PixlBit

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?!): 

In my case, hump day certainly feels like it. For what feels like the millionth time in a row, I've failed to wake up in time to print my resume and head to Cornerstone Staffing here in Dallas. I still plan to do that tomorrow and visit Texas Workforce Commission the next day. My unemployment CARD came in, which I put in all caps cause I thought it would be a check. I guess it makes sense they want to know what you're using it for. I called about that and they said the only prohibited expenses are "gaming and gambling." I'm guessing they mean ILLEGAL gaming and gambling, but I'll be sure to put any video games I buy on personal debit or credit all the same. 

Truth be told, I was really thinking in June when I immediately applied to like 10 jobs the minute I learned of my layoff that I'd find a job a lot sooner and wouldn't need unemployment. If I'm being 100% honest, I have enough in savings and spend so little that I don't need it the way some friends in worse positions might, but family and friends asked if I'd applied for it, and when I said no, it just seemed responsible to have some form of income given how long the search has lasted. The good news is, they give you a neat PDF to track your job searching, which will help keep me organized. 

I keep hearing how low unemployment is and how many opportunities there must be in a city like Dallas, but I'm not sure how true it is if you're looking for a decent salary that can actually support you paying rent in a city vs. a job that lets you say you have a job, but that you're serving more than it's serving you. I mean, my goal here is to be able to support myself. Not exactly looking for a castle, but even a one-bed in Dallas would be like $1000/mo and they're going to ask that you have three times whatever rent is coming to you. If there was a job I could get in a cheaper housing market, I'd take it, but slim pickin's there. 

Spider-Man (2018):

It sure is a Spider-Man game all right. Yup. It's all here. Even the combat feels reminiscent of Spider-Man 2. And yes, Arkham, but PEOPLE: you have got to stop pretending Arkham was the first game to have these ideas for combat when older Spider-Man games already did the Spidey Sense thing and gave you intricate combos to unlock long before those games came out; the flow is certainly different, which makes sense ... because the flow of this game's combat is much more like ... wait for it ... older Spider-Man titles. 

Anyway, combat is fun, if a bit hectic at times because of everything trying to kill you without much of a breather, especially later in the game. I aprreciate the challenge, even if I get mad every time there's a heavy type enemy who messses up my combo by coming out of nowhere. 

Swinging is ... well, I'm still kind of annoyed it uses only one shoulder button, when part of what made SM2's swinging  so fun and weighty was using both. Using only R2 with the occassional X just feels too automatic and I don't get the same sense of gravity from it. I get using L2 as an aim button, but when most of the side content when you have to do that while swinging is awkward and lame to execute ... yeah, this is overall a disappointment for me. I can never figue out what the top of my arc is to consistently gain momentum either, and I've unlocked all the webslinger abilities at this point. 

The stealth is where I really see Arkham in a way that wasn't in previous Spider-Man games. They make it unique to Spider-Man, hanging foes upside down by web as opposed to batclaw or whatever, but there are some things I definitely prefer in Arkham. For one, you're too far above enemies to use the upside down web thingy in a lot of scenarios, and it seems the game wants you to engage in combat no matter what unless there's a highly specific stealth scenario. Even if you stealth all the baddies in the first wave of base camps in the side content, the immediate second wave will still turn things to combat, immediately discovering you, so it kinda feels like "what's the point?" unless there are bonuses for using stealth. 

But while I consider it a fairly run-of-the-mill Spidey game, it is fun enough that I am at 85% completion without really having tried to be. It's certainly addicting and I may end up Platinuming it, but it'll be because the gameplay was just fun and easy enough for me to do so, and not necessarily because I found it "amazing" or "spectacular." I'm still happy with my purchase, but it isn't the return to form for swinging nor anything new for Spider-Man games. 

SNES Mini: 

I'd love to run down my thoughts on each game, a la Carry's most recent NES Classic blog, but with my keyboard still fighting me, I'm not sure I want to put in all that effort to have this disappear when I hit "post." Yes I know I should use Word, but blogs just start more naturally when I type directly on Pixlbit. 

Anyway, I'll just give some short thoughts on

F-Zero

A fun challenge, but I can never get over one jump on White Land II and why the hell is a racing game single player only?! Who does that?!

Super Mario Kart

One thing I'll say negative about Mode7 graphics is it is hard to see ahead with all this pop-in, but I still have the most nostalgia for this out of all Mario Kart games and it holds up well enough to me, even if my friends thought it was the most 90s thing ever and thought certain elements were way outdated. 

Secret of Mana

This ISN'T a turn-based RPG and plays more like Zelda with a charging sword so far. I think this will be the first RPG on the system not named Zelda I actually beat. 

Earthbound

This game made me cry as a kid and I remember it starting in a carnival where you played slot machines. Turns out, those slot machines were the battle system I couldn't figure out how to play, and as an adult I find the game charming and humorous, and actually got to the biker gang before dying. 

Super Mario RPG

I've always found turn-based Nintendo RPGs way more accessible than others and always liked the real-time combat and platforming elements in this and Paper Mario. I died at The Hammer Bros. cause I wasn't leveled up enough, but I could see myself beating this one if I actually stick with it. I remember being blown away by the graphics back when. 

Donkey Kong Country

I remember being blown away by these graphics as well, even if setting the SNES Mini to "pixel perfect" brings out all the games imperfections. I've since set the system to mock a CRT and the games look way more like I remember them, which is funny, cause it didn't make as much difference to me in Sonic Mania, maybe because that's a newer title. 

