rdm22

@Gamecuber ha, indeed! During the pandemic, one of my projects was rebuilding my Wii, so I just play them there since it now works again (the fact that I didn’t destroy the thing in trying to save it was a small miracle).

…I bought so many NES games for the Wii Virtual Console (R.I.P.) that I am still working through that backlog.

I answered that we needed more questions because while I am not purchasing Switch 2 right away, I plan to eventually. I just have too many games (and, sadly, too little time during which to enjoy them) to justify being an early adopter of Switch 2. I’m sure I’ll get one down the line and am hopeful that titles like the new Donkey Kong and Mario Kart games will make for a successful launch. But in the mine time, my 2017-edition Switch (and New Nintendo 2DS XL, Xbox 360, etc.) more than meet my immediate gaming “needs.”

ClusterTruck’s final level. Brilliant absurd game, with plenty of challenge leading up to the final level, but it always felt fair. Not so with the devil truck. It took me ages to ascend that thing once. When I realized I had to do it three times, I gave up on the game for a while. I was only able to beat it by doing the trick where rather than falling all the way back down after hitting the (maddeningly small) green button on top of the head, I landed on one of his arms and thus significantly short cut the journey (and avoided a ton of lasers).

Never finished Metroid Prime as an adolescent (…because it made me too scared/anxious, ha), and decided to start afresh last night. Even now, the sense of atmosphere and world building holds up gloriously. Really looking forward to finishing what I started all those years ago.

Really enjoying the Atari 50th Anniversary collection. Like a museum and documentary you can play. Plus reimagined new titles like Quadratank are true to the spirit of the old games while feeling fresh. Digital Eclipse nailed yet another retro compilation.

There's literally zero hope of Knuckles' Chaotix being on this thing, right? I keep telling myself I don't need to dish out stupid money for a 32x add-on to finally play that game because SOMEWHERE it will be (legally) ported, and yet!

This, and deluding myself into thinking the Panzer Dragoon Saga source code will ever be found, are my most outlandish Sega fantasies.

Love Sunshine — definitely underrated — but it's Odyssey and 64 for me at the top (and I can't pick).

Despite being a Nintendo fanatic nowadays, I started as a Sega gamer. My first system was a Genesis, and my first game was Sonic the Hedgehog. But for reasons I can no longer recall, I skipped right past both the Saturn and the PlayStation (I have never owned a Sony console) and went straight to the N64, and have never looked back.

One of the top titles available on Switch. An absolute must play, and Switch is the PERFECT console for it.

The essentials for me are: (1) Sonic 3 & Knuckles (really is it’s own experience when combined; especially given the super chaos emeralds and hyper sonic). (2) Sonic and Knuckles (love the added challenge and Knuckles playability over S3; and I think the levels are superior to S3). (3) S2. (4) S3. (5) Sonic Mania. (6) S1. (7) Sonic CD. There are other great-to-good Sonic games, but those are the ones I could come back to any time with unbridled joy.

I somehow have had a Switch since 2017 and have not played Super Mario Odyssey. Started it this week and can’t stop. Absolutely merits the acclaim. Incredible game.

Lotta Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition and Hollow Knight on Switch (as to the latter, specifically the path of pain…). Also some Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball, Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, and Pushmo on 3DS.

Ittle Dew 2+ on Switch, mostly.

West of Loathing is a treasure of a game. Top to bottom gold.

@Kirby_Girl Well said, and that's wonderful — what great games are all about! And Super Star is certainly that. My comments were in no way meant to be negative — though, in re-reading my first one, it feels snarky (sorry, all!). I love Kirby, too. Was just saying I think Smash titles — particularly Ultimate — are basically "Kirby" games, too, and they are really hard to top (at least in terms of cultural prominence). But as you noted, that's a testament to the games that led to him being such a big star (ha!) of the Smash series.

@NinChocolate This comment is 90s nostalgia distilled to a Platonic ideal.

