Video Game Tips Roundup

Over the years I’ve added a handful of posts that feature tips for specific videos games and I thought it might be useful to re-post the links here:

Playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for Nintendo Switch

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Note: Minor spoilers about certain items and actions are included here.

Zelda Master Sword.jpg

Back in the 1980s I played and beat the original The Legend of Zelda game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was a fun but challenging game and it’s likely that I used a strategy guide to make it through. Sometime later I tried Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on the NES but it didn’t capture me; I did not care for being pulled into battles without any warning when exploring the overworld map and the side-scrolling was just an odd fit.

With the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) I was sucked into the world of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Just when you think you’ve defeated Gannon you learn that not only did you not beat the game but that there’s a whole other part of the game that was nearly as long as the first. It’s remained one of my favorite Zelda games over the years and I thoroughly enjoyed reliving a slightly different experience on the 3DS with The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

In the years since I’ve played the many of the Zelda games at some point, excluding some of the handheld editions. While I’m aware that many may have very high opinions of those games, and I certainly can’t say that they were bad, none have captured my attention for very long and certainly not to the point that I thought I might actually strive to finish those games. I spent several hours enjoying The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess when it was released for the Wii but after complete a handful of dungeons I decided to move on.

Zelda Dragon.jpg

I have discovered that, for me, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a very addictive Zelda game that I expect to finish. I have already put in countless hours within a matter of only a few weeks, typically playing late at night. It’s one of those games where you continuously feel compelled to do “just one more thing” before ending a gaming session.

Mario Kart 8 for Wii U – The Best and Worst Mario Kart Game

Last Friday I purchased a copy of the new Mario Kart 8 game for the Wii U. It’s something that I’ve been anticipating for a long time. After all, I’ve played almost every single game in the series, with the exclusion of some of the older DS/DSi editions. Now the complaint I have isn’t something I was completely unaware of before I purchased the game, but I was hoping for a better experience with the Battle Mode than I’ve had so far.

Console Round-Up: Nintendo 3DS

The Short Version: Initially, I wasn’t interested in the 3DS but after playing a demo of Super Mario 3D Land at a Best Buy I realized it would be a good system to have. I purchased one and really like the features and most of the games I now own.

I’ve had at least one of the top three, current generation consoles since the Wii and Xbox 360 were released (PS3 ownership came later). For a while now I’ve owned all three. They each get used infrequently – typically the Xbox 360 is used the most though every once in a while I use the Wii or PS3 when a new game I’ve been waiting for is released (for example, Shadow of the Colossus for PS3 and New Super Mario Bros for Wii).

As a life-long gamer I fall somewhere between being a casual gamer and a hardcore gamer.

I’ve certainly been aware of portable game systems – in the past I briefly owned an original GameBoy (I also played a Sega Game Gear for a while though think I only borrowed it). I also borrowed a PSP from one of my brothers and toyed with it for a while over several months.

Super Paper Mario – Screwed?

While playing a Wii game called Super Paper Mario I noticed some language in the cut scenes that seemed somewhat inappropriate for a video game that is geared toward adults and children. Specifically, the word “screwed” was used on more than one occasion. I guess it doesn’t have the same connotation as it did when I was a kid, but it still seemed a bit odd.

Quick Coins in Super Paper Mario

In a post of Super Paper Mario Wii Cheats one user, Overlord Goomba, posted a tip for making a lot of coins in a relatively short amount of time. The trick involves using a Catch Card SP to capture an Amazy Dayzee and then sell it at the card shop. Catch Card SPs usually cost 100 coins in the Flopside card shop and the Amazy Dayzee card can be sold in either card shop for 300 coins. This trick can be used to quickly max out one’s coins (and still have more cards in reserve).

Unfortunately, this trick requires access to level 5-2 and Flopside, so it’s not something that can be done early in the game.

Once you have at least one catch card (I’d recommend having two for the first trip) you’ll need to head to 5-2 and move through the star doors until you reach the door with the Yoshi statue. Just after the gap with the floating platform, but before the Yoshi statue, you’ll find an Amazy Dayzee in 3-D mode. As soon as you flip, just use the catch card.

Super Mario Bros 3 Lives & Items Cheat (Super Mario All-Stars Wii)

I discovered an interesting cheat for Super Mario Bros 3 in Super Mario Bros All-Stars for Wii. Perhaps this is a bug or maybe even something that was by design. It may have existed in the SNES version though it’s been so long since I played it that I don’t remember. While running through World 1 I decided to save and see what happened when I reloaded the game.

When I reloaded the save I was disappointed to see that I would have to go through the levels again. But then I noticed that I had the same number of lives and the same items from before. I proceeded to play through World 1 and then stopped and saved before I got to the castle.

Using this trick I ended up with three warp whistles in World 1! I probably could have gained more but since I didn’t really plan to use them I instead started stocking up on items and lives. Using the old infinite lives trick on 1-2 it wasn’t long before I had several items and a good stock of lives before moving on to World 2.

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