Jeff's Gaming Blog

Miss Piggy Had a Baby! TLLTD #9

As you may know, I’ve been posting a Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream video series in recent weeks. But I know that not everyone wants to watch a full video to see what’s been happening on my island…especially since I blogged my original Tomodachi Life progress. So, at least for this one time, I’m posting a blog entry to fill you in. (I may or may not continue in the future, so please comment to let me know if you enjoy this format!)

I recently added another Mii, Inkling girl from Splatoon. While I kept the Mii basically the same as my 3DS Mii, I did add ears and I changed how I made the black part linking her eyes. Instead of using a mustache, I used face paint to bridge the gap at the top of her nose. I gave her the “Chaos Canvas” interior to make a big splash and show her true colors, and I gave her a catchphrase of “woomy.”

Inkling: Woomy. It's as if that expression was made just for me!

Pauline got into a fight with Rosalina, but it apparently happened off-screen.

Pauline: I got into a fight with Galaxy Girl. I'm so mad!

When Pauline went to go apologize, Rosalina also apologized. So they worked it out, much to my disappointment. Rosalina later had a fight with Alien, too. But I’ve yet to see a proper fight in-progress, with objects flying back and forth like on 3DS. I’m still waiting and hoping.

I then added Shaq to my island. Since the original 3DS Mii was from an official Nintendo QR code, I couldn’t just import it. I had to recreate the Mii from scratch…a tall order. 😉 I told him to say “Slam dunk” when he’s happy, and “Shaq-a-roni” before he eats.

Shaq: Slam dunk. That is such a ME thing to say!

Yukon told me he was wondering what it would be like if he and Miss Piggy had a baby.

Yukon: I've been imagining what life would be like if Mrs. Bacon and I had a child.

I said it “might be nice,” and the next day, their baby was born! It was a girl, and she has her mother’s eyes…and face-painted ears. She has her father’s nose, though.

She also inherited her mother’s greeting “It is moi, Miss Piggy.” Just what I need, another Miss Piggy around town!!

Unfortunately, babies fully grow up in about 30 seconds. You can’t help take care of them like you do on 3DS, and the “growing up” montage plays right away. I really dislike this aspect of the Switch game. As my island’s first baby, I decided to keep her. But I may not keep many future babies…especially future Piggys.

Sage: Captain Obvious! It is moi, Miss Piggy! — I later changed this to say Sage instead.

After telling Mr. Bean to say “Oopsie,” I gave him some chewing gum. He freaked out and turned into a ghost. The gum was so bad that it nearly killed him; it was his “worst ever” food.

Mr. Bean nearly dies after eating his worst ever food, chewing gum.

FYI, I have a page where I list all of my special reaction foods, though I’ve only found five of them to this point.

I realized that I could now make pets, so I made Mario a classic Goomba! He can’t stomp on it, but he does play with it from time to time!

Mario plays with his new Goomba pet, as Mr. Bean and Jeff blow bubbles in the background.

I played a Zoom Quiz with Mr. Bean, but the final item didn’t leave me a lot of details to work with…

Mr. Bean, in a Zoom Quiz: What do you think it is? (Screenshot of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream)

But fortunately the options helped narrow it down. It had to be sweet-and-sour pork, a Goomba (which I had just created, so obviously I know what it looked like), or a jazz album. I would’ve guessed a blues album, but the jazz album was correct. I won a capybara for winning the game.

Darth Vader and Swedish Chef recently became friends after bonding over choking hazards, of all things. 😛

Darth Vader: Looks like Swedish Chef and I are friends...thanks to choking hazards!

If you want to see the video of these events (and more), here it is:

To view my full list of residents, check out my Island Page.

I hope you all enjoyed the update! Please let me know if I should continue posting blog entries in addition to the videos! And feel free to share any of your LTD stories in the comments!

