And that was the last straw... You get to a certain point, and all enemies start scaling up to your level, no matter how high you go. Boss fights take upwards of half an hour; even random encounters are 10-15 minutes long, because even if you have your best weapon, and put the most points you possibly can into strength, you're still hitting in single digits. Can't believe something that was going alright and competently designed devolved into bottom-of-the-barrel RPG Maker trash so quickly...

Hi Rarity. I'mma show you more NES music.

[Link] When I played Barbie over a year ago, I kinda thought the audio sounded like it was done by Mark Van Hecke. Turns out I was right because the audio sounds hella (STOP SAYING HELLA, CARTMAN!) similar to Bart VS. The World [Link] [Link] and Star Trek: The Next Generation [Link] 4:20 . I think his best known work is this [Link] which actually sounds like his work in Ghostbusters II! [Link] And Attack of the Killer Tomaters [Link]

[Link] I didn't play Rocky and Bullwinkle much, because even I would probably think it's a waste of time, but I recall hearing 2:47 last year when I was sick from COVID and it got stuck in my head in the middle of the afternoon.

[Link] Kinda ditto with this one in regards to having it randomly popping up in my head, but this one does kinda have a feeling of "You know what? Everything is gonna be just fine." Actually, like I was telling MrFwibbles last year, the thing I love about the NES is that even a game like Barbie and Sesame Street Countdown can have bright, vibrant visuals, and I think that's what seperates people like us from the naysayers of the 2000s and the trend chasers of now, it's that "You know, the NES isn't just about Mario, Mega Man, and all those games people are just now discovering even though they've always existed, it needs lesser loved games to be truly complete, because even a game as bashed as Barbie looks better in my eyes than the most average mobile/flash graphics."

Kent Brockman: And that's my two cents.

This isn't exactly going to be comprehensive, since I'm still in the middle of it, but thus far, it's worthy of both praise and scorn.

- It has timing mechanics in battle, like Paper Mario, except they aren't fun, like Paper Mario; more like TIRING MECHANICS! Yeah, okay, that one needs work.
- The main character is such a piece of shit. Like genuinely awful person to everyone he meets. I can only think of one character I've played as that I've hated more than him, and I've played a few games in my time.
- EVERYTHING is slow and clunky. The menus are slow and clunky and hang on your choices, defaults are always the most time-wasting option possible, puzzle mechanics are janky as fuck (especially using the panda as a platform), and the leveling...
- You don't just level up; you have to get over 100 experience, then find a payphone to enter the "mind dungeon", where you choose your 3 or 4 attributes, assigning them to values, so you can choose which stats increase and how much. Not from a menu, but by checking each door, choosing a stat, GOING INTO THAT DOOR, reading the slow-ass text, then doing it 4 more times, and that's for ONE LEVEL. For your other party members, you talk to this NPC at the beginning of the mind dungeon, and he'll ask if you want to encourage your friends to level up. Default is no, of fucking course, but if you choose yes, anyone who can level up will do so. ONE LEVEL. The first time you do this, your other party member can get at least to Level 5. THIS TAKES SO MUCH LONGER THAN IT SHOULD.
- All items heal by percentage. This is an absolute waste, because an exceptional increase in HP for one level would be only 3 or 4; my tank currently has only about 50HP. I wouldn't even care, except that I only have one person with a healing skill, and it's only single target. I do have a character with a Wild-Arms-style item spreading ability, but that doesn't help much when the items suck.
- I'm no longer in the sewer dungeon, but I'm still fighting literal piles of shit, complete with little kid words surrounding their in-battle actions.

And yet...

There's something absolutely fascinating about the story. You know me: I don't give a fuck about your story by default, so you're going to have to earn my interest. It did, and almost immediately. Not going into spoiler territory here, but there's a lot of crazy supernatural shit going on, and it isn't the usual things that spring to mind when that word is used today, like ghosts, aliens, etc. It's the kind of otherworldly weird that's kept me wondering what the actual fuck is even going on, but I actually CARE. An obvious inspiration is Earthbound, but it's not just, "HEY LOOK GUYS I PLAED ERFBOUND HEREZ A GAEM ABOUT ERFBURND!" unfunny self-referential humor; it largely does its own thing, kinda like Cosmic Star Heroine. Really, in terms of tone and style, it's a lot more Scott Pilgrim than Earthbound. For how absolute garbage a human being the main character is, the other characters are at least good, if not great, and the actual plot is extremely well-written. It even tackles a lot of social issues with a lot more awareness than I was expecting to see... but now, a battle with some more piles of shit! The plot seems to be written well enough that I feel like they're going somewhere even with the main character's terrible personality, but it's too early to say for sure. Either way, if I drop this game, I'm definitely still going to watch a playthrough, because I haven't had a game's story hook me like this in a long time. Even for how much I loved Cris Tales, it was more the characters than the actual main plot that hooked me.

