#4: Kirby: Air Ride

Keeping with what I have been doing to my Gamecube games on the Wii, I figured I would go for a game that I haven't played in a VERY long time, that being Kirby: Air Ride. Summing up Super Smash Bros. Melee, I have completed it in most every sense, I was able to get the last two trophies I was missing. I beat Adventure on Hard without losing all of my lives (using Pikachu) and was able to keep the time under whatever amount it is that triggers the Giga Bowser battle. Also, by utilizing Dash Dancing, a technique I wasn't aware of, I was able to obtain the Tom Nook trophy in a fairly short amount of time. I basically started Adventure mode on Very Easy, and right before the end of the first half of the Mushroom Kingdom Stage and right before the end of the Hyrule stage, I Dash Danced for what at times seemed like an eternity in front of the goal. Then, as soon as the next battle started, I quit out of Adventure Mode. This gave me an average of 55 coins each time I did it. However, it wasn't until I had restarted the game that I actually received the trophy (I restarted it because it crashed). Whether this is due to the crash or just a part of the game, I have no idea. So, I have all of the trophies, stages, characters, and special bonus items. Yet, there is another completion aspect I had never though about, that I now know that I need to do: Special Messages. I don't have that many left to get, but the last few consist of beating all 1-Player Challenge modes on Very Hard with only 1 stock, and playing a total of up to 1,000,000 V.S. matches...confronted with these numbers, and the fact that my wrist hurt from Dance Dashing about 10 times, I decided to call it a victory for now, and moved on to Kirby: Air Ride.

Now, I'm not quite sure what has compelled me to do this game, because I am AWFUL at racing games of any kind. It has kept me from completing any Mario Kart, Excitebots, NASCAR: Kart Racing, Nicktoons Racing, Looney Tunes Racing, etc, etc. Yet I loved this game truly as a kid, and recalled that it was a lot more than just racing, so i figured I would go back to it. So, slowly but surely, my task for right now is to go through the checklists for the three game modes and beat them all (preferably without having to use any of the free space icons you can unlock), and I'll see how far I can eventually get. Thanksgiving Break is coming up soon, though, and with that I'll be going back home to my family for about a week, so my Wii and Gamecube things will remain here at my house, and I'll just have my PSX and laptop to play with. Or who knows, maybe I'll just talk to my family and watch the countless runs of "It's a Wonderful Life on T.V". It's hard to say.

P.S. Why countless marathons of It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, and A Christmas Story just because Thanksgiving Day means that much closer to Christmas? I understand the notion of classics, but if there is any non-Peanut related Thanksgiving Day move we could be marathon-ing, it's "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles". Never been a huge Steve Martin fan, but I LOVE John Candy and that movie!