My Switch 2 Direct Thoughts

Nintendo Switch 2 was fully revealed today in a Nintendo Direct…including its release date of June 5th! 😮 I’m going to talk about many parts of the Direct that interested me (for better or worse), and at the end I’ll list my Top 3 most-wanted games and my Top 3 biggest disappointments. I won’t be covering every announcement though, so watch the full Direct yourself if you don’t want to miss anything.

Mario Kart World

The first reveal was the Mario Kart game that was previously teased. It’s called Mario Kart World, and it looks beautiful.

It even has a cow riding a scooter. 😆

One interesting thing is that you can venture off the race tracks and drive just about everywhere. In the Grand Prix mode, you’ll not only race on four tracks in each cup, but you’ll drive to each course as part of the competition. I’m not sure exactly how that factors into the scoring, but I guess we’ll see. There are also 24 drivers in each race, a new record for the series.

A “Free Roam” mode also lets you explore the whole world (with friends, if you wish) and take photos at certain locations. This sounds like a lot of fun. The ability to explore the lands between courses reminds me of my Animal Crossing idea of being able to explore the lands between Animal Crossing towns.

One trivial annoyance is that the game has the same abbreviation (MKW) as a previous game in the series, Mario Kart Wii. I wish they had just called it Mario Kart 9. I don’t know why they even started a numbering system seven games into the series if they were only going to stick with it for two games. 😛

GameChat

Nintendo unveiled GameChat, a new voice chat feature that uses the system’s built-in microphone. You can also share your screen with friends as you chat together…even if you’re playing different games!

Gamers playing different games while chatting.

The new C button brings up the chat menu. There’s also a Switch 2 Camera that’s sold separately that allows video chat. You can even let everyone see live video of yourself as you play. I’m not sure who asked for this, but the ability is there. 🤷

Four players playing Super Mario World while video chatting.

As a (very) introverted person, I’m not interested in any of this stuff. But having a separate accessory reminded me a bit of Wii Speak.

Wii Speak vs. We Peek (The Switch 2 Camera)

The GameChat features will normally require a Nintendo Switch Online membership. But it will be available to try for free through March 31, 2026.

Upgrades of Switch Games

Many Switch games will have upgraded versions that offer improved graphics, GameChat features, stronger rumble, and/or new control methods (each JoyCon 2 can be used as a mouse in certain games). You can even get a virtual GPS for Link in Tears of the Kingdom to guide you towards shrines and Koroks you haven’t found yet. 😆

Voice navigation app for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Upgrade packs generally must be purchased. But Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members can upgrade the Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom games for free. (I only have the regular Switch Online account, so that certainly leaves me out.)

Nintendo GameCube Classics

On Switch 2, Expansion Pack subscribers will have access to a selection of Nintendo GameCube games. It includes The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, SoulCalibur II, and F-Zero GX. Multiplayer games will also have online play. Additional games will be added, but there’s no sign of Animal Crossing so far.

EA Sports Returns

I was happy to see that EA Sports is returning to Nintendo for the first time since the Wii days! I haven’t bought many sports games in recent years, but I’ll probably buy a new Madden game for the first time since Madden NFL 12. 😆

Donkey Kong Bananza

Perhaps my biggest surprise of the Direct was Donkey Kong Bananza. It’s a 3D Donkey Kong game, coming out July 17th. I definitely didn’t see this one coming!

Donkey Kong 64 is one of my favorite 3D platformers of all time, and I’ve been waiting a long time for another 3D Donkey Kong game. But from the trailer, it seems to be more fast-paced and action-heavy than the somewhat easygoing exploration of DK64. But we’ll see how it turns out!

I will say that I’m not a fan of the art style of DK himself. The facial expressions are over-the-top cartoony that border on cringey.

The Price

One of the biggest disappointments came after the Direct was over, when the pricing was revealed. The Switch 2 by itself will cost $450 (USD), and the Mario Kart World bundle will cost $500. Nintendo has previously tried to keep their system costs from being super high in the past, but this seems excessive. That’s a whopping 50% higher than the original Switch’s $300 initial price tag!

