RevolvingDork

9th Anniversary: Kirby Super Star

This year we changed things up and went with an older game neither of us had played much of. Kirby Super Star is usually discussed in reverent tones, so we played through all "8 GAMES IN ONE!" as a co-op team. Let me tell you, this game is straight up BONKERS.

Some of the "8 games" devote a fair amount of energy to their narratives, but plot beats fly by at the same pace as the frantic gameplay and we were left scratching our heads at every conclusion. There's a lot in there to unpack, but you'd really need to dedicate yourself to figuring out why the giant metal bird you beat up becomes your friend after you steal its children.

There is an impressive amount of variety on display, but the whole experience was markedly weirder than we expected going in. A dash of melancholy arose during the credits when I realized that several of the developers listed are now dead. All in all, the experience of playing Kirby Super Star drew unexpected thematic parallels to life amidst COVID-19.

Eighth Anniversary: Yoshi's Crafted World

This year we switched things up a little! Instead of playing a classic game, we played a game that was just a few days old.

Yoshi's Crafted World pairs classically-styled gameplay straight out of Yoshi's Island (see our Fifth Anniversary) with an incredibly well-executed crafty aesthetic. Everything is made of cardboard, origami paper, or the sorts of things you'd find in the dumpster of Michael's. It's extremely colorful and really hard to dislike.

Unfortunately, it became a little easier to dislike *one another* as the game features two-player co-op play. The nature of the gameplay has you smacking into your partner at pretty much every turn, and frequent accidental ingestion of Player 2 can lead to a fair amount of frustration.

Aside from the mechanics of two-player gameplay, we both enjoyed our time and I think I'll get a lot out of exploring the environments for collectibles as a solo player.

Seventh Anniversary: Paper Mario

As our first Mario "spin-off" game, we played through Paper Mario. It's a charming little RPG that combines unabashedly goofy (but clever!) writing with some surprisingly deep combat mechanics. We both had a lot of fun; the game holds up remarkably well despite being older than most high school students.

The battle system builds off of the template created in Super Mario RPG and expands on the "action commands" that allow players to attack and defend more effectively with carefully timed button presses. This reduces the tedium that can plague other turn-based RPGs because you have to engage with each attack in real time to ensure victory.

Even more satisfying is the "badge" system, which allows players to augment their abilities with a pleasing array of buffs and special moves. You need to regularly reassign your badges to optimize your party for forthcoming battles, and keeping yourself under the badge point "cap" leads to all kinds of challenging trade-offs.

Add to this a grand total of eight completely different battle partners to mix and match, and you've got a lot of stuff to play with.

Sixth Anniversary: Super Mario 64

This year we made the leap to THE THIRD DIMENSION. After playing through the landmark title Super Mario 64, our opinions were split: I still love this game and Kelly "****ing hate(s) this game".

There are definitely a number of rough spots. The camera control is objectively horrible and the swimming controls ( particularly when transferring into and out of water ) are not pleasant. Another serious question: why is reading signs nearly impossible?

In my opinion, these issues are countered by running and jumping controls that are still unmatched, even by subsequent 3D Mario games. Moving Mario around these levels is a joy, and even my 50th time playing through Bob-omb Battlefield reveals new and exciting nuances.

Fifth anniversary: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Yoshi's Island is an incredible game. When compared it to its predecessor Super Mario World, it’s almost tough to believe they run on the same hardware. It masterfully breaks from the rigid characteristics of traditional pixel art, oozing with a confident hand-drawn style. Its gameplay complements this striking presentation with a tremendous array of novelty – every level gives you a truly unique challenge to master.

Until tonight, neither of us had ever beaten this game. My exposure to it was limited to a string of rentals from Blockbuster, so it was a pleasure to be able to experience it without worrying about dropping it off in a Sunday return slot.

Based on our memories, we sort of expected our playthrough to be a cakewalk. That expectation died with World 5 and its predilection for combining icy surfaces and omnipresent bouncy enemies. It is more difficult than Super Mario World, and that goes doubly so if you’re gunning for 100% completion.

Fourth anniversary: Super Mario World

This year we stepped into the 16-bit era with Super Mario World. We had a ton of fun playing this one, but it was *definitely* the easiest in the series thus far. The music and the art are still incredible, and overworld map in particular is without peer. We didn’t 100% the game – I don’t think we’ll be able to do that going forward, since the games get more complex from here on out – but we still managed to punch bowser in the face in a spectacular fashion.

Second anniversary: Super Mario Brothers 2

Continuing the tradition we started last year, Kellbot and I played through every level of Super Mario Brothers 2 to celebrate our second anniversary.

By our reckoning, this is the MOST DIFFICULT game in the series. Seriously: if you haven't played it recently, try playing through world 3 for a refresher course on pain. The only reason we made it through is that Kelly was able to utilize her robot brain to win big on the slot machine minigame between stages; at one point we amassed a total of 25 lives. I somehow managed to beat Wart with our last remaining life.

In case it wasn't clear: I love Kelly so very much.

Bacon pancakes, makin' bacon pancakes