Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

So, for Christmas I finally decided to ask for an upgrade to my DS system and move to a 3DS.  The options that Ms. Clause (my wife), had were a special edition Dream Team 3DS, or the 2DS bundled with either Pokemon X or Y.

She wanted to know which I wanted, and as tempting as the new Pokemon has been, I went with the M&L Dream Team.  And I couldn't have made a better choice.

As one of the off-shoots of Super Mario RPG, the M&L series has grown with its odd sense of sometimes subtle humor, and it's unique cast among the Mario Bros. franchise.   I  found myself getting sucked in to the usually ridiculous storyline and caught up in ancient war of the Pi'llo  people.

I have to say that over all, I really enjoyed M&L Dream Team, but the end was rather weak.  The final area is huge, but there are few amenities, and the grind is exhausting.

I would have to give the game four out of five arbitrary and meaningless stars.

Most Influential System

As I was sitting in the hospital watching my new baby boy sucking his fingers, I thought back to my childhood and all the things I hope my son will enjoy.  And as I thought about things like that, one thing kind of  struck like a bag full of bricks from above.  I was a Nintendo kid.

Now, in reality, I didn't spend every waking moment with a controller in my hand, nor did I have a desire to do so either.  But the character work of games started on the Nintendo systems of my youth had a profound effect on my view of the world.  I was constantly trying to 'build robots' for Megaman to fight out of junk in our backyard.  I had Mario bros toys, coloring books, and even underwear(in my defense, I was only six).  The legend of Zelda, Metroid, Contra, Castlevania, Pokemon, all of these amazing series led to a life long fascination with programming, electronics, and the human imagination.

So, as long as there is a Nintendo, I think I will always be a Nintendo man.  And I hope my son might find the same enjoyment and fulfillment as I did.