#truly so mario kart-esque of them

[chaoticlandworlder]

New strats just dropped

[miloscat]

[Review] Sonic R (PS2)

Peak Saturn vibes.

I’ve now got much more Sonic experience under my belt. I’m thrilled that I can now have informed opinions about the series! But now it’s time to play some spinoffs from over the years that I’ve always meant to try out. First up is the franchise’s first racing game… that people really like (the Game Gear had the two Drift games but it doesn’t seem like they made much of an impact).

British studio Traveller’s Tales had proved themselves with the isometric game Sonic 3D Blast so Sega commissioned them for an original title for the Saturn. As it turned out this would be Sonic’s only full new game on the system as the highly anticipated 3D debut Xtreme never came to be, and the only other titles were a 3D Blast conversion, the Mega Drive compilation Sonic Jam, and a cameo in Christmas Nights. I played the version included in the Sonic Gems Collection on PS2, which is based on the enhanced PC port.

Sonic R is an unconventional racing game in that, while it still plays not unlike a standard kart racer, many of the characters are on foot, and the game includes platforming and exploration elements. While I’ve played other games that include some of these ingredients like Rayman Arena, Beetle Adventure Racing, and arguably Sonic Rivals, the mix is intoxicating here, helped by excellent track design and immaculate vibes.

Rather than multi-track cups, you just play each track on its own. Well, there's only five tracks total and one is unlockable (a consequence of a quick development turnaround) so it makes sense. You can go for first place but the more satisfying goal is learning all the side paths and shortcuts. These dense little environments, designed by Sonic Team, have depth to make up for their paucity, and finding their secrets (in the form of tokens and Chaos Emeralds) unlocks new racers and the final Rainbow Road-esque track which is more a victory lap to speed around with your overpowered unlocks. Rings scattered around can be paid to open doors or enhance your boosts, and item tokens can help a bit but there's nothing as unbalanced as your typical Mario Kart game.

The racers have an interesting amount of variance to their stats. For instance, Tails is slippery and nimble while the Egg Robo has much more inertia. Sonic double jumps, Knuckles can glide, Robotnik in his hoverpod can shoot homing projectiles (they're not very debilitating), while Amy uniquely drives a car(!) which funnily enough is relatively slow but gets a boost on cooldown. Along with Metal Sonic, R introduces new counterparts in the form of Metal Knuckles and the fan-favourite Tails Doll. I would have liked to see them go all-out with even more characters but it's a decent selection and acts as a pretty good send-off to the Classic era before the characters got redesigned in Adventure. These low-poly renditions are just adorable!

Another way of remixing the racetracks is a weather system that changes the lighting and conditions. It makes the inevitable replays that much fresher, and of course the smooth tunes will draw you in as well. Veteran composer Richard Jacques nails it with a catchy Eurobeat mix, each track accompanied wonderfully by vocals from TJ Davis. It's a transportive soundtrack that gives the game a singular feel; this is truly what video games were made for. I was shocked to learn that this game's music is considered divisive! It's great!

Anyway, I had a breeze with this one. I did turn the difficulty to easy so I could focus on the exploratory aspects without worrying too much about winning (you do need to place well to keep the emeralds and unlocks), and I have no shame. Sonic R is a lovely little treat. This is Sega at its best: experimental, collaborating with international partners, and with vibes off the charts. Also, the framerate is rock solid which I've learned is never a guarantee with Sonic games. I know that later British-developed Sonic racing games are also excellent, but in between I still need to investigate the Riders series of hoverboard racers. Until then!

[wasteitonserendipity]

Pairing: Mingyu x female reader

Genre: more adorably sweet fluff

Warnings: none that I can think of!

An: sorry it’s been a minute since I posted! I had some written for this but ended up scrapping it and rewriting it! Hopefully I’ll be able to wrap this up nicely soon ☺️ feedback is always welcome and my requests are also open!

“ I cant believe you let me win!” Mingyu whined from his spot on the makeshift bed next to you, controller in his hand and his signature pout on his lips.

“I’m sorry,” you chuckled, pecking him quickly on the cheek, “have you seen the face you make when you lose? It’s both the saddest thing and the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen!”

Tonight’s original plans for your one year anniversary had been foiled due to the unseasonable inclement weather, but in truly Mingyu/Yn fashion, you made the best of it.