I've played this game the most and finally got past the godawful snow world with way too many damn barrels in it. I forget how far I am in the next world, but I want to say my save file is at like 35%?

Final Fantasy III

I had to ask Julian if this game was fully turn-based or not, cause even on "wait" mode, characters seemed to attack out of turn. He explained to me that each character has a speed stat that allows them to attack faster or slower and that's why that's happening. Anyway, I died shortly into going south in the overworld map after the intro.

Super Metroid

This is another game I asked Julian about, because he claims to have mastered the art of wall jumping in this game, which I find way harder and more clunky than 2D Metroids since. He told me to make sure Samus turns her head toward another wall before jumping, but it seems like I'm in control of her head too? Anyway, pressing left or right for a split second before the jump button, as opposed to both at the same time, did seem to work to get me to the top of the corridor I'm stuck in. But then I got greedy and tried to morph ball after a jump to the right and I have since been unable to repeat my success. 

Definitely feel like this is a broken mechanic they fixed in future titles, Julian's expertise with it or no. Hell, half the time it's a toss up whether I get Samus to jump wall jump style or she just shoots straight up. 

Megan Man X

I beat all the robot bosses, which is where I usually leave Mega Man games alone, but I might try to storm Castle Sigma since I own this now. 

I definitely love that X looks different with each upgrade you find in the world and changes color based on what weapon is equipped. I think his suit looks coolest when he has Ice Beam equipped.

Contra III

Adding a second player made this game more confusing to me, because more bullets means more directions for me to be afraid to go. 

I got to about the midpoint of level 3 on my own though. Where you have to jump on that metal thing with the red eye's pedals to shoot up at it? 

Castlevania IV

I think I got to level two or a little ways past Medusa before dying. I'll go back to it and I like the soundtrack.

Yoshi's Island 

I still hate Baby Mario's scream and love the art style and am either in the first castle or just past it. Seems pretty easy so far. 

Super Mario World

One of the games I played the most on my older brother's SNES back in the day, it is exactly as I remember it, and I still can't use that cape on any consistent basis. I'm almost at the third castle, I think. 

Super Street Fighter II Turbo

is the only game I played as much or possibly more than SMW, and it is harder than I remember, but probably just as hard as it actually was, because I was wondering why I remember Dhalsim's stage so well and it is always the first level in turbo mode. Guessing I played a lot of vs. mode back when. 

A Link to the Past

I was never into the fantasy aesthetic because I associated it with basement-dwelling nerds and wanted to be cool. That was its own dumb fantasy. Now that I'm an adult and can just enjoy what I like and actually follow the advice of NPCs as to where to go next, I'm loving it. I love the sense of discovery missing somewhat from future Zeldas, even if I think this game also wants you to follow a somewhat linear path in terms of what dungeons to hit. I don't mind the map being a bit smaller, either. 

I'm on my way to the first dark world dungeon. 

Kirby Dream Course

This golfin' Kirby game is something I only know of since Game Grumps played it and I didn't understand it by just watching it, but it's actually pretty fun to play, even if I've only done so single player. 

Kirby Superstar

I played the kung fu brick breaking mini game with a friend, and it was fun, but it shouldn't count as a whole game in an 8 game package imo. I also beat a legit Kirby game I forget the name of in like an hour, and I forget the third game I played in the 8-game package. So far, if I had bought this back in the day, I'd feel a bit cheated by the supposed 8 games inside. I'll have to play each one before making that judgment though. 

Personally, I would have preferred Super Mario All-Stars to this, but oh well. 

Star Fox

Now THIS is 90s. I got to the second-to-last level on the middle path despite having a hard time telling things apart. I used to think this game was pretty hard and now I'm thinking that was the main reason, cause the actual gameplay is pretty simple, really. Really wish the plane controls were inverted like they are in 64 though. 

Star Fox 2

This is more open-ended than Star Fox in terms of where you go, and you're trying to fight off randomly appearig missiles on the map as opposed to choosing a path. Otherwise, gameplay is much the same, but I know there are levels in dfferent vehicles I haven't tried. You have to beat Corneria in Star Fox to "unlock" this game. 

Super Punch Out!

Never did play Punch Out for NES, so I was pretty lost playing this. I beat the French guy, but am not sure what to do with Canadian bear guy. I just need to know what the controls are before heading back to this. 

Super Ghouls and Ghosts

I died within the first checpoint somewhere, I think. Yeah, this game is known for its difficulty, and I'm not sure I care enough about bragging rights to put myself through that. It might end up being a fun challenge down the road, but who knows. I'd have preferred X2 to this, but I get that people love this one and most X fans have the first as their favorite, even if I always rented X2 more. 

Anyway, I'm overall very satisfied with the SNES Classic library and the controller wires aren't too bad, plus it comes with two controllers. A much better package apparently than the NES Classic, which I just bought as a gift for some friends and suspect I may need to buy a second controller and some wire extenders for. 

Games I still want to play in 2018

Technically, I still need to beat Horizon: Zero Dawn and play the substories in Yakuza Kiwami 2. 

As far as new games, I am going to get Shadow of the Tomb Raider at some point, along with Life is Strange 2 and Detroit: Become Human. 

Oh, and I still need to play God of War past the first boss.