Super Mario 64, You’re My One and Only

If the recent release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie reminds me of anything, it’s that I never completed Super Mario Galaxy. Because of that, I never touched its sequel, either. Super Mario Sunshine is also in the DNF pile. Super Mario 3D World was fun but left me cold. I recently saw Super Mario…

Ranking the Banjo-Kazooie Mumbo Transformations

After my most recent playthrough of one of my favorite games of all time, Banjo-Kazooie, I thought it would be fun to do a handful of ranking posts.  I’ve already ranked all of the game’s 9 delightful worlds, and now I’d like to rank all of the transformations.  Although Mumbo’s magic in Banjo-Kazooie isn’t quite…

Legacy Games are Something Else

Recently, I found myself having a string of very similar conversations, and they focus around the same argument: “You really like X, so why won’t you play Y? It’s like X but newer with so many more features and better graphics.” I understand the point, but, see, the arguments are about games like Animal Crossing….

An Overdue Banjo-Kazooie World Ranking

With my Nintendo 64 currently packed up, I finally decided to give in and purchase that Expansion Pack for Nintendo Switch Online so I could revisit some of my all-time favorite games.  We’ve actually discussed the Banjo-Kazooie franchise many times over the years, but I can’t believe I never ranked these sprawling and colorful worlds…

Analyzing the Two Super Mario Galaxy Movie Trailers

After the massive success of The Super Mario Brothers Movie from 2023 (because we do NOT talk about the live-action movie from 30 years prior), it was no surprise that they’re making another one.  What is surprising, however, is that they’re skipping straight to Super Mario Galaxy, with some elements from other games thrown into…

Nintendo is on a Mission

And it seems that mission is to see just how much it can get away with before people finally decide to stop blindly buying their stuff. Yup, Nintendo is once again courting controversy by, once again, making decisions that are decidedly not consumer-friendly. Heck, they aren’t even fan-friendly. The decision in question: selling Pokemon Fire…

Top 10 Most Aggravating Levels from Donkey Kong Country 3

Being my least favorite Donkey Kong Country game in the original trilogy, I could still admit in my previous list that this game has plenty of fun and memorable levels.  It also has plenty of evil ones that I despise to varying degrees of white-hot hatred.  Whether it’s dealing with a level that doesn’t even…

Do You Really Have to Oxygenate the Water in Jolly Roger’s Lagoon?

I’ve played Banjo-Tooie countless times over the years.  And so it’s hard to make one of my favorite games of all time feel fresh.  Partly, this is because I tend to do the same thing every single time.  For example, I always head left upon entering Terrydactyland and climb the vine behind the waterfall.  This…

Top 10 Levels from Donkey Kong Country 3

I’ll be honest, the third Donkey Kong Country isn’t exactly my favorite.  It’s a bit too cutesy, a bit too gimmicky, and…Kiddy exists.  With that said, this is still a pretty fun game if you don’t compare it to its predecessors.  As I recently replayed it for the purposes of research, I accumulated a nice,…

Unforgettable: An Operatic Interlude in Final Fantasy VI

I recently dove into Final Fantasy VI for the first time ever and can’t say I’m not feeling a little teary-eyed as its finish line closes in. I simply don’t want it to end. (And yet, of course I do, because Kefka has to be stopped!) Before FFVI, I don’t know what I’d have picked…