Instead of going to the fancy restaurant you’d made reservations at, you opted for cooking together, something you didn’t get to do often due to conflicting work schedules. You both chose a meal that took a little more effort and little more finesse but absolutely paid off in the end.

Instead of taking a stroll around the park where you two had your first date, you instead made a Pinterest-esque blanket and pillow fort in your living room. Of course making sure to add the fairy lights and mini projector for games and movies.

And instead of the gorgeous black dress Mingyu had picked for you and the fitted three piece suit you’d picked for him, you were perfectly content in the matching pajama set Seungkwan had bought you guys as a joke. Little did he know that you two LOVED the dorky outfits and even said you planned on taking your Christmas pictures in them. You’d even made sure to send Seungkwan a picture of you two wearing them.

This would be your third round of Mario Kart and while mingyu was good at most games, this was one where he did not excel. So, maybe you held down the gas peddle a bit too long at the start and blew yourself up, giving him a bit of a head start. And maybe, just maybe you’d put yourself in the way of a few shells here and there.

“Well since you won,” you giggled, poking him in the ribs to get him to smile, “you get to pick the movie.”

Hearing this made him perk up a little bit. One of the things he loved doing with you was watching movies. So much so that he even had a running list of movie titles that he planned on showing you at some point or another.

“I know exactly what we’re watching,” he said with a mischievous grin.

—————————————————————————

He’s not sure when it happened but Mingyu guessed somewhere around half way mark through Sleepless in Seattle you’d fallen asleep with your head on his lap. He knew this week had been extremely stressful for you and then for your anniversary plans to go sideways? He knew he had to make sure it was as relaxing as possible. As soon as you laid down, curling up in to a ball he could tell you were gonna fall asleep. It probably didn’t help that at some point he started absentmindedly starting playing with your hair which always lulled you to sleep.

This is it for me. This girl right here. He thought to himself as you lay peacefully on his legs.

He’d known since probably a month into seeing each other that you were his end game.

You were the one he wanted to wake up and fall asleep next to every day for the rest of his life. He wanted to be the reason for your biggest smiles and your happiest moments. He wanted to be the one to wipe away your tears and make you feel better when you were sad. He wanted forever with you.

And he’d been planning just that.

The small piece of gemstone and metal had been burning a hole in his pocket for a month now. And as much as he wanted to wake you up now and ask you that simple yet enormous question, it still wasn’t the right time.

He was waiting for the perfect moment.

<<previous masterlist next>>

[umikawa]

Terrible Things; Sakusa Kiyoomi

Here’s the thing, I have writers block, so sorry if this is Parker circa 2018 writing. But then again, not sorry. Omi is a oblivious and cautious.

Sakusa Kiyoomi x Gn Reader. 1.4k slight angst? Tiny bit of fluff?

Warnings; minor character death, death at birth(mentioned), cursing(1), parent pushing beliefs...? Philophobia in a way.

“Walk away from love Kiyoomi, it always ends. It’s better to stay away from it than deal with the repercussions.”

“But-”

“No buts!”

Five-year-old kiyoomi never really understood why his father had said that to him, he couldn’t ask his mom, she wasn’t around anymore, neither his sister nor brother didn’t seem to want to explain to him- so he was stuck wondering.

He always strayed from friendships, always opting for the empty table in the lunchroom, hiding in the corner of the library with the history books no other kid seemed to touch.

Whether a girl or a boy came up to him, he’d act uninterested in becoming friends because he always assumed that becoming friends would lead to a possible love.

He grew to hate the persistent people, the ones who always pushed themselves onto him in hopes of becoming friends with the lonesome boy.

Four years later when his sister had begun moving out of the house did she finally tell him what his dad meant.

“Omi, do you see this woman?” She asked, pointing at a picture of a tall female, his dad standing beside her. He shakes his head no, he had no idea who she was. “That’s our mom.”

His eyes widen, snatching the picture from her hands to inspect it closely, glancing back and forth between the photo and his sister. “You two look so much alike.” He said.

“You think so?” She smiled, messing with the curls on his head.

“But I don’t understand, where is she?”

His sister had sighed, confusion coursing through his veins when his brother nearly dropped the pan in his hands.

“Omi, mom passed away when you were born.”

Kiyoomi declared that he wouldn’t fall in love for the first time in four years but, this time he meant it.

He sees you all the time around school, talking to everyone so casually and enthusiastically, he decides he hates you before he can get to know you.

You don’t approach him at all and it leaves him accomplished and confused.

