Messages

76

Nintendo Gaming / sonic advance 2

« on: May 03, 2003, 10:49:30 AM »

Unfortunately, the way they made you get to even try for the Chaos Emeralds in this one was pretty inane, you have to tag all seven Special Rings (they'll look different than the regular rings, with a star in the middle, and make a different sound when you pick them up) in a level and finish the level. This basically means you have to take an "Optimal" route and use a lot of memorization, it's the only really poorly-designed thing about Advance 2 I'd say. You'll just have to use a FAQ (GameFAQS) and practice it. Once you get to the special stages, they're pretty simple, and you'll be able to pass most of them once you get oriented to them. The only thing that changes about them are basically the ring and booster locations.

Edit: I just checked GameFAQS to make sure, the FAQ in the Sonic Advance 2 section labeled "Ring Locations Guide" should be just what you need, check that out.

77

Nintendo Gaming / The dbz game coming to gamecube....

« on: May 03, 2003, 10:22:10 AM »

I would buy it if it added a playable Yajirobe.
"My yam power shall defeat you!"

[WesDawg]

78

Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo doing it again??

« on: May 03, 2003, 10:16:12 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: WesDawg
I'm predicting Mario 128 is the show stopper this year.

You said it. I bet it's not going to look anything like Mario 64, either. The game was supposedly in development in tandem with Mario Sunshine, not after, and they've continued to work on it since. I'm just hoping for something as rich as Melee's Adventure Mode take on Mario (the road to Peach's Castle area), could you imagine that expanded into a full Mario game? (I don't mean the 2.5D play, although I certainly wouldn't complain about that myself, but no, it'll be 3D...)

I think this time, though, we know what the titles will be, but it'll be huge to actually _see_ them. (Last year we knew about them and had already seen some major details and shots.) Nintendo's being very tight about screenshots and even information about many of these titles, we just know they'll be there, and some random, baseline tidbits. (Sega's trying the same thing, there is not a single screenshot of Sonic Heroes on the net yet, even though new games like Sonic Battle for the GBA, Vectorman and Headhunter: Redemption both for the PS2 had screenshots available.) They're going for old-school unveilings, and I think it might work.

79

Nintendo Gaming / Midway losses, Blames Nintendo- less support

« on: May 03, 2003, 10:06:39 AM »

MKDA was actually pretty decent (and the Xbox port was sloppier than the GCN port, the Xbox version had a glitch where Frost could lock up the game by doing a Ground Freeze at the same time as someone else did a special attack), and I think it sold pretty well (maybe not as well as the Xbox version, because of Gamecube's positioning at the time, but close), but as for the rest of Midway's lineup, yeah.

The worst part is they don't understand why lazy ports of 2-3 month-old games aren't selling well... so people not only had to wait longer on something (during which they probably gave up and got it for another console or played a friend's copy), but we don't even get an optimised product for the extra time we wait. Gee, Billy (no reference to this site's now-retired leader), I wonder why Gamecube sales of a game are piddling in comparison... The only people that wait are those that don't have a second console, and really, most game fans can't be single-console gamers anymore, the market's changed too much. Two years ago I thought I'd be GCN-only. Today I have a PS2 and an Xbox as well. (Although I admit the Xbox does not get much mileage at all, and I'm not lying to "save face" or anything.) If you want to play the games, you have to go where they're available. So many gamers already have gone two-console or have a friend who's console they use.

So that's possibly why Xbox sales are inflated (it's harder to notice with the PS2 sales) versus the GCN sales, because half the audience who would've bought it on GCN had it been available at the time said, "To heck with it, I'm not waiting," and bought it on one of the other two consoles. And after they get into the trend of doing so, they don't stop when Midway finally releases one GCN port on-time with the other two releases.

[Grey Ninja]

80

TalkBack / Metal Gear Solid Confirmed for GameCube!

« on: May 02, 2003, 11:40:08 PM »

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Originally posted by: Grey Ninja
Think of it this way.

Would Stephen King be a good children's book writer?

You actually don't know Stephen King that well. (I don't mean on a personal level, but you'd be surprised what he has done, and what he can do, I hear his "On Writing" recommended CONSTANTLY.)

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Would Dr. Seuss make a good horror writer?

Some of his books are scary enough as it is... "Tiny little people live on that flower... SO DON'T STEP ON IT OR THEY'LL RISE UP AND KILL YOU." (Okay, so that's an alternate ending to Horton Hears a Who, close enough. ;P)

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Would Disney make a good action movie?

