PekoponTAS' Weekly Pickups

[PekoponTAS | 171]

I liked the thread idea from @drxandy, so I'll do this too. It's near the start of a new year too, so it's a good time to start something like this.

This first post is just to introduce the thread, and to eventually use for more important updates later. Since Sunday is often a lazy day for me, I'll update the thread every Sunday.

I tend to collect a little differently for every system I shop for, so I wouldn't say there's a consistent method to my madness. One thing that's consistent though is that I will never go for a full system set. I'd always rather have a smaller selection of great games, or games that interest me in some way.

Right now I'm working on finishing up what I want for the Wii U, which is exactly one more game that I plan to pick up on Wednesday. That will bring my collection to a total of 28 games, which is where I'll be calling it quits for the system. I'm not sure what I'll be moving on to next, but I'm sure it won't take long for me to find something new.

Updates start this coming Sunday.

Edited December 20, 2022 by PekoponTAS

[PekoponTAS | 171]

Merry Christmas!

Also the 23rd was my 33rd birthday, so there's that too.

This week's pickups!

Game & Wario

Game & Wario is a mediocre game that costs way too much, but I'm still really happy to get a copy. While I like the concept of WarioWare evolving into a smaller selection of full scale mini-games, Game and Wario is sadly a poor first attempt; and compares poorly to Nintendo Land. If the same concept were used again with much more care put into it, I think it'd be a great direction for the series to go in.

On a more positive note, I really like the art style they used for this game. Blending the Rhythm Heaven art style with WarioWare looks great, and it's a shame they didn't keep it for the later games. It's also nice to hear the old voice actors for the Diamond City characters, as none of the WarioWare Gold actors suit any of the characters.

Metroid Prime Federation Force

I'm rebuilding my 3DS collection, though I'm going to be a lot more selective about it this time. I had to start with my favourite 3DS game.  

People are incredibly closed minded about Federation Force, and it's a shame as it's extremely good. I love it when a Nintendo franchise dumps all of its established rules to do something completely new. There are countless things that hold Federation Force back from being a cult favourite, the biggest of which being that nobody plays it the way it was intended to be played.

The short and simple of it is don't use the Samus amiibo, and don't use the New 3DS' nub to try and control the camera. Federation Force was built around its motion controls, and you're best off standing up while playing to spin yourself around to move the camera.

The missions are incredibly creative and full of variety, and the visuals are insane for a 3DS game. Federation Force can definitely be played in single player for the entire game, though it does result in being quite challenging. However it all balances out because most 3DS games are balanced for seven year olds. A modern Nintendo game designed to be played with four people is actually a fine difficulty for a single experienced player.

What's extra sad about this game is that it's so unbelievably good, but hardly anyone bought it. If it were to suddenly become a cult hit, there wouldn't be very many copies to share around. If you've sat out on this game like I'm sure you have, pick up a copy and discover Next Level Games' absolute best game.

Edited December 26, 2022 by PekoponTAS

[PekoponTAS | 171]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

This week's games mostly consist of launch titles, which I didn't even realize until right now.

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge

In general I'm not into M rated games, but I thought Ninja Gaiden would be a good gateway since I'm a huge fan of the NES trilogy. The new ones didn't really appeal to me until I found out that the writer of Dark Sword of Chaos and Ancient Ship of Doom came back to write the modern Ninja Gaiden 3.

I watched a couple of levels on Youtube, and it was enough to convince me that Razor's Edge is worth my time. If you think back to how eloquent and posh the villains were in the NES trilogy, the villain of Razor's Edge fits in perfectly with that gallery of weirdos. Ryu is working with the military like he should be, and he's once again a man of few words, but still manages to make himself less cool whenever he opens his mouth.

That's the Ryu we all know and love, with 70% of his lines being "What the?"

Tank! Tank! Tank!

I'll admit to not looking too hard into this game before buying it, so all I really know is that it's an over the top mission based tank combat game. Now I don't know about you, but that makes me nostalgic for the 8bit era of games where entire games are just driving around in a tank and blowing things up.

People seem to complain about this games lack of content, but I'm okay with a mindless tank game not being overly long. This is one of the games I'm most eager to play for the backlog challenge.

Pilotwings Resort

I've never played any of the Pilotwings games before, mainly because they didn't look that interesting to me. I found Pilotwings Resort for a great price at a game store though, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm working on the Silver class missions now, and I'm enjoying it.   It's not a deep or complex game by any means, but it's charming and relaxing to play. Considering how rough the 3DS was in 2011, this is one of the best games that came out that year.

Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash

Much like Metroid Prime Federation Force, 90% of people who trash talk Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash haven't actually played it. I'm going to be honest here and say that I don't like the other Chibi-Robo games, as they're just boring movies full of really annoying characters.

The original games also bombed in sales, so the idea of making Chibi-Robo into something more mainstream was the correct decision for what we now know was a sinking ship of a company. The result of that experiment is a genuinely fun sidescroller with a ton of personality and incredible sound design. If the goal was to appeal to people who don't care about Chibi-Robo, it succeed in making me like a series I normally don't.

See you next Sunday!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,523]

I love Resort.  Very chill, but very fun, and less frustration than it's predecessors.

