MegaMan52

8/10 Great game (especially the GBA version with its improved save feature, added cutscenes, the addition of a status menu, and Luigi plays somewhat differently than Mario), but I'll always prefer Super Mario Bros. 3 which is my favorite Mario game and received a well-deserved 10/10 from me. When it comes to Mario games on the SNES, I like Super Mario RPG the most (don't care that it's a spin off, it's still a Mario game).

Did some driving and picked up this Mega Man 9 demo cartridge for the NES. I played a Mega Man 9 homebrew a decade or so ago containing only part of Concrete Man's stage and barely anything to do. I didn't know what to expect with this cartridge. The seller just said that it has one level of Mega Man 9. Was it the same demo I played all those years ago? To my surprise, the cartridge contains lukaszkur's Mega Man 9 NES demo (https://lukaszkur.itch.io/mm9). It has all of Galaxy Man's stage, playable on a real NES. It also has the opening, title screen, and stage select screen, all with their music intact. There are some graphical glitches, mostly in the opening. The stage flickers sometimes, and there is a section of the stage where the ladders and platforms were invisible (though opening and closing the weapon screen fixes this). Bought this retro style Chuck E. Cheese shirt at Spencer's, featuring Chuck E. and his friends Helen, Munch, and Jasper. I wore the shirt during a recent visit to Chuck E. Cheese. I got a different retro shirt for Christmas a few months ago that just has Chuck E. on it. (December 2023 pic) Bought a jumbo-sized Mr. Munch plush. I noticed these cards on eBay a few months ago. I was a little surprised to see them at the gift shop at the Chuck E. Cheese location I usually go to, since these cards were released in 2019 or so and wasn't sure if they could still be found at the restaurants. They were about $20 or $30 cheaper than on eBay. Like most of these Chuck E. Cheese items, this hammer features Chuck E., Helen, Munch, and Jasper. I opened up the Chuck E. Cheese App and redeemed 1,000 E-Tickets. Using those tickets, I got this hammer for free. This appears to be another somewhat older item, as I've seen hammers there many times before.

"Episode Blue", which contains a full remake of Mega Man 5, has been announced. Here's a teaser trailer.

