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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 14, 2026, 09:45:16 pm »

12. Avatar: The Last Airbender (DS)
There is the idea of a good game here, but poor implementation has relegated this title to the same IP slop category as all the other movie and tv show tie-in cash grabs these earlier generations were known for.

Maps are way to big and empty. A good 1 hour of this 5 hour game is spent just walking around getting to the next destination, with branching paths that lead nowhere and have nothing. What's the point?

Combat is just a simplified beat-em-up. You have your regular attack, your special attack (which requires you to fill a gauge to use), block and special block (basically a better block that uses some of your special gauge). Most fights you will just be spamming the basic attack since it puts 90% of the enemies you face into hit-stun, allowing you to just keep spamming it while the enemies can't move.

It uses an isometric view that makes combat a bit frustrating though cause you can never tell if your attack is going to hit. On more than one occasion it seemed like my attacks were just going through the enemy, but I guess they were just slightly off enough for the attack to miss the hitbox but for the visuals to overlap.

Audio wise it was cool that they had voice lines read by the real VAs of the show, but it was only a few lines at the end of each chapter. Most of the time dialogue is not voiced at all. Each chapter also only has a single BGM that will play on repeat, which gets very repetitive pretty fast.

Like I could see how this could have been a good game, but it has too many drawbacks, cut corners and uninspired design to really recommend playing. 3/10, would not recommend. 

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General / Re: July 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: July 05, 2026, 09:26:49 pm »

With this being my last month in Japan, I went to some of my favorite retro spots for possible my last time. My goal was to find some uncommon/rare GB/GBA tiles I have been on the hunt for and to flesh out my GC collection (I only had like 6 or so titles since I only decided to start collecting Japanese GC like a few months ago).

Found 1 GBA game and picked up a good selection of GC games for a good price. Games I picked up were:
1. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA)
2. Luigi's Mansion (GC)
2. Metroid Prime (GC)
3. Pikmin (GC)
4. Pikmin 2 (GC)
5. Battalion Wars (GC)
6. Starfox Assault (GC)
7. FZero GX (GC)
8. Tales of Symphonia (GC)


Still a couple of GC games I really would love to pick up before leaving. Namely Super Mario Sunshine, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Zelda Twilight Princess, Resident Evil and Resident Evil IV. I think I would be super happy with my GC collection like that if I pick these titles up. At least until I am able to come back to Japan and really start to flesh it out more. But right now I am not really sure what else I 100% want in my collection, because I just haven't played enough of the GC library.

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Modern Video Games / Re: It's officially over.

« on: July 03, 2026, 03:37:08 am »

I have mixed feelings. Like 90% negative, but there is a little bit of a weird excitement in the idea that I'll be finished collecting video games.

The "positive" (if you can call it that) feeling I have is that I will actually be able to "complete" my physical video game collection. As it stands, I have a highly curated collection where I only want to buy my top 50 games for a console. So most of the games I play I actual already don't own physically. If the PS6 is 100% digital, I can actually have a "complete video game collection" so to speak where there are no new games to add to it. Something about that just sounds nice lol

But at the same time, I don't love that my collection will be ending either. I kinda like curating these console libraries to my specific taste, and yeah sure I have plenty of consoles to still collect for (I don't own any of the Sega consoles for example), the idea that some day I just won't have any more games to hunt for is kinda depressing.

Also, I don't mind buying digitally (I already use Steam extensively) but by going digital only console gaming is basically dead to me. Why would I buy a game on PlayStation where I am locked to a single device when Steam allows me to play on any windows device. Having the option to play on desktop or a handheld is such a better deal. And I don't have to worry that the "Steam 2" will come around and they will shut down Steam along with my access to my library. But someday they will probably shut down the PS5/PS6 PSN Store, and with it I will not be able to play those digital libraries anymore.

So with this news, I don't plan on stopping playing modern games any time soon. But I'll probably be playing a lot more of them on Steam, and I may not even bother getting the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

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Modern Video Games / Re: XBOX Games Showcase 2026 thoughts?

« on: July 03, 2026, 03:05:39 am »

I wanted to like Xbox man. I really did. I was day one for Xbone after the phenomenal 360 days, because even after they dropped the ball on the xbone launch I thought they would turn it around. I mean, this was the same guys that offered free repair and replacements for Red-Ringing consoles. They were no strangers to biting the bullet and doing what was right for the consumer in the past and ensuring gamers were taken care of.

