advrik

[advrik]

It never happened. =(

But the Steam Deck did.

This needs to happen.

[advrik]

The Switch Era

So I just finished watching Arlo's latest video about the Switch. You know, the console that not only helped him but also several other personalities get off the ground over the past six years?

I watched this, and I was reminiscing about my time not only with the console itself but that nigh unbearable level of hype that led up to the console's release on March 3rd, 2017.

I recall getting up at 6am the day after the first Nintendo Switch presentation to go hang out outside of the local Gamestop to wait to be the first inside to get a pre-order on the basic grey console. But only after I had stayed up 'til 3am the night before to also pre-order a console on Amazon, along with the Breath of the Wild special edition and the Zelda amiibo (along with a few accessories).

Now at the time, I owned a Wii U and a PS4 but seldom touched either one for reasons of their main purpose. I wasn't playing games on them. I had grown to dislike playing games on my television at the time. I was focused heavily on playing my 3DS while I played a movie on my PS4 or had Youtube going on the Wii U. I was having a falling out with console gaming, and boy was it a hard fall. The Switch was the final straw for me to grasp and hold onto the one hobby that had been with me all my life.

And then launch day came. I took the weekend off from work and just played Zelda and Bomberman the whole entire time, entirely in handheld mode.

And you know what? I was revolutionary. To have something that looked and played like Zelda: Breath of the Wild in the palm of my hand was H-U-G-E at the time. Especially stepping up from the 3DS.

Combined with just the general overall hype surrounding the console and the increasing resurgence of Nintendo in the general gaming space, it seemed at the time that gaming might have been saved for me, and that handheld may have been the trick.

Over the span of the console's biggest years, I amassed close to 100 physical games for the Switch and well over 100 in digital form. I collected all kinds of accessories from grips to an assortment of Joy-Con colors, carry cases, and decals. You name it, I probably had. I even managed to snag the New York Nintendo World Store launch press goodies like the pin and lanyard.

I played primarily in handheld mode because it allowed for comfort and didn't strain my eyes like playing on my TV would, as it was pretty far away from my bed.

Now I have always said that the sole reason I buy Nintendo consoles is always - ALWAYS - for Animal Crossing and that everything else was just extra, and that was especially true.

For the span of time between the launch of Animal Crossing New Horizons(and the beginning of the ongoing pandemic), my Switch was an Animal Crossing machine only. I played nothing else. Amassing 100 hours in the first week alone, and I also took an unpaid week off work for, which was probably one of the best weeks in recent memory. (Well, up until this past month when I flat out told the abusive manager at that same job that I was quitting this past month, but that's a different story for another time)

I went on to document my first year with New Horizons in my 'Welcome to Brickhedge' video series on Youtube, something I plan to rewatch and reminisce over very soon.

So now here we are, the day after the Switch officially went over the hill as far as console lifespans go and the world is eagerly awaiting to see what Nintendo plans to do next and if a more powerful version of the system is in the cards or not.

Where do I currently stand?

Well, I no longer stan the Switch like I used to. Over the past month, I sold off the majority of my non-first-party titles. Several sets of Joy-Cons, the Pro Controller, and even my Animal Crossing-themed console. As Arlo said in his video, the excitement just isn't there anymore. The Switch isn't as exciting as it once was, not because the novelty of a portable console has worn off, oh no. Having that kind of power in your hands is not going to be exciting to me and is what ultimately saves the hobby for me.

The Switch feels extremely outdated now in its capabilities, and with the recent rise of the Steam Deck and other portable PCs, outside of first-party stuff, playing my Switch just isn't as enticing as it once was.

Enter: The Deck

I picked up a Steam Deck last month because I was simply tired of not getting to play major third party releases. Cloud versions were not acceptable, and the often time longer wait time one had to endure for a Switch version to drop (coughFinalFantasyPixelRemasterscough) was no longer cutting it.

