PixlBit

I remember the Tick cartoon! Did you watch Eek the Cat? It aired around the same time.

With Zack & Wiki I really tried to figure things out myself but would look something up if I was really stumped. Frustration can really ruin a game like that.

Hey, that's a good song!

Rocket Slime is the best! A friend and I played it in college all the time. Such epic tank battles! I'm so sad the sequels never saw release here. We need a collection on Switch!

Also, nice puns.

I haven't heard of Army of Ruin. Looks kind of like Vampire Survivors. Is that a fair comparison.

I'm enjoying Metroid Prime 4 as well! It did change developers part way through (I don't remember the timeframe on that switch), so I'm not sure what part of those eight years resulted in this game. Whatever the game's faults and shortcomings, I'm glad it exists.

I also have a Game of the Year blog! ...which I should go finish up...

My son finished Cult of the Lamb and I don't think I'm going to play that one. He spent waaay more time managing his cult compound than he did out fighting and that part of the game does not interest me much.

Maybe I missed it but what's your plan for 2026?

Again, such a dizzying number of good games. I have meant to play BioShock 2 for years now but just...haven't. Ditto for Bloodborne. Dead Space 2, however, is SO GOOD. I wish it had gotten the remake treatment as well.

Hoo boy, so much good stuff on the DS! I've never played every game I wanted to on any console, obviously, but the DS was the last time I made any sort of progress towards that. Let me just touch (haha) on some games you didn't mention.

You didn't mention the Castlevania games. Any reason for that? 

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is a stylus-controlled action game that I thought worked really well.

Contra 4 was a real return to form for that series, though it is very hard.

Elite Beat Agents is a really fun rhythm game that is so silly.

Ghost Trick is an excellent puzzle action game by the writer of the Phoenix Wright games (I fully agree with Cary's recommendation on those as well). Ghost Trick is fun to play and has a great story. It did get a modern reissue too.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is a cool mash up of 2D platforming on the top screen and Puzzle League-esque gameplay on the bottom screen. I really like this one but was never able to beat the last boss because it got so hard.

Legend of Kage 2 is a great retro-style 2D action game. Heck, it's technically a sequel to an NES game!

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (often shortened to 999) is SO GOOD. It's a Japanese visual novel interspersed with lots of different puzzles. Those do a good job of breaking up the story but the story is really the star here. I cannot recommend it enough.

Speaking of good stories, Radiant Historia is an RPG with a cool parallel timeline story. Neat battle system too.

Lastly, Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 is a great use of the DS's touch screen and features a nutty anime story.