Posts Tagged ‘nintendo’
Retro Game Night: Battletoads (NES and Arcade)
This week for Retro Game Night Fred booted up the Rare Replay collection to revisit Battletoads on the NES and finally play the arcade game. It goes about as you would expect.
Note: Adult Language, viewer discretion advised.
Extra Credit: Remembering Satoru Iwata
On July 11, 2015, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata passed away suddenly at the age of 55. Many of us are familiar with Iwata-san thanks to the fantastic Iwata Asks series and his consistent appearances on Nintendo Direct videos, but there was a lot of legacy behind this man as well. This podcast honors Nintendo’s late leader with the story of his life and climb from an unpaid intern at Commodore Japan to the first non-family leader of a video game powerhouse.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata Has Died
I remember seeing all those death announcements of celebrities in the last few years, especially the (real) ones that make it to Facebook, and cannot understand the majority of people that claim to be sad. It’s the negative side of me that thinks they are doing that just for attention and want to add the “me too” mentality to the loss of a person we’ve seen on TV or the silver screen. Whether that is true or not is irrelevant because assuming at least some of these people are sincere, I now know how they feel. Satoru Iwata is an important man in the realm of video games and it is with the deepest regard that I discuss his death briefly.
It’s mind blowing to me given his young age, 55. That’s almost twice mine but I do not intend to only live to 55, so on a selfish level it humbles me to think about the frailty of life. More importantly, Iwata represents what we should all want of our company presidents. Working his way up from a programmer and producer at HAL Laboratory (Adventures of Lolo, Kirby) right out of University and eventually rising the ranks to be President of Nintendo is just about the dream of any gamer and developer out there, so he should be commended. We will be doing a show to honor him much like we did with Hiroshi Yamauchi in the upcoming days (and Jeremy Parish has already announced a HAL episode of Retronauts to honor him as well), but it’s just too sad and sudden to jump into it now. I’m not crying or anything, not that he doesn’t deserve it, but because I’m still trying to process it all. I can assure you that if Iwata-san were able to communicate with us he would want us smiling and happy of his release as opposed to saddened, but I just feel a large sense of loss. He was a great man who did great things and regardless of how you feel about Nintendo’s current state there should be no doubt that the company was significantly better thanks in part to his efforts. I don’t want to ramble on or add more sentiment to this Sunday evening so I leave with a fantastic quote from Iwata that Bungie recently tweeted:
On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.” – Satoru Iwata
Rest in peace.
Podcast: Majora’s Mask Game Club (Part 2)
This week Fred and Jam wrap up Majora’s Mask with the final two dungeons, the ending, and probably the biggest draw to the game, the side quests. It’s a lengthy discussion that goes down to the wire but definitely demonstrates a game that while not appreciated in its time but can have a second life now. Part 1 can be found here.
Podcast: Majora’s Mask Game Club (Part 1)
The recent re-release of one of the Legend of Zelda series more unique entries, Majora’s Mask, sparked our interest enough to do a game club on a title none of us had honestly played. We got more than we bargained for with a unique and enchanting title that we were only able to discuss the first half of in this week’s show. Part 1 deals with the development, release, and intro to the game through the second dungeon, with the end and side quests coming next week.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask Review
Riding the coat tales of the excellent Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which basically was another re-creation of the original formula that A Link to the Past had done before it only this time in 3D, it was going to be hard to top. Not only that, but there was a long four year development cycle for Ocarina and Nintendo wanted a follow-up done faster with a smaller team by re-using the engine and assets. It was determined that this could be accomplished by containing the whole game in a smaller world and on a game clock that would control the overall scope of the title regardless of what the player did. As a result, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask released in 2000, finished in less than half the time of Ocarina. Unfortunately it also garnered half as many sales (3.36 million compared to the 7+ million of Ocarina) and while critically praised, it didn’t seem to hold the attention of the many fans that wanted many of the series staples to remain intact. Majora’s Mask was recently re-released in 3D on the 3DS and it appears today’s audiences are treating one of the franchise’s few ugly ducklings with a bit more of an open mind. Is that love justified or are people just that desperate to get their hands on a unique Zelda title in hindsight?
Link’s Awakening DX Review
Link’s Awakening was the first Zelda title to be released to the Game Boy, it was also the first Zelda title to receive an updated version in the form of Link’s Awakening DX released to the Game Boy Color. It was the first of the series I played to completion and to this day I hold quite the soft spot for this title. With it being Zelda season on Gaming History 101 I was excited to revisit this title and review it for the site. So its time to strap on those nostalgia goggles and dive back into some old school handheld Zelda.
A Link to the Past Review
With the departure that Zelda II was from the original, Nintendo wasn’t going to take anymore chances as it began to release beloved franchises on its newest console, the Super NES. Of those franchises, The Legend of Zelda was one of the first to be rehashed with A Link to the Past. Instead of trying to create a sequel or something new, Nintendo instead took all the concepts from the original game, added a few enhancements, and made the game that captured so many hearts over again. To be clear, A Link to the Past is not a remake, it’s just the exact formula of the original utilized in the same world with a different map, different set of dungeons, and slightly altered item list. Think if it as a remix to the original rather than a true sequel or remake, but one that marks one of the highest points for both the console and the series itself.
Legend of Zelda Review
The Legend of Zelda series has transcended time and now acts less as a genesis of the 80s and more as one of Nintendo’s long running trains through time. Like all trains, many have gotten on and gotten off over the decades and thus the original is no longer that paramount flagship title that gave way to action RPGs that it used to be. In fact, these days I can’t imagine how one not familiar with the game could get started without a guide. Where would you go? What would you do? How long until you eventually enter the first dungeon that read “level one” and would you know that it means first dungeon instead of top level of the dungeon? On the other hand there are that other half of the gaming populous that is acutely familiar with all of the intricacies of what was our first true digital adventure. I myself know exactly where every dungeon is (on the second quest too), know exactly where to bomb a wall or burn a bush, and could navigate the lost woods with my eyes closed. That’s because I’ve done it so many times that the very movements of my average run are more muscle memory than anything else. It was one of the first games I played and one of the best.
Community N64 Top 10
The ballots are in, the votes have been tallied, the insults to our N64 Top 10 have been ignored and now it’s time to find out what you all chose to be the Top 10 Games from the Nintendo 64.
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You can find the actual top 10 list below:
Gaming History 101 