Actually... well, you did put in the qualifier "good", but there are several names Disney has gone under or owns for popular movies, such as action... Touchstone, I think Miramax, et cetera.

And even if you discounted all those, some might rate a few of Disney's animated features as good action movies, although they usually lean more towards "Adventure." Like Aladdin for example.

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Would Britney Spears make a good singer?  

Make one? Out of what, spare parts she has lying around?

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My point is that EAD doesn't make violent games.  To do so would be to go against what they do best.  We love EAD for their game making skill at what they do best, by making games for all ages.

I guess the thought is that maybe EAD would be good at more mature-themed games, and just doesn't know it yet because they seemingly haven't attempted to stretch out and try their hand at it. We don't know they're "limited" (don't get me wrong, I love EAD's games, just speaking from a developmental capability here) to only making "all ages" games. Don't forget even _Miyamoto_ mentioned they were being a little creatively styfuled when Hiroshi Yamauchi was "Executive Producer" of every Nintendo game project, and when even Miyamoto says he was being limited, you know that man (Yamauchi) had an iron fist on what Nintendo put out to the market, and that was that. It's possible they had the idea or inkling before, but not really the OK to do so.

The secondary point could be this: Some gamers always complain mature-themed games are "style with no substance." So, if a dev house famous for quality gameplay could get that right mix together for their own project, it'd really be a highly-regarded game that both casual gamers and the hardcores would take note of.

I don't think anyone's for "forcing" EAD into making a game they don't want to make, but it'd be an interesting project to see if they tried.

81

TalkBack / Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand Movie

« on: May 02, 2003, 01:02:53 PM »

Ladies and gentlemen, how Konami primarily sees the audience of the GBA and Gamecube.

82

TalkBack / RE: A Box Full of Zelda

« on: May 02, 2003, 12:40:19 PM »

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figures....

And a CD, too. *mauled for the bad pun*

83

Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo has something even bigger...

« on: May 01, 2003, 04:56:19 PM »

*looks at the burned, mangled, disused speculation cap* Er, I'll pass on that...

Super Mario 128 was promised as going to be shown, that's what I'm holding out for. Anything else from Nintendo will be a nice surprise.

84

Nintendo Gaming / Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

« on: May 01, 2003, 04:45:34 PM »

Something looks really wrong about Peach... not just the different outfit...

I like the new Mario silhouette on the left side of the logo, though, looks good.

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TalkBack / Metal Gear Solid Confirmed for GameCube!

« on: May 01, 2003, 04:35:13 PM »

A remake is nice... but... what happened to new-makes? Did I miss when those went out of style? So much time and effort invested to deliver a game pretty similar to the original. It's such a weird trend the past two or three years. Yeah, financially it sort of makes sense, especially for big-budget titles like MGS where the planning and design work alone probably cost as much as this remake will to produce, but still... why can't we have something ENTIRELY new? I'm not bitching for the sake of bitching, but everyone applauds seeing the same game they saw years ago, like the idea of getting a completely new game is so far out it just can't be done. It's not just accepting and being thankful for getting the game, it gets APPLAUDED. That just... doesn't make sense to me.

[JB]

86

TalkBack / SD Adapter gets a Date!

« on: April 30, 2003, 12:26:27 PM »

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Originally posted by: JB
It doesn't say that you need your PC to email the files. I'm hoping that you can send an e-mail from within the game.

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Players will be able e-mail game data and photos taken in the game through a PC.

Unfortunately, yes it does. It would make a lot more sense to use the GCN's own online capabilities, I'd think, and just being able to access and send e-mail is much, much different from anything like Online Play. There doesn't have to be a single server set up to handle it, unless a dedicated Nintendo server will be handling the mailing.

87

TalkBack / SD Adapter gets a Date!

« on: April 30, 2003, 12:59:39 AM »

Yeah, that stunk, there were a few pictographs I wish I could've saved. Melee pulled it off quite easily, and Wind Waker's photos seem even smaller, so it's a shame they didn't work something out for that.

But I have to admit, I'm impressed. I was interested by this when it was first announced, but it was practically guaranteed vaporware as the GCN launch came and went, and months passed... I'm glad Nintendo has decided to push the idea, though.

It's a shame Animal Crossing e+ refuses to handle the e-mailing of the save data and photos itself, though, but at least that's some, very limited online functionality.