While it’s true that there are other consoles (such as PS5) in the same ~$450 price range, Switch 2 is not on par with those. Nintendo’s systems (at least in the past 20 years) have been significantly less powerful than their competitors, lagging behind by a generation or two. By all accounts, Switch 2 seems to be about as powerful as a PlayStation 4…a 12-year-old system. I just don’t think we should be paying PS5 money for PS4-level tech.

But perhaps even worse is the price of games: It’s been reported that many Switch 2 games will cost $80 for digital versions, ~~and up to $90 for physical versions!~~ (Update: Some sites that initially reported the $90 figure have since backtracked, so it may just be $80 now.) At those prices, I’ll be much less likely to take chances on games I’m not certain about.

For a company that has traditionally tried to provide a good value for consumers, this seems uncharacteristically greedy of Nintendo. This sentiment has certainly soured the mood of this reveal.

My Most Wanted

After today’s announcements and trailers, here are my top 3 most-wanted Switch 2 games.

Metroid Prime 4. Even though not a lot was shown of it today, it remains the Switch 2 game I want most. But unfortunately, it still doesn’t have a specific release date.
Mario Kart World. It looks really good, and the large worlds and exploration should provide a lot of replay value.
Donkey Kong Bananza. Even if it’s not another Donkey Kong 64, it should be a lot of fun. And who knows, maybe it will recapture some of the monkey magic I’m looking for.

Biggest Disappointments

The Direct, and subsequent news, certainly provided some disappointments that kept this reveal from being great. Here are my three biggest disappointments.

No Animal Crossing. As most of you know, I’m a huge Animal Crossing fan. And I was hoping for something AC related, at least. Nothing was announced, not even a tease of the GameCube game coming to Expansion Pack.
The price. The cost of hardware and software feels like a punch to the gut. It actually makes me glad that Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Rhythm Heaven Groove are going to be for the original Switch, not Switch 2. 😛
The lack of first-party games, especially at launch. Mario Kart World is the only real first-party game at launch, and it feels weird to not have a proper Mario or Zelda game at launch. I prefer having a single-player action or adventure game with a new system. As good as Mario Kart may be, it’s not the same.

How about you all? Are you happy with the Direct? Disappointed? Let me know in the comments!

TotK #18 – All Shrines

For a long time, I’ve had a side adventure on my list requiring me to dress as a Yiga Clan member and enter their hideout. I’ve had two of the three required outfit pieces practically forever, but I never could find the third one. The hint still led me to the hideout in the Akkala region, even though that’s one that I had already found long ago. But I decided to check it out again anyway…and this time, I noticed a map.

Several spots were marked on the map, but it included more than the three branches that were supposed to exist. And the map wasn’t very detailed, so it didn’t give you precise coordinates, just a very general idea of where to look. But I checked out a couple of the supposed locations, and at one of them, I found what I was looking for: the Maritta Branch.

Aliza: You might not be the hero, but you are my prince!

After a brief fight, I freed the captive tailor; she gave me the Yiga tights. I then had the full Yiga Clan outfit, and I knew where to take it. I went over to the Yiga Clan Hideout, and they fell for the disguise. Even the Master Sword doesn’t give me away! It’s funny, because I could even chat and shop with the Yiga Clan members who would otherwise fight me. 😆

Shopping for arrows from a Yiga Clan member.

Speaking of fighting, I participated in some training battles while I was there. Each one had a different reward, and the most interesting one was that I learned a new attack move that I can use…even when I’m not holding a weapon! That’s really cool, and it’s not something I would have ever expected.

After leaving the hideout, I also completed another side adventure in the area that required the Yiga disguise. It led me to a new shrine as well.

Back at Lookout Landing, I found a tunnel that led me all the way to Hyrule Castle! I’m surprised I never found this before! I found quite a few treasure chests at the castle, and I also completed a side quest there as well.

