Super Mario 3D All-Stars (Switch)

It's a Me, Mario!

 So I beat them all! 100 %! And it went as a charm, feels nice. I don't get why they limited it at physical and digital release, but hey, I don't care that much since I got it physical and I can keep that going from now on as a responsible adult with a job. A job that is in the Swedish state and therefore more protected than most people in this pandemic as of writing in October 2020 still goes on. 

Back to the package... compared to the original All-Stars for the SNES it lacks a Super Mario Lost Levels game that says, I need that. It has the music from the three games and that's neat, but nothing else. The Mega Man collections had art and challenges as well as music. 

People complain that Galaxy 2 isn't in the package, and I can agree that it would be nice since I think I haven't finished that one. I wonder if there is something about the motions control that doesn't work 100 %. I didn't have any problem with Galaxy here so it worked fine with me. What it really really tells me is that I would love a Zelda All-Stars with the N64 games (if they ported the 3DS version I would probably only like Ocarina of Time since the changes in Majora's Mask made it a bit worse, but maybe better controls work in it's favour), Skyward Sword and the remakes from the Wii U (I would gladly take every single game, but Nintendo is a bit more stingy than Capcom in their legacy collections).  

If not like me that have all games (well, not Sunshine, but I played it not that long ago), either rerelease or original game, well worth it since they are solid platforming games. For people like me, the only reason to get it is the limited run since who know when it will come back and what form. So, Nintendo clearly judged it right.

Super Luigi Galaxy (Super Mario 3D All-Stars) (Switch)

Well, what do you know, Luigi was playable.

Dun-dun-dundun-du! Whao! 120 more stars to get, but this time with the taller, faster and green Mario brother. Meaning that most of the time it's pretty much the same. Running after things are faster and you can jump higher so the platforming feels faster, but Luigi is a bit slower on the start and he also slides a bit more. The hardest missions are the ones with the prankster comet where you have to run against shadow Luigi since you really need to use every move and trick to outsmart him. I even had to look up how to get a boost from the start and then translates the controls from the wii to the switch.

Also, the Luigi missions where you save Luigi and then finds him on already finished levels is just weird now. Since it's still Luigi, they even acknowledge it that it might be some alternative dimension Luigi. Sadly, the dialogue with Bowser doesn't change. The Bowser fights was much easier a well. 

Got 120 stars, kicked Bowser into the sun, caused a Black hole, all lumas jumps in and creates a new universe. In some ways it's not worth it to play it twice. What do you get for this? Getting all 240 stars gives you access to a new planet which was the starting point in the mushroom Kingdom what you gotta play with both Mario and Luigi. From there you get a picture taken and sent to you with different people in it to fit if the player is Mario or Luigi. 

Overall, feel rather satisfied with 100 % this game for the first time, but I don't think I will do again. I say now, but  we will see if Nintendo releases a complete Mario All-star pack on the console after Switch and I sit there playing it to have something to write to fill out the weekly posts in 5 years or so. Liked the music and graphics are nice. It was fun to play as Luigi though, and it came as a surprise for me, even though I think SomecallmeJohnny talked about it at his Super Mario Galaxy review. 

Super Mario Galaxy (Super Mario 3D All-Stars) (Switch)

No Guts No Glory

The next game in the collection. Super Mario Galaxy, got it original for the Wii and finished it once with just 71 stars, meaning I got the minimum to defeat Bowser and then went for it. Of course I went for all 120, sadly the game forces you to stop at 105, defeat Bowser and then unlocking the purple coins comet so that you can replay all the multi-star stages. By some seen as the best 3D Mario game, and I'm not that inclined to it. For one, there is no large areas to explore and the closest ones are divided by the mission stars since they often are composed by several planets. And secondly, while the mission based set up off the game has some advantages they don't feel as mysterious as some of the stars of Super Mario 64 where you really had to figure out the meaning behind the text at the beginning of the level. Odyssey is more fun that way with a connected world and really have to figure out most of the moons.

Story is that there is a star festival that happens every 100 year and Mario is of to Peaches Castle to watch the comet that will pass over head, but shocker, Bowser attacks with his armada and kidnaps Peach and take her out into space. Mario ends up tumbling into space upon a planet where he meets Lumas, star children, that leads him to Rosalina a new character that will guide him to her spacecraft that needs power stars in order to follow Bowser to the centre of the Galaxy.

