Ooyah

Happy New Year, guys! I hope that everyone has a wonderful 2026, full of warmth, love, joy, and fulfilled dreams.

@Teksette @Freek That's a lovely story, Teksette. I have so many "arcade" memories... such a shame that they are really a thing of the past now, as we remember them (I was at the seaside in September, and the "Arcades" were mainly full of fruit machines). As for my early gaming "journey"... Arcade, Atari 2600, C64, Amiga 500, N64. Commodore are my true love. 😊

@Stormcloudlive Ah, it sounds like you're way ahead of me, mate! 😆 Understood about wanting it all in one place. I wish that games could be installed on the Evercade! I have a Miiyo Mini, but am squeamish about the legality of emulation, no matter how much I try to talk myself around to it! The Trimui sounds intriguing, I will have a read. As for the chippy... my dear old nan used to take me there a lot. They had a big aquarium, too! As for what I had... battered sausage, chips, and a pickled egg... every time. 😊

I think that Dungeon Encounters was one of the boldest and bravest video games that I had seen for a long time, at that point... I wish that Square would release more left-field games like that.

He's right, you know... cats and dogs, living together... MASS HYSTERIA!!!

@Freek I was three years old when it was released, but I still think it was the first arcade game I ever played, a few years after it released, in a chippy in the East End. 😊

@Stormcloudlive Great game! I'm not sure if the following info is of any use to you, but it's available on the Evercade, on one of their Data East collections. The Evercade also features other greats of the "Elimination" genre, such as Bubble Bobble, Rodland, Snow Bros, Don Doko Don (so good!), The Fairyland Story... they're all on different carts, though.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! The highlight of my Christmas Day was watching the 4K HDR version of Jaws with my wife whom had never seen it before. 😆

I was gifted an upgrade to my Super Pocket... the Evercade EXP-R! Along with many Evercade cartridges. So I am currently in my element with the following:
Pitfall This is one of those games which is just as good as it ever was. You can really get into a flow state with it, it's just mesmerising. I want to 'complete' this. No chance! 😆
Underwurlde I remember that this didn't review very well at the time, but I am loving it. The jumping takes a while to figure out, but everything is perfectly designed around it.
Wardner Loved this in the arcades, and am so happy to have it on the go! Lovely game, which requires a bit of thought.

I was also gifted Pokemon Legends ZA! But that will have to wait behind the real heavy-hitters... 😆

Take great care of yourselves out there, guys, and of those around you.

I was really disappointed with New Horizons, as I felt that it lacked the warmth, joy, and liveliness of New Leaf and Wild World. It felt like more of a collectathon than a life-sim, and it just didn't feel as "chill" as previous entries. It felt colder. Maybe just me!

Merry Christmas! Wishing everyone a festive season full of cheer, warmth, and love.

@Yoshi3 That's a brilliant shout, mate, and I would love to see it, as I was looking forward to the game at the time... but wouldn't it be codenamed "Project S" then? Still... one can still hope!

@Zeebor15 Woah... steady as she goes, mate. Try to keep the demons at bay. Particularly hard at this time of year. I'm a depressive, by the way, so this isn't just a throw away line. Apologies if this is unwelcome, I'm just concerned.

I love rogue-lites, but I have always found there to be something slightly off-putting about this one. Maybe I should take a chance while it's on sale. Thanks for the heads-up!

I didn't have a crush on Kat Dennings, having never heard of her... but I do now! 😆 Seriously, though... I haven't played a Lego game in ages. These look fun, although I may wait for the new Lego Batman.

@JohnnyMind Ah, okay! Yeah... 4 is a bit more "actiony" than the others, although the original isn't too disturbing, I think (although the flipping spiders freak me out!!!). Oh... and when I say "the remake of the original", I mean the one that came out originally on the Gamecube, by the way. Was released on the Switch years ago.

@JohnnyMind If you did feel like giving RE a go... the remake of the original is just sensational, and is quite often on sale (I think!). I think it's a better game than 4, although I also think that few people would agree with me on that one! 😆

Wow, the NA art is lovely! Really colourful and cute. Best Mega Man cover I have ever seen.

I'm not sure that I'm in the mood for "big" games, so I have picked up my Super Pocket, and am rummaging through my Evercade carts. Have you ever returned to a game which you beat as a kid, played it for a bit, and then thought to yourself "How on Earth did I ever complete this? It's impossible!!!". That's me and Summer Camp (Thalamus, C64, 1991) at the moment. 😆 I also remember feeling like I was the only person who bought it at the time! Does anybody else remember that game? Still a lovely, cute, game... but so hard! Let's see if I can get past the first level this weekend. 😆 Have a great weekend, guys, and take great care of yourselves out there.

But is Bond gonna go his way... that's the question.

I saw the 50th anniversary edition of Jaws in the cinema, and it was bliss! The tremendous climax is just remarkable on the big screen. Anyway... I will be terribly tempted by this. I have always been curious about the game!

@Mana_Knight Looks like we're on the same page! 😆 A sale would get me too. From what I can see, it has a physical release in the US, but maybe not anywhere else yet. ☹️ Oh well... at least we have the arcade original thanks to Hamster, along with Rainbow Islands and The New Zealand story! We even have the wonderful Parasol Stars.

@Mana_Knight I had a scan of the reviews on Metacritic, and it doesn't sound great. ☹️ Although, I'm a bit of a Bubble Bobble nut, so I might get something out of it! Symphony is definitely the main draw! I'm surprised by the price of it... I may wait for a sale. But Bubble Bobble is my favourite game ever, so it will stay on my mind for sure!

