Gaming Goodie(s) of the Month: A Mixed Bag!

Even though March is more than halfway over, I still haven’t posted my February Gaming Goodies post… I’m slow, I know. Better late than never!

First up, I ordered a couple games from Amazon! I got Wii Fit U for the Wii U (obviously). I’ve been trying to work out more regularly (and I’ve been doing pretty good) and I switch between a few different exercise routines- one of them being Wii Fit/Wii Fit Plus. I felt weird not having Wii Fit U, so I finally bought it! It came with a little pedometer too, which is nifty.

I also bought something I certainly didn’t need… おいでよ どうぶつの森, or Oideyo Doubutsu no Mori. That loosely translates to “Come to Animal Forest” but the game is, of course, the Japanese version of Animal Crossing: Wild World for the Nintendo DS. I’ve seen this game for sale before and skipped over it because I thought I didn’t need it… the thought nagged me for years until I finally caved in and just bought the damn thing! Like I need ANOTHER Animal Crossing town to tend to… 😉

Next up, we have one of the greatest items I have ever come across:

A GIANT KIRBY!! Look how awesome he is! My husband and I were at Books-A-Million and I was busy being distracted by Harry Potter goodies until he said “Oh no…” when he spotted a big pile of Kirbys! I have never seen such a big plush in person before and I wasn’t going to buy it at first, but he convinced me to. I’m a sucker for Kirby things.

This is how big he is next to a normal sized plush, just for comparison:

Lastly, look at these awesome Kirby socks! These were also at Books-A-Million.

Here’s eveything all in one lovely picture:

So there you have it! I have scored some pretty sweet stuff this month as well, including one that I’ve been waiting for for quite awhile (spoiler alert: ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS) so stay tuned for a post on that next month. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!

Gaming Goodie(s) of the Month: Just a Couple Things From Best Buy!

For February’s Gaming Goodie post, I wanted to show a couple things I picked up at Best Buy recently! It’s nothing major, but still, I think they are pretty cool!

This picture doesn’t do it justice… the colors are stunning!

First, look at this GORGEOUS Dark Samus amiibo that I found! I’ll admit, I didn’t know this existed. Sometimes I am shit at keeping up with stuff. Anyway, I passed on the original Samus amiibo that came out awhile back, but this one was just too gorgeous to pass up. The colors are even better in person!

New one on the left!

Then, I got another adorable little Kirby Squishme (on the left)! I already had one (on the right) and this one was the only one at the store. How could I leave him all on his lonesome?! My husband saw this first and actually hid it from me so I wouldn’t see it… then he told me about it and I grabbed it, haha! Don’t they look cute together?

There you have it! Just a couple little things I picked up. I didn’t need these things, but I had to use my giftcard on something! I also bought the entire Beavis and Butthead DVD collection but yeah… that’s not exactly video game related, lol!

Gaming Goodie(s) of the Month: Starting the New Year Out Right!

Happy New Year everyone! Can you believe it’s 2020 already?! A new year, a new decade… hopefully lots of great stuff will happen this year! 2019 definitely had its ups and downs… I had lots of fun times with family and friends, threw my middle fingers up and walked away from a job that was awesome but had the most incredibly toxic environment I’ve ever been in, etc.! But enough about that shit, because I got some cool gaming goodies for Christmas that are helping me start 2020 out right! 😉 Let’s take a peek!

First off, my husband got me a Super Mario tumbler, which is really cool and also works great! I took some tea to work in the morning and by the time I got home 9 hours later, it was still cold. He also got me a Pac-Man board game, which is unique and a lot of fun! He also found me an adorable Yoshi pillowcase (which is actually reversible and has Mario on the other side!).

Next, my mom got me a few Switch games, some of which she bought in the months leading up to Christmas- she just hoarded them all to give them to me as a gift! 😉 I received Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD, Pokémon Sword, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and Luigi’s Mansion 3. I got Ring Fit Adventure, which I haven’t tried yet but plan on doing so this week- hope I don’t get too sore, haha! Lastly, she got me the Pokémon Sworld/Shield strategy guide. I’m glad to see they are still making strategy guides for some games, because I love them!

Last but not least, I received an awesome Bokoblin plush from a really good friend of mine! Now, these guys are not exactly cute in Zelda games, but this little guy is so ADORABLE!!!

There you have it! I was so happy to receive all these excellent gaming things. Happy 2020!

Gaming Goodie of the Month: Christmas Goodies!

Since it’s officially the holiday season, I figured this month’s Gaming Goodie post would be an ode to one of my favorite Christmas experiences! I’m cheating a bit this time around, because this post actually focuses on two presents that I received, but they kind of go together, so… yeah.

Anyway! It was 1995, and I was 9 years old. When I was 8, I received my own Super Nintendo and I loved it! I would often borrow some of my neighborhood friend’s games to see what I would like and then cross my fingers that my mom would buy the game for me. I quickly became obsessed with Donkey Kong Country. The characters, the levels, the music… oh man. I borrowed my friend’s game so much he should have just given it to me! My DKC obsession was so bad, I spent the night at my aunt and uncle’s house and upon learning that a kid in their neighborhood had the game, went over to that kid’s house and asked her to play it. The fact that I didn’t even live in that neighborhood didn’t matter to me, haha!

