Pak-Man

Ever think, while playing Breath of the Wild, what it would be like to just scarf down 10 apples in one sitting?

Playing the same amount, however there is a small group of games in my backlog (Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Tears of the Kingdom, for instance) that I'm postponing until after the big upgrade.

Gaming is my introvert activity. I'll couch co-op with close friends and family, but I rarely even want to PLAY online, let alone listen to what they have to say.

@Flangela You know, it took me 20 years to catch the "PAW-sibly" pun. I just thought it was the standard cartoon setup-for-mayhem quip. Should have known better.

Age may be a factor here. We older gamers remember a time before the Internet (At least, the Internet as we know it today), and we don't trust its permanence. There's always this lingering possibility in our heads that it could all easily go away. And then where would we be? We'll be playing whatever physical games still work, is where.

Now here's Bravely Default on this Game-Key thing. I love the original Bravely Default and I want the remaster. I don't trust the game key, but I'm also accustomed to having a shelf that I can browse. Digital games feel insubstantial. I have literal thousands of Steam games that I've never even installed, and I have no physical games that I've never played. Why wouldn't you? If I get Bravely Default digitally, I don't get that, and I don't get that assurance that I have something that will work in the Inter-pocalypse. Now even if I get it physically, I don't have that assurance. But I'm not going to NOT GET Bravely Default.

There's no good answer and I don't care for it at all.

Lots of sketchy-sounding games with almost-words in their title this week.

Oh, I ADORE Against the Storm! If you're the type who loves to start cities in city-builders, but starts to lose interest once everything's up and running smoothly, this game's for you. The Roguelike element means you're always starting a fresh new city with unique challenges. It's brilliant.

@MrRom92 There's absolutely preservation in physical release. If Limited Run had been around during the Wii era, for instance, they could have physically released the Konami Rebirth games, and there would be ways for people to get their hands on copies today who didn't purchase them back in the early 2010s.

I actually LIKE Limited Run because of what they do, but I feel like they, more than anyone else, needs to reject the whole Game Key thing. Their WHOLE DEAL was, "Let's make physical media for titles that weren't going to get it so that we can preserve these games." And the reason they've been successful despite their slow shipping and other problems is they found an audience who is totally on-board with that preservation. Game Keys kind of defeat the whole appeal of Limited Run Games.

I put the widget on my phone's main screen because a Zelda calendar is cooler than just a regular old calendar.

I think back to my time waiting in front of Circuit City in the freezing cold all night to get myself a Wii on launch day. I think I hoped then that technology would make it easier, and I guess 2 hours waiting in line from the comfort of my own home was an improvement? Just thought we'd be further along than that.

It was a mess and I got kicked out of line for some reason at some point, but after a 2 hour wait, I scored the Mario Kart bundle from Best Buy!

I heart my Steam deck. I have a substantial and incredible built-in library waiting for me and I can play on the PC and continue on the couch, which is awesome. I've skipped Microsoft and Sony for the last two generations and don't really miss them.

But those sweet, sweet first-party titles keep me coming back to the big N. I don't want any part of a gaming landscape in which I can't play my Mario or Donkey Kong or Fire Emblem, or Zelda, or Metroid, or Pikmin, or Splatoon, or F-Zero, or Star Fox, or...

I think the world is ready for Cubivore. It wasn't then, but it might be now.

For those that are wondering about the time of year, Hallmark Keepsake ornaments are a whole thing. They drop in the springtime and most of the really cool ones are sold out by Christmas, so collectors are standing by, ready to pounce.

I started playing the first Hades in mid-November the year it came out. When My Nintendo end-of-year report came out, it was my most played game of that year.

I have Jurassic World Evolution for Switch. Looks great in docked mode, and it's a blurry mess when undocked. There are a few games like that. What I want to know is whether the Switch 2 will remove that downscaling automatically, or if the developers have to update the game for it to look better in handheld.

Backwards-Palatability

I'm more worried about a vocal part of the fan base that almost definitely believes that if they whine loudly enough and get enough people to join in the whining, they can will lower prices into existence.

Bravely Default is probably my favorite Square RPG of the last 20 years (Pixel remasters notwithstanding). I'm getting it for sure.

The archivist in me wants a box and a physical copy, but that same archivist doesn't like the whole game-key thing, so I don't know WHAT to do.

I'm not even that big into Donkey Kong games, but this was the star of the show. I'm getting Mario Odyssey vibes.

@ScalenePowers I'm about 99% sure that the certain games that WON'T be compatable are stuff like Ring Fit, where the controller hooked into a special peripheral.

What I saw was ample 3rd party support with A-List games. Lots that we were never gonna get on Switch 1.
I saw the ability to enhance my current library.
I saw a new Hyrule Warriors game, an incredibly fun looking Donkey Kong game, and confirmation that Civ VII will be Switch 2-Enhanced.
I saw the big obligatory goofy "Here's how your new system works" game with a price tag because Nintendo. It's outrageous and of course I'm gonna get it as long as they don't think they can charge $50 for it.