ADDENDUM: Also forgot to mention that this game is REALLY weirdly anachronistic. You've been around long enough to appreciate these, I think:
- The main character and his friend are talking about popular RPGs, and mention Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Lufia 2. I'm gonna let Secret of Mana slide, but as I imagine you'll recall, Lufia 2 wasn't a super popular megahit in 1999, like it is now.
- They need to search for something online, so they "AOLed" it. Like Googled it, except Google didn't exist. Except NOBODY ever "AOLed" anything; that kind of parlance didn't enter the lexicon until Google got big.
- The main character is a fucking card-carrying hipster... except hipsters didn't really exist in 1999, either; that was the end of second-wave punk and the beginning of second-wave goth; they had an entire decade of emo to get through before hipsters came into being.

Hey, don't bogart that oatmilk extra shot mocha latte.

I remember the Badge Arcade and Rusty's Real Deal Baseball as well as that one submarine game. Some oddball releases! However, I'll say that Picross 3D 2, Rhythm Heaven Megamix (one of those games I tried to get some family members to try but they didn't understand it and immediately stopped trying and went back to fiddling with their phones), and WarioWare Gold, one of 3DS' best, were very good! Other than those, my memories of the 3DS mostly involved playing anything Shin Megami Tensei.

Managed to snag everything I could before you couldn't use your card(s) anymore, and I'm completely fine with what I got. I didn't panic and start buying games left and right like so many people seemed to, almost as if they stopped playing 3DS for a long time then the news of the closure hit and suddenly people cared again. For what it's worth, I got Gotta Protectors and the FM DLC and it was one of last year's biggest surprises for me. Hard to believe Yuzo Koshiro's company, Ancient, was still around.

AND IS THAT PHOENOTOPIA: AWAKENING I SEE YOU GOT THERE?! You made a David wise choice, my doge. It's Zelda II but more like Zelda! I wanna play more of it! Darn this replay streak I got going right now... oh, but I can still bring my Switch to work.

I'm not exactly concerned about people like us who are already well-versed in classic gaming, unless they finally add something I've been wanting but never got like Mischief (this is no mischief! We're training to become adventurers!) Makers. I'm more talking about the people who never really had the chance to get into these old games but the companies continue to stifle themselves when it comes to their archival software. Sure, the people who were loudly demanding they put the DKC trilogy and EarthBound on there ain't really gonna care, but they wouldn't care if they put certain games in a hypothetical collection anyway, so what would they have to lose?

I'm disturbed by the idea that neither Capcom nor Konami seem too interested in adding their games that haven't been put on some sort of collection. Seriously, no Jackal, no Life Force, no Gun.Smoke, no Bionic Commando... sure, there are the arcade versions, but again, what would they have to lose? Even then, the NES versions of those two Capcom games I mentioned are superior. Hmm? You think Twitterites might have an issue with Hitler? Well, they already removed references in the US version of Bionic Commando anyway, and you get to blow him up, so that's a win-win. It's true, nobody but people like us have any real interest in games like Milon or Adventure Island II, meaning the chance of any NES or Super NES Hudson collection would be slim to none, but if that were the case, what would they have to lose by just putting them on the darn service?

It's all perplexing. One week they add Fire N Ice which is $200 and then three more weeks they add less impressive sounding entries like... NES Pinball. You'd think HAL would be content with putting Rollerball, Lolo 2 and 3, and whatever on there. Shoot, get Piko to snag the rights to Daydreamin' Davey and any other Sculptured Software game that isn't Robin Hood or Monopoly.

What I personally want for Switch Online, however, is more diverse 64 stuff. I hadda blast revisiting OoT and MM for the first time in many years, sure, but the Goemon games, Castlevania games, Star Soldier, shoot, wasn't there a 64 version of Mega Man Legends or something? No, though, they wanna wait to see if they can whore them out in a collection of some sort. They're wasting their times, if that's the case.

I know I said this when they put NES Pinball on there, but is this really the best they can do? Don't get me wrong, I like Xevious just fine, but there is an exorbitant amount of other choices. It's not even Xevious as a bonus, it's "Hey, I know we haven't updated NES Online in months, but here's something to see if people still care: Xevious!" even though like Mappyland and Dig Dug II they were already on a collection, that's frequently on sale by the way. It just, it boggles the mind. Give people more Jaleco action games, show people the brilliance of Culture Brain games like Scheherazade (my next replay actually!), let people see how Hudson Soft used to be one of Japan's most prestigious third party game companies, Atlus' early titles are certainly needing a rerelease, put up some NES Rare games seeing as how you guys aren't so bitter with Microsoft, give people... ANYTHING! Same with Super NES, all they got was Side Pocket, which is fine, but again, it's been months and this is all they got, Jesus effin' Christ.