The Steam Deck feels, for me at least, every bit as exciting as the Switch was when it launched. Being able to play current releases like the Resident Evil 2 remake and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order in proper handheld form is so amazing.

And don't even get me started on the crazy emulation capabilities of this beast.

I have maybe picked up my Switch twice since I bought my Deck. But that isn't to say I've completely abandoned my Switch, as I have yet to still pick up and play Bayonetta 3. I also away the launch of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the upcoming Pokemon Scarlet/Violet DLC, but beyond that? There's nothing the Switch is offering that I can't already get on Deck.

Will I get the inevitable Switch successor when it comes out? Absolutely, but I think I will wait until the next Animal Crossing game is announced before I do so. I've been spoiled rotten by all that the Deck can do, and I hardly believe Nintendo would willingly put out anything half as open and capable as this device.

In closing: I loved my Switch and I will always, always look back on the time I spent with it fondly. It was great to see Nintendo on top again after Wii U tanked them and their name, and I hope whatever they do next can recapture the dimming light the current Switch is losing.

[advrik]

If only I had these as a kid.

[advrik]

As I am going through and proofreading all currently "complete" chapters of my e-novel— Secret of Memoria — I am reposting them to my Booksie account, along with new chapter titles, something I should have been doing from the very beginning.

I started writing Secret of Memoria with two things in mind:

One: it is a slice-of-life Saturday morning cartoon show with mild continuity

and two: To write it for me and only me, but post it online for preservation purposes as well as if someone else might find it, read it, and enjoy it. But it is intents and goals for myself, as the characters, the world, the events, and everything that happens within are derived from my own life's experiences and from my childhood and the games that I played, with the most significant source of inspiration being none other than Secret of Mana.

[advrik]

Advrik the Wolfelk (Fursona Profile)

(Art by Desmormos)

Name: Advrik Drahcir (Pronounced: Ahd-vree-k, Dra-seer) Species: Wolf/Elk hybrid Primary Color: (Hex #:877059) Secondary Color: (Hex #:FFFBE9) Eye Color: (Hex #: BD423D) Hair/Feature Color: (Hex #: 655244) Antler Color: (Hex #: AAA798) Paw Pad Color: (Hex #: 703229)

As a pure-breed wolf, Advrik wouldn't cut a potent image, nor would he emanate the majestic energy of an elk. Spared by fate the unremarkable existence of one or the other, Advrik was born a hybrid; A Wolfelk!

His facial features are all that of a wolf; A broad, long muzzle set by a powerful jaw lined with pearly white teeth. From his nose until about halfway up his snout is the same color as the creamy, vanilla-like color found on his chest. It stops at a ring of darker brown fur that loops his entire muzzle, lower jaw, and all.

Beset within his skull are two ember-colored wolf-like eyes. Atop his head is a darker brown bushy mop of short hair that stops at the base of his skull. While looking unkempt and hardly ever brushed, it still manages to compliment his looks nicely.

Set atop his skull, between his ears - which are more elk-like than they are wolf - are his antlers. A small rack of two unimpressive antlers set between his ears.

While the chocolate brown dominates most of his body, the area that runs from his inner thighs up through his groin area, across his chest and midsection, and stopping at his bottom jaw is a pale vanilla color. This is the same color found at the end of his snout.

Along his collarbone is a fluffy mane of fur. If wearing a shirt of any kind, it protrudes over the collar and is always visible.

In lieu of a long, bushy wolf tail is a small, short deer-like tail. It is outlined with the same dark brown as his hair color.

He has your standard paw pads, which are dirty brick red in color.

Finally, on each arm and leg starting from his hands/feet and moving about halfway up his arms/legs is the same dark brown found on his head.

Apparel-wise, he's typically seen in either long or short-sleeved yellow plaid button-up shirts atop simple dark grey or black t-shirts. He wears these over-top baggy black cargo pants that stop just above his feet.

