Messages

1

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 337: Eat My Maturity!

« on: May 20, 2013, 02:30:31 PM »

Great episode, finally just finished listening to it.  I found the discussion of death in games quite interesting.  Personally, there's a couple games that stand out in my mind.  The first was Harvest Moon 64, when the grandmother who sat in her rocking chair outside the bakery died, it was really sad.  It was probably 15 years ago that I played the game and I still remember it.  The second is 999, especially the first time reaching the "ending," just dying all of a sudden out of nowhere was quite shocking.  The story was dark enough to that point, then having that happen took things to another level and made the second play through even more eerie, knowing you might just die and get a game over at any minute.

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TalkBack / Re: Eternal Darkness Spiritual Successor Slated for Wii U Release

« on: May 03, 2013, 08:39:51 PM »

Reading this news is the most interested I've been in the Wii U since it was announced basically.  Eternal Darkness was probably my favorite game on the Gamecube (either that or Skies Of Arcadia: Legends) and if they could manage to make an unofficial sequel that managed to build upon all that was great about the original, that would be amazing.  Not holding my breath but it would be awesome if the game actually does happen and turns out to be great.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Why would Nintendo opt out of E3 this year?

« on: April 27, 2013, 09:14:48 PM »

While it seems like a strange decision with the situation Nintendo is in right now, looking at the tech industry as a whole, Nintendo is right in line with what most other major companies are doing.  Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Google, etc. are stepping away from completely or greatly reducing their involvement in the massive tradeshows (SXSW, CES, etc) and holding more of their own events.

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TalkBack / Re: Weighing My DS Backlog Options

« on: April 23, 2013, 08:12:19 PM »

999 was my favorite game on the DS and would rank very high on the list of my favorite games ever if I were to make one.  I was so addicted to the game when I started playing it, I think I got all of the endings in less than a week and even when I wasn't playing the game I couldn't stop thinking about it.  I hadn't been that into a game like that in a long, long time.  You'll know quickly whether the game is going to pull you in or not so if you play it and it's not your thing it won't be a major time investment and if it does draw you in like it has most who have played it, you'll tear through it quickly because once you get into it, the game is hard to put down until you get the true ending.

If you do go with 999, use a guide after a couple play-throughs (I believe I did 3 getting 3 different endings, then used a guide that was basically a decision chart to get the others) to get to the true ending.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Should Nintendo embrace "free to play"?

« on: April 17, 2013, 08:23:52 PM »

It can't hurt to let it be an option for 3rd party developers if they want to go that route, but to me free to play doesn't fit well on consoles.  It's fine for games on a smart phone or tablet where it's something to kill a little time but if I'm going to sit down to play a game on a console, I'd rather put that time towards a game that's a great experience that I have to pay for.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Amazing Deals!

« on: April 15, 2013, 08:12:35 PM »

4 of the games I ordered arrived, all of them work and look like they're in good condition.  Starfox wasn't in with the rest of the games, I'm thinking they cancelled it without telling me but the others for a total of $6.70 is a steal.

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TalkBack / Re: Several Online Wii Channels Shutting Down in June

« on: April 12, 2013, 05:08:26 PM »

That really sucks, I still use the News channel regularly to catch up on the news.  I guess it's expected but it still sucks and it's part of what I don't like about gaming becoming so online dependent, it's something that will eventually get taken away.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Amazing Deals!

« on: April 08, 2013, 03:25:25 PM »

Gamestop restocked a bunch of used Gamecube games about an hour ago.  They're all 75% off plus the code 15FREE takes off another 15% plus free shipping if the order is over $30 (based on the original price, not the discounted price).  Most of the good stuff disappeared within minutes but I managed to pick up Sonic Mega Collection, Starfox, Namco Museum, Pinball Hall Of Fame, and WWE Day Of Reckoning 2 for just under $10.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Shigeru Miyamoto asks the gaming public and media to give the Wii U some time

« on: April 06, 2013, 05:53:55 PM »

Nintendo can have all the time it wants to make the Wii U a great system with a great library of games.  Take all of the time they need.  But until they get to that point, I'm going to hold off on buying one.  And the problem is, I think that's how most people are looking at it.

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TalkBack / Re: Is Legend of the River King Worth Checking Out?

« on: March 29, 2013, 04:44:25 PM »

I can't comment on the original because I haven't played it but I am currently in the middle of playing the DS version.  I've put about a dozen hours into it and so far I've really enjoyed it.  If you like the Harvest Moon games you'd probably enjoy Legend of the River King.  The game is pretty laid back, though it does get a little repetitive, the story is alright but not anything revolutionary.  Like Harvest Moon, it doesn't sound that much fun on paper and it's hard to say why it is fun, but the game just somehow is fun.  I don't know that I'd play through another game in the series anytime soon but to play at least once it's definitely worth it.

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General Gaming / Re: Backwards Compatibility - Good or Bad?

