Switch – A New Game Plus

As Summer Slips Away

I love summer. Always have, probably always will. The warm, breezy nights, taking my cat for long starlit walks, fun midnight console launches. Wait, what? *Pops hip back into place and downs a handful of daily vitamins* Back in MY day… Seriously, though, when I was growing up, autumn/”holiday” was the prime window for console launches. Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Saturn, PlayStation, Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and more were all released between September and December. There were a few exceptions (PS2, N64), but in general I don’t associate spring/summer with major console drops.

Yet there I was, sitting against the wall outside of my local Best Buy at 9:30pm on June 4th 2025, 16th in line but guaranteed a Switch 2 Mario Kart bundle for the midnight release. I didn’t technically need to be there. I was able to successfully snag a preorder from a big box retailer weeks before, but they estimated my Switch 2 would be shipped a week after launch. Not cool, bro, as the poets often say. So when I heard my friend Kimberly was waiting in line at launch, I texted her to ask how bad it was. Not bad at all, she reported, so I grabbed my keys and headed out.

I love console launches, and I have fond memories of the midnight launches I attended in previous years (even if they were a bit torturous). This one was very chill. This store said they’d have around 75 consoles, so even when they split the line in two (one for people who’d pre-ordered for in-store pickup and one for the rest of us), I was sure to get one. Kimberly made fast friends with the people in line near her, but she joined me to chat for a bit before returning to her spot for go time. There were a lot of guys like me in the line. 30-40 something, graphic tees, imaginary scars of console wars past. But there were also some kids with their parents, and their excited chatter about the Switch, Mario, Zelda and more made the night feel a little more magical. When the time came, we were only allowed in the store two at a time (a much slower process than previous launches I’ve been to), and we were guided by a sales person who tried to convince us we needed… well, everything. Extra chargers, “required” expansion memory cards, cases, screen protectors, digital codes, physical games, protection plans, amiibo. Okay, so I bought a couple of those last ones ($30 for the new Zelda characters! $45 for the new Street Fighter ones! An absolute wild increase from $15). After nabbing my Mario Kart bundle, a Pro controller, and amiibo, I headed home to set it up.

Later, when people asked me what I thought of the Switch 2, I made the very dumb joke that they should have called it the Switch Too, because when I first booted it up, excited to dive into a new generation of Nintendo weirdness, I was greeted by… the standard Switch home screen and interface. The console looks the same, the store is the same… I have to admit the sameness of it all drained a lot of the thrill. Aside from the few GameCube games they added to Nintendo Switch Online, there wasn’t anything new to check out. It was… a Switch, too. I’m glad it’s finally here, very happy that I have one, and I’m thrilled to have a new Nintendo machine that can handle beefier games – but ultimately the Switch 2 launch was just a bit of a letdown for me.

Mario Kart World

What saved me from tossing my shiny new console in place of the old Switch and forgetting about it for a month? Mario Kart, babyyyyy. I didn’t own the original Super Mario Kart for SNES, but it was a regular rental for us. It was the rare game that I loved so much I would play it during the precious few minutes between breakfast and leaving for school, then hop right back in when I got home. I’ve played hundreds of hours of the console versions and they’re the only games I will confidently talk trash about since I know I can usually back it up. I haven’t made an updated gaming tattoos post, but I have a Blue Shell tattoo on my elbow. My love for the Kart runs deep.

And there is a lot to love in Mario Kart World. Namely, Peach, Touring Peach, Pro Racer Peach, Farmer Peach, Sightseeing Peach, Aviator Peach, Yukata Peach, Aero Peach, Vacation Peach, Baby Peach, Touring Baby Peach, Pro Racer Baby Peach, Sailor Baby Peach, and Explorer Baby Peach. Did I mention I also have a Peach tattoo? Insert smirky smiley face here. I do love all of the different costumes, especially for my homegirl Peach, but I was a bit sad that Nintendo abandoned the IP expansion from Mario Kart 8. I’ve seen people trying to defend the decision, saying it keeps Mario Kart “pure” by sticking to Mario characters, but if you’re telling me you’d rather have a fucking Cataquack than Zelda himself (an old internet joke that I should leave without clarification, but I just know that to this day people will be like “uhhh aCtuAlLy tHaT’s LiNk, ZeLdA iS tHe gIrL”), I don’t know that I can trust you. When Sega showed the Sonic Racing: Crossworlds trailer at the recent Summer Game Fest, I was thinking “wow, what a weird time to show this when Mario Kart World literally just dropped.” Then they showed Hatsune Miku. And Ichiban from the Yakuza games. Then Joker from Persona 5. And I wept for what Nintendo lost. Yes, expand the roster with a bunch of goofy Mario characters and enemies (I wanna see Wart drifting alongside me before I blast him with a perfectly aimed green shell), but can’t we also dip into other fun IP too? It doesn’t have to be Super Smash Bros. Kart, but why not Zelda, Chibi-Robo, Ness, K.K. Powerslider (see what I did there)? Come onnnnnn, Nintendo.

That tangent aside, I do love Mario Kart World. It retains much of the same tight control that my favorite entry, Mario Kart 8 (and Deluxe) has, Knockout Tour is a blast (especially with friends), and the tracks are expansive and filled with fun details. I’ve gotten three stars on all the Grand Prix tracks and have just a few costumes left to unlock, but I’ve had a great time with it so far. I do hope they update the game or offer DLC to offer more tracks (I’d love some throwback or retro-inspired tracks and characters) and maybe fix the Mario Kart Wii-level BS rubberbanding, but overall I’m happy to have a new Mario Kart game to hop into whenever the itch hits.

Secret of Evermore

Back in December 2019 (The Before Times, as we’ve taken to calling the pre-pandemic years), I posted about the oldest game on my backlog: Secret of Evermore. At the conclusion of that post, I said with a resolved twinkle in my eye: “writing this entry has made me determined to play Secret of Evermore at long last. It’s about time, I think.” What a fool I was. Well, to give myself a little credit, I tried. The SNES copy I owned had a dead battery, and Nintendo nor Square have made the game accessible to play legally, so against my usual judgement I downloaded a ROM, connected a controller to my PC and tried to give it a shot. It kept crashing in the same spot less than an hour in. I could not get it to work on two different computers. Ugh. So much for scratching the oldest game on my backlog off the list.

Fast forward to March of this year and I’d finally, after many years, decided to buy a soldering iron and teach myself that same useful skill. I watched YouTube videos, took a training course through my job, and practiced on some of my less-prized SNES carts before moving to Secret of Evermore. The “surgery,” as I like calling, it was a success, so I finally had a working Secret of Evermore cart to play! I busted out my old SNES and finally got to work.

