It’s 2021. The PS5 is out, the PS4 still nets great releases, and the Nintendo Switch has entered its 4th year. NieR Replicant, Tales of Arise, Resident Evil Village, and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl number among the many notable releases of the year. This is also not accounting for the amount of time I spent playing Smash Ultimate along with the recent release of the latest Fighter Pass DLC, Kazuya from Tekken.
Yet, even in spite of my backlog spanning across multiple systems, I find myself going back to my 3DS. I don’t need to brush the dust off and play it like some nostalgic experience. It just feels like another day playing video games. So why would I bother playing a system that no longer has new games and already has a successor?
Well, for starters, it has Metroid: Samus Returns and WarioWare Gold. It still has relevant releases that, well into 2021, are still fun to play. Both of their respective franchises also have new releases coming out this year for Switch: Metroid Dread and WarioWare: Get it Together! As such, I felt the need to dig these games back up and get ready for their releases.
For the Love of Metroid
I initially felt Metroid: Samus Returns fell short of the other 2D titles in the series. Super Metroid, Fusion, and Zero Mission all hold a special place in my heart. To top that notion would be monumental. Samus Returns had a few flaws such as some color saturation problems which made it a little less visually appealing than some other 3DS games. Despite that, I always enjoyed the game.
But when I replayed it on Hard Mode — my first playthrough since the game was released in 2017 — I ended up loving it more than I remembered. The intense boss battles, the wonderful pacing, the abilities, the combat, the exploration, and the atmosphere all felt like the Metroid games I knew and loved. At this point, there was no reason to think that Samus Returns didn’t live up to its predecessors. Nor was there any reason to believe that Samus Returns wasn’t clearly one of the best games on the 3DS. Now I’m playing on Fusion Mode and I still can’t get enough of Metroid until Dread comes out.
WarioWare Wonders.
Similarly, WarioWare Gold brought me back into the series while waiting for the Switch release of Get it Together. WarioWare Gold, as with its predecessors, ended soon after I beat the main mode. However, Gold added new challenges which encouraged you to beat special modes and unlock rewards included in them.
The microgame challenges are fairly difficult yet enjoyable and give the incentive of rewards for clearing them. The humor, the laughter, the creativity, and the overall fun gameplay brought me back to realize just why I love WarioWare. For a series that started on the Game Boy Advance in 2003, it evolved into one of another amazing Nintendo IP. Honestly, I cannot wait for WarioWare: Get it Together on the Switch.
Everything Else.
Along with these, I also found myself finally opening my copy of Last Window: Secret of Cape West, a DS game that succeeded the popular visual novel puzzler, Hotel Dusk: Room 215. It’s just one of several DS titles I’ve sparsely played yet seem to demand my attention at some point. As such, I can’t say I’m putting the 3DS anytime soon.
I sold my DS Lite which, despite the GBA backwards compatibility, just didn’t fit my hands anymore. It was too small and made my wrists cramp thanks unfortunately to carpal tunnel syndrome. Therefore, I figured there was no point in keeping it any longer. Much as I missed playing my Game Boy Advance cartridges, I knew there were more comfortable ways to play them. Thankfully, the New 3DS XL fits my hands perfectly and I have a digital library encompassing Game Boy, NES, SNES, and other digital titles on there.
With that said, it’s 2021 and along with the PS4, PS5, Switch, and even a couple of games on Steam, I find myself playing a handheld released a decade ago. A game’s quality doesn’t deteriorate just because it’s older. Hence they’re called classics for a reason.
As such, keep in mind that there’s no reason to deprive yourself of that enjoyment even if the games you enjoy aren’t as relative now as they used to be. Their time doesn’t minimize the level of quality and polish the developers put into their game. Rather, aging like fine wine, these games become classics when people still feel compelled to play them years later.
I feel great playing through Metroid: Samus Returns and WarioWare Gold. As opposed to a waste of time, these games feel like an investment and continue to bring enjoyment today and onward.
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