Messages

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What is your favorite game this year?

« on: October 05, 2026, 05:31:24 AM »

On a different note as I work to derail this thread off its original topic, I'd had a couple years where my income was up and down and just didn't feel like I could do much purchasing for gaming. Plus, Nintendo sort of felt like it was stretching out the life of the Switch over 2024 and 2025 with less software I felt an urge to buy right away. I only show 18 games added to my backlog in 2024 and 28 in 2025. As a result, this year exploded with 92 games added as I finally did have a better and steady income and started playing catch-up on a getting a lot of games now before the physical copies became harder to find and perhaps rising in price. I bring this up because, while mentioning in this thread about a lot of big games coming out in 2027 for Switch 2 that I'm eager to play, there's a lot of games now from the past few years that I'm also itching to tackle. I thought I'd post a list from those 92 games I got this year that I'm also wanting to tackle sooner than later if you want to talk about games that could excite the gamer in you and perhaps be one's favorite game they played this year.

Monster Hunter Stories (3DS)
Mischief Makers (N64)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Switch 1/2)
Riven (PC)
Princess Peach: Showtime! (Switch 1/2)
Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch 1/2)
Stray (Switch 1/2)
Dredge: Deluxe Edition (Switch 1/2)
Outer Wilds: Archaeologist Edition (Switch 1/2)
Metroid Prime 4 (Switch 1/2)
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection (Switch 1/2)
Batman: Arkham Trilogy (Switch 1/2)
Rhythm Heaven Groove (Switch 1/2)
Mario Kart World (Switch 2)
Pokemon Pokopia (Switch 2)

That list isn't in any particular order but if it was I think I'd put Ace Attorney Investigations at the top. It would finally be my completion of the whole series (aside from the Layton/Wright 3DS spinoff game that I've still saved to this point) and I know that the second game has something to do with a loose thread from a case in the second Phoenix Wright game. I've wanted to see that wrapped up for a long time now. Obviously, I haven't played any of these yet so I can't really name them as my favorite game of the year but I feel there's still a lot of gems waiting for me to get around to them.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What is your favorite game this year?

« on: October 05, 2026, 05:06:00 AM »

You've been on quite a gaming Odyssey, Khush.

In a way. It's also cause I keep saying I'm going to play this or that and then changing my mind. I was so excited and really feeling urge to pick up Metroid Prime 4 when it released. I played Remastered as a way to satiate the Metroid craving I had and then that led to Fusion and then Prime 3. By that time, I did get a copy of MP4 and then put it off. I also realized I still had yet to play Metroid Prime Hunters so I started that on my old DS Phat but only got through a few opening rooms and didn't get back to it. Now Metroid Ravenous is coming out and that's the new hotness and I just don't seem to care about MP4 as much anymore but I'd still like to dive into it at some point. I'd wanted to have a couple days where I could just play it pretty non-stop and dive right in but then that timing never happened and I started playing other things.

This last month has been me revisting a bunch of games from Backlaugust to complete them. At the time August ended, the games I'd fully completed were Banjo-Kazooie, Elec-Head, Mega Man III, Mega Man IV, Carto, Catan: Console Edition and What Remains of Edith Finch. In a way, Aero Porter could probably be part of that group.

Since then, I fully completed TOEM, A Short Hike, Onion Assault, Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe (getting platinum medals and trophies for everything on normal and special mode), Kirby Fighters Deluxe (in that I beat Very Hard mode and unlocked the Shadow Kirby skin and completed New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe by finding all exits and getting all Star Coins and a 5 star save file. Came close to finishing the Challenge mode of Super Monkey Ball 3D but the hardest level is actually a bonus type level for the 8th world in which you need to collect all the bananas to beat it and not just reach a goal. Even then, to fully complete the game really means playing and winning in the Monkey Fight and Monkey Race parts of the game so completing the Challenge mode is kind of like completing a third of the game. Did want to get back to WarioWare: Move It! but I really need to play that on Switch 1 because of some of the micogames but I just haven't bothered to boot up my OG Switch with my playing everything else on the S2 right now. And as I now start to progress more into Bananza, getting back to WarioWare is falling more and more to the wayside.

Still, that's 13 games completed in two months with a couple kind of close. I guess I'd just like to try to rack up a bit more points in Aero Porter even though it's kind of an endless game as it falls more in the puzzle genre (like a Tetris or Puzzle League game) but I seem to have fully unlocked its max form so its complete in a way. Kind of thought I might be able to unlock the extra questions in Who Wants to be a Millionaire? as well but just never felt like revisiting that game over other some of these others. Pikuniku is complete for the single player portion. Maybe I find someone willing to do the two-player section with me someday to fully check that game off. Really close to almost making it 16 games but I hold myself to multiple standards for considering something complete, I guess.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What is your favorite game this year?

« on: October 05, 2026, 04:21:14 AM »

On negativity:  One reason I still love these boards (even though don't participate much - I just don't have much to say) is that people tend to be painfully realistic.

Well, I, for one, am glad you are taking the time to post a bit on here even if you don't think you have much to add.

And you know what, I'll give a big ol' Honk! to Jarodea as well for his contributions and getting a topic like this started.

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General Gaming / Re: Shadow of Mordor: A Mean-spirited, maybe self-aware game

« on: October 05, 2026, 04:18:20 AM »

I’m also ascribing to the Khushrenada ethos that “not everything needs to be added to an all-encompassing general thread.”

I need to get around to the Arkham trilogy at some point.

Same. Kept hoping the games would be ported to Switch and then I waited until I could get it at a low price I wanted which was just a couple months ago. Now to just actually play them. Less concerned with the third game but the first two are supposed to be pretty good.

