Kristen

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Unorthodox Controllers

Kris P. Gaming News, Home, Kristen, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, twitch , , , , , , , ,

Double Jump Kris MiiHappy Monday everyone!

I love the idea of custom set-ups for computers and video game consoles. Some people are creative enough to have really unique set-ups for the way they play video games…

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One of the most exciting announcements for fans of the Super Smash Bros. franchise was that Nintendo would be making a GameCube controller adapter for the Nintendo Switch so those really into the competitive scene can play Ultimate with their favorite controller.

Then there’s this guy who rigged up a bunch of bananas to use as the controller.

Fittingly, he was playing as Donkey Kong and explained, in layman’s terms, that he connected the bananas into a tool — called Makey Makey — that turns basically anything into a keyboard input. In this case, tapping the bananas were the keys. That was then hooked up to an input converter so the keyboard actions could mimic Nintendo Switch keys enabling the game would recognize the actions.

This streamer’s name is Louis and he’s pretty known for using unorthodox controllers. Taking a glance at his past Twitch broadcasts and YouTube videos, he’s also rigged up Donkey Konga controllers for Smash Ultimate, a dance pad for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5, and a Guitar Hero controller for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

I’ve always been a sucker for this kind of tech stuff and I’m actually interested enough in Makey Makey to look into it more. Who knows, maybe we’ll make avocados into controllers for something one day!

Have you ever used unorthodox controllers for a game?

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Friday Favorites: 2019 Game Releases

Kris P. Friday Favorites, Home, Kristen, Nintendo, PC Games , , , , , , , , , , ,

Double Jump Kris MiiHappy Friday everyone!

The end of 2018 is only in a couple of weeks! Are you already thinking of your 2019 video game lists? What kind of games are you looking forward to for the new year?

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Untitled Pokemon Nintendo Switch Game

Okay, I know we just got the Let’s Go titles, but I am still looking forward to the next Pokemon Switch game. I’m presuming it’s another core title in the main series and will give us a new region and a new generation of Pokemon to capture. I was a bit indifferent when it came to the Alola region, so I’m crossing my fingers that the untitled Pokemon Switch game will capture my attention much more than Sun/Moon did (along with the awesome mechanics that Let’s Go has brought to the table… Or at least the mechanic of having your Pokemon follow you).

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem is one of my favorite franchises. That’s honestly enough reason for me to be excited for the new Switch title. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Echoes title back in 2017, and the Warriors title wasn’t the best when it came to a variety of classes and characters, so here’s hoping Three Houses will be better than both of them!

Anthem

Anthem was actually showcased in the Game Awards last week and I thought it looked interesting. Being able to play both in single-player or multiplayer mode, taking on the part of a exosuited-up hero to explore a contiguous open world. It’ll be a different kind of game than what I’m used to, so I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

I love this series so much. Honestly, we probably don’t need the Ace Attorney trilogy on our Nintendo Switch — not when we have it on our still-working Wii and I have it on my 2DS XL — but… it’s Phoenix Wright. You have to have Phoenix Wright on your Nintendo Switch. I would love a new Ace Attorney game, but I’ll take this to tide me over until we get that.

What 2019 releases, so far, are you looking forward to?

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Cool Tech: All-in-One PC SmartDesk

Kris P. Gaming News, Home, Kristen, PC Games , , , , , , ,

Double Jump Kris MiiHappy Monday everyone!

How many of you are PC gamers? What kind of set-up do you have for your monitors and computers for your games? Considering how dependent everyone nowadays on their computers, I’m sure everyone has a dream set-up for their tech station.

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One of my coworkers at the office has a standing desk. You know, those desks where you hit a button and it rises up or down depending on the level you’d like? It’s supposed to be much better for your health (and back) to stand while working on your computer instead of sitting at the desk for six to eight hours a day. A standing desk is something that is on Rachel’s and my wish lists.

And then I found this article about a certain All-in-One PC called the Cemtrex SmartDesk that is built into a standing desk.

And it has three monitors. Not just one, but three touchscreen monitors that also have some sort of sensor that allows you to scroll between documents and the like with a wave of your hand like Star Trek. There’s also a built-in scanner right on the desktop, which is nifty.

