Category Archives: 2026
![I’m Building a Pauper Battle Box [MtG]](https://dahubbz.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/images289029.jpeg?w=90&h=70&crop=1 "I’m Building a Pauper Battle Box [MtG]")
I’m Building a Pauper Battle Box [MtG]
Hey guys. I love Magic the Gathering. However, I almost exclusively play casually with my wife. As a result I like for us to have multiple decks sitting around the house so it never gets old. I like to build at least 4 decks for me and 4 decks for her. This is something I did with Pre-Modern. I’ll show those off in a future post. I like doing this with non rotating, affordable eternal formats. Now, affordable is obviously subjective and proxies exist and budget options to expensive cards exist. So with that said, unless your deck is built around something expensive, you can make most formats affordable one way or the other.
The affordability of Pauper as well as the sheer width of deck options is why Pauper has remained my favorite format since I gave up on Modern years ago. But I’ve never sat down and tried to flesh out a box. If I had done this experiment a decade ago when I started playing Pauper I would have thrown in my favorites at the time: GB Midrange for me. Burn for my wife. And rounded it out with stuff like Boros Monarch and Mono Black with Gary and the crew. But a lot changes in a decade. So here are the decks my wife and I are currently building
#1 Grixis Affinity
Before you scoff at this inclusion, I built this deck like 3 years ago ling before Utrom Monitor made this one of the most controversial decks in Pauper’s history. For those of you unfamiliar, with the release of the TMNT set brought ancillary products. Utrom Monitor found itself in oje of these side products. I believe it was a 3 of. Which made things awkward for 60 card formats where you want 4 of him, specifically Pauper. It was reselling for about $10 when it came out. When I’m building pauper decks, I don’t like cards even over $2. It kind of ruins the spirit of the format. Either way, I never invested in the Monitors. My win condition was a flipped Tithing Blade, Bolts, and Galvanic Blast. There was a creature package with Gingerbrute who could get in unblockable to set up ninjutsu for Ninja of the Deep Hour. And Refurbished Familiar was an absolute unit as long as you weren’t facing those Sneaky Snackers. This was probably my favorite Pauper deck of all time and could stand for some upgrades in the near future.
#2 Rakdos Madness
When I first saw the Madness Pauper deck, it was Rakdos. That’s my wife’s favorite guild so we started working on this build [foregoing the straight Mono Red Burn]. She plays burn in every format its available in [which is all of them…], so I thought it would be fun to add a layer of complexity to her decks. She loves point and click burn spells. This deck still plays loads of burn spells in the form of Lightning Bolt, Fiery Temper, Vampire’s Kiss, Alms of the Vein, Grab the Prize and, at least for right now, Fruit of Tizerus. But the discard package will encourage her to keep track of multiple game spaces and timing. Fiery Temper and Alms of the Vein deal with discard, exile, and timing. Fruit of Tizerus forces her to keep up and remember what’s in her graveyard. Grab the Prize pseudo forces her to think about what she’s discarding. While Vampire’s Kiss will make her keep track of tokens and the game board itself. Its still her preferred strategy of burning the player out, but I think it will force her to pay more attention and become a better player.
#3 UB Birds
This is my pet deck. I actually built this and streamed it on the Dahubbz Youtube channel 8 years ago. Admittedly, it is kind of jammed in a weird place. Cavern Harpy is one of my favorite cards. I love repeating and abusing Enter The Battl… oh, yeah we don’t use that verbiage anymore. I mean I love abusing the Enters trigger [yeah, just doesn’t sound the same…]. So I started looking for the best things to bounce back with Cavern Harper and landed on a creature called Parasitic Strix. These formed the backbone of the deck. Now, we don’t have Baleful Strix or we would be cooking. As it stands, I use Tidehollow Strix as a replacement. Its Blue and Black, is a bird, is an artifact, and has flying and deathtouch. It checks like 4 out of the 5 boxes Baleful Strix does, so its alright. The deck has gotten some new toys in the last 8 years including Grim Bauble, Cryogen Relic, and heck I did my video a month before Cast Down came out. The only thing is its kind of is a UB based Artifact Fliers deck. As you saw with my Grixis Affinity list I already have an artifact deck. And as you’ll see in a few entries, I am planning a fliers deck. Still this is my baby. I have to have it.
