Time for another Stardew Valley entry. Just a note: I’m ditching the previous format I was using, where I made a separate section for every in-game day, even if not much happened. I think a standard paragraph format will flow better, and it shouldn’t look as awkward as some of those older entries.
It was storming pretty hard on the 13th day of summer, and I was almost afraid that I would get struck by lightning! But then again, that would pretty cool if I did. 😛
I headed over to the mine, and I made my way down to level 25 for the first time. I also found a dwarf scroll, which I took to the blacksmith the next day. That unlocked a new reward, a starfruit seed.
I went to the mine again, and I got down to level 29 this time. That’s when a bunch of evil butterflies started attacking me. My health was getting low, so I had to retreat and go back up. It wasn’t until I looked back at the footage I recorded that I realized I had actually unlocked the ladder down to level 30 as I was attacking the bugs! Oops!
In the community center, I donated a blueberry I grew to finish off the summer crops bundle. My reward was a quality sprinkler. This will come in handy, although I haven’t yet installed it. Completing the bundle opened up another scroll in the vault room.
On the 15th, I took a geode to the blacksmith for processing. It contained a nekoite, and I immediately took it next door and donated it to the museum.
I was a bit surprised to see some speech bubbles outdoors, when Alex and Lewis greeted each other as they passed by. That was kinda cool, though. It makes the village seem more alive, although I don’t think this is a very common occurrence.
Outside of Pierre’s, I noticed a help wanted ad that said Clint was looking for six copper ores. I actually forgot who Clint was at first, haha. That’s what happens when you don’t play this game often enough. 😛
Once I realized Clint was the blacksmith, I tried to give him the ores. There was no special dialogue when I spoke to him, so I handed it to him like a gift. He took one said it made him depressed! This is what he asked for! What the heck?!
It made no sense, so I actually Googled the problem. Apparently, Clint will only accept new copper ores…ones that you’ve picked up after accepting the quest. For one thing, why would it matter? And secondly, how would he even know when I picked them up?
I found another help-wanted ad by Pierre’s, and this one said a slime hunter was wanted to slay six green slimes in the mine. However, this one didn’t even say who was looking for the help! So I’m supposed to slay them, and then what?? Pierre sure didn’t say anything about it when I spoke to him.
I know this game was basically made by one person, and that alone is impressive…but sometimes it shows. The user interface can be confusing and clunky at times, and certain things aren’t explained well enough.
I bought the backpack upgrade while I was in the shop. I can now hold 36 different items instead of just 24. Finally! I had to give up so many items because that ridiculous limit, so this will help a lot.
So anyway, I got the copper ores for Clint, and let him examine them. I got 270g for completing the quest. I also slayed six new slimes for the other quest. After I collected them, my journal was updated to show that I was supposed to return to Lewis. So I took them to him and collected my reward.
I wrapped up my night with a visit to the saloon. I honestly haven’t been socializing with people very much, so at least I talked to a few people there. 😛
When I resumed my game of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I got to work on some remaining side quests. I began by following the Zora River to look for Fronk’s missing wife, but I got distracted when I ran into Finley.
Finley had a side quest of her own for me. She wrote a love letter, which she put in a canister and pushed into the river. My job was to follow the canister to see who ends up with the love letter. Unfortunately, the canister would often get stuck on obstacles. And if you lost sight of it, you had to start all over. It took me several tries (and much more time than I hoped), but I eventually completed the task and helped the couple get together.
I then resumed my search for Fronk’s wife, and I found her on an island in Lake Hylia.
On Cape Cresia, I spotted a rainbow and stopped to admire it for a little while. For some reason, my GIF isn’t posting right now, but you can see it here.
I headed over to Palmorae Ruins, where I finally found the last monument shard I needed to complete a shrine quest. I’ve looked around for that piece many times before, and could never find it. But now, I found it without much trouble at all. Go figure.
After a stop at the Great Fairy Fountain to enhance some clothing items, I went to Kakariko Village to play with Cottla. For some reason, I thought I had to play hide-and-seek with her. And I never found her before. But this time, there was an option to play tag instead. I caught her quickly to complete the side quest. My reward left me feeling salty, but it was good to clear a quest from my list.
In Tarrey Town, I learned the recipe for monster cake. That was great news, because I needed that cake for another side quest. I made the cake, gave it to a relative of the person who needed it, and received a gold rupee (300 rupees) as my reward.
Then I went up to Goron City and started exploring from there. I soon found the Goron Hot Springs, where not everyone agreed about the spring being hot.