But after an abysmal generation with basically 0 support from them my faith was worn thin. Watching PS4 players get yearly blockbusters while the Xbone struggled to get a single good game on it was rough. And I dunno if it was just nostalgia for the 360 era or what but I believed that they had it in them to turn it around, so when they acquired all these studios I thought they finally got back on track,

Who was I kidding though? All these devs completely wasted. How has there been so few games released? What the hell are they doing? Like 2/3 games are cancelled, and the ones that actually make it out the door are luke-warm at best. And its clear as day from the first 10 minutes of playing them that they were never, at any point, very good games. How did they spend 6-7 years on these things and no one noticed they were making a mediocre game?

I'm glad I didn't buy a Series X. Not only would I have been burned (again), I am not supporting these guys anymore. They do nothing for their players who have supported them for years, and are actively ruining large parts of the space I love. So many devs I loved will be shut down, and series that will be locked away never to be seen again like they have done with Banjo or Perfect Dark. I guess after what happened with Rare I should never have trusted them, but it won't happen again.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 21, 2026, 08:50:06 pm »

27. Super Mario 64 | 1996 | Switch 2 | 6/18:



     Super Mario 64 is about to be 30 years old later this year. It's hard for me to imagine, because that game was out before my time. I didn't have the experience of transitioning from the 2D sprites of the SNES/Genesis to full-fledged 3D graphics promised by fifth-generation consoles, such as the Nintendo 64. I've had an N64, and I have played a bit of SM64 growing up, so I do have some nostalgia for the game.

     All of this is to say: Super Mario 64 is without no doubt a masterpiece, and will continue to be so as long as 1+1=2. I don't think it's a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. The camera, while NOT as bad as everyone makes it out to be, can become unintuitive when moving on a thin surface or lining up for a jump. Even when using the Mario Cam instead of the Lakitu Cam (I think a lot of people forget it exists), it can still be troublesome. Yet if the camera system of Mario 64 was reworked, we wouldn't get the cinematic moments of the Chain Chomp narrowly avoiding you with its bite in Bob-omb Battlefield, nor the piano coming to life in Big Boo's Haunt. Those moments wouldn't have been as memorable or cherished if captured at any other angle.

     The designers of Nintendo were so ambitious with this game. I can imagine kids bewildered at getting to explore Peach's Castle for the very first time, and discovering all the castle's secret levels in the process. Imagine going from 8 or so worlds in a 2D Mario game, to almost double with 15 in SM64. Sure, there's repeat themes -- two snow courses and two water for example -- and some courses are a lot better than others. But that doesn't matter; you don't have to play every level. I ended up skipping Cool, Cool Mountain and Tiny-Huge Island entirely; not because I don't like them but because I got involved with trying out other levels first. I really wanted to fully complete all the water courses (yes, I like the water levels) and the very first two courses as well cause they are both classics. It ended up being more than half of the 70 stars I needed to finish the game, so the rest of the stars I got were just whatever I felt like getting at the moment.

     There's just something special with the design of Mario 64. Take the 3rd mission in Bob-omb Battlefield for example: "Shoot to the Island in the Sky". You're supposed to walk halfway up the mountain and use the cannon to fire yourself at the tree. The game doesn't tell you this of course, but that's the easiest, most simple path to the star. You can however, also use the cannon that's almost directly underneath the floating island to get there. It's a quicker, but more difficult solution as you get a lot less wiggle-room to line up the perfect shot. If you aim too high, you'll miss the top of the tree and end up sailing towards the mountain. It sucks when you miss, but you end up a lot closer to the easy cannon shot in return. Was this all by design, or is it all one big coincidence?

     Whatever the case may be, it adds more and more to Mario 64's crowning achievement: the freedom. You have the freedom to pick out what stars you want to get, and how you want to obtain them. There's some exceptions to the rule, but you ultimately decide what you want to do. You have an entire arsenal of tricks at your diposal to obtain these stars: the triple jump, the mid-air dive, the long jump, the ground pound. You can combo some of these moves together to get to other areas quicker, or places that may or may not have been available yet by design. It really opens the game up for a high skill-ceiling, and it's ultimately why SM64 is still the #1 speedrunning game in the world.

     There's skips like the backwards long jump up the infinite staircase that anyone can do, lore ("L is Real"), memes ("So Long Gay Bowser"), and theories outside of the game ("Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized"). These are all elements that make this game stand out beyond the game, but never overshadows it; because SM64 is timeless to play. Mario 64 is not even my favorite 3D Mario game, but there's no denying the fact that Super Mario 64 is eternal.

Grade: S

I've played a lot of SM64, especially the DS version (N64 was around when I was a kid, but I had a PS1), but I have never actually beaten it lol

I've started the OG N64 release on a few different occasions over the years but never make it very far, maybe 20 or so stars before something comes up that takes my attention away.