#4 Mardu Synthesizer
This was a deck I thought up for a wife a while back but never had the pieces for it. Its an update [albeit now like 3 years old] take on Boros Monarch. I really liked the Kor Skyfisher and Glinthawk interaction back in the day. Synthesizer is a good pick up because it has a great ETB you want to abuse. Grim Bauble has another cool abusable ETB allowing the deck to pick off small aggro creatures. Of course, Refurbished Familiar is probably the main reason to play black. A 2/1 flier that forces the opponent to discard upon entrance is going to be great to bounce back to your hand and replay it. I was sold on the Mardu version for my wife when I saw Black Mage’s Rod. It fits my wife’s playstyle very well. Other reasons to splash black can include Cast Down, Tithing Blade, or Fanatical Offering. Outside of that, red provides burn in the form of Lightning Bolt and Galvanic Blast and some good sideboard cards like Red Elemental Blast, Smash to Smithereens, and End the Festivities.
#5 Gruul Monsters/Cascade
I love Gruul monsters. The original Gruul Monsters from Khans of Tarkir was one of the first decks I saw play on camera and I fell in love. I certainly try to recreate it in any format I can. Unfortunately I’m not sure the curve is in their in Pauper. I don’t think we have something like Gruul Spellbreaker in Pauper. However, the top end in Red Green is super strong. It also plays into argubly my favorite mechanic in Magic- Cascade! I’m still working on an exact 60 I like but some of suspects I’m looking at are: Writhing Chyrsalis, Annoyed Altisaur, Boarding Party, Arbor Elf, Llanowar Visionary and Eldrazi Processor. The rest of the curve will be filled out as I go. All in all this appeals to the gruul part of my brain. Ramp into big mana, cast big dumb dudes, and Cascade into values.
#6 Jund Sac
Okay, hear me out. I’m not entirely sure what I want this to be. In 2015, my wife and I walked into a Walmart and bought the Demonic Deals starter the deck where my wife learned the joys of casting Act of Treason, stealing my elf, and saccing it to her Blazing Hellhound. I think Pauper has potential for a similiar deck. However, it seems black is mostly preoccupied with saccing its own stuff. That’s mostly done in Golgari Gardens. Which seems to have turned into a mostly mono black deck these days. Gixian Infiltrator seems like he would be an interesting build around card, but I’d have to think about fun unique ways to build this that aren’t just Golgari Garden. So this is a work in progress.
#7 Cawgates
Caw Go and Caw Blade are some of the most iconic decks in Magic’s history from a time before I played. This is a chance to play a similiar style deck. Now sure, I don’t get access to Jace the Mind Sculpture, Stoneforge Mystic, or the great equipment package of Standard’s past. However, now we get to use Brainstorm, Counterspell, Journey to Nowhere, and the gate package to simulate the equipment angle. This is probably the deck I’m customizing the least. I’ll most likely find a stock list and just rock it. But really what battle box is complete without some form of UW?
#8 Soul Sisters
Mono Red Burn was my wife’s first MtG love. Oddly enough, mono white life gain or Soul Sisters was the deck she played next. We put a spin on it where she played the Soul Sisters first, but then played cards like Keldon Marauders and Viashino Pyromancer to play creatures that burned on entering. I think they literally made Phlage based off this deck idea, so blame my wife for that one. Anyway, there’s ample ways to get a Soul burn deck going in pauper with Souls Attendent, Soul Warden, Essence Warden, and Suture Priest plus all the burn we can do with Molten Gatekeeper, Raphael Tough Turtle, and Marauding Blight-Priest. We also can go infinite with Scurry Oaks if we build a combo engine around it with something like Ivy Lane Denizen. Our Battle Box is also lacking in combo, so I think this would be welcomed. Its really up to my wife to figure out exactly how she wants to build it.
