twiztor

option #4.....are you the devil?

#1 shout out to @Reed Rothchildfor the yearly backlog challenge threads he makes. #2 another nod to @CasualCart, specifically his Ink-tober thread

this sums up my answer pretty perfectly. i find fun and relaxation in playing games. with both the (2d) Zelda series and the Diablo franchise, i could let hours just drift away playing these games. it is akin to comfort food. However, when my brain isn't in a "bleh" mood, i like a good challenge. Pushing my limits to just the right extent (currently: SMB2J, Cuphead) so that my skills improve and i can ultimately get that sense of accomplishment when i see the ending. i also am definitely a completionist (not just in gaming, but in life. e.g. a decade ago, i wanted to read all the stories that Dick Grayson/Robin I/Nightwing appeared in. but i couldn't find a definitive list of which Batman publications he was in, so i compromised by reading every Batman comic, ever, up to that point), so i try not to bite off more than i can chew or i will end up getting overwhelmed. Stuff like @Reed Rothchild's yearly Backlog Challenges have turned out to be a great way to keep myself focused and on task. i would strongly recommend against watering them, however.

wow, two shutouts so far (after 8 votes). IMO one is pretty surprising, the other not so much.

i would say that my time at NA was overwhelmingly positive. i lurked for years before i signed up and started posting, just reading pages and pages of obscure facts and detailed breakdowns and variants and everything in between. However, i remember a handful of threads where things got heated (notably the Atwood situation). Unfortunately, those discussions garnered the most eyeballs and had the biggest presence online, so that kind of became the lens through which NA was viewed. former posters like Pat amplified that, but it did seem like whenever a "high profile" discussion started, it turned into a lot of infighting. So it's not like the reputation was completely unfounded either.

huge shout out to my Secret Santa, @Murray! this wasn't just a gift, it was a party in a box! with party hats and other favors,favorsw i was in for a whole celebration. and the gifts over delivered! included were Mega Man 11 (Switch), Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA) [and complete in box!!], and an issue of Nintendo Power. all things i can check off my list, moving me one step closer to completing my collection (haha, as if that's possible!). also included were some various goodies- Murray stickers (which will find a home on my vinyl record shelf, filled with 70s/band/brewery stickers), an awesome Murray pin (that reminds me a lot of Skeletor), and some robot and njnja mini figures (which have already infiltrated my MUSCLE minis!) it really was a bright spot of my Christmas Day after spending the rest of it doing family obligations. Thank you so much!! you're a good dude Murray! also, unrelated to Secret Santa, for anyone that doesn't follow the Cute Girl or Feminine Boy thread (early cheap plug for next year's contest), i was the yearly recipient of this amazing picture. thank you again to @Foochie776and @Ferris Bueller

i hate this time of year too.

It's a Festivus miracle! the Cute Girl / Feminine Boy picture has found its new home! here it is under my tree (spoiler for the Secret Santa reveal thread included!) i tried to put it near my modern games.... but instead the amiibos gathered round to vote on which sex they thought the person was. it ended up being an even vote, so we turned to a tiebreaker: R.O.B. ! ROB couldn't make up his mind, but felt a lot of love for this person, so asked that the picture be hung near him. i was happy to oblige. a massive thank you to @Foochie776who took care of this for the past year, @Ferris Buellerwho started the ball rolling, and everyone else who has (or will!) participated!

the easiest 10/10 in the history of games. one of the few games i had as a kid, and therefore i spent a TON of time playing it. This gave me all the time in the world to explore and discover everything this game had to offer. If i had come across it as an adult? probably would be much lower due to how cryptic and hidden everything is.

i was just about to post almost the exact same thing, only with Goosebumps instead of Animorphs. I have the full original run of 62. Don't really feel the need to dive into the subsequent spin-off series, although that may change with time. the Goosebumps 2000 series (25 books) had a couple of sequels to original series stories, so i will always feel that pull. back to Bruce Coville, that "My Teacher Flunked the Planet" cover resonates deep in me, and i haven't thought about that book in DECADES. i might have to grab the four books in that series. Put them next to my "Wayside School is Falling Down" and "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" books.

https://www.typing.com/student/typing-test/1-minute

had to really fight the urge to rip into the gift i received last night. ARGH! 4 more days!! i can do this!