It didn’t zoom straight to my favorite RPGs of all time list, but it was a solid action RPG with some cool enemy design, silly story beats, and charming art. The combat definitely felt dated, but I had several moments while exploring of that kind of nostalgic feeling you only get while actually playing an old school game on its original hardware. I wasn’t magically transported back to my childhood, but it felt about as close as I could get. In the end, I had a good time, I learned how to solder, and I finally, finally beat the oldest game on my backlog. Hell yeah.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

I haven’t played anything else on my Switch 2 and would have liked to jump from Mario Kart World to Donkey Kong Bananza, but I’m pretty deep into Death Stranding 2 and want to finish this before moving on. The Death Stranding games represent Kojima at his most… Kojima, to me. The narrative is loosely held together by a series of convenient plot devices, MacGuffins, and contrivances, the symbols and metaphors are far from subtle, and some of the gameplay mechanics and tutorials are overexplained or poorly integrated into game progress. And somehow I still love it.

So far, it really does feel like a carbon copy of the first game (it even has the lazy video game opening of “whoops, remember that big, satisfying conclusion from the last game? Throw it all out, we have to do it all over again”), with a new country to connect, mostly the same vehicles, tools, and weapons, the same antagonist (booooo), etc., but I’m actually okay with that. My favorite memories from the first game are captured in moments. Gameplay moments in hauling piles of packages from place to place, or intense moments with the colorful cast of characters. And that’s really what Kojima is good at. He comes up with powerful, memorable moments that exist outside of the sloppy narrative they originate from. And he gives us interesting worlds with lots of potential for fun, unique emergent gameplay events. I’m avoiding specific spoilers because the game is still so new, and maybe I’ll check back in later with more thoughts after I finish it, but so far it’s been a fun time tramping around Mexico and Australia.

[EDIT] Siiiiike, I took so long to finish writing this post that I’m currently watching the credits scroll. I could rewrite the last few lines to segue into something more natural, but I want to capture the reality of writing this specific post, too, which has been an exercise in finding time here and there to chip away at it, unlike my usual sit-down-and-do-it-all approach. Anyway, I spent over 250 hours playing Death Stranding 2. I almost have the platinum, I’ve five-starred all facilities and preppers, and overall, as with the first game, I enjoyed my time running and driving packages around, building roads, and climbing snowy mountains. My opinion of the storytelling remains unchanged, too, however. This game is dumb as hell and I don’t know that I will defend it in many conversations. Some of the silliness is fun, sure, but some of it is so damned hard to put up with, let alone like. The guitar duel, with added musical puns? I think the discord for me comes in the clash of Japanese storytelling, which is less concerned with logic and laying out a digestible story for its audience than it is with emotionally resonant moments and themes, and Kojima’s obsession with western media and film. At one end, the story feels automatically grounded because we see characters that are not only hyper realistically rendered, but familiar because they’re famous actors and celebrities. When you take that and mix it with the kind of over-the-top silliness of an anime, and you have giant babies, guitar jesters, and convoluted plot points that are a mix of fantasy and science fiction, it just doesn’t work for me. Great game, very fun, one of the most gorgeous games I’ve ever played… and also dumb as hell. I think that about sums up my feelings on both games, heh.

Venus Vacation PRISM – Dead or Alive Xtreme

I’ve never been shy about my love of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 and its iterative versions. I even platinumed two of them! It wasn’t just the busty, barely clothed virtual ladies I liked, either. The first two DOA volleyball games had those, too, but I bounced (lol) off those pretty quick. I liked the resort vibes, collecting all of the outfit pieces and gifts, and the dating-lite aspect of trying to woo the various badass volleyballers. At some point after the last release, Team Ninja said they wouldn’t pursue any more Xtreme games (in part, I think, because they refused to release them in the West), so I was shocked, shocked I say, when the trailer for Venus Vacation PRISM dropped and revealed that the next entry in the series was, essentially, a dating sim.

Sadly, the only shock I’m feeling now is over how disappointed I am in this game. It fails for me on multiple fronts. First, as a dating sim you don’t even really date the characters. There’s a lot of flirtation but it doesn’t have the full, satisfying romance arcs of most other dating sims I’ve played. It also has far, far fewer characters than the previous games. I do like the characters they’ve included, but no Helena? No Marie Rose?? No Momiji!? The gameplay is also a letdown. I legitimately enjoyed the volleyball games in the previous entries (even the ones I bounced off of), but I was willing to put that aside for fun romance-sim action. The romance part is a dud, but the photography gameplay is also pretty lame. It amounts to taking the same shots over and over, wasting time moving the camera around a bunch to try and get a three star rating and… that’s it. The system doesn’t even seem logical, as sometimes the same exact shot is worth very different points. Tolerable for one playthrough, but when I started a second playthrough to romance a different character I quickly lost interest. I have to take the same pictures of the same girls all over again? Ugh. It’s a beautiful game and there are some fun character moments, but unless they patch it or expand the roster, I don’t know that I’ll come anywhere close to the platinum for this one. Bummer.

Midnight Murder Club

In the clurb, we all dead. Sorry, that trend is like a year old so I just look like an idiot. Anyway, I work at PlayStation and I was still surprised when the beta for this game dropped. I didn’t remember hearing anything about it, but it looked pretty fun so I recruited some friends to play and we jumped in. It’s such an easy pitch: It’s basically hide and seek in a huge, pitch-black mansion. With guns. It didn’t have the same legs as Phasmophobia for my friend group, but we played a ton and had a lot of fun. I even got the platinum trophy for it. Playing with bots is a huge boost for us. The bots are sometimes very dumb and sometimes too accurate, but it’s always nice to have that option. I hope they add more levels in the future, though. The mansion is very big and fun to navigate, but I would love to shuffle between a handful of different locations, like farms, amusement parks, office buildings, etc. A bit of environmental destruction would be very fun, too. A shot ringing out in the dark with a bright flash is already scary enough, but I think the wood of a wall or door exploding in splinters next to your head would add some thrill to an already nerve-wracking moment.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I own an Xbox Series X, but my primary console is PS5, which is why I was a little sad when Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was announced as an Xbox exclusive. I would buy it, I thought, but I really wanted to earn sweet, sweet trophies for it. Well, apparently Mick Jagger was wrong once again* when he sang “You can’t. always get. what you waaaant,” because I got exactly what I wanted when a PS5 version was announced for this year. Suck it, Jagger.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the best video game adaptations of all time. If not THE greatest. I could talk about the incredible graphics and sound, the amazing music, the great level design and story, the acting, etc. But the game’s greatness transcends that, or perhaps is transcended due to all of that and a little magic to become an incredibly rare example of a video game that doesn’t just adapt existing material or fail on some level in an attempt to capture the spirit of its source material – it actually fully feels like an authentic, exciting addition to the series. I rewatched all the Indiana Jones movies before playing this game, including the newest one for the first time, and for my part The Great Circle feels like yet another thrilling Indy adventure. It captures the spirit of the character and his many wild exploits. [Major SPOILERS ahead] The recreation of the opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark lulls us into feeling like this might just be an impressive recreation of the Indy formula, but the rest of the game goes on to give us new Indy action, romance, exploration, and drama. And the fact that it ends with Indy exploring another famous Ark, this time Noah’s, was a nice way to wrap it back around.

