[timestamp] is a running journal and reflection on the games I play, news I’ve read, and commentary on hot topics and conversations I have come across. These will be free to read online and printed in a limited monthly edition for $15/mo Patreon supporters!

Now that I have that empty feeling in my head where Elliot was living, I need to find something else to play. Mina is there. I do need to finish it, but I am stuck thinking about how I am stuck in that game, and I’ll need to look up a guide or something to get back on track. Instead, I played a few bite-sized games to dabble in while I considered my next option. The demo for Rhythm Heaven Groove is out, so I gave that a shot. The Nintendo Direct trailer from a few weeks ago talked about an RPG mode I was hoping to try, but the demo is just 5 minigames and a final challenge that mixes them. They were fun, and I am getting WarioWare vibes, which is a great thing, but I don’t know if this is something I’ll purchase right now.

The other game I played to wrap things up was PICROSS S CAPCOM CLASSICS edition. This is something I haven’t played in months, but Picross puzzles are timeless. These are logic-based puzzles, with a hint of math, but you are just given the coordinates of how many squares are filled in in both horizontal and vertical rows. You then have to deduce which squares are filled in, and which you know aren’t, and can mark them. As you do this, the logic of where more spaces can be filled in comes in with what you’ve learned, and you continue to fill out the board. It’s simple, but as the puzzle area gets bigger, it’s a lot more to think through, and it scratches a good part of my brain. The developer, Jupiter, has been the primary maker of Picross games since the SNES days, which is wild to think about. 30 years of this.

I had originally started playing a Japanese ROM of Mario's Super Picross a couple of years ago on a whim. I heard about Picross growing up, but I just never gave it a shot for whatever reason. I really should have, as in the DS era, I was all about Brain Age and the sudoku puzzles in that game, I logically would have loved playing Picross. It’s quick, simple, and a good challenge. It’s a game you can always come back to, or play in between things. I will say, playing it before eating breakfast, staring at the screen with potential failing vision, it is a good way to give myself a headache and make me not want to play games for the rest of the day…

After a long break, and a really hot day of some frustrating errands, I was able to get back to some Picross (as we had a power outage in the 110 summer heat, wonderful!). I had to play this, as it was battery powered. Switch 2 for the win? Once the power came back on, I decided to peek at a little more on the Switch menu, and that WarioWare reminder had me jump into the GBA Classics and play some of the original WarioWare.

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! is a classic. These aren’t minigames, these are MICROGAMES. You’ve got only seconds to decipher what’s on the screen, and you get one quick blurb of instructions, and the goal is to read it all and react with just the d-pad or A button. Simple. The games are all low-fi originals and retro-inspired Nintendo classics. This is a real easy game to pick up for 10 minutes, and realize you’ve been at it for an hour. I played a bit of the series as it went on, but everything after the Wii is uncharted territory for me. Maybe I should see what the latest one is and give it a try sometime. The simple design of this makes me wish I could make a game. I’ve always had an idea for an adventure game where you're a regular kid making it through a single day of school, but all your actions are these micro-hits that are pass or fail, and they will either keep you going or embarrass you to hell. I thought of it like a coming-of-age interactive game, getting you into the head of the awkward kid in school. If anyone wants to help me make it, I can do audio and produce it. I just need some art and programming friends… One day…

That is it for the day. I am really going to try to convince myself to play something I haven’t finished yet before I buy something new. I have Suikoden II, Dragon Quest HD-2D II (I finished III, and then finished I, but didn’t start II yet), and Mina, which all deserve my time before completely casting them away. I guess we’ll all see what my choice was in the next entry!