat, as there's a minigame representing just about one for every single game in the series to have them, with the exceptions of the 3DS games and Star Allies, which... yeah fair enough, those would be a little redundant in the context of the Switch's library. This leads to an interesting selection of minigames, as basic as one featured in Adventure all the way to one from Squeak Squad that's like that one weird Smash 3DS mode. It's a super interesting lens to see the history of the series, with each minigame being a super faithful 3D HD recreation of the original minigames, down to each minigame having an appropriate results screen, and menu music rearranged to match the respective game. There's also two entirely original minigames: Tome Trackers and Booming Blasters. Tome Trackers is a simple "find the thing quickly" minigame, but is unique in using the same movement controls as the main game, just with no attacking. It's okay I guess. Booming Blasters meanwhile is my favorite of the whole set of 10, being a top-down shooter deathmatch and the most mechanically complex of the set. It gets decently intense, and you can end up landing some oddly satisfying trick shots. Now, the glaring flaw of Merry Magoland and the game as a whole is one fatal sin: there's no Scope Shot. Only the significantly less cool Ninja Dojo minigame returns from the original, while my favorite of the two Wii version minigames is the only notable piece of content left behind. There's traces of it throughout the game, and admittedly I realize why it's not the best fit as a co-op style of game in the otherwise competitive party game mode, and the selection of other minigames covers the gap it leaves behind, but it just sucks that it keeps this otherwise massive improvement over the original from being truly perfect

Merry Magoland has a bit more to it, namely in terms of progression. It's not just a minigame compilation, as it has its own sort of completion metrics. First off, there's the Stamp Rally, a weird sort of self-contained... battle pass? You play minigames, and based on your time played and performance, you get more stamps filled in your card, and every page of the stamp card you get storable items usable in the main game, or dress up masks you can wear in either mode. It's honestly just a nice bonus that happens passively while playing the minigames. The bonus items are neat but by no means a necessity (if you're a normal person anyways), but the masks are a bit more interesting, letting you "dress up" as a wide array of characters from the history of the series. There's some cool deep cuts in this lineup too, but admittedly many of them look more goofy or creepy than cute or cool. Still, it's a fun way to add some extra personality and customization to your playthrough.

Meanwhile, the real completion metric of Merry Magoland is the damn challenges. Basically an achievement list, which ranges from "play this minigame with a mask of a character from the same game :D" to "KILL ALL FOES FLAWLESSLY TWICE IN A ROW." I do appreciate the incentive to play these minigames more thoroughly than just beating every difficulty, but these challenges get mean. That example was barely a joke, you seriously have to do that for a couple minigames' final achievements. The part that makes it a slog is that it's just so random compared to all the other 100% completion requirements, and yes, this mode is required to clear entirely for 100% completion. It's just a grind with some of these minigames, especially when they're not all gonna be everyone's favorite. I personally dread Samurai Kirby and Egg Catcher, but I had to master them in order to complete the mode. But the variable CPU performance means that sometimes you can cheese a challenge, or sometimes you don't. Most modes are forced to have 4 players, human or computer, which is annoying for multiplayer with 2 or 3 players but also makes challenge clearing more annoying. You can cheese some challenges by having 2 unmanned controllers taking the player 2 and 3 slots and just making it a 1v1 between you and the machine, but that's not exactly fun and still doesn't guarantee victory. Again, cool concept to have achievements, but it's so random and so grindy of an overall process for 100% completion, which is otherwise one of my favorite parts of a Kirby game. Aside from like. Keychain/Sticker/Puzzle Piece/Gacha grinding in the other recent games, but at least those are just grindy and don't take effort.

One last complaint: no online multiplayer, for the main game or Magoland. This is a bummer as someone with online friends halfway and all the way across the country, but thankfully I do at least still live with my sibling who's as much of a Kirby fan as I am, if not arguably more in some areas. There is one online minigame: Samurai Kirby 100. This being the very basic timing-based minigame, but instead of facing off against 1-3 other players or a single CPU, your reaction time is tested against that of 99 other players. My uh... least favorite minigame. Great. Also because the Kirbys you face are based on other players, including their masks, you can get spoiled on the 100% completion reward mask. Very cool. A kind of lame addition, but it's an addition so who cares that much.

