. . .about Generation 3 in console video games, but more specifically the years '84-'89. It's my theme for March this year. I couldn't resist expanding it to include arcade, PC and board games too. I thought I'd share it here.
Wow, 2023 has been an incredible year for gaming, one of the very best! And here we are at the end of the year, so let’s look back at some games, shall we? You guys probably know that I’m a big Nintendo guy. In fact, I don’t even have the other consoles (mostly because I don’t have time to play them all). This was a great year for Nintendo, we got so many fantastic games on the Switch. This year I beat a total of 26 games! (I was hoping to beat 30, but you know how it goes)
It’s the end of the year so you know what that means? It’s time for my “Best Video Games of 2023 Awards Show!” Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed. And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!
I've actually been playing a lot, thanks to the Genesis Mini (even booted up the SNES Mini to play Secret of Mana yesterday), GameFly, and Yakuza, so I'm just going to dump brief takes on all the games I've been playing.
As of January 1, 2020, we're entering a new decade in gaming (let's not go into pedantic debates about the.year zero here). It's hard to believe, it just seems like 2010, a time of Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and Kinect, was just yesterday, and the world of the 2000s was still fresh in my mind.
Since 2019 is, for all intents and purposes, over, I am posting my top 10 games of the year for 2019.
Back at the beginning of 5th gen, I got a N64, and was looking forward to games like Zelda 64 (Ocarina of Time) and Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. I remember being impressed by screenshots from the N64 prototype of Mother 3, which Nintendo Power called Earthbound 64. The realization that it was going to be vaporware and games like Quest 64 were going to be representative of what the N64 would get for RPGS eventually drove me to get a PS1 and Final Fantasy VII. Mother 3 ended up being a Game Boy Advance game, and of course Nintendo still shows no signs of localizing it.
Last month was a great month for gaming. Seriously. It was better than some years of gaming. I went on a buying spree I haven't been on since I was a young adult buying PS1 games.
Remember that silly old trope in teen movies where the nerdy “plain Jane” character magically becomes super attractive just by removing her glasses? It was a bit like that with EarthBound- an RPG that was largely ignored when released on the Super NES in its twilight years. Nintendo’s ill-conceived ad campaign telling the player that “this game stinks” didn’t do it any favors either. The game’s overtly humorous kid-friendly facade was unusual for its time and quickly written off as ugly and boring by all but the most accepting of RPG fans. But thanks to the positive praise in gaming forums years later, it picked up steam and eventually became lauded as one of the best on the Super NES. Much like the bespectacled character in every 90s teen comedy, it was as if EarthBound removed its glasses. Nothing was different about it- just our perception of what was already there.
So it's been 90s week on my Switch this week. I got Turok a little over a week ago, and then I've also been playing a certain little known PS1 RPG that somehow just found its way onto a Nintendo console over 20 years later. And that got me thinking about the N64.
Hey folks! This episode of Nerds Without Pants is lean, mean, and ready to give away a video game! There’s a lot to cover, but since Julian is writing this post from an IHOP with a waiter giving him the “wrap it up” look, it’s time to keep things short. This week, we announce the first winner of The Great Game Giveaway, and we announce the next contest: listen and share the show for your chance to win a copy of either Devil May Cry V or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice! Now, on to the show!
Let’s spring into Spring with more game reviews that I’ve recently written over at GamerDad.com. Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe even please post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
Welcome, to a very special episode of Nerds Without Pants! Wait, wasn’t last episode special because we began the Great Game Giveaway? Yes, yes it was, but this time we’re unveiling our new third segment: Video Game Cage Match! We have a banger of an opening bout for you, too, as Sonic 2 squares off against Mega Man 2 in the Battle of the Blue Boys!
Welcome back to a thoughtful Nerds Without Pants! Patrick had a smarty pants Stage Select topic, so we enlisted the smartiest pants person we know: Mike Fallek of the Hackthought Podcast. What follows is comedy, heated debates, and the debut of the Patrick Leap? Listen and find out, Pantsless people!
Boring life update (you can skip, there's gaming stuff later/anyone else's keyboard type in the same letter a bunch of times when you hit it only once, especially on this site? Stupid $1000 ASUS ROG laptop, what the hell?!):
