eShopperReviews Grand Opening $25 Gift Code Contest

Update: This contest is now officially over! I will be randomly selecting and notifying the winners momentarily, and announcing them on Monday. Thank you to all who participated!

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To celebrate the grand opening of eShopperReviews, we will be hosting a contest where we will be giving out $25 Nintendo eShop gift codes (for the North American region) to three lucky participants!

To enter, all you need to do is post a reply on this page telling us what you hope to see on eShopperReviews going forward. What you write can be anything – tell us a game you’d like to see reviewed, a new feature you’d like to see added, a change you’d like us to make. Whatever you feel is most important to you to see on this website!

After doing so, I will randomly select three winners out of all viable entries. Entries must be made by midnight (PST) on Friday, December 15th, 2023, with the winners announced on the morning of Monday, December 18th, 2023. Winners must have a viable E-Mail address attached to the profile they use to post their comment, and they must subscribe to this website (otherwise I won’t be able to contact you privately to give you your code).

No purchase necessary, prizes not exchangeable, offer not available in all regions… and whatever other boilerplate warnings usually go with these things. I dunno, this is my first time running a contest like this. Is “contest” even the right word to use, with the winner being randomly selected? I dunno, probably not. Anyway…

For those who want more specific entry instructions:

  1. Sign up for a free Gravitar account (or use a pre-existing Gravitar or WordPress account), and be sure to include a valid working E-Mail address when signing up so we can contact you if needed. Alternately, create a temporary post using an E-Mail (I can see the E-Mail, and it doesn’t show it to others). I just need a way to contact you back if you win.
  2. Write a comment at the bottom of this page before midnight (PST) on Friday, December 15th, 2023.
  3. Your comment must include a mention of something you want to see on eShopperReviews.com in the future.
  4. No personal attacks, no hate speech, no illegal content, no personally-identifying information, and nothing that would be considered “non-work-safe”.
  5. Any requests for things already on this website don’t count, and you’ll be asked to try again.
  6. Only one valid entry per person. Repeat entries will not be counted.
  7. I make no guarantees that any requests will come true… but who knows, if they’re reasonable enough, maybe they will someday…
  8. After midnight (PST) on Friday, December 15th, 2023, three winners will be randomly selected from all valid contest entries. These winners will be contacted via E-Mail and asked to confirm their address. Upon doing so, they will be sent a $25 eShop code via E-Mail.
  9. The winners will be announced on the morning of Monday, December 18th, 2023, at 6AM (PST).

Thanks in advance to all who participate! I look forward to seeing all of your responses!

Comments

27 responses to “eShopperReviews Grand Opening $25 Gift Code Contest”

  1. eShopperReviews Avatar
    eShopperReviews

    Here’s where you’ll be posting your entries!

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    1. Thö Avatar
      Thö

      Really looking forward to your Game Awards write up, especially as I didn’t get to check out your content for the 2nd part of the year.

      I would also be interested in a write up at the end of the year or at the beginning of it where you talk about 2-3 upcoming releases that have peaked your interest/ that you are looking forward to play

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. eShopperReviews Avatar
        eShopperReviews

        While I don’t like to make promises, I think I can safely say that this is all stuff you can definitely look forward to in January. 😉

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  2. crystalvalen Avatar
    crystalvalen

    The original comment I was going to leave is moot. I wanted a way to get your reviews sent to my email like they were with Patreon so I didn’t miss anything. Turns out that’s already possible, it seems! In that case, I just want to see more tools and automations to ease your process and help keep this venture sustainable for you. I hope you are able to find a way to, e.g., automatically add new reviews to the comprehensive lists you have so that you don’t have to manually add new data every time you write a new review.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Jared Avatar
      Jared

      Ooh, actually, after spending some more time on the site, I would love to see the search function integrated into the navigation bar rather than being accessible only through another page. It would just save one extra step, but it would feel a good deal more efficient.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. eShopperReviews Avatar
        eShopperReviews

        Hm… I would need to tinker with it. I’m not sure if the tools I have available would make that work, but it would certainly be worth a try, you’re right.

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      2. eShopperReviews Avatar
        eShopperReviews

        Well, after spending a few hours messing with backend stuff I only barely understand, I was able to… add a search bar to the search results page. Which is absolutely not what you asked for, but it should make it easier to search for something after you’ve already searched for a thing.

        As for adding a search to the header, I’m not sure it’s within my capabilities. Unless someone knowledgeable about dealing with WordPress wants to give me some copy-paste code I can insert into the header, I may just have to go without.

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. Jared Avatar
          Jared

          Hey, even that is a win! Thanks for trying. If I have time, I’ll give it ago and see what sort of integrations and customizations WordPress offers that could make it work, but having the search bar included at the top of search results already speeds things up for me. Thanks again!

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        2. Jared Avatar
          Jared

          Do you use the WordPress “Block Editor” or some sort of custom HTML, out of curiosity?

