What Games are You Playing This Summer?

Most years there’s at least one big summer game to look forward to for Nintendo’s home consoles. I’ve only had a Wii since 2008, but that year I got to enjoy Mario Kart Wii with my then-fiancée. In 2009 we got Wii Sports Resort and looked forward to Metroid Prime Trilogy, and last year we went into the summer with Super Mario Galaxy 2 and came out of it with Metroid: Other M. This year? Wii Play: Motion. Better than nothing at all I suppose, but if I’m saving up my money for something that’s probably

not going to be my first choice. (I’d be all over one of them shiny RPGs that’s waiting in the wings, though.)

Now, I’ll give Nintendo credit since they did just release The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, but since not everyone can invest in a 3DS and most people are looking ahead to Skyward Sword many Nintendo fans are going to have to find something else to play, whether it’s a game they’ve had for awhile and are giving a second look or a third-party gem they had to dive into the bargain bins to dig up. I’m personally going back and giving a few of my favorite games a replay, as well as looking into a game I’ve always meant to finish: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

It’s been a challenge – that game really is hard – but I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m finally ready to head to the heart of the Great Palace to take on Thunderbird and Dark Link in order to claim the Triforce. Unfortunately that Great Palace is kind of frustrating, particularly a certain blue bird-like warrior enemy, so I keep getting worn down before I can even reach Thunderbird (much less fight it), so I’ve taken a break for awhile and moved on to some other games. I’m also hoping to give three of my other favorite Zelda games another try. I’ve already completed the first two dungeons in Majora’s Mask and just started a new file on Spirit Tracks, and at summer’s end I’m looking to pick up Link’s Awakening DX on the 3DS Virtual Console (my Game Boy Advance hasn’t been very reliable lately…).

I’m reasonably sure those will only carry me through the end of this month, though, leaving about a month and a half to go before Star Fox 64 3D hits the scene and my school starts back up in September. I’m still not entirely sure what I’ll do with myself at that point, although Metroid Prime Trilogy sure looks tempting… I’ve also been meaning to try out No More Heroes and get back into Pokémon Black Version, but that’ll depend on how I’m doing financially (just got a new car right before E3!) and whether I can find the extra time to devote to training.

But enough about me – I’m starting to ramble on. What games are you playing this summer? Is there anything on Wii that you haven’t had a chance to look into yet? Do you have any games that you just never finished and want to wrap up? Are you picking up games for PS3 or 360, or devoting your time to your DS or 3DS? Anything from the Virtual Console sound tempting? Honestly, it’s been hard to keep the fire going this summer thanks to the lack of strong Nintendo experiences during this first half of the year, so let’s put our heads together and give each other some ideas on how to get through the software drought!