Topic: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 158

[Jonnyboy117]

Both old and new 2D platformers dominate this episode, guest starring Michael "TYP" Cole.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/podcastArt.cfm?artid=19806

 Episode 158: Spin Jump Apologist    

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Jon had a special engagement this week, so our good friend TYP sat in to lend his expert knowledge and opinions on Super Mario World, the newest RetroActive game. Before that, TYP's New Business involves 40+ Genesis games, while Jonny is loving NyxQuest and Trine, both platformers and both download-only titles. James pulls back the final layers of Little King's Story, while Greg has some first impressions of the Classic Controller PRO.    

Super Mario World is the sole focus of the next segment, as we start with a number of discussion points before bringing in some of your forum comments from the official thread. From Dinosaur Land to secret exits, Yoshi to ghost houses, we cover a lot of ground and address some of the game's criticized aspects while managing to avoid the pointless "SMB3 vs. SMW" debate. There's even more to come next week, as Jon will be back to explain why World is his favorite Super Mario game (among the dozens he has played), and we'll read even more of your thoughts on the air.    

That's already a very full show, but we did manage to read a couple of your emails before the crew passed out from exhaustion. This week's topics are emulation through the Homebrew Channel and the outlook for a world without Miyamoto. We're always looking for great Listener Mail to read and discuss on the show, so please submit your questions or comments!      Credits:    

This podcast was edited by Greg Leahy.    

Music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is used with permission from Jason Ricci & New Blood. You can purchase their newest album, Done with the Devil, directly from the record label, Amazon.com, or iTunes, or call your local record store and ask for it!    

Additional music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is copyrighted to Nintendo, and is included under fair use protection.  

[adadad]

Cheers for the new episode guys, looking forward to listening

[kraken613]

Can't wait to hear what Greg says about the Pro! I need to order mine!

[King of Twitch]

Well done using the word robust in the first 32 minutes.

[AV]

1. Super mario world :

i played as you talked and it was neat but it felt SLOW compared to other 2d marios.

2. i loved the miyamoto discussion toward the end, very detailed

[ShyGuy]

Maybe I missed it on the podcast, but can Greg tell us if the classic controller pro has that weird button that controls the pointless clasp like the original classic controller features?

[KDR_11k]

I think the clasp was just to attach grips later on and the Pro already comes with those.

If you don't have an HD console or don't want to deal with the widescreen nonsense there's a smaller collection for the PS2.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Maybe I missed it on the podcast, but can Greg tell us if the classic controller pro has that weird button that controls the pointless clasp like the original classic controller features?

Well Greggers and I are twinsies, in that we both have the classic controller pro. It no longer has that button. The controller is still a bit light but overall it is very good. Not to mention it is such a relief to have the cord come out from the top of the controller, not the bottom. That drove me insane with the old one!

[KDR_11k]

Wasn't Miyamoto completely in charge of Wii Sports or something? I think he also said he's tired of making sequels so his own game would probably not be the next Mario.

[Jonnyboy117]

Katsuya Eguchi was the main producer on Wii Sports, I believe. He had the same role on Resort.

[NWR_Neal]

I'm thinking that this episode might make me want to buy a Classic Controller Pro. I have only a slight problem with this.

[broodwars]

Regarding the Virtual Console/piracy discussion: back in the N64 days I was really big into the SNES ROM Scene.  My family was (and still is) poor, so I had to sell off my SNES to get the N64.  This was a move I mostly regretted for most of the N64's lifespan, so as I got more into the internet I started replaying the old favorites via emulator.  That didn't last too long since the emulators didn't work all that great back then and the experience just wasn't the same without the SNES controller, and any scraps of those files bit the dust when the Virtual Console was announced (I was naive enough to think back then that all my old favorites would get re-released there).  Flash-forward to today and the Virtual Console is a real mixed-bag that has turned into a mockery of late.  We've gotten a lot of the old favorites (hell maybe even most of the well-known ones by now), but the support for the two consoles I was most looking forward to on the service (the SNES and N64) have had a comparatively pitiful showing so far.  Instead of rounding out the quality software on those systems, we get games I don't think most people care about on consoles I don't think most people care about anymore like the Master System and Commodore 64.  For whatever reason Nintendo won't officially announce, we're not getting Earthbound; until very recently nearly anything Square-Enix wasn't coming; etc.  I'm more than happy to have a big family of consoles on the service, but not at the expense of beloved games on the consoles we already have on it.

