appleseedeon

I bought two copies to show my support! PC (Steam) and Switch. Be sure you go into the text and language settings and select to play the Writer's Cut. I beat the PC version without knowing about this, so now I'm playing the Switch version and enjoying the extra dialogue.

I'm being deliberately obtuse here, but don't all video games render as pixel art? It's simply a question of resolution. Anyhow... I'll be buying Return to Monkey Island on the merits of the puzzles and story. The graphic style is off-putting to me but not sufficient reason to pass. The one time graphics mattered to me in a Monkey Island game was when I picked up a CD-ROM copy of Curse of Monkey Island and thought, "Wow! This looks like a playable cartoon." It was my first experience with the series and inspired me to find copies of the two earlier games. As a Nintendo fan, I wasn't surprised that the first two games had simpler, more pixelated graphics. They reminded me of NES and SNES games. Getting them to run properly was a hassle but kind of fun.

As a kid, I put a Styrofoam cup up my nose. Well, pieces of Styrofoam cup. I couldn't get it to fit otherwise. The point is kids do things that baffle grownups but make sense to the kids. My daughter is one year old and almost knocked my Wii U tablet onto the floor from a shelf. I have since relocated said tablet.

Playing Super Mario Kart at a friend's house in the '90s, I couldn't understand why everyone loved this game. I couldn't turn worth beans! Little did I know that drifting was not only possible but necessary. Nobody told me! So, I hated Mario Kart for years, thinking it was impossible to turn around corners without braking and dropping into last place. Now though I love the series.

@Not_Soos Correct, provided your accounts are linked. I used to make purchases directly on my 3DS and Wii U systems, but it's more convenient to add the funds using my Switch instead and see the balance show up on those devices. It makes those systems feel connected somehow, like they're part of the same family. Cheesy but true.

Excellent review, Roland! Great economy and highly informative. Thanks for the insight into the two IPs. I researched Shin-Chan after seeing the game trailer, so I had some clue about that, but I knew nothing of the My Summer Vacation series. I'll be buying the game thanks to your review.

@Anti-Matter I have Sushi Striker for 3DS. A few copies were sitting alongside Mario Party: The Top 100 on the shelf at my local Fred Meyer (grocery store plus everything else) for months and months. When I finally decided to buy Sushi Striker, knowing the 3DS was winding down, I found it on Amazon for $8 plus tax. It's a lot of fun! Zany and addictive. I am almost tempted to try sushi despite loathing most seafood.

@Joeynator3000 I voted for Shin-Chan! The title is absurdly long, but I'm a sucker for the pastoral Japanese slice-of-life vibe it's got going for it. Reminds me of Attack of the Friday Monsters. I'm dragging my feet on that game because I don't want it to end.

I played one character from the demo (the aging kung fu master) and loved it, so I've been waiting for the physical copy to appear on Amazon. Placed my order last night along with a Switch Lite case. The item description for Live A Live showed that it's currently Amazon's #1 best selling-game in the US. And here I thought it would be niche thanks to its odd name!

That trailer! Ahh! Take my money now.

I've been meaning to swap my Wii U battery for the larger capacity version. When I do, I'll buy from iFixit. They are reputable and have excellent tutorials.

I loved this bit of the article: '"Charming" games are the ones where the walls between you and the developer are so thin that you can almost see them watching you play..."'

I don't know how Kate does it, but wow! This is a scary-accurate way of describing something I thought couldn't be described, only experienced.

@thinkhector I'm pretty sure I heard about the announcement first and then got my 3DS... could there have been a loophole that I exploited by buying a unit off eBay before the deadline? I can't actually remember making the purchase. I do recall feeling clever that I paid less than full price and still became an Ambassador. Hmm. Now I'm questioning my brain! Doh.

I just downloaded the update! This is a lovely game for folks who wish the Game Boy was never discontinued. I've been playing it slowly so as to stretch out the experience.

I was on the fence about the 3DS until the Ambassador program was announced. Those extra games made all the difference to me! My wife still laments that she didn't know anything about the program until it was too late.

Ooo. This looks to be about my speed. I'm getting vibes of Carto and A Short Hike. Both of those put me at ease while fostering a spirit of curiosity and mischief. Good stuff.

The art is sublime, but the price tag leaves me shell-shocked.

Celeste and Golf Story are my only games from LRG. The wait times for both were extreme, and seeing the games show up at Best Buy later felt like a kick in the teeth. I don't order anything from them these days.

I had Shantae for GBC. Kept the box in great shape, only played it two or three times, and then sold it on eBay for roughly what I spent on it ($30). Nobody cared about the game back then except Craig Harris at IGN. Same story with Metal Gear Solid for GBC, although I did beat it before selling it. I wish I had kept them both.