Aside from the hefty price — which is about $4500.00 — I do balk at the idea of the keyboard also being built into the desk. Like, it seems like it’s flush with the desk surface and I can imagine not having a raised keyboard may be a little interesting to get used to. The other major potential issue is something that the article writer had pointed out — if part of the all-in-one PC breaks, would the parts be interchangeable enough to fix individually, or would one need to send out the entire desk and three monitors back to the manufacturer to fix or get a new one?

Either way, this computer desk looks insane and I would totally want one for gaming, writing, and art. And, of course, to pretend I’m in Star Trek.

Would you be interested in an all-in-one PC like this?

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Challenge Complete: Animal Crossing New Leaf

Kris P. Challenges, Home, Kristen, Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS & 2DS , , , , ,

Double Jump Kris MiiHappy Friday, everyone!

Going to change it up a little this week in that I’m doing a post in response to the challenge that Rachel and I gave each other way back in October. Did any of you forget about that? I promise we didn’t!

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Way back at the beginning of October, Rachel and I challenged each other to play a game from the other’s favorite laid-back franchise. I challenged Rachel to play a Harvest Moon game — Light of Hope for the Nintendo Switch — and she challenged me to play Animal Crossing New Leaf for the 3DS. My goal was to pay off my debt enough to get the biggest house expansion as well as have my villagers like me, have a great town, and a high mayor rating.

And I failed.

What I did accomplish was get a 100% mayor rating (although it’s probably gone down by this point considering I haven’t visited my town in a month), make some villager friends, and paid off enough debt to expand the first floor of my house. I didn’t get the side rooms, but the front room is bigger.

I didn’t do too badly, in my opinion, but I obviously did not meet all of the requirements to complete the challenge, and I have no real excuse for not doing so. We had chosen October to do these challenges because we figured we would have enough time to do them before the decidedly busier months of November and December. Instead, New Leaf became a chore rather than something I wanted to do. Being competitive didn’t make me want to pick up the game.

It was nice meeting and seeing the villagers and Isabelle. The characters are adorable and they made me chuckle with their animations and the way they talk. When I did play the game, it was relaxing. I especially enjoyed the music while running around bug-hunting and fishing!

Yet, I was bored with the overall premise of the game. Sure, it was cute, but there wasn’t anything to keep me sustained. While my Harvest Moon games tend not to have huge stories to follow either, I’m able to create my own and, for the most part, figure out how to accomplish my goals myself.

It was interesting to actually make more of an effort in an Animal Crossing game but, when the Switch version comes out, I’ll probably leave that game to Rachel.

What do you think of Animal Crossing New Leaf? How would you have done with this challenge?

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First Impressions: Fitness Boxing Demo

Kris P. First Impressions, Home, Kristen, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch , , , , , , ,

Double Jump Kris MiiHappy Monday everyone!

How was everyone’s weekend? We’ve entered the last month of 2018, and it’s a bit scary to think about. Before we know it, we’ll all be making new year’s resolutions!

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Not too long ago, I heard of a game that’s coming to the Nintendo Switch called Fitness Boxing that’s slated for a January release in North America. I’m thinking it’s supposed to be a spiritual successor to the Wii Fit games, focusing mainly on boxing rather than all different exercises, like jogging, hula hooping, and yoga.

With my day job consisting mainly of sitting at a desk, and writing, blogging, and gaming taking up time before and after said day job, it’s difficult for me to find the time to actually go to the gym or workout. I did have a gym membership at a place just a couple of streets over at one point with the aim to go early in the morning. It lasted maybe three days before I gave up on being awake before six a.m. After my day job hours wasn’t that great either, because everyone and their mother was there at that time and… people smell when they get sweaty.

I mean, hey, good for those people actually using their memberships! I just couldn’t stand it after dealing with people all day from work.

I always loved the idea of taking a martial arts class, and I have gone to free trial classes a couple of times before. However, things in life tended to pop up and prevent me from continuing on. When I heard that a game called Fitness Boxing was going to be a thing, I figured it’d be a decent middle ground to get me moving more. I wasn’t expecting a full workout, but something to keep me from being stationary.

The demo version of Fitness Boxing that is available is the European version and, considering Rachel and I have several accounts on our Switch for different continents due to doing reviews for a couple of other sites occasionally, we downloaded it.

