We had our baby girl this week!  As expected I've been a bit busy and probably will be for a week or two (not that I really have an audience that will miss me :) ).  But here are some thoughts about NES Remix, one of many Club Nintendo prizes available until the end of June.  Thanks for stopping by!



Like many Club Nintendo members, I had a lot of coins to use up before the rewards program closed up shop at the end of June.  Of the many downloadable games Nintendo uploaded for members to choose from, I decided to go with Dr. Mario (SNES version), Earthbound and NES Remix (Wii U version).  Dr. Mario was for my wife, aside from it being a great game, it was one of her favorites as she played it all the time growing up.  Earthbound made the cut as I never had the chance to play the cult classic and wanted to add it to my collection so see if it lived up to all the hype (Plus 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the game’s release in North America, so why not?).  Choosing to spend the last of my coins on NES Remix was something I went back and forth on quite a bit.  There were several other games I was interested in, but getting Remix would let me exhaust the majority of my coins (thus allowing me to “get the most out of my coins”).  But, I hadn't heard a lot about the game aside from it focusing on Wario Ware like mini-games based on classic NES franchises.  My desire to get the most bang for my virtual reward buck eventually won out and I committed to my purchase of Remix, and even though I wasn't immediately pulled into the game I’m glad I did.

NES Remix turned out to be a lot of fun, but perhaps not in the way I thought it would be.  After I downloaded the game I played only a couple challenges before stopping, it wasn't until my brother came over that I really found Remix’s true value.  We took turns, switching off each time a challenge was completed successfully or when one of us failed.  It didn't take long for a competition to start, who could beat a particular challenge?  Who could beat the most?  The fastest?  We played for several hours and would have continued if I didn't have work the next day.  I haven’t done it yet but, based on my experience with my brother, I would love to have group of friends over to play this game.  We’d divide into 2 or 3 teams and just go crazy with retro challenge goodness.

So, was NES Remix worth my coins - yes.  I would even say it is worth spending money on and buying outright.  I had a lot of fun with it and got a chance to play some NES games I missed out on as a kid like Pinball and Ice Climbers (watch out for the weird platform hit box, I fell through platform corners so many times).  However, keep in mind that even though it is designed as a 1 player game, NES Remix works best as a team competition game.  If you’re looking for a new party game, be sure to give NES Remix a look.

Fire Emblem Analyses / Story of Seasons First Impressions

In my last post I briefly mentioned the trailer for Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei, which aired during last week’s Nintendo Direct.  Since then, Youtube channel GameXplain has uploaded an in-depth analysis of the trailer and the game’s possibilities in gameplay and storyline.  I found it to be very enlightening and it definitely helped me make sense of the rush of images seen in the minute long (roughly) trailer.  If this game peaks your interest, I highly recommend checking out their analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge4XXLVKS0Y

GameXplain also uploaded an analysis of the trailer for the next main series Fire Emblem game, also aired in last week’s direct.  I haven’t watched this one yet but based on their past work I think it wise to give it a look if you love Fire Emblem, I know I will.  Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2e0M7BePtQ

Aside from Youtube recommendations, I just wanted to mention the recently released Story of Seasons for 3DS.  While not exactly a main series Harvest Moon title (I know it still retained the Japanese name for the series, Bokujō Monogatari, in Japan itself but due to naming rights and some relationship issues between Natsume and Marvelous it released with a different name overseas), it definitely retains the magic of the series.  I've only just completed the first month of the game but I'm having a really good time.  Gameplay is fast and dynamic, with lots of different things to do.  Swimming and diving provides an extra method for gathering items to sell early game and I love the new harvest mechanic that causes the entire 3 by 3 square to pop into a single box that you pick up.  This one mechanic saves a ton of time and makes farming crops fun (I usually go for a more cattle ranching approach in Harvest Moon just cause I hated picking up all the crops).  I'll definitely be posting more of my impressions on this game as I get farther in.  But if you're a fan of the Harvest Moon series, or have been looking to give it a try, look no further than Story of Seasons.

Nintendo Direct 04/01/2015

I'm sure most of you have already watched or read about the Nintendo Direct that took place on April Fool's Day.  But just in case you missed out, here is a link to the full direct on Nintendo's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMedqo8mLaQ

I won't bore you with a complete rundown of the direct's contents, but suffice it to say I was pleasantly surprised.  There was definitely a lot more reveled and discussed than I thought there would be.

Probably the biggest surprise, for me at least, was the trailer for Fire Emblem X ("cross") Shin Megami Tensei.  This game was announced quite awhile ago, but with no further news on it since its initial revel many had begun to believe it had been canceled.  I'll admit I was starting to think the same, so I was pretty blown away by the news it was still being developed.  I won't spoil too much, but the game's setting is nothing like what I was expecting.  I'm going in with an open mind though, I think it could be a good and unique experience depending on the story line.  My wife was pretty excited by it too so that is a plus, always good to have the wife on board.  Here is a link to the game's trailer if you want to see that without searching for it in the Nintendo Direct: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fS24IxelBA.  I'll probably talk more on this in a future post (if my faulty memory actually works for once).

Other things you can look forward to in the Direct are Smash Bros reveals, more on the next main series Fire Emblem game (I'm really excited for that one), Splatoon, Mario Maker and (of course) Amiibo.

Even with Zelda U being delayed, it looks like there will still be some good stuff coming out of Nintendo this next year.  And with E3 only a few months away I'm sure there will be even more announced.  Let me know what you think of the Nintendo Direct and what you are most excited for.  Thanks for visiting!