Issue #3 – Christmas Season Begins

Having lived through more than forty Christmas seasons, the finer details of my childhood have become harder to recall. As more memories fade into the forgotten corners of my mind, one particular memory remains seared into my brain, the first time I held a Nintendo Entertainment System controller.

It was Autumn of 1989 in my hometown, and a younger version of myself had just been invited to the home of a classmate. The details of how the invite came, or why my mother allowed it since she rarely let me go so far from our home at such a young age still alludes me. I can’t even remember the name of the friend, or what they looked like. But I vividly remember it was the first time I laid eyes on a Nintendo Entertainment System. In a curious quirk of fate, the NES game that I ever had the pleasure of first playing was Rad Racer. It seems only fitting that my introduction to the Nintendo ecosystem came at the hands of Square, my favourite developer for the majority of my life. It wasn’t the first video game system I had ever touched, that honour goes to either my aunt’s Commodore 64, or my father’s Atari 2600 that he left at my grandmother’s house that I would enjoy during weekend visits.

My family didn’t have much money back then. My parents were rather young when I came around, and my younger brother had just been born a few months early that year. After my encounter with Rad Racer, my singular focus that year was convincing Santa that I needed my own console. My parents insisted that they were far too poor to afford an NES, and so I had put all my faith into the man in the red suit to come through when no one else could. That Christmas morning, I barely slept but waiting for me under the tree as I ran downstairs was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen, my very own Nintendo Entertainment System.

Like most Canadian boys in my home town, my only obsession besides video games was hockey. This stands to reason why the game sitting next to my brand new Nintendo was the Konami developed, Blades of Steel. I don’t know how long I played Nintendo that Christmas day, but I’m sure my parents had to pull me away from the television kicking and screaming. At some point along the way, my catalogue of games grew upon receiving titles such as Double Dragon, Paperboy and Major League Baseball. Not long after that, everything would come full circle when I received a copy of Final Fantasy, the Square-developed masterpiece that would inspire my lifelong love of RPGs.

That Christmas of 1989 still remains as one of my vivid and cherished memories. Yes, it led to a bit of childhood trauma as it left me convinced of Santa’s existence far longer than it should have. But, the teasing I endured later in life was a small price to pay for the lifetime of joy that all began that magical Christmas morning.

The year you finally hit double digits marks a pretty major turning point. Responsibilities increase, decisions become more consequential, and the stakes start to get higher, both academically and socially. Even some of the smaller choices can resonate for years and years on, and one of these just happened to be a game that I added to my Christmas list as soon as I learned of its release date.

August 1995 marked the North American release month for a Square Enix project that some would say has yet to be rivaled. It saw the talents of a triple triad of titans come together to help create an RPG masterpiece. Having already played through multiple Final Fantasies, I had been eagerly waiting for the next big game, and after less than an hour with a rental copy from Blockbuster, I knew that Chrono Trigger absolutely had to be in Santa’s sack that year or tears would most assuredly have been shed.

Our family followed a fairly typical holiday tradition of opening Christmas gifts together on the morning of, but after that and a quick breakfast, we would always drive over to see my dad’s side of the family. What this meant, of course, is that any new video games would have to wait until after the full family hangout had wrapped up, usually between dinner and bedtime. When you’re 10 years old, it’s all the more difficult to be dragged away from your newly acquired loot and all the video gaming built into the winter holidays, but one thing helped to make the wait for my first full Chrono Trigger all the more bearable.

I had loosely started collecting official Nintendo Power strategy guides for some of my favourite titles, RPGs in particular. I remember with profound fondness the ones I had for Super Mario RPG, Pokemon Red/Blue, and yes, Chrono Trigger. Even if I had to put off for a few more hours my visit to the Millennial Fair, seeing the gorgeous Toriyama artwork and reading about the adventure to come was a satisfying way of passing time between rounds of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and ham.

It wasn’t the first time I had brought something to read so that a shy, adolescent version of myself could avoid awkward family catching up–1994’s Breath of Fire had a pretty meaty strategy guide from Prima–but the way in which Chrono Trigger would end up captivating me ensured that the Christmas of 1995 would remain a treasured memory for years to come. 30 years later, I’m now in the business of trying to make special moments for my own kids, and in a few short years when they turn 10, I wonder what holiday memories they’ll be forming. If I can will it into existence, here’s hoping for Chrono Trigger 2.

I’ve always been very lucky when it comes to Christmas. My mom is a literal saint and more or less always came through with any big ticket item we were hoping for. However there was a time I fully believed her when she said, “There’s no way we’re getting the Nintendo 64 for Christmas, it’s too expensive!” and that time was in 1997 when I was a mere 8 years old.

