Almost done... I hope.

Added Code Of Princess, Fire Emblem Awakening, and Yoshi's Island DS to the collection.

Monkeys. Cosmic terrorists.

Stumbled across copies of Contact (DS), Contra 4 (DS), and Far Cry Instincts: Predator (360)... Almost done.

It's about time!

Went out to pick-up Pandora's Tower for Wii, came home with that plus Dead Space: Extraction (Wii), Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (DS), Sonic Colors (DS), and Super Princess Peach (DS)... Still on the lookout for Ghost Trick, Ōkamiden, Sonic Rush Adventure, and Tetris DS.

6/8

Wrapped-up New Super Mario Bros., and it was great. Not perfect, but familiar, challenging, and still fun... Looking forward to the sequels.

Just started The Knife of Dunwall and it's more of the same so far, which is totally cool.

I'm stuck on the second chapter of Slender: The Arrival, and while it's suprisingly rough around the edges, I'm still really enjoying it.

Persona 4 Golden may be the greatest game I've ever experienced, but I'm still just not that into it... It's such an impressive piece of design, but the story and subject matter just ain't doin' it for me.

Jon crashes.

About half-way through Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, New Super Mario Bros., and Super Mario 3D Land, and they're all stellar! NSMB is the weakest of the bunch, if only because of it's difficulty... I appreciate the challenge, but I would've placed a few checkpoints and secrets in less sadistic locations if I'd designed the  game. 3D Land is classic Mario platforming and exploration with some great new twists, but it all feels a little disjointed from level to level; not much in the way of the cohesive themes like other Mario games tend to have. Dark Moon is impeccable... Seriously, it's incredibly good. A rich world to explore, full of character and action; it's the kind of game I live for.

I also took some time to try SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS. The first Card Fighters game is still one of my favourite games of all time; the second is good, but the new mechanics made battles drag-on way longer than was fun; the third one... Ergh. It should be fun, but there's so much shit going on! honestly, I would've been happy with the first game's mechanics garnished with updated rosters and graphics, and a new story. I'll get back to it once this Mario business is wrapped-up, but I'm not exactly as eager as I first was.

Finally, snagged a complete Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! Collector's Edition for 3DS :)

Do The Mario!

It occurred to me that the last Mario game I played through was... Super Mario Sunshine in 2008!? I simply haven't gotten around to the New Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Galaxy series, nor had I continued with the Mario & Luigi or Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, and I never even touched the Paper Mario series.

Well, I recently took advantage of $129 in gift cards, $70 in free promotional stuff, and two $10-off sales to get a red 3DS XL, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Super Mario 3D Land, and New Super Mario Bros. 2; that's $320 worth of stuff for $141 :) Then, having never owned a DS or DSi, I started picking-up everything I'd missed... Here's the collection so far:

3DS

• Kid Icarus: Uprising
• Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
• New Super Mario Bros. 2
• Shinobi
• Super Mario 3D Land

DS

• Aliens: Infestation
• Kirby: Canvas Curse
• Kirby Mass Attack
• Kirby Super Star Ultra
• KORG DS-10 Plus
• The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
• The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
• Metroid Prime: Hunters
• New Super Mario Bros. (black clamshell)
• SNK vs. Capcom: CardFighters DS
• Sonic Rush
• Starfox Assault
• WarioWare Touched!
• The World Ends With You

I had someone snag a copy of Okamiden literally out from under my nose before I could buy it, and I'm waffling on Bangai-O Spirits, Contra 4, the two Mario & Luigi games, the two Mario vs. Donkey Kong games, Moon, the two Yoshi games, Wario: Master Of Disguise, and WarioWare DIY.

Anyway, Mario games! Dark Moon is incredible, NSMB is a little rough when blown-up on the 3DS but still great fun, NSMB2 is simply better than the first one (so far), and while 3D Land feels kinda bite-sized it's still pretty awesome. Seriously, nothing wrong with any of these titles; classic gameplay and character; they just feel good, and I shouldn't let myself go without for so long again :)