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    2. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      A little of both. The block editor is super-useful for broad strokes, but I need to go in and mess with the HTML to do some of the stuff on the website (in particular, the Discord logo/link at the top of each page, and virtually every table on the website)

      Liked by 1 person

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  3. clydesvillena Avatar
    clydesvillena

    Congrats on the new site launch! I’ve really enjoyed reading your reviews over the past several years!

    Have you considered a review of Sanabi? It came out a few weeks ago on the eShop, and I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on its visuals and traversal mechanic!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      Wow, I hadn’t even heard of this one, but looking at screenshots it looks pretty interesting. My schedule is pretty packed through until at least mid-to-late January, but this game is definitely on my radar, and if it goes on sale I might even review it before then. We’ll see. 🙂

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  4. Mr. McKittrick Avatar
    Mr. McKittrick

    The website looks fantastic! I especially like how titles and grades can be easily seen at a glance from the new menus.

    Not much to add in terms of recommendations, but have you ever considered doing a Top 10 of your personal favorites in certain genres? I would also be interested in hearing some of your all-time favorites in general, or games that had a major impact on you, maybe in the form of a special post or feature.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      Thanks! I put a lot of thought into making sure it was functional and presentable on both PC and mobile devices!

      As for favorites, I don’t have a numbered list, but I detail some favorite games in each genre on this page (https://eshopperreviews.com/faqs/#what-s-your-favorite-game-of-all-time). That about what you were thinking?

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      1. Mr. McKittrick Avatar
        Mr. McKittrick

        Ah, that’s awesome! Very cool to see your favorites from those different categories.

        I guess one other thing I’d be curious about is, which games really got you interested in gaming? Do you recall what the first game you ever played was, or which was the one that “hooked” you? For me it was playing Excitebike on the NES at my aunt’s house!

        Liked by 1 person

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    2. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      Huh. For some reason it isn’t letting me respond to your last comment directly.

      It’s hard to remember exactly what my first game was, but I’m pretty sure it was an arcade game. Both Crystal Castles and Kangaroo (old Atari games) are possibly the first game I played. Maybe Lunar Lander. Trying to remember is reaching back so far into my childhood that it’s really difficult to remember which, exactly, was my first.

      I remember playing Donkey Kong and liking it, but also thinking it was difficult in a way that seemed unfair – Mario could die just by falling, like, one inch! And then Super Mario Bros. came around and that was amazing, really drawing me to Nintendo as a platform of choice. However, I wasn’t made of money, so the only time I would get the chance to play it was at friends’ houses. I remember one day, I got so hooked into playing Mega Man 2 at a friend of the family’s house that when everyone else moved over to the other TV to watch TGIF (Full House! Urkel! And other shows that in retrospect were also pretty terrible!), I decided to just keep playing. Thinking back, I even had a subscription to Nintendo Power, even though I didn’t own a Nintendo system myself.

      Eventually, my folks caved into (mostly my) wishes and got me and my siblings a Nintendo one holiday, with multiple games that none of us really liked, and also at my request Mega Man 3, which I absolutely loved. From that point on, I was always voracious for new great games. I loved Mega Man 3 and 4, thoroughly enjoyed Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, really enjoyed TMNT 2, Duck Tales and Rescue Rangers, Ninja Gaiden II (which I sucked at), Zelda 1 and 2 (which I think have both aged a bit poorly, but are still classics), the first three Castlevania games (again, though I sucked at them), Batman (loved it, never managed to beat it), Shadowgate (never beat it even to this day, but still really enjoyed it), Bionic Commando, The Little Mermaid (No seriously, it was a pretty good game!)… great stuff!

      When the Game Boy came out, there were a few games on it I really loved (Tetris, Super Mario Land 1 & 2, Wario Land, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Final Fantasy Adventure, Gargoyle’s Quest, Metroid 2), but in retrospect most games on the thing absolutely sucked. It was the novelty of the portability, as well as those rare gems, that made it truly worthwhile. And then of course Pokemon came out, and I was playing the thing for what seemed like endless hours.

      When the Sega Genesis came out, my grandmother got one, I think in hopes it would entice me and my siblings to visit more often. The games I played on it I liked, but never loved. Sonic was very good, but couldn’t compare to Mario. Columns was… eh, okay, I guess, but it was no Tetris. Bonanza Bros. was really enjoyable, once you got an idea of how to play it. There were other games too, but honestly I forget what they were. It was all okay, but I was far more interested in Nintendo.

      Then the Super Nintendo came out, and honestly it was like waking up and realizing that there was a whole new level to how good games could get. Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Castlevania IV, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, TMNT: Turtles in Time, Mega Man X, Donkey Kong Country 1 & 2, Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts, Street Fighter II, Tetris Attack… I could just go on listing all the great games on that console and I feel like I would never truly reach the end (I mean, I would eventually, there were a finite number of games on the platform, but you get the idea). I have fond memories of a sleepover birthday party at a friend’s place where I played Yoshi’s Island for the first time, and it was a truly amazing experience.

