mario katharsis: five video game tracks that get me right in the feels

*ME3 Spoilers Below*

Whenever I play a game I like to “act the part” as it were, so I managed to maintain a stoicism to match Shepard’s throughout the ME trilogy. There were a couple moments where I almost broke—saying goodbye to Garrus before making the final run for the Crucible was one of them. But I made my final choice, sat through all of the credits, and watched the sweet little scene at the very end without once breaking out my cryface.

Even though I was only partway through ME3 when the “Citadel” DLC was released, I chose to play it after I had finished the main storyline. I wanted to have the same experience other ME fans had. I am so glad I did. Getting the crew together for one last hurrah was so bittersweet in light of my knowledge of the ending, and the way they handled Anderson’s appearance was absolute genius.

If you play the DLC after you’ve “won” the game, like most did, you’re perfectly aware Anderson dies in the final assault. Even though he’s alive at “Citadel’s” point in the story, he never actually appears in the room with you, nor do you talk to him via the usual holographic comm channels. You see him only on vid screens and hear his disembodied voice recordings on scattered datapads, which makes the scene where you walk around his apartment gathering his biographical notes feel like settling affairs after a funeral.

Maybe it’s because I played my Shepard as a Colonist/Sole Survivor—a woman who loses her family, gains a new one with the Alliance, then loses it again when she watches her unit be devoured on Akuze—maybe it’s because Anderson never had kids of his own, or maybe it’s because I wasn’t brave enough to lose it when he told me he was proud of me while we overlooked Earth one last time, but hearing him call me a rare soldier and an even rarer woman was the arrow that finally struck true.

I lost it, and I lost it over everything. Garrus, Mordin, the uncertainty that my final choice was the correct one, everything.

Keelah Se’lai, Admiral.

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(Source: hedlunds, via eva-cybele)

animal crossing: new leaf and me

I’ve made no bones about being a long-time and stalwart Nintendo fan. As such, I own and play my 3DS on the regular. I believe it’s truly one of the best handheld systems to ever exist, and it’s not even about the 3D function. I’m a super fan of the effect, but if it gives you a headache? Turn it off. The game selection alone is worth the price of admission. Not only does it have a solid library of first- and third-party titles, but the eShop contains a whole world of fantastic games to choose from, from downloadable versions of said first-party Nintendo titles to a myriad of smaller indie titles. Download Cave Story immediately, if you haven’t already. Also, the Gameboy Color classics Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages are both available for $4.99 each for a limited time. Just so you know.

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why “just let it happen, it’ll be over soon” is a rape joke, and extremely problematic

I’m just going to leave this here.

P.S. This isn’t one of mine, but I wish it was.

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The moment I knew, and keep in mind this was quite a while before it was confirmed in the books, that Snape was unquestionably one of the good guys.

(Source: needlebugz, via kawaii-kuroneko)

A communal writing project exploring the facets of the Zelda franchise? Yes, please.
Stay tuned here and there for my full review of Skyward Sword, and two more pieces focusing on The Wind Waker’s Wind Temple and the bottom of the well in Ocarina of Time.
Leave out Bongo Bongo? Wouldn’t dream of it.

A communal writing project exploring the facets of the Zelda franchise? Yes, please.

Stay tuned here and there for my full review of Skyward Sword, and two more pieces focusing on The Wind Waker’s Wind Temple and the bottom of the well in Ocarina of Time.

Leave out Bongo Bongo? Wouldn’t dream of it.

(Source: zeldathon)

By Samuel Deats

my backlog of shame: five unplayed games that call my “gamer” status into question

We all have secrets. Some are dark. Some are deep, and full of shame. I trust you, readers, not to judge too harshly, and thus I will share some of my deepest, darkest, most shameful secrets with you here. We’re all friends, after all. Right?

I consider myself a gamer of the old-school variety. The oldest-school, in fact. I started shortly after Nintendo made itself known in the American market, and I’ve been playing steadily ever since. Hell, I still play the same MUD I started when I was twelve. That’s nothing but text, ladies and gents. It’s the step between tabletop games and World of Warcraft. And yet, even I have holes in my gaming history. I’ve missed out on playing some classic titles in the video gaming canon, if there is such a thing. Here are five of the most egregious sins from my (non)gaming past.

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the frenemy: a reminder

thefrenemy:

Wearing a bathing suit should not be scary. You would not rather eat cat food than find a bathing suit. You have a stretch mark or two or three but nobody gets arrested for that shit. That shit is okay. I like your thighs. Take care of your feet. You do not have to transform into Lana Del Ray because it is summertime. You do not have to have the flattest stomach. Dance sexy in your bedroom wearing your bathing suit. People are not looking at you as much as they think you are. You will not shape yourself to a lingerie ad. Bikini season is not what it’s called. Other people (even the ones with the bodies you want) are worried about how they look, too. You are an educated young person who knows better and will teach confidence and poise and being a motherfucking boss to those who will soon be ready to release their bossness, too. You will do that in your cute bathing suit. You look nice in your bathing suit. Your body is not your value. You are having fun at the beach. Fuck that noise. You do not have to wear coral lipstick and find a big floppy hat if you don’t want to. You will not waste your time with this self-pity nonsense. You have to wear sunscreen. You are beautiful and you are nice except in the morning. Being beautiful is not the most important thing. Tummies are fine. Get melted ice cream on your tummy. You are having fun AT THE BEACH. Have a good fucking summer. Wearing a bathing suit should not be scary.

looking back

I first stood in front of the Raging Thrak Inn when I was twelve. The game was still called Gemstone III, and no one in the house was allowed to use the phone when I played, lest I get “booted.” I was a different character then. I quit playing when I was fourteen, then joined again in my mid-twenties. Things change in a decade. The inn hasn’t changed much, which is a comfort.

I stumbled upon Gemstone III while exploring AOL’s games section. That was back in the days when AOL presented their online content in curated sections, only one of which was labeled the “world wide web.” Take a drive on that information superhighway, and it was nothing but GeoCities and Angelfire pages for miles. At least it seemed that way. I didn’t much care for it.

Games I could always get behind, though, and soon enough I found myself in Gemstone’s character creator. After getting over the initial shock of seeing nothing but scrolling text on my screen (this was a video game?), I chose my race, profession, physical characteristics, and name. I also placed a limited number of training points into various stats and skills without having any idea of what I was doing. Soon enough, I was thrust into the high fantasy world of Elanthia, dressed in rags and standing in an alley in a frontier town called Wehnimer’s Landing.

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