Walking on Eggshells

These days, the only thing I seems to always find time for (besides washing down my dinner with 5 hours of websurfing, max) are video games.  Even more so since getting my Nintendo Switch 2 years earlier.  When I was too broke for the latest high-end console or PC, portable gaming has helped me through many rainy days and sleepless nights.  This time I'm going back to yesteryear,  indulging in childhood favorites and missed classics.  Here are the games I'm currently playing:

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (Game Boy Advance)

 

  Once I actually got the cartridge to load (and a Game Boy with working shoulder buttons), Yoshi's Island might be my most pleasant experience in babysitting.  As a herd of Yoshis charged with reuniting Baby Mario with his brother, you play through 6 levels of flowers, fluff and deathtraps.  Serious action-adventures are more my style, but since I've started beating my games, I leave each Nintendo title feeling a great deal of satisfaction--and relief from not having to fight the final boss for the 20th time.

World 4-4 is the worst.  Not only do you have to outrun a giant Chain Chomp out of the gate, but also unlock the doors of a 4-layer labyrinth to the next phase.

 But it's not all sunshine and lollipops.  The controls are too fluid for my liking, save points are few and far between and the fact that you lose a life if Baby Mario wonders off makes him a liability.  So I try to tread lightly--except when I'm running from giant Chain Chomps.

  Did I mention I'm lovin' the Mario Bros Classic game that comes bundled in?

Kirby's Adventure (NES Classic)

I've wanted to get my hands on this one for years.  Though I couldn't afford the original cart as a kid, I've never picked it up from Nintendo's Virtual Console or played it for free on Nintendo Switch Online.  After getting an NES Classic at a sweet price, it might as well be the first of the included 30 games that I'd try.

I like that they've added mini-games that offer extra lives and whatnot.  Crane games, however, remain the bane of my existence.

My first experience with Kirby was with Kirby Super Star for the Super NES, and watching the pink buttercup suck it up is as colorful and fun as I remember.  Chasing King Dedede across Dream Land, you can swallow enemies and take their powers as your own.  And unlike with the aforementioned game, Kirby can inflate and float in the air indefinitely, and I've breezed through most levels this way.

 My biggest hurdle so far is with Kracko, Level 4's final boss.  Already beat 'em twice before, so I'll just do it again (except I can't poop out a partner this time around).

Advance Wars (GBA)

I've just started playing this one after buying it literally a year earlier, and I haven't put it down since.  America's introduction to Japan's Famicom Wars series, Advance Wars lets you lead your army against invaders using bite-sized, turn-based strategy.  But before you can even access the single-player campaign, you have to sit through a tutorial explaining the basics.  Once that's done, you see how deep the trenches go, as the player could spend hours locked in a stalemate trying to either wipe out the enemy or capture their base.

 Your guide in the tutorial, Nell's also one of the unlockable CO's whose abilities can turn the tide of battle.

 Remember, kids: Video games are not about fair play, but overwhelming force.

Let's stop here.  I'll keep you posted on these games as I progress, though I'm farther along in some than in others.  For now look forward to new posts covering a wide variety of media, as I dig my way up to the TOP OF THE HEAP.  See you next time!