Was it that you didn’t like him? You seemed to like everyone, easily striking up a conversation so animatedly because the band kid likes the same show as you. You and him had similar interests… at least that’s what he assumes.

So why was it that you never talked to him and why did it bother him as much as it did?

“Earth to Sakusa.”

He shakes his head, looking at Komori who leaned in front of him to get his attention. “What?”

“Seriously? Dude you’ve been out of it a lot lately, what’s on your mind?” The libero asks, holding his chin in his palm.

He glanced at him, turning his attention back to his food. “It’s nothing.”

Komori sighs, shrugging his shoulders. “Well, if you say so. But if you ever want to talk about anything, I’m always here.”

Komori doesn’t ask again. He wants Kiyoomi to come to him on his own terms, not when he’s pushing for the guy to tell him.

“Hi, Sakusa right?”

He looks up from his science homework, pencil dropping to the floor in a movie esque manner, thudding to the ground in slow motion before you pick it up.

“Yeah, It’s Sakusa.” He answers, looking down at his sheet.

“Um, Do you think you could.. would you want to maybe…” he waits patiently, glancing between you and his worksheet. “I’m sorry, I had something to say but I guess it won’t come out.”

“It’s fine.” You stand still for a second after he replies, turning on your heel to leave before he asks, “Do you feel obligated to talk to me?”

“I’m sorry?”

He sighs, cursing himself for blurting out such a question. “I’ve seen you talk to nearly everyone in this school except for me.” At that, your mouth fell open, unformed sentences spewing from your mouth. “It’s just if you think you need to talk to me you don’t. It’s fine.”

You wave your hands in defense, “no it’s not that it’s just! In elementary you never really showed interest in anything besides maybe volleyball and I didn’t know if we had any of the same interests or not!”

He stills, you were at his elementary this entire time? How could he have not noticed you, even then...did you ever bother to try (and fail) to become his friend? Or was he cast in the dust just like now?

“Oh.”

You sheepishly smiled at him, “I’m sorry if this comes out as rude but, why didn’t you talk to me first instead of vice versa?”

“Ah… well,” he tries to think of an answer other than, “I don’t want to fall in love with you.”

Well if he said that, he wouldn’t have to deal with you anymore

“I don’t know.”

When you smiled at him, he didn’t miss the way his heart skipped a beat, hand coming up to his chest when you walked away.

Shit.

“Oi Oi, Omi what’s with you?”

He looks at his brother, his eyes concentrated on the Mario kart game in front of them. “Huh? Nothing.”

“You sure? I know when my baby brother isn’t okay.” He said, pausing the game to look at him. “Tell your big bro what’s bugging you.”

He covers his face with his hands. “There’s this person at school who recently started talking to me but we always knew who the other was. And they smiled at me and I got this funny feeling in my chest.”

He whips his head in his brother's direction when he hears laughter, face contorting from confusion to disgust at the sight of his brother laughing like a madman, rolling all over the floor.

“Sorry, Omi it’s just!” His sentence is cut off by his obnoxious laughter, kiyoomi glaring at his back as he raised his hand. “Okay, I’ll laugh later it’s just, Omi you’ve got a crush.”

“I have to crush what?”

He blinks when his brother deadpans, pure confusion painted on his face. “You don’t have to crush anything, you bonehead. You have a crush. You like that person you were talking about.”

“But, Dad said I couldn’t-”

“Ah, Kiyoomi, whatever that old man said to you before, it doesn’t matter now. He said that same thing to me and big sis when we were younger, didn’t stop me.” He says, ruffling his hair. “These are your feelings, that old geezer shouldn’t dictate your feelings.”

“But isn’t he looking out for me?”

He clicks his tongue, “yeah, but that’s about it.” He clasped his hand on his shoulder, snapping in front of his eyes. “Listen if you like this person, I say go for it. You’ve got the looks, you’ve got somewhat of a charm, and your personality isn’t that shitty.”

“Gee thanks.”

“I’m trying to help!”

The next two months blew over quickly. Students that passed him in the hall were surprised to see you by his side most of the time, talking so enthusiastically while he listened with a ghost of a smile. They didn’t know if you two were dating or if you’d managed to become his friend but, either way- they didn’t miss the glint in his eyes whenever he saw you.

His father never found out about you, not that it would be any of his business if he did. Kiyoomi felt safe with you. Always finding himself laying his head against your thighs in your room, talking about anything that bothered him.