Pauper is cheap enough, I’d like to work up to a good bit of decks over time. Elves, W Heroic and Simic Land Animate all are on my radar. You also never know when a busted common will come out and create a new archetype over night.
Do any of you guys play pauper? Do you ever build battle boxes for your favorite formats? Let me know what your favorite Pauper decks are!
Pre K Orientation
It is so crazy to believe around 4 years ago I made a post about my wife and I becoming parents. Fast forward and now she is starting Pre K. Obviously, we’ve known this day was coming but going to her Pre K orientation definitely made it feel real. Y’all keep us in your thoughts and prayers because getting this drama queen up by 6:30 every morning is going to be a real struggle.
Are any of you parents? Have your kids started school? Let me know how its going. Thank you reading! Have a great day
What Anime Are You Watching?
Hey guys. This blog started off as a place to talk about anime and video games. Well, we’ve gotten pretty far away from animes, and mangas for that matter. At one point that was because I didn’t have Crunchyroll. But lately that’s because I’ve mostly been focusing on binging a select few animes. That’s something I’ll talk about at a later time. For example, my wife and I binged Naruto to watch the finale around the time it aired. We also tried to binge Case Closed around the time it was hitting 1000 episodes. Lately friends of mine have challenged/motivated me to binge one of my favorite animes and get current. My wife and I have been locking in to get to accomplish this.
I made a decision early to not really cover the big animes. As we watched Naruto, I don’t think I really ever blogged about it. The big animes are great. They’re beloved for a reason. But I didn’t really feel like I was adding much to the conversation of big animes. So I just never did. I had a lot more fun blogging about new animes, or forgotten animes, or hidden gems. And I thought as a blogger I needed to have to such a range and be able to quote obscure animes and have a unique top 5 favorite animes. But as I aged, I just stopped caring if my top 5 came across as a cliche or casual. I don’t watch nearly the range of anime I did when I was blogging a lot. But that’s okay. I still have some unique ones I’d go to bat for like Amagi Brilliant Park, Odd Taxi, Shinzo, and Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.
But there’s so many great staple ones I’ve been putting off finishing that I need to get around to like Yu Yu Hakusho and Inuyasha. These are animes I enjoy, but never completed them because I was trying to watch so many different things.
These days, we watch anime as a family and we try to finish what we start instead of hopping around.
With that said, I’m thinking about watching some anime on my own. What are some of the best animes I’ve missed out? For the last two years, Ive been lazer focused and have really only watched one anime. Let me know what I’ve missed over the last five years or so.
Also, tell me what you guys are watching! Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
Tonight’s Game: Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma
Hey guys. What’s everyone playing tonight? I managed to get me a copy of Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma. This was one of my more sought after games, especially on the Switch family of consoles. I 100% Donkey Kong Banaza a while ago and I’ve been itching for something new to pop in the console. Its been hard to justify the $60 and $70 games like Pokémon, Yoshi, Star Fox, and Metroid. But my local shop had Rune Factory for $22. Plus, I had a $5 off coupon. That’ll help cover some of the Switch 2 upgrade that’ll be getting.
I’m excited to dive into this because my impression of Rune Factory is it occupies a space between Harvest Moon and Dark Cloud. It’s got that farming and village sim of Harvest Moon with more dungeons and combat akin to Dark Cloud. Needless to say, I’m eager to see how close to that description it is.
So again, let me know what you guys are playing this weekend. Have you played any of the Rune Factory games? Let me know. Thank you for reading! Have a great day!
5 Games I Wish Had Come to the Gamecube
Someone asked online “What’s 5 games you wish got released on the Gamecube?” This is a question I always ask myself about for the N64 and Wii U. [In fact I already did a post about 5 games I wish had come to the Wii U. So check that out.] Anyway, here’s the deal. I’m going to try to not list games produced by Sony and Microsoft [for example, I’m not going to bother saying Halo. Obviously, that was never coming to the Gamecube.]
