My life is nothing I thought it should be and everything I feared it would become because for 50 seconds I thought there was monsters on the world.

My Wii U is now hacked and the discs are spinning in the backup oven as we speak (thankfully there are only about 7 games worth owning for the thing and I already have them). The 3DS firmware update just had a nice Streisand effect, didn't it Nintendo?

Let's see if I can't fix these Sony PVMs. I have two 13s that are both broken in different ways and a perfectly working 8. First up is the one that I suspect has a bad PSU - I've just ordered all new caps. The other powers on but has geometry issues.

Many years and several failed attempts later, I've finished BELOW. One of the best 'bad' games I've ever played - bad because, it's an amazing game held back by bad design ideas. Explore mode helped, but this needed an even easier "Zelda" mode.

With TotK coming soon I figured I should finally finish "we have BotW and SotC at home" - Praey for the Gods. The first and last game I ever Kickstarted! Better than it had any right to be as an indie, but also a lesson in scope for an indie. Less is more

After years of slowly chipping away at the thing, I've finally finished the Shovel Knight King of Cards expansion. Too much of a good thing and Joustus was pulling teeth whenever I had to engage with it. The other campaigns remain great of course.

Just under 20 hours later and I'm done with Rain World. Absolutely amazing game quite unlike anything I've ever played. I already miss the world (though there's PLENTY more to do if I wanted to - gonna take a break). Not for everyone, but such a gem.

Sir.

On a "unique" M'vania kick these days with Blasphemous (yay!) and now Unworthy (meh!) off the backlog. Three hours into Rain World and I think I might love this frustrating little gem? It's not easy (cruel even), but once you "get it", it's captivating!

After Blasphemous I decided to start Unworthy, another indie soulslike m'vania. I've owned this for years but haven't played it. Way more "heavy". Anyone else give it a go? Also the developer's next game Crowsworn is an egregious Hollow Knight clone. Wow.

Backing up my 3DS carts today. The Wii U and 3DS were my last physical only consoles and there's definitely some riff raff in here needs culling... but not before I rip the data and saves. Might need to go from 32gb to 64gb though I'm reading that's iffy.

Finished SIGNALIS last night. Great game with one major flaw that I had a hard time looking past. Mechanically, acoustically, thematically, aesthetically, and just generally a nearly 10/10 for me. The amateur, deviantart anime portraits? Distractingly bad

Did anyone else find Axiom Verge 2 to be a fine... solid meh? Like it wasn't bad, but the experience was largely disjointed and maybe felt a little unfinished? Normally I one-hundo these types of games but I can't be bothered. On to SIGNALIS I suppose!

ZeroRanger Steamrolled. This shmup only has one achievement but it's no joke to get! If you're a fan of the genre I highly recommend checking this one out.

I finally (thanks to a snow day!) finished Space Station Silicon Valley to 100% completion, and this is after having to restart it after losing my save file roughly halfway through about a year ago. It's a rough gem, but a gem none-the-less. Def rec it.

Call me.

The occasional Taargus Army Men series run update: Since starting this madness in October of 2021, I've since played 20 games in the series including one-offs, mainline titles, and each console variant. I'm at the Green Rogues (PS1+2) right now. Kill me.

Yeah I'm not playing Dread Templar. I got this game for free because Shenanigans didn't want his copy, but after two levels I'm out. Do you like the same guitar riff on a 30 second loop? Run at player enemies? Placeholder fonts? Budget UIs? No thanks.

Almost done with Shinobi (PS2). This is an odd one. It's either the easiest game you've ever played or the hardest depending on how well you engage with the "tate" system. You can kill most bosses in one hit! I'm hoping Nightshade is more interesting tho.

In a new qpost wholly unrelated to my last, when was the last time you used an action replay, gameshark, or similar memory address hacker to beat a game? What game was it? How did you feel afterwards? Would you do it again?

I think I have to tap out on Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (Vita). The game is hard enough as is without the meta challenge of lives and continues. When the threat of failure is simply to waste the player's time, there's only so much I can take.

I play some pretty awful games to completion when doing series runs but I rarely get to the point where I doubt my decision to persevere through a dud. Super Monkey Ball Adventure (PSP) tested me. I beat it... but at what cost? Just the Vita game left.

Still addicted to Super Monkey Ball right now. Also finding that the only proper way to play Banana Mania is as Sonic. I think maybe... Super Monkey Ball was actually always part of the Sonic series instead? Feels right. Not sure why.

My Super Monkey Ball marathon is nearly finished. I've started with Banana Mania but haven't fully finished it though I'll be completing it fully last. Done is Jr., Touch & Roll, Banana Blitz HD, Step & Roll, 3D, and I'm halfway through Banana Splitz.

First game of February down: Super Monkey Ball Jr., which is somehow both an impressive piece of GBA tech that's better than it has any right to be, but still extremely frustrating and generally not all that fun to play with digital movement.