Zaruboggan

I'll have to give the demo a DL! I've had it on my radar since it's announcement, but I didn't know it was by the Dodgeball Academia team. Good for them!

I don't know how but my dumb*** read the headline as 30 million copies sold.
500k in 30 days makes a lot more sense lol

Super Smash Bros Ultimate, because picking any other game would mean never playing it again.
I'll never give up my local multiplayer sessions, even if they only happen a few times a year!
In the meantime, maybe I'll pick up gardening...

Better deliver with Okami 2 then lol
Otherwise there won't be any sequels or new IP.

@WarioInAHardees @Servbot_EJ
If you've got a friend to play them with, I think any MH game is a good jumping in point. I'd recommend Rise.
Otherwise, I'd argue there is no good jumping in point for Monster Hunter. It's all the deep end. That doesn't mean it's not a leap worth taking, per se... You're just gonna have to teach yourself to swim lol.
(Personally, I wouldn't bother playing it alone, but I know a lot of people who do.)

I exclusively use external devices for voice chat for literally every console. Including PC, if you can believe it (heat problems mean I run voice chat through my phone lol).
So while I dgaf personally, I hope the people who are hoping for improved accessibility get it.

Basically just Monster Hunter Wilds when I'm not otherwise engaged (which will be most of the weekend). I'm still kinda hoping to fit in Avowed sometime before Xenoblade Chronicles X DE, but I don't see it happening.
I'm also trying to decide between continuing my Pokemon Red file on 3DS or buying Pokemon Let's Go Eevee, but have made no headway on the decision-making process.

I like Pokemon's battle system as is.
That said, I'm excited to try out this one.
If they do make it the future of mainline games, then they had better make sure they port every Pokemon game ever to every future Nintendo console so that I don't have to give it up when my 3DS dies.

I don't particularly care for Xenoblade's battle systems (and XCX is one of my top ten games of all time), so...please don't make it like that lol.

Cute, but I don't know if I'd want to look at a perpetually distraught Sentret.

I hope the Power Surge games are a matter of games announced too early, and not games that got cancelled and the public won't find out for a while.

Shout-out to Urban Myth Dissolution Center and Stories from Sol: The Gun Dog!

Monster Hunter Wilds, which has been kind of a kick in the teeth. As someone who plays with friends from the top, this game is a far cry from the ease and simplicity of, say MHR or MH4U. In those games, you just join a lobby and get to it.
Wilds returns to Worlds absolutely mindbogglingly ridiculous hurdles. I hate it. You can't just play together like normal people. You have to do solo play homework between every fight, and the most efficient thing to do is just fight the stupid thing yourself, and all gang up on whoever is furthest behind.
Because you can't join your friend if you haven't watched the cutscenes for the current battle.
They make Nintendo look like the industry standard for multiplayer.
Even worse is figuring out which of the five ways of adding friends you need to do. Lobby up? Squad up? Add as friends or followers? Environmental link? Link party?
Environmental link let's your walk around together in the world (a la expeditions), but you can't do quests. Lobby let's you see each other in town and see quests on the board. Link party members get automatically invited to quests (but can only join if they've done their homework...). Being friends just makes it easier to join all the other stuff. And you squads are like your clans.
It's such a nightmare in a game that's already a nightmare of menus. It's all been made especially noticeable because we've got a first time hunter along for the ride. Just listening to ourselves try to explain what he has to do has been... eye-opening.

Mickey Mouse is 96 years old. Pokemon has made more money. Doesn't seem impossible to me.
The real question is...will we still be around in 71 more years?

Gasp, no way, a F2P (presumably) title drip feeds it's content?
Gasp!

Kind of a death knell for the service in my eyes.*
Like, yeah, I don't care about this game, but the problem with these subscription services is games get taken away, then added later as if it's a new value proposition.
A constantly building library? I'm happy paying monthly for that.

*I will continue to pay my $10/yr for the service, so take my grumblings with a grain of salt. Gotta have my online multiplayer.

What lol Arceus also looked like butt
The game was so muddy I couldn't tell when I left the swamp.

Still enjoyed it, though (and I'll say this every time: in spite of its God awful story and horrible battle changes).

Hey, I love Patrat!

I don't like the mobile-as-a-primary platform timeline.
I miss console Pokemon spinoffs, the days of pinball, trozei, park, XD, ranger, mystery dungeon, etc.
Now it's mainline game or bust, because F2P mobile trash is exclusively bust.
(Though the argument could be made that Legends is itself a spinoff.)

But that's not new or surprising. Pokemon Champions' first impression: another mobile game. Quest, Unite, and Cafe all came to the Switch, too, and they're all F2P junk, so no real hope for this one.

