Mission Complete

After finally securing a completely working DS Lite, I was able to sit down and enjoy the latest Mario incarnation aptly titled New Super Mario Brothers. Having played most of the Mario titles over the years, I was impressed by how much fun this series continues to be. The gameplay now is pretty much the same as it was back in the 8-bit days.

Run, jump, stomp… that’s all there really is to it. But the series keeps itself fresh with the gorgeous graphics, fun but challenging level designs, and small additions to the power-ups. This time, the mega mushroom and mini mushroom opened up the level designs even more. Want that last coin for a level? Better grab a mini mushroom and try to run through it again.

It did not take me too long to run through the game and collect everything; there is a part of me that hates not finding every little item, secret, what have you in a game. However, the strength of this urge varies depending on how much I enjoy a particular game.

I’m still trying to collect everything in Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari; no matter how many times I roll through a level, I still have fun. However, trying to get everything in Final Fantasy VII was swept aside to just get through that boring mess of a story.

I will always be a completist at heart, but if my heart isn’t in it (or my skills too weak), some games will always have secrets to lord over me. Some day… some day… I will get that pink tail in Final Fantasy IV. Some day…