Your Friend Who Likes Games

Hi there! Want to quickly start by stating I would like to go back to a model I had adopted when I was doing the podcast, one in which I simply talk about (in this case, write about) games that I had played that week at whatever capacity I had done so, and within whatever context I may be in within said games. Sounds simple, but I’d been playing with what the blog can be and my writing has felt too ‘final.’ I find that if I wait until I completely finish games, I either get overwhelmed by the amount of notes I collect and feel like I’d need to write a novel, or I lose momentum and don’t end up writing about them at all and then miss an opportunity to document a valued experience. So I’ll quickly say that Animal Crossing: New Leaf has been a great comfort companion for Summer travel and hangs. And Saros is really cool and engaging to play – hoping to play more of it. Two games I’ve spent time with but never wrote about because I put pressure on myself to develop some sort of conclusion. But back to the more honest model that’s a bit more low key and values time spent with games and thoughts around those times.

I’ve talked about this many times before, so forgive me, but I have to continue to give credit to Into the Aether, who permit themselves this model on a weekly basis. They permit themselves to play what they’re interested in, whether it be new or older. Cheers to them, and thanks for being here to read. Let’s get into the first game.

Finishing Earthbound

Note, some spoilers in this section if you haven’t played and want to keep your playthrough fresh.

What an epic journey this was. Earthbound will always be with me. I’ll admit I almost cracked and watched the last boss fight, but I’m really glad I didn’t. I’m proud of my patience and proud that I took the time to see it through. I’m hoping that metaphor of patience and problem solving will work its way into other parts of my life, especially as I look to start my school year. Before I finished, I was hoping I could later say that I’m proud to have completed it, and I’m communicating now to my past self that I certainly am.

During this last bit of play, I’d told myself maybe I should try to play and discover a bit more outside of the guide’s direction – quickly to remember then that this is a game that will greatly punish you if you don’t execute it right. And I thought the beginning of the second half was harsh with consecutive dungeons… turns out that’s just the intention of the rest of the game. I did find some reprieve in the Fobbys – the only time the game gave me anything close to Dragon Quest VII RPG comfort.

Poo’s dramatic return was very welcomed in a tough boss fight. I was happy I got to ride Tessie again. I was mad that anyone would want to hurt sweet, sweet Apple Kid. I learned that you need to defeat Atomic Robots last because they explode and cause mortal damage to your party but the damage stops happening when the fight stops and therefore you can prevent collapse of party members. I learned the value of PSI Magnet a bit too late I think, especially with the cost of use being 0 PP. I felt it super charming to be really tiny in the Lost Underworld’s overworld – helped its prehistoric nature. I realized at the end of The Fire Spring that I had skipped Lilliput Steps as my Sound Stone was not complete – luckily it was then a very easy dungeon in which all the enemies stepped aside and the boss took only two rounds of attacks. Multiple Kracken in the Sea of Eden made the one Kracken I worried about earlier in the game comical. Earthbound is full of memorable adventure and event, and growth through journey.

I’d like to make sure too that I show continued appreciation to the music and the pixel art presentation. The soundtrack is one I will certainly keep and continue to revisit, and meeting the iconic characters like Mr. Saturns or Starman in game gave me that tingly feeling of ‘this is the thing I know!’ – characters from the box art or figurines surrounding the game that the culture of it creates. Earthbound’s, or rather, the MOTHER shop, is a testament to the game’s culture, value, and novelty. Scrolling through the options, I realized how many special characters, moments, and features the game holds. A Mr. Saturn plastic figure and hat, and anything with the “SMAAAASH!!” logo raised my eyebrows and has me desiring some of that ‘need-to-know’ merchandise.

If you’re interested, check out the official merch store here:

https://www.1101.com/mother_project/items/index_en.html: Big week: Big Walk, finishing Earthbound, and splatting salmon with ink

Speaking of Mr. Saturns, I loved how welcoming their alien species and the shy folks were. A heart-filling reprieve to have a free stay and free heal – folks willing to help and ask for nothing in return. I enjoyed too how their language was communicated to be more playful and foreign using a more hand-written, stylized font.

I wondered while playing, knowing the context of a 1994 release on Super Nintendo, how many parts of the game were the absolute first time anyone had experienced specific types of gameplay. A lot of the turn-based, slice-of-life RPG components are now an understood game language, but it was fun to wonder how people experienced the game and figured it out. I assume the player’s guide was a necessary component to completion and successful play – it certainly was for me. But even now, calling my dad for money, using an ATM, figuring out how to use Monkey’s Love or what The Franklin Badge is, are all things that feel entirely unique and memorable to Earthbound.