Legends looks dope. I'm loving the change to the battle system, and the focus on one city. Emboar, Meganium, and Feraligatr are clearly going to get mega evolutions, but are they also going to be kalosian forms? If so, I hope my regular Emboar gets his own mega, too.

What was the final bit even teasing lol

Please don't have dumb monetization.

Not a hope or an expectation, but I was just thinking it'd be really cool (and supremely low budget) if they did a Gen1 port that came with a swath of updates.
Like, it still looks and sounds like our ol' favorite GB(C) game...but it has Mega Evolutions, held items, new moves, stat splits, typing changes, etc. all accounted for. Plus any evolutions that have come out since then. All with new GB sprites.
They could even add on a hundred grand of development costs and animate the battle sprites.

If remakes are going to look worse than the originals, then why not just make them look LIKE the originals?

Repeat for every generation as necessary.

Re: iterative sequels, I WISH many of my favorite franchises stayed the course. Each time one of them attempts to make a big change or shake things up, the result is a lesser game.
COD, Pokemon, Disgaea, Battlefield, Fire Emblem, Tales of, etc. were belting out nothing but winners in my book. Until they started listening to online desperation for different games and started delivering different games.
That's not to say none of them have made good games, per se.
But I miss CoD and BF when they weren't chasing trends. I would have bought their yearly iterations forever. Pokemon's evolution has someone mostly been less game per game. Disgaea hit on something special with 3/4, then dropped geoblocks and left beautiful 2D art behind. Fire Emblem, well...
My point: give me iterative. Give me another Chibi Robo in an open house with crazy characters and some QoL improvements. Not 2D action platformer franchise swan song. Give me a sharp shooter with new maps, guns, and perk systems every year, not character shooters with ultimate abilities that relegate shootouts into who has the most bar saved up.
Etc. etc.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl.
Right this wrong.

Ended up getting really sick, so I'm still putting off playing more Urban Myth Dissolution Center and starting Avowed until I'm well.
I hate playing new games when I'm sick. Especially this kinda sick. Hopefully I'm well before Monster Hunter Wilds on Friday.
Sigh. I had such plans.

Pokemon's shorts have always been pretty darn good on Youtube. Some of their bigger ones have been fairly average by comparison.
This one, however, should be a treat!

I love that yellow jumper!

I am flabbergasted. There was a time when I couldn't convince my friends that this show was real. Even I had started to question my memory, before I finally found an episode while in college, many, many years later.
And now it's getting a new game. Absolutely wild.

I get excited because of directs, not for them.

I'm trepidatious about Z-A. I hope they fix Legends' downsides (story, battle system, environmental design) while maintaining what worked (catching mechanics). I'm afraid they'll be doubling down on the agile/str styles and new speed mechanics instead...

I'm glad they've taken more time for this one, because they clearly need it. Dunno if any of you have played any of the older games recently, but it's striking how they used to be the showcases for each system. They were beautiful before. Heck, the non-wild areas in SwSh still looked good.

Now even the Remakes are given the short end of the stick. Makes it harder to be excited for BW remakes if they're just going to be uglier versions of the DS games.

I still love this series and enjoy the games (with asterisks, now), but man, get it together, Game freak! I know there's no reason to when you get a solid 15m+ no matter what, but do it for us!

Hm. That puts me in an awkward position come XCX, which I was gonna get with a voucher. I suppose I could still grab Pokemon Z-A or MP4 with the voucher, but there's also the possibility that they may have enhanced Switch 2 versions.
Which we won't find out about until after XCX is out.

I had a dream where the white Switch 2 was $349, and the black Switch 2 was $449.
All I remember is the white Switch 2 had bigger L buttons.

Cool! Too bad it doesn't have the DLC ones (yet?) but I'm exited to give this a listen.
It'll help make the work day little easier. I've come down with a nasty little bug, ruining my three-day weekend, so I'll definitely need the help tomorrow!

Happy Weekend, gang!
I tried out the demo for Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog, and I gotta say, I really dig the style. It's got this old-school mecha anime aesthetic with Gameboy coloring (alt. Color options are available). The opening was intriguing, so I may finish the demo up. Otherwise, it's already done its job.
I'll be starting Urban Myth Dissolution Center (probably) today. It's another one with a sick aesthetic, so I'm excited to dive in!

There may be some Rise of Nations with the cousins, but I'll be out and about for a lot of the weekend. Playing spikeball at the beach this morning; catching Captain America in theaters; and hitting up the bookstore, since I'm just about done with The Ikessar Falcon and am all out of new stuff to read. We'll also be picking up a few manga volumes for things we've fallen behind on.

