Tag: Nintendo

Top 10 Favorite Video Games I Played in 2022

~ Kapodaco ~ 2 Comments

Lookie here! I haven’t done one of these types of posts in a little while. Now that I am out of games journalism, I’m free to sort of peruse my way through whatever I care to try out at any given time. Even so, I didn’t play too many games this year—a little over twenty was the final count. Even so, there were more than enough titles played that I think are worth shouting out. And because content is content, this at-one-point-yearly list shall see life anew.

Disclaimer: Please note that this is not a traditional “Top 10 Best Video Games of [Year]” list. Rather, this is a list of the best video games I played in 2022, as in it did not have to be released this calendar year to make it, only that I had to have finished (a majority of) it in 2022.

Continue reading “Top 10 Favorite Video Games I Played in 2022” →

Dudunsparce Is Pokémon’s Greatest Joke

~ Kapodaco ~ 1 Comment

There comes a time in most players’ lives when a fellow connoisseur of gaming will inevitably ask you: “What is your favorite pokémon?” How can you not have one? Everyone’s at least heard of Pokémon, if not invested several years of their lives playing through the franchise’s long list of titles. As common as it is to have people proclaim that Charizard or Pikachu or the various evolutions of Eevee as their favorite, mine is a little more benign.

Dunsparce, my favorite pokémon ever, got an evolution in the latest generation of games in the franchise, Scarlet & Violet. Having learned this, I immediately grew very concerned. Yet my fear was short-lived—Dudunsparce is not only a great new creature to discover, but its existence cements Game Freak as a comedy powerhouse that will stop at nothing to amuse itself by dashing the hopes of fans everywhere.

Continue reading “Dudunsparce Is Pokémon’s Greatest Joke” →

Thoughts on Kirby and the Forgotten Land

~ Kapodaco ~ 1 Comment

Now what kind of Nintendo-centric blog writer would I be if I didn’t comment on the good ol’ pink ball of innocence? Kirby got his first fully dedicated 3D adventure in the form of Forgotten Land—yes, that is not a lie. After thirty years of life, this game, which released last month, is his first fully-fledged 3D adventure. All others were either 2D sidescrollers or 3D spin-offs.

A momentous occasion, indeed! Does this little cutie have what it takes to join his Nintendo costars in revolutionizing the 3D platforming space? In hindsight, I would certainly hope so given all that Nintendo has worked on prior. But you never know!

Continue reading “Thoughts on Kirby and the Forgotten Land” →

Thoughts on Super Metroid

~ Kapodaco ~ Leave a comment

In case it was not apparent enough by the five Metroid-related posts since April and the multiple statements of Metroid being my favorite game franchise ever, Metroid is my favorite game franchise ever. Despite this, there always remained a sort of lingering absurdity with this claim. Prior to the other night, I had never finished what many consider the series’ magnum opus: Super Metroid.

Note the “finished” wording in the prior sentence. Prior to recently, I had actually attempted to play through the game via emulator with an off-brand SNES controller. The controls were floaty and occasionally unresponsive, and I could never get the hang of the game’s expectations. Such events soiled the initial impressions I got from it—not being able to defeat Phantoon didn’t help matters, either.

Hot off the heels of Dread, my desire to play through not just Super, but pretty much every Metroid title ever (including the pinball game; would not recommend) has skyrocketed to levels unlike anything felt in my adult life. Thus, on a whim, I booted up the subject of today’s post on the Switch Online SNES library and just went to work. It was here I learned that my first go at the fan-proclaimed masterpiece detracted me from something appropriately beloved.

Continue reading “Thoughts on Super Metroid” →

Top 10 Favorite Games After Four Years With KeenGamer

~ Kapodaco ~ Leave a comment

I mentioned last year that my productivity in terms of titles reviewed was fairly low. While I cannot remember the exact number, this past year was pretty low, as well—only twenty games. This would imply that the ten games I cover today will make up a clean half of the games I’ve reviewed between September 30th, 2020 and the same day, 2021. Nevertheless, there’s a solid selection of titles I’ve come across that make up the best games I’ve played in year four of my KeenGamer career.