Another character there sent me on a new side quest. It was pretty easy to complete, although my reward wasn’t much more than a stick. 😛
In the Lost Woods, I used some Korok seeds to expand my weapon stash. I can now hold 20 weapons, and that is the maximum. Any future upgrades will have to go towards my bow or shield stashes.
Next, I decided to complete the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 side quest. I had to go to three locations and watch for a shooting star. Each shooting star was actually a glowing treasure chest that falls from the sky.
I found Salvager headwear in the first one, and a Salvager vest in the second one. The third shooting star didn’t appear where I thought it would. The clue led me to the wrong place, but I eventually figured out the right place to go. The final one contained Salvager trousers. Here’s a look at the full outfit:
As I paraglided down from the mountain, my Sheikah sensor picked up a nearby shrine! It’s been a while since I’ve found a new shrine this way! I had to roll a giant snowball to gain entrance to it, and then I completed my 113th shrine. That seemed like a good stopping point, so here’s an updated look at my overall stats:
Completion percentage: 43.42%
Shrines: 113/120
Korok seeds: 253/900
Shrine quests: 37/42
Side quests: 67/77
Hyrule Compendium: 352/385
My progress has been slow, but I’m still having fun with the game. It’s just getting harder and harder to find new things. I think I will eventually buy the DLC for the game, but not just yet. I want to at least complete all of the shrines first.
I’ll see you next time. I’m hoping to post my next “Messing Around” video sometime in September.
I finally got a SNES Classic. Better late than never, right? I wasn’t originally planning on getting one, mainly due to the fact that I already own most of the games on it. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted one. Many of my favorite games are on there, and I thought it would be nice to easily take those 21 games with me without having to lug around a ton of cartridges. And yes, I figured it would be nice to try out the previously unreleased Star Fox 2.
Hardware
The system is tiny, but it looks great. The front of the system, which is made to look like the controller ports of the original SNES, pops away to reveal the actual controller ports. The flap feels a bit cheap and unnecessary.
Two controllers are included, while the NES Classic came with just one. And the controller cords are 4.5 feet long, which is nearly double the length of the 2.5 foot cords of the NES Classics. Those are obviously improvements, but both systems lack a “home” button on the controllers. You still have to reach for the system any time you want to change games or load/create a new save point.
Games
Of course, the highlight here is the built-in game library. Twenty-one games are included, although I do own most of them on cartridge already. If you’d like, you can read my brief reviews for most of those here: SNES Reviews.
But now that I’ve at least tried them all out on SNES Classic, I’m going to post my initial thoughts of each game here.
Contra III: The Alien Wars
I’ve always loved this run-and-gun game. Even though it’s not quite as good as the first two Contra games on NES, it is a lot of fun…especially with two players. Blast those aliens!
Donkey Kong Country
This enjoyable platformer from Rare makes a great addition to the SNES Classic lineup. Even though the 2nd game was a bit better, you can’t go wrong with the original. Lots of fun…and it has the best (and most relaxing) water level music ever. It’s as fun as a barrel of monkeys. 😛
Earthbound
This fantastic RPG takes place in the 1990s, as opposed to medieval times or far in the future. It’s a quirky but endearing game that just feels quite different from almost any other role-playing game out there. I last replayed it in 2013, but that’s actually more recent than I’ve replayed most of the other games on this system.
Final Fantasy III
This is one of my favorite role-playing games of all-time, and it’s also one of the best SNES games ever made. I’ve played it on SNES and on PlayStation (as Final Fantasy VI in FF Anthology). Now I will gladly play this classic again.
F-Zero
This futuristic racing game is a classic. While a lot of people seem to prefer the later F-Zero games (on later consoles), I still think the original is my favorite. Subsequent games placed more focus on attacking your opponents, while the original is just about racing. The tracks still have hazards that can kill you, but they’re not as extreme as some found later in the series. F-Zero has a good balance, and it’s a welcome addition to this lineup.
Kirby Super Star
This is one of the few games in the lineup I have not played before. Kirby games are generally pretty good, but they’ve never really been among my favorites. I’ve only played this one for a few minutes now, and it’s about what I expected. I may delve into it more in the future, but it’s not high on my list of priorities right now. So many games, so little time! That’s a tough fact to swallow. 😛
Kirby’s Dream Course
I have not played this game before either, and it seems to be an odd addition the lineup. It’s basically a mini-golf game featuring Kirby as the ball. I gave it a quick try, and it doesn’t seem to be my cup of tee tea so far. My first impression is a bit subpar, but I need to play it more to give it a fairway chance.
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
One of the best SNES games ever, and arguably the best 2D Zelda ever. Every Zelda fan should play this at least once. It’s a true classic.
My what???