StarFox Assault, aka the best StarFox game! Just played it in the last couple of years. It holds up marvelously.
If anything, it was only more fun!
Spent so many hours mucking about in multiplayer with my cousins...

Just downloaded Urban Myth Dissolution Center last night, which I guess was last week's title, as well as the demo of Feb 20's Stories from Sol: The Gun Dog, which I guess is going to be one of next week's titles.

So even though I'm about to start two new games this week, uh, I guess nothing for me this week lol

My tops are:
Mario Strikers Charged
Mario Power Tennis
Mario Superstar Sluggers
Mario Golf 64

Some of the later games for tennis are still decent fun (Open, Aces), and golf has done okay by me. That said, Battle League was a huge disappointment. Is it decent fun on the field? Mostly? Just don't get ahead, or the game will swing enormously against you. The roster was pretty disappointing compared to its predecessor, and the lack of unique dodges smarts. I liked being able to tackle my friend up the field, though. That was fun.

Shout out to the early handheld titles with their RPG modes!

So we're NOT in the worst timeline!

I'd probably get the OLED version if they did both at launch. I like my vita's OLED, but I never upgraded my Switch--mostly because I rarely play handheld.
I don't even use an OLED TV. Just an old LCD that came with my brother's couch a decade ago. Works okay. Basically anything's an improvement from how I USED to game (4-player split screen on a 12").

Sweet!
I'll probably run through this during work tomorrow.
This is a day earlier than usual, right?

"And you have more options than previous Tales games. Oh, and everyone is fun to play as."
Except you have fewer options, because you can't play co-op, so while everyone is fun to play as, not everyone can play Tales of Arise.

Tales of Abyss is my pick, and if I could have my way, it'd still have the instrumental Karma opening* and local multiplayer.
I'm still sad the Tales of Symphonia ports have returned to the OG J-pop opening song, rather than keeping the mood-setting, beautiful instrumental piece we got in the west. An option to change it would be nice!
Throw me a bone, here!
*And I say this as someone with several imported Bump of Chicken albums.

I'd be happy with Eternia, Innocence, Tempest, or Rebirth simply because I haven't played them before. Wouldn't say no to Hearts, either, especially if they could add some MP support. It was a pretty decent game.

Whichever one gets brought over, I just want them to ensure they're the best version of the game. None of this ToS debacle.

I'm still kinda inbetween games at the moment as I await the first of the 2025 games I'm interested in.
I worked through a few hoops on stitch. and tried out Minami Lane yesterday. Sometime this weekend I'll be playing both Helldivers 2 and Rise of Nations with cousins, but I'm not really sure when.

None of that really matters because Viz just announced that they'll be publishing Kingdom in English--that's right, the 74+ volume war manga, and the last of the top 10 best-selling manga of all time to cross the ocean, is finally coming to the west.
I am absolutely thrilled!

Side note: I did finish reading Deadhouse Gates (Erikson is a genius). Next up is The Ikessar Falcon. Hitting the bookstore next weekend and crossing my fingers they've got Memories of Ice in stock!

I'd often scroll through Miiverse and appreciate the art people got up to, and even posted my own on occasion (my PFP here was actually a Miiverse post originally).
Plus, it was fun just posting screenshots with funny captions (allegedly).
I miss the little experiment, but yeah, in today's society? I don't want to read an article about how Switch 2 radicalized the youth and led them down the rabbit hole.

Urban Myth Dissolution Center for me!
Gonna try to sneak it in before Avowed and Monster Hunter.

My work will have just gone from remote to in-office before then, so it may be hard to catch it live. Would have been so easy before... Grumble grumble.

I grew up on playing co-op RPGs with friends and family. I swear by the likes of Tales of Symphonia, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, and Champions of Norrath.
I skipped Tales of Arise because it's missing the one feature that's important to me.
For me, nothing beats co-op. I wish every game had co-op. Online and offline. Shooter, RPG, action game, whatever. Give me co-op!

I need a Reject All button for my phone and computer yesterday.

We picked up Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, though I'll probably wait until I finish La Pucelle Tactics before I jump on that.

There will be some Rise of Nations on Sunday with the cousins, and maybe some Helldivers 2. I might try out Minami Lane or something, too. That's about it!

Crap, didn't realize Urban Myth Dissolution Center was so close!
That and Omega Six: The Triangle Stars have caught my eye.
I'll otherwise be grabbing Avowed on Xbox and Monster Hunter Wilds on PS5.

@Red_211 Use the side bar button (three stacked lines)
Your Account -> Profile settings

The sound of pressing A three times when you wake the switch IS the jingle

Picking up Phantom Brave 2. Tonal shift aside, it's still the sequel to a game I grew up with 20 years ago, so...kinda have to lol.