On the other hand, I have beat Zip Lash, but didn't care for it.  In fact it's one of the few 3DS games I got rid of.  But there's certainly a lot to like, so I respect other opinions on it.

[PekoponTAS | 171]

On 1/1/2023 at 8:00 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

On the other hand, I have beat Zip Lash, but didn't care for it.  In fact it's one of the few 3DS games I got rid of.  But there's certainly a lot to like, so I respect other opinions on it.

You are part of that wonderful 10% that does the right thing.

[PekoponTAS | 171]

HAPPY AGDQ 2023!!

Endless Ocean $20.00

I only ever played through Endless Ocean once, since it's a game so centered around spectacle. I always felt like a second playthrough wouldn't have the same impact, but I thought about it and realized that fifteen years was probably long enough. While I still vividly remember some of the more wondrous moments which won't be as magical a second time around, it's been long enough that I could at least be nostalgic seeing them again.

Let's Tap $15.00

This was a game by Yuji Naka's old game company "Prope" which was responsible for Ivy the Kiwi? and the Wii version of Rodea the Sky Soldier. It's a mini game collection where you place the Wii Remote on a cardboard box, and tap the box to register inputs from your Wii Remote. Think of it as a makeshift DK Bongo control scheme, only way more fun and creative. It's also oozing with visual style and cool sound design, and is one of the sleekest mini-game collections on Wii. These are the kind of Wii games I cherish, and why I miss the Wii and DS so much.

Kid Adventures: Sky Captain $20.00

I only know about this game because I remember reading about it in Nintendo Power where it was briefly covered. It's a really fun open world flight game that's small in scale, but still a good time. It was made by a developer that mostly made way above average licensed games, and this was one of the only times they got to make something original. It's not a life changing experience, but it's a fun little game. Just the kind of thing I look for on the Wii.

Angry Birds Star Wars

There was a time a while back where the Angry Birds games got pulled from digital stores, but recently have mostly been brought back. Unfortunately due to licensing issues, Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Star Wars have been confirmed to not return to digital stores. While reviews blasted the physical ports for being comparatively expensive to the digital versions, I guess in hindsight it's a good thing they came out.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (Represent!)

You may think this is another one of those dumb Wii sports games, to which I'd say you're right. I'd also say that it's one of the best ones, and is still worth playing despite it being like so many other games. Also seeing all your little Miis hold hands and figure skate to Super Mario Land music is enough to win over any old miser.

This is also my fourth time buying this game, as the other three copies were ALL broken!

It didn't come out until many years later, but Sonic was allegedly spotted by Cream the Rabbit saying "That's no good" to the Russian teams around this time.

[PekoponTAS | 171]

I didn't forget! I was just busy today.

Steel Diver

I enjoy Steel Diver, but I've never finished it before. It's not a great game, and in order to beat all of the stages you have to replay the first bunch a few times. I recently mentioned how in Tank! Tank! Tank! this wasn't a big deal since it's a much easier game, but Steel Diver is a lot more calculated and difficult. Playing through some of these stages once is plenty for me, so going through them all again with the other subs is not something I've ever felt like doing until now.

Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon

I wish I liked this game, but I can't stand it. The original Luigi's Mansion is such a flawless game, and I love it more than anything else on the Game Cube. It's in my all time top five games, and I think it's a masterpiece. I won't bore you with the details as to why though.

Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon treats the series like a lighthearted Scooby-Doo mystery, and is such a bore that Nintendo of America didn't have the confidence to actually label it as the real sequel. (Though it is labeled as such elsewhere) I honestly don't think it has anything going for it, but I've always wanted to go back and finish it.

I've had a lot of success with Bandai Namco lately, as I loved We Cheer 2, Go Vacation, (Wii version) Tank! Tank! Tank!, and am currently enjoying Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2. 

I played a couple of stages The Munchables and enjoyed it, though it's similar to other Namco games where it won't light your world on fire. It's just a simple little game that's a lot of fun.

In other news I'm now 100% happy with my Wii U collection, and I'm considering it finished. I ended up with 25 games, all of which I enjoy to some extent. I've played a good deal more than what's pictured, but I ended up selling those games off for various reasons. I think 25 is a nice number, and I'll definitely play through all of these games to the end.

See you next Sunday!

Edited January 16, 2023 by PekoponTAS

[PekoponTAS | 171]

Now that I'm done with the Wii U, I thought I'd go back and look at the Wii again. I've already been playing the Wii alongside the Wii U anyway, so it's an easy switch to make. Like I mentioned in the post above, I've been really enjoying Namco's games on the Wii and Wii U, and I want to look into them a little more.

This is where I'll be starting a new approach to collecting this year. I'm normally always looking at as many games and companies as possible to have more to play, but this year I'm going to focus on one thing at a time, and finish it without bouncing around too much.

So for the next couple of months I'll be focusing on all things Namco for the Wii.

In order to make this all happen though, there are some big purchases that need to be made. First of all I need to buy a Wii to go with my Wii U, as the Active Life games use an accessory that is incompatible with the Wii U.

I won't delve too far into the other thing yet, but I'll say that it's something I haven't owned in a very long time, and I'm really excited for it.