As someone with an affinity for Tolkien’s works

Personally, I've just never really been that big into the Middle Earth scene. I read The Hobbit and then followed that up by reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy while in High School and grade 9. That was the time I was really into trying to read all sorts of classics in literature and knew they were considered great works. They were a different experience from other things I'd read at that point in time but I found they could alternate between being really engaging and being kind of boring and pushing myself to get through some portions. With the Lord of the Rings, I found the Frodo, Sam, Gollum parts more engaging than the Pippin, Merry, Aragorn stuff once the party splits up. I felt the ending of the Frodo portion at Mount Doom nailed it. Was less concerned about Aragorn's ending and his taking of the throne. Never re-read any of the books. Tried The Silmarillion but bounced off of that after a couple chapters. Just seemed to be all the passages I didn't care for in LotR with lore full of all sorts of names I didn't recognize or care about and nothing compelling to keep me going. It was very soon after that the movies then came out but I wasn't the cinephile I am now (I still hadn't even seen any of the Star Wars movies at this point in time) and didn't get around to watching them until around 2012, I think. I remember the place I was living in at the time and know I saw them a before The Hobbit movies came out so that seems right to me. Overall, I thought they were good adaptations and did quite well in streamlining the story and I was better able to see and understand the reasons why people consider it a bit of a World War 2 allegory or at least the allusions one could make between the two. But they were also kind of silly too me as well and hard to take that seriously. Particularly The Two Towers first half with all the running around done by the characters and the amount of enemies this small group can slay and are just seemingly unstoppable no matter the odds. I was less bothered by the additions and and the expanding of the story for The Hobbit trilogy perhaps in part of not being that attached to the source material. In fact, it was part of The Hobbit movies that I have ever seen a second time. They were playing on TV a few years later and checked in for the portion of the meeting of Smaug and on to his demise but then moved on. Have never rewatched the LotR films but maybe someday. That is my engagement with Tolkien's works. I've never really paid much attention to Middle Earth video games or played any of them. As such, this game wasn't on my radar. So, I'm not going to have much to offer this thread beyond this post.

That said, I'll still read anything you write about on these forums even if the topic isn't a big interest to me. It gets me to expand my knowledge of other games my taste in games may overlook or not know anything about. On that note,

You’re goring enemies on the regular, terrifying them with fire, mounted beasts, or “brutalize” prompts, and probing their minds for valuable intel (or branding them, a mechanic I’ve yet to unlock). The game is wont to focus on these actions, which are flashy and brutal in their design, and rewards you for engaging in such behavior. You can explode heads, for goodness sake.

That information right there tells me these are a couple games I'll never play. The old ultraviolence is just not something that appeals to me. It's sort of like how horror movies are my least favorite genre of film (or at least tied with documentaries for that rank). I just hate how horror movies will try to play some weird morality about character deaths as though a person being kind of vain or a jerk or having sex justifies them getting mutilated and suffering a horrible death. Try killing someone for that in real life and see how it goes in court. On top of that, when you have stuff that involves magic or the supernatural, there's so many questions it will bring up that are unanswered and silly logic that will make it hard for me to care or take seriously and just further adds to the impression that it's just about being awful to people. Going back to the slasher style picture, I'm just not thrilled by seeing the killer hunt and kill someone. Likewise, I'm not really interested in then playing like one in a videogame either. Just not my scene.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What is your favorite game this year?

« on: September 30, 2026, 06:10:55 AM »

Hmmm. Not sure. It's been an odd year for me. Most of the games I played were just last month during the Backlaugust event. Played some stuff in there I liked such as WarioWare: Move It!, Super Monkey Ball 3D, ElecHead, A Short Hike and TOEM. Early in January, I wrapped up playing Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy along with Super Mario Bros. Wonder. I did enjoy both of those games. Also have revisited some past games. Played Metroid Prime: Remastered along with Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (finally beat that game on Hypermode also). Just got a Switch 2 last month and have let myself get sucked back into F-Zero GX and Super Mario Sunshine. I'll always have a soft spot for Sunshine. Really enjoying this replay of it. Finally tore myself away from it to get back to Donkey Kong Bananza. I'd played through the opening level at the end of August and have finally gotten back into yesterday playing through the second level and nearly finding everything in it (just 5 fossils and 1 banana undiscovered) and then moved onto the next level. Maybe it will become my favorite game of the year by the time I'm done. Also want to get some time in with Mario Kart World as well but I'm going to be moving in October so that will pause my gaming time for awhile.

I do also have Pokopia and Star Fox for Switch 2 as well but my plan is to play DK and Kart first before getting to them but maybe one of those could be the best Switch 2 I got this year. I'd like to put a bow on Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition by beating a few remaining tyrants and side missions and move on to another Xenolade game. This time XC2 which would be my first time playing it along with the Switch 2 enhancements. Yet, I also find myself wanting to tackle a Zelda game. The OoT remake has made me itching to crack out my 3DS version and play that as I'd really like to do it with that 3D effect. It would also be the second time I've played any version of OoT. Yet, there's also Echoes of Wisdom that I've really wanted to play as well and Tears of the Kingdom is still sitting on my shelf waiting for me to dive into that. The Nintendo Today app keeps posting things about Breath of the Wild and it's got me wanting to revisit that world but in its sequel form. (And there's Wind Waker on the GameCube app which will be tempting me like Sunshine did.)

Jarodea mentioned seeing a lot of negativity here. To me, negativity seems much more muted these days compared to a decade ago in the Wii U years or even back in the Wii times. The recent talk about storage space for the Switch 2 has perhaps had some of the most "negative" vibes but it can't be helped with a real issue in the gaming industry which has lost its ability to compress files. Nintendo is once again winning in this battle as well. They still know how to deliver their games in an acceptable file size but that can only do much against 3rd parties which seem to have given up in caring about that. It's also brought up some of the restlessness people have felt with the Switch 2's growing library but that ties into what people like. Some people like certain titles and franchises and if they aren't seeing entries and software for those likes then it's going to be harder for some to be positive about their current feelings on the Switch 2 library. Back at the end of 2017, I made a topic asking if that might be Nintendo's best year ever when it comes to software releases. Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey in the same year during the Switch's first year was big but there was also a lot of other big games released such as Splatoon 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and even Mario Kart 8 DX which had a little bit extra compared to its original Wii U release but would also go on to add so much more as it continued to dominate sales over the Switch's lifespan. Even some smaller gems like ARMS and the under-rated SnipperClips were there. (And there was also what was released on 3DS during that year when talking about what all Nintendo released but I'm just focusing on Switch 1 for this point.) When you consider that first year Switch 1 had, I guess I'm a bit more understanding when people have talked about feeling the Switch 2 hasn't really wowed them yet with the games it has released. Switch 1 set such a high bar for a console's early software.