I admit, there's a rush of excitement any time I see the Pokemon branding. I'd get these for my wife in a heartbeat if she liked nail polish. I'm surprised by how well the silhouettes work. Piplup's is the only one that's not obvious (to me, at least).

@DioBrando You're not wrong. The tire company did indeed launch the whole Michelin star system. I can imagine Gordon shouting, "This chicken is raw! And it tastes like rubber."

"Genealogy in a bottle." These sub-headers are my daily pick-me-up! I played a lot of Rogue Legacy on Vita/PS4, so that itch has already been scratched. I'll probably skip the sequel.

That's one stylish trailer. I'm not sure what's gameplay versus cutscenes. I wonder if you're even allowed to win without cheating?

@nib0 I've got it on 3DS and it's awesome!

@JHDK It's in his back... side.

If sales are good, they'll probably keep this pace. If sales are lackluster, perhaps they'll give fans some breathing room. I'm playing through Pokemon Blue and Brilliant Diamond right now, so it's nice knowing I'll never run out of games.

Handheld gaming is my favorite way to play games, so the idea of the Steam Deck is great. However, public perception is more important than the facts. Consider the Wii U. I personally loved it, but the public didn't understand it (much less buy it). The Steam Deck faces the public perception of being a Switch challenger despite the devices being like apple to oranges. The biggest draw of the Steam Deck is buying cheaper games and playing them on the couch. I have a small Steam library of old PC games (Commander Keen, Monkey Island) that I access through a Microsoft Surface. Ultimately, I don't play them often because I need to sit at a table and connect a mouse first. The Steam Deck could be a revelation. Even so, it would live alongside my Switch, PS4, Xbox One X, Wii U, and other Nintendo handhelds. I don't see it replacing anything I own.

Ocarina is the one you play for fun. Majora is the one you play for catharsis.

At some point in his life, Major Thibodeau volunteered to serve my country. For that I thank him. However, with one simple comment, he's not only issuing a blanket statement about folks who play video games, he's insulting his fellow servicemen and women. They volunteered like he did. They're the folks he's complaining about--folks serving alongside him. That speaks poorly of Major Thibodeau's character and makes him sound like he's blaming volunteers--volunteers!--for not being medically fit to serve. It's the major's job to get folks ready. He's complaining that he has to do his job?

@Aurumonado Yup, I've been thinking about that too. I'm surprised they didn't include an "everything" pack so it would be simpler to purchase. Presumably the DLC wasn't a hot seller if we're just now getting around to it.

@bigcalsworld I'm barely into the game and don't know about notes yet. I bought the canary in my first visit to the store. Why? Because I remembered using a cucco in Ocarina of Time to wake up Malon at Hyrule Castle... so I figured it must be important. When I "checked" the canary and saw it was sad, I knew my in-game objective was to make it happy somehow. I approach older games like I'm trying to unravel the designers' thoughts. It breaks the immersion sometimes but works more often than not.

@HamatoYoshi Oh, great username and photo! Are you looking forward to Shredder's Revenge?

@HamatoYoshi No, not these days. I figured they were baiting us with a shovel-related pun. Instead they were baiting us with a "hollower" pun. I'm doubtful Mina will receive the same acclaim Shovel Knight did because a "brand-new old game" still felt like a novel idea circa 2014ish. However, I missed out on backing Shovel Knight, so I want to participate this time--especially since the GBC is dearer to me than the NES based on my age.

Yes to this. I backed it. The GBC arrived at the right time in my life to make a huge impact, and I was always hoping developers would crank as much awesomeness from the handheld as possible. Shantae, Link's Awakening, the Oracle Zelda games, and Metal Gear Solid were amazing examples of this. Yacht Club Games doesn't simply wax nostalgic. They refine something that was already cherished and update it for new audiences.

@Magician Absolutely. They more or less perfected what Zelda II set out to do, so that would make my day.

My (unrealistic) hope is that this re-release will get someone to say, "Let's make make Banjo-Threeie!" I've got the Rare Replay versions of BK and BT, so I'm not inclined to pay for the NSO add-on just yet. I'm actually digging into a few NES titles like Crystalis, Adventures of Lolo, and TwinBee. Some of these ancient games are still fun to play.

This was a hilarious read, Kate. Nice burn about Nintendo putting out 20-year-old games (I was playing Adventures of Lolo on Switch Online yesterday when I realized it's three decades old). The Chris Pratt as Clippy joke is wonderfully underplayed. Oh, and the XBendo mockup is great. Saying the name out loud made me laugh.