I caught goosebumps in a moment that reminded me of the novelty of playing a game from 1994. When you return to Oneitt to obtain a necessary library book, you talk to the librarian and she tells you that it’s not necessary to return the borrowed town map, but to come back in the year 2001 to return it. Now that I write it, I wonder if there’s some way to achieve that through long, extended post-game play and what would happen if you do. Regardless, what caught me is that in 1994, the millenium was on the horizon and there were all sorts of implications of what it would bring. But hearing a year I already lived through pitched as a far-ish future year in-game was certainly neat and had an impact.

I won’t write too specifically here in case you’ve never played, but the various efforts of reprisal in the game are really beautiful. Earthbound is really great at illustrating just how far you’ve come, and how much you’ve grown. It’s not just a linear experience from one place to the next until it’s over. Like I’ve written before, it feels like the world has place and life – places you then revisit or see within contexts of the story toward the end. Ending up at wild wildernesses, vast deserts, and big cities make a return back to your smaller suburb very comforting and warm. Revisiting Oneitt and Twoson later in the game made me realize that in early play, I had no the scale of epic journey that lied ahead.

The last dungeon before fighting the final boss Giygas I had to complete twice. I was a bit too liberal with PP and resource use on my way to the final fight, and realized once I knew what that fight looked like, that there was no way I was making it through with the stats I locked into my save-state right at the door. I didn’t quite comprehend until the end that game-overs may have been assumed and necessary for proper level building over time – but I was still able to complete with just a few.

Accepting a game-over in the final sequence allowed me reset and be more patient with my fighting on the way to Giygas. It behooves you save as much PP as possible for the last fight, but the Starmen and Ghost of Starmen certainly challenge that. I found that focusing on only using PP to heal when necessary and just using zero-cost bash attacks over and over to peck away finally worked. I felt the elation every time the screen flashed green and I saw “SMAAAASH!!” illustrated across the text box – thankful for that lucky gift here and there. I was relieved when I arrived at Giygas’s door with Paula’s PP nearly full. For the first time I had felt that I could actually complete the game. I had worried that I didn’t grind enough to complete it – happy to say that wasn’t true.

And in the name of patience, it may have been a superstition in my head, or it may have been programmed… let me know if you know. But I found that if I spammed the continue button too much, I’d find myself less fortunate. Like if I spammed to attack too quick, I’d miss more often. Or if I spammed Healing, it wouldn’t revive a party member. When I simply clicked next and let the game command the pace of the presented result, I found luck to be more in my favor? Again, maybe in my head, but maybe one of you knows..

From Magicant on, the final parts of the game show what a work of art it really is. Ness’s dream brain space feels like something off of an 80s album cover. It’s colorful, imaginative, unique and artistic. The reprisal starts happening then, as you revisit former characters and talk to enemies you beat – shows that what’s next is much bigger than a knife fight behind an arcade. But again, the game does a beautiful job pointing the journey had and values it. A structure in which will create a lasting effect in my brain.

I was happy to see what happens to the pictures the camera man takes throughout the game, but won’t spoil that. A little spoilery, but I’ll say that I teared up when their souls returned to the kids bodies and they got to continue to enjoy a timeline they were told they had to sacrifice. I love that this game will live in me. I wonder how long and how often I’ll think about it.

Big Walk

Big Walk released on Tuesday and my friends and I jumped right in. I’m thankful, but also a tad surprised because getting the 3 of us to agree on one game to play has been tough-going for a bit. A main limitation is that the only console we all share is a PS5, but we’ve proudly plugged 250 hours of Helldivers 2 and have gained some momentum with Stardew Valley on our Tuesday-night game night. But I planted a seed for Big Walk in our group chat when the announcement trailer dropped and was happy they were stoked to jump in on the release date.

We were surprised to find that Big Walk was included with a standard PS Plus online membership. I’m not sure of the politics or licensing behind this day-1 release, but I have a hunch that it may have something to do with the fact that Playstation’s been under fire for announcing the cancellation of physical games and now they’re trying to do nice, cool things to make up for it? Regardless, free was not a barrier in our point of entry so we all had it downloaded and ready for our regular 7pm meet time.

Instantly, we all were exclaiming how cool the game was. I was first curious about the sound and voice with proximity chat. Loved that my friends sounded like their voices belonged in the rooms and spaces we occupied. I was impressed to hear them directionally, whether they were in my left ear, right ear, or faint because of distance.