#1 Psychonauts
Psychonauts was developed by Double Fine Productions. It was one of the best 3D Platformers of this generation. However, it a commercial flop compared to Super Mario Sunshine, Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank. Still this game had a unique setting, taking place at a summer camp for kids with psychic abilities. Its story, gameplay, level design, and power ups were all greatly unique. I think it stood out even then in a sea of 3D platformers and holds up well even today.
I think it would have been a welcome addition to the Gamecube. It was offbeat and an oddball. Which is basically the motto of the Gamecube with other quirky 3D Platformers like Billy Hatcher already on the console. Something I learned only a few years ago is that Psychonauts was not an Xbox exclusive. In fact it was only exclusive to Xbox for roughly two months.
When Microsoft canceled [if that’s the right word?] publishing Psychonauts, Majesco picked up the publishing rights. With Microsoft out of the picture, Psychonauts was free to explore publication on other console. Of course they stuck with releasing it on OG Xbox, but it also got a Playstation 2 release. So why no Gamecube version?
I’ve heard three reasons. So if anybody can confirm or deny any of the reason, sound off below. 1. Majesco was a mid tier publisher. They didn’t have the resources of someone like Microsoft. As a result, they had to be selective about what consoles got it. 2. The Gamecube was failing this generation. Despite the head start and the brand recognition, they finished 3rd behind Playstation and Xbox. There was just no reason to port it to a losing console. 3. I saw some people say the Gamecube’s lack of 4 shoulder buttons would make it hard or impossible to port the game over to Gamecube. This is the reason I find hardest to believe. I can’t say I cross refernced this, but I just feel like surely other games that took advantage of the four shoulder buttons also released on the Gamecube. 4. That generation was already winding down. Psychonauts released early 2005. The Wii would release in 2006.
All four of these reasons I’m sure have some degree of merit. And if you mix it all in a blender, it would explain why no Gamecube port ever happened. It’s a shame a Wii port was never developed either. But hey, Psychonauts is great and you should go play it.
#2 Okami
To be fair, it is pretty obvious why Okami did not come to the Gamecube. It was released late into the 6th generation cycle. It was released roughly seven months before the Wii released. Also, from everything I read, Okami was designed for the PS2 specific. So there never any plans for the Gamecube or, heck, even the PS3.
They loved the art style and the graphics on the Playstation 2. They loved the controller of the Playstation 2. The thought of designing it for another console never seemed to cross their minds.
Its a shame it never came to the Gamecube because I feel like the unique nature of it, the look of it, the appreciation of Japanese mythology would fit right at home with the Gamecube. Capcom and Clover Studios both have great relationships with Nintendo as well. Capcom had big plans for the Gamecube, originally working on the Capcom five, five games planned as Gamecube exclusives. Of those five, two were developed by Clover Studios [P.N.03 (Directed by Shinji Mikami) and Viewtiful Joe.]. But the Gamecube fell behind in marketshare, Capcom turned their attention to the Playstation 2. Clover Studios began making Playstation 2 exclusives with Okami and God Hand. However, upon the Wii’s unveiling, fans outcried for a Wii port to take advantage of the Wiimote. This one was just never in the cards for the Gamecube.
#3 Dark Cloud 1 and 2
It is funny to think about Dark Cloud 1 and 2 being Playstation exclusives now. Of course, when Level-5 began they partnered with Sony. So really, that’s the story. Dark Cloud published its first five games exclusive to Playstation systems before releasing Professor Layton and the Curious Village on Nintendo DS [more on that later]. I did not realize Level 5 developed Dragon Quest VII. Anyway, I think most people today would associate Level-5 with Nintendo, specifically the DS family of handhelds. Level-5’s most recognizable games these days are Professor Layton, Fantasy Life, and Yokai Watch. However, to me, Level-5 will also be the Dark Cloud series. My dad told me he found a game that was basically Zelda on the Playstation 2. Of course, childhood me was curious. When I saw the dungeon crawling, the weapons, the village building, the allies, and all these aspects coming together to make something truly unique beautiful.