      However, then a friend insisted I try Final Fantasy III (VI in the proper numbering scheme the series now goes by), and not thinking much of it, I said “sure, why not”… and it felt like an Earth-changing event. I knew games could be fun. I knew they could be action-packed and have impressive visuals and even catchy music, but Final Fantasy VI was the first time I stopped and realized that games could be *beautiful*. That opening to the game, with the mechs walking silently through the snow at night while the game’s moving opening theme played… I think that was the first time a game ever truly *moved* me.

      Previously I had avoided RPGs, because who wants to pick words out of menus instead of walking over and just hitting the guy? Now, I started seeking them out. Secret of Mana was great, Secret of Evermore was… less great, but I think it’s better than people gave it credit for. Super Mario RPG is a game I might have skipped previously, but not I dove right into it and absolutely loved it.

      And then I played Chrono Trigger.

      If Final Fantasy III/VI felt like falling in love, Chrono Trigger felt like finding the love of my life. The music was so beautiful, the characters so lovable, the story so engaging. This is still to this day one of my favorite games of all-time (though as my FAQ page notes, there are other contenders for that title now), and I think this cemented a lifelong love for the medium that has already been forming.

      I could go on, talk about my experiences with the Virtual Boy and N64, my first experiences with PlayStation, and so on, but I think I’ve rambled on plenty. And… wow, yeah, looking over all the stuff I wrote, I’d better end it there.

      Er… I hope that answers your question?

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      1. Mr. McKittrick Avatar
        Mr. McKittrick

        That was a fantastic read; thank you! I always enjoy hearing about what got people interested in this hobby, medium, and art form that so many of us love.

        Your experience with Final Fantasy III particularly resonated with me. When I first played Shadow of the Colossus I had a similar feeling – that games could be beautiful, moving, and fun all at once.

        (And I’m still crossing my fingers for a Chrono Trigger remake/re-release on Switch!)

        Liked by 1 person

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  5. HeyProfessor Avatar
    HeyProfessor

    Thanks for all you do! You’ve helped me find a lot of hidden gems, and avoid plenty of shovelware, over the years.

    As for ideas, maybe a section/feature on imports or games that are exclusive to overseas eShops could be fun? I see you have reviewed games like that before, such as Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      Glad it’s helped!

      And I would love to add an imports page, but before I do that, I would have to review more imports. Thus far, I have only reviewed Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training.

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  6. thewistfulowl Avatar
    thewistfulowl

    Oooh – I’m a big fan of shmups, so I would suggest reviews of Astebreed or Drainus (or both!) They’re games that I feel deserve some more attention, and of course I’m intrigued to know what your opinion of them would be.

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. ItsAMii2003 Avatar
    ItsAMii2003

    I really like the Specialty Categories section in “Other Articles.” How about an article featuring your favorite Switch ports (i.e. the best-optimized, or those with the coolest Switch-centric features)?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      Not a bad idea, but it sounds a bit similar to the final category on this page: https://eshopperreviews.com/nintendo-switch-reviews-exclusive-games/#wiki_significant_switch-exclusive_features

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  8. SMGbouldergeist Avatar
    SMGbouldergeist

    You know how some eShop publishers do those multi-day giveaways? Like No Gravity Games doing “Switchmas” at the moment and giving away 12 games.

    What if you had a feature where you rate all of the games in a giveaway? I know the quality can…well…vary with these free games but they also often have some hidden gems. I suspect you’ve already reviewed some of the games in these cases but might be neat to see it all in one place.

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    1. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      I love this idea, but I don’t know how I could make it work on a practical level, since these giveaways often don’t reveal the games they’re giving away until the day-of. I know I frequently turn around reviews pretty fast, but I’m not *that* fast! By the time I would be able to turn around a review, the game would no longer be free. What’s more, these giveaways often seem to be in December, when I’m usually scrambling to get out as many reviews as possible before the year’s end so I have as much fodder as possible for the eShopperReviews Game Awards in January.

      I feel like this idea has potential, but I would need to figure out an angle to make it work. I suppose, if No Gravity Games wanted to give me review codes for the games to be included in the giveaway *ahead of time*, I might be down to try it, but given that my review of one of their giveaway games, Catlord (https://eshopperreviews.com/2023/12/15/catlord-for-nintendo-switch-review/), was… well, *not very kind*, I don’t know how apt they would be to have two weeks of that sort of treatment (though they could always prove me wrong by including some genuinely great games in these giveaways!).

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. SMGbouldergeist Avatar
        SMGbouldergeist

        That makes total sense! I can see how having that quick of a turnaround would be a lot to contend with.

        Yeesh, Catlord is not looking so good. Of the free ones over the last couple years, I have enjoyed Destropolis and Nova-111 the most. I see you were a fan of Destropolis as well!

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    2. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      > Of the free ones over the last couple years, I have enjoyed Destropolis and Nova-111 the most. I see you were a fan of Destropolis as well!

      That’s true! Destropolis was fantastic! Hm… and I briefly played Nova-111 on another platform, but at some point I need to review the Switch version too…

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    3. eShopperReviews Avatar
      eShopperReviews

      Well, lookit that – Nova-111 is No Gravity Games’ newest game. 🙂

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