Hey everyone! I hope your Christmas season was filled with fun times and good cheer! I know this is coming a little late, but we’ve still got New Year’s this week, so maybe you’ve still got enough quality time with your consoles coming to really enjoy some your favorite games. I definitely do, and these are a few of the games I’ll be playing alongside Trails of Cold Steel III (thanks bro)!

Super Mario 64

No matter how old I get or how simple this game becomes in comparison to all its excellent successors, there’s something about Super Mario 64 that keeps me coming back year after year. I used to think I could put my finger on exactly what that “something” is, but I’ve since discovered that it changes every time and is therefore impossible to identify. In the past, I used to love the game’s inherent difficulty. It used to be hard! After that, it was mostly a nostalgic experience best enjoyed during the most nostalgic time of the year (Christmas). There’s still a nostalgic element these days, but now I mostly enjoy testing my mastery and comparing notes with my friends. Watching them play has revealed things about the game I never could have guessed were there, making it feel fresh and new all over again! This is definitely worth a revisit for all those 90’s kids out there!

Donkey Kong 64

Even though DK64 is rife with annoyances like the stupid colored bananas and that rage-inducing Donkey Kong arcade game challenge, I still love it all the same. I love breaking it out every year and collecting a few golden bananas with my buddies. It’s just such a pure and simple experience to me. The kongs are funny; DK Isle is a joy to run around, and the humor still brings a smile to my face despite having seen it over and over for almost 20 years now. What can I say? It’s an absolute blast being part of the DK Crew!

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

I’ve talked about The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask at great length over the past several years. It’s quite close to being an absolutely perfect game in my eyes, so it should come as no surprise that I like to break it out around the end of the year. This was the second Zelda game I ever played, the first being The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It was the game that convinced me that the Zelda series was something special, and it continues to reignite my love for the series even now. I don’t really agree with the direction the Zelda games have been going in since Skyward Sword and now Breath of the Wild, but I still think that’s a series that deserves its reputation. Majora’s Mask is responsible for that, and you should definitely give it a try if it’s somehow managed to escape you after all these years.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

I suppose I didn’t really need to specifically single out The Master Chief collection for this entry, because any Halo game will do. Halo is the perfect game for those times when you only have about 30 minutes to to kill, and you want to do something fun and exciting. For many out there, Call of Duty fits this bill just fine too, but it’s Halo for me. I love that I can get into mini-duels with other players mid-match and have a true contest of skill with them. Sometimes I outplay them, sometimes I get outplayed, but it’s always a blast!

Animal Crossing

I don’t fire this game up as often as I used to, and I don’t like that that’s happened. Animal Crossing is the best kind of game to play when all you want to do is sit back and relax. Yes, it’s basically just about living out your daily life in a town filled with cute animals, but sometimes that’s all you want. Animal Crossing gives its players into the slow-paced, carefree life we all secretly long for from time to time. It’s a life free of obligation where all you have to do is visit with your neighbors and go fishing. Is it realistic? No. Is it always desirable? No. It does make for a nice break though, and that’s something we all need around the end of the year, wouldn’t you say?

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Which games do you most enjoy playing this time of year? Are they always different or do you have some tried and true favorites?

Image captured by Hatmonster