Overall Magoland is a fun side mode with some issues. The minigame selection isn't gonna be for everyone, the challenges required for 100% are tedious, there's no online play, and most glaringly: no Scope Shot. But those are mostly petty gripes from an overly dedicated series fan, and the impact the mode has on the game overall is a net positive. I'm interested to see how this mode serves as a possible pit stop in a family game night or other party game scenario, so I might have to see if I can convince some folks to play it soon.

Now onto the other new mode: Magolor Epilogue, the postgame adventure advertised on the back of the boss that also spoils a 10 year old game's plot twist. Oops.

In all seriousness, the mode is great. You play as Magolor, who's now a pathetic soggy webkinz cat incarnate, starting with an extremely limited moveset based on his playable debut as a Dream Friend in Star Allies. He starts with only a basic energy ball attack, but over time unlocks an expansive suite of moves, once again largely (but not entirely) based on Star Allies. Most moves are unlocked via story progress, but others are unlocked by using the points you earn during levels to enhance Magolor's abilities in a special menu. These upgrades are pretty significant, turning what'd otherwise be pretty piddly attacks into playstyle-defining staples. It's not a skill tree per say, you just upgrade specific attacks or other attributes of your character, but there's a similar feel to it. And while upgrades aren't mandatory... they help a lot. I've seen a playthrough of the game without them, and it looks kinda miserable. Thankfully it's not super obtuse to use the upgrade menu, and I don't think the game lets you make any super regrettable choices with your investment since it gates upgrade tiers behind story progress.

As for the levels themselves, they're generally shorter and simpler than the main story levels, as to be expected. A key distinction though: there are no major collectibles required for completion. The only pickups are the energy points used for your upgrades, gained either from grabbing them like coins or from beating enemies. You get extra points for combos (for some reason), and getting a high combo and overall point total is the requisite for this mode's main optional completion metric. You get up to a platinum medal based on your score for a level, with combo being the greatest metric to help with that goal. You need only a gold medal on each level to unlock the final bonus level, and I believe simply beating that is the requisite for save file completion. While this is a struggle at first, it's no trouble at all simply going back and blazing through early levels with an endgame set of upgrades. There are also extra side levels, ala the treasure roads from Forgotten Land or the Break Time levels from Super Mario Wonder, dedicated to testing specific moves and other skills. These iirc don't have medals, and just require clearing at all for the sake of completion, but they do have pretty decent point payout, so they're worth doing. Plus these types of levels are just fun, I'm glad they're a new standard in platformers nowadays.

There are also the bosses, which are Mean. This mode overall shares a lot in common with Star Allies's DLC mode, Heroes in Another Dimension, mostly in terms of location and being an extra extra postgame mode taking place in Another Dimension where you get to play as Magolor for a nonzero amount of time, but while the puzzles are simpler, the bosses are nasty in a manner very reminiscent of that mode. These are some of the toughest bosses the series has to offer, with even the first one giving me a rough time initially. Even as your skillset increases, the bosses ramp up proportionally, with the finale being especially devious. I'll say no more besides the final boss being one of the series highlights, somehow standing up in wow factor even now that the series has finally hit full 3D.

Speaking of bosses, the music for those is predictably great, as is that for the rest of the mode. Most tracks are remixes of main game tracks, but rearranged to be far more eerie and alien-sounding. It's a super unnerving vibe, especially in tandem with the mode's overall tone. The soundtrack becomes more triumphant as you progress, as you build up your confidence along with Magolor's power, building up to an extremely satisfying conclusion. It's really good stuff, as to be expected, and this game's especially strong use of motifs is worth special praise. On another note of presentation, the mode takes place in the interdimensional void from Heroes in Another Dimension, but with extra environmental details to make it feel less like a bunch of boring space blocks, as was the issue with the prior mode. It works here honestly, though admittedly levels within the same area blend together a bit, at least not being nearly as distinct as the main game levels.

I think the sole "complaint" worth mentioning with this mode is that it requires beating the main story to play. It's something I've heard at least one person bring up as a deterrent from buying the game, saying "just let me play the new thing right away", but like... oh no, you have to play Kirby's Return to Dreamland in order to play the new content, what a travesty. To me this complaint is moot and insane in the same way as "dang, I wish I could just eat my favorite dessert ever without having to eat my favorite meal first", but I'm obviously much easier than other people to convince to play through the base game repeatedly. Even then, the base game isn't that long if you blitz through it just to get to the shiny new mode, which to note itself isn't super long. You can beat Magolor Epilogue in one sitting if you want, maybe two if you wanna pace yourself a bit. Either way, it's not a super long endeavor, but it's a great one for sure, and adds a great postgame mode to an already great game, on par with others of its ilk like the Meta Knightmares, Dededetour, and Heroes in Another Dimension itself, arguably being the best of the lot.