I am a happy camper. Now kindly confirm third party preorder information so I can stop refreshing the Best Buy website.

This is THE most Nintendo thing ever in the history of Nintendo.

Do we think that the news categories they ask you to choose from might mean that some news on those franchises is incoming next week?

Well today, I learned I've been saying both Balatro and Gradius wrong.

(I was sure it was Grah-de-us.)

If this means I don't have to put my Switch in Airplane mode when I'm playing something on my Switch Lite while my son plays something else, I'm a happy camper.

The cozy time waster that came when the world most needed cozy and had a lot of time to waste.

I read "Monster Hunter, Ace Attorney" as one title and briefly envisioned the perfect game.

I don't think anyone will be complaining about these two.

This is where I like to drop the trivia bomb that Acclaim had a knock-off Captain N cartoon, where Kwirk (From Kwirk), Max Force (From Narc), Kuros (From Wizards and Warriors), Tyrone (From Arch Rivals), and Bigfoot the Monster Truck all thwarted crimes from the Narc crime boss.

Dang. Time to plug in all my physical copies and see if I have any unclaimed gold sitting around.

@Pillowpants Technically, Nintendo doesn't have any kind of Seal of Quality on their eShop games, and maybe that's the answer to stuff like this. Maybe Nintendo should have a little seal that indicates, "We've tested this title and can affirm that it meets our standards."

Of course, that calls into question why they'd have anything on their shop that doesn't meet their standards, but it might still be better for Nintendo's shop than the big sea of question-marks we have now.

Everyone seems to be ignoring the actual substantial, adjustable kickstand, which looks like a wonderful upgrade from that flimsy, barely-attached, plastic strip. I enjoy the option of propping my Switch up on a table and using it as a mini TV, so it pleases me greatly.

Chrono Trigger 2 is out today- Except for you, Bobby. You know what you did.

Oh, what the heck. I'm in!

There have been many attempts at the Handheld Throne, but the result is always the same. "That's cool, but you're just copying Nintendo." Nintendo has the home-team advantage by virtue of simply being the first ones in. Ever since the Gameboy, everyone else has just been a step behind.

OMG, Civ VI on Switch with crossplay cloud save was such a wonderful lifehack.

"I need to use the computer!"
"No problem!" SAVE TO CLOUD, GRAB SWITCH, LOAD FROM CLOUD, CONTINUE CONQUERING THE WORLD

My preorder arrived last night so I've already dug in! I'm a happy Dragon Quest fan!

I have an annual tradition of playing cheap, cheesy holiday-themed games duriung my annual Christmas break at work. Flash games (Back when there was still Flash), Hidden Object games, shovelware- anything with an elf or a nutcracker or Santa Claus- are all in high supply every year, so I can always find something. Many of them are SO bad, but there's a certain charm to committing to these misfit toys and seeing them through to the end where most people immediately disregard them.

I love this idea, and if the game is actually good, that's just icing on the cake. I'll be picking this up.

Can't delist my physical cartridge!

@MeloMan I feel like if they'd kept making Ogre Battle Games, Unicorn Overlord is about where they would have landed today.

I'm probably alone on this one, but King Arthur's World on Nintendo Online would make me very happy.

Yay! Battletoads and Double Dragon! Kunio Kun games are always fun, too. Big Run does not look good, and I've never heard of Cosmo Gang. It looks a lot like Pac-Attack?

One of my goals when buying a game is to find one that will hit that magical spot where it devours all my free time, but doesn't end up feeling like a second job. Like I play it for 10 hours a week because it's what I'd rather be doing, not because I want to check it off my list and get that monkey off my back.

When a game takes over your life in a good way, it's magical. Who didn't love that first few weeks with Smash Bros. or Mario Odyssey, or maybe some of those revered games from your childhood, where every free moment was a chance to dive back in and have some fun.

But then there's the bad way, where you dutifully march back to the game during every spare moment because you've invested so much time in it and you want it to MEAN something. You get a lot of that with cell phone games, and even some beloved titles like Animal Crossing.

The game's play-time should be whatever comes naturally to that game. How much time you spend playing it should justify the price tag, but also not become a burden. It's a hard line to walk and I've been on both sides.

Phoenix Wright seems like a no-brainer.

Buying it for Ripple Island. I like point and click adventure games, and love trying out odd entries like this one.

Consider that the censorship here might not be to avoid offending people, but rather to ensure they achieve a desirable ESRB/PEGI rating.

It's a good week when you've used all 5 of your selections before you even get past the "Featured" category.

GRIZZLED OLD POLICE CHIEF: Emio, you're a loose cannon! You're plodding, sometimes frustrating, have an elevator-music soundtrack, and you don't block out exhausted dialogue options, but doggonit, you're a good Famicom Detective Club Game.