Being able to wander the halls of Marshall College, chatting with Marcus Brody, getting into a fist fight with a giant Tony Todd (who was great in this role). Having free reign to explore the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and the many tombs and catacombs beneath Cairo. Beating the absolute shit out of an entire camp of Nazis and then piling their bodies in front of their flag to snap a commemorative photo. These are all memories that felt natural and magical at the same time, like I’d stepped into a secret Indy film that had been buried in Steven Spielberg’s basement. One of my favorite things to do in Egypt was to wear the Nazi uniform, approach an officer, and just as they say “Wait a minute…” I punch them in the face and run away. The best.

Punching fascists in Italy was also a blast. There was one soldier that always respawned near a ledge up on a building, and I took great pleasure in finding different ways to send him flying to his death every time I made my way near him. I punched him off, shot him off, whipped him off, and bashed him with a shovel off. Truly, with my country sliding ever-increasingly toward fascism, this game served as an incredibly cathartic experience. Bootlicker ass-kicking aside, there was so much more that I loved about this game. The care put into creating living spaces and communal areas had me paying close attention to every new environment I found myself in. I really liked the houses in the Sukhothai village, and the winding tunnels and tombs beneath Rome were so cool to explore. Speaking of being very cool, I loved Gina. I was convinced she was going to stab me in the back, like stupid sexy Elsa from Last Crusade. But, no. She was a brave, skilled, strong, and beautiful companion until the end. I also thought Voss was a great villain, and his relationship and scenes with Colonel Gantz were hilarious. This game had it all: Action, humor, intrigue, exploration, gorgeous locales, a sexy sidekick. I swear every time I played a new Tomb Raider or Uncharted game, I’d say I wish they’d make an Indiana Jones game like them, and finally they have. I really, really hope they make another.

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars

The Suikoden games have never quite breached the mainstream like other big RPG series, so although I had high, high hopes Konami would release remasters (HD-2D or not), I wasn’t holding my breath. Imagine my surprise when they announced not only a remaster of one Suikoden, but both of the original games and they would be bundled together. Smack my ass and call me [Hero], I couldn’t believe my luck. [Some SPOILERS ahead.]

I discovered Suikoden II first, not long after my mom had moved us to the suburbs from the city. I made friends at my new school pretty quickly, but it was a while before I was integrated into their lives like typical high school friend groups. I had a lot of downtime, so I signed up for a membership at a small movie/game rental shop that was walking distance from my house. It made me feel like an adult and I tried my best to be responsible and return things on time. I’d run out of N64 and PlayStation games to play and was looking for something new but also still chasing the highs of the RPGs I loved on the SNES, like Chrono Trigger, EarthBound, Final Fantasy III, and Illusion of Gaia. The beautiful cover art of Suikoden II is what caught my eye, but I had never heard much about the first or second game, and the 2D screenshots on the back did look a bit dated, but I didn’t have all that many other options. I gave it a shot.

Gorgeous sprite work, an enormous cast of diverse characters, a castle I could expand and make my own, a riveting and sprawling story about war and vengeance, a series of tense but fun strategy combat sequences? I was in love. I started out not caring about recruiting all 108 characters, but of course once I started running into some of them, in their sometimes weird and unique conundrums, I had to have them. I ran out and bought the official strategy guide and finished with something like 85 Stars of Destiny. I replayed it later, after buying and playing the first Suikoden, and got all 108. I loved so much about it. Starting out with a best friend and excellent combat partner, being torn apart and ending up opposing each other, returning to my castle to find my new friends filling every new nook and cranny there…

And it was a blast revisiting it in beautiful HD. Most of what I’d loved remained intact, of course, and I found myself getting teary-eyed at the same dramatic moments and laughing at the same jokes. One thing that surprised me with this playthrough was how much I loved Nanami as a character. I remember thinking she was funny in my previous passes, but there was something about her strength, compassion, and unshakable loyalty that really endeared me to her this time around. She had some of the funniest lines and her big sacrifice scene (and the ensuing twist) wrecked me. What a great character in an awesome cast. Eilie’s crush on my character was charming as ever, Nina and Flick’s romantic scenes were hilarious, all the returning characters like Neclord, Kasumi, Viki, Viktor, and more were a welcome sight. I really wanted to platinum it this time, but doing so required some real dedication to mastering the very challenging minigames, and I just didn’t have the patience for that. Yet. Maybe I’ll do another replay some day and really commit. Regardless, I loved my time with this incredible game once again.

I also played the first game, of course, and before Suikoden II (I wrote it reversed to segue from my discovery of Suikoden II back in the day). I’d only played Suikoden once before, and I remember clearly preferring the sequel. I still do, but man did I love the first game so much more this time around. I don’t remember my original experience to say how much of my new appreciation is due to graphics or performance improvements with the remaster (though the backgrounds looked much, much clearer), but I found myself far more charmed and engrossed this time around. The character portraits look so good, too. Maybe better than those from the sequel?

If you can rename your main character in a game, I almost always name them Joey, so it was very fun to see that after naming both MCs after myself, there were jokes/references to the redundancy in Suikoden II. One thing I’d forgotten was how good the story in the first game is. I was very much into the rebellious (literally) son versus the blindly loyal father, and some of the political beats about people turning a blind eye to tyranny, being so willing to follow an obviously evil, corrupt leader, etc. felt weirdly resonant given the current state of the world. As with the sequel, I loved building up an army of interesting characters, forcing a romance subplot in my imagination (though I was torn between Camille, Kasumi, and Viki), and grinding levels while catching up on podcasts. I truly love these games and look forward to playing them yet again some time down the line.

