Guitar_bard

@Shambo This was very interesting, thank you for sharing! I understand completely what it is like to spend too much of your income on "owning" things rather than having life experiences.

Good for you for recognizing that, and doing something about it. It's something to be proud of!

Playing Crystalis through the Switch Online Service. Finally getting farther into it than I did as a kid!

@PapaMurphy Very Very Cool! I totally get it. I took a break from performing for a couple of years (raising kids, the world shutting down, etc), and now that I'm getting back into it and slowly working on a new album, my wife is totally supportive and gets it. It's a big relief having a partner who understands a gamer and crazy Creative.

@PapaMurphy Wow!! Very, very nice sounding (pun intended) collection!

That's really awesome. My wife is a keeper too; she has surprised me with some very cool things for both my DS/3DS collection, as well as cool music gear for me (I'm a guitarist).

@mauhlin12 oh wow, I used to have the big box versions of Lunar 1 and 2, until someone "borrowed it" for good and I never saw them again. Great games with really cool collectibles.

I never collected games much, but as an adult (and when the pandemic hit) I decided to start collecting DS and 3DS games. I already had some from back in the day, and I had a perfect head start to it already: The Castlevania Anniversary 20th boxed set that came with Portrait of Ruin. For some reason, I look at this heavily beat up, well loved (missing the stylus now, sadly) and otherwise well used collection of art and music that came with one of my favorite Castlevania games, and I just smile. I have a lot of love for the 3 DS titles, and it's just a reminder of why I've loved great games on great Nintendo systems since the ol' NES days. Sometimes it just seems like magic...

@BerendJan I LOVE that game. One of the few games I am missing for my awesome DS / 3DS collection.

@PapaMurphy Are you talking vinyl? I would love to hear about your collection!!

I love both of these games to this day, and am glad they're part of my collection.

On a slight side note: I really hope we get a Switch remake of Minish Cap someday.

The only Mario Kart game that I didn't love is 64.. and that is purely because to this day almost every 64 game makes my eyes want to bleed. I have felt like that since the N64 came out. Other than that, there is no bad choice for a great Mario Kart game!

To get off the subject though, I would LOVE to see a new Diddy Kong Racing game on the Switch. It's long overdue.

So many of my Switch screenshots are from Blasphemous. Those odd, quiet moments that are just darkly beautiful.

I think the other major contender is Gris. That game is just an excuse to take instantly breathtaking screenshots all day long.

Wow, I can't believe people actually got upset about this... I only play single player games (except occasionally some multiplayer games with family) and I thought it was silly and innocent... And kinda funny.

There are so many things that are more important than this. Life is too short to be upset about everything...

Wow... We had a 2600 for years until my brother and I pleaded and begged our parents to get an NES. We had a Lynx too, and it was a great handheld with some awesome games. This might be a Day 1 purchase for me.

I really wish this would come west, but I'm afraid it will skip us just like the 3DS version of 11 that I REALLY wanted to play.

I hope it comes to the Switch. If so, Day 1 purchase here. I am still loving the 1st one!

@Lostdragon In retrospect, I couldn't agree with you more on all of these points. It's funny that you bring up Diablo Immortal, as I have been thinking quite a bit about how such a beloved franchise has devolved into such a shameless revenue generator.

As for Sonic, I agree that the messaging of "you don't get it" is absolutely terrible. Humorously I was thinking the only way to save the optics on that one instead of a meaningless apology would be to just go for it and bring back that 90s edge and old Sonic attitude.

Personally, I've never really enjoyed 3D Sonic except in Special Stages. Mario made the transition beautifully (although I actually prefer 2D Mario games), but I've never been convinced that's the right road for Sonic. Super colorful, super fast, and super responsive is how I enjoy Sonic as well.

The Death Stranding comparison was awesome, btw. At least they aren't turning Sonic into another Souls-like!