...Which is more than can be said for the existing postgame mode, Extra Mode. Returning near verbatim from the Wii version, this is simply a second playthrough of the main adventure, but with halved player health, rarer food items, some bigger and smaller enemies, and harder bosses. You also can't use the optional baby mode added into the base game, which doubles your health, and lets Magolor bring you healing items and save you from pits. It's unlocked at the same time as Magolor Epilogue, which... I mean. On the one hand, I appreciate that it's not removing "content" from the original besides Scope Shot, but on the other hand even I can admit it's a bit lame having to play the game again but only marginally harder, especially alongside the much more exciting postgame campaign. I could maybe argue they should've made Extra Mode more exciting, maybe shake up the levels more, but I think I much prefer that they put their effort into the entirely new mode, then left the original modes relatively untouched. The one sucky part is, once again, beating and 100% completing Extra Mode is required for true 100% on your save file. You can't just blitz through it even though the collectibles are nearly identical to obtain. Which again, sucks, but oh well, not a dealbreaker to anyone I imagine.

On the last note of modes, the series staple boss rush mode, The Arena also unlocks upon beating the main story. However, unlike the original, The True Arena requires completing both Extra Mode (like before) and Magolor Epilogue. This means the game's final main mode requires beating both of the postgames in order to unlock, and it's a massive gauntlet of both the harder Extra Mode bosses and the new Magolor Epilogue bosses. It's a hell of a challenge I only managed to clear using a certain cheesy ability I won't mention, but appreciated giving a climactic spotlight to an ability that normally doesn't get much praise.

Now with all modes new and old mentioned in riveting detail, that covers most of what I wanted to talk about with this game, barring anything that's a direct spoiler. So verdict?

In my heart, this game is the rare instance of improving perfection. It's already one of my longtime favorite games ever, from a series I only appreciate more and more each day for how purely it sparks joy. This is a game I never get tired of, one I've adored since childhood and have only loved more the more I've picked it apart with challenge runs and other repeat playthroughs. There's not much more I could've wanted from it, and yet, it was blessed with the best port out of a library stocked with plenty ranging from great to middling. It looks gorgeous, sounds and plays great as ever, and just has even more to do and play with. Even if not every addition is perfect, the entire package has such a fullness to it, and the game I've loved all along is there almost untouched. It feels like such a complete and delightful game that my nitpicks I've mentioned feel and should be read as a bit silly. Again, this is an undoubtedly biased review, if this game doesn't cure depression and save the world for you then don't blame me, but this is my post series of gushing for what I love.

This is my game of the year for 2023, and I don't say that too lightly, even if it is cheating a little since it's largely a remake. If you have the means, play it. It's a great introduction to a very fun beginner-friendly series that's also got plenty of harder challenges stored. It's a great solo time, but the entire game allows for multiplayer aside from the main game's challenge levels (Magolor Epilogue included, forgot to mention that detail, you just all play as different colored Magolors), and it's fun throughout, so I recommend it even more strongly if you get that chance. I seriously can't recommend this game enough, and I'm not sorry about it.

Anyways, possibly expect some (hopefully) less in-depth reviews of some other games I've played this past year coming in another post within the coming days. Next TIL might be TMNT 2012 but that's gonna be about 120 episodes before we get to that point, so I may end up finding something else to talk about faster. I may also be doing the seasonal recap/personal history format in the meantime, in part because it means I get to go more in-depth where I otherwise wouldn't. I like this post series for spoiler-free overviews, so I'd enjoy the chance to talk about spoilers for once while giving the proper warning. Expect that slightly sooner then. Until then though!

[giantchasm]

Kirby characters and birthdays

A while back I was thinking about Kirby and birthdays. And so I decided to create potential birthdays for every character... and I figured I’d share, since they’re all based on stuff like release dates and reveal trailers, which I figured could make them pretty usable by just about anyone. It'd be fun to celebrate characters' birthdays 'individually' instead of in sets.

