twiztor

thought about this for a few days, and here's what i came up with. Ask again in 6 months and there would definitely be some moving parts. There's just so many good games! 1. the Legend of Zelda (NES) the first game that really hooked me. I spent hours and days and weekends and months and years fully exploring this game. The whole "burn every bush, bomb every boulder" is just the tip of the iceberg. hand drawn maps. doodling Link, his enemies, and the Triforce on everything. Just last week, my friend texted, asking me about the weird name of some LoZ enemy. He was amazed that i knew it, but i practically have the manual memorized from reading it so many times. Just the most immersive game i had ever played, and anything in that vein immediately gets compared to the greatness of LoZ. 2. Diablo 2 (PC) now, i'm not really a PC gamer, as i love the feel of a controller in my hands. But there's something about the Diablo series that overcomes all of that. a new Diablo (either game or expansion) is a national holiday in my home. The only game related release that i schedule time away from work for. It was just so HUGE. and randomly generated (at least to an extent) that kept me coming back. i love the lore, the characters, and the gameplay. When Diablo3 released back in 2012, i didn't like it much. It was too linear and easy. So i would stick with playing D2, but balance enough D3 in to beat the game and immerse myself as much as i needed. Over time, the ease of D3 ended up winning out, as i LOVE to kick back with a few drinks and kill demons for hours on end. Diablo 4 is rumored for April 2023. 3. Final Fantasy VII (PSX) RPGs aren't really my thing. but damn, do i love FF7. the characters, the setting, the world. and especially the materia. i loved mixing and matching and finding the perfect combination for each party member. the summons. the locations. the side quests. i love it all. ironically enough, i've never beaten the game. i always make it to disc 3 (when the entire world map is fully opened up) and have even ventured into the North Crater, but i just can't commit to completing the game because that means the game is finished. Maybe i'll put it on my Backlog 2023 list and see what happens. 4. Double Dragon (NES) this was the first beat 'em up i owned (and one of the few NES games i owned period!) and maybe the first i'd played- i guess i'd have to look up when the TMNT arcade game came out and work backwards. but i just thought the world of it. and, if you haven't listened to it lately, the soundtrack is awesome. It would make an absolute killer rock album with screaming guitars. the simplicity of the gameplay drew me in, and the deadlier and deadlier enemy encounters kept me coming back. The first time getting far enough in Level 3 to have TWO ABOBOs burst through the brick wall scared the hell out of me. hell, i even enjoyed the live action movie because i loved this game that much. but the cartoon didn't share that same fate. 5. WCW/NWO Revenge (n64) as a hardcore wrestling fan during the Monday Night Wars, this game was freaking amazing. it did everything its predecessor (WCW vs NWO: World Tour) did better, and added so much on top of that. Even the later WWF games (WrestleMania 2000, No Mercy) were awesome but didn't recapture the magic of this one. the abysmal character creator options were terrible but *JUST* good enough for me to include some of the WWF guys. Hey, if you squinted just right, it SORTA resembled who i needed it to. I can't even begin to estimate how many dozens of hours we would just play this, multiplayer style. Or how many dozens of hours i spent in single player mode. Just the perfect game to hit at the height of my fandom. so many more games i wanted to mention. Metroid (1). Smash Bros (Melee). Mortal Kombat (2). Goldeneye (007). Castlevania (Symphony).

that looks pretty cool and is new to me. if you have a pic of it, i'd love to see it fully

just made sure my inbox is empty. looking forward to hearing from you!

@attakid101what's that Link to the Past/Target exclusive box in the pic with the express working?

if it's your copy, why don't you tell us what the pink disc is for? where did you get it from? does it boot up in a turbo duo? in a cd player? dvd drive? PC?

the 80s was a tough one. i voted Little Mermaid, since it kicked off a Disney renaissance. but this is my reminder that i haven't seen Great Mouse Detective or Black Cauldron in decades and i should rectify that.

i hate the mini mushroom. like seemingly everyone else, i am not really a fan of the propeller cap, but the mini mushroom has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. i hate that you have to use it to unlock some of the worlds. it's just so stupid. no love.

despite getting rid of the vast majority of my VHS tapes years ago, i held on to a copy of that "Change the System" video. i watched that thing tons of time as a kid, so lots of nostalgic memories.

have you played Kirby's Epic Yarn? Yoshi's Woolly World always seemed more like a sequel to that game than any prior Yoshi game. i haven't played YWW, so i'm mainly thinking that based on the aesthetic. i guess i'm wondering if that's an accurate assumption or not.

just PM me for my address so you can get it sent out ASAP.

