I basically concur with KingM's suggestions. Mario Kart 8 is definitely a Switch purchase with DX. Splatoon is great, but I think 2 more or less replaces it on Switch as well. Kirby's Rainbow Curse is NOT a game you want if you're left handed.

I still need to try Wooly World, but that's one to look into as well.

If you don't find the games to be fun, don't force yourself to slog through them. If you're like me you've got plenty of backlog to get through, so why waste your time on a game that feels like a chore. There are plenty of wikis out there that can explain the entire story in detail. Save yourself the time and frustration... that's my vote.

Many games reflect the gaming culture of their time but don't necessarily age well. Both DA and Kotor are amazing examples of a genre that has largely disappeared from mainstream gaming in favor or more action oriented RPGs. DA 2 is a perfect example of that shift. In my opinion it's ok to play a bit of something to get the flavor and then walk away from it when you get bored.

I generally agree with this mindset. Why force yourself to play something you don't like?

Also, I always recommend choosing an easier mode if you want to enjoy the story of an RPG and just hate the gameplay. I know there's an easier mode in DA:O at least, though I'm not sure if that's the case for KOTOR... but to be honest I dropped the latter one because I hated the combat and I guess I built my character wrong so fighting was harder than it needed to be anyway >.>

I've been MIA a bit, got really busy, then distracted with games I bought on sale.

First, I removed Trails in the Sky and replaced it with Cave Story+ for the Switch. I recently got the console and game and that seems like a way better fit than Trails in the Sky, at least for now.

Second, I beat Kirby's Return to Dream Land. It was a nice, relaxing little game. Helped to de-stress after annoying work days :p

Finally, I think I may drop Earthbound. I've played for a good 8-10 hours (maybe longer) by now, but I'm just sort of... meh to the game. I can tell it's a good game, but at the same time I'm playing it and am just going through the motions... I'm not really enjoying myself despite the neat/odd setting. It seems best as one of those games I would read a Let's Play of.

I still haven't full decided on what I'll do with Earthbound yet, and what game I'll replace it with, but I'll figure it out by next update :p

Here's the list:

Earthbound (SNES via Wii U VC) - Made it to Fourside
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS) - The Swamp
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS) - L'Aries

Monkey Island 2 Special Edition (Steam)
Suikoden II (PS1 via PS1 Classics)
Cave Story+ (Switch)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) - Finished
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2 via PS2 Classics) - Finished
Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii) - Finished

Honestly, I didn't like it all that much. I kind of feel the story threw itself off a cliff near the end, and I got annoyed with the difficulty due to me not quite getting the battle system.

That said the 3DS version seems to fix a lot of things up, so we'll see. Short hair Eruca best Eruca tho

Update: I beat Digital Devil Saga. It was a pretty good game, though I was a bit annoyed about how much grinding you really need at the end of the game. Well, provided you missed the Red Key (and I totally did). My skills never seemed to be up to par after defeating the bat for the hundredth time, but I got through it eventually. A friend gave me $10 PSN money for my birthday and I used it to buy DDS2 :p I'll be sure to play that once that challenge is over (or even save it for next year's challenge, lol).

With that, I've started Earthbound, again. This time I'm having a lot more fun with it than last year... I guess I just wasn't in the mindset for it then! I can't wait to get another party member, though, so battles are a bit easier, heh...

My list, reorganized for easier reading:

Earthbound (SNES via Wii U VC) - Made it to Twoson
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS) - The Swamp

Monkey Island 2 Special Edition (Steam)
Suikoden II (PS1 via PS1 Classics)
Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii)
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS) - Progress from before challenge (Second island)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (Steam) - Progress from before challenge (Chapter 2)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) - Finished
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2 via PS2 Classics) - Finished

I might squeeze Kirby in if Earthbound becomes too much RPG right after DDS, we'll see. Might as well keep going on the RPG train while I want to play them :p

My work computer (IE) got...