Now the N64 had been out for a year and change at that point, so I had played it before, but never as much as I would have liked. There were plenty of games I really wanted to get my hands on, but as a budding Nintendo fanboy, I mostly just wanted the system itself. I can’t really remember what my brother and I pivoted to in terms of gift asking, but deep down we were both hoping to the high heavens we’d find the N64 tucked under the tree.

Fast forward to that fateful morning and we tore through a mountain of gifts and as the pile dwindled, so did our hopes. I can vividly remember sitting on the couch after all the presents were open, visually a bit upset, which in hindsight is craziness, but as a young boy the dreams of N64 ownership had ended and I couldn’t suppress the feelings. Fortunately those feelings wouldn’t last long, as my mom would infamously say, “…you guys suck!” retreating to her room to grab one last bag of gifts.

My excitement instantly skyrocketed, knowing full well what this meant. While my reaction to opening it definitely didn’t reach the levels of the N64 kid meme, I’m sure it would have made for a great video. In addition to the console itself, we got ourselves a few controllers and some games like Golden Eye, Mario Kart, Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey ‘98 and NFL Quarterback Club 98. Needless to say we were eating well, especially with a full winter vacation ahead of us with nothing to do but game.

While everything about that Christmas turned out perfect, there was a cable scare we ran into. The TV we used downstairs didn’t have a RCA cable hookup, but luckily the TV my parents used did. This actually led to us playing a ton of multiplayer Mario Kart with our parents and I’m not sure that would have happened if we were set up downstairs. I can still remember my mom picking Luigi and really loving the Moo Moo Farm track. Ultimately what might have been a terrible situation, having the N64 but no way to play, turned into some of my most cherished holiday memories.

I’d go on to receive consoles on future Christmas’s, but there is definitely something extra special about the first new console you can remember getting. Between the rollercoaster of emotions leading up to it and creating memories with my family through a gift I had so badly wanted, Christmas 1997 and the Nintendo 64 will always hold a special place in my heart.

Outside of games I’ve specifically asked for in more recent years I don’t really remember getting many video games for Christmas. The only standout example is MySims Kingdom for the Nintendo Wii, a game that definitely fits the category of game designed to be bought as a gift for a child. Though instead of shovelware, I got a funny adventure with way too many dress up options, and islands very much in tune to the interests of a young teenager.

I didn’t know of this spin-off franchise before this point, but did enjoy the console entries of The Sims before so that was what inspired my mum to purchase it for me. At that point I’d never heard of it and basically didn’t know a video game existed until I saw it with my own eyes. We were having Christmas at my nan’s house, though I can’t remember if it was at a point we were living there or not, the Wii was located in the second lounge area. This came in handy during some heated arguments that were taking place around Christmas lunch as I had a wall and some sliding doors to reduce the noise and got to play quite some hours of the game before anyone had noticed.

A child and her island of a game, and by island I mean many islands as in the game you are appointed by the King to fix all the people’s problems. These people all live on themed islands that range from the wild west to a literal rave. Of course each time I progressed I’d gain some outfits to match the area and always had to detour to my boat. One of the things I really liked were the silly predicaments such as a businesswoman needing to adjust her product to the tastes of the local residents and lines I’d get such as “I’LL GIVE YOU REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS!”. This game is full of fun details like some animals having displayed names when you hover the cursor over them with a few on the island that had a rock concert being named things like Doggy Osbourne and Frog Zappa.

The gameplay consists of some wiimote waggling to collect resources, occasionally herding creatures and building items following a placement guide or style requirements. Sometimes I’d have to use a simplified version of the main series socialisation menu to befriend characters for a quest, or stamp on their feet to collect their tears…I mean sadness.

I didn’t have much of a habit of beating games at that age, but the ease of gameplay, paired with funny moments and the promise of new locations and stuff to find meant I actually finished the game sometime shortly after getting it. I even played some of the post game quests (something I still never do), mostly in the hopes it would get rid of the exclamation point above Buddy’s head but alas that is a glitch I couldn’t avoid.  As I continued to repeat playthroughs I liked to do things like giving characters the bare minimum or trying to do things faster as I knew where everything was. One herding mission would regularly give me trouble so I learned to make the pen with no openings and to open the wanding menu to remove one when I needed it, as I could still awkwardly move around and block them in.