He sighs when he feels your nails drag against his scalp, rubbing your knee with his thumb. “Hey, (Name)?”

“Yeah, Omi?”

“I like someone.” He says, closing his eyes. “But I’m too scared.”

“Scared of what Omi.” You ask.

He sighs, turning over to look at you. “Scared that one day, I’ll fall in love with them and get heartbroken.”

You never took Kiyoomi to be the type of person to stray from love, you just assumed he kept it lowkey.

“Not every love ends in heartbreak, you know?” You try, biting the inside of your cheek when he tenses. “But… it is always a possibility. Not everyone is cut out from the same cloth, and not everyone will love the same. Some people love more than others, some people less. And you know, some don’t love at all.”

“What about you?”

“Me?” He nods, staring up at you. “I guess I’d say I’m one of the ones who hasn’t truly experienced love enough to have a proper grasp on it. Not opposed to it, but, not in love with it either.”

“(Name)?” You hum, waiting for him to continue. “Do you love me?”

“I do. Do you love me?”

“I do.”

[fpsantangelo]

1-10 for bryce and his daddy!

im gonna actually, physically blow up i never get 2 b soft w these two bless you. let’s do some established relationship shit 😤👏

1. Who wakes up first?I’d say Zim does usually, Bryce is a fucking pill to wake up in the morning, he’s one of those 5 separate alarms people, whereas Zim is better at being a morning person, he’ll just sit up n check his phone n keep an arm around Bryce or a hand in his hair until he wakes up.

2. Who wants to stay in bed just a little bit longer?Probably could guess from the last one, but it’s Bryce, he’s a heavy sleeper & generally hates being awake before noon (mood), so when Zim gets him up for early games, he just groans and tries to pull him back down next to him for just 5 more minutes.

3. Who takes longer getting ready?Fucking Bryce omg r u kidding me, u think that hair does itself?? It’s unfortunate really bc, he hates getting up, but also takes 12 years to get ready once he is awake so yeah. They’re late for games (and dates, once Bryce gets cool with that) constantly.

4. When they can’t sleep, what do they do?Bryce can’t sleep a lot, esp after bad games, so one of two things usually happens after that. 1. They fuck. This is usually after games that aren’t too terrible. Zim tires Bryce out, gets his mind off of it, and it puts him to sleep afterwards. 2. Bryce gets mad and yells and screams and Zim lets him go off until he finally gets tired of it, and then pulls him down into his lap and holds him and tells him that he’s gonna be fine, that everything will sort itself out, and Bryce tries to argue, but he’s worn out and fucking sad, so he usually just agrees with him & lets himself be soft for a little bit. And maybe thanks Zim, bc sometimes he really does make him feel better.

5. Who falls asleep while watching a movie?It’s Zim, sometimes Bryce puts on some movie or tv show or something that he truly does not care about, and he tries to pay attention, but he’s getting too old to be up past midnight, so he’ll end up knocking out halfway through. Bryce usually wakes him up though, bc he’s a dick.

6. Who falls asleep last, watching the other one with a small affectionate smile?Ooooh imma say this happens to both of them. If you’re going off that last answer, when Zim falls asleep on the couch with Bryce, there are times when Bryce just gives up on waking him up and instead keeps sneaking looks at him and smiling bc he’s fucking happy he’s actually letting himself do this with him now. On the other hand, sometimes Bryce is so worn out bc he pushes himself too fucking hard and will just fall asleep as soon as they get home, hell, sometimes in the car ride back from the park, and Zim just looks at him with starry eyes bc he can’t believe they actually made it.

7. Who comes up with cheesy pick up lines?Oh man, idk, I can see Zim dropping some reaaaaaally bad, dad-joke-esque lines that make Bryce reconsider their entire relationship they’re so embarrassing. But when Bryce is feelin a lil Frisky, he’ll sneak up behind him and say the dumbest shit in an attempt to be ~smooth~ or whatever. (Bryce Harper is a big fucking dork & I’ll fight over this)

8. Who gets extremely competitive playing Mario Kart?Bryce is such a competitive bitch omg he will get so headed over that stupid game. And like, he rarely ever loses bc Zim is Bad, these kinds of things are kind of before his time, but when he does win Bryce is yelling and throwing shit while Zim laughs his ass off.