If Ninja Jajamaru is disappointing you, there's is a very nice ninja platformer inspired by it called Ninja Senki and it's free

Amen to that, brother. They may be more difficult to finish, but they have the endless fun factor going for them.

Good news is that I'll be able to get somebody to update (read: swap out) my Ancient Dungeon repro to make it the latest version. I can see me popping this game in from time to time even when I do finish it. Thinking about it now, it makes a good "Game B" type game alongside the real LoZ! I enjoy it.

Does Terminal Velocity: Boosted Edition seem like something you'd dig? Looks like a Warhawk type game, and it came out the same year as Warhawk, actually. Look into it! It's by 3D Realms.

I've heard the new Streets 4 patch has some crashing issues, reading the Twitter of the developer. They say a patch is coming in a few days.

Da Arcade Crew put outta new game, Da Last Spell. Roguelite... no, randomized tactical RPG gameplay. If it gets good buzz, I may geddit.

Shpeaking of randomization u oughta lük into The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Dungeon. No riddles, no secrets, just go into one very long randomized dungeon. It's a nice idear.

If you haven't played the Ace Attorney games, they're on sale for very low prices on the 3DS eShop as part of a "closing down" sale. Now's the best (and possibly last) chance to get some of them!

[holds wine glass while talking in a posh voice] [Link] My fellow viewers, you've never heard of this hidden gem on the Atari 2600 called Secret Quest. A Zelda-like on the Atari 2600? Sit and stay quiet whilst I read to you its Wikipedia article while I go as slow as I can to reach the ten minute mark. Be sure to watch all the way through, however. [music stops, like in a promo for a comedy show] My cockatiel needs more bird seed.

Ahahaha... anyway, I was always intrigued by Secret Quest ever since I saw it in Atari's Greetest Hits 2 for Nintendo DS. I just never really took the time to get used to its quirks. It's pretty interesting how all those later 2600 games took inspiration from NES games, such as a selectable menu as opposed to flicking switches, and other stuff. It's also interesting how despite the 7800, the 2600 was more successful and still had support. Activision's Ghostbusters II was released in 1989. The 2600 lasted a while indeed. There are a lot of impressive homebrews done by making games having more memory. Actually it's no different than that Jim Power NES port. I wonder how much memory that is?

I've only played TP and SS once. You're not joking about these games being bigger time investments compared to the 2D ones, but I guess lotsa games from the PS2 era and beyond are.

You oughta check out CrossCode and Tunic. They're amazing... probably. I'm sure Tunic is amazing. I played enough CrossCode to give it two thumbs up and I can't wait to finish it and go through the DLC.

Hydlide and Deadly Towers are rough around the edges for sure. I wouldn't blame you if you used a guide the entire time. Hydlide can be blazed through in a short amount of time if you know what you're doing. Super Hydlide is good too, one could say is a vast improvement.

Another thing about Skyward Sword is that, as enjoyable as it is and it did review well, the audience reception was kind of middling. Two factors come into play here, one, it was the beginning stages of Nintendo's dark period when they were starting to make some weird choices which would go into full swing by 2013, like the constant handholding like you said, and hey, don't forget to take a break! The second one involves the fact that by this point in 2011, the Zelda franchise was beginning to grow stale to some. Thinking about it now, Breath of the Wald Wild had some changes they really needed to make the series fresh again while still maintaining what it is at its core. It's almost as if they were trying to go back to its roots by giving you a game that gives you a big world to explore while blocking off certain areas until you find a certain item to access it. It's... almost as if it's The Legend of Zelda! The first one! With that mindset, I kinda wanna go back and try it again (eh, fourth time is the charm.) The exploration of 1, being able to manually jump like in II (which, let's face it, is more popular with NES fans than Zelda fans) with some elements of the past 3D games while introducing some new stuff (for better or worse) and yeah! Maybe Breath of the Wild is better than I think.

It'll be interesting to see how much better Skyward Sword is with a regular controller. As good as the Wii controls were, motion controls are so... [clicks tongue] seventh generation. I'm going through the first four 3D Zeldas first though before I get right to it

Addendum: "If you count Zelda II likes" I do! The Battle of Olympus. To a lesser extent, there's Daydreamin' Davey for games like Zelda 1... sort of.

Ah play so many 2D and 2Dish games nowadays that I forgot what a good 3D game is like. Think about how during the 5th generation, the 64 Zeldas were fresh, new, and exciting. Nowadays, new games come out and most of the time they appear bland and lifeless, and meanwhile the fantastical world of the 64 Zeldas were indeed new and exciting. The idea of going from those to the GameCube ones to Skyward Sword, probably the HD version, sounds pretty exhilarating right now.