Introduction Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn is the Nintendo 3DS's enhanced port of "Kirby's Epic Yarn", originally released for the Wii in 2010. It was the last game Nintendo released for the 3DS in 2019, and has become somewhat of an uncommon, hidden gem. When the game was announced for the Wii in 2010, I didn't think much of it. I read some previews, watched some videos, and looked at some screenshots. I liked the game's visual style and that it was a side-scrolling platforming game, but felt it wasn't really quite the next really big entry for the franchise or a return to form (that didn't happen until Kirby's Return to Dream Land was released in 2012, though I didn't buy that game until it was released on Switch last year). I wanted to play it, but became somewhat less interested after reading that many players thought it was too easy and just kept putting it off. Though I didn't really bother with the Wii version of the game, I did get this little promo sign. In 2019, Nintendo announced that the game would be released for the 3DS, with more content, under the title "Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn". I bought the game when it was released. I also played the game's demo before the 3DS's eShop closed. I played through the game a couple years ago. I liked it and didn't forget about it, but couldn't get back into it until recently. There were a lot of other games I needed to play, and of course I was also busy making blogs (which can take weeks and sometimes months to complete). Now I finally have some time to talk about the game, and why I appreciate it more on the 3DS than on the Wii. Why I like Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn The Visual Style The first thing that comes to mind whenever someone sees the game. In this game, Kirby's transformed into yarn. Yeah, he's strings of yarn in this game but still recognizable. The other characters are also yarn. The levels themselves are made of fabric and have patches and quilts. Since first reading about the Wii version in 2010, I've liked the visual style. The game just has a fun look to it. The 3DS version, shown in the pics, looks basically the same as the Wii version, the screen is just smaller. Kirby's Animations Are Cool A game with an appealing visual style also needs good animation. If you don't press any buttons and just let Kirby stand, he'll play jump rope while he waits for you. If you jump and hold the A button while in the air, Kirby'll turn into a parachute. The Creativity Kirby can enter doors to go inside trees or buildings, as he could in other games. The difference here is that, instead of going to another part of a level, the view remains outside and you have to jump on platforms inside to get to the top of a tree or the roof of a building. Kirby can also pull on certain objects, like zippers, to reveal hidden buildings or move part of a level closer so he can jump across. Kirby's Abilities Since Kirby's Adventure for the NES, Kirby has been able to copy the abilities of his enemies. The difference in this game is that, because he's been turned into yarn, Kirby can't inhale enemies like he normally does. Instead, he grabs enemies and pulls them toward him (he's able to that because he's strings of yarn in this game), then gets their abilities. Some of the abilities are new to this version of the game and weren't included in the Wii version. Demo Version A demo of Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn was released on the 3DS's shop, along with the digital version of the game. The demo includes two of the games earlier levels: Fountain Gardens and Rainbow Falls. I downloaded and recorded a video of the demo a little before the 3DS's shop closed. The demo showed some of Kirby's transformations, as well as some of the new abilities (called Ravel Abilities) that are only in this version of the game. The 3DS Versions New Features Since it was released 2019, nine years after the Wii version, Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn adds a few extra features making it the definitive version of the game. First up is the "Devilish Mode." This is a harder difficulty, in which a devil follows Kirby throughout the levels and makes things more difficult for him. They addressed one of the flaws about the Wii version, which many thought was too easy. Next are the Ravel Abilities. There are six of them: Knitting Needles (creates a yarn ball), Wire (swing a sword to cut through almost anything), Button (bombs), Nylon (whirlwind spin), Bobbin (Yo-Yo), and Marking Pins (throw pins at enemies). Two minigames/sub-games were added. One is Dedede Gogogo, a game that has you play as King Dedede where you race through levels, collect beads, and destroy obstacles. The other is Slash & Bead, a game that has you play as Meta Knight where you run and fly through levels, collect beads, and defeat enemies with Meta Knight's Sword. Kirby's Pad allows you to add and arrange furniture that you can find in the levels. Kirby's Pad was in the Wii version of the game, but the 3DS version has more furniture. You can arrange furniture by tapping the touch screen or using a stylus, similar to Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Support for Kirby amiibo figures was also added. Depending on the Kirby character used, the figures can give you abilities, both regular and Ravel, instantly. The two player co-op mode from the Wii version was removed, unfortunately, but these added features more than make up for it. Kirby's Transformations Kirby can transform into a few different vehicles in this game. One of my favorites is the tank, which was also shown in the promo sign I mentioned in the blog's introduction. Price Increase As it was the last first-party game for the 3DS, along with more hype for the series thanks to newer Kirby games like Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn can cost around $100 for the game itself or about $130 if it includes the case. Luckily I bought it in 2019 (the year it was released), so I only had to pay $50 (still have the invoice to prove it). Connection with Yoshi's Woolly World Yoshi's Woolly World, a spiritual successor originally released for the Wii U and later released on the 3DS, has similarities to Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn. The two games were developed by Good-Feel, and feature fun visual styles. Yoshi's Woolly World also has a level that plays the theme music from Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn. The level is called "Yoshi and Cookies", with the name of the level being a reference to Yoshi's Cookie and the music referencing Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn. Conclusion Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn is a reasonably good game that I took the time to play through a few years ago. I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites; but I still had fun playing it and don't mind going back to it once in a while. I'll always like Kirby's Adventure (NES) and Kirby's Dream Land 2 (original Game Boy) the most. Despite being a side-scrolling action game, it doesn't really quite play the same as traditional Kirby games though it is similar. But there's nothing really wrong with a game being different. Super Mario Sunshine and Kirby Air Ride are examples of that. A game that is different can still be fun to play. -MegaMan52

8/10 Played it more than any other Crash Bandicoot game, and remember I got it when it was released. Was listening to the game's soundtrack on Khinsider a month or two ago. Still have the shirt that I got with the game in 1997:

Introduction Of course, I had to talk about this eventually. Things have clearly changed in the last decade or so, and even in the last few years. For more than a decade, video games have been released both physically and digitally, with some games receiving digital releases only. With some exceptions (Disney Classic Games Collection, for example), video games don't usually include manuals anymore. Some games are released physically in a limited amount. Some physical releases don't include the full game. And then there are the other "physical" releases that you find in the store...but is the game inside the case? Physical Releases When it comes to first-party games for Switch, usually you can expect the physical releases to contain the full game. Whether it's earlier Switch games like Super Mario Odyssey or newer releases like the Super Mario RPG remake, Nintendo has been good about including the full game on Switch cards. There are some exceptions, like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. When it was released in 2017, it was basically a full game containing all of the tracks, characters, modes, and downloadable content from the original Wii U version, while also adding other features like more characters and the double item boxes from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Then in 2022, Nintendo announced the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass. The Pass added 48 more tracks (some new, some remakes of tracks from previous Mario Kart games) and more characters like Birdo and Diddy Kong. The added content was released in "waves" in 2022 and 2023. Of course, the new content has to be downloaded because the physical release only contains the base game released in 2017. This is both great and a little unfortunate for those who bought the game physically, because the physical release, while complete when the game was released, now only contains about half of the content. As mentioned above, video games don't usually have manuals anymore though there are some exceptions. This isn't new, and has been going on for at least a decade now. But there are some games that do include manuals. Disney Classics Game Collection includes a manual. Limited Collector's Edition packages can also include manuals. When it was originally released in 2012, Animal Crossing: New Leaf included a physical manual. In 2016, an updated version called "Welcome amiibo" was released with a lot of added content (more than just amiibo support). Though the "Welcome amiibo" edition got a physical released, it was an early example of a game that didn't include a physical manual even if it did when it was originally released. Instead, a digital manual appears as an item in the game itself. Nearly all of the content from the original version and added content from the Welcome amiibo edition are included the physical release at least, along with an amiibo card that can be used with the game. The Things I've had to put up with as a Collector of Physical Releases Unfortunately, things don't always go well for collector's of physical releases, and nowadays it's a good idea to do some research before buying a physical copy of a game you want. The Switch version of Starlink is notable for including Fox McCloud from the Star Fox games. A physical copy of the game was released. But, like a lot of modern third-party games, a download is required to get all of the content. I've also read about some of these packs not including the game, even though they're supposed to. One of the first games I noticed that didn't include all of the content was Spyro: Reignited Trilogy for Switch, a compilation containing remakes of the three Spyro the Dragon games released for the PS1. As someone who prefers physical and wanted to actually have the game in my collection, of course I wanted to buy the physical release. In 2019, I pre-ordered the game on GameStop and received a poster as a pre-order bonus. Things weren't quite as impressive when I turned on my Switch with the game inside. First I had to download a system update. Then I had to "read" the game's privacy statement before I could start playing. Then I finally got to play...for about an hour. After completing the first few levels in the first Spyro game, a message appeared saying that a mandatory download is required to play the full games. That's right, only the first few levels of each game were actually included in the physical release...and it cost $50 Canadian. I found the required download, totaling 8.7 GB, for the rest of the levels in each game. Sega has also done something similar, though not quite to the extent as Activision. Sonic Mania, a game that harkens back to the style of the first three Sonic games for the Sega Genesis and Sonic CD for the Sega CD, was only available digitally when it was originally released. A collector's edition package was also released, but did not actually contain the game. The game later received both a physical release and an expanded version called Sonic Mania Plus, due to demand. The regular version of the game also received a physical release, by itself and with Team Sonic Racing. The 2 in 1 package is what I bought, so I needed to download the content from the Plus version. The Plus content added an Encore mode featuring Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo, characters from the SegaSonic the Hedgehog Arcade game. Sonic Origins, released in June 2022 for the Sonic series' 30th Anniversary, was originally released digital only with no physical released planned at the time. The compilation contains updated versions of Sonic 1, CD, 2, and 3 & Knuckles along with lots of extra content. In 2023, Sega announced Sonic Origins Plus. The expanded version was released both digitally and physically, and adds Amy as a playable character in the main four games, Knuckles