@Teksette Yikes!!! Definitely not cute! 😆 For some reason, I always thought that they are quite slow... caterpillars are usually slow. Although, with that many legs, it makes sense that they would be fast!

Gosh, though... please feel free to continue to blast them!!! 😆

@Duck_Farmer I'm just waiting for the update when you tell us that you delivered some ducks! It has to happen... 😆

I'm still tinkering with BALL x PIT, but I think that I will download Nightmare: The Lunatic this weekend, see if that can get its teeth into me! I am also still tempted by that new Snoopy game! Sadly, it looks as if the new Bubble Bobble game isn't very good, although Symphony is a huge attraction! Have a great weekend, guys, and take great care of yourselves out there.

@Teksette The years passed by, but you never forgot... 😆

I don't think that I have ever seen a centipede in real life... only caterpillars, which can be quite cute!

Centipede is a great game! I have it on my Evercade, and play it quite a bit.

This also reminds me... I have always meant to download a game from the eShop just for the name... "She Remembered Caterpillars".

@notreallyhere That was a lovely post. Maybe this could inspire you to try and find her again?

@Teksette Do you often get bug blasting urges? Maybe a new career awaits you! 😆

Wow, that is a really impressive list. Hits the 80s at 10, and then the 90s at 5. Not many long running franchises would have a record like that. Maybe only Zelda and Mario could rival that, but maybe not with such consistency.

Montezuma and Nightmare: The Lunatic are both tempting me. The original Montezuma's Revenge was painfully difficult, though... I wonder if they have smoothed it out a bit? I will check to see if there is a demo for Nightmare.

Due to the cover layout, I keep reading it as "Arj Of Mana". 😆

The thumbnail kinda shocked me at first. Should we just put it down as a happy accident that the tail was placed absolutely dead center like that? 😆

Can you guess? 😆 To be honest, Symphony may be the main attraction of this for me, but I am hopeful that Sugar Dungeons will also be fab!

After 60 hours, I am still maining BALL x PIT. I had a peek into the leaderboards, and have got dragged into those! 😆 Am in the top 30 for the first two levels. It is fun watching the chaos as you get stronger and stronger, and I would like to see how far things can be pushed. So Absolum and Trails In The Sky will have to wait for now! Have a great weekend, guys, and please take great care of yourselves out there!

Maybe it's the angle, but it kinda looks like poor Mario has the mumps! 😆

Why do I get the feeling that Japan will walk this one? 😆

So, it turns out that BALL x PIT does indeed carry on beyond the eighth layer... and so do I! 😆 I'm not sure how much further I will go with it, but I am still intrigued by it, so will continue on. Once all of the buildings are constructed and levelled up, the runs into the pit get pretty crazy! Have a great weekend, guys, and please take great care of yourselves out there.

The only website I read every day. Happy birthday, guys! 🥳

I fear that I am nearing the end of BALL x PIT. Only one more layer to go in the main story. I am not sure if there is post game content, though, so we will see! I have avoided reading about that, as I want it to be a surprise. I have Absolum lined up next. Have a great weekend, guys, and take great care of yourselves out there.

I have played Isaac for over a thousand hours... just on Switch. I still haven't reached full completion. Honestly... there is a TON of game in there for the money. £54 is well worth it.

I am now over twenty hours deep in *BALL x PIT", so I will be carrying on with that. Initially, I harboured fears that it would get tedious after a while, but it just keeps getting ever more compelling. The rogue-lite elements are really well handled, with a plethora of intriguing things to build in the base. A real contender for my GOTY so far! Have a lovely weekend, guys, and please take great care of yourselves out there.

I bought both, but have only played Ball X Pit so far, because it's so addictive that I haven't played anything else since starting it! Even the base building part in between runs is completely enthralling. Good on you, @Olliemar28, for championing games like these! I will look forward to starting Absolum once I am out of the pit. 😆

I think that I am going to be maining BALL x PIT this weekend. As a big fan of Roguelites, I was already interested in this, and then I learned that it was from the team who gave us the wonderful Mr. Sun's Hatbox, which made it a "must buy" for me. I am really enjoying it so far The constant flow of level ups and upgrades during runs is very addictive, and the periods between runs are also very engaging. I am not sure if it will become monotonous later on, but things are very enjoyable so far, and I can definitely feel the addiction taking hold! Have a great weekend, guys, and take great care of yourselves out there.

This is going to get confusing, having a ROG Ally X, and a ROG Xbox Ally X. If this new one is £799, then that's the same price as the original ROG Ally X. I have a ROG Ally X, and it is outstanding. It is, essentially, a handheld Windows 11 PC. Not exactly a direct competitor to the Switch.

Kenny Sun? The guy behind the absolutely wonderful (and criminally under-rated) Mr Sun's Hatbox? Cripes... I will download this right now.

I find it hard to see how the ROG Xbox Ally X is an innovation, considering that it is founded upon the original Ally X, and there is also the Steam Deck, and countless other handheld PCs now. It just seems to be an extension of what has come before, rather than an innovation.

@Wildvine53 That really caught my eye too! I could so use some comfort right now. But... Game Mill. I wonder what the chances are of this being any good? So tempting...

It looks like somebody dropped a load of buttons from a great height, and then just left them where they landed!

@Triple_Cherries Listening to that song, I have often wondered... who would want to be with a man who attracts birds? Just imagine... you're having a lovely stroll in the park and then, all of a sudden, you find yourself surrounded by 50 mad pigeons!

I am loving them so far, although the enforced motion controls (in certain sections) are troublesome when playing in handheld. But I don't think that will be enough to spoil these joyous classics!