“Put aside the bug net, and try out this precious little beauty instead!”

When it comes to gaming, for me its all about the 3ds and it has always been the same for me when it comes to Nintendo's handheld gaming. I love being able to squeeze in half an hours game play here and there when I have the occasional quiet moment. I sometimes don't feel like I am able to give the games the times they deserve though because of all of the other things I have going on, this is where the boys come in, I love how excited they get about certain games and its awesome to see that they are as passionate about Nintendo as I was when I was their age. Now I say that sometimes I don't feel like I have the time but every now and again a game comes along and completely sucks me in and this Easter holiday has given me that game.

I really enjoyed playing Yo-kai watch when it was released but I got stuck somewhere in the game, got sidetracked and just never went back to it. The boys though were all over it and really got stuck in while we were flying long haul to Orlando. This spurred on Opeie to buy himself a Yo-kai watch from Target to wear all holiday. With the release of Yo-kai watch 2 I was looking forward to giving it a go but I knew that it was going to be one for the boys. How wrong was I!!! for me Yo-kai watch 2 has been the best game that I have played in quite some time. I have been so hooked that every given chance, while Mrs M and the boys are doing something, Ive slipped away and disappeared upstairs to have a bit of gaming time to myself.

This game is awesome! having two versions of the game has been great as it has meant that we've all been able to have our own games going on. Seth and I have been playing Bony Spirits and Opeie has been playing Fleshy souls. Like the first installment the main protagonists are Nate or Katie, the story starts with your chosen character having no recollection of Yo-kai and their adventures from the original game. Eventually you find your Yo-kai butler Whisper and the fun begins again. The story is so well written and with a huge open world to explore the game is full of tasks to complete to earn new parts to the story.

As you progress through the game you battle and befriend Yo-kai and can build up your strength during battle in preparation of stronger, more difficult Yo-kai. A great addition to the battle mode on this game, is being able to aim your attacks at certain parts of your enemy giving you the upper hand and attacking their most vulnerable areas. You are also able to upgrade your watch to the 'Model Zero' which packs much more of a punch in battle mode.

The thing I have enjoyed most about the second installment is the sheer size of the open world. You can travel long distance on bus and train and can also travel in time (which is where I have just got to and it has got me even more hooked).

If you we're a fan of the first game then I'm pretty sure that Yo-kai watch 2 fleshy souls or bony spirits will have you even more hooked than the original game. I can tell that this one will continue to fill those quiet moments in between all of the other things that fill my (always eventful) days.

Opeie's LEGO building has received the Yo-kai treatment recently too. He recreated his favourite part of the game 'Terror Time'. Its safe to say that the boys love of Yo-kai watch has been reignited. Opeie now has us trying to track down the new Model Zero watch so that he can continue his Yo-kai adventures with Seth and his friends.

The only question left to ask though (and its an important one), do you prefer Soul of Spirit Doughnuts?

"You can't win unless you learn how to lose."

Although I'm not really the sporty type, there have been some great sports games released by Nintendo the years. When I was at school Nintendo world cup was one of my favourites. For a sports game back then it was really basic, but there was something about those cute 8bit players being able to scissor kick the ball that had me hooked. When the boys and I are having a little one on one gaming session with the 3DS's, we still occasionally have a Mario slam basketball still tournament and we like to get a little competitive with Mario and Sonic at the Rio Olympic games. Nintendo does a great job of adding a less serious, more quirky approach to sports games.

With the release of Mario Sports Superstar, 5 more sports have been given the Nintendo twist. The Football for me didn't have the same nostalgic feel that I got when I recently played Nintendo world cup again at my friends, but... it is still a great game and I loved being able to play as Nintendo's finest. Baseball took us a while to get the hang of, Pitching was fine but when it came to batting we all had teething issues with actually hitting the ball. We had a really good chuckle though at just how bad we all were. 

The tennis and golf were like playing old favourites with a new twist. And the Horse racing was definitely one of my favourites as it was like playing a strange game of Mario kart. Whats great about Mario Sports Superstar is that the fun isn't just stuck at playing the actual sports, there is a lot of strategy that also goes into the game play to help your progress. 

