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Welcome to another installment of Week: End Game: On! What games are the staff playing this weekend? Read on to find out!
Shawn Wilkins
I told you all last week I’d be playing Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. until the end of time and it’s true. I have no plans on quitting this game until I finish it, collect everything there is to collect, and can identify every crevasse. However, I was messing around with my 3DS a bit this week and found out that Mii Plaza got an update a whole two years ago that I never realized. I know I’m slow, but this is ridiculous. Anyway, I’ve been having some fun with Find Mii I and II just collecting hats as time goes by.
I think this week I’ll put a little bit more time in Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse. I’m the biggest fan of 16-bit-like graphics and Shantae brings both 3D, modern assets, and has a heavy influence from the 16-bit era. It’s arguably the best eShop game as well; I can’t get enough of it.
Anthony Pelone
This weekend, I’m working on another full completion run: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. I haven’t played this game in a very long time, so it’s been a riot revisiting one of NOA’s greatest localization jobs (“The mustard of your doom!”). At the moment, I’m currently scouring the BeanBean Kingdom for hidden beans and other trinkets before heading off to Joke’s End. The game seems much shorter than I remember it being, though (I’ve only logged thirteen hours, and am only four levels beneath my old playthrough back in 6th grade).
I’m also getting back into Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Can you believe I’m only just now about to pay off my full house debt? When I get around to doing so, I’m thinking of rewarding myself by finally getting around to constructing my house around a Toy Story theme. I already named my character Woody and made a custom sheriff outfit, but I wanted to extend the motif to having my rooms based on locations from the movies (such as Sid’s room and Sunnyside Daycare). But for now, I must continue farming money and witnessing town events such as the touching reunion between Clyde the horse and the pepper mill he left on the beach. Now I just need to find a way to get Pancetti the pig to move out; seriously, why did Shep the awesome dog move out and not her? WHY SHEP, WHY?!?
Robert Marrujo
It’s been a week of recuperation for me. Life and responsibilities have been grinding on me for weeks now, so the chance I’ve had these last few days to try to recenter myself has been priceless. Gaming plays a big part in that, for sure. My 3DS, well, I think I need to just face facts and admit that I love Nintendo’s handhelds a fraction better than its home consoles. When I was a kid, my parents limited how much I could play video games, but the handhelds were sort of a different story. I’d play in my room, or the back of the car, and I’d always have the sound down so no one would quickly notice I was playing and say to stop. I spent so much time in those days scrounging for light and batteries, playing for hours on end. My Game Boy was a big part of my downtime and travels, my explorations. Something about handhelds is almost more immersive than a giant TV screen, to me. So in trying to refocus lately, I of course turned to my 3DS.
Fossil Fighters Frontier has been a solid experience. I’ll be working on its review right after I write this, actually, so look forward to that if you’ve been wondering about the game. Smash Bros. has been a real constant, too. I hate taunters. I know it’s not always malicious, but when someone taunts me in the middle of a match, between hits? Yeah, they’re just a jerk. And it’s really satisfying beating them into a pulp afterwards, as a result. Link is amazing in this game. I know people love Melee, but Smash Wii U/3DS is easily my favorite in the series, now. It’s in this Goldilocks zone of balance between Melee and Brawl that really works for me.
Beyond those two games, though, I’ve been having a lot of fun with Resident Evil Revelations 2, still. I’m pretty much a wimp with horror games, and though I’m sure most folks find it mild, it has me nervously inching around corners. Contributor Angela has been a one woman audience as I play, and has been similarly unnerved, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t even have gotten through the first episode without her there to distract me from the stabby bitey monster things coming from every corner. That, or I could have played with all the lights on and a baseball bat at my side, but having my sister in tow is much more pleasant. Why this isn’t on Wii U is beyond me; I hope NX gets third parties back on board.
Marc Deschamps
I’ve been bouncing back and forth between The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse lately. In Majora’s Mask, I’m nearly at the Water Temple. So far, I’ve breezed through a lot of the game. Even though I haven’t played the original in at least a decade, I’m finding that I either remember quite a bit, or my Zelda skills are just more finely tuned than they were back then. It will be interesting to see which one it is; I stopped playing Majora’s Mask on both the N64 and GameCube before finishing the Water Temple. Hopefully, the third time will prove to be the charm!
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse has been the perfect title for my limited amount of video game time as a newer parent. The levels aren’t overly short, but I can crank through a couple in a half hour, which is perfect. I also want to try using my new Toad Amiibo to unlock the bonus challenges in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. I had to go to four stores to find the little guy, and the new content looks like it’ll be something new and fun. I just wish I’d had more luck finding that cursed Gold Mario!
What games are you playing this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