But it does seem like there is some enthusiasm and positivity returning with the recent Nintendo Direct and Nintendo may be  having us witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station. Starting this month, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is a pretty epic game and delivering for those who felt Three Houses was a high point of the series. (Although if you aren't an FE fan then I'm not sure this will do much to change one's mind). Switch Sports Resort next month may seem like a more minor software title but the Wii/Switch sports games still sell and are enjoyed by many still even if the series doesn't have the impact on culture it did when it first appeared on the Wii. OoT remake is looking like it will be a big hit. The Duskbloods is supposedly soon to release although even if it is December, the return of Professor Layton is the big deal for me. Metroid is getting a new entry. Kirby's getting an epic new entry. Xenoblade is getting a new entry. Pokemon is coming and there may be other big surprises in 2017. The Square software of Kingdom Hearts 4 and Final Fantasy 7 part 3 will be big for a lot of gamers although obviously not exclusive to the Switch 2 library. I'm getting excited about what's to come but I'm also feeling the pressure to start playing some Switch 2 stuff now to try and keep up with all this software that I want to play.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Direct Sept. 9, 2026 Thoughts

« on: September 11, 2026, 11:51:53 PM »

Hot Take: Although we understand why remakes and enhanced versions get released, good lord we're sick of them taking up announcement space and dev resources. Give us new, exclusive games to get excited about, please!  (This won't happen in the current game dev scene. We're an odd case, owning tons of games and older systems to play them on... Totally understand why others might disagree here.)

Not so much a hot take as a shared take for longtime gamers. I realized back in June or so when Nintendo had announced by then the remake of Star Fox 64 and Ocarina of Time that, while its disappointing for someone who's long played those games, they weren't being made for us in mind. It's for today's kids who won't be as familiar with those titles. If some of us want to buy these games because of the shiny new paint they are in then Nintendo won't mind but this is about reaching newer generations who may not want to play older stuff because they're used to current game design and graphics. It sucks because we're always hoping that development efforts will be put into new things to play but Nintendo's always going to be looking at how to leverage their past and give old titles a new chance to shine.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Direct Sept. 9, 2026 Thoughts

« on: September 11, 2026, 11:43:39 PM »

Was Duskbloods mentioned?

It was not. After the failed network test, I'm beginning to think the game may need more time in development and may end up in 2027 now which is why I made a prediction along those lines in the prediction thread.

Why didn't they announce the Zelda movie cast members?

Probably to give the internet less time to look up the entire history of those actors and then start hate campaigns and boycotts about them.

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TalkBack / Re: Kirby Goes To The World Beyond Next Spring

« on: September 10, 2026, 02:53:27 AM »

Just how badly did Kirby beat King Dedede to be able to send him flying that long and far and still have enough force for him to blow a hole through that strongly reinforced wall?

R.I.P. Dedede. Pour one out for the king. Who will no doubt show up later somewhere in that world beyond now mind controlled by whatever forces were keeping in this cage.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Direct Sept. 9, 2026 Thoughts

« on: September 10, 2026, 02:46:49 AM »

Talk about out of sight, out of mind. How could I forget about Xenoblade:Genesis? 2027 really is shaping up to be one heck of a year. I can see Genesis being a middle of the year game being released around June/July.

I was talking about my missed predictions with Level-5 but even though I was wrong about Layton being delayed, I'm glad to see it is coming out. (It better not be digital only like Fantasy Life 2). World of Steam is the game I'm probably most hyped for in regards to 2026 releases still to come. I do wonder what the puzzles will be like without the touchscreen and stylus that the DS/3DS could allow for in design. Likewise, I assume the tapping around for hint coins and other points of interest will be changed or will they just have us move a curser around screens with the analog stick? I'm hoping it'll be designed differently from that.

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NWR Forums ID Verification / Re: What's the drunkest You have ever gotten?

« on: September 09, 2026, 05:14:28 PM »

I wouldn't worry about. I've posted strong thoughts and opinions in a lot of threads on games that I never played or experienced so I think you could do the same here.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What will Nintendo release in 2026?

« on: September 09, 2026, 05:11:47 PM »

Argh. I had actually thought of making a Yokai Watch returns prediction but based on Fantasy Life 2 and Layton both having delays, I just didn't think Level-5 would be close to being able to add that to their development schedule. They've just seemed to struggle with getting games done so I decided to bet on Layton getting delayed a little bit more and save the Yokai Watch for next year. Based on what they showed, I have my doubts that Yokai Watch 2 will launch before 2029 but maybe I'm wrong if it's more of a remake than a new entry.

Also went with three Amiibo for Ocarina of Time because it seemed likely they'd do at least Link, Zelda and Ganondorf amiibos but its just Link and Zelda so far. *shakes fists at sky* Why must life be so difficult?

I also didn't think they'd release a 2D Metroid so soon. Based on Dread, I thought it might be a surprise they save for next year's February Direct and maybe release in the summer time. I guess I should have just gone with the generic "A Metroid game will be revealed" type prediction but I figured with the time Retro spent doing the remaster of Metroid Prime and making Prime 4 that it might be an easier and quicker lay-up for them to do a Metroid Prime 2 remaster and maybe have that as an early 2027 release. Perhaps the only MP2 we get will be its release on the GC Switch app.

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Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo Direct Sept. 9, 2026 Thoughts

« on: September 09, 2026, 05:00:14 PM »

Who needs 3D Mario? 3D Kirby is here!

Boy, 2027 has the potential to be one heck of a year for the Switch 2. I'm hyped up for Metroid Ravenous and Kirby and the World Beyond which are coming early. Pokemon Wind/Water will likely launch in the holiday season but could be sooner. Maybe Mario does get a new game in the back half. If so, that seems to me like 4 big games even if Metroid and Samus don't do the sales numbers Mario and Pokemon can.

On top of that, the third party support is there are as well. FFVII Revelation, Persona 6, and Tomb Raider plus other previously released games on XBox X/S and PS5 are being ported on over. Feels like the Switch 2 is just picking up more and more steam now and game overload is on its way.

One other thing thing, I'd never heard of Meccha Chameleon before but that game stood out to me as something I'd like to try. That was a neat spin on just the simple game of hide and seek.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What will Nintendo release in 2026?

