I know there are things to do in life besides play Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, but I don’t care to do them. 🎮

🎮 Okay people of the Internet. I’m about to start Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. See you in a couple hundred hours.

🎮 Finished Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3. Classics all, only accessible for me due to the rewind feature in Nintendo Switch Online’s NES software. With my limited hand-eye coordination, age, and time constraints, this is the only way I was ever going to play these.

🎮 Finished Link’s Awakening.

Super fun!

🎮 Finished The Legend of Zelda (NES).

A classic, of course. I’ve never been able to get very far before, but I played it with Nintendo Switch Online and made liberal use of suspend points (aka save states) and walkthroughs. I had fun and finished both quests.

🎮 Played the Pikmin 4 demo, ended up buying the Pikmin 1 + 2 bundle, and I feel so guilty every time my little plant guys die in battle. 🌱

🔖 Some interesting links around “wholesome” as a word for things that restore us, rather than a conservative metric by which to judge people:

• When Did ‘Wholesome’ Become a Gen Z Compliment? (NYT Gift Link)
• Why Are We Craving “Wholesome” Things? (The Good Trade)
• Wholesome Games 🎮

🎮 Playing Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe with my kid. Super fun. Couch co-op Kirby seems to be his gateway to playing instead of just watching. Might do Kirby Star Allies next.

🔖📺🎮 Read Television Is Better Without Video Games and Video Games Are Better Without Gameplay (Ian Bogost, The Atlantic).

Maybe Ian Bogost should stop playing video games.

🎮 Played the Dragon Quest Treasures demo.

Cute with some fun mechanics and a cool world but not so compelling that I’d purchase without a steep discount.