I’ve still got my original copy today, and have replayed it… many many many times. Perhaps I have in fact finally reached the point of no longer enjoying it, as I did repick it up when it got ported to the Nintendo Switch along with the first MySims but I’d only replayed it the year prior and was definitely not ready to do it again. I think I’ll try showing it to my daughter when she’s a similar age, as well a good reading ability is definitely needed to enjoy the full experience. I didn’t touch the spin-offs but did get the DS version of MySims Agents and later played and thoroughly enjoyed the Wii version, they are definitely different games and I prefer the home console version. Sadly I’d heard that the last entry in the series didn’t have the same kind of writing and without it well what would the point even be? Despite the recent ports I don’t think this series has any home besides the past.

Monster Personality Quiz

In the mood for a game where you collect monsters and unleash them on your enemies? With so many options available, Paige has developed a handy guide to make sure you find the game that suits your personality the best.

This will be our little corner to talk about some of our favorite items and weapons we’ve found, acquired, or pillaged over the years. It could be something super iconic or maybe something little known that holds a special spot in your memories. The idea is to highlight a few per Newsletter but with the help of you, the readers! Submissions will be fielded on Discord, more info on that to come.

Sticking with the holiday theme, we reached out to our Discord for festive suggestions and once again they did not disappoint! First we’re taking a look at the Decisive Pumpkin from Kingdom Hearts II. This keyblade is themed after The Nightmare Before Christmas and is among the most powerful weapons in the game. Honestly, we couldn’t have asked for a better weapon to kick this off with, so a big thanks to vocaloid_papi over on Discord for the suggestion!

Snow themed weapons seem kind of under represented as we delved into the different items to highlight for this article. Thanks to Toast Rider on Discord for shining a light on the Snowman Doll in Paper Mario. When this item is used, a large Snowman fills the screen and deals four points of damage. If you’re really lucky, the enemies will freeze as well. For those who haven’t played Paper Mario yet, keep an eye out on Shiver Mountain if you ever get a chance to play.

I love throwing some random items into this segment that aren’t necessarily always some badass sword. That’s why we’re dipping into WoW again to talk about the Feast of Winter Veil, a seasonal event that transforms the world with Christmas Trees and festive lighting. There’s plenty to do, but an interesting item you can purchase during the event are Snowballs. They don’t do much, but they are fun to throw at friends and random passers-by alike. They used to cause knockback, but this resulted in some unintended griefing from players and the effect was later removed. Maybe the most inconsequential piece of booty that will ever appear here, but memorable nevertheless.

This year has been chock full of great games, whether it’s one of the many remakes or an original title, there’s a lot to pick from. So much so, it can be hard to know what game to pick up next. Don’t fret, The Thirsty Mage has your back with a few (or maybe just one) recommendation for what to ask ol’ Saint Nick.

Anyone who’s been listening to me the last year or so knows I’ve been in a bit of a Poke hole, so it might come as no surprise my recommendation is Pokemon Legends: Z-A. This is the latest release in the franchise and the second in the Legends sub-series out on both Switch and Switch 2. I can personally attest to it running wonderfully on Switch 2 and by accounts online, it runs fairly well on Switch 1 (not a repeat of the Scarlet/Violet release, thank god!).

I was a bit worried when I started up my adventure, thinking perhaps being in just a single city would feel too small and without enough to do. However that was anything but the case, with plenty of different things to concentrate on. The gameplay loop is engaging and never felt dull in the 25ish hours it took to see the end. I’d go on to complete the PokeDex, something I have not done since the original release of Red and Blue.

You could say the lack of voice acting is lazy and the building textures leave much to be desired, but ultimately these don’t diminish how much fun the game is at its core. If you’re a Pokemon fan, you likely already picked this up or plan to, but if you’ve a new or returning player, Z-A is a great jumping in point.

As the year comes to an end, I can fondly look back at 2025 as the Year of Fire Emblem. From old classics like Shadow Dragon, all the way to the latest entry, I focused a good portion of my free time during the year playing through 6 different Intelligent Systems titles.

Looking ahead, the new year is shaping up to become the Year of Shin Megami Tensei. Grand plans have been made to play my way through one of the most iconic franchises in all of gaming. If you’d like to join me on a Strange Journey through an Atlus redux on the Nintendo 3DS, come join me on our Discord channel.

As an ‘80s kid who cut his teeth on classic Square Enix games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, I’m still playing catch up when it comes to games developed by the other Japanese RPG behemoth, Atlus. Sure, I owned a PlayStation Portable back in the early aughts, but I was caught squarely in the PC-fueled western RPG era that was prevalent in my late teenage years. It’s only now in my forties that I have come to appreciate the absolute treasure trove of games that I had missed out not embracing the Nintendo DS and 3DS platforms back in their heyday. Perhaps the best title of this era to come from the company represented by a smiling ice demon, is the quasi-strategy RPG, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked. Between the multi-path story and interesting spin on the classic SMT combat, Devil Survivor is a thrilling 40-hour adventure just begging to be played more than once.