There are a variety of tournaments to get through in single player mode and although I'm yet to fully try out the multiplayer mode , I am looking forward to competing against online players. I'm still holding out for ice hockey to be included in a Mario sports game somewhere down the line, maybe next time. 

'Take it, One stitch at a time'

There are so many reasons why for me Nintendo have been the console of choice for most of my life. I could spend hours talking about why they have had such a huge impact in my life, but their latest 3ds release sums up the main reason why I adore them so much. Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World is everything I love about Nintendo, bright colourful graphics, adorable characters, a playful soundtrack and fun well thought out levels with hidden things to find. This is none threatening, none aggressive console gaming at its best. It is what I was brought up on and it is a valuable lesson that I have installed into the boys. you can be a gamer without all the realistic violence that you get from other consoles.

Sometimes I am surprised it has stuck, especially with Seth as he goes to school with a lot of children who's parents are happy with them playing the latest first-person shooter or violent action adventure game, but Seth and Opeie are both very intelligent and emotionally mature children who understand why, as parents me and Mrs M are the way we are about the games that they play. Plus there are so many educational values that can be taken from none offensive games like Super Maker Maker, Pokemon, Tomodachi Life and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World.

Anyway... a little more about the game. When I wrote about Super Mario Maker before Christmas, I wrote about how excited I was that the game had made the Wii U/3ds crossover. Most of my personal gaming time is on the handheld console and I absolutely adored Mario Maker on the Wii U so to have the game released on there was really awesome. I felt exactly the same about Yoshi's Woolly World, so when I read that Yoshi and his canine companion were getting the 3ds makeover I was overjoyed.

I love Nintendo's style of platform gaming, especially for the 3ds as they are the sort of games that you can pick up, progress a level or two and then put down to squeeze into short spaces of time you may have to game. This is how I play as I don't always have time to sit in front of the TV for extended gaming sessions and it is this style of gaming of mine that is getting me so excited about the release of the Nintendo Switch next month. A console that you can play at home and then continue on the go, to me, sounds like the perfect way of gaming and I honestly can't wait to get stuck in.

I've gone off course again... As expected Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World has been my game of choice for every spare moment I have, I'm shocked though that it has been played even more that Super Mario Maker and has been the game of choice most evenings in bed for an hour of play before I drop off. Apart from the Open world area in the Wii U version the game is very similar in game-play, but as you can tell from the title, Poochy is a much bigger part of this game. One of the things I love about the game is how quickly you can jump between a Poochy free mode where game play is a little more challenging and having a never ending supply of poochy pups who help sniff out hidden items and can be thrown like the yarn balls to help younger players progress through the levels (Opeie absolutely adores the game). There are also new Poochy Dash levels where you have to whizz through, collecting items while being timed.

Aside from the main game-play you can also design your own Yoshi to share via street pass and there are also animated shorts to watch at the scrapbook theatre. Making this game full on entertainment.

Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World is everything I want from a game and it reinforces everything I adore about Nintendo and their amazing gaming ethos.

"I think every player should think that he's a difference maker."

As a gamer that spends most of my game time on a handheld console, it can be frustrating when I get into a game on our Wii U and don't have the time to sit and play for extended periods of time. Being able to take the 3ds about with me is a lot more convenient. There have been some amazing Wii U releases this year and many of them I have wished could be somehow moved to the 3ds so I could fit them into the times I can actually dedicate to playing. It's this frustration that is getting me so excited about the Nintendo Switch, I love the idea of being able to continue a game I am playing on the go and I cannot wait to give the console a try in 2017.

Until that is possible though I spend my time hoping that the games I love will be moved to a handheld platform. Recently I've been in luck (Twice). Since reviewing Super Mario Maker back in September it instantly became my favourite Nintendo release of this year and inevitably made its way to the top of my top 5 Nintendo Christmas List. Super Mario Maker has taken those Mario games many of us have grown up with and given the Nintendo gaming world the chance to design custom levels to share with people all over the world. This is what I have always loved about Nintendo, for me, they are at the peak of games design.

