While I wait for some code to compile… how about a weekly update? I’ve been trying to get better about writing stuff down, so this seemed like a good place to start.

March was a great month for gaming! Knocked 3 games off the backlog, all within 2 days of each other too. Finished up a rushed run of Ocarina of Time 3D, with the sole intention of unlocking Master Quest. However, I forgot just how exhausting that game can be, especially when you rush beat it in 5 days (for a total of 15 hours, not bad considering I hadn’t played it in about a decade). So I decided to go back to Link Between Worlds and try my hand at Hero Mode before I play Master Quest.

Man, what a challenge it is.

It’s damn near impossible at first – each enemy hit counts as two hearts, so when you start off with three hearts, you’re pretty much dead if you screw up once. And the constantly dinging low health beep is enough to get your heart rate going. Overall, a good time though. I beat a few dungeons and have put it on hold for a bit. Too much Zelda in a row can burn you out fast.

I also got overexcited with the SNES re-releases on the eShop and picked up Pokemon Yellow and Earthbound. More on Earthbound later, though.

Here’s the highlight reel:

• Pokemon Yellow: 17:53
• Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D: 8:34 (completed)
• Story of Seasons: 6:33
• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: 6:10
• Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds Hero Mode: 4:43 (on hold)
• Resident Evil Revelations: 1:14
• Earthbound: 0:54 (on hold)
• Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D: 0:41 (completed)

I also finally beat Metroid Prime 2: Echoes on the Gamecube after 18 in-game-timer hours (although, this is a ridiculous number because there’s no way I spent less than 30 hours in that game. I hate in-game timers sometimes), as well as Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, which was nice to get out of my backlog.

I spent the bulk of the month in Pokemon Yellow, though it has tapered off with my newfound love of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, which I picked up used for $25 and surprisingly have not been able to put it down. I have trouble sitting still for more than a half hour or so these days and so the 2 hours or so per day I have logged in Monster Hunter is a surprise to me. It’s just so satisfying and rewarding when you finally take down a monster you’ve been tracking down and battling for an hour.

On an unrelated note, can we talk about the new Pokemon Shuffle update? It finally got that overhaul that it desperately needed, and a few Quality of Life updates such as the status tracker pulldown menu, which makes moving around the play board so much less of a pain in the ass. They really did a great job with this. And the implementation of more goals than “beat this Pokemon, then catch it?” Perfection. What a great little game.

Until next time!