Currently Playing #5

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Months back, I downloaded Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins on the 3DS Virtual Console. It was among the first Game Boy games I bought back in 1993 and it was one of my favorite games for the handheld. I don't think I've played this game since the early 2000s and I have to say it still holds up pretty well.

I've currently collected four of the six golden coins. The only zones left are Pumpkin Zone and Space Zone, the later of which I'm really dreading. Space Zone only has two levels and the second one, which I think is called Star Maze, is an auto-scrolling nightmare, consisting of stars that may as well be spikes. You have to keep Mario from touching the stars throughout the stage until you reach the boss. The best part about Star Maze? The music. Kazumi Tokata wrote a heck of a score in Super Mario Land 2, but Star Maze is easily one of the game's best tracks. OK, the game's Athletic theme is pretty awesome, too. I never could beat Super Mario Land 2. Wario's Castle was a platforming nightmare for me and I always lost on Wario. This time, I plan to get Mario's castle back and land that final head stomp on Wario.

Oh and Rabbit Mario is still one of the best "float" Mario abilities ever.

Mega Man X

My favorite entry in the X series, I've started up a game last night on the Virtual Console. I'm about to tackle the Sigma stages, but first I'll be getting the Hadoken. After all that smack Vile has been talking, it always feels so good to shut him up with one hit of Ryu's signature move. Maybe I'll download Mega Man X2 when I get paid. X3 isn't one of my favorite Mega Man games but I still hope it comes to the Virtual Console. Same with Mega Man 7, though it actually is one of my favorites.

I'll probably be playing more Mega Man games in the coming weeks. Perhaps because it's Mega Man's 25th anniversary and I'm in a Mega Man mood. I'm not sure. I thought about going through the whole X series but then I'm forced to remember how much X6 and X7 suck. Maybe I'll just skip those games.

Still Playing...

Mario Kart 7

Why is it so freaking hard for me to win first overall in the Special Cup of this game? I have tried time and again to win gold but I always have my hopes dashed by item bombardment or just plain sucky racing on my part. When the former happens, it is especially infuriating. Getting hit with that Blue Shell is bad enough but when the rest of the racers drive by and pummel you with their items, that's just rubbing salt into the wound. It really makes my blood boil, to the point where I know I need to stop playing.

Thankfully Time Trial does frustrate me like the Grand Prix mode does. I've made some good times, but I could probably make even better ones if I had all the car parts. When I'm not trying to ace my own times, I can always compete against the numerous times from other players, something I find great joy in. There are a lot of good Mario Kart 7 racers out there and just knowing that I've been able to keep up with a few of them feels pretty good.

New Super Mario Bros. 2

It's all about the coins. Coin Rush mode keeps me coming back. As much flack as this game gets for the coins, no other game in the Super Mario series packs this kinda replay value that will have you coming back long after the main quest is over. I ran into someone with Street Pass and challenged his record. I beat him and got a Crown Coin for my victory. I'm still trying to beat my own record, which is at 10,938 coins. I just found out that I can challenge my own record by replaying the exact levels that I achieved that score on. All this time I was waiting for a good set of levels or hoping I'd randomly get those levels again.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

I'm trying to get all golds and unlock every level, but decorating Kirby's pad is getting to be quite addicting. I never spent a lot of time on this when I played it last year, but now I see that there is a ton of stuff you can furnish the place with. It may not be as much as say, Animal Crossing, but you still get a lot to work with. I have a Moon Clock on my wall, a Helicopter, and on the Magic Carpet, I have a Waddle Dee and Waddle Doo. On the sofa sits a King Dedede toy that became available in the shop after I defeated him.

Kirby Air Ride

This is now one of my favorite GameCube games. Simple as it is, the racing is a lot of fun. Speaking of the racing, while the Copy Powers are helpful, you still need to race well to stay ahead and in the weeks I've been playing Air Ride, I've improved significantly. I'm much better at taking sharp turns and making smoother landings.

I unlocked more air ride machines and even unlocked King Dedede and Meta Knight. King Dedede is heavy but has some good speed. His hammer also makes him dangerous to try to trade blows with. Meta Knight doesn't ride on anything but instead uses his wings to fly across the track. Using Meta Knight is like using the Sword ability in the game. Any riders that are close to you are going to get cut up something fierce.

I really love the Checklist. It's sort of like achievements, giving you something to shoot for. In fact, Super Smash Bros. Brawl's list of unlockables seems to be based off of this one. What's more, The menu layout of Air Ride is very similar to the one used in Super Smash Bros. Melee. I guess it shouldn't be too much of a surprise seeing as how Masahiro Sakurai was behind all of these games.

I'm enjoying City Trial a lot more than when I initially started playing. Powering up in the city and then competing and some random event is quite entertaining. Though I've never been able to defeat King Dedede. You get a minute and thirty seconds to take him out, but no matter how much I damage him, he won't go down. I'm starting to wonder if he's even beatable. Quite a bit of events in the Stadium have opened up since I've been playing City Trial, but from the look of it, there's a lot more.