Skullgirls
Everyone is looking for ways to relieve stress as the semester winds down. My favorite way to relieve stress is to whip out the ol’ GameCube and play some classic games. In fact, I have a nice list of games that are the all-time best for stress relief.
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (Game Boy Advance)
Honestly, there is no way you can ever get mad while playing a Kirby game. You’re a cute little pink ball, eating cute other little monsters. The Amazing Mirror gets a special slot because it’s an open world game. Nothing helps relieve stress like running around, listening to classic Kirby music and looking at all the beautiful scenery in the game. Don’t have a GBA anymore? Try out Kirby’s Epic Yarn for Wii or Kirby’s Superstar Saga for Nintendo DS.
Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo DS)
Music games are also great for relieving stress. Rhythm Heaven is the simplest and funniest music game around. The controls are just simple taps and flicks as you control various characters or actions to match the beat of a song. Popular levels include: “Glee Club,” where you control a choir of little screaming men, “Fan Club,” where you’re a monkey cheering on your favorite pop idol and “Blue Birds,” where you’re a stork going through intensive military training. The music is to die for and the themes of each level are bound to make you laugh. If you don’t have a DS, you could try its Wii counterpart, Rhythm Heaven Fever or maybe Final Fantasy Theatrhythm for 3DS (though playing “One Winged Angel” on hard-mode might make you sweat).
Skullgirls (PS3/XBOX360/PC)
For anyone who loves side-scrolling fighting games, this is for you. A simple button masher with a small 10 character roster, Skullgirls is the ultimate stress reliever. Its beautiful animations were all drawn frame by frame (none of this new CGI-like stuff that’s been happening recently) and its amazing soundtrack will soothe your soul. The wide variety of character types will keep you busy for a while. Since this is stress relief, I don’t recommend playing the game on anything higher than medium; the boss, Marie, will give you a really hard time. Alternatives to Skullgirls could be Marvel vs. Capcom 3 or Street Fighter 4.
Other games that deserve mention are The World Ends With You (Nintendo DS), BitTripRun! (PS3/XBOX360/PC/iOS) and Animal Crossing (GameCube/DS/Wii/3DS). This might be the week you want to stay away from playing Call of Duty online or Mario Party with friends. The goal is to reduce stress — not create it!
Have better stress-reducing games? Hate my choices? Want to discuss the latest in Kill la Kill? Comment below or e-mail me at dahrae@terpmail.umd.edu.