« on: September 08, 2026, 06:25:09 AM »

Some say the game is rigged. That the house always wins. One keeps fighting the power only for the power to keep coming up with ways to shift the goalposts and deny the player their points. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result can only mean that it's time for....

Madness Khushrenada

1. Fortune Street gets a new release for the Switch 2.

2. Mass Effect Trilogy will be coming to the Switch 2.

3. The Xenosaga series of games will be coming to the Switch 2.

4. AI Somnium 3 will be announced for both Switch 1 and 2.

5. A new Animal Crossing spin-off. It will be a mash-up of AC and Style Savvy. You work with the Mabel Sisters in helping create fashion for villagers and become the best boutique in town. Summer of 2027.

6. Pushmo returns with a game announced for Switch 2.

7. Captain Falcon will be in a new game that is to be released in 2027.

Onwards to third parties!

8. Rhythm Thief returns from the dead with a sequel that will be digital only.

9. Persona 6 will be revealed as coming to Switch 2 on the same release date for the PS5/Xbox editions.

10. A Psychonauts collection will be announced as coming to Switch 2.

11. Everyone else’s predictions go to 10. Not Madness Khushrenada. His picks go to 11. He's just so eXtreme! Mother 3 actually releases in North America on the Switch GBA app with a full English translation.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What will Nintendo release in 2026?

« on: September 08, 2026, 06:25:02 AM »

But if you really want to fight power, you can't do it by being safe in houses with your tame predictions. You need to rattle some cages. You need to be brave You need to be...

Bold Khushrenada

1. Duskbloods is delayed to early 2027.

2. A Zelda addition will be coming to the Super Nintendo World Theme Park.

3. Nintendo announces and reveals a new mobile phone game.

4. Nintendo reveals a new exercise game (a la Wii Fit, Ring Fit Adventure) and it comes with a special peripheral.

5. Metroid Prime 2 Remastered is announced with a release date.

6. Four Swords Adventures is released for the GC Switch 2 Library without the need for GBAs to play online multiplayer with.

7. Splatoon 4 will be confirmed as being in development.

Let's dive into the world of third party releases:

8. Starfield will be announced as being ported to Switch 2.

9. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be announced as getting a Switch 2 port for 2027.

10. A new Ace Attorney game is revealed and given a 2027 release window.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What will Nintendo release in 2026?

« on: September 08, 2026, 06:24:45 AM »

Yeah I know I forgot to post before the cutoff but who cares, at least my predictions will be on the record now.

I'm with you! Fight the power! Why must predictions be done at the start of the year? Isn't it harder to do so when the year is almost up and there is less runway? Let's find out. Hit it, boys!

Safe Khushrenada

1. A new Mario game that is not a sports or party game will be announced.

2. Kirby will also get in on the act of having a new game revealed.

3. There will be at least 3 new Amiibo for the new Ocarina of Time Zelda game.

4. There will be a special edition Zelda themed Switch 2.
 
5. Nintendo will reveal another IP is being adapted to a non-gaming medium (i.e. Movie / TV series).

6. Pokemon Wind/Water will release in the first half of 2027.

7. Another Game Console’s (i.e. Game Boy, Game Gear, Neo Geo, etc) games are added to the Expansion + subscription.

8. Splatoon Raiders DLC is announced and shown.

Let's switch it up to third parties.

9. Square-Enix will unveil a new IP RPG for the Switch 2 to come out in 2027.

10. Professor Layton and the World of Steam will be pushed back to a 2027 release date.

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NWR Forums ID Verification / Re: Has anyone tried CRZ YOGA leggings

« on: September 08, 2026, 01:25:51 AM »

Greetings, I've been searching for some good leggings recently. Someone mentioned these high quality activewear yoga pants from CRZ Yoga, specifically their well-known Butterluxe tights lineup. I am checking how to find these CRZ YOGA butterluxe tights and sports bras online.

You know, this highlights a real problem I have with the internet. I've been saying for years now that there needs to be a better way to find things online. If only there was some kind of site that a person could type in a request and it would search the internet and come up with all sorts of results on that searched term to help you find where these items might be sold. This current method of having to check into every 25 year old forum you can find on the internet and hope someone in that community has the answer is just so much work.

In addition, does anyone know where to find these CRZ YOGA activewear pieces or whether their sizing holds up? I really liked their Butterluxe leggings design because the material feels super soft all day. If anyone knows who sells the best options with a fabric comparisons, I would appreciate the advice!

Well, buddy, did you ever come to the right place on the internet. Half of the posters here work in the sweatshops that help make the leggings! Quite a few of them have even smuggled themselves into a shipment of Butterluxe leggings in order to flee those horrible working conditions and find a better life in a different country. They can attest to the comfort these leggings provide as they felt that super soft feeling hold up all day of being hidden amongst them in the shipping crates. However, it has been noted that super soft feeling will begin to degrade the more they are exposed to human waste over a short period of time but, so far, analysis has been unable to find any other comparable fabric able to stay super comfortable in such a condition either. As for where you can find these leggings, just let us know which country you are in and perhaps it will be one of the countries a poster was able to escape to and then they can let you know which stores and parts of the country will carry the brand. If really lucky, they may be able to point out which places to avoid if you don't want the tights or bras that may have been exposed to human waste along with sweat and some other bodily functions.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2026 - (Splatoon) Raiding the Backlog

« on: September 08, 2026, 01:07:30 AM »

Now that I've said what I want to about the stuff I played and my activity for the month, I want to turn my attention to some other things that were posted but I put off to keep putting more time into playing.

I have another one to add: Down in Bermuda

Picked this up on a sale for like $2 last month! Not bad, not bad…

Went through my Backloggery history and saw that it was in October 2021 that I played and beat this game also. I agree that it was a pleasant enough sort of point and click adventure. Nothing too complicated to solve or figure out but I enjoyed playing it. The hardest thing I remember about getting 100% was a slide puzzle in the last level that you have to finish in a certain number of moves to get the last sort of achievement. Had to replay through to do that again. Surprised I didn't play it during a Backlaugust but I don't think I knew how short it was. According to Deku Deals, I likely paid about $5.00 for it at the time which isn't that paid but if I'd waited a few more months, I could have bought it at half that which is how it is often priced every few weeks.