Inscryption

Inscryption, like Doki Doki Literature Club, is the kind of game that creates a ton of buzz due to its narrative twists and subversive storytelling. That’s all people would really say about it is “it’s kind of a deck builder,” but when I would say that’s not my thing, they would insist that there’s more to it. And, to their credit, there is more to it than that. I’m not usually too shy about posting spoilers here, because I’m just sharing my personal thoughts for posterity (and fun), but I won’t spoil too much here either way. The deck building thing is still not my thing, and I think it prevented me from appreciating this game the way some others do, but I did very, very much enjoy the weird and wild story, the beautiful art and design elements, and just the general vibe and tone. I will spoil one specific thing, which is the mechanic where when you die and have your (character’s) photo taken, which is then used as a new card with perks you can choose from other cards in your old deck. At first this seemed like just a fun little quirk, but eventually I was able to make some super powerful, useful cards which carried me in some pivotal battles. There were seemingly small things like this that subverted expectations and made some of the more challenging stretches easier and more fun. The fact that death is built into the gameplay made me feel less stressed and precious in the earlier battles.

TimeSplitters 2

TimeSplitters 2 is not on my Top 25 favorite games list, but it’s very close. It was in my top 10 for a stretch in the years just after it came out. This was one of the few games I would play with music blasting in my headphones, just existing on some other level and feeling my feelings. Trent Reznor might be screaming in my ear about existential dread (or straight up fucking, am I right? High five, high five) and I’m just sitting cross-legged in my basement, blasting these goofy bots for hours. Fast forward to the remaster, and I played through about half the story and did some bot battling, in part to try and tap into that fuzzy nostalgic glow that comes with revisiting an old favorite, but unfortunately it’s one of those all-too-familiar examples of the memory being better than the game. For its time, TimeSplitters 2 was an incredible, fun, versatile shooter. But it definitely feels rough playing now, particularly the checkpointing and some of the humor. Fans have been shouting it for years, but we need a solid remake of this game, for sure.

Zenless Zone Zero

I was the copywriter for the PlayStation Stars program (RIP), so I got to see (and write for!) some of the really fun third-party partnerships we had. The studio supplied their own copy for our Zenless Zone Zero digital collectibles, but I reviewed it, wrote the campaign description, and got to see the collectibles ahead of time. I was only vaguely familiar with the game before researching it for this task, but I didn’t need to learn anything to know I wanted the Nicole Demara collectible on my virtual shelf. What a cutie. I only played for a handful of hours, because gacha games just aren’t my cup of tea, but I was very impressed by the presentation. The graphics are busy but bold and charming, the animations are stellar, and I generally had a good time in combat. Nicole turned out to be a fun character aside from her design, too, so it was a win all around. I had to cut myself off before I got too tempted to start unlocking (or buying) any of the very cool characters/skins I saw in the store.

Metaphor: ReFantazio

Phew, I had to save this baby for last. A new game from the team behind my beloved Persona series? While I am eagerly waiting for any news on the next mainline game in that series, I was also very interested to see what they did in a new, original, fantasy setting. As you might guess, in part due to the many awards this game won, I loved it. I will say I disagree with some of the podcasters/content creators I follow who declared this game a “better” game than Persona 5, but I can understand that perspective given some of the extra polish and care (particularly when it comes to combat) that this game has over P5. Regardless, I love them both.

I’m always a little nervous starting big RPGs, even if I’m confident I’m going to like them. I’d heard that there were a lot of similarities to Persona (social links, Archetypes [Personas], calendar/day night cycle, etc.), but I get sucked deep into these huge narrative games so diving in always comes with some nervous energy, especially learning all the systems (and they introduce a LOT to you in the opening hours of this game). But the moment I felt my worries melt away was when I first stepped onto the main stretch of road in Grand Trad, the royal capital. The Grand Trad music swept along with epic flourishes, people chattered in the streets, and I was tasked with finding a recruitment center so that I could sign up to fight in the royal army. A warm nostalgia washed over me. All at once I felt all the times I had a similar rush in games like Dragon Quest VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Suikoden II, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Persona 5, even EarthBound. It’s the moment you forget all of the systems and rules and mechanics and just embrace the tantalizing journey that lies ahead. A whole new world of side quests, plot twists, death, and revival await.

I decided to save the platinum trophy for a second playthrough sometime down the line, but I only missed two trophies, one of them requiring a good chunk of a second run. I loved my time with the colorful cast of characters, the incredible soundtrack, and the unique, beautiful world. I really like having a home base in RPGs, and your gauntlet runner serves that purpose nicely here. There is something so satisfying about having a space to chat with party members, read a book, cook, and even drop a deuce between missions. And the travel music (“Journey’s Legs”) is amazing and still randomly gets stuck in my head. The story was a very fun twist on a classic succession trope, and the combat was fast, dynamic, and deep.

I do have to admit I was sad that one thing they neglected to bring over from the Persona games is a romance system. Yes, I understand that it would have seemed a bit out of place in this scenario, but I always want to date my party members. I suppose it was a blessing in disguise, though, because I was having a hard time deciding whether I’d like to woo Juani or Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg is graceful and strong, loyal and determined, and very funny (even if usually by accident). She also loves food and has the best little grumpy face ever. But Juani is so full of life, kindness, wit, and style that it’s hard to deny her appeal. She’s a talented, widely loved singer and powerful fighter in her own right. And then there’s the wildcard, Fabienne, who is very much my type but probably off-limits in any case. Or the badass, pink-haired Catherina? Oh, I dunno. Sigh.

Anywho, my unrequited attraction to fictional characters aside, I did love my time with Metaphor. I will say the last boss was a huge pain in the ass on normal difficulty. It took me a handful of tries with wildly different strategies before I got lucky and took him down. I’d grinded to level 96 beforehand, had the best weapons, maxed out all of my Archetypes, and more. I really thought I was ready. It’s hard to keep up when he gets twelve turns in a row, though, causing me to scramble to heal and cure status effects or cast buffs/debuffs, never mind doing any significant damage. He reminded me of some of the recent optional bosses in the Persona games, who were also deadly. Still, I look forward to going back for another playthrough (and that shiny platinum) at some point in the future. And I’ll have my fingers crossed for a dating sim spinoff. Please, Atlus. Please.

I’ve also been having retro game nights with friends, where we pick one console and play a little bit of a bunch of different games from that era. We don’t play any of them too extensively and we’re using the actual consoles (with a RetroTINK 5X-Pro for scaling) so I can’t get screenshots, but there have been some fun standouts. We jump between well-remembered games, like the Donkey Kong Country games for SNES and Ridge Racer for PlayStation, and less-than-fondly remembered titles like Quest 64 on N64 and Shaq-Fu on SNES. Shaq-Fu was fun to play and joke about, even if it kinda… sucks. I did buy an adapter to play some of the import games I’ve bought, and the first one I tried was Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon, a sidescrolling brawler which was very cute and fun. There are currently a ton of new games I aim to play, like Donkey Kong Bananza, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and (soon) Ghost of Yōtei, but I look forward to regularly dipping into my collection for some of these retro gems. And maybe I’ll find the time to keep up with this blog more often. Maybe. Shhh.