pics or it didn't happen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honkin'_on_Bobo

SENTIENT RACECAR ? BOOBS THREESOME ! PTERODACTYL

bonus game! i put this on my 2023 list but had some free time so i guess it counts for neither. Tank! Tank! Tank! for the Wii-U. never heard of it? i'm not surprised. developed by Namco, it was originally an arcade game. and it shows. you play as a tank (of your choosing, more on that later) and need to stop an invasion of giant robotic insects and other beings. it's fun but VERY repetitive. there's two types of stages: horde (where you need to kill a set number of invaders) or boss (where you need to kill the main enemy). but over the course of the game, theres little-to-no variance, so it just feels like replaying the same levels over and over again. the more you play, the more tanks you unlock to select from. but it doesn't matter, as there's only a couple of variations, so it feels very pointless. this game could be so much better if it lived up to its potential: 1- if there was tank customization. being able to select your power-up weapons. being able to choose which attribute powers up when you gain a level. hell, being able to change the paint job. something, ANYTHING that makes you invested. 2- by NOT requiring you to complete the same levels, ad nauseum, with different tanks to earn new medals to unlock new stages. man, if the levels weren't already variations of the same, this might be OK, but come on! 3- the experience system is trash. if you need 1000 pts to gain the next level but earn 5000, you get the level and start over. if you stop for the day, you lose any unused exp. wtf is that? it is a other way that makes you replay levels. maybe this game shines in multiplayer? because it certainly doesn't in single player. this sounds like complaining. i did enjoy the game, but i just ended up disappointing because it could've been so much better. a cursory Google search didn't provide this info, so here goes: # of stages = 36 max level per tank = 16 medals required to access the final stage = 100

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was groundbreaking and mindblowing to me back in 1998. i poured over that game and absolutely loved it. there's seemingly a zero % chance that i would appreciate it anywhere near that if i played it again now, so i'm just gonna keep my distance.

honestly, i've heard OF this game, but know absolutely nothing about it. i honestly don't see a scenario that has me playing this game ever.

like i mentioned last year, i do much better taking things one "challenge" or "set" at a time. So this list will (hopefully) be expanded as the year goes on and as i am able to cross things off the list: PS1 challenge: Crash Bandicoot COMPLETED 3/3/23 Metal Gear Solid Spyro the Dragon COMPLETED 9/12/23 Tomb Raider called it quits 5/19 (NOT COMPLETED!) +the sequel of whichever game i enjoy the most. Wario Challenge: Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (GB) COMPLETED 1/29/23 Wario Land (VB) COMPLETED 3/13/23 Wario Land 2 (GBC) COMPLETED 5/21/23 Wario Land 3 (GBC) COMPLETED 11/25/23 Wario Land 4 (GBA) COMPLETED 12/7/23 misc. Super Mario Bros. 2 [J] (NES) COMPLETED 2/16/23 Tank! Tank! Tank! (Wii-U) COMPLETED in 2022 Mega Man: Wily Wars (Gen) COMPLETED 1/28/23

a friend's band is playing a show tonight, so will be checking that out. until then? games and comics.

i picked up a few to supplement the characters who didn't release as amiibo. some, like Waluigi, saw a later amiibo release, but most didn't.

i lean more towards the creative side, so 100% on the 'design a pokemon' side. just getting a card? even a rare or valuable one? not really a comparison IMO.

i was low key excited about Nintendo Land back when it came out. IMO Nintendo's strong suit has always been finding interesting ways to implement their sometimes questionable design/hardware choices, so i knew that if the Wii-U had a chance, this would be the game to highlight and make it shine. overall, i felt it was above average but never really hit that next tier as far as fun and game design. I don't remember any of the minigames being outright bad, but ultimately came off more as a hardware demo than anything. that's not necessarily a bad thing, and maybe i was just hoping for more, but it left me a bit flat.

ha, the number of Pixar movies i've seen is incredibly limited, but i still voted. so a couple of those are "default" votes. good thing i got in early to set the tone.

don't worry everyone, i'm sure that G*C*ll*ct is working on some very exciting updates and it will be running smoothly soon! i mean, nothing bad's ever happened when they've taken ownership of video game related sites before, right?......