The Last Remnant
Persona 5
Nier: Automata
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Horizon Zero Dawn
The Phantom Pain?

Why is The Last Remnant first of all things lol?

Short update on my end, still working through Digital Devil Saga. I seem to be nearing the end, but the times for this game are around 40 hours... I'm at, like, 11 hours. Am I just a God at RPGs? ;p (It's probably either I took the Main+ numbers when I'm not doing any sidequests, or the dungeons that are coming up are going to be deceptively long despite looking at a guide. I mean the Abandoned Ship took like an hour and a half to get through and it was only like a page and a half on the FAQ lol)

I haven't really touched Majora's Mask since I got through the prologue bit and walked to the Swamp. Something about the game just doesn't sit right with me... I'll give it up to the end of the first dungeon to impress me, though. With so much praise around the game, I can't give up on it. Of course, I say the same for Earthbound and have a ton of trouble motivating myself to play it... though I blame that one on playing Mother 3 first.

So, my updated list:

Earthbound (SNES via Wii U VC) - Progress from before the challenge (Beat Frank)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS) - The Swamp
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition (Steam)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2 via PS2 Classics) - Time to kill the Wolves
Suikoden II (PS1 via PS1 Classics)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) - Finished
Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii)
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS) - Progress from before challenge (Second island)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (Steam) - Progress from before challenge (Chapter 2)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

Due to me being not sick enough to be debilitated, but sick enough to not be able to go to work, I've managed to finish my first Summer Gaming Challenge game already, Super Mario Galaxy 2.

I'll be writing a blog post later, but my short thoughts are basically... I like it and enjoy the level design, as well as the addition of Yoshi. However, I can't shake the feeling I liked 1 more. Perhaps the planet hopping novelty wore off for me? Regardless, it's a pretty good game.

I had planned on starting the challenge with at least one of the RPGs, but I had just beaten both Persona 5 AND NieR: Automata... I needed a different genre for a bit, heh. I'm planning to get back into Digital Devil Saga, though, as I'm going to move my PS3 back upstairs. Forget the people that want to use it, they can play PS4 instead or something. :p I kind of want to start Xenoblade instead, but I'm thinking that getting through some games I already have progress in is a better idea right now.

So here's the list again, with quick updates (I'll edit my blog posts into the list as I write them):
Earthbound (SNES via Wii U VC) - Progress from before the challenge (Beat Frank)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS) - Started
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition (Steam)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2 via PS2 Classics) - Started
Suikoden II (PS1 via PS1 Classics)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) - Finished
Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii)
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS) - Progress from before challenge (Second island)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (Steam) - Progress from before challenge (Chapter 2)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

I'll be back sooner rather than later :p

Oooo, I really like that idea for a list! :D Maybe I'll get my boyfriend to to something similar like that for me just for funsies sometime... :p

Was replaying Pokemon X, Dropped my 3Ds, and lost about 3 hours of gameplay.

Ugh, that sucks. One time I was grinding up for Red in HG, closed my DS for a second for whatever reason, and when I flipped my top the damn thing just would NOT come out of sleep mode. I had to eventually reset, and lost an hour or two of grinding progress :<

Bumping this up because it's getting close to June 1st, aka the time most of us are going to begin. Don't forget to post updates in here every once and a while and keep us updated :D

Very nice idea! I don't own Abzu myself, but if you need more games to try out, you should listen to The Short Game podcast. They focus specfically on games that are under 10 hours for people that can't/don't want to play longer games. I know I get sick of uber long RPGs from time to time....:p

Can't wait to see the next one you'll think up!

Playing Persona 5, and let me just say, I've caught up to the present... anyone that's played it knows what I mean. MIND. BLOWN.

Most everyone prefers the GC version, which is why it's so hard to find and expensive. I think the motion controls weren't all that great? Also why the HD version bases itself off the GC version, not the Wii version.

Huh, KerfMerf, you just reminded me that I haven't played Xenoblade Chronicles yet... I should probably add that one to my list!