When I first read that they would be creating Mario Maker for the 3ds I was so excited and couldn't wait to get stuck in. There are some really creative levels that have been designed and I love seeing what people have come up with, The boys and I really enjoy making almost impossible levels for each other to tackle and the game has sparked some serious competition in our house.

I was actually expecting the 3ds version of the game to be really limited, but there is just as much going on. The only negative I have found and its nothing to do with the actual game, is that you obviously need to be connected to the internet to enter the course world and play other gamers levels. That being said though, as I sat outside Seth's school with the game on, I clicked on 'Mario Challenge' and I have become obsessed! At first glance, these not very challenging levels look simple to complete but when you add things in like not being able to use the left button or only being able to destroy certain bad guys, the levels become not only difficult but very very addictive.

Seth has asked for Super Mario Maker for Christmas and has refused to play this until then. With the option of being able to design levels and send them to each other, I've got a feeling we are going to be in for a pretty eventful Christmas day.

I did mention earlier in the post that there has been two occasions where a game I love has had the WiiU to 3DS cross-over, The second is coming soon. I cannot wait to get my hands on another of my favourite games in 2017 when Nintendo also release that 3DS version of Yoshi's Woolly World, Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World. 2017 is going to be huge for Nintendo and I'm excited to be a part of it.

"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was..."

Back when we first started writing for Nintendo I would write a lot of my posts from the car as I spent a lot of time waiting around for Mrs M and Seth, picking them up from places, so my 3ds went everywhere with me. It's not been that way for a while but yesterday, Because we couldn't get an extra ticket for Seth's nativity, I found myself in that perfect gaming situation again. It couldn't have come at a better time really, because at Seth's request I've embarked on a new Pokémon adventure with the latest installment Sun and Moon and I was itching to pick up where I'd left off.

There have been some amazing games released this year from Nintendo but for Seth, Pokémon Sun and Moon has been the most anticipated! He was a huge fan of Omega Ruby and Since he found out about Sun and Moon he has been counting down the days to its release. Despite my ongoing love affair with Nintendo which started around 30 years ago, I have somehow never played a Pokémon role-playing game. Seth was adamant though that I needed to join him so that we could both play together. His excitement was infectious so I jumped on board and we've both been playing for the last week.

When it comes to gaming I like the classic Mario way of doing things. 8 worlds, various levels that aren't too long etc, as I find it easier to fit that kind of gaming between other things that I'm doing. I'd love to get lost in a game but I find it difficult to make the time so it doesn't happen often. Sun and Moon surprisingly has been the sort of game that made that time as I was fully engrossed in the game within the first 10 minutes and I've literally been squeezing in bursts of gameplay every spare chance I've had. Seth has been loving it, as even though it is not a multiplayer game we've been sitting and playing together while checking out each other's Pokémon.

We had downloaded the demo a few weeks back so were both excited that we could take Greninja over to the full game. it was a great addition to the team (despite not being able to control him at the moment). We also added Munchlax to the team from getting the game around the release date. The early bird catches the.... Munchlax apparently! As I said I've not played a Pokémon game before, but Sun and Moon appears to be mapped out like the previous Role playing installments from what I have read. The story draws you in early on and being able to roam around battling and catching wild Pokémon in all the grassed areas scattered about is great. Because Seth knows so much about Pokémon I thought I was going to be terrible at playing but the story explains everything clearly and you feel like a Pokémon master in no time, knowing when to use a grass or water type Pokémon etc. 

The story so far has been really well written as you battle your way through the islands. Despite being extremely annoying, I kind of love how the bad guys (team skull) irritate me so much. When you bump into them while moving around the Alola region and they start talking that cringe worthy 'Gangster wannabe slang' while wearing those skull scarfs around their faces I instantly want to destroy them. Always a great feeling when you are playing a game as the hero.

The aim of the game is to move around the islands to advance and grow as a new trainer. With strong adversaries to defeat, including kahunas and Trial captains on each island. The battles get increasingly more difficult as you progress. It's not all battling though, there's a lot of focus on how you treat the Pokémon you catch too and your little army can get a lot stronger through affection and taking good care of your team mates, which is a great lesson to add into a game for younger players.

