trymer89

Well, I am putting the finishing touches on the sequel trilogy in Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga: to wit, I simply have to collect any kyber brick stragglers as well as do a few side missions, and I will achieve the oh-so-coveted 100% completion rate. On a personal note, rather unexpectedly, and clocking in at about 100 hours, this has toppled Xenoblade Chronicles as my second most played game (Breath of the Wild has yet to be dethroned in first place with 175 hours).

Assuming finishing Lego by today, it's Kirbin time: that's right, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. A nice and breezy (if sadly short and thus somewhat bittersweet) romp through what is widely regarded as one of the pink puffball's best adventures.

Still hammering away at Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Going for completion on all but the Scavenger collectibles on the prequels and Episode IV before moving on to Empire; probably be at it for another week or so.

I completed Metroid Prime yesterday after some very nostalgic thirty-odd hours. I missed some missiles and one particularly troublesome energy tank, but I did copy my save before completion, so perhaps I'll dip back in.

For now, though, my focus is squarely on LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and great googly moogly, there are a ton of kyber bricks. The class system is an interesting wrinkle, the worlds are gorgeous, and there's that classic tongue-in-cheek Lego humour. It's been great fun traipsing through Naboo once more (yes I do the episodes in chronological order, whether playing or watching; it's the way George Lucas intended they be done, after all).

I only bought a Switch in 2021 (very late to the party, I know), so while there were definitely some bangers from 2017 (namely The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle), when I look at my collection of 30+ games played, I have to say that either 2021 or 2022 brought me the most joy.

2021 was all about catch up: in addition to playing a wide variety of previous year Wii U ports (Bayonetta 2, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker) or entries that came out in the intervening years (i.e. Luigi's Mansion 3, Link's Awakening, Paper Mario: The Origami King), I got to play the vast majority of 3D Mario's thanks to 3D All Stars and 3D World + Bowser's Fury, while also being introduced to Metroid Dread, Xenoblade Chronicles, Skyward Sword, Sonic Colors, and Bravely Default II. All in all, a solid year with a lot of my favorites (Skyward Sword, Link's Awakening, and Super Mario Galaxy all being in my top ten).

2022 I am still playing games from and frankly, it has yet to disappoint. The year got off to a very good start for me (and a lot of folks, I'm sure) with Pokémon Legends Arceus, followed by Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which after playing Star Allies (still a decent game, btw) I wasn't sure how much enthusiasm I would have for until I saw the trailer with Mouthful Mode. I would dearly have loved to play Xenoblade Chronicles 3, but I had just finished the first and am only now approaching the second.

The middle of the year was sort of bare, but then October arrived and along came a little game called Bayonetta 3. After that, the hits kept coming for me with Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Sonic Frontiers, NieR:Automata, and most recently Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. I would quite easily put Arceus, Kirby, and Xeno in my top ten, with Sparks of Hope not far behind (as I'm still playing Bayo I'm not comfortable ranking it just yet).

So it's a toss up. I will say that 2021 had Metroid Dread and Skyward Sword, both of which are real contenders for my absolute favorite games on the Switch, while I would only maybe pick Arceus from 2022, so I guess I'd have to give 2021 a very slight edge.

Metroid Prime: Finally got my copy and will be playing this for the first time in fifteen years. It's going to be great to go behind the visor once more.

@ThomasBW84 Granted I tend to disagree, but with the notes about framerate dips, NPCs repeating themselves, and occasional AI dimwittedness, this review seems closer to a 9 or 9.5.

For me, I acknowledge those issues, but I just don't care; the excellent presentation far outweighs any minor quibbles I might have.

NieR: Automata End of YoRHa Editon: I've just unlocked transport which makes completing side quests a hell of a lot easier I can tell you. It's a pretty fun blend of hack-and-slash, exploration, and occasional side scrolling. The music is appropriately somber or rousing depending on the situation and the visuals are quite impressive (the abandoned theme park in particular evoked an ethereal quality).

I'd like to say Metroid Prime Remastered, but given that NieR encourages multiple playthroughs... well, we'll see.

Well, I finished Sonic Frontiers yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed that, so I think I'll give Nier:Automata a go.

I'm a sucker for sprawling RPGs and being a recently converted fan of Xenoblade, I'm told this is in the same vein. Plus, it looks gorgeous.

Sonic Frontiers was awesome though. I had my doubts but even before all the trailers and gameplay footage I was cautiously optimistic and thankfully, Sonic Team and Sega did not disappoint.

It's challenging where it should be (especially the towers on Rhea and the first two titans) but by the end, you really feel you have a better handle on the various robots, grind rails, and puzzles, along with a pretty interesting story filled with great bonding moments among Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and the newest and most curious addition, Sage.