I can't remember my last 3D game I got into. I think it was probably Ys VIII back in summer 2021 when I was between jobs. Looking at my memory card, A Hat in Time, Kirby from last year, and Persona 5 Strikers. Always a chance of fatigue yeah, but I haven't played these Zelda games in so long that I'm willing to risk that. If anything, I'm currently fatigued by shooties and indie games, no matter how good they are. I do wanna get back to doing that NES campaign, but now is a good time to strike while the iron is hot!

Whoa that Kickstarter is really nice! I never played Shadowgate on the NES, nor I knew much about it but that video really caught my attention! I'll try the demo asap.

Yep, Fantasy is a rather nice game! As you say, definitely one of the highlights of the SNK collection. It is an ambitious and charming game. Once again I played without knowing anything about it and I was gladly surprised, I can see why you play it also from time to time, it is a nice, fast and rewarding game.

Also, regarding emulation, I have the same "feelings". I mean, it is easy to emulate any game from the past anyway, but having them on a console, and in this case the Switch, makes them more attractive (?) to play. The Switch is perhaps my favourite game console as it fits my style of life right now.

Well, gotta go to work, have a great time beating Metroid Prime!

Cleveland: You're welcome.

Jokes aside, it's great you feel the need to check out more PSX RPGs thanks to Grandia. I remember my brother being so blown away by FFVII and FFVIII that he too tried a buncha PSX RPGs to see if it'd happen again, which ironically is how I wound up with Grandia in the first place. Da Legend o' Dragoon was one he enjoyed. I played it back in 2009, borrowing it from that person I mentioned some time back... and, for the most part, it's enjoyable. 7/10, closer to an 8 than a 6.

Finally got TMNT Shredder. Can't wait to check it out.

Hopefully I can fit JaJaMaru into the already hefty, hefty, hefty Switch libary. I played Aria for a while the other day. Guess that's proof at how I connect better with 2D games than 3D. Well, those handheld Castlevania games are pretty easy to digest compared to Shadow Man or Trails From Zero.

There's a demo of Beyond Shadowgate available now for free on the Kickstarter page at [Link] . I encourage you to check it out if you're a fan of the NES original or any of the Kemco MacVenture games. I'm playing it right now and it's great!

And yes, I backed the Kickstarter without thinking twice. GrahfMetal's two other MacVenture type games (Infested and Spectacle) are both very much worth playing (Infested is good, Spectacle is excellent)

That's true. The only people who would potentially talk about a new Milon would be the people who race to make a new video about anything that goes on in the classic gaming scene. Other than that yeah, unless it blows up, you ain't gon' see an all basses videro within the first three days of release.

You would think! The only Culture Brain james on Switch Online are Kung-Fu Heroes and Super Baseball Simulator 1.000. That's an injustice, today's gamers need to be exposed to Flying Dragon, Flying Warriors, and The Magic o' Scheherazade.

Drainus was really nice. I'd say that it's the shootie for people who ain't super skilled at shooties. Believe it or not, indie shooties are just as much a dime a dozen as roguelites and plat plats, so it's difficult to find good ones, but I'll say that Drainus, Super Hydorah, and Danmaku Unlimited 3 are the ones to look into.

I know! You know what, I finish Wizorb the other day and the credits imitated Mega Man II's famous ending scene, but then I remembered that it was a game that came out during the Xbox 360 era, and we all know it was all the rage for indie games to make references to famous NES games like Mega Man II. As for Wizorb itself, yeah, it's neat. Maybe wait for a sale.

Ooh dang. As much as I'd like to get the rerelease of Kirby Wii, it'd be just another pile on game, and it'd save me $60 to just plug in my Wii and play the original, or even just stick to the 3DS ones. As for the subscription james, I'm kinda the opposite as I also feel they're distractions. Lord knows I'd have the time and energy to replay Golden Sun, or relive the glory days of gaming in the Dreamcast era with OoT and Majora's Mask. I'm torn between wanting to play Phoenotopia or Tunic but then I lookit games like OlliOlli Switch Stance and OlliOlli World and Lonely Mountains Downhill and want something more fresh. Let's not forget Portal, La-Mulana, Trails From Zero... egad, I'm still up to my butt in Switch games. I think I'm happy enough playing 8 and 16-bit games. Maybe it'd be easier to forgo games I've had for at least two years like The Talos Principle and FFX/X-2... but then there are games I thoroughly enjoyed like Horizon Chase Turbo and Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness that I wanna play more of. AAAHHH!! You see how I can't really play more than one big game at a time now? I've just been playing quick play/short games on Switch lately. I really dig that vertical monitor. I just casually load up a tate game and play away.