I did Sunday’s daily workout and threw almost 400 punches. My arms were a little shaky, but it felt good. Also, I suck at uppercuts.

Fitness Boxing hands you to an instructor who takes you through basic punches to the rhythm of a song. Considering I have absolutely no rhythm, I tend to just try to watch the instructor and move when she moves. Aside from some boxing combos, the instructor can also do a stretching routing with you before and/or after the workouts.

While you cannot do so in the trial version, it seems the full version will let you put in your height and weight so the game can make a better estimate as to how many calories you burn during the workouts. You can also unlock outfits, apparently, for your boxing instructors because… I dunno, if you’re going to be staring at them, they may as well look good, right?

The demo of Fitness Boxing isn’t bad at all, and I’m glad I got a chance to try it before deciding on whether or not to buy the full game. It’ll be on my wish list for sure!

Are you interested in Fitness Boxing?

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Flashback Friday: The Legend of Zelda Minish Cap

Kris P. Flashback Friday, Gameboy Advance, Home, Kristen, Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda , , , , , ,

Double Jump Kris MiiHappy Friday, everyone!

One of the last posts for Zelda Month, this Friday we’re talking about a game that came out for the GameBoy Advance. The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap was a charming installment for the franchise.

djflashbackminish

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap was a game released for the GameBoy Advance back in 2005 for North America. Rather than traveling through time, morphing into a wolf, or sailing the seas, Link has a sarcastic hat that helps him shrink in size. It was a prequel, if you will, to Four Swords Adventures, wherein the main villain was Vaati the Wind Sorcerer. The Minish Cap helped to expand the backstory of that particular villain and the birth of the Four Sword.

The Minish — or Picori — are a race of bug-sized creatures that live in and around Hyrule. They are the ones who bestow green clothes and a sword to a boy to drive back the darkness. Vaati petrifies Zelda, and Link uses the aid of the Minish to collect the ancient artifacts to restore the Picori blade to its former glory to seal Vaati away.

I’ve played through this game back when it first came out and I found it enjoyable. The graphics were vivid and colorful, and the characters were amusing. Ezlo, the talking hat, was like a squawking, sarcastic bird, and poor Link just went along with it. The dungeons were fun and I don’t recall anything too frustrating. However, I never finished the game due to rage-quitting at the final boss.

The final boss battle is timed, and not by a ticking clock, but by the sound of bells. Vaati’s wizard-like form (not to be confused with his flying eyeball form in Four Swords Adventures) has three phases, and if you spend too much time beating him down, the final bell will chime and Zelda will be encased in stone forever.

Which is definitely what happened when I played the game.

Still, I remember the game being a fun time and it’s a game that I almost forgot existed until recently when Rachel and I started playing Four Swords Adventure on our Twitch channel. Perhaps one day I’ll return to it.

Have you played The Minish Cap? What did you think of it?

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Rumor: Skyward Sword HD for the Switch

Kris P. Gaming News, Home, Kristen, Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda , , , , , , ,

Double Jump Kris MiiHappy Monday everyone!

I hope everyone who celebrates it had a wonderful Thanksgiving and, whether or not you do celebrate it, I hope you all had a great weekend! 

djskywardhd.png

Here’s a rumor for you — supposedly Aonuma teased Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Switch. There’s not much information at all on this topic, just that many people were tweeting about the tease after the Osaka Zelda concert.

I actually enjoyed Skyward Sword when it came out on the Wii about seven years ago. I wasn’t that great at the motion controls, but I didn’t mind them. In fact, my flailing was quite amusing, if Rachel’s opinion is anything to go by. The motion controls with the Joy-Con would probably be much more precise, considering the Joy-Con have much better gyro motion controls than the wiimote plus.

The story of Skyward Sword is definitely one of the more linear games, but I enjoyed the story, finding the “prequel” to the rest of the Zelda franchise interesting. If they do the HD remake, cutting down on some of the hand-holding and ridiculous dousing quests would make the story run smoother, in my opinion.

I remember loving the graphics and music of Skyward Sword, so if we do get to see it in HD with on the Switch — especially after seeing how gorgeous Breath of the Wild is — I’ll definitely be interested in it! It’s one of the Zelda games that I keep meaning to go back to, so Nintendo will have my money if Skyward Sword HD ends up being a thing.

Are you interested in a remake of Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword?

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