We perused the entry area quietly, which was so awesome and interesting. We usually chat it up to start our game nights, but I think we were so engaged with wonder of how the game worked and it does an excellent job letting you learn by doing. My friend had commented how he liked that it doesn’t tell you much but instead prompts you with opportunities to figure it out and learn for yourself. Excellent design.

We walked outside with a collective, “Woahhhhhh,” and gawked at the vastness of the outdoor space. We were then greeted by a sunrise and were instantly impressed with how great the game looked.

Big Walk is most certainly a game about communication. Not only verbal communication, but physical, nonverbal communication as well. I enjoyed the puzzles in which we had to create new ways of communicating to help each other solve. Each of the puzzles are welcoming and easily achievable through teamwork. We had one early where one of us had to be in a sound-proof room to see and communicate a sequence of buttons for others to press on the other side of the window. Without words, my friend found himself pointing to the buttons we were supposed to push, we’d walk over to the one we thought he was pointing to, and proceed to raise both arms as if to shrug and ask, “this one!?” If incorrect, he’d continue to point. If correct, he’d put both hands up in the air in a celebratory touchdown pose. He’d even jump sometimes for extra expression and I was full of joy.

I knew from the trailer this was going to be a game about spending time with your friends. I’m so thankful this is a game we are all experiencing fresh together. Making discoveries together and spending time in a beautiful place is special. We discovered a beautiful, water-side spot that flexed spacial sound design with music and speakers. We conveniently found 3 benches near the water and had that, ‘look at us, dudes,’ moment as we all just sat and enjoyed it together. My heart swelled to a happy tear-up. A continual, ‘I’m so happy this is happening’ and felt some serious gratitude.

We are certainly excited to dig back in next week. Perhaps even before.

Splatoon Raiders

I’d been anticipating Splatoon Raiders for a while and to be honest, after the Nintendo Direct covering specifics of the game, I wasn’t quite sure about it. I then was going to wait and see what the reviews said, and they came out very positive. So I went for it on launch day and I am happy I did.

The game feels amazing, and it’s as fun as everyone says it is. Sure, it looks cool, but in the most recent episode of The Besties, Chris Plante stresses that it feels even better once you have your hands on it. It’s true. The fact that every shot you take splats your ink everywhere and then you can dip in and swim fast to reload your tank and heal? So awesome. So smooth, fast, and fun.

I felt the gender-fluid character design was refreshing, but would be interested to hear what other folks think. I think cosplay opportunities with these Splatoon characters are varied and stylish. I went for the rubber-ducky-in-the-nest hairstyle, and enjoy that throughout the game you continue to collect varied outfits.

I love how the crane of the boat yeets you to each location – their words too! All in the name of fun. Not only do you get there fast physically, but I enjoy the quick in-and-out structure of the game’s raiding. Makes it very approachable and inviting to play for little bit or a long while.

I’m excited to keep upgrading builds in ways I hear they can be dialed in. The variety of weapons and gadgets are all fun to play with, and I’m slowly discovering ones that are more my play style. I think I’m leaning more toward the speed tank? I like the one that has the big jump foward and splashes within a circled area. I like to smash in, then spray to clean up the remains. And I enjoy how the initial smash covers a big area in your ink that you can then safely dip into if you need to. Your own bunker, if you will.

Traversal can be a good time too. Not as fast or as fluid as swimming through your ink, but it’s fun to fill a cannon with ink to build a zipline from land-to-land, or to boogie board from island to island. There’s plants that give you a sort of floating triple jump that can give you a height advantage against hoards. In one of the partular challenge-focused raids, the boogie board was giving Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back.

I enjoy the ability to ask for help and that it’s on a timer cooldown each time you use it so that you don’t over use it – the game still wants you to try on your own. The process of getting folks into your game to help you is fast and seemless. No verbal interaction needed and no hanging out after the raid. They help, and then they’re out. Jumping into a tough raid with the help of two other willing folks has been a guaranteed win each time – at least early on. It’s cool that once you get to certain point, you can volunteer to help others online too in raids that you yourself have already completed. You get rewarded if you’re successful but risk not coming back with anything if you fail – not the case in solo, you’re always rewarded solo wether you succeed or fail a raid.

I find the story stuff to be pretty passive, as I think we’re all here to splat stuff, loot, and keep shootin’. The challenge, I am happy to say, is more than I expected. Oh, and the pen sketches in the field notes that explain enemy types are really great. Splatoon Raiders is super promising and feels really good to play. I hear it goes deep beyond game’s ‘end,’ so I’m excited to see more. I should get back to it.

Thank you all for reading,

Your Friend Dillon