Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U): COMPLETED!

First up, here’s a massive spoiler I don’t mind giving away: Captain Toad is actually the prequel to Super Mario 3D World. I mean, everyone knows it’s a spinoff based on the Captain Toad levels from 3D World, but the end sequence of Captain Toad actually shows how it’s a prequel, what with Toad returning from his adventure then setting off to the Sprixie Kingdom after green stars. Who knew? Captain Toad is pretty much just more levels like those …

Mega Man 7 (Wii U): COMPLETED!

Unlike the NES Mega Mans (Mega Men?), Mega Man 7 has two sets of four robot masters rather than one set of eight. After beating the first four, a second set is added. I’m not sure why they felt doing this was necessary, as all it does is reduce the choices at the start of the game. It would seem that the first four levels have hidden letters on them (I picked up R and H), but whether the second …

Things I’ve been playing recently

Roundup! Mega Man 7 (Wii U) It’s been a few months since I started Mega Man 7. I think, after ploughing through Mega Mans 1-6 I may have had a bit of Mega Man burnout, and I was a bit disappointed with 7 anyway as it didn’t feel right. Anyway, I’m back on it now and have taken down the first lot of four Robot Masters. I’m enjoying it, and it does feel more like the NES games than it …

Super Mario 64 (Wii U): COMPLETED!

Look, there’s not lots to write about this that I’ve not written before. Super Mario 64 is one of the best games ever made, on any system, ever. That’s just a fact, and playing it through again did nothing to dissuade me. Of course, I’m still not sure if Super Mario 64 is better than New Super Mario Bros U, or if it’s the other way round, but I can be sure the two of them are at positions 2 …

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Wii U): COMPLETED!

You know pretty much what to expect with a Lego game. You know there’s a series of levels with fixed characters and loads of secrets you can’t get see or access, some sort of hub world with more secrets you can’t see or access, a lot of silliness, and approximately two thirds of the game locked off until you’ve finished the story. Then it’s back to the earlier levels with new characters and abilities you didn’t have previously to attempt …

Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition (Wii U): COMPLETED!

No, I hadn’t started this already and no, I didn’t return to another previously started game having finished off Shovel Knight. Just shut up, OK? Shut up. I was rearranging the icons on my Wii U home screen. Like on my 3DS, I have to have them arranged in an OCD friendly manner, where games I’m currently playing or haven’t completed sit on the first screen, and games I have completed or aren’t likely to play any time soon are …

Shovel Knight (Wii U): COMPLETED!

Alright, alright, calm down. I know what I said. I know I was trying to work through my already-started-games backlog before making a start on my bought-but-unplayed backlog. I’m sorry. I have no excuses. But… what a game to break these plans with. From start to finish, Shovel Knight was a proper joy to play. The fantastically drawn pixel art, the outlandish characters (top of which is the half-trout, half-apple Troupple and his amazing dance routine), the comedy dialogue, a …

SteamWorld Dig (Wii U): COMPLETED!

And with just under five hours on the clock, the evil electronic consciousness was beaten and my mining days were over. My memory had placed several other bosses in my brain from when I played the 3DS version. They weren’t in the Wii U one, so I suspect my mind was playing tricks. Or I was getting confused with something else (god knows what though). Or they were optional and I somehow avoided them? It’s a mystery. Pretty sure I …

Things I’ve been playing recently

A lot of things, it seems. I’ve had a glut of new games over the last month and I’ve been playing each for a short time. I’ve yet to settle down and just work on one or two, so I’ve not made much progress in each. So here’s a list, in no particular order: Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition (Vita) My subscription to PS+ was autorenewed before I could cancel it (the whole service got DDOS’d and I couldn’t log …

Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure (Wii U): COMPLETED!

The game’s title is a bit verbose, isn’t it? I’ll be referring to it as Scribblenauts Batman instead, because that’s what it is. Sure, the rest of the Justice League are in it, but then Lego Batman 2 and 3 have them as well. Batman’s the headline act. In fact, virtually every DC character you could ever imagine, including every variant (Earth Two, Red Son, Bizzaro, New 52, etc.) are also in it. And costumes to dress up other characters …

Duck Hunt (Wii U)

It’s Duck Hunt. What more do you need to know? I bought it on Christmas Day, when it was released on the Wii U Virtual Console, but only got round to playing it today. It plays pretty well, but it’s harder than I recall. I’m going to blame that on the Wii remote though, rather than my faded skills. Once nice touch is how the speaker in the Wii remote makes the clicking and echo-y spring crunchy clangy noises of …

Pop’n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures (Wii U): COMPLETED!

In a (very) late entry into completed games in the year 2014, I give you Pop’n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures! It’s not a shoot ’em up like the other Pop’n TwinBee games – instead being a platformer with some elements borrowed from the likes of Castle of Illusion, Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario World, but somehow totally different from all of them. Whereas in the shooter games in the series you pilot a cute spacecraft and take down other …

Things I’ve been playing recently

Fantasy Life (3DS) It’s like 8 RPGs in one! I chose my first life to be a Paladin, applying the logic that any combat required in the other lives may benefit from my skills as a trained killer. Or something. I’m not very far in, only a couple of hours, but I’m already engrossed in the seemingly endless number of sidequests (which, unlike most RPGs, actually affect your progression in the game in a big way), and the game is …

Mega Man 6 (Wii U): COMPLETED!

After the slight drop in quality that Mega Man 5 brought to the series, I was glad to see that things improved for the final NES Mega Man outing. As I’ve mentioned before, each game so far has added some new move, add-on or feature to the series. Mega Man 6 sort of brings two, as Rush is removed as a rocket/trampoline and becomes a sort of exoskeleton for Mega Man, giving him two new powers – a jetpack (which …

Things I’ve been playing recently

Roundup time! Hyrule Warriors (Wii U) With over 80 hours racked up now, this became my most played Wii U title some time ago. No matter how repetitive it seems to be, even playing exactly the same mission over and over with the same character, it never gets boring. I have now at least started the Master Quest from the first set of DLC, albeit to just play about four missions to see what they were like. Since then, there’s …