TheNMan64

Principle Recording for Pokemon Colosseum is officially complete. Onto the next project I'm tackling during my vacation...

22 hours ago | [YT] | 0

TheNMan64

State of the Channel Address (1/2)

WHAT IS UP, YOUTUBE?! I am your friendly neighborhood NMan64 and it is time for our yearly retrospective and a sneak preview into what to expect on my channel as we progress faster towards the New Year. 2025 was a surprisingly intense and wicked ride of games, content and fun on the channel wasn’t it? So before we go into any of the new business, we must first discuss the old business…



The Year 2025 began with the unexpected dilemma I discovered that streaming has since become an extremely complicated and unpleasant experience for me and I’ve elected to shelve it for the foreseeable future. While I was ready to jump full throttle into LPs and various projects, I did have to rethink my strategies for how I was going to handle some of my more intense upcoming projects. I elected to choose two different and unique routes: the first being Throwback Thursday, a concept where I go back and play a game I’ve already LP’d, but with a unique twist of sorts. I completed a rough Nuzlocke of Pokémon FireRed for my first LP’s 10th Anniversary, played through another fun run of Kingdom Hearts I and went on a run to collect all 120 Stars in Super Mario 64. The second, which for a while was combined with Throwback Thursdays, is The Road to Kingdom Hearts 3 (Or The Road to KH3 for short), where I replay through all of the Kingdom Hearts games I can play through (no mobile or DS Games) or watch the movies of the games I cannot, ultimately leading into our inevitable playthrough of Kingdom Hearts III on the channel, which is likely to begin somewhere in 2027. We made it through the first game and are currently working on both re:Chain of Memories and the Film Version of 358/2 Days, which will lead into more projects in 2026.



In terms of our Openings and Compilations, I’m very happy with how this year turned out. I finally got to finish up work on the most requested Compilation I’ve ever had in 1999 and I got to reward many of my fans with their chance to see their requested Openings come to life in this year’s Advent Calendar. Even though we had a few hiccups with Copyright Issues on the Holiday’s Compilation (which ended up being the Disney Renaissance), we did manage to keep our 2 Compilation a year Quota, which I’m extremely thankful for and hope will continue into 2026 and beyond. I would like to say I’ll be doing more Openings in the future, but we don’t know what the future has in store, so I’ll just leave that for the next section on what to expect for this year.



After a long year in 2024 where we only finished three LPs from previous years and one entirely new LP, we jumped into 2025 with an almost entirely clean slate. No more LPs I’ll be bouncing back to finish (sorry Lego Star Wars) and no need to fix up or tune up anything as of the moment for any others. We went full throttle into this year with several new Let’s Plays for the channel. Super Mario Wonder, Star Wars Battlefront II, Pac-Man World Re-Pac, the MLB Power Pros Double Play, Pokémon Colosseum and my first true Let’s Play crossover in Dokapon Kingdom with our good friend Marcus Agrippa Liotta and my girlfriend Jazz Umbre. This is the first time I can say I’ve started this many projects in one year since…well, 2023 I guess? After going through both the Mario Kart Console Tour and Pokémon Scarlet’s lengthy LPs, just to be able to bounce around other projects definitely helped me feel better about where my channel is, as we’re creeping up to almost 8,000 subscribers as I write this.



I should also mention our year of Mike ‘N’ Mark After Dark. In our Third Season on the show, we finally finished our Blind LP of Dokapon Kingdom (yes, I convinced good ol’ HoboCrawfish to play the game twice with me) and added a few new games to the lineup. While we failed to put Worms WMD into it, we did manage to play Clubhouse Games, The Game of Life, Super Mario Party Jamboree and Lego Party. We also jumped right into our second collab project for the channel in Super Mario 3D World, which will carry into 2026. But more on that later.



