Virtual Console Dreaming: The Survival, Swords, and Stacking Update

Survival Kids by Konami

Heading into the long weekend, Nintendo is bringing four more Game Boy titles to Switch Online:

Survival Kids

Developed by Konami, Survival Kids is a bit like a simplified, classic Zelda. I’ve actually played this one recently–the default volume is extremely loud. I promise it’s a lot cooler than the 30 seconds of menuing present in this trailer would have you believe. 

It’s also worth noting that this franchise is getting reimagined for the Switch 2 next month. 

Gradius The Interstellar Assault 

I’ve never played a Gradius–I usually prefer my shooters to scroll vertically. HowLongToBeat claims this entry can be finished in 41 minutes so it might be a good place to jump in and blast off. 

Kirby’s Star Stacker 

New puzzle experiences getting added will always be a pleasant surprise (this is a direct reference to my picross addiction) and the fact that this is also a Kirby title is just the icing on the strawberry and Maxim Tomato cake. This one appears to be mechanically similar to the Puzzle League series. 

The Sword of Hope

Of this batch, this is the one I know the least about. It seems pretty ambitious for something released in 1989 (and on the Game Boy, no less). 

If any of these catch your eye, they’re all available tonight for Switch Online subscribers. 

Here is my prolific wish list. There have been no changes since last week’s update.

SNES

Pocky and Rocky 2

Secret of Mana

GBC/GBA

Metal Gear: Ghost Babel 

Mother 3

Onimusha Tactics 

Pokemon Pinball

Tony Hawk misc.  

Nintendo 64

Beetle Adventure Racing

Bomberman 64

Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!

Bomberman Hero

Castlevania 64/Legacy of Darkness

Goemon’s Great Adventure

Mischief Makers

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

Quest 64

Snowboard Kids

Snowboard Kids 2

GameCube

1080 Avalanche

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance

Battalion Wars

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg

Chibi-Robo!

Cubivore:: Survival of the Fittest

Donkey Konga 1-3 (rerelease the bongos!) 

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

Eternal Darkness

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles 

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance 

Geist

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire

James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing

James Bond 007: From Russia with Love

James Bond 007: Nightfire

Killer 7 (if we’re not getting a port of the Steam version)

Kirby Air Ride

Lost Kingdoms

Lost Kingdoms II

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

Mario Kart: Double Dash

Mario Party 4-7

Metroid Prime 2 (if we don’t get a proper remaster)

P.N.03

Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2

Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness

Resident Evil 2, 3, and Code Veronica 

Skies of Arcadia Legends (I think this is the one I want the most)

SSX 3

Starfox Adventures

Starfox: Assault

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader

Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

Super Smash Bros. Melee

TimeSplitters 2

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

Tony Hawk’s Underground, Underground 2, and American Wasteland (if we don’t get remakes)

Turok: Evolution (if Nightdive doesn’t do its thing)

Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2

Wario World

Wave Race: Blue Storm

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom

Learning game dev has been exhilarating–but I am BURNT out. Since finishing the donuts, I’ve been using Blender steadily the last couple weeks and have finished some larger projects (an alligator, a fire arrow, a scene from Nosferatu). So today I took my first tentative steps into learning Unity and–well... 

The thing with tutorials is there will always be inconsistencies between what you’re building and what the person guiding you is making on-screen. Most of my development background is in GB Studio; so when I was asked to draw a couple assets for this project, I drew them small. Too small? Yes, and I didn’t realize it until I was trying to add text for the player’s score and game over screen.

At least I finished making the worst version of Flappy Bird (though, it is playable). 

Like modeling, I’m just going to keep hitting it every day until I’m good at it. 

Have a wonderful weekend. All I wanted for my birthday was more hours in the day and my loved ones did not come through with that request. I’m not sure how I’m going to manage continuing to chip away at my backlog while watching two WWE events, multiple WNBA games, and the Monaco Grand Prix over the next few days.