Ashley

I'm not so sure, I hear having a shiny Greninja is déclassé.

I can't 100% remember the previous time but both of these were pipes (the same pipe in fact) but two different characters; one was something I spawned and the other was Bowser's special mechakoopa things.

@Ronnie did you have problems with sparks that spawn an enemy (or ally I guess) when they go through pipes? Always seems to get stuck on the other end. It doesn't freeze, they just stay in an idle animation that it never comes out of. Finally updated the game (been ignoring it for ages) so maybe that's fixed it but just quit a mission twice for this very reason and it's annoying.

Big deal, some of us do it every month. I pay national insurance every month if that counts

Finally rebooked my travels recently. I was supposed to go on a year-long trip which started March 1st 2020 and ended 17 days later (no prizes for guessing why). However this time hasn't been smooth sailing either as on Jan 1st I booked a flight to NY then a flight to Hawaii, with the goal being to then book one to Sydney. However, the following day I found out because I went to Cuba in 2017 I can't get an ESTA so that money was down the drain (thanks Trump!) Ended up going to a travel operator who booked all my flights to make my life easier so I'm going to be doing: Australia for about 3 weeks Japan for about 3 weeks Mexico City for 3 nights Costa Rica for 5 nights Ecuador/Galapagos for just over a week Argentina for 2 weeks Madrid for 3 nights Subsequently sorted out accommodation for Mexico City, Costa Rica while Ecuador/Galapagos was handled by them based around the Galapagos tour and I'm just now figuring out the rest but the other places should be easier; I know someone in Sydney, I've been to Japan and familiar with its geography and I went to Argentina last time so I'm familiar with those. It all kicks off a week Monday and I need to leave my flat next Sunday (and get myself to London for the flight) so it's been a busy few weeks doing all sorts to get ready but in two weeks time I will be in the warmth, which given this morning I woke up to snow will be very welcome! Just under 3 months rather than a year this time because I'm in a different place in my life but looking forward to finally doing it. The last 3 years have felt like a holding pattern.

Paid my taxes (business and personal)

Contemplating going in Japan but not really a big theme park person (as well detailed as it looks in this case). Think it'll be one of those things whereby if I can spare a few hours I will.

"Take a break, rreeEllllLlaaaaAAaLaXxXxxX" Might be able to if you shut up bub

Different people have different opinions, it shouldn't be surprising. Also nobody, by any stretch of the imagination, is suggesting it's "the worst game ever created". They just didn't like it. The criticism seems to be "it's not for me" rather than 'it's objectively terrible'. That's kind of the whole point of this thread; it's not "when did this series become terrible" but rather "when did you lose interest". You can absolutely be disinterested in something that is objectively well made and something other people like. Along the same lines; I got very bored of the New Super Mario Bros series. The games were well made and enjoyable, but they came so thick and fast at one point I just got bored of them and had no interest in any more.

Turns out the article I was thinking of was not as detailed as I remember: https://www.n-europe.com/news/n-europe-turns-16/ Blame the author.

There was actually a news article written on one of the anniversaries that goes into the history a bit more but the other day I was posting away from home and trying to Google "n-europe history" gets you either "in Europe" or "Northern Europe"

That's right, this site turns 25 today. It's gone through a few name changes along the way but it's a quarter of a century old. That means we're as old as classics such as Pokémon Red and Blue, Super Mario 64 and Bakushō Jinsei 64: Mezase! Resort Ō.

Yeah give Microsoft it's due, they have been well ahead of the curve when it comes to accessible hardware (and not just on the Xbox) but it's a shame that they are thus far the standout. It's good to see Sony stepping up too. According to a blog post by Sony they've worked with AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up so the design does seem a bit odd but I'm sure there's a reason for it. I do like it though, a lot of tech tends to end up looking the same (controllers included) so it's good to see something different.

I believe it is Al Jean (or at least someone that works on The Simpsons) who when asked how he feels about criticism that the show isn't as good as it used to be responded with something like "who of us is as good as we were twenty years ago?"

Unless it's changed for this game it's always still counted. The Pokédex is "have you had" rather than "do you currently have".

Curious reading through this thread about an alternative universe where Nintendo created a new open world IP rather than use Zelda. I get why (known franchise = print money) but I'm curious to imagine what Nintendo might have come up with if they had a blank slate rather than using Zelda.

Looking at that thread from last year: Well that didn't quite work. At the start of the year I was looking to move abroad but stupid Brexit made that harder and it might have been possible, but I would have had to (at least for a while) continue doing the work I didn't like doing so I knocked that on the head. Not sure about the confidence thing (so I guess that's a no) and the selfish thing fell through when there were those deaths over the summer. I don't think I really have resolutions for next year. I am planning to travel but I don't know if that's really a resolution. Want to try and bulk up, which I have also been trying to do this year. Think I'm finally figuring that out and technically gained 11kg this year so I have gained weight, but it never "sits" where I want it, alas. I do also want to continue learning new stuff at the gym, but don't really have that in any resolution-friendly manner. I switched to Memrise recently (used it ages ago but found juggling two was too much) after I gave up on Duolingo although I am adding a streak freeze every day until I run out of virtual currency to keep that 2222 streak. I think I will pay for the premium next year as its always on sale anyway. Added Spanish to the mix recently too.

Tempted to suggest you resolve to get a calendar but I'll just update the topic title instead 😋

We're just over 24 hours away from a new year with new possibilities and blah blah blah. What have you got planned for 2023? What do you hope will happen in 2023? I am looking to do a bit of travelling which was kyboshed back in 2020. The year-long trip lasted 17 days but this time around it'll be shorter and is mostly about just going to a few select places either for longer or seeing a few places for a few days to break up some of the longer flights. Once I return I will hopefully start putting my new Personal Training qualification to use, although by that point it will have been over six months since I last worked (or did paid work I should say) so that'll be a culture shock! And other than that I have mostly gym/diet goals that I won't bore everyone else with.

I got an air fryer and a gin set from my mom, a friend named a star after me and everyone else was vouchers/money.