Generally, I followed the rule of thumb of giving the most important character from each game the earliest birthday, although there were some exceptions

Enjoy!:

Kirby: April 27th (Kirby’s Dreamland JP release date) Dedede: August 1st (Kirby’s Dreamland NA release date) Meta Knight: March 23rd (Kirby’s Adventure JP release date) Bandana Waddle Dee: September 22nd (Super Star Ultra’s NA release date)

The rest will be placed under a cut.

Whispy Woods: August 3rd (Kirby’s Dreamland PAL release date) Nightmare: May 1st (Kirby’s Adventure NA release date) Rick: November 22nd (Kirby’s Dreamland 2 AU release date) Kine: May 1st (Kirby’s Dreamland 2 NA release date) Coo: July 31st (Kirby’s Dreamland 2 EU release date) Dark Matter Swordsman: March 21st (Kirby’s Dreamland 2 JP release date) Gooey: March 27th (Kirby’s Dreamland 3 JP release date) Nago: November 27th (Kirby’s Dreamland 3 NA release date) Pitch: July 24th (Kirby’s Dreamland 3 Wii Virtual Console release in Europe— the first ever time it got the game) Chuchu: September 5th (Kirby’s Dreamland 3 NSO release) Adeline: March 24th (Kirby 64’s JP release date) Ribbon: June 27th (Kirby 64’s NA release date) Zero: June 22nd (Kirby 64's EU release date) Marx: March 21st (Kirby Superstar’s JP release date) Gryll: Febuary 1st (Star Stacker’s digital release date in JP) Dark Meta Knight: April 15th (Amazing Mirror’s JP release date) Shadow Kirby: July 2nd (Amazing Mirror’s EU release date) Dark Mind: October 18th (Amazing Mirror’s US release date) Drawcia: March 24th (Canvas Curse’s JP release date) Daroach: November 2nd (Squeak Squad’s JP release date) Dark Nebula: December 4th (Squeak Squad’s NA release date) Galacta Knight: November 6th (Super Star Ultra’s JP release date) Prince Fluff: October 14th (Epic Yarn’s JP release date) Magolor: October 24th (Return to Dreamland’s NA release date) Landia: October 27th (Return to Dreamland’s JP release date) Taranza: January 11th (Triple Deluxe’s JP release date) Sectonia: May 2nd (Triple Deluxe’s NA release date) Shadow Dedede: May 16th (Triple Deluxe’s EU release date) Susie: June 10th (Robobot’s NA release date) Haltmann: April 28th (Robobot’s JP release date) Star Dream: June 11th (Robobot’s AU release date) Zan Partizanne: March 16th (Star Allies’ almost-worldwide release date) Hyness: April 26th (Star Allies’ South Korean release date) Francisca: January 12th (Francisca is first revealed on Twitter) Flamberge: February 16th (Flamberge is first revealed on Twitter) Elfilin (& Forgo): March 25th (Forgotten Land worldwide release date) Elfilis: September 23rd (Forgotten Land reveal date) Leon: March 3rd (Forgotten Land demo release date) Clawroline: February 14th (Clawroline reveal trailer)

Some notes:

☆ I gave Rick the AU release date for Dreamland 2 because of his accent in the anime dub. Tehehe. ☆ I'm aware Zero debuted in Dreamland 3, but seeing as how so many other characters also debuted in Dreamland 3 I was forced to base its birthday on Kirby 64 instead ☆I gave Haltmann the earliest Robobot release date birthday so Susie's birthday would be right before Star Dream's. I thought that would be funny, in a darkly ironic sort of way. Since it's sort of a replacement goldfish for her.

[kirbytripledeluxe]

i haven't played any kirby games.what should i play first

GOOD FOR YOU BECAUSE IVE PUT SO MUCH THOUGH INTO THIS QUESTION

so my first game was triple deluxe back in 2016 because it was easiest to access . and... tbh if i wasnt immediately intrigued and did a bunch of research from the get go i wouldve been cooked. as much as i love it its .. not very good as an introductory game. that doesnt define whether its good or bad though tbh

in terms of what i DO recommend.... it depends on what youre going for! i think any of the three mainline switch entries would be good.