I'm not sure what drew you to the game besides the price. The reason I got it was that in April 2021, I played a game called Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise which is also a point-and-click adventure. It wasn't the most challenging game I've played in that style. Something like Grim Fandango I found myself more stuck in. However, I enjoyed piecing things together and figuring out what to do to keep progressing and really enjoyed the experience. The game was put out by a publisher called YAK so when I checked on the eShop if they had made anything else that's when I learned about Down in Bermuda. I may have seen it before on the eShop from a sale or something but now that I knew it was the same team, I added it to my wishlist and then got it later when it was down to $5.00. Personally, I liked Agent A over Bermuda. Bermuda was a bit too simple. Searching for the orbs was a different way to interact with the environments a bit but none of the puzzles were really that tough. Agent A doesn't have any orb searching. Just picking up some items that will likely help aid you in solving a puzzle or being used in some way to open a door or make progress. You may want to check it out also as it also goes on sale at a low price quite regularly on the eShop. I always assumed both games were mobile games ported to the Switch based on the look and feel as though a phone's touchscreen was how they were originally designed but I could be wrong. I've never looked into it but based on what they want to charge for the games when not on sale are prices I just don't see mobile users paying considering the kerfuffle over Super Mario Run being priced at $10.

For a couple years, I'd keep checking in once in a while to see if YAK had anything new on the eShop but they've only got these two games to offer over 5 years later. It's a shame as I had hoped they would offer more puzzle type games like the two they'd released.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2026 - (Splatoon) Raiding the Backlog

« on: September 08, 2026, 12:31:04 AM »

My argument against the whole "RPG Book Club" idea is that we basically already have that with the "What are you playing?" thread.

Death to mega-threads has been my motto for some time. I've liked being able to revisit past backlaugust threads and see what was being played at that time. It's an easier way to peruse play history. Good luck looking for past comments people made in that thread about a game you may have just played and would like to create some additional conversation on it. Just a dead end dumping zone for posts. I'd rather posters just created separate threads for a game title and let users look up that thread and add to it when they've played something.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Field notes: what Japanese amiibo actually cost in 2026

« on: September 07, 2026, 06:23:18 PM »

Is that… a spambot replying to your call out of the first spambot?

Yep. I wanted to see how far down this rabbit hole went. Would another spambot come in to defend the second? Would the second respond to my response? It doesn't seem like it is going to go any further at this point.

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NWR Forums ID Verification / Re: What's the drunkest You have ever gotten?

« on: September 07, 2026, 06:21:37 PM »

Drunk All The Time

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NWR Forums ID Verification / Re: What's the drunkest You have ever gotten?

« on: September 07, 2026, 06:20:26 PM »

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2026 - (Splatoon) Raiding the Backlog

« on: September 07, 2026, 06:12:49 PM »

I’ve really just come to the sobering conclusion that most of the games I purchase are either procedural hellscapes or “feature length experiences,” which for my preferred genre tastes (RPGs) is twenty hours on a good day. The exceptions are few and far between, and when I do get those exceptions, they tend to be the first part of my backlog that I fridge clean. This is worrisome, of course, considering I am very aware of at least ten RPGs in my backlog at the moment. At least ten.

I've been mulling over creating a separate forum event for RPGs in the future, but unfortunately the only month with a name that fits the topic is "ARPGust" (August), a month that is definitely already taken. "JRPG July?" Maybe we just go June -> August with "RPG Summer", since those are months where basically nothing comes out. I dunno. Open to ideas, because this is definitely the last Backlaugust where I'm going to be to shotgunning games like this. RPGs make up the vast majority of the backlog I care about as well, and they don't suit this format.

Edit: Been mulling it over, and what about "Rolevember"? Set it across November and December, traditionally dead months these days.

Rolevember has some charm! But I’d also consider a general “RPG book club” for folks, especially since their contents are rarely a neat fit in a single month. Since I play a lot I’d be willing to offer my hand and hot takes to those who come later.

Looking ahead, I think if we end up doing the RPG event in November (incidentally, I do plan to count Adventure games in that event), I think I'm going to forego the whole leaderboard thing unless people really want it. I don't seem to remember Shocktober using one. Seems to generate more stress than it does excitement, though it does look like we surpassed the views on 2024 and are making good progress on overtaking 2025's numbers.

In regards to this idea which was coming up during the event, a couple things I will mention. First is to just do it. Throw it out there. Pokepal148 just showed up here one day with the Backlaugust idea and here we are still doing it for the seventh time. I've pitched ideas for forum games in the Funhouse and people joined in or they didn't. M.K. Ultra started his 4 on 4 one day and he's been keeping at it since. Some topics / events / ideas just may take off and be more popular than others but you can only find out by just trying it and seeing how it develops.

Which comes to the second point. When Backlaugust first started, it was pitched as a competition between NWR and Negative World to see which site could have the most games finished/completed in the month. The only list being tabulated was the grand number of games that were reported finished by users. RABicle latched onto the event as motivation to start tackling a bunch of games and was doing so. I think it was around his 7th or 8th game completed that he made a comment about how the month isn't a competition but he was winning anyways. And like Michael Jordan, I took that personally.    Well, not that personally but it did motivate to me look through my list of games and see what I had that I could play or start completing to see if I maybe I could catch up or even surpass his number. When I suddenly was able to start posting a bunch of games I finished while he was slowing down near the middle of the month, he made a comment about not liking this and seeing someone else now suddenly also finishing a bunch of games and that reaction was a win to me. But that also was what created the leaderboard race which wasn't there in the beginning and isn't always a big deal. The next year didn't really seem to generate much interest or competition for the top spot but then it did the year after, at least it seemed to, between me and Mop it up. Looking at the last couple years, Broodwars may have wanted the top spot but no one else really seemed to be playing to compete for that. It's not supposed to be the focus and it seems to have its ups and downs but that's just how it came to be. Maybe it's part of why Backlaugust is more popular than other events but I suspect the general open nature helps as well compared to Shocktober or even 4 on 4 which has a bit more limiting in how to succeed or particpate in it.