« on: February 23, 2013, 07:14:36 AM »

Backwards Compatibility is one of those things that always seemed great in theory to me but that I've rarely actually put to use.  After buying a DS (and not having owned a GBA) I bought a total of 2 GBA games and played little of either.  Having a considerable amount of Gamecube games, including a couple I don't think I ever even played, the only Gamecube game I've really played on my Wii was finally beating Wind Waker.  In theory, I think it's something I would use, but in practice whenever I sit down to play a game (or when I'm out buying a game) I always choose something for the newer system.

I can see Backwards Compatibility being good for Nintendo, had they been able to attract people to the Wii U that didn't own a Wii (probably not many of those out there in this case, but maybe more true with Wii/Gamecube).  With a lack of games out there for Wii U currently, I'd think there would be people buying Super Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword, etc. since they're such great games and still easy to find in stores.  The problem for developers isn't gamers choosing older games over newer games, it's Nintendo system overs choosing Nintendo games (new or old) over 3rd party games.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Amazing Deals!

« on: February 16, 2013, 08:29:11 AM »

Best Buy has Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 each for $14.99, picked up White 2 last night at my local store and they had plenty of copies of both.  They also have some other sales going on over the weekend, Epic Mickey 2 for $11.99, the Layton game for 3DS for $14.99, the 3DS Paper Mario for $19.99, and Kid Icarus for $14.99.  Some stuff is sold out online but at least the store here had plenty of the games involved in the sale.  There were no tags showing that the games were on sale but the game I bought rung up at the correct price.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Amazing Deals!

« on: February 12, 2013, 07:38:11 PM »

Best Buy has Kirby's Dream Collection for $19.99.  You need to be a Reward Zone member and activate a $20 off code on the Reward Zone website and it'll ring up at $19.99 in store.  The game can't be ordered online but the store here had a surplus of copies in stock, picked one up earlier tonight for $5 after using $15 in Reward Zone certificates.  Been waiting quite a while to pick this up and this is the first time I've seen a deal on this collection.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: PureNintendo rumor: Nintendo to remove office space restriction for Indie develo

« on: January 21, 2013, 05:42:19 AM »

Requiring an office space to be a developer seems like an antiquated idea to me.  How many games, general software, websites, etc. that have gone on to be very successful have started as a couple guys working out of an apartment or a couple teens working in their parents' basement?

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Nintendo Handheld Discussion / Re: Harvest Moon: A New Beginning thread of living the country life.

« on: January 09, 2013, 06:36:04 PM »

This is the last Harvest Moon game I'm going to buy, ever.  I realized about mid-Summer of the first year that I keep buying new Harvest Moon games every couple of years in a foolish attempt to re-create the magic of when I played Harvest Moon 64 way back in '99.  However, I'm not 13 years old anymore and I don't have the time to sink into this game that it requires.  I'm sad about that, because I really like these games in principle...just not in practice.

Sadly, I agree 100%.  One of my friends came over to my house back when I was in high school one Friday night with the original Harvest Moon.  When he told me what the game was about, I laughed and said how stupid it sounded.  By the end of the weekend I think I had put about 15 hours into the game.  Picked up the N64 version when it came out and the game was magical.  Since then I bought both Gamecube games but neither really caught my interest.  Played the first couple Rune Factory games and while they're fun, didn't quite capture the magic  of Harvest Moon 64.  I have one of the DS games (I believe Sunshine Islands) and one of the Wii games (I believe it's Animal Parade) both unopened that I'm planning to play someday, hoping to enjoy them but not overly optimistic because, like you, I just don't have the time that these games require.

I think that the Harvest Moon series would be better off if it had a little more structure to the game and things progressed more quickly.  If they made it into a game that lasted 20 hours or so with the core elements of what makes Harvest Moon so fun but with more of a story and more interesting things happening regularly, I think it'd be more interesting of a series.  Then again, maybe the problem is more that I've changed than that the series has.

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TalkBack / Re: Pikmin 3 Draws Influence From First Pikmin, More Stressful

« on: January 02, 2013, 07:27:16 PM »

I greatly preferred Pikmin 2 to Pikmin 1.  That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the first game but the more relaxed atmosphere of the game suited me better.  And finding all of the random Earth objects instead of parts for a ship was far more interesting to me.  Limiting the time each day may added difficulty and a sense of urgency but it just didn't add that much fun to the game for me.  Both were very good but I'd prefer a game closer to two than one.  Then again, I'd also prefer they be on about the fifth game in the series by now instead of the third, so at this point anything truly new is good.

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James' Whack-A-Mole Funhouse / Re: I'm guessing I'm the only one who doesn't listen to the podcast?

« on: January 01, 2013, 08:52:48 AM »

I used to listen to RFN regularly but I stopped because my iPod Touch died and I started using my phone (an old Palm phone, yeah, it's old, but it was cheap and it's on a prepaid service where I spend about $5 a month for service) which doesn't support the file format they use, I'm assuming because the podcast is divided into chapters.  I have enough other podcasts that I listen to that I struggle to stay caught up as it is, just not enough hours in the day.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Amazing Deals!

