From its very inception, Pokemon was designed for building a community. Satoshi Tajiri desired to convey his love for catching bugs to a new generation that grew up in a concrete-laden city. When he saw the Game Boy's link cable, he imagined creatures crawling across it. He wanted players to share the bugs they caught … Continue reading Pokémon Retrospective, Part 4: My Life As A Fan
In 2012, I thought I'd outgrown Pokemon. I never bought a DS to play Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, and I didn't feel anything when I saw the remakes of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver on store shelves. In fact, I felt like I'd outgrown video games in general. During this time I only casually played Super … Continue reading Pokémon Retrospective, Part 3: Modern Poké-Problems
Several weeks ago, our family cat passed away. Her official name was Isabel Allende (yes, we named her after the famous Latin American author), but we usually just called her Smudge. She was about 13 years old when she passed away. She went peacefully, and my family buried her near a lovely tree. We adopted … Continue reading Pokémon Retrospective, Part 2: Becoming Poké-Pals
Pokemon's 9th Generation is nearly upon us. With the franchise experiencing so much growth along with so much scrutiny, it's unclear what kind of legacy Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will leave behind once they come out in November. However, as we anticipate these new games, I want to look back at Pokemon's evolution throughout the … Continue reading Pokémon Retrospective, Part 1: Pokémon’s Magic Spell
On Christmas morning of 1999 I received a Game Boy Color (GBC) and a copy of Pokemon Yellow. Leading up to that fateful morning, I'd been watching other kids play Pokemon Red and Blue and listening to their conversations about the games. Pokemon was everywhere: on the playground, in the neighborhood, and in every kids' … Continue reading I Finally Found My Lost Childhood Game Boy Consoles
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is an Open World JRPG developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. It was released in January 2021 as a Nintendo Switch Exclusive. MSRB is $60. Prelude: Not Ready for Love It's no secret that I named my blog Hookshot, Charge Beam, Revive after the three game series that impacted me … Continue reading Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the Revival That Pokemon Needs
Pokken Tournament Deluxe is a Pokemon fighting spinoff game developed by Bandai Namco and published by Nintendo. It originally released in arcades and Wii U in 2015. A port to Nintendo Switch was released in September 2017 with the combined content from both Wii U and arcade versions. MSRB is $60. I played the Nintendo … Continue reading Pokken Tournament Deluxe Review: Giving Fighting Games a Fighting Chance
The Nintendo 3DS was born in March of 2011. Its last major game, Persona Q2, was released in June of 2019. That means the system had a good long life of 8 years. I still play my 3DS, so I don't consider it dead yet, but I've realized that I've never made a post solely … Continue reading The Nintendo 3DS, 10 Years Later
If I enjoy a game's soundtrack, I find myself forgiving said game's bland or unimpressive parts. If I enjoy it enough to listen to it in my spare time, I find myself even forgetting the game's flaws altogether. The music will transport me back to the environments I was in and the feelings that music … Continue reading My Favorite Video Game Composers
The Switch is already 3 years old. Remember back in October of 2016, when it was just an idea? Pretty soon it'll be old enough to go to preschool. And then before you know it, your Switch will want to go to rock concerts and it'll believe it knows everything... When the console launched, it … Continue reading The Nintendo Switch: 3 Years Later
Hookshot, Charge Beam, Revive 