Filling Up on Bread

Last year, I've been very sporadic with the number of blogs posted, though it's safe to say there's years' worth of material to work from.  After a very late breakfast of donuts and iced coffee, I hope to change that with my first blog for the new year.

Speaking of stuffing myself, I must've done more online shopping last month than I ever had.  One purchase was long overdue: A new proprietary memory card for my PS Vita, which I wasted no time loading with data old and new.

Street Fighter X Tekken

One of the first Vita carts on my list, I barely played the game before erasing what little data was saved to make room for something else.  Buying another Vita and then jailbreaking it came to mind, before realizing I owned too much shit and I'd never get shit done.  So for a time, SFxT and YouTube were my go-to's for passing my lunch break at work.

As the name implies, the game pits Capcom's World Warriors against Bandai Namco's Tekken Fighters in tag-team brawls.  Up till now I've played in small bursts and avoided the arcade mode lest I start something I won't finish later.

The mechanics of Street Fighter X Tekken include a gem system that boosts fighters' attributes during gameplay.  Players can customize which gems their favorite characters use before and during their selection.

Though getting the game's full roster and DLC characters right off the bat, costumes and color palettes are sold separately.  At least the color palettes are free.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

Speaking of crossover fighters, I bought a Japanese copy of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 mostly cuz it fit into my Vita game budget at the time ($20 or less).  But this being a fighting game with Ryu in it, I was fine just winging it in every mode I tried.

At least I can read the digital preview comic that tries to explain how Chris Redfield's pitted against the Hulk.

But for me, the biggest compromise is the player can't take any in-game screenshots with the Home/Start button.

I killed time training, clearing some character-based challenges and playing Heroes and Heralds, which pits players against Metal-Mario versions of themselves.  And speaking of Mario . . .

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Super NES)

The Game Boy Advance port of Yoshi's Island was one of the first games I wrote about for the blog, and the closest I've gotten to the original.  Now years later, and lured by the promise of reward points, I'm back playing an emulation of the Super NES title, courtesy of Nintendo's online service for the Switch.  But with less clunky shoulder buttons.

Helping the Yoshis reunite the Baby Mario Bros takes me back to when I've found the GBA port at a local game shop near my work, and started playing right away on the subway ride home.

I'm also reminded of the minor nuisances I've faced in my playthroughs, starting with those Piranha Plants that pop up when you least expect it.

But it's nowhere near as grating as when you slam into a baddie, which sends Baby Mario floating away.

Chocobo GP (Switch)

Sometimes I ask myself, 'Why waste money and memory on the next AAA title when Nintendo's eShop offers plenty of free-to-play games to scratch every itch?'  This coming from someone who hasn't played too many FTP games.  That changes now, starting with Square Enix' Mario Kart clone, starring the Final Fantasy plushies.  Since learning that Square will be shutting down support for Chocobo GP this week (though not shutting down the game), I didn't want to miss the boat like I did with Nintendo's mobile game Dragalia Lost.

While there isn't much to see unless you splurge on the full version, the game's presentation, which featured voiced cutscenes, give it a life of its own.

After a brief tutorial on how to drift, all that's left is the Grand Prix Mode, where players compete online on random tracks with limited character selection and customization options.  Looking past the dreaded microtransactions that dragged the whole thing down, it's classic Mario Kart with a Final Fantasy paintjob.

Killzone: Mercenary (Vita)

Since I've tried this one after just getting it in the mail, I couldn't stop thinking about the antagonists, the Helghast, and why they look so familiar.  It just came to me: They bare a striking resemblance to the characters from the anime movie Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade; in fact, that movie could very well be the inspiration behind Guerilla Cambridges' series of space-age first-person shooters.  Once again, I got my copy from Japan but luckily, it translates into the language set on my Vita.

The gist of the game is that you're the titled mercenary serving the government of planet Vetka in their campaign against the forces of planet Helghan.

One Vita-exclusive feature that saw a lot of use is a knife attack performed on the touch screen when getting up close and personal with the enemy.

Gunfights get more hectic than this in a hurry, and always in tight, enclosed spaces.

There are more games to talk about, but for now that about does it.  Tune in next time when I start going through my toy backlog.  Until then, Happy New Year.