9. Who accidentally pushes a door instead of pulling?Once again, Bryce Harper is a huge dork and is not smooth in any sense of the word. So sometimes he tries to do the Boyfriend Thing where he opens the door first, bc usually it can get Zim to smile and thank him and maybe kiss him real quick & he lives for that. However, he does just straight up run into the door on more than one occasion, and Zim tries not to laugh but god it’s a good thing Bryce is pretty bc he is not the sharpest, god bless him.

10. Who sets the other’s ringtone to something loud & obnoxious behind their back?Ohmygod I love this question, Zim 100% would do this while Bryce is sleeping. I can see one of two scenarios here. 1. He makes it something suuuper loud and then calls him at like,, 1 am, and then the phone goes off and it scares the shit out of him and Zim sleeps on the couch. 2. Zim changes it to one of many songs about big booties, and then it goes off in public/around the rest of the team, and everyone laughs their asses off at Bryce. Zim has to keep his ego in check somehow.

[merriemelodie]

HOLD ONTO YOUR BUTTS—IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER ASK MEME

(tbh “Hold Onto Your Butts” is likely going to be the name of my—completely unwanted—autobiography, so be sure to get your money ready to not pre-order it now)

I was tagged by the inestimable, intelligent, and irrepressibly (perennially, justifiably, eloquently) angry Michelle ( @exemplarybehaviour ) to do this ask meme, and I WILL ALWAYS LOVE TALKING ABOUT MYSELF, so LET’S GO FAM

Rules: Post the rules, answer 11 questions, make up 11 new questions, and tag 11 people.

1.) Favorite terrible movie and why?

I guess it depends on your definition of “terrible” (because Pocahontas could—and really should—fall under this umbrella), but I think there’s always gonna be one safe (yet true) answer to this question, and THAT IS SPACE JAM, MY FRIENDS

BECAUSE IT IS A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE OF A FLOP AND YOU CAN FIGHT ME ON THAT

SHAKE IT QUAKE IT SPACE KABOOM

2.) A funny (or interesting) travel story?

It’s funny, because I feel like I’d have more of these stories if the people that I travel with primarily (a.k.a., the fam™) WEREN’T SO STRESSED ABOUT EVERYTHING

Like, I can laugh about pretty much anything, if you give me 5 minutes to process (and a really good one-liner to tack on the end)—but my family? NOT EXACTLY. If a situation is absurd enough, they’ll definitely laugh, but they tend to be almost hyper-focused on getting places safely (and subsequently worrying about LITERALLY EVERY COMPONENT OF THE JOURNEY) that they don’t really take the time to laugh about things in the moment (or even for a while afterward), because apparently laughter is the high-sign for Karma to come down and swoop in on a hoe? IDK.

LEMME ACTUALLY TRY ANSWERING THE QUESTION THO

Oh, well, yeah, wait—there was the one time, back in December, when our plane might’ve had a stowaway on it named Jorge (so christened by/according to one of the flight attendants over the speaker system), but we never knew for sure? Because he was never accounted for by the flight crew, even though they went down the aisles and manually read through the roster and checked each passenger 3 SEPARATE TIMES??? 

BUT WE STILL FLEW ON THE PLANE ANYWAY?????

lol good times ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3.) Your favorite Cool Fact ™ about animals.

I’m not a purveyor of Cool Animal Facts™, but sometimes I think about how otters hold hands while they sleep, and I can feel a few months being quietly added back onto my life.

4.) A fandom you’re embarrassed to be in, or that people might not know you’re in?

(We’re talking strictly online here, because not one person I know IRL knows what the term “fandom” even means, let alone would be a part of one, and that’s not a Pandora’s Box I’m willing to open—especially when it comes to [sports] anime, WHICH THEY HAVE DISTINCT OPINIONS ABOUT. LOL)

BUT ANYWAY

Listen. LISTEN. I LOVE YURI ON ICE, okay? IF YOU’VE BEEN ON MY BLOG FOR .6 SECONDS, THEN YOU KNOW THIS. There’s a TON of YoI stuff on there—because there’s a ton of YoI stuff to share, thanks to its fandom. We have a TON of super talented people who create super amazing things for this show (truly, there seems to be a higher-than-average concentration of gifted creators here AND I AM SO NOT MAD ABOUT IT).

...but the fandom is also lowkey trash?

(Lowkey? Highkey.)

Like, okay: there are a ton of chill YoI-loving people who stay in their own lanes, and I follow, appreciate, and am very fond of them all—but there are so many people who stay doing The Absolute Most™ when it comes to Fandom Disk Horse™ AND THAT IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF NECESSARY.

IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, DON’T ENGAGE WITH IT. IT’S LITERALLY THAT SIMPLE.

cough, looking at you, an/ti’s, cough

5.) Do you have any superstitions?

I’m not really a superstitious person by nature—but, whenever I’m working on a project that I’m very excited about (and want to go really well), I find myself biting my tongue when talking to other people. I’m afraid of jinxing it—not just by talking about “how great it’s going to be,” but even by openly acknowledging its existence in the first place. IF YOU DON’T PUT IT OUT IN THE WORLD AND BREATHE LIFE INTO IT, THEN NOBODY ELSE CAN KILL IT, I GUESS

6.) Weirdest and/or most interesting member of your family?

God bless, my whole paternal family is RIDICULOUS (and you can quote me on that), but I have an aunt on my mother’s side who takes the absolute cake. I could be here for three days telling stories about her, but I’ll just drop some buzzwords/buzzphrases: put her mother on lockdown in her (mother’s) own house; sold her condo and then subsequently realized that she didn’t have a place to live; let her (really quite sketchy) repairman-turned-boyfriend move into her utility closet, and then was surprised to find that her identity had been stolen by him a week later, so she called the cops and there was A Moment™; and is currently writing an autobiography about her story, which she’ll “figure out as she goes.”

HAVE FUN LOL

7.) Something that happened to you or you witnessed on public transport?

I live in a public transport-bereft area, so I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE HERE

8.) Window seat or aisle seat? Why?

I love window seats because they’re also automatically corner seats, so I CAN CREEPY-CREEP ON EVERYBODY while also being in my own little space. I LOVE IT.

9.) Would you rather eat mashed potatoes in a tube (”gotatoes”) or spaghetti in a tube (”spagoot chute”)?

THIS IS SOPHIE’S CHOICE TRULY

Hm................I’m gonna have to go with “gotatoes,” because there’s something that feels inherently blasphemous about putting spaghetti where you can’t appreciate the aesthetic of their noodly shape.

10.) If there were a movie about your life, what would the trailer look like?

Remarkably like Black Swan’s, if you can believe it.

11.) You get stuck in the last game you played, a la 80s nostalgia movie. What’s your life like now?

Well, for me, that was a quick jaunt through my little town of [name redacted] in Animal Crossing: Wild World—so, uh, I guess it’s much the same: running around with no purpose, no job, and all of my friends going “lol where have you been for the past 12 years;” also, doing small amounts of menial labor to acquire money to meet a goal that, ultimately, isn’t of much consequence at all.

WOW, WHAT A LOVELY NOTE TO END THIS ON, HUH? 😂

OKAY TIME FOR MY QUESTIONS

Have any unpopular opinions? Now’s the time to say them. It doesn’t matter what they’re about; whether or not you think people will care about them, or if it’ll change people’s perceptions of you. Just let ‘em fly.

Do you cling to summer, or are you typically more than excited for autumn? (Or do you not have a strong opinion either way?)

What’s something that you’ve been wanting to tell somebody, but haven’t been able/felt ready to? (Of course, if you’re still not comfortable saying it in a public post, then you definitely shouldn’t feel obligated to do it. This is just for fun. ♥)

What would the soundtrack for the film of your life look like? (FOR THOSE WILLING TO TAKE IT UP A NOTCH: if you were to write a Broadway musical about your life, what would some of the songs be titled/be about?)

What’s a poem, story, or song lyric that you think about often? What about it captivates you?

If you had to epitomize yourself with a Wikipedia article title, what would it be?

What do you daydream about?

What’s your go-to character/kart/track in Mario Kart? (ANY ITERATION)

What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?

If you could name a crayon/nail polish color, what would it be, and what would the color be?

What’s a question you wish I would’ve asked? ASK/ANSWER IT HERE.

Y’ALL ARE ON DECK:

@trashalot @nicodoublele @theexitgarden @jollysailorswan @brazenbutterflyfragilewings @bringingclawstoagunfight @curlyscottishlady @diabeetus01 @naturallybecca @haruzumiya @durnesque-esque

[mr-pauli]

One Year of Nintendo Switch

Happy 1st Birthday Nintendo Switch!

You have already come a long way since your first signs of life!

