... Crimson Shroud, Fire Emblem: Awakening and maybe Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. I'm also hoping to wrap up my EarthBound playthrough.
I know, none of the above-mentioned titles were included on the list I mentioned in this post, but all of them are fairly recent additions to my gaming backlog, so I'm going to do my best to tackle them this month (while I also continue to chip away at Super Mario Sunshine, of course).
Will I "beat" all of them? I highly doubt it, but I'll give it my best shot.
The main reason I'm attempting to play through so many of my backlogged games between now and the end of May, by the way: I'm fully expecting THE "DENPA" MEN 2: Beyond the Waves (releasing on May 30) and Animal Crossing: New Leaf (due out on June 9) to hog my attention throughout the month of June.
Anyway, have any of you fine folks played any of the three 3DS games mentioned at the top of this post? If so, what do you think of them?
Considering my initially negative reaction to Super Mario Sunshine, I think it's pretty amazing that I lived up to my promise and played it throughout the month of April.
Even more amazing: I'm still playing it, and I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon. I doubt I'll write about it after today, though--outside of an eventual "Great Gaymathon" review, I mean--so I thought I'd wrap things up with a post about the five aspects of this GameCube title that I've come to love the most. Here they are:
1. The secret stages--Everyone seems to say these FLUDD-less levels are by far the best in the game. I don't entirely agree with that (because I think a number of the "regular" ones are stellar, too), but I definitely agree they're pretty great. Sure, they make my palms sweat as much as any other game I've ever played, but that just adds to the ecstasy I feel when I finally conquer one.
2. "The Sand Bird is Born"--Speaking of sweaty palms, when I first encountered this Gelato Beach stage, I was pretty sure I'd never beat it. That was OK with me, though, as the idea of playing it over and over and over again brought me more joy than you can imagine. What can I say? There's something magical about a level that takes place on the back (and side) of a soaring bird made of blocks of sand.
3. "The Wilted Sunflowers"--I wasn't sure if I should include this stage or the "Wiggler Ahoy" one from Gelato Beach when I started writing this post a few days ago. Because I already covered Gelato Beach in the bullet point above, I decided to go with this one, which is part of Pinna Park. Plus, it involves toppling egg-shelled turtles in order to revive wilted sunflowers. That said, I consider both of them to be surprisingly (and pleasantly) unique takes on the "boss battle" formula.
4. Noki Bay--As much as I love Gelato Beach and Pinna Park, I'm pretty sure Noki Bay is the first world in Super Mario Sunshine that quite literally caused my jaw to drop. To say it's gorgeous is like saying Peach's voice (particularly in this game) is grating. By the way, if the designers and programmers at Nintendo could pull this kind of thing off all the way back in the early 2000s, I'm pretty sure they'll be able pull off some similarly amazing things with the Wii U in the coming years.
5. Yoshi--Yes, Yoshi's inclusion in Super Mario Sunshine is, for the most part, pointless. (Or so I've been told--I'm not sure I'm far enough into the game to say that myself with any assurance.) Still, I'm glad someone pushed for him to be included, as I find riding the little fella around Delfino Plaza to be a joy unto itself.
I know some of you are big fans of Super Mario Sunshine. If that aptly describes you, what are some of your favorite aspects of this summery three-dimensional platformer?
My first encounter with the recently released 3DS eShop title called Witch and Hero (or Witch & Hero, if you get off on ampersands)--which basically involved me stumbling across its fabulously retro logo and a small handful of screenshots--was so positive I was sure it was my cup of tea.
My second run-in with this Circle Entertainment-published game--a write-up that made it seem like little more than an overly simplistic tower-defense title, although in this case you're actually defending a petrified witch, rather a tower, from swarms of enemies--wasn't so favorable, unfortunately, and pretty much convinced me to give it a pass.
Unsurprisingly (given my history as a gaming flip-flopper), the third time I rubbed eyeballs with Witch and Hero--thanks to the second video below--I was pushed to consider it once again.
Even then, though, I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive about its asking price. I know $3.99 isn't much, especially in the world of video games, but considering I spent just $4.99 on Crimson Shroud last week, forking over a dollar less for a digital title that at the time appeared to have a lot less content didn't much appeal to me.
So, with that in mind, I contacted the folks at Circle Entertainment and asked if they'd be willing to give me a free (review) copy of the game. Shockingly, they were.
I've since spent about five hours protecting the titular witch (while in the shoes of the pixelated hero also seen in the video above), and let me tell you: I've enjoyed pretty much every second of those five hours. Sure, I've had my ass handed to me once or twice (maybe more) in that time, but that's never frustrated me--mainly because the game barely punishes you for dying.
That's not to suggest Witch and Hero, developed in tandem by Flyhigh Works and FK Digital, is a pushover. On the contrary, although the game sports just 20 stages, I've only made it to the 16th one so far. You see, you don't play this title as you do most others--play a stage, beat it on your first try, move on to the next, beat it on your first try, rinse and repeat. Instead, you may beat a particular stage, move on to the next, find you're overmatched, head back to the previous one, beat it a few more times, earn enough dough to improve your weaponry (or magic) and then return to the previously troublesome one to wreak havoc.
Sound boring and repetitive? Maybe so, but in practice it's anything but--or at least that's been the case for me so far.
There's much more to Witch and Hero than what I've shared here, but I'll save my chatter about them for the "somewhat gay review" that I'm planning to publish next week. In the meantime, I'd highly recommend checking out the videos above if you're at all curious as to what this eShop gem has to offer.
The day all PSP-owning dungeon-crawler fans have been waiting for since early February finally has arrived: boxed copies of the English version of Class of Heroes 2 are now available for purchase at gaijinworks.com.
Initially, I wasn't too pleased with the $36.99 price tag that's been attached to this release, but I've since softened a bit because it includes shipping as well as a physical copy of Class of Heroes 2 and a download code for the digital iteration of this portable RPG.
Anyway, I just handed over my hard-earned cash for a copy. Are any of you planning to do the same before this pre-sale drive ends on May 8?
In the opinion of yours truly, the only way the custom-pained GameBoy shown off in the photo below could be any cooler would be if the fireballs that surround Mega Man also had been depicted using pixels.
Still, even in its current state, I'd be hard-pressed to call this OSKUNK-made creation anything less than awesome.
A few additional photos of this unquestionably cool GameBoy--including a shot of its appealingly branded backside--can be seen on OSKUNK's blog, by the way.
Yep, I'm gay. And I like video games. Old Japanese games and systems are my favorites--the Famicom, PC Engine, original PlayStation and GameBoy, especially--but I like plenty of newer ones, too. If you have similar interests and you don't mind perusing a blog that's got the word gay in its name and is practically slathered in pink, you'll probably enjoy your time here. I'm also on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, by the way. Oh, and my Switch Friend Code = SW-5852-5514-6897.