- star allies has a lot of characters from past games, a BANGER storyline, and is pretty much a perfect difficulty for newcomers. its not "too easy" despite what some may tell you, and even if it is it didnt take away the enjoyment for me tbh

- forgotten land is considered the best modern kirby game and was a LOT of peoples introduction. its the first and so far only 3d entry (aside from blowout blast) and strays from the usual formula a LOT more than most other entries do, if that's a deterrent in any way. but it seems to have set the standard for the games to come, if youre interested in playing any future titles ^^

- return to dreamland deluxe is like. the complete kirby package. it doesnt have a lot of characters but it DOES have who is considered to be the main four and a fan favorite. the base game itself on the wii is a fan favorite on its own. that and it has a bunch of minigames, a bunch of references to past characters (masks), magolor epilogue, etc! this is my personal pick but the other two are pretty notable as well

[sortanonymous]

Sorta's CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Collection

Tons of notes under the cut

The Beatles Red and Blue albums are the 2023 remixed and expanded versions, not the 2010 remasters with practically the exact same packaging.

The Bad 25 case has been jammed since I got it in 2019, so despite it having a bonus disc inside, I've only ever been able to use the first disc. Yeah, that's nice.

I do have the slipcover on Echoes in a drawer, but not on the case because the case is kind of busted and can't fit it.

The tiny replacement case is for Running with Scissors by "Weird Al" Yankovic.

I don't actually have Rio or Surf's Up (at least not the discs anymore) but I'm using them as replacement cases for the Snow White 2001 cases, since that case wasn't in great shape. Prepare to see something like that a lot.

The Tangled DVD case has disc 1 of the Atlantis DVD due to a bad disc holder in that case (disc 2 isn't too bad though)

The copy of Iron Man on the third shelf was one I bought from a record store in 2020 that somehow didn't have the bonus Blu-Ray, but instead a DVD copy, and for some reason I didn't think to get a refund (it was the same visit actually when I got Echoes and its bad case).

I put the discs for the Steven Universe box set in those four clear cases due to how bad the sleeves were. However, I also keep the original Season 1 DVD there (which I got a couple years earlier in 2018) because the identical S1 discs in that specific box set might have been particularly ruined. (Now do you see why I want disc sleeves in box sets banned?)

I do have Angry Birds Toons S2, Vol. 1 on DVD, but due to, wait for it, another bad case, I have the disc in the Lion King 2011 Blu-Ray case, which conveniently was missing the DVD. (Same story actually for Finding Dory as I moved my Kirby's Dream Collection case into there from a bad GameStop case, although nowadays at least it's backed up through USB Loader GX.)

The Star Trek Compendium steelbook version on the 2nd shelf (which was also from that visit to that record store that I swear was way better than I'm making it out to be) was such a nightmare packaging-wise that I just ordered the case version of it.

The version of Star Trek Beyond I have is the Target 2-disc Blu-Ray, with the DVD thrown into the Snow White 2001 case.

The Cartoon Saloon box set's weird disc holders were bad (especially for Song of the Sea, which had to spend a few days after Christmas '21 in an empty Wii U case) so I have those 4 discs in a plain case.

The Arrested Development S1 DVD I bought in 2023 had a broken disc spindle, so the 3 discs are spread across an empty Minecraft Xbox case, a LEGO Star Wars Force Awakens PS4 case, and the actual case.

I also have a VERY old DVD of Batman (1989) via a Wii copy of LEGI Batman: The Videogame.

Ftr, I still haven't mentioned that I'll probably need replacement cases, for varying reasons, for Encanto, A Bug's Life, every 2018-present Pixar movie with 2 Blu-Ray discs, MCU Phase 3b (and 3a if I ever get that in 4K), Holy Grail Extraordinarily Deluxe edition, SpongeBob 100 Episodes, and especially del Toro's Pinocchio.

Tl;dr: my tastes might be a bit limited and weird and apparently making a reliable case is 100 times harder than you think. Viva La Disque!

