Blog Archives
Impressions: all the Switch Stuff
We have successfully returned from vacation near a beach. One element of which included the introduction of the Switch (and games) to my kiddo. Impressions:
Nintendo Switch itself
I think there was technically a way to hook up a Switch to a TV and not need the dock, but I decided to bring the dock as well. I was extremely wary of the dock snapping in half somewhere – given its U shape – but it’s either stronger than it looks or I’m luckier than I look. Packing it in my carry-on instead of a checked bag probably helped. Everything else was in a travel case that held up beautifully.
And not to belabor the point much, but the Switch was very portable; I doubt anyone is packing a PS5 into a carry-on or whatever for a one-week trip. The last time I felt comfortable traveling with a “regular” game console somewhere was in the GameCube era, when I’d bring that to-and-fro over college breaks. If there was an appropriate use case, this was it.
For all the games we played, we exclusively used the… half controller (?) configuration. Pretty awkward controller for me, but it was OK for the types of games we were playing.
Mario Kart 8
Started out with Mario Kart to try and leave a good impression with a game that had a lot of replay value. Kid was ready to give it up after a couple circuits.
Near as I can tell, there are two degrees of Assist Mode when it comes to Mario Kart 8. The first appears to be a generalized “automatically stay on the track.” You can still fly off if struck by something while airborne, but I believe the game otherwise keeps you from getting turned around or going out of bounds. The second level of assist is acceleration. For sure, I had this turned off for myself, even though I’m not certain how. My son, meanwhile, was otherwise able to leisurely putter around with only minor course (mis)corrections when the mood struck him. I had heard from a friend that Assist Mode is sometimes able to win races all by itself, but I did not at all see that in the 50cc difficulty.
My own impressions of the game “for real” will have to wait for a later opportunity.
Super Mario Bros Wonder
This was the first real hit with the child.
The way two-player works is its own sort of Assist Mode. One player has the “crown” and the camera follows them, pushing the other(s) along if they go off-screen. If someone falls down a pit or hits an enemy, they return as a floating ghost with a 5-second timer. Connect with an alive player in time and they will respawn with no loss of lives. Additionally, if someone is controlling Yoshi or a rabbit-looking dude, they become immune to dying by enemies… but cannot transform with power-ups.
Overall, what I have come to realize is that platformers are, you know, kinda hard for kids. Somehow we all made it through back in the day, sure, but god damn. Hate to even think about what our parents had to go through listening to us die in the original Mario Bros. Maybe that’s why they beat us with belts and/or shut us outside until after dark?
Super Mario Bros Odyssey
Odyssey is what we played after Wonder, and is the clear favorite currently.
The Assist Mode for Odyssey is that there are blue arrows showing where the player should go next, and I think that the penalty for falling into a pit is more relaxed (just 1 less heart vs… something else). Additionally, the second player gets to control the hat, which can be pretty cool.
Unfortunately, the platforming is not especially designed for a 6-year old here either, so there are some sequences when he wanted me to take over. Even being the hat was tricky, as you have to contend with having your perspective change if Mario moves around. Plus, sometimes you have to use the hat right now to prevent damage or make the boss vulnerable, or whatever. It’s a big responsibility.
We’re getting pretty close to “Bowser Wowser” as he’s been christened though, and my guy is having more fun watching than playing sometimes. We’ll see how things shake out in a couple weeks/months.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Didn’t actually get around to this one, despite my asking him several times if he wanted to try a different game. My guess is that he could still have fun on a team with daddy against whatever the equivalent of a bunch of Level 1 CPU Jigglypuffs there are in this one. Probably still Jigglypuffs.
Vacation
I’ve been on one. Posts to resume next week.
That said, I’ve also been (re?)reading the Expanse series while I’ve been here. Hard to tell if I’ve already read a few before, or if the TV series was just so accurate that it may as well have been a transcript. In which case… doesn’t the TV version just win by default?
Blaugust 2024 – Day 1
I have chosen to participate in Blaugust 2024 this year, despite the fact that I am currently on vacation.
Hello. My name* is Azuriel and I have been blogging for almost 14 years now. In the early days, my blogging was focused on World of Warcraft. In fact, “Azuriel” is the name of my main in WoW. I started Player Vs Auction House for the release of the Cataclysm expansion, and despite that ultra-niche topic, the blog did well enough for itself. Over time though, I started to realize that chasing gold trends was less interesting than the design philosophy behind the game, so I pivoted to that. Once I started drifting away from WoW itself, it was time for another pivot towards “let’s talk about whatever else I want.”