Mega Man X
I’ve only played a few Mega Man games before, so I’m not a diehard fan of the series or anything. And I’ve heard nothing but good things about Mega Man X. I’ve only played the first level or so, and it’s not bad. I’ll need to put some more time into it, though.
Secret of Mana
This is a great action/RPG from Squaresoft. It has some of the best game music ever IMO, and I actually bought the soundtrack on CD years ago. 😛 This is another game that will be fun to play through all over again.
Star Fox
The first Star Fox is a quality game with great music. Of course the “Super FX” powered polygonal graphics, that were once cutting edge, look very dated today. But the game is still fun to play, and it provides a good challenge. In fact, I’m a bit ashamed to say that I never beat this game. At least, not yet.
Star Fox 2
This sequel is actually exclusive to the SNES Classic. The original version got canceled and was never released. Here, you have to unlock it by completing the first level of the original Star Fox, but that’s not too much trouble. But from what I’ve played of it so far, it seems like a series of one-on-one space dogfights instead of regular planet-based levels you play through. Hopefully that will change later on.
Street Fighter II Turbo
I actually have this game ranked as my #1 overall SNES game. For me, it was the peak of the one-on-one fighting game craze, as my interest in the genre has dwindled to near zero today. But I still enjoy a good Street Fighter II match, and Turbo was my favorite variety. It’s a great game if you’re not Street Fighter-ed out already. 😛
Super Castlevania IV
I’m a big fan of Castlevania games (well, at least the 2D games), and Castlevania IV is one of my favorites. I’d probably rank it third behind Symphony of the Night and Dracula’s Curse. It’s a great game with some truly memorable stages, some of which use Mode-7 rotation to make the entire stage spin. And the cave level is everything. This would be a great game to play around Halloween.
Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
This side-scrolling action game is notorious for being one of the hardest games of all-time. While it is a fun game to play, it is certainly tough. I once fought like crazy to get through the first seven worlds, only to find out that you have to play them all again before you can fight the final boss! And the game originally had no save/password feature either, so you had to do it all in one sitting! Yikes! The save states of the SNES Classic should help that, but I’m not in a rush to try to beat this game.
Super Mario Kart
Nintendo’s original go-kart racing game is back. This game is a classic, and it’s a great game for one or two players. I am the Koopa!
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
I know a lot of people like this game a lot, but I’m not one of them. The battles are boring, and everything about the game is just mediocre IMO. I have no plans of replaying this game anytime soon.
Super Mario World
This great platformer introduced Yoshi to the world. But more importantly, it’s one of the best 2D Mario games ever (I’d rank it #2, just below Super Mario Bros. 3). As the original SNES pack-in game, it was surely a no-brainer to include this in the SNES Classic’s lineup. This will probably be one of the first games that I fully play through (again).
Super Metroid
What might appear to be a run-and-gun shooting game is actually an action/adventure game that requires lots of exploration (and backtracking). It’s not the best game to pick up and play for a few minutes, but it’s a game that can draw you in and keep you hooked once you delve into it.
Super Punch-Out!!
Boxing games aren’t really my thing, not even one as iconic as the Punch-Out series. Still, it is a very popular game, so I can certainly understand why Nintendo included it. I probably won’t be playing much of it, though.
Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario World 2
This follow-up to Super Mario World really changed things up. You play as Yoshi, and Baby Mario rides on your back. If you take a hit, Baby Mario flies away in a bubble, crying all the way until you get him back. Aside from that rather annoying game mechanic, Yoshi’s Island is a quality game.
Wrapping Up
Even though the SNES Classic has fewer games than the NES Classic (21 for SNES vs. 30 for NES), the SNES Classic lineup is much stronger. Not perfect, of course, but still great.
One of my biggest complaints is the lack of a puzzle game, particularly a head-to-head game. Tetris & Dr. Mario, Tetris Attack, or even Kirby’s Avalanche would have been great fits.
The sports genre is also overlooked. Sure, there’s a mini golf game and a boxing game, but those aren’t exactly mainstream sports games. And I know the sports genre wasn’t the SNES’ specialty, but there are still good possibilities. Griffey, Tecmo Super Bowl, Super Bases Loaded, or even Super Tennis would have rounded out the lineup.
So, what other games would I have loved to see? ActRaiser is probably my #1 choice. It’s a unique, underappreciated game with a great soundtrack. It mixes sword-swinging action with some simple Sim City-style simulation parts. Another great choice would have been Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time.
I also would have loved to see Final Fantasy II, and I know lots of people love Chrono Trigger also, but the lineup is quite RPG-heavy already. Regardless, the SNES Classic is a great little system and I think I’ll be playing it a lot in the coming months.