As a long time fan of Nintendo and a hobbyist game developer myself I have to say I'm deeply impressed with how the system performs since its launch on March 3rd, 2017. Usually I'm not what they call an "early adopter" when it comes to new tech products but this time I got so hyped and lucky to get my hands on the system on day one.

Got it on release day!

I completly missed out on the Wii U after having played with the original Wii for a long time (I think I bought my last Wii game, Donkey Kong Country Returns, in 2015 or something).

Once again they managed to come up with a truly innovative system that changes how videogames are perceived. While the Wii brought motion controls to a mass market, the Switch once and for all broke the barrier between home and portable gaming. Now you're not locked into your living room anymore if you want to play high quality games. Instead you can carry the exact same game experiences you love everywhere you go. This feeling of being able to play anywhere even reminds me of when I first got my hands on the original Game Boy as a kid. You can play on a train, at a hotel room, in the nature or just take the device out of the dock while your girlfriend is watching something on TV. A really awesome feeling of gaming freedom - especially since the transition from big to small screen is so seamless.

Having my favorite game with me while traveling!

So the hardware is really great and refreshing (with a lot more interesting use cases on the horizon), but once again Nintendo is proving why they are the masters of joyful gameplay and the creators of games that re-define genres. But not only their own masterpieces belong to the best of all games I've seen in the last decade, also great third-party titles are really shining on this new kind of hardware. I finally have the chance to catch up with some awesome indie games too!

Here is a short run down of my games so far (in the order I got them):

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Much has been written about this one, but in my eyes it totally deserves all the praise! I'm a huge fan of the series and have played all major titles, but this one feels really special to me. Never have I played a game that made me feel like I'm on such a great adventure. Not because of the main storyline or anything pre-fabricated by the developers, but because of all the little adventures and memorable stories you create for yourself! What's behind the next hill? Where does this path lead to? What happens if I combine these incredients or items? The unmatched freedom of the systems-driven game design make it happen.

Remember when you and your friends where joking around in past games saying "Dude imagine a game where you can go into every house!" or "What if there where no unnatural barriers in the world!" - Breath of the Wild finally is this milestone masterpiece. It is one of these rare games that will be picked up to play even in ten years from now and be regarded as a true classic.

Even dogs like it!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe:

As I stated before I missed out on the Wii U so for me this was an absolutly fresh experience. I've always loved Mario Kart games so this was a no-brainer to buy and it is really the package of pure fun I was hoping for. Even after having cleared all the single player modes have to offer it is still one of the best multiplayer games ever, locally or online.

Splatoon 2:

What an awesome multiplayer action game this is! It kind of feels like a combination of the classic Nintendo-style battle experience and classic arena shooters mixed with some innovative Portal-esque mechanics. Every match has such high dynamics thanks to the paint (or ink) mechanic that it feels like you are re-designing the map in each round.

Doom:

A really solid port of this highly praised hardcore game, that proves how well such high fidelity adult oriented games can feel on a portable device. A reminder of what made id Software great back in the days!

Super Mario Odyssey:

Just like Breath of the Wild redefined open world games, this one does so with 3D platformers. It takes me back to the good old days when Mario 64 showed the world how movement in 3D should feel and what a thumb-stick is good for. Great visuals, art direction, fluid intuitive gameplay and fantastic music are the pillars of this masterpiece. I will surely play this for a long time to come and regard it as future classic too. And now there is even a new interesting speed-running inspired multiplayer component added in the latest update!

Rocket League:

I'm glad to finally be able to play this! A very addictive and action-packed multiplayer game that combines football and car driving. Works really well as a portable game too for a quick match or two while you are on the go.

Worms W.M.D.:

A great entry of a classic series that I've always loved. Traditional gameplay with beautiful hand-drawn graphics that make this an awesome party game to enjoy with a couple of friends.

Ok, that's it for my experience with the system in its first year. If you want to play online in one of the mentioned games feel free to contact me!

Cheers & Have fun!

[vrheadsets]

VR Vs. Videogames Nintendo Should Adapt To Virtual Reality – Part 2

Hello everyone and welcome to what is a most unusual week here on VRFocus. How so? Well in some sense I’m your only representative actually here for most of the content. Rebecca is off on holiday somewhere sunny, and Peter’s off enjoying himself as well. Kevin J and Nina are about but have things to do, and at one stage they were absent themselves for a couple of days. Leading this opening paragraph at one point to be summarised as “Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!” Still, for the most part it just leaves me. I am as excited about this prospect as you probably think I am.

