Mario and Sonic, Better Together
For years, Nintendo’s Mario and Sega’s Sonic existed in an adversarial relationship … as the mascots for their respective console platforms, the idea that we’d ever see them team up […]
Paper Mario and a Deeper Experience
The “Paper Mario” series of games represent a massive departure from the simple, run and jump, side-scrolling adventures of a standard Mario game… these titles feature a real story with […]
Tiny Pikmin, Big Impact
The Pikmin series features some of the most unique protagonists in all of gaming… these tiny beings are individually pretty weak and helpless, and at first glance the world around […]
Mega Man and a Perfect Plan
My original console gaming experiences were pretty linear affairs… games like Mario simply took me from one level to the next, while Zelda gave me a rudimentary feeling of exploration […]
Metroid and Surprising Answers to Prayer
In the early days of gaming, strong female protagonists were virtually non-existent…so the reveal of Samus Aran at the end of the first Metroid game was a pretty big deal. […]
StarFox and Doing a “Barrel Roll?”
When a supporting character in a video game gives us advice, it is typically designed to be helpful… but when it is given in a demanding, repetitive manner, it only […]
Dr. Mario and “Overcoming Evil With Good”
While most of Mario’s adventures involve acts of physical acrobatics, his exploits as Dr. Mario allows him to show his more cerebral side by carefully matching doses of medication with […]
Kirby and “We Are What We Eat”
Kirby has a very unique way of learning new skills in his games… he consumes an ability and then becomes capable of demonstrating that power. As Kirby literally becomes what […]
Crosshair’s Burden and Judging Others
The redemptive arc of “Crosshair” from the Bad Batch took years to play out… his path from a merciless agent of the Empire to his restoration with his brothers played […]
Plan 99: Tech’s Sacrifice
Star Wars characters making a final sacrifice is certainly nothing new, but if I’m being truly honest, losing Tech was the one that hit me the hardest. I could never […]
Finding God in Video Games 