The original version of Devil Survivor first debuted at the beginning of 2009 on the Nintendo DS. The core story is something that one would come to expect from a game with Shin Megami Tensei in the title: a sudden demon invasion traps a group of high school students in a locked-down part of Tokyo. The main character with no canon name is trapped with his two friends, Atsuro and Yuzu, and are on the brink of death until they discover a way of forming a contract with demons through “COMPs”, network devices that clearly represent a Nintendo DS that are given to them by his cousin, Naoya.

As the trio walks around Tokyo looking for a means of escape, they discover that the lockdown is part of a government conspiracy, and that all of the citizens trapped within the lockdown will be killed if the demon invasion is not quelled within 7 days. Without spoiling the plot, the main character is given multiple paths forward to rectify the situation. Different versions of Good, Evil and Neutral paths allow for different allies to be recruited and different endings to be enjoyed.

What makes Devil Survivor so compelling is its mixture of drama, moral ambiguity, and supernatural horror, framed by ideas about free will, fate, and the cost of power. Good and Evil choices are not simply black and white options as each path forward requires compromises that leave the heroes questioning their own values and opinions. Fair warning, more religious folks may take offense to Devil Survivor, as certain characters pose tricky questions about the morality of following God, and whether he is truly “good” in the world.

In between the story, Devil Survivor combat is structured similar to a strategy-RPG. Battles take place on a grid-like field, where positioning becomes incredibly important. Unlike traditional tactics games like Fire Emblem, the combat here draws heavily from the Megami Tensei tradition: you summon demons, manage their affinities, exploit enemy weaknesses, and fuse them to create powerful new ones. Each human character in Devil Survivor can be partnered with 2 demons, with up to 4 teams of 3 being dispatched to the field. A turn-based system shows whose turn is next, and each character can move around the battlefield, use an ability, and trigger a battle. Enemies can be defeated by either wiping out the full squad of 3, or eliminating just the leader. This system allows for high risk and reward; by targeting the leader last, you can wipe out a full team of 3 and enjoy the maximum amount of both experience and money. In a pinch, you can target the leader to conserve health and magic, but forgo the full reward.

Devil Survivor is fairly demanding in terms of strategy: early battles can feel manageable, but as the story progresses, difficulty ramps up, and certain missions are quite punishing. For many players, this sense of challenge is part of the appeal; for others, it can be a friction point. A few of the more challenging missions require additional tasks on top of just wiping out the field, and I let out a few expletives on more than one occasion. None of the more difficult points of the game were unfair, and most of the time, the answer to a difficult mission was simply to fuse stronger demons.

This leads me to one of the most satisfying systems in the game: the demon fusions. Devil Survivor includes classic demon fusion in which you combine two demons to form a new one, and the new demon inherits skills or traits in interesting ways. The game includes an option to see the result of a fusion before it happens, which cuts down a lot of time wasted in menus. Many of my favourites are included, such as Belial, Beelzebub and Jack Frost. Devil Survivor also features many unique demons that only allow one to be fused at a time, a mechanic built in to prevent spamming a powerful entity. Grinding in an RPG can feel tedious in the modern age, but I found myself enjoying farming for experience and money to fuse demons that looked like powerful allies.

While most of the design of Devil Survivor is a masterclass that future developers would be wise to study, the biggest disappointment is the lack of utilization of the dual screens. Most of the game takes place on the bottom screen, with the top screen being reserved only for story beats and flowing through menus. It’s a rather minor gripe, as most of the game I didn’t even really notice that my gaze was fixated on the bottom screen for the majority of my playthrough.

The Overclocked Edition released on 3DS is certainly the definitive version that should be sought out by anyone looking to play the game. It adds new content, most notably an eighth day scenario, which expands and deepens several narrative arcs. The original ending stops short of providing a resolution to the story; instead, a simple open-ended epilogue left a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully, the 8th day allows the player to fulfill their quest based on choices made throughout the game. On the audio front, Overclocked makes another major upgrade: full voice acting. All the key narrative scenes are voiced, which brings a lot more life (and emotional weight) to the characters and story. It’s not flawless, some voices are a bit grating, but it’s a huge upgrade for the silent dialogue-heavy original.

Overall, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked on 3DS stands as one of the best games of the platform. It’s challenging, engaging, and deeply strategic, with real replay value for those that need more after seeing the end credits. It may not be visually ambitious, but what matters most here is the gameplay and narrative. If you’re willing to lean into its difficulty, invest in demon management, and explore its multiple routes, you’re in for a rich, rewarding experience. For many players, this isn’t just a good 3DS JRPG; it’s a standout in Atlus’s catalogue.

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