Also, I am very glad to see this Switch entry getting rave reviews after a decent-but-far-from-spectacular debut on Switch in All Star Allies. I look forward to taking it for a Kirby-swallowed-car spin.

@Kirby_Girl Don't get me wrong — I love my Kirby games (and Super Star is a fine choice for best of that bunch). But I genuinely think that when most people sit back and think of the iconic Kirby game, it's either the first Smash title they owned or the, well, "ultimate" one.

Video games needn't have timelines. Some clearly do, and it works. But though Zelda is and always will be my favorite gaming franchise by a country mile, I have never understood the desire to try and retroactively construct a timeline into which all the games are (often awkwardly) forced to fit. "Legend" is in the name, for Pete's sake. Embrace the word and treat the franchise as variations on a shared mythos that share elements with one another, but are not necessarily connected in any coherent or direct way. Not that you can't have stretches of more sequential narratives within the franchise, but not every title needs to be tied to one another like it's the MCU.

So, to return to Kirby from my old-man-yells-at-cloud rant, good for Kumazaki.

Objectively the correct answer is Smash Bros. Ultimate. Honestly, the top 3 (at least) Kirby entries are probably all Smash Bros. games. It's the most fun one can have playing a game in which Kirby plays a pivotal role, and all of his powers are brought to bear brilliantly.

I was a late adopter of the 3DS family — had no interest in portable gaming pre-Switch, so I actually got a New Nintendo 2DS XL after getting a Switch — but quickly became enamored not only of the system and its excellent library, but specifically its Virtual Console, whose spot-save function gives it a major edge over the Wii Virtual Console in terms of gameplay (though not selection) and the Arcade Archives series on Switch (in terms of both game play and selection; the spot save in AA releases is annoying to use). I will be making a lot of purchases before this is shuttered, as I did in the lead up to the Wii VC closure.

Switch: Scribblenauts Unlimited, Manticore Galaxy on Fire.
3DS: Mario Golf World Tour, Sonic Blast
N64: Kobe Bryant Courtside
Sega Genesis Mini: Ecco the Dolphin, Eternal Champions
PC Engine Mini: Appare! Gateball, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

Switch: Undertale, Geki Yaba Runner, Hollow Knight, Horace.

3DS: Donkey Kong (Game Boy version), Oracle of Seasons, Mario Golf: World Tour.

DS Lite: Star Fox Command.

Completed the fantastic Batman: The Enemy Within (I really miss Telltale Games), have been shocked by how addictive Qubic Games’ Space Pioneers is (think I picked it up in that insane free download deal they did over a recent holiday season), and squeezed in some Horace on Switch. Also fired up my N64 for Kobe Bryant Courtside (playing a season as the Atlanta Hawks).

I spent $0 on this game, but did invest quite a few hours (it was my “going to sleep,” “on a boring conference call,” etc. game). While I greatly enjoyed it, having it pulled so quickly after release was a real shame that I’m sure kept many players (like me) who only played in fits and starts — and even during periods of time when I had picked the game back up, rarely if ever for hours at a time — from completing its 1,200+ levels (I ended up somewhere in the 1,020s).

While I heartily endorse those above hoping for a Switch release (provided it kept my progress!), I strongly, strongly doubt that is forthcoming. (The obnoxious / predatory GACHA elements would need to be stripped out for it to he playable on Switch, too.) Even before (rather meekly) venturing into mobile gaming, Nintendo was willing to let quality games disappear forever — RIP WiiWare — and that trend will only continue if the company continues making phone games.

With all due respect to the incredible first two entries in the Mario RPG catalog, this remains the solid gold standard. Just a top-to-bottom triumph. Rock [Hawk] on, my friends.

A shame, because I would have INSTANTLY jumped on the older titles were they not cloud.

Why is BotW being greater than RE4 / SMB3 controversial? They are all wildly different games that will appeal to different people to lesser or greater extents, but BotW was an instant landmark in gaming history that absolutely deserves consideration as the GOAT of games.

