Ooyah

The Europe cover is gorgeous, and it is the only cover which actually shows a harvest moon! I think that is maybe why they went for a night-time setting... to show the actual moon. It makes a lot of sense.

I want the Latte Float Canisters, despite not having a single clue what a Latte Float Canister actually is.

The side story involving the caterpillar is also heart-breaking and disturbing. It's so sad. It really is a brilliantly emotional game, with some hard hitting moments. One of the very best games on the system, I think.

Ignore the change requests, Jim... enjoy your Sunday and the Bank Holiday weekend! 😆

For seven years I have resisted the Silksong hype... but the past week has got to me. lol As such, I am currently downloading Hollow Knight on Steam. I started it on the Switch years ago, but bounced off it. I can't remember why... but it should be my sort of thing. I am also playing the following:

Jack The Nipper - Was overjoyed to find this on Steam!
Jack The Nipper 2 - I have always wanted to complete this. I got close back in the day!
Auf Wiedersehen Monty - I completed this on the C64, but want to do so again! Very under-rated game.
Fighting Fantasy Classics: Temple Of Terror - I downloaded a bundle of the Tin Man games... am starting here! Forest Of Doom or House Of Hell next! 😃

Hopefully that list will evoke some happy memories for some of the older heads here! 😆

Have a great weekend, guys, and take great care of yourselves out there.

"And we've only just starched the surface!"

Is this some kind of a Persona in-joke? Or just absolutely lamentable proof-reading?

"...why Silksong took seven years to make..."

Took. Past tense. Does that mean that it is finished now, then? Or is it just careless phrasing, or an attempt to bait?

I wonder if we're on for another thrashing this week? Japan for me, all the way!

Lies Of P is one of the very best games that I have played in the last decade, and I really hope that it comes to Switch 2.

That is such a cruel sub-header... had my eyes bulging for a second there... 😆

I always thought that the the NA / Europe cover was incredibly garish (although Wario himself would love that!), so I am one of the three people who will vote for the Japan cover!

But will the kids try to eat the rattle?

@PJOReilly I remember that the title screen on the C64 version was mesmerising, with Daley's arms apparently spinning around his torso... 😆 I wrecked so many Quickshot II joysticks with that game, though...

I find the Japan cover very dense and noisy... the image is just one big splodge! So I went for NA/Europe this time.

"(cheek kissing, baking)"
Cheek kissing?!?!
Oh. I see.
Ahem.
Carry on, very good.

@Fiergala I think that you read more into that than I intended... I just meant that it can be hard to maintain positivity when faced with an absolute deluge of negativity. Possible, of course, but oh so tedious. 😊 But the web is full of people who want to appear smarter or wiser than others, and that seems to be where a lot of the more cynical takes are coming from, maybe.

I guess that I am not a man of taste but, to me, it looks like it has been dropped in many puddles! It looks worn and dirty. I don't get it! 😆

@jolteon23 I just wanted to say that I thought this was a very intelligent and relevant letter. I feel that it applies not only to the Switch 2, but pretty much everything. I often feel that my own feelings are "tainted" in some way by the negative things that I read online, although I try to resist such things. It can be difficult, though, when faced with an avalanche of negativity, as it can make one feel as if they are missing the point if they are feeling positive about the thing in question. I guess that sometimes it is hard to discern the trolls amongst the valid criticisms. A hard topic indeed. Great letter!

Gosh... I really loved the old Ocean logo, it was so cool. Made me smile to see it again. I would still have to go for the NA cover, though!

I'm stuck in a loop of "should I start playing another game or not?", which is annoying me! 😆 I am still chipping away at Fantasy Life i, Ginormosia in particular. I have all regions up to level 3, so I am farming Legendary Events, which is kinda addictive. After 140 hours, there are still many goals to aim for, but I am finding it hard to commit to any of them in the way that I usually do. Hmmmm. I think that I will carry on for now! Have a great weekend, guys, and take great care of yourselves out there.

I think it's a shame that Pac-Man has gone in a "grimdark" direction. I would love to see a return to Pac-Land!

DM appears to be fighting robot toilets in the third screenshot, so hopefully the "toilet humour" is plot related, other than anything else!

The Europe cover is very bright and cheery, and Don has a saucepan on his head, so that is my vote.

@Mr_Zurkon Ah, I think I know what you mean. But you can force a respawn by changing the area rank down one, and then changing it back up again. Can get a bit tedious, but I have managed to get quite a few boss trees, rocks, and fish to appear... in some areas, they appear as low as rank three or four. There is one area which has a boss tree and a boss fish really close together, which has been fun.

@Mr_Zurkon I know what you mean! I'm still enjoying it at the moment, but am very unsure where I will stop. Did you have a stomp around Ginormosia? Loads to see and do in there... but the grind there does feel somewhat... inexplicable.

Fantasy Life i, still. Am still enjoying it very much. Am contemplating the madness of trying to get the key Ginormosia areas up to rank 7. I am guessing that may be the only way to get lives up to level 100, which will be needed for the final Treasure Groves. That will be one hell of a grind. Hmmmm. Will try to knock out the remaining Hero tasks this week. This game really is quite an achievement by Level-5. It's crazy just how much game they have crammed into this one. I still can't quite believe that the massive open world is almost entirely optional! It's probably the best thing in the game. Have a great weekend, guys, and please take great care of yourselves out there.

@LastFootnote Totally warrants an M. The fly is completely naked. It's an outrage. Could at least have put a hat on it! Gosh.