*Jagger was also wrong when he sang “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away,” because apparently that’s all it took was boundary and trust issues

That New Console Smell

The next generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles is arriving in just over a week, and I am finally allowing myself to feel the excitement. They’re really almost here. Wow. I was not able to secure an Xbox Series X preorder but I was lucky enough to snag one for the PlayStation 5, and I have obsessively been checking its status every day to make sure it doesn’t mysteriously get cancelled. Is that silly? Yes. Am I going to keep doing it until I get a notification that it has shipped? Also yes.

Getting caught up in the hype of a new console has me reflecting on my history with getting consoles at launch, so I wanted to write a retrospective before reliving the process with the PS5. The first consoles we had at my house (Atari 2600 and Balley Astrocade) weren’t technically mine, and the first two consoles that were mine (NES and SNES) were purchased months or years after launch. The first console I got at launch was the Nintendo 64, and I can already spot some similarities between my experience then and my experience now.

The level of hype surrounding the N64’s release can’t be understated. Although Sega had carved out a nice slice of the market for itself by the mid-90s, Nintendo had been the industry leader for over a decade and their development teams had made some of the best and most iconic games of the 80s and 90s.I had a subscription to Nintendo Power at the time, and for months they had been trumpeting the “Ultra 64,” a console that mainstream media outlets were covering as a “hot toy” going into the 1996 holiday season. A huge part of this hype, of course, was the transition from 2D to 3D graphics, and I am still struck by the fact that there has not been (and may never be) a shift in the gaming scene as big as this. Aside from the obvious gameplay implications, this shift made people look at video games as more “sophisticated” or “high tech.” Early video game consoles were meant to be taken seriously and were marketed at adults, hence the use of the word “computer” in many of the product names. In the 80s, Nintendo had marketed their products more in line with toys, and that became the norm for a decade (I would argue we’re still struggling with this misconception to this day).

With the N64, Sony PlayStation, and Sega Saturn, adults who had dismissed games as primitive and childish suddenly took notice, as these machines seemed capable of producing graphics and effects that seemed more realistic and allowed for more “mature” themes, in line with games that might be found on the PC. I’m babbling a bit, but my point is that I and other Nintendo fans were not the only ones making a big deal out of this system. Another component that contributed to this hype was the previews of Super Mario 64 that Nintendo had been circulating. When Toys “R” Us installed demo kiosks where you could play Mario 64 in their stores, I went every chance I could get. If no one had claimed the spot, I would jump on the alien tech-looking controller and lose my mind over how good it felt to run, jump, and punch goombas as Mario. If someone else was at the lone kiosk, I would skulk about, peeking around shelving units like a possessive creep, muttering “get your filthy, sticky mitts off my Mario” to myself. Okay, I didn’t actually do that, but I might as well have. After playing that demo, I wanted nothing more in the entire world than an N64 and Mario 64.

Growing up in a lower-middle class family meant that money was almost always tight. My sisters and I never got expensive gifts outside of birthdays and Christmas, and even then we would often have to plead our case for why we absolutely, unequivocally needed it, because we knew we’d inevitably be hit with questions like “why can’t you settle for this cheaper thing?” or “do you really need this? You’ll probably just get over it and be on to the next thing in a month.” With how many times I had to convince my parents that some expensive thing was worth the price, it’s no wonder I ended up in the field of rhetoric. Sometimes, if a thing was expensive enough, we had to use the nuclear option: suggest this gift would be our birthday and Christmas present, combined. Because the N64 was $199 and Mario 64 was sold separately for $60, I had to deploy this strategy, and given that my birthday is in mid-November (prime console launch time), the timeline worked out nicely.

Once my parents were sufficiently convinced of my dire need for this console, my dad took me to Toys “R” Us and the entire ride there I was asking questions like “what if they don’t have enough?’ and “what if someone grabs the last reservation slip (I think the terminology at the time was “reserving” a game and not “pre-ordering” it) right before we do?” They had plenty of slips for both the system and the game, but in the days leading up to release, I continued to pepper my dad with questions about what we would do if they we showed up and they said they had no record of our reservation, or if they simply said they had run out of units before we arrived (which is why I insisted we leave for the store as soon as my dad walked in from work). We did, and as we waited at the customer service cage where you picked up reservations, my anxiety grew. The woman there took our slip and disappeared into the back area. I was convinced she would return empty handed, or maybe with just the game and no console. She did not. She returned with a shiny, new N64 and a copy of Mario 64 and I was so excited I could hardly stand it. I gazed longingly at the game preview thumbnails on the back of the box in the car on the long drive home, and took an immense amount of joy in unboxing and setting it up and playing Mario 64 for hours that night. It’s been 24 years (almost exactly, as of last week) and I still have the console, the box it came in, and the receipt.

The next console I got at launch was a PlayStation 2, though I wasn’t lucky enough to get one on launch day in 2000. The demand for this console was, like the N64, massive, and it was months after launch before you could reliably find a PS2 box on store shelves. I worked in a record store at the time, so this was the first time I was able to buy a console myself, but every store I called at and after launch was sold out, always, and they never knew when they were getting more in. I became disenchanted at some point, feeling left out and like I was way out of the loop (even without social media, which would have only inflated that feeling greatly).

Then, one day in March, I was hanging out with my friend Ron. He was saying he read that Sony had made a big push and sent out a load of new units to retailers. I wasn’t great at saving money when I was 18 but I had just gotten paid, so I happened to have enough money to get the console and one game. Charged by this news, we decided to call up every retailer we knew of to find an elusive PS2. We called two Best Buys, two Circuit Citys, three Toys “R” Uses (pluralizing proper nouns is weird), Walmarts, K-Marts, Electronic Boutiques, Babbages’s, GameStops, and any other stores that we could think of that might carry them. With each call, we were told they were once again out of stock. A couple of them said some version of “we just sold our last one.” Our hopes dwindled. We began self-consolation. “Maybe they’ll get more next week.” “We should have known. We’ll get one eventually.” We ran out of stores to call. We tried to brainstorm more. “Isn’t there a Kay Bee Toys in the mall?” “Stratford?” “No, Woodfield Mall.” “Maybe?” We never went to Woodfield Mall because it was far and it was usually very crowded, so even if they had a console, I was sure it would be sold out. I called anyway.

