A few days ago I received a package from a mysterious company named Nodens Enterprises. It addressed me as Grubdog so I knew it had to be gaming related, but how did they know my address? Inside was an interesting art book with characters and locations, but no writing or context. Looked cool, but I was confused. I’d never heard of this game and I didn’t order anything like it. I dug through the package and found a letter.
Category: Features
Irregular Columns
Thank You Japan – Keeping Splatoon Fresh!
We are nearing the end of an era as the Switch draws near with Splatoon 2 in hand. All the squids are growing up. Yet still here I am, playing Splatoon on Wii U and enjoying it like it’s the first day of release. This game changed my life in such a positive way. I absolutely love the gameplay and the community. It’s fiercely competitive in the highest tiers of Ranked, but also very friendly and welcoming in the plaza and Turf Wars. This little writeup is for a special part of the community I haven’t talked about in my previous Splatfest writeups, the Japanese gamers.
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Dragon Quest VIII: EXPOSED – The Grinding Method They Don’t Want You To Know About
Sick of grinding for hours just to grow one single level? Worried about not being able to afford all the hottest gear? Tired of being under-prepared in fights and losing out to bad luck? Feel like you’ve hit a wall?
We’ve all been there. Confused, lost, helpless, like a child drowning in a river. It seems like progress is impossible in a world of dead-ends and closed doors. Trapped in the daily grind forever.
If this is you, then I’m about to change your life.
*SPOILERS AHEAD* This trick is ONLY for those privy to Dragon Quest VIII late-game information. Open the door at your own risk! *SPOILERS AHEAD*
Twilight Princess HD – I’m a Hero Now
A lot has changed in a decade. Suddenly I’m holding a baby and the world is mirrored. I must be getting old too, because my movement feels sluggish. It takes me longer to stop, and I can’t even walk and aim at the same time. It’s like my legs lock into place, I can’t move anywhere until I pull the camera back. I feel sorry for whoever has to stare at my butt while crawling.
Nintendo Dollars – Where Are They Going?
Amidst all the Zelda cheering and Joy-Con rumbling, Nintendo slipped a less exciting piece of news into their Switch event. There will now be a yearly fee if you want to play games online, a new service for Nintendo. It’s a tough pill to swallow for a userbase used to playing online for free. Now that we’ve all gotten over the kneejerk response and loosened our grip on our wallets a bit, I thought I’d bring up some discussion about this new structure.
Dragon Quest VIII – Journey of the Cursed Selfie
G’day! I’m here with my pal Yangus at The Weary Wanderer, just ‘avin a brew and a laugh. We shared stories of the past and had a great time reminiscing. He’s got a real captivating way of telling a story with that strong accent of his. Really knows how to pound down the bevvies too, we were off our faces and had to stay the night. Luckily they had beds for us, we handed 4 gold coins to the nice man and fumbled our way upstairs.
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Dragon Quest VII – Post-Game Party Time
What a videogame. After completing the 100 hour story of Dragon Quest VII I felt a huge sense of pride and satisfaction. Without spoiling what happened, the ending was epic, interesting, and a highly suitable way to end such a game. It was an outstanding journey I will never forget, and one of the greatest RPGs of all time. The story has a very large scope yet every town and little moment feels special. It’s so rewarding to solve people’s problems, with some of the best writing I’ve ever enjoyed in a videogame.
However, even after hours and hours of dialogue and traveling, one thing was still stirring in my mind. After beating the end boss and completing the story I was still only level 44. Out of a potential 99 levels this felt a bit low and I still felt like I had unfinished business. I knew there was still more to explore with the Monster Meadows mechanic, tablets, and more fragments to collect. I enjoyed the game so much, I immediately went back into it to see what else I could do. I won’t bother with a spoiler warning here, because you should know what you’re getting into if you read further. It’s EVERYTHING! It’s the post-game!
Yoshi’s Unused Woolly World – Fluffy Daydreams
What’s that, Poochy? *sniff sniff* Wow! It’s a treasure trove of brand new music! Composer of Yoshi’s Woolly World, Tomoya Tomita, has uploaded some songs to his Youtube account. Included in this playlist are 6 original compositions for Yoshi’s Woolly World that were not included in the final game. It really makes you think, Poochy. What could these songs have been made for? What if there were brand new levels to accompany them, and we never got to see them? Could they still be hiding, somewhere in Woolly World? Let’s use our imaginations and go through the unused tracks one by one!
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Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Finding Fang
I’m so sorry Fang. It’s been 3 years since we’ve had a proper conversation. I missed you so much. I missed everybody, and I’ve been a terrible Mayor. Everyone was so worried while I was blissfully and ignorantly playing other games. Upon returning to my town I was met with a lot of different emotions, and a strong realisation. This town deserves better.
Happy 2017 – January Gaming HYPE!
Hope everyone’s doing well. There’s a lot going on in the world, but none of it really matters when you’re sipping some tea with a quality videogame. In any climate, our personal happiness and growth is the most important and powerful thing we can offer the world. 2017 is not a year I am comfortable predicting, it could be really good or really bad depending on a variety of factors out of our control. One thing I do know, is that our ability to have fun and get hyped is entirely within our means. It’s true. You could have fun at any given moment without warning. I want to kickstart the year on this site with a bit of spark, so here’s a buncha fun, real stuff to get hyped for right now in the gaming community.
Dragon Quest VII – For Glory, Fidelia
I’m so sorry. Upon returning to the past, I realised I had done a terrible thing. I’d left a little girl on her own in a field full of monsters. She just stood there waiting. It was a miracle she was alive with no battle skills. I expected things to just resume from the moment I left her, but my understanding of time had proved to be naive. Time does not care where you are, and continues to push forward in all places it inhabits. So where wert I? I owed Fidelia an explanation.
Super Mario Run – RUN AWAY, IT COSTS MONEY!
The release of Super Mario Run on iPhone has sent shockwaves through the mobile gaming community. Lattes have been spilled all over the world and sideways caps have been adjusted forward, as hipsters are faced with the social dilemma of paying money for a videogame.
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Dragon Quest VII – When the Going Gets Ruff…
Wii U GamePad analog stick surgery – SUCCESS!
After 1000 hours of intense Splatoon play, my left analog stick was getting old and losing its freshness. It would start to do its own thing in the middle of games, randomly not responding, going down, right, wherever it wanted. This is not a common console problem related to calibration, but a problem with the actual piece of tech inside. Wii U’s analog stick is a bit different to what you’d expect, with a circuit board “sensor” reading inputs instead of the joystick itself.
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My Actual Problem With Switch
While it has only been several days since Nintendo officially unveiled the NX as the Switch, and likewise revealed a list of development partners, as seen below…
Pietriots 