Naturally, I knew what game to ask for when Christmas rolled around. Then, when browsing an issue of Nintendo Power (probably while waiting around at the grocery store or a book store, I don’t really remember) I saw that Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest was coming out. WHAT!?! A sequel? And it looked so amazing too! Well, now I wanted that game too, dammit!

Not pictured- me having a heart attack when I knocked down ornaments trying to get these damn games to stay in my tree.

Christmas came, and I was so excited to find that I had gotten both DKC and DKC2 as presents! Yes! I couldn’t wait to play them. I was excited that I didn’t have to borrow DKC from anyone anymore, and I was so excited to try DKC2 for myself (although I did rent it from Blockbuster before Christmas, just to check out some of the levels). I remember it was probably around midnight and I popped DKC2 into my Super Nintendo and was just so blown away! I played through the first level okay, but died on the second level and thought to myself “This game is way harder than the first one.” Haha! I stayed up as late as I could, then went to bed with happy thoughts about my new games.

Of course, I’ve gotten other games and game systems for Christmas, and I remember them all fondly! But this distant Christmas memory makes me smile every time I think about it, and when I look at those games, I still feel some of the happiness that day brought me. 🙂

Gaming Goodie of the Month: My First (Handheld) Console!

Last month, my featured Gaming Goodie was my first Pokémon card! This month, I decided to go back a little bit farther and revisit the console that started my gaming obsession… the Nintendo Game Boy!

“Misty, PLEASE just pose with it!” -me, begging my cat to stay still so I could take a picture. 10 minutes later, this was the best I could do.

Now, I did write a bit about how I got the Game Boy and my fond memories with it back in 2017, so check that out if you want! For those who haven’t read that article, here’s the lowdown: basically, I saw an advertisement on TV for the Game Boy when I was 6 years old and told my mom “I think I would like one of those.” My mom got me one for Christmas, and the rest is history!

I don’t know if my mom ever imagined what a huge part video games would play in my life from there on out. I was OBSESSED! I would play the Game Boy constantly, asking for “5 more minutes” when it was time to go to bed and no doubt costing her a small fortune in batteries!

I have so many good memories attached to that Game Boy. Playing Tetris and Kirby’s Dream Land over and over. Taking it to my friend’s houses down the street and us taking turns playing while the rest of us crowded around the tiny screen waiting for our turn. Spending the night at my friend’s house and us staying up until almost 2am trying to beat Tetris Blast. I could go on and on.

That clunky gray box has been with me for 27 years now, and though it isn’t in working order anymore (at least not until I attempt to fix it like I’ve been meaning to for like 2 years) it sits proudly on my shelf as the first handheld gaming console I ever owned. It started an obsession with my favorite hobby, and I’ll always treasure it!

Gaming Goodie of the Month: My First Pokémon Card!

I’ll admit, it took me WAY too long to come up with a snazzy title for this new set of posts I want to attempt. My idea is once a month, I’ll feature something in my video game collection… whether it be a collectible card, a manual, a guide book, a game, blah blah blah. I thought this would be a fun and interesting way for me to showcase something of mine and give a little backstory if applicable. Problem is, I’m about as creative as a stick and had a lot of trouble thinking of a title that would describe what I was trying to do. I literally had “Thing of the Month” in the title because I was getting annoyed at myself. Then I remembered that when I get some new gaming related stuff, I put my posts under a category called “Gaming Goodies”… so DUH… I’ll call this GAMING GOODIES of the the Month!

How many months in a row can I keep this up? My guess is 2, maybe 3, but miracles can happen. I actually feel motivated to do this for some reason, so maybe I’ll stick to something for once! Anyway, I’ll try to do these posts on the first of every month, unless it’s a holiday or I’m busy or I just don’t wanna. Without further ado, here’s the very first post in this category…

Introducing… My First Pokémon Card!

Squirtle is hanging out in my little graveyard because it’s the spookiest time of the year!

Back in 1998 when Pokémon was first introduced in the states, I’ll admit I was a bit lukewarm on the whole thing. Some of my friends played Red and Blue but for whatever reason, I wasn’t really into it. That is, until I started realizing how cute some of the characters were. I’ve never been able to resist cute stuff! Anyway, in 1999 (as Dr. Google tells me) the trading cards came out, and one of my neighborhood friends, Jason, had plenty of them! He showed them to me and I was intrigued by them, but still unsure if I wanted to play the actual games or not.

One day, Jason stopped by my house with a little present for me: an ADORABLE Pokémon card featuring Squirtle! He said he wanted to give it to me because he knew how much I loved turtles. He even put it in a sleeve for me so it wouldn’t get dirty or bent. I was so overwhelmed by this small gift, I didn’t know what to say. It meant a lot to me that he would give me something from his own collection based on what animal I liked! Little did he know, this little Squirtle card started my love for Pokémon! Soon, I had a decent card collection of my own, mostly thanks to my grandmother, who would buy me a few packs of cards every time she went to the mall! Jason also gave me several more cards, including some Japanese cards that are highlights of my collection to this day.

And yes… I still have all of my Pokémon cards, save for some duplicates that I passed on to my cousin Matt years ago. I’m sure you’ll see more of them as the months go on 🙂 Thanks for reading!

P.S. To this day, I still have NO CLUE how to play the actual Pokémon Trading Card Game. I was only ever interested in collecting the cards! 😉