I plan on beating it later this year though now that I have an Analogue 3D. I'd play it now but it's already packed up and shipped back home to Canada as I'm in the process of moving.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 18, 2026, 10:35:08 pm »

11. Prefessor Layton and the Curious Village - A very charming little game on DS, and I can see why it went on to become a long standing series. The animated cutscenes really bring the game to life, despite the kinda shoddy voice acting. The puzzles range from incredibly easy to real mind-benders. One of the cool things about all the puzzles though is they can all be logically solved, so even if it looks like you need to do some algebra or other maths to solve a problem you really don't need to if you look at it from a different perspective. The story is also quite fun, though I was able to "solve" the central mystery about half way through the game, long before it actually started to unravel and reveal itself.

I think I would put this first Professor Layton game just above the first Pheonix Wright game in terms of "DS visual novel/point and click puzzle games", though I feel I am probably in the minority there since Pheonix Wright has such a huge fan following (as evidenced by the characters frequent appearances as cosplay at fan conventions). Though Pheonix Wright was able to keep some of the twists from me until they were finally revelaed, I felt the overall package was better in Professor Layton, and the variety of puzzles helped keep the game more fresh throughout my playthrough.

Overall a solid 7/10, and a game I'll be adding to my DS collection.

2026 so far...: Mario Kart World - Vampire Survivors - Dark Souls 2 - Meteos - Rune Factory - Castlevania Adventure - Pokemon Diamond - Red Dead Redemption - Kirby's Dreamland 2 - Naruto Ninja Destiny - Professor Layton and the Curious Village

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 14, 2026, 09:22:36 pm »

10. Naruto: Ninja Destiny (DS) - If a fighting game dev ever needs an example of "What not to do" in your fighting game, this would be it lol

Characters are not balanced at all and they don't try to hide it. Some characters are twice as fast as others with little to no downside. Other characters have supers that will delete 80% of your health bar. And do you know what's cool about supers in this game? They are completely unblockable... Meaning if you time it right, you have a 100% chance of it hitting. All you have to do is knock down your opponent, and when they are stuck in the get up animation you use your super for an unbloackable attack, which on some characters, will take 80% of your health bar. The fast characters don't even need to knock you down. Simply blocking their attacks is enough to get hit by their super, because you will not be able to react due to block stun + being slower (since you can't block, the only counter is to hit them when they use it).

The mechanics are super simplified which I think can be done in a good way but here it leads to some very boring matches. There are no throws, so most games are basically "spam your fastest attack on their block until you build enough meter to use their super, which they cannot block".

It's not the worst game ever. A 3D fighter on DS is pretty cool, and you can kind of turn your brain off and just button mash because all of the combos are just 4 button strings (sometimes just B>B>B>B). But after a few matches that novelty starts to wear off and you realize all the flaws in the mechanics. I'd give it somewhere in the 2-3/10 range. Not the absolute worst game I've played, but still prettty bad.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Nintendo Direct 6.9.2026 thoughts?

« on: June 10, 2026, 09:43:27 pm »

This talk about Switch 2 only having or showing remakes is kinda strange to me, considering the OoT remake was only a 1:38 trailer. The Star Fox trailer was only 0:42, and Switch Sports Resort (is it even a remake? or is it a sequel? I dunno I haven't played the other ones tbh) was 2:27.

But in the same presentation there was a trailer for the new Rhythm Heaven which lasted 2:55, the new Fire Emblem which lasted 2:47, Xenoblade Genesis at 2:34, Dusk Bloods for 1:02, and Splatoon Raiders for 2:59. From a first party perspective, the majority of the games covered were new titles, and they got a bigger time share of the presentation.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the conversation but from my perspective the Switch 2 presentation had no shortage of new first party titles to look forward to. As opposed to the SoP, which only showed off Wolverine, God of War and Phantom Blade 0 (which isn't even a console exclusive, it's also coming to steam and supposedly coming to Xbox at a later date cause it is only a timed exclusive).

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Modern Video Games / Re: Nintendo Direct 6.9.2026 thoughts?

« on: June 10, 2026, 12:00:39 am »

Nothing really both new and exciting for me announced this year all around, just follow-up trailers and showcases to games announced in the past few years that are coming soon.

So while I am quite happy with the selection of games we have in coming months, I kind of worry about what comes after that because nothing really sticks out for me. We'll cross that bridge when we get there I guess, for now it does look like I have a good selection of games to look forward to.

Looks like the new FE will have the same Time Management systems that 3H had, which I was kinda hopping they would move away from and just offer a classic style with chapters featuring some story content, a battle, and some more story content and that's it. All these extra activates were cool for like an hour or two but they start to really pad out the playtime and drag things out. A single playthrough of 3H took me nearly 100 hours I think, while the average for the rest of the series for me was usually between 20-40 hours. I'll still pick it up close to Day 1 I am sure and play the hell out of it though...