No personal input from me this time around; life’s been relatively good. Work has been steady and I have no major complaints. If there’s been any reason for the lack of games reviewed, it could just be the increased responsibilities I have now that I work for Keen full-time. That said, I’ve already published a Metroid Dread review since the cutoff and will likely have another review out in the coming days. Off to a good start for next year!

Small and maybe unwarranted note, but I don’t receive review copies for everything I review. Also, since I’ve formally reviewed all games in the following list, I won’t go into substantive detail here.

Continue reading “Top 10 Favorite Games After Four Years With KeenGamer” →

Thoughts on Pokémon Black Version 2

~ Kapodaco ~ 1 Comment

Surprisingly enough, I never played this game as a wee lad! It may have been a case of stubborn cynicism upon their announcement—”Why do these games need a sequel? I’m good with the originals.” Ironically, it wasn’t until much later that I would find out that this title and its White Version 2 counterpart are essentially pseudo-sequels. They take place at a later date in the same region, but it’s not all that necessary to play the originals to fully enjoy them.

Despite being wrong, I still never found the motivation to buy play them before being swept up in more recent Pokémon news/games. Now, thanks to a friend of mine, I was provided a physical copy to try out for the first time. Interspersed between my playthrough of Metroid: Samus Returns, I would learn whether Gen 5 is all that a specific subset of fans promise it to be. That, and whether the original games are a better representation of what this generation has to offer.

Continue reading “Thoughts on Pokémon Black Version 2” →

Updated Thoughts on Metroid: Samus Returns

~ Kapodaco ~ 2 Comments

Some may see the title of this article and think, “Wait, updated? When did you ever cover it?” For those unaware, I am also a writer for online gaming publication KeenGamer, which houses many, many reviews for games I’ve covered since 2017. The very first one? Metroid: Samus Returns.

Writing it a couple weeks after its initial release, I had not touched it in the years since. Given Dread is coming in the next couple months, I found it dutiful to go back to pretty much any Metroid title I could get ahold of and re-coat myself in the sweet sci-fi aesthetic that I adore so much. Samus Returns was replayed over the course of late June and early July. Now, I have some re-adjusted things to speak about when it comes to the (currently) newest title in the franchise.

Continue reading “Updated Thoughts on Metroid: Samus Returns” →

Updated Thoughts on Metroid Fusion

~ Kapodaco ~ 2 Comments

Last weekend was not great. I had been dealing with the fallout of a certain incident which resulted in a less-than-stellar perception of myself, leaving me in an emotional rut. One nice silver lining, though, was the decision to play through all of Metroid Fusion in one sitting, something I had not done in several years.

After reading my prior review of the game, I’ve decided to update my thoughts on the title. Why? Because holy hell do I not agree with much of what I said before. Plus, I’m an obsessive self-reviser. Five years with no touch-ups on the topic is sure to drive me insane.

Continue reading “Updated Thoughts on Metroid Fusion” →

Top 10 Games I’m Looking Forward to After E3 2021

~ Kapodaco ~ 8 Comments

I truly missed E3. After being cancelled last year, 2021 returned with all the lovely game announcements and surprise reveals that I once cherished as a gaming connoisseur. While my tastes and standards have shifted since 2019, I still viewed the Wholesome Direct, Xbox/Bethesda Showcase, and Nintendo Direct in full, and otherwise kept a pulse on the E3 “hype train” on social media.

So many games… I can barely keep my head on straight (not that I could before). Now that most of the celebration is done and gone, what’s there to look forward to? What games am I, specifically, foaming at the mouth to get my hands on? These are the ten games that I’m most looking forward to post E3 2021.

Continue reading “Top 10 Games I’m Looking Forward to After E3 2021” →