I don't understand why Nintendo won't go all-out on Virtual Console, as it's pretty obvious they've been stockpiling while trying to drive up WiiWare.  The thing is, they keep treating the service like it's the same market as WiiWare, and somehow I don't see the big "old-school", "hardcore" gamers who really want Virtual Console getting big into WiiWare (especially when most of it is garbage).  Likewise, I don't see the casual, Blue-Ocean demographic of WiiWare jumping into the "old school" Virtual Console.  Why not just release big on both services and let the chips fall where they may?  At least try it for a few weeks with quality titles on both services and see how the sales figures go.

Now, the Virtual Console does look like it could improve in the future if the Super Star Wars trilogy is any indication, but if not I can't blame people if they jump into the whole ROM piracy thing as the alternative.  Nintendo hasn't pushed me back into that, but it's getting rather frustrating knowing that there's a large collection of old games I would gladly buy at Nintendo's arguably-inflated prices to have in my Virtual Console collection...but for reasons only known to Nintendo they just won't release.  They longer Nintendo holds back on the VC, the worse this whole retro-piracy thing will get.

[GoldenPhoenix]

They longer Nintendo holds back on the VC, the worse this whole retro-piracy thing will get.

Yes blame Nintendo for people doing illegal things.

[broodwars]

They longer Nintendo holds back on the VC, the worse this whole retro-piracy thing will get.

Yes blame Nintendo for people doing illegal things.

In this situation yes, I do.  The Virtual Console is how it is because that's how Nintendo has decided it should be.  People will turn to illegal methods to acquire what they want if there is no legal method, and that's something that can only be solved by the one providing the product.

[kraken613]

I am at the forum discusion part of retroactive, man I have fell asleep twice while listening to this episode! Its not because of the show its because I really need the sleep!

[Sundoulos]

Greg's attitude towards Yoshi reminds me of a friend in school who attempted to play through the entire Terran campaign of Starcraft without a single casualty. 

Greg, how did you feel about playing Pikmin?

You know, I'm ashamed to admit it, but I did play fan translation versions of Dragon Quest V and VI a while back.  I was convinced that they would never come out in the U.S., so I sort of rationalized that it was okay to play it.  When they announced the DS games (much to my surprise), I was a little disappointed that I had spoiled most of the game for myself. 

I still haven't made my way through it, and I feel that I compromised my own enjoyment of the game somewhat...even though there are several differences in the updated version.
(It also made me much more sensitive to some of the changes they did make to the names of the characters...how the heck did Papas become Pankraz?)

I didn't play much of VI, so I hope that it still makes it's way over to Western shores.

[Jonnyboy117]

DQVI was announced at some point, but I haven't heard from it in a long time. I think SquareEnix is waiting for the DQIX fervor to die down in Japan. Then they'll start to localize it.

[ThomasO]

I have been listening to RFN's podcasts while at work for the past few weeks or so (to help pass the time), but I actually could not listen to this one. TYP, did you have a sore throat or something? Somehow, your voice made the back of my mouth dry, and I couldn't stop coughing and trying to clear my throat for 15 minutes after listening to you speak. I had to cut the podcast and move back to my other ones.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

....No, I didn't, although it's normal for my throat to get a little dry when recording a podcast. I don't understand how my voice could make your throat sore, but I guess the brain can do some strange things....

[D_Average]

....No, I didn't, although it's normal for my throat to get a little dry when recording a podcast. I don't understand how my voice could make your throat sore, but I guess the brain can do some strange things....

Very strange indeed.  When I listen to the show it makes me want to drink.  To heighten the experience, of course.

[Yoshidious]

Greg, how did you feel about playing Pikmin?

Unfortunately, the ten years between Super Mario World and Pikmin saw me go from being a happy innocent to a bitter, twisted misanthrope (I blame the Buffalo Bills, and to a lesser extent Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts). Still, the tragic chorus the Red and Yellow Pikmin would make when I absent-mindedly led them to a watery grave is something I'll never forget.

[broodwars]

Just an update for you, Jonny: I'm playing through the PS3 version of Trine right now, and it is indeed still awesome (particularly the music).  I haven't really had any control issues so far.  They might have tweaked the Wizard's box conjuring ability for the PS3 version, considering that most of the "boxes" I've drawn so far have been pretty close to circles and the game's still recognizing them.  What amazes me (especially since every level has its own orchestrated music track and you have all that speech), though, is that this game is only 355 MB.  The game is gorgeous, but not so much that it would prevent the Wii from running it.  I think they're hiding a fair amount of low-poly models behind mountains of bloom lighting.

Awesome game, though, and highly recommended.  I would have liked the Thief's grappling hook to be easier to aim, though.  You have no idea until the grappling hook hits something you can swing from if you've even used the hook (let alone where you threw it), and it can be hard to tell what are wooden surfaces and what is just stone concealed by torchlight.