OoT remake is cool too and I'm looking forward to it. It's my second favorite Zelda behind BotW, and one of my favorite games of all time. So of course I'm playing it day 1. It being a remake though kinda bumps it down on the excitement though compared to a new Zelda.

Rhythm Heaven has been one of those easy to miss games that are hidden gems since the first title on the GBA. The are always great, but they don't get the attention or fanfare of a Zelda or Mario. I'm looking forward to it though because I already know it'll be a fun time. 

Lastly, FF Resonance looks like it's be a great JRPG to play over the holidays. Apparently its based on the mobile game Brave Exvius, which explains the appearance of characters from various games in the series. I just hope it is done well and doesn't feel like a cheap port of the mobile game. Should be ok though because they said "it has been refined and extensively rebuilt as a full-fledged console-quality RPG experience".

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General / Re: May 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: June 08, 2026, 07:42:45 pm »

I will say one thing about jp gamecube. those cardboard sleeves are an absolute sin.

kinda tricky to find clean condition ones. and even in Japan so many cube games are missing them on top of that. I ain't saying it's like regular cardboard boxes but it's getting close 

I don't mind them. Sure a lot of them have dinged corners but it's no worse than my average boxed Famicom, Super Famicom, or N64 game.

That they are even comparable to those is my problem. than again prices cheap so all is good i guess, do wish cube had more interesting jap exclusives though.

Yeah I would honestly prefer to collect NA, but I just missed the boat on that so JP it is. When I can get them for 1/2 the price, it's just a no brainer for me.

I probably have like 15-20 NA games back in Canada. I'll sell them when I am back and be up cash + have a bigger collection.

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General / Re: June 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: June 08, 2026, 07:40:06 pm »

I picked up Soul Calibur II yesterday. It was super cheap and since I'm collecting JP Gamecube already I figured I might as well convert my collection into all JP games so it looks better on the shelf. Looks like it sells for 40+ on Ebay in Canada too, so I'll make a bit of money selling my copy since I only spent ￥1600 on this one (like $14).

I also picked up Zelda 1 for GBA. Just another game for my Zelda collection. I think I might be nearing completing it, there aren't too many Zelda games left that I don't own.

will you also go for the 3 shitty ones on cdi?

Eventually lol. They will probably be the last 3 I pick up though lol

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General / Re: The Mighty Polymega

« on: June 07, 2026, 09:31:46 pm »

If it was FPGA I would get why people would want it, but for emulation yeah I'll stick to my like $60 Anbernic device + my laptop. The novelty of "using my collection" instead of a Rom (which is the exact same thing in the end) isn't something I am going to spend $500+ on.

I do like the Analogue FPGA devices though. I have the Pocket and 3D, and both are my favorite ways to play my physical collections for those systems.

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Modern Video Games / Re: XBOX Games Showcase 2026 thoughts?

« on: June 07, 2026, 09:22:21 pm »

I'd say I was slightly more impressed with Xbox's showcase. So I'd give it like a 7/10. Maybe an 8, because unlike the Sony presentation which featured a lot of multiplatform games outside of Wolverine and Phantom Blade 0, Xbox seemed to have more exclusive games to show off. But it was lacking in new games I am really looking forward to honestly, with all of the games I am actually really interested in playing soon being games we already knew about. Mainly Fable, Halo and Gears. I mean I am interested in Spyro, Clockwork Revolution, State of Decay 3, Castlevania and Metro 2039, but far from "excited". Like I said though the fact that 2 of those games are seemingly only coming to Xbox makes me more interested in finally picking up the console.

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General / Re: June 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: June 07, 2026, 09:02:53 pm »

 I picked up Soul Calibur II yesterday. It was super cheap and since I'm collecting JP Gamecube already I figured I might as well convert my collection into all JP games so it looks better on the shelf. Looks like it sells for 40+ on Ebay in Canada too, so I'll make a bit of money selling my copy since I only spent ￥1600 on this one (like $14).

I also picked up Zelda 1 for GBA. Just another game for my Zelda collection. I think I might be nearing completing it, there aren't too many Zelda games left that I don't own.

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General / Re: May 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: June 07, 2026, 09:00:16 pm »

I will say one thing about jp gamecube. those cardboard sleeves are an absolute sin.

kinda tricky to find clean condition ones. and even in Japan so many cube games are missing them on top of that. I ain't saying it's like regular cardboard boxes but it's getting close 

I don't mind them. Sure a lot of them have dinged corners but it's no worse than my average boxed Famicom, Super Famicom, or N64 game.