NES: i have LoZ as my favorite game ever, so it picks up the win here. SMB3 though. SNES: LttP barely edges out SMW. this is damn close though. N64: i love OoT, but SM64 is iconic and gives Mario his first big win here. GameCube: i wasn't a fan of Sunshine. i liked Luigi's Mansion enough, but still Twilight Princess seals it for the Zelda side Wii: easy win for Mario Galaxy here. i thought SS was decent, but it's no contest. Wii U: BotW > SM3DW & Super Luigi U Switch: Odyssey & Luigi's Mansion 3 > any side Zelda games, so Team Mario all the way here. BotW2 will likely steal this round when it releases. GB: SML2 was a staple of my childhood, but i also loved LA. Mario. doubly so if you include DK '94 GBC: the Oracle games are pretty sweet, so they seal it for Zelda. VB: Mario by default. GBA: Mario vs Donkey Kong is far and away the king. DS: i haven't played a Zelda game on the DS because i hate the Windwaker art style. Therefore, Mario. 3DS: i was extremely underwhelmed by LBW, so again i gotta side with Mario here. i liked the coins gimmick in NSB2. and Luigi's Mansion 2 was an improvement over the original. Grand Total: Mario 8 Zelda 5 i haven't played any of the CDi games, but otherwise i agree with all of these. also, the Zelda board game is better than the Mario board game.

i finished Hollow Knight (Nintendo Switch) this is a top notch Metroidvania style game. i really love this style of game, and this ranks up there with the best of them. engaging story, great pseudo-retro graphics, and a haunting soundtrack all add to the experience. all that said, this game is BRUTALLY difficult, particularly the boss fights. and there's a LOT of boss fights. i gave up on this game a couple different times due to the challenge, but kept getting pulled back in. seriously, i think this is the toughest game i've ever seen the end on. all in all, it took 50 hours, i earned 77% completion and the bad ending. good enough for me.

have they already paid? if not, the easiest way is to send them an invoice that combines shipping costs for them. if so, it's a little more gray area. if you're shipping them together, i would refund some of the shipping cost. or you could ignore it until they complain.

in! desperately hoping this is my year!!i have the perfect spot picked out for it!!!

good read. thanks for sharing @Lynda Monica!

totally in! will get a list together and sent in very soon. but if @Ferris Buelleror @Foochie776is my Secret Santa, just know that the #1 thing on my list is the "Cute Girl or Feminine Boy" photo!

i think that's a damn good question. personally, i doubt i would have been exposed to it, since my firsthand childhood was relatively limited. but had i come across it later, i feel like i could've easily perceived it as a 7 (same rating i gave it as SMB2). "good" game that never quite hits that "great" rating. that seems reasonable. it's still a quality 1st party Nintendo game, so you know it's not trash. but in other circumstances i could definitely defend a 1 point bump as a sort of "Mario tax" edit to give clarification: Doki Doki Panic 6-7, round up to 7. SMB 7-8, round down to 7.

i waffled on this for a while, but went with a 7. i like this game, and always have, but the more time goes on, the less i find myself choosing it. I will pick Mario 1, 3, or World all day if i'm just looking to pop in some classic Mario action. Maybe it's the decades of arguing whether it "counts" as a true Mario game (it does!) or maybe it's more that its play mechanics have never really been followed up on, leaving it as an outlier. i don't know. i DO know that this game began my love for Luigi ("Crazy Legs Luigi" as we called him BITD).

^all of this. i thought Super Metroid was pretty awesome, but when i finished it a couple years back, i just wanted to replay the original Metroid. Also, i much prefer Symphony of the Night to Super Metroid. No hate, great game, but not quite a 10 from me.

easiest answer ever: the Legend of Zelda. if i had grown up with Metroid (i didn't play it until many years later), it would give Zelda a run for its money. but i didn't, so Zelda takes the crown. to choose from non-cliche answers (going off @PII's list), i would go with either Alfred Chicken or Milon's Secret Castle.

yeah, your take and experience while playing seems to mirror mine very closely. i'd say that must be a pretty common opinion on the game, as people seem to appreciate the game without anybody heaping praise upon it. it's a solid, good game, with a very un-Nintendo-like atmosphere that makes it stand out from your normal Mario games. i don't know how much more reading you did, but i also played through #2 and 3 this year. Dark Moon was my favorite of the trilogy.

we always said "beat the game", meaning saw the credits, when i was a kid, so that's the terminology i still use. i lean towards "completed" meaning "completely finished" it, but i don't feel strongly enough to complain if someone reverses the terms. honestly, i'd probably use "100%ed" if i want to show off that i've completely annihilated the game (not something i tend to do).

thanks @Jeevan! this is the big 4-0 for me, so i'm a little terrified!

this sounds like a lot of fun. maybe i'll check it out for my birthday next year (my bday is also in October, coincidentally enough)