Dark Cloud 2 is currently one of my obsessions, I’ve put in over 30 hours so far and feel like I am still just scratching the surface. It keeps the formula of visiting new locations. Once you arrive, you venture deep into dungeons, collects parts of the town, and rebuild each city. Some aspects have changed like party configuration and the way city building is handled, but I am fine with that. The camera invention, time hopping, and the plethora of city goers add so many layers to the original Dark Cloud mythos. Dark Cloud 1 would have been nice on the Gamecube, but Dark Cloud 2 looks like it could have fit right in on the Gamecube. Dark Cloud 2 is beautiful. I think its graphics would have absolutely popped on the Gamecube.
#4 Kirby: Return to Dream Land
Kirby: Return to Dream Land was considered the best game in the series for a good while (but the Kirby series has been on fire lately!). There was a time when this was considered a momumental entry in the franchises, a must play, the GOAT of Kirby games… and it almost didn’t exist! That’s such a wild thought to me. I loved Kirby 64 and desperately wanted the Wii Kirby games as a kid. I never got them and had to wait until I was an adult to buy them for myself. But all I ever heard about growing up was how fantastic this game was. So imagine my surprise to learn this iconic entry almost didn’t happen.
The Gamecube was a great experimental time for a lot of Nintendo franchises. Mario got water nozzle, Samus went first person, and Donkey Kong got some bongos. The same was true for Kirby. Coming off of Kirby 64, Kirby would get a combat racer titled Kirby Air Ride. This game, to me, was wildly unique and totally fun. However, Kirby wasn’t done with the Gamecube. In 2005, Nintendo revealed a trailer for Kirby GCN. The hype was real. We were going to get a traditional side scrolling platforming Kirby Adventure with cool allies and neat power ups.
This is one I’m going to do more research for myself. I am very curious to read more about why they canceled this one. They also waited six years to reveal what would become Kirby Return to Dreamland for Wii. It would have been really cool to see this one to come to life on the Gamecube and just have Kirby Return to Dreamland act as a sequel. Unfortunately, that is not the timeline we got. Did you know there was a canceled Kirby game for Gamecube?
#5 Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2
Star Wars was extremely popular during the Gamecube era thanks to the Prequel being in full… force. The Gamecube got a hefty seven Star War’s title including fan favorite Rogue Squadron 2 and 3 and the Lego games. However, noticeably missing from the line-up were the Star Wars Battlefront games. Melee and Halo get credit as the best versus games of the generation, but Battlefront has that Goldeneye energy of the N64. If I went over to a friends house and they had the Battlefront games, then you already knew what we were playing. While Star Wars certainly had console exclusives, Battlefront wasn’t even one of them. It released on Playstation 2 and Xbox.
I couldn’t find a definitive answer for why LucasArts didn’t release these games for the Gamecube. I saw people mention the controller not having enough buttons (like with Psychonauts, I am not sure whether this is a legitimate reason studios gave or just fan theories?), or that the games were too big for the Gamecube disc (this seems like it could have been a reason but games launched with two discs all the time.), and that LucasArts simply abandoned Gamecube support towards the end of its life. Possibly. Pandemic Studios released Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2 around 2004 and 2005. This means the Gamecube still had a good year or two left before the Wii arrived. More so, Star Wars would still release Lego Star Wars 1 and 2 after Battlefronts release. Maybe they just trusted the Lego series to sell fine on the Gamecube? Maybe they didn’t think Star Wars Battlefront’s gritty, darker aesthetic would vibe with Gamecube owners?
I don’t know. If you have more official information let me know. Either way, it is sad these gems never came out on the Gamecube. The Gamecube had four controller slots, two more than the Playstation 2. This is childhood series I really want to return to. I’ll probably end up buying them on OG Xbox since Battlefront 2 on Xbox supports 4 players.
So that’s 5 Gamecube games I wish I had come to the Gamecube. I could have named more like Katamari, Grand Theft Auto, or Devil May Cry, but these are the five that I feel like could have truly made the library better. Anyway, what games would you have liked to see released on Gamecube. Let me know! Thanks for reading and have a great day!
