Nintendo has never had any interest in being cool or figuring out the market. As much as I generally enjoy Nintendo's games (going all the way back to the NES), they remind me of the strict parent who says "here is what we are giving you, if you don't like it, too bad". Between that and the relative scarcity of new releases, they will likely never be my main gaming platform again. For the price of a Wii U and a game, I upgraded my video card and bought 29 Steam games this last sale...so maybe NEXT summer when I'm finally done with all of those (XD), I can re-evaluate the Wii U situation. But again, it would probably just be a supplement to another platform (probably the PC).

Earthbound is a legendary experience. It may not be the most polished or balanced game out there, but it transcends its weaknesses to become something more.

Which reminds me I really need to sit down and play through Mother 3.

Kevin, like I said in your Daylight review, where you played through the game seven (!) times, you are a man of great constitution.

This sounds like a gaming equivalent of Stockholm Syndrome. It's so bad and horrible and hates you, but you grow to love it? I remember playing the original Drakengard for a while back when it was new, and I would not immediately think of its issues as "charming". Perhaps I missed out, but then again in this day and age I suppose I can just watch the story on Youtube or something instead of suffering through long, tedious hours of bad gameplay.

May's Game of the Month will be a ton of games tied for first! Go Eightspot!

@eternal_napalm @jharring Yeah, good point. I also agree that it will probably get a 9.

Okay seriously guys, you really are being EightSpot right now.

At this point May's game of the month is going to be 10 games tied for first, unless you really want to give it to Kentucky Route Zero.

@Gelugon_baat @jharring All right, I did. And actually, I'm still not sure. In context, it seems "significant equipment upgrades" might mean "equipped stuff with better base stats after leveling up STR/DEX enough to meet requirements" instead of "reinforced said equipment with titanite materials to make it stronger". It's not totally clear to me.

By the way, did you ever upgrade your equipment at a blacksmith? I didn't see it mentioned in the review. It has so much more of an effect than simple leveling up does. Trust me, you would notice a difference.

I am sorry to hear that you did not like the game. I am not going to tell you that you are dumb or stupid or casual or a CoD fan or whatever other ad hominem attacks are being leveled your way. I will just say that I am disappointed that you didn't get hooked like so many others.

For me, I found this game extremely rewarding. With sufficient patience, observation, intuition, and yes, skill, its challenges can be steadily overcome. For most of the game, if you are having trouble with one area, you can go somewhere else (or several somewhere elses) and come back later. I took the time to take notes so that I would remember where else I could go and what else I could check out. That's what old-school RPG's made you do, and so this series is refreshing in that way.

Full disclosure though, I played Dark Souls 1 for 70 hours, so coming into this game I already had plenty of experience with the kind of mindset you need to succeed. I've watched enough Let's Plays and streams to know that some people just don't "get" this game...perhaps you are one of them.

This game and series is definitely not for everyone, and maybe it just isn't your cup of tea. Oh well. Carry on.