88

TalkBack / Ubi Soft Unveils Next Batman Game

« on: April 28, 2003, 02:13:42 PM »

Delete that. That was a stupid reading mistake. (My second one today, this is not a good trend.) I swore that said "Feb", not "Fall".

89

TalkBack / Ubi Soft Unveils Next Batman Game

« on: April 28, 2003, 02:09:13 PM »

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It is scheduled to ship Fall 2003.

Either they meant 2004, or they've just announced the game and already missed their ship date by two months. ;P

Co-op does sound good, though. I wonder if this is based off the animated series? It certainly sounds like it, and Ubi Soft's last title, Vengeance was (as opposed to Kemco's recent "Dark Tomorrow").

[Mingesium]

90

Nintendo Gaming / Official F-Zero Thread

« on: April 28, 2003, 01:59:58 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Mingesium
it looks like a typo since the X and C are so close to the keyboard

Good point. Odd that they left it, though, since the full title just says "F-ZERO", not even a "GC" afterward.

91

TalkBack / Sega Reveals E3 Line-up

« on: April 28, 2003, 07:31:40 AM »

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Mike S says: Sonic Battle sounds like a handheld Sonic version of Smash Bros. I'm highly intrested in this game.

Actually, I can't hotlink to the pics and they're not on the Sega PR server yet pointed to in the press release (although they are in that thread I linked to in Gamecube Discussion), but it's actually set at a 3/4ths perspective (using polygons for the scenery) and uses the Advance sprites. Tails seems to be pointing what looks like a beam cannon weapon in one (or at the very least, it looks like a Mega Man-style arm cannon, perhaps it's just an item).

It does look good, though.

92

TalkBack / Mario Kart on GameCube Details

« on: April 28, 2003, 06:49:58 AM »

I can't edit my reply, otherwise I would correct it. I see now that the two replies were directed more toward the second part of his post, not the first, but at the time the two seemed much more closely connected, I don't know why.

At any rate, though, I still think he has some point. (I also think something like the jump from 2D to 3D is semi-excluded from this, that was kind of a given phase that game makers would experiment by putting things from the character's perspective now that it was far easier to do.) Not entirely, mind you, but there is some point.

I've got to say it, I know I'll be jumped for it, but maybe with the exception of Melee (and, post-dating, F-Zero), Nintendo hasn't really put out a GC sequel to a series that doesn't have SOME odd twist to it. It's strange that for all these franchises, not one of them has really had a traditional update yet. I mean, let's do a quick roll-call (this is observational, whether or not you agree with these choices is opinion). Luigi's Mansion, that's a given. Star Fox Adventures, Nintendo basically brow-beat Rare into altering Dinosaur Planet, an original adventure title into using Starfox characters and some mini-Arwing missions. Metroid Prime, HUGE controversy about taking it to an "in the helmet" perspective. Super Mario Sunshine, FLUDD as a persistent element and setting it on a tropical island, specifically keeping some level "themes" away from the game. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, a dramatic stylization change compared to the last two multi-million selling N64 releases and teased GC style and an ocean overworld (Not to mention a plot difference to pretty much every other Zelda game that I can't really say without spoiling). And now, Mario Kart: Double Dash, with dual character play being a central theme. Nintendo seems to be so scared of getting tagged with a comment like "It's XX, except in 3D" or "It's XX but with prettier graphics" that they're throwing some strange twist into EVERY game we're clammoring for a sequel for. (Some to the point where a lot of gamers get shocked by it, step back and reevaluate how much they want that sequel, like for Metroid Prime or The Wind Waker.)

I'm not an overly negative person about Nintendo games, in fact, I'm often very positive and optimistic. The trouble is some people act like it's a crime to EVER be negative about a new aspect. If you don't like something and you say it on an open forum, you're an idiot flamer troll who just can't see the brilliance behind it. It's especially true when Miyamoto is involved with the game's development. A golden example is The Wind Waker's dramatic style shift. You were simply not allowed to nay-say this new design choice, you were automatically an idiot with a worthless opinion for even THINKING negative of it. Miyamoto is a human. He can and may have (depending on your view of the item in question) designed, decided, or given his approval to things that turned out poorly. I think he's a brilliant game designer, but that doesn't mean I don't think he's made a few major choices I personally thought were bad for a game. (I'm not talking smaller implementation designs, but grander, "Here's what the series will do this time around" choices.) It's not a crime to feel that way, nor to say that you do.

