Losermagnet

Nabbed the Phase Distorter luggage tag. Thanks for updating! ❤

I liked New Leaf more than New Horizons when I originally played them both, but I don't see myself ever going back to New Leaf because of how Horizons has improved over it.

The board game this series is based on is fantastic, and the video game adaptations (while usually janky and flawed) are good enough representations of that. Wish the trailer captured more of the humor though. Blood Bowl is hilarious.

I dont think a video game has ever given me nightmares. Having watched the Alien movies at a young age they provided plenty of nightmare fuel for me.

Two scary video game moments do stand out to me: i was deeply unsettled in Mario 64 when Mario attempts to open a door he doesnt yet have the key for. Music plays and Bowser laughs, and I think it's the first time you experience Bowser in a tangible way in the game. And that one hallway where the picture changes to Bowser as you run down it.

This next one is gonna be a tangent, so bear with me: I rented Chrono Trigger as a youngling and had no idea what it was (let alone what RPGs were as a genre). Little did i know that I began playing someone's New Game+ save file. I went into the right teleporter pod, which transports you to the year 1999 and puts you directly in a fight with Lavos to stop the end of the world. I lost, and then you watch the world end. As a child (in probably '96 or '97) this was absolutely terrifying.

Threed in Earthbound is one of my favorites. As a 90s kid that was prolly my first exposure to a zombie horde and a haunted circus.

Those are some serious man nips.

@JasmineDragon this is the first I've heard of that series. What're they like?

@JasmineDragon Disco Elysium is pretty fantastic. One of those games that I couldnt stop myself from playing. In a general way the story resembles TC&TC, but the protagonist of DE being sort of a burned-out failure gives it a dash of The Big Lebowski.

My recommendations:
-Dark Souls and the Books of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe.
-Flower, Sun, and Rain paired with Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami (although about 75% of Murakami's novels could pair well).
-Disco Elysium and The City & The City by China Mieville (not quite the same but pretty good).

Edit: The Island of Dr Moreau (novel) gave me major Bioshock vibes so I think they pair well too.

Those are fair assessments. Playing Earthbound in 2022 is not the same as playing Earthbound in 1995 (er...'199X').

@dugan @AmplifyMJ thanks for the kind words friends, i really appreciate them.

Im going through a pretty rough time right now and Animal Crossing New Horizons is helping quite a bit. When the future feels uncertain it's become a reliable safe place where I can find positivity and insightful advice. Thanks for sharing this article ❤

My favorite game. I started a game of Earthbound Beginnings recently, although this will be my third playthrough of that.

Pro tip to anyone playing Earthbound for the first time: instead of pressing 'A' to bring up your action menu, and then 'A' again to talk or check - pressing the left shoulder button will do whatever the proper action is in one button press.

So many of the Star Fox games outside of 64 have the qualifier of "would be the next best Star Fox game if..."

For me it would be either Adventures or Zero/Guard.

I can vouch for Later Alligator. Great animation and writing, and also something you can relax to and finish in a day.

Sam and Max really should be on the list. It's funnier than Tangle Tower (also a great time, just not as funny).

And my funny game recommendation? Mario and Rabbids. I realize this means I'm suggesting the Rabbids are funny. Well I don't care because in this game they are.

@Ryu_Niiyama you said it perfectly. I feel like video game preservation is a problem with no easy solution atm and expecting Nintendo to provide an answer is misplaced judgement. No matter what they do they would receive criticism and there's no way they can account for every game on every one of their platforms, let alone the 3ds and Wii U. I think people are currently more upset because their having an option taken away from them and "preservation" is a convenient way to leverage your position.

That is to say I think preservation is important, i just dont know that this is the way to go about it.

While I agree the removal of digital storefronts often presents a problem, i feel like a good number of those comments in the article are an overreaction. If you have it on your hardware, you're fine. If your hardware taps out then you're SOL, but thats the nature of the beast. All of our video game media at some point will not be usable.

I don't see a Mother 3 English release ever happening. Frankly, I'm not sure that it should get one. I don't buy into any controversy people want to apply to it myself, but it would be a lightning rod for it (evidently).

I actually think the limited inventory is hilarious. In no other game before or since has there been a scenario where I can't pick up a new weapon because my backpack is full of hamburgers.

My favorite game, and one that I think everyone should at least try.

Alright this is gonna sound crazy but hear me out on this one folks: Resident Evil. Yeah, yeah Resi and Souls are obviously different but they have more similarities than you might think too. Monsters, finite healing items, an assortment of weapons, and pushing through areas to survive until the next safe area. Just a thought.

@RupeeClock have a bad experience with them? I've ordered a few things from them and had no problems.

When something smells, it's usually the bots

Well of course the movie's co-producer would say good things about the movie. Regardless - I hope it's true 😁

This is the first I've heard of this game, but your review has me interested!

I have a feeling this comment will be removed, so I'm trying to keep this relevant and polite, but here goes:

I think if you're seriously upset about the removal of lines of dialogue in Sam and Max Save the World you're overreacting. You're basically saying that it's wrong on principle/slippery slope censorship. Fact of the matter is that a few words out of thousands were changed, mostly with throw away lines that ultimately effect nothing. If no one had reported the line changes you probably would've never noticed.

Furthermore Sam and Max have frequently been the subject of alterations. Remember the 90s cartoon? In the Sam and Max art books "The Effigy Mound' and 'The Age of S&M' (which I own) there are several notes from the tv censors asking to make alterations to the script or scenes (one of my favorites: "Page 2: Alright up to the honking, but please delete the "SPLAT! Mugger GOO splashes back onto the pantlegs of his intended victim."). TV censors (which are a thing that have existed for years) altered that, and many other, scenes. And we all ended up okay and nobody knew, because nobody watched the cartoon anyway. This type of thing is just part of the creative process, it's not bad or even usually political - WE are projecting that onto it.