So I was going to start this Sunday (so today), but considering that I really just want to get Persona 5 out of the way before starting, I'll likely wait until June 1 like most everyone else. I have technically started Digital Devil Saga already, but given how limited my PS3 time is, there's no way I'll beat it before I fully begin. It'll mess up my Four for Four this month, but ah well, it'll be okay.

For now, this is my set list, and the backups in case I end up hating something, lol:

Earthbound (SNES via Wii U VC)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS)
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition (Steam)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2 via PS2 Classics)
Suikoden II (PS1 via PS1 Classics)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii)
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (Steam)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

Backups:
The Last of Us Remastered (PS4)
Breath of Fire IV (PS1 via PS1 Classics)
Deadly Premonition (PS3)

I would have added The Last of Us to the main list, but to be honest, I don't know if I like that game...? So it's in the backups lol. I have six RPGs, which is a lot, but if I'm focusing on them it'll probably be okay. I never have beaten all ten games before, though... maybe this year will be a first :p

Digital Devil Saga is technically 2 games, unless you're only planning on playing the first one? It's so good, and ends on such a cliffhanger, I doubt you'll be able to resist jumping straight into part two.

Oh yeah, I keep... forgetting... to buy part 2 when it goes on sale for some reason. So I only have part 1 for now, lol! But it's quite possible I'll beat part 1 and add 2 later :D

I'm keen for this however my backlog consists purely of PS3, PS4 and vita games, possibly the odd PS2 remaster that was released on PS3. If you're happy for me to put any game down that's in my backlog regardless of whether it's a classic or not then I'm in

A lot of my games are remasters and re-releases, as I only have modern Nintendo and Sony platforms (barring Switch). Go for it if you want to join in! I'm not a stickler for the rules too hard, though you might want to see which games in your collections might be older remakes/remasters and try to priorities :)

@ Classic racing games - Realistic racing games? First thing that comes to me is Gran Turismo and Need for Speed. Arcade-y stuff, F-Zero and Mario Kart. My knowledge of the genre isn't really the greatest, though.

Here's my tentative list so far. At first, my list had 5 games I needed to play on PS3 and they were ALL RPGs, which flat out wasn't going to work out... I don't have constant access to that console, since it's downstairs. So, in no real order...

Earthbound (SNES via Wii U VC)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS)
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition (Steam)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2 via PS2 Classics)
Suikoden II (PS1 via PS1 Classics)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii)
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS)

So I'm missing two games, but I'm having trouble not overwhelming myself with both PS3 games I can't play regularly, and RPGs. xD So many RPGs. I'm trying to see if I can justify putting Trails in the Sky: First Chapter on here... technically it's older than some of the games I've put on the list already, but it's still a somewhat new series to the West. From there, I'd probably have to resort to one or two PS4 games, I was thinking maybe The Last of Us Remastered and Tearaway. Hmm... the main thing is I don't want to have to buy new games for the challenge, so I'll probably have to bend the rules a bit :p

We all like challenges right? I know I do. So yearly for the past few years, I've participated in the Summer Gaming Challenge.

What the heck is that, you might ask? Well, the Summer Gaming Challenge is a yearly event held over at the Racketboy forums, and it's a challenge to play 10 games that are considered classics over the summer. It's a nice little thing!

You might also ask what the heck counts as a classic? Well, honestly that depends on you, really. Since Racketboy is a retro gaming forum, they tend to focus on retro games that are considered timeless, or at least considered quite good--think along the lines of Super Metroid or Mega Man X or something like that. Others also mix well-received, more recent games on the list as well. I personally do this because as my backlog whittles down, I have less games on it that are considered 'absolute timeless classics', so I have to take a few more liberties with my modern games. So really it's up to you!

