Skylanders and Disney Infinity toys are alright, but they certainly don’t pull at my heart strings quite like Nintendo’s Amiibo line of figurines. Based on their legendary roster of characters – and a few friends from outside of the family – these figurines are symbolic of my love of not only Nintendo, but video games as a whole. Most of these characters ushered me into the medium as a young child and have continued to provide me with joy ever since.
Having just bought my first Amiibo, I thought it’d be cool to write about the process of collecting these figures and what each one means to me. Let’s start this off with the first Amiibo in my collection, who just so happens to be the first lady of Hyrule.
Fire Emblem first appeared on the Gameboy Advance. It was the first in the series released outside of Japan. Back when this came out in 2003, I was already a fan Nintendo’s turn-based strategy games thanks to Advance Wars. However, I was not ready for how unique Fire Emblem was compared to its sister strategy game, nor was I ready for how freaking awesome it would be.
What separates the two besides the obvious thematic differences is that Fire Emblem is much more of a role-playing game. Instead of managing an army of disposable units, each of the characters in your party has a name and story arc. You equip them with weapons and other gear. Best (or worst) of all, if they die in the game, they die forever. The strategic joy from Advance Wars is certainly here, though it’s only amplified by how high the stakes are when you’re managing a team of characters you care about that could die if you screw up.
Intelligent Systems and Nintendo have improved on the formula over time, though this first international release is still a masterpiece that is as fun to play now as it was in 2003. For die-hard fans of the series like me, owning this new version on the Wii U Virtual Console gives me a way to play the game again on a modern platform. If you haven’t played any in the series yet, this is a relatively affordable entry-point, since the game is under $10 on the eShop. If you’re ever going to give the series an honest try, this is a great place to start!
The Blue Bomber’s magnum opus is the focus of today’s Jett Plays. I discuss some of my fond memories with it while poorly playing through three stages. I’m better than this, I swear!
Under Pikmin 3‘s cuddly veneer is a game that is unapologetically hardcore. Standing between your crew and a return trip home is a few key parts to rebuild your ship, the treacherous inhabitants of PNF-404, and the inescapable hand of father time. At first, my poor play and the fear of the consequences that came with that poor play nearly drove me to dropping the game completely. However, after coming to grips with managing my troops and the limited time allotted per day, the stress of survival took a back seat to the joy of exploring this beautiful world with my cute little Pikmin along for the ride.
Recently, I started playing Pikmin 3. Having never played any of the games in the series before, it caught me off guard in a number of ways. For instance, I didn’t expect the little critters to melt my heart with their sheer cuteness. I also found that watching those same adorable creatures die in assorted ways was rather traumatic. Most surprising to me was how hardcore its gameplay mechanics were. Dig past its cuddly exterior and this is a game that can mercilessly rip out your still-beating heart from your chest.
To this day, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time is considered by many as one of the greatest video games of all-time. I definitely side with that mentality. I even gushed about it before on this very blog. With that said, the Nintendo 64 original and Gamecube port don’t look so hot by today’s standards. The textures are a blurry mess, everything is overly blocky and they both only run in 480i resolution. It would have been a shame if this classic got lost in time. Thankfully, Nintendo is breathing new life into it with a 3DS iteration that’s a bit more than a port.
Since its release, Fire Emblem: Awakening has been tough to track down in stores. Though I’ve heard reports of the game being under-shipped, there’s also the fact that it’s really good. I enjoyed it so much that I beat it twice before finalizing my review for Splitkick. If you can find it, the game is definitely worth tracking down!
The biggest day in video game new releases is here! That is, if you pre-ordered or are standing in line right this second.
The Nintendo Wii U and its gigantic touchscreen controller are destined to be essentially sold out between now and Christmas. With that said, there are probably a bunch of you who got one at a midnight launch, or are in line for one this morning. I pre-ordered mine online, so it won’t arrive for the next few days, but I’m cool with that.
If you’ve got it, tell me what you think! If you don’t, do you have any interest in tracking one down while Wii U hype is at an all-time high?
I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more…Rhythm Heaven? To my surprise, the Rhythm Heaven franchise is back on North American shores; this time on the Wii. While the DS original was wildly popular in Japan, the game’s inherent craziness in a way that only Japan can provide pretty much sealed its fate as a cult hit at best everywhere else in the world.
My brother, who was a huge fan of the original, recently picked up a copy of Rhythm Heaven Fever. I took some time out to watch him play. Did watching the game win me over like it won my brother over? Or did I find it as culturally inpenetrable as the Mr. Sparkle commercial?
Just a friendly reminder from In Third Person to Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors to remember that Nintendo gave you a free copy of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. If you haven’t played it yet, please do. The Fire Emblem franchise is one of the best turn-based strategy RPG series out there and The Sacred Stones is proof of the series’ awesomeness. I came into the Fire Emblem series as a gamer who wasn’t even a fan of the genre, and this is one of the games that turned me into a huge Fire Emblem fanboy.
So what are you waiting for? You already have it sitting on your 3DS. Do yourself a favour and play Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones if you haven’t booted it up yet. You’ll thank me later.
In Third Person 