That is probably enough as far as introductions go. If this is your first time here, I recommend clicking on the drop-down over on the right labeled The Goods, and selecting Philosophy. Everything that I post is top-quality, but those trend towards a higher level. Or you can check out this list of posts, back when I participated in Blaugust 2015. Nevermind that my best work seems to be from years ago.
Otherwise, well, welcome.
*Not my real name, of course.
Vacation
Forgot to mention it, but I’m on vacation this week.
Which is a real shame, because not only is the WiFi sketchy down here, but there are so many people wrong on the internet. There may have been a brief moment in my life where being “unplugged” was relaxing, but that moment is long gone. I would much rather be having a staycation, playing (and enjoying! (so far)) FF14 as an Archer, preparing for GW2’s free weekend expansion event, and whatever I felt like booting up in Steam. Alas, I must wile away my hours doing things like swimming in the ocean, eating out, and socializing.
Please send your prayers and well-wishes my way.
Vita Not (Yet)
So, I was all set to get the Vita – in time for the vacation I am currently on – but I get a message from the seller telling me that they have not yet sent the item because the Vita is not turning on. Which, on the one hand, I appreciate; getting a broken item and then possibly having to fight them for a refund would consume a rather annoying amount of time. However, the verdict on whether or not they could repair the Vita did not come until yesterday, so I have missed all the auctions I could have been bidding on instead. Heavy sigh.
PayPal refund secured, I am once again faced with the delimma.
Money is quite fungible, so I could certainly move it around and perhaps pick up some Steam games. Or perhaps put it towards the purchase of a new phone, which has been an issue for quite some time. Or I could continue on my present path and get the Vita (plus all those other things too, if I’m honest).
I dunno. I’m currently typing this on a tablet at the beach. I’ll worry about this later.
Japan and Gen Con
So, have an uncharacteristic amount of shenanigans going on soon.
First, a week from now I will be in Japan for ~14 days. The last time I was over there was back in 2005 during a college exchange program, so this will be quite interesting going back. I would not expect a lot of updates for those two weeks, but you never know. Beyond the normal touristy schtick around Tokyo, I do plan on stopping by things like the Ghibli Museum. If you have recommendations of similar attractions that might be interesting given the scope of this site, feel free to let me know.
Second, and possibly more relevant to our mutual interests, I will be at Gen Con 2014 this August. I’ll actually be hanging with my ex-WoW crew the majority of the time, but if you are going and would like to share an awkward greeting IRL, I’m game. And speaking of games, I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to Gen Con; the event registration page is about the most unfriendly UI I have ever seen. So if you know of interesting panels or whatever that I should check out, let me know. Seriously, ain’t nobody got time to manually browse 1558 board game events.
Oh, and I guess Blizzard is releasing the Naxx expansion to Hearthstone two days before my flight. Fun times.
Quick & Dirty Guide to ME3 Multiplayer
There are a couple of things going on.
First, I removed the Currently page and turned it into a sidebar item instead. Time will tell if I actually update it with any more regularity than I did with the original page, but I’ll jump off that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, it is accurate.
Second, I have a new menu page entitled Design. The only item in there currently is my Quick & Dirty Guide to Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer. I thought about posting it in its entirety here, but the idea is that the guide itself is going to be a permanent resource that can and will be updated occasionally. Indeed, when I started writing it in the weeks after ME3’s release, the goal was to send it off to GameFAQs as there were no similar resources at the time. Unfortunately, someone beat me to the punch, so who knows whether it will be accepted there now. The goal for the guide itself is to be something I wish I had available when I first started playing the game. If that interests you, check it out.
In any event, the Design page will eventually be home to other projects I have been working on that I want to be able to upload in a semi-permanent location. Most will be game-related, but some may not be. Unlike these blog posts, I will not be vouching for their peerless quality and relevancy to your daily lives.
Finally, I am going on vacation for a week, starting tomorrow. It is unfortunate that I shall miss the launch day of Diablo 3 in the process, but I will try and trooper on from the condo’s 2nd-floor beachfront balcony. I may schedule some posts ahead of time for you to read, or you may have to waste away the hours of my absence by forlornly browsing the archives. Either way, it shall be full steam ahead starting back on the 21st.
In An Age 