Evan_B's mention of an RPG Book Club and broadening out the event beyond just one month is interesting as I agree that trying to play RPGs in just one month is tough particularly depending on the game being played. I don't myself ever completing a Xenoblade game in one month, for example. As for the Book Club aspect, perhaps a poll ahead of time or posters listing some games they would consider playing during the event before it starts to see which game might have the most overlap and then making that game the theme for that years event could be an idea. Of course, if people want to still play other RPGs and post about them during the event then they can do so. In fact, it might be that those games outside of the theme generate interest to be the theme for next years event as a game people want to play. By broadening it out to perhaps two months, it would allow for me people to tackle the theme game or other things and contribute to the event. Or it might make the event feel slower. Again, one can only find out when trying. I'd also stress less about the right month to make some kind of wordplay on and just think about a time period that feels like a good for when you get manage it and that others may have the time to participate. Maybe that's December and January. Maybe it is July and August. That's my spitballing.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2026 - (Splatoon) Raiding the Backlog

« on: September 07, 2026, 05:27:06 PM »

10 - Escapee Go! – In a way, the game is sort of like tag. Don’t get touched by an enemy or tagged. You just have to get from point A to point B in a sort of mazy area while avoiding being tagged. It’s simple enough but there’s fun and excitement to be had in the thrill of the chase. I enjoyed my time with it but its short nature also meant I’d kind of forgotten about it until now when reviewing what all I had played.

9 - King Dedede’s Drum Dash – Part of me wants to put this higher on the list. But the fact that there’s only about 7 songs with a normal and difficult mode holds it back. With the amount of music in the Kirby series, it’s disappointing that the selection is so limited. At the same time, maybe there’s only so much one can do with the gameplay of hopping along drums to a beat and avoiding some enemies along the way. Yet, it didn’t stop Guitar Hero or Rock Band from releasing so many tracks based on their note highway gameplay. It’s an activity I enjoyed doing and do want to return to in order to get some better scores.

8 – New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – I’ll admit that this may be the hardest game for me to sort on this list. The first HD Mario platformer didn’t really impress me when I first played it on the Wii U that one and only time. Yet, I realize now that there were quite a few levels that had stuck in my mind. When replaying it, I could remember this element or that element of some of the levels as they came up on the map. Still remembered which had secret exits even if I couldn’t always find them. It’s one of the bigger games for content out of most that I played this month and its definitely more polished and well designed. Somehow, it felt a bit more challenging than last time and the castle gimmicks also seemed a bit more appealing this time around. On the other hand, the squirrel suit feels like one of the weakest power-ups ever especially compared to things like the cape/feather, leaf/raccoon or p-wing for flying and it doesn’t seem to have any attack capability. I’d often seem to struggle with getting Mario to pick up the frozen enemy blocks from the Ice Flower, constantly mashing Y and R to pick them up before they broke free. Yoshi shows up but is stuck in the level he appears in. And there is the feeling of been here done that when replaying a game compared to all these other fresh new experiences this month. Should it be higher on my list or lower? I don’t know. Maybe it’s still not getting a fair shake. I’ll probably end up playing through it properly now to 100% because I’ve been thinking about replaying a few Mario games anyways and that wasn’t something I expected to do when I acquired this game so perhaps I’m warming up to it more.

7 - Onion Assault – Seems wrong to put this over Mario considering the content level between the two yet I can’t deny I probably was enjoying this a bit more while playing it than Mario U. I enjoyed its jaunty main tune which has kind of been playing in my head a bit since last Monday when I played this game and I do want to play more of it to get those special onion coins. In fact, I wish there was more content to the game. Wanting a game to be longer seems like it should be a positive. Hopefully there will be a sequel to this like there was Gunman Clive.

6 – Catan – Another game harder to figure out where it should go on the list. It’s a pretty basic game. You’ve basically got the same looking map of Catan just with different tile placements that are randomized with each game. The map graphics look about on par with Civilization 4’s map elements. Nonetheless, if you enjoy playing the board game Catan then you will pretty much get that same experience here. It’s a little different without people in the room for chatter and the dynamics that can bring. There’s no different difficulty settings one can select but the game feels pretty close to playing with real people. The trading isn’t broken with CPU’s ganging up to help one stop the human player nor can you seem to exploit any kind of dumb CPU into bad trades. It feels like you are all playing to win and making the necessary moves for that. With that potential to keep replaying this over and over whenever one wants to get a Catan session in, I have to put this higher up. It also allows for couch multiplayer. You can connect your phones to the game so that a players cards will be on their hand meaning others can’t see on the TV screen what you have which is a smart touch and something I didn’t mention when talking about the game before.

5 – ElecHead – Another game that I wish was longer and had more to do. One of the few games I took the time to 100% complete during this month. It was able to do so much just from a small amount of moves. Feels like the developer could have added more and more to get some really complex puzzles happening later but short and sweet it is. That shortness is the biggest knock as despite really enjoying my time with it, I’d kind of forgotten about it after playing another 15 games after it. Definitely recommend it.

4 - A Short Hike – I described this as a sort of encapsulation of my ideal of what I picture when I think of a video game. You’d think it would be number one then but here we are. The game does a good job of making one feel like you might when going for a walk in the woods or in the outdoors. It has a breeziness to it. Ultimately, when looking back now, what holds it back some is that it doesn’t take too long or too much work to make your main character pretty overpowered in collecting feathers to be able to easily traverse all over the world. There’s also plenty of money and treasure chests to find but you soon run out of stuff to buy. Even some of the sidequests you can do, like collecting 15 seashells, don’t really lead to anything special or do much. Although having some of these other objectives like catching all the different fish around the island can give you a bit more reason to keep playing, once you’ve done the main objective of climbing to the top, there just isn’t really a lot of incentive to keep playing. I still really like the game and do recommend it. I just also recognize that it will be limited in its small size to keep one occupied for a long time.