Overall, 2025 was one of the most prosperous years on my channel for a variety of reasons. I feel as if I managed to please a lot of people with my output, I expanded my horizons a bit and played a more prominent role in other people’s channel works, including Mark’s show The Weekend Gamers and appearing as a guest on a few videos by VideoGameFan1999. However, I won’t lie and say that I am physically/mentally 100% after this year, which was taxing on all fronts. And yet, given the large amount of projects carrying over into 2026 and the plans I have for the year on top of that, I don’t think my stress levels will decrease much, at least until we get through some of the bigger hurdles on my channel…


Continued in Pt. 2

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 5

TheNMan64

State of the Channel Address (2/2)

I will start this look ahead with the obvious: both Pokemon Colosseum and Dokapon Kingdom will be carrying into this upcoming year, however, both are either near the endgame or halfway through respectively and I don’t expect them to carry on very far after January. In fact, since New Years Day is on a Thursday this year and I don’t plan on letting Throwback Thursday rest at all for now, my Christmas Vacation will be much lighter than usual and will end on New Years Eve. Friday, January 2nd, Dokapon Kingdom will resume and Monday the 5th will see Pokémon Colosseum return from hiatus. I don’t expect either to truly drag out too long and am planning currently on both projects being done no later than the end of February. Those aren’t the only projects coming back in 2026, as the aforementioned Throwback Thursday will be back this year as well, with a lineup as random as it can be. Here are the planned games for 2026’s lineup:



Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul
Pokémon Emerald (Challenge Run)
Mario Super Sluggers
Spyro the Dragon



These are subject to change, obviously, but this is the plan heading into the new year.

The Road to Kingdom Hearts III will also be continuing this year after going on hiatus for the holidays. We will be picking up where we left off in the story (358/2 Days or re:COM) and propel ourselves forward into the next batch of games in the franchise, namely two of my favorites in Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, which I expect will likely carry us into the rest of the year as both are massive projects. If we have time, though, we will foray into the abortion that is Kingdom Hearts re:Coded, which is fortunately a movie that I have to sit through instead of replaying that awful game. That will almost certainly cover us for the Road to KH3 this year.



When Dokapon Kingdom and Pokemon Colosseum inevitably end, I will obviously do a few Openings to lead into the new projects of 2026, but as of the moment there are no immediate plans to revive Fan Openings for this year. I’m just hopeful that we can make a few fun Openings for you guys to enjoy in between my bigger projects. If some Fan Openings slip through the cracks, congrats, but it’s likely going to be an exception to the rule rather than the rule itself. As for Compilations, I do still plan on releasing one for our Channel’s Anniversary and for the Holiday Season of 2026. I have yet to decide which ones will win, as neither Compilation 2000 or the Supreme Edition of 1996 are truly endearing to me at the present time, but I kinda don’t have that much of a choice. I will inform you of what the Compilations will be in due course.



Season 4 of Mike ‘N’ Mark After Dark will also be something to remember for sure. We’ll be continuing Super Mario 3D World in January and then adding a few new games to our roster, namely the build your own racetrack game Make Way and if 3D World finishes on time, our 3rd Collab Project in Castle Crashers. We’ll also be peppering in some old favorites, including Life, Mario Party and more. So a bit of the same and a bit of new.



Let’s Plays on the other hand are an entirely different matter. I have been pondering the last few months over what my main projects of 2026 should be. There are tons of franchises I haven’t gotten into yet and plan to (Banjo-Kazooie, Metroid, Zelda, Tales Of, Xenoblade etc) as well as franchises I’ve been meaning to get back to (Kirby, Nicktoons, Starfox, Lego, etc). But the big announcement in terms of LPs is just the kind of LPs I plan to run through this year. In 1996, a franchise began that has obviously had a massive impact on me as a gamer and my fandom. It has spawned a massive onslaught of games both canonical and spinoffs, merchandising, TV shows, movies, trading cards and pretty much everything under the sun. In 1996, specifically in Japan, the Pokémon Franchise started. And to tribute 30 years of Pokémon, I am dubbing 2026 as The Year of Pokémon. All of my LPs for the year will in some way, shape or form be Pokémon related, including if they lead into 2027. The projects I have planned for this year include but are not limited to the following games:



Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red (Blind, either NSO or Switch Remake)
Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond
*Pokémon Legends Arceus (Mostly Blind)
*Pokémon Legends Z-A (Most Likely Blind)
*Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2
*Pokémon Snap (Mostly Blind)

* = Subject to Removal Due to Time Constraints



All of this will be leading up to what many have been anticipating since Scarlet and Violet’s lifelines concluded: The Gen X Pokémon Games, which have yet to be announced obviously. I plan to use that LP to essentially put Pokémon on hold for a long (and I do mean LOOOOOONG) time for my channel and allow me to put all of the focus right where it needs to be: wrapping up the Kingdom Hearts franchise on my channel and progressing to the next big phase of games I plan to play for you all.

