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Sunday, January 22, 2017

A DECENT N.E.S. LIBRARY!

So I'm sure many of you have heard that recently, some clever cookies figured out how to hack the OS in the N.E.S. Mini so that it can hold more than 30 games. I can happily tell you that yes, it works. :-)

As awesome as the N.E.S. Mini is, I had two complaints: the stupidly short controller cords and the fact that it only came with 30 games, and according to Nintendo that's all it was ever going to have. Well, sucks to be them!


What do you think of the upcoming Switch console? I've got one pre-ordered, but it's really only for Zelda. I can definitely see why it was moved over to be a Switch game; without it, the launch lineup would be the worst in gaming history! I was actually shocked and really disappointed at the lack of games revealed in the recent presentation. Nintendo has so many teams previously working on 3DS and WiiU games... and heaven knows, there's barely been any of THEM in the past year! So where are the games?? I was hoping for a schedule with a major release every month of the year from March onwards, but at the moment I'm looking like getting Zelda, the Mario Kart update (if that even counts) and Mario Odyssey... but that's not even out until Christmas! I'm crossing everything there's a bunch of aces hidden away that are going to be revealed any day now... I pre-ordered the Neon colour scheme... Still not sure what I think about it... I mean, it's good to have the left and right Joycons easily recognisable by colour... but I don't know how I'm going to cope with the asymmetrical look...


Some other games I've been playing... After loving the re-imagining of A Boy and his Blob, I'm now immersed in another remake that I'd passed by initially... King's Quest! And it's magnificent!


I'm currently in the middle of Chapter 3, and I'm finding it so, so charming and well-written. And while there are some very cute nods to the old games, the creators haven't been afraid to make this its own thing. Graham is a lot more clutzy than he ever used to be... he's quite a bit more Roger Wilco-ish now. But that's fine with me, I always loved Space Quest! Awwwwwww, imagine if Sierra let The Odd Gentlemen have Space Quest! That would be so brilliant! Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend this series if you enjoy a fun fairy-tale adventure game with great storytelling.

The other day I finished The Last Guardian. It's such a bizarre game to look back on. The controls are sloppy. The camera system is TERRIBLE. The puzzles are constantly rudimentary. (Flick a switch, open the gate, flick another switch, open another gate...) The frame-rate sometimes grinds to a halt. BUT! There's Trico.


Oh, I love him. Look at his face! He's so beautiful! I want a real one, and I will cuddle it and climb all over it all day! I was mesmerised by this creature throughout the entire game, and I never for a second doubted that he was a living, breathing animal with feelings. The fact that this digital creature achieves a connection with the player that I don't think has ever been so strong in a video game before, makes all of the game's other shortcomings a lot less important. It is far from a perfect game, but I would recommend that EVERYBODY play it if you have the opportunity!

A couple of days ago I played an entire game in a day! The brand new Shantae game, Half-Genie Hero. It's the fourth in the series, and it's another triumph for WayForward, who are one of my favourite current developers.


It's a lot more straightforward than the fantastic "Pirate's Curse" game that was released a couple of years back. The levels are very linear, although there is a fair amount of back-tracking required once you gain new abilities. I didn't really find any of Half-Genie Hero very challenging, but I didn't mind. The game is so enjoyable, it's fun just playing the levels. And the new hand-drawn graphics are so pretty. I was expecting to pine for long-lost pixel-art, but I didn't at all. It's a beautiful game. Great sense of humour too! When deciding which machine to buy it on, I discovered that it was $7 cheaper on WiiU than the PS4. Which was fine, because I feel like Shantae is more at home on a Nintendo console anyway.

Summer holidays are almost over. :( I'll be heading back to work soon.
I do actually have a few videos planned for later in the year, but they won't happen until I have my new house, and that could be as late as December, so we'll wait and see. Stay cool! :-)