Posts Tagged ‘nintendo’
Podcast: GHX – E3 Hype Train
This week we are foregoing the past and focusing on the future with Pixelated Pints co-host Heffe guesting on the show. We discuss the Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo press events and what it means for the wonderful world of gaming. Don’t worry, we’re back to retro next week.
Mario Kart 64 vs. Diddy Kong Racing – The Ultimate Retro Racing Game Debate
The two notoriously addictive and challenging 3D racing games produced for the Nintendo 64 were Mario Kart 64, developed by Nintendo and released on February 10th 1997, and Diddy Kong Racing, developed by Rareware and released on the 21st of November 1997. Both games skyrocketed in sales and popularity, with Diddy Kong selling over 4.5 million copies and Mario Kart selling over 9 million copies. The outrageous sales of Mario Kart 64 was arguably due to the fact that the characters were previously known and established by Nintendo in previous games, whilst the characters featured on Diddy Kong Racing were generally new installments.
In fact, Nintendo used Diddy Kong Racing as a platform to set up new characters to be released in other Nintendo games; these were characters such as Banjo the bear (the Banjo Kazooie series following) and Conker the Squirrel (the infamous Conkers Bad Fur Day followed). But the age old debate between old school and retro gamers remains: which was better? There are hardcore advocates and arguments on both sides, some of which we will take a look at.
Podcast: Super Metroid Game Club
This week Fred and Jam tackle the beloved SNES title Super Metroid. Building upon the fantastic foundation of the original, many consider this title to be their favorite game of all time. Well neither of us had ever played it, so we gave it the old college try 20 years after release.
Podcast: Gaming History X: This is Next Gen?
This week we celebrate Jam (@Jamalais) coming on board as a permanent co-host, a slew of retro news, and onto the more modern topic of contemporary consoles. Now that the gang’s all here, we dissect the current state, conditions, and factors of the previously called “next gen” and loosely discuss the upcoming future.
Review: NES Remix
Despite all the piracy and archival purposes of emulation, my personal favorite addition to the gaming landscape was the ROM hack. ROMs are the name for the entire program contained on a game cartridge and so naturally a “ROM hack” is taking a game we all know and love and changing it. Nintendo hasn’t really dabbled in this until now – sure, the 1994 World Championship cart and a few SNES competition carts exist, but they are rare and thus hugely expensive. NES Remix takes 16 established early games from the legendary 8-bit system (listed at the bottom of this review) and runs you through a series of challenges to compete with yourself, your friends on the couch, or the world online. While it’s mostly just a derivative of WarioWare, this has to be one of the most addictive games for someone who grew up playing the NES.
Editorial – Nintendo’s Biggest Problem: Us
Normally I wouldn’t be speaking to the modern gaming scene, but the overall backlash toward Nintendo is that they are failing with the Wii U and they need to fix it now. The first statement is unarguably true, and despite the second statement being more of an opinion, it’s one that Nintendo also shares. From the outset of the Wii U’s supposed and later confirmed failure, my peers on the Internet and beyond that at larger video game media venues have taken it upon themselves to suggest what Nintendo should do to fix this problem (just look at this simple search). Needless to say the vocal minority in message boards have also role-played as CEO and declared their plans on how to “fix” Nintendo with suggestions that vary from practical to downright stupid. This illustrates one of the largest problems in gaming today: the public.
I’m not sure quite when the Facebook generation took over, but ever since social media has boomed it has been handled in a very irresponsible way. At first people were just plain rude due to anonymity, however now we see people who blatantly admit to their real names and even in public have brought out this behavior. Internet rudeness has become commonplace. With it so has any sort of credibility for sources of accurate information and inevitably the whole world thinking they are important. Well Nintendo doesn’t need your help and wouldn’t do well to follow it.
Podcast: The Life of Hiroshi Yamauchi
On Thursday, September 19, 2013, we lost a pivotal man in the history of video games: Hiroshi Yamauchi. Known to many as the “Father of Nintendo” he used pride, stubbornness, and aggression to literally force his products to market. Responsible for taking a growing playing card and distribution company into the gaming powerhouse that not only flooded into Japanese households, but defied the so-called “gaming crash” of the United States with the NES. Here is his story complete with family line, birth, and the lifetime of one of the most forward thinking and intimidating men in video games.
Opening Song – Main theme fromTenchu
Closing Song – Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo’s Father Forever by Jonathan Mann
Podcast: E3 Revisited
This week Fred (@spydersvenom) is joined by Rob “Trees” (@TreesLounge00) and special guest Chip Cella (@CaptinChaos) of the B-Team to discuss the summer gaming event that wraps Christmas and Birthday all into one package: E3. We discuss the convention’s roots, establishment, and of course the wild and crazy happenings that accompanied each glorious year from 1995-1999.
Podcast: It’s-a Me!
This week we have special guest Eli “Sodoom” (@sodoom) from Knuckleballer Radio on to celebrate Nintendo’s world famous plumber. Instead of discussions about the actual games we’ve all played, we delve into the snags in development, cultural significance, and multiple games that never saw the light of day. Mario has a clean release record but plenty of care and scrapping of ideas went into his games.
Review: Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (XBLA)
For those not aware of the microcomputer craze in Europe that dominated the late 80s, the name “Giana Sisters” may not mean much. By the time the NES came out in Europe many had already invested in a microcomputer and parents were not eager to purchase a new console, so having games on popular computers like the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 was essential. The Great Giana Sisters was a widespread clone of Super Mario Bros. that provided a great side-scrolling platformer alternative to Nintendo’s classic. Unfortunately due to its highly similar content, including an opening level that literally cloned 1-1 from Super Mario Bros., Nintendo’s legal involvement got the game pulled off store shelves. Since then it has lived on as a rare holy grail for some gamers and having played it myself I must admit that it doesn’t steal as much from Super Mario Bros. as the initial level would suggest. Now the Giana Sisters are reborn in one of the first Kickstarter projects to benefit and release from the crowd-funding program and it is clear that Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is anything but a clone. In fact, Super Mario Bros. could learn a thing or two from this gorgeous modern platformer.
Twisted Dreams is a sequel to this controversial original, which did see a legal re-imagining on the DS in 2009, and picks up an original story that thankfully does not require knowledge of the original. Maria, Giana’s sister, has been kidnapped by an evil dragon and it’s up to Giana to enter the dream world and rescue her. Now a teenager, Giana is capable of utilizing the power of her two personalities – an interesting take on the changes one experiences in those awkward teenage years – allowing her to transform between a bright “Cute” persona and a rebellious “Punk” persona at will. Most interesting about this transformation is that it comes not only with new powers, but the entire world changes on the fly along with her. This dichotomy of not only the play style, but also the aesthetic of the entire game, creates a unique formula for each level. It allows the platformer to escape the confines of relying on level design and instead allows small simple spaces to become obstacle courses that will challenge your mind and reflexes. It’s not about dodging the pit and jumping on the enemy anymore, you need to think and think fast to make it in Twisted Dreams.
Gaming History 101 