"Don't get your feathers all ruffled. Just chill."

 

I can't believe it's been a month since the last post, its crazy how quickly time seems to go in this new world. I've been in such an awful headspace for weeks and really need to shake it off but on a more positive note, Opeie has been able to see his friends a little more and tomorrow he's finally going to see his bestie after not seeing her since march.  I'm so glad its happening now as I get the feeling that another lockdown (maybe just in Telford) is inevitable. Plus with the schools going back, I don't think we'll be seeing anyone that we know that goes to school for a few weeks to see what happens. I kind of feel like were at the start of some insane science experiment. 

Anyway, doom and gloom aside, we have been playing a lot of Animal crossing new horizons over the last few weeks. Opeie wanted me to join him in playing and despite looking at it and thinking 'there's no way I'm going to enjoy that!' it turns out its really bloody relaxing and has spurred on lots of creative projects too. This week we drew our Animal crossing characters and the villagers that we most wanted on our island. I love having all these pictures of ours around the house, they are a constant reminder of just how awesome our Homelife is.

"Sometimes brightening up the outside of your store is just the thing to perk up business, yes?"

Day 126:

Conversation in the house recently has been heavy on the Animal Crossing. Since picking up a copy of New horizons a couple of weeks ago Opeie has been busy building his island and creating and it has been so much nicer hearing about that rather than Fortnite. While he was having a chat with his friends yesterday I decided to build him Nooks Cranny. His smile when he came off the phone and saw it was contagious and leaving the build empty means that that smile can continue tomorrow when we are building the furniture together. Another win for those amazing bricks.

"All is connected... no one thing can change by itself."

Day 50:

Me and Opeie have been playing Unravel two over the last few days and I can't help but feel like the two characters are exactly like us, permanently tied together, but doing whatever they can to make life that little bit easier for each other. Opeie's latest contribution to the house is bringing me coffee and breakfast in bed on the days that we don't go out early for a walk, I'm feeling like a pretty special dad at the moment. 

We decided to get our crafty hands to work and made our own Unravel characters for Opeie to play around with and take photos, this lockdown isn't all bad.

“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. 

'Your friendly Neighbourhood Yoshi'

 I'm a professional when it comes to procrastinating when I need to be writing. For the last few nights I have come up with all manner of things to stop me doing the one thing I need to be getting on with. My favourite though has been playing Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, to say I am loving this game would be an understatement. Last night Mrs M wanted an early night and I should have been the perfect chance for some quiet time to get my head down and write, but I decided to join here and take my 3DS. I had planned to play a few more levels but found myself hooked when entering the 'Yoshi Hut' on the game. The game itself is AWESOME, but being able to create your own Woolly Yoshi's  is such a great addition to the game. 

It started with Wolverine Yoshi and then when I looked at my phone I realised I'd got a little carried away. It was 1am and I'd been creating marvel Yoshi's for a couple of hours. Anyway, I thought I'd share them with ya'll.

'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.

"Its all fun and games, 'til Santa checks the naughty list"

With Christmas only weeks away, our preparations for the big day are in full swing. Rather than encouraging the boys to write a huge list of things that they want we told them to write 5 things on their Christmas list that they would really like from Santa. With gaming being such a huge thing, it was inevitable that one of them would ask for a console game. I wasn't at all surprised that it was Seth as he uses gaming as a distraction for his daily physio. With this in mind I thought I'd write about my top 5 Nintendo releases of 2016.

5: Kirby Planet Robobot

I love a good platform game. Finding it difficult sometimes to dedicate larger amounts of time to the bigger role-playing type games its always great to have the sort of game that you can just switch on wherever you are, knock out a few fast paced levels and then switch off until your next spare few minutes. Kirby Planet Robobot ticks all those boxes and has been my game of choice while parked up waiting for the troops.

4: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

If you played the original then who doesn't love a good remake. I bought a friend of mine the 3ds Ocarina of time remake at the beginning of the year after he had had an unfortunate accident while away and was advised by his GP to relax for a few weeks. Ill never forget his eyes lighting up as he unwrapped it, as the game was a great memory from his childhood. With Twilight Princess you can relive the epic story again in HD. With a huge free roaming world and many puzzles and activities to complete along the way, this is a game that will have you hooked.

 3: Yo-Kai Watch

Although Sun and Moon is HUGE at the moment, it seems that the Yo-Kai Watch fire is still burning bright in the Nintendo gaming world. I honestly expected things to have died down a little with this game now but I am constantly getting updates from the Yo-Kai Watch Twitter site, telling me that the game is still as big as the early weeks of its release. Yo-Kai Watch is a 3DS Role-playing game that has been compared to Pokemon a lot. If you look past the similarities though you'll see that this game has a pretty cool story and characters that you can really relate too. If you played a demo of this game I can guarantee you would purchase it.

  2: Pokémon Sun and Moon

Pokémon Moon is the first handheld console role playing game that I have got into for a long time. If I am honest I probably would not have even given it a try if it wasn't for Seth's excitement over its release and him being adamant that I had to have the game too so that we could play together. I'm so glad that he did steer me towards it though as I am hooked. If I had Mrs M's job travelling back and forth to London then this is how I would be spending my time. The latest installment from the Pokémon franchise is a must.

1: Super Mario Maker

 It was a close call between Pokemon and Super Mario Maker but for me personally, Mario Maker has so much more to offer with its gaming experience. This is a game that has endless possibilities and will never get boring as you are creating the levels yourself. On top of that there is an enormous catalogue of levels created by gamers all around the world. Whats more is that as of last week the game has now made its way to 3DS meaning you can take your creations on the road with you. For me, Super Mario Maker is everything I want in a game.

Whatever you decide on this Christmas you can be sure that Nintendo has you covered for gaming entertainment. It has been a really great year for Nintendo releases and I am so excited about 2017 with the release of Nintendo switch, yet again Nintendo are going to revolutionise on the go gaming.

Merry Christmas Ya'll

"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.

"It depends on where you put the paint, not how much you splash on."

Although I have been a huge Nintendo fan since as far back as I can remember, there was a period of a few years that I missed out on in the gaming world because 'Girls' became the main point of my attention. Because of this, I was late to the Paper Mario party, completely skipping the first release in the series on the N64. When I realised later on that 'Girls' weren't all that, I fully submerged myself in Paper Mario: The Thousand-year door and I was hooked. For me, growing up with the mustachioed plumber, it has been awesome to see the character get reinvented again and again. Paper Mario is right up there with Galaxy and Sunshine as my favourite Mario games.

You can imagine my excitement then at the release of Paper Mario Color Splash. This game couldn't be more me, bright, colourful and starring that plumber that we've all come to love over the years. 

After finding a Colour drained paper Toad in a letter from Prisma island, Paper Mario and Peach embark on a mission to the island. On arrival, they meet Huey a talking paint can who is the guardian of the color fountain. Shortly after the team run to the aid of a Paper Toad who is being drained of his colour by a Slurp guy and so their adventure begins. Throughout the game there are drained Toads, colourless items and patches of unpainted wall and floor etc that need colour adding to it which you can paint with your hammer if you have collected enough paint.

With a variety of battle cards to use to defeat enemies you find along the way and paper puzzles throughout the levels, Color splash is shaping up to be a real gem of a game, everything you would expect from the Paper Mario series.

We are only a short way in to the game but its clear Color splash is going to keep us all entertained over the coming weeks. With the weather starting to get a little more bleak as we get closer to winter I think we could all do with a bit of color.