“Hi, do you have the PS2?” “Yes, we do.” “Oh, uh – like, in stock? Right now?” “Yes, we have one left.” “…oh my god. Can you hold it for me?” “I’m sorry, we don’t hold things, but if you get here soon I’m sure you’ll get it.” I thanked him and hung up, and if my memory is not mistaken, Ron and I literally hugged and jumped up and down. That’s how I remember it so that’s just how it is now. We hopped in my car and sped (drove slightly, safely over the speed limit) to the mall. Think back to the N64 story. Can you guess what we were asking each other during the entire drive? “What if someone buys it?” “What if we see someone walking out with it in their hands as we walk up?” “What if they didn’t actually have any and he was mistaken?” Once again, however, my fears were dismissed when we arrived and saw the beautiful, minimalist blue box on a shelf behind the register. Something in my mind was still nervous, sure it was a display box, but I approached the man at the counter, asked for the PS2, and he turned and grabbed the box. He sounded like the same guy from the phone, and I remember him smiling at how obviously giddy Ron and I were to get this thing. I bought a copy of Quake III Revolution with it, and on the way to my house we stopped and got McDonald’s to celebrate. Getting fast food after a console purchase would become a tradition for us. We got back to my house and placed the hefty blue box on a pillow between us while we ate and talked about which games we were excited to play.

The Nintendo GameCube came out later that same year (2001), just two days after my birthday. My parents had been divorced for a while by then, so I rarely asked for big ticket items for birthdays or Christmas. I was working less at the record store at that point, and I had a bill to pay, so money wasn’t as readily available as when I splurged on a PS2. I really wanted a GameCube, though. I loved my PS2 but that magic Nintendo nostalgia is a hell of a drug, and I was definitely caught up in the hype around “Project Dolphin,” as it was once known. Nintendo threw a prerelease “party” (really just a showcase) in Chicago, and Ron and I somehow got tickets to go. It was in a very shady part of the city, and we got lost and were pretty sure drug dealers tried to approach our car to sell us something before we sped away. When we made it to the event, there were cosplayers, Stuff Magazine staff handing out swag, and lots of games. We tried out Super Monkey Ball, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Eternal Darkness, and more. I still have some of the swag from that event.

As the GameCube’s release neared, I grew sad at the idea that I might not have the money to afford it. Or, if I could, I’d have to wait at least 2-4 weeks after I bought it to afford a game or two. I decided to ask my mom to split the cost with me, for my birthday. I was surprised when she agreed, but I was still nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get one because stores would be sold out. Because, of course I was. And a few stores were, indeed, sold out, but I was able to find one at a Target near my house. I really wanted a black version, the alternate to the main color it launched with, purple, but they only had one purple console left. Beggars can’t be choosers, as they say, so I bought my little purple “l(a)unch box” on my way to work at the record store. I called Ron, who lived just a few blocks from the shop, and he rushed over to check it out and hang out with me. We got fast food to celebrate and I went to our neighboring store, Microplay, and bought Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Super Monkey Ball. We ate, marveled at how small the discs were, and talked about what the next Zelda or Mario game might be like.

The Nintendo Wii was yet another console released around my birthday, and its 2006 launch is probably my favorite and most eventful. As you might have noticed, if you’ve read this far, I have never camped out for a console. I’ve either preordered or gotten lucky at or around launch. I realized this before the Wii’s launch and wanted to change this sad fact. Camping out sounded so fun! Also, most stores weren’t offering preorders for the Wii. Still, at the time, most people I told I was going to do this thought I was an idiot. A sad, nerdy idiot who was going to wait outside for hours, all for a console that no one wanted.

“What!?” I hear you say in dramatic exasperation. “But the Wii sold millions! Everyone wanted it!” First of all, please lower your voice, you are causing a scene. Second of all, the buzz around the Wii before launch was mostly very negative or, at best, highly skeptical. The Xbox 360 and PS3 promised high definition graphics, multimedia capability, and robust online systems. The Wii was far less powerful and did less, and if you read gaming websites, listened to early gaming podcasts, or checked in on various blogs or message boards, people did not have high hopes for the Wii. As they seemingly have since the days of the N64, people wondered aloud if this would be Nintendo’s last console release. Many seemed sure the Wii would fail with Nintendo’s “blue ocean” strategy failing to find the broad audience that they had intended it to.

We know how it all turned out, of course. Within just a couple of weeks, those same people were asking me how to get a Wii because they’d heard it was the hot Christmas “toy” in 2006. But those people did get in my head, and I wondered if lining up for the Wii the evening prior was silly. Would I be the only person in line? Would I be waiting for hours for no reason? Well, to alleviate that, I recruited our old friend Ron, who jumped at the chance to also get a Wii at launch. I lived in Alabama at the time, so we made plans for me to drive up the day before release and drive by the local Target that evening. If people were in line, we’d wait. If not, we’d come back later.

The drive from Montgomery, AL to Streamwood, IL takes about 12 or 13 hours, which I did without sleep. I arrived around 6pm, if I remember correctly, and after greeting his parents and unloading my luggage, Ron and I decided to drive to Target. The more we had talked about it, the more certain we were that there probably wouldn’t be anyone in line at that time, so we didn’t bring any equipment or anything. We pulled up and saw six people, clearly in line for the Wii. We were stunned and hurried back to his house to get everything we might need for a 12 hour campout. We were in a panicked rush because we were convinced 30 more people would show up in the fifteen minutes it took us to grab stuff and get back to the store, so we just grabbed some basics – a couple of blankets, some drinks, and some snacks. When we returned, no one else had jumped in line, so we set up camp as numbers six and seven. It may not come as a surprise, but throughout the night we continually wondered how many units the store would get and worried that it would, of course, be just five. Let me share a picture of the store from Google Street View:

That’s exactly where we lined up. See that low, concrete curb in front of the trees? We thought that would be an okay place to sit. For twelve hours. In a Midwestern November. After our asses began to harden into cubes of pure ass-ice, we had to make a change, so Ron ran home and got us sleeping bags and camping chairs, which helped. The temperature was still hovering around freezing, but we distracted ourselves by making separate runs inside the store, tossing a football around (until I jammed one of my frozen fingers), watching Jackass Number Two on Ron’s laptop, and getting food from the McDonald’s across the street. Our friend Gari also stopped by with more fast food, which was a nice distraction. But the night moved fairly quickly until around 1am. An hour later, Ron suggested we take turns napping in the car to pass the time, so I agreed and went first, at 2:30. I awoke at 4am to a call from Ron, letting me know it had started sleeting. I came out and Ron went in. It was so cold. Even with layers of clothing, a coat, a sleeping bag, and a hat and gloves, I was freezing. In the 1UP.com blog post I wrote about it at the time, I said “The snow was big and wet, although it wasn’t sticking to anything for too long. I pulled the sleeping bag up around me as much as I could, and pulled my hat down as far as it would go. It was still cold. Mainly because the cold snow/water on my sleeping bag would touch my neck or face every now and then, sending chills throughout my body.”