as a playable character in Sonic CD, and all of the Sonic games released for the Game Gear. There's a catch, though: the physical release, known as the premium physical edition, only contains the regular version of Sonic Origins, though at least with all of the previously released downloadable content included. A code was included to download the added content from the Plus version. Sega was nice and included an art book and a reversible cover with the physical release. This is basically the same thing that Sega did with Sonic Mania: originally a digital only release that later got a physical release and a Plus version. The difference is that Sonic Mania Plus got a physical release with the Plus content included, while the regular version of the game was also included in a 2 in 1 package also containing Team Sonic Racing (on one card, though they appear as two separate games on the Switch's menu). The physical releases of other third-party games, such as Mega Man 11, Cruis'n Blast, Pac-Man Museum +, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered, and Axiom Verge pretty much contain the full games. Updates were released to patch some issues. And Mega Man 11 and Pac-Man Museum + have some downloadable content like music and wallpapers, but the games themselves are all included. Bubble Bobble had extra content released for it a little later that was offered as a free download for those who already had the game, but also got another physical release that includes the added content. Then there are hacks, and unreleased games (or versions of games). As these are hacks of existing games or very unfinished games that weren't released, they can usually only be found physically on reproduction cartridges sold on eBay or other sites that specialize in these kinds of releases. One notable game is Super Mario Land 2 DX, a color hack of the original Game Boy game that also adds Luigi as a playable character. GoldenEye With Mario Characters is exactly what the title says. It's a hack of the N64 game, but with Mario characters instead of James Bond characters. It also changes some of the multiplayer levels to levels from Super Mario 64. It was released on cartridge, which I found on eBay. This is the unreleased Game Boy Advance version of Resident Evil 2. It was released on a reproduction cartridge I found on eBay. It was just a tech demo, and can be completed in about 2 minutes. The graphics look pretty similar to the console versions and even the sound effects and voices sound almost as good. Limited Physical Releases Nowadays, even if a game gets a physical release, it's not a always guaranteed that it'll be available at retailers or at retailers that you usually purchase games from. Sometimes the only way to get a game physically is to find out if it's even getting one and order it online. Various distributors that specialize in limited physical releases exist, such as Limited Run Games, Iam8bit, Strictly Limited Games, and Signature Edition Games. Sometimes, these and other distributors are the only ones that provide physical releases of certain games. Here are some examples. Bubble Bobble 4 Friends received both standard and collector's edition physical releases with the latter being released by Strictly Limited Games, a distributor in Germany. The physical release wasn't really limited, but the collector's package, of course, was. Axiom Verge could be found at some retailers, but wasn't something you could just find at any store with video games. The physical release of this 2d, Metroid-style platformer was available at certain retailers for a limited time. Not as limited as many other games, but limited compared to, say, a Sonic or Mega Man game. Some versions of the game were released physically via Limited Run Games. TMNT: Shredder's Revenge was widely available, but if you wanted a fancy collector's edition package you had to buy it online. Various collector's editions were available at many distributors like Limited Run Games and Signature Edition Games. I imported the collector's edition from Signature Edition Games. It included a soundtrack CD, keychain, a drink coaster, and a card signed by the game's developers, in addition to a physical copy of the game. There have also been games, including previously unreleased retro games, that got physical releases in other ways. Wonderland Dizzy, pictured above, was originally supposed to be released for the NES in 1993 or so as an unlicensed game (like all of the other Dizzy games for the NES). The ROM was made available for download and a physical release for the NES, limited to 150 copies, was released as part of a Kickstarter campaign for a book titled "Let's Go Dizzy!: The Story of the Oliver Twins". I found the game on eBay a year or two after its release. It was and still is the most expensive video game I've ever bought. I have the book too. The Oliver Twins (Philip and Andrew Oliver), BTW, are the ones who created Dizzy. Wonderland Dizzy Main Page: https://www.olivertwins.com/wonderlanddizzy Wonderland Dizzy Kickstarter Campaign Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zzap642021annual/the-story-of-the-oliver-twins Digital Releases Some games are released digital only nowadays and as mentioned above, sometimes you have to download some or even most of a game even it gets a physical release. Super Mario Bros. 35 is a game I can understand would get a digital only release. All of its modes were online only that have been shutdown, so a physical release of the game would've been useless other than putting it up for display. Of course, Nintendo could've added offline modes and then a physical release would've been somewhat less pointless, but they didn't. It was online only. Similar games have been released: Tetris 99, Pac-Man 99, and F-Zero 99, with Tetris 99 getting both digital and physical releases. Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is a collection I would've preferred a physical copy of, but don't really mind having a digital copy of. I bought it mainly for Mega Man 9 and 10, which were originally released digitally for Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. In the U.S. and Canada, only the first Mega Man Legacy Collection was released physically on Switch with a code to download Legacy Collection 2. Japan, however, received physical copies of the second one as well. Unlike all of the other Kirby games released for the Switch, Super Kirby Clash and Kirby's Dream Buffet received digital only releases. While they do have offline modes, that's only about half of these games. So if physical copies were released, you'd still be able to play them but would only have access to about half of the games once the online modes shutdown. Physical releases wouldn't be entirely pointless, but I can still understand why these two games didn't get physical releases. The Sega Ages series includes Sega Genesis games with additional quality of life features. You can, for example, use the Spin Dash in Sonic the Hedgehog 1, or enable the drop dash move from Sonic Mania. The Sega Ages release of Sonic 1 also includes the "Mega Play" version of the game, which was originally released in Arcades. The Mega Play Arcade version of Sonic 1 has fewer levels and no special stages. You're given a limited amount of time to complete a level, and no 1 ups in any of the levels. And a ranking screen was added. The Sega Ages versions of Sonic 1 and 2 also include Ring Keeper and Time Attack modes that were previously included in the 3DS versions of Sonic 1 and 2. The original Fire Emblem game, originally released in Japan only for the Famicom, was kind of a surprise when it was released for Switch. It was released digitally, fully translated into English. A collector's edition package was released, but did not contain a physical copy of the game. If the game was released physically (on the Switch, not talking about the original Famicom cartridge), I would've appreciated it but am not surprised that it was digital only. It's an NES game, that's it. Not a compilation of games. The good news is that it's not part of the Switch's NES App (which requires an online membership) and was instead released separately on the eShop, so it should still be playable even after the Switch's online features shutdown. Sky Skipper is a rare Arcade game from Nintendo that was originally to be released in '80s, but was poorly received. It was released digitally for the Switch as part of the Arcade Archives series. I would've been all for a physical release if it was released in a compilation, but I think expecting a physical release of a single '80s Arcade game would've been expecting a little too much. Personally, I'm just happy to be able to play a game that I otherwise probably wouldn't have been able to play since it didn't get much of a release. Other Digital Games that Have Been Preserved Internet games, also known as Flash Games, are a little more difficult to play due to flash being discontinued. However, many flash games have been preserved and can still be played. Here are some examples. I also made a blog about these kinds of games. Iragination has Mega Man flash games, like Fireman: Incoming Storm (based on a comic series that Iragination created featuring Fireman from Mega Man 1). These can still be played on modern browsers. Newgrounds has a variety of flash games that can still be played, like Ultimate Flash Sonic (which is similar to Sonic Advance 2). Homestar Runner released a bunch of flash games in the early 2000s. Many of them are still playable, like Awexome Cross '98. Sonic Mega Collection + Mini was playable on Sega's Sonic Central site in 2004, when Sonic Mega Collection + was released. It was archived, and can still be played if you have a flash plug in installed. Some Java/phone games have been preserved and can be played via emulation. Recently, various Mega Man games released for phones (some dating back to 2004) were preserved. Conclusion I appreciate both physical and digital releases. It's a little unfortunate that it is now a little more difficult to obtain physical releases and that some of them don't even include the full games, but I'm thankful that the full versions of first-party games are still released physically and that some physical third-party games also include either most or all of a game. Digital releases allow people to play games that are uncommon and may otherwise be almost impossible to find (unless they happened to be released on repro carts, which can sometimes be costly but still worth it to some collectors). I'll always prefer physical, as I prefer actually having games in my collection, but I appreciate both. -MegaMan52

Got this TV stand for free. I don't have a truck, so the guy I got the stand from had to take the screws off one leg. Then, of course, I put them back on once I got the stand home. I put some of my PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 games on the stand (will include more later, but most are going to stay on some of my shelves), as well as some collector's edition packages. Also got that TV for free last month. The Wii is hooked up to it with a WII 2 HDMI adapter. Too bad the Wii isn't an HD system; the image looks a little blurry despite the console being set to widescreen and the adapter providing at least Component cable picture quality. Also note the lights on the Wii's sensor bar...you can see them with a camera. The stand has a drawer, which I'm using for some guides. And yes, I am thinking about hooking up a PS3 and Xbox 360 to the TV.

Got Ecco the Dolphin on Sega Genesis, complete with box and manual. The box still has the hangtab.

That looks familiar.