Glen-i

I mean, Bravely Default is no stranger to the "Sudden Tonal Whiplash", (the Arcanist and Spirit master from the first game, and a certain pair from Bravely Second come to mind) but that asterisk arc does reach a new level.

I mean, to be fair. A "short game" to @Hero-of-Time is something that he can complete in less then 10 hours. Translated to "People who aren't crazy fast at games" that normally pans out to 50 hours. Mario Wonder is a little shorter then other 2D Mario's though.

My personal highlight was the devastating realisation that Shulk in his swimming outfit has exactly the same ensemble as Banjo. Both of them wear nothing but shorts and a necklace, have a big red thing attached to their back that they wallop opponents with, have blue eyes, and have British accents. Not entirely sure if it's an improvement, or ruined forever...

Legit said "Wow" when a new kind of present got introduced 3 minutes into the match! Absolute wizardry!

Right, it's a theme night tonight. But you lot already know that. You know where the relevant images are. Except you, @BowserBasher, don't forget to respond to the PM. The stages are from series that none of us picked a character from (And those that don't have characters to begin with). So even forgotten series like Kid Icarus, Final Fantasy, and Minecraft, can be there in some way. Items are the usual fare. Format - 3 Stock, 10 minutes FS Meter - On 7:30 for Custom Stages, 8pm for normal bouts.

Honestly, it's fine. You probably already noticed that we played a lot of other games instead. Not Mario Party 3, mind. You ain't getting away from Spiny Desert that easily!

Yeah, sorry. We were waiting for S.C.G so we could carry on with our Mario Party-a-thon, so we started playing some Slappers Only, License to Kill Goldeneye (The only way I truly enjoy Goldeneye) while we waited, but he kinda blanked on the occasion and we ended up going through a whole slew of games on a spur of the moment. Tell you what though, next time there's a Friday where our usual 4 can't make it for Mario Party 3, why not join me on another N64 multiplayer journey? I'm sure @BowserBasher and @S.C.G would be up for it, and it's more likely then you think with Dcubed's uncertain work schedule. I'll be sure to remember to give you some warning before hand so you can charge your controller again.

I'm so happy I ruined Mario Golf! A few more moments. Bottom left is the better screen for this one. Top left for this next one. And one that never gets old. EDIT: Gonna repost BowserBasher's tweets so they don't get lost on the previous page.

He's in! We're good to go for 8:30!

Yeah, I don't think it fits with the whole "ugly, twisted, exaggerated proportion version of Mario character" that Wario and Waluigi do so well. It looks too much like Peach, you know? A bit pointless, seeing as Daisy serves as Peach's doubles partner just fine. Probably why it got rejected.

Well now! Is it finally happening? Maybe.

Right, @Dcubed will be available tonight. @BowserBasher and @S.C.G. Mario Party 3 is go for tonight. What time will be best for you? EDIT: Dcubed has helpfully reminded me that Jet Force Gemini is now on the N64 app, so you'll need to update the app.

My money's on nothing at all.

I knew this. It's called "Mega Upper". Seriously, the tips section in Smash Ultimate will teach you stuff! Oh boy! Mario Kart: Super Circuit! What a weird game! Not even made by Nintendo! OK, so get this. Yoshi's the best character. Not a matter of opinion. Yoshi is factually the best. Those stars mean nothing It's because every character can reach the top speed in this game. What this means is that characters with higher accelaration will go faster because they reach top speed quicker. They also have better handling and slow down less when off-road. The heavy characters have higher weight (Useless because of the coin mechanic), and slide less on slippery tracks (woo...). But wouldn't that mean Peach and Toad are better then Yoshi, because they're lighter? Well, no. Yoshi has better handling for some unknown reason. The developers actually acknowledge this, because using Yoshi in Grand Prix gets you no extra Skill Points. "What are Skill Points?" I'm glad I asked! So Super Circuit is the first Mario Kart to utilise a ranking system. The highest rank is 3 stars, and you need to win all 4 races and get 36 points to have a chance to get a 3 star rank. Yes, a chance. I'm sure you've had a Grand Prix where you won every race, and only managed one star. Skill Points is why you failed to get that rank. Perfect isn't good enough, mate! Skill Points are invisible stat trackers that determine your ranking. All sorts of actions either add or subtract Skill Points, so if you know how it works, you'll make getting those rankings way easier. So the best way to 3 star the game is to drive well, never use items, and get loads of coins. This is easier then it sounds with Yoshi.

Player's choice tonight at 8pm.

Just watched it myself.

Yeah, Octopath is basically a refined version of Bravely's Brave/Default system. So it's not too surprising Bravely looks worse by comparison. That said, Bravely does have a diverse job system, which allows for a lot more customisation compared to Octopath. The stuff you can pull off in the Bravely series gets really ridiculous.

Stamina matches tonight at 8pm. Custom stages at 7:30.

Well, seeing as I've played it to death, it'd be best if you play as Kirby (Player 1), and I'll be "Helper". See you at 8?

SNES. It's the last Kirby game Sakurai had a full role in developing. (See, it's not completely irrelevant here!) EDIT: Wait, hold up, this isn't the Smash thread... Guess it is completely irrelevant! Remember the Subspace Emissary in Smash Brawl? It basically cribs the gameplay structure from Kirby Super Star

Have you played Kirby Super Star? Great little 2 player co-op game!

@S.C.G and @BowserBasher. We're gonna have to postpone our match here. @Dcubed can't make it tonight.

I'm sure you all realise by now that my counter game is... not the best here. But sometimes, just sometimes, I pull one off that is nothing short of spectacular. (I'm playing as Shulk, FYI) I've peaked here, no counter play I ever do will be as satisfying as that one. Might as well give up on counters altogether!

A pretty straight forward duel this time. Right, moving on to the next board. Spiny Desert Here's a frustrating board... There are two star spaces on this board, which you should know by now means that there's a catch. Well, yeah, one of them is a mirage and will disappear when someone passes it. There is no way to tell them apart. The happening spaces around the sand pits will transport anyone around them to the other sand pit. You can also go through the path with cacti if you're good at timing your button presses. (Nothing stopping you from failing on purpose if it will transport you to a more advantageous spot) Make note of the pink spots on the left and right side of the board, as they show where you will go, should you hit a cacti. Also note that you can only take the cacti path from the top right side. Not even the almighty Reverse Mushroom can let you approach it from the bottom left side. I can't stress this enough, the cacti path gives you a staggering amount of control of where you land. After the cacti action time, you still move the amount of spaces left on your roll. There's 5 possible paths you can go down with the cacti, and this can result in a lot of time spent looking at the map. To mitigate that, here's a handy dandy table about where each path will take you. The numbers in the third column mean that you go back to the cacti path with that amount of spaces left. This doesn't take into account the possibility of reversing into the cacti path, which adds more possibilities because you can go down any junction when going backwards. Seriously, it's a powerful tool, don't overlook it! I highly recommend keeping this table ready, so you can look it up. Also note that Boo is behind a Skeleton Key door here, so it's not easy to get to. See you on Friday at 8pm. (Or a little later if you can't make it on time)

Player's Choice tonight at 8pm.