What role do the goddesses play?

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's box art, which was revealed today, features something resembling a magic circle, behind Link and Phi. This circle contains three emblems, which may be familiar to Zelda players. These emblems appeared on the Goddess Pearls in The Wind Waker, as well as in Oracle of Ages where they represented tunes played on the Harp of Ages.

The intricate design also contains Hylian script. Translating to English results in the following, clockwise from the top left:

J.P. isn't fond of Super Mario World and A Link to the Past. Find out why.

It’s no secret to anyone who frequents this site that I don’t like Super Mario World or The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. For whatever reason, I’ve never cared for those seemingly universally popular games. I’ve never been able to figure out exactly why that is, but that line of questioning always seems to go back to my lack of experience with the system they were originally released for.

In hindsight, it’s astonishing how I managed to grow up in the mid-‘90s and not really ever play a Super Nintendo, not just of my own but at any of my friends’ houses. Looking back, the system was hugely popular, but the time my friends and I spent playing games never included it, starting with the Genesis and original NES and quickly moving on to the Nintendo 64 once it was released.

Pedro was a picky gamer as a kid. He recounts how the SNES helped him overcome that.

Growing up, I was a bit of an underprivileged kid, so I was lucky enough to have receive a Super NES for my birthday. I loved the hell out of Super Mario World, and when the local video store bought games to rent, I was in heaven. Of course, there was one tiny problem: I was deadly afraid of trying new games, especially those that looked unfamiliar to me.

This dates back to my NES days. Our budget for entertainment and toys was very limited, so when I was given my allowance for games and movies I would have to be careful of what to rent. If I rented a game that was bad or I couldn’t understand, I would begin to cry, and my mother would scold me for it. Back then, there was no internet and I wasn’t subscribed to Nintendo Power, so I didn’t know what game to rent or buy. It was so bad that I would dread renting games, fearing that I would get a stinker.

J.P.'s recent eye surgery had an unexpected benefit.

I was very excited to get my 3DS, having pre-ordered the system months ahead of time and braved the cold while unable to walk, still recovering from a broken ankle, to attend a midnight launch event. Even before playing it, though, I knew there was a good chance I wouldn’t be able to see the 3D effect. My eyes have trouble focusing, and often don’t point in the right direction consistently, and I figured that might screw with the effect. I was right.

Even though I couldn’t see the effect, I really enjoyed the system. I own more 3DS games than any sane person should at this point in its life, with 10 retail releases and a whole lot of download titles. It didn’t upset me that I couldn’t see the 3D, as it was never what attracted me to the system and I knew going in that it was likely I couldn’t.

The headline was written optimistically, but I stand by the claim.

After I've had time to digest Nintendo's absurd $80 price cut on the 3DS, which goes officially into effect today, it excites me. People are calling for Nintendo's head, and that $250 was a mistake. However, I like the reaction to slow sales of the first few months, which honestly aren't that terrible; they just pale in comparison to the recent success of the DS.

Nintendo missed expectations, and that's why the price cut happened. They predicted a certain amount and they didn't match it. I wouldn't say that sales have been awful, but more like Nintendo had high hopes. Regardless, I love the situation the system is in because of the Ambassadors Program and the $170 price.

Mario on a motorcycle? Ridiculous!

I didn't realize that K'nex was in the Mario Kart business, but there this was one day at Target. Mario and Luigi were both available on little motorcycles, and they also had larger, more expensive Karts (Yoshi also got a Kart). There were also K'nex-based course building kits involving fireballs and Thwomps. You can even go online and print out tracks pieces. Well, I wasn't going to let this fad pass me by. I played with K'nex like crazy as a kid and I was curious to see how the brand had survived in a land ruled by LEGO and, sadly enough, Mega Bloks. I also got a nifty Mario motorcycle out of the deal. All for $8!

They've become a part of her character. Accept it and move on.

You rarely hear cries from the readers, much less the artists and writers, that Power Girl’s characteristic bust be toned down or that her trademark “cleavage window” be closed. It’s not often you read magazine articles in Entertainment Weekly or TV Guide bemoaning Sofia Vergara’s wardrobe on Modern Family. But people always get bent out of shape about poor Lara Croft. When Crystal Dynamics thankfully took over the franchise from Core Design in 2003, they spent three years crafting Tomb Raider Legend, and one of their bullet points while redesigning her character was to tone down her most mammalian organs, that which had been partially responsible for her success and infamy as a character. This was a priority—the thinking was that by making Lara more realistic, she’d be more relatable, and more people would buy the game. Legend was a success, but probably not because of Lara’s breast reduction—more likely because the game was actually good.

Want to write about video games and live around LA or SF?

Do you like playing, talking about, and writing about video games? Does the video game industry interest you a lot? Do you read “Iwata Asks” when they come out? Are you offended by the Iwata Laugh? Do you even know who Iwata is?

If those questions all make sense to you, and you said yes to most of them, then you might be perfect for the position of Staff Writer at Nintendo World Report. You’d need to have excellent writing and editing skills, knowledge and enthusiasm for the video game industry, and frequent online availability on AIM or e-mail. It would be awesome if you have experience writing about video games and podcasting experience. For this specific posting, we're looking for writers who live the San Francisco or Los Angeles areas. Also, if you have the ability to cover gaming events during the day, that's a plus as well.

After some initial confusion, I'm beginning to get excited. Here are 8 reasons why. 

I'll be able to play HD games (and more) in my hand without having to buy a separate handheld system.

I mostly play portable games on my bed or sofa. The thought of playing a game like Assassins Creed, Batman or Zelda HD on my Wii U controller with regular buttons and sticks, is very exciting. With the Wii U, I can have a tablet device with video calls and small touch-controlled games, a HD handheld system that plays retail games and full on 'next-gen' console experience all in one. All of this for much less than those would cost separately (as long as I don't leave the house!).