3 – TOEM – There’s a bit of overlap in my comments about a Short Hike with TOEM. Both sort of have a main objective of getting to the top of a tall mountain and they are short games. TOEM, however, has you stop at some different locales on your way and so you have some new spaces to explore even if they aren’t all that big. TOEM is also a lot more about the sidequests as you need to complete some in order to move on to the next town. There’s a compendium you can fill in by taking the necessary pictures of the items mentioned in its list. Likewise, each locale has a checklist of sidequests that you often first have to discover and then work on completing. Perhaps I just prefer having that tangible record of what I’ve accomplished and have to do compared to A Short Hike leaving it up to the player with no list of what other objectives there are. Also, A Short Hike plays it pretty straight with a pretty grounded and close to life setting of a more outdoors area while TOEM is willing to have fantastical elements and odd sights to see within its world. I’m giving it the edge which I wouldn’t have expected before this month.

2 - WarioWare: Move It! – I wonder if Nintendo could ever do anything with the WarioWare cast besides these games. One of the few games that made me laugh a few times while playing it and just smiling thinking about what the development of this game must be like or the testing of it. I’ve played it during the best part when these microgames are fresh and you’re figuring out what to do from one game to the next. As I play through it to complete it and play some of these things over and over, its possible this game would be further down this list in a future ranking but right now it comes close to the top. It’s nice to be reminded of what can be done with those expensive joy-cons once in awhile.
 
1 – Super Monkey Ball 3D – Maybe it was playing a game in 3D after a year or two of not really using my 3DS. Maybe it was playing a Monkey Ball game after perhaps a decade since last doing so. Maybe it was the right game at the right time coming after a week in which most of the games I played where ranked near the bottom of this list. Whatever the reason, Super Monkey Ball 3D just seemed to stand out when I started playing it and it hasn’t really left my mind yet. I went back to it again now to replay a couple levels to get a few collectibles and I’m still really digging this game. Even when I was getting a bit irked at times with some levels with the bumper poles knocking me off or a bad bounce, I just always wanted to keep going and keep playing and keep getting all those bananas on the way to the goal. I wanted more which is a sign of it doing something right. As I was making this, I kept asking which game would I want to go back to and play some more and it just kept winning against everything else.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2026 - (Splatoon) Raiding the Backlog

« on: September 07, 2026, 05:25:32 PM »

 Now, I'll take a page from Mop it up and try to do a quick ranking of all the games I played. I've gotta say... that based on how I'm feeling right now this is the order I'm going with and I'll try to give them a quick summation.

20 - Tokyo Crash Mobs - I think with the basic gameplay element of a sort of match 3 puzzle game which is done by throwing people into other people could have had a lot of humor and fun to it but the "story" instead deflates that by being too bewildering and ambiguous with no real goals. The scoring system and how to rank well is obtuse and the gameplay mainly falls into two patterns that repeat back and forth with myself personally preferring one over the other. Wore out its welcome fast and was the game I most had to push myself through and might not have done so if the leaderboard race hadn't been so competitive. Big disappointment.

19 - What Remains of Edith Finch - Again, I feel like calling it a videogame is stretching the definition of game. It's clearly meant to be have a melancholy feel from the story it wants to tell and the environments certainly add to that heavy feel but it just became an unpleasant experience to me and there were a lot of elements that just didn't work for me. Besides all of that, I think what I found myself disliking the most is, and I guess this will be a bit of spoiler territory, often when there is gameplay elements or something different beyond just walking and looking at items of interest from the main character is when you see the death of a family member. It stood out to me on the second death you encounter when you have to control a swing that a child is on to whip around and send him to his doom. It's just such a reversal as usually death in games is something you want to avoid happening to the character you are controlling. Frankly, I don't want to suddenly control these people and take them to their doom. I'd like to control them and find a way to prevent that but that is not what this game will allows. I came to really hate that mechanic and that is where most of the gameplay was. There was one case, it might have been Sam but it was the military father, where the death made me laugh. I don't think that was the intention but I could be wrong. Usually, they were rather unpleasant. The last death with the cannery really stands out as I could sense right away where it might be headed and I was not happy to see it went in that direction. If it wasn't for Tokyo Crash Mobs, I'd put this at the bottom but I do give it some credit for creating something that will stick in your mind and it seems the developers accomplished what they wanted for this story even if I didn't enjoy it.

18 - Mega Man III (Game Boy) - Now it's starting to get tougher to order these games. An improvement from the first two GB Mega Man games and one that I had more fun playing than those games but is still held back but that early style of game design and not something I see myself revisiting. It's possible I might on the Switch GB Online app years from now if I was playing through all those GB games and needed to play them to complete them all but that could be a very long time from now.

17 - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? - Pretty basic simulation of the game show. There's some lame repeated dialogue by the generic host and the generic player character you may choose that you'll want to try and skip through as fast as possible. Ultimately, it's just a test for yourself to see if you can answer some trivia questions and go all the way. The lifelines are wonky as they try to still include an Ask the Audience and Phone a Friend but the answers you get from those lifelines could be wrong. Had one question asking about who Justin Timberlake collaborated with for a song in the Trolls 2 movie so I asked the audience as I thought it might be between two answers. The audience's number 1 choice was a name I'd never heard of or recognized, the second choice was one of the names I was debating between. I decided to go with the number 1 choice of the audience and found out it was wrong. The right answer wasn't the number 2 choice either. It was the lowest and least picked choice and the other name I had been debating as possible. Some of the categories of questions are also things that just don't interest me but the developers seem to have chosen thinking there would be popular appeal to having. Give me history, geography and better movie questions than that.

16 - Mega Man IV (Game Boy) - Feelings are pretty close to what I said about Mega Man III but I did find I was enjoying this one quite a bit all the ways up to the second Ballade battle and then it began to frustrate and wear out its welcome. Still, that first 2/3rds I'd say give it a step up over the Millionaire game.

15 - Aero Porter - I was debating if this should be 16th instead but give it a slight edge to 15th. There is something about the simple gameplay element of trying to sort this baggage on different conveyers that has some appeal that I see myself coming back to this for another attempt here and there. There are times when playing some games that I will imagine that I am in charge of a game development company and ask myself how could my company take this game and compete with it or make it better. With Aero Porter, I'd want to buy the rights for this game and then do some redesign with a few of the elements because I feel there is something here that could be pretty darn successful (perhaps more in the mobile gaming market). For a pretty basic game in look and design, it felt to me like it was just coming close to something special and falling short in different ways. The biggest key to seeing success in it was when the game gave the advice to not worry about being perfect. I began to realize that if there were flights with just one or two of the correct baggage on it (even if it had other wrong baggage) then that was good enough because at least the flight wouldn't be cancelled deducting money. Letting go of trying to get everything perfectly sorted worked although it was against my desire to do that. I'd want to make some tweaks in that regard. Ultimately I'm still on the positive side even with its tough balance for this game which gives much insight into why so much luggage seems to get lost at the airport.