I also tracked the number of people in line in that blog post, and reported that for most of the night there were 15 of us in line. By the time Ron woke up (and made another McDonald’s run), at 5:30am, there were around 25-30, at 6:45, around 35, and by 7am (when store employees came out to give us tickets and explain the situation) there were 45 or more people. The store director that came out said they only had 39 consoles, so several people (and the people that arrived later to try and just walk in and buy one) were turned away. After we got our tickets at 7, we were free to leave and come back at 8, when the store opened, so we packed up our stuff and dropped it off at Ron’s house before coming back to wait in the car. We were in and out in less than ten minutes once the store opened.

Ron picked up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Excite Truck, and Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam. I picked up Twilight Princess and Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Once we had our hard-earned loot, we hit up a Wendy’s for the traditional celebration meal. I specifically remember getting a vanilla Frosty, which was a new thing at the time. Ron had sung its praises but I’d never been willing to try it because, uh, chocolate, duh. But to mark the occasion, I figured getting a vanilla Frosty to commemorate our shiny, vanilla-colored consoles was appropriate. We headed back to Ron’s place, enjoyed our feast, unpacked our systems, made our Miis, and then tried out each game. We were weirdly excited by the blue glow of the disc slot. I was in the first 20 or so minutes of Twilight Princess when I completely crashed. It was a long, cold, glorious night.

It wasn’t until the PlayStation 4, in November of 2013, that I bought another console at launch (the day before my birthday, of course). This experience wasn’t as exciting or eventful, in part because I preordered it as soon as anyone had the chance to do so, and didn’t have anyone to share the experience with at the time. I received the package on the day it was released, set it up, was impressed by both the new controller and the interface, spent a lot of time checking out the livestream apps (I think it was Twitch and… something with a D), and tried out Killzone Shadow Fall and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

Four years later, in March 2017, I once again decided to camp out for a console. This time: the Nintendo Switch. The Switch and the Wii’s launches were similar in that the consoles were so different than what many had expected that the hype around them was mixed, at best. Because of this, I had no idea what to expect in terms of a line, but when I drove by my local Target at 9pm the night before release, no one was lined up, so I went home and took a short nap. I woke up at 11pm and packed up what I thought I might need for the night: a camping chair, a phone charging thingy, a book, and a blanket. It was March but still cold, so I prepared for freezing temperatures. I drove to Walmart at 11:30pm for snacks, because they are open 24 hours, and as I was walking in it dawned on me that they might be selling the Switch at midnight. Sure enough, I made my way to the back of the store to find a pretty lengthy line. I got in it and waited the half hour, only to be three people short of getting one. I wasn’t too disappointed, though, because I had planned on camping out anyway. I got my snacks and drinks and headed to Target. I was the only person there.

I was able to take plenty of pictures with my phone, and many of them have captions because I sent them to friends on Snapchat. One of these captions informs me that it got down to at least 20 degrees, and I do remember it being very cold most of the night. I spent some time in my car, but because random overnight Target employees kept showing up and making me think they were going to steal my coveted first (and only) spot in line, I spent most of my time outside. I read Anna Anthropy’s Rise of the Video Game Zinesters, played Pokemon GO (the Target was a PokeStop!), and for the first time ever, peed in a fast food cup (I had gotten food on my way from Walmart to Target). I wasn’t proud of it, but I did what I had to. When I first decided to try sitting in my car to warm up, I also set up my chair like a scarecrow to ward off the car that drove by every hour or so. It wasn’t until around 5am that someone else showed up: a young woman and her mother. She was getting the Switch for her boyfriend, as a surprise. We talked for a bit, which was nice. At around 6, other people started showing up. There was a younger guy who was, if I remember correctly, an NIU student, and a guy that was older than me. We chatted as a group about classic Nintendo games, what games we’d like to see on the Switch, and then just video games in general.

Many more people showed up right before 7am, when they handed out tickets (as they had for the Wii). I think I estimated there to be around 25, at the time, and I want to say the store got like 22 or 23 units. I was originally planning on getting the black version, but when the store director came out to distribute tickets he said they only had like seven of the blue and red versions, so I decided to get that one on a whim, heh. With the console, I picked up 1-2-Switch, a pro controller, and the special edition of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I got celebratory McDonald’s on the way home, then unpacked everything and chronicled it with pictures.

I camped out at the same Target with my friend Tab for the SNES Mini console, but I don’t know if that counts and I’m sure this is already too long, so I will spare you the details. I’ll just say that it was nice to have Tab there, it was cold (again), and we were first and second in line.

I won’t have the opportunity to camp out for the new consoles. I have a preorder for the PS5 and my local stores have said they are not allowing camping due to COVID. There is a new angle of anxiety in getting consoles now, with the mad scramble to beat fans, bots, and scalpers to a preorder click before the online orders disappear. It’s less taxing than camping out in the cold, but it’s also less fun, and it feels less fair. Maybe fair isn’t the right word. But competing with just the people in my area for a couple dozen units seems easier to navigate than competing with thousands of faceless strangers across the internet. I missed out on an Xbox Series X preorder and have been refreshing retails sites every day since, with no luck. I’ll have to try on launch day, but I’m already expecting to be disappointed.

Reflecting on my history with console launches has revealed a couple of patterns to me. One, not surprisingly, is anxiety. Whether it was securing a preorder and then worrying it wouldn’t be honored, or camping outside a store and then worrying that they would run out or someone would cut in line and get your console before you, there has always been a level of concern that (I think) shows how much these consoles mean to me. And it’s something that hasn’t gone away. That PS5 preorder I mentioned? I check almost every single day to make sure Target hasn’t canceled it. Why would they? I don’t know! But I worry. The other pattern is in the rituals that come with the post-victory glow. Getting something delicious to eat. Staring at the shiny new box as I (or we) eat said deliciousness. Gently (probably too gently) unboxing the unit and marveling at its sleek design. Taking a moment to appreciate that new console smell. This is a long post and I’ve gone over what seem like a lot of launches, but if you look at their release years, these things don’t happen very often. They are rarities, and when they generate magical memories, they become important parts of our identities as gamers. That is why I wanted to chronicle my journey here, and why I am looking forward to the next generation and many more to come.

E3 2018 Wishlist

When I look back at my wishlist for 2017, I’m surprised by how many items were eventually announced (after E3, but still). Some of them were givens, sure, but I was surprised that Soulcalibur VI actually became a thing, and with Geralt in the mix, no less. Anyway, as I said in that blog, I love to speculate, even if some of my hopes end up being just that. With that in mind, I’m making a new list for this year, and some of the entries will, unfortunately be the same as they were last year.