After a couple of weeks of reacting to events going on in the technology world at large, first F8 making virtual reality (VR) feel important and the Google I/O managing to do the reverse, I am aware that I need to get back to the business at hand regarding my choices for Nintendo videogames that would make excellent VR experiences. So that’s what we’re going to be doing today. Last time out I looked at two titles, Mario Kart and Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Not exactly videogames with much in common, really. Unless you count getting blue shelled 10 meters from the line an interesting variation on Eternal Darkness‘ ‘sanity effect’.

Today’s twosome do have some common ground however; although ironically ‘ground’ doesn’t enter into it that much, especially with one of them.

3 – Star Fox

At the time of writing, several weeks prior to the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known to you and I as E3, there’s a lot of talk about the Star Fox series getting a racing game. Considering how well Star Fox Zero did I’m not quite sure such a radical departure would particularly help matters. It’d be the equivalent of giving Star Fox its own Sonic Riders  – and this is all coming from someone who honest to goodness really likes Star Fox Adventures. (Except for the ‘Test of Fear’ in it. That can get lost.)

One of the best utilisations of VR, at least within a gaming sense, has been with videogames set in space. Once upon a time on this column I explained how I had my first ‘wow moment’ in VR with EVE: Valkyrie. While the traditional viewpoint of the series has been third-person I can see the visual and play style transferring well into a first-person viewpoint. It’s not like it hasn’t always had that view after all. You could still have traditional gameplay in an on-rails linear style, for sure. But since when hasn’t Nintendo not fiddled about with the gameplay mechanics of Star Fox? Often putting in additions that haven’t been that popular.

VR would be a natural evolution of Star Fox Zero’s cameras and motion controls, accommodate levels that played on the mechanics established in prior titles with the Landmaster tank and the Blue-Marine submarine. Though what I would find intriguing with the implementation of VR would be how it would affect play during its big arena boss battle stages – when Fox McCloud gives the order for all the Arwing pilots to go into All-Range Mode.   It could provide some truly intense innovations to battle and the immersion help with getting over the scale of just how big some of the creations of Andross – or whosoever is causing General Pepper and company problems this week.

Also, another thing to consider: All the members of Team Star Fox already have a head-mounted display of sorts. It’s entirely possible something could be done narratively that utilised that.

We could, indeed, let you do that, Star Fox.

4 – Metroid Prime

It’s almost difficult to comprehend that there was a time before Metroid Prime. A time when the battling of parasitic jellyfish-esque aliens was restricted purely to a side scrolling experience that at some points felt like it had no end.

When thinking about titles to include in this list I wanted some form of first person shooter to include in this, which many of you would probably think should then be GoldenEye 007. The first problem there is I honestly don’t think that the experience GoldenEye 007 gave to so many would be evolved or bettered if it went VR. And heaven knows we’ve had enough titles trading off the ‘GoldenEye’ name and reputation already down the years.

The second issue is somewhat more pertinent, namely that the videogames that make up the Metroid Prime trilogy aren’t considered first person shooters but rather ‘first person adventures’. Actually, that’s not even close to a barrier for choosing the Metroid Prime series. In fact, it’s even more of an exciting prospect when you think about it in those terms.

For those not familiar with Metroid Prime, it is, as I say, a first-person action-adventure developed by Retro Studios. Ironically the same studio rumoured to be developing the aforementioned Star Fox driving title. The first title came out in 2002, yes it’s another GameCube title. (The GameCube was pretty dang awesome if you didn’t notice.) The series takes place between the original two Metroid titles and takes you to the viewpoint of protagonist Samus Aran. The Metroid Prime series is fast paced, a treat on the eyes and despite the changes in gameplay is strong in the DNA of those titles that came before it.

Since you spend most of it in the first-person viewpoint it’d be a great evolution to take Metroid Prime into VR, combined with richness of the environment actually being immersed in that would be pretty amazing if combined with some proper locomotion and decent tracking. The developers could really go to town on the puzzle element too, considering Nintendo’s unparalleled ability to think outside the box they could no doubt think up some pretty sweet mechanics. Even the third person sections in ball form would be quite something.

Think of it this way, there’s playing as Samus and there’s being Samus. And being Samus sounds pretty badass to me.

Below is the trailer for the Metroid Prime Trilogy collection. It’s not hard to imagine this as a VR experience to really get the blood pumping.

from VRFocus https://ift.tt/2s6bXcz