At this point, I would really just want Mystical Ninja and Mischief Makers.

The Japanese cover is bold and unusual, but the NA/Europe cover wins it for me... it's so colourful and vibrant.

@Warioware I have an Evercade Super Pocket, and it's pretty nice. They do some interesting cartridges sometimes. System 3? I think they were behind the slightly disastrous Dropzone Anniversary game last year? Also... I remember the Last Ninja games being infuriating. 😊 I recall one part which involved crossing a stream by jumping on stones... and ninjas can't swim, as I recall... 😆 Turrican had a collection recently... I'm not sure if it included tha amazing C64 versions, though.

This is ROG Ally X related... but the game is on Switch 2, so it's okay! 😆 So, I am currently maining Fantasy Life i. I was expecting this to be a good, solid, RPG, but it has absolutely surpassed my expectations. It is a joy to play, and is absolutely massive. Heck, there is a separate, absolutely gigantic world in the game which is virtually completely optional. I think that to get to true 100% completion would take hundreds and hundreds of hours. I am 100 hours in now, and have yet to decide where my end-point will be, as there are just so many different things to do. Gaining Hero rank in every life, making out the skill trees for every life, maxing out the areas in that optional world, going all of the way in the Treasure Groves, finding all of the "special characters" ... my goodness! I wonder what other people have set as their "end-point"? Have a great weekend, guys, and take great care of yourselves out there.

@Warioware Wow... I must admit that I have never heard of "Mad Doctor", but it looks great! For me, that "one game which I would love to complete" on the C64 has to be "The Staff Of Karnath". I got pretty far, but just got completely stuck. I was blown away by that game at the time! I totally agree with you that it is sad that there is no legal way to play most of the games on the C64. Evercade did some C64 cartridges but, if you look at the selections, you can see that they were restricted in what they could get licences for. Although their Thalamus cartridge is outstanding. Ah, actually... I never did complete C.R.E.A.T.U.R.E.S. either!

@Warioware I also completed Bionic Commando on the C64... but... beating Ghosts 'N Goblins is on a completely different level! That is quite an achievement! I don't think I ever got past the third level! 😆 Did you also play the frankly sensational C64 conversion of Ghouls 'N Ghosts?

Out of the four games mentioned, Bionic Commando would be the stand out for me. Such a lovely game to just mess about in! Although the last couple of levels are really hard. I played the incredible C64 conversion for hours on end.

Bubble Bobble is my favourite game of all time (as you can probably tell!), and this actually looks pretty good. You can doubtless count me in for this one!

Wow, I was expecting Mario Kart or Cyberpunk to be at the top! I'm really happy to see that Fantasy Life i is so highly rated so far. I am still really enjoying it, 80 hours in. The main thing which has really surprised me is just how much game is rammed in there! To do everything would surely take hundreds of hours. Very much recommended.

@Tyranexx This is just my opinion, but I would say that Lies of P is challenging, but not frustrating. Personally, I didn't have any "tear my hair out" moments, and I'm far from being really good at action games! The whole thing is an intelligent affair, and you can usually "think your way through" if something is causing a difficulty. I absolutely loved it myself... went up to NG+7 before forcing myself to stop! 😆

This game is incredible. Don't be put off by the "souls-like" talk... this game is nowhere near that hard, and the combat has quite a fast pace. This is just the second game this millennium to make it into my all time top ten... an absolute masterpiece.

@dartmonkey I know what your problem is, mate. You're talking about things which you haven't tried. But let me tell you... oh! The bliss of violently shaking electronic devices! I violently shake my Switch, my phone, my laptop... I'm moving on to appliances now, though. Am trying to better myself. The hoover, kettle, toaster... I violently shook the heck out of the fridge this morning! SO GOOD!!! Remember what Marina taught us... SHAKE SHAKE!!! 😆

@DennyCrane It's such a gorgeous game. It's a crime that it didn't receive more attention. I adored it. Sublime atmosphere, and so charming.

@Mana_Knight In Yoshi's Story... the way that Yoshi growls when an enemy approaches is one of the cutest things that I have ever seen in any video game. 😊

I love Action RPGs, so this goes on to my radar. Am worried that it looks a bit typical, but that was a short trailer, and I would trust Brownies to deliver.

Yikes! The poor thing never got to live even a day before being dismantled!

@Tyranexx Wow! That's really interesting! Hmmmm. I wonder if pineapple was just a little too off-putting? Maybe something like a hash brown burger would have worked better?

@Kisrah Hey there! Yep, the Rog Ally X has two "macro" buttons on the back, which can be mapped how you like. I think that the standard Rog Ally has them too. No track pads, but it runs Windows 11, which means that it can run virtually anything on Steam.

@BenAV Thanks for this! Does it not upset the anti-cheat wotsit though? Yeah, as you can no doubt tell, I've never used mods before. 😆

Am playing this one on my Rog Ally X, and the camera is just awful. Only minimal adjustments are allowed on the Y axis, meaning that it is very hard to see ahead of yourself. It is infuriating. No mention of that in the review, so is it not an issue on Switch?

@Kisrah Oh, gosh! You may just have sold me on one, should I ever purchase a Switch 2! I absolutely abhor clicking the thumbsticks. I played Lies Of P on the Rog Ally X, and jump is mapped by default to a click of the left thumbstick. Felt horrible every time!

@Tyranexx Was it really just pineapple and cheese in a burger bun? That sounds disgusting! Also... I wanna try one!!! 😆

What an udderly disappointing answer to such a moomentous question.