Week: End Game: On 12.18.2016

Marc Deschamps

With Christmas just a week away, I find myself partaking in one of my usual yearly traditions: trying to finish up the games I’m playing so I don’t feel guilty about starting the new ones under the tree. I’m hopeful for Paper Mario: Color Splash, but I’ll feel less guilty about starting it up that day if I finish what I’m currently on!

Hard as it is to believe, I’m still playing Batman: Arkham Origins. I was almost finished with it back in October, but my latest review for Nintendojo required quite a bit of dedication to learn all of the intricacies. With that out of the way, I can finally (maybe) finish up the Dark Knight’s last Wii U release. It seems appropriate given the game’s Christmas setting, at least!

I’m also still playing Pokémon Sun. It took me forever to get my Pichu to like me enough to evolve into Pikachu, but now I’m one step closer to an Alolan Raichu! My team desperately needs a Psychic-type, but she needs to learn Thunderbolt before I use a Thunder Stone.

I also just cleared the game’s Ghost-type challenge and… wow. That may have been the creepiest thing I’ve seen in a Pokémon game since Lavender Town back in the R/B/Y days! I won’t spoil it for anyone that hasn’t gotten there yet, but I will say that the camera now seems less like a Snap-homage and more like something out of Fatal Frame! Easily one of the cooler moments in a game I was already greatly enjoying!

Well, it was bound to happen; I finally broke one of my handhelds. Well, “break” is a bit strong, as my New 3DS works just fine… unless you happen to like being able to swap game cartridges from the home menu. I dropped the thing a few weeks ago (and only from a couple of feet in the air!) and that’s when the problem started. Of course it had to happen practically right after I got the thing on Black Friday (it’s the black model, which I’d been waiting a couple of years for Nintendo to release here in the US). Sigh. Such a pain. I’m going to have to send it in for repairs, now, which i really don’t want to have to do.

Other than ruining things, I’ve been plugging away at Super Mario Run. I’ve beaten the core six worlds so far, but I’m now trying to earn every set of coins, which is challenging, to say the least. The game plays great and looks good, but I’m still not quite sure how I fall on the love-hate spectrum for it just yet. I’ll let you all know in a review soon! Beyond Run, though, I’ve been enjoying a handful of different games on my 3DS, including Dragon Quest VII, Pokémon Moon, Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice, and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (this one is a go-to for me when I just want mindlessly blast through a game).

Last bit– I’ve gotten hold of some books on game design and game writing that I’ve been enjoying reading. It’s nice to see things from the developers’ point of view, something that I think I’ve been lacking in the years that I’ve been writing now. Once I get through the three that I have I’ll be looking for more, so if anyone has suggestions for me, let me know in the comments!

Kevin Knezevic

I’ve also been chipping away at Super Mario Run, and I have to say, I actually like it! I’ll admit I was one of the skeptics who initially dismissed the game when it was first announced (“Why would I download that when I can just play New Super Mario Bros. U?” I scoffed, not realizing the depth of my ignorance), but it turned out much better than I had anticipated. Of course, it can’t compete with a true Super Mario game, but that was never the intention– Run is at its best when it’s treat as a fun little diversion, and blowing through the main “adventure” (which consists of a scant 24 levels) for the sake of “beating” the game is kind of missing the point. The real enjoyment– and challenge– of Run comes from collecting every set of colored coins in a level. Pink and purple coins are easy enough to snag, but the black coins present the biggest challenge, as they often require you to string together a series of perfectly timed jumps. Needless to say, these challenges are the highlight of the game, and they do a wonderful job of showcasing how surprisingly sophisticated Run’s level design is.

Beyond Mario Run, I’ve also found a little time to continue my journey through Skyward Sword. I know I’ve been a vocal critic of the game in the past, but I find myself enjoying many aspects of it a lot more than I remember, particularly the dungeons. The Ancient Cistern, which I just completed, remains one of my favorites, in part because of how smoothly you progress through it. I’ve noticed the puzzles in Skyward Sword generally place a much bigger emphasis on observation than typical “video game logic” like so many older Zelda dungeons, which makes them feel a lot more organic (and compensates for their generally shorter length). With the Cistern out of the way, however, I’ll soon be forced to undertake another one of my beloved tear hunts, so expect my opinion of the game to oscillate once again next week!

What games have you been playing recently? Let us know in the comments!