Major developments this weekend!
1. Said goodbye to Ni No Kuni this morning, as I sent it back to Gamefly. The game is fine, I suppose, but a few things became very apparent during my last few sessions with it, namely: (i) I was never going to get 60 hours of TV time with it before the baby arrived, and (ii) I didn’t feel particularly compelled to fight for TV time in order to play it. If I were 13 years old and had all the time in the world, I suppose I’d be madly in love with it. But as a 37-year-old with limited time on his hands, it feels a little too cutesy, and the combat system is needlessly tedious and cumbersome, and it’s just not what I’m in the mood for right now.
2. Said hello to a brand-new Nintendo 3DS XL on Saturday. This after I wrote up a big long thing (that I didn’t end up publishing) about how I was suddenly seized with this irrational desire to get one, and that even though I have a special savings account that is specifically designed to let me me buy expensive toys without feeling guilty about it, I was still feeling guilty about it. Maybe I’m nervous about fatherhood, and buying a new toy will help distract me. I don’t know.
In any event, I bought the thing, as well as Super Mario 3D Land, Professor Layton & the Miracle Mask, and Paper Mario Sticker Star. (I was hoping to also get Ocarina of Time and Fire Emblem, but they were sold out. And you know what? I might simply rent Fire Emblem; I played a Fire Emblem title on the original DS and it stressed the hell out of me. Turn-based tactical strategy games always tend to freak me out.) When I got home, I also downloaded Pushmo and Crashmo; not sure what else there is to download that’s worth it – thought about Cave Story, but it’s unclear if the one on the eShop is in 3D or not.
The 3D is pretty spectacular, even if it makes looking at everything else a little weird – like this computer monitor, for example. I suppose I’d like it even better if it had a higher-resolution display, but everything I’ve got for it right now looks pretty grand, and I can deal with it. I even took it to work with me today, as I’m curious to see if I picked up any Street Pass activity, but it doesn’t look like it. This doesn’t surprise me, frankly – since it first came out, I’ve maybe only ever seen 1 or 2 on the subway. I’ve seen more Playstation Vita’s on the subway, actually, which is very surprising.
As for the games? 3D Land is pretty great, reminding me of a smaller-scale Galaxy. The Prof. Layton game is also pretty great, even if some of the puzzles feel a bit cheap. Paper Mario is… OK, I guess. It’s not Mario & Luigi, which is what I’d prefer, but it’s still interesting.
Those of you with 3DSes – what else would you recommend I check out?
Shouts From The Couch 