So, when does it start? That also depends on you. If you are still in school, you might start after your spring semester ends and go until the fall semester starts (while I'm no longer in school, this is mostly the method I used, as it lets me both start and end sooner). Or, you can pick the first day of summer to the first day of fall, or something simple like June 1-September 30. Or anything in between really, as long as you keep it somewhat in the summertime time-frame. :p

Anything else? That about covers the gist of it! If you want to participate, go ahead and post your list (or if you want help, just ask), and keep us updated on your progress! I personally like writing up my thoughts in blog posts about the games in the challenge afterwards, but I don't think most do. Do what you want! :D

I'll post my own completed list in the upcoming days, as I set my start date to this Sunday but I'm having trouble balancing genres and systems (so many RPGs, lol). Post away!

May Update:

I'm actually going to change up my May games... I forgot that the Summer Gaming Challenge is starting, and I wanna start playing the games I picked for it next week. So, I'm gonna update and replace some things, since most of the games I picked for the challenge don't line up with my four games here.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS4) is staying for the time being... provided I can get a new headset to keep streaming (my cats ate my generic one :() and my new repeater stops acting up. I really want to stream this because I find it boring otherwise... if the problems keep up, I'll do a cop-out and switch to Puyo Puyo Tetris, which I've already managed to beat.

Pikmin 3 (Wii U) will be changed to Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)... I'm honestly not feeling Pikmin 3 right now and SMG2 is on my challenge list.

Devil Survivor 2 (3DS) will be changed to Majora's Mask 3D (3DS). I was thinking about changing it to Dragon Quest VII for the 3DS, but I doubt I can really beat that in less than 20 days with me still working on Persona 5. Next month, most likely. Both MM and DQVII are on my challenge list.

The Banner Saga (Steam)... huh. I don't even think I even picked a PC game in my challenge this year. That might change, as I realized a lot of my games rely on my PS3, which is currently downstairs so I don't always have access to. For now, I'll keep it on the list. I started it last night and enjoyed it, anyway.

^ Sure, just read the rules and post when you think you know the answer!

If it's not from Phantasy Star I, wasn't there a flashback in Phantasy Star II about I? So I'm gonna guess not Phantasy Star II itself but one of those PSII visual novels that didn't get released Stateside, mainly because I think everywhere I remember the protag's hair being brown, but maybe they messed it up there.

I dunno, I'm grasping at straws here.

I'm back in this for May!

The Banner Saga (Steam) - Steam has my largest unfinished games collection, sitting at 17 unfinished games (I know, I know, so little compared to most). The Banner Saga is a game I've wanted to play for a while, and seems to be only about 15 hours or so, so it won't suck up all my time like Persona 5. And it's another RPG to add to my 'beat 20 RPGs' goal :3

Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (PS4) - PS4 is my second highest unfinished collection... but I don't want to put Persona 5 here because it's just a massive game. So, I need to catch up on my... action... Uncharted-y... games? So I'll knock out Tomb Raider first. I need to decide if I like these games or not lol.

Pikmin 3 (Wii U) - I only have a few physical Wii U games left to try before locking down on my collection, and this is one of the two I need to make sure I don't want to sell. I'm probably going to like it, but you never know. Color Splash, on the other hand...

Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker (3DS) - I've been meaning to beat this *forever*, but I was using a guide and was just lazy about it. Well, time to finish it.

I beat Breath of the Wild yesterday and Lara Croft GO today, so I am done for this month!

I'm probably not going to participate next month, mainly because I know I'll just be playing Persona 5 :p But I'd definitely want to do this again in May!

^ Yeah, sometimes it's just best to take a break from games.

March Update:

1. Style Savvy: Fashion Forward (3DS) - Finished
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (WiiU) - 40 hours in, still exploring. I have a feeling I'll finish in the next 20 hours or so.
3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) - Finished
4. Lara Croft GO (Android) - Second to last book. It's a quick game, I just play it at work sometimes.

Yay for you! I've just picked up the Wii U version myself and I think it runs pretty great. I mean not perfect of course but the Switch version doesn't run perfectly either :p

Oh, there's an English patch? I'll have to add it to my list of fan translations to play. Thanks for the heads up! :)