Also: Win some free games!

Wow, has it been two years already? Sometimes you just lose track of time, especially when you've spent your last year stressing over college apps and high school graduation. But a lot has happened this past year here on MyIGN as well. I made a lot of new friends, placed 7th on the blogging leaderboards, had a few blogs front-paged, recorded myself singing the Pokemon theme song, took part in a few tournaments, was called a racist... yup, lots of interesting stuff! It's been a joy being part of this community, and I've got all of you guys to thank, whether you're following me or not. So yeah, thank you!

As with my last anniversary blog, I'll start my little celebration off with a few quotes from my blogs this past year. I'm a blogger at heart here at MyIGN, and it's something that I love to do. More importantly, though, it's things like these that keep me going:

"I enjoyed reading this... you've pretty solidly nailed how I feel about it, too."

- jack19992 on my opinion piece about having too much Mario.

"For your awesome moves, have a follow good sir."

- MajesticMaverick on possibly my most embarrassing blog ever.

"Perfect post, I couldn't have said it better. Keep up the good work..."

- fliadaloisio on why I felt third parties would love the Wii U.

(And I was wrong...)

"You played a crapload of Ape Escape?! Respect earned!!!"

- fantaffx on... my favorite Wii memories? Wait...

"CRAAAAAP! How many followers are you at now? Lemme see, I can try and unfollow you!"

- MegabusterLegends3 on trying to win me Comm Nom by Christmas.

(Thanks for trying though! Aha.)

"First, well done...intelligently written and argued piece backed up by citation and persuasive points."

- unoclay1 on why I don't think the industry is ready for next-gen.

"Hey, HEY! Lay off the brown hating. You might start offending turds and other butt leavings."

- militaryveterangamer on why I hate brown games.

"EPIC. I wish my high school had been that cool..."

- Aminka on what my class did for Spirit Week this year.

"You got it wrong, the unpopular opinion with Skyward Sword is liking it."

- meowcats on my discussion about having an unpopular opinion.

"Well I think you made a very thoughtful blog and reached a good conclusion that I agree with."

- MrsDeanMartin on why I believe sex should be allowed in games.

"This is such a great blog... thank you."

- Spazo on my list of Nintendo side-characters that need their own games.

(Wait... someone thanked me for writing a blog?)

"Lol, I almost unfollowed you! Good one!"

- Devinator22 on my April Fools' blog about why Nintendo is doomed.

"Thanks for sharing all of this! You're an excellent member of this community, and it's always nice to hear members open up like this..."

- hypernova1024 on my 4100-word long gamer story.

"Oh boy... here comes another front pager."

- hypernova1024 (again?!) on my discussion about fanboyism.

(By the way, it didn't get front-paged. LOL.)

"How is this blog not featured on the front page? IT IS GREAT!!!"

- OGeniusOne on my summary of EA's relationship with Nintendo.

(By the way, it didn't-- wait, another one?)

"Guided here by [MajesticMaverick], and very glad to have. Great blog."

- Richiet23 on my discussion on the story vs. gameplay debate.

Hopefully if you're reading this you've already read or seen at least a few of those blogs above, especially my post about brown games and unpopular opinions since those two later became front-pagers (the latter of which has an amazing 1700-comment thread that I highly suggest you check out). And if you haven't seen them... well, why not start now? Check out a few from above and tell me what you think!

And of course, what's an anniversary blog without a couple of shout-outs? Let's start with a few specific people.

From TARDISofHyrule's Comm Nom celebration blog:

"Battlestriker123: Don't know him all too well but he's only supported me. He's definitely been one of the better followers more recently."

That was written exactly nine months ago, and since then I feel I've gotten to know this guy better. He's such a nice guy and he loves many things, among them Dr. Who and Zelda, of course! Give him a follow!

From the comments section in MJO1450's one-year anniversary blog:

"You're a really good blogger and I love reading them, so that's why you're there!"

That was a response to my question of why I was even on this guy's list of special thanks, since prior to then we didn't really even know each other that well. But over time, (thanks to his tournaments), I'm starting to get to know MJO better, and so we've become... friends? This is getting a bit too personal haha.

From Devinator22's one-year (and one-day) anniversary blog:

"Battlestriker123. An awesome community member who easily writes some of the greatest blogs around and he's becoming a good friend..."