[advrik]

Currently Reading 📖: The Deep by Nick Cutter

I read his second book, 'The Troop' last year and loved it to death. And while I have heard mixed opinions regarding The Deep, I'm enjoying it thus far at hundred pages in. I like to be disturbed when reading horror novels, otherwise why bother?

The stuff involving Luke and Clayton's mother has been the most unnerving thus far(that bed scene...), followed by the failed mouse experiment.

Which brings me to the part where I would like to offer a warning for those that might seek to read his stuff: If you are sensitive to violence towards animals, Cutter is not the author for you as nothing is spared gruesome, painful fates.

[advrik]

Currently Playing 🎮: Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster

Out of all the mainline Final Fantasy games (XI and XIV not counted), Final Fantasy 2 is the only game that I have yet to finish in any form. Immediately after 100%'ing FF1, I jumped right into this.

My reasons for not having finished this years ago in the Dawn of Souls release on the Gameboy Advance was simply down to the weird leveling system which I could never fully grasp. Now though, I think I finally got the hang of it.

[advrik]

Them: What do you like to read?

Me: Yes

[advrik]

Currently Reading 📖: The Ember Blade, Book 1 of The Darkwater Legacy by Chris Wooding

As an avid reader of epic fantasy novels, I have seemingly developed an odd pet peeve over the years, and being the made up names for days of the week and months; Like I get it, it isn't our world and not bound to use our terminology, but it also doesn't help matter as a reader already tasked with the monumental task of having to learn and memorize character names, relations. Where they hail from, their family name, kingdoms, etc.

[advrik]

Currently Reading 📖: The Totem by David Morrell

Having finished reading Star Wars A New Hope and throughly enjoying it, I dare say, moreso than the actual film, I wanted to dip back into horror before moving onto my next big epic fantasy read with Chris Wooding's 'The Ember Blade'.

Thus the uncut and unaltered edition of David Morrell's The Totem flew off my shelf. A tale of a small farming town beset by a series of bizarre and gruesome murders and, well, that's about all I know. So far a steer and a drunkard had been found, killed in some gnarly, unexplainable way. There's also an abandoned hippie compound in the woods that a reporter from New York is reporting, which I am sure will factor into the plot in some way or another.

[advrik]

Yesterday, after a lot of thinking on it and getting my affairs in order, I quit my job of nearly ten years moments after clocking in for the day. I gave them notice, though it was by no means two weeks. I was to finish out this week out of courtesy to my other coworkers.

I wanna write up a big piece about exactly why I quit in the coming days, but I wanna make sure I'm off payroll before I do.

[advrik]

This is a zero sugar energy drink review blog now.

Not really, but it's content so whatever.

Once I started my low carb lifestyle, the energy drinks were easily the most simple thing to replace. There were abundant zero sugar varieties, and if one brand didn't offer a zero sugar in a particular flavor that I liked, then I would simply find it in another.

And then things shifted. I started shying away from the energy drinks that contained synthetic caffeine. Particularly that of the Bang or Reign brands, which never fail to make my heart race and later resulting in that crash feeling that always came from something full of sugar.

Ghost is utterly fantastic and right up there with Gfuel as far as taste and effectiveness without any side effects. They come in a nice little assortment of candy-based flavors that all taste very true to form, so I get that delicious Swedish Fish or Sour Patch Kid candy flavor without any of the sugars that come from eating the candies themsel.

The cans are really pretty, too.

Flavor Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[advrik]

Currently Reading 📖: Star Wars Trilogy

After finishing and absolutely loving 'Cold Storage', I felt in the mood for some science fiction fun, in a galaxy far, far away. Thus, the Star Wars Trilogy novelization was chosen from my shelf.

And it is really, really good. I love that novelizations can expand on scenes and dialogue that the movies themselves tend to have to skim over for the sake of time and flow.

But man, I'm feeling all of that whimsy and excitement I felt for Star Wars as a kid come flowing back now.

[advrik]

So, concerning the price of eggs in America...

Did every farm in the country suddenly fill their coops with Chicken Sumo champions?