[motherfuckermorgan]

kirby's return to dream land thoughts

didn't really go into this game planning to make a post like this, this was just a game i wanted to give a go but i ended up having a decent amount to say about this game that i can't really fit into twitter posts neatly.

modern 2d kirby games are really interesting. i think they are the most mechanically rich the series has ever been, though admittedly they do end up sacrificing some of the simplicity that it core to kirby as a result. though this also creates a contradiction where because you're given so many more options the games are now also generally easier. kirby games were always pretty easy, though i did find myself more likely to die if i was playing haphazardly in those. more options = easier yet less simple, but also allows the game to create a higher skill ceiling for its most difficult challenges in the postgame. i didn't really try any of these so i won't speak on them, but the main campaign of this game is relatively breezy. i had 80 lives by the end of the game and i'd imagine a kid could make it through with a fraction of those lives.

return to dream land is also the first console kirby game in a while, and in a lot of way it's really really safe. mechnically speaking the only thing they push outta the game that would've been unreasonably for the poor feeble DS was the addition of 4 player multiplayer. graphically though? this game takes full advantage of being on much beefier hardware. kirby character designs have, to me, always translated extremely well to 3d designs. some series do struggle graphically when making the transition to 3d, meanwhile with kirby? kirby 64 is by far the best looking game on the N64 in no small part to the simple character designs lending themselves well to a lowplay style. but i digress. i played the switch port for this playthrough and damn, i gotta be real, the thick outlines of the characters contrasting the levels really does look nice. it gives the game a nice bit of pop and does account for the fact that a lot of people are likely gonna be playing this as a handheld game. the wii original is no slouch in the graphics department, but the switch version is, in my opinion, the best that kirby has ever looked in 3d!

while it is a very nice looking game, in terms of theming... it's nothing that kirby hasn't done before. you got your beach levels, your volcano levels, industrial levels, grass levels, etc etc it's all very safe. i guess it makes sense given kirby hadn't been on a console in over a decade, but it does make this very odd to me, in terms of comparing it to the game that would follow it. the theming of the sequel games is STRONG. triple deluxe takes a more naturalistic approach, while planet robobot contrasts this with an industrialist approach. star allies ties together what is otherwise mostly a game for fanservice with a kid friendly cult. forgotten land takes you to an apocalyptic world, a world now overgrown but still containing many manmade structures that create a dark undertone that forces you to ask "What happened here". return to dream land, again, does not in my mind have this sort of distinct theming. we're just in dream land again. we're gonna see the same kind of levels we've come to expect, without much of a twist on them. perhaps this is being unfair to the game, and i would at the very least place it higher than star allies, but i can't pretend like this game left all that strong of an impression on me in this regard.

i cannot say the same for the game's villain, magolor. holy shit does this guy steal the show. if there's anything to remember about this game, it's him. in a similar vein to marx, he feigns being kirby's friend by laying a problem in his lap. magolor's ship has crashed on popstar, and he needs help repairing his ship to make it back home. of course, we're never given a reason as to why he came out of a big ass black hole far away from home, but kirby's just a nice guy and is willing to help out. we've no reason to be overtly suspicious about magolor, other than he's rather secretive about how he even ended up here. this, in my opinion, helps with the twist later. his true nature is revealed when, upon defeating the dragon that doomed his ship prior, it is revealed that magolor is another power-hungry maniac trying to conquer the universe. he is so nice to you up until this point, it is easy to get attached and therefore easier to feel the betrayal. marx doesn't really have this? he shows up once before deciding, actually, i want to take over the world. magolor is a constant presence, he IS the driving force of the game. he is the one you meet at the end of each world, and he is the one who drives you to slay the only beast keeping him from obtaining ultimate power.

i had a lot to say about the set dressing of the game, but how about the levels themselves? they're about as good as they've always been, i reckon. they also come with some of my kirby gripes. i've always felt a bit odd about how kirby games did puzzle solving for its optional areas. it makes sense that they'd want you to engage with a specific copy ability, but i always found this hard to come to grips with. kirby games are so easy, it would be most fun just to blast through the game with your favorite copy ability. this is actually how i often play through kirby 64! but it's also not practical if you wanna get the most out of the game. i'm not really sure what the solution is, it's not like i want the puzzles to be less interesting, but i can't pretend like it isn't a problem for me personally.

in general, the level design is pretty solid. they're nothing you haven't seen before, but then again, that's a reoccurring theme. i do think the expanded movepools give you more to do when you're going from level to level, as well as giving more depth to the bosses.