14 - Pikuniku - The thing about beating 20 games in about 20 days is that you can quickly forget about games you played. This was about the second game I played this month and if I hadn't recorded it I'm not sure I'd have been able to remember it if I was asked to name everything I played before making this post. Recognizing the potential of people likely forgetting about having played this game after awhile is why I'm slotting it lower. I had a pleasant time playing it and, as mentioned, I'm considering getting the upcoming sequel which will be 3D unlike this first one being in 2D. Still, the game is rather simple and doesn't take that long to complete which is going to contribute to it fading from memory. I've got nothing against it and, while I know there is debate on what a game is worth, I think one would find it worth a play if they were to spend $5 or less to pick it up.

13 - Kirby Fighter Deluxe - A small game with a pretty set pattern of how things will unfold over 10 set and random stages. A sort of glimpse at making a Smash Bros. game out of just the Kirby series. I found some abilities easier or harder than others and still would like to take a crack at the Hard and Very Hard difficulty at some point. Nonetheless, there's no denying that it's a game that is pretty light for content and variety and won't have much lasting appeal. Perhaps the multiplayer aspect could wring more appeal and fun from this title but with the eShop closed I don't see myself finding out anytime soon on that part of it. Still, it was short enough that I never quite tired of it even with the repetition of the campaign and it's stayed in my mind although that could be because of the unfinished business I feel for the harder modes so I give it this higher placement.

12 - Carto - Like Pikuniku, I find this game already fading from my memory. I enjoyed it enough to complete 100% (although it isn't that hard or long to do) as I played it which isn't something I always felt I had the time for this month. The map rearranging mechanic helped it stand out a bit more and created a bit more challenge with at least one tricky spot that I can still remember when thinking about this game again. Nevertheless, I wouldn't call this game a must play and just give it a mild recommendation if you are looking for a short game experience that is an agreeable and low stakes way to pass the time.

11 - Banjo-Kazooie - Definitely the biggest and longest game I played. Started this back in June and was playing it off and on into July before dropping off completely in the last half of that month. Finally picked it up to get through the last world and face off against Grunty. It's tough for me to rank this because at first I was quite enjoying the game even if it wasn't quite up to the appeal I have for DK64 and hoping to find something similar after completing that when it arrived on the N64 app. Eventually, it just hit a point where I started to get bored with it and it just seemed to keep going on and on. It's tougher for me to remember the enjoyment I had while playing through the first 5 or 6 worlds compared to the end and having to back track around Grunty's lair a bunch. As I said in my earlier talk of the game, I'm glad I had the save states to use to get me through the game at the end. When I think of the two in my head, I'd say I had a better overall time with Yooka-Laylee compared to the original. And why did Kazooie always have to be such a jerk to most of the characters you meet? Poor Banjo always getting stuck in the middle and having to play mediator. Also, the game has a poor objective as I didn't really care about Tooty and would rather hang out with hot Grunty based on that Game Over screen.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2026 - (Splatoon) Raiding the Backlog

« on: September 06, 2026, 09:46:51 PM »

Broodwars suckered me in good when he told Mop it up that there were like 16 Sonic Game Gear games and he wouldn’t be able to match that total. Yet, now he had found a way to hit 22.

In my defense, when I said that I meant it. I did the mental math and saw that Mop was going to hit 18 games if she cleared all the games in the collection. I think at the time I was still around 9-10 and I wasn't seeing how I was going to top that and still play stuff I wanted to play like those games I listed as honorable mentions.

It's all good. I made mention before about Mop it up posting that she was going to play Peach and Zelda games and suddenly pivoted to all these Sonic games and needling her about that change. So, you are allowed to change your plans too. It was just something that was playing in my thoughts when I was making my plans and calculations to go for 20 after reaching 10 and thinking that would seal the deal based on what people had posted so I included it here in my thoughts.

Considering I was playing crap like Elea and the Jurassic Park collection after that just to try to catch up to where I thought Mop and you would end up, I would say I rather suckered myself. And I had to heavily de-tox from gaming with anime binging for several days when it was all over. 

Heh. Yeah, it's sort of been the same for me. Tuesday night I went and saw Coyote Vs Acme and have just watched some TV shows and movies the next few nights after along with doing some posts here. Only game I've been playing since Monday is Pokemon TCG Pocket and that hasn't been much. Today is the first day I got back into playing something more significant and that was going back to TOEM to complete that game. Turns out there was also some bonus content added and a whole new area to explore as a sort of free DLC so got the 100% from the original base game and am now completing this bonus area. Probably going to keep doing some finishing up on a few of these other games I played as I finally feel ready to tackle them some more at a slower pace.

As for your 2 last games, I have no issues counting them, though I'm surprised you only cleared Super Mario Bros. U when you had New Super Luigi U right there as well. I would have counted that game as well since it's individually select-able in that collection. 75 completed games is a nice round number for something like this.

Heck yeah! 75 is a great number. The diamond anniversary. We reached diamond rank. Just watch Insanolord show up now with a soccer game to make it 76 and ruin it all. As for Luigi U, I would also count it as a separate second game and I realized I need to add it to my Backloggery account of games as I only put in NSMBUD as a single game. However, while Luigi U is a shorter game that wants you go through levels quickly, I was still unsure if it would be short enough to do in time before the month ended particularly since NSMBUD took me longer than I was thinking to get from 1-1 to Bowser even with shortcuts. Luigi U uses the same map. I also wanted to save the game as I remember liking it a whole lot more than NSMBU and didn't want to play and cover a bunch of its content before finishing up the Mario U version. Based on what the Gunman Clive games were like, I banked on Onion Assault being a shorter experience than Luigi U. Perhaps if I save Luigi U for next year, I'll know if I was right or not but I do think I made the right choice there.