Week: End Game: On 12.03.2016

Welcome to another edition of Week: End Game: On! What games are the staff playing this weekend? Read on to find out!

Marc Deschamps

Once again, I find myself completely immersed in the world of Pokémon. Sun is quickly becoming one of my favorite games the series has ever offered.

It’s the little things that are such major leaps. I enjoyed X and Y, but the titles felt like a very small advancement from Black and White. With Sun and Moon, it feels like Game Freak was willing to take some of the biggest risks the series has seen since Gold and Silver. Small details like the replacement of HMs and the overhaul of the Gym Leader system were both incredibly overdue. There’s also the photography minigame, which is exactly the type of thing fans of Snap have been clamoring for for years. I should also note that the music is, hands down, the best I’ve ever heard from the series. There are some really fantastic tracks.

Of course, Sun and Moon couldn’t have come at a worse time. My video game time has felt extremely limited of late, my backlog is getting ludicrous, and I tossed aside both Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Corpse Party (both of which I was greatly enjoying) because, well, who can resist the allure of their favorite franchise? Ah, well. I’ll have to make it a point to get right back to them. You know… eventually.

I don’t think it will come as a big surprise that I too will be delving into Pokémon Sun this weekend. However, I’ve actually played surprisingly little of it so far, thanks in no small part to a slight addiction I’ve had with Battlefield 1, which has been one of the most enjoyable online shooters I’ve played in a while that didn’t involve me playing as a transforming squid kid. Thankfully, those urges are subsiding so I shouldn’t have too much of a problem devoting more time to my Pokémon adventure.

On a non-Nintendo related side note, I did pick up Titanfall 2 on the cheap recently, and while I haven’t bothered with the multiplayer component, the campaign is a real breath of fresh air for the genre. So, if you happen to have a PS4, Xbox One, or a decent PC, I recommend checking it out.

Angela Marrujo

I’ve been obsessed with Paper Mario: Color Splash since it came out. The Thousand-Year Door is one of my all-time favorite games, in large part due to the writing, and Color Splash has had a lot of great moments that have had me laughing out loud like Thousand-Year Door did.

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned at some point that I have a bit of a Shy Guy obsession and this game totally feeds into that– they’re actually the main antagonists/frenemies in the game. I’ve never wanted to hug a Shy Guy more. I also really like Toads, and if you do too then, again, you’ll probably love Color Splash because they’re everywhere.

I wasn’t too thrilled with the battle system initially because I felt it was too tedious and took too long to make a single attack, but I like that the game lets you customize the battle system to make it more streamlined and the overall experience faster. The storyline has kept me interested and I’ve continued to play through to answer the lingering questions I have about Bowser, who is especially mysterious in this game. I’m about halfway through and he’s made one appearance (I don’t think I’ve misremembered that…), so I’m pretty intrigued.

Overall, really great game and I’ll be playing it through to the end. I bought the steelbook edition of Pokémon Sun and Moon and started with Moon, but I can’t focus on it and Paper Mario at the same time, so I need to finish Paper Mario before attempting Pokémon Moon again.

Bubble Bobble, where have you been all my life? I picked up an NES Classic Mini last month and out of all the games I’m unfamiliar with, it’s easily my favorite. I’m so addicted that even nearly a month later, I’m discovering new things like how to jump on bubbles and taking advantage of bouncy lightning bolts. It’s probably the best feel-good retro game I’ve played since Kirby’s Adventure.

Oh, and I finally got around to playing Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. Everything about it is just so silly that I find myself laughing at everything about it, from Madame Couture’s theme to messing around with strangers online. What a delightful spin-off!

By the way, has anyone else spent ample time with the Welcome Amiibo update for Animal Crossing: New Leaf? I was still playing it fairly regularly, but the wealth of content here is just unbelievable, and I was even able to invite back some of my lost villagers! It’s amazing how much I’ve been gradually appreciating the game over the past three years, and now it’s like a whole new title…this may very well be the 3DS’s masterpiece.

Kevin Knezevic

I, too, have been spending most of my free time exploring the tropical locales of the Alola region in Pokémon Moon, but I’m not quite as taken with the game as Marc (and most other players, apparently) seems to be. That’s not to say it isn’t good, of course; catching and battling Pokémon remains as fun as ever, and there are a number of inspired decisions (like replacing HMs with Ride Pokémon) that make the whole experience feel fresh. Unfortunately, the game also has a tendency to hold your hand, making it far too easy. I can understand Game Freak’s desire to ease newcomers into the series, but having Professor Kukui chaperone you around the different islands– not to mention the incessant way non-playable characters give you items and money– feels more than a little coddling. I’m still not quite finished with the adventure (I just arrived at the fourth island, so I suspect I’m nearing the end of the main story), so I’m not sure where Moon will ultimately rank in my personal hierarchy of Pokémon games, but I don’t think it’s particularly better than X and Y, and it certainly hasn’t impressed me as much as Pokémon White and especially Pokémon Silver did.

Aside from that, I’ve also decided to revisit The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I was fairly critical of the game when it was first released, but I’ve been interested in returning to it to see how it holds up, especially after revisiting both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Much to my surprise, I’ve been enjoying my time with it so far! The opening segment is still far too slow (a trend I hope Breath of the Wild breaks), but the game picks up once you touch down on the surface. Of course, the first half of the adventure was never my issue with it; my biggest gripe was always the frustrating (and completely arbitrary) tear hunts. I managed to clear the first easily, thank goodness, but I’m dreading the remaining three. Here’s hoping they’re not quite as bad as I remember.

What games are you planning on playing this weekend? Let us know in the comments!