At this point, I made a decision: I wanted to find all of the remaining shrines. By using my map to compare locations of shrines and lightroots in the Depths, I was able to find where most of them were. One or two of them were right out in the open, but several of them were well hidden. Very well hidden. One in particular took me more than an hour of searching, looking all around a mountain for a cave that led to the underground shrine.

Since there are 120 lightroots, I figured there would also be 120 shrines on the surface. And that meant the other 32 should be on sky islands. So I counted up the shrines on my map, and there were only 31. I thought I might have trouble finding the last one, but I just went to the largest cluster of sky islands that didn’t have a shrine, and I found it pretty easily.

But my last shrine of all was the Oogim Shrine near Lanayru Road in East Necluda. It wasn’t particularly difficult to find, it was just in an area I hadn’t explored yet. Once I followed the beam to the crystal and brought it back, the statues inside the shrine gave me the final Light of Blessing.

They also told me to go to the Temple of Time for a reward. There, I found a very unique outfit. I won’t spoil what it is, but it was quite…unique.

Even though I have now cleared all 152 shrines, there is still one shrine quest I haven’t completed. I guess I just have to find (and speak to) the right person, so they can tell me about a shrine and I can say “been there, done that.”

In Tarrey Town, I finally spent some money and bought myself a house!

It came with two rooms (a foyer and a bedroom), but you can purchase additional rooms. I bought a weapon stand room, so I can display/store three weapons. I’m not sure if I’ll expand my home further, though. There are still a ton of armor upgrades I need, and they require rupees (in addition to materials).

While looking through my Hyrule Compendium, I noticed that I still needed some pictures of horses. So I took out some of my special horses, snapped some photos, and filled in some gaps in my compendium.

I’ve also been revisiting my list of side quests, and completing many of them. Some of them will take some effort…like tracking down dragon’s claws for the goddess statues at the springs; I’m still working on those.

But I’ve recently found a fishing boat for a merchant, gave materials to Teba to make a Great Eagle Bow in Rito Village, and helped Bolson build a racing course on the water at Lurelin Village.

After defeating a white-maned Lynel, I even saw a double rainbow in the sky! I’ve been seeing a lot of rainbows in video games the past month! (In Animal Crossing and New Leaf are the others this month, if you’re wondering. And back in July, I also spotted my first rainbow in New Horizons as well.)

In the Depths, I found some more Yiga schematics to build a “bomb bouquet,” a headlight raft, and an all-purpose raft.

Over on Mount Lanayru, I had a chat with a guy who told me about a legend. It mentioned passing through some rings of light to see a Light of Blessing. This was the missing shrine quest! So I immediately told him I already found it, and now I’ve officially completed all shrine quests.

Now that I’ve completed all of the shrines, I decided to upload Part 2 of my “Contraptions I Built for Shrines” video. I may have solved some of these differently than you did, and it can be fun to see alternate ways of completing them. If you’re interested, here’s that video:

My map completion percentage is up to 70.14%, and my adventure log progress is as follows:

Main Quests: 21/23 (really 23/23) ✅
Side Adventures: 57/60 (up from 55)
Shrine Quests: 31/31 ✅
Side Quests: 96/139 (up from 86)
Memories: 18/18 ✅

Here are my other stats:

My Zelda TotK stats as of September 26, 2024.

My Korok seeds are up from 292 to 322 since last time. And here’s my Hyrule Compendium progress:

Creatures: 88/92 (up from 84)
Monsters: 109/110
Materials: 121/126
Equipment: 155/175 (up from 152)
Treasure: 6/6 ✅

As for what’s next, Echoes of Wisdom is now available! _{(I may earn a small amount for qualifying U.S. purchases through that link.)} I’ll be getting Echoes of Wisdom very soon, so I’ll probably be taking a break from Tears of the Kingdom for a while. But I hope you’ll return to this blog to see my thoughts of the new game! And I’ll return to TotK at some point, too.

Have a great day, everyone!