@Lostdragon Very good points! It was simpler for sure, but I think maybe our expectations are a little unrealistic now, or at the least a little bit entitled. It is supposed to be entertainment, after all. Not the end of the world.

I do think you have some very valid points, but I think that while we didn't know any better and things have changed (in many, many ways), I also am not sure if any of us are any happier now than we were then.

It just seems that with all of these positive changes, we are all more miserable than ever.

Even things meant for us to enjoy aren't as enjoyable now.

Oh, Primal Rage. That was a bad port... I owned both the NES X-Men game and Dragon Power... Oh yeah, and Renegade. I know the disappoint of bad games very well.

Anyways, thanks so much for your response. I really respect your opinions!

@BloodNinja haha true. Honestly, Sega's response so far reminds me of their marketing in the 90s, and part of me wants them to lean fully into it.

"You don't understand Sonic, you say?! Then you are LAME and OLD and take things too seriously! You can be hip and sensitive elsewhere, but this the playground where the cool kids play!"

That would be amazing.

It is really kind of funny to me how people overreact so badly to games now. I kind of hate being the guy who says "Back in my day" but ... I remember back when CastleVania 2 and Zelda 2 came out after seeing previews in magazines.

For those who dug the games, it was all excitement and things were great. For those that didn't, it was kind of a shrug and "bummer", and then you looked at other games to rent or save your money to buy, and went on with your life.

All of this vitriol over a game that isn't even out yet just seems silly. This is coming from someone who loves gaming way more than his kids do, too.

@BloodNinja Best Adult answer ever. You have just described all of modern western society.

Ya know, I never really thought about it before, but the DS really was the home of "out there" games, and I haven't see that to the same extent on a Nintendo console since.

This really does remind me of the DS's glory days. I will really have to check this out.

It is an rpg heavy weekend (when I have time).

Dragon Quest is one of my favorite franchises of all time, and I'm finally playing DQ 11S. My goodness, it's incredible.

Also continuing on Final Fantasy 12. Never played it back in the day, since I was experiencing major FF burnout by the time 9 was released, and it's finally wearing off. Great, great game.

And.. playing through Final Fantasy 6 on the GBA. Also a fine game. It lives up to the historical hype.

This next week I have a Fan translated physical copy of Mother 3 for the GBA coming in the mail. I can't wait.

@Toshiro_Baloney I love Amalur, but Dragon's Dogma is a different beast that I still love for different reasons. Personally, I think Amalur is a better game, but Dragon's Dogma is just as much fun in a weird, kind of broken way.

The combat is pretty amazing though. Being able to climb on big monsters is a huge thrill.

Does that make sense?

@Ogbert I have just started it recently, and I shouldn't like it as much as I do... but I do. It makes no sense, but it has this weird fun factor (for me) in spite of all of it's low budget wackiness.

It's like recommending Ice Pirates to a Star Wars fan. Most people might think it is absolutely nonsense (and it is!), but some of us will still love it anyway.

I finally, FINALLY checked out this game (the Switch edition) about 2 weeks ago.... and I absolutely LOVE it. I am only a few hours in, but there is just some magic to it, that makes it all so much fun.
My pawn's name is a combination of my 2 kids' names, and is just a talky, loveable idiot. He is soooo much weaker than the other pawns I have downloaded, but I just love the dork.

There is just something about this game! So great.

@RubyCarbuncle AMEN to that. Couch co-op was amazing, and having checked out the online space off and on since Halo 1 came out, there is very little of value for me there (and I have consoles from Sony, MS, and Nintendo).

Truth be told, personally, Nintendo single player games (or those with couch co-op) are just more fun and friendly.

I watched this movie tonight with my family, and we all loved it. My wife and I were both Rescue Rangers fans as kids, and it had plenty for us to enjoy, as well as for our kids. Just a fun movie.

I'm really interested in seeing what this is about. It is sounding really promising so far, and that is an impressive list of talent working on it.

