October 2023 Recap

On 11/07/2023 at 04:23 PM by daftman

Games Beaten

-Luigi's Mansion (GCN)

There is a lot to like about Luigi's Mansion, not the least of which is just how different it is. The ghost-catching mechanics work well and it's fun figuring out how to catch the various ghosts. But the short length (though I am certainly not against shorter games) combined with copious backtracking can make for a frustrating experience at times. Plus I think the final boss encounter is kind of clunky. But overall I enjoyed the game and the musical theme is great.

Games Bought

The main acquisition of October was a thrift store haul of GameCube games: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Spider-Man 2, Mario Superstar Baseball, and Kirby's Air Ride. I have played and beaten all these games already but they were complete in box for a couple bucks each, so it was hard not to just add them to the collection. I also had a game arrive from Limited Run for the Switch: RWBY: Arrowfell. This is a 2D action game by WayForward that looks really solid. Last of all are the PS+ pick ups for PS5: Callisto Protocol (poor man's Dead Space) and Weird West, a fantastical narrative RPG set in...wait for it...the Wild West.

Games Being Played

-The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)

I beat the wind temple and then got distracted by other things. No doubt I will get back to it very soon.

-Rayman Legends (Wii U)

This game fell to the side so I could play Luigi's Mansion in time for Halloween but I'm in the final world (I think) and should finish it soon.

-Destiny 2 (PS5)

The current season ends in a couple weeks, so I'm going to see how close I've come to the getting the seasonal title without trying and maybe I'll make a push to get it.

-Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (Switch)

We took a week off from this but still fighting lots of angry beasties in the final tier.

-Depixtion (Switch)

I miss the slightly smaller puzzles but these big ones are perfectly doable. They just take longer.

Cary Woodham

11/08/2023 at 08:02 AM

I think the short length is one of Luigi's Mansion's strengths. It makes it very replayable. I wish that when Nintendo announced the remaster of Luigi's Mansion 2 on Switch, they would've included the first game, too. Made it a collection. Then you could play ALL the Luigi's Mansion games on Switch! Well, except the arcade game. Have you ever played that one? I bet it wouldn't be too hard to put the arcade game on Switch either, since it just uses assets from Dark Moon.

You got some GREAT deals on those GameCube games. I hear that Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is insanely expensive. The Mario baseball game was actually made by Namco since they're famous for their Famista games. And Kirby Air Ride is highly underrated. I personally think it's better than Double Dash.

One good thing about Tears of the Kingdom is that it has actual dungeons this time. They were a lot of fun.

daftman

11/09/2023 at 12:04 PM

I didn't know there was a Luigi's Mansion arcade game but the Luigi's Mansion game in Nintendo Land is probably the best one in that whole bunch.

I did think it was ironic to find The Thousand-Year Door right after the remake was announced but I'm happy to have it. Yes, it is quite expensive secondhand! And it's a real shame they never followed up Kirby's Air Ride. It's a fun game!

11/10/2023 at 08:50 AM

We had a lot of fun with Nintendo Land back in the day. Although the Luigi Mansion and Mario Chase games were basically just variations on Pac-Man Vs.

11/11/2023 at 10:29 AM

Pac-Man Vs. is one of the most criminally underplayed games, so I'm glad its spirit got to live on in—let's be honest—the criminally underplayed Nintendo Land. Let's hope we see it rise again in some new form that will get its due.

11/12/2023 at 07:42 PM

You know that Shigeru Miyamoto was the one who created Pac-Man Vs., right? He's supposedly a big fan of Pac-Man.

11/13/2023 at 11:13 AM

I remember the E3 when Nintendo basically presented the game to Namco. Only Nintendo could get away with that lol.

The Last Ninja

11/09/2023 at 03:59 PM

You got Paper Mario TTYD for a couple bucks????? That game is $100 or more these days!

11/11/2023 at 10:33 AM

The irony that a remake is coming out is not lost on me but it's still cool to have. I never would have been able to rebuy it at market value.

KnightDriver

11/11/2023 at 09:15 AM

I had Paper Mario TYD but sold it when I found out it was worth over a hundred dollars and that a remake was on the way. I'll be getting that remake day-one, no doubt. I absolutely loved that game.

I hardely ever see any worthwhile video games at my various Goodwills. I've heard most of them get sold online before they even get shelved. It stinks. I used to love finding cool games on the cheap. Seems a thing of the past now.

11/11/2023 at 10:26 AM

We used to go to Goodwill a lot but haven't in recent years. Aside from the amount of cool things in the store dropping, they've gotten more expensive too. My wife found these games at a local thrift store run by some Quakers, no joke.

11/12/2023 at 12:34 PM

Nice. I love finding new thrift stores but they seem to be pretty rare these days. Goodwill has gotten more expensive, I agree, kind of makes it not worth it, but I check now and again anyway.

PixlBit