{"id":124948,"date":"2022-05-18T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-131634"},"modified":"2022-05-18T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T18:00:00","slug":"memory-pak-forget-zelda-and-mario-thumper-was-the-biggest-surprise-of-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/05\/18\/memory-pak-forget-zelda-and-mario-thumper-was-the-biggest-surprise-of-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Memory Pak: Forget Zelda And Mario, Thumper Was The Biggest Surprise Of 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Thumper
Image: Drool<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the Nintendo Switch launched in March 2017, I \u2014 like many others \u2014 devoured The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/a>. I was hooked, and it was only when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe<\/a> launched a month later that I was wrenched away from the land of Hyrule. But while Mario Kart 8 remains as incredible as it was on the Wii U \u2014 more so, in fact \u2014 I bounced off it pretty quickly; a case of \u2018been there, done that\u2019, perhaps. I\u2019d already completed the non-Deluxe version and felt like I was just going through the motions. Nevertheless, I played it more or less to completion; after all, I dropped \u00a350 on the digital version, giving me a certain obligation to at least polish off the single-player component.<\/p>\n

So with that done, I found myself in a bit of a rut; I\u2019d rinsed Breath of the Wild and I now faced a daunting two or three months without anything to keep me occupied until the eventual release of Splatoon 2<\/a>. Then a game popped up on the eShop in May 2017; a smaller, unassuming title that nevertheless gained much-deserved recognition and acclaim in the months leading up to its release. That game was Thumper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Developed by ex-Harmonix members (only two of them, mind!), Thumper shouldn\u2019t have appealed to me in the slightest. Although raised with a light background in music and a particular affinity for the electric guitar, I never quite got to grips with rhythm games. I think I held the rather shallow opinion that because I\u2019d already owned a real guitar, why on earth would I play with a toy replica?<\/em> Guitar Hero 3<\/a> was the only one I ever owned, and honestly, it\u2019s the stylised depiction of Slash from Guns \u2018n\u2019 Roses on the cover that drew me in. In the end, though, that game wound up being a simple gateway to lesser-known bands that I hadn\u2019t really listened to before.<\/p>\n