Well, I'm glad my blogs are gaining popularity here, and I'm just as glad to meet Devin. He's a fellow Nintendo fan, but not a fanboy, which I can appreciate. I feel like the two of us have a ridiculous amount of things in common, even though he's more of a Nintendo/Sony gamer and I'm a Nintendo/PC one. Hoping to see more great things from this guy!

And now it's time to list the people who have been either super supportive of me or just really good friends: unoclay1, 81jono81, DarkerRyan, Stratostar (congrats of graduating!), cookiemonster426, adz164, MegabusterLegends3, jack19992, TARDISofHyrule, Acesonnall, HiddenEmerald, Vitaismydaddy, shmuga9, Kasumi_, Peer-IGN (hi Peer!), zeldasymphony, meowcats, Bladefinger, Emilioguerrero, Amaltheaelanor, egyptianbeast24, Regal4.1, Carbon_KO, fantaffx, MajesticMaverick, hypernova1024, Devinator22, habitablestorm3, splitmindeddude, MrsDeanMartin, mariorulz101, MJO1450, as well as all of my good followers and readers! Thanks for being awesome people in an awesome community; no words can accurately express the gratitude I have for you guys.

I'd also like to give a special shoutout to StormFuror, who gifted me Cave Story+ on Steam so many months ago. I'm still planning on writing a blog about it soon, but until then I'd just like to say thanks!

Oh, and before I forget, I have a few questions to answer. Sorry if you asked me these back in Personal Blog #4; I totally forgot about them!

Jamiemad66: Where are you from?

Battlestriker123: Well, I'm a California boy. Born in Hayward, grew up in Fremont (Bay Area represent!). I'm heading down to Irvine (near L.A.) for college soon though!

Gyyrro: What is your favorite JRPG, and what is your favorite handheld gaming platform?

Battlestriker123: To be honest, I'm not a big fan of JRPG's, but if I were to choose, I'd choose Xenoblade Chronicles. It's an amazing game with an amazing story and an amazing soundtrack! My favorite gaming platform used to be the Nintendo 64, but I think the 3DS has since overtaken it; seriously, this baby has some great stuff for it!

Understandout: Do you live in Zimbabwe? Do you like blue cheese? Do you listen to Tibetan rap? Anything?

Battlestriker123: Nope! No, ewww! Does that even exist? I do like Linkin Park though...

MrsDeanMartin: Favorite console, favorite series, favorite game character, least favorite game from favorite franchise, most favorite game from favorite franchise

Battlestriker123: Okay, here we go... 3DS, Mario, Knuckles (!), Mario Hoops 3-On-3, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (also my favorite game of all time). Whew!

jojodogface: Are you a smart fella, or a fart smella?

Battlestriker123: Well, I'd say I'm pretty smart having only gotten one 'B' in my life (curse Spanish!), and I've had the pleasure of never ever needing to use cologne, so I'd say I'm the former. Oh? That wasn't a serious question?

shmuga9: What's something not everyone knows about you (or at least not on this site)?

Battlestriker123: I'm a girl! Just kidding. In all seriousness, there is one little secret that only a few people know about (and that includes my friends). I made a game. Yup, almost three years ago, when I was still a sophomore in high school, I made a rhythm game with GameMaker and published it on YoYoGames.com with pretty decent reviews. I don't bring it up really because looking back at it, it is kind of crude and a bit embarrassing. But hey, if you want to check it out (and if you're willing to wait a long time for it to download), you can find Hit-O-Drum Bowser Mix right here.

81jono81: What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Battlestriker123: Trick question! Zero. The swallow is dead.

MJO1450: How are you?

Battlestriker123: I'm doin' fine, bro. Doin' just fine.

Well that's it! Thanks for sticking around for so long, guys. Here, for you trouble, have a free game. It's activatable on Steam, and I have no interest in playing it. The code is gone! Congrats to RCC97 for grabbing it!

OMG FREE GAMESES :O

Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3

Steam Code: RLKRJ-RFY39-5ECE6

And hey, if you're one of my followers, I'll be posting up a download code for AWESOMENAUTS on my wall in just a few hours.  Let's say it's just a little something for those of you guys who've cared enough to click on that little follow button... The code is gone! Congrats to Habitablestorm3 for nabbing it!

What? Bribery? Me? I'd never do that!

Thanks again for reading, and keep on keeping it cool guys!

~Battlestriker123