I've played Sun and Moon a lot over the last week, which for me has been really surprising. The game is amazing but what adds to that is how happy it makes Seth that I'm playing something that he loves. It's been great bonding time for both of us.

If you are looking for 3ds gift ideas this Christmas then Sun and Moon is a must and with Mario Maker coming out this week too, this years festive period seems like it's going to be dominated by that Gaming giant that has grown with me for many years.

And now I am off to bed to squeeze in another hour of play. Ive 'gotta catch em all' after all.

"I just want to spread hope, peace and chili dogs for all"

After choosing to be in the Nintendo camp back in the late 80's while I was at school, despite all my friends swaying towards team Sega, I began a life-long relationship with Mario and his friends. I've grown up with Mario almost as far back as his own life began and because of this, I've never fully warmed to Sonic... Until now. Sure I could see why my friends enjoyed playing the sonic games, they are colourful and fast paced,  but for me, they never really had the magic of Mario.

This is something that has stayed with me for over 20 years. I've tried many times over that time to give Sonic another shot but I'd play briefly and then lose interest. I assumed that this would be the same with the latest instalment Sonic Boom Fire and Ice, the boys love the games though so I thought that I could base the review on their thoughts about game play and content. As I watched Opeie play over his shoulder and was handed the console every time he needed help, I was dragged into the game and quickly got hooked.

Sonic boom is an offshoot of the Sonic the hedgehog series and is a follow-up to Shattered Crystal which surprisingly I had never heard of (considering I pay close attention to all the Nintendo game releases), this one clearly slipped by without me realising though. The game is a fast and colourful side-scrolling game where you can use Sonic and his friends unique abilities to progress through each level. The fire and Ice side of things, makes the gameplay a lot more fun as to melt ice structures Sonic can engulf himself in flames but can also freeze water by surrounding himself in ice. The elemental powers are a nice touch to the game.

 Dr Eggman makes his return as the game's antagonist and has found a new element (Ragnium) which he is using to create an army of super robots (that old chestnut!). Of course, Eggman and his goons are no match for Sonic and his friends and as you progress through the game you plough through his army as you go.

On top of the main game play, Fire and ice has a variety of special stages and minigames and although I've not played yet, it also offers multiplayer modes. After playing Sonic Boom fire and Ice I think I've been converted.  I'm not sure I'll go looking through the Sonic the hedgehog back catalogue but this game has got me hooked for now and I'm fully embracing it. 

"Durability is part of what makes a great athlete."

With the Rio Olympic Games just around the corner it was no surprise when we found out that Nintendo had released the next instalment of Mario and Sonics friendly yet competitive take on all of the Olympic Games. Shockingly we've not played any of the previous title so the boys were eager to give the game a try. I had a vision of the game playing out like Linford Christies decathlon, a proper button bashing sports game from back in the 80's but we've come a long way since then in the gaming world.

Mario and sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games boasts an impressive 17 events for starters. As soon as we saw the BMX event had been included we were hooked. What I love about Nintendo over any other games company is the family gaming experience. The bulk of their games are none aggressive and family friendly. Mario and sonic is no different, a competitive and exciting button bashing bonanza.

 You can compete in any of the events against your friends and family but the game also gives you the option of team games where you can join forces in events like football, beach volleyball and rugby sevens (which is one of my personal favourites). 

I was really disappointed to see that the motion controls that the Wii is so famous for had been dropped but as we played through the games I found it was actually a positive. Instead of waving your arms about the game has taken us back to well timed button tapping with events like BMX and swimming. It took the boys a while to realise that you can't just repeatedly bash the buttons, and that it is all in the timing.

As with any games from the Mario or sonic range it's great to play as your favourite characters from an impressive back catalogue. This latest instalment has over 30 playable characters (some of which become available as you play the events) and you can also play as your Mii which with many of Nintendos own titles is a great touch. 

Mario and sonic at the Rio Olympic Games is going to be huge family summer event, which is exactly what I love when it comes to gaming.