Originating as a Sailor Moon convention years ago, Pretty Heroes in Toronto has expanded in size and scope. More fandoms are represented, though Sailor Moon is still the star of the show. The convention has moved to a larger venue just east of the downtown core. And it’s also the first year my wife and I were in attendance!
When one thinks of Nintendo, the mind tends to gravitate towards their A-list games. Titles that have either garnered a level of success and critical acclaim that puts them at the head of the pack. Mainline Super Mario games easily clear this bar. So do the mainline Zelda games. While it’s one of the newest franchises, the massive success of Splatoon would put it up on that pedestal as well. Where you and I draw the line may vary here and there, but I think we can generally agree on which Nintendo games are at the top and which ones aren’t on that same level.
It’s not necessarily because these games are worse. Maybe they just haven’t found their footing. In spite of being great since the start, it took Fire Emblem decades of time and like a dozen releases before finding a wider audience. Some franchises sell well enough to still get multiple sequels, such as WarioWare or BoxBoy. Others are meant to be niche products, such as Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball. Though Nintendo probably would like for all of their games to sell in the 10+ million range, I get the sense that they’re willing to make and publish B-tier games so long as they make enough of a profit to justify their creation.
In any case, not every game and franchise in Nintendo’s ecosystem is on the same stratosphere. But with a bit more love, maybe some of them could be. Here are a few of my picks for B-tier Nintendo games and franchises that deserve another shot.
It’s about that time to switch it up!
Though it hasn’t been that long since I posted one of these, I’d actually had that configuration for a few weeks beforehand. This time, I’ll try and stay on top, posting these closer to when I rejigger the setup. At most, I’ll do these once a month for however long I’m interested in writing them. Here are a few new pieces I added!
My personal highlight at ConBravo 2019 was being able to sit in on the Livestreaming 101 panel with The 8-Bit Drummer, Chatia, Family Jules, and Rabbid Luigi! They provided us with some amazing info on how to take our streams to the next level and we truly appreciate it! For those who couldn’t make it, I captured a bunch of it on video! Hope you enjoy!
Dr. Mario World plays a cruel game of rope-a-dope with its players. Many of the levels can be beaten within reason. Be that as it may, the buzzsaw is as brutal as it is inevitable.
For decades, the Fire Emblem franchise’s most unique feature was its inclusion of perma-death. Should a character fall in battle, they’re gone for the rest of the campaign. In a game where characters can develop into fighting machines while also going through their own mini story arc alongside of the main campaign, any loss of life is devastating. Though I’ve gotten pretty good at protecting my heroes throughout, I will unashamedly save scum or redo levels entirely if it means I can save lives and keep my options open.
Starting with Fire Emblem: Awakening, players got an alternative. Prior to the start of a campaign, one can choose to play in Classic mode with perma-death on. Or, you could choose a new Casual mode, where fallen heroes simply retreat for the remainder of a level. In this case, these fallen heroes can return at the start of the next mission.
This split has created quite the discussion amongst fans of the series. With Fire Emblem: Three Houses out now, it’s bound to heat up again. Which do you prefer? Is there a “right” way to play? Take it for what you will, but this is my approach to Classic vs. Casual in modern Fire Emblem games.
10 years is a long stretch of time. From the moment I started this blog on this very day a decade ago until now, I’ve experienced the majority of my 20s and am now deeper into my 30s than I’d like to admit. In that time, I established my career, got married to my college sweetheart, and we bought a house together. I also gained weight, sleep less, and heal from injuries a lot more slowly than I used to. It’s not all wins, but thus is life.
During that time, I’ve grown and changed as a gamer as well. On this day, being the actual 10th birthday of the site, let’s look at a few ways in which I’ve grown as a gaming enthusiast.
During my formative years, the Woodbine Centre mall just outside of Toronto was the most magical place on Earth. Featuring an amusement park inside, I loved playing in the ball pit, sliding down the tall slide that starts three stories up, and riding on the park’s iconic carousel. Had to ride the horses that bobbed up and down, of course.
As a kid, my mom took night school courses in the area for a few years. Because the timing didn’t work out for my dad, brother, and I to go home, we hung out at Woodbine Centre instead. My brother was peak age for the amusement park, while we both got a kick out of playing at the arcade. This arcade is where I got my first taste of such classics as Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, and NBA Jam.
Since those days of making regular visits, I’ve seldom returned. I’m rarely in the area and haven’t had a reason to go back. That is, until the mall’s Baskin Robbins got converted to Scoops Ahoy for a limited time. Re-themed to match the look of the ice cream shop prominently featured in Stranger Things 3, my wife and I made a visit to the mall that was a pivotal piece of my childhood.
Due to disappointing sale prices on items I’m not in the market for, I generally ignore Amazon Prime Day. To their credit, Amazon has gotten better deals each year and their gaming deals this time around were particularly strong. However, its deals on streaming equipment were what really got me hot under the collar.
My crippling addiction to Dr. Mario World has reignited my internal debate about the merits of free-to-play games. While I grew up in a world where you either dropped quarters into an arcade machine or bought a cartridge to play the full game, I understand now that games have always been driven by the business models behind them. Free-to-play is just another permutation of that, and it’s up to me how much I want to engage with that. With Google Stadia and 5G looming, streaming may add yet another approach to monetizing games.
Though I generally prefer to buy my games outright, there have been a few free-to-play games that really sunk their teeth into me. Here are a few of my free-to-play faves!
In Third Person 