« on: December 27, 2012, 03:14:09 PM »

Best Buy has the Wii U Basic with a free copy of Nintendoland: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Nintendo+Wii+U+Console+Basic+Set+and+Free+Nintendo+Land+Game/9999196000050006.p?PID=1312731&id=pcmprd195200050006&ref=39&loc=01&URL=http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmprd195200050006&skuId=9999196000050006&type=product&AID=10597222&skuId=9999196000050006&CJPID=1312731

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Official Club Nintendo Thread

« on: December 21, 2012, 07:56:27 PM »

Only the first one destroyed controllers, and Nintendo wisely decided not to release that one on the Virtual Console.

It really only destroyed analogue sticks from the stick-spinning minigames, and the only reason it did that is because of the design of the N64 sticks. The game wouldn't destroy modern analogue sticks.

Unfortunately hands haven't evolved as well as analogue sticks and I'm guessing the game would still tear up the palms of players pretty good.  Gotta admit, those are some good memories of playing that game, though.  Painful, but good.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo TVii Impressions

« on: December 21, 2012, 07:49:10 PM »

Hopefully this is something that will get better with time because it seems like an idea with great potential.  If it was fast with a slick interface it could definitely be useful.  Displaying statistics for sports you're watching could be useful but for social interaction I find Twitter better than anything this will probably have, I've found following a few of the local sports writers to definitely add to the experience of watching sporting events.

I forget what the name of the site, but I know there is a site out there that shows a map of what football games will be shown where for the following Sunday.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Sales figures for digital games (eShop, VC)?

« on: December 10, 2012, 08:19:36 PM »

Probably never going to happen.  For whatever reason, companies like to always give as little information about sales figures as they can if possible.  Even extremely successful companies like Apple and Amazon are vague with their sales figures and only talk about growth or sales numbers for a product line as a whole instead of releasing information about individual products.  It seems kind of crazy to me, but the experts in charge of marketing and PR and so on at all of these companies obviously know something...

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Amazing Deals!

« on: November 16, 2012, 06:35:49 AM »

Today and tomorrow Best Buy has Disney Epic Mickey on sale for only $7.99.  Great deal for this game for those that haven't bought it yet.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Disney+Epic+Mickey+-+Nintendo+Wii/9604993.p?id=1218130391516&skuId=9604993&AID=10597222&PID=1312731&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2FDisney%2BEpic%2BMickey%2B-%2BNintendo%2BWii%2F9604993.p%3Fid%3D1218130391516%26skuId%3D9604993&ref=39&CJPID=1312731&loc=01

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: The Wii Era Is Over. Thoughts?

« on: November 14, 2012, 08:35:08 PM »

I think the Wii will be remembered for cluttering our living rooms with record amounts of white plastic.  Wiimotes, nunchuks, racing wheels, balance boards, Wii zapper, classic controller, not to mention all of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band instruments.  So much plastic, that's the Wii's legacy.

Seriously, I'll remember it for the great gaming experiences.  Both Mario Galaxy games were as much fun as I've ever had with a Mario game.  Okami (even if it wasn't originally a Wii game) is one of my favorite games ever, to me it took everything that's right about Zelda and added an excellent personality to the game.  Wii Sports, though it looks dated and shallow looking back, was so much fun and so innovative when the Wii came out.  I'll never be able to enjoy a golf game using traditional controls because Tiger Woods on the Wii is so much more fun.  Kirby's Epic Yarn had perhaps the best style of any game I've played in a long time.  There may not have been as many great games as many of us would like, but those that were there provided truly memorable experiences.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Nintendo's Wii U Launch Strategy - Keep Consumers In The Dark

« on: November 14, 2012, 06:57:25 PM »

Does anyone else see a similarity between the Wii U launch and the Windows 8/RT launch?  I listen to a lot of tech podcasts and read several gaming sites and in both cases, it seems there is a lot of confusion about what the products are, even among enthusiasts.  I was reading a thread on a different forum earlier today asking if regular Wiimotes could be used with the Wii U and there were several responses, most of which were people not really being sure of the answer.  I could only imagine how lost the average consumer is going to be walking into stores this holiday season not understanding that the Wii U is a new system, not just a peripheral for the Wii.  And on the Microsoft side, I can't imagine how many Surface table buyers who are going to be baffled by the fact that their Windows tablet somehow doesn't run their Windows software.  I guess in that way it's a good thing that they're not making the Gamepad available to buy separately at launch because I think it'd lead to more confusion and Wii owners trying to buy something they can't use.

Microsoft and Nintendo are multi-billion dollar companies so I guess they know what they're doing but it seems to me that having confused consumers is not a good thing.

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Nintendo Console Discussion / Re: Who is buying a Wii U at launch?

« on: November 14, 2012, 06:34:23 PM »

I have enough of a backlog on the Wii and DS plus too many other things to spend money on right now that there's no way I could justify buying a WiiU.  Hopefully at some point I'll get one but that won't be until next year at least.