I Bought a Retro Game From Gamestop in 2026
Hey guys. Today I hit up a local Gamestop hoping to take advantage of their 4 for $40 deals. However, it just didn’t work out. Rune Factory 3 and Rune Factory 5 on Switch caught my eye. Red Dead Redemption I was almost sold on because I want to play it. Unfortunately, it was missing the case art. I figured I could get it somewhere else with the art. Resident Evil 4 Remake was so tempting but I still haven’t gotten the Series X so it was be a little preemptive to buy it now.
But what I really wanted was Star Wars Bounty Hunter. I’ve always wanted this game, even back in the day. But I am obsessed with Mando and Baby Yoda, so it felt like I really needed to pull the trigger here. When I got to the front, the employee informed me that two versions of the game were traded in and I could pick out the one I wanted.
They had the limited edition cover art. That version of the game had the manual! That felt like a huge win! All in all, I’m disappointed I couldn’t take advantage of the 4 for $40. We’re doing a family day Saturday and I didn’t want to burn money on games I wasn’t ready to dive in to.
This was my first time in a Gamestop in probably a year or so. I was “impressed” with their selection. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t awful either. Pokemon Red was listed under pricecharting. Alundra 2 and King’s Field were also listed pretty well. But their new selection was depressing. Their Xbox games were barren. The Switch 2 games were mostly new, so none we’re eligible for the deal. Most Switch 1 and PS4 games were over the $19.99 threshold.
Have you bought any retro games from Gamestop? Let me know down below! Thank you for reading. Have a great day!
My Daughter’s First Pokemon Set
Last year I was watching a lot of Poketubers. Destined Rivals released last summer and was everything I wanted in a Pokémon set. It brought back Team Rocket and Trainer Owned Pokemons. It reminded me so much of the TCG from when I was kid, combining some of my favorite aspects from The Gym series and the OG Team Rocket set. Therefore I figured it would be a good time to get my daughter into the collecting scene. I’m a little late sharing, but I bought her six packs for Christmas and a binder. Here’s where she stands.
Okay, so the formatting needs some work haha. What do you guys think is a better way of showing off a binder?
Obviously, Destined Rivals is a popular set meaning we’re in no rush right now to buy packs or single. So it was actually the worst time to get her into the hobby. Either way we love the set and we love Pokemon. So we’re just going to enjoy the journey.
In case you were wondering, Ethan’s Pichu is her favorite card so far.
Have any of you collected Destined Rivals? Or got your kids into the game? Let me know down below. Thank you for reading have a great day!
My Nintendo Powers
Hey guys. It is time to finally start tracking our Nintendo Powers. I will be making new update posts as time goes on. So if you want to follow the journey, make sure you subscribe to the blog! I am mostly collecting the N64 and Gamecube ones. Now, mind you, I will get older ones because I love them, but they aren’t priorities. https://archive.org/details/Nintendo-Power-Magazine-The-N64-Era-1996-2001 list roughly 62 Nintendo 64 issues (missed opportunity to have 64 issues,). https://archive.org/details/Nintendo-Power-Magazine-The-GameCube-Era-2001-2006 seems to list 60 issues for the Gamecube era, but it looks like it starts to veer towards the DS and Wii towards the end. So it is going to be roughly 120 issues. Welcome to the hunt, let’s see what we have!
110: WWF: War Zone
My oldest Nintendo Power has WWF: War Zone as the cover game. While I have deep dived into this one, it covers Quest 64 and Banjo Kazooie. That’s pretty cool.
117: Mario Party
This has got to be one of my favorites in my collection. That cover is awesome. I actually thought it was Mario Party 3 with the way Mario is hitting the block. Either way this cover is iconic and it covers the game that launched my favorite party series. Beyond thrilled this one is in the collection.
128: Mario Party 2
If a cover was going to top Mario Party, it was going to be Mario Party 2. I have actually flipped through this one and I love. Some cool things about this one is it includes a walkthrough for 40 Winks. A PS1 game that never got released on N64… until about two decades later when it got crowd funded. This cover also shows off the awesome costumes of Mario Party 2.