Nintendo/Switch

Virtual Console (or, well, something like it)

This was on my list last year, but Nintendo recently announced that their online service, coming this fall, will be something of a subscription model, with access to a library of games included. Great! In theory! The problem is that the release library is very small compared to the wealth of games that were available with the Virtual Console. I’m all for some multiplayer Dr. Mario action, but I am really hoping Nintendo announces a steady release schedule for this service, or some kind of agreement with third parties to release individual games for purchase, even if it’s not called the “Virtual Console.” I love the mini consoles Nintendo has been releasing, but they are limited (in game selection and availability). So I want this, Nintendo. Please.

Mother 3/ Brand new EarthBound game

I will put this on my list every year until we see one. Paula be casting Prayer all up in this.

Mother 3 small — Credit: https://kotaku.com/seriously-nintendo-its-time-for-mother-3-1796533984

New Eternal Darkness game

Another repeat offender. I rambled on for too long last year about why I thought this was plausible, and it still might be, but I’m worried that Nintendo just doesn’t feel the need to produce adult horror games anymore. The original game was in development for the N64 and then ultimately released on the GameCube, when Nintendo was still semi-competing with Sony and Microsoft. Now, Nintendo seems content to do their own thing, which means a game like Eternal Darkness makes less and less sense as time goes on. But I still think it would be a great showcase for some of the Switch’s unique tech, like the HD rumble and infrared sensors. Oh well. I’ll keep my hopes high and expectations low for this one.

New Smash Bros. characters

So it seems an absolute given that the new Smash game will be the highlight of Nintendo’s E3 video, but what about the roster? Given that each game is fundamentally the same in terms of gameplay and design, the roster is what I’m most curious about. Sure, I want a robust single player experience outside of the multiplayer brawling action (return of Subspace Emissary, plz), but when that iconic siren goes off and “A New Challenger Appears”? Hype. They will almost certainly play on that in their E3 video, but who beyond the Inklings from Splatoon will they announce? With previous characters like Snake, Bayonetta, Cloud, and Ryu, I don’t feel like anyone is outside the realm of possibility. So, aside from every dang previous character returning, who do I want to see? For one, Crash Bandicoot. I get a weird surge of nostalgic joy when rival mascots show up in Nintendo games, and it’s not totally ridiculous, given that the Crash trilogy will be making its way to the Switch in July. Halo‘s Master Chief also sounds like a stretch until you consider the cache it would give Microsoft with Nintendo and Smash fans, a potentially useful thing to have considering how far behind Sony they are in sales. I would also love to see Lara Croft, who also has a new game coming out in the fall. Two last mentions that would be incredible but are probably impossible: Mickey Mouse and Rey (Star Wars). Rey because, well, she is awesome. But Mickey Mouse strictly because it would be another iconic character that no one thought was possible to get for the game. Both of these are owned by Disney, though, and they are famously stingy with their characters, so I have no hope for those last two.

Animal Crossing for Switch

My thoughts haven’t changed much on this. I was worried that the mobile AC game might give Nintendo an excuse to delay a proper console version, and with Smash Bros. being their big release for later this year, I’m still kind of worried that an Animal Crossing game won’t come anytime soon. Still, it would be nice to see an announcement at E3.

Persona 5

Yes, I’ve already put well over 300 hours into the PS4 version, but I would buy a Switch port on day one, especially if they finally lift the restriction on taking screenshots. I’ve romanced Ann, Futaba, and Kawakami, but I’m keen to give a relationship with Makoto a shot. And Haru. And Tae. And Hif-okay, I can hear myself and I sound a little desperate, so let’s just move on.

And that’s about it for Nintendo. I’m sure they’ll show more from the new Yoshi game, Metroid Prime 4, and maybe even the Pokémon game, but I’m only passively interested in those at this point. I’d like to see some fun new colors for the Joy-Cons, too, I guess. And an N64 Classic (though they might do the GameBoy first).

Sony/PS4

Most of what I’m looking forward to from Sony and third parties has already been announced, but it will be nice to see more from The Last of Us 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Days Gone, Spider-man, and maybe Soulcalibur VI and Anthem. So what’s left in the way of surprises? Well I’d love to see…

Final Fantasy VII

They announced this a while ago, but there has been some behind-the-scenes drama (uh, of course, it’s Square) followed by nothing but silence, so I would be pretty hyped if they showed an extensive trailer and announced that the first episode was going to drop this fall. True, the original game is not among my favorites in the series, but they will likely address much of that game’s clunkiness with this remake. And it would be one of those “oh snap it actually happened” moments in game history, so I have my fingers crossed that we’ll finally see something.

Until Dawn 2

This is a holdover from last year’s list, but it seems perhaps more likely this year, given that Supermassive Games has released a bunch of the other games that they had in the works. Those games were hit or miss, which I can’t deny makes me worry about a potential Until Dawn sequel, but who am I kidding? I would be super excited to see it announced at E3 and I would definitely buy it at release, especially if it had an optional VR mode.

Chrono Trigger/Cross sequel

I know this is a one-in-a-million shot. I know. Last year I left it as a footnote because it’s probably an impossible dream. But! I want it so bad. So I’m going to put it here in an attempt to will it into existence. Let’s do it.

chrono cross small — Credit: https://www.goombastomp.com/looking-back-chrono-cross-divisive-impressive-successor/

Microsoft/Xbox One

I didn’t have a section dedicated to Microsoft last year, because their exclusives just haven’t really been all that exciting for me. But unless they’re late in the stages of working on their next-gen hardware, which I doubt because of the XB1 X, they need to come out with some cool and exciting games to make some ground in their battle with Sony. They can’t win this generation, but at this point in the cycle more people begin buying second consoles, so if they’ve haven’t gotten a Switch or upgraded to a PS4 Pro, there are plenty of people who would snag an XB1 if the right group of games enticed them. Games like…

Fable 4

Sure, Lionhead Studios closed down, but rumors have been swirling about a possible fourth game for, well, years. With Sony snagging many of the big RPG mainstays, it would be a smart move for MS to drop a big, beautiful RPG of their own. Hell, the original Knights of the Old Republic was one of the main reasons I bought an original Xbox in the first place. I didn’t really want one. I didn’t feel like I needed it, and it was expensive. But when I heard about an RPG set in the Star Wars universe, where I could choose to be Dark Side or Light Side, and I could romance characters… well, I was sold. And the Fable games have always been fun, colorful, and whimsical, so I welcome another.

Fable small — Credit: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-01-17-sources-microsoft-plots-fable-return

New Perfect Dark game

These last couple of years have seen some strides, finally, for female video game, movie, and comic book characters. There are plenty of FPSs out there, but how many of them star a badass lady-spy like Joanna Dark? Rare and Microsoft flubbed Joanna’s star potential with Perfect Dark Zero, but if there was a time to redeem themselves and make a character that lived up to her original potential, it’s now.