Original Assassin’s Creed and Hexic HD on Xbox 360 (the latter is probably one of the most shockingly addictive games I’ve ever played; had never even bothered to try it for years and now I can’t put it down).

Planning on jumping back on Mario Golf World Tour and Donkey Kong (Game Boy) on 3DS.

On Switch will probably knock out the DK DLC in Mario + Rabbids (having just 100%ed mainline game) and then return to Yoku’s Island Express and Horace (which I have neglected while I was hooked on Mario + Rabbids).

With all due respect to the Dreamcast, this has always been my entry in the "What is the best failed console?" debate.

Won’t get to all of these, but this is my active playlist.

Switch: Mario + Rabbids, Tardy, Yoku’s Island Express.

3DS: Mario Golf: World Tour (want to beat it before digging into Switch installment in this glorious franchise).

Wii: Epic Mickey, Metroid, Homestar Ruiner.

XBox 360: Hexic HD (shockingly addictive), NiGHTS into dreams…, Jet Set Radio (lives up to the hype).

GameCube: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure (better than the reviews suggest — just don’t think of it as a “real” Zelda, and it is fun in its own respect).

N64: Kobe Bryant Courtside, Glover.

Phone: Dr. Mario World (really pissed about the impending permanent takedown).

I am in fact beating this game for the first time now. It holds up remarkably well.

My Switch backlog is still somewhere in 2019….I am very excited to dive into Mario Golf in 2023, though.

Also, to anyone who hasn’t played Fez on Xbox 360, STRONG RECOMMEND.

I actually play this game all the time, so this is a major bummer for me. My wife plays it, too.

I grew up with these games on their original consoles (well, technically I got TP on Wii (I don’t care about the kingdom being flipped for the sake of the tyranny of right-handed people) and BotW on Switch (because, well, duh). I’ve never been able to convince myself to double-dip or to sacrifice my nostalgia and play an enhanced version of the game. Had ANY OTHER 3D Zelda beyond SS (by far the my least favorite modern Zelda, IMHO — though I haven’t played the DS Zeldas yet (aren’t those also 3D?) or any of the multiplayer pseudo spin-offs) been remastered and ported to Switch, I would have bitten. And I may still get OoT on 3DS. But for now, I’ll content myself with firing up the 64 / GameCube / Wii.

As an extremely late 3DS-family adopter (got a New Nintendo 2DS XL a year or two ago), I missed out on this aspect of the system entirely (as well as 3D, but that was deliberate). Too bad, seems fun. I still turn it on. And yes, to respond to a rhetorical question in the article, I do bring my 3DS (and my Switch and my also-recently acquired DS Lite) just about everywhere. Like Jethro Tull, I’m living in the past.

@Longondo First thing I did when reading this article was do a search for the word "Demontower." What an absolute blast (contained within a stone-cold classic in-and-of-itself).

One of many absolutely brilliant narrative and gameplay elements of just a staggeringly great game. God I miss classic Paper Mario....

So far just Mario+Rabbids. But think I might mix it up with some Thumper, Yooka-Laylee, and/or Hollow Knight tonight.

Did the E3 pre-order trifecta: Metroid, Mario Party, Wario Ware

Finally tucked into Mario+Rabbids — just in time for the sequel announcement! Loving it so far.

Now there’s sus[tenance].

This ticks several of my boxes. Look forward to the NL review when this lands.

Rip Torn voice: “If you can dodge a joy con....”

Played for the first time last year on my DS Lite. Deserves all the praise hat is heaped upon it. A one-of-a-kind game in every way.

There should be an option for "none of the above - I have not played any of the anniversary-related games."

(That said, yes, I bought the 3D All Stars before it disappeared; it's just on my extensive backlog — especially since those are all games I've already beaten at least once....)

Impossible for me to recommend Fez enough. It is a one-of-a-kind experience.

Would love to see how strongly this vote correlates with age / age at time one first encountered an N64.

[Opens up the escape hatch.]
[Puts on parachute.]
[Jumps out.]
[Whispers]: CD-i Zelda and Mario.