134: Kirby 64
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shard is one of my favorite N64 games and this cover pops with the white background and Kirby center stage. In the background we see Kirby performing various actions. This one also previews Majora’s Mask, Megaman 64 and Banjo Tooie. That’s a stacked issue!
150: Luigi’s Mansion
The Gamecube is here! Yes, Luigi’s Mansion marks my first Gamecube cover. I have not opened this one. The cover basically confirms Luigi’s Mansion is releasing as an early launch title for Gamecube. I like the colors here.
158: Here They Come
Believe it or not, I don’t know how I feel about this one. This one is a Gamecube hype cover. With Windwaker Link, Sunshine Mario, and Kirby Air Ride front and center and a heap of 3rd party characters like Pac Man, Rayman, Megaman, Bomberman and more, you’d think I would love it. Either way, it is cool. It gets me excited. Just not my favorite.
162: Metroid Prime
I’m pumped to deep dive into this one. It is easily my biggest Nintendo Power. Metroid made the jump not only to 3D but also into a new genre, First Person Shooter. What a huge leap. I am excited to read these old issues that document Metroid Prime’s development. But it only hints at sports games. So hype cover, but I wish it listed more games on the cover.
171: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
While this is technically a GBA cover, Soul Calibur II and Billy Hatcher in the preview windows. I love Billy Hatcher and I am looking forward to reading this deep dive. I’ve heard great things about the Tactic games, so this issue should be a great read!
174: Fire Emblem GBA
Another Gameboy cover with another series I have never really played. But I got to admit I love this issue. The Fire Emblem art is epic being front and center. The game also hints at Mario Kart Double Dash, Kirby Air Ride, and Metal Gear Solid. Sign me up!
179: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a very interesting port. I’ve actually some articles about its development and it is cool. So I am always down to read more about it. The cover is awesome and the main topic is interesting, however the preview games this time around leave a little to be desired. Custom Robo is cool but I am not knowledge about it. The other preview games are Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and MVP Baseball 2004.
180: Tales of Symphonia
We have hit a run where every cover is going to be awesome. Tales of Symphonia is the main cover story. I love its art. In the preview window we get Wario Ware, INC, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow, and Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green. I’m game for anything Pokemon!
181: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure s
Honestly, I never got to play Four Swords Adventures, so I can’t say I’m nostalgic for it. However, I am still happy to add any and all Zelda Nintendo Powers! This one advertises a load of games but the stand outs would be Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Spider-Man 2, and Shining Force.
182: Resident Evil 4
Here is one of my absolute favorites. Resident Evil 4 was my favorite game on Nintendo Gamecube, so it is awesome having its cover issue. Not to mention, its previews are stacked. Zelda, Star Fox, and Baten Kaitos! I am excited to pop this bad boy open
183: Pikmin 2
The epic run of epicness had to end at some point. Pikmin is not my favorite franchise. However, they have an excellent cover. This cover would make me interested to play Pikmin 2. But sadly, they are not my favorites. This the first one to have subpar preview windows as well. Boasting about Catwoman, Second Sight and NCAA Football 2005 doesn’t exactly get you exicted to open it. However, it does have exclusive preview for Paper Mario when it was still just called 2 and not yet officially named. I love little things like that.
186: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Now this is an epic cover. Samus is just staring you down! The previews aren’t bad either. It features exclusive news for the upcoming DS as well as looks at X-Men: Legends, Mario Power Tennis, and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories round out a solid preview.
188: The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
This is argubly my favorite cover. Minish Cap is such an underrated gem in the Zelda series. The cover art is phenomal. The hot trends of 2005 is a pretty cool time capsule.This one also mentions previewing Super Mario 64 DS and Star Fox Assault and more.
190: Killer 7
A little underwhelming cover for such a bizarre game. The use of white helps the name Killer 7 pop. But the cover is ultimately bland for such a unique game. But this a game I will certainly take all the articles around this strange game. Killer 7 was a part of the Gamecube’s Capcom Five. Capcom’s planned five games for the Gamecube. Unlike Resident Evil 4, Killer 7 remained a Gamecube exclusive.
