There's a lot of things to commend Christmas: The time you spend with friends and loved ones, the eggnog, the music, and all that good stuff. But lets face it, we all know what everyone's favorite part of the holiday season is!
With that in mind, we thought you might like to see what Twi got for Christmas/Hearth's Warming this year and ask you what gifts you received this holiday season. So, without further ado...
This year Twilers got a New 3DS XL with an IPS upper screen, a Legend of Zelda themed carrying pouch for it (faux leather of course, since she's totally creeped out by the real stuff) with some Zelda themed styluses and cleaning cloth, The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, Puzzle Quest, and the last two amiibo figures she had been wanting for her collection. She was pretty thrilled with it all, but in order for you to understand exactly why she was so pleased I think I'm going to have to tell you a little backstory.
Last summer, before I got on permanent disability for some stomach and thyroid problems I have, we were really struggling for cash to pay the bills. I had been unemployed for a long time and ended up deciding to sell some of my video game systems and games to make ends meet. At that time I did own a New 3DS XL but had pretty much stopped using it due to carpal tunnel in my left hand making it impossible for me to hold for more than a few minutes at a time. It was just too big and heavy for the muscles in my left wrist to deal with, so it had pretty much became Twi's system. There were a lot of "touchscreen only" controlled games like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney that
Twi could play with the aid of a stylus-holding hoof strap, and she loved
training her amiibos in Super Smash Bros. The system's buttons were too small for her to press with her hooves, but there were still a ton (a couple dozen at least) of really good DS games that were controlled using only the touchscreen which she could play on it. When I started unloading games and systems to pay the bills I had no intention of ever selling the New 3DS XL or any of our games for it, since it had become a system that Twi really loved, but she insisted that I sell it because she wanted to find a way to pitch in and help out with our financial situation too. I really (really) didn't want to, because I knew how much she enjoyed playing it, and the whole situation actually became one of the only times in our relationship I can ever remember us arguing about anything. In the end I acquiesced to her request and sold the 3DS and the games we had for it, but man was it ever heartbreaking to do. She took that system everywhere with her and played it nearly every day, so this Christmas—now that our financial situation is all better—I decided it was time to buy her another system of her very own.
To go along with it I got her Puzzle Quest, the game that she was right in the middle of playing when she ended up having me sell her last system for her, and the Zelda game and carrying case because she's a huge Zelda fan. To date she's played the original Legend of Zelda, Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages & Oracle of Seasons, and Ocarina of Time (the Game Boy titles were played on our GameCube's Game Boy Player using her GameCube arcade stick) and adores them all, so a new touchscreen controlled Zelda game and Zelda accessories were a pretty obvious choice for her. The Pac-Man and Mario amiibos were the last two she had been wanting for her collection, to go alongside Kirby, Sonic, and Toon Link as her favorite video game characters. Ever since we got that arcade machine for our 2 year wedding anniversary she has been playing tons of Pac-Man, and after playing through the original Super Mario Bros. on the NES she seriously wanted a Mario amiibo for her collection and thought the one with him holding a fireball looked the prettiest.
So, there you have it! That's our Christmas story for this year! Twilers now has her very own New 3DS XL, which means that I really need to start saving up for a regular sized New 3DS for myself lol Her system is still way too big and heavy for me to use, but I'm hoping at some point I can save up for one of the smaller/lighter regular sized ones so we can do a little hand/hoof-held gaming together. In the meantime, I think The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass and Puzzle Quest should keep her busy for a good long while.
How about you guys and gals? We'd love to hear what you got for the holidays this year!