Sonic in open zone works and I would love to see this direction explored further in upcoming entries.

Having completed Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope yesterday, I've begun the dive into Sonic Frontiers.

I'm with Alex and Zion: it's not perfect but it is a lot of fun. A very enjoyable core gaming loop with a decent amount of diversions to keep things varied.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was excellent, truly top-notch. Freedom of movement and action within battles, open worlds full to bursting with little quests, gated ladder pathways a la metroidvanias, and hidden levels very reminiscent of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker all make this one that much better than Kingdom Battle, which was already quite good.

Not to pile on, but can we get either Alex or Zion to do an official review? They both had a much better experience, and it'd be a nice contrast so as not to immediately turn folks off to this game. Heck, even Felix has had his problems but found some enjoyment.

Bottom line: this is an unquestionably harsh review. Maybe you had a bad time with it, but the vast majority of players - even on Switch - apparently had better experiences. From what I've both observed online and personally played, this game merits at least a 6.5, honestly closer to an 8.

A second opinion is definitely needed here.

I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy Keegan Michael-Key's particular brand of comedy so him as Toad - meh.

Jack Black is pretty impressive as Bowser, especially the line "Open the gates!" But I still hear Black in there and it's going to be difficult to separate his well-known voice from the character. Still, he's off to a promising start.

I would not have chosen Charlie Day for Luigi, but he oddly kind of - fits? (Shrugs) We'll see, I guess.

As for Mr. Pratt: I thought I heard a bit of Brooklyn Italian accent. If so, go with that. I personally don't want Mario to sound "unlike anything (I've) heard in the Mario world". There's good reason a lot of people would have preferred Charles Martinet: he IS Mario, and Pratt needs to get as close to that as possible without outright copying the voice. Good luck, Chris: I feel confident enough to speak for all Mario fans in saying I don't envy you that task.

Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition: Full disclosure, I've never played a Xenoblade game before, but I bloody love this game. It just checks all the boxes: big, immersive maps (I don't mind that it's not one open world, the maps are still huge), excellent story and acting, innovative progression systems and layered combat, and all backed by some truly gorgeous vistas (especially when one considers that this is a remaster of a ten year old game).

My only regret going forward is that unless I purchase a Wii U, I have no way of obtaining Xenoblade Chronicles X. Nevertheless, I am eight chapters in and can see no way that the rest of this game will disappoint, so 2 and 3 will not be far behind.

New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe: I've put in a scant three levels thanks to work, and this is certainly a tad harder than the 3D games to be sure! Not overwhelmingly so, but requiring more precision and finesse to get a good run.

Elsewhere, I will be traipsing through online matches of Pokken Tournament DX, having completed the single-player campaign. A fun game, if also difficult to truly master, but a pleasantly unique departure from the series' traditional turn-based combat.

Going for completion on Yoshi's Crafted World, then it's off to Pokken Tournament DX.

Elsewhere, I have the Live A Live demo downloaded and need to give that a go to determine whether or not I'll purchase the full game.

Yoshi's Crafted World: I have never played a Yoshi title (outside of Mario Parties and I guess Mario + Rabbids) and after a big beast of a game like Bravely Default II (which I am still dipping in and out of trying to complete all sidequests after having knocked out the main story) it's a very pleasantly easygoing and diverting platformer which is just the relaxation I need.

Bravely Default II: I've been looking for an old-school JRPG reminiscent of Final Fantasy and this fits the bill. It's also given me the opportunity to take note of some similar games (such as the Ateliers) for the future. Turn-based combat, job system, and of course the brave/default options all make this an easy sell for me.

If I finish that, to quote Monty Python's John Cleese, "And now for something completely different": Yoshi's Crafted World. I've never played a Yoshi game (btw, is it YOH-shee or YAH-shee? Always been curious to know the proper pronunciation.) and this looks like a nice and laid-back affair after a meaty RPG.

I'm not against motion controls per se (they were certainly implemented well in Super Mario Odyssey) but if I can take button controls, I prefer to do so.

I played Skyward Sword for the first time and had a blast. Props to the dev team for making sure that people like me who prefer buttons can do so.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity: Way more fighting-intensive than I had thought/hoped, but still a lot of fun! It's great exploring the variations on each character's fighting style; I tend to favor Urbosa with her quick and super damaging lightning strikes or Daruk for his ability to slowly build up a rhythm with stronger and stronger blows, followed by a massive torrent of magma, but each one has their own appeal. The story follows BOTW fairly closely, but toward the end gets a little... bonkers.

Metroid Dread: it's been on my backlog for far too long, and I've only put in a few hours so far. Kirby will likely be next in line though.