Well, the great thing about opinions is that everyone is entitled to their own, and we can respectfully disagree or agree. So, I'm totally fine with that. I can't stand visual novels, but I think it's cool that other people enjoy them.

That being said, I really LOVED playing Snow Bros. in the arcade and am excited to check this out!

Also, this was still a very well-written review

This article was perfect for my mood today. We are putting a new backdoor and door frame on our house, and we have found strange, strange things the previous owners did. (This happens a lot whenever we do any remodeling). Hopefully the rest turns out ok.

I think tonight will call for some Earthbound. That world is less weird than mine on some days.... hehe

"Lucas: the brother from another Mother"

I grew up with the original games, and I think this looks so awesome. I can't wait!

@ZimmerRemmiz Hahaha, agreed. I have to tell you, this comment made my day.

For many years I worked with a great guy at a software company and he knew when to cut tensions randomly by saying things out of the blue like "I killed a man", or when asked about a certain feature in a meeting and he would say "I would kill a man for that". Had everyone cracking up in seconds. Thank you for that reminder.

I'm in on this! I have started Earthbound multiple times, but never finished it. Going to play it on the 3ds!

@SwitchVogel Jungle Climber is a great game. I picked it up a couple of years ago for my collection, and I'm really glad I did!

I'm actually playing VI for the 1st time right now on the GBA. Great, great game.

@Rhum17 There was just so much of the actual experience that was missing on the Wii version! Combat was more enjoyable, beautiful visuals, flexibility of force powers and usage, epic boss fights, large environments, etc.

I had both the 360 and Wii versions, and they felt like totally different games.

Personally, I LOVED the 360 version (one of my favorite Star Wars games period), but the Wii version? Bantha poo doo.

Just got this for my daughter. She's a huge Kirby fan.

@OrtadragoonX I felt the exact same way about the PS1 being the true successor to the Super Nintendo. There was so much of that continued spirit of fun and innovation. Plus, PS1 games didn't look as sludgy as the N64.

In retrospect, I feel like almost every generation was the best Nintendo Generation at the time. Every single generation has had must play games and cool, new experiences.

I would say 3 of the most amazing eras for me were NES, DS, and 3DS. I was really blown away at the time by each of these and fell in love with gaming a little bit more.

The Japanese one is very unique and artsy.. I love it. I feel like the NA one looks like almost every N64 box that I would see at the video rental store back in the day...

@Royalblues I agree with the DS side of things 100%. That system made me a hardcore Nintendo gamer again like I was in the NES/SNES Era.

This looks lovely.

I hate mice in real life, but this game looks amazing. Definitely going on my wish list.

@SteamEngenius As a working musician, I really appreciate your comment. Sadly, a lot of people think that is how it should be.

This sounds pretty interesting.

First off, I'm so happy that Box Art Brawl is back. It was always a great thing to read on Sunday while drinking my coffee.

I love the NA box art because the colors scream classic Nintendo to me. Bright bold blues, greens, reds, etc. My friends and I used to call the sky in level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. Nintendo Blue!

I am so proud of this young man! This should be applauded, but also should be a little reminder that a lot of us deal with 1st world problems (like getting all upset when games are delayed, etc etc.)

This guy lives in a poorer country and saved for 9 months to get what he wanted, and for a lot of us, we get upset that we can't have it now by driving down to the local store.

My grandma would remind me of this a lot when I was growing up and I would get all upset about something trivial not going my way. Before she escaped to North America as a little girl, she never had real milk (only whey) and most fruit was foreign to her. It either wasn't available or too expensive. So, when I would be all whiny about not finding the exact NES game I wanted at Toys R' US, she would kindly say something like, "yes, I remember being that outraged and upset that I couldn't have food for 3 days". Puts things in perspective!

Anyways, kudos to this kid for really working for and appreciating what he has!!!

I really hope someday Nintendo revisits the dual screen idea. RPGs turned into something else altogether with a separate screen for HUD items and maps, etc.