Here they introduced Captain Toad and his squad together with the music cue. You will rescue Luigi that will help you find some stars. And that's pretty much it. The long jump is back, but you loose a forward jump attack since they gave you the luma spin, originally activated by flicking the wiimote, but now replaced with a push of the Y-button. It usually gives you the extra boost to get to a far-away platform or allow you to zero-in on the platform for better landing. Stars are back to collect, but they also gives you starbits that every 50 gives you a 1-up and also can be used to shoot things that either distract enemies or gives you coins. You can also use them to feed hungry lumas that open up new planets or pay for a 1-up or a health mushroom that gives you 3 more health points. 

Going through the game you also unlocks story pages on Rosalina. It was a bit challenging getting all 120 stars, but I got it. Kicked Bowser into the sun, caused a black hole and the lumas filled it up, creating a new universe. And what's this? A new mode? Super Luigi Galaxy? Do I have to play that too?

A DnD Tale: Curse of Stradh - The Amber Temple 2

I get Aghanim vibes from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

So we finally continued the trek through Curse of Stradh and the Amber Temple. Awakening Immeral got an idea since the old man standing guard in the statue is a problem as he would throw fireballs at them if they walked in front of the shadows, and since he is a bit paranoid and a shadow monk decides that offence is the best defence. My sister rolls a 1, misses and tumbles out of the statue, but is saved by rolling a 20 and landing pretty awesome at the floor while the arcanaloth now shows its true face after teleporting to the ground. Cygnus the eladrin paladin jumps out of the statue and teleports to the ground with his fey step and uses the divine smite to really put the flame into the fiend. The arcanaloth answers by throwing a fireball at the rest of the party still in the statue's head, everyone saves, but the damage is still felt across the board. The others pretty much just comes down with a rope since Immeral and Cygnus are able to kill the fiend after the next round. They take another long rest since the others were burned pretty badly.

The rest is looking around the ground floor of the temple. They find three witches trying to get into a locked room so they avoid that corridor and instead goes into the other. They find one open door where four nothics resides, abberitions that used to be humans but turned into one-eyed monsters crave secrets, pretty harmless. They also find two sarcophagus and as Immeral touches one they are beginning to understand the function of the temple. The sarcophagus contains imprisoned dark gods that can bestow dark gifts to those asking for it and is probably why the dusk elves mentioned it back in Vallakia. They find another room haunted by a poltergeist and then an empty room. Realising they must confront the witches they try to talk with them, but a fight ensues where they are all killed together with their brooms. Two other empty rooms, one with treasures and another with an inactive shield guardian. Seeing as all other rooms are locked by arcane lock they get up the stairs and try to get across the collapsed floor. They get across, but most of them get enthralled by a statue, but as Cygnus and Toby avoid the effect they topple the statue and release the others from the sympathy spell. They find a secret door and as they open it hundreds of skulls roll out. After clearing it they find a chest on the ceiling. After trying to force it open with magic hands since it's locked with arcane lock they realise Katrina has dispel magic and unlocks it and as they open it with the magic hand, the floor disappears and they tumble back into the ground floor and all that for nothing since the chest was empty. And they get back to get into the other door where they find a lich who lost his memory. They can't do much and just proceed to explore the room, the only time the lich reacts is when they try to pick up the spellbook that lies there. Leaving it they find two secret rooms, one containing the phylactery of the lich, but they decide to leave it there. 

Going back they begin to open the doors with dispel magic. They find more sarcophagus in the room on the east side and as they enter the room behind the statue they find several piles of treasures and an amber golem standing guard over them. Battle time, and the golem is able to slow two of them and hit Cygnus with a heavy slam attack, but it's still easy winning for a group of 5 people (so drop the supporting characters to just 1 in the following campaign is recommended for my part). And to the victors the spoils go. The game pretty much ends here with everyone going through the first real treasure trove they encountered. Tens of thousands of copper and silver coins, over 6 000 electrum coins, jewelry, gems and artefacts in droves. Also several worthless items like rusted weapons and armours, a pile of gold painted wooden coins and a ton of iron ingots (really kicking my leg that I read what the coins was and not told them that there were golden coins). The question began, how much can we carry back to civilisation? There was a chariot and they could summon a riding horse from a patch from a magical cloak they got from the arcanaloth and maybe animate a life-sized wooden pony. As of writing maybe I should give them the idea that they might be able to awaken the shield guardian to do the heavy lifting. 

Writing this in October and maybe that we can sneak in another session around Halloween would be fun, especially since we are about to clean up the temple.