This is going to be a monumental year and I hope you all stick around for the ride. I know I’m looking forward to it. Until the year begins, I hope you all have the merriest of holidays and get all of your wishes to come true. Until we meet again, Sayonara!

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 3

TheNMan64

This Week's Schedule:

Monday: Pokémon Colosseum 28 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 37)
Tuesday: Pokémon Colosseum 29 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 38)
Wednesday: Pokémon Colosseum 30 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 39)
Thursday: Turkey Day TBT (Super Mario 64 Episodes 19, 20 and Finale)
Friday: Dokapon Kingdom 31 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 40)
Saturday: Dokapon Kingdom 32 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 41)
Sunday: Dokapon Kingdom 33 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 42)

Since there will be no TBT Project in December, I will also not be posting any schedules again until we get closer to the New Year. The entirety of December's uploads will be for the Advent Calendar, After Dark's Season 3 Finale and the Compilation Renaissance.

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 4

TheNMan64

Weekly Update: This is going to be the last update for 2025. Next Monday, I'll be posting my State of the Channel Address and giving you all a taste of what's to come from your friendly neighborhood NMan64. After that, the next Weekly Update will start again in January 2026.

In short, things are about 99% done for the year. All but two of the Openings for the Advent Calendar are finished (one really hard one and an emotional one are what remains). All of my necessary editing and recording for the year is done, apart from Dokapon Kingdom's conclusion (which HOPEFULLY should be done Wednesday) and the last episode of After Dark, which Mark and I will record on December 7th. So with all that said and done, my primary objective until my vacation around Christmas will be writing for Links Between Worlds and taking care of my friend Annie, who's in a rough place at the moment. As you will read next week in my Address, much of what I have planned for 2026 is already in motion with The Road to KH3 and this year's upcoming projects being primed and ready to go. So there really isn't much of a need to update you all on the comings and goings on my channel.

But as per usual, if anything pops up, I will let you all know.

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

TheNMan64

Holy cow...somewhere over night...I got up to 8,000 Subscribers here on YouTube! That is...that is quite a number. I cannot thank each and every one of you enough for helping my channel through this periodic growth it's had since the Pandemic. I can only hope to continue to entertain you all via my Let's Plays, Openings and other such things I upload for you all. Thank you guys soooooo much for this!

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

TheNMan64

Unfortunately, we couldn't get Dokapon recorded this week...so that means another week or more must pass before Mark and I are free from the hell of our own making...

1 month ago | [YT] | 5

TheNMan64

This Week's Schedule:

Monday: Pokémon Colosseum 25 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 31)
Tuesday: Pokémon Colosseum 26 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 32)
Wednesday: Pokémon Colosseum 27 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 33)
Thursday: TBT Super Mario 64 Episodes 16, 17 and 18
Friday: Dokapon Kingdom 28 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 34)
Saturday: Dokapon Kingdom 29 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 35)
Sunday: Dokapon Kingdom 30 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 36)

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

TheNMan64

Weekly Update: After I finally finished Super Mario 64's 120 star run as a part of Throwback Thursdays, I only have two more things to record before the year ends to put out for you all. Those being (what we hope is) the final recording session for Dokapon Kingdom, which we're recording on Wednesday, and then the December episode of Mike 'N' Mark After Dark, in which we play Lego Party. I still have some more editing to do as well as obviously working on the Advent Calendar videos, which gets priority this week, so work for the rest of 2025 isn't done just yet. But my focus is going to be on the Openings Videos for the Advent Calendar, which I would like finished by my birthday on Friday. I may get more writing done for Links Between Worlds, but I can't make any promises. I will admit I'm fatigued at this point and will be looking forward to just uploading for a while in December. This year has been draining. But we will be back on that horse New Years Day to kick off 2026 with another TBT Project: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul.

If anything pops up between now and then, I will let you all know.

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

TheNMan64

This Week's Schedule:

Monday: Pokémon Colosseum 22 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 25)
Tuesday: Pokémon Colosseum 23 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 26)
Wednesday: Pokémon Colosseum 24 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 27)
Thursday: TBT (Super Mario 64 Eps 12, 13 and 14)
Friday: Dokapon Kingdom 25 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 28)
Saturday: Dokapon Kingdom 26 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 29)
Sunday: Dokapon Kingdom 27 and The Road to KH3 (Kingdom Hearts re:COM 30)

1 month ago | [YT] | 3