194: Mario Kart and the Wii Revolution
This may lead you to believe the Gamecube’s run is over, but nope. We still have roughly 10 more issues to go at this point. While it covers two things I am not actively collecting, it is still really cool to see the Wii this early. As you can see, the Wii is still going by its code name, Revolution. It also highlights E3 (or at least post E3.). This one is going to feel oddly nostalgic now that E3 has gone the way of the dinosaurs.
So that’s my Nintendo Power collection. What do you think? Which issue was your favorite? What issue should I go for next? Let me know! Thank you guys for reading. Have a great day!
I’m Collecting Physical Media like Crazy
Hi guys. I’m not breaking any news here. There’s been so much reporting on Sony be it Playstation or Crunchyroll. I already grow a little more disdain for digital media every day. From delisting items, to revoking licenses, to controlling the distribution of media, and questionable at best consumer rights, it has made me shift to more physical media. Now mind you, I was already was addicted to physical media.
It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about two bookshelves of video games, my 15 or so long boxes, or budding DVD collection, I was a borderline hoarder before all of this. I was a con junkie and worked at a hobby shop for 4 years. I was exposed to comic books, Pokémon cards, and video games every day. This is my modern day art. I love it.
Now that companies are sabotaging it, I feel a passion to just buy all forms of physical media. It is a little unhealthy and over the top, but the heart wants what the heart wants. What can I say?
I love going into McKays, comic book stores, heck even Gamestop and Walmart. I don’t hate big box retail, but I do prefer to support local. But still, the clock is ticking. Soon I won’t be able to walk down the video game section of a Walmart with my kids and that sucks.
I have such an urge to go buy my favorite DVDs and Blu Rays and now I’m wanting to collect some anime [not going overboard, but you know how it starts.]. I’m wanting to support Switch 2 games that are actually on the cart. I’m wanting to celebrate this last great generation of gaming. Even if I’m annoyed at Sony, the PS5 is still a great console. Some number of exclusives backwards compatibility with the PS4, and most games working on the disc with no internet or downloads are things that just won’t exist with the PS6
So I turn to you guys. Have you caught the collecting bug? If so, what media or titles are you eyeing? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Video Game Pick Up #1
Is this the first pick up blog I’ve ever done? Probably not. But I’m 11 years and who knows how many posts into this, so who knows how many I’ve done in the past. This felt like a good time to soft reboot the pick up portion of the blog.
I’ll do some form of collection update in a future post going over what I’ve managed to collect and what my collecting goals are. For now, I’ll be showing off what I picked up recently.
Quick note. I filmed this as a Youtube short and Instagram reel already. Make sure you are following me on there for video form content. Now on to the pick ups.
Chameleon Twist 2 was formly my most sought after retro game. It feels good to remedy that. I have played this already. It’s a memory card game. My memory card is awful and will just delete my save files. It already has for Chameleon Twist 2. I loved the music, the art, and the gameplay. It seems like its going to be a great game. But I’ll probably hold off on playing it until I get a new memory card.
Starshot: Space Cricus Fever is more like a fever dream. I classify it in that obscure 3D platform space that games like Glover, Rocket Robot on Wheels, and Space Station Silicon Valley space. I won’t lie. This game feels a little jankier than the above titles, but this is the kind of N64 game I go for, so I dig it. My priority to beat it is lower than the above mentioned games, but I’ll return to this one in due time.
Lastly is Snowboard Kids 2. I haven’t popped this one in yet. It’s two players and that means I’d like to play it with my wife at some point. Either way, I’ve heard great things about it. I can imagine this will get a lot of game time in my house once we finally do play it.
So there you have, 3 pretty uncommon N64 games. I’m thrilled to add these to the collection. I’ll have another pick up post next week. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, have you picked up any games lately? Let me down below! Thanks for reading have a great day!
Da_Hubbz 