Personally, I'm interested in the dual-person setup of Double Dash, although I have questions as to how much it'll really add to the gameplay (if it really will change things around while being fun, or end up just splitting up the chores "between" two people who'll still act as one). But someone's allowed to say they don't like what they see so far.

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TalkBack / Mario Kart on GameCube Details

« on: April 28, 2003, 06:03:24 AM »

Oh, come on. Significant new gameplay mechanics, and ESPECIALLY the jump from 2D to 3D, are in no way comparable to someone not liking the shallow designs of tacky mini-cars replacing the more neutral karts previously used. He wasn't arguing about the partner system, he said:

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I'm mostly complaining about the kart design style. The designs of old were cool, these are stupid.

Now unless the karts are ALSO going to have specific, themed powers (which would be an even further rip from Wacky Races), but the minute you say "concept," "mechanic," or "system," there's no way you can compare the two. It's purely an artistic design question.

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TalkBack / World Record Beaten for Zelda: LttP

« on: April 28, 2003, 05:20:11 AM »

Try for one of the CDi ones. No one would ever dare challenge you on it.

[grap3fruitman]

95

TalkBack / NOA Confirms LAN Play for Mario Kart

« on: April 28, 2003, 04:58:45 AM »

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Originally posted by: grap3fruitman
Yes, it is possible to do that. So anyone that wants to play online still can through a method called tunneling.

...Because reverse engineering is certainly a practically-instantaneous process not at all facing not only technical difficulties but questionable legality, and certainly Nintendo has never filed suit against another company in order to get something they didn't like or think was representative of "Nintendo quality" stopped.

And as someone else pointed out, there should be virtually no lag issues when you're talking about just a cable inbetween two GCs, it might not be flexible enough to handle unexpected significant lag or lower-bandwidth connections well.

I doubt Nintendo is "unofficially" relying on Gamespy to do this for them, they don't work like that. If they had wanted Gamespy-style linkup play to be available, they would've announced an official agreement in a press release, and then have forgotten about what they planned to do by four weeks later. Although some Gamespy development on Gamecube was announced (maybe just for availability), as far as I remember there's been no real link between them and Nintendo. Yet. (Maybe that's Nintendo's ace in the hole about this? Nah, probably not, the E3 site would've said.)

Oh, and hello, grap3.

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Nintendo Gaming / MORE GAMES TO BE REVEALED THURSDAY, PLUS BIG ANNOUNCEMENT MONDAY!!

« on: April 25, 2003, 08:10:22 AM »

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YEAH im surprised to that they didn't Update it today

It has been updated today, although no real new games were "revealed", so to speak.

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Nintendo Gaming / Official F-Zero Thread

« on: April 25, 2003, 08:08:21 AM »

Nintendo's E3 site has updated with a tabbed setup, the funny thing is the tab just says "F-ZERO", but if you click it, briefly during the interim it says "F-ZERO GX" (not "GC", "GX"). Click it repeatedly and take a few Print Screens if you have trouble seeing it.

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TalkBack / NOA Launches Official E3 2K3 Site

« on: April 25, 2003, 08:01:41 AM »

Hm, the site's updated again today, just like someone in another thread said it would... so maybe there really will be a major Nintendo announcement on Monday...

[Kulock]

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TalkBack / Mario Kart on GameCube Details

« on: April 24, 2003, 07:27:12 PM »

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Originally posted by: Kulock
Hm, it looks like the whole E3 site, including the Mario Kart section, was taken down or moved to an unknown location. I'm getting a 404 now for several different URLs provided at PGC. (...)

I'd edit my post, but you can't really do that in Talkback. I saw it does work again, but it was in fact down for a period of time earlier today for whatever reason. Just so I don't seem like a COMPLETE idiot... ;P

Couchmonkey does have a point about the karts sitting much higher than before (actually, at varying heights, thanks to the "quirky design"). I know, I know, it's "Nintendo quirky", but while having themed tracks might be cute, themed karts could get tiresome, especially since you'll be seeing them _all the time_. You get tired of a level, you don't play it for a while. But if you like racing with two specific racers, both of which have karts you hate (I assume you can pick which one you use the kart from, probably depending on who you pick first), you're kind of stuck.

100

TalkBack / Mario Kart on GameCube Details

« on: April 24, 2003, 06:04:50 AM »

Hm, it looks like the whole E3 site, including the Mario Kart section, was taken down or moved to an unknown location. I'm getting a 404 now for several different URLs provided at PGC. Or maybe it's just down while they're updating it... but I bet the info on it being released so early to the public was a bit of a goof.