i will say also, the central gimmick of this game is... underwhelming. i think this is the BIGGEST issue with modern kirby games. often times the gimmick of the game is an uninteresting one. i think the only games where i'm fully on board with them is the robots in robobot and mouthful mode in forgotten land. the stronger copy abilities are... fine. i do think that they kind of make my problem of "Having to constantly switch copy abilities isn't the most fun" worse. i also think that a lot of them don't create the most fun puzzle solving. pretty much all of them just boil down to hitting the attack button in the right spot, which i suppose you could argue is how a lot of kirby puzzles go, but it feels more egregious when you have to watch a longer than normal animation every time. you're also just practically invincible during these segments. sure, you CAN get hit, but also, the second you see an enemy, it's as easy as hitting the attack button every time. shout out to the snow roll though, that one was genuinely fun pretty much every time i came across it.

seems like this game got me to bitch a LOT. but it's really much easier to nitpick a game like this than say "it's cute and i like it :)" over and over. this is a great game! it's just a game that IMO lives in the shadow of better games that have followed it since. more than worth playing, but don't expect this to be a big shakeup for the kirby series or anything.

[dragon-snoots-a-boopin]

I just want to say that like if you like one but didn't play it on the original hardware, that's fine. For example, I could pick that my favorite is Epic Yarn (it's not) even though my experience with it is the remake on the 3DS. Just an example tho.

[elizabethvonbean]

It is 2023 media thread time!

Here we go!!!!

January (3)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation

Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy

February (7)

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Super Scribblenauts

Scribblenauts Unlimited

Lil Gator Game

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: Link’s 4-Koma Nautical Logbook

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe

March (10)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Manga)

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-

Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover

Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road

April (5)

Kingdom Hearts III + Re:Mind

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Metroid Prime Remastered

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed

May (8)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus

Final Fantasy XV: Episode Prompto

Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ignis

Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn

Napoleon Dynamite

June (1)

Pikmin

July (8)

Gimmick! Special Edition

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Kirby’s Dream Land

Kirby’s Adventure

Kirby Super Star

Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land

Meteos

Super Mario 3D World

August (4)

Mega Man

Mega Man 2

Mega Man 3

Jet Set Radio Future

September (4)

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

New Super Mario Bros.

Guilty Gear -Strive- Story Mode

The Peanuts Movie

October (3)

Breaking Bad Season 1

Pink Hour

Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk

November (12)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Super Mario Kart

Suika Game

Kero Blaster

Ikachan

Cave Story 3D

Pink Heaven

Mario Kart 64

WarioWare: Touched!

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Five Nights at Freddy's (Movie)

December (4)

Undertale Yellow (Pacifist Route)

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered

Pokémon Violet

Super Mario World (TV Series)

Final Count: 69

2023 Media Tier List

[grinbrothers]

Nintendo Direct February 2023 Thoughts!

It’s that time once again when Nintendo announces a new Nintendo Direct with very little warning during a work week and so I don’t have the time to record and edit a reaction video... so here’s a Tumblr post sharing my immediate thoughts on the recent Direct instead. I rather regret not recording my reaction to last year’s September/Farmer Direct but this one... not so much. There was plenty of good stuff featured in this direct, but the stuff that interested me had either already leaked or is a more “that’s cool; I may consider getting it” type response.

Now my favourite pieces of news (oh yeah, spoilers beware if you haven’t watched the direct yet) was the stuff concerning Advance Wars 1 + 2 Re-Boot Camp and Kirby’s Return To Dreamland Deluxe. For the former, it’s cool to see it’s beautiful cinematic and to get a new release date. For the latter and it’s Magolor Epilogue mode, the platforming RPG escapade as Magolor effectively ventures through the realm of the dead looks awesome!

The biggest surprise for me was Baten Kaitos receiving not one but two remasters. The fact that Nintendo has remembered these games at all is a huge surprise. They are weird but unique and fun games... and Raphaham’s terrible recollection of the game’s story was one of the funniest conversations I’ve ever had with him. Samba De Amigo: Party Central would have been a surprise if I hadn’t been spoiled on it seconds before the direct. I’m intrigued by it as I do have a decent fondness for rhythm games/sections and the joy-con demonstration with it’s motion controls gave me nostalgic Wii vibes.

The last game I figured I would highlight with it’s own paragraph is Sea of Stars; first game of the direct that had me going “Oooh” and “Ahhh.” It’s a charming looking turn based RPG that I’m sure I’ve seen before but each time it grabs my interest.

Other games/aspects of the Direct that had me intrigued are as follows: Game Boy games on Switch, Ghost Trick HD, Omega Strike, Master Detective Archives: RAINCODE, and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. What did you think of the Nintendo Direct though? Any games catch your interest?

