Games Beaten
-Super Mario Party (Switch)
Super Mario Party does away with a lot of the weird additions and directions that some of the more recent games in the series had tried to foist on us. No all-for-one car rides or weird linear board races here, for instance. And while the mini games are largely quite good, the game boards—of which there are only four—are small and boring. There are other modes to play and that's fine, but I wish they had taken more care with the core Mario Party experience. There's just not much here.
Games Bought
January was a light month compared to the onslaught of December but still had some noteworthy additions. The price on God Eater 3 (PS4) had sufficiently dropped for me to pick that up in anticipation of shelving EDF 2025 for a while to do something different. I had two Switch games come in from Limited Run Games: Blazing Chrome (more on that later) and Mary Skelter 2 (which includes an updated version of the original Mary Skelter: Nightmares). We also bought a copy of Pokémon Shield because...*drum roll*...we bought a Switch Lite! We got it mostly for my wife and me to play and the kids will mainly play the original Switch, though we will certainly let them sometimes. But not most of the time! I was worried if I'd regret getting it rather than another full Switch (with better battery life!) but the Lite really feels like a giant Vita and I love it. On the digital front I bought the Contra Anniversary Collection (Switch) while it was on sale. I've beaten all the games before, except the arcade and European versions, but it's nice to have them all in one place and easily accessible (especially Super C, my fave). Rounding out things is Goat Simulator (PS4) from PS+.
Games Being Played
-Blazing Chrome (Switch)
Muddled through Easy mode with my son (who kept stealing my lives). Going to try Normal by myself to "beat" it.
-Cosmic Star Heroine (PS4)
Finally started this sci-fi Sega CD-esque RPG. I really love the humor and have enjoyed the battle system.
-Destiny 2 (PS4)
Started working on some of the long badge requirements.
-Earth Defense Force 2025 (PS3)
Working through Hardest with the Wing Diver.
Blog-a-Day Introduction
I had BaD plans this year that involved actual video games but did not have a chance to start on them in January. So I moved to a back-up plan where I'd talk about various game-related stuff I have, like books and POP figures and whatnot, but then discovered I could do the whole Blog-a-Day just with books. So after taking a bunch of pictures this morning, I'm all set for BaD! (Well, except for the whole "writing the blogs" part. Small detail.) Check back tomorrow to see what's first!
I followed Cosmic Star Heroine since before it came out. Still haven't bought it yet. Will probably get it for switch.
It's good! I'm playing on the second highest difficulty and the battles can be really tense but satisfying.
Actually, I just got a Switch Lite myself! I know, I don't need one, but after holding one in my hands at the store, I HAD to get one because it's so small and light, it just feels great in your hands (makes the regular Switch seem bulky). But it's perfect when you have so many people in the house wanting to use the TV.
I see someone is enjoying their holiday overtime money 
But for whatever faults in may have, the Switch Lite feels so good.
I reviewed Blazing Chrome last year:
Good review, Cary. I really like Blazing Chrome. It would be so much harder without infinite continues but yeah, you still gotta do the work! That last boss gauntlet is tough, even on easy.
Blazing Chrome is tough haha. Been playing it off and on in small spurts on game pass for the past few months. I recentently finally reached level 5 haha.
You're almost done! Well, except that level five is the hardest one...and the last boss gauntlet is brutal...yeah. What difficulty are you playing on? When I played Easy with my son I had to institute a no live stealing rule for the final boss. I needed every hit to get through that!
I'm playing it on Normal.
Never mind about level five. I just got to level 6 on normal. I had forgot there was a level six 
Already? Damn. RIP me.
Just beat the game a few minutes ago. Feels good haha.
Good job! I finished it, watched the credits, and looked at Hardcore mode. I thought...no, no thanks, I'm good! Beating Normal was satisfying enough.
Yup, same haha.
Cosmic Star Heroine does look cool. And if Blazing Chrome is on Game Pass, then I might try it.
Yes, try it! Good co-op game too
I wish my friemd Mark would get Game Pass. He just won't do it because he doesn't want another monthly payment. I wonder if gifting him a few months of it makes it auto charge him when it's done?
I think it's local co-op only. Don't you and Mark get together and game?
I do almost all my gaming at my friend Mark's place. If he got Game Pass, we'd be able to play a lot of co-op games together online. I haven't played a local co-op game since Halo 1 days.
