Operation Backlog Completion 2025
Jun 182025
 

The Donkey Kong Bananza Direct was this morning, and I went into it hoping to see a bit more variety than what was shown off during the original trailer and Treehouse streams.

And… I got my wish!

The new trailer not only officially revealed Pauline (whose involvement was leaked earlier), but it also showed more varied environments, more platforming and gameplay mechanics beyond smashing things, Bananza transformations with different abilities, and more.

It looks so fun. Any doubts I had about it are gone. It looks like exactly the sort of 3D platformer I’ll love.

There’s also outfits and customization options for both DK and Pauline, and spots called Getaways where you can rest and listen to music. On top of that, there’s a whole separate mode called “DK Artist” where you can use the Switch 2’s mouse controls to sculpt and paint.

I was already interested in Donkey Kong Bananza, but now I’m completely sold. Looks like I’ll be getting a Switch 2.

Well, with how big my backlog has gotten, I think I’ll still wait until there are a couple more exclusives I’m dying for. I have plenty to keep me occupied in the meantime. All the same, I can’t wait to play Donkey Kong Bananza.

What are you thoughts on this more extensive look at the new Donkey Kong game?

Jun 162025
 

I was a little disappointed that we got through “Not-E3” week without a Nintendo Direct, and while we still don’t have a general Direct announced, we do have a game-specific one.

Nintendo has announced a 15-minute Donkey Kong Bananza Direct for this Wednesday, June 18, at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET.

Of all the games shown when the Switch 2 was announced, Bananza interested me the most (just not enough to drive me to buy a Switch 2 at launch). I’m looking forward to learning more about it in the Direct and hopefully seeing more of the gameplay loop beyond destroying things to find collectibles.

That was my one concern about it from what they showed so far, that the gameplay looked like it could get repetitive. I’d like to see more of the platforming, for example.

Meanwhile, I also have my fingers crossed that we’ll get a general Direct after this. In the past they’ve sometimes done a game-specific presentation and then a full Nintendo Direct a week or two later, so I’m hoping that happens again. (Although… with all the games I have in my backlog, I’m not sure why I’m so eager for Nintendo to show me games I’ll want to buy a whole new system for.)

What are you hoping to learn from the Donkey Kong Bananza Direct?

Mar 102025
 

Happy Mario Day!

March 10 is Mario Day, and even though I’ve played and loved quite a few Mario games in my time, there are still several notable ones that I haven’t played.

So today, I decided to take a look through at the top 5 Mario games I haven’t played yet, but would like to someday.

5. Bowser’s Fury

When Nintendo brought Super Mario 3D World to the Nintendo Switch, they added a new side story called Bowser’s Fury. Unlike the main game, it’s more of a free-roaming collect-a-thon, which is the type of 3D Mario game I enjoy the most. I was interested in Bowser’s Fury ever since we saw what it was like, but I still haven’t picked it up.

I didn’t enjoy 3D World enough to play the main game again, so I’d really be buying it only for Bowser’s Fury. I’ll probably pick it up someday if it gets a good sale, but right now it’s not a priority.

4. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

I’ll never forget how quickly my opinion on Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle turned around, from complete negativity toward the idea when it was rumored to unexpected interest once it was revealed. It’s an idea that sounded terrible to me but ended up looking great when I actually saw it.

I still find rabbids unappealing, but the strategy RPG gameplay has me intrigued. I picked it up in a sale a while back, so one of these days I’ll get around to playing it.

…Since I also picked up its sequel in a sale, I sure hope I enjoy it.

3. Paper Mario: The Origami King

My feelings on Paper Mario: The Origami King are all over the place. It’s gotten the most positive feedback of any of the newer Paper Mario games, with many people saying it’s a fantastic game, but I still hate the thought of having scissors and staplers as bosses. Still, my feelings toward it have softened, due to both Bug Fables giving me what I wanted and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door being remade.

I’d still like to see another true RPG Paper Mario, but in the meantime I might just check out Origami King to see for myself what it’s like.

2. Super Mario Galaxy 2

For someone who rambles about loving 3D platformers as much as I do, it might be a bit of a surprise that I still haven’t played Super Mario Galaxy 2. There are a few reasons for that, but the biggest one is that while Super Mario Galaxy is closer to my preferred style than 3D World is, for example, its levels are still more linear than those of 64/Sunshine/Odyssey. So while I enjoyed Galaxy, I wasn’t exactly champing at the bit to play Galaxy 2 (especially since I heard it’s even more linear).

Still, I have it and I love 3D platformers, so I should play it one of these days.

1. Mario & Luigi: Brothership

The newest entry on this list is, of course, Mario & Luigi: Brothership. When they announced a new Mario & Luigi game during that amazing Nintendo Direct, I couldn’t believe it. I preordered it right away and waited eagerly for it to arrive…

…except my backlog got in the way, so instead of being played at launch, Brothership got politely set aside to wait for later, and it’s been waiting ever since. I’m still eager to dive into it to see how the return of my beloved Mario & Luigi series stacks up against the previous ones, but it just hasn’t happened yet.

Conclusion

Maybe I should start one of these today to celebrate Mario Day with…

Anyway, these are the top 5 Mario games I still need to play, but what about you? Got any Mario games you’ve been meaning to play but just haven’t gotten around to yet?