Travelling Nintendo : The Updated Setup

In the past I have spoken of the travelling pack, the setup for hitting the road for Nintendo buffs... usually for reasons of evacuation during disaster events. Of late I have amended my travelling pack guide and made the following changes.

- From small shoulder slung bags I changed my emphasis to large shoulder slung messenger bags. I have been plumbing the depths of a local thrift store group that worked out of my local school for inspiration, settling on a multi pouch style of messenger bag, with compartments for your handhelds and games and charging cords and a large central pouch for food and drink and incidentals for the trip.

- I started preaching the virtues of a first generation Game Boy Advance being in your set, noting the need for one device powered by easily replaced physical batteries (when plugging in to recharge is not an option). Of course you will also have to invest in a clip on light source for this resistant beast, but given the handhelds range of gaming content it's alright to make do with a weakness or two in exchange for longer more sustainable potential in the long haul.

- The philosophy of travelling with multiple handhelds. A GBA and a 3DS... possibly also an older DS Lite. Simply because charging wise the most efficient is the GBA (be it the SP with over a dozen hours of charge at full, or the original with replaceable battery charge) followed by the DS Lite, and finally the 3DS. One of the most damning things about new tech, the more advance it is the quicker it consumes energy.

- Speaking of charging I have advanced my theory on the Nintendo multitap from GameStop (allowing you to charge a GBA SP or DS, DS Lite and DSi or 3DS all at once. Not only do I think you should own this if you also have an MP3 Player and tablet you should own multiple chargers. The plug on this can adapt to recharge any device that plugs into a USB slot on a PC, so you can't have enough of these plugs for charging I assure you.

For me I am working on a travelling pack pack for study and research with a GBA GBA SP, DS Lite and 3DS. Game wise I am still working on different recommendations lists, but that is a topic for a future Travelling... stay tuned.

Summer 2013 Day 1 : Getting caught up

First thing to do once that laptop comes in and I start grinding new podcasts out is reviving 3DS Life (as 3DS Addict) and that means getting back on track. Lots has happened since my last 3DS Life episode.

- Finally the 3DS is becoming commonplace in my hometown. Nowadays I can meet 1-3 3DS owners on a daily basis without fail. Very nice.

- Though demos have been few of late I have lots to go over with you.

- Quite a few good games are on the eshop. Once I secure a steady reviewing format (New online home, budget, etc) I am definitely going to be picking up VISA Gift Cards to review... things just are not the same gaming wise since Blockbusters closed down.

- Apps have been poor, but this summer at last the 3DS version of as certain DSi app that was used in a certain Zelda anniversary competition is coming out. Pity that is the one and only app coming out to speak of.

Stay tuned for podcast updates as things resolve themselves.

First Impressions Dragon Quest IX and Heroes

What do I think of these so far? Let's see...

DQIX Sentinels of the Starry Skies
The story is OK I guess, being an angelic entity, but once you are thrown from your heavenly home (which I swear was ripped off in Goseiger) it becomes a standard Dragon Quest game and you lose all your new angelic abilities, making the game s bit of a tease dangling New abilities before you then taking them away. Worse, you will plays for hours on end and most likely not run into a second character to team up with. That is sad, especially since I remember finding allies far quicker when I played DQVII sometime ago.

I like the game and all, but I have at this point been grinding away at this game for hours without finding a single New character to team up with... it will reflect in my final score to be certain.

Dragon Quest Heroes Rocket Slime is a little innovative, with a freeroaming environment (same with Dragon Quest IX) and a bit more of a freestyle combat system over turn based combat. Where the game suffers is from repetitive gaming and a kinda lackluster story that does not hook you as well as past Dragon Quests I have played before.

Full reviews coming soon.

Waiting to Recharge 5/12

Let's see, we have a bit to go over...

Ever take the time to buy a multitap charger for Nintendo's handhelds? I got one from Gamestop and it charges a GBA SP, DS Lite and 3DS all at once... I need to buy another one. Apparently the main plug attaches to the multitap via a USB plug, which means you can attach your handhelds to a PC to charge... or you can attach any device with a USB plug for charging, like my MP3 player, or this Kindle Fire HD. Definitely need a second one of these.

Game wise I got a mix of stuff to talk about coming up.

Game Boy (Color) - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets GBC
Game Boy Advance - Same as GBC, GBA version
DS - Dragon Quest IX Sentinels of the Starry Skies
3DS - Monster Hunter Ultimate 3 Demo

Reviews, and one demo preview, coming soon. Stay tuned.

I would worry about talking about Nintendo at E3 this year,and their conference opening press conference... except they cancelled that this year and only have stuff for investors and high class media media planned. Joy. Nothing like getting the cold shoulder from Nintendo to start the summer right. Oh well, hopefully the demos out of E3 are worth it at least.

At the end of this year's tech upgrade things went to enhance my work, and add content. So that means no love for Nintendo... for now. Once again if I am renewed for another year of work I will put an investment into the Fall... though, spoiler, it might be the the Sony PSVita. Stay tuned.

Well that's updates for the coming week. Time to get to work.

Getting back on track

Sorry for the long inactive period but working on getting back up to speed again.

Starting off I am working on getting a hold of a used laptop for grinding out podcasts. Hope to have that resolved soon.

This summer working on 3DS Addict, Pocket Gamer and Wii Life podcasting wise. It will probably be awhile before I try again to upgrade to the Wii U, but if I am renewed for another year of work that will go a way to making that happen. Stay tuned for updates.

Well, first thing first, getting back on track to posting daily here. So let's get to work.