Game changes =/= book burning

Thanks for reading this message has been brought to you by the great sport of Fizzball.

Finally!!! Gonna wait for that Limited Run physical version tho.

@Ralizah glad I'm not the only one who thought it was a bit random lol.

Sandbox games are definitely overdone nowadays and they were kind of a technological gimmick to begin with. A big expanse of nothing much is less than a focused gameplay experience imo.

Regardless of the kerfuffle surrounding it's announcement, I think it's a great update. Pairing it with the main game gives you more incentive to meet villagers on the island and decorate houses. Win-win.

@BloodNinja nah I'm kidding 😉 glad I got a laugh!

@KateGray send Brie to my house? Joke's on you - I'm living outta my car.

Gamers: we're mad when developers don't work hard enough, we're mad when developers work too hard, and (most likely) we have no knowledge of game development to begin with.

Oof, that one stings. But take your time. I'll be here when it's ready.

@nessisonett what you said goes for me too

@Varkster The Majula theme is pretty great. It’s delicate with a bit of melancholy. I love the shrine themes from 1 and 3 too, but Majula feels different.

It’s funny you mention Nioh 1 + 2 - I’ve been thinking about getting them! I’m divided on Sekiro at the moment. It’s so much more focused on combat, with only light RPG elements. I’m at the 3rd boss and, while I can sense that i’ve gotten better since starting, it is significantly more challenging to me than Fromsofts other games. But it’s also greatly satisfying when you succeed. There’s so much more mobility in the game. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was expanded on in Elden Ring. Anyway, Sekiro gets a soft recommendation from me at the moment.

Let me know what you think of Nioh! I’m always down to talk about some Soulsborne and souls-like 😁

@Varkster what really irks me about Dark Souls II is that I feel like the best content is all in the second half of the game (and most of that was added as DLC). Collecting the 4 lord souls in DS2 felt really contrived and the areas that took place in were a bit messy. Once you start communicating with Vendrick and infiltrating memories it comes alive a bit. But thats just me. I also think it has a charming whimsy that the other games dont have (the majula theme sounds almost like Harry Potter music, that talking cat).

But suffice it to say, I have been playing through all the Soulsborne games for the first time this year (in order of release, and i'm on Sekiro now) and DS2 is the only instance where I felt like I wouldn't be missing too much had I not played it at all.

@BanjoPickles yeah I feel similarly about it. It's flaws are more obvious and nagging, but it's not a bad game. I guess if you only have Nintendo hardware a hypothetical port would be better than nothing at all (even if it's not a great representation of Soulsborne as a whole).

I understand the desire, but you're not missing much by not getting Dark Souls II

I own both passes and haven't played in MONTHS 😂

This one kinda falls right in the middle for me:

On one hand it's unrealistic to think that everyone involved in the game's creation had a wonderful time doing it. Workplace stress isn't unique to this developer, or even this field. It's everywhere.

On the other hand it's a hugely disappointing to hear. Dread is a huge success, it's a shame that that isn't reflected in the experience people had making it. However, that doesn't negate the hard work that went into it and it doesn't make it something you should avoid.

As long as I can keep the DLC if I pay for it then I’m fine. I think Nintendo really bungled this one boils & ghouls. The savings only benefits a small pool of customers and the message was about as confusing as it could be.

Nope. And I actually think it's a bit scuzzy of Nintendo.

I'm pretty sure the correct pronunciation of their names is "yoshi". Here's a guide:

I actually prefer Super Paper Mario 😳

@Lordplops generally i'd agree, but with this i'd say it's more about giving somebody the chance to be offended, not that we're trying to make it so they can't be at all.

I think being realistic here is important. We can't account for every individual's unique handicap, but what's the harm in trying to standardize things like colorblind mode, lefty mode, options for the hard of hearing, or simplified control schemes?

@Ralizah [shrugs] Different strokes for different folks. Some people like K-pop some like sludge metal.

If you must though: I assert that Dark Souls being unrelenting is precisely why it's art. What other game has built such a reputation for itself? And in doing so, influenced the last 10 years of gaming? Like it or not, it's a bold decision. It's the only reason why we're talking about it. Ergo it is a success.

The irony is it's really, really, really, not that hard _(really).

@Ralizah Respectfully, neither of our opinions of an artistic failure or success really matters since it's subjective. We both have many people that would agree and disagree with us in this case.

I think it depends on intent. Etrian Odyssey isn't oppressive. It's pretty bouncy and upbeat actually. Dark Souls is going for opressive, and it tries to accomplish that through uncompromising tension. Is it successful? I guess that varies largely from person to person.

Ima stop here. If you want to continue this train of thought, I had a lengthy discussion about it recently. Unpopular Game Opinions, page 481 I think.

@Ralizah If that's the way you feel that's cool. I see the difficulty in Dark Souls as I would the horror in something like Silent Hill. It's meant as a manipulative deterrent. Reduce that and the game just kinda crumbles. Dark Souls isn't some precious object that sits above the common sense criticisms of people. Matter-of-fact, Dark Souls would just be boring if you took the challenge out. It removes the foundational cornerstone, and the game becomes a dull, slow, hack 'n slash RPG. There's a reason why the easiest bosses in the Dark Souls series are considered the worst - they're the most boring.

To try to get back on subject. I guess I just feel like you should be able to play a game with whatever means you have. It's about more people being able to play more games (not just Dark Souls).