[mejores-juegos-2023]

En este blog pondre el top 10 de los mejores juego de este año 2023

10-empezamos esta lista con Street Fighter 6

Ryu, Chun Li y el resto de World Warriors de Capcom regresan de la mano de una nueva generación de luchadores callejeros. Street Fighter 6 supone la mayor revolución jugable de la saga y da margen a que los veteranos y los machacabotones compartan la emoción del combate con montones de modos individuales y online, incluyendo un salón recreativo dentro del propio juego.

9-seguimos la lista con Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

De Los creadores de Batman: Arkham vuelven a tomar el control del universo DC en los videojuegos. Eso sí, esta vez no tomaremos el control de superhéroes: ¡el plan es destruirlos! Rocksteady quiere que sembremos el caos y la destrucción como Harley Quinn y el resto del Escuadrón Suicida. ¿Qué puede salir mal?

8-Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Lucasfilm tiene muchos proyectos de Star Wars convenientemente repartidos a lo largo de 2023, pero la secuela de Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order merece un trato muy especial. Respawn retoma el legado de la LucasArts más inpirada continuando la historia de Cal Kestis, un intrépido superviviente a la caída de la Orden Jedi.

7-el juego de este puesto no podria ser ninguno mas que Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Cuando Peter Parker y Miles Morales parecían tener sus vidas más o menos bajo control, un nuevo enemigo pondrá el universo Marvel patas arriba: el simbionte Venom entra en escena en la secuela de Marvel's Spider-Man. Una excusa perfecta para que los Spider-Men estrenen nuevos inventos y actualicen su repertorio de chistes entre balanceos épicos y puñetazos cargados de energía.

6-este puesto se lo lleva nadie mas que Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

Diversión plataformera y risas para hasta cuatro jugadores de cualquier edad. Nintendo Switch relanza en clásico Kirby's Adventure de Wii dándole un tratamiento Deluxe: más diversión, más poderes y más mini-juegos con ese toque maestro de Nintendo.

5-Hogwarts Legacy

Un videojuego de rol y mundo abierto creado expresamente para satisfacer la curiosidad y el espíritu de aventuras de los fans de Harry Potter. Hogwarts Legacy se ambienta un siglo antes de la saga literaria, permitiéndonos tomar parte como alumnos en la historia del enigmático y siempre fascinante Colegio de Magia y Hechicería del Castillo Hogwarts. Ten a mano tu varita.

4-Forza Motorsport

El proyecto de automovilismo más ambicioso de la nueva década lleva la firma de Turn10. Forza Motorsport es un reinicio integral de la aclamada saga de Xbox Game Studios. Uno a lo grande. El grado de detalle de sus vehículos y escenarios juega en una liga muy diferente al resto de entregas y sus pretensión de ser el nuevo referente absoluto de la condición en los videojuegos va muy en serio

!¡TOP 3!¡

Ya en el top 3 de los mejores juegos de 2023 tenemos

3-no podria ser el top 3 si no fuera por el gran The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Tears of the Kingdom, es el máximo vendeconsolas de Nintendo para 2023. tal cual. La secuela de The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild inicia una nueva etapa para Switch en la que el héroe de Hyrule regresa para redescubrirnos ese mundo abierto colmado de aventuras y misterios que enamoró al mundo entero. Eso sí, esta vez Link deberá enfrentarse al mal y demostrar su valor incluso más allá de las nubes.

2-en el numero tenemos el juego mas esperado

Por mas de 10 años Dead Island 2

¡La secuela de Dead Island no estaba muerta! Es más, Deep Silver se ha tomado muy en serio lo de convertir la ciudad de Los Ángeles en el lugar ideal para experimentar un post-apocalipsis zombi tras el episodio final de The Walking Dead. Otra cosa es que logremos sobrevivir en él. En todo caso, no será por falta de armas.

1-en el top 1 tenemos uno de los mejores remakes hablamos de nada mas y nada menos que Resident Evil 4 Remake

Da igual si jugaste a Resident Evil 4 en su día o te enganchaste a la saga con los remakes recientes: la nueva venida del clásico de Capcom es uno de los mejores Survival Horrors jamás hechos, y que reciba una puesta al día integral, tanto en lo jugable como a través del RE Engine, lo convierte en una cita obligada.